#in fact the more mundane the meanness the more i can't with it like childhood bully shit my heart can't take it)

[omgthisisnotmyrealaccount]

finally watched season 2 of shadow and bone and like the issue with that show (outside of the bad acting lmao) is that the plot happens in one story line but the fun happens in the other 

like alina babes i don’t care about your search for the hot bird im sorry

[littleliterarylesbian]

thinking about a shadowhunters universe jegulus/marauders au. specifically the TMI era.

Sirius and Regulus being the kids of the leaders of the London (?) institute. Their parents used to be circle members but feigned fear and manipulation. Like the lightwoods they're allowed back into the shadowhunter homeland on important business due to having children. They still very much believe in the ideas of the circle and are incredibly upset that the Black name has been tarnished and have put pressure on Sirius and Regulus to bring them to glory once again.

Remus was the son of a prominent shadowhunter family and during training when he was young he and his father got ambushed by a pack of werewolves. Remus got bitten and, even though it's not a 100% chance a bite means being turned on the next full moon he's locked in his family's basement and writhing in pain as he changes for the first time.

Peter, I imagine, would be a close Hodge equivalent. Not a 1-1 obviously, but close. His parents were Shadowhunters who also followed the circle but died by being ripped apart by demons and he witnessed it. Hatred festering every time he was sent out on the field. Which, sadly, didn't happen often as physically he was behind Sirius and Regulus (which isn't a fair comparison due to the fact that since either of them could properly hold things weapons were shoved in their hands).

Evan and Pandora are warlocks, they're both a bit eccentric in their own ways, and they prefer to keep out of shadowhunter stuff, but Pandora can't help but see Regulus like a sopping wet kitten. Evan is the "official" high warlock of London (again, not sure on location) but they both share the responsibilitys.

Barty is Fae and grew up closed off from most of everything but eventually became close with Evan and Pandora. Barty's family is high up in the court, trusted closely by the Seelie Queen, but he doesn't give a shit. The second that the circle is hinted at returning he jumps at the chance to backstab his father and the court that treats him so poorly.

Dorcas is a vampire and close with Barty since they bonded when she was just a fledgling, one who sticks strongly with the accords. She realizes how bad it would be if the circle were to come back and at first tries to stay out of it before she realizes Barty is a traitor and her coven leader believes that the rules are below them. Which she soon overthrows.

James and Marlene were childhood friends until around age 13 when Marlene kind of disappeared. James' parents wanted to live in a world safe from all the conflict, especially when they found out they were expecting James, so they hid in the mortal world. James doesn't get his memories wiped, it's just more like a Percy Jackson type thing where he tries to bring up the weird stuff he sees, Effie and Monty kind of just gaslight him. They weren't a part of the circle but they were high up in the clave and outwardly against the brutalization of slaughter of innocents. It painted a target on their backs that only worsened overtime and to save their family left.

Lily is a "mundane" and close friends with Marlene and James until Marlene goes missing. Lily is kind of like the Simon equivalent, James and her stay close together, even more so since they never saw Marlene again, and even when James gets dragged into the world Lily sticks by him. Even when she accidentally drinks the wrong thing at a warlock party, ends up as a mouse, and gets turned into a vampire.

at least those were the ideas I had about it

[skinnypaleangryperson]

This house is full of nothing but consumer cobwebs, and a failed attempts of being able to be seen as a creative and as an individual both on a personal level as well as professionally throughout my life. I can literally feel the spiritual and physical dust and grime going through the books and the celebrities I've crushed on, the creative people that I've admired and have read about ever since high school and now, as a washed-up meaningless nameless 27-year-old that is nothing but internet trash, I've never been more aware about where my journey was going and it feels like my head is imploding constantly wanting to rant and to see that failure in everything, everyone, and in everything set around me. It blows my mind that people just accept the fact that their dreams never come true and that they just live that way. That they don't even some just try to be able to spew out every minute of every day how unhappy they are and how detrimentally spiritually devastating it is. When I was a kid, being a nobody and not being creatively successful was not yet a mark of anything of a lack of character or of anything I had to offer, it was just simply something that I hadn't figured out yet. Now I can't enjoy anything anymore, I see my failure and everything at best, and at worst, I see a lifeline of profound spiritual and physical suffering that is surrounding me from an already terrible unremarkable and a loveless childhood enough as it was where I was told that I could push through it because once I got older, it would "get better", only to realize that those were all just cope adults that couldn't stand the idea that some people are born miserable and unnamed and unseen, and only become increasingly worse until the point of death as they get older.

I'm now just another no name, miserable on Reddit and miserable at work in real life with people who are in the same circumstance who are probably told the same lies for all the same fake and reasons growing up. Some people can handle it more than others but I can't even enjoy anything anymore. I realized today while everybody else was casually enjoying the Oscars in the celebrities in the rich people that are celebrating and knowing each other, that I seem to be one at the very few that is in a genuine state of peer despair over the way that my life is gone and the way that it will continue to go, at best, exactly the same within it's a loveless impossibly robotic mundanity and even abuse on the internet, and worse, to end up dying or alone on the side of the street while everybody else celebrates how special they are, the people that get to run this country, the people that really wanted, the rich people in the celebrities, the ones who own people souls.

This is only a small section of the torment that's in my head everyday, and I'm just waiting for the day when it renders me to a sense of complete dysfunctionality. There's cobwebs in my throat to those cobwebs on the things I used to be able to enjoy before I realized my own true unremarkable dry, profoundly pathetic nothingness in reality, and the way that it's always been on them and the fact that I just didn't have the unfortunate temperature reality to be able to see about what that actually meant, and the delusions that I held and kept close to me that I still do but now just do on a fictional level because I can't stand the burning pain of being a part of reality even on a pair of social relationship way knowing what that means for me if I were to allow myself to.

Nothing helps and nothing will ever change it. And the worst part, is that 98% of the time in this world I feel like I'm experiencing it entirely on my own.

[scaly-freaks]

im curious about the relationship between Alicient and Rhaenyra in your fic, it seems like Alicient is trying to save Rhaenyra and her boys, is it out of guilt? And what about Rhaenyra, how does she feels about Alicient now, is the power dynamic (her being a scorned princess and Alicient the most powerful woman in Westeros) stopping her from letting her true emotions show? This context of Rhaenyra losing the war and keeping her head is so underdeveloped yet it's so interesting and intriguing, thank you for exploring it

Aaahhh I just finished answering a comment on AO3 along this same vein! Coinky-dink!

Alicent is - plain and simple - massively in love with her princess still. In fact, Rhaenyra is currently in the same position as Amara, aka this pretty songbird trapped in a cage, being fed lovingly by the hands of her captor who she has complex feelings for (and vice versa). It's almost insane how much Aegon's life parallels Alicent's in this, because he claims to not understand why his mother would be so kind to the sister she helped usurp, but then he's kind to Amara despite making it very obvious her options outside of him are limited.

Rhaenyra definitely is conflicted about Alicent. She notices things like her soft red hair but labels it a taunt. She still remembers burning with jealousy when she found out her father visited Alicent every night after their wedding, and the hell it was to be aware of it. I think when Alicent visits, she's relieved to have another adult on her level to speak to, and she probably wants to give into the Stockholm Syndrome when the Dowager Queen is obviously tender with her (as much as she can be). But it might not be in her best interest to get close to Alicent again. Otto Hightower is still alive after all, and the king would happily go against his mother if it means spiting his sister some more; if anything, when Aegon realises Rhaenyra is opening up to Alicent again (thanks to the spies at Dragonstone) he'd probably shut his mother out of the small council. Currently, Alicent probably mentions things that happen in the small council to Rhaenyra without being asked, and that pipeline of information can be very useful (even if it's just supposedly mundane stuff a lot of the time, for instance grain shortages, or the threat of a plague).

Rhaenyra's figured out by now that her stony attitude keeps Aegon's attention fixed on her alone, to make her life a misery, but that lessens the attention that might fall on her boys (hunting down the Strongs, or taking away the two youngest). He hates her and she wants to keep reminding him of that so the others can go free.

I think she also is aware Aemond and Aegon aren't the bestest bros in all of Westeros (unlike Sunfyre and Aegon) so Rhaenyra could very well decide to sit back and wait for something to go down between them. If it does, she has two legitimate sons from Daemon who are still technically in the male line to the throne (Egg is currently 5th and Viserys is 6th, so it's really not that far considering how volatile dragon wars are and how suddenly infants can die - Jaehaerys is still at a very vulnerable age).

Despite it all, deep down, Rhaenyra knows Alicent better than anyone else currently alive (because how much does Otto truly know his own daughter when he can't even predict when she'll go against him). She still makes exceptions for her, decides that it isn't Alicent's choice to do this to her, that Alicent is still just the nervous, nail-biting, people-pleasing tender young girl she used to be. She's giving into the Stockholm to feel less lonely and return to the old warmth of her childhood companion that she used to know.

p.s. Alicent definitely chose to do all of this to her, to be a part of why Rhaenyra is currently in a cage, but that's the complex nature of the situation I suppose.

[ladyhindsight]

We are half-way through the book, and it feels like going nowhere. Team Good is trying to find a way to help Jace, sure, while doing some side quests. Sebastian and Jace are progressing with their own plan as well, and Clary just hangs along not really actively trying to find out anything but to build rapport with Sebastian and make out with Jace. It all seems so aimless at the moment.

Chapter opens up with Alec returning to Magnus’ place after the meet-up with Camille.

A way to make your character to look more dumb than probably intended is to do this. Because what purpose does it serve how long does it take for Alec to realize this insignificant thing?

→ “but the living room was glowing with the blue-white flame coming from the pentagram.”

Alec goes to sleep next to Magnus who had different ideas than sleeping, and we cut to Simon and Isabelle having difficulties cuddling.

Astute observation. Also, it’s always childhood and nostalgia when Simon thinks of Clary. Isabelle will later in this book make a great point about this, but Simon never really gives up that aspect of Clary and his relationship to move forward and grow up, does he.

Just in the previous chapter I said that it’s such an outlandish take for any Shadowhunter to be inclined to think like this. Obviously individual opinions exist and not everyone necessarily likes them, but the fact that it’s one cause of the whole point that makes them Nephilim in the first place, it’s ridiculous that the scars are made such a point of beauty/ugliness in this book.

More so is the opinion that Isabelle presents here, that girls aren’t supposed to be covered in scars. Who thinks that? Where does he get that? What is the influence behind this idea that girls specifically are supposed to be unscarred? Warrior women and daughters of Raziel aren’t supposed to be scarred when they too use runes?

This is so idiotic and more a mundane issue, which for all the superiority the Nephilim feel towards them should make them think it all stupid.

Simon is also hungry and Isabelle tries to seduce him to drink from her. Simon resist but Isabelle is insistent, from which we could draw some parallel points that no means no, but:

This is unintentionally hilarious.

Simon is worried that he drank too much.

I’m going to need some peer-reviewed studies on this. Sure, blood volume as in plasma is replaced and can be replaced quickly, which means even quicker for the Shadowhunters. But even with Shadowhunters and they hyper blood, hemoglobin will take weeks, so does it really help if you’re going to be anemic? No.

Cut to Jace and Clary, and Clary is surprised that Sebastian told her the truth, that he didn’t feed the human girl to the vampire girl.

The writing does it utmost to teeter the edge of maybe we can trust Sebastian and give him a chance, but it doesn’t really work when you have child murder on your tally. Doesn’t need feverish mulling-over when you've witnessed firsthand and secondhand the evil Sebastian is capable of. Clary is neither that worried about the human girl Sebastian dragged along, she just wonders whether Sebastian lied about her fate and is to be trusted.

I don’t know where the jeans appeared because it was told in the chapter 8 that: “The drawers held camisoles and underwear, tops in cotton and silk, skirts but no jeans or pants.” And this is the only wardrobe that Clary utilizes in the moving house of Sebastian. Though obviously Sebastian or Jace could’ve gone and bought her some.

They truly know each other so well.

I'm just taking a dig, they don't have to know or can't know each little thing about each other, but it's funny because otherwise the writing really likes to tell you just that.

Again, the em dashes function like a comma, a colon, or parenthesis. Like commas and parentheses, em dashes set off extra information, and here they are intended as a colon but used like parenthesis. Without the em dashes the sentence here in the excerpt would go like this:

She looked away from him and busied herself putting together a breakfast plate from what was on the table, the chewy, round kind.

→ and sliced bacon that was the chewy, round kind.

Or something.

Much like me with all of Clare's writing. Why, why, why...

The motion he is doing is still running, not floating.

→ making it look like he was running in the air.

Clary doesn’t know Jace can cook eggs, and Jace doesn’t know Clary doesn’t like eggs. Also Clary doesn’t know how to tell Jace she doesn’t like eggs.

Imagine not being able to voice your dislikes because the other one might get disappointed. Imagine just answering Jace’s question: “Neither, I don’t like eggs.” But no, we needed a stupid segue to relationship wisdom from Sebastian, since Clare doesn’t realize that even these tiniest of things and inconsistencies eat away the actual consistency of her narrative she sometimes manages.

Why does he need to strip at all?

Oh, right. For another character-defining moment.

There will be another point also in the book that refers to this same point. Why does it matter where to rune is placed? Because the series has barely told us anything about the workings of runes, it has barely made any sense with the use of them.

You can infer that it matters where the rune is placed. But what runes work best and placed where? Maybe this is not necessary knowledge for the story to work, and maybe I'm just too pendantic about it, but since it is made a point that each rune is placed on a specific place here, I'd personally like to know why those places exactly.

Maryse then gets her one and only PoV.

Jem is so insistent on separating Jace as Herondale that it isn’t even subtle. “Your son” would suffice. (he does say that after though)

Case in point. Also there is no consistency as to what names the Silent Brothers even use.

I just love this exchange because Maryse tells Jem what’s what! And yes, Jem, you did, with your obsession of Jace's Herondale-ness.

YES, HE WAS. And the mentality like you are the reason he did not get to be! Also, what does this even meeeeean???

Cut back to Team Evil. They are on a mission to do something, after hanging around the town for ages, but Clary doesn’t know what they are after. (A chunk of adamas)

This book just loves “subtly” incorporating the incest theme. The sibling love theme just continues and continues, and I am tired and sickened at the “subtlety” under which Clare thinks she operates, though I get why Sebastian phrases it like this.

Why was it so difficult to leave Jace and Clary to wait outside somewhere? Because plot couldn’t happen.

Truly the peak of Jace’s training.

We end the chapter with this cliffhanger but no worries, Clary will experience her warrior awakening in the next chapter, which was actually kind of nice. All the other stuff in this chapter, not so much, which is not a good fanfare for what is coming next.

[anulithots]

Okay, So I finished reading 'They Both Die at the End'

Spoiler warning I guess? The book doesn't have that many spoilers, per se, because it 'spoils' the end of the book, and I actually love it when books spoil themselves, because I will read for hours for the promise of something and the suspense to get there.

And this is one of those books that I stop and look off to the side for a few seconds while reading. Where I think I'm not affected by what is going on as my insides turn to static mush and I don't realize until later while I'm walking around outside while pondering and processing it.

Because - well, for a few reasons - it didn't have the most poetic prose, and I mean that as a compliment. Going into it I expected poetic musings about what it means to live, the sort of thing where the meanings are hidden under layers of subtext as they go on for paragraphs about metaphors, which is a style I tend to like.

But this book? It's simple at to-the-point. It summarizes and describes feelings with words and concepts but... as they are: simply. And - while I am not saying one style is better than the other, and I probably should get rid of my misbelief that not all writing has to be metaphorical and flowery to be impactful, even if that is what I prefer for my own writing - the fact that it is told simply, with the characters repeating phrases and ideas over and over again with new light and switching to second person and... just stating the fact that they are dying, they don't like it, and they wish they had more time - I think that is pretty special, to have a book where that is stated simply, as it is.

Also, the thing where Mateo can't leave his apartment to live his life even though the clock is dwindling is so painfully relatable. Somewhere child-thoughts me believe that the end of my childhood is the end of my 'good life' in a sense, I can't waste it, even though would often do so because of executive dysfunction and berate myself for it later. So the idea of regretting all the have-nots, definitely spoke to the remnants of... I want to say '13-14-ish me'.

And I want to talk about what I found most special here, more so than any prose style or character dynamics (although they were all amazingly, painfully, wholesome), is that the point of the book is to enjoy your life while you have it, to live each day like it's a lifetime, which the book says that Mateo and Rufus did.

And yet, they did it with mundane things.

For me - being that child that needed to live everything in one day otherwise it was wasted - (Even though my best is 'one or two' special things if I'm on a hyperfixation, and I can't control when that happens) to see that the idea of 'living your life' was full of walking around and talking and exploring without any particular goal and taking naps when needed and being okay with a 'waste of time' and none of it being the grand things people associate with a 'life without regrets', that means so so much.

Like, I can sleep for longer because I'm a night owl and I need it, I can walk around and ponder for a bit without needing to do anything productive (which they don't do anything very 'productive'. Why would you if it was your last day? And yet, so many people - when saying to live without regrets - say to do something productive. That's not a bad thing, but the others said that was the only thing that would get me to live without regrets, living in the future or trying to hard to live in the present.)

I can have conversations with my siblings or do little activities with them or spend time with my plants, or even spend some time online. They spend some time online! On their last day! And it's completely okay!

And the way they died was so so heartbreaking, because even though you knew they would die at the end, you never thought it would be like THAT.

[jellybeanium124]

actually you know what the more I think about that taika cameo in that shitty simpsons episode the more pissed I get. because taika and the simpsons could be so fucking good. like, early simpsons, and I mean early early, like s1-3, and taika waititi movies are like, in the same family. super early simpsons have this sort of slowness to it, this reality, this mundanity. the family struggles financially compared to the inexplicably financially comfortable simpsons of today. there's a lot more focus on childhood stories. "lisa's substitute" could be a taika waititi movie. so could "moaning lisa." "three men and a comic book," even.

and lisa? lisa would be the ideal taika protagonist. not the pop-culture-worshipping holier-than-thou-ing, zombified little-miss-know-it-all of the HD era, the real lisa simpson. this 8 year old girl who's sensitive and smart, but still a child. her father's a drunk and her mother, a kind, beautiful soul, and brilliant painter, had all her hopes and dreams crushed and remolded into homemaking and child-raising.

give! me! a! simpsons! episode! where! lisa has to come to terms with the real world at the tender age of 8!!!!

I mean like, I understand that they probably can't just let taika guest write an episode of the simpsons. or direct. directing an animated project is going to be super different from directing a life-action one anyways, who knows if he'd want to.

but the simpsons has done clever and thoughtful homages before, even recently with "barthood" (released 2015, fuck that's 9 years ago). they could've done an homage. they could've parodied his style. they could've made something thoughtful. homer and lisa stories have been some of the most touching stories on the show. or, they could've just focused on the kids and done a bart and lisa story.

but they didn't do any of that. they didn't write anything thoughtful, or creative, or even good. they wrote drivel, and racist drivel at that, with two jokes around the asian-caricature character kumiko that were genuinely painful to sit through (and this show has a history of being racist towards asian characters).

they wrote taika as a hyperactive egomaniac with no attention span and gave him 0 direction. his performance in this episode is undoubtably the worst acting performance I've ever seen from him. and like, you know, not all actors are cut out to voice act, but I don't think that's the problem here. I think the problem here is that taika read a shitty script, and it was season 35 of the simpsons so who gives a flying fuck, and he read the lines because this was a paycheck. why bother giving this project effort if nobody else was putting any effort into it either? why bother giving this project effort when they write you as the worst version of yourself, a persona that probably gives you a sense of comfort and control when you're choosing to do it, but probably doesn't feel that great when writers who don't know or care about you write it for you.

and, to be clear, I don't mind that he's the villain of the episode, or even that he wasn't written exactly as himself. like, of course it should be a persona of him on the simpsons. all celebs get a simpsons persona when they guest star as themselves. I think I just hate the fact that it's pushing a narrative that he's a shitty guy that's similar enough to his real life persona at a time where people are violently attacking him for no damn good reason. and the fact that it's poorly written with no love or care for anything. not taika, not the simpsons, not tv, not art, not anything.

[vitaeplaysda]

Hullo! 👀

🍧 for Abigail, 🙈 for Elinan, 👑 for Enfenim, 🌈 for Kali

and 📎 for as many as you'd like!

(skip any you don't like, of course!)

[Link to the prompts]

🍧 for Abigail

🍧 SHAVED ICE - do they still have any objects from their childhood? what significance does it have to them? what would their reaction be if they lost it?

They once found an old key on the road while playing outside. It was made of iron with some nice decorations, but simple enough to be used for a closet or chest, there was nothing special about it. But they would make up impossible stories together with their siblings and in their young mind such a key was meant to open magical doors leading to other realms or maybe treasure rooms.

They kept it tied around their neck for many years, considering it one of their most precious possessions.

Now it's kept among their things, but they still have it, yes. It's a memento of better days able to bring a smile to their face.

But in the end Abigail is one to live in the moment, and if they were to lose the key, they wouldn't think much of it. After all it became such a treasure because somebody lost it to begin with. Maybe it's the key's fate to be lost again.

🙈 for Elinan

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

Weakness. They don't want others to see they're tired, worried or perturbed. Half of it it's her people pleasing nature, the other came to be with becoming the Inquisitor and taking lessons about the Game from Josephine and Leliana. While the thing is a bit frivolous in Orlais, it's still very useful when you've got to lead a big organization against the world. Even when Solas dumped her, she remained calm and amiable to his dismay, still offering her support even when she was the victim.

She has her limits though, and when she's burned out or overwhelmed, she usually tries her best to hide in her quarters or by going on solo missions. Her favorite remedy is just to wander pretty places to gather materials and herbs, that's something very useful to leave behind the stress. Baking also helps.

The only ones she can't hide from are the spirits like Cole or Enfenim.

👑 for Enfenim

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

It's not something he cares much about as they had little sense of self for many years, as a demon he was the embodiment of the very fears and traumas which corrupted him. But as he regained his memories I guess he would like to be remembered as the thing he failed to be: a good protector. A good friend. Someone you can rely upon. As why, probably it would help him mend his spiritual wounds even more, gaining more control, memories and identity.

🌈 for Kali

🌈 RAINBOW - what advice would they give to their younger self?

Kali is someone who knows regrets are never useful and whenever you decide to take a move, you should accept any kind of result, for better or worse. Which means she hardly has much to suggest to a past version of herself like 'you should have done something in a different way' or 'fall in love before it's too late', after all such possible choices could have led her to a darker fate. Maybe she would remind herself that spending some quality time with her sister wouldn't have hurt, considering working for her wellbeing ended up not letting the two see each other for long periods of time.

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

📎Elinan: She's a master at braiding hair, in her clan everyone would always ask her, many offering their heads to let her try out new techniques. She tried to keep up the role during her time as Inquisitor but somehow she felt like people didn't approve of such a figure doing such mundane things openly. Solas being bald was a tragedy for her arts. Enfenim ending up having a lot of long and beautiful hair once he fully took the appearance of an elf JUST RIGHT AFTER she lost her left forearm didn't help. In the end she taught him all she knew. Same with little Rook. They both now are their successors as braid masters.

📎 Enfenim: Having floated while having five legs for most of his existence, he didn't expect he had to learn how to walk again once he decided to drop the extra three and move like a mortal. He was successful in the end, Elinan helped. People felt less scared of him. And wielding a sword felt more natural. It was a good choice

📎 Abigail: They love to point out as a joke that their Mohawk hairstyle is a way to not forget their surname is in fact Hawke.

📎 Kali: She's very good at baking cookies. That's secretly how she won Sten over. They're also real helpful to raise the Wardens's morale.

[jules-and-rue-and-lexi-too]

So there's this post about the new Peter Pan and Wendy movie bemoaning the creative bankruptcy of the movie because of the reason for Tinkerbell not glowing. I can't exactly blame Tumblr for this line of thinking, given most Disney live action remakes are creatively bankrupt, plus the fact the movie wasn't actually out yet. I'd probably also have implicitly agreed with the post and moved on if it were about the new Pinocchio or Little Mermaid or something.

Peter Pan and Wendy is out now though, and I really liked it, which compelled me enough to check up on the context of that quote. And while it's not so different from what the tweet describes, I do think there's some nuance that deserves sharing.

Here's the full quote from SFX:

To me, this doesn't read like somebody who removed this particular aspect of Tinkerbell's visuals out of a completely shallow attempt at realism. Not only was it simply what was arrived at as the most fitting look for her, it doesn't even seem like removing the glow was much of a conscious choice. "That's something that never even occurred to me" doesn't make it sound like something he's taken a super hard stance against, as many seem to interpret it.

I also want to defend the decision as it relates to how this movie looks, both in terms of the movie's themes and just the cinematography in general. David Lowery, the director of the wonderful The Green Knight and the other-apparently-not-terrible-disney-remake Pete's Dragon, has not only done this purposefully, but it's his entire style. Green Knight and A Ghost Story are both acclaimed movies that deal with supernatural and mystical elements, but forgo effects and dramaticism in favour of a more low-key, spare and picturesque visual style. This isn't some $200m movie that Disney has filled to the brim with CGI garbage, as seems to be the case with Little Mermaid, and this isn't Cruella shooting scenes on green screens with flat lighting for no reason; this is a director with a purposeful style achieving such with real locations and practical sets and costumes. And while Peter Pan and Wendy's visuals aren't mindblowing or anything, I do think it manages to look quite nice at times.

Critical to all this, I want to emphasise that Lowery choosing to do a Peter Pan movie with a sense of realism is not merely some outdated idea that realism = more mature or something. It is an active component of the movie's themes. Neverland looks and feels like a random island out in the middle of nowhere because that's what it is in this movie. It is not the perfect paradise of fun and adventure that Peter makes it out to be, and Wendy recognizing this is a part of the movie's core message: that one shouldn't be afraid to grow up, because there is beauty and happiness to be found even in the mundanity of real life, not just in the fantastical ideas of childhood whimsy. Does Neverland seem so much less whimsical than that of the 2004 movie version? Sure. But that doesn't mean it isn't also beautiful. And that's how she realizes she doesn't need Neverland to be happy, that she doesn't need to run away, she can find purpose and happiness in the challenges and joys that growing up will put before her.

Tying back to Tinkerbell, all of this is to say that perhaps the toning down of her magical elements wasn't totally without nuanced thought. Maybe it could have worked, maybe it couldn't, I'm not the director and didn't see what they tried. But given how well I think this movie balances its realistic tone and its magical elements (it's not a complete rejection of anything magical; the fairy might not casually glow, but she is still blowing magic fairy dust on kids to make them fly from happy thoughts) I'm inclined to take him on his word that he knew what he was doing. Maybe trails of sparkling fairy light everywhere she went did come off a little too whimsical for how he wanted Neverland to appear. You may not personally enjoy that take, but I do think it's one born of creative intent, and it's one I like a lot. And isn't movies daring to take a stance over appealing to the widest possible common denominator something we've been yearning for?

I implore people, if you think you might be interested in this movie, go watch it. Pirate it, if you have to. It's a legitimately good movie that's being screwed over by a complete lack of marketing from Disney and internet chuds reviewbombing every online score because they're still mad about a black Tinkerbell. Trust me, even if the movie isn't setting the world on fire, it deserves better than that. Especially when Little Mermaid is gonna make ten bajillion dollars in a month.

[searchingfortheuniverse]

Miscellaneous Tag Game (pt. ii)

Tysm for tagging me @onehelluvamarine xxx

A band you don’t like that many others do: Uhhh I can't think of anything at the moment. I'm positive there is one but I cannot for the life of me think of one right now

A childhood memory that you remember vividly: So when I was. I want to say like 5? We went on a big family holiday to France and we stayed in this holiday home on a farm, and instead of getting a bedroom I actually slept on this little bed on a semi-landing thing, and I remember being in that bed and falling asleep with the rest of my family still chatting downstairs

Least favorite animal and why: The only thing coming to mind is spiders. Not little ones, they're fine, and not tarantulas either. But big house spiders. Because I have encountered them in too many places they Should Not Be

Hot fandom take: Umm idek. I guess maybe that crossover pairings need to stop being automatically considered crackships? Like, unless you're hitting me with that Impala/TARDIS shit or something, it might just be a regular old crossover rarepair ship imho

Do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece: I basically always have a necklace and a ring on, and I love them both but the necklace is definitely my favourite. It's Thor's hammer, and it was a Christmas present

A movie others liked but you didn’t: The Dark Knight. Excellent performances but I just didn't really vibe with the Nolan Batman movies even though I really wanted to because I watched them at the height of my DC phase

Three things you love about yourself: My humour (I'm a pun master to the extent that some of my colleagues still bring up a joke I made when I started about 6 months ago), my hair, and the way I taught myself to paint my own nails and now they basically always look cool and interesting

A place you hope to visit in the future and why: As just a holiday: Crete because it's got some fascinating history. As a place specifically to visit people: if you're reading this and you know, you know >:)

An actor that gets on your nerves and why: If I ever meet Kevin Bacon it is ON SIGHT. I've never seen him in anything but X-Men but he's been in EE ads for so long he's driven me up the wall and I can't look at him any more

Things you’re excited for in the nearby future? I have a week off next week! Thank GOD

Least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in: I've said it on this blog before so I'm hoping I'm not going to get mobbed for it but. Sledgefu. As I've said before I get it but I Do Not Vibe. Glad y'all are having a good time though!

What’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in? I can't name it because it's tiny and this'll end up somewhere they'll find it. They were entitled and had a whole superiority complex going on. Last I heard they were STILL hung up on something that happened three years ago where they had beef with someone from another related fandom which blew up into a whole thing

List three things you find beautiful about life: My family, I'm so so lucky to have them and they're always so supportive. My friends, and the fact that I can have good friends who are so important in my life when they're so far away from me. And creating things generally, whether I'm doing it or someone else is, and making something that means something in some way

Any dreams for the future? Current, very mundane dream is to get a job that, even if it's not my biggest passion and I love doing it all the time, doesn't make me dread going in every day

How are you really feeling today? Uhh. Worn out. Kinda ill in a very general way. Seasonal depression is kicking my ass. But I managed to do a couple of important chores today so feeling good about that!

Tags: if you feel like it, then @bruin-coll, @noodleblade, @thesunlikehoney, @paperbrds, @hopefulsapphic and @sumquiasum!

[russellsppttemplates]

Ohh if you only knew how many times I come back to your blog to re-read a lot of your writing. It's a comfort thing for me, really, so I'm gonna second that other annon and just thank you for writing it all.

I honestly find it really nice that all your pieces can be connected, even the smaller ones. Maybe one or two don't fit in it, but my mind decided to just enjoy the writing and ignore the fact that they don't fit on the plot😅

The Charles-Reader-Pierre trio is my favourite! And for me they were aways her protectors and friends, so they share a lot of memories and an intimacy only childhood friends can! Like the boys know how to sooth her and calm her down the same level they can annoy her and piss her off ever since they're little nuggets.

And the fact that Pierre's gf was her friend first is just the icing on the cake!

I can't say I relate to a neurodivergent!reader on a personal level, but I think it's just awesome to have her as a "main character " and love interest to Charles. I love to read it.

The russellsppttemplates-universe is a thing in my head,let me tell you.

P.S.:Don't worry, I got what you said it wasn't a mess at all!

Oh, this is so nice to read, thank you so much! ✨️🤍🥹 I have been feeling very shitty and this brightened up my day, truly ✨️

It warms my heart that I can do something that you enjoy and brings you comfort, even if they sometimes go a bit mixed up 😅

I tend to like to write about mundane day to day things because that's the life I know (I think nearly all my posts have a reader where she is either a student or has a "regular" 9-5 job and it sort of has its reason I guess), and those little bits help me distract myself too so I'm happy to do it, it's a shame I can't do it more often these days (and I'm afraid that until July or something like that, this will be the reality of it)

I think someone sent in the idea for them to be this trio since forever and it just made sense, by now reader knows to not take anything seriously with them but knows that they'll be there for her in a heartbeat whenever she needs it (the "I will give you my kidney if you need it but will make you get up to go and get your glass of water" type of thing), and then when you had the whole Pierre's girlfriend and them knowing eachother, yes, very much enjoy it!

Again, thank you for taking the time to send this in, it means a lot ✨️🤍💫

[soporis]

I'm just so exasperated that I continue to be held hostage by something so inconsequential - I know that it has tendrils extending back into childhood, where experiences are stronger, and that not experiencing it for so long increases terror through unfamiliarity, but on paper it's just so ridiculous that at times I almost can't believe that it is utterly derailing my life. And sometimes I can grab a hold of this feeling and say "I choose not to care anymore. I consciously now will continue to live as I used to and if it happens it happens, I choose to disregard it"

But then lo and behold I feel a little warm one morning, a little cramped due to overnight hunger, and my entire morning is thrown in disarray because I am too filled with fear to focus on anything else. I even tried to power through - made pancakes, got in the bath - but had to stop and sit with my healing frequency and wordgames until I convinced that I will not, in fact, be sick. Not that I will be fine if I am sick, but that I won't be at all.

And that's the line I need to drill into me - that even if this (again, entirely normal, routine, and most times harmless) worst case scenario does occur to me, I will be just fine before, after, and even during. And I see no way of really learning that until it truly does happen, but then the thought of that is of course horrifying, so I don't want it to either.

And like, maybe I will just be kind of Like This forever. It's not like I haven't been feeling moments of happiness this last year and a bit - I've even become more grateful for a lot of things I took for granted and come to value all of my relationships so much more - but that does mean adjusting my expectations of my life to be something much more mundane and frankly smaller than I would otherwise be happy with. It needs to become less beautiful on the surface, which a few months ago wasn't a sacrifice I would have been willing to make, and am unsure if it's one I truly want to make now or if I am just settling for it to avoid having to work hard at this anymore.

I'm going to be complacent for today, to do what I am capable of and continue to feel happy in the sun with my warm beverage and my music, and then maybe tomorrow I re-evaluate the state of things and I try hard again. Maybe tomorrow I am somehow miraculously freed from these neural pathways and I don't need to re-evaluate at all. I will focus on doing the things that need to get done in the next 24,48,72 hours, and the rest of it can wait and be decided upon when it becomes the thing to be done in 24,48,72 hours.

[thelittlepalmtree]

I think what I've learned coming out of an abusive family, dating, and finding a healthy relationship is that people really don't discuss the key feature of abuse and that is that it is a pattern.

I have found a LOT of abuse survivors' content to be very healing and very affirmative. But the problem is, as a survivor you kind of fixate on the moments where it hit for you that you were in an unhealthy situation. I think a lot of us have that "aha" moment when the abuser says something that feels just so completely wrong. And it's probably worsened by the fact that abusers generally don't take accountability for their actions.

The thing is though, that moment hit you wrong because it was in the context of this abusive relationship. For example I am really uncomfortable with some of the "dad jokes" my dad made. Like when I was a kid he told me that if I ate the seed of the watermelon I'd have a watermelon grow inside me. That's a typical dad joke, but in the context of my childhood, where he frequently teased me and my brother to the point of tears, constantly nitpicked at my eating habits, and constantly told my my body was disgusting or unsanitary, that moment feels traumatic for me.

I think it is very normal for a person to be sensitive to feedback, to struggle to immediately take accountability, or to struggle to make space for their partner ESPECIALLY in a new relationship and especially if one of more partner has trauma. The difference is, in a healthy relationship partners take accountability for their actions and the mistakes they make are not constantly repeated. A lot of times online you'll see people dissect pretty mundane language and say "here's why this is abusive". And yes, some responses can absolutely be red flags, but it is not that specific phrase, response, action that caused the abuse. It is the entire picture of the relationship, it is the entire pattern. That is why abuse is often so hard to recognize, address, and explain. Because it is not one moment in a relationship, it is truly the entire relationship. And as survivors we often point to specific moments, specific language used to try and explain the experience.

Now that I have a girlfriend (and it hasn't been long so this is by no means my declaration of being a relationship expert) I realized that I became so afraid of red flags that I stopped racing. The thing is, all of us are going to have red and green flags, even abusers and even your perfect partner. And when conflict is triggering, it can veer into unhealthy territory. I really had to learn that feeling unsafe is not the same as being unsafe. I had to learn that there is not one thing that is totally off limits for a person to say or do that will automatically mean the relationship should end. And there is a place where a relationship may not be what I want, but it's not abusive. You can be treated badly and it can be very frustrating, difficult, and uncomfortable, but it is not the same as abuse. You can also be in a relationship that feels good a lot of the time but is still unhealthy and even abusive.

Unfortunately, there are no simple answers. As a survivor I cannot give you a list of things to do to avoid abuse. I can explain my experiences, I can dissect what happened to me, but I can't tell you that "if they say ___ that means you should leave". Because I find it just as damaging to choose isolation rather than risk intimacy with another person. The reductive takes you see online are not really going to help. They can encourage people to embrace victimization when it's not appropriate and they allow actual abusers to better manipulate the narrative.

[shiftingdaemons]

Settling- in this universe a daemon's form represents their mindset. A child can adopt any mental position but as they grow some become more comfortable and frequently used than others. What form goes with what mindset is up to that person's subconscious and what they feel and believe about that animal. A daemon can become any animal that person believes is real, depending on if that person is in a mindset they feel corresponds to that animal subconsciously. The way what animal represents what mindset is decided varies between people, depending on what they feel more strongly, most common are scientific facts and/or public perception and symbolism of that animal.

Person- human and daemon together. They are two halves of a whole, vaguely analogous to conscious and subconscious in people in real life, just stretched a bit.

Animal Symbolism- a higher emphasis is placed on animal behavior and symbolism in this universe than in ours. Students study animal behavior for years in Pre-K and beyond and symbolism is taught at home for most of childhood. Views on daemon shapes are cultural more than individual and, as such, judging a person from the shape of their daemon is more accurate than one might think, so long as you think of it as their current mindset rather than their permanent personality if you don't know them well.

Scenarios- A person tends to take different mindsets in different scenarios. I'm different at home than I am at College or out shopping, etc. Daemons tend to settle as 3-5 common forms with the ability to take other shapes in more uncommon mindsets.

Touch Telepathy- touch between a human and a daemon that aren't the same person causes empathetic touch telepathy, the intent behind the touch leaks over. It can be pleasurable or painful depending on the intent, or mundane if it's an accident. It's like touching someone's butt: good if they want you to, bad if they don't, normal if it's not on purpose (like on a crowded bus). The reaction to the touch also leaks through the physical connection. For this reason bad touch is uncommon, since the perpetrator can feel the victim's distress as if it were their own.

Setting- modern day, mostly the same as our world but with accomodations for daemons. No witches or armored bears.

Politeness:

Do your best to avoid touching daemons that are not your own. It's ok if you fail, as long as you try.

When you're in a public place, try to be in a mindset that produces a small daemon, the smaller the better. If you have a horse on the subway you won't be arrested or anything but you Are being an asshole.

Humans talk to humans and daemons talk to daemons. Talking human to daemon is considered intimate and is usually only done if people are close. ie: romantic partners, parents and children, best friends who've known each other for years. This can be subverted if one half of the human daemon pair is mute or otherwise can't speak with mouth words but most people will still be uncomfortable.

If a child's daemon is a mythical creature, that's fine. You don't tell them it's not real. If an adult's daemon is a mythical creature most people assume there's something wrong with that person. If nothing else it means they believe that creature is a real animal, which is embarrassing for them.

Fiction- fiction handles daemons in a variety of ways, mostly depending on the complexity of it's characters. If the characters are mostly one dimensional (like the commedia dell'arte or Friends) or if they are more allegorical (Hetalia) authors will often pick only one form. If the characters are supposed to be especially complex authors usually pick upwards of the usual 3-5 forms. Most shows lie in the middle with 1-3 forms. Fan content often involves expanding the roster of forms for a favorite character.

I'll add more as I think of it

[amaya-writes]

hihi, this is a weird request bc all characters have different preferences but i was wondering if you could make a hc of what type of s/o the death note characters want? 😊 if that hasn’t already been requested

Notes: I got 2 reqs like this which i think is very cute

Warnings: n/a just fluff

Characters involved: L, Light, Mello, Near

Gender-neutral reader, you/yours

L

L would be into someone who is independent.

He's always busy and working on new cases which is why he needs a partner who is able to take care of themselves, someone who can understand how he can't be around all the time.

He finds extroverted people quite interesting, and would probably be more inclined toward someone who is openly kind and understanding.

Someone who can initiate conversations and even affection since L can be awkward around people.

He also thinks the fact that other people seem to be pretty comfortable around this type of person is intriguing, which is why he probably tries to see if your kindness is an act.

Once he knows for sure that you aren't pretending or anything, L gets comfortable around you easily, seeking out that warmth and kindness you so easily give to others.

Light

Light is attracted to intellectual people.

On one hand, this is because he's smart and wants someone like him, but on the other, he just wants someone who can easily keep up with him. Someone he doesn't need to fill in all the time.

Someone who can easily assist him but can also be fun to play with.

To others you might be a very smart person, however, you're not nearly at L and Light's level, which is perfect for him.

It means you can hold your own but you are in no position to threaten or one-up him.

Light probably meets you at school or college and initially thinks nothing of you, categorizing you as one of the many people who he can use in the future.

However, it's only when he realises you somehow have no interest in him whatsoever (whether it be platonic, romantic or just curiosity), that Light finally gets interested in you.

He likes the idea of a chase and is more than happy to make you see what you've been missing out on.

He didn't expect to fall for you, but once he does, Light is quick to make you his.

Mello

Mello is into the more homely type of people. The kind who wear warm sweaters and like hugging people, the kind who makes you smile just because they're beside you.

People would think he would be attracted to someone like him, someone who's kind of badass, but after a childhood of neglect and an adulthood of violence, Mello is drawn to your calm, homely nature.

You remind him that there are good parts of the world, parts that he just didn't get to see, parts that he wants to explore with you.

Whether it be soft relationship moments or mundane everyday things that Mello had never experienced before.

He also likes how after a day of work at the mafia he can come back to you, sometimes even littered with wounds, and you will always accept him with open arms.

Mello appreciates the tinge of normalcy you bring to his life, and thinks that just being around you makes him happy.

He's a very Tsundere person though, so you might not realise how much you actually mean to him.

Near

Near is attracted to quiet people.

Unlike L who seeks out someone who is the opposite of him, Near finds comfort in being around someone similar to him, someone who makes it easier to talk to them.

He thinks it's their similarities that allows him to open up more without the fear of saying too much or too little, of being weird.

Near met you during one of the rare times he decided to take some time off of work and go about the city.

You weren't anything special, in fact, you blended in so seamlessly at first he didn't even spare you a second glance. It was only when you looked up at the sound of a new person entering the cafe that Near turned towards you.

He had obviously noticed your presence when he entered, but he hadn't bothered to pay attention to you until then.

It takes weeks of the two of you going to the same cafe before he bothers looking into you, for intel of course, and decides that you're perfectly ordinary and thus are in no way a spy or threat.

Near finds himself talking to you a while after that.

You're the first one to approach him and start the conversation, but as time passes Near finds himself taking daily breaks off of work to meet you.

He thinks it's refreshing to talk to someone who isn't a criminal or figure of justice, and looks forward to your little talks.

Over time, Near allows your relationship to develop into something more.

[cumulohimbus]

(Mild) CW: emotional distress, self harm, medical issues. Sharing this though in case someone else deals with something similar.

So I thought I was just inherently an asshole because I get (sometimes uncontrollably) angry when I'm around folks talking about medical stuff, especially when it comes up A LOT and they need to go to the doctor multiple times for things.

I've tried researching it before because I thought it was something fundamentally wrong/bad about me, or a symptom of some sort of mental health disorder because I don't like that I get those thoughts and feelings (for context, I've had to leave situations where someone had an injury before because it made me so angry, I'd go on a walk and type absolute vitriolic things about the situation in my phone notepad just to get them out of my head). I've gotten so upset in some of these situations that I have harmed myself trying to calm down. I'm not normally like that at all; I can be easily annoyed or put off and I'm certainly clinically depressed, but I'm rarely angry.

I've experienced this specific anger from the time I was a child; my first recollection of it significantly impacting me was when I was 10 years old and it led to me fracturing a wrist. I've never been angry over life-threatening stuff, it's only just been the stuff that affected day-to-day activities but that would either heal completely or improve over time with the proper care.

My initial belief about the anger was that I wanted attention and care and was angry that another person was receiving what I didn't get enough of as a child. Then I thought maybe this reaction was due to childhood trauma when my own illnesses and/or injuries were mocked or complaints about my health just weren't believed to begin with. And sure these things both might still play some small part in it, I just knew I was missing something.

Now that I know I'm autistic though I think the answer is simultaneously more complex and also much, much more mundane. I think I've finally figured it out pretty solidly.

So apparently, it's actually pretty common (though not much talked about) to feel annoyed/upset/angry when someone close to you gets sick or hurt and especially when that person needs you to care for them in some way more than usual and/or can't take care of their usual responsibilities. It's disruptive to your schedule, it might be scary to you, and it might exacerbate the pain and/or exhaustion you already experience. And that's when it dawned on me: the abrupt interruption of routine coupled with anxiety about someone's wellbeing and anxiety about what more will be asked/expected of me when I'm already stretched thin and deal with chronic pain of my own - OH! I've been having meltdowns this entire time!

Mind fucking blown.

I mean...this doesn't change the fact that I will still have to deal with meltdowns when in situations that trigger them. That said, now I feel like I know pretty confidently what they are and I can start researching coping mechanisms so I am able to get through them without hurting myself.