#my favourite tragic old men

[biggest12fan]

WHAT IS THAT HAND DOING THERE DOCTOR? AND THE WAY THEY ACT SO COMFORTABLE AROUND EACH OTHER WHENEVER THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER?????? I'M GOING CRAZY

[sailboatdreamer]

Back to the Night We Met

Hello! I'm Arcadia (she/her) and this is my first fic <3 i loved the holdovers so much it actually drove me to writing especially because of the lack of Angus fics rn :) Ill definitely continue it if people are interested, i have a pretty good idea of where to take it, this is just setup.

-You are a female student from a sister school who has to board over at Barton for the holidays, Mary comes to pick you up, and you have a first impression of all the boys- 859 words - slight blood mention.-

Angus reminded me of many men i had known, in various ways, throughout my life. Cold at first, brash, defensive- but equally in need of a love that was not easily accessible.

The first time i had ever met Angus, it was Christmas of 1970. The corresponding sister-school to Barton, Ada’s School for Girls, had just let out all the girls for winter break, except of course myself, who was doomed to two weeks of almost complete solitude. My only recompense being the books in the library, and my carefully hidden ration of cigarettes given to me by a friend as a Christmas gift.

I’d assumed that my stay at Ada would be chaperoned by one of the sisters from the convent, as they lived on campus and were usually the go-to call for holdover students, however when it came time to say goodbye, an unfamiliar face was awaiting me outside the aching, old oak doors.

“Hello young lady, I believe you’re staying with us this time.” Boston accent.

A beautiful woman, with a soft spoken voice, stood up against a powder-blue Impala, cigarette between her fingers. I came to learn that this lady was Mary Lamb. She was a cook from Barton, who’d elected to stay over the holidays due to the untimely and tragic death of her young boy, Curtis, a student. In her words, she felt going home would’ve abandoned his memory during this time that meant so much to both of them. As she drove me to Barton she explained i’d be staying with the other male holdovers due to ‘administrative difficulties’ whatever that meant

Quickly sensing my discomfort with this idea she said “Listen, you let me know if those little shitheads give you a hard time okay? My quarters are just past the dorms, near the garden.” i nodded appreciatively, smiling at her choice of language. It was surprising to hear it from such a demure lady, but Mary’s streak of subtle rebellion ultimately made her one of my favourite people i ever got to know through my school years.

When we arrived to Barton, Mary directed me towards the infirmary, as it was the last room in the entire building that had any heating, as i approached the door there was a clear noise of a scuffle going on inside. I gently pressed the door open, beat-up suitcase in my hand, glasses pushed to my nose. Two of the older boys were hitting each-other wildly, although it really seemed more girlish than i assumed boys fought. The minute they saw me, they got up and hastily tried to straighten out their shirts.

“Who are you!? The fuck-a girl?” A blonde boy, blue eyes, very irritating.

A rally of small, meek, lower-year boys stood around the room, just watching. The other boy who i’d seen flinging punches on the blonde was seething, he had a little blood running down his cheek, and he didn’t really acknowledge me, he seemed too focused on whatever his next chance was to knock the blonde’s lights out.

“Hello…..” i wave shyly, putting my suitcase by a free bed.

”hi, hello,- um-hi” the room grumbles back at me.

The air in the room is thick, and tense. Worried, nervous glances are passed between myself and the rest of the room for what feels like endless minutes before someone breaks the silence. “Do…. do you need help with your bags.” a nervous mutter from the boy who’d previously not acknowledged my arrival. And i actually did. Some of my books i insisted on bringing, assuming i’d have a boring two weeks had been a weight on my luggage. “Yeah… yeah i’d appreciate that. Thank you.” He follows me out, leaving the other boys to debrief among themselves. As we wander down the long, aging halls, and the noise of the infirmary grows quieter, i try to break the tension. “so….I’m (y/n).. i go to Ada,and uh- our nuns, shacked up for the winter apparently so that’s why i’m here. I met Mary, she’s… she’s really sweet” As i speak he nods gently, listening before speaking. “I’m Angus. And that (he points back at the infirmary) was Teddy Koutnze. Resident dickhead. The other kids i don’t know so well, they’re first years but-… they’re not too bad.” It was my turn to listen this time, as we walk i study the features on his face. Strong, angular features and deep, brown eyes, nearly carvaggian. He helps me with my other bags, opting to take the heavier one for me kindly, but as he’s picking it up, i again notice the blood on the side of his face. Without a second thought, i reach out to touch it, as i would’ve for any of the girls back at Ada. “You’re bleeding….”

His hand immediately rushes to his cheek, and i notice as his cheeks flush red, i recognise my mistake and apologize hurriedly “Oh-sorry, i-uh…” i try to brush off the blood on my skirt, and i we struggle to meet eyes “its… its okay” He grumbles, not meeting my eyes, we both walk back awkwardly, i know my face is flushed and i internally curse myself for doing something so careless. We share in the silence and a little smeared blood on our fingertips.

[the-ghost-bracket]

The Captain propaganda:

"he's gay. he's sad. he's pathetic. he's silly goofy. he has autism swag. he's a theatre kid. he has a tragic backstory. he's my poor little meow meow. need i say more"

"autism, bad knees, gay. an old man appreciator's dream. his character development is unparalleled. he's adopted another ghost as his daughter. he likes musicals and birds and bugs and I love him."

"he’s been repressing his love for men to hell and back for the past 100 years but he’s so silly and he’s learning to get better at showing it. also he has a father-daughter-but-they’re-also-best-friends relationship with one of the other ghosts. also he talks to ants and i love him dearly"

"He was a soldier in world war two and still behaves like a drill sergeant in the afterlife, but he mellows out a lot during the show. He's also very gay but repressed considering the time period in which he lived. "

"a homosexual and an excellent friend. has a tragic backstory too"

"He's a WW2 soldier. He's gay and very silly. We have no idea what his name is. He thinks ""pillow talk"" is talking to a pillow. He runs and does stretches to get faster but it's established since he's a ghost he can not in fact get any faster."

"He's dead, he's a repressed homosexual from the '40s, he is oh so unbelievably silly but tries not to be, he says stuff like ""balderdash"" and ""good lord"", he met Kylie Minogue. He has really great character development throughout the show as a result of those around him (his found family!!). No but genuinely, in the beginning of the show he's actually really annoying (affectionate) and insistent that he remains in control of the house and its occupants, as he's 'commanding officer', much to the annoyance of literally everyone else, but even by the end of series 1 he's using his annoying schemes for good (for the good of the other ghosts that is - takes a little longer for it to be good for the actually alive people). He also really mellows out through in series 2 through 4, with him still being kind of annoying in s2, but this really changes in this season, due to a multitude of factors I will not be expanding on (the short of it is he had an argument with another ghost (they made up) and then saw some lesbians get married (woohoo!) and helped organise it to some extent. Skipping talking about him in series 3 even though it's my favourite (have to mention the fact that one of the ghosts who is his pseudo-daughter canonically sees him as her father in her flashbacks to life though). In series 4 his pseudo-daughter helps him to have fun without rigid routine, further demonstrating his development in that he actually lets himself have fun (symbolised here, I think, by him taking off his jacket and looking at bugs all day). He is my favourite character and therefore must win (/j).

(sorry for the slightly incoherent ramble, thanks for reading, excited for the poll!) "

"He thinks he's above the other ghosts' antics (he isn't) and he's autistic about the military but not in a red flag way. He's also gay and lives in a closet made of glass."

"The Captain is an amazing (maybe autistic) WWII Captain who is VERY gay"

[thethiefandtheairbender]

just a disclaimer: i’m queer and nonbinary (afab) as can be, so all of this is from a personally queer perspective? i also know that i don’t tend to really jive with ND stevenson’s work (she-ra didn’t quite work for me) either and if you loved the movie, great. i just gotta drop thoughts somewhere because well

they’re less than positive

like “nimona” wants to be a Queer movie so badly, but the entire humourous basis of the character herself is that she is 1) young looking (despite being immortal) and 2) appears to be AFAB and isn’t it funnily jarring when little girls want to be violent instead of cute and sweet? 

She doesn’t want to be a monster, but clearly genuinely enjoys destroying things (again: basis of the bulk of her character humour, and one of most defining character traits) with no regards to anyone who gets hurt or could get hurt in the process. 

also this is Entirely Personal preference but while the animation was stunning, the contrast in the medieval aesthetic and modern day technology just continually brought me out of the movie. which is too bad, because treasure planet and it’s 70/30 rule and aesthetic blend of old timey and big technology is one of my favourite things ever, but i think Nimona being 50/50 just... didn’t work for me. was also slightly disappointed that i figured out who the actual bad guy was before the queen’s death (and yet another movie with a black queen who Dies Instantly / a movie with literally queer men of colour being technical side characters to a white, allegorically queer main ‘female’ character). 

Ballister is a great protagonist, but due to his opposition of everything Nimona is personality and scheme wise, it feels like they’re almost running around in two separate stories. As well as like - he wanted to enjoy the Elite, Privileged, fighting force? An elite, privileged, entirely based on birthright system ruled by a Black queen before it was called into question, when it’s also a pretty clear allegory for the Police? The fact that this isn’t resolved - what’s going to happen to the Institute, is it going to be reformed or even better yet, disbanded (‘defunded’), is entirely left hanging as a plot thread, which doesn’t happen matters.

Halfway through the movie (specifically Nimona’s “or that sometimes I want to let them [kill me]”) is when I finally started to feel emotionally invested, but like two scenes later when Ambrosius’ stabbing was over dramatic rather than just letting the tone hold, I looked into the camera just... so incredibly unimpressed. The monopoly and shark dancing didn’t help.  

“She’s my friend.” “Aren’t I more than that?” so there were no aspec people in making this film. Got it. And Ballister’s heel face turn into calling Nimona a monster is also very quick, especially when his whole arc this movie is being unfairly demonized himself by the very same thing/people that are demonizing Nimona as well. The sheer harshness and length of the scene is also much longer and given time than him saving her, leaving that feeling kinda lopsided as well.

And Nimona’s issues I think are very evident in the fact the movie lets us see all the damage she’s causing at the end when she loses control, which is sad and tragic for her... but does not excuse or remove the real harm she’s bringing hundreds of other people. This is mitigated when she sacrifices herself to save the city, but given that her problem wasn’t necessarily selfishness so much as recklessness, and given that Ballister had literally just talked her down from suicide, it’s... Muddled to say the least.

And all of this ties back into the murky gender allegory of the movie. At its best, it’s very effective and very emotionally resonant (Nimona’s actual flashbacks and a couple of her conversations with Ballister. I can definitely see why people like it - hell, even I like it. “This monster is a threat to our entire way of life!” “What if we’re wrong?” kinda perfectly encapsulates were it falls flat to me, because queerness Is a threat to our current systems - capitalism, racism, cisheteropatriarchy founded on white gender essentialism. Queerness, particularly of gender, disrupts and should disrupt all those things; it’s a political identity just as much as personal one, both by choice and by societal circumstance.

TLDR; found the second half of the movie, overall, much stronger than the first, but with some bigger structural pitfalls. Animation was gorgeous, sense of humour didn’t overall work for me but that’s a personal thing, queer allegory was good but I would’ve liked some of the implications to be taken farther. I appreciate the movie for what it says about freedom of expression vs demonization by the upper class(es), and I think it’ll really resonant and be important to queer youth in their teens (a stage I am long past) figuring themselves and their place in an increasingly anti-trans political climate out, so I’m very glad it exists. It just wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, and wasn’t particularly up my alley. Which is kind of what I expected, but I am disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more as a nonbinary person who loves story deconstructions, fantasy, and animation

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Trey: *Trying to explain Riddle is that way because of his mom*

Me: Give me a minute as I pull up my ‘Trauma Doesn’t Excuse Sh*t Behavior’ PowerPoint.

Say it with me, everyone: an explanation is not an excuse 😊

You know, the other day I was watching one of Ryan George's Pitch Meetings and when Producer Guy asked Writer Guy how the audience would root for the villain of the franchise and the response was "he's handsome" which basically explains most people's reactions to fictional men.

Prepare for incoming rant that has little to do with the ask

This probably might come as a shock because one of the main appeal of twst would be the whole villainous aspect/Disney Villain fanbase but I don't really like villains that much, at least, not romantically. Like don't get me wrong, I think that they're incredible characters and it would be so fun to sit down with one and have a conversation with one. Villain songs are so fun (I was literally singing ‘This Day Aria’ to myself the other day I haven’t heard that song in like a decade) and you can tell that that characters like Scar or Hades or Shere Khan or Jafar or Maleficent are having so much fun being deliciously evil and even the more serious, complex ones like Loki or Frollo are fun to pick apart so yeah I understand the hype. I just always rooted for the heroes and I guess heroic characters have always been more my type.

My mother absolutely loves Erik Destler and is forever salty that Christine chose Raoul (despite my many many attempts at arguing why Raoulstine is the superior couple - smol primary school me could not understand why my mum liked the chandelier dropper and was deeply concerned), my best friend has been in love with Heathcliffe since we were eleven, and my little sister has literally told me that her type of fictional men are the toxic red flags (not exactly word for word but she did explain why she likes bad boys over good boys when I was complaining about how my type (wholesome soft boys) always get sidelined for the arrogant, snarky bad boys - we're also very diametrically opposed on our views of friends to lovers (my s++ tier all time favourite and her loathing) vs enemies to lovers (I can't really stand it - Pride and Prejudice is the only exception - and that's literally all she consumes) so that might also be a reason).

Like, I understand the appeal of a Byronic hero (Mr Darcy has far too much power) - a closed off, broody man that hates everything but you? And will burn down the world to keep you warm? I can respect that there are people who dig that. But their not really for me.

The mild bout of insanity thirteen year old me had where I spent two months attracted to Edward Rochester is an outlier and should not have been counted (though that was during my wattpad phase so...)

But I can admit that I have yet to shake off my feelings for Dr Henry Jekyll, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray (though to be fair, Mr Gabriel John Utterson the lawyer and cinnamon roll artist boy Basil Hallward do own my heart). And yes, Jeremy Jordan did make me question my morality as he did make my feelings for Light Yagami be too positive to be sane for a brief moment (Touta Matsuda is still my man, don't worry). But apart from them, literally all of my faves are what you'd call your traditional, morally upright heroes.

Basically what I'm saying is that my perception might be skewed because I've never had the whole 'villains are cooler' mindset when it came to stories. Yes, I love the villains as characters but I always liked their heroic foils more (goodness is just so attractive to me). You get lots of amazing heroic protagonists that have horribly tragic backstories and they're the ones I always fall for because the idea of being a kind sweetheart despite the world being anything but is just *chef's kiss* that's a kind of strength that's so swoon-worthy.

I guess that's why it's harder for me to look past the characters' actions in twst is because, well, they chose to do everything they did. They made a conscious choice to be terrible, despite understanding the consequences. Riddle may have been brainwashed into becoming a tyrant by his mother but he still admitted that he knew he was being horrible - he understands the concept of morality, of good and bad, and he willingly and deliberately did everything he did.

I suppose this text post I found on Pinterest would explain my point better:

[brasideios]

10 Characters/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Thank you for thinking of me my dears @krankittoeleven & @ainulindaelynn

Lemme see. This is long, sorry about that. I’m in a rambling mood. These are just the characters that came wandering into my noodle in no order - at least, that was intended.

1. Dorothea from Middlemarch (by George Eliot). She’s probably my fave character ever. I think in a mostly abstract way, she’s come nearest to mapping out how I perceive the feminine part of myself. She starts out so so idealistic - wanting to do something to change the world, to matter, but society has its own rules that eventually beats her down, but she’s so stoic, enduring, and self-denying, that her happy ending is earned… but then the epilogue is so melancholy so was it happy? and… I don’t know. There’s something in it all that I’ve never found a better version of.

2. My brain is on D names now lol so Daphnae from AC Odyssey. The more I think about her story, as little as we’re given of it, the more I find something tragic and fated in it, and then there’s the possibility of changing that fate, or embracing it. Something, something doomed by the narrative, unless…?

3. Demosthenes from my pdfs lol listen - ancient history RPF is a fandom (apparently) so this is valid. I have been down some serious rabbit holes with this man of late - I won’t even start on why or this will be an essay. I could also have put Thucydides in this position - but I’m on D names.

4. Daria. No seriously. I loved this show when I was a teen, and she’s honestly my spirit animal. It was my nickname because I was unfortunately very much like that. I adore her deadpan, acerbic remarks and many of them will live on in my brain forevermore. I wasn’t as witty btw - but the vibes were the same.

5. Hedwyn from the vg Pyre (woot! My brain releases me from the letter D!). I’ve played it several times now, and he’s my fave. Just a sweet guy - so sweet, you always want to free him first, but then you also very much wanna keep him with you - and sometimes I’ve been selfish enough to send everyone else instead. I also like Volfred a lot but that has everything up do with the VA 🙈

6. Alfie from Peaky Blinders. I have no excuses - the character is an unhinged maniac but Tom Hardy just brought something (a twinkling eye) to the role that makes him a very likeable, back-stabbing psychopath.

7. Caesar from HBO Rome. Ciaran Hinds has been a fave of mine since Persuasion - and I liked how he acted this part / how he was written. That’s all I’ll ever say about Caesar - character or historical figure. There are at least another half a dozen characters in this series I might’ve mentioned too. I must rewatch it one of these days.

8. Gannicus from Starz Spartacus. Dustin Clare is an old time favourite from waaaay back when I was persuaded to watch McLeod’s Daughters - really bingeable but quite trashy Aussie TV - sorry to any fans - but it really is. I so enjoyed his vibes and he brings all of that to Gannicus and it just works so well for the character. Pure cheekiness, and when he does this face 🥺 chefs kiss. Side note - I will pretty regularly say some variation of ‘my cock rages on’ about the most random stuff so - thanks to this character for that gem lol.

9. Johnny Spit from the movie Gettin Square. Yeah this is left field and I seriously doubt there’s a fandom for it - but what a character - quintessentially Australian deadbeat, (played by David Wenham). There’s a courtroom scene that kills me every time. I hope he got square, for good this time.

10. Kenny from Mad Men. I don’t even know how to explain it, I just want to protect him and he doesn’t even deserve it, and he wouldn’t have thanked me for it - maybe it was just the way everyone else was just an asshole about his writing. I want to know more about the short story about the egg. I could’ve picked almost any other character from this show though. They’re all so good/bad for their own reasons.

I made it! Haha! I have no idea who to tag - I think the only people who usually join in have already been tagged - so I’ll just add a few and call it ten. Sorry for any double ups.

No pressure at all - @nemo-of-house-frye @theinkandthesea @liminalspacecowboah @cyrus-the-younger @myriath

[redrascal1]

In Disney romance is dead.

My advice for anyone who loves a good romance - you won't find it in Disney.

They are known for making some of the most romantic animated films of all time - Beauty and The Beast (90s version) is a classic example.

But recently Disney have been pouring cold water on romance in their movies.

And, believe it or not, the rot began waaay back in 2010 with of all things Alice in Wonderland.

It was a delightful film. Most of all I loved the chemistry between Mian Wasikowska's 'old soul' Alice and Johnny Depp's charming but tormented Tarrant Hightopp (aka Hatter).

I was saddened when at the end she returned to 'real life' and to a life without romance, but heartened when they announced a sequel...only for Alice to once again leave Wonderland, this time for a reason I found appalling - to look after her mother, an unpleasant woman who showed little affection for Alice - and she also had another daughter she was much closer to.

Any reason to keep Alice and the Hatter apart for ever.

And please - don't start with the 'Johnny is too old for Mia' crap, because this isn't about Johnny and Mia, but Alice and the Hatter, and Alice was the more mature one!

But, since AiW I have noticed bit by bit romance in Disney productions is dying.

Mulan - the live action version removed the romantic lead.

Star Wars - Han and Leia's relationship had come to an end. Finn/Rose is quashed in TROS.

And of course, 'Goddess of Jedi Dogma Rey'......doesn't need a boyfriend. Doesn't need anyone and anybody, apparently.

Now it has happened with Loki.

Loki, Thor's tormented God of Mischief, will spend eternity trapped in a tree with no one to love him. Because these days it seems that there is no redemption but death.

Waaaay back in my 20s I was an avid reader of the Dragonlance books. My favourite character was Raistlin Majere. Physically frail but incredibly strong willed and powerful, I pitied and despised him in equal measures when I first started reading the books, but my opinion changed dramatically when he did one thing.

As the heroes were escaping danger Raistlin suddenly went back, to his friends' chagrin, and returned with - Bupu, the little gully dwarf who had been their guide. And who the big, strong men - had completely forgot about. And the only one willing to risk his life to save her was Raistlin.

I started to love his character then.

Probably one of the most tragic figures in fantasy I desperately wanted Raistlin redeemed. Don't get me wrong - he did some terrible things. But, it all came from a place of pain. And I wanted him to get a 'happy ending'. Because this is fantasy folks - and if you can't find happy endings in make believe, where can you find them?

But ultimately....he didn't. I was devastated.

But, there was always Star Wars.

Not anymore.

The Skywalkers are all dead, along with Han Solo. And apparently Adam Driver confirmed in a recent interview Ben aka Kylo...was never meant to be redeemed. That he was meant to die evil.

And also...Harrison Ford actually didn't want Han to die in TFA. Despite years ago wanting to kill his character off, Ford over the years mellowed a lot to him.

Abrams wanted him to die at his son's hands so we, the audience, would hate Kylo. That we would cheer his death. That we would embrace Rey as his replacement.

But they made a drastic mistake.

Because Rey - is a bore.

She may tick the boxes but she is frankly utterly unmemorable as a hero. She's an archetype.

The most memorable character was Kylo. And the 'reylo' romance was the highlight of the ST. No matter how much Finn fans moan. No matter how much the 'woke' criticised it. Because Rey was at her most interesting when interacting with Kylo.

And it wasn't just we fans of it who noticed it - Rian Johnson did.

And the critics did.

But, Disney refused to listen and gave us TROS. Now they intend to continue with their soulless heroine in a new film, or series of films, whilst removing the prince from their forthcoming LA Snow White.

Why?

To satisfy #metoo, who apparently were the 'consultants' on the LA Little Mermaid? Which underperformed at the BO?

Frankly, to quote Rhett Butler ....I myself don't give a damn.

Bad enough that Raistlin had a sad ending. Bad enough Loki did. But Star Wars, the film series that had at its heart a message of hope - sorry Disney, SW was the last straw. I loved it for forty plus years. I was 12 when I first saw it. I was 54 when I watched it die with TROS.

Disney turned Lucas's saga into a horror story. And it was meant to be a fairytale.

Fairytales have happy endings. Real life is often heartbreaking and disappointing. Fairy Tales are our escape.

Disney, once the master of fairtales....have completely crushed them.

No romance. No love. No forgiveness.

No redemption but death.

If all someone can expect is that....why bother 'turning good'? Why bother at all?

[bitter69uk]

“Jean Harlow was the first screen tramp to become a heroine and her raw sexuality made her the sex symbol of the 30s, very much in the way Marilyn Monroe became the sex symbol of modern cinema. Harlow’s screen persona was very different from Monroe’s, however; she wasn’t vulnerable but impudent, tough, wisecracking, slatternly and sexually voracious. She gave as good as she got, which made her a wonderful screen partner for Clark Gable and James Cagney. In her first starring role, in the 1930 Hell’s Angels, she gave the cinema one of its immortal lines when she asked Ben Lyon to “Pardon me while I slip into something more comfortable”, and she gained even more fame in Red Dust by taking a bath and ordering Gable to “Scrub my back.” She wore clinging satin dresses without a bra, became known as the Platinum Blonde and obviously was just as keen on sex as men were. On top of all that she was a fine comedienne and is just as enjoyable to watch today as she was in the 30s. From 1930 to 1937 she was a major star in a delightful series of films, mostly at MGM, and then died tragically of uremic poisoning. She was only 26 years old.” 

/ From The Illustrated Encyclopedia of The World’s Great Movie Stars by Ken Wlaschin, 1979 / 

Born on this day 112 years ago: Depression-era sex goddess Jean Harlow (née Harlean Carpenter, 3 March 1911 – 7 June 1937). Tough to pick, but I think my favourite Harlow performance is in outrageous pre-Code Red-Headed Woman (1932).

[biggest12fan]

WHEN THE DOCTOR SAID THAT HE'LL HELP HIM MAKE HIS LASER MACHINE THINGY AND THE MASTER SMILED AT HIM LIKE THAT? wHAT

[rodolfoparras]

Nah it's ok, I just have crippling addiction to twinks and I'm weak for pretty boys who look like elven and angelic. I swear... a pretty thing bats his eyes at me and I'm fucking goner. ANYWAYS-

Acheron is old D&D character that went through quite a bit of development and he will always be one of my favourite characters I ever created hence why I made him into my Tav. He was originally female character for a brief while just because drow society is matriarchal and I intended for him to start out as royalty and threat to his aunt's power. Buuuut I quickly decided that I want him to be man after all so he's canonically trans now.

I don't want to prattle on about drow history and politics even though I could but essentially men are seen as slaves and toys and have no worth in the society and drows are notorious for turning on each other and killing one other constantly. Acheron's older brother wasn't like that at all and he was super sweet and him and Acheron were very close. Acheron was child prodigy and quickly gained favour of their matriarch and head priestesses and became champion of Lolth and his entire goal was to become head matriarch so he could build better life for his brother. That's also the reason why he repressed his real self and only his brother knew that he was trans.

Acheron was noticed and chosen by Raven Queen who sensed his grief and sorrow even while he as young child and she became mother figure to him while he secretly prayed to her. He got infused with shadow magic through the sword she sent down to him and she became his patron goddess. When he was still young man, his aunt (fearing his influence and the influence of his mother), slaughtered his entire family and Acheron only survived because his brother manage to hide him and his goddess kept him safe. That event broke something in him that was never able to be repaired.

Acheron fought his way out of Underdark and escaped to surface where he saved by young druid who would become his best friend (who is actually my bestie's D&D character). He only had locket with his brother's picture, lock of his hair and his ring to remember his brother by and he treasures it deeply. Also since hexblades (weapon he received) are kind of semi sentient and can talk to their wielders, Acheron believes his brother's soul is in the blade and he talks to it regularly.

He completely buried his old life, transitioned and made a name for himself, eventually being known as The Scourge of Underdark and he and very chaotic but mostly decent person. He had quite a few other tragic things happen to him that kind of shaped him into being cold and ruthless and no-nonsense person. And side note but he actually has genuinely good relationship with his patron and she does genuinely love him as sees him as her son.

Every other companion in bg3 has horrible and abusive relationship with their goddesses and Acheron is there all like 😶😶 "Mmm skill issue ig, imma go tell mom about my day and ask for new spells"

And his story fits so well with bg3 story and I even headcanon Minthara, female drow that can become your companion, as his cousin and her mother to be the aunt that slaughtered his family. And Astarion is like.... second person Acheron had genuinely romantic feelings for ever probably and his companions are one of few people he grew to care about. And Acheron is very much ready to do whatever it takes for his friends and especially for Astarion.

He doesn't care about power or influence or anything, he just wants to keep Astarion safe because he can't risk losing the most important person in his life again. That's why I hc that after the events of the game he goes back to Underdark and kills his aunt and everyone loyal to her and he makes it clear that unless he and his loved ones are left alone, he will not hesitate to wipe them all out. He's a little unhinged but ordinary people know him as a hero, albeit very scary one.

-🔮

Sugar!!! I am genuinely amazed how in depth this is it felt like I was watching a movie reading this!!’ First of all I’ll always be a sucker for good healthy sibling relationship and the fact that their bond still remains in some ways is why I’m not sad despite everything tragic that happened to him also Im so glad he has a best friend by his side to love and support him because it can’t be easy having gone through all that trauma and continue life on your own also astarion being all starry eyed over him, to him it’s like seeing a sweet puppy flash its teeth but he absolutely loves it feels himself get all warm and light 🥹 this is genuinely a beautiful story and I’m throughly impressed with how thought out every step is

[i-platypus]

ripper street for the tv asks!

Fantastic! Thank you :)

Favourite character: In this house, we love and protect Detective Constable Albert Flight

Funniest character: It's a tie between Fred Best and Homer Jackson... nah, it's totally Fred

Best-looking character: Well, I won't say Flight again (although he's a cutie). So, let's go with the lovely Rose

3 favourite ships: Oh my, there are a lot... Rose/Bennet (they earned their happy ending); Reid/Jane Cobden (we could have had it aaaaaaaaalllll); but I also like Reid/Deborah Goren, and Reid/Jackson (someone just please love that tragic DI); and Raine/Susan (there is some really nice fic out there)

Least favourite character: See, this is hard, because the caliber of antagonists on this show is just *chef's kiss ... so, I'll say Jedediah Shine (because I could write many essays on his twisted pseudo-father-figure-emotional-blackmail dynamic with Flight)... but damn, if he isn't a great character

Least favourite ship: Shine/Flight (because, ugh, no thank you please); Reid/Mimi (I'm sorry, y'all... I did not like Mimi as a character); Mathilda/Samuel (because they were kind of boring)

Reason why I watch it: THE WRITING... especially the dialogue. See Silas Duggan's "Men of Old Stone" speech in s2

Why I started watching it: My guess is because after Being Human UK, I wanted to see DaMo (Damien Molony) in as many things as possible. And then I fell into the Void.

Let's Play! Send me a TV show ask game...

[robyn-the-writer]

Misappropriating Michael Corleone: toxic masculinity in The Godfather

In celebration of this glorious Pacino Saturday, I bring you this essay commission I wrote earlier this year about toxic masculinity in The Godfather with something the commissioning editor didn't get - GIFs from the wonderful Godfather / Pacino community! Enjoy.

The final shot of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II is probably my all-time favourite ending to a film. Dressed for a chilly autumn, Michael Corleone – played like one of Shakespeare’s tragic princes by Al Pacino – sits alone, wearing the ring from his long-jettisoned marriage even as his hair fades to grey, pondering the question he will be pondering for the rest of his life: was it worth it? Cinema’s most famous eyes, haunted by a thousand ghosts, stare out over a kingdom of ashes. The last of the Corleone family’s enemies is dead, but there is no Corleone family left to share in Michael’s victory. He has won – and lost everything in the process.

So I can’t get my head around the misappropriation of Michael Corleone as some sort of sigma male fantasy figurehead. How can you walk away from that final disarming fade-to-black and think, in all sincerity, now there’s a man content with his choices. I’d like to be just like him.

The Godfather trilogy is a story about how a young man with everything becomes an old man with nothing. Coppola intended it to be, as has often been said before, an allegory of American capitalism – all actions taken in pursuit of money and power have victims. To me, it’s also a story about toxic masculinity.

The phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ didn’t exist when Francis Ford Coppola made The Godfather, but it did exist when I studied the film at university more than 40 years later. Like any cinematically-minded eighteen year old who studies The Godfather, I was fascinated by it. In particular, I was interested in how the war hero at his sister’s wedding becomes the gangster who murders the man she married. What force on Earth is powerful enough to destroy a man’s soul the way Michael Corleone’s is destroyed by the end of Part II?

All three of Vito Corleone’s sons are trapped in his shadow. Their choices are dictated by a well-worn rulebook of how men should behave. By fighting heroically for his country and courting a respectable outsider (Diane Keaton’s Kay), Michael attempts to rewrite this rulebook. Initially, he is interested in performing masculinity on his own – and, arguably, lawful society’s – terms.

But in the world of The Godfather, wars aren’t won by playing by society’s rules. Vito Corleone represents the pinnacle of a different kind of masculinity, one that, though it rejects the principles of law, is nonetheless built on American values: ambition, individualism, strength of mind and body, power. Michael’s campaign to ‘be his own man’ is superficial from the start. Although he wants nothing to do with the family business, he doesn’t speak out against it. He is unbothered by the story he tells Kay, of a gun, a contract, and an offer impossible to refuse. Michael is so immersed in the world into which he was born that it has become impossible for him to escape. And, I suspect, he wouldn’t escape it if he could. Michael Corleone loves his father, and all along, there is a part of him that admires the toxic ideal Vito represents.

So what makes the Vito Corleone brand of masculinity so ruinous? As portrayed by two of our all-time greatest actors in a pair of stunningly charismatic performances, Vito is ruthless but fair, demanding but loyal, marble-hard to his enemies and kitten-soft to his friends. He is protector, provider, patriarch. His logic is unchallenged, his judgement unquestioned. He is everything a man in his world should be. Anything less would be a failure of manhood. Vito believes it is sloppy to let on how you’re feeling (“Never tell anybody outside the family what you’re thinking”), unmanly to show emotions (“You can act like a man!”, roared at his mopey godson, Jonny Fontaine), weak to let your guard down (“Women and children can afford to be careless but not men”). Although none of them are capable of living up to the ideal established by Vito, the Corleone boys are expected to live by this hard-and-fast guide to masculinity. One by one, they die by it.

Toxic masculinity manifests differently in each of Vito Corleone’s three sons, and it destroys each of them in a different way. Broad-shouldered in his wifebeater, James Caan’s Sonny is a textbook man’s man, and he acts as he believes a man should. A rough-and-tumble action-man, Sonny is a dominant hand at the helm of the good ship Corleone while his father is in hospital. He rises to the challenge Vito has set for him. He becomes the protector, the provider, the patriarch. When it comes to defending the family, he is as ruthless as his father has taught him to be. And it is that instinct to protect, that assumption of a power inherited, those toxic learned behaviours, that get him killed on the causeway, falling for a trap that would never have fooled his father.

Sliding down to the other end of the spectrum, John Cazale’s Fredo is about as far from a masculine stereotype as you can get. But he isn’t free from the burden of its expectations. It is precisely Fredo’s exclusion from the Corleone ideal of masculinity that traps him in its toxic web. From the moment he is born sickly, Fredo is told that he is weak and stupid and unworthy of the Corleone name. His mother tells him that he must’ve been left on the doorstep by gypsies, so far removed is Fredo from the masculine ideal represented by his father. But he isn’t weak and he isn’t stupid and he does deserve to be a part of this family that has left him behind. So, fighting for some ounce of the respect that he, as a man in the Corleone mould, is owed, Fredo fights back. He is killed for his masculine pride, for his one attempt to be as ruthless as his father wished him to be.

Of all Vito Corleone’s sons, Michael is the one who takes his father’s lessons most to heart. He’s also their most tragic victim. He recalls his father’s advice (“keep your friends close but your enemies closer”), repurposes his words (“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”), and abides by his golden rules of masculinity: never tell anyone what you’re thinking, never reveal your emotions, and don’t be careless. He is a ready-made don-in-waiting, rotten to the core with inherited notions of toxic masculinity. His destiny in inescapable.

In our very first glimpse of him, Michael is recently returned from war. He has been decorated for bravery (in a deleted scene, Vito mocks his medals as “Christmas ribbons”). We do not know what Michael saw and did in the war, but we know it know it made him a hero. So it can’t have been anything good. He is forced to surrender his civilian life in defence of his family. While he’s in hiding for the murder of his father’s enemies, his brother is killed. His lovely young wife is blown to bits by a car bomb that was meant for him. His father dies. He is betrayed by men who have known him since he was a baby. Yet for all this grief and trauma, we never see him mourn. There is barely one scene in The Godfather or its first sequel in which Michael expresses a thought or feeling.

Too often, I see this absence of expression misconstrued as an absence of emotion. To me, Michael Corleone is not a villain. He is not a stone-hearted sociopath. In fact, he’s nothing but emotion. He just has no outlets for it. He has grown up in an environment where sharing feelings and expressing emotions is seen as weakness and foolishness, something to be avoided by any self-respecting Corleone man. Without this knowledge of self-expression, or anyone he trusts enough to express himself to, the enormous amount of anger and pain inside Michael is left to bubble and boil over. He is unable to articulate his frustration to his wife, so he socks her in the face instead. Fredo’s murder is not the ruthless act of an uncaring monster, but the whim of a broken heart. Michael doesn’t know how to share his pain with Fredo, wouldn’t even know how to start a conversation about how much his betrayal hurts, so he responds in the only way he knows – with a permanent solution to a seemingly incurable ache. With a masculine instinct for action, not emotion. Michael ends up alone because he doesn’t know how to let anybody in. He lives in a world where to trust somebody is to make yourself weak. He lives in the world his father has made for him. In the end, it is the very repression of the emotions he has been taught to repress that destroys Michael.

So if it’s so terrible to be Michael Corleone, why do we end up with glorifying articles like this one from a 1995 edition of Esquire? Because the type of toxic masculinity he represents persisted in 1995, and it persists in 2022. People continue to misappropriate Michael because they continue to misinterpret his fate. The “exultant glimpse of male nature” offered to viewers of The Godfather continues to seduce some with an illusion of power, success, and victory. We are willing to overlook, then, the price of such exultant masculinity. Who needs the love and trust of your friends and family when you’ve got a big-ass house by Lake Tahoe and business interests worth millions?

The truth is that the masculinity some exult is the cancer at the heart of the Corleone family – and Francis Ford Coppola knows it. Mario Puzo may have named his central family “lion heart”, but Coppola is sparing with his lionisation. By enforcing his single-minded view of a masculine ideal, Vito Corleone traps his children in a self-destructive cycle of generational violence. Coppola shows us how it consumes everything – the lives of women, children, and innocent people, all secondary to the glory of a Corleone man’s victory. I’m certainly not the first to suggest that The Godfather is “not a monument to male chauvinism but a condemnation of it” (Nicholas Barber for the BBC earlier this year). But for me, Coppola’s film isn’t just about how male chauvinism pervades certain times, places, and people. For me, it’s about how the very nature of toxic masculinity, how it is created and maintained. It’s about the price of buying into that illusion. For Michael Corleone, the price is everything. And for those who misappropriate him, it’s worth it.

[chuthulhu-reads]

[ID: A page from Fruits Basket. In the first panel, Megumi is looking up as his sister, who is just barely off-panel with her arm visible at the very edge, says, "...actually... I was a little... jealous, too..." The second panel is solid black with Saki's thoughts in white text as she continues, "It felt like the Sohma family had taken Tohru-kun from me. It left me feeling... lonely." The third panel is the rest of the page and wraps around the other two, and shows Saki pulling out her hair tie, releasing her long, wavy black hair and smiling gently as she says, "But... you are right. That's why I cannot be selfish..." Just above Saki's head is a quote from Megumi earlier in the chapter, saying, "Respect the other person's feelings." End ID.]

I used to be obsessed with Saki Hanajima for reasons I couldn’t identify as a 14-year-old but I am holding my younger self’s face in my hands and gently saying: it’s because she’s beautiful and self-possessed and you are very much a lesbian, and that’s okay.

...Also nowadays I find it really hard to NOT read Hana as a barely-closeted lesbian who’s in love with Tohru. I mean, everyone in the manga comes off like they’re in love with Tohru, but Hana's interactions with attraction to men are pretty interesting; she talks about Tohru dating Yuki or Kyo more like a mother seeking solid prospects for her daughter than a teenager talking about booooooyyyyyyyyssssssss, she never seems to notice how absurdly attractive the whole Sohma family is, with the exception of Kazuma… who she only, very flatly, expresses an attraction to after finding out he’s Kyo’s dad, which has two levels to it for me. One is the terror of being outed making you seek someone “safe” to express attraction to, most commonly a male celebrity who’s definitely unattainable (me aged fifteen sitting down, thinking it through, and deciding to be attracted to Taylor Lautner and getting one of his shirtless Twilight posters to seal the decision. That’s how you experience attraction, right?), or, if pressed to choose someone “real”, someone who’s still impossible to pursue due to age/status/something else.

The other level is fucking with Kyo. You KNOW she loves fucking with Kyo. This is not a crush this is a bit and it will go for as long as it has to before Kyo realizes he’s being fucked with (this period will be measured in years). Honestly my favourite read is that Hana and Uo are a goth/jock lesbian duo who have both tragically fallen in love with the same straight girl (we’ve all been there) and bond as besties over that and live with each other during college for a solid two years before they realize they’re also in love with each other and could have been making out this whole time.

[thenanamisimp]

Kumichou Musume to Sewagakari (The yakuza’s guide to babysitting)

Genre: Slice of life

Warnings: Violence

I BEEN WAITIN FOR THIS ONE.

Honestly, I’m not really a slice of life watcher. If you scroll through my watched list, you’ll see that my favourites tend to be tragic stories, action and fantasy. But when I saw a clip of this anime, I didn’t even look up what it was about, I just added it to my list.

The story follows Tooru Kirishima, who is part of the Sakura yakuza family. He is known as “the demon” and is relentless for showing no mercy when beating people up. His boss decides to put him in charge of taking care of his 7 year old daughter, Sakuragi Yaeka, in hopes of him learning to be more responsible and less brutal.

This anime is absolutely adorable. All the characters are incredibly lovable – yes even the yakuza boss. He’s actually especially likeable. You can see Kirishima genuinely soften and care for Yaeka so much throughout the 12 episodes and by the end of the anime the two of them end up having a very cute older brother – younger sister dynamic. Each episode has such charm and, for a yakuza anime, a surprising lack of violence. Small spoiler warning I was expecting to see a lot of Kirishima protecting Yaeka from people trying to harm her to get to her dad through the whole series. That didn’t really happen as much as I thought which was actually a very happy surprise for me. I kinda like that the anime was just ~vibes~ most of the time. spoiler warning over. The slice of life was really slice of lifing not gonna lie...

I wanna give a quick shoutout to Tooru Kirishima (again) because LOOK AT HIM. Mischievious, darked haired anime men that are secretly sweethearts are my fucking weakness. Save me insane dark haired anime man. Save me.

This is such a chill watch and if you need just like, a break from life, it’s so worth watching. Give this a chance! You won’t regret it.

Thanks for reading another anime ramble! Enjoy watching :)

theNanamiSimp

[antimonyandthyme]

you asked me for my one opera reco and my brain went a little crazy because I was going: oh that one! no wait that one! you can't leave that one!!

so i will give you a list and you can listen to as many or as few as you please <3 mwah

Voi che sapete from Don Giovanni by Mozart. - this song is very soft, and very sweet. it's also such a lovely song because the singer (Cherubino) is about to be sent to war and he's asking what is love? can i survive it? tell me o you ladies (voi che sapete). It's generally sung by a woman - young men being played by women for the higher voices!

Mein Herr Marquis from Die Fledermaus by Strauss - this is one of my absolute favourite songs to listen to but even more to sing! it is so fun!! the song is sung by adele, a maidservant who has gone in disguise to a ball, and is spotted by her employer, the titular Marquis. The song is her laughing at him, saying how could someone as beautiful as me be a maidservant? you're smitten with your maid, you see her everywhere, that's so funny Herr Marquis hahahaha. The laughing and the runs are so sosososos fun!

Nachstück by Schubert - not from an opera, but this has perhaps one of the most beautiful middle sections i have ever heard. the song is a beautifully tragic one. an old man is walking into the woods for his final sleep, and the woods are calling him home

Papagino's song from Die Zauberflöte by Mozart - this is a fun song and the first duet!! since you mentioned the play, this is one of the less well known but extremely lovely songs. they're little birds chirping back and forth.lovely lovely

this is all for now. but. i will make you a playlist if you ever want (threat) (promise) <3

oh my GAUDE C <333

today is opera listening day my friends come and feast and taste the divine!!!

[car2k]

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat

book review (spoiler-free !!)

This book tells the story of Will Kempen, a teenage boy living in 19th century England. It is revealed that Will is on the run from men who killed his mother, and have been trying to kill him too. While Will doesn’t know why his mother was killed or why he is next, a run-in with his mother’s old servant, Matthew, changes everything.

This story is amazing. I found myself reading for hours on end, unwilling to put it down for the risk of ending on a cliffhanger. I found myself quickly attached to every character in this story, which definitely was not a good thing; if you read this book, be prepared to be heartbroken.

My favourite character of all has to be James St. Clair. He is one of the main antagonists of the story, but his story is a tragic one.

This story has a queer protagonist, Will, who is seen to have romantic feelings for a guy and a girl. I love how this is not made a big deal in the story, it’s simply something that is glossed over like normal. It’s the same way for all the other queer characters and relationships in the story— which there is an abundance of.

Overall, I think this story is an amazing fantasy novel with an amazing plot and characters!

Final rating:

5 out of 5 !!

“My whole life, all anyone's ever wanted was to possess me," said James. "The only one who ever set me free was you.” — C.S. Pacat