#she is extremely simple

[otiksimr]

can you draw snowfox from arctics winglet?

She is very fox :)

[boag]

Whenever a swiftie tries to talk to me abt how great a songwriter Taylor Swift is I think abt these tiktok comments

[asthedeathoflight]

I think the thing that feels really revolutionary about Gideon Nav's lesbianism is that she's not a lesbian in opposition to anything. She doesn't like women instead of men. It's just that her entire sexual world is female.

A lot of time having a gay character seems to necessitate a scene in which they confirm emphatically that they do not like the opposite gender. Gideon doesn't need to do that. She just talks about women all the time (and, lesbian character who is openly and unashamedly horny and actively pursuing women in general outside of once-in-a-lifetime romance, that's its own post entirely) and the absence of any mention of men makes it obvious that she's not interested in them.

And, as a queer person constantly having to explain WHY I don't want this or that, it's really refreshing to see a queer character who is so totally focused on what they DO want and not what they don't.

[fandom-geek]

vaguely fascinated by osana sov's naming choices. she chose for her daughter a name that can mean "bitter (strength)" or "lady" in two ancient languages (hebrew and aramaic) and for her son a name that means "old friend" in another ancient language (old english)

like every other golden age character has a name that's pretty normal by our standards, which tbh includes mara, then osana just names her other kid uldwyn. then again, even osana's name is either a variant of the hebrew hosanna or after an obscure and possibly fictitious old english princess-saint whose name means something along the lines of "godly solitude", so i suppose mara might be considered the odd one out

[good-to-drive]

would you say paul was a good husband to linda?

This is a super interesting question that I was actually just thinking about! The short answer is yes. The long answer is a little more complicated, but it's also yes.

In a way, all you really need to say about Paul and Linda is that they were happy. And I know a lot of people feel that trying to understand a happy couple is pointless (or possibly even offensive) because all that matters is that they were happy.

But I do tend to think that even a happy relationship can still be complex and interesting -- or, rather, that a real, human relationship can still be very happy. That's why I'm personally comfortable with thinking more deeply about their relationship, and those thoughts are under the cut.

Paul and Linda's relationship made them both happy and that is absolutely something to be celebrated. I also think that, like literally every other relationship in the world, the specific way in which they related to and loved one another was a product of their own personalities and experiences. It’s not necessarily fairy tale magic that made them right for each other. Or it is fairy tale magic, and fairy tales are just a lot more real and human than you might expect. 

I actually think to understand Paul and Linda it helps to look back at Paul's relationship with Jane, and how his relationship with Linda was essentially the logical follow-up.

This has been on my mind lately because I was just reading about a phenomenon where men, particularly of older generations, were shamed in childhood for wanting emotional intimacy or showing any vulnerability with their emotions (“man up,” “too old to cry”, etc.), which culminates a fear of intimacy/affection as an adult.

Because it’s generally acceptable for men to have high sexual appetites, sometimes these men will start to substitute sexual/physical intimacy for the emotional intimacy they’re deprived of, thus appearing to have a high sex drive.

(Obviously this can happen to women and young people, too, but everything I read specified that it’s most often seen in older men.) 

All this together reminded me a lot of Paul and how we often perceive him pre-Linda as having a high sex drive (i.e. cheating on Jane like a goddamn dog), and also how he seemed to fear emotional intimacy and platonic affection throughout his entire life (like when he thought George of all people was going to hit him for taking his hand on his freaking deathbed). 

It kind of makes sense given how massive and insane his life was (and how much grief and trauma he was still carrying from his childhood) that he would basically be a black hole of emotional need just like all the other Beatles were, and I genuinely wonder if he used sexuality as a band-aid for an enormous, unmet need for affection/intimacy/validation/etc. 

Which brings us to Linda, and the fact that he was able to be completely loyal to her. Which is an amazing achievement for someone who struggles with infidelity, and I definitely don't want to take that away from him, but I also think we can look a little deeper at why he was suddenly able to be loyal.

If I'm right that his high sex drive was band-aid for unmet emotional needs, then it would tend to follow that being able to be 100% loyal would mean that black hole of emotional need was being satiated, or at least soothed, by someone willing and able to do a lot of emotional caretaking to keep him happy.

Essentially, I think his newfound loyalty was a product of Linda's willingness to be a therapist/girlfriend/appeaser/etc. pretty much 24/7. (That’s barely an exaggeration btw – they spent a lot of time together). Looking at their relationship just in a practical sense, Linda really went out of her way to be with Paul all the time, to be involved in the things he cared about (even at the detriment of things that she cared about), and to make the relationship “about” him.

(Kind of a weird side note here is that John was loyal to Yoko under similar circumstances, at least until the level of emotional dependence between them got to be too much for her and she encouraged him to develop an outside relationship with May Pang, so it's arguably yet another unexpected parallel in John and Paul's lives after they “broke up” with each other.)

I've also wondered a bit why Linda was willing/able to devote herself to Paul's needs to an unusually self-sacrificing extent, but unfortunately Linda's childhood is something I know a lot less about. Some people (especially women of older generations) are deeply reliant on the need they sense in other people to give them a feeling of value. Only by being of service, by satiating the need, can they feel like a worthwhile person themselves. So in that way they're equally dependent on their partner. 

(Okay, maybe not equally, but they're still dependent).

Obviously love was the main reason Linda focused so much of her time and energy on being what Paul needed, arguably at the detriment of her own needs, but looking at it more in the context of her personality and experiences it does make me wonder about her upbringing and to what extent she was raised to believe she achieved value or lovability by being of service to others.

I think Paul's reliance on Linda to caretake his emotions for him (and Linda's potential reliance on Paul to require caretaking) could be part of why we see such extreme devotion between them, why they literally never (voluntarily) spent a single night apart in all of their marriage. It's an expression of love, yes, and also of how deeply they both relied on one another.

(It also probably indicates anxious attachment and potentially some deep rooted concerns about being cheated on, but that's speculation for another day.)

Now, all this being said, none of this changes the fact that Paul was loyal and he did adore Linda and they did spend every single moment possible with one another. I'm not bringing any of this complicated shit up to try to devalue their relationship or any of the things we love about it -- rather, I think the fact that it does come from a place of humanity and vulnerability is part of what makes it beautiful.

It's a good chance to remember that no relationship is 100% easy and simple 100% of the time, and we're all a product of our own messy internal stuff that we try to deal with and try to find other people who are also willing to deal with. And while it’s true that every relationship has a deeper story, it’s equally true that a relationship between two people with complex personalities and needs can still be extremely happy, loving, and positive for the both of them.

[rollanan]

id go to the church if this was the priest

[carefulfears]

what's your favorite line from californication?

"i said i never read your books but i lied, i read them all. i just didn't know how to talk about them with you. i didn't like the fathers in them." is one that just knocks me in the gut every time and that i think about so often because it touches on something very personal that's hard to articulate. on that note, "to my son, the writer. something i never said too much: i love you. my father never said it much either and i thought i would be different but i guess i'm not." -> "i love you. i didn't say it to hear it back." -> "to my dear, beautiful daughter...loving you has been the most profound, intense, painful experience of my life. in fact, it's been almost too much to bear." is a progression so meaningful to me. one thing that always stands out to me about this show is that loving and being loved is painful. is too much. is unbearable.. and is still frontrunner and the leading motivator most of the time.

some more that i love....when carrie died and hank couldn't stop drinking, said that he didn't know if he could make it back, and karen said "in the meantime, i'll just dream for the both of us, i guess."

when marcy said "they fucking love you to pieces, you dumb shit. we all do." & in the pilot when hank is mean and runs off their friend and marcy just says "go home, honey. sleep it off. tomorrow's another day." and the fact that in the original script he told her to go off on him and punish him and she wouldn't.

when mia left town and hugged hank goodbye and he said "you be good out there, psycho." i just love that line. (& "aside from the fact that you're mad as a hatter, you're a good kid.")

"now there's this feeling in my gut. she might be the one. she's completely nuts, in a way that makes me smile." hank's first letter to karen, 1994

before trial: becca saying "i don't want you to be guilty. i don't want people to look at you that way. i want them to know how great you can be." and hank replying "you shouldn't be thinking about that. that's too much for your brain."

"it's last call, pal. you should get out while the getting's good." "what if it's already too late?" "could be. i don't know. doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

there are so many lines in this show that are so simple and uniquely articulate that really just mean something to me.

my favorite reactions ever: "you're such a dirty old man." "no, i'm not."

&

"you'd look at the ocean and count the mermaids." "i did do that."

my favorite duchovny line delivery ever: when becca sobbed that she's just a kid and she's tired of parenting him and before she went off to see her boyfriend he said "you have fun, okay?" and his voice cracked

[petrichormore]

Jaiden, to Pol in chat: Ask Bad, he can give you some when he logs on.

Bad, literally online:

Jaiden:

Jaiden: Oh hi Bad

XD this was so funny but all I can think about is q!Bad’s growing self-esteem issues stemming from the fact that he’s starting to believe people only want him around to use him. Like poor guy lmfao.

[widowshill]

If you're still doing character bingo and haven't gotten her yet: Laura Murdoch Collins <3

a few people requested her and i think it's because everyone knows that i'm batshit (ha) insane about this woman. what if bertha mason was a blonde femme fatale in the middle of collinsport's most toxic manslaughter polycule. i'm in love with her. laura collins wants to grill me to a crisp? medium or medium well my beautiful beloved terrible wife?

[weareuniqueandimportant]

EMPATHY GLAMORIZATION IS NOT ABOUT EMPATHY BUT SUPERIORITY TORWARDS APATHETIC PEOPLE BIGOTRY TORWARDS THEM TYPICAL BIGOT EVIL. SIMPLE AS THAT. IF YOU SEE THEM AS LEFTIST YOU'RE NO LEFTIST YOURSELF. HORRIBLE. THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE ONLY EMPATHY AND BAD TO THINK EVERYTHING YOU DO IS SUCH ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE CLEARLY BEING APATHETIC IF ANYTHING WHEN THEY DO THIS...

COMES TO SHOW BIGOTRY TORWARDS CRAZY AND DISABLED PEOPLE ASWELL AS PARAPHILIA PEOPLE ISN'T TAKEN AT ALL THE SAME AS SEXISM RACISM AND QUEERPHOBIA... OR PERHAPS... LIKELY... THEY ARE ALL THE BIGOTED THINGS EVIL AND TAKE NONE THAT SERIOUSLY... BELITTLING DOWN THEIR PAIN AND DAMAGE...

[running-in-the-dark]

.

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

gonna be so honest marcille’s Thing About Death is infinitely more interesting to me than her dynamic with falin

[red-dyed-sarumane]

okay so this is super self indulgent but preface for those who arent aware i have this whole full world for my ocs & basically its like a 50/50 chance for any given person to have psychic powers called abilities & this ability is entirely dependent on the person themself & has nothing to do with genetics. ur either born with them or u can get them if ur from a different world & are isekai'd in. the only real thing about abilities is it has to be something a person can do with their mind/state of mind & isnt just like some super power like super strength.

anyway i realized this week i feel like i know the isotopes well enough so i ended up spending a lot of time thinking of what abilities they would have and i give u all my final decisions!!!

Kafu: she has something im going to call window creation. basically the ability to call forth 'windows' which ranges from just invisible walls in the air to creating a pane that lets her (or anyone near by to see it) see into a different place, time, or both. these are in effect solid walls/windows so its theoretically possible to use them as a weapon but given how kafu is i doubt she would think that way & instead would take a more defensive route, using them as a sort of force field or to get info the group otherwise wouldn't know

Sekai: i'm calling hers shadow manipulation. she can take control of shadows in the area and turn them into a semi-physical thing & from there pretty much becomes a distance attacker or defender depending on both her mood & what's necessary. i would like to think she also keeps a little shadow as a pet & it just follows her around or sits on her shoulder. the shadows can change shape btw

Rime: pyromancy. she gets to create & control fire at will. i like to think she puts too much pressure on herself to learn it & ends up unable to do it at first because of that but the second she lets herself breathe she finally gets it & from there puts in so much practice that her style with it ends up absolutely beautiful to watch. default flame color is red bc thats her color but it changes color/temperature with her emotions. u threaten one of the others and watch how fast it ends up blue-white.

Coko: fox. by shifting her mental state she can transform into a fox & while in that form can do things like create wil o wisp/fox fire & force fields, but mostly i think she'd specialize in creating illusions. she probably actually has multiple tails in that form but after drawing the rest of her outfit i thought one was enough to get the idea across. yes this is the third time im giving a chara this ability its bc im not allergic to fun normally people cant talk in the fox form but i like her so i guess she gets a little telepathy as a treat too.

Haru: consciousness walking. that is, she can separate her consciousness from her physical body & move around almost like a ghost. she can interact with the physical world on a minimal level in this state, but more importantly it allows her to see & interact with other people's consciousnesses in a way that's very easy to mess with their perception of the world & throw off their judgment & things like that. kind of like astral projection but not really, also if she gets really skilled with it she'd be able to move both her physical & spiritual forms at once although that is very tiring

[the-acid-pear]

The thing about the painter analog that people don't get and makes them hate it is that at heart this isn't a serious horror story. This is pure gore not only for the sake of gore but for the sake of camp. Once I was talking of to my dad laughing at the guy who had his face sanded off and he was like yeah not new they did that in Jason already 🙄 which was later reinforced by UrbanSpook admitting this is inspired by those old 80s slasher which should tell you everything.

I'm saying this bc i saw a video pairing it with Playground and the incest game and while I don't know the second I watched a video on playground once and the difference is that that book is trying to tell a story and say something on top of the gore but the later makes it hard to care. Which is kind of the issue another "gone too far" piece of media my beloved A Serbian Film runs into where you cannot take yourself too seriously if you also want to show over the top violence or you'll lose the audience.

OF COURSE there are exceptions like Hostel, Saw and 😏 the human centipede ☺️ (cocksucker for that movie and it's more serious points, though it barely counts bc the gore is very tame save for in 2) and I couldn't exactly tell you what's the difference between what makes them work and what doesn't but still.

But I'm getting off topic I'm not here to say which media is good or not I'm here to point out the painter is not a serious story that asks you to care for the characters it's a over the top schlocky gore that asks you to go GROOOOSS or laugh at the over the top brutality it presents. Which is very standard in horror.

[space-sheep08]

I think you might find the mother-daughter sexual abuse angle in Black Swan of interest if you haven't already delved into that

yesss

I was really taken aback by their relationship when I first watched the film because the incestuous subtext was pretty blatant and I hadn't seen any discussion around it beforehead. The idea of the abusive mother is still pretty hard to register for certain people, so when you add sexual abuse into the mix, plus inflicted on another woman, it mostly disappears from analysis.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

It's so weird when you have a story whose plot problems you've been unable to tangle for years, and then suddenly you come back to it and bash your head against it for a while, and it turns out that the answer was so simple and it was there the whole time. Am I supposed to be happy this came together or embarrassed that it took me so long to find the obvious answer?