so those of us who've been writing for and discussing the Toymaker have found it a little tricky at times to discern the Toymaker's characteristics, given how often he changes up his accent, appearance, and temperament!! so, we developed a very silly solution 🙈💖 what's more fun that arbitrary categorisation? these are the different 'facets' of the Toymaker we've noticed - or rather, the characters he plays - and the shorthand names we use for him!! each name corresponds to a particular presentation of the Toymaker, largely tied to changes in voice, appearance and personality. there are moments where these distinct characters bleed into one another! we have:

1920s German Toymaker: the playful, teasing, pseudo-German speaking Toymaker who sells Charles Bannerjee Stooky Bill, and who menacingly juggles at the Doctor and Donna. this is the Toymaker at his personal best: fully invested in his character and thriving in a toy-themed performance. 🧸

French Cabaret Toymaker: the charming, lipsticked, French-accented dancer who accosts the Doctor on the street and sways amid the mayhem of The Giggle. this is a Toymaker who revels in chaos and destruction, and who is equal parts stunning and disquieting 🕺

Marionettist Toymaker: the frightening and severe puppeteer who grows to an impossible size, pulls marionette-Charles' strings and speaks in rhyme. this Toymaker feels the most similar to the original Celestial Toymaker played by Michael Gough! although superficially similar to other Toymakers, his hair is noticeably different and his demeanour is far more sinister 🧵

Showman Toymaker: the volatile ringmaster whose emotions shift on a dime, and who seems equally torn between performance, play, and injustice. this Toymaker is marked in contrast to Marionettist and 1920s German due to the occasional appearance of his American accent, and the apparent sincerity with which he delivers his show for Donna. 🎪

British Card Dealer Toymaker: the cool, calculating cardician whose respect for the game overshadows any desire for drama. much like with Showman, little glimpses of the Toymaker's other characters peek out here, but this Toymaker has a marked seriousness about him that's only knocked by his excitement upon gaining an advantage or winning. 👑

Band Leader Toymaker: the impossible menace with a distinctly feral energy. this Toymaker is a sadist: causing wanton pain, destruction and murder and loving every moment of it. Spice Up Your Life indeed 🌹

WWI Pilot Toymaker: the furious child who refuses to lose. this Toymaker is one who has grown frustrated with those around him who won't play his games, and these frustrations make him unable to maintain his previous playful persona: instead, we see lashings of anger coupled with violence, and the notable sadism of Band Leader 👨‍✈️

(Bonus) Flat Toymaker: the loser, and the lost little boy. i will admit, this was originally because i wanted an even set 😂💖 however, there's an intriguing moment of vulnerability from the Toymaker here, when he begs the Doctor for mercy. for a moment, we get a look into that 'vastness that will never cease' beneath all of the Toymaker's pomp and frills, and we see how truly frightened he is 🎁

fame < infamy (live debut)

i think there's something interesting that can be said about carmy spending a good portion of one of his first actual dates with claire pretending to be a different person.

Mile Phakphum Instagram update

MILE SOLO CONCERT Y'ALL!!

(read the names of the seats in the second pic 🥺)

did some brave shit today. i am feeling very proud so here’s your reminder that genuineness is not cringe. genuineness is NOT cringe

I see the way some users brush aside Stranger Things' depictions of autism/openly decry it as less important/impactful than other forms of representation (or just miss the representation entirely because it doesn't fit their narrow definition of what autism is "supposed" to look like), and frankly it's...Egh.

Watching people say there's zero substance in a show that has So Much Substance for autists like me, who are represented quite thoughtfully and meaningfully...but in ways that people love to brush off or straight up ignore is, well, less than fun and painfully reminiscent of how we're treated in real life. We can acknowledge that a show is majorly lacking in its nuance in multiple areas while not discrediting the substance that means so much to other groups. We can multitask.

And I'm not going to express the full extent of my grievances here and now because a) it's not the time, and b) I know I'll get called sensitive (just like Will is sensitive, and Henry is sensitive, and--oh) if I talk too much about it anyway.

So really this post here is all I want to say about it right now.

But just know that I see it, and that like a video game narrator might say: James will remember this.

this essay is going to be absolutely genius if I'm not talking rubbish

I've embraced that I'm cynical. I've embraced that I don't have any trust towards strangers. But any fandom space that is focused, obsessed over the attention of the people who made the thing you're a fan of is not going to be one where I can see myself making any friends in. It's literally just as much of a red flag as a fandom space that is obsessed, completely and thoroughly, with wallowing in its hatred of literally anything.

Can men be lesbians? In reality… probably not since a “lesbian” is wholly defined as a female homosexual.

In fiction? Hell yes because fiction is representation.

The thing with being a lesbian is that it’s not just a sexuality. It’s a whole damn aesthetic and some actual characters that identify as male in art/entertainment do have that aesthetic and possess the qualities and traits of what you would typically have of a lesbian. It’s a stereotype, don’t get me wrong. But it’s used often enough in fiction and art/entertainment that it’s a thing. Take Spike for example. Now, to me, his whole vibe just screams out “repressed lesbian” because he undergoes an entire character arc of performing something he thinks he should or must be but actually isn’t. That of an evil thing only. A beast. A monster. But when push comes to shove is really just a hapless, scorned pathetic loser with the kindest and most compassionate heart. In his human lifetime as William Pratt he gets nicknamed “William the Bloody” not because he kills people but because he kills poetry. He is a “bloody awful poet” and he takes that insult to heart so much to the point where he rebrands himself when he becomes a vampire. With the help of Druscilla who sires him and moulds his world anew, he turns his unfortunate nickname into one that actually is because he kills people. And he becomes “William the Bloody” because he is an evil thing only. A beast. A monster. But one that only exists and is created because he was treated so cruelly himself and not because his inherent nature and identity is evil because he is now a vampire - a demon with no soul.

Why does this make me view him as a repressed lesbian? What does any of this have to do with queerness at all? Well, in much the same way that Buffy’s Slayerism is a metaphor/allegory for being or feeling queer, Spike’s vampirism is a metaphor/allegory for performing that of which doesn’t fit quite right and is only a costume one is wearing to protect themselves from feeling like nothing but a weakling and a loser. Very much like Willow. A performance and projection of evil but is nowhere near that in actuality. Spike represses a part of him that is the foundation for everything that he is and that he becomes; William Pratt. And with the help of The Fanged Four fashions an identity that is only the armor for his vulnerability. It all depends on what external influence he has how he acts because he is like a wounded animal incarcerated. Animals are genuinely the most passionate and loyal of creatures - but they do bite you if you hurt them or something they care about. They will do what they can to survive, feed off the blood and the meat and marrow of other creatures and are insanely and fiercely protective of their own.

‘Fool For Love’ practically tells you everything you need to know about Spike through his backstory because his backstory is HIS backstory. It doesn’t belong to some separate human entity that died that he, as a demon, now possesses and assumes the identity of. William IS that of the same entity of that of which IS Spike. They are the same conscious entity. Spike IS the human and IS the demon simultaneously. Everything we get with Spike is informed by William and everything we get with William creates Spike. The “evil demon” that “sets up shop” in the body doesn’t exist because it is not a possession. It’s an evolution. Which is why when he gets his soul, we don’t get William Pratt back. We just get Spike with a soul. No different from the entity that was when there wasn’t one besides a change of perspective in morality. But very much the same exact person as soulless Spike because the soul is just an internal moral compass. It’s just a conscience and nothing more than that really. However, the inherent nature and identity that was William is so strong and so encompassing within Spike (because he is the same entity as William) that it was possible Spike could become good without a soul. It would be extremely difficult for him yes, because he didn’t know the difference between right and wrong on his own. He didn’t have Jiminy Cricket within him. But he did possess a human psyche that was good. His consciousness is what would have helped him eventually evolve into a selfless and empathetic being because he already possessed those traits and qualities anyway. He already was capable of doing good just as much as he was capable of doing evil and were he treated with kindness and respect from the Scoobies - would have had more opportunity to override his demonic nature and cultivate his human. And I absolutely refuse to believe that he couldn’t because as far as I’m concerned, the only damn thing that made the difference was who was in his company.

And besides from all of that - just fucking LOOK AT HIM. The bleach blonde hair, the nail polish, the eyes. Tell me he doesn’t look like the most feminine male there is and the most masculine female there is. I’m sorry to involve the stereotypes but you cannot tell me that this is not what they were going for with his characterization when they began to conceive him.

"Business Office" is one of those terms that maybe we don't need to abbreviate

Something in the back of my mind has been bothering me for a long while, and I figured out what it was. I have this tendency of censoring myself when I speak? I dance around a subject, which I keep hinting at, but never explicitly say what I want to say, and when someone doesn’t pick up on that, I get disappointed when they don’t help me open up to the topic.

What kind of love are you?

Love as a Performance

Your love is a masquerade, a dance, a work of art. You love with a veil across your face, unable to allow anyone to see the real you. Can that be considered love, you wonder? As a performer, you have all your lines prepared, and you know exactly what to say and when to say it. You’re charismatic and bold, seductive and hypnotic. Your love is a snake’s melody, the siren song of the sea. Your love is enchanting. Your love is melodic. Your love is afraid and fearful and longing. You ache to tear the veil off, you ache to cast poetry aside for the sake of something real and gritty. You’re terrified of the very thought. Being loved by you is to be loved by an artist; it is to be a muse. It reflects others beautifully, but never, ever yourself. Not really. Not truly.

Tagged by: @charmantevamp

Tagging: @1end, @frxncaise, @polarean (for andrei, of course!), @melpomeneprose (uno reverse to your other account because i want to hear from my dear sister elenushka <3)

i like. i know i SHOULD watch maestro like i literally have a poster of lenny but i dont WANT to is the thing

I’m bi so I’m definitely not trying to undermine Dean as a bi character in a show like spn but I really am fascinated by the implications of Dean being gay.

peel

originally posted to twitter

niall's concerts are simply superior