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gemkun · 1 month

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@oneireth said : [ META ] + his vidyadhara form ( powers, thoughts on his appearance, whatever ) for dh :) ♢ — send [ META ] + a word / phrase / person / etc

personally , he prefers his human form , but that doesn’t mean he dislikes his vidyadhara appearance. his true being , well , there is a detachment from the nameless , which is where he feels at home and himself in. of course , the astral crew members have said otherwise , and accept him for who he is , scales and all , but dan heng still has this inward perception regarding his origin.

focusing on his vidyadhara self , we can analyse these sections with a breakdown.

powers : even if he is not an emanator , he is “ the closest being to the permanence ”. having been cut from dan feng’s powers , in canon it can be inferred that those powers were split between him and bailu — where the archivist received powers of combat whilst the dragon lady received healing abilities. that being said , he hasn’t undergone proper training of harnessing this passed down residual power , and with the absence of technique , the immensity of his powers are likely unmet in terms of their true potential. if it wasn't explicit enough , this means he is absolutely weaker than dan feng. fun note : dan feng was a smidge stronger than jing yuan but where dan heng is , the general is definitely higher. he might sit where welt is in terms of power across the characters in hsr.

appearance : it cannot be denied that the imbibitor lunae ensemble is extravagant. his robes alone are exquisite in their finery , and their intricate patterns weave a combination of symbols and tales. comparing dan feng’s garb to dan heng’s , there are plenty of differences with some being subtle whilst the others are noticeable.

i looked to this article which assessed an assortment of aspects regarding dan heng’s imbibtor lunae form , and i think it’s quite spot on. hoyo is notorious for sprinkling significant notes via inconspicuous details. the most obvious would be the clouds and lotus that are motifs for nobility and water which is attributed to wisdom , intelligence and quintessentially yin. neither can the equipment attached to his clothing that resembles armour be missed — indicative of the combat dan feng participated in , as both guard and a member of the high — cloud quintet.

green , in not only chinese culture , but in general is representative of vitality and life and i would argue emphasises his link to protecting the ambrosial arbour. speaking of , his horns are noticeably branch — like , and longer than dan feng’s , which elucidates to his role and perhaps , signifies growth. the growth of himself , however , which dan feng permitted in ichor ( although this was dan heng’s perception of what the preceptors had painted so we cannot use this reliably ). i also think the waist accessory of the oracle bone script is a hint at his position as the archivist but it could potentially be a sign that visualises how he balances between bearing the burdens of dan feng against carrying out the remainder of his life as a nameless — the bad luck vs the good luck.

his tail ( the one i know you were waiting on ) , is something i have always debated on as to whether it is a fully manifested appendage that he is capable of summoning or not , or is simply fluid in appearance staying true to his watery roots. the element he is bound to. when bailu pointed out the stark absence of it , and dan heng became rather withdrawn , i think it does spell out he can bring it out on command , but elects not to. otherwise , it is a proper and tangible limb.

i think ultimately , dan heng does accept and acknowledge the debt he has inherited , as well as the responsibility and role the high elder brings , but he cannot deny that it feels unlike him. in both regalia and in the inward sense the form brings.

it has its benefits , no doubt , especially on the battlefield when faced with powerful adversaries , but if he can fend off the enemy in his human build and with cloud — piercer , then he will opt for this choice instead.

#* ✦ 𝐈𝐈. ❮ asks ❯ ⸻ ❝#* ✦ 𝐈𝐕. ❮ isms ❯ ⸻ ❝#* ✦ 𝐕𝐈. ❮ muses ❯ ⸻ ❝ 「 dan heng 」#* ✦ oneireth #i probably missed what you wanted me to address #because this turned into an analysis instead of a view #he is such a complex little dragon i hold him in my palms #it's insane to think that he finally stopped running towards the stars and looked back to confront this past he was forced into #i think he always knew it was inevitable but trying to evade it was more preferable than facing it #the article also said the lotus is in the mud which is indicative of dan heng being stuck with dan feng's crime and i just #exploded #anyways gives you pats with his tail #long post

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brittlebutch · 8 months

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one of the many reasons Aabria is such a good GM is because of the very keen eye she keeps on the social dynamics and interactions that happens at the table and i absolutely Love her for it

#N posts stuff #ppl have been talking about it a lot for the interaction between Thorn and his followers -> the mostly joke the Player was making #about giving Ava advantage on an intimidate check turning into a Serious confrontation about the dynamic Thorn has w/ those followers #which is an Excellent example but i'm watching a court of fae ep and she does it really well here as well; in and After the convo rue & hob #have about the Goblin Court Marriage -> there's an overt Disparity in how Rue views courts and how Hob does that colors a kind of #miscommunication between them; Rue and Hob know each other as kindred spirits in feeling Alienated from their courts #but Rue tends to see themself as wholly Separate from their court (barely part of it at all) whereas Hob still clearly Does take a staunch #Identity as a Member of the Goblin Court -> so when Rue talks about the marriage and Hob's role in it they see it as something Hob is being #manipulated or Commanded into caring about whereas Hob pretty clearly seems to take it as a Personal wound - Rue doesn't care #about the dynamics or standing of their court bc they're Separate but Hob DOES care about those things bc he's still Part Of it #even if he still feels alienated from it at the same time; they take a different approach in how they feel in that alienation #which is why Rue's sentiment of 'take care of yourself' seems to leave Hob on the verge of tears; bc he doesn't Share that approach #and Aabria seemingly takes serious notice of this because the Immediate next convo is between Rue and an NPC who calls Rue out #for that disparity -> saying they're a Fool if they think that Everyone around them doesn't feel the Weight of their court behind them #ie; even though Rue sees themself as Separate they're still reaping a social Privilege in Being a member of their court anyway #a 'you can't have it both ways' kind of call out that is So choice and i love it a lot; rue having to Immediately confront #their own perceptions like that even tho they still wont quite Acknowledge it; tasty i love it <3 #btw i've decided to start being SO annoying about my thoughts on subjects; this is bc i take So so many notes on them & i like to share :3 #but my Fic Writing words have been screwed to hell lately so. one billion analysis posts upon ye instead

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snek-eyes · 10 months

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I keep thinking about what slotting the Job sequence in between the Flood and the Crucifixion does for Crowley’s arc, and his relationship to both Aziraphale and heaven.

@amuseoffyre did a great analysis of the importance to Aziraphale's arc here that sparked this thought, but it sent me down a rabbithole because A+C are both having very different experiences here.

Compare how Crowley bounces up to Aziraphale at the flood vs how standoffish he is when the angel shows up to the Job situation. Aziraphale is the one who's all friendly, "Oh it's you!" while Crowley... is pretty businesslike, at least until he gets the chance to start rubbing the reality of the situation in the angel's face.

The flood pissed Crowley off. Job is the first time we start to see the more bitter Crowley we'll get to know. In the Garden he was bemused about overreactions and almost having fun poking this angel with questions about God's plans. Beginning of the flood sequence he was pretty playful. This whole earth thing hasn't been so bad so far, and oh here's that weird angel again, that's fun.

But then he gets hit with God turning on their creation without warning, again. And the flood was at least in God's name ("That's more the type of thing you'd expect my lot to do," he said. Wasn't heaven supposed to be the good guys?). But now with Job? God turns their back and just... doesn't stop hell. Heaven's hands stay clean while hell dirties their evil little claws. Oh, so this is how things are, Crowley realizes. This is the part he's meant to play. Fine.

And seeing how he acts here... I can't help but feel like he'd mostly given up on Aziraphale after the flood. After Crowley went, "Wtf, this is clearly an atrocity," and Aziraphale stuck to "You can't judge the Almighty!" ...well. Giving away the flaming sword was probably a fluke. Just another tool of heaven, that one. Disappointing, but what should he have expected?

So all through their Job interaction he plays up his demonicness, trying to force Aziraphale to toe the party line and prove Crowley's new view on things right, once and for all. But there is a crack there, because not-so deep down Crowley would love for Aziraphale to surprise him again.

(After all... he is lonely. Try some wine with me, or have an ox rib, angel.)

(Fascinated by the difference in Crowley's gleeful "That's just how it started for me, see you in hell" vs. "I'm not taking you to hell, Angel. I don't think you'd like it." And only admitting to the loneliness once he isn't totally alone anymore; I think the original lie was more to himself than anything. He's angry, he's bitter, these righteous angels shouldn't think they're any better than him, not when they can doubt too. But when it comes down to it? No, I don't actually want to drag you all the way there. Something about guns and miraculous escapes, and his comment about Wee Morag, it's different when it's someone you know, isn't it. Hm. Anyways.)

By the end of the Job situation they have a moment where they confirm they are more similar than they thought. But it's not a happy thing. It won't be until Rome when they start enjoying each other's company just for the sake of it. So at the crucifixion Crowley comes up to Aziraphale still prodding at him. You happy about this, Angel? You smirking over how righteous it is? But now instead of, "You can't judge the Almighty," we get "I'm not consulted on policy decisions." Implying he disagrees without really saying it. And that's enough for now, Crowley will take it.

From the flood -> Job -> crucifixion -> Rome, we see Crowley get angry, then more and more resigned and bitter. Until Aziraphale reaches out and pulls him out of it.

#i like how the Job sequence both shakes things up and doesn't at the same time #it's not totally necessary to make the arc work but the context helps you understand so much more #good omens #good omens meta #good omens 2 #good omens spoilers #crowley #v watches good omens #job flashback

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comicaurora · 6 months

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I've started making my way through the playlist hbomberguy made of actually good video essays by queer creators and spotted a comment of yours on the one about the relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, which was fun xD red in the wild!

Anyways, just wanted to appreciate how both you and Blue and you are very good at showing your sources! It's always nice to know that the people you've watched for years have good habits after an event like this, and I hope you guys are among the people that get some new fans after this whole debacle, because your channel definitely qualifies for "good educational videos made by queer people"

I'm glad! Blue's much better about listing his sources and follow-up reading than I am.

To be honest, I loved the video, but my imposter syndrome always flares like crazy when I watch an essay like that. It might be the ADHD or it might just be who I am as a person, but I feel like I've lived my whole life striving to make everything I do the best it can be, and still managing to fuck up and get criticised for things I could've done better if only I never missed anything. It's an actual gut-drop when it turns out a source I used wasn't trustworthy, or when in older videos I only went wiki-deep for some claims and didn't check every source to be 100% sure I wasn't being goat-fish'd. And this being the internet, I can get criticized at any time for things I've gotten wrong years ago, since it's evergreen online and to the new-viewing critic it's as fresh as yesterday. It makes it hard for me to stay proud of my work past the first moment of "oh I would've done that different now". There's a cocktail of complicated, scary feelings around this space, no matter how little I actually have in common with the bad guys of this scenario - it's less about the reality and more about who my imposter syndrome tells me I am. I saw several people saying that the video actually made them feel much better about their own work because it made it clear that accidental plagiarism on that scale is impossible, but if my anxieties listened to reason I would've successfully machete'd them out of my skull years ago. I just hope I never fuck up badly enough to deserve an hbombing of my own.

But my own stress aside, the hbomb essay exposed a level of laxness, laziness and entitlement on the part of these plagiarists that I think is almost incomprehensible to people who actually create for a living or even just the joy of it. How hollow do you have to be to take in someone else's writing and not consider it, digest it, let it reshape your views and then formulate your own interpretation on it, but instead to file off the serial numbers and pretend it's yours, trusting that the person whose thoughts and words you valued enough to steal will never be powerful enough to call you out on it? I go down research rabbit holes because I love the frustration and thrill of putting something together! How joyless it must be to skim the surface and borrow someone else's conclusions!

I've sometimes had people email asking for sources on parts of my interpretation of various myths, possibly in the interest of source-citing for school papers (a nightmare concept in and of itself) and with very few exceptions I usually have to tell them "the only sources were the english translations I used of the primary source where the myth was originally written, like I said in the video, and the part where I said I was conspiracy-boarding has no source other than my own analysis of the given source, which is why I called it conspiracy-boarding" and I was always a little baffled by those emails - half the videos are introduced like "this is The Prose Edda" or "this is in Ovid's Metamorphoses" or "this bit is Hesiod" so what else could they want - but seeing the hbomb of the week made me realize that truly original analysis might not be what most people are expecting from a "thing summarized." They might be expecting a compilation of other people's summaries instead.

#asks #not aurora

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etherealinowrites · 3 months

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HELLO THAT PERV PROF MINHO THING WAS SO GOOD PLS CAN WE GET MORE ?!

i’m so sorry for taking so long again, but here you go <3

perv professor leeknow x female reader

smut. filthy smut. dirty talk, use of pet names and nicknames: princess, kitten, baby, angel, slut, whore etc, erotic humiliation, dacryphilia, degradation, man handling, unprotected sex, sex in a public place (minho’s office), swearing, cream pie (i really hope i got everything 🫣)

—————

professor minho who cannot help but assign low marks to you all because he wants to have you in his office, begging for an increase in the grades.

professor minho who would do anything in his power to catch faults in whatever you do so he could easily provide you with detention and force you to stay back after hours, when its just you and him on the entire floor while the sun sets.

"but- but sir you wanted a comparative analysis for the final theories-" you stuttered, going red in the face as he gives you another shrug. "and its still not a comparative analysis i want to grade miss y/n" he sighed, putting on the most defeated look ever to make himself seem helpless.

"i cannot help it, if i submit this ahead the HOD will call it out herself and you'll be fucked over twice." he would lie, oh please, he had connections that ran way over the position of the HOD but he was not going to ruin it by telling you.

"i am so sorry doll" he would coo, walking over to where you sat in front of himat his desk. his hand would come up to your shoulder, he would stand behind you and squeeze it, offering comfort. "if only you had a way to convince me to pull better strings for you." he sighed, hands now massaging your tense shoulders, this view giving him a clear view down your bra, and boy did his eyes stared at your full breasts.

“isn’t there a way though? there must be something i can do for you right sir?” you would whine, making his cock twitch at the sheer innocence in your tone.

“well, there’s definitely ways of convincing me. you know very well don’t you angel?” he would mumble in your ear, hands on your shoulder as he leaned down to smell you better.

the next thing you know he’s got you on his lap, your legs being spread open on top of his thick thighs with his warm hands. “look at that, isn’t this so nice?” he would coo, pulling your skirt up till it was bunched at your waist. “such a pretty angel for me” he mumbled, leaving wet kisses down your neck.

“s-sir, i don’t know if this is the best way-.” you would try to say, but your words die down as his hands began to grope your breast, turning your words into a moan instead.

“shh princess, sir knows best yeah? just turn that dumb little brain off and let me think for you” he grunted, pushing his fingers inside your sloppy cunt, eliciting a loud cry from you.

the next thing you know is him holding your hair tightly as your back arches, your hand holding the edge of his table while he’s fucking you from behind. “my perfect little slut, oh don’t worry at all now baby, you know how to pass all your exams now don’t you?” he would pant in your ear, making your toes curl from the intense pleasure shooting through you.

“that’s another A+ for you doll” he would mumble breathless, patting your ass as he would cum inside you yet again, maybe fifth time that week.

—-

🏷️ ✨permanent taglist- @dreamescapeswriting @cocainee-queen @lix-ables @eastleighsblog @mwitsmejk @charliesfanficlibrary @downbadfor2dmen @bluechans @janvibutbetter @bearseungmin @mal-lunar-28 8 @endzii23 3 @cypher-net @djeniryuu @hopefulrascalstatesmantoad @sheraall @manuosorioh @linos-kitten

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mad-scientist-enthusiast · 21 days

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Yor Forger- Character Analysis

I think Yor is such a fascinating character. For one, she has a very unique relationship with femininity. Growing up, Yor had to be "the strong one" and look after her brother in the absence of their parents, and this led her to becoming an assassin so she could provide for him. But even without the Garden, Yor has always been physically strong, blunt, and brutal. Her upbringing didn't allow for the same societal socialization as most girls her age had, which also plays a role here. Despite this, Yor makes a great effort to present as formal and as feminine as possible. And to her credit, she does hit all the hallmarks there. She dresses the right way, has a formal manner of speaking, works in a stereotypically feminine occupation as her day job, and goes out with her coworkers when invited; yet her coworkers, and presumably others still seem to know there is something inherently different about her.

In any other setting, this might be okay—an odd coworker is nothing to worry about—but SPY x FAMILY takes place during the Cold War. People are willing to turn even neighbors in to the Secret Police on just mere suspicion, and that's not even including those who make false reports just because they don't like someone. Yor's survival (or at least freedom) relies on her ability to perform femininity according to the standard, but even when she does everything right, she's still alienated from her peers. A lot of this has to do with language, as she tends to only be aware of syntactic and basic semantic context of words and phrases, instead of the pragmatic context used in Ostania. This was likely also a result of her upbringing. She's not only living a double life as an assassin, but also having to perform this femininity to such an extent is another mask she has to wear. Throwing the pretend marriage into the equation, you get an unrealistic amount of masks to juggle all at once.

Although I'd like to think she's able to take a few of them off when it's just her, Loid, and Anya. Outside of Yuri, Yor has felt that her strength and brutality are things to hide and be ashamed of, so it's a pleasant surprise when her new family immediately accepts and praises her for these things. Loid doesn't think there's anything untoward about her, and typically finds Yor's strength to be quite useful (and hot). And Anya looks up to Yor, wanting to be strong like her one day. This is one of many reasons why their family works so well. So much of her life is spent feeling inadequate for things she can't control while living in fear that someone might report her to the Secret Police, and yet now, with her new family, she is treated normally and with respect. She is able to live a fantasy she never thought she would be able to have with her social difficulties.

I mention her communication struggles as part of her separation from accepted standards of femininity because the way that women talk and their ability to be socially savvy is inherently tied to their femininity. To me this reminds me of the gender disconnect many autistic people (like myself) feel when they are unable to perform their gender roles conventionally. Even strongly masking, it can feel like theres something so deeply wrong with you that everyone else seems to pick up, but you can't for the life of you identify what. Yor wants to perform femininity, as seen by her uniform with the Garden. She very easily could've gone for something more practical or comfortable, but instead chose an outfit that is seductive and feminine. But the issue comes into play when she's presented with different social contexts. She didn't connect that wearing a seductive dress would probably be inappropriate for getting drinks with her coworkers, because she doesn't realize what is and is not appropriate in the first place.

Overall, I think this view of her character adds so much depth to her and is way more interesting than the "female himbo dommy mommy" box that the fandom tends to stick her in, to me. (No hate btw, to each their own).

#spy x family #yor forger #spy x family meta #yor briar #spy family

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rainbow-crane · 10 days

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In-Depth Character Analysis On All The DR Characters Because What, Are You Gonna Try And Stop Me? Who Are You, My Mom? Yeah, I Didn't Think So- Part 1: Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Yes, I'm aware the title is ungodly long, it's called comedy. Behold, a series inspired by my overwhelming hubris! Despite my better judgement, I love this series and (almost) every single one of its characters, so I decided to do this little series of posts on the side, just cuz!

So part 1 of like, 88 I think?, going through the characters from THH, DR 0, SDR2, UDG, DR3, and DRV3 with as much objectivity as possible, analyzing their character using only canon material from the games/anime/novel/canon adaptation they're present in. So sit back and enjoy while I go feral! Or just scroll, if you aren't interested. Whatever works for you.

Part 1- Character Design

Kiyotaka Ishimaru is depicted as a very aggressive honors student, and is shown as such through his very expressive facial features and his choice of clothing. He has large eyebrows and big eyes, and is given a uniform meant to make him look more like a soldier, reflecting his rigid dedication to the rules and his ethics. This uniform also includes an armband meant to signify his authority within the class as Hall Monitor and as the unofficial class rep. His sprites are very animated, with big gestures using his arm(s) and his mouth often wide open, whether in a wide smile or while yelling. This makes him one of the more expressive characters in THH specifically, as most of those characters are pretty restrained on a day-to-day basis and only become more exaggerated when put under high levels of stress.

Something interesting about Taka is that his talent changes from the original Japanese to the English translation. His official talent is the SHSL Public Morals Committee Member, meaning his original talent was that of discipline and social order. This was translated to Ultimate Moral Compass in English, as most western schools don't have a Public Morals Committee. This change in translation unintentionally shifted the perception of his talent from discipline to morality. This change in distinction has had a bit of a negative impact on the Western perception of his character, as rather than appearing to impose order on the other students, it instead appears at the beginning as though we, the audience, are supposed to view him as a beacon of morality. We're not.

Part 2- Character Introduction

Taka is one of the first characters to actually speak to Makoto directly, berating him for being late on the first day of school, despite the fact that he and everyone else had experienced a strange warping of memory. He also goes on to interrupt your first conversation with Sayaka, stating that their time is being wasted by 'ridiculous back-and-forth'. Despite this, when it's his turn to introduce himself to Makoto, he goes off on a tangent about how cool Makoto's name is. He's described by Makoto as a 'flawless honors student' and is most publicly known for his work on his local Public Morals Committee. He believes in putting 'every ounce of effort' into living, and imposes this belief on those he interacts with, something Makoto finds irritating(This guy is... kind annoying.").

So in short, Taka's first impression on the player is that he's a mildly obsessive honors kid, and a bit of a hypocrite that isn't fully aware of his own presence or the effect it has on the rest of the cast. The game goes on to use this lack of social awareness as a source of comedy, as he takes Monokuma's initial greeting as Headmaster fully at face value. He struggles to grasp the concept of the killing game at first, opening the discussion upon Monokuma's departure from the welcome ceremony with dialogue that sounds like it was pulled from a customer feedback survey("So guys, how would you define what we just experienced?"). He's not a malicious or hateful figure; he wants to work with the class but isn't quite sure how to.

Part 3- Early-Game Events

The game spends the early-game establishing Taka's more negative traits. He's shown to be inobservant and wrapped up in his own ideals and need to command authority to even notice Kyoko is missing and, upon being informed of her disappearance, cares more about her punctuality than her safety. "Not only is she late, she didn't tell anyone she would be late! A most unbecoming personality trait..."

He's also established as hypocritical once again, and a bit egotistical, as he has trouble fathoming the others' lack of discoveries but overinflates the importance of his own.

He then goes on to agree to Celeste's suggested nighttime rule for all the boys in the class, without letting them speak for themselves. While ultimately, no one has a problem with the rule, this is the first real instance of him doing something that, on paper, is beneficial to the group, but without considering how the others actually feel about it.

Taka doesn't show up in-story again until the day of the motive, when he goes around to the entire class demanding that they will now all have breakfast together every morning after the morning announcement. Although this is a good idea, allowing for everyone to bond and creating a morning headcount, he makes this decision for the entirety of the group. Leon and Makoto both complain about this if you speak to Leon outside the cafeteria, but ultimately go along with it because they don't want Taka to continue bugging them about it. So we can see that his efforts are perceived negatively by his classmates and go unappreciated.

Already we've seen Taka act overbearing and commanding over and over, inadvertently separating himself from the majority of his peers. He's direct and to the point, forming the breakfast meetings expressly to 'become friends and build trust' with the rest of the class. So we can see in no uncertain terms that he wants to befriend his classmates, but that his lack of social skills leads him to fail at every turn. He doesn't ask the class to join him for breakfast, he tells them. The strategy he employs doesn't leave room for choice, and ends up building resentment from his classmates.

It's not until the first body is discovered and the rules of the class trial are revealed that reality fully seems to set in for Taka. He, along with everyone else, are given the rules of a game they don't really want to play- that should they fail in the trial, all of them will be killed. And it sends Taka to a breakthrough- that some regulations can be harmful to those they're imposed upon.

There's now a shift in his actions- he's still trying to push for the class to follow the rules he's set, yes, but there's a newfound urgency to them. When Byakuya disappears in chapter 2, his concern has shifted from punctuality to his classmate's safety. He's the one to lead the search for Byakuya when he doesn't answer. Despite all his harshness, we can see that his strictness now comes from a place of genuine concern for the people around him, a direct parallel to earlier in the game when Kyoko went missing- "I'd like to think so. But I'm worried something might have happened to him."

This growth of character, though not focused on, is undoubtedly present. The dedication he has to his discipline and his ego are still fully intact, but now that dedication has moved beyond just order. It's an act of protection, for him and everyone else. The invisible threat of death has become all too visible with Sayaka's absence from their last breakfast meeting. If he can keep track of everyone, then he'll know they're still alive. He can prevent another murder. It imposes upon him the responsibility of the leadership he craves.

Part 4- Relationship(s)

Unincluding if the player actively seeks him out through FTEs, Taka only ever develops a real relationship with one character of the other fourteen in-game, though he does have some important dynamics with others. We'll continue moving in chronological order.

4.1- Ishimondo (these bitches gay?)

Throughout the game, whenever Taka is saying or doing something stupid, Mondo is typically the one to call him out on it or shut him down. While this doesn't start to take real shape until chapter 2, it is visible here and there in the early game.

But their connection doesn't really start to take focus until chapter 2, as Taka's failings as leader and Mondo's constant correcting him puts them at odds. Mondo's attitude is the antithesis of Taka's, living a life of complete risk and impulsiveness, yet has a matching level of energy, and despite being more intimidating on a surface level, he's able to actually befriend characters like Chihiro, Hina, and Sakura, while Taka's left on the out. One of the best examples of this is found not in the game, but in the stageplay adaptation, where both characters attempt to help Chihiro feel better about her weakness in the daily life segment.

When Byakuya starts mocking Chihiro for her fear, Mondo threatens him, and insists that Chihiro's weakness doesn't matter because she's a woman. But when this makes her upset and Sakuraoi call him out on it, he offers to help Chihiro train as an apology, acknowledging that his behavior was irrational. But when Taka tries to give her advice by telling her not to be weak anymore and is told to be reasonable, he can only insist that Mondo's words don't matter anyway.

In the game itself, Taka's barely present for this exchange, as it chooses instead to focus on Chimondo's relationship. Regardless, the animosity between Mondo and Taka is still made very clear in-game.

Mondo and Taka are both demonstrating the desire to protect their classmates here, but in different ways. Taka is the more logical of the two, focusing on keeping track of resources and devising a system of check for everyone to keep watch over each other in the breakfast promise. Mondo, meanwhile, wants to push the importance of actually getting everyone the fuck out of there. While their endgoal is the same, they disagree on how to go about it, and both their stubbornness drives them to butt heads as time continues to pass, leading to the sauna scene.

After being slowly built up in the background, Ishimondo's mutual anger finally comes to a head, with both not understanding the position that the other is in. Taka still believes Mondo's value to be what he provides to society, and as a biker gang leader, that's not much to a man that lives by lawful discipline. Meanwhile, Mondo can only see Taka as an egomaniac with a stick up his ass and doesn't know the background to why(and neither does the player without actively seeking out his FTEs). They each follow a different code of ethics, and view themself as the protector of the class, leading them to see each other as rivals. Yet, despite that, both of them still share their core value of total dedication, and so when finding a way to prove themself the better man, they end up with an endurance competition. For Taka, this reflects his belief that men connect by baring their souls, and do so by baring their bodies(something only learned in-game by approaching him for FTEs).

(This also leads to the implication that, while Mondo insisted on entering the sauna with all his clothes on, at some point, he was, in fact, naked while with Taka that night.)

The information as to what happened in that sauna is intentionally left unanswered, remaining fully private between both men in-game. The only thing either of them will say is that a brotherhood was formed between them, and that who won their initial contest no longer matters. Finally, Taka has found someone. Someone he can confide in and lean on, someone who'll support him and that he can support in turn("And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back! That's how you can overcome any storm!" -Taka ch 1).

And then Chihiro's case happens.

At first, when the motives are introduced, Taka is one of the few to vocally insist no murder will take place. He has newfound confidence in the willpower of his classmates, and puts faith into everyone else for the first and only time. Even when presented with his own unknown secret, he finds it ridiculous that anyone would kill over the embarrassing memories and secrets. It's here that we truly see the highest high of this character- when he comes up with the idea to share secrets. When he presents this idea, he moves forward as usual, preparing to be the first one to reveal their secret and take the pressure off. But when his classmates insist they can't (Toko & Celeste) he doesn't keep chugging along, and he doesn't completely shut down, either. He looks around at his classmates, and he asks Chihiro. He actually steps back and asks for someone else's opinion.

And when she isn't yet comfortable, he backs off. He respect her wishes, and he stands with the class, ready to help them face their secrets the following day. Finding a friend in Mondo has softened his rigid exterior a little bit, enough to actually consider the opinions of the others. He's gotten comfortable. All that comes crashing down with the discovery of Chihiro's body the next morning. After finally taking a step back and letting his classmates- his friends- make their own choices, it directly leads to the murder of one of them("Dammit! I'm sorry, Chihiro... It's all because I wasn't strong enough!").

Taka fully blames himself for allowing Chihiro to be murdered, and as the guilt of failure starts to set in on him, he looks to his ethics and order to solve it. Chihiro may be dead, but the murderer will be condemned through the class trial("Justice always prevails! Right, bro!?"). A solution, a path forward, still exists for him. He still has Mondo by his side, and he and the rest of the class can surely prevent this from happening again, right?

The trial only validates him at first, revealing the existence of a serial killer among the group, someone so clearly immoral for her killing obsession. But it's not her. Why isn't it her? "Could such a heinous villain really be innocent!?" But his confusion is quickly stamped out- of course, it's Byakuya, the guy that's been threatening everyone and refusing to cooperate, the guy that has no regard for the rest of their classmates. "He kept calling this a game, right? So he'd totally be willing to do whatever it takes to 'win'!" But no, wrong again- he didn't know that the murder was in the boys' locker room, and was taken aback by Chihiro being AMAB. It should be him, someone so clearly antagonistic, that's how it's supposed to go, right?? But no, it's wrong! Why? And, who could kill someone like Chihiro at their most vulnerable?

He's failed. Taka's failed in every way conceivable. Mondo, the first person he's ever truly felt connected to, a murderer? Chihiro's murderer? That can't be it. Even long after Mondo's stopped arguing, Taka continues to push back against Makoto and Kyoko's accusations. It's a coincidence, that's not actually proof, anything to get them to stop, to save his brother, to save himself from the reality he's about to have to face. When sent into the BTB, it's Taka we fight in his despair, not Mondo. Until the very end, Taka won't acknowledge it. He can't. He can't bring himself to vote his Mondo a murderer, a killer. How could the man who gave him the chance no one else would, ever be so cruel? "I- I refuse to believe it... There's no way... no way he would kill someone! Why!? Why why why why why!? WHYYY!? Why did you do it!?"

He learns the truth of Mondo's story alongside the rest of the class, unable to process it all. It makes no sense. They were friends who trusted each other, who helped each other. And what about the man's promise? Doesn't that count for anything!? This doesn't sound right. This isn't Mondo, not his Mondo, not the man from the sauna. How could he have been so wrong about him?! It just can't be, but it is; the truth is but a slap to the face.

He was wrong. He stood by Chihiro's killer and defended him. He let his brother become the monster he saw himself as. He didn't stop it when he could have. He was blinded by his own beliefs, and as he watches Mondo's death, his spirit dies with him, the game cutting out all music as Taka screams, filling a deafening silence. "As Taka's sad screams invaded our skulls, we were each forced to realize once again..."

4.2- Kiyondo Ishida

Taka enters chapter 3 as a hollowed out shell of himself. He's gone near comatose, staring at nothing and saying nothing. He won't eat, won't speak, won't sleep, and although there are a couple weak attempts to get him back in action from Hiro("It's times like this where the committee chairman needs to get things going with a BANG!"), he's mostly left to grieve by himself, as the rest of cast is more concerned with the expanded school than the bossy guy they didn't like that much.

Monokuma even goes out of his way to torture Taka, to punish him for his grief, lying about the existence of a time machine just to fuck with his head and give him false hope, sending him further into despair- "Hmm... You sound disappointed. But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such thing as time machines!" He's forced to become Monokuma's most successful project from the class, completely and utterly destroyed.

When he learns of Alter Ego, something in his head clicks. He can still talk to Chihiro. He can repent. He can apologize directly to him. So, with Makoto's help, he's brought to the laptop. His guilt finishes totally consuming him as he asks: "Do you... hate Mondo? And since I couldn't stop him... do you hate me?" His own self-hatred stemming from his failure is projected onto Alter Ego in one last attempt to come to terms with what's happened. The response he receives, unfortunately, is the culmination of all the toxic and unhealthy ideas of manhood the other boys carried with them via an attempted simulation of Mondo.

"You're not letting yourself get crushed under the weight of that responsibility, are you!? A man's only worth as much as the load he can carry! You get it, right bro!? Hell, what am I saying? Of course ya do!"

"So you're just gonna stand there, huh? Just wait for things to get better? Just take your time and get all depressed... Take the time to indulge your regrets... You might even start walking again without realizing it. Sure, that kind of mediocre thing might work for some people."

This speech, while attempting to inspire Taka to keep living for Chihiro's and Mondo's sakes, encapsulates the desperate need to be perceived as strong and untouchable that Mondo himself carried, and that Chihiro admired so much. It sinks its way into Taka, convincing him that the way to respond to his guilt is simple- pretend it isn't there! Mondo has clearly returned to him, and he's never letting him go ever again. He fully deludes himself, and he's fused with this idealized version of his bro. He permanently ties himself to Mondo's memory, and goes from the SHSL Public Morals Committee Member to something else entirely- Kiyondo Ishida, the unholy mixture of both men.

This revelation also leads him to an obsession with Alter Ego, viewing it as the vessel in which his bro was returned to him. He views it as another chance to protect his bro from ever being hurt again, as some divine second-chance he's been granted. All desire to be around the rest of his class is gone, replaced with this obsession. He's put at odds with Hifumi, who's also connected with the AI, and separates himself from the group that much more. When Alter Ego disappears, he can't handle it. He panics. He won't let his bro die, not again. And so he dooms himself, refusing to let go of the shadows of the past enough to see his own death looming before him, and he's killed in the early hours of the morning, led by desperation to his demise. And even so, the class can only worry about the semantics of when he died, barely mourning him.

5- Isolation (What's the point of this guy, anyway?)

Rather than learning from the mistakes both Chihiro and Mondo made by subscribing to the societal expectations of what makes a man, Taka ends up doubling down, burning away the optimism and more reasonable logic Taka used to have. Taka's story is that of a doomed fate to become the symbol of manhood and its self-destructing nature, leeching off of his first and only friend's unhealthy behaviors and sending him spiraling. And it's allowed to happen because of his social isolation.

From the very beginning of the game, Taka is singled out as annoying to be around. He's put in a negative light and viewed as unpleasant to spend time with. Every attempt to befriend or connect with a classmate is written off as a nuisance, a hindrance. Taka doesn't know how to make friends. He doesn't know how to do anything besides follow the rules and regulations he's been taught. He sticks to his regimen, because it's comfortable, and doesn't understand why others can't conform in the way that he does. He's very thoroughly isolated mentally and emotionally from his classmates at every turn, to the point where even in the very first trial he's standing with no one but the dead by his side(as Sayaka and "Junko" were positioned on either side of his podium).

All this is done with the deliberate intention to showcase his solitude, and more importantly, the loneliness that comes from it. It's to the point that when he finally does make a friend, he thoroughly idealizes him in his subconscious, coming to view him as some perfect person who'd even support him. It's inherently contradictory from his established beliefs going into the game, that a delinquent could be kind, but he accepts it wholeheartedly. He gets to know Mondo on some deeper level while in that sauna, and it's enough to rapidly develop a massive codependency on him. So when Mondo self-destructs and dies, so too does Taka.

Taka's purpose as a character is to suffer. He wraps himself in his moral beliefs, remaining steadfast in what he views as right and wrong, making judgement calls he's 100% sure of, and when they're challenged/disproven, he's thrown wholly out of whack. He exists to serve a purpose- what would've happened if Makoto didn't accept the truth about Sayaka? What happens when you let your idealism blind you to the truth? What happens when you blind yourself to the reality of the people around you, of the darkness in the people you care about? You self-destruct. He's tossed aside, killed as an accessory to the plot of someone who does nothing but manipulate the truth. He dies, and that's just it. His story is cut short; he doesn't get to heal or grow or come to terms with the truth. Such is the fate of the failed.

6- Afterword

...I didn't even touch his FTEs for this. Holy shit.

I'm gonna be honest, as much as I love Taka, I never expected this post would become as long as it did, or that I'd uncover such a dark fucking reason for why he gets as totally fucked over as he does. Don't get me wrong, I still really wish he'd lived and gotten to grow after this, but maybe his death was more well-written than I used to think. Good god.

#danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #trigger happy havoc #thh #dr thh #dr thh spoilers #danganronpa thh #kiyotaka ishimaru #ishimaru kiyotaka #danganronpa kiyotaka #character analysis #character study #analysis #fan theory #DR character analysis #chihiro fujisaki #mondo owada #ishimondo #alter ego

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violetasteracademic · 3 days

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The Glass Coffin: HOFAS x Elriel

Many HOFAS spoilers ahead!! This is an INTENSIVE post on all the Elriel coding in HOFAS, so strap in! This is largely a theory post and my personal interpretations, so take it or leave it! It's all in good fun.

Let's start with The Glass Coffin. When it comes to the analysis of the songs Bryce played for Azriel and Nesta in the much beloved and much dissected bonus chapter, I have seen a lot of conversation around Stone Mother and significantly less (if any?) around The Glass Coffin!

The Glass Coffin is played next after the Stone Mother. And it is a ballet.

What is the The Glass Coffin?

My friends, it is Sleeping Beauty.

Now we all know that many suspect Elriel to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling. And I'll be honest, I take a lot of the mythology or "retellings" with a grain of salt when it comes to SJM, because she doesn't do incredibly loyal retellings but takes bits and pieces of inspiration. I suppose it's up to you where you draw the line of a retelling, or free IP inspiration. But one thing to understand about IP is that Sarah J. Maas would have to get Disney's permission to call her work a retelling of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Much like Beauty and The Beast, she did not "retell" the Disney princess movie, but the original La Belle et la Bête by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve published in 1740. So with that little lesson in intellectual property, lets look at the story of The Glass Coffin, because it is actually quite interesting:

A magician forces a proposal on a Maiden using his magic. The Maiden is repulsed by the use of magic in the proposal and rejects him. The Magician turns her brother into a stag, traps her in the glass coffin, and enchants the land around them.

There is a LOT to unpack here. I do not think Lucien is "The Magician" in this story. Instead, I think the Cauldron is, and I do think that the use of magic to force a proposal is a very close parallel to what Azriel discovered in HOFAS: That the Cauldron had been corrupted by the Asteri to serve their will. If you have read all of the books in the multiverse, you know that there is no other SJM universe where mating bond rejections happen. There is no other universe in which there are unhappily mated pairs forced together because the function of the mating bond, at a base level, is simply to produce the most powerful offspring. Mates in other worlds are true soulmates, and they fall in love before discovering they are mates.

In HOFAS, Azriel listened to a song from The Glass Coffin. He also listened to the story of Silene, and learned that the Cauldron was corrupted by the Asteri. It is not a theory or interpretation that the Asteri curate powerful bloodlines to ensure they have the strongest food from the souls that they eat. It is a fact. So it is not a jump to interpret that the Cauldron's corruption by the Asteri, and mates that are not a good fit on a soul level but forced together to produce powerful offspring, are one and the same. At this time, both Azriel and Elain have discussed feelings of repulsion or discomfort regarding E/ucien's bond. There are also negative consequences to a female rejecting the bond, as there were for the Maiden in The Glass Coffin. Rejecting a bond can lead to madness on the males end in Prythian because he believes he is entitled to her, just as the Maiden rejecting the Magician's proposal led to him trapping her in glass and enchanting the lands so no one else could have her.

This is already quite interesting, but it gets even more powerful as you continue to breakdown the Elain coding in HOFAS.

This line basically started a war:

"I can hear your heart beating through the stone." She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer, "Can you hear mine?" (ACOWAR, chpt. 24)

Now many people have used this to claim she is Lucien's mate, because she can hear his heartbeat. Though only a few pages earlier, we had this moment:

Elain can hear Feyre's heartbeat. She says if she listens carefully, she can hear hers too. At the time, we all assumed she was talking about Nesta. And yet we've discovered that Vesperus, an Asteri, (or Valg, depending on which theory you vibe with) was also a beating heart under the stone.

Inside a glass coffin.

More than that, we have this passage:

We now know that the Prison was once the Dusk Court, and just like UTM, The Hewn City, and Ramiel, it is encapsulated in stone beneath the mountain. Within the stone of the Prison lies the long buried heart of the Dusk Court. When you look back at Elain's line to Lucien, and see that she is staring out at the city, looking for answers at the heart she can hear beating beneath the stone, and not Lucien, this all starts to click together in a brilliant way. And the imagery, the island having a soul nurtured and blossoming under her care, has Elain written all over it.

Now, the reason I bring up the Hewn City here is because I believe there is a reason for Elain's lifelessness and distress in the Hewn City that has nothing to do with her wearing the color black.

In HOFAS, we discover a few important things about Earth Fae. Lidia discovers in her time on Team Archives what the Earth Fae did, and what their powers were used for:

Earth Fae were used on Midgard to discover ley lines of power to create powerful strongholds. One important thing I have noticed is that all Fae on Midgard are said to come from either Erilea or Prythian (at least that is all that is mentioned) and yet there is no indicator of where the Earth Fae come from. it is my personal belief the Earth Fae are from Prythian. Yet the entire Dusk Court disappeared, and their story continued on Midgard. It is my belief that Elain is not only a Seer, but that she has also been gifted with the Earth powers that have since been lost on Prythian, priming her to both restore Earth powers on Prythian as well as the Dusk Court.

What does this have to do with the Hewn City?

Earth Fae experience distress when they are in places where the magic is dead or warped, and they are the only ones that can feel it:

Bryce mentions she forgets the Earth Fae even have magic, because what they can do is often unseen.

If Elain is in possession of the lost Earth power, she would have been able to feel her power literally shriveling up and dying anywhere that has been warped by that magic.

And then of course we have the fact that the cave on Prythian is an exact match to the Cave of Princes on Avallen. We end HOFAS with all the weapons in the possession of the IC, the knowledge that there are cache's of magic hidden in the lands, and that there are places where the magic has been twisted and must be freed, one being the Prison/Dusk Court.

This was the imagery used once the magic was freed on Avallen, and it took its true, lush, blossoming form:

If what is true on Avallen will also be true once the Dusk Court is freed on Prythian, answer this question honestly: When you read this imagery- blooming vines and roses, beautiful and surreal, the land seeming to know her, small blooming flowers nestling around her body and in her hair- who do you think of? Who could this possibly be alluding to back in Prythian?

Elain's coding was all over HOFAS, and Azriel's "what if the Cauldron was wrong storyline" continued. These statements are true, even if none of my theories about her being an Earth Fae are right, though I know I'm not the only one who believes that is where we are headed!

The fact that The Glass Coffin is Sleeping Beauty, and that Azriel listened to it, may not be a powerful statement on its own (though I think it is). But the fact that the Cauldron corruption was revealed, and The Glass Coffin is a story of a woman who was entrapped due to her rejecting a proposal forced by magic, and Sarah used the Glass Coffin again with Vesperus, potentially tying her back to the heartbeat Elain can hear if she listens closely, it's all just too much to ignore.

I was personally overwhelmed by all of the Elain and Azriel nods in HOFAS. I think they get buried under all of the criticism in the book. I am so excited to see where everything goes, and I hope you had fun going down this rabbit hole with me!

#elriel #pro elriel #elriel endgame #elriel theories #elain x azriel

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tiredsunrisesmeta · 6 months

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Dead Dove and Dark Heir: An Analysis

TW// incest, age gap relationships

I do think Dark Heir is a bit more subversive than most other YA titles. Obviously, we have the BDSM coded relationship between Will/Sarcean & James/Anharion. But I think it goes further than that because the books don't shy away from more taboo things in the way a lot of recent YA titles tend to. Namely, incest and age gap relations. Furthermore, I think its willingness to engage with these topics with nuance adds to the depth of its chatacters.

For example, Will and Katherine. We need to talk about them, lol. I think whether they're actually blood related or not is ultimately irrelevant because of one detail. Katherine looks a lot like the Lady, and the Lady looks a lot like Will's mother, Eleanor. So, from the very beginning, Will pursues someone who looks like his mother, or the woman who raised him at the very least (albeit abusively). He has ulterior motives for doing so, but there's no doubt he felt an attraction to Katherine, and Katherine definitely felt attraction for him. It's all very Freudian. And I think how Dark Heir handles this complicated blend of romantic attraction & familial connection is what sets it apart from some other YA works. It refuses to draw definitive lines between these two feelings within Will. Will doesn't even feel especially disgusted or anguished by his flirtation of someone who turned out to be his sister. He probably suspected it as he was flirting with her. It's weird, but one can say it's the natural consequence of Will being his own person but also being Sarcean at the same time. Will doesn't feel or react normally to these tangled up feelings because he's not normal.

Now for age gaps. There's a lot of examples, but the main ones are Tom & Devon, James & Simon, Will & Howell, Cyprian & Ettore, Visander & Sarcean. The books frame James and Simon very negatively. It was abuse, period even though Simon was never able to have James become his lover. But the way characters like Jannick and Cyprian, following his father's example, and some other Stewards frame it doesn't acknowledge the abuse & instead blames & shames James for the supposed "relationship." This is horrible in this case, of course, but I think it speaks to a relatively blasé, maybe even period typical view of relationships between teens/young men & older men that goes on to affect & complicate every relationship/interaction listed above, some in ways different than to how it affects James & Simon. But I will come back to James at the end of this, so put a pin in that.

With Tom & Devon, I don't think the book has especially condemned it or portrayed it as inherently abusive. Tom is an adult for one. But Devon is undoubtedly thousands of years older than him. There's an element of Devon not telling Tom everything that I think is hinted at. At the end of Dark Heir, Violet thinks that Tom is strangely ignorant about the bigger picture of what's going on. He only knows what he learned from his Dad & Sinclair. At least Violet thinks so. It makes one wonder why he doesn't seem to know more even though he's dating someone who knows so much more than even Sinclair. Perhaps this is a consequence of the age gap between Tom and Devon. I don't particularly think this must mean Devon is abusive for dating Tom. And he's not, imo, comparable to the Regent from Captive Prince. But I think Devon's walls are up, and it maybe benefits him to keep Tom in the dark about all that Devon knows. This is part of a pattern that these books follow when it comes to most of their age gap relationships. They're not summarily condemned, but rather they're complicated, and their dubious, more negative qualities are subtly hinted at.

Visander and Sarcean is one such complicated age gap relationship. Upon hearing about Will from Elizabeth, Visander thinks, "This time I am the man and you are the youth." Near the end of the book when Visander confronts Will he says, "You're the same age now as I was when you killed my family." So it appears that when Sarcean slept with Visander, Sarcean was an adult, and Visander was a young man of about 17. When Visander is first introduced in the story, Sarcean thinks of him as a "young man" and a "young guard" and a possible "dalliance, to pass the time." This imbalance is only enhanced when Sarcean later thinks of Visander as "a trifling, easy to fool." Visander was a youth in love, and Sarcean was a man looking for easy amusement. Visander later feels betrayed by Sarcean for apparently killing his family. He emphasizes that he had trusted Sarcean. Their age gap adds an uncomfortable layer to Sarcean's treatment of Visander and how it might have contributed to Visander's lasting hatred of him. A hatred that, in turn, has Visander trying to kill Will, or the Dark King as a youth, as Visander sees it. Their age gap has now been reversed, and taking advantage of Will's youth, much like Sarcean took advantage of Visander's youth, he will take this opportunity to kill Will. It's like a cycle. Again, the book does not explicitly go out of its way to condemn Sarcean sleeping with a young Visander. It simply adds complications and nuance to the characters & their relationship that the reader must interpret themselves.

Will and Captain Howell's interactions are similarly ambivalent and complicated. Will knowingly initiates the flirting between them, and he doesn't seem particularly afraid of Captain Howell's advances. But their power dynamic is switched when Will uses his power to control Howell. The scene plays out like a scene of sexual exploration and discovery. Will tells Howell "No, don't fight it, just let me", he says "you're mine already", and when Howell calls him Master will thinks "Yes" as "with a lurch, he was inside Captain Howell." In many ways, it mirrors the scene where James pushes his magic into Will to release Will's magic. The sexual subtext is inescapable. But Will taking control of Howell is framed as feeling empowering to Will. Will effectively flips the power script of a young man and an older man in a sexual encounter, which brings awareness to the fact that the script usually doesn't play out like this. Their interaction is further complicated when James sees Howell and Will and freaks out. I'll come back to this...

The last significant age gap "relationship" is Cyprian with Ettore. This relationship is more subtle with its sexual subtext, but it's there. Ettore teases & pokes at Cyprian. We later learn this is because Ettore is himself a Steward, and he sees himself and his past flaws in Cyprian. But some of Ettore's teasing takes on a sexual nature. First, when his men ask Cyprian for a kiss and Ettore himself says, "Rethinking that kiss?" Then, when Ettore invites Cyprian to watch him have sex with a prostitute, who he has dressed in a Steward's tunic. After, Ettore emerging from the bedroom soon after Cyprian, "ostentatiously tucking in his shirt" makes Cyprian flush because of the implications Ettore undoubtedly wanted to illicit. This teasing and mockery come to head when Ettore asks Cyprian to kneel and beg him for help. Cyprian acquiesces despite the burning humiliation of it. This is when James goes to Cyprian and tells him he didn't like watching Cyprian kneeling for Ettore.

James says it's because he doesn't like being reminded that Stewards can be selfless, but I think it goes deeper than that and connects with James's reaction to Will and Howell. James freaks out when he sees Will and Howell holding on to each other. He asks Will if Howell hurt him. James's fear here can easily be interpreted as a remnant of his experiences with Simon. James has been hurt & taken advantage of (nearly sexually) by an older man. So when he sees Will and Howell, his mind goes to the worst possibility first. Similarly, I would argue that James's discomfort with watching Cyprian kneeling for Ettore is similarly connected to his trauma with Simon & Sinclair. This connection is supported when, later in the book, as Sinclair tries to collar James, Sinclair orders James to kneel.

These are some of the ways Dark Heir uses more subversive and taboo subjects to add depth and subtext to its world and chatacters, without forcing the readers to see these subjects in only one way. The series, much like Pacat's other work, doesn't shy away from so-called Dead Dove subject matter. And I think that's a strength of the series.

#dark rise #dark heir #will kempen #sarcean #cyprian #visander #tom ballard #devon #ettore #james st clair

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k0fii · 1 month

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Mutual Love and One-Sided Obsession

Love is mutual and that's the fundamental difference of MiziSua and IvanTill. That's what Ivan understood in his final moments - and that's why he said his feelings were shallow.

Prefacing this, not really an analysis but more of a personal connection and overview of the songs of alnst, with a quote from Richard Siken on love.

"If it was unrequited, it wasn't your first love, it was your first desire. You've got all your loves ahead of you. That sounds pretty great to me."

My Clematis; Love and the Significance of a Duet

My Clematis is a song that stands out amidst all other Alien Stage performances. Not only because it's a duet with the intentions of a tie, but also because Mizi and Sua are singing this song to and for each other. Instead of catering to the audience before them, they look to each other. In an act of defiance, they love each other. Sua sings to Mizi, as Mizi sings to Sua and this performance isn't for anyone else but them. It's beautiful, enchanting and Sua's death is made more painful by that love that's so clearly shown to the audience. Even as Sua is taken away from Mizi, nobody can deny the fact that they love each other. That the feeling between them was undeniably love.

Unknown (Till the End...); Idolization

In juxtaposition to My Clematis' heavy focus on the duet between Mizi and Sua, UTTE makes it a point to show how Till takes the spotlight all for himself one-sidedly, not even allowing his opponent to sing. In a way, this represents the extent of Till's idolization - only his feelings, the admiration for this idealized version of Mizi he has in his head are sang and borderline shouted out. The other singer is drowned out in Till's intense voice and declaration of love;

"Ain't nobody but you're the one that I'm feeling it's love"

However, Till fails to realize that the thing he wanted - Mizi's gaze to look back at him too - is rooted in reciprocity. It means allowing the other singer to get their voice out, it means allowing this preconceived notion he has of her in his head to be shattered by the reality of who Mizi truly is. UTTE is a representation of how Till's deluded image of Mizi overpowers the reality he currently lives in, it's a form of escape for someone who has always been shackled by chains.

It's a contradiction present in the song itself;

"I wanna know all about you (ya)"

For all Till sings that he wants to get to know Mizi, he never attempts to get closer to her and always, in his view of her, she's far away like an idol he can't reach. Like a god to a sinner that needs saving. It's the first desire of wanting to be saved, of wanting a saint to reach out their hand to you. And that first desire, as much as Till proclaims it to be love for its intensity, is known as something that's not love, something closer to obsession because of that very same intensity. Because that intensity prevents him from loving who Mizi truly is apart from who she represents in his head - again, it drowns it out.

Black Sorrow; Unrequitedness

Black Sorrow starts off with an admission; Ivan can't reach Till. He'll always follow him, even if he recognizes that all this will end in is tragedy. He constantly speaks of an absence - foreshadowing of Cure perhaps, but also of Till leaving him and turning back, of Till always choosing to not stay by his side, to chase for an unreachable idol. To the viewer, Black Sorrow is a song solely focused on Ivan but we can see in the video that Ivan allows his opponent to sing - a representation of his subservient nature but also perhaps of the fact he sees Till. He allows Till to sing out in deafening roars and sees him for what he is, and admires him for that. In contrast to UTTE's idealistic nature, Black Sorrow is very much rooted in reality. Till is pointedly not awake during this song - once again, he doesn't see Ivan but also he is not woken up to the reality that Ivan forces him to face. If not rooted in love because of the acknowledgement of unrequitedness, then what is Ivan's desire? It's to drown in his chosen black sea of sorrow.

Cure; Obsession and the Significance of a Duet

Ivan and Till both sing to someone who is not listening, they both sing to someone who is not looking at them in contrast to My Clematis.

"Dissolve me in your gaze

...

Please, leave me scars

Please, hurt me so that

Not a single drop of me remains

Let me drown in you"

Till wants to drown in the fantasy he's created for himself - going back to the sinner analogy, he wants everything of him that he views as wrong cleansed by Mizi's saintly presence. For once, Till lacks the same conviction he did before - he's pleading now, and asking as if praying to a dead god. Maybe it's because he thinks Mizi is gone, maybe it's because he thinks he's beyond saving.

"May they linger on your tongue

You can break me apart

...

I'll drown in you"

Ivan remains the same, steadfast in his determination and doubling down on his declarations in Black Sorrow. He doesn't ask - he knows his 'love' is unrequited, but that he will drown in it anyways.

"To this everlasting melody

Face to face we dance

With our story

Lost in forever's embrace"

Despite the lyrics stating that they stand face to face, they don't - one is always looking away. That's why, the story of what they are and what could've came to be is lost in the embrace of a time that's both not there and forever there. What they could've been is not what they are because of that everlasting melody, the obsession the two of them have that is distinctly not love because it's unrequited. Because they will always ask to be consumed in another's gaze instead of simply looking at each other and seeing. Because Till's first desire is to be saved and Ivan's first desire is to drown, the round would have always ended that way.

"Thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions."

Ivan thought he and Sua were similar at one point. He felt jealous when he realized that the fundamental difference between them was that Sua was loved, and he was not. I think that in his final moments, he recognized this jealousy for what it was - the incessant human need to be loved and to be wanted. And what does that love entail? He sees it in Mizi and Sua, it means loving and being loved in return. That's what love is, and with heartbreaking clarity, he understands that it's not what has driven him or Till this far. A one-sided obsession could never be love, because love is always mutual. To love is to be seen, to be known. Ivan was not the former, Till was not the latter.

He steels himself, he will drown in these shallow emotions, just as he always planned (even if the sacrifice was not). He knows this sacrifice seems hypocritical, but it couldn't be with such a simple yet clear difference.

Compared to the deep grief brought about by the deep and intense emotions of love and loss, the pain he will cause Till will only be as shallow as his own emotions. Because it only reached Ivan, only drowned him and it never seemed to reach Till.

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pinkeoni · 8 months

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...but what was Will really saying in the van?

This a post a year after the fact, when post people have already said what needs to be said, but you know what!! This is my blog and I can say whatever I want.

Will talking about himself and using El as a guise is pretty obvious. The handful of people who say that it really was from El are few and far between. El doesn't gaf about DnD, she's not even in the painting, and she even told Mike herself that she didn't know what Will was making.

Whether or not Mike actually believed Will's lie is something that I'm personally on the fence about, but I'm not talking about him today! There are plenty of great Mike posts about this if you want a Mike analysis.

The cinematography supports this as well. At the start of the scene, Will is established on the left side of the frame, and Mike is on the right. When Will tells Mike that El commissioned the painting, we get a shot of the mirror where they swap places.

The switching of frame placement suggests that something is off, and mirrors in film can be used to show deception. The shot supports the idea that Will is not being fully truthful, which is backed up by what we already know. Each mirror shot is also prompted by a shot of Jonathan, suggesting that this is always from his point of view. We also know that he was able to see through Will's lie, so that supports this idea.

But we don't get the entire monologue from this angle, because really Will isn't entirely lying, he's just lying about whose feelings it really is.

It's no secret that the painting is an expression of Will's love for his friends, but also his romantic feelings for Mike. The positioning of the painting itself as a phallus (take a shot every time I've said "phallus" in a recent analysis) displays this in the visual language of the show along with the written one.

I think that gender and the use of pronouns is important here. Will states the entire monologue using "she" and "her" and places El in the place of himself. So what he's essentially saying "My sexuality is a wonderful thing that can bring both of us joy, but only if comes from a girl." In context Mike seems specifically anxious about El so Will is reassuring him from that angle, but it also stands that Will doesn't see his sexuality and feelings as good enough to cure an ailing Mike.

There was scriptgate and the infamous "I hate who I am" line which everyone remembers where they were for, but when the scripts were said to be fake, this line seemed to no longer hold any weight within the fandom and was widely disregarded. He loves himself, actually!

But legitimacy of the script aside, does this line still ring true? Even if it were real, a unspoken internal dialogue in an action line doesn't matter unless the show actually expresses it. So do they?

After all Will said it himself, "you make [me] feel like [I'm] not a mistake at all. Like [I'm] better for being different." So that must be how he feels, right? And yet—

—he doesn't really look like someone proud of his sexuality, does he?

I find the idea that Will doesn't suffer from any internalized homophobia rather absurd. It's definitely informed by external homophobia, but it would be different if Will fought back, but instead we see time and time again Will turning his pain inward. "Zombie Boy" leads to "It just makes me feel like more of a freak." and "It's not my fault you don't like girls" leads to the destruction of Castle Byers. I know that that line is informed by Mike's internal projection and might not be intended to be homophobic, although the statement still is homophobic despite intent. If Will knows he is gay and just heard that from his friend, of course he's going to take it that way. We see a little bit of Will standing up for himself, although this usually results in Will apologizing or not accepting apologies from others even when he deserves it. The bedroom scene in Dear Billy is a big step forward because not only does Mike apologize and assert that Will wasn't in the wrong, but Will actually listens.

It is true that Will accepts that he is gay and doesn't seem to fight it, although as others have pointed out, this doesn't necessarily mean that Will is necessarily proud of who he is. The van scene is just another example of Will taking that external pain and forcing it inward. There is likely to be consequences resulting from his lie that affects all three of them, but Will has decided to go a route that (he believes) will benefit Mike and El and only cause himself pain.

Look at this way. Let's say that Will hadn't lied about the painting being from El, that he was totally honest about the painting coming from him, but Mike didn't understand it as a romantic gesture. Not only would this not really make sense, and require Mike to be a level of oblivious on an absurd level, but it would also communicate something completely different. The new meaning would be this: Will is proud of his sexuality and able to take ownership of it, and the trouble comes from Mike not understanding. The conflict is now completely external.

I've seen debate on whether or not Mike really did understand what Will was saying although I think that's beside the point. If Mike did understand that Will was talking about himself, then this was not communicated to Will. The above scenario leads the conflict to be solely relieved by Mike finally understanding, and while there is surely to still be an external conflict between Will and Mike, Will's conflict of sexuality remains to be internal. Even if Mike did tell Will that he knew it was from him, this wouldn't necessarily solve Will's problem. The remedy to Will's internal conflict can only come from himself, by being able to proudly put his name to his painting.

#will byers #byler #stranger things #my analysis #btw— i hope none of my commentary regarding mike and mike analyses comes off as a jab. thats not my intention at all #im not saying not to look at mike or analyze mike #im just saying that this particular analysis is will focused #and other very talented analysts have made their own posts about mike in the van that you should check out if you wanna hear more about tha #perspective

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luaveltarot · 1 year

Text

PAC:Takeaway advice for you-

(Pile 1-6 from left to right)

Pile 1

Look for good in the current situation sustain. Journal your thoughts, plan and organise. Read what you wrote/typed.

Stop stressing over shitty people.

Be proud of how you’ve been handling these past months. The silent battles that you’ve fought, the moments that you had to humble yourself, wiped your own tears and pat yourself on the back. Celebrate your strength!

Rest and revitalise yourself with what makes you feel at ease.

Go out even as simple as for a walk or just look out the window and feel the air.

Surround yourself with joyful friends who lift your spirits not weigh you down and drown your energy.

Read, educate yourself and travel.

Seek help from whoever you consider your mentor and for some spending time with your dad will be beneficial.

You’re your own therapist, so sit with yourself, reflect how far you’ve come, appreciate yourself instead of keeping your criticism soar high.

Even listening to tarot, psycho analysis and astrological videos or reading articles related to them will be therapeutic for you.

Stay hopeful please, you got this!!

Pile 2

Be open to exploring new relationships.

Feel the little changes happening in your life and don’t let your inner critique block them. For these changes look Iife transforming.

Dive deeper into your creative talents. You can earn money from your creativity.

Don’t put off decisions for last minute. Take action now.

Don’t suppress your ideas instead write them down and act on it.

Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.

Don’t let past traumas block your present. Loosen up, flow and ride the waves which universe is giving you the chance on.

Explore the unknown, the unexpected awaits you. Meditate in the moon energy. Consume full moon water if you can.

It’s ok to take help, reach out to people who you think can help you and if someone offers you help then don’t forget to take it.

Don’t give up, keep up with the hard work, it is soon going to pay off.

Don’t miss out on something that could be great just because it could also be difficult.

(Too many don’t lol, RELAX yourself pile 2)

Pile 3

Let go of the past and move forward.

See the divine in everyone.

Open up your heart chakra; listen to frequencies (432 hz), wear green clothes, eat green vegetables and visualise green glow coming from your heart.

Increase self love and set healthy boundaries.

Don’t let past events turn you bitter. Work on trust issues and don’t view everyone with old rotten glasses. Save money (your energy), buy (many options to choose from) and wear a new pair of glasses (bond with new energies).

You do not want to face the truth. It’s ok to go through bad experiences but don’t sulk instead learn the lesson and go ahead with the wiser you.

Walk barefoot on the ground for sometime, ground your emotions, hydrate yourself often and channel your pain out through some creative talent like art, journal, Sound recording or well anything you consider creative.

Don’t cage yourself, the world is waiting for you to get in flow with it.

Create an alter ego self, write down the points and act on it. The change will not come in one day but gradually it will help you to create a new image.

You are not born without wings, you can create your own wings and fly high. Everyone does not get things on silver platter but we can work hard enough to create a diamond platter or anything you consider precious.

No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future, remember this.

Pile 4

Treat yourself kindly with compassion like you treat others. Watch your thoughts carefully and don’t it turn negative but focus on being positive.

Help people by being generous, not just with money but with your wisdom. You are abundant so provide guidance to those who struggle and you will be rewarded ten fold.

Don’t have greed to gather more instead be grateful with what you have and stay content.

Cherish the supportive relationships you are blessed with. Tell people that you love and appreciate them.

Act with wisdom and compassion. Be the greatest person you can be and when you mess up, make it up next minute, next day, next month. Just be easy with yourself too.

You are a therapeutic being, a healer and your arts help people on many levels. They appreciate what you do even if they can’t express it so continue to do so. Many people need you but don’t forget to take care of yourself too.

Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase.

Sometimes you have to make a decision that will break your heart but will give peace to your mind.

It’s not the load that weighs you down but the way you carry it.

Never spend your time in proving someone that you’re great, your actions will speak for themselves and we only have limited time on this earth so don’t waste it.

Always be the best person you can be. Be kind even when you’re tired, be understating even when you’re angry. Do more than you’re asked and don’t ask for anything in return. Don’t expect even in silence.

Listen and I mean really listen without thinking what you’ll reply to them.

Pile 5

Visualise the life, career or love you desire and it will help you in easy manifestation of it.

Take a break and get in tune with life and nature.

Meditate, contemplate and find out what is blocking you from feeling the sense of completeness or the feeling of being whole.

Help others with open and joyful heart. Nurture others but also yourself. Don’t hide your pains and emotions. Feel it and let it out in tears or laughters. Let it hurry until it doesn’t.

Work on aligning all your chakras by listening to frequencies or envision different chakra colours glowing and healing the respective chakras.

Drink water now and keep yourself hydrated always to let all your emotions flowing. It has so many benefits!!! Hydrate often.

Listen and take advice from your mom and dad. Their wisdom will help you.

It’s never too late or too early in any case or whoever you want to be.

You have the choice to change or stay the same, there are no rules. Be whoever you want to be.

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS online or real life. They had a different life and you had a different life. You can’t be them and they can’t be you. Their life purpose is different and yours is different.

A painful truth is always better than hidden lies.

Pile 6

Don’t make any decision when you are heartbroken, betrayed or lied to. Wait for your heart and spirit to mend to assess the situation with a clear head.

Heal your relationship with your father.

Sunlight bath.

Your yang or masculine energy is out of balance so work with it by taking decisions for yourself,which are more logical and be practical. Stay firm on the decisions you take. Be assertive with what you want. Work on staying optimistic and keep your emotions in check.

Get in touch with your emotions, let go of the fear of failure or unnecessarily defend yourself. STOP EXPLAINING YOURSELF! Take accountability of your actions.

Practice no judgement policy for awhile.

Stop procrastinating, stay present.

Work with whatever opportunity you have then further create your own opportunities. Don’t wait for the best option, all your have is now and what you can you can do with it.

Find ways to bring calm and focus on your mind or your troubles will only increase.

Get out and spend some time in nature.

Build a fitness routine and let the sweat out.

#divination #tarot reading #tarot #tarot witch #tarotblr #pac #pick a card #pick a pile #for you #advice #luaveltarot

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real-fire-emblem-takes · 4 months

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hi to chrom hater anon i'm a professional chrom enjoyer

if you get deranged enough about awakening i think chrom is a very well done character :) he's ignorant but well meaning which meshes in interesting ways. he's not overtly prejudiced to the plegians he knows personally but still *generally* prejudiced because of his upbringing.

additionally in discussions of the ylisse-plegia war he tends to focus on how ylisse came away from it because that state of ylisse is what shaped his formative childhood years (seen particularly in his feelings about emmeryn's early years as exalt). this is UNDERSTANDABLE but still an extremely DEEPLY FLAWED and naive stance when doing politics on a larger scale, which chrom is incredibly ill-prepared for. it's a very childish view of a large scale conflict.

chrom's propensity for violence is a trait that actually deeply fascinates me. he has intense admiration for emmeryn's desire for peace yet he has a very short temper in tense situations (seen in basically all of chrom's interactions with gangrel), and he tends to lash out easily at anyone he views as an enemy. he admires peace but sees no other means to achieve it than violence. isn't that interesting. the implications here. like, he's the inheritor of the falchion, he's the only son in his family, in all likelihood it was expected that HE would take the throne and continue his father's war, but he was so young when the exalt passed that the crown went to emmeryn instead.

it really seems like emmeryn intentionally kept her siblings away from politics, which results in BOTH of them being naive in vastly different ways, with the expectation that she would always shoulder the burden of the crown yet left all the bigger a void when she died.

mind, intentionally being raised to behave this way isn't an excuse either. it's ultimately still something chrom, as an adult, SHOULD examine critically. this is, in fact, a character flaw, and i think its great.

you can then of course do nice little compare and contrast at the shitty dads, i.e. chrom's dad vs validar. robin's first act as an awakened god is murdering validar. robin became the monster everyone saw them as, the one their father thinks they were born to be. it's a neat lil nature vs nurture comparison if you really get into the depths of grima-ology (hi grima ✌️ mutuals).

to dig more into points the chrom hater anon makes.

"chrom is transphobic for killing excellus" do you hear yourself. excellus was an enemy commander. chrom has no personal grievances against the commanders other than they are part of the army with the known intent to raze ylisse.

SAME WITH ROBIN BURNING DOWN THE BOATS. THEY ARE AT WAR. IF ROBIN DIDNT DO THAT THEY'D ALL GET KILLED. they would have to fight the valm forces ON FOOT and BE KILLED VIOLENTLY because they are vastly outnumbered. it would be weird if he WASN'T at least happy about this.

he could stand to be regretful about the massive loss of human life but honestly hashtag robin warcrimes W.

"chrom makes sure to only recruit white ylisseans" i think this is just dev colorism actually. like you know how robin's dad (who is evil) is brown, but robin (who is good) is white? and how that makes no sense and robin should logically also be brown? i dont think chrom would've turned down if like, mustafa joined him. it is simply that intsys was still in their racism era (which is, tbh, only really ended with engage, like, cmon, look at literally all of FE, this isn't a chrom flaw, it's a FE being racist flaw.)

same with the sexism things actually FE is just homophobic and sexist a lot so all the characters are also by extension. this is called doylist analysis

Chrom tells Aversa "One person's life means nothing in the shadow of millions" Chrom is a hypocrite i hope this helps. additionally what aversa is doing is "help the dark god literally causing the apocalypse rn" whereas the sacrifice/save robin choice is "doom people in some hypothetical far off future" which is FAR less personal than "all of humanity RIGHT NOW".

TLDR: the real chrom enjoyers know about his character flaws and love him anyway because it's nice flavor to chew on

also never insult my beautiful daughter lucina ever again. she is deeply compelling even if she is narratively underutilized. anyone who calls themself a chrom fan and hates lucina is a faker and will not survive the winter.

also learn the difference between flaws of the story's writing and flaws of the character otherwise everybody in awakening is sexist.

anon you should read chrom/grima fanfiction unironically we fucking love tearing this dude to shreds for his flaws. this has all been a ploy to say that. chrom is naive and selfish and hypocritical and i love him very much he is my wif e :)

#fe #fire emblem #chrom fe #chrom fire emblem #i am no longer neutral on chrom #fe13 #fe awakening #fire emblem awakening #what am i witnessing #fave takes <3

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shitgoblindingleberry · 2 months

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OKAY CAUSE LISTEN. (till character analysis let’s go) (apologies in advance this is LONGG)

if till is actually in love with mizi then there is literally no outcome in which him and ivan are happy.

because 1) he’ll never love ivan as long as mizi is alive, and 2) even if he thinks mizi is dead, ivan will only ever be a rebound, the second choice he turned to when mizi wasn’t an option.

however, i would like for you to consider that maybe, instead, the problem is that till doesn’t know how to properly process or identify his feelings. i would like to propose that maybe he misinterpreted his feelings for mizi as love when in actuality he views her as some unattainable idol to covet but not actually connect with (like parasocial relationships).

meanwhile, ivan was always there for him and slowly became a support system till didn’t even know he had. because even if he didnt feel LOVE for ivan, they definitely had a REAL relationship—arguably more real than anything he ever had with mizi. all of their interactions are just like. much more RAW than anything till ever had with mizi if that makes sense. because all we’ve ever seen him doing with her is admiring from afar and sacrificing things for her in secret that she never asked for, nor wanted from him. while with ivan they actually hung out with absolutely no expectations of anything between them (on till’s side at least. it wasn’t a performative relationship to be this self sacrificing person for ivan like it would’ve been if he were talking to mizi. which is ironically a much more healthy basis for a relationship. to fully see the person as being equal to you without putting them on a pedestal)

i think till’s way of coping with everything was finding someone else outside himself to live for and idolize. his entire life was built around mizi, every choice he made committed with her in mind (like when he chose to stay in the garden rather than escaping for her sake). and once she’s ripped away, he’s left feeling empty and aimless—the center of his very world is no longer there.

HOWEVER.

this is shaken by ivan’s death. even though mizi was always his center, he can’t exactly not be affected by someone who’s been at his side for YEARS. and, unlike with mizi, their bond was definitely real and very much tangible for BOTH sides (despite meaning different things for each of them). but when ivan died FOR him, till felt something that was very real and very confusing which was very much a mixture of raw emotions he wasn't prepared to face feeling from anyone apart from mizi. because while mizi is his ideal, i think his feelings about her were always accompanied by a sense of disconnect because they didnt have any actual basis for this bond beyond till simply yearning for her. but with ivan. they were friends. they trusted each other by this point, and ivan has shown that he cares for till REPEATEDLY throughout them knowing each other. and.

i think till subconsciously acknowledged that ivan was important to him, even if just as a background support in his life. someone he hung out with without thinking about it too much. and i think that sense of care came very gradually too. because ivan is a weird mf but he still managed to worm his way into till’s world, and now he’s a staple there, even if till himself isn’t aware of that.

mainly just my vibe here is that his feelings surrounding ivan are very messy and complicated (as real life emotions tend to be) and that wasn’t what till was looking for when he was younger. he needed something stable, something he could look at and idolize from afar. something he could dedicate his messed up life to without having to worry about other complicated feelings. and that was what mizi was to him. a purpose to live that was unchanging because no matter what till himself did or what happened to him, it didn’t affect HER. and that was comforting. but ivan existed outside of his little ideal. and he was a real person who (unfortunately :/ ) made till feel real things that were outside of his control. which wasnt what he needed when he was younger—he needed stability. but i think in the end he had the most chance of an actual developed, healthy, and consistent relationship with ivan.

that is, if bro wasnt dead 🙏🙏🕊🕊

#rip ivan you would have (you always have) loved till #character analysis but it’s actually just me projecting #alien stage #alien stage till #till alien stage #alnst till #alnst #i have a chronic case of not being able to stfu once i like a character #if you managed to make it this far thank you ily #alnst spoilers

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nhlclover · 9 months

Text

first day sparks fly au!

✭ — summary: on the first day of classes, sofia and rutger meet.

✭ — warnings: none!

✭ — a/n: first chapter! i've decided i’m gonna write some chapters that will be longer but also little blurbs. the chapters will follow a timeline.

✭ — word count: 0.91k

The lecture hall is much smaller than Sofia pictured. She didn’t really have a good concept of how big a room would need to be to fit 50 people, but apparently, it wasn’t that big.

Sofia did a quick scan of the room, finding a good place to sit. She decided on a spot in the middle of the audience, a bit to the left. Once she sat down, she pulled out her laptop and water bottle, settling into her seat.

She occupied herself with the required reading of Of Mice and Men while the rest of the class slowly filed in, picking away at the empty seats, though both remained empty on either side of her. Sofia had read Of Mice and Men many times before, it being a classic in literature. She flips through the pages, rereading the familiar story until the professor begins the class.

Rutger rushes through the front doors of the building, searching for room 143. He walks down a few halls before finally finding it. Rutger pauses, checking his watch before bursting through the doors. He’s 17 minutes late.

He softly pulls open the door, stepping inside of the back of the class. He barely makes a sound, avoiding all eyes in the class turning to look at him. He does a quick scan of the room, looking for an empty seat. He eyes a blonde girl sitting on the left side of the room, an empty spot to her left. Rutger finds himself staring at her for a little too long, missing more and more of what the professor is saying.

He makes his way down the stairs, slipping past others to the empty seat to her left. Rutger slips into the seat, quietly pulling out his laptop and the required reading. He glances over at his neighbour's computer screen, trying to see how much he missed.

She has a page of notes written out, but her screen is at too much of an angle for Rutger to get a good look at what the professor had already said. He glances at the girl's face, her blonde hair cascading down, blocking most of his view.

He finds his eyes being drawn back to her face, wanting to get a good look at her features. She finally tucks the hair behind her ear, letting Rutger see her profile. Rutger barely registered anything that the professor had said since he sat down, instead being too occupied with the girl he had chosen to sit next to.

Eventually, the professor must’ve decided to give the class a short break because everyone is suddenly moving around and shuffling about.

Sofia was pretending to not notice the staring but it was now a couple of times he’d looked over at her. She didn’t know how to interpret the staring. It was possible that he was staring cause he thought she was pretty. But it was also very possible that he was a complete weirdo.

After a short internal conversation, Sofia decided to confront him.

“Hi.” Sofia says.

Rutger snaps out of the daze he was caught in looking at the girl, noticing she was talking to him. “Oh, hi.” Rutger says.

A blush forms on his cheeks, realizing she had in fact caught him staring at her.

“I’m Rutger.” He says.

“I’m Sofia.” She says, still hesitant as to whether or not this guy is weird.

“I uh, came in late. Can I borrow your notes?” Rutger asks.

“Oh, you didn’t miss much, she was just kind of going over the syllabus.” Sofia tells him.

Rutger furrows his brow, glancing at her page full of notes on her screen. “You seem to have some written there.” He chuckles.

“That’s just notes about the book. My thoughts and analysis basically.” Sofia explained, shutting her laptop.

“You’ve already started reading?” Rutger asks, suddenly questioning if he’s already fallen behind in the class on the first day.

“No. I mean yeah. Kind of.” Sofia rushes out. “I’ve already read Of Mice And Men. So these are notes from the past few times I’ve read it.”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that English is your major?” Rutger asks.

Sofia laughs. “Not quite. I’m majoring in elementary education and I want to be an English teacher.” She explains.

“Oh shit, cool.” He says, a smile on his lips.

He’s got a cute smile. Sofia thinks. Actually, scratch that, he’s got a cute face.

“I might be coming to you for help when I inevitably fall behind.”

Sofia furrows her eyebrows, Rutger making a reference she didn’t quite understand. “Oh I’m a student-athlete so I miss class kind of often.”

“Oh, what sport?” Sofia asks.

“I play on the hockey team.” Rutger says.

Sofia suddenly realizes why she recognizes the boy sitting next to her. “Oh my god.” She says.

Rutger has a sudden uncomfortable look on his face “What?” He asks.

“You know my brothers.” Sofia laughs.

Rutger furrows his brows, wondering how he would know this girl or her brothers.

“Adam and Luca?” Sofia prods. Rutgers eyes go wide, then his brows furrow again as he processes the information.

“Adam and Luca have a sister?” Rutger asks.

Sofia laughs, opening her phone. She finds a picture of her and her brothers from the draft, showing Rutger.

“Oh my god,” Rutger says as he sees the photo. “I genuinely had no clue they had a sister.”

“Yeah uh, they keep it a bit of a secret from teammates.” Sofia says, showing another one of them when they were kids.

“Why?” Rutger asks.

Sofia hesitates to tell Rutger the real reason. She’s saved when the professor resumes the lecture, Sofia and Rutger turning to the front.

#sparks fly au!#sofia x rutger #rutger mcgroarty

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follows-the-bees · 8 months

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Filmmaking analysis time!

How blocking and the use of rope and lighting shows the diverting threads of Stede's and Ed's paths in 2x7.

Rope Symbolism

Thread/rope/twine are used throughout this episode to symbolize the reeling in of Ed to the "normal life." My meta analysis of that can be viewed here. Or summarized in the below paragraph.

Something about the twine/rope spread throughout 2x7. First we see Ed use it to wrap up his leathers and dump it in the ocean. Next he cuts up two pieces of twine to add as flourish on the breakfast tray. And then while he's watching the fisherpeople, the camera focuses on the fish being extracted from the sting. And finally, while Ed and Stede talk, Ed tells him that he's leaving to become a fisherman, a large rope is in front of them the whole conversation. The twine symbolizing being reeled into the "normal" life: the dumping of his Blackbeard persona, the domesticity of breakfast in bed with his boyfriend, the fish caught up in the string being freed. But then the giant rope symbolizing the unraveling of the relationship with Stede and piracy.

Blocking

Keeping this thought in mind, let's now look at the position of Stede's and particularly Ed's body during the conversation.

At the start of the conversation, rope is shown on the left side of Ed, away from Stede. Ed is standing at the top of the platform, facing sideways and playing with the greenery. Stede is below, excited about his day, and he runs up the platform to be even with Ed.

Ed moves over and stands in front of the post, first facing away from Stede completely then turning to face forward with his head down, not looking at Stede. When Ed states, "I'm happy for you, I really am" he is physically walking away from Stede, not looking, showing with his body the exact opposite of his words.

When he comes to rest, his hands are on either side of the post, the rope is in front of him, one going towards Stede and one away, representing the two diverging paths Ed can choose right now.

Ed then leans forward on the railing, bringing his body in close, like he's covering himself in that metaphorical blanket he uses when he's being vulnerable. But Stede also leans on the railing, leaning toward Ed, matching his body language and keeping close to let him know he is there but not touching, not crossing that boundary without consent.

Stede then offers an olive branch. "Well, you know this can be whatever we want it to be." And the men continue facing forward but their heads are turned and are looking at each other as they speak.

The shot is tight, not showing the rope right now, instead it is an intimate moment and mainly faces are shown. We see all of Stede's head and shoulders when he speaks, showing that he is all in, he will take anything as long as Ed is by him. Breathing the same air. The top of Ed's head is cut off, which is a running theme and camerawork throughout this season to show the mental turmoil that Ed is going through.

They stand up straight again when Ed announces he's leaving - no longer on the same side and in defense mode. And the fight starts to escalate. They turn toward each other the first time and Ed even leans forward, taking a half step as he gestures and talks about catching the fish and being a fisherman now.

Ed starts to walk away once Stede says "the fish was whatever." Ed moves away from the pillar, the two diverging ropes and toward the one that leads away from Stede. He has made up his mind which thread he is going to follow. And the camera chooses to focus on Ed in the foreground because this is his decision, his choice, and Stede is blurry like the confused state of bundled ropes at this quick turn of events.

Stede stops at the top of the stairs where all of the rope is wrapped around the pillar in an organized mess. His path ends here, in this tangled mess of emotions, confused and weighed down by the heaviness of piracy and the past hours? Days? Where things have turned, his own thread that he has been following.

Ed no longer has that weight dragging him under. The twine reeling him to the normal life has triumphed as he cuts ties with the Blackbeard persona, the pirate life, and now Stede.

Lighting/Cinematography/Camerawork

The lighting in this scene (since Ned Low crashes the party in 2x6 has mostly been off.

You can literally see the light change from the warm glows of red and purple to the green tint in the above clip. As talked about in my analysis of cinematography used in 2x6 and 2x7 to show Stede's and Ed's emotional journey, green lighting/undertones are used to show the audience that something is off. This color grading is an abrupt departure from the usual coloring of the show and that is done on purpose here.

The sky is grey, muted, hints of that same green undertones faintly there, because this is reality hitting them in the face. This isn't the bright reds and purples of their love, the golden hues of them being each other's lighthouses, this is the cold grey of reality crashing down around them, a setting sun in this part of their relationship. Their body language is aggressive, scowls, raised voices, insults, and pointed fingers taking over from the dreamlike quality of a mermaid and ocean in bed together.

Lens flairs are often done from dramatic effect (unless you're JJ Abrams and they are just your style.) Most of the time, films are shot to avoid them, so when you see them your eye is drawn to it. And a very large one is purposely used in this scene. It is situated right between Ed and Stede and extends into the rope below while Ed is telling him that he wanted to take it slow. It punctuates his point, like a dawning of realization of the truth to the audience and Stede. This is the first time Stede is hearing about this and it hits hard.

The camera angle changes to just Ed when the truth comes out because this is his truth he needs to tell. Stede is not muddying the shot but instead where his shoulder or arm would be is the pillar with the tangle of ropes, showing both the knots Stede's stomach is tying itself into as well as how this speech is the thread leading to Stede.

(I would show a picture here but I can only attach 10, so imagine it!)

They are also dressed in opposite colors as when they first met. Then Stede was in light and Ed in his all black Blackbeard leathers. Now Ed is the one wearing light greys and Stede in is black and dark blue, carrying a sword. Their roles have switched.

Overall, all aspects of production come together, from the cinematography, clothing, props, blocking, etc to show just how off this scene is, how unsettling reality can be. And how we have different threads of paths we can take in our lives if only we are brave enough to grab hold of the right one.

While Stede at first heads up to Ed at the beginning of the scene, tries to save the situation, he's on one side of this thread. Ed straddles the cords and ultimately decides to break free of the thread that was leading him away from his beacon of light. He heads down and away from Stede, and descends onto a path by himself, and just like the fish he saw extracted from the twine earlier that day, just like the twine he placed on the tray in his panic, there are no threads left to keep him anchored.

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death s2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 #meta analysis #ofmd season two meta analysis #ofmd ed x stede #ofmd edward teach #ed x stede #gentlebeard #blackbeard x stede #blackbonnet #ofmd stede #stede bonnet #edward x stede #queer cinema at its peak angst

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