Hm. Parallels. Hmmmmmm.

Handwriting translation:

*puts them in a joint therapy session* (they each trust like 3 people, they do not wanna be here)

day 12: karma ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

How To Train Your Dragon (2010) / The Dragon Prince (2018—?) / The Sea Beast (2022)

+

End of Empathy (time for violence)

[First] Prev <–-> Next

Tiny YR S3 Analysis

Just wanted to compare the parallels between these two hand holds in 3x05 and 3x06:

(Please ignore the shitty screencaps, I tried my best)

In terms of composition, these shots are identical. A hand-hold centre to the frame, in a car with the camera placed in the middle. However, they're underpinned by different narrative contexts.

Here, the first shot from 3x05 is drenched in darkness. The actual lighting inside of the car is dim enough to obscure both of their suits, which almost blend them into the seats and so it becomes hard to distinguish between the two of them - The only focussed light is on their conjoined hands. Notably, the actual touch itself is tentative, almost like the bridging of an awkward divide on the way to the palace. Neither of them are sure what the touch actually means. Even their sleeves fall over their wrists and interfere with the actual act, so we only see the bottom half of their hands. Simon reaches out first and places his hand in the open sliver between the two seats before Wille accepts and laces their fingers together. It's an assured squeeze that reads as: "I'm not sure what will happen. I'm nervous." "I am too."

This scene has garnered a lot of analysis for its parallel to the Kristina x Wille car scene in S1 where people have commented on the reversal of blocking - Wille now assumes Kristina's position and Simon equally assumed Wille's. We now know that this arrives before the birthday explosion, and so it's also a touch that signifies confronting the inner workings of an oppressive environment (the palace). It's nerve-wracking and cautious and consolidating, but it's also doubtful. We, as spectators, pick up on visual and physical cues and so we begin to see the hand-hold as an visual indicator that the unity between the two characters is about to be disrupted.

~~~~~

However, the shot in 3x06 reads entirely differently. The first thing is that the shot is bathed in light. It's a bit like an embrace, contrasting the previous presentation of a cold backseat, Simon and Wille are literally basking in the sun. Most importantly, there is a light flashing on Wille as it seeps in from the windows, illuminating his spot as a person who is newly free. Simon sits to the left with the natural light (no abundance of light) because Simon has always strived to be free. He has never turned away from the light. As he said earlier in the episode: "I never gave up on us. I gave up on the royal court." For Simon, the issue was never the fear of being free, but the constraint of not being free. For Wille, fear hung over his shoulders just like a King's robe would. Being free was an aspiration, never a reality.

But that has all changed. The light is let in. It stands similar to a spot-light, where Wille finally lets the sun hit his body and not have it scorch him, but rather enlighten him.

The actual act of holding hands is no longer bridging an uncomfortable space; It's an assured togetherness. It is the two of them acknowledging everything that has happened and knowing that a future for the two of them is no longer a "possibility", but a truth. It's giddy and confident and safe.

It's also the final touch of the season, and so it had to speak louder than dialogue ever could - Which I think that it does. Throughout S1 and S2, we understood that physical touch was always done in private, or if not, it was done discreetly with the knowledge that it was fleeting. S3 saw the transition from private to public, but not without the fight to touch and not have it be seen as a revolution. To just let it be what it is. And THIS is what the show has been working towards for 3 years. It can all be summarised with this simple, final hand hold in a sunny car that's racing towards a future that finally, finally resembles their dreams. It's not overtly revolutionary, it's not a grand gesture; It's just theirs.

romangerri + first and last sight

OKAY why do yall have to have the worst nastiest most rotted bad faith interpretations of things ever the episode was incredible what the fuck is wrong with you

alicent and otto hightower as ifigeneia and agamemnon

The fathers of myth, the myth of the fathers: Euripides and Kierkegaard by Bruna Giacomini (2010) / House of the Dragon (2022-) / Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain / Iphigenie (1871) by Anselm Feuerbach / Oresteia by Aeschylus / Iphigeneia (1977) Dir. Michael Cacoyannis

i really need to finish this one day

for the ship ask game...

feligami 🦚🐉

HI SELKIE 💘💓💗 let’s go into my room and sit on my bed. i have snacks 🥰

What made you ship it?

i didn’t ship feligami until very recently, since i have strong feelings about arocoded félix, but while i was making amvs i saw how many times they held hands and my heart was swayed.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

i don’t ship it enough to have an answer for this question 🤣 get nina in here. nina has essays on essays about queerness and abuse recovery. i suppose my answer is the hand holding.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

i have strong feelings about this one too. they would not have kids ‼️ they would not get married ‼️ down with the nuclear family ‼️

(ship ask game)

My unpopular opinion is that TGCF is the weakest out of all MXTX books (maybe because she didn’t get to edit it until recently unlike the other two). I still love it and it’s an amazing piece of work but as a narrative, its structure is not as strong as the other two (though I think TGCF is stronger in other regards)

I’m still thinking about the Book of Life because it’s such an obvious Chekhov’s gun. I don’t recall it ever being mentioned in S1, but in S2 it is highlighted twice as a very real, serious threat, and then it’s never brought up again. It can’t just hang indefinitely in the air like that, so I expect it will be used at some point in S3.

But in a way, this threat is kind of hollow when used towards Crowley, because Heaven can’t erase him from history, and they know they can’t. The Fall of Man is such a crucial point in the Great/Ineffable Plan that I doubt they would be willing to mess with that, as much as they hate him. He’s the literal Serpent of Eden! How can the Plan proceed if there’s no one to tempt Eve? The existence of The Serpent is such a core part of the Fall of Man (both in the GO universe and in biblical lore in general) that I think it would be simply too big a risk to take.

From our point of view, Aziraphale is also crucial for the history of humanity until this point. It’s not explicitly stated, but think about it for a moment: would Adam and Eve have survived, had Aziraphale not given them his sword? There’s beasts out there, and it’s cold, and she’s expecting already. We literally see Adam fight a lion with the sword mere moments after being exiled from Eden; I don’t think their odds would have been all that good without it. It’s at least likely that Humanity has managed to survive the Fall and thrive because of Aziraphale’s actions.

Here’s the thing, though: we know this, but Heaven doesn’t, because Aziraphale has been lying to them (and to God!!!) about this ever since the Beginning. What has he done of worth in the eyes of Heaven? Sure, he was guarding the Eastern Gate, he’s been on Earth thwarting demons and all that jazz, but as far as they know, he’s never had a pivotal role in the Plan (except for. You know. Stopping Armageddon. But they didn’t want him to have that role, and they still resent him for it). There’s no reason for them to hesitate, should they be threatened by his existence, because to them he’s not necessary to carry out the will of God (as opposed to Crowley).

So yeah. I think the Book of Life will make another appearance in S3. And, if it does, I think Aziraphale is the most likely candidate as its victim.

The Queen in the North and the Queen in Chains

i really really like how, amongst a myriad of other firecracking f1 occurences, sao paulo has also collectively plunged us deeper into the lestappen black hole. like i have NEVER seen so much content & lestappen breakdowns without a shared podium preceding it

i’m just saying. faulkner didn’t SAY i name them in order of arrival. what he SAID was “i name our disciples thus” 👀👀

LISTEN YOU ARE ABSOLUTELT RIGHT they didn't HAVE to put the carpenter hayward scene right at the beginning (even though we get carpenter slowly and begrudgingly allowing herself someone to trust, the whole "Wouldn’t it be just truly fucking awful if it was only people out here and nothing else?", AND it's a good segue into the ep—so it's not necessarily true to say that the episode would be the same without the scene, because it wouldn't, though they definitely could have squeezed it to the end if they had wanted to with some changing of the scene) BUT ALSO the actors are just split up in such a telling way that it's impossible not to feel like it was on purpose!! The main actors in one story are not the main when you flip perspectives!!