aelluz

[aelluz]

Steve and Alex

[aelluz]

Just realised that whenever I see the phrase "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole" I automatically think of a ten metre pole. Like a comically long pole. A ten foot pole isn't all that long. That's slightly less than two of my body lengths. Not touching something with a ten foot pole still lets you get pretty close to it actually.

[aelluz]

Okay no I need to talk about the book version of Howl's Moving Castle. I love the movie but the book has such a different vibe and you, yes you, should read it.

Movie Howl is a soulful and quiet. Book Howl is a drama queen and Causing Problems and has a long string of jilted exes and couldn't shut up if you paid him.

Sophie and Howl drive each other up the wall at the beginning and it's really funny. Sophie and Howl are (despite themselves) very much in love by the end and they still drive each other up the wall and it's even funnier.

In the movie, Howl has been ordered by the king to participate in The War, and Howl is avoiding it because he is a brave conscientious objector. In the book, Howl has been ordered by the king to rescue his lost brother from the Witch of the Wastes, and Howl is avoiding it by any means necessary because he is a cowardly weasel who wants to stay as far from the Witch as possible.

In the movie, the Witch cursed Sophie because she was jealous about Howl speaking to Sophie for five minutes. In the book, the Witch cursed Sophie because Sophie had been doing surprisingly powerful magic for years without knowing it and it was actually starting to cut into the Witch's plans. (Sophie does not discover any of this until nearly the end of the book, but the reader can start to pick it up much earlier and the way Sophie's magic works is pretty darn cool.)

In the movie, there's a rumor that Howl eats the hearts of maidens, but this is implied to be nothing but nasty fearmongering. In the book, there's a rumor that Howl eats the hearts of maidens because Howl started the rumor so people would stop asking him to do wizard junk all the time.

The book lightly parodies a couple of tropes from Western fairy tales. In particular Sophie has internalized that, as the eldest of three sisters, her "destiny" is to fail so that her younger sisters will look cooler when they succeed, which is why she's so resigned to the hat shop at the beginning. (Sidebar: Sophie's sisters come up much more in the book and they're great.) There's also a really funny bit where Sophie attempts to operate a pair of seven-league boots.

In the movie, the fourth and final location that the magic door connects to is some sort of black void / mindscape / time portal dealy. In the book the fourth location is Wales, in the UK, on Earth, so that Howl can visit his family, because from Howl's perspective this is an isekai story.

[aelluz]

[aelluz]

''i wasted those years'' who cares. you lived the only life you could've lived in those moments

[aelluz]

I haven't talked enough about Two Husbands, One Wife. Because really, what do you say about perfection? It feels like any words I offer cannot do it justice.

I pretty much hold my breath every episode and pray to the show gods that they don't ruin the absolutely beautiful thing they've created.

And so far...as of episode 7...they haven't.

Because every episode has built on the idea that it really takes all THREE of them to make this relationship work. The framing reinforces this with frequent triangle shots (and even triangle dialogue). There must be a connection between all points, and no point is more important than the other. Every person is essential.

Because while Takuzo may be the "responsible" one, he's rigid in his ways.

And while Mia is the realist who easily speaks her mind and expresses what she wants, it can make her very focused on herself.

They already tried it with just the two of them. It didn't work.

And Mia and Shinpei have already tried it with just the two of them too. It doesn't work.

Because they struggle with managing responsibility on their own.

They are willing to do the work, but they need someone to guide them with structure and remind them the laundry exists. I feel that.

And although Shinpei is a free spirit who really brings "joy" to everything he does...

With just Mia, he still feels a bit insecure and not quite good enough.

And with a younger boyfriend that has so many fans, Mia can sometimes feels insecure too.

As the men have developed and taken their relationship further.

Takuzo is able to affirm Shinpei and give him the words he needs to hear.

And Shinpei's earnest and sweet nature is able to break through Takuzo's walls to help him see that his rigidity can have consequences.

His infectious energy pushes Takuzo to go places he wouldn't otherwise and encourages him to try new things.

But both men recognize that they NEED Mia.

She holds them together.

Because she's the one who can express words and speak her mind easily.

Who will make the first move when things get difficult.

And push them to make the necessary decisions.

Because they're a throuple. And no (good) relationship exists without all three of them.

Bonus: There's food symbolism (even more than I mention here). Be still my beating heart.

Mia is gyoza.

Takuzo is curry.

And it's best when the chef (Shinpei) serves both.

[aelluz]

The United States — ALL of it

[aelluz]

looking through the nausicaa artbook

[aelluz]

roommates getting top surgery and they put a tracking chip on him and now im getting updates like hes a pizza

[aelluz]

I feel like a lot of people don’t quite get what a butler is. The role tends to get rounded off to ‘male servant’ pretty regularly in some media, whereas actually butlers are typically not just servants but chief servants. The butler was generally in charge of either all male servants or just all servants, period, in the household of an aristocrat or other very wealthy person. This meant that butlers have often been fairly powerful and influential people, and sometimes even had a manservant or two of their own.

(Also, fun fact: Mary Roberts Rinehart, the early 20th century mystery writer who is widely credited with popularizing the whole ‘the butler did it’ trope was nearly murdered by one of her own servants, a chef whom she had passed over for promotion to butler. He came at her with a pistol, but it jammed, allowing her chauffeur time to wrestle it away and restrain him.)

[aelluz]

Europe (yur·uhp) is an exotic peninsula in the extreme westernmost reaches of Asia with many fascinating cultures and landscapes and home to many of the world's last remaining feudal kingdoms, offering a glimpse back into a more simplistic way of living.

[aelluz]

sees art with thick smooth line art: ah yes i want my art to look like that

sees art with sketchy thin line art: ah yes i want my art to look like that

sees lineless art: ah yes i want my art to

[aelluz]

i have this unrealistic fantasy in my head where if you calmly and logically explain something to someone perfectly they will understand your position and gain knowledge from the exchange. unfortunately in the real world this does not happen often

[aelluz]

[aelluz]

sometimes tiktok is actually incredibly good

[aelluz]

"what if you regret it" what if I don't?