#'peasant boy' out of context is still very funny

[repmet]

Henry, being romantic and vulnerable: Alex, you're a peasant

[ryin-silverfish]

Hello ryin! I saw in a recent post of yours that you dislike the "class warfare" reading of the Havoc in Heaven arc in JTTW and would honestly love to hear more about your thoughts on that! Your takes have been really interesting.

Thank you!

My biggest problem with the "class warfare" reading is, first and foremost, what it has been historically used for.

Like, after the Havoc in Heaven opera and movie came out, the propagandists absolutely ate it up; SWK was associated with Mao Zedong and used to promote Mao's personality cult, and soon after, the White Bone Spirit story would be interpreted as this fable for the Sino-Soviet split.

Whereas Havoc in Heaven was intended and viewed as a metaphor and love letter to the victory of Chinese revolution, the White Bone Spirit story was interpreted in the context of the horrific fuck-up that is the Great Leap Forward, where the party were starting to doubt its leadership, and the path to the future seemed an uncertain and arduous one——much like the pilgrimage.

So, in the new twist on the "class warfare" narrative, Tripitaka and Pigsy became the poster-boy for "party members who were easily captivated by revisionist ideas" and needed to see how wrong they were, the WBS became the personification of Khruschev, imperialism, capitalism, revisionism...you name it, and SWK the Mao expy who could do no wrong yet was unfairly blamed by everyone.

Came the Cultural Revolution era, SWK would then become a sort of hero and role model for the Red Guards, smashing down all that was considered archaic and backwards, tearing down older authority figures and perceived "class enemies" alike, all the while emboldened by Mao's saying that "To rebel is justified" (造反有理).

Yeah, no, fuck that shit.

Terrible historical baggages aside, it is also a reading that reeks of presentism, and Lin Geng, a renowned professor of literature, had done a thorough takedown of the "SWK as peasant rebel" idea in his 西游记漫话.

Namely, it neither fits the circumstances of Havoc in Heaven, nor SWK's backstory and motivation. He's not rebelling because his monkeys are oppressed by the Celestial Realm, he's doing it because he feels personally slighted.

His mindset is also not that of a traditional peasant; compare and contrast that with Zhu Bajie, whom the author argues is very much peasant-coded in terms of his obsession with going back to Gao Laozhuang, his rake, and his comedic ignorance that stems from urban stereotypes of rural farmers.

To paraphrase Lin Geng, "Not all rebellions and rebel narratives in Chinese history are peasant ones, and we shouldn't just cry 'peasant rebellion metaphor!' the moment we saw a rebellion in fiction."

Lastly and more personally? This reading also tends to remove SWK's depth as a character. The representation of the Mind can be both heroic and flawed, capable of great feats and fuck-ups alike, but the representation of The Revolution has to be heroic and his opponents, whether celestial or demonic, must be evil oppressors and political boogeymen.

Like, the demons in the novel are representations of the mental obstacles a person will face on the path to Enlightenment, but they are also capable of being funny and very human characters, and not all of them wanted to eat Tripitaka.

The Celestial Realm is a satire of the imperial bureaucracy, sure, but the novel is also a product of its time and cannot magically promote 20th century ideas of revolutions and political reforms 500 years before they were a thing. Besides, SWK can still get help from them on the Journey and their relationship is more complicated than "oppressed rebel and oppressors".

And that's exactly why I dislike the "class warfare" reading: it creates a simplistic opposition of good and evil, and tries to squeeze the work into a narrow political framework that is neither nuanced nor accurate.

[gallowsdancer]

Manhua/Manga List, ongoing reads (or dismissed, for their following reasons)

PART 1

Villains are Destined to Die It's very good. There's visceral feels. I revisit this one when I want the hurt ( and some of you know exactly what I mean). Penelope is always invited to my table where she'll promptly be treated like the queen she is, having to deal with all these peasants.

Cooking Sorcerer (COMPLETED) It's cute but not overstated. Also, tatted FMC, who satisfyingly uses her knowledge gleaned from her more "modern" universe to overcome obstacles. The OFC and OMC are super cute together, but never actually get together, because we've been given an open ending. Depressing, I know, but still a nice overall read.

Please Don't Come to The Villainess' Stationary Store The story's decent, though not particularly outstanding, but the child characters are so cute and the art is very good.

The Beloved Fake Saint The peanut gallery of Actual Deities(tm). They are the best part. There are a number of scenes that are extremely funny. The art is okay, the plot is interesting, but some of the turns are either mundane or out-of-pocket.

I Shall Master this Family Girlbossing to the peak. If you want a delightfully badass FMC (and cast) who primarily uses her brain to trounce her adversaries, this is it.

The Broken Ring: This Marriage will Fail Anyway NSFW, and it proves it. The art is fantastic, the plot is satisfying, and gut-wrenching at times. There is a satisfying look into the historical context of mental illness and trauma and a personal one that builds the characters further. It can also get very cute and steamy. This work could also be aptly renamed: You Activated the Wife Guy When You Called Him an Uninteresting Man Whore.

Your Majesty, Please Spare Me this Time (COMPLETED) The art is fantastic, the humor on point, the emotional connect is strong because they've built the characters in you before the initial upheaval caused in the plot. The handsome, crossdressing smug arsehole with a gun is a favorite of mine. They wrapped it up in a bit of a rush, and I don't love the whole of the ending, but my babies are happy so who cares. (That's not a question, no one gets an opinion.)

Let's Hide My Little Brother First Another violent, crossdressing pretty boy who grows up too handsome (maybe I have a type?). There's limited gore, a sword-wielding FMC, and the funniest side-character couple.

How to Win My Husband Over According to some people in the comments, sometimes the FMC is annoying - but I imagine that's because helping someone with actual mental illness is a lot of repetitive struggle. I'm staying because I like the art, but the plot isn't the most interesting. The beginnings of the justified revenge are satisfying to read in the most recent chapters, though.

I Stan the Prince I hate the title, but the art is fantastic and the plot is fascinating. The humor and secondhand embarrassment have prompted IRL reactions that have spooked the unsuspecting bystanders around me. I have only put this one down for fear there won't be enough chapters to immediately satisfy me the next time I pick it up.

The Baengri Clan's Unwanted Granddaughter Girlboss moments with satisfying supporting characters. The small moments of enacted revenge are swift and sweet. I like the way the daughter reflects on the past and the way she's moved forward. She doesn't condemn them all, and actively recruits the grey area characters, so bravo. There are twists that I like that other stories would've differed on, losses that the FL actually has to deal with that typical OP FLs wouldn't. That stands out in this one.

I'm Being Raised by Villains Cute. No large amount of emotional connection on my part, but it's the formula childcare story where the child becomes OP later on. I also like that she feels guilty about being selfish but still does stuff, how very adorably human of her. Altogether, a very reliable comfort read with amusing characters you'll grow fond of.

Too Cute to Handle Repetitive formula childcare tale. Obvious plot, overstated. But! Art is cute. Possible revisit in the future.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmother Funny and delightful. The different sub-plot arcs are not drawn out for too long, with wonderful art and humor to punctuate. It stands out with fashion as its particular theme, but has a satisfying and realistic response to different characters' traumas.

Secret Lady/The Lady's Secret This one is more in-depth in politics, or actually is reasonably political for a story based on political hierarchal upheaval. I'm not crapping on the others, but this one does take a somewhat more realistic view of political conflict. (If I had taken a shot for every time I said political-)

Author of My Own Destiny OP FMC, but it does differ some with the fact that the FMC faces a certain amount of guilt and revisits it for the trouble she originally caused being in charge before she transmigrated.

The Strongest Characters are Obsessed with Me I love the art, and the plot line is satisfying. I like the actual variety in the characters, and the slow but sure character development. If you like Who Made Me a Princess? you'll like this one as well.

The Little Lady Behind the Scenes Repetitive formula childcare tale, but with no parents. Drawn out plot, and it's overstated. FMC is kind of aggravating in the miscommunication kind of way.

Can We Become Family? Formula, not outstanding, but satisfying - also I don't think we're far enough in to properly judge the plot as a whole. The art is okay.

Roxanna (CANCELLED) I fucking love this one. So (of course) it may have been permanently cancelled. I think it was a poisonous publisher or editor and the artist's own failing health, in which case, I wish them the best and their (hopefully ex) supervisors the worst. I still revisit this one all the time. The FMC is graceful and vengeful and will receive what she wants. (Edit: It is probably cancelled, so I'm marking out, but I still fully recommend you read it.)

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine I really like this one. It's heavy on the figurative fourth wall breaks that happen for transmigrators, and the humor is top notch. If you liked The Beloved Fake Saint and liked it for the deity interactions, you'll like this one too.

Cassmire: The Loyal Sword Fun take on a family obsessed with the op FMC (who deserves the borderline obsession). The male leads are funny and frustrated.

Divorcing my Tyrant Husband You'll not like it going in if you're hellbent on hating the Emperor. I like it okay, and I'm in it for the havoc the FMC wreaks trying (and failing) to be a proper villainess. It's repetitive, and I can see the ending coming from miles off. It'll be a fallback read, maybe - but along the line with the very first thing I've said about it, I won't eagerly recommend it.

The Villainess is a Marionette Level with Roxanna in my love. How dare they. Oof, we love to see an ML turn into a good little boy. Every single one of those men is wrapped around her finger and she is a world-class schemer. I aspire to her strategic greatness.

The Male Lead's Little Lion Daughter The author or the artist is Islamaphobic. Sucks, because the art is good and the plot - while formula - was reasonably interesting. But I'm only mentioning it so you all are warned. I'm not supporting them.

The Falcon Princess It's interesting with a realistic view of Suddenly!Plot. The art and the humor is satisfying. The FMC and her male lead are such cutie patooties.

I Raised my Fiancé with Money Male lead is a big ole (handsomest) teddy bear with the sluttiest little waist - it's actually one-third of his wide-ass shoulders. FMC is a rich girlboss who recovers her self-confidence like we all wish we could.

The Villainess Empress's Attendant The male lead is secondary and kind of uninteresting. I actually wanted it to switch into a GL because the FMC has undeniable chemistry with another character. Update: I despise the ML. May he stub his toe twice a day for the rest of his life.

Charming the Duke of the North Charming and funny. The male lead is a little lamb and the FMC is a wolf (on accident). Very enjoyable unless you suffer excessively from secondhand embarrassment (which I do, but I'm still reading it).

Mother's Contract Marriage The art is basically the definition of "filigree." The color combinations can be actually blinding. It wouldn't be my typical read, but the plot is actually interesting and the POV for it makes it stand out - not the transmigrator, but her daughter.

The Baby Prisoner Formula childcare. The dialogue was frustratingly formula, and while I understand the character is a child, I find myself annoyed by her complete naivety. But I am the person who would hate a literal saint for being saintly. (Human divinity is in its variation. I love when humans, and our fictional counterparts, are messy.)

Betrayal of Dignity Red flag sadist and drama and its so a historical soap opera. The art is good and the tensions are high. I like it.

The Archduke's Adopted Saint Formula childcare with op FMC, with an obvious plot, but it's interesting enough. There's not been too much though so I can't say this is an informed review.

With Vengeance, Sincerely, Your Broken Saint The better Astarte, with a hint of murder-mystery. Stopped reading only because I'm letting it marinate.

Forget My Husband, I'll Go Make Money The FL is so cute, and also so accidentally hilarious. I fully enjoy how the story is going so far, and the art is fine. I need to catch up on the chapters - I left this one to marinate.

Being a Maid is Better than Being a Princess There's not been enough chapters to make any kind of informed review. But it's good so far. (There's also a violent crossdressing hottie. It's confirmed: I have a type.)

The Archvillain's Daughter-in-Law Very nice art, but there's not been enough chapters to make any kind of informed review.

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All Crossdressing hottie (what's this, number fifty-three?) but it's shojo-ai. Two rock meganerds, one with a very hot uncle, to the tune of opposites attract. It's delightful, and its one I frequently revisit and froth at the mouth waiting for updates.

Revolutionary Princess Eve It has okay art (one guy's face gets homogonized when it should definitely not) but the plot is interesting. The romantic plot (the separate emotional story interacting with the original) is fascinating though. I like that there's more interaction with the political repercussions. It's plot is very well thought-out and focused at the same time.

The Fantasy of a Stepmother/A Stepmother's Marchen How much time do you have and are you willing to be lectured with a 198-slide PowerPoint on why this is a fantastic read, why Shuri is my new God(tm), and every reason you should read it before you die? The art, divine; the plot, divine; the emotional connection you have? I will kill and die for Shuri. If she has no fans, there's no one alive on this planet.

I Became a Tyrant's Dishonest Advisor The art is good, the plot is interesting so far, but there's not been enough chapters to make any kind of informed review.

Nan Hao and Shang Feng, The Odd Couple I have never laughed so hard in my life. It could've been gay - it's not - but its funnier because its obvious where it could've been shounen-ai. Constantly revisit this, especially when I need a laugh.

My Dress-Up Darling The art is great, the plot is fantastic as well. I am the biggest fan of our delightful nerd couple, and the satisfying cast of support characters are the whipped cream on my milkshake.

Here Comes the Silver Spoon! Rich girlboss v. white lily sister. The dad is the best because he's absolutely merit-based, and all of the characters have interesting personalities.

Master Villainess the Invincible! It's another op FMC, a bit formula, but the art is good and the plot is relatively interesting. There's a level of respect I have for the FMC for how she treats her adversaries, and the friends the original had spurned.

Screw the Noble Life, I'm Going Home I am no longer reading this. It's just... boring?

The Hero's Savior The FMC is annoying in the miscommunication/oh no! I screwed the plot up! kind of way with very little visible redemption. But can I tell you that the yandere was yandere-ing for a singular heart-stopping panel that I still have in my folder for rotating backgrounds on my phone. (Will post it on request.)

[magician-kitty]

Monkie Kid: Hurtful Words

Context: They say you should choose your next words wisely, because it will hurt. Red Son says some hurtful things to his girlfriend, Morgan(My Oc).

This is my very first oneshot so, bear with me.

(Warning: Angst, implied Infidelity)

Oh, and one more thing: Morgan is mute, so her speaking will be Bolded.

Red Son was mad.

Really….Really, Mad.

Their you were, his sweetheart, his dearest flower.

Laughing and hanging out with that…that…NOODLE BOY!!

Red Son growled In anger as he watched Morgan and MK talking. Lately the two of you didn’t spend enough time with each other as he was busy helping his parents, and with her working at her aunt’s bakery. He finally had some time for himself and what better way he thought was to go see her.

And what do you know, you’re hanging out with his enemy. He couldn’t believe it, He finally gets a chance to spend time with her and she’s being all buddy-Buddy with MK.

He couldn’t take much more of this and marched right up to them, he cleared his throat.

Red Son: “Morgan, could I have a word with you. Alone”

Morgan looked with a confused look on her face, glanced over to MK who took a hint to give them some privacy.

Morgan: “Okay, Red Son”

She yelped when he takes her hand, leading her outside of the noodle shop. He stands in front of her with an angry expression, arms crossed and tapping his foot on the ground.

Red Son: “I can’t believe you. You were hanging out with that noodle boy peasant! And with his dumb, peasant companions!”

Wait, Seriously?

This is what he wanted to talk about? Morgan couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Okay fine maybe he told her about staying away from MK, as due to their rivalry or something. But when she finally met the Monkie Kid he wasn’t that bad. In fact, Morgan found him to be quite the sweetheart.

He’s funny, brave, real sweet, and he was great with noodles! Who could possibly hate this cutie lil’ dumpling she thought. She honestly couldn’t see the big deal was why her boyfriend couldn’t stand him.

Morgan: “Look Sweetie, I was just hanging out with the guy. He’s actually a pretty fun guy from where I’m standing.”

The Bull Prince scoffed as he rolled his eyes. Oh, so now he’s sweet Honestly he knew the two of you weren’t around each other lately but was that a reason for her to go and leave him for his enemy.

Red Son: “Oh that’s rich! My lady friend wants to spend time with my enemy. The one I’ve been trying to destroy for weeks. I guess you simply just got tired of me and go for that Monkey boy now, is that it?! Like peasant like peasant I suppose!”

Morgan gasped and went wide eyed at his at his accusation. Did he seriously believe that she was cheating on him!? Is that why he’s acting like this?

Morgan growled as her fangs started to show, eyebrows furrowed as tears were starting to show.

(Crunch)

Red Son yelped and hunched over in pain as she suddenly grabbed him by the…Family jewels. This wasn’t the first time she had done it to him though, and it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

She leaned down his level, still holding him by the lower regions, who was starting to turn blue.

Morgan: “When you wanna stop acting like a jealous ass, give me a call”

She had let go of him and walked away from him. Red Son fell to his knees in pain and held onto his genitals. When he finally regained himself he gasped as you began to walk away from him. He reached his hand out calling to her

Red Son: “Morgan, wait Morgan!”

Morgan continues to move away from him, wiping the tears streaming from her face. She couldn’t care to look at him; she just wanted to get away from him.

Red Son stood there in shock as she was finally out of his sight. He stared down at the ground and punched it in anger.

He felt awful, he felt guilty. How could he say such things to her, to the most wonderful person who’s made him happy in a long time.

One thing he’s certain…He may have just lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

(The End. Was it good? Bad? Bit of Both?)

[micedcoffee]

PART 2 LET’S GOOOOOOOO

(continued below the cut <33)

The training montage is so so great. The opening line of the song being “All my friends…” followed by Will doing Bad at jousting practice and Roland calling a supportive “Unlucky!” and Wat saying quietly “I think he’s getting worse” and Roland definitively answering “He is getting worse.” More cinematic gold. Also. Can we talk about the friendship here? I mean—there isn’t much to say. That’s the thing about this sorta stuff. But like. They’re there for their friend even though they know he’s doing Bad

Also. The response to Will’s teasing them being Roland: “Fong him” [cut to next scene]. I’m reading into it sure but like. It’s kinda hard NOT to you know?

Will almost drowning after being so excited about finally doing the training thing right is just. Boys will be boys but in a gender neutral and nonthreatening way you know? It’s good for them to act a little silly at times!!

The last scene where it’s just shot after shot after shot of fake lances breaking as they bang into the fake shield… Violence and destruction. Sillytimes

Okay okay one thing I will say: I can tell from context that the reveal of Will’s shaven face and freshly cut hair is supposed to be enticing. I respect it? But I feel nothing. It’s one of those things that confirms my lesbian status

Chaucer’s entrance is fucking phenomenal. I didn’t forget about it. It just beats repeating. Also?? How bold of the writers of this movie to be like: “Yeah, we’ll include Geoffrey Chaucer, you know, one of the most pretentious smarmy name-drops in the English literary canon, which is already pretentious as fuck, but to spice things up, we’ll introduce him naked, and not in a sexy way. Deans of Literature Studies Departments everywhere will cry with fury and sorrow and write scathing reviews. We know this and we are not afraid”

I should really incorporate “trudging” into my vocabulary more

INTERESTING that they have Chaucer say he’s “lilium inter spinas” when he like. Basically was (in real life) very ahead-of-the-game in. NOT using Latin in his writing? And instead sticking to English, which was considered “lowbrow” or “common” at the time? I’m sure it’s not that deep, but the fact that fake-Chaucer would feel the need to use Latin to prove his smarts right away… I’m thinking

Also funny that the fact that Will, Roland, and Wat don’t know Geoffrey Chaucer from Adam is supposed to be a commentary about how they weren’t educated or whatever but. Nobody knew Chaucer at the time. Not peasants, not nobility, not the members of the church… he only blew up after his death. When he was alive, he was only known amongst the hipsters of the time. I know things

“Hold your tongue, sir, or lose it”/���Now that, I do believe, Sir Ulrich” … Okay I’m seeing where my weird sexual urges may have emerged in my youth—

“‘Belle’ or ‘hell’ rhymes with Nell” and later “… take the good with the bad” I can see they were… TRYING to play with the sacrifice and beauty of descending so far into the torture of romance that you come out the other side as a changed entity of the sublime but.. they failed, chief. No matter I still weird-love the movie

Similar with the “sexism bad” effort to counter that with Jocelyn (the ironic “But sir, my sex are marked by their silence”). Ugh… It’s just a lot more complicated than they gave it credit for! In this kind of movie… could they do it justice? I tend to doubt it… Oh well. They tried

“Simon the Summoner” and “Peter the Pardoner” are actual real-life references to Chaucer characters (not named Simon and Peter) and they’re just STEEPED in very very early homophobia so it’s fair to acknowledge that these guys are the butt of a homophobic joke. I sniff at that. BUT. As a gay person studying literature. I get to think it’s funny. I’M ALLOWED. No-one else is

Also interesting how they confirm Chaucer’s gambling habit. It’s not real-life confirmed but it IS theorized as a thing, because his financial status went up and down and all around at seeming random for no reason

I’m also weird in Will being Chaucer’s savior. I’m weird. I’m weird. I used to just valorize Will without thinking very deeply about it, but now it leaves a sour taste in my mouth that Will forces Chaucer to know what would happen to him if Will DIDN’T rescue him… and the sorrow/fear Chaucer feels. His begging. It’s like. Will is just stroking his own ego, instead of prioritizing doing good…. I’m Thinking…

On a less serious note: fencing (the sport) would’ve been more fun if more screaming of the fans was encouraged. “Stop letting him hit you!”/“Hit him with your sword!”/“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”/etc.

Chaucer’s intros for Will are literally masterpieces. “WE WALK. IN THE GARDEN. OF HIS TURBULENCE”

Aaaand that’s it for pt. 2! I’m not even close to halfway through yet. I’ll have more to say though! You’ll have to kill me if you want me to stop! And you can certainly try!!!! Mwah!!! <333

A Knight’s Tale (pt. 1)

Listen I’m. I’m WEIRD about this movie okay?? I’m weird!!! To avoid giving my loved ones a direct play-by-play I’m here. Giving you guys a play-by-play. Because I can’t just keep it inside you know?? I’ll blow up or something!!

The uncertainty Will shows in his adjustment of the armor and the moment on the tilt when he struggles to position the lance right under his arm MIXED WITH the insistence that he’s “waited [his] whole life for this moment.” I dunno!! It just—I guess for me it really speaks to the Young Me idealizing chivalry and courage and honor and etc. and whatnot and being always unsure whether I could really live up to… it? Of course that’d be before I knew that wasn’t really real. Knighthood was always a dream for dreams, I guess. A real fairytale. An untruth within untruths… all the way down? I SHOULD just leave it behind but… it gets meee, you know? It gets me!! It gets at this feeling in my heart and—arghrghaghrgghhhhhhhhhh

The score is fucking incredible. The lord who hosts the first tournament mouthing along to “rock you” in Queen’s “We Will Rock You” in the most stately/dignified way he can muster. Cinematic gold

AGAIN with Will’s. Bravery and misplaced certainty. It’s naive. It’s frustratingly stupid. But “We could do this. We could be champions.” I !! I want to believe!!!!!

Also contrast that with Roland’s desire for home and Wat’s for food (and the certainty of food) and the fact that Will’s “glory” will get in the way… thinking. I’m THINKING

“Most of it is the guts to take a blow—to strike one. Guts I have!” OUGHHHHHHHHH

OUGHHHH “That [pointing at a hanged man] is nothing. And nothing is right where glory’ll take us”

I’m normal about this lads I’m so normal!!! I’m normal

“God love you, William”/“I know, I know. No-one else will” is on the level of “I’ll take care of you”/“It’s rotten work”/“Not to me. Not if it’s you”

OKAY less than 15 minutes in BUT I’m tired SO I’m going to sleep. BUT YOU’LL HEAR MORE OF MY MASTURBATORY ANALYSIS BELIEVE YOU ME!!!!!!! MWAH!!!

[thephantomessoftheopera]

Notes on Gaston Leroux’ “The Phantom of the Opera” - Chapter 6: “The Enchanted Violin”

<< Previous Chapter

Artwork by @coatntails on deviantart

“The Enchanted Violin” introduces us to the childhood friendship of Raoul and Christine - but first, we learn that Christine did not continue to triumph at the Opera, but only sang once more in society at the invitation of the Duchess of Zurich and, after that, cancelled everything including a charity concert. She was apparently terrified by her triumph during the gala night, and didn’t “recognize herself” anymore when she sings. Before, she was emotionally distant and indifferent because she had shut everything out so she could cope with the grief of her father’s death. The amount of passion and feeling that Erik’s lessons had to rekindle in her must have felt terrifying and perhaps even painful to her. Plus, baring your heart and soul on stage like she did is, by itself, something that can indeed feel terrifying! In this chapter, we learn that Raoul has indeed been watching her performances at the Opera for some time, but also felt that she seemed indifferent to everything and everyone - until her soul finally came alive again with her gala night performance.

Philippe de Chagny has even tried to further her career with the managers to please his little brother, but Christine does not wish for him to do so. Raoul tries to seek her out, but without success. One morning though, Raoul receives a letter from Christine, assuring him that she has not forgotten the “little boy who fetched her scarf from the sea”, and informing him that she will be going to Perros-Guirec to visit her father’s grave on the anniversary of his death. Perros-Guirec is a seaside village in Brittany, quite far from Paris.

Raoul doesn’t lose time and rushes to the Montparnasse station to follow her, but fails to catch the morning train and has to wait all day for the night train (Raoul tends to have a bit of bad luck following him around).

This chapter also gives us a short biography of Christine Daaé. In the novel - contrary to the musical - she is described as blonde and blue-eyed, slender and somewhat short-sighted, which would presumably give her a bit of a dreamy, unfocused expression if nobody hands her a pair of glasses (I guess Erik wouldn’t mind her short-sightedness either!). She was born in the village of Skotelof near Uppsala in Sweden. Her father (who does not have a name in the novel) sang in the church choir and taught Christine to read music before she could read books. He also had a well-known reputation as the best violinist in Scandinavia, and was often requested to play at social gatherings. Christine’s mother died when she was 6 years old, and her father became a travelling musician and took Christine around the country. They were discovered by Professor Valerius and taken to Götheburg, where Christine received her training. His wife, Mama Valerius, treated Christine like a daughter. When the Valerius family moved to France, Christine and her father accompanied them. Papa Daaé did not adjust well to life in Paris though, and often found solace in his music only, locking himself in his room for hours at a time. The only time of the year he enjoyed was their yearly trip to the seaside town of Perros-Guirec, because the ocean reminded him of his native Sweden. Missing his nomadic lifestyle, he decided to once again to spend some time every year as a travelling musician with Christine - which is how Christine came to meet Raoul, who was then staying with his aunt - the one that kindled his love for the sea. Raoul heard Christine sing and was so utterly captivated by her angel’s voice that he started following her around with his governess. One day, at the bay of Trestraou, the wind was so strong that it blew Christine’s scarf into the sea, and Raoul ran after it fully clothed and rescued it. They became friends that summer and played together often, and Christine’s father also gave him some violin lessons.

Bay of Trestraou, where Raoul rescued Christine’s scarf from the sea (image from france-voyage.com)

Both Raoul and Christine loved listening to ancient tales and legends, especially the ones that Papa Daaé told them. Among those stories is the famous “Little Lotte”, who loved listening to the Angel of Music while she fell asleep. It’s a little funny that while they listen to the story, all Raoul does is look at Christine’s golden hair and blue eyes, imagining her as “Little Lotte”, and Christine’s thoughts are focused on how lucky Little Lotte was to hear the Angel of Music. So Raoul dreams about Christine while Christine dreams about the Angel of Music, which kind of foreshadows the setup of the love triangle in the novel.

To be honest, I can’t really blame Christine for thinking she was indeed hearing the Angel of Music in her dressing-room, since the description given fits Erik perfectly:

“No one ever saw him, but he made himself heard to those predestined to hear him. It often happened when they least expected it, when they were sad and disheartened. Then they suddenly heard heavenly harmonies and a divine voice, and they would remember it all their lives. People visited by the angel were left with a kind of flame burning inside them.”

I guess her father couldn’t really find the Angel of Music in heaven, so he sent her the next best thing that was available… Erik might not have been a heavenly angel, but the effect he had on her amounted to the same that is attributed to the Angel of Music in her father’s stories.

After their parting following the first summer that they spent together, Christine and Raoul saw each other again three years later, when they were “no longer children” - perhaps 13 to 14 years old, which would put their first meeting at about age 10 to 11. Professor Valerius has died in the meantime, and Christine’s father has started suffering from a cough. Raoul and Christine’s meeting is a little awkward this time - both seem to be developing tender feelings for each other, but are also very reserved. Their current relationship has now outgrown the sweet and carefree friendship of childhood. Raoul is quite infatuated with her, but he is also badly affected by his jealousy plus the unresolved issue of a peasant girl like Christine not being a suitable choice as a wife for a Viscount - and Christine being acutely aware of that. So yes - it’s complicated between those two. Afterwards, she tries to forget him and dedicate herself to her career instead. But when her father finally dies, her soul and her voice die with him, and even though her talent is still enough to gain entry into the Paris Conservatory, she cannot not bring any more enthusiasm to her studies, and just goes through the motions to please Mama Valerius.

Christine apparently travelled to Perros by herself, staying at the “Auberge du Soleil Couchant”. Raoul is looking forward to speaking to her alone without interference. Despite having sailed around the world, Leroux describes Raoul as “pure as a virgin” and overwhelmed by his love for Christine, who occupies his every thought - in fact, Raoul seems to obsess over things a lot in the novel, not just about Christine. When he finally meets her as she returns from mass, he jumps straight to the point and tells her that he loves her and cannot live without her - which is unfortunately not “what she wanted to hear”. Their conversation goes totally wrong and as his jealous temper gets the better of him, he behaves terribly and they get into a fight (over Erik, of course) to the point where she runs off and locks herself in her room.

Raoul, saddened by the way his meeting with Christine turned out, wanders off towards the graveyard to pray for Christine’s father, and finally sits down, looking out over the moor where he and Christine used to look for goblins when they were children. He never saw any, while Christine always saw lots despite her lack of proper eyesight - which shows that despite both of them being described as “dreamy”, Christine’s imagination is a lot more lively than Raoul’s. She finally comes out to make another try of confiding the secret of the Angel of Music who speaks to her to Raoul, but when she feels he doesn’t take her seriously and questions her virtue, she storms off again, truly angry this time and refusing to come down for dinner.

At night, about 11:30 pm, she finally sneaks out to visit her father’s grave at the Perros graveyard and meet the “Angel of Music” (aka Erik) there. This is obviously the scene which inspired “Wishing you were somehow here again”, though the original context is a little bit different. Raoul climbs out the window and follows her to the graveyard. Raoul’s account of the graveyard scene is given via a transcript of Raoul’s testimony to Commissary Mifroid a few weeks later, after Christine’s abduction. The use of this “source” is one of the things that have given rise to the theory that this is a “detective novel”, however Leroux uses it more like a historian would use a source - it’s just one of different documents that he uses (or claims to use) to prove that his story is indeed true.

Christine doesn’t notice Raoul following her. Her rendez-vous with the Angel of Music is supposedly taking place at exactly midnight at her father’s grave, so Christine is in a bit of a hurry to get there in time. It is still winter, so the graves are covered in snow and lit by the clear moonlight. Christine, who apparently has nerves of steel since she has no qualms about going to graveyards at midnight and then sitting down calmly next to a pile of actual skulls and bones, kneels down to pray when divinely beautiful violin music is suddenly heard, but no player is seen anywhere. The sounds of the piece,  the “Resurrection of Lazarus” are so enthralling that Raoul himself is reminded of the legend of the Angel of Music.

When the music finally ceases, Raoul hears a sound from the pile of bones, and assumes that the invisible musician might be hiding there. Christine leaves, and suddenly the skulls start rolling towards Raoul, and he sees a shadow enter the church. He chases after him and manages to grab his cloak, and when the shadow turns around, he sees a terrifying death’s-head with burning eyes which shocks him so much that he faints. I assume that Erik was not wearing a mask here, and that his unmasked face was weapon enough to take Raoul out without any further need for fireballs or swordfights.

The next morning, Raoul is found half-frozen in the little church, and Christine and the landlady of the Inn both take care to revive him.

Historic images of Perros-Guirec from phantomstheater.weebly.com

Artwork by CoatNTails on deviantart

Next Chapter >>

[fandomlurker]

A Ponderous Rewatch: Cameo in Sir Yaksalot

We’re having a mini-post about a cameo for this entry, and it’s the longest and most involved cameo yet. Plus, it’s animated by TMS Entertainment, which is always a delight to see.

Let’s take a look at “Sir Yaksalot”.

This has nothing to do with Pinky and the Brain, but I thought I’d point it out anyway since I find it delightful. Back in the late 1970s, TMS Entertainment animated the Lupin the 3rd “Red Jacket” anime series. In this episode the very first populated scene has an appearance by Jigen, who is one of the characters in that anime. I imagine this easter egg flew right over the heads of most of the western audience back in the 90s. It’s so charming that TMS made reference to their old work all these years later.

If you’ve never watched this Lupin the 3rd anime, have a few out-of-context bizarre and funny moments from the series to get a taste of it. It’s a delight.

Anyway, the basic run-down of this episode is that it takes place in Camelot, where Sir Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table live. All is pretty peaceful until a dragon starts attacking the place, burning down houses, and roasting people alive in the street.

…Like so.

But hey, that doesn’t have anything to do with our duo of mice, right?

Well, I hate to have to spoil the whole twist to the situation here, but it’s kind of important to do so for the analyzing purposes of this rewatch. So what’s the twist?

The dragon is actually a mecha assembled and piloted by Pinky and the Brain.

I’ve gotta say, this is actually quite bizarre for the duo to do. Brain’s plans are nearly always non-violent. And even if the odd plan involves violence or lasting harm, Pinky is quick to admonish Brain for doing so.

But now in this episode we have them terrorizing a kingdom, burning down houses, burning folks left and right… What’s going on here?!? I mean, I guess the part where they’re roasting people is moreso in a cartoony character-is-just-blackened-with-soot-and-they’re-fine kind of way, but still.

OH LORD, IT’S HEADED FOR US!

Anyway, the “dragon” defeats the knights of the kingdom and begins trying to break into the castle.

We’re going to skip a large part of the story here as it doesn’t involve the mice directly. All you need to know is that King Arthur asks Merlin to conjure up a brave and powerful knight to slay the dragon…and Merlin’s magic summons the Warner Siblings instead. Eventually, the Warners agree to do their best to get rid of Camelot’s dragon problem.

Meanwhile, the dragon has gone back to the kingdom at large to continue the rampage. I guess the castle door was too much of an obstacle for some reason?

Oh no, they’ve spotted something…

BOYS, NO! What the fuck?!?

I guess…I guess you could say that since this is actually a mecha that we’re looking at here, this old man would just be held hostage inside the belly area and our duo is just doing a really good acting job at the moment. However, this is still something that’s really, really out of Pinky and Brain’s usual modus operandi. Maybe Brain’s the one doing all the work at the moment and Pinky’s somewhere else in the mecha, distracted and unaware of the chaos happening? That’s the only way this could make any sort of sense to me, and having Brain working by himself without Pinky there do second-guess him and be his conscience usually results in Brain getting more carried away and having his morals slip a bit.

“Comedy! Dragon comedy! The best dragon comedians in all of Camelot!”

Oh thank goodness for your distraction, Yakko!

“Right here, free peasant with every drink! Oh yes, right this way, sir!”

“Hmm?”

The dragon goes right on in. Curiosity got the better of Brain, I suppose.

“And now, dragons and drag-ettes, the Camelot Comedy Cabaret presents the funniest dragon in all of Camelot: Henny Dragon!”

Oh my lord, Yakko, that dragon kigurumi is adorable!

“Ah-haha! Thank you, thank you! You’re too kind!”

“Hey, how about that lady in the lake? I mean, how long can she hold her breath?”

Aww, Wakko has one too.

“Hehehehehe…”

All right, this is totally not Brain at the reins anymore. He’s not one for these kinds of jokes. I’m guessing Pinky got curious about what was going on and Brain let him have control for a little while?

“Candy? Gum? Dynamite?”

And there’s Dot in her own costume! You look very cute, sweetie.

The dragon shakes his head in refusal, but—

“On the house, sugar.”

The dragon’s all blushy and he mumbles something unintelligible and waves in thanks. Yeah, that’s definitely not Brain controlling the mecha anymore.

“How ‘bout that King Arthur, huh? I’ll never forget the first time we met—“

“—but I’m tryin’.”

Oh boy, the dragon’s laughter is getting more intense and…umm. Hmm. I think we all know where this is going.

“I’m slayin’ ‘em.”

[snerk] Thanks, Yakko.

“Hey hey! What’s green and stands in the corner?”

“A naughty frog.”

We’ve got full-on belly laughs here, folks. It’s only a matter of time now.

“Naw, really, you’ve been a great audience. We’re outta here!”

Welp, here we go.

Yeah, sorry. This one’s all on you, buddy.

HOLY SHIT! That’s much more violent an explosion than I was expecting!

See you, space cowboy.

There’s the reveal. How did Brain (with some help from Pinky) assemble a mecha like this in medieval times? He’s just that good, I suppose.

This junked mecha is giving me Five Nights at Freddy’s vibes and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Ah hehahe—‘naughty frog’! Narf! AhHAhaha!”

There’s our boys! Man, TMS makes them so adorable. Look at Pinky’s smile! He’s so precious. And Brain is, too, even though he’s so frustrated right now. ‘Lil grumpy-gus…

“Hysterical, Pinky.”

BONK!

“Zort!”

“…Mice?”

“But WHY?!?”

Honestly, King Arthur? Same.

“We were trying to destroy Camelot in yet another attempt to take over the world.”

W-were you, now? I… Listen, I know you’re not one to think about the details at all, Brain, but this is on a whole other level.

“Come, Pinky. Back to the drawing board.”

“’Stands in the corner’… ‘Naughty frog’… Ah HAHAHAHA!”

SMACK!

“They’re Pinky! They’re Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain--!~”

SPLAT!

That’s it for the cameo. It sure was…something. I honestly don’t know quite what to make of it. The whole Pinky and the Brain twist doesn’t really work unless you make some leaps of logic to try and puzzle out who was in charge of the mecha and when, and it’s an overly aggressive and violent plan…which is very rare for the two mice.

At least the animation was a joy to look at!

[trensu]

Can I just! I've actually thought about a Sailor Moon AU since Winter and I gotta say, I wanted it to be that way around too BUT if we say Wangji is Tuxedo Mask who conveniently shows up out of nowhere and lovingly stares at Sailor Moon while she's dying and Wei Ying is Moon, we can have NHS as Venus because the two are canonically disaster friends who don't study. Wen Qing is Mars for me, NMJ may be Jupiter (or Pluto). Ning is probably Saturn, cute but deadly and died once but came back.

Look friend, this sailor moon au is a playground open for all!! it can hold ALL the versions of sailor moon aus.

I’m gonna confess that you’re putting much more thought into this than i ever have. You want to match up characterizations? You want to stick close to canon? ASTOUNDING!! I FULLY SUPPORT YOUR ENDEAVOR!!! However, speaking for myself here, i have not actually watched sailor moon since i was ten years old (which...like...it’s been a while since i was ten lol) so i have ZERO KNOWLEDGE of characterization or, like, the general plot. I only remember the Aesthetic. and to be 100% upfront with you, my reasons for this au are COMPLETELY SHALLOW. Literally i came up with it bc i wanted lwj in a skimpy sailor scout skirt. Like, that’s it. That’s the reason. XD XD XD

(okay, also, i guess i thought it’d be funny for him to do the magical girl transformation full of dazzling sparkles and upbeat music all while sporting a completely flat expression, BUT MOSTLY I WANTED LWJ IN A SKIRT. LET LWJ WEAR SKIRTS AND BE PRETTY AND GET SWEPT OFF HIS FEET BY WWX!!! HE DESERVES IT!!!!!)

I do, however, LOVE the idea of wen qing as sailor mars!! It’s great!! It fits her fiery personality perfectly!! I’m pretty stuck on jc being sailor jupiter tho bc LIGHTNING, but i’m assuming sailor jupiter is not as grumpy as jc (bc who is, really?) so I can understand why you’d want someone else as jupiter. I never thought to include nmj as a sailor scout, but let me tell you HOW MUCH I LOVE THE IDEA. also, I did NOT know that sailor saturn died at any point and came back, but since that’s the case, you’re ABSOLUTELY CORRECT that wen ning works as sailor saturn!!

Now, then, i’d like to make the argument that lwj and jzx work as sailor moon/sailor venus disaster friends. HEAR ME OUT, I SWEAR IT’LL MAKE SENSE (hopefully). Lwj and Jzx may not be conventional disasters like wwx and nhs are, but I posit that they’re Disasters in Rich Boy ways. They’re respectable! They’re raised to maintain appearances!! But they’re ALSO ridden with self-doubt and anxiety!!! So when they have a Disaster moment, they don’t have meltdowns like peasants. No sir, they’re far too dignified for that.

Instead, jzx gets EXTRA STUCK UP AND SNOOTY whenever he experiences complicated emotions. For example, omg jyl just smiled at me what should i do I’LL POINT OUT HOW RICH I AM AND LOOK DOWN AT HER, FRANKLY, MEDIOCRE CLOTHING. (to which *I* personally respond with, shut up jzx, jyl is a GODDESS AND MAKES ANYTHING SHE WEARS LOOK HEAVENLY).

as for lwj, his default is to go completely blank-faced and stare unblinkingly at whatever is making him experience awkward feelings. mostly this happens whenever wwx is anywhere remotely close to him. wwx looks at him and says hi and lwj’s brain goes OMG, WWX IS SO HANDSOME AND CHARMING AND HAS SUCH A NICE VOICE AND PRETTY EYES OH GOD AND SUCH KISSABLE LIPS while his face stays :| and doesn’t ever actually respond to wwx’s greetings.

jzx and lwj commiserate over their shared ineptitude. like, jzx just kind of...leans his face against the wall after jyl leaves and hates himself while lwj stands next to him and judges him for it. he doesn’t say a word out loud, but jzx says “shut up!” anyway bc lwj is thinking VERY LOUDLY about how much jzx screwed up. “you’re not any better!!” he’d say and lwj would respond, “i have never made wwx cry.” and jzx would just groan and kinda die a little inside.

and whenever lwj experiences the blue screen of death bc wwx accidentally makes eye contact with him or whatever, jzx laughs under his breath. lwj blushes and the tension in his shoulders ratchets up to 11 but he still levels jzx with a glare that jzx has unfortunately grown immune to. jzx says, “at least i’ve spoken to jyl. i haven’t heard you say a single word to wwx this entire school year.”

....and this reply has gotten away from me so i’m gonna finish it up now lol. basically what i’m saying is that YES nhs and wwx are disasters and therefore work as moon/venus (presumably. again, i don’t actually remember characterizations lol) BUT jzx and lwj are ALSO disasters of a different flavor and we should DEFINITELY exploit that even out of the context of sailor moon XD XD XD

[katiewattsart]

29/10/19 : TEDDY BOYS. HAUL GIRLS. #1

What are they? 

Teddy Boy: (in the 1950s) a young man of a subculture characterised by a style of dress based on Edwardian fashion (typically with drainpipe trousers, bootlace tie, and hair slicked up in a quiff) and a liking for rock-and-roll music.

Haul Girl: A girl or women who makes a haul video.

The revolution will not be televised. 

The tv shows you what it wants to show you.

Television tells us what the people who run the TV stations want us to know. But social media today sometimes provides an alternative.

Subculture - Under/Beneath 

We are looking today at youth and subcultures… their historicity and their contexts, and where we are with what might be called subcultures and youth cultures today.

GUIDE TO THE CULTS

A genuine piece from the mirror in the 1980s.

Sex Pistols : This is one of the most infamous moments on television. Today it seems tame, but in 1976 this was enough to get the presenter fired.

Like Duchamp's 'ready mades' - manufactured objects which qualified as art because he chose to call them such, the most unremarkable and inappropriate items - a pin, a plastic clothes peg, a television component, a razor blade, a tampon - could be brought within the province of punk (un)fashion...

Dick Hebdige - Subculture: The Meaning of Style

Hebdige’s book has long been consider the authorative text on subculture.

In the book he discusses the ready made aesthetics of punk. Punk was the first reaction to the developing politics of Thatcher and Reagan… here a refusal to take part in business as normal led to music that sounded amateur and fresh… the opposite of the progressive rock that had dominated the mid 1970s and early 80′s. 

Vivienne Westwood

Objects borrowed from the most sordid of contexts found a place in punks' ensembles; lavatory chains were draped in graceful arcs across chests in plastic bin liners. Safety pins were taken out of their domestic 'utility' context and worn as gruesome ornaments through the cheek, ear or lip...fragments of school uniform (white bri-nylon shirts, school ties) were symbolically defiled (the shirts covered in graffiti, or fake blood; the ties left undone) and juxtaposed against leather drains or shocking pink mohair tops.

Jamie Red and others made zines that could be assembled in this same way, collaging and making work that felt it could have been made in the house, and often was.

Subcultures

Subcultures are tribal, bringing people together to form loose relations outside of the mainstream.

Different subcultures:

Even subcultures have subcultures… specific types of goth (steampunk, lolita) rude boys, K Pop sub genres, grunge punk rock etc

Once about a specific youth culture movement based around the disco music of the 1970s, clubbing subculture developed into rave culture in the late 80s and 90s, and has become a mainstream movement in the last few years. 

Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, Mark Leckey, 1999

“Something as trite and throwaway and exploitative as a jeans manufacturer can be taken by a group of people and made into something totemic, and powerful, and life-affirming.”

Subcultures are about a sense of belonging, often to people who feel excluded or disenfranchised from the mainstream.

Cosplay - form of subculture 

The Joker and Harlequin are both characters who live for misrule, and both of them come from characters in the commedia dell’arte.

Harlequin relates directly to Harley Quinn… the Lord of Misrule was the peasant who was given the task of making sure that Xmas revellers got very drunk and very naughty.

The World Turned Upside Down

These characters link back to the ideas of the carnival, a time when the world was turned upside down. Christmas was initialy this kind of festival. People didn’t know if they would make it through the winter, so they made merry whilst they could. In the carnival Kings become Jokers, Jokers became kings. 

Carnival extracts all individuals from non-carnival life, non-carnival states and because there are no hierarchical positions during carnival, ideologies which manifest the mind of individuals cannot exist.

...And finally in a few relatively rare instances, we find an extreme form of revelry in which the participants play-act at being precisely the opposite of what they really are; men act as women, women as men, kings as beggars, servants as masters, acolytes as bishops. In such situations of true orgy, normal life is played in  all manners of sins such as incest, adultery, transvestitism, sacri- lege, and lese-majeste treated as the order of the day...

Edmund R. Leach, Rethinking Anthropology

In Rabelais and His World (1965), Mikhail Bakhtin likens the carnivalesque to the type of activity that often takes place in the carnivals of popular culture. In the carnival, according to Bakhtin, social hierarchies of everyday life—their etiquettes, and normal structures—are turned on their head.

Court jesters become kings, kings become beggars; opposites are mingled (fact and fantasy, heaven and hell).

Drag Cultures

Much in the same way that Madonna, undeniable icon though she is, in no way invented voguing, neither did the queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race invent the concept of "shade", "realness" or any of the other essential sayings liberally adopted wholesale by the internet. But what the show has done is continually provide a potted queer history. Whether it’s through highlighting ball culture, trans activism, gender fluidity, or queens like the legendary Lady Bunny; or simply by allowing the contestants to talk about their lived experience, the show has put an all too rare slice of gay and trans history in American (and the world’s) living rooms and laptops.

Drag Race has brought a subculture into the mainstream. It has brought secret languages into modern parlay.

From RuPaul raising a pair of opera glasses to say archly, “I can’t wait to see how this pans out”, to season four queen Latrice Royale’s “the shaaaaade of it all”, social media’s gif game has been vastly bolstered by nine seasons of this show. A gif reaction needs to encapsulate maximum emotion, drama, and appearance – and the queens on Drag Race have all three in spades. Tumblr couldn’t create gifs fast enough in the early seasons, and the joy of so many strong characters, and sound-bites, means that there is a reaction for absolutely every occasion. Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio named one of her world tours after her own much-gif’d catchphrase, “Not today Satan”.

Memes and online culture have helped the show become part of the everyday.

Historically, "sissy" has been used as an insult against feminine-seeming men. Ru-Paul’s Drag Race not only reclaims the word – “now sissy that walk” is the phrase said at the top of each catwalk, usually preceding a demonstration of almost gob-smacking creativity – but shows that adopting a truly feminine character requires massive amounts of charisma and self-confidence. The show is wildly popular with women, not simply because of the incredible looks and transformations served by each queen, but because it is a celebration of feminine mystique in all its forms.

It has helped reclaim a sense of agency in an era of toxic masculinity.

The little show that could has turned into a global behemoth, with tours around the world each year, and an annual convention in Los Angeles. Last year, a second US convention launched in New York, while London hosted the first European edition, DragWorld UK, which saw a number of the show’s queens and RuPaul’s right-hand judge, Michelle Visage, holding court. And as fabulous, glamorous and downright funny as the queens are, the real joy came from seeing the response of teenagers to meeting their idols. RuPaul and Visage are giving hope to lost kids around the world, whatever their gender, ethnic background or sexuality. By sharing their stories, the Drag Race contestants are giving comfort and inspiration to viewers, as well as swathes of entertainment.

The show has brought disenfranchised, often hidden cultures into the open. And given people something that not only entertains, but also empowers.

The difference between Drag Race US and Drag Race UK summed up in one perfect tweet…

With RuPaul’s Drag Race UK finally airing on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s got fans realising just how different the two editions of the show are… International fans were subjected to the colourful world of British slang and swear words, leaving dozens bemused about what exactly the UK queens are actually saying…. But in a viral tweet shared by one of the British queens, it’s managed to capture the crucial difference between the US and UK versions of Drag Race.

Sum Ting Wong shared a screenshot of a Facebook post that so beautifully sums up the two shows:

Pink News JOSH MILTON OCTOBER 8, 2019

Drag is culturally derived, and finds its forms based on local customs. In the UK drag has a relationship to Vaudeville and play, which means it does something different to the american show. It is less about the act of putting on a show, and more about the comedic, slightly catty relations that we have come to associate with saturday evening tv here in the UK.

But that doesn’t mean it is mean in itself… it still brings a subculture to a mainstream audience. Remember, if I talked about this with you in the 1990s, I would face prosecution under Section 28

"shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

New Subcultures

‘It's hard not to be struck by the sensation that, emos and metalheads aside, what you might call the 20th-century idea of a youth subculture is now just outmoded. The internet doesn't spawn mass movements, bonded together by a shared taste in music, fashion and ownership of subcultural capital: it spawns brief, microcosmic ones.

In fact, the closest thing to the old model of a subculture I've come across is Helena and the haul girls. Their videos are about conspicuous consumption: a public display of their good taste, carefully assembled with precise attention to detail. When you put it like that they sound remarkably like mods.’

Alexis Petridis 

Marie Antoinette, 2006 (Sofia Copolla) 

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Golden Girls and Lost Boys

Shimmin considers a Disney film much too seriously for anyone's good.~

Spoiler warning for Tangled.

Recently, I went to watch Tangled (in 3D! not that it matters, and because there wasn't an alternative, but there you are), the new Disney Rapunzel film. I'm not planning to do yer'actual review of it, and I'm not that interested in getting into heavy analysis of the plot or logic or of a Disney film based on a fairy tale, because that would be silly. It was fun, it was more-or-less for children, it was funny, it was sweet if a bit saccharine, it had an awesome horse. Their version also seemed quite original, which is something I tend to forget about Disney films. Anyway, this article is not about that. It brought up some vaguely interesting issues that I thought might be worth waffling about in case anyone else also found them interesting.

Synopsis

The Disney plot is rather different, and people might not be over-familiar with the details of Rapunzel anyway, so here's the gist. A drop of sunlight falls to earth and grows into a magical flower (just go with it, okay?). An old woman finds the flower, and discovers that if she sings a particular magical song to it, it glows with healing light that temporarily restores her youth (ditto). She hides it and uses it to stay young and beautiful for an unspecified but long time. The Queen becomes ill while pregnant, so they send the army to find the fabled flower. They make a healing potion from it, which works, and the child is born as a beautiful golden-haired daughter (it wasn't entirely clear when the mop of hair appeared, but stick with me here). One night, the old woman sneaks into the palace to steal a lock of hair, believing it'll have the same healing properties. But when she cuts it, the hair loses its power. In desperation, she steals the baby. Nobody knows what happened to the princess, and they never find her. Every year on her birthday, they release Chinese lanterns to remember her.

Eighteen years later, thieves break in and steal the princess' crown (presumably a traditional item from the treasury) which is handily kept on a cushion beneath a skylight with all the guards facing away. They're pursued, and one (Flynn) splits off from the others with the crown, escaping the guards but still followed by an angry horse. He finds a tower in a hidden valley, which seems like an ideal hiding place. Sadly, he's beaten unconscious by an 18-year-old Rapunzel with a pan, and stuffed in a cupboard. Rapunzel wants to go and see the floating lights she's spotted every year on her birthday, but her mother won't let her. After yet another argument, which dissuades her from revealing her prisoner to her mother, she decides to make the man take her instead while her mother's away. Wacky adventures and angst and excitement ensue. The two fall in love, and are followed by the old woman, who uses Flynn's betrayed partners to set an ambush, and sets it up to look like he's abandoned Rapunzel so she'll accept her mother's advice and won't try to leave the tower again. He escapes, comes to see her, is mortally wounded, and has a pointless heroic moment of sacrifice that is negated by Lurve. Old woman crumbles to dust, Rapunzel is reunited with her family, and all live happily ever after. Except the old woman, and presumably the now-imprisoned Stabbington Brothers.

Family Matters

One of the things that was vaguely interesting about the film was the family issues it brought up. The thing that really got my attention was right at the end, during the reuinion, when the narrator (i.e. Flynn) says something like: "...Rapunzel finally had a real family..."

Let's leave aside the likely problems for a girl brought up by a single parent in humble surroundings in a small tower, who's barely met a handful of people in her life, joining two unknown biological parents of immense wealth and power who live in a massive castle and incidentally becoming the biggest celebrity of all time. I'm sure there will be no issues whatsoever getting accustomed to that. Or long-term trauma associated with the violent death of the woman who brought her up and whom she sincerely loved. This is a fairy tale. However, it does get me thinking about families.

The old woman is never named in the story. I do wonder why; perhaps to stop us having any sympathy with her, though villains in other stories are named, or perhaps they simply couldn't be bothered inventing a name. It does dehumanize her a bit. Anyway, I'm going to call her Agnes. So Agnes has, indeed, kidnapped Rapunzel to use her supernatural power so she can live forever. This is Not Okay. And she keeps her trapped in the tower so she won't either leave her, or be found by anyone. The thing is, apart from that, she treats her as a daughter.

Now, I am not going to claim she's a great mother. She's controlling and emotionally manipulative, which I suppose isn't that surprising when she's keeping Rapunzel there basically by force of will. She's only tepidly affectionate. On the other hand, Rapunzel's very comfortable and, apart from a desire to see the outside world, she's pretty happy. She has nice furniture and playthings, nice clothes, and an apparently endless supply of hobby materials. They don't seem to have a luxurious diet, but neither do most peasants; and Agnes makes a point of cooking Rapunzel's favourite food when she visits. She's also educated her brilliantly: although a tad naive, she knows everything an ordinary, non-imprisoned girl would know. She recognises Flynn as a man, knows what birthdays mean, how drowning works, and when she's in danger. The outside world doesn't really phase her, so she must know about nature and geography, and she seems to have a decent grasp of society and normal behaviour too. She's articulate, intelligent and very pleasant. In fact, given the difficulties of the situation, Agnes is one of the most successful child-raisers I've ever heard of. It's very clear that, right until the end, Rapunzel is very fond of her mother. Regardless of Agnes' ultimate feelings towards the girl, she treats her extremely well so far as the situation allows. Compare, say, Cinderella or Snow White. Agnes may not be a great mother, but she's actually not a terrible one.

I was talking about this to Dan, and he summed up my argument here as basically: "Apart from kidnapping a baby, pretending to be her mother, bringing her up alone in a tower for eighteen years and deceiving her for her own selfish ends, she's not a particularly bad mother". The thing is, ridiculous as it sounds, I think that's about right. The things she's done wrong aren't really about how she raised Rapunzel, but more general wrongs that intertwine with that. The problem is that Agnes' dual status as adoptive mother and kidnapper rather complicates the issue.

As far as Rapunzel is concerned, at least, Agnes is her family. The thing that changes that is not really a shift in their relationship, or anything Agnes does; it's seeing a picture of the baby princess and then seeing herself in the mirror wearing the crown. It's a revelation of Objective Truth ('you are Really the Princess, the Queen and King are your Real Family'), rather than anything about the family itself - right until that moment, Rapunzel thinks of Agnes as her mother and loves her.

There's a decent argument that it's not a good family, because it's built on a tissue of lies. It's also possible that Agnes has no real affection for Rapunzel - she doesn't show any active affection in the film. On the other hand, she's brought the girl up for 18 years, and in that time, I'd have expected things to crystallise one way or the other. The first option is to view and treat her as a useful tool or a pet, in which case I wouldn't expect Rapunzel to be so well educated or comfortable; that's extra effort and liable to encourage further trouble, when you could bring her up cowed and ignorant so she won't get ideas. If, on the other hand, Agnes brings her up as though she was her daughter and treats her kindly, you'd expect some affection to arise on both sides.

Now, I don't think Disney thought much about this one throwaway line and I'm not that interested in decrying them. A fairly normative and slightly old-fashioned way of thinking is par for the course. I suppose the "real family" reference means one with honesty and love, rather than manipulation, deceit and using your daughter selfishly. It means the parents who wanted you and loved you unconditionally, rather than someone who stole you for selfish reasons, whether or not they've got fond of you. In context, though, it had a faint whiff of narrow-mindedness: that what really matters isn't who brought you up or how you felt about them, but your genes (and incidentally having two parents, not just one). The fact is though, Rapunzel actually had a pretty happy family life before all this kicked off.

From My Point of View, the Jedi are Arguably Morally Ambiguous

Although the story glosses over her, I was also quite interested in Agnes and her actions. We don't ever find out anything about her, other than her use of the flower and her relationship with Rapunzel. We don't know her background, her history, or what she does when she's not visiting Rapunzel. Why should we? Rapunzel doesn't either. She's presented pretty much exclusively as a manipulative, selfish woman, whose use of the flower is immoral, and who commits a string of selfish acts to keep herself young and live forever. I'm not sure how convinced I am by that portrayal, or the way morality is defined in this story as a whole.

Agnes is lucky enough to find the flower and discover its powers. She keeps it hidden and uses it to stay young (and therefore alive) for, well, a long time. She chooses to keep it to herself, which is selfish, but I wonder how long she'd get to keep it if people found out about it? She could legitimately have all kinds of worries about that, so keeping it hidden isn't that unreasonable. As it turns out, the first thing that happens when the flower's discovered is it gets taken - so her hypothetical suspicions are vindicated.

Now for a look at the Castle. When the Queen is ill, the Castle mount a frantic last-chance search for the rumoured magical flower, and due to carelessness on Agnes' part, find it. Under her very eyes, they carefully dig it up and take it away to the castle. Someone makes it into a magic potion, which heals the Queen and (probably) saves her daughter's life too.

The issue here is the magic flower. Who has the right to use it, and what uses are acceptable?

The flower just appears. There's no reason it belongs to anyone, but Agnes has as much claim to it as anyone. Agnes uses it to save her own life; the Castle use it to save the Queen's life (and her unborn daughter). While Agnes keeps the flower to herself, nobody else benefits; once the Castle destroy the flower, nobody else can ever benefit. There's a touch of criticism in the film's portrayal of Agnes' actions, as though it were a crime to seek immortality. I don't know much about ethics, but I suspect issues like immortality are much more complicated than "it's bad to try and live forever". The Castle's actions are presented straightforwardly as a good thing. To be honest, I can't really see much difference. From a purely practical perspective, the first is a much more efficient use of the flower. The only real difference I can see between them is that Agnes chooses to save herself, whereas someone else (the King?) chooses to save the Queen. The first is more obviously selfish; but the second involves destroying an item of fantastic potential benefit to the world, which doesn't actually belong to the King any more than it does to anyone else, to extend the life of his wife. Not entirely unselfish.

Once the flower is destroyed, Agnes is doomed. Having and then losing immortality is more of a blow than never having it. She works out that Rapunzel's hair could do the same job, and plans to steal a lock. It's a bit skeevy, and involves burglary; on the other hand, the Castle are responsible for her plight, and taking a lock of hair shouldn't actually harm anyone. I can't really see the Castle giving her one, so theft or death is pretty much the choice. It all goes downhill from there.

In a sense, the story is a series of choices that Agnes has to make, each one more morally questionable. Initially, she chooses to keep the flower's benefits for herself, rather than risk sharing it. Then she chooses to try and steal a lock of hair to regain her lost immortality, rather than dying to avoid a relatively minor crime that harms nobody. She's cheated of that option by the way the magic works. The real problem starts when, panicking, she chooses to steal the baby rather than die. Then she chooses to deceive and manipulate her stolen daughter rather than risk her running away. Then she chooses to genuinely betray her (by acting against Rapunzel's interests) to get Rapunzel and her own immortality back. Finally, when the truth comes out, she chooses to resort to force rather than lose Rapunzel and die. Agnes is stuck on a slippery slope, where each decision makes it harder to give up the immortality for which she's done so much, and makes it easier to take the next and wronger step. What she ends up doing, and her treatment of Rapunzel, is clearly wrong, but it's not nearly as simple as her being a wicked old woman.

One of my friends suggested that one reason why Agnes and the Queen are portrayed differently is that people find it creepy for old people to want to be young and live forever; but saving and extending the lives of young, beautiful people is fine. There might be something in that.

A Bit of a Lad

The other thing I found a bit off about Tangled was its hero. Aladdin had a thief hero, but it was a little different. He was clearly a destitute beggar who stole food to live. Flynn Rider, the hero of Tangled, is also from a humble background, but he's more of a professional thief - all we know is that he's conspiring to steal a crown from the palace.

Now, thieves as heroes are a well-established trope in literature. However, Flynn is clearly not only a thief, but an untrustworthy thief. In the film, he's sort of contrasted against the Stabbington Brothers, his partners, in a way that is clearly supposed to show him in a good light. However, if you look at the details, it's rather murkier. He is willingly engaged in the robbery at the palace, and makes it very clear that it's a chance to live in luxury rather than a matter of need. All three are chased by the soldiers and trapped in a dead-end gully. Flynn offers to climb up and help them after him; they don't trust him and insist he leaves the bag with the crown with them. However, once he gets to the top they clearly believe he'll help them escape too. Instead, he reveals the bag he's somehow managed to steal back, mocks them, and runs off to save his own hide. In other words, he betrays his partners and leaves them trapped in a gully to die at the hands of the soldiers. That is not the act of a hero, not even a thief. That is not being a rough diamond, or a rogue. That is being a treacherous backstabbing git. As it happens, the soldiers spot him and chase after him instead, but that's clearly not the intention.

Rather surprisingly, he does behave mostly honourably towards Rapunzel. He does try to deter her from going through with the plan, but since he's a wanted outlaw liable to be killed if he gets spotted in the kingdom, it's not that unreasonable. He's not doing it just to get the crown back. When she does offer him the crown later, he's in love with her and tries to give it to the Stabbington Brothers. To be honest, though, that came across more as a way to weasel out of any comeuppance for his betrayal and get them off his back, rather than a genuine attempt to face up to his actions or any real remorse. Unsurprisingly, they prefer to exact some revenge.

There's also a scene in the middle where they visit a dive. As part of his attempt to persuade Rapunzel to give up the excursion, he takes her to a wretched hive of etc. This being Disney, a bit of eyelid fluttering and a song show up all the murderous thugs as sweethearts deep down. The fact is, though, if it's even remotely as bad at it appears, he has no business taking her there. All the men there are clearly villainous and criminal, and there are no women there at all. Taking a naive 18-year old girl there, while (as we soon find out) not having the ability to protect either of you if there's trouble, is not only utterly stupid but an unforgivable failure of responsibility.

Despite all this, it's the Stabbingtons who are treated as the real criminals, who deserve only to be locked up. They're also the only characters, other than Agnes, who don't get a happy ending: the last we see of them, they're locked in the castle dungeon. Given that Flynn was about to be hanged for stealing the crown, I don't fancy their chances much.

In a way, neither the Stabbingtons or Agnes are villains, any more than Flynn is really a hero. They're all people who are faced with decisions, and sometimes choose the wrong ones. Agnes does wrong to avoid dying, the Stabbingtons and Flynn do wrong for profit, and the Queen does no obvious wrong. The reason they come across differently is that everyone has different choices to make. Agnes has to choose between crime and death; the Queen doesn't have to make that choice. The Stabbingtons and Flynn all choose to steal the crown, but Flynn's the one who chooses to betray them to death. The Stabbingtons choose to seek revenge when it's offered, but Flynn doesn't have any revenge to seek. Flynn is kind to Rapunzel and falls in love with her, but the Stabbingtons don't get the opportunity. The Stabbingtons plan to capture Rapunzel and profit from her powers; Flynn doesn't find out about them until he's already her friend, she's saved his life and they're well on their way to falling in love. It's not that surprising that, treacherous git as he is, he doesn't take that option. Whether he would have or not, we don't know. But while falling in love might redeem people to one another, simply falling in love with Rapunzel doesn't turn Flynn from a thieving, untrustworthy scoundrel into a noble hero.

Fundamentally, though, I'm thinking far too much about a very fun and nicely-executed children's film that I really enjoyed watching. Let's not take it too seriously.

[hoekinsmoved]

HAWKINS 5

i mushed two parts together so this is a lil bit longer than the usual oof

pairing: mike wheeler x oc (steve’s sister)

warning: profanity

P.S.: i moved to a new blog!! visit and follow me here for the rest of the series  ♡  

3.1k words

masterlist

I HAVE A FUCKING NAME, ASSHOLE

For the first time since she's step foot on the relatively barren town, Stacy finds herself walking around the commercial area to look for interesting shops or places she can spend time alone. The school she'll be going to in fall is at the heart of Hawkins, as she has scaled. Hawkins Middle is at the center, and a few meters away from it are other establishments like an arcade, a 24/7 diner, a mall, a library, and two parks on opposite ends. Stacy has also taken note of a building shaped like a cross from eagle's view, and how it has police tapes all over them. She figures it used to be Hawkins Laboratory.

The police headquarters weren't any exciting, so she didn't really dwell in there a lot.  Plus, Steve wanted to have lunch at the diner, and nothing invites Stacy better than free food, so of course she's planning on going.

Steve did leave one detail in particular though.

All the other kids are coming, and had Stacy known that before, she would have gladly skipped the manipulative free food offer. She entered the diner and didn't even have to look around to see the big crowd of children. She tried to leave, really, but since they've already seen her enter, Steve didn't let her go. He hurried over to Stacy and literally dragged her to the booth where all of them squeezed in to fit.

"I want nothing to do with this," Stacy says immediately, staring intently at her brother. Hell, she even tried to act miserable just so he'd let her go. Stacy knows that heaven knows Steve would listen to her more than these lousy kids.

Right?

"Don't fall for it, Steve. We really need this." Dustin entices her brother.

And just as she knows it, she stands corrected of her previous statement as her very own brother whom she shares practically the same genetic family tells her, "Just let them have this one, Stac—"

"He yelled at me, Steve!" Stacy drops, avoiding any contact from the dark-haired boy seated next to Dustin.. It's something she rarely ever talks about, because it's a sensitive topic, but for the time being, the context is that she never handles yelling well. In her defense, it wasn't like her parents or anyone for that matter used to yell at her excessively when she was younger, and that she's traumatized, but there's just really something about having  someone raise their voice at her that ticks a bomb in her head.

The booth turns silent at Stacy's outburst, as her brother holds a look of contemplation on his face. Mike looks unnerved, uncomfortable with the way Stacy is talking about him as if he’s not there himself. "I just said we were going in circles, and I got yelled at. He was hostile with me the entire time. I told you,  Steve. I want nothing to do with this—"

"We just need answers, and we'll let you be, we promise." Lucas sighs.

"You're the only one who can tell us where it is and what's it like. You need to tell us, Stacy." Dustin adds.

Stacy glances at Steve who immediately says in her defense, "Yeah, okay, she doesn't owe you anything, understand?"  Silence consumes the table once again, until Will breaks it.

"I'm really sorry for what happened that day, Stacy. It doesn't excuse what Mike did, but please..." Will trails off, and that certain look on his face that Stacy can't read softens her mood a little. She heard he's been through a lot, and perhaps this is a little bit too much for him to take—that his friend is stuck where he had been lost. As it turns out, Stacy is not at all heartless. Only sometimes.

She sighs, shaking her head as she takes a quick glance at her brother who only looks at her like he's letting her make her own decision. "Does anyone have a pen and paper?"

For twenty minutes straight, Stacy explained to them the way around the woods to the stacks of logs, and because they have loads of questions about how they'd be able to know which tree is which, it took even more time before she's able to explain the inside of the log stack.

"We don't have a degree in botany, Stacy. We don't know which leaf looks like which." Dustin tells her with a funny look on his face that makes Steve laugh a little inside. He doesn’t ever let them notice but he does laugh at them every once in a while. It’s not out of judgment though, or anything like that. Steve just can’t help it that these kids are his sole source of entertainment for the entire summer.

"That's not my problem, mate." Stacy only replies coldly. Steve chokes on his milkshake a little, but only because he’s still having trouble swallowing the tough pill that is her sister’s newfound sharp attitude. "The log stack stands out like a sore thumb mostly because there aren’t any signs of logging in the area, meaning it‘s quite sketchy why it's there. Walk your way around it and you'll see an open door. There are papers strewn everywhere, and I doubt you'd be able to make sense of everything. It seemed like they were looking for something before they left, so maybe those files weren’t as important. This side seemed to be a forum place, with a table and chairs, but by the corner is a metal draw. You might find somethting there but if it's locked, I think I saw a key... er... by this corner on the floor," She explains as she continues to draw the inside of the log stack.

"I didn't see any cameras on the outside." Stacy notes finally, even though she's sure it's technically not trespassing because it's in the woods. Still, it doesn't take a lot to be safe, especially that it's the destructive local government Steve described to her, that they're talking about. The same institution that's responsible for the people-snacking demo-g monsters.

Dustin eyes Steve before raising a hand in Stacy's direction. She spares a glance his way, and so he warily says, "Can I ask something?"

Stacy raises a thick brow in suspicion. She wonders what else he wants to know, as everything and more has been laid on the table already. Stacy’s even proud of how neat and straight her lines are on the paper. "About the logs in the woods?" she asks.

"No," Dustin answers.

Then Stacy is quick to say, "Then no—"

"Do you have superpowers like Eleven?” As the name leaves Dustin’s mouth, Mike whips his head to glare at his friend. “Because how did you remember all that from a two-minute visit?" He chokes out, despite the fact that Stacy told him she won't answer anything.

Thankfully, Steve unglues his mouth open and cuts Dustin off, "Okay, we're done with that now." He then turns to his sister and says with a smile, "The strawberry milkshake here is nice."

"Okay I'll talk your word for it. Get me some fries too, please." She tells her brother who only nods and stands up from the booth. "Thanks, peasant."

Steve waits in line to order Stacy's food which leaves the table in silence. Max is looking out the window, like she'd rather be skating than be here at all. Stacy notes that she does look like she has a lot in mind. After all, she hasn’t spoken the entire time. Stacy then reminds herself to ask Max if anything’s bothering her later on before she and Steve go home. Lucas, on the other hand, is just watching her and sometimes he would glance at Dustin, but that's about it. Dustin's fidgeting with the condiments on the table while Will's sipping on a chocolate milkshake. Stacy catches him looking at first, but then she glances at Mike who's glaring at the table like it just murdered his family. He seems pretty problematic, as Stacy can tell, so she's glad she won't be getting involved in the mess anymore.

Sincerely though, she hopes they find Eleven. She doesn’t know the girl but there’s nothing more she feels strongly about other than knowing how good and safe it feels to be found. She knows. She was there too just weeks prior.

Stacy knows she was promised peace after that interaction, but the truth is the group of kids might be known around town for doing extraordinary things but they aren’t quite known for keeping their promises.

With Bowie blasting volumes inside her room, Stacy can barely hear her thoughts let alone the knocking on her door. Dustin's small hands continue to thump against Stacy's door, harder and harder each time but it doesn't budge a bit.

"How is she not deaf," Will asks real questions, to which Dustin only shrugs. He's getting really impatient. Downstairs though, Lucas is enjoying the company of Bentley, the family dog, while munching on the fresh cookies Mrs. Harrington baked as a weekly tradition. Max sits a few feet from Lucas, watching the adorable dog in awe as she remains oblivious to the commotion upstairs.

Stacy's music is muffled from the outside, but Steve can no longer take Dustin's calls for his sister to open the door so he steps outside his own room, yelling a quick, "Stacy I'm opening your door!" as a warning before doing so.

The first thing the three of them notice is the easel set up in the middle of Stacy's room, with a palette clasped in one of her hands. Stacy can't help but feel relieved that her canvas is facing the opposite direction from the door hence they aren't able to look into her art and in turn look into her thoughts. She never admits it but it's the most difficult thing for her to do— share her feelings with other people.

The music travels full-blast around the hallways with the lack of buffering that her door once provided, causing the two boys to flinch a little. Steve gets back inside his room while Dustin and Will remain standing by Stacy's door.

"What?" Stacy asks expectantly, just after she lowers down the volume from her player.

"We need help with—"

"No."

"Come on—“

"No.

"We're not Mike! Okay! I know you're upset and shit but we really need your help!" Dustin says exasperatedly.

Stacy furrows her eyebrows at the audacity. They're asking for her help yet he's the one raising his voice at her? Right...

"It's... It's a binary code, and Steve said you can read binary." Will says timidly. Stacy curses steve under her breath as he has yet again, sold her out to these pesky kids who seem as if they’re closer to age 3 than they are to their actual ages.

"Go ask some techy computer dude," Stacy groans, walking towards her door to close it but Dustin stops her.

"Listen, the onle techy computer dude that we know is Bob... and he's dead—" Dustin chokes over his own words upon the realization.

They haven't mentioned Bob since the incident, and he truly doesn't mean to bring him up so nonchalantly in front of Will. Will visibly stiffens at the mention, enough for Stacy to take notice of his sudden reaction. It must be a sensitive topic, she supposes.

"Fine," she sighs, snatching the pieces of paper from Dustin's hold. She scans through the first page quickly, translating the 0s and 1s to words in a second. "They're not... they're not words." Stacy mumbles to herself as she picks up a pen and paper to write the corresponding meaning of the codes.

Dustin and Will both watch Stacy in amusement and slight worry that perhaps she's making all this up, but then again for some reason, they still trust the intimidating girl. Why is it that it hasn't been two weeks since she arrived here and yet they've needed her help twice now? What does that mean?

"It seems like a password." Stacy shrugs after finishing the decoding. She passes the pieces of paper back to Dustin and Will who were just about to thank her until a certain angsty boy comes waltzing through the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mike asks his friends, sending side glances towards Stacy's way. "I went to the shed and found no one!"

"We thought you still wanted time on your own." Dustin squeaks at his diva of a friend.

Mike scowls, "That's bullshit! What, it's just been a week but you're already buddy buddy with Steve's sister?" The young boy shakes with anger, way too pissed off to notice the look on Stacy's face that resembles his but in grater magnitudes.

"I have a fucking name, asshole." She flips him the finger before attempting to slam her door shut.

However, Will's soft voice cuts through the tension, "Wait..." he trails off, walking closer to what Stacy was previously spending her time on before they came banging at her door. Will's eyes holds a strong emotion even Stacy can't decipher, but her good guess is grief and horror. His brown eyes scan the canvas fleetingly, as if staring too much at it would teleport him to the place he knows too well. Of course, Stacy has no idea what place it is exactly, and she just thought it's an underwater city with all the cold tones, but Will knows the dimension all too well to confirm that the painting is an exact replica of it.

Stacy finally gets a hint of what's running through Will's head and she only stares at him as a plea for him to not say anything. With the same gaze she picks up that he understands, but he looks as if he wants to talk about it.

At this point, Dustin and Mike are getting creeped out at the two kids' silent conversation. "What is it, Will?" Mike asks Will with a worried look on his face. It may sound funny but for a second there, Mike thought Stacy was trying to hypnotize the short boy.

Will keeps eye contact with Stacy before turning his head to look at his friends, "Can I talk to Stacy before we go?" He's not exactly asking for permission, but it's sort of a request for them to not leave him behind and spare him a minute or two to confront Stacy.

Stacy's head goes full turbo as truth be told, she's not ready to talk about what she painted when she's not even aware of what it is. But, since Dustin and Mike only gave Will a malicious look before leaving him inside Stacy's room, she knows she has to face him one way or another.

"That's..." Will trails off even before Stacy's bedroom door closes. "That's the upside down." He studies the incomplete painting, a strong emotion burning in his chest as he realizes that what Stacy drew was far too accurate— the structure and the direction, even the cracks and the flickering lights. He knew that she had to have been there before to be able to paint it so spot-on.

"The what?" She asks Will who finally takes his eyes off the painting.

Will gulps, "The upside down, where I got lost." Fear takes over his face so Stacy decides to sit down on her bed and pat the space next to her. The poor boy looks like he's about to relive a dark moment in his past.

He takes the seat next to Stacy who only briefly asks him to explain what the upside down is exactly. Staying true, he only says, "The exact thing you painted. That's the upside down. The suspended flakes, the streets, the icky coating."

“Where's the upside down?" Stacy inquires curiously. Perhaps it's an actual place, she mentally asks.

Will struggles to string the right words. After all, it's difficult to explain a place to someone who has never been there before. He figures his previous assumption could be wrong if Stacy doesn't have any idea what the upside down is. "It's a different dimension. Like the place we're in right now, an exact replica, but the scarier version. The one with real monsters."

Stacy feels bad when Will's voice breaks, as if it's physical torture for him to talk about the topic. "I didn't mean to remind you of it, I'm sorry. It just appeared to me in a dream, and I can't take it off my mind so I thought transferring it on canvas would help me forget it." She apologizes sincerely. Something about Will tells her to be cautious, not for her own sake and safety but his. She doesn't understand why but she feels a certain connection with him that inevitably pulls her to him. Will doesn't admit it to himself yet but he feels the same way.

It's not even romantic, it's like the feeling Stacy gets every time Steve is around, like she's safe and that she should be close to him for comfort. She can't explain it exactly but she lets it lead the way.

"It's okay, it wasn't your intention. If it helps, I draw to comfort myself too,” he smiles softly. “I'm sorry we keep on bothering you." Will looks down at his hands as he apologizes. He metaphorically shrinks like a little boy in great fear of authority.

"I can't say it's fine, but it's not harming me in any way so I guess it is." Stacy says but then she realizes how intimidating it is so she adds, "And I just really want you to find your friend so that little punk could get his panties out of the twist it has been for the past week."

Will smiles at the statement which he finds personally funny but he thinks it'd be rude to laugh at it since it's about Mike anyway. "Our friends are saying he's always been like that when it's about Eleven. The first time she disappeared was tough on everyone."

"Yeah, but he shouldn't take it out on you guys, or anyone for that matter." Stacy shrugs.

Will nods, "Yeah." Silence follows the two of us for a moment before he breaks it. "Lucas and I are going out tomorrow for ice cream, maybe if we get you one, it'll be enough to apologize for bothering you all the time."

A smile inevitably makes its way through Stacy’s lips. "An apology can't be in the form of a purchase, Will." With her words, Will tenses, but then Stacy only laughs lightheartedly, "but yeah, sure."

[stop-yanderedev-archive]

damn ari, back at it again with dem rants

Okay, first off, hello again! It’s Ari, the one who had to rant about the person who commented on my post about the faults of YanSim. I’m back again to rant about YandereDev’s current “clearing up misunderstandings” post because that idiot really makes me wanna fight something!

Warning, this post might be long and there won’t a TL;DR at the end, so I apologize in advance!

So first off, if you have to make fucking SEVEN POSTS about clearing “misunderstandings”, then there’s something wrong with you. If you do so much shit that it causes you to make multiple posts about clearing your name, then you’re doing something wrong.

Now, onto some of the points that he made in his nasty-ass post that REALLY pissed me off.

“YandereDev said that pedophilia is just another sexual orientation!”

That’s not what I said. I said that nobody chooses to be a pedophile, just like nobody gets to choose their sexual orientation. I used the words “orientation” and “pedophilia” in separate sentences of the same paragraph, but I did not say that pedophilia IS a sexual orientation

No, just stop right there. Pedophilia and sexual/romantic orientations have ZERO THINGS IN COMMON.

Sexual/romantic orientations are a part of being a person. It changes, it’s fluid. Some people need some time until they are definitely sure they are gay/trans/bi/aro-ace/etc, and some don’t. It’s a normal thing that’s a part of life, such as puberty.

Pedophilia is not a normal thing, nor should it be normalized. It harms others, mainly impressionable minors that don’t know better because they are not as informed as those older than them. Those who act upon these “desires” to pursue romantic relationships with minors are nasty people that need to just go. People choose to be pedophiles because they’re disgusting like that.

You cannot compare the two. It’s as simple as that.

“YandereDev treatened to dox someone into silence!”

That’s not how it went down. I said something I didn’t mean while I was fired up up in the middle of an angry rant about someone who had been harassing me for several months. Obviously, it shouldn’t have been taken seriously. It was an “in the heat of the moment” statement, not a genuine threat.

Firstly, he spelled “threatened” wrong. Sorry, but I get a little nit-picky about spelling. :P

But anyways, what the hell.

I may not know much about this incident, but what I DO know is that the person (they are the original owner of this blog, right?) YandereDev threatened to dox did not harass him in any way. They did nothing of the sort.

And, (again from what I’ve heard) describing a person’s house in detail while you’re threatening to doxx someone is not a heat of the moment thing. You really got to think about stuff like that. Heat of the moment thing is not thinking about what you’re going to say while getting real emotional, and then feeling really guilty about it afterwards. YandereDev, you don’t sound guilty about what had happened. In fact, you sound like you think you’re innocent and didn’t absolutely wrong.

Oh wait, YOU DO THINK THAT YOU’RE NOT THE ONE TO BLAME HERE BECAUSE YOU’RE AN UNSEEMLY ASSHOLE.

“One of the rivals in Yandere Simulator is a pedophile!”

Pedophiles are attracted to pre-pubescent children (younger than 14), and Mida Rana is attracted to boys that are older than 14, so this statement isn’t accurate, but that’s beside the point. Sometimes, video games have antagonists who do bad things, and allow you to punish the antagonists for their evil ways. Some villains kill, some villains kidnap, some villains are sexual predators. If you don’t like Mida Rana, just punish her however you see fit, like any other villain in any other video game.

Say it with me now, kids: MIDA RANA IS A PEDOPHILE BECAUSE SHE IS ATTRACTED TO MINORS. MIDA RANA IS A PEDOPHILE BECAUSE PEDOPHILIA MEANS THAT YOU DESIRE TO HAVE ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MINORS. MINORS ARE THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 OR 21, IF WE’RE PUTTING THIS INTO USA LAW CONTEXT. TARO YAMADA/SENPAI IS A MINOR, IF YOU WANT TO CONSIDER MINORS BEING UNDER 21.

Just because Mida Rana is an antagonist, doesn’t mean you get to brush aside the fact that she’s a pedophile. Villains are villains because you don’t brush aside the reasons that they are in the wrong. Getting the to get rid of Mida in the game still doesn’t make it okay. She SHOULDN’T have been a TEACHER in the first place. She SHOULDN’T have been a RIVAL in the first place.

“YandereDev said that pedophilia is ‘forbidden love’!”

That’s not what I said. I was referring to love between a student and a teacher as forbidden love. Student/teacher relationships are forbidden, irrespective of the age gap between the student and teacher.

LMAO, what the honest fuck is wrong with this dude.

Teachers shouldn’t be interested in having romantic relationships with their students because it is against the law and wrong at the same time. The reason it’s “forbidden” is because teachers hold so much more control over students. They can do things to students because they have more power over them due to their seniority over the student. Plus, relationships with huge age gaps (such as the student/teacher romantic relationship) are very problematic and can turn ugly without a doubt.

Forbidden love is like a royal/noble falling for a peasant; they know they can never be together due to the standards set by their society, but they don’t care because their love for one another is that strong. Forbidden love projects the idea that love conquers all, even if their situation is hopeless. The student/teacher thing is not forbidden love and it will never be. It’s harmful, disgusting, and abusive. Forbidden love is not that, not at all.

“YandereDev reads lolicon manga!”

There was a thread on 4chan where people were editing this image by putting different things in the bag. It was a meme. I could tell that the image had been taken from a sexual manga, but I didn’t care. To me, it was like any other “reaction image” featuring a character making a silly face. The meme was about putting something funny in the bag, not the character’s age or situation. I edited the image and used it in a blog post. Just because I posted a “reaction face” that came from a manga, this doesn’t mean that I read the manga, or enjoy the content. Reaction faces are reaction faces. Memes are memes.

“Reaction faces are reaction face. Memes are meme.”

*inhales deeply* BOI.

Just because you “don’t read it” or “don’t enjoy the content”, doesn’t mean you should use the material as if it were some copypasta. The content is still gross and wrong. Using it to be “funny” just adds onto the problem.

“YandereDev liked a pornographic image of one of his underage characters!”

I give “likes” to almost all of the fan art I see on Tumblr, because I am happy and flattered to see people producing artwork based on my creations. This doesn’t mean that I’m aroused by everything that I give a “like” to, or expressing approval of the subject matter of every post that I give a “like” to.

To quote one of your nice anons:

“Does he actually read the shit he writes out?”

Liking a post on Tumblr means you approve of it, idiot! That’s the definition of approval.

“YandereDev made fun of suicidal people!”

In 2015, someone asked me if it would be possible to drive girls to suicide in Yandere Simulator. I answered, “Yes.” Then, they asked me if girls would commit suicide for silly reasons, or serious reasons. I explained that I did not want people to commit suicide for petty reasons in Yandere Simulator. As an example, I posted a screenshot of a news report about a teenage boy in Russia who committed suicide because his favorite anime character had died. This was not me “making fun of suicidal people”, but providing an example of something that should not cause enough emotional distress to cause a suicide.

Hey, how about fuck off???

You don’t know what that kid’s been going through. You have no right to determine how much emotional distress makes the suicide valid. Unless you know the kid on a personal level, you can’t say shit about him.

“YandereDev wrote rape stories!”

Game of Thrones has rape scenes. Is Game of Thrones a “rape show”? No, it is a TV show that has very dark subject matter, and characters who are put through traumatic and perilous situations. I have written stories with dark subject matter. Some of my stories involved sexual assault. The sexual assaults were never meant to be “sexy”. A more elaborate answer can be found here.

Okay, no one but kiwifarms has really talked about your shitty fanfics.

Also, rape isn’t the main focus of Game of Thrones. Just because something like a TV show has a scene that depicted something like rape, it doesn’t automatically make it a “rape show”. It just means it’s a show that has rape in it. Your fanfics are focusing on rape, putting it in the spotlight. Therefore, your fanfics are “rape stories” because you focus on it.

“YandereDev refuses to add dark-skinned characters to the game!”

That’s not true. I want the ethnicity ratio in Yandere-chan’s school to match Japan’s ethnicity ratio in the real world. In the real world, 98.5% of the population of Japan are ethnic Japanese. This means that if you went to Japan and encountered 200 people, only 3 would not be ethnic Japanese. If you go to a high school in Japan, you are simply not going to encounter dozens of dark-skinned students. With all of that said, I do plan to include a dark-skinned character in Yandere Simulator’s school in the future.

Shut the fuck up. No, literally, SHUT THE FUCK UP.

You know jack shit about Asian cultures, YandereDev. You literally don’t know what it means to be an “ethnic Japanese” or an “ethnic Asian”. You are a white man, so you have NO RIGHT to decide who’s “ethnically” Asian and who’s not.

All Asians (from the Middle East to East Asia) can have dark/brown skin, just like how they can have light/peachy skin. We are not white, we are POC. Because of your fucking ignorance YandereDev, you’re contributing to the problem Asians like me face.

I am a young Asian girl with brown skin, who comes from a Filipino family. When I was young, I didn’t considered myself as an Asian because people expect Asians to be pale and beautiful. I never proudly showed off my Asian roots until I got older and got a better understanding of my culture.

There’s this little thing called colorism, and it’s a big problem in Asian countries like Japan. In Asia, white skin = rich and dark skin = poor. That’s why most characters in anime are light skinned. Thanks to the romanticizing of pale skin and the promotion of whiteness, white skin is seen as more appealing than dark skin because Asians don’t want to be seen as “poor”. It’s sickening and saddening. Dark-skinned Asians are just as beautiful as light-skinned ones. We’re still Asians, we’re still from the same country.

Saying that you’ll never see dark-skinned students in a Japanese school is very inaccurate and ignorant. Like I said, YandereDev doesn’t know a thing about Asian cultures and should stay in his fucking lane. If he wanted to be realistic, then he would’ve had already added dark-skinned characters by now. But no, he’s a prick that doesn’t seem to understand that colorism is an issue and his game is just an inaccurate piece of shit.

“YandereDev used a transphobic slur!”

I have used the term “trap”. However, this term has nothing to do with transgender people. The term “trap” refers to a male who dresses as a female and attempts to trick people into thinking he is a female, as a prank. This word describes someone who is attempting to trick others, not someone who genuinely identifies as another gender.

I have used the term “tranny”. This is because I was directly quoting someone else’s statement word-for-word. This is not because I was using the word to demean anyone.

I have expressed a dislike for “dickgirls”. Dickgirls - or “futanari” - are a type of Japanese fetish porn. Dickgirls are female anime characters who acquire a dick through a magic potion or some other fantastical reason; the term is not used to describe males who identify as female.

YandereDev, you have no right to use any of the slurs you have said in the past. The only ones who can are the people that the slur insults because they are reclaiming the slur.

Trap is associated with transgender people because people have used it to describe transgender people before.

Just because you are quoting someone, doesn’t mean you can use the slur they used as if it was just some normal word. You need to recognize that it’s a slur and that you can’t use it in a casual way.

Say it with me: IF SOMEONE IDENTIFIES AS A FEMALE, THEN THEY ARE A FEMALE. DON’T CALL THEM MALE BECAUSE YOU’RE MISGENDERING THEM. IT’S TRANSPHOBIC.

That aside, I’m pretty sure futanari are mocking transfolk? I could be wrong, so correct me if I am!

“YandereDev steals 3D models and textures!”

I sometimes put temporary placeholder assets into the game, with the intention of replacing them with original assets as soon as possible. This is not an uncommon practice for early prototypes of video games. Yandere Simulator is no longer in an “early prototype” stage, but some temporary placeholder assets are still lingering in Yandere Simulator from its earlier days. I am still in the process of removing these assets from the game. “Theft” and “stealing” are very disingenuous ways of describing the situation. It should go without saying that I have no intention to ship the final game with models or images that I don’t have permission to use.

Even if you’re using them temporarily, you still need to ask the original creator for permission. It’s their content, so they are the ones that get to decide where their creations will go and who can use them. The sandbox of Yandere Simulator is open to the public, therefore people can still see them. YandereDev, you haven’t said that the placeholders aren’t yours, so people are going to assume that you or your volunteers made these assets. You are stealing from the creators because you aren’t stating that the assets aren’t yours and that you’re using them for a sandbox build that’s anyone can see/download.

“YandereDev used the word ‘autistic’ as an insult!”

A strange person had been harassing me for several months. Eventually, I learned that they were actually an autistic child. This helped me to understand the behavior that I had been observing from them. I proceeded to tell them that I had identified their autism, but also firmly stated that their autism wasn’t any excuse for the behavior that they had been demonstrating for the past several months. This was interpreted as some kind of attack on their autism. It wasn’t.

Oh my fucking god, I cannot believe people can be this ignorant.

Unless you’ve got some kind of extensive knowledge about autism, you have no right to assume if someone is autistic or not. You can’t assume someone has a certain disorder by observing their behavior. It’s like saying you think someone is depressed if they don’t constantly smile or look happy. It’s wrong and gross.

Also, I doubt this “strange person” was harassing you. You’re the one that constantly bitches about getting too many emails or blow up at people for saying some harmless/innocent.

His whole conclusion is a mess of bullshit, but one thing I’m going to mention is this:

So, why do they do this? It’s very easy to explain. The reason is simple; they do this because it’s fun.

It’s fun to hate. It’s fun to shame. It’s fun to ridicule. It’s fun to make other people look bad. It’s fun to talk trash about others. It’s fun to “expose” other people. It’s fun to ruin someone’s life. It’s fun to ruin someone’s career. All of these things are super fun…if you’re a sadistic scumbag who takes pleasure in harming others.

To keep having fun, all they have to do is keep brainwashing themselves to believe that I’m a horrible monster, and dismiss everything I say when I attempt to explain myself. As long as they follow those two simple little rules, they can have unlimited fun. And, as long as they can keep having fun, why would they ever stop?

We haters aren’t doing this because it is “fun”. We are doing this because we want to inform others of the nasty shit you have done/are doing. I could do so many other things that are more fun than dealing with your nonsense, but your “game” has attracted the attention of younger kids. These kids don’t understand what you’re is bad and they need someone to steer them in the right direction.

Every time you explain yourself YandereDev, you just add onto the list of reasons why you’re a bad person. The fact that you have the audacity to act so high and mighty and then bitch about the “triggered SJWs” that are “harassing” you shows what kind of person you are.

In conclusion, YandereDev is just giving me more reasons why I should not support him or his gross game.

I hope I didn’t say anything wrong, but if I have please tell me! Thanks for reading and I hope all of you have a lovely day/night!

Cheers!

~ Ari

#tw: pedophilia mention #tw: abuse mention #tw: rape mention #long post

[english102-1059-blog]

Hamilton isn't just looking for Tony awards or good reviews, it's looking for a mind at work.

Fangirls really don’t know how easy they have it, or really fans of anything for that matter. Fangirls all over the world say things like “One Direction is the absolute greatest band ever!” and no one really challenges them on it. They don’t need evidence or supporting facts to back up their claim. They’re just speaking casually in an informal setting expressing how much they love something. But what if you are a fan of something different than a boy band or dreamy actor? Say, something like a hip-hop musical about a dead founding father who became the first U.S. Treasury Secretary. What if beyond just being a big fan of this brilliant thing, you saw it had dynamic potential to impact the American conscious forever? What then? 

Then you write an 8-10 page research paper expounding on why everybody, not just teenage, musical theater nerds, should recognize Hamilton: An American Musical and think about the work it’s doing every night as it sells out another show on Broadway.  

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes the word phenomenon as, something that can be observed and studied and that is typically unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully. This might be one of the better words to describe Hamilton, and particularly the reactions people have had to it. It genuinely is hard for me to explain but I do think it is worth an explanation. 

Let’s start with the music. In a CBS interview, the composer Lin-Manuel Miranda said that he couldn’t imagine a better genre of music to tell the story of our nation’s founding than rap. That sounds like a heavy claim to make but that idea in itself is the foundation in which genius is found and however strange it might seem at first, Miranda has a point. You don’t have to listen to albums and albums of rap songs to know that there is often a theme of “rising to success” or “going from a peasant to a prince”. Rappers talk about working and writing and rapping their way out of an impoverished life to the top and that is exactly what Alexander Hamilton’s life was. 

For a country that now has a growing sentiment against immigrants it’s funny to learn the origin of Alexander Hamilton, born in on the Caribbean island of Nevis, miles away and completely unaffiliated from the American colonies. He was born in poverty to a father in debt who left when he was young and a mother who died shortly after succumbing to an illness. Hamilton is in this complete destitute state without much hope of ever becoming a man of wealth or power and is probably the farthest thing from the elite title of “founding father” at this point. In fact part of the reason he was even able to make it out of poverty was because of another tragedy he suffered. His island of Nevis was struck by a devastating hurricane. Hamilton survived and write this insanely detailed account describing the horror left after the storm. The other survivors in the small town found the writing and started the collection for Hamilton’s passage to America and tuition there. Hamilton literally wrote his way of a seemingly inescapable circumstance at the age of 17 and that is only the beginning of his story. We arrive at this intersection of colonial history and modern music that no one has ever seriously thought of before. Upon first hearing there was a new musical showing-casing rap to tell a revolutionary war story, I didn’t like the idea. It sounded like it could never work. Maybe that’s something a lot of people feel. However upon hearing it you kind of join Miranda’s on this concept. When it comes to rap there is often a sense that the listener can’t keep up with the music. Rappers spit a word a second and have lyrics are carried by strong, energetic music. Even in the lyrics themselves sometimes rapper talk about “how you can’t keep up with this flow” or kind of poke fun at how audiences can’t handle them. Rap is new, rap is progressive, rap is revolutionary. Just like the idea of American independence and thus the birth of our nation. 

It doesn’t stop here though. Musicals aren’t frozen in this vacuum of time when they first surfaced in America in the early 1900s. They evolve with the times, show tunes might always be categorized as show tunes but what a song from a musical might sound like is fluid and as people continue to compose them it’s often a cumulative progress. Keeping this in mind it makes me wonder of Hamilton will be the last of it’s kind or if other composers will turn to rap or even other modern genres of music to tell stories from history and what, not only the future of musicals but the future of telling history will look like. As I write this, I can figuratively hear imaginary people asking “Why does this matter? Hamilton did it, who cares if anyone else does?” It matters because, people now have this really cool choice set by the precedent of Hamilton. Wether they want to read about history and take notes on things like the Italian Renaissance or if they want actually see and hear Michelangelo throw down about how no other chick can compare to his girl Mona Lisa. Hamilton is a space in which art and history equally coexist. 

This leads me straight to another question worth exploring which is, what are then rules when recounting history? If any, and how do these rules differ from person to person, from artists to historians, the unchallenged keepers of the historical narrative. It might seem like a dry question but it’s something that has to come up, considering Hamilton is literally, entirely based of of American history. Though there are a lot go things I think have to come up of I want this thesis of Hamilton’s importance to be taken seriously. This is a concept I thought about when reading an article titled “Alexander Hamilton: The Wrong Hero for Our Age” by Billy G. Smith. It’s aligns with this idea of art and history being brought together because this author recognizes that artists should be allowed at least a little bit of artistic license so long as they are completely rewriting history. They deserve this license because its essentially they’re job as artists. He unapologetically points out his opinion that Hamilton wasn’t quite the man the musical sells him as but despite that he still can recognize this musical as a work of artistic genius. 

One of the reasons I think this musical is important is because there is literally a whole song, the finale actually, titled “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”. The song asks almost in a rhetorical sense for the audience but within the context of the actual musical you get and answer. “Who tells your story?” the ensemble asks? For Alexander Hamilton it was his wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. After his death many other prominent men at the time including other founding fathers tried to slander Hamilton’s name for his wildly passionate, unstoppable vigor when it came to his Federalist ideas, abolitionism and plans for a strong federal form of government as well as for the affair he had with Maria Reynolds. Though his wife Eliza had been the victim of an unfaithful husband, lost her eldest son in a duel partly through Hamilton’s doing and became a premature widow she still lived the rest of her life trying to preserve Hamilton’s legacy. She had been wronged by Hamilton herself but still saw the raw determination and goodness in Hamilton past his faults. She was the one who saved many of his letters and writings and worked to make sure, despite his very real flaws, that the goodness in Hamilton was also remembered. That act in itself, the work of Hamilton’s wife Eliza is why we have Hamilton today.

This song’s message is exactly what the title is, there will be people that you outlive and people who will outlive you and you have no control over who tells your story when you leave this earth. However in another respect its message is more specifically talking about this idea of legacy, what it means for these people who have had instrumental roles in history, wether someone will be forgotten or remembered and if they’re remembered will they be heroes or villains and lastly if they actually deserve those titles or not. It is a lot to unpack but it’s the first time in my life something has made me think more critically about the history I’ve learned. History is important not just by virtue of being the past but because of they way the past is interpreted, the people who get tell the narrative win no matter what side they are on.The most common response people will give when asked why learning history is important is that “if you don’t learn history, you’ll repeat it.” and if that is the case than isn’t in immensely important to make sure these historians are getting the facts right? Who will put historians in their place if they don’t get the facts right? Who is here to make sure that doesn’t happen? Who tells the story?  Hamilton asks this question more seriously than any other history class, historical documentary, historical fiction book or movie I’ve ever seen.This song from Hamilton asks this question over and over again until the ensemble’s voices fade and show ends leaving audiences in a darkened to think about it, who tells the story.

-Isabel V.

[fionatlux]

The parody recaps continue! I meant to watch Episode 4 last night but got distracted by reading Kingfisher by Patricia McKillip. Arthuriana! Motorcycles! Quests! Lady knights! Evil molecular gastronomy!

Anyway.

Episode 1

Episode 2

STILL STAR-CROSSED, EPISODE 3

[The one where things are finally funny on purpose!]

 A Tasteful Ladybrunch, The Palace

ISABELLA: I am so happy that it is socially acceptable to brunch with my BFF again!

ROSALINE: I am so happy to be marrying Benvolio!

ISABELLA: Boy, are you a rotten liar.

ROSALINE: He is witty! handsome! not a blackmailing jerkface!

ESCALUS: Good, because I just popped in to say I moved up the wedding.

ROSALINE: SO HAPPY.

[Escalus and Isabella have somehow contrived to match their outfits to their respective backdrop wall colors. Both their outfits are beautiful, actually, well done costume designer. I have no idea what period they’re meant to be from—I have accepted that the show takes a Reign approach to historical accuracy—but they’re stunning.]

ROSALINE: I hope these mimosas are bottomless because I am definitely going to need more than one drink.

  The Throne Room, The Palace

CAPULET: Forty thousand ducats in exchange for my niece or we walk!

MONTAGUE: Forty thousand? You can take your forty thousand and shove it up your—

ISABELLA: Amazing. If you ordered them to jump off the Ponte Pietra, they’d argue about who got to go first.

ESCALUS: Don’t tempt me.

ESCALUS: Pay up, Montague, I don’t want to look poor in front of the other city-states!

[Capulet: 1, Montague: 0]

CAPULET: Oh yeah, also my architect fell off a scaffold so we can’t have the wedding and betrothal there. It is very tragic, no one regrets more than I, etc., etc.

[Montague actually looks impressed at Capulet’s performance.]

MONTAGUE: Uh-huh, sure. Also your cathedral is an eyesore.

ISABELLA: No problem! Let’s hold the betrothal in Execution Square! I’m sure this will totally work!

[Isabella is a superb frustrated tyrant but a terrible wedding planner.]

  Sister Time, The Room Formerly Known as Juliet’s Room, Casa Capulet

[For once, we do not CGI-zoom but enjoy several shots of the magnificent exterior location!]

LIVIA: I still say it’s better than going to a nunnery. You’re not even religious!

ROSALINE: I just want to live my own life!

[Mail call!]

LIVIA: It’s a three-page invitation to a picnic! And also Sonnet 18! “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more… temperate…”

THE NURSE: Not very good, is it?

[Rosaline is likewise unimpressed. Even Livia is underwhelmed. I suspect she thinks “temperate” in this context refers to Rosaline’s drinking habits. Hilariously, nobody in Verona thinks this is a good poem, except possibly Montague. Speaking of whom…]

  Maison Montague

[Montague punctuates his statements by using his nephew for moving crossbow target practice. He has surprisingly good comedic timing.]

BENVOLIO: You sent her a sonnet?!?!

MONTAGUE: You bet I did! And I paid the town crier to shout it from the rooftops! [Montague: 1, Benvolio: 0]

BENVOLIO: This is a stupid plan.

MONTAGUE: And you’re going on a picnic! [Montague: 2, Benvolio: 0.]

BENVOLIO: You know, you could have had this alliance without the bride-price or stupid poetry if only Romeo and Juliet had not died.

[Montague: 2, Benvolio: 1. This is clearly a hit, a palpable hit. Low blow, B.]

  Casa Capulet

[Giles Capulet is haunted by the murder of the architect, visions of his dead daughter, and also by the moneylender, who keeps sending him reminder notes. His evident pain is a nice parallel to Montague’s in the previous scene.]

 Some Tavern

[The show has suddenly remembered that Mercutio, Romeo, and Benvolio were inseparable BFFs, and they should probably show Benvolio being broody about this.]

SOME DRUNKARD: *reads Sonnet 18*

SOME OTHER DRUNKARD: *makes a crude joke about Romeo, tongues, and Capulets*

BENVOLIO: *flips table*

  Casa Capulet

[In the wake of his ghost sighting, Capulet is disturbed by the shrine The Nurse and Lady Capulet have set up.]

THE NURSE: There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy!

CAPULET: Can you just… not?

  Maison Montague

BENVOLIO: Everybody thinks I wrote that clichéd, stupid poem! This is intolerable!

MONTAGUE: Too bad. Ready to pick out wedding invitations?

[Montague: 3, Benvolio: 1. Get it together, B.!]

  Picnic Time, Some Ridiculously Beautiful Pavilion Right On the Water

[Seriously, this location is absurdly beautiful. Probably gets mosquitoes, though.]

ROSALINE: I hate picnics and lying.

BENVOLIO: You wanted to be a nun, right?

ROSALINE: You… were actually listening?

BENVOLIO: I am sensitive. Don’t worry, I have a plan! See, I know this abbess...

[I have SO MANY QUESTIONS, starting with: How does Benvolio know this abbess? And, given his reputation, how does Benvolio know this abbess, if you know what I mean?]

  ESCALUS: I am here to check on you two lovebirds and your giant croquembouche!

ESCALUS: I also brought all the ambassadors. To show off your love. Which symbolizes civic harmony and imperviousness to invasion.

ISABELLA: Well, shall we go talk about important international news?

ESCALUS: Let the men talk first, Izzy, your ladygossip can wait!

[Escalus, you are a terrible politician and not much of a brother. Somebody give Isabella a city to rule.]

  The Palace

[Dramatic zoom on the back of Isabella’s well-coiffed head!]

MONTAGUE: I have noticed that you are a lady of intelligence and ambition. I have also noticed that Capulet’s cathedral would look great with my name on it. Finally, I have noticed that you like the arts.

ISABELLA: Put up a big fresco of a lady saint being badass, and we’re in business.

MONTAGUE: Done!

ISABELLA: AW YISS.

[Capulet: 1, Montague: 4, Isabella: POWERSTRUT that looks suspiciously like a nascent MURDERWALK.]

  The Slytherin Dormitories Lady Capulet’s Room, Casa Capulet

CAPULET: Do you think our daughter is truly gone?

LADY CAPULET: I think I’m going to ominously clutch my rosary and vow revenge on Montague!

  The Garden of Moonlit Walks and Exposition, Casa Capulet

PARIS: What a lovely spot for some midnight romance!

LIVIA: Unfortunately I must decline. I am a servant but also a lady.

PARIS: But my eyes are super blue in this light! You hardly notice that my hair is too short for the ‘90s floppy look!

LIVIA: Compelling point, but no. To my great regret.

  The Brothel

BENVOLIO: Let’s run away to Milan! I will be a blacksmith and you can open your own brothel!

STELLA THE KINDLY PROSTITUTE: Baby, this is a stupid plan, but I will let you down easy because I am a nice person.

  The Palace

ESCALUS: I sound like I’m questioning the whole idea of rulership by divine right, but actually I just feel bad about making Rosaline marry a Montague.

ISABELLA: I’m questioning the whole idea of male primogeniture, myself.

  Casa Capulet

[Rosaline is all ready to sneak out to the convent, as per Benvolio’s plan, but then she gets a better idea.]

ROSALINE: Restore my sister to her rightful status and I will somehow become good at lying! I will pretend the shit out of this betrothal!

CAPULET: Deal!

  Livia’s Room, Casa Capulet

ROSALINE: So I stayed and made a deal so that you can be a lady and get married!

LIVIA: You… really didn’t have to do that?

ROSALINE: Besides, I would miss you if I ran away to a nunnery!

LIVIA: I’m thinking you should have reversed the order of those two points. But I would miss you also.

  Betrothal Day, Some Oddly Smallish Public Square (Which May or May Not Be Execution Square, It’s Not Clear)

[Rosaline and Benvolio are all smiles and fancy clothes. Congratulations on looking gorgeous, you two!]

ESCALUS: Do you take delight in torturing me?

ROSALINE: Well, you did break my heart and force me to marry into the family that murdered my father, so… you really don’t have any room to talk, here.

ISABELLA: I am a PR genius!

[Stella the Kindly Prostitute shows up to view the betrothal, and because I have read the book, I have a very bad feeling about the probability of her continued good health. But no, actually she is just here to exchange sad looks with Benvolio.]

[Benvolio and Rosaline get mostly betrothed, but suddenly a cart trundles into the square bearing them in effigy! Some masked dude shoots a fire arrow! All is chaos! Then, explosions!]

ESCALUS: To the river! We don’t have an organized fire service! Get the Princess to safety!

ISABELLA: No, I must stay with the people! And the badly injured Venetian ambassador!

ROSALINE: Quick, he went that way, across the rooftops!

BENVOLIO: I like a woman with your crime-fighting instincts! Let’s go!

[Benvolio severs the betrothal ribbon tying their hands together, so they can run better. It is highly symbolic! It is also ironic, because this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.]

  Some Precarious Rooftop

[They catch the dude. They duel! The dude is unmasked! It is he who assaulted Rosaline in Episode 1, which Benvolio helpfully reminds us of, who was also Some Other Drunken Dude from the tavern earlier, who is also vaguely affiliated with House Montague. They struggle! The dude falls to his death!]

ROSALINE: Well, crap.

  The Secret Sickroom, Casa Capulet

LIVIA: I am, not unreasonably, traumatized by what just happened!

PARIS: Say what you will about my hair, I am amazing at hugs.

  Some Alleyway, Verona

ROSALINE: The explosion was directed at everybody, not just one house…

BENVOLIO: And this dude was an illiterate peasant, not a mastermind, so if we can figure out who is behind it…

ROSALINE: …that will stop the fighting and we won’t have to get married!

BOTH: WE ARE GENIUSES. Gorgeous, athletic geniuses. Things are finally looking up for Team Not Getting Married!

  The Badly Injured Venetian Ambassador’s Deathbed, The Palace

ISABELLA: This is a PR disaster!

  Juliet’s Tomb, Casa Capulet

CAPULET: My poor, dead baby girl!

JULIET’S GHOST? SPECTER? HALLUCINATION?: Beware!

[DUN DUN DUN!]

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