#HEY I LOVE YOU

[thefailuresofthereaganadmin]

✰ Set Those Sails ✰

✰ I'm posting this first because it's my favorite.

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(Miss Goldberg)

The world is round.

There's a key to every door.

That's what our hero found.

Nothing is for nothing

And a new land is a new land to explore.

This song is made in reference to Marvin’s sexual self discovery. I think this is a good point of reference for his journey (or time as an explorer; Columbus). The importance of Ms Goldberg, not just in this song, but throughout In Trousers, is to give Marvin [in his head] his purpose in life. She gave him the role of Columbus, a man who sought discovery. The phrase ‘The world is round’ could be in reference to his homosexuality, although it’s a bit of a reach in my opinion.  

Not just paths you retrace,

I'm talking mountains and space.

I think that perhaps “paths you retrace” could be referring to heterosexuality, something Marvin constantly falls back to in lieu of self acceptance. Likewise, “mountains and space” could be referring to his homosexuality. Given the time period this show takes place in, it’s not far off to consider that Marvin would view his homosexuality as something daunting and vast, a thing best left unexplored. This becomes less far off considering the fact that he had waited to explore that part of himself until presumably his thirties, ten years into his and Trina’s marriage. 

(Girls)

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

I think that the phrase “set those sails” could be in reference to beginning his journey. I think it’s interesting that the women in his life are the ones telling him to do so. I think it might have something to do with the fact that his lack of exploration does end up making the women in his life feel unwanted or hurt, as while he’s not off with other men, he also consistently refuses to do anything with these girls. I think that this might leave a lasting imprint on the women who he chooses to relate to in his life, and this might be his own acknowledgement of this. I think it’s important to note that these are all Marvin’s versions of these people, a look into his own life at fourteen. 

A good man never fails.

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never fails.

The repetition of the line “A good man never fails” in this song is likely in reference to Marvin’s own fears and doubts in his own masculinity. Consistently, Marvin aims to fit into the role of a straight man. A wife, kid, a tight knit family. Throughout his story he clings to normalcy, and I think this is his way of trying to be the picture of a ‘good man’ that he has in his head. It’s kind of expected that in this time period he would have been raised to fit into the very tight box that was the role of a man. Homosexuality was not something that was accepted at the time, and neither was a man who didn’t fit into society’s expectations of what a man should have been.

(Miss Goldberg)

Watch me close,

Close your eyes.

I am living proof that cowards still can rise.

You might tell me you're a victim,

You might get what you deserve,

But I won't excuse,

Boy, I can't excuse,

A boy who's lost his nerve!

This segment is possibly in reference to the very inappropriate relationship Marvin had with his teacher. In the stage version of this musical (1992), we see certain choreography that has Ms Goldberg touching Marvin, on the shoulders or otherwise. This includes Ms Goldberg dancing with Marvin and making moves towards him in this song as well, to which Marvin backs away in discomfort. In the Rape of Ms Goldberg by Marvin (a fantasy, to clarify), we see Marvin beg Ms Goldberg for special attention, something he feels he partially has from her already. It's made clear that Marvin, while asking for attention from her, does not want it, nor can he consent to it. I think that it should be very clear that Marvin is not really in the wrong for his relationship with his teacher, rather it is Ms Goldberg for allowing and agreeing to it, as well as making advances towards him.

Oh lord, set sail.

Be preparing for a fall.

Stay clear of love, and jail.

Lovers don't go hungry

And the appetite of young men counts for all.

I think this serves as a warning to Marvin. His fall comes in the form of him beginning a relationship with Whizzer, leaving his wife and child in the process. His desire for men is what leaves his family in shambles, but it ultimately is shown as a huge development in him as a character. I think that steering clear of jail specifically might be in reference to the legality of homosexuality at the time. Obviously, sodomy was still considered a crime when this took place, so avoiding jail would be a literal problem. However, it could also be a warning to a figurative ‘jail’ in the sense of his marriage to Trina, something that traps him in a relationship with a woman who he is incapable of loving romantically or sexually as a gay man. 

Lord, it's rough in the sack.

Kids live and learn to attack.

(Girls)

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never fails.

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never fails.

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never fails.

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never fails.

Hey, I love you.

Set those sails.

A good man never,

A good man never fails!

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

I think there’s something just so special in swapping music

[potionpeddlerpatchy]

patchy do u want to harvest pumpkins n make pie together :(

YES I WOULD!! AALI MY LOVE!

Tiny pumpkins work best to make pie!! So we can get a whole bunch, and even keep some for decoration 🥺 and you can put on a spooky playlist and we can sing along as we bake together 🥺

[lostinth3starz]

the mold on my corpse spells out ur name btw

[druid-for-hire]

[image id: a four-page comic. it is titled "immortality” after the poem by clare harner (more popularly known as “do not stand at my grave and weep”). the first page shows paleontologists digging up fossils at a dig. it reads, “do not stand at my grave and weep. i am not there. i do not sleep.” page two features several prehistoric creatures living in the wild. not featured but notable, each have modern descendants: horses, cetaceans, horsetail plants, and crocodilians. it reads, “i am a thousand winds that blow. i am the diamond glints on snow. i am the sunlight on ripened grain. i am the gentle autumn rain.” the third page shows archaeopteryx in the treetops and the skies, then a modern museum-goer reading the placard on a fossil display. it reads, “when you awaken in the morning’s hush, i am the swift uplifting rush, of quiet birds in circled flight. i am the soft stars that shine at night. do not stand at my grave and cry.” the fourth page shows a chicken in a field. it reads, “i am not there. i did not die” / end id]

a comic i made in about 15 hours for my school’s comic anthology. the theme was “evolution”

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hey now, Let her cook!

[racetrackthehiggins]

𓆙

...snek? OH! oh is it an eel?! ty anon im love him

[little-pissbaby]

fun fact about me! I have hyperadrenergic Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (hPOTS). this means I am prone to fainting when I change positions or when I feel a strong surge of emotion, positive or negative. for me, laughing is my worst non-postural trigger.

this is a clip from playing lethal company with friends a few months ago. you can hear the eerie silence of presyncope at 0:19, and the sound at 0:23 is my face hitting the keyboard lmao. I played this for my mother and she literally pissed herself laughing and DEMANDED I show every single person I know (including my doctors, who thought it was funny to see and surprisingly helpful, especially for being audio only).

[keferon]

Empurata!Prowl tries to actually communicate for the first time

What if he wants to say something but he can’t. What if he has no voice to speak, no face to emote, no hands to write. What if every attempt to communicate a message is essentially a puzzle of wit and creativity and yet, the first thing he goes through all these troubles for. Is to say “I love you”?

Don’t ask me how did they get in this room. I have no idea. They escaped the battlefield somehow haha

Next->

[tawnysoup]

Their POV

[blackkatdraws2]

[Toon x Mobster] A tender moment.

[Animation timelapse here!]

[AUDIO USED:] Chet Baker - Almost Blue Sound Effects edited by me!

[akanemnon]

I don't like this place. It's turning everyone edgy and sad.

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[lokittystuckinatree]

I am simultaneously deliriously in love with the ending of Loki season 2 and absolutely loathe it

On one hand…Shakespearean tragedy at its finest, essentially circling back to Loki’s original Thor 2011 character arc by reversing it, and Loki has literally ascended to godhood. In the end, Loki’s ultimate selfless sacrifice was to sit upon the highest throne in the multiverse, and that to me is tragically ironically beautiful

On the other hand…Loki being alone makes me want to burn Marvel studios to the ground and do other unspeakable things

Best and worst ending of all time f u Eric Martin

[mari-lair]

[composeregg]

edit (10/23/2024) now that the poll is over: Original version, with 10 questions, from April 2023 here

And, given that the original is from April 2023, that means I can very easily say:

No, this was not an ISAT reference!

Just because I use parentheses and 2nd person pov and love the same concepts of what a time loop can do to a person doesn't mean it's ISAT

(Yes, I like ISAT, the original poll is why I was recommended the game! But if you look at the original, you can see all the origins of the options to choose from, including what spurred me on with the moss option from the replies)

If I were going to make something for ISAT, I would never be so vague, you can simply look at my ao3 for proof of that

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.