#I HOPE I MAKE SENSE

[moon-n-night]

The russian moomins have some weird design . When I first saw duck Snufkin he looks okay then I saw Moomin and goddamn he looked unpleasant, the side view is okay looks fine then they front view good lord it looks like a jump scare.

[myosotewitch]

Okey, you know what? When Athena and Odysseus had a talk after reuniting with each other, and Athena asks about a world with more empathy? If that would be a better world?

Well, Odysseus can’t no longer see this world, too much happened. In order to get home, he had to abandon every bit of empathy he ever had. So he can’t make a change with Athena anymore.

But you know who can?! Telemachus! I mean, now he is the Warrior of the Mind, and the life hadn’t destroyed him, he can see empathy and he can participate in building this new world. And he can carry legacy that Odysseus had to gave up, and it’s just a beautiful circle. Where the father throws away what he could wanted to built, the son picks it up.

[laginestra98]

The metaphisical Love of Sauron's and Galadriel's hands

"They part the theater with a semitouch, their hands abstractly close-up, separated only by the glass of the car window. This marvelous cinematic gesture communicates so much more than simple character and plot resolution. The abstract nature of the shot amplifies the significance of it, suggesting love of the highest, metaphysical order." The Films of Krzysztof Kieślowski: The Liminal Image, Joseph G. Kickasola, pp. 317-318

I was reading this book for my thesis when i came about this lines and something in my head clicked at "suggesting love of the highest, metaphisical order". And in that moment I thought about Galadriel and Sauron (indeed, why doing your work when you can think of them, right?). This kind of love, which is metaphysical and it's shown through a simple gesture such as an almost-tuch. Just to give you some context, the text refers to Three colours: Red, which is the last film of the "Three Colours tryology" and of Krystof Kieslowski's career. It's about a young woman who casually meets an old retired judge and, slowly, they create some kind of connection (this is a very summarized plot, but there's more to it than this). Anyway, the frame the text refers to is this one:

This is the last time Valentine, the young woman, and the judge see each other. Kieslowksi is a real master of visual storytelling, and this is a blatant exemple. This short frame converge, as the text tells us, a ralethionship which was meant to be, but never was. In a previous scene the judge says to Valentine: "maybe, I never met the woman... maybe, you're the woman I never met". This non-meeting hangs there between them, between their hands, separeted by a glass, suspended in a timeless and spaceless moment. In this void their story exists, not in the real world, but in an alternate, separeted one. Sadly, is a world of imagination, so there isn't a possibility for a concrete connection, at least in the present. Now, there's more to say about Red, but I'll stop there because I don't think you're interested in it (but if you like cosmic connection and complicated carachters, you're welcome to watch this masterpice). What I want to address here are the words of Kickasola: "the abstract nature of the shot amplifies the significance of it, suggesting love of the highest, metaphysical order", then he adds: "at the same time, the glass symbolizes a barrier: a romantic connection reached for, but impossible". I think this words are easily applied to Sauron's and Galadriel's relathionship. So, let's analyzed how their hands are shot.

In this frames their hands don't touch, but they enlace each other's arms as a sign of trust. This is the first form of connection they share, still, they keep their distance: neither of them dares to touch the other's hand, neither for a shake. So, they create a barrier.

Here, their hands touch, but there's always an object between them. Every one of this objects rapresent an idea or a desire which are important to them: hope (the simbol of the Southlands king), promises (Finrod's dagger) and power (the nine rings).

In these their hands are near, but never touch. The illusion is shattered, the promise is lost and, even if Sauron tries, he's not able to reach for Galadriel's hand.

I think is interesting that they never hold each other's hand, nor voluntary, nor involontary, nor for necessity. All their approaches are shaped first by formalities, then by ideals, finally by betrayals. Their connection happens in this space, better, in this non-space where they can hide what they feel, but will never say. Love is relegated in a place beyond phisical reach, hung in the metaphisical domain: is in the space between their arms, in the hold of Finrod's dagger, in the distance that separates their hands when Sauron try to catch her from falling. I think the last frame, more than the others, explain this. Like the one in Red, the nature of the shot is abstract, suspended in the air. The background is out of focus, their hands clearly visible. But, unlike in Kieślowski's movie, the distance here is accentuated not only by the fact that Sauron doesn't reach Galadriel, but also by how their hands are shot: they never overlap, so they can't touch neither in the metaphisical space. So is Love over, even in the abstract dimension? No, it persists, willingly or unwillingly, in the outer world, that may become visible (but still not phisical) if the theory about the bond made by Morgoth's crown is correct. This is shown by Galadriel's hand reaching for the wound = for the invisible connection:

Interestingly enough, the phisical manifestation of said love (the phisical touch) happens in an outer space, separeted from reality: in Red, it happens in a theater, the ultimate fictional realm:

in trop, this happens in an illusion, Sauron's illusion:

Like Valentine and the judge, their love can't be sustained by reality, it wolud be crushed by hopes, ideals and power, but is unlatched from reality, alive in a place that trascend time and space. They both feel it, but will they acknowledge this? Only time will tell.

With this I won't mean that their love is not real, but that is bigger than the real world they are in (regardless from their behavior and choices)

Disclaimer: this is just my interpretation of Galadriel and Sauron relationship, it can be fallacious and is not a universal truth.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Trying to find the best way to frame this question...but do you think they the writers/show runners are divorcing this show or at least attempting to, from real world " human" values/morality? I see so many conversations about DV/infidelity/bad parenting/abuse apologia etc..but to me it's through a lens of real world morality.

If the writers are basically saying " these are vampires...real world stuff doesn't apply." Shouldn't we just take it as that? For me, I have separated my humanity from the show and just let it be what it is.

Thoughts?

Hmm.

The show is intentionally holding up a dark mirror to us - as gothic fiction often does. Their meta level and even story level commentary on social structures and racism is very much deliberate.

But.

That is all there is, a commentary. It is not "the big abuse show", nor out to "point out patriarchial oppression through painting Lestat as the white demon". That's bullshit.

It's color-conscious, very intelligent, and extremely well thought-out gothic horror romance, set up as a multi-season puzzle.

A while ago, there was this biiiiiigggggggggg discussion about the art used for Armand's story - you know, the one they stand before in the "Louvre". Big metas were written about in-story and story-commentary white-washing. Turns out though that Rolin and co went to the Louvre, and were simply happy to find a painting in a style that they wanted with a figure that looked somewhat like a young Assad. No big social commentary. no big in-story white-washing. Just a coincidence they were happy they could use.

Or the thing with the Harlequin, and its presence in the Commedia Del'Arte. Big metas, about blackfacing, and the show making a commentary there about racism. Turns out though that Armand only wanted to present Lestat as a clown. Duh.

And so on. There's many examples like that.

As Sam said - the discussions are good and important. And they are.

But the fandom tends to overshoot the finish line, so to speak. The big discussions on racism and white patriarchy often fail to include the actual stories and their structures for the narrative... and the fact that these vampires, the Ricean vampires, do not turn towards humanity in the end.

They turn to their own monstrosity, to their own state of being.

This is not Twilight, or the Vampire Diaries.

This is not to say they don't struggle. And, as the themes the show comments on via meta or even in-story level, we are allowed - and should - struggle with this, too.

The commentary the show makes is connected to the real world. That is what makes it so special. That is what makes it so exceptional.

But that is not the only level it works on, and in most metas or commentary I have seen the vampiric aspects of these vampires is dismissed. Human AUs galore on Ao3, too, which changes the characters for me(!), completely.

And, imho, you cannot ignore the vampiric aspects for these vampires.

These vampires are not human.

And so their stories cannot (fully) be perceived and understood through a only/reduced human lens either.

All this to say: No, I don't think you can fully divorce the show from the social commentary, because it does make that, deliberately. But not in the depth the fandom experiences (and lives) it.

Which is most evident in the episode 5 discourse, I think, and the actual intentions there from writers and show runner.

Because what happened there, and as it was perceived... was never what they intended for it to be. But it is now.

I bet as we go forward we will see more examples of that.

Maybe the writers will make the disconnect more clear in upcoming seasons, but I actually doubt it - because the commentary itself is very much intentional.

[lovelylittlemoth]

I heard Yamori's hair turned white like Kaneki's, but it's hard to tell in the manga because everything is black and white.

Yup! He’s naturally got dark hair , you see it in Tokyo Ghoul : Jack. Though interestingly he hasn’t got stark white hair like Kaneki.

Here’s their profile photos side by side for comparison.

Yamori is more a bleach blonde (it’s more noticeable in the anime) whereas Kaneki is stark white . And the process they both went through is essentially going grey early due to stress , alas we do not go a nice bleach blonde when we go grey. So why is he blonde?

I know realistically this is just a design thing . The rest of Yamori’s colour pallet works well with blonde hair . But I’m adding a little spice to it.

Getting into slight spoiler territory here so read with caution!

But when we see Haise , who is (correct me if I’m wrong I haven’t finished RE yet) Kaneki, his roots are growing out

Yes I know that irl your roots won’t grow back your natural colour once you’ve gone grey but please suspend your disbelief for me on this one

So I like to think that the same thing happened to Yamori but he decided he preferred having lighter hair and started bleaching it.

Ik this is very silly and I’m thinking about a fictional man’s hair colour far too much but I’m having fun so who cares.

[thewallofclaire]

uh lex, sir - do you remember helen bryce, your second wife??? you deliberately gave her your house key that opens "every single" door to the mansion before she moved in. so what do you mean you've "never asked"? helen was one of them.

source here from the smallville wiki site.

okay, it made him sound like a hypocrite (or maybe the writers had completely forgotten about helen as a character from season 2 and only appeared in the first two eps post that season) *shocking*. idk maybe be really up front about it to lana, since she was having second thoughts about moving in with you.

i don't want to make this too long but later in the episode, lana had a conversation with chloe about literally feeling she'd probably lose her identity if she does continue to have this (exclusive) relationship with lex.

chloe: well, lana, if you don't trust him now, that dynamic is not gonna change. lana: it's just i keep blaming my trust issues on everyone else. and the truth is, the person that i don't trust is myself. i keep ... haven't always made the right decisions. and when i realize that i have made the wrong ones, i'm too far gone to get myself out.

kinda tired when a (major) female character is revolve around with only men as their arc but at least lana has been aware about this.

[rodeoblitz]

[ Also for the people worried about the stupid incubus. He's not better than Blitz, no matter what his shirt says. It's pathetic he has to even state that. Stolas is picking Blitz in the end and we all know it. And if you think he's better for Stolas, you don't understand this show. Stolitz has been stated as endgame for a long time now.

ALSO Get some media literacy before watching Helluva Boss. Apparently it's too smart for people to understand LOL. Not to sound condescending, but....how do so many people misunderstand it? Not get that both Blitz AND Stolas are to blame? Hate the main char? Hate Stolas? Hate any of the mains?? What are you doing here? ]

[vera-bees-hyperfixations]

My Jason/Red Hood Headcanons

Warring! I've only read about him in fanfics and researching info. I've never read a comic on this man in my live yet but he is bb to me.

JASON

He is a mother hen friend. [says a mother hen friend, i know the signs of one bitch]

He is the big brother you go to if anything bad happened to you, because whoever hurt you will no longer exist.

He is also the brother you go to to hide a body, most questions not asked.

He was [and still is] a theater kid 1000%.

He secretly drinks tea like a 1700s/1800s lady.

He would take the role of "housewife" in the relationship.

His love language is cooking; if he cooks for you, you are loved.

Stress cleaning. due to living on the streets, Jason likes his space(s) to be clean and tidy, he did it to control his environment. Which means he stress cleans, fortunately and unfortunately. Fortunately because his safe houses are always clean but unfortunately because he will clean whatever room he is in [e.g. one of the bedrooms in the manor, bruce's offices, meeting rooms, other peoples safe houses, you get it what I'm saying]

When Jason is anxious or panicked he cooks and he cooks a lot when that happens.

He is always carrying at least five knives and two guns on a good day, eight knives and four guns on a bad day.

How many knives and guns he carries depends solely on his paranoia level for that day.

Jason when dealing with a horrid mental health day(s) or week(s) and knows he can not bring himself to cook anything, will text or call Alfred; his grandfather Bruce Wayne's butler will stop by the next day with a fresh batch of his famous cookies and three to seven tupperwares of his cooking for his grandson, Jason to heat up when needed.

as RED HOOD

He 1000% mother hens the Alley Kids, they've just learned to accept it [and the Alley Kids 1000% do not fear red hood and sass/mock/tease him to no end].

Red is like a BAMF Mama Bear TM.

To help ease Tim after the "TTA" whenever they are together [and not in harms way] he dismantles his guns and removes his knives from his person to show vulnerability .

all safe houses have at least two books in them even in the other bat's+bird's safe house. Most of them are Jane Austen books.

All food cooked when anxious/panicked he gives out to the homeless and the alley kids, sometimes the working girls too depending on how much he makes.

Jason as a HUGE knife collection.

With the knife collection he hands them out like candy to the Alley kids and working girls.

He gives them [the Alley kids and working girls] self defense classes every Tuesdays and Thursdays where he teaches them ways to get away and/or detain men two to three times their own size.

Also gives classes in properly handle a knife, and use it to your advantage in a fight; and normal day to day survival [for Alley kids], and how to conceal carry with few clothing on and still be easily accessible [for the working girls].

If any of the bat clan need shelter because of a storm or to hide after a fight they will crash in one of Hood's many safe houses.

Due to this, all Hood safe houses are stocked with change of clothes for each bat member.

[kantbeloved]

why are multiple people saying that boston has always been truthful about who he is and what he wants from/with nick? when in ep 11 3/4 he told nick "but from now there will only be your photos because i'll only sleep with you" and "but you might be my exception" after nick talked about why boston doesn't do serious relationships ... i dont know how you interpret these words but to me they say that boston wanted to be in a serious and closed relationship with nick so in my eyes it wasn't just nick who misunderstood boston but boston who wasn't truthful to nick, boston who tried to be someone hes not just like nick rightfully pointed out, boston who ended up cheating on nick with boeing

i personally don't hate boston but i can't blame anyone for disliking him and there are enough reasons to do so outside of him sleeping around, i am pretty sure a lot of people who dislike him don't do it because of that ... hes not an asshole because he sleeps around, but sleeping around also doesnt make him less of an asshole because that doesn't cancel out the rest of the shitty things he did and does

that all being said, i definitely wish we got an apology from the friend group too and not just from chuem for punching him ... that was definitely overdue

[curapicas]

what do you think lg needs to do to treat him has an equal partner?

Manhua only? Either way, I say that because they're meant to /agree/ in the outcome - and CXS can't really do that if he only has half a truth. It's not an easy thing - CXS /is/ an emotional person that doesn't always follow orders, so there would be even more arguing - heck, LG is propably right that CXS would try to fix Lin Kai's mess.

Isn't that the thing abt partners, though? That you value the person's opinion? It quickly goes from "try to manage CXS not messing the job" to "doing the job behind his back and lying about where he's been". It also keeps CXS from truly having a choice (in season 2, we see him obeying the rules on his own after seeing for himself how unpredictable messing with that is)

I am, howhever, very sympathetic to LG's plight. Messing up time isn't as simple as what color they'll choose for the living room (esp when you consider what LG is actually trying to do), and the last pages from ch6 already indicate he's not entirely comfortable with lying to CXS's face, even if all he wants is the best for him. LG tries to keep the outcomes in control, but he seems pleased when CXS manages to take control of situations, and that's when their synergy really shines

[littledudesclub]

There’s something I love so much about being able to create art. How you get to express “you”

For a few months now I’ve been trying to find a aroace pin for myself.

I found plenty of designs online simple ones, subtle ones and cute ones, I liked the look of a lot of them but none of them felt like “me”.

So I just decided to make one of my own, I had an old pin I’d been given in some goody bag and I painted the flag on myself.

It isn’t complicated, just the aro and ace flags. It looks just like some of the pin designs I found, it’s simple but also more messy, but I love it.

And I think that’s because I got to participate in it’s creation, I got to create art and I got to put a piece of me in it.

I guess I just like that art allows you to express yourself, even when it’s not as neat as it could have been, if I’d bought it.

I was making something to express who “I” am, so I’m glad “I” made it.

[bubipuppi]

Trying to explain that I love Batman and the like but in the "That is my fictional dad because I have issues and hes a parent that I would love to have and idk having the Manor and the BatCave to explore would be really fun. And having the Batkids as my siblings would be SO cool. And I think he'd give really good hugs and I need one of those rn and-" kind of way. Like. That's Bruce. Yeah. Batman. That's my dad. :D.

Like....I don't know how to accurately make sense about how much I love Batman. To put it simply, I'm just completely projecting my parental issues at him and the man would catch it like a full field pitch and roll with it. Like, I'm about to own over 6 different graphic tees of him. My first deco paci is about to be Batman themed. My next set of pjs will be the Bat symbol. I'm trying to make wall space for a poster of the 07 animated show because I watch it all the time and especially whenever i regress.

I'd be like one of his only kids to have merch of him and none of anybody else in the League cause just. No. BATMAN is my dad. *Batman*.

That's the level of attachment I have. Like that's papa. No I don't like anybody else ecxept him, go away. Not you Clark, Supes can stay. Cause that's my other dad. But yeah. B = Papa.

[welcometoqueer]

the tonal whiplash is jarring from the way tumblr (and reddit refugees) talk about the submersible vs the way twitter, the news, and the government talks about it

like yeah we’re making fun of it but we still recognize it’s a horrible way to go out…they still (mostly) brought this on themselves tho

on the other hand, everyone else is like “it’s a tragedy, we need to divert all our resources and attention to this specific situation, if you don’t feel extreme sympathy and kinship for these people then you’re a terrible person”

the best example I can think of that shows what I’m talking about is how we all think it’s incredibly funny that the stepson of one of the billionaires on board went to a Blink-182 concert during search efforts while most people on twitter were clutching their pearls like “oh, he doesn’t care, how horrible that’s he’s continuing to live his life and not pray these poor, rich souls”

and ik if someone said this on somewhere like twitter people would accuse them of putting one cause above others but seriously, what about literally anything else happening, like the thousands of migrants lost at sea that are being overlooked because of these billionaires who absolutely knew the risks when they agreed (also, the only cause in this situation was a lost cause from the start, that is, if we’re gonna call anything to do with billionaire lifestyles a “cause”)

anyways,

sink the rich

yes, human empathy and all that but billionaires aren’t people and you’re not a horrible person for laughing at or making fun of this situation where the odds, nature, and literally everything else that could be were absurdly stacked against these five from the beginning

[ame-soeurx]

would you marry a woman who has been married once before?

"The best of you are those who are best to their women" (Sunan Ibn Majah). In my interpretation it means being good to our woman, it means all woman. In my opinion a married woman is not less than a non married woman, a non married is not better than a married woman. They are both humans and equal in every aspects, if i can find the peace in you then it doesn’t matter for me that someone is been married before, ngl i used to have a different opinion when i was bit younger but opinions can change by time and i got wiser. Also we men need to try harder to even deserve the love of a good woman, a woman needs to be a woman of value for their husband. But something i want to point out is that the generations have changed a lot, marriage and love are not much valued. There is also another thing Qismat. Everything happens for a reason and there is khair in everything, if my future wife had to marry first before and that guided her towards me then i need to understand that she was actually made for me and had to go through that so she could walk towards me. It was khair in her divorce because she was meant for me (just a example). Also some cultures are very toxic about this matter and we as the young generation need to change all toxicity into something more positive and beautiful.

[damn-daemon]

2, 12, 20, 22, and 26 for the fanfic asks! :)

2. How do you come up with your plot ideas? Honestly, it's either one of two ways. I either observe a situation and ask myself "okay, what gaps are there that I can possibly inject something into?" Or the idea just sprouts in my head out of nowhere and introduces itself as the next thing I'm going to be obsessed with. It's usually the latter.

12. Are there any clichés or tropes that you actively avoid in your fics? Love triangles and destiny. If a love triangle is written well, it's going to consume me, but 9 times out of 10 it ends up being a mess and doing a disservice to one if not all of the characters. And destiny is so hard to write well, because it usually feels like a cop out and a lazy way to make excuses for poor planning and execution. I prefer that it feels like the actions characters make mean something.

20. How do you approach action sequences or intense moments? With a cross and holy water. With action scenes in particular, I have to firmly plant myself in the moment and follow the characters step by step. I have to remember where certain people are, how they are reacting to the things that are happening, and how their opposition will react to those reactions. As for intense scenes, it's a bit like the action, except with the emotional instead of the physical. How is this character feeling at this moment, how would they react to this feeling, how would other characters react knowing this character has this feeling? It requires an in depth knowledge of who you are writing. Either way, both result in me staring into nothingness. But I swear something is happening lol

22. What role does humor play in your writing? Do you enjoy adding comedic elements to your fics? Oh absolutely I enjoy it. For a fic to not include any comedic/lighthearted moments is for it to be dead and soulless. Life isn't all hardship and big events. It's the moments in between that truly make a person feel real. I use comedy to highlight those moments. To take a step back from the plot and remind the reader that the characters are still just people. They aren't plot devices. They exist in a space outside of the lines we have written down for their story.

26. How do you approach plot twists or surprises in your fics? They approach me actually, and demand that I change everything around them. I do try to sprinkle crumbs here and there that hint at these twists, but often when I come up with ideas, I may already be past the point of no return. There are so many plot twists I've discarded for that fact alone, because it would be coming out of left field and make no sense. So, as tempting as they may be, sometimes the surprises are just better left out.

[wanderingmind867]

A while ago on Reddit I made a post where I kind of gave my opinion on the whole Percy Jackson casting thing. But to show my comment, I have to share a different post. So I'll just credit them first: I commented under Reddit user u/how-s-chrysaf-taken on a post from last year on the subject of the PJO casting. (my post was made 28-30 days ago, however). Here's my copy and pasted transcript:

(u/how-s-chrysaf-taken): I'm kind of disappointed bc she doesn't look familiar. Like, I've gotten used to Annabeth being the tall, blonde girl with the curly hair, not just bc of the books but bc of all the fanart and fanfiction. No hate to any of the kids, and I'm sure they'll do a great job. It's just that after all these years I was hoping to see the characters come to life as I knew them.

(Me): I imagine it's how people who read Harry Potter before the films felt about the films changes. There may end up being people who can only visualize the characters as they were played by their actors here. Who honestly knows? All I know is, it's a subjective thing. I have a similar problem to you (being so used to the book description/design), but I see why it can be nice to let anyone play a role (and possibly play it to their interpretations, as well). I'm not sure where I'm going with this. But I know it's topic with a lot of depth and confusion to me.

So my opinion wasn't really expressed so much as I just rambled about why I think the subject is so touchy for some. It's all subjective, and a casting will always go against somebody's vision of things. It's a complex issue.