#I want to do more analysis cause I'm bored and sick

[kcthelazyartist]

I can't believe I forgot to mention how damn non-straight it is that the ring Ford got went black after the diner scene in my Fiddauthor evidence post.

I could probably do a quick analysis of this scene if I wanted to because it is one of the most queer scenes in the book and has so many implications about Ford's character

[binniesbooks]

• STILL WITH YOU UNTIL THE NEXT TOMORROW

TXT 019 .F05 2024

wc 0.6k

pairings TXT x reader

warnings none, just a light-hearted analysis for the boys :))

faye's note I'm bored soooo let's just make some analysis about TXT! 😋 This is not proofread :)) Also, I've been trying to write fayebies, i swear ⊙⁠ω⁠⊙ but i just can't finish anything :(( especially I'm a little bit sick. I have a fever for like 4 days now. Please wait a little longer ㅠㅠ

Before anything, I would also love to hear your thoughts about this! ;)

Soobin - HE IS A HUSBAND MATERIAL. I'm not even joking! I'm taking my Soobrangdan heart aside (to not be super biased), and for me, he is really husband material. Especially with that shoot where he played with kids-- damn his smile when he's  playing with the little girl :( please wife this man up. He's so genuinely happy about it, we can't deny. I just know he would love to be a girl dad. No one can change my mind. And that photo of his nephew, oh my god, don't get me started. His pure heart wants to be an amazing dad, I'm sure. I just know he doesn't want to play when it comes to relationships. If he would have a girlfriend, pretty much his goal is to be married with that person and build a happy little family.

Yeonjun - I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's more of a boyfriend material. Why boyfriend material? Let's not lie and cover things up, he always gives the vibe of "I know what I feel but I don't know how to say it" or some sort. :( He's just a confused baby. Don't get me wrong, he is an amazing person but he's more of a boyfriend material because he just have the difficulty to navigate his feelings, if you get what I mean. People (including me,) would also say that he is the "collector" type because of his vibe-- no he isn't! He is just really confused about how to navigate his true feelings, which would often cause people to misjudge him. He's oblivious about people whom he doesn't love, romantically, of course, and their feelings and would only think he's just doing the bare minimum when, in fact, people have already fallen in love with him—the reason why he is always mistakenly thought of as a womanizer.

Beomgyu - This guy here is boyfriend material too! A silly boyfriend at that! Although he can be a little bit scary and serious at times, he's more on the funnier side. He has a goofy personality that everyone knows. And that makes him a fun and simple guy. Again, don't get me wrong. Because he is the type to be funny and all, yet he is the sweetest when it comes to relationships. Would give flowers on a daily basis. Would do something so cringe-worthy and cheesy just to see you smile. When I say he's the sweetest, I mean he is really the sweetest. But he tends to cry the most. Pure soul only wants true love and can't help but be a little jealous of people who are too clingy with you.

Taehyun - Another husband material. He is a smart husband. Responsible. Reliable. Disciplined. He knows how to stand alone. I mean like, he knows what he is doing most of the time. The most rational of them all. He knows the consequences and doesn't want to do anything risky. He always thinks ahead of time—always two steps ahead compared to others. And he is also firm on what he believes or whatever he says. He knows how to trust himself, and he knows how to be accountable about everything. He's the type that would hurt you with his words rather than fool you with lies. The type to defend you in public and correct you in private. A manly man indeed.

Kai - Of course, he is boyfriend material too. His shy persona tells me so. :) I know, I know, he is big and all. But his shy personality really shows his boyfriend side. The type to go with you every time you need someone. Your one call away partner. A comfortable person you could lean on anytime. He's such a soft guy, and he knows how to show a lot of effort—similar to Yeonjun when it comes to efforts. However, he doesn't really want to stand out—he doesn't want the spotlight for himself—and would rather be hidden away than being watched. This guy is so clingy. Yup. Loves to be around you all the time. He loves to have your hand in his. Shows his extroverted side when he's with you and his friends. 

@binniesbooks 2024

[stupidsketchpad]

hey guys. im here to rant about how 2econd 2ight 2eer (second sight seer) by will wood is secret life bigb's song because god its eerie how similar the song lyrics are to his character. AHEM (also spoilers for secret life)

My grip on my secrets slipping while I'm speaking in tongues

ok. this is a really good start lol. basically bigb's task don't mean much when he does weird shit anyway for fun and, quote from grian, "writes his own tasks"

Screaming at the top of my lungs in the confession booth

he's saying stuff that litterally makes no sense. even after his task is done he wont tell anyone (confession booth is kinda like people asking about your task after it's done. your confessing your task to someone)

Take it with a pillar of salt, H.A.L.T., it's not my fault

i got nothing man

The devil made me do it, but I also kinda wanted to

THIS LINE AHSHDHSHAH. THE SECRET KEEPER GIVES HIM THE TASKS CAUSE HE HAS TO BUT HE WANTS TO DO THEM ANYWAY ANDDDD MAKE THEM AS CONFUSING AS POSSIBLE. SECRET KEEPER COUNTS AS THE DEVIL HERE

I'm cut from a different kind of meat

More than you can chew, hard to swallow me

"what the hell are you doing??" is a common question he gets asked. hard to swallow. y'know

Forget bored stiff, I got rigor mortis, call it morbid curiosity

How I cannot commit to reality, when my third eye's open and I like what I see

he's doing shit for the sake of doing shit.

Baby, I may be crazy but I didn't lose it, no I set it free

AAAAA THIS LINE TOOO!!! ok so he didn't just randomly start lying in secret life. it was weird before that too! i cant speak for double but LIMITED LIFE he was also confusing people about being the boogeyman. basically that one meme with the "guy weird about everything but its drowned out by how weird about everything the other people are"

I can't ignore what's under dance floorboards, the rhythm of my heart a dead-as-disco beat

But I still move my feet

To slip out of this groove, I'm free

dont got much here but i think this is just him having fun, yknow

Now to row, row, row my boat over the falls

And maybe wake up from but a dream, yeah

"but a dream" is the games. there are three rows in the line. lose your lives to get the game over with.

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

I didn't lose it babe

There wasn't much to find

once again, this wasnt the first time he was being weird!!!

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

I'm only passing through

say weird shit, refuse to elaborate, leave.

Oh, oh, o-o-oh

If you knew what I knew, if you saw what I see

You'd look through illusions, hallucinations, and lucid dream

And I know that meaning can be such a pretty thing to keep

But I got facts and I'm not afraid to use 'em, take the good with the bad, take off the back you make a new front

evo, anyone? anyway this man knows about watchers and doesnt care. he knows! he just doesn't give that any meaning.

Some days I'm glad that I am a madman and I'd rather be that than

An amicable animal, mild-mannered cannibal

red lives and how bigb doesn't have the same bloodlust as they do. this guy doesn't kill much, he's like the most passive on the server. /srs

But I'm more level-headed and clever than ever and I'm getting better one forever at a time

how many people guessed any of bigb's tasks? that's right, zero! (if i remember correctly.) he's getting better at the games (btw the games being referred to as "forevers" is just ahshahdghs)

And if sick is defined by what's different, well then pull the plug out and let me die

not much here

Vice-versa, vice versus virtue

Well who I am I choose through all the things I do

AAAAAAAA HE CHOOSES HOW HE IS PERCEIVED BY THE OTHERS BY SAYING HIS STUFF YA GET WHAT IM SAYING

And if it rhymes, it's true, but I hate poetry

contradicting himself. easy peasy analysis here folks.

Now with my moral compass pointing south, I'm going down

With no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no respect for reality

could say this is going red! but also. "going down?" LIKE A HOLE? HE MADE A HOLE?????

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

I didn't lose it babe

There wasn't much to find

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

I'm only passing through

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

I didn't lose it babe

There wasn't much to find

I'm just a psycho, babe

Come and go out my mind

same stuff

A tourist passing through

Well that was fun, goodbye

he died. but hey, he had fun!

anyways thats all thank you for listening to me ramble about songs and minecraft i WILL do this again. sorry if this is incoherent i wrote it at 10:00 pm.

psst... moot... @bigb-enthusiast... would you like this?

[smileyalater]

IM GONNA DO IT :P

Ty for the tag

Reverie:

"I'm nothing special, in fact, I'm a bit of a bore"

"if I tell a joke, you probably heard it before"

"If you see the wonder, of a fairytale"

"you can take the future, even if you fail"

"I believe in angels"

"When I know the time is right for me I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream"

"I Have a Dream, a fantasy to help me through, reality"

"And my destination, makes it worth the While pushin' through the darkness, still another mile"

Scout and Narcisse:

"cus baby I could build a castle, out of all the bricks they threw at me"

"and every day is like a battle, but every night with us is like a dream"

"we're so young but we're on the road to ruin"

"We need love, but all we want is danger"

"we team up, and switch sides like a record changer"

Asp:

"Uh oh, I'm falling in love"

"Oh no, I'm falling in love again"

"Lost in the labyrinth of my mind"

"Could never tell you what happened the day I turned seventeen"

"you don't know fuck about my family"

"When it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking, When the truth comes out, it's quiet"

"So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst"

"So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say, Do you believe me now"

"They say, "What doesn't kill you makes you aware" What happens if it becomes who you are?"

Heli:

"Honey honey, how you thrill me"

"I heard about you before, I wanted to know some more"

"I was sick and tired of everything"

"all I do is eat and sleep and sing"

"wishing every show was the last show"

"Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you"

Adeline:

There's no philosophical lyric analysis I have an inside joke that most of my vamp ocs chase music is mamma Mia

"forever young, I want to be forever young"

songs that describe my ocs (Em, Braydon and, Viper) and songs that describe me

Braydon

“I’m high on the freedom but somehow you still got me trapped”

“The way you hurt me is never enough this addictions hard to give up”

drugs bro simply drugs all of them

Viper

”

I wanna make mistakes and live in regret Don't wanna give, just take, get out of my head And if I break it, fake it, don't care comes next If there's a price to pay, I'll deal with it when I'm dead

Breathing just to live a lie I'm rotting in my place Sick and tired of always wasting time”

self confidence issues and their a little crazy so

Em

“You can take all that you want, but it will never be enough Cut me open, pay attention, on display, I'm bleeding rust Like a machine, I will complete, I will obey, I will perfect My every move, my every word 'til there is nothing of me left Can't keep hating you It's draining Please don't say it "I don't care" is such an easy lie Is such an easy lie Tell me, are you satisfied?”

self confidence/ trauma

Me

”Help mе now, how am I supposed to hide? Watch me drown, ripped to shreds under the light Sharks come circling, don't say anything, waiting for the teeth to bite you Shut your mouth, you know They're bleeding you out (Don't bleed, don't bleed) (Don't bleed, don't bleed)

Violence only brings violence Keep quiet, put the muscle on You're stuck in your skin, there's no way to win You know they're always watching you If we only bring silence All we'll ever be is good as dead When they got you surrounded, waiting to pounce in They're watching over you”

Charley (iykyk)

I flipped Ems and mine accidentally oops I can’t fix it

tags for if yall wanna do this

@the-smart-and-the-dumb-one

@of-course-im-the-winner

@wills-significant-annoyance

@zoe-aura-of-d3ath

@fellen-star

@smileyalater

[bookofmirth]

I haven't read ACOSF yet, and tbh I'm rather rusty with the characters but it was really interesting to read your opinion on Elain! I feel there's a lot of complexity to her. And how she presents herself as well because as you said we literally have no chapters from hers or Lucien's POV and I think that's the important point to note because right now we're all just guessing and assuming her to be like Feyre, but she's not. People deal/show their traumas in different way and l think people expect Elain to deal with it as Feyre did. But, Feyres trauma and Elains are very different!

I don't really know what I'm saying. But I read your answer and it made me go 'oh... Huh!' in a good way, it sparked my curiosity! So thank you! But I think Elain perhaps is the most complex person with their trauma. I know people say 'oh Nesta is so different' but (I specialised in drama therapy so I love psycho analysis) and what Nesta did is self destructive to prevent relationships to avoid hurt or more emotions that she doesn't want to acknowledge (in my opinion!)

Elain just shuts down. She doesn't drink, she doesn't screw, she just remains in her garden which in itself says a lot! That's a very grounding way to handle trauma and not a lot of people are aware of that side!

So yeah I don't know what I'm saying but I think it's a really interesting discussion!

I have so many thoughts about Elain! This took me a few days to get to because i knew I had a crapton of thoughts. So this is basically me using this ask to explain the way I see Elain post-acosf!

There are three important scenes in acosf off the top of my head: when Elain talks with Nesta and they fight, and then with Nesta and Feyre and she gets mad and leaves, and then Feyre and Rhys talk about her in their chapter. We’re getting a lot more information about her, and for me, it wasn’t so much about who she is, but why we don’t know who she is.

So far, what we’ve had is Feyre’s and Nesta’s POV. Even when Feyre and Lucien tried to help her in acowar, they were unable. So we’ve never had anything about Elain from someone who didn’t grow up with her and experience the same trauma (such as becoming destitute, their mother’s death, their father being beaten, the Cauldron, etc.)

The sisters do handle it very, very differently. And I think that at this point the fandom consensus is that Elain runs away from her problems, but I actually disagree, and partly because of what you mentioned - that she isn’t using those self-harming, destructive coping mechanisms. Nesta was avoiding her problems, hardcore. It’s absolutely possible that Elain avoids things, but I don’t think that she just runs from all of her problems because:

Elain grieves her father. Openly. She tries to accept the fact that it wasn’t her fault and that she couldn’t do anything about it. (See: her going to his grave in acofas, her first talk with Nesta in acosf.) Elain does not run from her grief, she doesn’t pretend it doesn’t exist, and she doesn’t hide it from others. As one of the most defining events we’ve seen her go through in the series, that’s a pretty big deal.

Elain does not cling to unhealthy coping mechanisms. There could be ways that she does this that we are unaware of. She does seem like the type who would be really, really good at making people think she’s okay, all while she’s silently imploding. But we don’t know that yet?

Elain does not isolate herself. 

However, Elain definitely needs to deal with some stuff! She definitely needs to deal with Lucien, and she needs to have an actual talk with Nesta because I don’t remember a single satisfying resolution between those two in acosf. Not like Nesta had with Feyre. 

I have this idea that is purely based on Elain’s line in acosf:

“I went into the Cauldron, too, you know. And it captured me. And yet somehow, all you think of is what my trauma did to you.” (pg. 233)

And then Feyre tells Nesta that yes, Elain was right. 

This is so so so sossosososos important. I cannot emphasize it enough. Elain is used to putting on a fake, smiling face because she doesn’t want the weight of her sisters’ concern. She has been pretending to cope for so long - and tbf, she seems to have been doing better than Nesta - that people not only forget that she has suffered, but she doesn’t feel like she can even express that suffering.

Emotional labor often means negating one’s own feelings in order to acknowledge or tend to someone else’s. And that is Elain’s major role, in the series. Feyre has been caring for everyone’s physical wellbeing (hunting), while Elain’s role has been to care for everyone’s emotional wellbeing. But, like with most emotional labor, it has gone unnoticed.

I’ve made posts about emotional labor in the past (four years ago!!!!) but I’m gonna spare you the link because a lot of it was about a ship that’s no longer a ship, so here is the relevant content:

What I am talking about is the regulation of emotion - any time that you give comfort, are especially attentive to someone’s needs, stop thinking about how you feel in order to focus on how someone else feels, try to cheer someone up, make sure that they are taking care of themselves, try to allay their insecurities, etc. Basically, helping them with any sort of emotional distress.

You know those posts you’ve seen, about women protecting men’s egos constantly? Or about making time for self-care? Or about recognizing toxic relationships? That tell you “if X is being demanded of you in a relationship, get out”? Those are ALL about emotional labor, broadly speaking. They are warning you not to do more than you can handle, more than you need to do, because it can be harmful to you.

If you have ever been expected to make a person or people feel better any time you are around each other (including when they are angry, upset, anxious, ill, frustrated, insecure, etc.), you have performed emotional labor. Pretty much everyone has done this at some point, unless you are a completely insensitive jerk.

Notice, though, that I said expected to and any time you are around them – this is where the problem comes in for YOU. This is not about just being there for a friend.

Making loved ones feel better is fantastic. Seeing people be polite and kind to one another makes my heart shine. That is not a problem in and of itself. That can be seen as emotional labor, but there are no requirements on you in those circumstances. This is something you are doing of your own free will.

The problem, again, is when this is expected, constantly, over time. Now, in my experience, the expectation is not necessarily coming from the other person. One of the problems with this type of labor is that not only do others expect women to perform these tasks, but women expect it of themselves.

It’s super easy to see this – who is expected to take care of a child when they fall? Who is expected to baby-sit? Who did you want when you were sick as a child, mom or dad? Who is expected to be sensitive and pay attention to others’ emotions?

For more info on this idea specifically, read Of Woman Born by Adrienne Rich. As a woman, I realized how much work I had been performing and how much it was harming me and I just… got real upset. She comes at this mostly from what a woman’s role is expected to be within the family, and might actually be a bit outdated in that respect because I feel like family structures and dynamics are shifting (that is a totally un-academic evaluation of the situation, don’t quote me on that), but still, it’s really informative.

While I was doing some research for this post I came across a peer-reviewed article about nursing and basically, high amounts of emotional labor led to anxiety and burn-out in those performing it. It literally will cost your mental health – not to mention your time, energy, attention, and it often requires you to ignore your own needs (this last part came from me, not the article). On the other hand, high levels of emotional intelligence (being able to recognize your own and others’ emotional states) meant less emotional labor (and therefore less anxiety & burn-out). One of the most important things to realize is that while you are taking care of someone else’s emotional needs, your own are frequently unmet. That is why it’s important to recognize this in yourself, not just in these characters.

So where does Elain fit in? Elain is the #1 emotional labor provider of the family, and she is about to freaking SNAP. I know, because once I realized how my trauma was hidden in order to spare someone else its consequences, I fucking SNAPPEd. I’ll also spare you the personal details, but Elain hasn’t been “okay”. She hasn’t been “boring”, or “nice”, or “chosen” Feyre over Nesta. She has literally been unable to express herself because (and I am NOT blaming Nesta or Feyre or her father one bit) her family’s emotional state has been so fragile, there hasn’t been room for Elain to feel or express her emotions in years. 

In the feysand short, Rhys says:

I wonder if everyone has spent so long assuming Elain is sweet and innocent that she felt she had to be that way or else she’d disappoint you all.

And that completely tracks. Everyone has gotten used to Elain being not just “nice”, but being the emotionally predictable one. The one they know they can go to for a smile. The one they can count on for never, ever making them realize that she has been through Some Shit Too. And being that person is exhausting.

When Feyre thinks about Elain not using Lucien’s gloves, 1) she still has them, otherwise she couldn’t think about Elain not using them, and 2) I like to see the gloves as something that she will come to use, once she realizes that she can feel and express those emotions without it causing a breakdown in the family. Right now, she just wants to feel. And she can’t do that emotionally, so she’s doing it physically. Once she heals and finds a better balance, she won’t need to resort to physical pain. (Which, lowkey has me thinking some other thoughts, but.... maybe later.) But anyway, once Elain does go through her very own special journey, I fully expect her to welcome those gloves. She won’t need physical pain to feel anymore.

Not to mention my completely unacademic and non-professional opinion that people will judge a nice women harshly for being rude once, but accept a woman with a history of rudeness for just “being that way”. It’s another way that Elain may feel trapped in her “nice girl” persona. I think she started out that way - kindness and light and generosity is 100% in Elain’s character in the first place. It’s not as if she went into the Court of Nightmares and suddenly Cassian thought, “wait, she fits right in to this shithole of depravity”. No, he still thought the literal opposite. It’s just that once people get used to you doing all their emotional labor, they will continue to take advantage of it, even if they don’t realize its cost.

[fireemblems24]

hey if you uh 👀 wanna share that essay on dimitri 👀 i'm sure more than one of us will be happy to read it... 👀👀👀 (dont mean to pressure you or anything! just joking around but in all seriousness your metas are 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼)

This feels a bit like someone asking me to indulge in my favorite food.

I’m a bit stuck right now with no new content for Dimitri, and with that shocking personality turn, I’m dying to know where this all goes, and you bet there will be some massive Dimitri analysis coming. 

But for a “short” breakdown of why he’s my favorite so far:

He’s that kind, empathetic, diplomatic lord I always go for, but avoids being too vanilla because he’s allowed to have faults. It’s also so nice to see a character who goes through trauma and see it realistically affect them, and not just in a romantic tool kind of way either. You see it in literally everything Dimitri does and how he interacts with everyone. It’s an excellent case of “tragic backstory” done right.

It’s almost unfair how many complex relationships Dimitri has on the other main characters. It takes the Byleth pandering edge off a lot when he’s got these deep, rich connections to Felix, Dedue, Ingrid, Rodrigue, Sylvain, Gilbert, and even Annette and Catherine. It’s such a leg up on the other main characters that he gets to skip over awkward intro C-Supports and jump right into the drama. 

He surprises you. I fully expected Dimitri to be kind of boring, but instead he just made me . . . fall in love with him? Like, I’m closer to 30 than 20. I have not done this over a character since high school. Like what is this?

The trauma is interesting and well-done and all, but even without it Dimitri’s a character who I would’ve gone for. He’s so awkwardly adorable and gets so easily excited when you talk about his favorite sword or whatever. But then he’s also so composed and confident at times.  

I also love how traditionally “feminine” his strengths are. He’s kind, empathetic, wants to compromise rather than punch his way through his problems, and he’s still totally a guy. Many times these “softer” male characters are written super feminine, but it’s nice to see these traits in a character who is still traditionally masculine. It’s refreshing because it shows these things don’t have to be one or the other. You can be a guy’s guy and still be emotional, considerate, and caring. Like his hobbies are swordplay and sowing, and he’s allowed to just like both and no one makes a big deal of it one way or the other.

Dimitri embraces his leadership role. You can tell it takes a toll on him, and that he’d probably really rather not have to take on all this burden. But he does. I’m so sick of entitled leader characters play the “but I never ASKED to be XXXX!!!” Dimitri just embraces it and wants to use it to help others. For all of Dimitri’s trauma and how center-stage it takes, you literally never hear this guy complain about anything. The headaches? You know know because of Felix and Dedue. Same with the sleeplessness. Dimitri never says a word because he’s just so ingrained to take on all the burdens and lead everyone else. It’s to an unhealthy level, but oh my God it’s so refreshing after dealing with so many heirs and chosen ones that come across like spoiled brats. 

There’s a few key moments in the story that Dimtiri really stuck out to me too. 

Post-Lonato - This was the scene where his character really caught my attention. So often fantasy glorifies war. Kings and chosen ones fight for their ideals against some dark overlord and it’s all rah, rah!!! And it’s all good and fun, but I can’t ever help but wonder what any of these stories look like from the common man’s POV. Dimitri gets that. He’s not about some high and might cause. He’s always focused on how the common man is getting hurt by their leaders. He does this with Miklain too. Of all the lords, he’s the only one who noticed how Miklain mistreated all the nearby commoners. That was what he talked about. It’s what he’s always talked about. And it really resonates with me. Leader characters with admirable ordeals are a dime a dozen when you read as much fantasy and historical fiction as I do, but ones who set that all aside and their ultimate goal is to serve the people - now that’s interesting. 

Post-Jeralt - This was one of the few times I felt kind of self-inserted in the game. I don’t care too much for Byleth or Jeralt. But after Jeralt did his thing, I got Edelgard’s harsh treatment, than Claude’s complete disregard, and I was honestly feeling so put out. I really expected the game to play this up given how much they love to pander to Byleth. I was especially shocked to see Edelgard be so dismissive of Byleth’s feelings when she’s so hung up on Byleth. It’s like Claude and Edelgard ask so much from Byleth - both openly wanting to use Byleth to achieve their own goals - and the single time Byleth shows weakness, is faltering, neither care enough to bother. By the time I got to Dimitri, I expected nothing. But when he showed up instead of Alois (sooner than the other two), I was a bit taken off guard. And then I finally got to see someone really care about Byleth for Byleth’s sake, and not only what they thought Byleth could end up doing for them later. He was so kind and considerate. He didn’t belittle Byleth for grieving, he offered to cover for anything Byleth needed. And it really got to me, because we’ve all been there. We have people we think we’re good friends with, but when you need them they’re just . . . not there. And then that one person who is there just really ends up sticking out so much more. 

I really expect this list to get so much longer after seeing the time skip. He’s clearly going to get some massive character development, and I’m so excited to see all the sides of Dimitri explored - even - especially - the not so good ones. So it’s slightly torturous that I’m stuck replaying the route I saved over and not seeing anything new and smarts even worse because Dimitri’s (and Dedue who coincidentally is another favorite) are literally the only characters I’ve seen 0 final supports for and I’m just . . . really dying over here. 

[ems-h]

I've almost got myself up to date on the Perfect Sounds podcast and I listened to all the albums through - and some but not all of the end of the episode reccommendations - so I wanted to share my favourite tracks from it!

I'm not quite sure who this is to or for but I just love music I don't actually expect anyone to read this haha

(this is in no particular order also I've not looked up the lyrics so don't come for me if my analysis is way off it's just my feelings)

Time Being by Surface to Air Missive

I love the beachy relaxed feel of this song. The singer has a great voice that sounds so chilled out. You'll wanna stick it on during sticky hot summer hang outs with your mates.

Lantchi Biyé by Ukandanz

I wish I could sing along to this cause it's so good. The chorus makes me want to rock out and the guitars are sick.

Animals by Big Theif

The album this is from wasn't actually discussed, it was Nish Kumar's reccommendation but it is from 2016 and it is really good! Dreamy blends of super laid back verses and a more upbeat chorus. Perfect for those days when it's really sunny and that's enough to make you super happy.

Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales by Car Seat Headrest

I think this song is already well known but for good reason. It feels so nostalgic even though I've only just heard it! Sort of song you'd listen to while staring out the window on a long, rainy drive and feeling #deep.

Told by Market

Ok so maybe indie rock is my favourite genre at the moment but this one is fantastic too. Super awesome drum beat contrasts the melting vocals.

Blood in the River by Zeal and Ardor

This song makes me want to rise up against something. It's got so many good elements, the striking chain beat, the chant like vocals, the part where there's just a big scream. What more do you want??

Empty by Kevin Abstract

I already knew I love BROCKHAMPTON but hadn't heard this. The whole album is spectacular. This song in particular is super catchy but honestly I could've put the whole album for this one.

White Ferrari by Frank Ocean

This album I had heard before and Seigfried was previously my favourite but I need to get back to listening to others cause they're all good. I think I just kinda relate to the mood in Seigfried. It's like he'd questioning what he's doing in life and reflects that numb feeling that comes with that. But I've actually put down White Ferrari cause that's also awesome and feels like that quiet feeling of calm acceptance when you've been down and you feel better for a moment. I honestly am saying both of these songs and to be honest the whole album.

Ky by Bo by Karima Walker

This song is so relaxed but there's actually a lot going on so it's not boring. It's like an instant destresser if things are hectic this song is like a sanctuary.

Searchin III (4 Nothin Else) by Mndsgn

This one was Phil Wang's reccommendation but it is 2016 and oh booooy is it funky. I wanna dance so bad when I hear it. Chilled out, just funkin maaaaan.

Fire AND Fat by Mal Devisa

Yeah ok I'm doing two here but they're so different! I'm really mad this album isn't on Spotify cause that's how I listen and this is so good!! She has the most amazing voice and completely nails both styles which is madness. Fire is so soulful and warm and fuzzy and chilled. Fat is so badass and sharp and absolutely slaps.

I can't provide Spotify audio for the obvious reason and also I've hit the audio limit so that's it they're all the reccommendations

Honourable mention to Gabriel Ebulue's reccommendation of Set My Heart on Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius which isn't from 2016 but this whole album was an instant hit for me it's such an emotional ride I love it. I need to properly listen to it a few more times to have a favourite track.

Second honourable mention to If by Luna Dott Raids the Bee Pigeon. I can't resist a bit of chilled indie vibes and the singers are so good. It's the sort of song that can make having to walk in the rain poetic rather than a damp misery. This album is definitely mentioned at some point in the podcast and it is 2016. I'm sad this is not on Spotify.

Ok I'm done if anyone actually read this I'm honestly shocked.

(edit: bonus honourable mention to Premonitory Dream by Crying cause I forgot I love that one)

[mamafishfound]

Leon: The Rabid Lion and Astrology

Alright finally got to posting this I'm sorry it took so long a lot was going on with the Cornovirus stuff and my husband had issues with his green card and can't find it which we had no luck finding but alas thats a unrelated issue to the post. So here we are for the long awaited Star Crossed Myth and Astrology post

The Leo Archtype

Leo is ruled by the sun and rules the 5th house, the house of creative expression, arts, hobbies,children, and ect. Leo energy shines the brightest when it is in your sun sign and many famous Leos tend to pursue theater careers and are stereotyped as dramatic and attention-seeking. In a way when we first met Leon, he instantly was all like " you do what i say woman" and magically took her up in the sky to show her the stars. Logically speaking he was just trying to convince her he and the rest of the gods were for real not just trying to kidnap her XD, but the way he did all that was very dramatic and theatrical hahaha. So right off the bat, Leon was very Leo like ASSHOLE edition. In my experience, Leo placement folks are rather generous expressive and kind and although they appear to be self centered, they are kind to their friends and love to share the spotlight. Leon I guess is the kind of Leo who is sick of all this attention due to his powers (if you consider it a power hehe) and thus he wanted to withdraw himself from others and used his powers to appear dominate and in control. Leo energy is very much all about keeping up their reputation and the bad apples of the signs can come across arrogant and egoistic, which Leon shows right off the bat in his route and other routes. Leon's whole purpose is to erase his sin of rejecting true love. Leo archetype is all sharing and expressing love so Leon is basically an unevolved Leo that need to find love for himself once more. Leon was always hard on himself and due to his guilt of indirectly causing a goddess to fall from grace... I don't blame him.

Leon hides the very dark and sad feelings he has and its up to the MC to help him rediscover the true beauty and essence of love. Love does correlate with creative expression that the archetype is all about and I don't blame the king of the heavens casted him away. Leon shouldn't just waste away in self doubt and hide it in shield of aggressiveness and arrogance. Fixed signs in general can have a hard time being open to different perspectives in morale and values and when they are fixed in one way to view the world its a bit of a challenge for them to change it up. This isn’t the say all fixed signs are narrow-minded but when they do change its almost like they go through a metamorphosis and they are better then ever.

Leo is a fire sign and its also fixed, so passion and self expression is strong and upfront. I only met a few introverted Leos and even they have a certain type of stubbornness that is unmatched. Leon takes several chapters to admit his downfalls and give love one more shot. He didn’t believe in true love because all he saw was goddesses lust for his sex and power, so he came to one conclusion that love is not real and he wanted to change the heavens to see through his own image. He even attempted to overthrow the king and take his place. He was someone who thought highly himself and wanted his way only. Its no wonder he is the leader in his department due to his power and charisma that the Leo archetype is all about.

once Leon opened up his cold heart to MC then he is absolved of his sin and he can fully represent the Leo sign. He still is a bit controlling dominate and sadistic (which is why we all secretly love him for hehe) but after he reaches his revelation in love he is more caring generous and kind to the MC. He definitely did a 180 and was more daring and love struck which i can see in Leo placements in general. Leo energy is also known to be wildly sexual and hot and heavy in the bedroom. Leon in some side stories and sequels to his story he definitely is known as an amazing sex god.

The 5th House

This house in astrology is associated with our creative endeavors, hobbies, casual flings, self-expression, and artistic talents. This house is how we standout (or don't standout?) in this world compared to others or audience we are "performing" to. Leo energy is said to be the performers of all the signs so we can imagine that this energy desires to shine through. Leon is the main guy in this story and its no wonder, since he is the route who "outshines" the rest of the guys. Kidding of course LOL, but if you saw the interview of one of the writers of the story, she appeared a bit thirsty for Leon when discussing his storyline. He kept trying to paint the Heroine to be so into him when she got embarrassed over seeing him and Teo having an "orgy" ( like they were just messing around but basically it appeared to be like that LMAO) and even pointed out their bet on the Heroine to be curious and want to "watch their performance". Perhaps she did want to secretly see it but to be accused of such can be humiliating haha. I understand that since I'm a 12th house person ( I'll go over that on Ichthy's analysis if you are unfamiliar with the houses in astrology) I tend to hide my true colors and myself out of shame and insecurity and so seeing Leon being so arrogant and so full of himself rubs me the wrong way and it explains why hes one of my least favorite characters, because he represents everything i shame myself to feeling. Arrogance and cockiness can be seen in the 5th house but remember that is only shown if the said individual is enabled to do so.

Leon represents the side of this house with casual flings and self-expression. He is the head minister of the Wishes department, and even though he acts like he could care less, he is very passionate of his role. All the gods under his department respect him despite his blatant affairs. The fifth house is all about living life to the fullest and expressing ourselves in a way that makes us feel special and unique. The sun rules this house and its no wonder because the sun is the brightest star in our solar system. Leon knows this and it seems he is tired of this yet he still enjoys having the limelight still. This is very stereotypical of Leo energy in general but I feel Leon is just bored of simply getting attention just because he wants to gain attention being unexpected and challenges the King for it by attempting to take his power. I think side stories or his POV route goes over this more but Leon is tired of playing by the rules and he wants to go extreme in order to feel more "alive". From what i heard from others regarding his second season stuff and other side stories, his route is all about the DRAMA and its no wonder he's pushed to be the front man of the game....we all love a hot and dramatic story line for our daily otome hahaha (and if you don’t well....ajfklajlfjakljflajjaklajlGAJJJ lol jk do you boo).

Children also represent this house and normally its associated with your relation with children or how you are as a child. This house also might cue in about your own children if you chose to have any that is. There is a saying that says " Children brighten our world" which is fitting considering what makes us stand out and "bright" is what this house is all about. Leon is not necessarily a big fan of children (unless side stories of his reveal otherwise) but his dramatic and unfiltered comments to the Heroine can be deemed "childlike". Someone correct me but he and Partheno are the only routes that its confirmed the Heroine get preggers right? If not then what i am about to say is invalid but its no wonder Leon's route gets the married with a baby ending. I wonder how he would be as a father? I bet he will shower his child with love tender and care but would also push his child to be the best version of themselves. People in general with personal planets in the 5th house if they decide to have kids, are very good parents and would be the fun mom or dad that encouraged their kids to reach their dreams.

Planets in Leo

Okay so we talked about the archetype of Leo and the house placement and a bit of its ruling planet (the sun) of Leo as well. Now for planet placements. I will only be focusing on the 9 planets astrologers study just to keep things simpler. If anyone wants more of my take on other placements such as Chiron, North node, or even Lilith, let me know I will make a separate post for that. In a birth chart the moment you were born its made by the exact placement the planets are at the time. The sun sign is normally what horoscopes go over but did you know that Venus mars and other planets impact you even more? Since the gods rule their own sign, we can assume their birth chart is all in one sign haha. So I will be going over how Leo energy is played in each planet and how its shown in the entire main story for Leon's route.

Sun in Leo

The sun is considered our sole purpose in our life time. It also is the part of us that is our over all theme of our personality and life choices. It also is what we want to become in the future. The sun sign is normally what horoscopes focus us but the sun sign is only like a summary to our life long autobiography. Sun in Leo is Leo's true home planet and its easier to pick out Leo sun folks especially if their sun sign is positioned between the 1st and 5th houses. Leon is very much the staple of Leo with his arrogance, confidence and need to be dramatic. Though at times he tries to act like he could care less, its soooo obvious he does care about being the center of the Heroine's attention even in the begining of his route XD.

Moon in Leo

The moon sign is known as the "dark side" of your personality. The moon is the hidden sense of self that only your close loved ones or significant others experience. The moon is also associated with the mother or women in your life. The moon is how we react and how we internalize our emotions as well. Most astrologers will look at your moon sign and might come up with what kind of mother or mother figure that raised you, since the mother is the parent that teaches and nurtures us and our emotional well being. Since there was no talk about Leon's parents in the main story (maybe in side stories? ) we will talk about how Leon expresses himself emotionally and how his emotions change based on how the Heroine interacts with him as they get to know each other. I really saw his moon shine when he saw how the Heroine was passionate about helping Her best Friend Hyori's romance life. Normally Leon acts like he could care less but he was being inspired by the Heroine's persistence to make Hyori and her bf to get along again after a big fight. Another example was when Leon openly gives respect to the Heroine in teaching him love and its real meaning. Well go over that more in the Venus section. his emotions are volatile and responds when the heavens started to go against him. Leo moon folks normally are vibrant and warm folks and are good at sharing the lime light over Leo sun folks. Leon even thanks and acknowledges the Heroine for being so strong in the forbidden ending which is the epiphany of how Leo moons show their feelings.

Mercury in Leo

The mercury sign is associated with the conscious mind. This planet is all about how we communicate and retain information within. Mercury also is about our learning style and thinking pattern on a daily and mercury normally is closely aligned with our sun sign. Mercury in Leo are folks that can come across as theatrical and dramatic and are good at gassing themselves and others. The spotlight for this placement is vibrant and fun and Leon at the get go of the route is blunt with the Heroine. He is sadistic in his thinking and has fun being dominant an is very open in dialogue over that. Remeber when Leon would always call out the Heroine when she was distracted or doing something that is laughable? I do remeber her talking to Karno and he so calls out her out being a fickle goldfish. Throughtout his route he communicates with sass and always seems to want to start something. Its no wonder Zyglavis and Scorpio can't stand him, he just sooo full of himself but at least he can back it up being the strongest god in the heavens next to the king himself.

Venus in Leo

Venus is major component that Leon seems to lack connection with in the route. Venus is the planet of love, romance, and short term gains. Its also how we show are love to others and how we expect to be loved back as well in romantic relationships especially. Spolier alert, its love that Leon seems to underestimate love , causing the King of the heavens to kick him out to figure what is loveeeee baby dont hurt me (sorry i had too LOL). Leon doesnt realize this and thought since he did not pleasure the goddess that obsessed over him that was the reason he was cast away from the heavens. The 5th house has a tendency to be more about the fun and thrill regarding love and can get confused with lust. That is what Leon seem to have an issue with, he was so used to being the center of attention due to his power to give absolute pleasure but he always felt like he was being used by others. He wanted more when it comes to love and thats what the Heroine teaches him. Love can come in many different ways and I find Venus in Leo folks love to share the spotlight and help others find love within the best kind of trait in Venus in Leo.

Mars in Leo

Mars is considered the planet of action, agression and sex. Its very much the opposite of Venus. Mars is greatly shown in Leon's route, especially when he decided to fight the King of Heavens. Mars in Leo has a powerful force within any individual that has this placement. Leon's abiliies are known to be the most powerful and every god and goddess fear and respect him. Even Zyglavis the other department head fears him. going back to the concept of love, Leon confuses lust and love and he is apologetically thinks he knows better then what the heroine has to say about love and he gets aggressive if questioned or dissed. Leo placement folks tend to easily get offended and might lash out quickly if anyone questions their stance or actions. Leon is no exception and that plays in the role of fear and respect among all the gods in the heavens.

Jupiter in Leo

Jupiter is the planet of expansion and good fortune. Its the planet in our chart that gives us the most luck and talent wherever its positioned in the chart. I have this placement in my own birth chart (but in retrograde smh lol) and I think its shown in Leon's route with his natural charisma and excellent leadership skills. He might be feared and sought after the most but everyone relies on him the most when the going gets tough in the heavens. Even though he was cast out of the heavens for his sin, the gods still go to him for help as soon as they realize he can still use his powers. He basically is the ace and brings luck to the heavens when the going gets tough.

Saturn in Leo

Saturn is the planet of restrictions and discipline. Its considered the grandfather of all the planets. Leon is put on restriction for loosing interest in love and not doing his job to the fullest. He also is arrogant and looks down on those who don't have power like him. I see the king of heavens being like Saturn in these circumstances for he wants to teach Leon a lesson for getting too full of himself just becauae he has the most power. The entire route is basically synonymous to his Saturn in Leo that teaches him to not get cocky about himself and realize love's true meaning and to share love to all humans to be able to do his job correct. After all he is the head of the department of wishes and how could he grant wishes if he doesn’t even believe in the power of love?

Uranus in Leo

Uranus is considered one of the generational planets of change and humantarian pursuits. In the sign of Leo change is necessary on how you are viewed in the spotlight whether for a good or bad reasons. I think change occurred when Leon and 5 other gods where cut of their powers and had to figure out what their sin they needed to absolved from. Uranus is not comfortable in Leo since Uranus's original ruler is Aquarius, the opposing sign of Leo. So its no wonder Leon tried to fight the King and rallied up the other gods to go against him.

Neptune in Leo

Neptune is also a generational planet of modern day changes and the overall dreams society might strive for as a whole. Leon does have a wish to rule over the heavens and be the strongest god there ever is (spoiler alert he does in the ending of season 2 LOL) and he grows tired of the King of Heaven's sadistic ways so its no wonder he tries to go against him. I also associate Neptune in his job as head minister in department of wishes. Since dreams and wishes tend to intertwine, when it comes to granting wishes he seems to go for those of hidden desires in human's need to be center of attention. He did grant the boys need to get stronger to help his grandma as an example in his route. Wanting to be the center of attention is not inherently bad especially if its where you shine to help others in need and being the "hero".

Pluto in Leo

Now finally the planet of death is here haha that is not to say literal death but it does have association with the death and rebirth cycle. Pluto is the final generational planet that defines the exact generations itself ( such as boomers or generation z ect) each generation brings something new to the society and transformation on how things are change with changing times. Pluto is also represents what we need to change and evolve in our individual placements. Since the gods probably been around from many millions of years so Pluto's effects probably are more immediate then gradual. it took 12 chapters for Leon to learn about love and its true meaning so Pluto's transformation was more immediate for Leon then any human ever lol.

So How Accurate is the Game then?

So is the game accurate in representing Leo? Well that’s subjective they do got the negative stereotypes down of Leo's such as arrogance, over dramatic, and sadism but remember just because that is considered the bad traits doesnt mean all Leo's are like this. I have known a lot of great Leo's that are generous, entertaining and kind. In fact in my experience Leo's shine gives me hope for a better future in humanity itself. I think once Leon does realize the value in true love then that’s when more positive traits of Leo are shown. Leon is not overall horrible character he just has flaws that tend to get excused because he is the main guy and we as consumers that play this game are suppose to not care and want some of that shit he does to us because he is soooo hOt...Which is problematic but isn’t that the tea and Leo energy thrive in the drama in general even if they don't mean too. His route is the most dramatic and its only fitting that its because he's a Leo. Now a friend of mine (shouting out to u @bitch-pinnacle 😍) told me that the gods character design are similar to the Ascendant of each sign. The Ascendant is the sign that reflect your outward demeanor and how you are perceived to others. Finding your ascendant is by knowing your exact time of birth and it starts the entire house system in your birth chart. Leo rising are known to have hair like the mane of a lion and are expressive and lavish looking and tend to attract anyone to them. That definitely sounds like Leon. Even in his god form his hair is all big and long like a Leo rising are said to be like. So overall i think the game is pretty accurate its just that in the get go Leon embodies the negative side of Leo and I can see that rubbing you Leos the wrong way haha. After all if people say unpleasant things about you even if not meaning to can offend you. Leo folks in my experience get readily hurt fast if ridiculed or questioned. After all Leo is the performers of the zodiac and shine the most out in the open.

[janiedean]

*Roose Bolton voice* I'm dissapointed in you

HEY ANON SORRY FOR THE LATENESS BUT I’M SURE YOU SENT THIS FOR SPRINGSTEEN ANALYSIS, RIGHT? ;) then sure let’s have something! what can I get for you with the roose bolton voice, hm…

OH OKAY LET’S GO BLEAK POLITICAL.

so: SEEDS!

Seeds is an outtake from born in the USA and was only properly published in 1998 when it ended up on tracks (a four-cds compilation of outtakes that still doesn’t even fucking scratch the surface of what he has in the vaults bruce come on take the rest out), but as a lot of other bruce songs that were never technically published on official records it has enjoyed a very lively life on stage/live especially when our man gets political. we should probably put as a premise, other than that, that this was one of bruce’s first political pieces following the vein that would then end up in bitusa, tom joad, youngstown and so on, and as a lot of those songs it focuses on poverty/unemployment in the us of a. it’s not a coincidence that it was out of the bitusa sessions post-nebraska, but then again nebraska was his first record with Serious Political Themes and half of the original songs ended up on bitusa anyway so those records are pretty much tied together.

also, seeds has been a favorite throughout the bitusa tour (the one where bruce dissed reagan) where it was played along the title track, a cover of war that you can find on the live 75-85 box set, johnny 99 and atlantic city. as in, basically it gave you a pretty straight bleak picture of the current times, and it came back with a vengeance post bush-jr and I’m 100% sure it’ll show up again when he tours post-trump.

anyhow, as I think I’ve bored you enough with the technicalities, let’s move on to the actual thing. so, what do we have?

Well a great black river a man had foundSo he put all his money in a hole in the groundAnd sent a big steel arm driving down down downMan now I live on the streets of Houston town

so, we’re starting with a bang. first thing, the song’s title is seeds, which should suggest us that it’s about either agriculture or farmers.

except that it opens saying that ‘a man found a great black river’, and at the end of the stanza we find out that we’re in houston, so presumably around texas, so the black river that then turns into a hole in the ground with a big steel arm driving down down down (which considering the fast rhythm of the song gives you anxiety just hearing it) means that someone found oil and started drilling it in texas and as a consequence the narrator lives in the streets of one of texas’s biggest cities, so we can suppose that this guy was a farmer, he lost his land because of the oil drill and now he’s homeless. NICE START GUYS! but let’s go on.

Packed up my wife and kids when winter came alongAnd we headed down south with just spit and a songBut they said ���Sorry son it’s gone gone gone”

next stanza, we find out that our guy has a family that he had to pack up when winter came along, so either his land was dead because of the oil drill or he couldn’t support them anymore out of farming. now, this could either be set in texas or not, but since in the eighties a lot of people from the north who lost their houses or land and used to be farmers or steel workers or so on went to texas because it was said to be someplace they could get jobs (again I know I say it every damned time but if you read dale maharidge’s somewhere like america or journey to nowhere you’ll see exactly what I meant), so either he went to texas from a nearby state or he was in northern texas and went down south, but the point is: he lost his job, he was a farmer (so not in a good position to start from since farming hasn’t made much money for small owners for a while) and now he’s gone to texas with a spit and a song (ie: hope), but as the song’s music keeps on being fairly bleak, the only answer he’s given is ‘sorry but it’s gone, gone, gone’, as in: if he wanted work, there isn’t any.

Well there’s men hunkered down by the railroad tracksThe Elkhorn Special blowing my hair backTents pitched on the highway in the dirty moonlightAnd I don’t know where I’m gonna sleep tonight

If we thought that was bad news, though, we’re just getting started, because not only our dude isn’t the only one in that same situation (men hunkered down by the railroad tracks, referring to the fact that in the eighties a lot of people had started riding trains again like in the great depression so they slept near the railroad - the elkohorn special is the name of a train), in tents along the highway in the *dirty* moonlight which suggests you a fairly bleak, sad picture. also, he doesn’t know where he’s going to sleep tonight, which means he doesn’t even have the tent.

Parked in the lumberyard freezing our asses offMy kids in the back seat got a graveyard coughWell I’m sleeping up in front with my wifeBilly club tapping on the windshield in the middle of the nightSays “Move along man move along”

solution: sleeping in the car, since they don’t have anything else. so, the guy and his family try to sleep in the car in a lumberyard with his children being sick (graveyard cough, suggesting that it’s pretty damned bad), except that they can’t even do that because the police shows up and tells them to leave, which was apparently common practice in texas at the time (again: same thing happened to the reporters in the aforementioned book because they had a car with ohio plates…), so they can’t stay and have to *move along*, but to where? we just don’t know.

so: the guy used to be a farmer, lost his job, went down to texas to look for work with his wife and kids, didn’t find any, was treated like crap and can’t even sleep in his car with his family, the alternative is tents along the highway or a railroad in winter, his kids are sick and there’s no hint of salvation anywhere nor of government help nor… really much of anything.

Well big limousine long shiny and blackYou don’t look ahead you don’t look backHow many times can you get up after you’ve been hit?

now, that’s it for the backstory - we don’t know where the narrator ends up or if he finds work. but we learn his opinion. first of all, he talks to a generic ‘big long shiny black limousine’, which we can automatically assume means that he’s talking to someone rich (or the idea of someone rich) who could afford such a car (he certainly can) accusing them of not looking ahead ( = not seeing the consequences of their greed, which we can tie back to the oil drill in the first part that started our guy’s problems) and of not looking back ( = can mean that they don’t care for who comes behind them in wealth or that they don’t remember not being wealthy or both), and then asks them, how many times can you get up after being hit, as in, how many times could you fall on your feet before you end up like me?

we just don’t know, but probably more than the narrator… though one supposes the narrator is hoping the time comes for them, too. that becomes veery clear in the next part:

Well I swear if I could spare the spitI’d lay one on your shiny chromeAnd send you on your way back home

if he could spare the spit (which suggests he can’t, so maybe they barely even have means to drink and eat) he’d use it to spit on the limousine ie what stands for enormous undeserved wealth that a) the narrator will never obtain, b) caused the (economical) situation that brought the narrator to misery, so we also can see that the narrator is absolutely aware that his poverty is tied with the fact that rich people don’t care for the likes of him and would throw him under the dirt in a second, nor care if he can’t support himself anymore. and then he’d send the rich person back home, if he could. but he can’t.

and that’s bleak enough, but then we get to the last part and it gets possibly worse:

So if you’re gonna leave your town where the north wind blowTo go on down where that sweet soda river flowWell you better think twice on it JackYou’re better off buying a shotgun dead off the rackYou ain’t gonna find nothing down here friendExcept seeds blowing up the highway in the south windMoving on moving on it’s gone gone it’s all gone

at this point, the narrator is addressing someone else - someone named jack who could be anyone as it’s an extremely common name - who might want to go south and tells him not to. going south means leaving a town where the north wind blows (so where it’s cold and there’s nothing for them) to go where that sweet soda river flow which paints an imagery of a river overflowing with sugary refined drink… from which poor people can’t serve themselves anyway, and according to the narrator if that is the plan, then you’re better off buying a shotgun ie killing yourself before you go south because there is nothing down there except seeds blowing up the highway in another type of wind, so the seeds they might have planted back home are getting wasted along the highway people sleep on… and everything is gone and they have nothing left.

and the fact that it’s this bleak is probably why it didn’t end up on the record proper (admittedly bitusa has a slightly different feeling so it probably wouldn’t have fit given that it’s a lot more raw and musically angry than any other song on that record except maybe bitusa but the electric version lures you in with the beat and you don’t realize how angry it is until you hear the original imvho), but it’s sadly a fairly accurate portrayal of how things were going bad economically for all the people laid off without a second chance to find something better in the late 70s-early 80s. too bad that things haven’t changed and this piece has stayed pretty much relevant even these days.

thank you anon with the roose bolton voice, I hope you enjoyed the fruits of your disappointment ;)

[logicalalo]

Carmen Sandiego and Carmen (Opera)

Episode 6 titled “The Opera in the Outback Caper”, displayed the famous opera of Carmen where a notable song called Habanera is played by Georges Bizet. I decided to delve deeper into the play itself to see if I could try to pull out anything that could be connected to the show thanks to seeing @anini--chan‘s post (link is provided below in the section about song itself). This is also to provide background knowledge of the opera.

Summary

Takes place in Spain with a man called Don Jose who is considered naive and seduced by Carmen

Result is he leaves behind his childhood sweetheart and leaves the military

A matador called Escamillo becomes Carmen’s new love interest which leads to Jose killing Carmen out of jealousy

In more detail

Act 1:

Carmen begins to sing Habanera about “untameable nature of love” and throws a flower to Jose who seems rather annoyed by her

Jose gets a letter via Micaela about his mother wishing for him to marry Micaela to which he agrees

In charge of taking Carmen to prison (currently have hands tied up), she begins to sing and dance which enchants  him and he let’s her go. He is then arrested for 2 months

Act 2:

Carmen waits for Jose who is currently in jail for 2 months, the matador guy tries to flirt with her, but her priority is Jose

He is out and Carmen tries to win him by exotic dance, she succeeds

She proposes that Jose leaves with her, he is unsure. Though after Jose attacked a superior officers, he is left with no choice but to join her

Act 3:

Carmen remarks how she is bored with Jose

Carmen’s friends do some fortune telling saying Carmen and Jose will die

The matador guy comes and says he is still in love with Carmen which angers Jose

Jose eventually leaves with Micaela cause his mother is sick, not cause he will marry Micaela

Act 4:

Carmen  and matador confess their love for one another (talk about moving on fast)

Friends warn Carmen about Jose, but she still wants to talk to him

Jose gives her a ring and she throws it, turning to walk away

Jose stabs her and sings a song confessing her killed her

Things to note

Carmen is a gypsy

Jose was part of a military, but was punished followed by him leaving it behind

Two love interest for each

Carmen has Jose and Escamillo

Jose has Carmen and Micaela

Carmen is described as a new type of hero who is more edgy and not the innocent type, but she has strong belief as said that she would rather die than not be true to herself

Sexual and jealousy

Music inspired by flamenco  

"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle"

Brief summary of an analysis by @anini--chan (make sure to check out her post!) concerning the song with Carmen and Graham.

Before she approaches Graham she is gliding/ flying down to him

Flying or being in the air is associated with birds

Song translates to “love is a rebellious bird”

Rebellious is what Carmen is as she went against VILE and birds/flying is connoted to freedom

Actual info on the song

Love is said to be rebellious because it happens when it happens as said by user sebastiantreichl “it knows no border and no laws, no prohibitions or taboos” (Genius)

Something fun and interesting to point out

In the animated direct to home film, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers, the same song is played with the same instrumental just words played around with, when Clarabelle Cow was going to drown Goofy who was tied up in an anchor. During the song is where both fall in love and leading to Clarabelle to have a change of heart and help Goofy save his friends.

Connection to CS

It’s the opera play that is being shown in Sydney where Graham is currently at

Share same name as titular character, Carmen jokes about the Opera! Carmen being her bff

When Carmen responds to Graham’s question of her name and tells him. He laughs, I don’t know if it’s a “yeah sure your name is [blank]” cause it’s a coincidence the same play that is being performed is called Carmen.

Maybe it is a setup for a love triangle romance? (This is a very far reach idea, so you can ignore this)

The play deals with love triangles which is making me nervous laugh

I feel there must be more to the show decided to focus on the opera of Carmen than just “hey an opera that is named Carmen!”

I mean VILE is sort of a military in the sense that it trains people under the same cause. Jose left and so did Graham (well more than kicked out with getting his memory erased)

Unlike Opera!Carmen, Carmen did not pressure Graham to be with her and instead opted to not meet him in order to let him live his life without danger.

If you guys think of any more please add! I just wrote an essay and my head hurts lol

Also don’t these two picture break your heart?

THOSE SOFT SMILES!!!! I'M UGLY CRYING RN