#Kurt Tennant

[cofradia-thg]

Personajes predeterminados por la administración (III)

Se busca a algunos VENCEDORES de los Juegos del Hambre.

Kurt Tennant, Distrito 2.

Sirhan Wallace, Distrito 8.

Raven Wilson, Distrito 12.

Elroy Young, Distrito 11.

ADV: Los FCs son modificables.

[cyb3rluver]

No I'm not explaining

[popfishjr]

[iamthejam]

having some thoughts tonight and came to the conclusion

I NEED A NERD RIGHT NOW

[zozowastakenagain]

Okay, so I am a Gleek as well as a Good Omens fan and I have noticed something I find quite interesting.

S2Ep6 of Glee, Kurt gets his first kiss.

S2Ep6 of Good Omens, Aziraphale and Crowley get their first kiss.

This is just that, Kurt was arguing with Karofsky about how his bullying doesn’t affect him, telling him if he hits him it would take the gay out of him. Then Karofsky kisses him, without consent, surprise. And pulls away, then Kurt fully pushes him away, covering his lips with his fingers and Karofsky walks away. While Kurt was surprised and was touching his lips.

WHILE IN GOOD OMENS!

Crowley and Aziraphale were arguing about how Heaven is toxic, that Aziraphale shouldn’t go. Then Crowley kisses Aziraphale, no consent, fully surprising him. Crowley pulls away, with Aziraphale telling him that he forgives him. Then Crowley walks out and Aziraphale touches his lips, surprised.

BOTH HAPPEN IN SEASON TWO EPISODE SIX OF TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT SHOWS THAT HAPPENED IN DIFFERENT YEARS!

[nkp1981]

Sign Spotted At Pensacola Airport, Florida

[nightguide]

WONDER BOY (HE BROKE YOUR HEART FIRST) STAGES OF A COWARD IN REAL LIFE (DONE ME DIRTY, HUH. KILLINITMURPHY)

actors hell: stargazer stage

SMWC: you hate everything in due time that you'll be great one day (like the star can burn in hell for all i care) and it's you in real life (that one moment) and you're done forever cuz she related to you in one point of time that she needed your help (but you got that joke well deep inside you to know what happens next) see ya l8r (probably the reason why pedophiles in the UK got more reasoning than you do

SH: YOU TELL EVERYBODY YOU LOVE 'HER' (actually the sore loser in real life before she came of age (admit it you're into teenagers without you even saying it)

SH8: *you intuitively tell her 'he ain't worth it' without you 'establishing proof that you had no wit no nothing' (you expected her to worship you)

2. harbingers: well done (insert statue erected in your honour cuz u had ur ass handed over by an intellectual/emotionally swarmed battle over your life as 'king' when you knew you weren't)

SMWC: you knew south park logic (you got dumped)

SH: you enjoying it (your society now, you won that) she doesnt like you frrrrrrr (gay man is not you cuz u had a wife and she plannin to dump you to join the baby gorl party you made up in your head(she was on her side too also)

SH8: you don't like teenagers but you have a thing for 'fluff fan-fic in real life' cuz you now have a reason to go emo-metal like you wanted but you have the same reasoning as Demi Lovato is into Djinns in real life (u emo levelling her journey as her now)

3. maestro become: shut the fuck up, Linna put you in your place. sit there you oh so holy mr reeves (she got a song about you with that) et centera memoriam ___________

SMWC: you hate life (like she did, congratulations, you can breathe air like the rest of us)

SH: time goes by so slowly (Madonna references is how trouble matches your ingenuity bro, u got another mentor since you hated her (actually her in real life)

SH8: this time (actually heartbroken now)

4. dante's paradox: sit with it

SMWC: complete your chores (you procrastinating)

SH: enjoy what's left of you

SH8: your mom is alive

5. judgement day: you knew all along but had that sudden attack realisation that her father does not like you and it's true

SMWC: you felt like her once and this is it (she wanted the best for you but she did her homework (like you wanted her to) but it was never for you: her father is a dajjal to you now (you started the fire now you live in it)

SH: her dreams 'with you' have a maiden voyage and you ain't on it

SH8: you hate living (you knew why)

6. gaiman's hell: now you do it (this time, it's all your fault. not the woman or anybody)

SMWC: you have a lot in your mind that you delayed that you should do (she was once a university student that gave up her job to work for you is now in reverse, it's her kingdom now)

SH: she actually is you (you made her do it and you live it (her home is your hell abode now)

SH8: this is you (you ain't in her psyche, get out)

7. babylon unbroken: hay day (freedom come is you living her life)

SMWC: you knew the party but did not have you running 9gag on her behalf to hate you right back (your religion did not match her high heaven ideals but you hate what you like so you took it out on a- and it's not yours anymore)

SH: you died for tha- and it was her who lived your life (you're an asshole in real life)

SH8: take a look what you've done (she hates you cuz you had what she always dreamed of and you did not like her 'being better' but you hate her world made for you now much more than intuitively possessing her gut for your mistakes to unfold (ND baby did you ugly, didn't she?)

8. kingdom come: world ended (now)

SMWC: what did you do! (she made you think but you kept her slave hunger by tragedy heartbreak cuz you think you can prey on a baby in real time)

SH: you're not in her home anymore (you made her pray for 'you' all along, so you have her craft in you to take over the world as a happy giant not even you can find)

SH8: you did her a massive favour (she got her dad involved and now it's trauma he asked for: good luck with that)

9. pythagorean theorem: what now (you the hero now)

SMWC: live it (your reason to be)

SH: you have a life (she doesn't believe in your traps anymore that control came in the form of you taking her own world with it (what you possessed in actual reality)

SH8: this time, i'll do it for myself (you plan to leave her with a dream reason of you that you'll never be (you hate yourself right now as her but that was what you always wanted, to be a Linna Riaz is you making strings that she can never be a slave, so you realised that you got her in chains as you possessing a baby is you being a dajjal to.... nobody. you a shit head in real time.

[im-the-son-of-rage-and-lov3]

Kurt Cobain ass fit.

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Submissions for the hottest 80s male musicians

Go wild everyone! We have 256 slots to fill!

Submissions 202/256

List of submitted people

Phil Collins 

Michael Monroe

Duff McKagan

Vince Neil

Kee Marcello

Michael Sweet

Roger Taylor 

Joe Elliott

Sting

Michael Hutchence

Bono

Larry Mullen Jr.

Tom Petty

Axl Rose 

Razzle Dingley

Eddie Van Halen

Dave Mustaine

Nikki Sixx 

Morten Harket

Tommy Lee

John Deacon 

Zakk Wylde

Steven Adler

Slash 

Izzy Stradlin 

Jon Bon Jovi

Richie Sambora

Kelly Nickels

Bret Michaels

Warren Demartini

Sebastian Bach

Rachel Bolan

Jerry Harrison

Eric Brittingham

Steven Tyler

George Harrison

Brian May

Tom Keifer

Mick Mars

Paul Stanley

Joey Tempest

Jani Lane

Prince

David Bowie

Ozzy Osbourne

Sami Yaffa

Angus Young

Rikki Rockett

David Lee Roth

Bobby Dall

Robin Zander

Eric Bazilian

Jimmy Page

Kirk Hammett

James Hetfield

Jason Newsted

Morrissey

Nick Beggs

Steve Clark

Chris Lowe

Rick Savage

Robert Smith

Robbin Crosby

David Sylvian

Daryl Hall

John Oates

Rod Stewart

Billy Squier

Nasty Suicide

Geddy Lee

David Coverdale

George Lynch

Randy Rhoads

Alice Cooper

David Bryan

Steven Sweet

Freddie Mercury

Terry Hall

Stone Gossard

Nuno Bettencourt

Bruce Kulick

Leif Garett

Adam Yauch

Mike Tramp

Blixa Bargeld

Dave Vanian

Nick Cave

Gary Numan

C.C. DeVille

Bryan Adams

Eazy-E

Bob Dylan

Bernard Sumner

Kenny Loggins

Richard Marx

Lionel Richie

Patrick Swayze

Billy Ocean

Michael Stipe

Corey Hart

Murray Head

David Byrne

Warren Cuccurullo

Rob Zombie

Russell Mael

Mark Mothersbaugh

Martin L. Gore

Dave Gahan

Tracii Guns

Phil Lewis

John Cougar Mellencamp

Jon Farriss

Roland Orzabal

Yoshiki

Billy Joel

Weird Al Yankovic

Joe Strummer

Billy Idol

John Taylor

Michael McDonald

Klaus Nomi

Rob Halford

George Michael

Terence Trent D'Arby

Joe Perry

Paul Williams

Brad Whitford

Stephen Pearcy

Juan Croucier

Bobby Blotzer

MC Hammer

Rick James

Eddie Murphy

Mick Jagger

Don Johnson

James Lomenzo

Meat Loaf

Keith Richards

Ronnie Wood

Cliff Williams

Lars Ulrich

Cliff Burton

Steve Harris

Dave Murray

Adrian Smith

Bruce Dickinson

Marian Gold

Bernhard Lloyd

Frank Mertens

Per Gessle

Tim Farriss

Kirk Pengilly

Rockwell

Andy Scott

Brian Connolly

Peter Wolf

Bruce Springsteen

Jason Becker

Neil Tennant

John Norum

Alex Lifeson

Neil Peart

Paul Simon

Art Garfunkel

Nick Rhodes

Andy Fletcher

Alan Wilder

Robert Sweet

Oz Fox

Magne Furuholmen

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

Dave Stewart

John Rees

Thomas Anders

Huey Lewis

Adam Ant

Falco

Rick Springfield

Martin Fry

Mark King

Jerry Dixon

Paul Simonon

Howard Jones

Paul Young

Clark Datchler

John Waite

Rick Allen

Paul Engemann

Kurt Maloo

John Levén

Mic Michaeli

Ian Haugland

Erik Turner

Dr. Robert (Robert Howard)

Rick Wright

Andy Taylor

Tony Thompson

Robert Palmer

Brian Johnson

Neil Murray

Rudy Sarzo

Vivian Campbell

@tournament-announcer

[ingravinoveritas]

David Tennant stroking another man’s hair, flirting with Alex Brooker, singing about a vibrator, wearing that wig and dancing and swinging his hips like that and finally, MICHAEL SHEEN MENTION. Bragging about being above Michael in the Dilf list like a little brat like WOW he’s about to get his ass spanked tonight

I am honestly so living for David bringing out his bratty bottom side, which I feel like is a side we don't get to see nearly often enough...

(Also, for those who haven't seen the full video of David's appearance on TLL, you can watch it on Youtube here.)

I know the moment in the gif above is supposed to be him as Gwyneth Paltrow, but all I was getting was campy, bisexual British Kurt Cobain, right down to the jumper (which oddly does look like something Kurt would've worn in the grunge era). And we can't remotely overlook the fact that David was wearing rainbow/pride gear from head to toe tonight, from the rainbow buttons on his shirt (you can see them under the jumper) to the Tardis trans pride flag pin all the way down to his rainbow socks...

And then, of course, there was the Michael mention. At this point, it honestly feels like whatever is happening between them is a big open secret (at the very least, I have a strong feeling the host Adam knows, and probably also Josh Widdicome), because it is impossible anymore to have one on as a guest without bringing up the other. In this case, it almost felt like the DILF of the Year competition was another excuse to mention Michael, and then to see David fully preening over outranking him was just...beyond glorious.

As to the aforementioned spanking, I fully concur with you. There's something in particular about this show, knowing that it was filmed live, and it's almost as if David behaved as bratty as he did because he knew a certain Welshman would be watching (giving very similar vibes to when David was on the Late Late Show in 2021). I can already so clearly picture the exchange between them after this (hopefully immediately after, since Michael is still in London and David could readily have gone to see him once the taping ended)...

"I'm more DILFy--DILFy, is that a word? Hmm--than you, Michael. According to the Internet people, that is." "Mmh. Yes, the all-wise, all-knowing Internet people." "You don't agree?" "Brat." "Ah, but you love me." "Don't think I could stop if I wanted to." "So you don't mind that the Internet thinks I'm more of a DILF than you?" "I think I'm the one who gets to fuck you, so the Internet can get bloody stuffed." "Funny, I was rather hoping I'd get stuffed right about now." "Cheeky slag. Turn around and take your trousers off." "You're so easy, Michael." "Shut up, Dai."

So yes, David's appearance on The Last Leg tonight was certainly quite something. I truly love seeing that part of him come alive, the part that he once spoke of in an interview where he talked about being a little boy and putting a towel on his head to entertain his classmates. I think deep inside, David has never stopped being that little boy, and there is something so special about seeing that part of him getting to be free.

Definitely hoping as well that we might get to see/hear Michael's reaction to all of this, but he still seems a bit quiet on Twitter these days (and if he's busy spending long nights with David, one can hardly blame him). I suppose we'll just have to see what happens...

[thealogie]

Ty Tennant's Kurt Cobain cosplay is wild. Lets hope he outgrows those filters unlike Paul Mescal

who among us has not cosplayed a rock star and overused filters at 22.

[cofradia-thg]

Personajes predeterminados por la administración (II)

Se busca a algunos VENCEDORES de los Juegos del Hambre.

Jocelyn Davis, Distrito 3.

Halsey Matthews, Distrito 7.

Crystal Phillis, Distrito 2.

Troy Simon, Distrito 11.

ADV: Los FCs son modificables.

[cyb3rluver]

Lemme explain something, Yes I'm aro/Ace and yes I want to fuck fictional characters but that's it ONLY FICTIONAL CHARACTERS not real people

Thank you for listening to my Ted talk.

[jackstanleyroberts]

The Cast of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise Part 2

Aloha everybody, sorry for the delay because i was starting part 2 of the storyline of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise, but i'll be starting part 2 of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise. What if Neve Campbell is shown up the 6th installment without pay dispute? But if you liked part 1, here's part 2 of the cast of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise.

Synopsis: The four survivors of the Ghostface attacks & their new friends leave Woodsboro & headed to New York for a fresh start. Soon they're all about finding themselves in the fight of their lives when a another killer starts a bloody rampage & the other survivors also find themselves in a plot where nobody is safe & beyond suspicion.

Scream VI (Extended Cut) Cast:

Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter

Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin

Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin

Jack Roberts (me) as Terrence William "Terry" Watkins

Chosen Jacobs as Lawrence James "Larry" Watkins

Meg Donnelly as Lexi Hicks

Olivia Scott Welch as Wendy Hicks

Jacob Bertrand as William "Will" Hicks

Jackson Brundage as Frederick "Fred" Hicks

Emily Rudd as Carrie Tatum Riley-Weathers

Isabelle Fuhrman as Rebecca "Becca" Bishop

Braeden Lemasters as Matthew Bishop

Deja Monique Cruz as Laura "Lori" Sanchez

Ysa Penarejo as Miranda Rodriguez

Joshua Bassett as Connor "Cash" Conway

Joey King as Yvonne Conway

Ross Lynch as Ronald "Rory" Williams

Jade Pettyjohn as Graceland "Grace" Prescott

Emily Meade as Elena Connors

Sophia Lillis as Grace-Lynn "Gracie" Moore

Kathryn Newton as Kathleen "Kathy" Williamson

Julia Rehwald as Katherine "Katie" Jones

Melissa Collazo as Isabella "Izzy" Yales

Hayden Byerly as Damien "Dame" Yales

Akiel Julien as Malik Hubar

Karan Brar as Craig Karbar

Odessa A'zion as Susan Winters

Violett Beane as Eleanor "Ellie" Winters

Madison Davenport as Gabrielle "Gabby" Stafford

Talitha Eliana Bateman as Yolanda Preston

Gabriel Bateman as Philip "Phil" Preston

Megan Stott as Kimberly "Kim" Watson

Charlie Plummer as Samuel Johnathan "Sam" Kincaid

Katherine Langford as Jennifer Annie "Jenny" Kincaid

Rachel Zegler as Emily Jones

Annalise Basso as Andrea Lewis

Jodelle Ferland as Joanna Thompson

Rachel Fox as Angela Stewart

Mackenzie Foy as Luna Stewart

Jimmy Bennett as Andrew "Andy" Anderson

Mickeey Nguyen as Sylvester Bradford

Brandon Soo Hoo as Takahashi Bradford

Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers

Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed

Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott

Joe Keery as Johnny Landry

Jack Champion as Ethan Landry

Dermot Mulroney as Wayne Bailey

Liana Liberato as Quinn Bailey

Logan Lerman as Quentin Bailey

Judah Lewis as Derek Shepherd

Brec Bassinger as Lillian "Lilly" Davis

Jessica Stroup as Riley Davis

Michael Rainey Jr. as Anthony "Anton" Mercer

Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Susie Kayoko

Havana Rose Liu as Hannah Kayoko

Devyn Nekoda as Anika Kayoko

Josh Segarra as Danny Brackett

Kiernan Shipka as Danielle "Dani" Brackett

Anthony Ramos as Nicholas "Nick" Rodriguez

Rachel Sennott as Theresa "Tree" Hicks

Ed Speleers as Alexander "Alex" Miller

Madison Iseman as Alexandra "Allie" Miller

Spencer Locke as Ellen Hoffman

Brianne Tju as June Dawson

Denyse Tontz as Laura Morris

Holland Roden as Gloria Smith

Addison Rae as Natalie Foster

Emily Alyn Lind as Audrey Owens

Sarah Bolger as Simone Martin

Elizabeth McLaughlin as Jessie Crane

Finn Wolfhard as Stanley Lance "Stan" Williams

Natalie Alyn Lind as Natasha Longwood

Taylor Russell as Holly McDaniel

Paige Hurd as Hayley McDaniel

Logan Miller as Lincoln Jefferson

Emily Tennant as Cynthia Cooper

Tequan Richmond as Maurice Lakewood

Zac Godspeed as Tyler Ferguson

Daniel Sharman as Kurt Parker

Jordan Elsass as Taylor Ferguson

Emma Roberts as Jillian "Jill" Roberts

Samantha Boscarino as Elaine Williams

India Eisley as Alivia Williams

Milo Manheim as Zackary "Zack" Feldman

Stefanie Scott as Caroline "Carol" Feldman

Anna Sawai as Alexis Williams

Haley Lu Richardson as Bethany "Beth-Ann" Lewis

Mekai Curtis as Reginald "Reggie" Stark

Kaia Gerber as Taylor Swanson

Jeremy Ray Taylor as Maurice Thompson

Wyatt Oleff as Wyatt Matthews

Jaz Sinclair as Jordan Harris

Lisa Yamada as Jane Dawson

Percy Hynes White as Nathaniel "Nathan" Walters

Alycia Debnam-Carey as Iris Morris

Jaeden Martell as Landon Andrews

Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis

Benjamin Flores Jr. as Edward Baker

Fred Henchinger as Darren Blake

Tony Revolori as Jason Carvey

Samara Weaving as Laura Crane

Henry Czerny as Dr. Christopher Stone

Roger L. Jackson as the voice of Ghostface

The storyline of this (The Extended Cut of Scream VI) is coming soon after this.

Stay Tuned!

[yummytiger]

here me out people

my dreamcast for a new X-Men Movie(so far)(feel free to add more characters that aren't taken in this post :P)

Mark Strong as Charles Xavier/Professor X

Dacre Montgomery as Logan Howlett/Wolverine

David Dastmalchian as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Margot Robbie as Raven Darkholme/Mystique

Michael Sheen as Dr Hank McCoy/Beast

David Tennant as Scott Summers/Cyclops

[final-fantasy-as-literature]

Maycomb Blume and "Reading" Loveless in Rebirth

Heya, folks. SPOILERS ahead for Rebirth. Loveless is the only thing that should be spoiled, but I do mention foreshadowing for another event without stating the event.

Content Warning: Death is mentioned, and there is an image of a skull being held by David Tenant. This should be the only time I have to provide a David Tennant warning on this blog /s.

I've let this blog go dormant since I started it and emptied it out, but I wanted to use it. Originally, I started this blog to chronicle my readings of FF7, FF8, and FF9 as adaptations of Xiyouji, but that didn't feel like an easy thing to start with.

I did have the first section of a close reading of Loveless as it appears in English posted here, but I wanted to restart with pointing out how "reading" video games more deeply can be rewarding and is something you probably already have the tools to do if you went to primary school in the past 30 or so years. I will throw the close reading back on here when I've edited it, but I want to be doing something with this blog that isn't quite so deeply analytical to start. I also like adding images to break up text, and this is one of the few places I can do that with alt text for accessibility. Tumblr doesn't like outside links, though, so win some, lose some.

I wanna focus on Loveless from Rebirth with one critical lens among many that you can use to find your own meaning from it. You can even use weaker lenses, like the monomyth and its mother goddess guiding a hero or a Wagnerian reading, if you want. Loveless is a story about heroes on the stage set to music, even if it doesn't neatly line up with either lens. One could display how it resists interpretation by those lenses, for example. In any case,

You Probably Already Know About Literature

Loveless is a play. Even being in a game, it is a play that bears features common to European and American plays and operas from the 16th Century to the modern day. While some parts may be foreign to what you were taught in school, like the operatic portion at the beginning and the lead-solo at the end, the three-to-five act structure with exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action is something quite common to primary education in a lot of countries.

If you were taught this in primary school, you were probably also taught it through a few key authors, artists, directors, and playwrights. If you're from the US, those names likely included some people like James Baldwin, Harper Lee, Kurt Vonnegut, and maybe a few authors from South America like Julio Cortázar or Laura Esquivel. Without doubt, though, I bet you had to read Shakespeare.

That isn't without good reason. Regardless of what you think about him or his works, Shakespeare's words have been enjoyed and remade countless times around the world in many languages. His dominance of theater of a European style is to the point that some of his lines in isolation, ripped of their context, are enough to call to mind the drama on stage to much of the world.

If I say "To be or not to be..." most native English speakers are already finishing the line or jumping ahead to picture a skull in hand, dramatically lamenting a fellow of infinite jest who now has none who would mock his grin. I've seen the same happen with "Ser o no ser..." and "Sein oder Nichtsein..." in non-literary conversations.

David Tennant not mocking Yorick's grin as Hamlet. Image retrieved from Yorick on Wikipedia, originally from BBC article Bequeathed skull stars in Hamlet.

But, that aside, a piece of Loveless begins before the play, somewhat like the earlier events of Hamlet reflecting in his own play within a play.

You Probably Already Know How to Find Out More About Literature.

If you went to school in the age of the internet, you probably had to do research online to back up your writing in an essay on some piece of media you might not have cared about. Maybe you just found a website, reputable or not, that made an argument you could pull a quote from and stick in your writing. Hopefully, though, there was at least a time or two where you genuinely connected with a piece of assigned media and wanted to see what you could find from scholars about the plot, symbols, style, etc. to inform and elaborate on your own thoughts. I want to do that second one with Aerith's pseudonym for the solo at the end of Loveless, Maycomb Blume.

If you put "Maycomb Blume" into a search engine, I'm using Google through a VPN on a clean device, you're probably going to see a wall of FF7-related pages discussing the name. Unfortunately, those aren't the best sources for doing more than stimulating reflection on your own ideas. Most of them seem to come to a homophonic conclusion that it sounds like "make em bloom" that first appeared on a fan Twitter account. However, you might see an article or two about a book by Harper Lee set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama - To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you look into them, you'll see that they tend to be reflecting on the resistance, or lack thereof, to oppression present in the novel by its protagonists. At first, that may seem tenuous, but let's follow the string and look into the Maycomb part of Maycomb Blume. A large piece of Final Fantasy VII is resistance or lack of resistance to oppression bringing characters together or pushing them apart, after all.

If you look up 'Maycomb' by itself, you will quickly find that it almost exclusively refers to the fictional town of Maycomb invented by Harper Lee. Google Ngram Viewer confirms this, showing virtually zero mentions of 'Maycomb' until the release of To Kill a Mockingbird. As a deliberate choice of translation, they sure did pick a unique word, no? But what about the "Blume" part? That isn't exactly an uncommon word, and it has myriad variations.

The results of a Google Ngram Viewer search for Maycomb, showing the sudden increase in the appearance of the word Maycomb in text after Lee's publication. Image screenshot from Google Ngram Viewer on October 19, 2024.

If you keep digging and do more looking, you might find that one of the most famous, influential, and controversial literary critics, Shakespeare scholars, and Harry Potter-haters in the world, Harold Bloom, was the editor for an anthology of critical essays on To Kill a Mockingbird. If you know anything about him, you might be aware of his idea that all works of literature are essentially "remakes" that carry influence from the ideas and stories they are latecomers to. This idea is what he called the anxiety of influence.

Harold Bloom, the man who hated Harry Potter before it was cool. Image retrieved from Wikipedia, by Bernard Gotfryd and originally obtained from the page Bernard Gotfryd on the Library of Congress website.

So what did Bloom have to say about Lee's most famous work in this text? Not much, as he was the editor of the volume, but he did say that the protagonists weren't what one would call heroes, but reflections of a sensibility that saw itself without the need to change in the face of racism:

The crises of [Scout’s] book confirm her in her intrinsic strength and goodness, without wounding her sensibility or modifying her view of reality.

So, where our initial look might lead us to a simple homophonic "it sounds like 'make em bloom,'" our deeper look leaves us with a lens from a scholar most focused on works of poetry on the stage, the anxiety of influence, and a theme with which to use that lens with, growth of a protagonist in the face of oppression. These tools seem appropriate for a work that is explicitly part of a "remake" of an earlier work that deals heavily with oppression, how people do or do not resist it, and what that leads them to do - so how well do they apply to Loveless?

You Probably Know How to Apply This to Loveless

Again, if you went to primary school in an English-speaking country in the past 30 years, you were probably taught the basics of how to apply critical lenses to any media you consume. If you had to read A Modest Proposal and discuss how well Jonathan Swift satirizes the plight of the poor in Ireland and upper-class reactions to it, you were being exposed to rudimentary Class or Marxist Criticism. In the US, you might have also been exposed to it while reading The Great Gatsby or The Grapes of Wrath. If you had to analyze the symbols in an Edgar Allan Poe work and explain the ideas, sensations, emotions, and images they called up for you and how well they served the work as they were written, you were being exposed to rudimentary New Criticism. In the US, you might have also been exposed to it while reading Song of Myself or listening to I Have a Dream.

Edward Manet's interpretation of the visit of the raven, both chaotic and clear. Image retrieved from The Raven on Wikipedia, originally on the Library of Congress website linked by a dead link.

The anxiety of influence, or Bloomian criticism, is just like those lenses in that it is a tool for you to apply as an individual reader. Primary schools don't often use even rudimentary Bloomian criticism, though, because it requires a knowledge of a canon, or a body of important works at its simplest, but introducing you to a canon is part of what studying literature in primary school does. Once you have at least a familiarity with a canon, you can start to identify how works influenced by that canon build upon it to deliver their own stories in a way that might or might not change how you read those original works.

Remember how I brought up the "to be or not to be..." soliloquy near the start of this? Are you minimally familiar with Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear?

If yes, you can apply rudimentary Bloomian criticism to Loveless.

Actually Doing It

The operatic bit of Loveless and the title itself mirror the central tragedy of King Lear: three would-be heroes vie to prove their love for King Lear and all but one are proven loveless. Even more in-line, they are a blonde would-be hero who is imprisoned (Cordelia), a would-be hero with black hair who is slain (Regan), and a would-be hero with red hair whose life is cut short (Goneril).

The Three daughters of King Lear by Gustav Pope. From left to right are Regan, Goneril, and Cordelia. Image retrieved from King Lear on Wikipedia.

The three would-be heroes of Loveless raising their swords. Of the three, only Alphreid on the left is given explicit name, but parallels between the three and other characters within and without the Compilation may be drawn.

While there is a "mother goddess" in the mix, understanding it here without a background understanding of possible precursors (like Campbell's mother goddess or the Guanyin of Chinese/Japanese Buddhism from which he derived it, in part) would only serve to make this longer in explanation. As it goes, she is one of the primary features of the play which connect Loveless to Final Fantasy VII as a whole, but understanding the reason for her inclusion is impossible without looking at FF7 as a whole. As it stands, Loveless can be understood as a work in its own right in a similar way to how Hamlet's play can be understood as a character in the play rehearsing his own mode. That is; Loveless is informative even without understanding Remake and Rebirth in whole.

Already, though, we see that we've reached the point of tragedy of King Lear: it is not long after the imprisonment of Cordelia that she is hanged and her father dies of grief and madness. The Fool, though, appears to deliver the reveal of Bloomian clinamen, the swerving away an author (or authors) makes from the precursors when they create their own misprison (work of art/poetry/literature/etc).

Where King Lear ends shortly after Cordelia's imprisonment, Loveless only truly begins there, and the Fool, a character used to communicate the true nature of things, appears. It is fitting, then, that the character who communicates the true nature of things appears again here as the only character without change or loss in title, being the Fool in both King Lear and Loveless. He introduces us to Alphreid, who himself calls back to the madness of loveless Shakespearean tragedies with his "To proceed... or not to proceed!" line after the tutorial.

Cloud as Alphreid putting on his theater shoes and reminding the reader of the question.

Where Hamlet and Cordelia are condemned to tragedy because of their rejection of love or the rejection of their love, though, Alphreid is freed and empowered by his newfound acceptance of the Goddess' love through the hand of Rosa. This reveals the tessera of the work, the fragment that can be used with other fragments of the work to show where the author (or authors) suggest that the precursors did not go far enough. Hamlet and King Lear, then, are filled with nothing but villains and victims who refuse to embrace the power of love of all things. This makes sense, as those were tragedies.

This blends with the daemonization the work employs, a Counter-Sublime in reaction to the Sublime of the precursors. This is the evidencing of the tessera from before in the way even nature, thundering with Alphreid's rally, reveals in Loveless the counter to the Shakespearean idea that lovelessness flattens all. Where Cordelia and Ophelia die to lack of true love from even one person, Alphreid becomes empowered by love for all things. This reflects even in the reader's/player's ability to progress no matter who they declare their love for among Varvados, Garm, and Rosa, as love conquers all and lack of love flattens. Garm and Varvados, who refuse love, can be expected to fail as long as the player continues.

In hand with the application of the daemonization employed is the kenosis, the breaking device used by an author (or authors) to empty their own work and that of the precursors of their nature as literature. Here, the authors remind the reader that they are playing a game by forcing them to interact to continue Alphreid's story, breaking the illusion of the game's reality while highlighting that Hamlet and King Lear can be put on the shelf as well if you don't wish to continue. Yet, the reader does.

And, when they do, they find revealed in it the reality of the second-to-last revisionary ratio of the anxiety of influence, askesis, the movement stressing the individuality of the author (or authors). They find it most clearly in the Fool of Loveless, pleading with the audience in soliloquy where he calls upon central, humanizing lines of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, and Troilus and Cresside to humanize the creators of his misprison and the misprisons embodied in its precursors,

Cait Sith as the Fool doing his best to evoke pathos for the reader through allusion to the end of things.

Friends, lend me your ears. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar) Our inspiring hero's and indomitable princess's tale draws to a close. Only one act remains. Parting is indeed such sweet sorrow. (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) But as they say, all good things must come to an end. (Chaucer/Shakespeare, Trolius and Criseyde/Troilus and Cressida) Though it is our wish that this tale remain with you long after we are gone.

Emphasis and parenthetical additions mine.

Almost in those words, the Fool draws the reader of both King Lear and Loveless to consider the work as its own unique and novel expression; though, the Fool of King Lear simply tasks the reader with recognizing the application of Lear's lessons. The Fool of Loveless, however, calls on the reader to keep the work as a novel piece with them even as they finish the work.

Even more, it seems to remind the reader that an end in death is soon to come, for Mark Antony was lamenting the death of Caesar in his "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..." speech, Juliet was foreshadowing in a good night that her cherishing might kill Romeo when she described parting as sorrow and grief, and Chaucer was describing the parting of Criseyde despite the pleas of Troilus when he said, "every thing hath ende" (which Shakespeare later modified). For all of these works, the Fool seems to be showing the ways in which this story will show an end isn't quite so simple - that a death isn't so simple as ending everything for those who survive.

The last of the revisionary ratios of the anxiety of influence, the opening of the work near the end of the author's (or authors') life that reveals the precursors' influence which is apohprades, is evident across the work in the blatant allusions we just discussed and in the name of the trilogy of works that contains it: Remake.

Cloud putting on his standoffish act as Alfred. The translation has served to better the depth, as even Alphreid is the portmanteau of Siegfried and Alberich from The Ring Cycle, highlighting Cloud's dualism.

As the creators of the 1997 release age and face death's tyranny, the anxiety of influence begets renewed misprison that causes the authors to reveal the precursors to their work with their reactions to them. Isolated to just Loveless, a reader can see a return of Shakespeare into a work that originally copied the format he used without clearly showing his presence to reveal a new reading of his most prominent tragedies. This reading, even, mirrors that of Bloom's reading of To Kill a Mockingbird: the tragedies of Shakespeare were preventable or survivable for more of the characters with the same force that could have prevented the crisis of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Why Does This Matter?

Because the curtains don't have to be blue if they mean something to you or the person that made them, and finding meaning in even just a small part of a work can reveal meaning to you in the whole and in other things you enjoy. If we can see Loveless as a take on growth through love of all things and people in the face of oppression influenced by a myriad precursors through baby's first Bloomian lens, we can do that with the Remake trilogy as a whole, even before it is completed. That, even, is just one critical lens that can be used. Jacob Geller has a critique of Midgar as presented in Remake through the lens of architecture and an Akira Kurosawa film that leans towards Class/Marxist Criticism, for example.

I know this was long, but I am rather determined to help people understand that the literacy skills and canons their teachers tried to impart on them are useful outside of reading those same canonical works. Final Fantasy VII suffers from surface-level readings (as opposed to something like Silent Hill or Outer Wilds), but we don't have to read any work like that, especially if we can evidence more deep readings with the text.

So, thanks if you read this far; though, you probably didn't need me to tell you about this stuff if you did.

If you're interested in the Xiyouji thing, it isn't my bigger project, but I'm gonna be semi-regularly posting readings of characters, locations, fiends, concepts, and events as seen in Remake and Rebirth through the lens of adapting Xiyouji. I'll probably be posting Barret Wallace as Sandy first, but it is a tossup between Red XIII as Red Boy, the Trio as the Three from Gensomaden Saiyuki, or The Crow's Nest's Colin as the Crow's Nest Zen Master after that. I wanted to start with this to demonstrate the idea in a smaller part and remind people why they were taught media literacy in school, though. The The Norse Myths That Inspired Final Fantasy VII guy, M.J. Gallagher, seems to be trying to do that in a way, too, but he went a different direction from Dragon Quest and the king of Xiyouji adaptations that come from Japan who helped make it - Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball.

The first appearance of Goku by Akira Toriyama also beginning his journey as an adapted Monkey on a cloud towards becoming the Buddha Victorious in Strife. Image retrieved from Goku on Wikipedia.