#We obviously can’t hold it to HIGH standards

[cavernfullofexistentialdread]

My thoughts on FIVE

LONG POST AHEAD

I found it promising, I’ll tell you that much. I do have to acknowledge my bias towards to this piece of art. It’s WONDERFUL that a musical like SIX has sparked so much creativity and is even getting a parody!! WE’VE MADE IT INTO THE HALL OF FAME QUEENDOM!!

ALSO FUCKING JAIME??? STARKID FANS RISE UP!!

I’m was giving this thing the benefit of the doubt. I was sort of confused when I first learned about it, and I had this gut feeling that I’d hate it. I honestly thought it was kind of weird that we’re using this to make a parody of… TRUMP of all people??? Like these women are still ALIVE to my knowledge.

My only wish is that they acknowledge and give their opinion on this musical in some way because say it with me now; THEIR STILL ALIVE AND HAVE THE RIGHT TO AN OPINION ON HOW THEIR VIEWED!

However I have not seen it yet and I am excited to see what my favorite musical has inspired! …Is what I’d be saying if I hadn’t read some reviews. It seems the general consensus is that while it is funny it’s not as innovative in its humor as it could be. And it may not have done what it wanted

As this TheaterMania review states

“A musical send-up of the women in Trump’s orbit, Five: The Parody Musical, would seem to be just what the doctor ordered as we face the prospect of yet another Trump administration. So why wasn’t I laughing?“

I thought this article was being a little harsh on this musical, until I read THIS.

“The few genuinely funny moments in Five spring entirely from Jen Wineman’s adequate production — her choreography is both simplistic and sloppily executed, which is funny in its own way — and the ingenuity of the actors.”

I was surprised by this, the advertising leaned heavily into the humor of it all. The fact that it was a parody—“LOOK OUT SIX!” And “MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AGAIN!” made me excited to see how they’d creatively dunk on Trump. Like how SIX had done with Henry VIII

Then I remembered what else this article had said in regards to the humor

“The jokes generally hit three points: Donald Trump is orange, he has a small penis, and he likes getting peed on. This is territory that our overpopulated heard of late-night hosts have already stomped to death — without asking audiences to fork over the price of an off-Broadway ticket.””

And I was getting suspicious, so I looked at some more reviews. This article spends a lot of time dogging on FIVE and I was still trying to hold out hope.

This review from StageandCinema is a lot more kind! I was excited to find out what went RIGHT! About this musical!

“Five is much more sexual and crude in its descriptions of being fucked by Donald Trump. Hearing about his small prick and his sexual escapades (especially from pornstar Stormy), I struggled to immediately delete such images from my mind’s eye. The thought of Donald in any sexual act turned my stomach, which may have kept me from laughing. Perhaps nausea and comedy cancel each other out?”

OH… UHM…

Of course in the end they do have the same acknowledgment at the end of SIX, “Just because we were fucked by Donald Trump doesn’t mean we need to fuck each other over.” (A direct quote from the end of the paragraph containing the previous quote)

Through this article I also found out that this is actually a jukebox parody! (Which is when you parody existing songs in order to use it in the plot of a musical story telling medium). Which honestly was a welcome surprise. They’re not ashamed that is a BLATANT parody.

Okay! Let’s see what else we can find!

“It did seem like a clever idea, for at least five seconds”

WOW okay…

This article then goes on to discuss some political and legal matters that has come up surrounding the Sex worker that Trump is going against in court. He IS the first president with a criminal record (he went to court for sexual abuse, and also was impeached)

The article puts it perfectly

“Given such news of late, it’s increasingly difficult for me to appreciate, or even tolerate, a trivial show like “Five.” The creative team hasn’t read the room.”

This isn’t a fuck you to Trump supporters, this isn’t seriously discussing Trump’s effect on these women in ANY sort of fashion, this isn’t even ABOUT discussing Trump’s political status. It’s about parodying SIX and making fun of these women. The main selling point is “WHAT IF SIX BUT TRUMP!?”

“But even those who still view political humor as political armor will be disappointed, because “Five” seems little interested in Trump’s treatment of women, much less his threat to American democracy; instead, its main target is “Six.”  As political commentary, “Five” is near witless, tasteless, and toothless. But even just as a parody of “Six,” it’s too on the nose. If some theatergoers will find “Five” entertaining, I suspect it’ll largely be because its talented six-member cast makes the most of the moments in the show that add up to a stealth, second-rate “Forbidden Broadway.”

This review is BRUTAL it points out the flaws it see’s in FIVE with wit full words. This article was my turning point. It made me genuinely start to be dissatisfied with a show I HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN YET.

““Five” is not an exercise in female empowerment; the women in Trump’s lives are most often mocked.  Nor is it a takedown of a would-be tyrant; zingers against Trump rarely get more sophisticated than commenting on the size of his penis or calling him the orange bitch or orange troll.”

This is an insult to the very FABRIC of my opinions. THIS WAS A PARODY OF SIX. OF SIX. INCLUDE STUFF FROM SIX. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE MORAL DOES NOT MEAN YOU TAUGHT IT. TRUMP IS NOT A GOOD PERSON.

THIS IS A PARODY OF SIX. BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR INSULTS! IF YOU’RE MAKING A PARODY ABOUT TRUMP THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE SUFFARAGE OF WOMEN AND WHAT WE DO WITH TRAGEDY; FUCKING SHOW IT!

This is so obviously anti-Trump. But it does’t FEEL that way. It feels against these women as well. Which is strange, considering it’s supposed to be like SIX.

Don’t get me wrong I fucking HATE TRUMP CAN’T WAIT FOR HIS ACTIONS TO CATCH UP TO HIM. But HOLY SHIT this is NOT where I thought this musical was going!

I plan on looking more into this musical, but these are my thoughts for now. I was initially a hater, turned skeptic, turned confused and insulted.

Look—I don’t WANT to be so hateful about something I haven’t seen. But if THIS is what reviews are saying (and there’s barely any of them) then WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH IT???

I WANT THESE ACTRESSES TO HAVE AMAZING CAREERS! But if THIS is the show their put on, a show that is INSULTING women… then what???

[steddiewithachance]

Will You Still Need Me?

Summary: Steve Harrington is avoiding telling his professional-musician-boyfriend, Eddie, that he's going deaf because he's worried about what will happen when he does.

Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Or Read on AO3

June 13, 1992: A month later

Steve startles awake when he hears something fall on the other side of the apartment. The bed’s empty, he notices. That's disappointing. Steve brushes a hand across Eddie’s side of the bed to feel how cold it is, to check how long Eddie’s been up for, but he pauses when he feels a piece of paper where his boyfriend should be. Did Eddie leave a note? That goof.

Steve snatches it off the pillow and holds it over his face.

Steve, 

I was going to recite to you this big long monologue of all the reasons I love you and all the ways you’re important to me, but maybe it’s better if you read them. Don’t want you to miss a single syllable of my devotion to you, Sweetness. So I made a long cheesy trail of notes for you to follow, don’t make fun of me for it.

Yours Always,

Teddy

Steve is still half asleep so it takes him another groggy read-through to understand what he’s looking at. 

He sits up and does indeed see a trail of little pink notes, photographs, and rose petals twisting around the bedroom, under the door, and presumably down the hall. And Steve’s heart is pounding because, well he doesn’t want to get his hopes up or anything, but this sappy romantic gesture sounds like a precursor to something bigger. He’s frozen in place, too afraid to move. He eventually scoots off the bed and picks up the first note. 

‘I love you for engaging in my interests even though I wouldn’t blame you for not caring.’ It’s paired with an old photo of a DND game with the kids. Eddie’s DMing with Steve on his lap. 

The next few: ‘I love you for always trying to make little kids in shopping carts smile when we pass them at the store.’ and ‘I love how you can tell if I wasn’t in the shower long enough to condition my hair to your high standards so you make me get back in and do it right. Sometimes I take quick showers just so you’ll lay into me for it.’

The notes and photos are a lot more random than Steve had anticipated. ‘I love the way you will patiently explain the rules of various sports to me even when it’s been seven years of watching games together and I still don’t get it.’ There’s a photo near that note that was taken by Robin of the time Steve and Eddie swapped clothes at a sleepover. Eddie’s posing in Steve’s letterman jacket and tiny gym shorts and Steve is giggling in the background dressed in leather and denim. 

Steve gets to the door and realizes none of the notes have mentioned music or anything related to Eddie’s shows at all. Steve wonders if it was a conscious decision. Wonders if Eddie was being sensitive about Steve’s hearing problem. He swings the door open to see the trail continue all the way down the hall and around the corner. He huffs and keeps reading. There are notes about being a good “mom”, one about Eddie cherishing the nights they cook together. There’s a note about Steve’s smile, what it felt like to decorate their first apartment together, how Eddie loves that both of them have taken to calling Wayne “Pops”, but none about music. When Steve finally rounds the corner he sees Eddie sitting on the couch nervously.

“This was actually a terrible idea because I had to listen to you slowly shuffle down the hallway reading my notes. My anxiety is at an all-time high!” Eddie announces dramatically and Steve laughs. 

On the coffee table in front of him, there’s a big bouquet of flowers and a basket full of snacks and skin/hair care products that Steve loves. This is all a fucking lot. Positive attention makes Steve’s skin crawl. Eddie pats the couch and Steve slowly ambles over. He sits down and proceeds to not know what to do with himself.

“Stevie,” Eddie digs into his pocket and sets a little green velvet box on Steve’s thigh. 

Oh boy. 

“Obviously we can’t do anything legal, but I still want you to know that I wanna be yours forever. A tangible promise of loyalty. Is that okay?” 

Steve covers his face. He doesn’t know how people handle being proposed to in public. It’s mortifying enough in private. All he can do is nod. He feels Eddie prop the little box open. Inside is a golden ring, patterned with fancy flourishes. It reminds Steve of ornate picture frames in art galleries. He likes it a lot. Steve holds out his left hand.

Eddie beams, slips the ring on, and looks like he’s relieved it fits.

“Mwahaha. You’re mine now.” Eddie proclaims with the tone he uses to voice villains when he plays DND. Then he grabs Steve’s left hand and pushes the middle and ring finger down while pulling out the thumb, pointer, and pinky. Steve’s pinky finger barely stays up on its own but Eddie gives him a coy smile.

“This means ‘I love you’ in sign language.” 

And that’s the first expression Steve learns in ASL.

[richarlotte]

Heauxing Tips?

Here’s what I believe.

In regards to PPM and the discussion I see around here, let me give you my opinion. If you’re accepting less than $600 in MCOL areas, you’re being taken advantage of (robbed BLIND) and setting your standards way too low. You’re also making it difficult for others, whether that be inadvertently or not. You, as the provider, set the number and stick to it. If a man is worth your while, he will give you what you want, pay it to you gladly, and keep his complaints to himself.

 

I honestly believe that if you aren’t actively looking for opportunities, you won’t find them. I love looking at lists of events and places to go, but I also know that women aren’t actually meeting single, very wealthy, or established men at these events. You should obviously go to things and be seen outside, but you can’t go to event after event looking for a man. It becomes weird, people will notice, and there’s nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying your life without looking for a mark. You won’t meet him at a country club, don’t try.

 

If you are a black woman, do not listen to advice telling you to freestyle in groups. I’m going to just outright say it so what I say won’t be mistaken for anything else. The only white men that will approach a large group of black women are the police. I also don’t believe in the concept of freestyling with a group. I’ve done it with a single friend before, and we had dinner and drinks fully paid for, but it’s honestly not worth coordinating, going out, and expecting to hit it big. Groups draw eyes, and you don’t want eyes or law enforcement on your back.

 

You have to have a genuinely high opinion of yourself to survive sugaring, escorting, heauxing, or whatever you want to call it. If you look at the suicide rates in any industry where sex sells, you’ll immediately see that the suicide rate is higher than normal. You literally have to be level headed and know when to step away to survive. On the same note, if you have no concept of personal safety, then you need to not do this. The police will not take you seriously, and they don’t take most women seriously in general. Men are aggressive, and the tables can turn very quickly in this lifestyle.

 

You have to fit the role and look the part. Are there men out there in the world who’d hire plus-size providers? Sure. Are they few and far between? Absolutely. There is a look that is desired in every city, but most men are going to want top-of-the-line, clean, well spoken, and presentable providers who know how to maintain a certain level of discretion and do well in professional settings. There is a standard of beauty, and to be one of the women who’s always doing well, you have to fit that standard and curate an exclusive client list (yes, that means turning plenty of people down and not taking on more than you can handle).

 

If you don’t keep a low profile, you will get screwed over. I have friends who’ve gotten arrested in major cities; I know girls who are denied entry to the USA and other countries; I know women who’ve had their homes raided; and the forums for serious sex workers are always alight with some sort of drama. If you don’t keep your head down, keep your client list small, and avoid any unnecessary conflict, then I guarantee you’ll get caught up in something that will waste your time. You also have to hold yourself accountable for your own fuckups because, I swear, there are too many instances where I’ve seen someone do something seriously illegal that they knew not to do.

 

If you were serious, you’d go out of your way to access the review sites and see what the serious providers are doing. I’m sorry, but I get so tired of reading accounts from “sugar babies” on Tumblr who don’t know what the forums are, don’t know why high class clients ask about reviews, don’t understand Tryst, and don’t understand the importance of having a photographer and a website. Basic level research and a tiny bit of time spent on Reddit would get you up to speed; learning the etiquette is easy enough, and people would take you seriously instead of making assumptions. It’s nearly impossible to build an exclusive base without this knowledge, and I’d recommend having it so that you’re aware of things.

And remember, if she was dating a senator, she wouldn’t be on Tumblr.

[paintingformike]

i’ve made a similar post about this before but it really is easier to understand the outcome of the el/mike/will love triangle if people simply looked at it from a different angle. most of the debates about it are centered around how mike feels, if he ever had feelings for el in the past or he never did, if he’s in love with will or el etc. but think about it...between el and will, who do you think has been shown to continuously love mike wholeheartedly, unconditionally and meaningfully? whose feelings have been written with so much depth to the point it’s being called “beautiful” by the cast?

i think if we’re being completely honest and objective, writing down the word “love” in all your letters just...doesn’t compare to pouring your entire heart and soul into making a painting representing your love for your best friend, waxing poetic about all his traits that you love and appreciate him for, saying he makes you feel better for being different, showing him his worth as a person, being the only one to consistently check up on how he feels and comforting and reassuring him through his troubles.

i've genuinely tried imagining el feeling this much unconditional love for mike and pictured her trying to express similar sentiments about him as deep as will’s feelings go but i just...cant. seeing more of these conversations about el being the one to have never been in love with mike or develop any sort of feelings for him just hammers down the point more. it’s a harsh fact to lay out i guess, and i’m not trying to say el doesn’t care about mike or loves him atleast platonically, but if i’m going to be really frank...will just loves mike far more profoundly and deeply. and it’s not a bad thing, it’s just the truth. like we don’t really see much of mike feeling loved by her either, in fact, when people ask her what he likes/loves about him she’s never really sure about how she feels, like when max asked her if she enjoyed kissing mike she said she didn’t even know if she did 😭

obviously we can’t just hold el up to high standards when it comes to relationship matters, and it’s important to consider the life she has been leading thus far as a kid who was raised in a lab and has only had a few years to navigate around society and experience a somewhat “normal” life, including her knowledge of relationships. but this is simply about who was really shown to love mike for who he is and who mike feels the most comfortable opening up to first, and it’s not a bad thing that el can’t love mike the way will does, because she does love and care about him, just in different ways. but it’s telling of who really is the right person for mike and who has the love that he’s always wanted and needed.

[maiafields]

An Exploration of Femininity

There are a lot of preferences, ideas, and standards out there that we get told we should live up to. 

We should better ourselves for others, become more attractive, and strive to be more beautiful, and intelligent, but not too beautiful or too intelligent. 

Also don't be better than other people, 

but make sure you hold yourself high, obviously not too high. 

Be the "clean girl" the "it girl" "that girl" the "female manipulator" a “femcel" “the girl next door”. 

There are so many boxes to fit into that don’t quite hug my curves.

It’s a balancing act to even hold yourself on your feet. 

Articles about how to be more feminine, but in a way someone would want you to be, products to make yourself ‘better’ and erase the texture of your skin, pills and diets that are meant for genuine illnesses but if you have a crooked doctor they will make you a more desirable shape, 

even though the shape you have has been passed down to you from generations. 

We take in a lot of standards of what our lives ‘should’ look like from people we’ve never met before, and will most likely never meet. 

We feel lost in ourselves when none of the boxes fit. When you are told that the shape you are in isn’t quite what they were looking for. Told you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, 

strong enough, sexy enough. You start to feel like you are a culmination of all the things you aren’t until 

you don’t quite know what you are. 

So, who are you? 

And, who you are, despite all of that?

“What does my femininity look like without all of this weight on my shoulder?” 

“What could I be without this idea of feminine perfection?” 

“Would I be happier to ignore all of these pressures and just carve out my own idea of femininity?” 

I want wild and messy femininity. I want explorative femininity. I want it to look like anything i want it to be. It can be a staggering leather, lace, combat boot wearing, hardcore, truth shouting, sharp wit, intelligent mind, sun-loving, sand dancing, warmth to the touch, soft skin, thick thighs, unshaven, bombastic voice, 

the clack of lightening across the sky, 

a gentle lift of a chin. Your femininity can root itself into the earth to sway amongst the trees, it can be the scent of pine needles on the ocean's tongue. 

It can be everything your mother taught you, everything someone said wasn’t worth it, it can be a home from which you can rest in and know that you will hold yourself when the world tells you you aren’t worth it. 

Because you are. 

And if you can’t feel that right now, know it's there. It’s somewhere in you. You belong here.

And one day you will be able to say, “I like me. 

I like the curve of my lips. 

I like the power behind my laugh. 

I like the crease from my smile. 

I deserve to be happy. 

I’m lovely, and strong, and kind.”

And you will feel proud and this extraordinary feeling in your body, a sense of self love that prickle's your skin and lifts your chest. Maybe, you’re like me, and you’ll say it with a knot in your throat because you never thought that you would ever say anything like that to yourself 

and mean it. 

Because you don't have to be anything other than what you are right now, at this moment. Because what you are, who you are, is worth it. This is not a sentence for you to live out, it is an energy to be explored, nurtured, and loved wholeheartedly, because that is what you deserve. 

And you do deserve it. 

Don't condemn yourself to someone else's idea of what you should be. 

[izvmimi]

Difficult.

It’s a word that you fear has loomed over you as a dark cloud your entire life, casting a long shadow over everything you do. And tonight, you worry the shadow is what’s hanging over Asta’s furrowed brows, darkening that sparkle in his eyes. The two of you have had a long and difficult day, a mission going awry and leaving both of your nerves frazzled. You drag your fingers down your face, sighing, regretting earlier when you told him you wished he'd just listen and do things the way you told him to.

“You never listen to me, Asta. Why can’t you do things how you’re asked the first time!” 

The words were shouted angrily when the bandit the two of you were sent to take care of tricked you both and managed to slip out of your clutches, leaving you to head wordlessly and empty handed back to the nearest inn. You two would have to try again tomorrow, on orders from your captain himself.

And now, each quiet step toward the inn makes you feel worse for the off handed comment you let slip out of frustration. There’s a downward pull to Asta’s posture, slumping in a way that’s almost unlike him and the guilt grows even as you enter the quiet inn and head up to your respective rooms. 

Usually you’d sneak into his but perhaps tonight he needs space. The bed feels empty and the world feels cold without him near you. Your heart aches and your mind races with regret. Turning on your side to face the wall, you think about everything you’ve ever felt, heard, and seen. You are demanding and bossy and difficult. That pesky word, the one you’ve always feared the most, coming back into your mind is what makes tears well in your eyes.

How does he even put up with you?

Adrift in your own thoughts, you don’t realize that the door has opened quietly. A sliver of life shows Asta your near fetal position form and he frowns, quietly shutting it behind himself and tip-toeing over old floorboards to slide in behind you. He wraps his arms around your waist and positions himself so that he can hold you against his chest.

“Are you alright?”

His question hurts almost as badly as everything you’re feeling right now. You are not alright and you fear you never will be. You shrug and he hums against your back, holding you tighter.

“Tell me what’s going on, Mimi. I’m not a mind reader.”

The joke lands and you laugh softly, shaking your head. Where do you even begin? An apology for what you said today would be a start in making you feel better but you can’t form the words, huffing and trying to keep the shuddering breaths threatening to leave you inside. 

“I know it’s…I’m too much and I’m sorry,” you admit aloud, willing yourself not to tear up. “I don’t know why I’m like this.”

A confused hum is his response, his chin coming to rest on your shoulder as it often does. Green eyes glance up at you, that vulnerable and beautiful face making his heart skip a beat. He kisses your cheek, tilting his head up so that he can gaze down at you. “What are you talkin’ about?”

He doesn’t get it. You sigh again, blinking back warm tears.

“I’m difficult, alright?” You finally spit, wishing you could throw your hands up in defeat but they are trapped against your body thanks to his embrace. “My standards are too high, my morals are too rigid, I…I  wish I weren’t like this.”

Abruptly, he laughs. You want to bristle and grow angry. Part of you is and you turn in his arms to face him, arms still trapped against your chest with how little space there is between you. The furrow of your brow gives you away and he knows that he may have struck a nerve with his laugh but it’s all he could think to do.

“You think you’re difficult?”

Rolling your eyes, you scoff.

“Obviously. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

He laughs again and you think for a moment you’d like to be mad but instead you choose to hear him out, pursing your lips and keeping your arguments between them for now.

“It isn’t “being difficult” to speak your mind or to stand up for what you know is right. I know you do both of those things and it’s hard to live in a world that makes it seem like you are wrong for believing in other people.” His words sweep away the scattered mess of thoughts that were tumbling in your head, your face softening. “I love you because you stand up for what’s right and you tell people what’s wrong. You encourage people to be better because you’re so good, don’t ever forget that.”

A soft kiss to your forehead finishes his monologue and it’s the final wind blowing away the dark clouds, leaving a little bit of sunshine in their wake. As long as you’ve known Asta, he’s never lied, so this must be what he really thinks of you. You’ll formulate an argument against it in the morning but for now, you let the glow of his love warm you from inside out and lean against his chest.

“Thank you for loving me.”

He pulls you even closer, leaving no space between you at all now.

“You say that like it’s hard to love you or something.” Asta whispers against your temple, lips curving into a reassuring smile against your soft skin. “It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done and you know I don’t take the easy way on anything.”

😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞

[i-have-not-slept]

The Last Hours Fashion Pt 2

Chain of Thorns comes out TOMORROW!!!! Just in time, here’s my analysis of the official art by @nicole.deal.art in terms of historical accuracy. I’ve already reviewed the girls’ outfits, so now it’s time for the guys!

There aren’t as many primary sources available for Edwardian menswear, and men’s fashion in general tends to change less from era to era. Men’s business and formalwear has stayed basically the same shape for the past 130 years. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at some of these pictures and see how well they hold up.

James

James looks pretty good! The picture looks like it’s at night, so he’s probably wearing evening dress. The high collar and cravat is a distinctly Edwardian style, as seen in the outfit on the right here:

This guy is also wearing a wrap-around waistcoat in a similar style to James’. To make it really accurate, he’d be wearing a hat and jacket, but this picture is obviously showing a fight scene so I can imagine that he lost both at some point. If we’re being really pedantic, James’ hair should also be a bit shorter, but I appreciate that a haircut is probably not high on his list of priorities right now.

Accuracy: 8/10

Matthew

Matthew is a self-described bohemian, and is also very concerned with fashion, so we can expect his clothes to be a bit more colourful and decorated than was possibly the norm. This is also at night, so eveningwear again. It looks like he’s wearing a tailcoat— if you look closely, the cut is similar to the ones in this picture from 1904:

The slight problem with eveningwear is that every source I’ve found suggests that Edwardian evening dress for men was almost exclusively black-and-white tuxedos. In fact, menswear from this time was pretty boring in terms of colour. However, Matthew is, as mentioned, a bohemian, and textually wears very colourful clothing. Same issues as James re: hat and hair, but I can justify it the same way as with James.

And some pictures of cravats for comparison:

The gloves are also interesting. Evening gloves were almost always white, whereas these are dark grey, but I’m prepared to believe they’re either Shadowhunter fighting gloves or worn for warmth in the street after a party.

Accuracy: 7/10

Thomas and Alastair

They’re wearing Shadowhunter gear, which there are obviously no historical references for, so I can’t really analyse it. I’m interested in how their gear differs— Thomas’ seems to be mostly leather, whereas Alastair appears to be wearing a vaguely Georgian puffy white shirt with metal throat, shoulder and wrist guards. We don’t have very many canon images of Shadowhunter gear, so it’s interesting to look at.

On a side not, Cassie said on her Instagram that this picture is of them in an abandoned Paddington Station. I’ve been to Paddington, and the background looks absolutely spot on. Kudos to the artist!

Accuracy: 10/10 just for the background.

Jesse

I don’t have very much to say about this one. The shirt is pretty generic but the trousers are interesting. The distinctive front flap with the two buttons isn’t a style you see with the Edwardians, who have moved on to someone more resembling the modern fly. And yes, I googled “how did the Edwardians fasten their trousers” to find this information. Jesse’s trousers more resemble Regency breeches, as you can see in this pictures:

This is interesting, considering the links I drew between Grace’s dress and Regency fashion in my last post. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow if my time travel theory was correct!

The jacket looks like a fairly Edwardian standard coat with the sleeves rolled up. Not much to say except that the deep green colour is possibly slightly unrealistic but it’s a tiny thing.

Accuracy: 6/10

Christopher

Christopher’s hard at work in his lab, and accordingly isn’t wearing fancy clothes. Like Jesse, this is a fairly basic trousers and shirt ensemble that fits pretty well with the period.

Things get interesting when we start looking at the apron and goggles. PPE (personal protective equipment) isn’t strictly fashion, so I had to do a bit more digging into this one as it’s not an area I knew much about.

The goggles could be period inaccurate, depending on how you look at it. The first form of eye protection for welding was developed by the inventor Powell Johnson in 1880. Johnson called his invention “eye protectors” and it was simply two strips of opaque cloth that could be seen through while still offering some protection.

Safety glass— glass coated in plastic to prevent shattering— was invented by Edouard Benedictus in 1903, when TLH is set. However, it wasn’t until 1909 that the first safety glasses were invented by Julius King. So Christopher’s eyewear is about six years ahead of its time. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that Shadowhunters— probably the Iron Sisters in particular— were using protective eyewear before mundanes and Christopher is simply adopting the technology. But if we’re going by a purely historical standpoint, the goggles are a bit off.

The apron nearly drove me insane because I could not find any sources from the Edwardian era that show a similar style. The best I could find out is that bib aprons have been worn for welding since the 1880, so it’s reasonably accurate. Christopher really needs to pull it up a bit higher, though. Your shirt’s getting scorched, mate. PPE is no joke.

Accuracy: 5/10

As a last note of interest, while I was researching I came across this image I just had to share. It’s a cartoon that appeared in the Tacoma Times in 1903 and satirically depicts “men’s clothing designed by women”. Look at these guys. The og malewives. Poor little meow meows.

Sources:

Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute

Fashion History Timeline

Vintage Dancer

OHS

Bakersgas Welding

Aaand there we go! I probably spent way too much time on this, but it was fun. I’ll see you all on the other side after I’ve finished Chain of Thorns. Remember to tag your spoilers!

[hillerska-official]

Okay so this post came across my dash a few days back and as I was writing my tags I realized something that I never thought of before. Y’all are so right on this post, and I think that the double standard here is actually so important, because it really is the issue that carries through their relationship that Wille keeps expecting things on his terms, so he can make the poor choices and Simon can’t. So I’m typing this all out in my tags and I’m about to say “Wille really shows his privilege here” and I got hit with a wave of thoughts about the roles privilege plays in Young Royals. So here they are.

Kristina tells Wille that being a prince is a privilege, not a punishment. Obviously in the context of this show, their relationship, etc, most of our immediate reactions to that were “no it isn’t, Kristina, look at him, he’s got anxiety!” and I still stand by that, being a prince has very directly and negatively affected Wille’s life and mental health. BUT, obviously Wille is also a very privileged person, and that privilege shines through very clearly in this one line.

His privilege is what makes Wille expect things on his own terms all the time, but it’s that same privilege that ultimately ends up being a punishment in and of itself, because that is exactly why Simon breaks up with him, so well yes, it is a ‘punishment’ (ie negative) to Wille in many ways directly, it’s actually the privilege he holds as a prince but hasn’t acknowledged that causes this ultimate fallout, and not the aspects of his princehood that Wille had recognized as negative already.

And it isn’t just Wille who is hurt by his own privileged position. August's privilege eats away at him too, though he would never admit it, with the pressure he places on himself to retain that privilege, and the hints we’ve been seeing of some sort of eating/exercise disorder, probably stemming from his public image/persona. Felice has all the trappings of wealth and nobility but they confine her - her trouble with riding, the curly hair, the size, are all “failures” at things forced upon her by her mother so as to fit in to society (high society, of course), but ultimately put her in a place of emotional distress.

Being a prince, or any other noble/wealthy person, has its privileges, obviously, but these privileges exist simultaneously, at least within the show, as both beneficial and destructive. Wille, August, and Felice all have privilege, and it has given them a distinct head start over characters like Simon and Sara, that much is obvious in any class commentary and I would never dispute it, but it’s that very same privilege that eats away at all of them, too. Ultimately, whether we feel bad for the privileged person or not (and it can go either way, just look at these examples), the privilege is not maintainable in any way at an individual level, it’s bad for those on top and those below, we see that in the damage it does both to Wille and to Simon.

Basically, I think it’s very easy to watch Young Royals and get swept up in the romance and the drama, the plot itself, but we all know that there is a very clear class commentary underlying the whole thing, and this is such an interesting way to look at the damages of those class systems. I think ultimately a class or wealth gap isn’t actually of benefit to anybody, and can in fact be detrimental to BOTH sides to some extent, obviously on the individual level of each character, but also at a more general level IRL. Placing people into a hierarchy the way we do does damage to human sociability and our capacity to relate to one another, and Simon and Wille are actively breaking down this hierarchy, and with it the system of privilege itself.

[tamelee]

You mentioned a few posts earlier something that I can’t stop thinking about.

I feel so bad for Kishimoto. I can’t even imagine how terrible it must be. He created such a great story, and obviously, he has to know that it’s his heritage, something that people will remember him for long after his death.

And he had to throw it down the drain, forced to let Boruto happen. I don’t believe he could say no. What author would let THIS happen to his greatest achievement.

This is just sad 😔

Hi @pattie1k ! 💕 Yes!!! I think about this all the time..

There are so many posts that talk about money and "he did it for the money", "he doesn't care, he has money".. uhm, hello? They have no idea, do they? Look, I don't claim to know anything either, frankly none of us can because we don't have any insight in their legal documents but give the man some credit? Think, even just a little, about the industry and how they work- how incredibly strict they are when it comes to rules, how unethical they are when it comes to business, how- even when Kishimoto is held to such high standards in their field, he still has little say about his own story because it became a franchise. One he doesn't own fully himself. Where he has to beg for months/years to get a single scene through simply "because he wants to". Where he has to convince the editors of the magazine he works with that certain things are "essential" to the story and even has to fight them for it because he can't simply decide for himself.

Where.. getting involved directly with the sequel is probably the only way to be in control of things despite him wanting to retire... 👀 Because "supervising" alone, whatever the hell that means (nothing), simply won't do anything. Kishimoto is just a single man in an entire industry where things can get very, very calculative for good and worse behind the "entertainment" we see. Where, the fandom fights in 'Boruto's case worked out wonderful because it keeps people talking. People being dissatisfied doesn't matter because it is still attention nonetheless. Do you honestly think they would care more about Kishimoto's feelings than the franchise making profit? Of course not. The company knows best, yes? He is just "Kishimoto-sensei :)! Isn't he great?! Wow." A name they can use to increase marketing value. To make people say "oh wow Kishimoto's name is on this, it must be canon 🤡!" You have to be very careful with marketing- if they're not clear in the description, then that's for a reason. The Naruto manga explicitly says: Story and Art by Masashi Kishimoto. He spends 15+ years hunched over a desk, neglecting his own family and marriage for the sake of 'Naruto' and not once did he properly foreshadow the sequel despite knowing it was coming. Of course he's petty. Well.. petty is what we can see, he was probably a whole lot more. Chapter 700 and Gaiden reflected pretty well to what he could've felt. He said loneliness scared him to death and yet, instead of concluding his biggest journey with happiness or the promise that was made, knowing fully well that these characters need rising growth both in their inner and outer worlds for them to have a successful fictional story, both Naruto and Sasuke are back to feeling lonely. That is a big Shonen no-no. He broke all the rules with a big "fuck you" in a single chapter (700). Just like that. When I was in Korea, the company I was hired to work with for a project also had multiple projects going. A group of Japanese animators were there in the same building. Two of them I could communicate with somewhat and from them I learned a thing or two about their business. From my understanding, even if you as a Mangaka (as successful as he is) don't agree with certain things, you don't have much to say. That is because you work together with the company, its publisher, therefore they hold a lot of power. We know he doesn't fully own the franchise which means he is not the one who is the decision maker. If I ever have the chance to talk to him (which I will not, but a girl can dream) I'd ask him about this. 'Boruto' wasn't his idea, he literally had no time to think about this while creating 'Naruto'- besides, his interests were elsewhere which is why he created another Manga after 'Naruto' named: Samurai 8.

And now here we are.. Just.. waiting for the nerfed OG's to die :/

It's very sad.. ;-;

[persephoneflouwers]

So I read your posts about Saturdays and I agree with your analysis, I liked them a lot, thanks for making them because I couldn't put some thoughts into words like you did. What I was going with this anon is that I don't understand why when Louis sang it live there was a sea of ​​rainbows. I'm not against it or anything, I really love everything and the different interpretations seem perfect to me. But I don't understand how they connect Saturdays with something related to the community? I ask you why you can explain me better. I thought that maybe how the melody can convey hope to you, something like "yes, we said that Saturdays take away the pain but it's not always like that, and that's fine" and as if as the song progresses everything intensifies until it reaches the boom and yell "today may not be okay, my heart may be broken, but this isn't always going to be this way either, and it's okay because I'm going to be!" I don't know if what I said is logical but it's just thoughts I had at 1:30 am hahaha sorry for bothering you, I hope you're well :))

Hi angel! How are you? Thank you for asking. Saturdays is a layered song, it’s not easy to extract the true meaning and obviously every analysis is personal and super-valid. I was surprised to see the rainbows during the song ngl! Saturdays is such a melancholic song and maybe people like to involve it during fan actions because the slow tempo and the emotional burden it carries help building an intimate moment with all the flags and colours. Personally I would choose different songs for rainbows (bigger than me would be my first choice!).

If we go a bit through the lyrics of Saturdays, they don’t stand out as very queer to me. But that’s my interpretation and I can’t really talk over how a song can resonate for other fans. There are some lines that can recall this image of belonging to a queer community. For example “I’m not supposed to be feeling dirty cheap in Silver street”. It can be read as “i’m alone (dirty cheap) in a crowd (silver street)”, like a way of saying he struggles to find his place in a community where he doesn’t feel like he belongs entirely because he’s not out? Is he acknowledging the fact that his public image doesn’t meet the community standards in a way? Idk. This feels a bit forced and too much projection imo. That’s why my interpretation of the song goes in a complete different direction.

What I find extremely interesting when it comes to Louis’s songs is how constant such themes happen to be. Of course, I don’t know what they mean to him but this consistency helps me figure out.

He mentions change/changes/changing a lot in his songs. There are songs where he says change is inevitable and others where he says nothing changes. I don’t think he is contradicting himself (possible, but I like to give things a deep meaning usually). I think he refers to changes in different ways because he’s approaching changes in different moments, situations. I will elaborate my thoughts a bit. And I’m sorry this is taking so long to reply… anyway. Let’s report how many times Louis talks about this topic in his songs:

The Greatest: time came and changed it all

Bigger Than Me: when somebody told me I would change

Saturdays: some things change

Common People: nothing’s changed

Holding Onto Heartache: the nights they changed in seasons

Change: everything has changed, but I feel the same inside.

High in California: spent my whole life just thinking I had to change

COACOAC is the epitome of things that don’t change.

I listened to walls after a loooong time and AFAIK this topic/word are not in it. There are references to changes VS something that remains the same tho. Habit, Always you etc give this idea of a person/a thing that stays when everything around is somehow changing. Surprisingly Perfect Now has the line don’t ever change, which made my heart happy cause I love PN and she didn’t deserve the treatment she got starting from Louis and from all fans too but alas.

Where I am going with this is clearly change(s) are a huge topic in Louis’ music. I know my method of analysis is too scientific but making a list of how he approaches the topic in his songs allows me to distinguish 2 big categories that I will label as “Change YES” and “Change NO” lol.

I can’t go on for ever about this, I’ll cut it short. To me, when he wants to talk about the person he is or wants to be, about his personal journey with his sexuality, inner struggles and/or inner emotional fights, his resolution is clear: he’s not changed. He embraces it and accepts it (when you know, you know in OTB / I can tell you’re the same as me in ATT / all the above mentioned examples). My point is when he speaks on his queerness experience or the perception of it, he seems pretty sure he can’t change. Just to elaborate it a bit: somebody told him he would change in BTM, meaning he hasn’t changed and we knew already because he had made it pretty clear in Change and obviously in COACOAC.

When he’s talking about daily life things, ordinary things… well shit happens and he knows it. He knows some events can happen that will change more or less you and the way you go on with your days. Events like grief, hiatus, decisions from when you were 18… do you see what I mean?

That’s a pretty safe key for me to interpret his songs actually. Of course, I may be wrong! But til now, this Change YES/NO algorithm (lol) has helped me navigate his lyrics with a clear idea in mind. My opinion might be a little biased since I associate the poetics of Saturday as a concept to the poets I’ve read before with the theory of pleasure and stuff, but it makes sense to me like this for now!

We could write a similar post about the way he drops light/dark theme too, but that’s another story.

Hope this answered your question and thank you for asking <3

[skeppsbrott]

Rating Nobel Dinner outfits

I’m home sick so we’re gonna look at the most specialiest of awards shows, ie the one where a bunch of very intelligent and/or rich and/or influential and/or un/lucky people get to eat a very expensive dinner on camera. I am Swedish and obviously biased but here we go.

Warning for long post so if you’re on your PC press J to skip and if you’re on phone idk suffer or something.

Starting off with the Swedish royal house because idk they’re the hosts?

Okay they’re not but whatever.

Fun fact, I once had a teacher who worked in the castle wardrobes and the specifications about who gets to wear what and how and when is out of this world. LEFT TO RIGHT:

QUEEN SILVIA – Best part of this is the colour contrast between the purple and the baby blue. Looks kinda cheap aside from that. I am sure the lace fabric is very high in quality but my immediate reference is always going to be F21 tumblr girlies anno 2013. 4/10

CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA – Looks like the collective American imagination of what a Crown Princess looks like so it is sort of like reviewing the concept of socks. That said, what is going on with the puckered hem? Queen also seems to have this issue. Come on. 5/10

PRINCESS CHRISTINA – Aspirational grandmother aesthetic. Cute! 6/10

PRINCESS SOFIA – Setting a standard, as it were. The high and decorated collar, the subtle quality of the material and colour, the cut of the skirt. I have some concerns about the end of the sleeves but if this was the minimum bar for royal gala wear I might be tempted by royalism. 7/10

Oh and you may notice a suspicious absence of menswear in this list and that is because those who wear anything but immaculate white tie are intensely rare.

THE NOBEL LAURATES

Ok so again with the white tie cavalcade but I want to give a shout out for laurate in medicine Svante Pääbo who 1) assumed he was gay until he met his wife and colleague Linda Vigilant and fell for her “boyish charms” before 2) proceeding to move in with her and her husband to live in some sort of throuple? Altogether, the bisexual representation we deserve.

LINDA VIGILANT – They’re a bit difficult to spot but there are DNA spirals on her shawl! Very synyhetic looking but understated colour with some lovely amber jewellery that looks excellent on her. Love the big chunky glasses. 7/10

ANNIE ERNAUX – Laurate in literature. Exactly what I think of when I think of “dignified French authoress”. 5/10

CAROLYN R. BERTOZZI – Laurate in chemistry. Very good use of two-toned fabric and sparkles. The slight pinstripe gives it something to hold onto, even if it doesn’t photograph well. 8/10

BETH PRICE – Partner of Bertozzi. First same-sex Nobel laurate partner. Can’t really see the dress but I am always biased towards black and red two-tone and she looks handsome in it. 6/10

PHAEDRIA MARIE ST. HILAIRE – Partner of Morten Meldal (laurate in chemistry). I haaaate the train. Looked super cheap in motion as well and especially when contrasted with Vigilant’s DNA spirals. 3/10

 THE SWEDISH PARTY LEADERS

Head of parliament is Ulf Kristersson and he is a despicable little man, contrasted with the leader of the Liberal party Johan Pehrson, who is a despicable big man. Additionally there is Jimmy Åkesson who is leader of the Sweden Democrats and simply despicable. But he wasn’t invited so at least there is that. Sole representative of the conservatives is thus Ebba Busch:

 EBBA BUSCH – Christian Democrat. Some of my friends were really into this but again with the lace fabric… I also think it is very bottom heavy and unflattering. It’s like someone mashed up a wedding dress and a Victorian mourning gown. At least the bodice is flattering. 4/10

ANNIE LÖÖF – Centre party. Obligatory green dress on a redhead. I like that it is deceptively simple, I like the train, I like the use of a visually interesting fabric but maybe it is a bit too much. Wish she would have gone with a statement necklace + more narrow sleeves. 6/10

NOOSHI DADGOSTAR – Leftist party. There is nothing revolutionary about this dress but at least it sits well on her. Next. 3/10

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON – Social Democrat. Perfectly executed simplicity. Gorgeous fabric. Flattering cut. True mother-of-the-country moment. Ulf watch your back because this is a political revenge dress. 9/10

MÄRTA STENEVI – Green party. Not visible here is the ouster shell jewellery which I LOVED. Environmentalism aside this dress fucks and I love it. The smooth upper chest area combined with the fluffy and busy skirt and sleeves? The colours? Playful and attention grabbing and sincere all at the same time. 10/10

OTHERS

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – Musician. Perhaps the only time Wainwright will out-rockstar Kevin Shields (who is here as partner to the daughter of one of the laurates). Admittedly a bit of a walk over but I like it! 7/10

ELIN KLINGA – Actress. When contrasted with Stenevi this becomes exponentially more horrifying. @ Nobel fashion coverage please stop putting this in front of my eyes. 2/10

WHOEVER THIS IS (member of Samédiggi?) – Excellent use of gákti. Land rights for Sámi/10

PERNILLA MÅNSSON COLT – TV host. Could be the platonic ideal of a black velvet evening gown but I don’t like the fit and I don’t like the fabric. 5/10

JESSIKA GEDIN – TV host. Exemplary queering of the male white tie ensemble. Excellent nails and other details. Could only be improved by being part of a pair. 9/10

CECILIA GRALDE – TV host. Very flattering colour and looks great in motion but genuinely the toned glasses are what makes this look. The MILF of the nation. 8/10

VICTORIA DYRING – TV host. Hair buns! Though looks kinda Star Wars when combined with the wrap collar? Big fan of the well-executed one-massive-sleeve. 7/10

[finniestoncrane]

congrats on 1k Finnie!!! u deserve all the hype!! I’m gonna throw myself in the ring for the event, respectfully requesting number 9

a little bit about me is that I’m 4’10 (pun intended), I have brown eyes, reaaallly long curly brown hair, I wear glasses (the dano riddler kind LMAO), my fashion sense basically Bella Swan from Twilight, I’m questioning my sexuality/bordering on unlabeled so I’m fine with anyone, I’m an INTP 5w6, and a Leo (I don’t know shit about astrology lol.)

my hobbies include:

- acting, which is ironic bc I can’t stand theater kids lmao

- writing, whether it be my cringe ass fanfics, or to my feelings (or lack there of), or to the dreams I have at night, I gotta always have it documented

- watching movies, specifically horror or comedy. If I have any free time, u can GUARANTEE u that I’m going to being at home watching a movie, or at the theater with my friends. If I could legally marry my favorite movie, I would.

personality wise, I come off as very blunt and have a really dry sense of humor to everyone I meet. When I’m in my element, I can’t help but let my wit get the better of me. I am legitimately confident in my capabilities and myself. I can almost always talk my way in or out of situations. I love cracking jokes at any given moment and I always enjoy making anyone laugh, I’ve been told that I have good comedic timing so obviously, I gotta keep going with it. I also curse a lot, like I need a censor bar around my mouth at all times lol. I’m not afraid to stand up for myself or my friends and honestly, I kinda enjoy to. I absolutely value humor and friendship the most, and they are what keep me going. If I could describe myself as 5 fictional characters, I’d be Mickey Milkovich (Shameless), MJ (MCU), Ruth Langmore (Ozark), Louise Belcher (Bob’s Burgers), and Beth Harmon (The Queen’s Gambit). My positive traits are humorous, competitive, straight-forward, creative, and quick-witted

on the flip side, when I’m in a newish setting or a setting where I’m off my game/ not feeling myself, I’m ice cold, rarely speaking to anyone and if I do, it’s venomous. I tend to isolate myself and obsessively throw myself into whatever it is I need to do and just be done with it. I try to maintain a high level of professionalism and confidence and hold myself to a high standard, becoming wildly competitive and forcing myself to be better than everyone, basically faking it till I make it (and it always works). I tend to hide and bottle up my emotions, and I’m scared of/ hate being emotionally vulnerable. My negative traits are obsessive, indecisive, aggressive, sadistic, and emotionally detached

…and I just realized I went on for waaay too long lmao sorry. congrats again on 1k!!!

🎀 No.9: Ever Fallen In Love With Someone 🎀

tell me a little bit about yourself and i'll give you a rogue pairing a/n: thank you!! it's funny, with this one i thought of several rogues and then suddenly it came to me in a moment of sheer inspiration and i was like "oh shit yeah that's the one" 1k milestone info! 🔞minors dni🔞 • kofi • tag: finnie1k

i swear to you the height thing is a coincidence but i think a short couple are strong vibes. and he's a mama's boy, so the fact that your hair is long and curly like hers would probably be one of the first things that drew him in

we know he feels about glasses wearers, so... yeah

(side note: i feel you on the theatre kids one, i studied theatre at university and it made me realise i couldn't be a playwrite, because i cannot cope with actors)

ok so oswald has an absolute flair for the dramatics, and don't tell me he wouldn't make an excellent actor. you two could reenact scenes together and write your own plays or movies just for you two!

he strikes me as a diarist, so spending time together writing whatever you're writing while he catches up on his comings and goings in his little unpublished and just for him (for now) autobiography would be one of his favourite wind-down activities at the end of the day

oswald lives his entire life with main character energy and you can't convince me he didn't pick that up from obsessively watching movies about underdogs rising to the top and film noirs. he loves gore and brutality too, so a thriller or a horror would be perfect viewing material for you, and he'd definitely take you to the theatre on a date

ok so, it might be a nightmare putting the two of you together, but it could also potentially be the most fun. both of you are dry, humorous, experts in wit and sarcasm. charming enough to talk your way out of disaster, and into opportunity. together, you'd be a dynamic duo, perfect partners in crime. the confidence you would have separately and together would be insurmountable and intimidating, which oswald would find deeply romantic

little comments and sneaky jokes with the right timing are his forte too, i'm beginning to wonder if you aren't just the same person?

and the aggressive protection of yourself and others? come on, that's just him all over. and he might not swear frequently (although he might have if gotham was more risque) he does yell. a lot. and what extreme screaming match isn't complete without a few good fuck shit cock ass bastards in the mix?

speaking of friends, the loyalty and fierce protection of them would make it easy for him to trust you, which is so important to him. you're obviously a valuable asset in a friendship, and he would treat you as such

it's funny, i always think of oswald (specificalyl in gotham) as louise belcher! very much quick-witted and humorous, which you both are, and he's obviously extremely competitive, with high self-esteem and a belief he can conquer anything. he's not always straight-froward though, but that's something you can bring to the relationship that he can benefit from

he would understand the isolation and the cold attitude also though. it's a good facade to maintain when you're around new people, especially if you find it difficult to trust or open yourself up to them. a safety mechanism almost. it ties in with the holding yourself to a high-standard. he's dead set on being the king of gotham, a position he would gladly share with you if you could assist him in that professional and personable journey, which by the way, faking it till you make it? he's very familiar with it, umbrella boy to mayor after all

i doubt he'd feel the need to hide his emotions around someone like you who was so similar to him and so trustworthy, but he does that around others and wouldn't blame you for a second for trying not to be vulnerable around him, though he'd hope you'd warm up eventually

and please, your negative traits are all ones he holds in high-esteem within himself so get ready to have your ego boosted by him constantly praising you

[fountainpenguin]

“Books have set my standards high; I guess my type is non-existent...” (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! Joel had us going for a while, but he survived Minecraft surgery! What a gamer.

Chapter 10 - “Watcher 1 (Joel)”

Read on AO3

Start from Chapter 1

Tag Reminder - #cupioromantic Grian & #platonic kissing

---

After an absolute mare of a day, Joel's looking forward to hugging his son and collapsing in bed next to Lizzie. Grian, however, wastes no time in swooping in to pester him with love life questions. Since Scar turned down his request to talk, Joel will have to do.

Joel thinks a lot about his time with Etho in Double Life. He thinks a lot about Grian. Joel is a very loyal and very patient friend.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

Smallishbeans

- Can’t catch a break

- Very good sport

💚  💛  ❤️

On his way out of Etho's building, Joel stands for two minutes in the stairwell, just looking at the bricks. He presses his palm against them. They're rough against his hand. He pulls it back, stares down at the grit, then brushes the reddish dust against his chest.

I wish we still had clay for the newer buildings. Bricks are such a lovely building material.

As he heads down the stairs, he glides his hand down the cool copper handrail. It's shiny. Not super reflective, but he can glimpse the green streak curling through his hair when he leans in close. Bit smelly, though. Actually, yeah. Smell's undeniable. He kind of hates the way it stinks up his hand, not gonna lie, but it's not as bad as it could be. Joel tilts back his head, staring at the stone half slabs that decorate the ceiling. They fit together really well. They were placed by caring, expert hands. At the platform below, before he turns down the remaining stairs, he stretches up his hand. The ceiling is obviously too far away to touch, but he can pretend. He sticks out his tongue in one corner, straining and grunting. His fingers aren't even close. That's not really the point. It's…

It's just a pretty ceiling design. Okay? He's never noticed it before, and he's popped over to Etho's flat half a dozen times.

On the bottom floor, the carpet bristles like hoglin hairs beneath underfoot. Joel stares at it for two seconds, tongue in cheek, then sits down and pulls off his boots and socks. Technically, they're in a taiga biome. The natural grass around here is off-color (blue-ish). He rubs his feet in the carpet. They do have grass in New Star Station, but it's fenced off in the tree farm. Behind a whole wall, really. Mobs can spawn there because it's not carpet or half-slabs, so you have to tread carefully and always lock the door. Scott loves building walls.

I should go touch grass. People say that's what you're supposed to do when you've been playing too long anyway, yeah?

Joel crouches forward, running both hands along the carpet. Then he sinks down into it. It smells like tree resin. It smells like brimstone and steam. The scent really digs inside his nostrils and pulls him even closer. It tickles his palms when he traces them back and forth. "Scott picked a really nice color for the floor," he mutters, laying down his cheek.

"Oh, thank you for noticing. I remember struggling with this design."

"Wait- Scott?" Joel jerks up his head. Of all the people he thought he'd find down in the lobby, Scott wasn't one of them. He blinks. "I thought you had a meeting."

Scott and Grian stand around the cushioned chairs on the far side of the room, both tense in the shoulders like they've been having a serious conversation and both grit-teethed and glad for an excuse to duck out of it. Must have been whispered, though, because prox chat didn't pick it up. Grian turns away, shoving his fingers through the bouncy flops of his hair. Scott's holding one palm upturned, the thumb of his other hand pressed against the glowing command star seared into his wrist. The sight of them both standing that way, looking ruffled and Scott apparently saying something about his mark, leaves Joel feeling unsteady and nauseous. He almost doesn't want to get off the floor. Scott, curious, asks, "Do you know how long you were out?"

"I… didn't ask. Maybe two hours?" Joel considers replacing his socks and boots, then doesn't. They're part of his default code. Once he leaves the chunk, they'll respawn on his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for Etho to finish with you, actually." Scott's eyes linger on Joel's face, tracing down his neck and along his right arm. He lets go of his wrist. "I was thinking of dropping by his flat to say hi. Grian just got done convincing me that Etho's had a long day and I should hold out for another time."

Joel glances at Grian. If he had to guess by the scarlet feathers bristling up behind his friend's neck, that's not anywhere near the whole story. "That's… probably for the best, then. He told me Scar came over. Scar brought sweet rolls. I think Etho's had enough of entertaining visitors, though. He seemed a little eager to get to bed."

Scott arcs one brow. "Oh, I bet… Well, I'll let you get home, then. To be fair, you've had a long day too. Oh. And don't fly near the ceiling. There's an anarchy patrol out tonight." He gives Grian one last, steady look (and Joel a quick wave) before slipping through the front door. He goes right, even though he lives to the left. Joel wrinkles his forehead. He turns to Grian.

"Uhh… Mind walking home with me?" That feels a little safer than saying What was that about? and nosing in where he might not belong. Joel figures Scott ended the conversation for a reason when he came downstairs. Grian likes to chatter. If he wants to speak up, he'll find the opportunity to do so on the way.

Grian looks up from his nails. His crest feathers fold down again. "Aw, you're going home already? Jimmy's kicking off the first of his late-night streams this evening. You don't want to miss the debut episode, do you?"

Joel throws Grian a disbelieving look. "I'll tell him 'something came up.' I think he'll understand. Anyway, Lizzie wasn't supposed to be at the stream and Etho said she already went home." He hesitates a few seconds longer. I'm going to regret opening this can of worms… "Are you feeling all right, Grian?"

Grian's dark eyes skim across the lobby. He lifts them to the ceiling, then tilts his head towards the front door. "Not… not here. Let's talk outside."

Outside is where the phantom hybrids are. Well… It's not like they can't get inside, but when they step out, Martyn's sitting on the bench across from Etho's building, his arms resting over the back in both directions. He's really doing that whole 'birdspreading' stereotype thing with his ragged wings flopped out to either side. His eyes are glowing, but they're blue… not green with phantom aggro. When Joel and Grian exit, he arches one brow.

"You know… curfew's still curfew. Don't stay out too long."

Joel glances at his wrist. His comm's orange, but flashing on and off. Instead of a countdown timer, he's got three dashes. It's never looked like that before. He rotates his hand to show Martyn. Martyn squints, not getting off the bench.

"… Huh. I guess the rules don't apply to everyone."

"0 of 10 recommend, Martyn. I blew up."

"Fair."

"Wait," says Grian. "I thought…" He pauses, shifting his eyes first to Joel and then to Martyn again. "Did we not have an anarchy breach in the upper corner tonight? Shouldn't you be out there helping Bdubs log them out?"

[Cnt'd on AO3 - Link at top]

[widowsliver]

hi, me again, u sounded so enthusiastic in your answer and your reply to my comment so i just had to ask : what was finsbury like for u? and go into detail, i just love to talk and hear about it so HIT ME WITH ALL THE THOUGHTS

THE THOUGHTS ARE THOUGHT-ING LIKE THEY’VE NEVER THOUGHT BEFORE. thank you so much for taking interest in my over-explained enthusiastic ramblings — I again apologise well in advance.

I also just want to preface incase anyone stumbles over this post, this is about my experience personally, and I recognise not everyone would’ve had the same experience as me. nether the less, everything shall be under the cut if you care to give it a read :)

okay, so I’ll start off by giving my experience getting into finsbury. we took the tube (and ran into another ‘75 fan on the way) and commuting was pretty easy (we were staying just outside of london, took us just over an hour to get to the park) and we got there just before 11am. if I remember correctly, I believe we were the second group of people to get into the holding area because of the concern of the crowd going onto the street, and from there it was pretty chill and the security that we ran into were all amazing and up for a laugh! the waiting did suck as they prolonged opening the gates but not much you can do about that, safety over everything!

as soon as we got in we ran to merch, grabbed a t-shirt and some scran and situated ourselves a row behind middle right pitch barrier — very happy with our spot (will include a video at the bottom) and the people around us were lovely.

onto the music!

After Life I thought were really good at opening and definitely got the crowds attention, kept thanking everyone for turning up early to see their set and it was appreciated. a very good performance overall!

Pretty Sick I admittedly did not pay that much attention too, although I don’t want that to be taken negatively, as it dawned upon me how many hours we were going to be there for. had to preserve battery lol.

American Football I will also admit was pretty similar, I was very concerned with scranning a milkshake… no regrets.

The Japanese House were the only one other than the 1975 that I would consider myself a pretty big fan of, and I’m pretty sure I cried at least twice. hearing ‘sunshine baby’ live whilst knowing I’d pre-ordered a personally signed copy of ‘in the end it always does’ was magical and amber herself blew me away with their vocals and presence on the stage. can’t wait to see them on tour.

Bleachers were probably my second favourite (not including the 1975) of the night. really great to watch on stage despite not being a fan and the energy the crowd was giving was immense!

Cigarettes After Sex although good, and I did enjoy, did feel a little out of place on the setlist. although I can obviously see why they were the last act before the headline, taking that out of consideration, I would’ve preferred to have watched cas after the japanese house, and then bleachers.

ladies and gentlemen… the 1975!

I don’t even know where to begin when talking about the 1975. from tim healy to people, I genuinely couldn’t have wished for a better show (although the nothing revealed / everything denied stan in me is praying for the day)

the opening. wow. although it was arguably obvious they were going to open with the 1975 (bfiafl), it didn’t make it any less impactful. hearing those chords striking that piano I’m convinced I felt it within my gut. absolutely breathtaking — and it set a high standard that was carried out throughout the entire night, completely electrifying.

to talk about the first ‘surprise’ of the night — ‘love me’. although I do preach being an abiior stan, iliwys also has a special place in my heart, ‘love me’ being my second favourite (after ballad… yeah) this is when I knew this gig wasn’t going to be topped by anything I’d previously seen!

‘part of the band’ will also get a mention here that despite being a regular on the setlist, reaches deeply into my heart. a tear was shed (and I had no clue what was to come).

“who gives a fuck this is too much fun!” matty’s little speeches honestly kept me going.

tim healy. tim healy singing my favourite song off of bfiafl. I thought I died and went to heaven right there. another crying mark.

also trying to kill me with ‘be my mistake’, this was a block of non stop sobbing.

oh, you thought you died right there?

HERE HAVE BALLAD!!!

at this point I was the luckiest woman ever that the couple we made friends with in-front of us let me swap with him so I was on the middle barrier. kindness from strangers is the best thing ever.

I genuinely don’t even know what to comprehend about ‘medicine’.

and as you can clearly see, having CARLY appear was not easing me down gently at all. doing this post has made me realise how the hell did I get out of there alive??

(I also went feral during ‘the sound’… not one of my proudest moments)

guys snippet… into iawds… as per my last post you can imagine what I was going through. the only thing that was running through my head was “I need to book my box tattoo appointment”

and now to wrap it up, ‘love it if we made it’ and ‘give yourself a try’ (and ‘sex’) being my all-time favourites and were the best way to end the gig…

until the 1975 to literally make me die dead right then and there when I heard the beat to ‘people’.

all in all, despite some people disagreeing, including consumption at the end really solidified the era and drew the door (or tv screen) to a close for one final time. your new era. your old friends.

(p.s the only negative thing I have to say is getting out of the park was an absolute fucking nightmare and made our journey three times longer, but seeing the 1975 definitely made it worth it and I’d do it all again)

[yllowpages]

JO.HN WI.CK : FIGHTING STYLES. PART 2.

this is a follow-up to my post on john’s fighting styles and i’d recommend reading that first since it’s a more in-depth description of each style and the purpose behind it. what i’m going to be doing here is giving visual examples of almost everything i listed on the first post and kind of explain what he’s doing in those specific moments.

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU :

in brazilian jiu-jitsu, this is known as a flying guard sweep. considering BJJ is a grappling and ground combat style, this is an effective way to get an opponent to the ground and gain the upper hand. what he’s doing is locking his arm around his opponent’s neck and then wrapping his legs around this guy’s waist. what we can’t really see, since it’s happening just off screen, is the final move to fully complete the technique, which is getting his arm (in this case his right arm) behind his opponent’s leg. that last step is what actually completes the rolling motion.

this is another sweep, although pretty different from the flying guard sweep. this one is called a flying armbar (which is a variation of the regular armbar move). john executes it pretty traditionally here. in BJJ when performing a flying armbar, the fighter will want to have his hands on the collar of his opponent’s gi (or suit in this situation), which is what john is doing here. having his hands on the collar of the other’s clothing gives him more control over the movement of his opponent’s body when performing the armbar. john then falls himself to pull his opponent to the ground, get the right angle, and execute the armbar. the basis of the actual armbar is john holding onto and controlling his opponent’s right arm when he’s on the floor, also keeping one leg across his opponent’s chest, while he sort of “cranks” at his opponent’s arm, pulling it, as well as pushing with his leg. 

just as a bonus, this is a flying armbar that john performs in the stables during parabellum. this move was actually performed by keanu’s stunt double, jackson spidell (with a little sneaky facial replacement cgi). i don’t have actual confirmation on whether this is a flying armbar or not, but considering the way both men are gripping each other’s clothes for control and john then using his weight to pull his opponent down, i really do think it’s the same move. this one is, however, a little more extreme with how high john is able to get his leg up on his opponent before falling and rolling to the ground to complete the armbar (thank you, jackson).

BJJ, JUDO, GUN-FU :

this choke is called a triangle choke and it’s practiced in both BJJ and judo. what’s happening is john is wrapping his legs around his opponent’s neck, locking in the choke with his other leg on top, and making sure the opponent’s arm is trapped as well. in traditional practices of these martial arts, this specific technique is meant to constrict off the blood flow to the carotid artery and, through applied pressure, force the opponent to pass out. of course, the point of john’s gun-fu is incorporating his firearms expertise into his regular combat, which is why he doesn’t completely seal the technique and instead extends his legs and shoots this guy in the head.

JUDO :

i mentioned the “sacrifice” technique in the first post and this is a good example of it. when john is throwing his opponent, he steps inward and basically falls backwards himself to drag this guy down. the technique of falling to pull or throw the opponent is known as “sacrificing” yourself.

going along with the sacrifice technique, this is the standing technique which is accomplished by simply throwing an opponent over one’s shoulder or hip. this is obviously a standing shoulder throw and not a standing hip throw. it’s pretty standard and you can spot this kind of throw in a lot of hollywood fight scenes. 

this is an example of a tripping move that john performs at least four times (?) in chapter 2, that i was able to catch. this moment is obviously from chapter 3 from the knife fight scene. this specific execution is actually a way clearer version of this move than most of the examples i found in chapter 2, in that this one is fully on screen and a pretty orthodox execution of the move as well.  the way this move is executed is through john using his leg to bring their leg out and knock them down, which is what we see in the gif. sometimes simply sweeping one leg out is enough to knock an opponent down, but we can see that john clearly wasn’t able to throw his opponent off balance enough with the first leg, due to the limited space, so he makes sure to knock his second leg as well, which completes the move correctly.

this is actually the same tripping move, although a modified version. what makes this modified is john having his opponent’s leg trapped. he uses this to his advantage, keeping the leg trapped, getting himself a little closer, and then performing the trip and flipping the guy over. 

john performs this type of throw a number of times, but this moment with cassian is just the one i happened to choose. it’s an “over the back” throw and it’s done by getting someone into a fireman’s carry pose (over your back/top of the shoulders, at least holding onto one arm to throw them, but sometimes with an arm around the thigh) and then throwing them down in whatever direction you choose. with cassian, john throws him to the side, but he uses this same throw on one of santino’s guards later in the film and throws the guard behind him : see below.

as a note: what separates this throw from the standing technique, covered above, as the throws are pretty similar, is the fact that standing technique almost always has the fighter throwing their opponent in front of them while this fireman’s carry throw is not super conducive to that positioning.

SAMBO :

this move is very similar to the one i just covered between john and cassian, but the move itself is more present in sambo, which is the fighting style viggo and john both use in their fight together.

AIKIDO :

this throw that he does on this guy is a wrist manipulation technique called a corner drop. he sort of moves his opponent off line and then immediately pushes down which causes his opponent to drop instantly.

HAPKIDO :

this is a pretty damn good example of john using rope (or in this case his belt) techniques to block attacks, trap his attacker’s limb, and then use that leverage against them. we even see him employ what seems to be the tripping move i have listed underneath judo, so it’s really fun to see him mixing and matching his combat and techniques like that. in this moment also it seems like hapkido rope combat works very well considering he’s battling two opponents at once, which isn’t something we’d seen john do in the previous films.

simply put, this is just an example of john using his belt with hapkido rope techniques to perform a throw over his shoulder. this throw does have a lot of similarities to the “over the back” throw i have under judo (and it’s even more similar to a throw john performs on cassian in the subway) and that would be because hapkido does share a lot of throwing techniques with judo.

there's one other instance of john seemingly utilizing these rope-style hapkido techniques and it's during his fight with miss perkins in the first film, which i have gif'd here. john uses his arm sling in a similar way as his belt in chapter 3.

BOXING :

i personally wouldn’t consider boxing one of john’s primary hand-to-hand combat styles, but he certainly is proficient in it. the man knows how to throw a solid punch without breaking his thumb. but the example i’m using here obviously isn’t of any punching technique. we’ve seen punches before. we don’t need to see it again. so i went for john demonstrating some very routine blocking technique, achieved by lifting his arms toward his head and ears to block incoming blows. there’s nothing fancy about it, it’s just a normal block, but i do think it’s important to point out not only the techniques john uses to attack, but also what he does on defense as well.

CLOSE-QUARTERS COMBAT :

this is obviously something we see john do a lot of, although CQC in its traditional military setting is performed with a small team of people, rather than going solo as john does. but in any case, the things we see him do in the red circle are a good example of solo CQC, which is hand-to-hand combat as well as close-range firearms.

SHINOBI-IRI :

because it’s a stealth and infiltration practice, i think these examples are great, frankly. john clearly shows his ability to silently approach and attack opponents, throwing them off guard. in the first gif, he obviously shoves the man’s lit cigarette into his mouth (ow), and in the second he uses a garrote wire (in the commentary for chapter 2, keanu stated that he thought using the garrote wire was very fun). and then of course we have john sneaking up on zero in winston's glass house, which was a setting chosen specifically for showing off these sorts of techniques.

STRIKING TECHNIQUES :

we don’t see john do a ton of striking, honestly?? he does a little bit with cassian in rome, but most of the time he’s using his gun as a striking tool or simply shooting alongside his regular combat. this opening sequence for chapter 2 is one of the only times we see him genuinely just use non-lethal strikes since he’s not actively trying to kill these guys. in any case, we usually see a lot of boxing when it comes to using strikes as an attack in movies, but john’s strikes are a little more martial arts-based. boxing is usually little movement of the lower body and focuses mainly with the waist and arms. but we see john use his entire body to attack, including kicks and bending down to strike at the legs and groin. this would be consistent with judo or sambo.

[4emfox]

The Battle Between Authenticity and “Normal”: Part 1

Nature vs. Nurture.

A classic argument I’ve only been aware of since AP Psych in the 11th grade. Which one is it? Are we more our nature? Or are we more formed by our environment and experiences? Or is it a combination of the two; our nature takes over only to interpret the meaning we gather from our environment and experiences? But, wait — is our nature tainted by those environmental and experiential factors so it’s never truly our nature, only nurture and mental mind-fuck interpretations?

Rather than going down the rabbit-hole of the argument and trying to solve or prove that one carries more weight than the other, I’m just going to word-vomit my experience with a dash of narcissism.

In my story, nature and nurture seem to be constantly at battle one with another. One consistently takes over and my authenticity often feels squashed by conventional wisdom and “supposed to be’s”. For example, my authenticity eventually led me to blog under the guise of a stripper alter-ego…as a Mormon. Chicken or the egg? Was I always wild or was my authenticity rebelling against my culture?

As a born weirdo I innately cared about myself and had a strong will to survive — emotionally, mentally, and physically. I needed my authentic self in order to do that. As a kid, I naturally fed that part of me. My Weird. She is why I write. I like her. I like her far better than the person she tries to showcase to others when she rejects her Weird due to cultural norms and conventional wisdom (ahem…and Corporate America). This piece of amateur word-vomit exists for the things I saw growing up that made me hide My Weird — and how she emerged when I needed her. And finally, how I attempt to keep her around.

I caught bits and pieces of what I was “supposed to be” in pop culture, in conversations, in what I was told, and what I observed. It’s what everyone else was doing. It’s the scene in Men In Black when little Tiffany gets shot by Will Smith because it’s more concerning that an 8-year-old girl is holding a book on Quantum Physics in a dark alley, rather than the multitude of aliens that have clearly seen the ugly side of evolution who are just hanging around on our planet — for funsies. Occam’s Razor: Simply put, the more obvious answer is usually the correct one. This leads me to the conclusion that little Tiffany is obviously just a wicked smart kid. And those aliens obviously just want to blow out her power like a flame.

These “bits and pieces” eventually became the puzzle I built around myself — the shell I wore — in order to hide My Weird.

As a kid, I had no idea what it meant to be “pretty” and how truly beautiful that lack of knowledge was — how freeing it was. I was never limited by beauty standards as a young young kid. This Beauty Box limits you. Once I was enclosed in that box (after having the proverbial carrot of “you will be valued” dangled in front of my face to coax me in) I started to feed the beast that was inside it.

I wanted to be a veterinarian (and an obstetrician; and an artist; and a teacher; and Indiana Jones). Badly. But as soon as I entered high school, I was given the assignment to pick my “dream job”, shadow someone who did it, then write about it. And I picked a Cosmetologist.

Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with cosmetology. I can absolutely appreciate the artistic nature of the work. But it is such a stark difference from what my Weird wanted — this was the beast in the Beauty Box taking over. Weird Erin was curious and smart. But at some point in her childhood, she was taught to fear science. And her inner voice became incredibly loud, “You’re not good enough to do that. You’re not smart enough to be a veterinarian. Do you know how much schooling you’ll have to do? It’s more important to be pretty.”

That voice eventually became the subconscious, “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t”. And once the voice is in your subconscious, it has a much stronger hold. It becomes a part of who you are — constantly orbiting your mind. Like an alien invasion, it took over. I didn’t even realize the voice was there until my friend, a psychologist, called it out.

To be continued…