#analysispost

[carbasi]

*breathes in* I LOVE HOW THEY SNUCK IN A PIANO RENDITION OF VOID IN THE SCENE WHERE NINA TRIES TO ISOLATE HERSELF AGAIN

THE SAME SONG SHE USED TO LISTEN TO WHEN SHE FELT LIKE SHE WAS ALONE AGAINST THE WORLD, as soon as someone comes close to "invading" the one thing, that has always been a constant, that's always brought her comfort, softly calls to her. Not in the angry way it's played in a band but a soft, lonely, melancholic piano, and that lonely feeling isn't uncomfortable to her, because that's the only way she feels safest. When she's alone. AND IT STOPS WHEN SHE'S FORCED TO GO BACK AND FACE SUBARU AND RETURN HER PHONE UGH

[lakesbian]

ok ok sorry for redditposting again but actually can we please get all the redditors who are drawing the sick-ass unbelievably skillful worm art in here. like it's so sad i would love to reblog their art forever and ever but they're all the way over there and we're all the way over here. guy who drew the undersiders loft and filled it with easter eggs and made it look sick as hell PLEASE come here it could be beautiful...

[sweetberry-roebuck]

My oc Jacob and the two characters I wasn't aware of when I made him but who are suspiciously similar to him in different ways :-)

[hildred-rex]

My commentary on Wilhelm's design has necessitated* a complete reread of the first four stories in The King in Yellow (short story collection) so it'll be coming a bit later than I anticipated.

* read: has made me want to do

...it may get further derailed by whatever Monday brings.

[chaosmenu]

did i even make contact? i dont think i made contact / no i dont think... i dont remember. dad you beat roman with a slipper in gstaad til he cried for ordering lobster / its not polite to order the most expensive thing on the menu when you're not paying, siobhan. what are you sorry for? for beating rome when he was a kid? / everyone hit me, im fucking annoying

[pleuvoire]

brainstorming ideas for fake steel samurai seasons

[neomedievalist]

my old mutuals hate me for fateposting and my new fate mutuals hate me for being new to fate and clueless and the 3 people that ive successfully managed to get into fate alongside me LOVE me

[rontra]

How do you feel about the new rwby episode?? 👀👀👀

so sooo fucking good today's episode was so fucking good. i'm not going to type up my full thoughts about it In Detail because i'm a little too insecure and shy to analysispost on main (lol) but suffice to say it's basically exactly what i crave from any excellent story-about-story like this, right. i'm really eating it up

the ever after is putting the screws to every single breakpoint in remnant-as-a-story. in the mechanisms that drive its narrative. we've always been watching a story about a story coming apart, unable to sustain the weight of the truth. and the ever after is pushing hard on every single instability raised to this point.

the narrative itself is fractured so badly we can see bone. the story—the mechanism—the machine is breaking apart. it can't sustain itself like this. this isn't right. the final layer is fragmenting, no matter how hard it tries to hang on. and we can see something through the cracks. there is something inside. at the heart of it. and it is coming out. and it is still alive.

rwby has always been layers and layers of sleight of hand and deception. it's a story about peeling back the layers bit by bit. it's an intricate piece of work that rewards you for getting your hands into it and prying it apart, fat from skin. it's been pulling us out of ozma's walled garden since the beginning. it's a story about story about story about story. the mechanism built by the characters—the story written by remnant's storytellers—the construct of remnant—

you see? you see??? it's a story about a story coming apart at the seams—and its building blocks have just been dealt yet another irreparable blow, now at the hands of a girl who was meant to reinforce it by giving herself to it whole to eat—

there's only one stained layer of flimsy left, sticking like gauze over the bleeding core—can you hear his narrative creaking and breaking??? can you feel the strain? KNOWLEDGE, THEN CHOICE—the characters will have to take a stand in the grand scheme of remnant as a narrative and decide what story they are willing to accept—can you feel the implications? the course being set?

the time is rapidly moving from being "someday" to becoming NOW.

do they feel it bearing down on them? they're being pressed directly on the very illusions that hold their storybook world together. the pieces are all already together, if they would just see it. the ever after is screaming through the narrative to look again. look again. look again. can they hear it?

—have you ever snapped something by bending it too far. now do it to a story. do it on purpose. do it well. do it for ten years straight.

man! that's good eatin!

[basingstokemercury]

Very cool of Bonanza episode A House Divided to let a thirty-year-old grown man have a full-on verge-of-tears acting irrationally breakdown because he's scared of hurting his baby brother and doesn't want the issues between them to escalate further

Does he clearly make the wrong choice? No question.

Is he trying to justify to himself what he knows on some level is wrong and saying some pretty stupid things in the process? Absolutely.

("Use your head, not your heart" to Ben when he's the one acting on emotion and trying to convince himself it's the logical decision? Brilliant writing.)

Is it jarring to see the calculated voice of reason fall apart like that? Yes. But that's probably the point.

I really want to see more exploration of what gets Adam to break that unflappable composure, so many great writing and acting opportunities there.

You know what? I feel a multiepisode analysispost coming on...

[il3x]

gold star of "did not attempt to analysispost while you were physically shaking w/ emotion about the character" restraint

[lakesbian]

If the blushes are because Jesse and Lake are embarrassed, that means the moment where Lake blushes to the sirens is because is she is not use to take compliments and not becuase she is gay

BOOM canonically lesbian Lake isn't real

i never said it was dippie. anyway why are you back i thought you left after i posted a screenshot of the ~20 spam anons you sent me bc u were mad i said your ship is narratively uninteresting and then everyone made fun of you in the replies

[decompose1]

OH. HI SEAFOAM I SEE YOURE FINDING MY CRINGE MEPHONE ANALYSISPOSTS

[obitv]

you are so georg coded to me. and jeffrey a little bit <- she wishes she could coherently analysispost

I WIDH I COULD COHERENTLY ANALYSISPOST.... tho to me unless im hitting my like. 5am delirium posting stage i dont think im hitting my full potential

[lakesbian]

devastating loss for the analysisposters who can't draw

Hey, I know I've thought wistfully about it before, but would anyone actually be interested in a Wildbow literary journal style zine or something? Like, serious essays and stuff.

[melloblueanimated]

Encanto Essay Series: Part 1 - Abuela Madrigal

Abuela Alma Madrigal: The Matriarch of the Madrigal family and mother of Pepa, Bruno, and Julieta. Rewatching Encanto a second time it is hard for me to like her and root for her. She has allowed the village to shame Bruno and has since passed on that shame to Mirabel. She has made both her son and granddaughter not feel good enough to be a part of their family. This greatly angers me as someone who has felt like an outsider growing up and not feeling accept by the community I lived in. I am here today, however, to try and delve deep into the psyche of Abuela and what has caused her to behave in this way.

1. Abuela's Hyper-vigilance

This is my family A perfect constellation

So many stars and everybody gets to shine

Whoa! But let's be clear, Abuela runs this show, whoa

She led us here so many years ago, whoa

Mirabel sings this line in the opening song of the movie "Family Madrigal". I have a lot to say about this song in regards to Mirabel but that'll be for Part 3 of this series. This song immediately establishes Abuela as the matriarch of the family. As a side comment to this lets look at this frame from the song.

Per the rules of cinema a 1-point shot like this establishes a feeling of power and importance. She IS the family Madrigal. Having a matriarch in a family isn't all that common. The matriarch of my family was my grandmother before she died. She was the center and the glue that kept my family together. So Abuela being a matriarch isn't the most substantial thing in the world. But the way she uses and abuses her stance as the matriarch is was is troubling. And it's due to her own trauma.

The Common Reactions to Trauma

According to Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE) as posted on Oxnardclinicalpsych.com, there are 10 common reactions to trauma (I recommend reading the article because it is pretty informative) but I'll quickly state the reactions that I see in Abuela:

Anxiety and fear

Re-experiencing of the trauma

Increased vigilance

Avoidance (this can be seen with the whole family quite frankly)

Grief and depression

Lack of concern and empathy for others

I see Abuela as a hyper vigilant and anxious person to the point of hyper-fixation. I say this because during "Family Madrigal" Abuela sings this line:

We swear to always

Help those around us

And earn the miracle

That somehow found us

The town keeps growing

The world keeps turning

But work and dedication will keep the miracle burning

And each new generation must keep the miracle burning

When I first watched Encanto I was thinking to myself why are the Madrigals so community oriented? This could greatly be a cultural thing seeing that this was set sometime in the early 1900's. I feel like most societies were very much community oriented. But I feel like with Abuela she does it as an offering to the miracle. As a thank you to the miracle she encourages her family to use their gifts for good. But this line in the song made me start to wonder if this is merely just a sign of her over vigilance. She has dedicated her life to keeping the candle burning in order to keep her home alive and her world in order. She has passed on the burden of this candle to her children, who in turn have passed this down to their children. The candle is a miracle, but is also a constant reminder of the trauma Abuela has gone through in her life. And unknowingly she has passed this down onto the next generation.

2. Abuela's Lack of Empathy

Almost every line she states in this movie is focused on casita and Encanto. Rarely is she concerned about the emotional and physical well-being of those around her. Just the miracle.

We mainly see this with Isabela:

This scene goes by very quickly but we hear Abuela and Isabela talking about the arranged marriage

Abuela: Such a perfect match

Isabela: So perfect

Abuela: So good for Encanto

Never is Abuela thinking "This is so good for Isabel!" Everything she does is for the greater good of Encanto. This is probably due to the fact just a scene before Dolores revealed that Mariano wants 5 kids, which feeds into her need to keep the Madrigal bloodline going.

We see this disregard for others again when Mirabel goes missing after finding Bruno and after the cracks in the walls start to form. Abuela is having a heated argument with Augustin about why he didn't tell her about the vision.

Abuela: Why didn’t you tell me about the vision?! Think of the family!

Augustin: I was thinking of my daughter!

Julieta: Mama you’ve always been hard on Mirabel

Abuela: Look around. We must protect our home.

Again a blatant disregard for her grand daughter's well-being. Abuela is reacting so much to the loss of her home and her husband that she can't even recognize and acknowledge the thoughts and feelings of the people around her. All she can think about is her home and the fear of loss.

And then finally it happens.

3. Abuela's Loss

You can see the fear and sadness on her face. She's reliving her trauma all over again. The thing she feared most has happened because she held onto it so tightly. She wanted to feel so safe and so protected from the world she didn't even realize she was hurting her loved ones.

By the end of the movie she regrets her actions and does see the error of her ways. I noticed that Abuela always romanticized her trauma as well. The way the story of Abuelo Pedro's sacrifice was told at the beginning of the movie is drastically different.

The romanticized version:

The hard-cold truth:

Noticed that in the romanticized retelling of her story her expression isn't NEARLY as broad. It's like any typical tragic story Disney would tell where we are told the pain of loss but we don't actually feel it/see it. When the story is flashed back again towards the end of the movie we finally see Abuela's true emotions. I believe this is because Abuela had finally reached a point of not being able to mask her emotions anymore. The whole family had been taught by her to ignore their thoughts and feelings and look "perfect" for their community and in return in front of each other.

Mirabel is really the catalyst in the beginning of Abuela's journey of self-healing which we hope will translate to her being more empathetic with her family but I feel like these types of things take time. It'll probably be a hard habit to break.

So I don't support Abuela and her decisions and how she has treated her family but I can see where it stems from. Losing everything that was precious to you can cause you to want to control the world around you to the point you are suffocating the feelings of those around you as well as yourself. She is a reminder to take care of yourself emotionally and mentally so you don't pass that trauma down to others.

[wandering-dracagian]

Analysis of a Witch: Amity Blight and Friendship

So here it is, another analysis post. A pal insisted I make one. I happened to agree so here I go. This is an analysis of Amity’s relationships with others, plus her relationship with Luz as well:

Amity and her Relationship with Others and Luz

We already know that Amity is gay for Luz. That’s about as obvious as we can get. However, while rewatching Lost in Language because I wanted to memorize everyone’s speaking patterns, I discovered some things.

For starters, for a while, it seemed like Amity hated Luz. This was true and here’s why:

In this screenshot from Lost in Language, we see that Amity’s secret hideout is unlocked by a book called “The Lone Witch and Secret Room” which makes sense. It’s a key to a secret room. However, the Lone Witch part already implies that she has no real friends, right? She has Boscha, sure, but we already know from Understanding Willow that she thinks she’s mean and not a good friend. In the later episodes of S1, she’s seen warning Boscha of leaving her behind or cutting off their friendship with one another.

Already, this is implying that Amity feels alone. Her having this secret room also shows that she only really feels safe and secure and listened to in the library. In the secret room, she has a sense of safety. Nobody knows where she is, she can escape from her abusive household, overall, she’s hidden and safe from the prying eyes of her disapproving parents and family.

In this screenshot, we see Amity reading a book to a group of young children. If you know anything about young children and their attachment to older figures that seem respectful, Amity would easily become a source of comfort and be attached to by them. We can also see this when one of the children goes “Thank you, Miss Amity” and Amity gets a tender look and pats him on the head. This is already a sign that she appreciates these children.

Why? The children, who she has wide eyes, similar to how they looked in her youth, are showing her unconditional love, something she never had in her household. Her siblings always picked on her or showed her restricted or dishonest affection. Her parents were obviously abusive as we saw in Understanding Willow. Now, and this is important.

Later on in the episode, Luz and Amity are stuck together when Otobin sews them into the book. After she goes “We’re gonna be stuck together forever.” she has a look on her face:

This one reads more to me as “Great. I’m stuck with someone who wants to hurt and annoy me for the rest of my life.” This is seen in the way her eyebrows aren’t quite furrowed but they’re almost sad looking. Up until the part where Luz saves them, she thinks Luz just wants to antagonize her as everyone else does. So, when Luz saves her or at least attempts to, she gets this expression:

This is a sign of tenderness. She’s smiling, something we’ve never seen her do in a genuinely kind way before up until this moment. Her eyes say “Hey. This person is really funny/dorky. Maybe she isn’t that bad to be around after all.” and her expressions start to change after this episode.

When she’s dismissing Otobin, her expression looks like this:

This reads to me as her being upset that her “Only friend” is gone. She has nobody again that she can consider a friend once again.

After Lost in Language, her eyes start being wider and more like her child self when she’s around Luz. 

Her eyes around Willow in her youth.

You can tell that something’s changed. She feels safer, more comfortable around her. Instead of afraid and on guard, constantly acting tough and withdrawn through her lidded/narrowed eyes, she looks friendly and open again. Her looks toward Luz, even when she’s talking to her about being the captain of the Grudgby team in Wing It Like Witches, are still tender and happy despite the lidded/seemingly narrowed eyes. After Lost in Language, she finally has somebody she can count on, feel safe around, be happy with. She doesn’t have to be anybody but herself around Luz. I think this is also why she developed such a strong crush on her. When she was friends with Willow, she didn’t know that Willow was somehow “inferior” to her and her family until her parents made her stick around Boscha. I firmly believe she started donning that expression after having complained a bit too many times about being friends with her.

So, in the end. When she’s around Luz, she feels comfortable, safe, happy. She finally has somebody who can be depended on and her safe space. She doesn’t have to worry (Yet) about somebody taking away someone that feels safe and comfortable to be around. She can finally open her eyes, smile big, dedicate and love somebody else, something she never had before she met Luz and ever since losing Willow as a friend.

Way more picture examples of Amity’s eyes and expressions around Luz: