#but as a writer I’m just impressed

[takitakidancetillthesunriseyea]

Wonderland and the Rabbit (Theory)

I thought by now my brain would’ve run out of Ateez theories but I was very wrong. Last night I was aimlessly scrolling the internet when I came across all of the rabbit-centric promotional material Ateez used for their latest comeback The World Ep. Fin: Will, that I had somehow missed seeing before their actual comeback.

I also discovered Mito which I had seen before but didn’t realize was also related to the comeback. I guess just I accepted without question that they would carry a little stuffed rabbit around for no reason. (Apparently Mito is short for Michin Tokki or Crazy Rabbit.)

Of course that set the gears in my brain turning. Crazy Form has a few things in common with Wonderland, (mainly the coats) but not enough that I would immediately think they’re connected lore wise.

However, Crazy Form has a lot, and I mean a lot. Of Alice in Wonderland references.

We have Hongjoong doing the Cheshire cat smile.

We got the rabbits everywhere and the little ear motions in the choreography. Personally I think the name “Crazy Form” alone is already pretty in line with the whole Alice in Wonderland “We’re all mad here,” thing. And of course we have whatever these godawful furry things are.

Even Seonghwa’s smile in the MV is rather Mad Hatter-ish

(I also find it interesting that his left eye is covered but that’s a point for a dif theory.)

So. From all that it’s clear they’re trying to make a connection to Alice in Wonderland. But why? What does Alice in Wonderland have to do with their story so much that they’re putting references in everywhere.

At first I assumed it had to do with their alternate universe thing. Is entering the doors to Strictland in the Wonderland MV them ‘going down the rabbit hole’? Is Mito their white rabbit? (Even though it’s black-) Is it just another reference to them being somewhere strange they don’t belong?

As I was thinking of all the things I could remember about Alice in Wonderland, suddenly it hit me. The ending. Alice in Wonderland ends with Alice waking up and realizing it had all been a dream.

(When I realized it I almost lost it)

There have already been a number of people theorizing that the Crazy Form MV is at least partially in a dream due to Hongjoong shooting real bullets out of his finger guns, San flying, etc... Oh yea and the crecent moon at the beginning that seems to instantly change to a full one.

Which just adds it to this list of dream related MV’s like Illusion, Wave, Inception, and Eternal Sunshine. But it really makes me wonder, was the Wonderland MV a dream too? We don’t have diaries for the Treasure series, so pretty much anything goes at this point.

It would make sense if all the weird maze stuff was part of a dream, but feel like the maze is something different entirely… AhhhHHhgh this is all so big brain that I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of what’s actually going on.

It does makes me wonder though…just how deep does this rabbit hole (dream) go? How long have they been asleep? And when they wake up, where, when, and who will they be?

[dykeogenes]

okay listen neil newbon would absolutely deserve to win best performance for astarion at the game awards and I’m going to applaud if and when he does. however. if devora wilde isn’t at least NOMINATED alongside him you can all expect me to make some angry posts about it.

[roman-vs-usernames]

I’m rereading this short story I wrote about a year ago, and I’m afraid I made it fairly obvious that there is something Deeply Wrong with me

[hey-scully-itsme]

reading some essays/lectures by Flannery O’Connor and she has some relevant stuff to say (it’s also Very Catholic so warning for that ig)

This is from Mystery and Manners.

[too-young-to-fall-in-love]

Just Like Me

summary:

From the convenient timing to his inability to stop talking about Paris, talk of their relationship is inevitable. Still, the chasm between them remains. While Napoleon hopes to cross it, he knows he’s only good for making things worse.

Or, the ending events of Amor Magnus Doctor Est - Chapter Five, but from Napoleon’s perspective.

notes:

After reading Amor Magnus Doctor Est for the umpteenth time, I started thinking about how Napoleon would react to the events towards the end of chapter 5.

If you haven’t read the fic, PLEASE DO SO!! I PROMISE you will not regret it (although it may take over your entire life and influence your trip to Chicago, but that’s probably something that only happens to yours truly). However, you don’t have to read the original fic to understand this standalone.

excerpt:

The bitter cold runs its sharp tendrils up his spine and he can’t hold back a slight shiver. Even faced with Illya’s so-called inhuman warmth, it’s a force to be reckoned with. He knows he should move; that they either need to continue this walk or he needs to duck out. At the same time, nothing could convince him to move from this moment.

As if to root him to said moment, Illya’s arm wraps gently around his shoulders, pulling him minutely closer. He blames it on instinct, the way he immediately slides his arm behind Illya’s waist and leans closer. Illya is warm, he notes, his presence soothing and achingly familiar even if they’ve never shared a moment quite like this. He finds himself hoping it will last forever. A voice in his head is quick to retort that he doesn’t deserve it, though it sounds close enough to Victoria’s voice that he steadfastly ignores it.

“You really are warm, Peril,” he murmurs, blaming the sudden looseness of his tongue on the pitch blackness of the night sky and the way it seems to absorb his words, or perhaps the alcohol that really had no impact on him. He’s terrified, though, of the real reason: he feels safe here.

read more on ao3

inspired by Amor Magnus Doctor Est by @cha-melodius

[cb-writes-stuff]

Got my writing out of the way pretty quick today. 483 words. It’s nice to get back to it after missing a couple days.

Favorite sentence from today: “The three of them slithered through the crowd, taking great care to stay close together as other groups slithered around them.” I just think it’s a really effective way to describe how people here move through crowds.

[little-shiny-sharpies]

I wanna make a quick note before pass out for the day and maybe play the Kul Tiran alliance questline late tomorrow and that is;

I don’t hate Jaina because she dated Kalec, like truly I don’t. I hate her because the writers flipped her from a peaceful liaison to a massive racist (who literally suggests genocide several times and commits it at least once) with the grace of a toddler cooking an egg over-easy

[chanelpirate]

my favourite part of smutfic featuring alastor is that so many take a nuanced approach to the subject of greyspec identities, boundaries, respect and consent in a way that’s just so real, and so validating. and then he’ll straight up chomp through a mfer

[bytebun]

truly how do you writers plot and outline. I sit here like what happens next? Hell if I know. (This is a plea for actual advice if you would be so kind)

[ninas-gf]

spoilers for the new desert world quest

i feel so bad for jeht right now… like it’s bad enough that liloupar is being so nasty to her for literally no reason, but no one is really even defending jeht or anything… since liloupar calls the traveler her master and seems to respect them more than the others, you’d think if the traveler told her to cut it out, she would (unless i���m missing something), but for some reason that hasn’t crossed anyone’s mind yet?

i’m still on the first part i think… i hope it gets better later (since i think this is going to be one of those multi-day quests, like golden slumber) but if it’s just this nonsense nonstop the whole way through i’m gonna be so annoyed….

[daydreamerdrew]

Fantastic Comics (1939) #1

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

Someone asked me what my favorite genre of book is and I said “I like fantasy and romance” and when they asked things like “what are you reading now?” And mentioned a few authors it’s like, how do I explain that at the moment I’m reading textbooks and fanfiction?

[justanisabelakinnie]

Sigh…

Let me start right off the bat by saying that I genuinely mean NO OFFENSE with this(as sarcastic and insincere as ik that’s gonna sound 😢), but…I hope you don’t mind that I hate this take.

First off, Isabela’s character arc is about her being free from the chains of perfection, of being Abuela’s pretty dancing doll, and of only growing perfect pink flowers. Once she’s free to be imperfect, to dress how she wants, and to grow whatever plants she wants, she’s as happy as ever. But that doesn’t mean she became more tomboyish or less feminine as a result. Femininity isn’t just wearing the color pink and being delicate and dainty and docile. You can be wild, loud, free-spirited, and independent and be feminine all at the same time. So by saying she’s a “tomboy” after she stops being perfect, you’re technically saying that being her own person and not conforming to the rules set for her makes her a tomboy and not feminine. As if femininity is inherently lesser, weaker, and more constricting. Which is simply not true.

Also the creators have literally said:

So no, her newfound independence is not a sign that she’s shed her femininity or is now a tomboy. If anything, it’s quite the opposite.

The Luisa one is even weirder to me because…how is she acting like a tomboy? So she’s tall and buff and does a lot of heavy lifting around town…because she has super strength! That’s her gift! The creators had to fight for Luisa to be muscular to go with said gift specifically because the Mouse was scared that girls wouldn’t like a buff girl character and that girls couldn’t be buff because strength is a masculine trait. She’s not acting like a tomboy just because she is buff and strong. Just like Isabela isn’t “actually a tomboy” because she’s rebellious and wants to be more than just pretty.

Because otherwise you’re saying that femininity means fitting into a box and being obedient and submissive to the wants and needs of others. And that being strong and independent automatically makes you masculine. Which is hardly true.

The creators honestly did a great job of showing empowering femininity and that you can be a strong and unique individual without having to lose your femininity. Neither of them are tomboys, they are both feminine in their own way, it’s that simple.

Isabella: acts like a girly girl but is actually a tomboy

Luisa: acts like a tomboy but is actually a girly girl

[girl4music]

FRAZAR (NOBODY): “I had to see you before I left. You know? Seeing as I might never come back.”

EMILY: “All that? Look, you can’t take that whole me having a vision about how you’re gonna die thing seriously. I am a weirdo. You know that. I’m the crazy one. Right? I’m sure you’re gonna be fine, and-“

FRAZAR (NOBODY): “-Please don’t do that.”

EMILY: “Don’t do what?”

FRAZAR (NOBODY): “Don’t be all fake and happy like the rest of ‘em. You’re the only one who’s ever been real with me about what this war might cost. You’re the only one who’s brave enough to face the truth. You don’t try and peddle some false hope.”

EMILY: “What if hope is all we have?”

FRAZAR (NOBODY): “Sometimes… the most hopeful thing you can do is to look directly at the darkness.

*lightens up the tone*

And by the way, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

EMILY: “You don’t?”

FRAZAR (NOBODY): “No! It’s the world that’s insane. The only thing that makes you different is you’re not afraid to call it like you see it. It’s what makes a great writer. You know? Great writers don’t flinch at the truth, even if it’s tragic. Look at Dante. The Inferno. He went all the way down into hell, came back to tell about it.”

EMILY: “Well… I really hope you come back.”

Wow! What a conversation. What an interaction! That was so well written. Especially the part about how the most hopeful thing you can do is look directly at the darkness. I often say something like that myself. But rather I put it as being authentic in and with the moment as you experience it. Expressing the truth regardless whether it’s positive or negative. Because it’s the truth. It’s what you personally experience - what you feel. Frazar is right. Holding on to hope is no good when it’s not honest. It’ll only serve to make you even more in pain because your expectations of the outcome aren’t realistic. You’ll be much better off seeing things for as they are. It’s less painful in the end. At least in terms of knowing who you are in it. It’s still painful for what it is - of course - but least you can say that you never escaped from the pain you felt. You faced it head on. You looked directly at the darkness. Because pain and darkness aren’t bad things to feel. They’re what make you appreciate pleasure and the light when it is the honest truth, the real experience.

I loved that. I thought that was extremely insightful. Probably the best piece of writing from this show yet and certainly something I’m going to remember in life.

While I wish this kind of conversation could have been between Emily and Sue - for historical accuracy’s sake - I’m glad that they kept it between Emily and Frazar. Yeah, emotional conversations and interactions like this are something I always want from WLW ships in TV art/entertainment because of WLW representation. But the sentiment to get across is still represented so it’s still substantial to me to hear something like this between any characters in TV art/entertainment. The lesson is still there to learn - if you so wish to learn it. And I’m all about that. I’m always all about the education and the storytelling before anything else. It’s really just a bonus to get it between WLW ships because it makes for a real reason to care about them besides from the fact that they’re two women in love. It all helps to build on their relationship and make a foundation for why they are so in love with each other. That’s why I think it’s necessary for the characters in the WLW ship to both be main characters in the show.

But at the end of the day - it’s all down to the intention of the show runner and the writers they employ for it. So you can have any characters with any relationship to or with each other have profound dialogue like this. It’s what I always look for and it’s what I will always regard as what makes me decide whether it’s a good show or not because - as I said - I care about the learning. I don’t care about being entertained. I don’t care about the pleasure principle. I care about the art.

When I truly love something - when it truly hits my heart. I’ll never stop thinking or shut up about it. You know I’m passionate about any art I interact with or engage in when all I can do is express myself on it. It becomes a part of me in such a way that never leaves. It becomes a part of my core. Who I am - what I am. How I identify - how I navigate. “I” disappear within it and end up knowing myself all the more because of it.

After all, I don’t believe in “identity”. It’s too solid and too permanent to ever be able to define that “I Am”. And I think the whole point to this Frazar (Nobody) character is to emphasise that notoriety is pointless because when you’re known for who you are, you become lost in the delusion that you’re ever anyone.

[melancholicscoundrel]

just read My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness. bawled my eyes out. never felt so seen. considering hiring myself an escort.

[counting-stars-gayly]

I’m actually LOVING how Rick Riordan, and the other writers of the show, took his initial concept of a Percabeth rivalry fueled by that of their parents and kind of turned it on its head?

Now, instead of Annabeth being wary of Percy because he’s a son of Poseidon, he’s wary of her because she made a callous impression on him. They get off to a rocky start even before finding out who Percy’s father is, and when they finally do, Annabeth doesn’t care. Instead of them fighting because of who their parents are, they’re fighting over their own opposed worldviews.

Then, instead of them arguing over which of the gods is cooler and who was right in the story of Medusa, they realize that, just like Medusa, Annabeth is a victim of her mother and that, unlike Medusa, she is a far kinder and stronger person, unwilling to repeat the cycle of hurt. They realize that, like his father, Percy often acts without considering potential consequences and that, unlike his father, he is a far kinder and stronger person, willing to step up for someone he wronged and whom he cares about.

Instead of Percy and Annabeth’s rivalry being focused on that of their parents, it’s focused on who they are, themselves. But the path to friendship is still the same: a realization that they have each other’s backs, no matter what, because they’re not their parents after all.