#c0mmencement

[onceuponamirror]

*Riverdale spoiler, kind of, though I think it’s a temporary development* Jughead establishes a Serpent rule, Toni / Cheryl break the rule, and then they get kicked out. Toni says, “I’m a serpent by blood, you can’t take that away from me” and idk that line really made me think about the implications of Jug just being another white male taking things from indigenous people and it made me mad. Although, she did directly insubordinate him so it’s a weird gray area I guess?

i mean, i haven’t seen this episode, but based on what i’ve read and this message, i think it’s classic riverdale painting itself into a very frustrating and completely avoidable corner. they always seem to know what they’re doing with the serpents—let’s not forget the whole episode dedicated to native genocide and poc telling their own stories—but they still frame the power grabbing/holding/manipulation in the hands of the white characters anyway. very, very consistently.

i admittedly get a little frustrated that i’m still seeing “but X character did this!!! foot stomp!!”* when it ignores the fact that this is willfully obtuse writing from people, not actions of characters. did jughead do something wrong? did cheryl? did toni? 

(*not this message at all, i just mean the squabbling i’ve seen between stans of characters) 

for me, it doesn’t matter as much because it really depends on whether or not the writers meant for that character to do something wrong, narratively wrong, that we are supposed to take as a complex, debatable action. is the way jughead navigates power supposed to be problematic? is toni supposed to be in the right? etc

so in general, i have a certain amount of leeway with that, as it also depends on hindsight, right? sometimes you can’t be sure whether or not jughead did x is intended to come back on him in a bad light. even a gray light. but…then i circle back to my first point, which is that: this isn’t new behavior on the behalf of the writers. 

they’ve created a snake that eats itself, pun totally intended, by working backwards from a white cis male character as the largely self-inserted leader of a group of marginalized people of color. especially after making it a native organization that supposedly is political (as needed), there’s just very little wiggle room left over for jughead to do much of anything that is above criticism as that white, cis, male character in a position of, again, self-inserted power. 

ie: the optics are never going to be good. 

they just won’t. there are ways to correct this—i mean, let’s not get me started on why a 16 year old is a gang leader or the bullshit actions of FP or the background dressing of teenagers in shantytowns—but it’s not an aesthetic trade off that the show wants to make at this point. 

and yeah, the show is trash, fun, doesn’t matter, blah blah blah, but i think those who want to make the argument that the show is trying to score woke points while making no effort towards it, they’re valid to do so. this show has a huge, young audience. what it does matters!

in terms of specifics, like that insubordination or what cheryl did specifically besides gifs i’ve seen of her escapading as a literal cat burglar (okay), i can’t really speak to it. 

[libraerie]

CONGRATS ON OXFORD!!!! You deserve all of the accolades you’re receiving!! I hope you’re really soaking in all of the love and support around you!!! :))))

ahh h thank you so much !!! i really am immensely grateful for all the love i’ve been receiving from you and many others 💓

[the-sunshine-club]

Sunshine Suggestions ♥

For anyone with personality disorders: Grounding yourself is super important!!! When you’re feeling overwhelmed or like you’re responding to something disproportionately, remember to ground yourself by using all five of your senses and focusing on breathing. Remember to ask people you trust, “Is this an appropriate reaction or is it my personality disorder”? - @c0mmencement 

[moonshine-whiskey]

c0mmencement:

found this today

Source: c0mmencement

[sjcaffier]

Taking a moment to express some love to my best friend and our fur babies. @c0mmencement you're my love, my rock and my best damn friend. You keep doing you and remember how much of an impact you've had on my life.

[sixyearsunder]

@c0mmencement thank you friend!! 😍😭😍😭

Sunset at Mt. St. Helens

[onceuponamirror]

Hey! So I just finished watching Sabrina and I would love to hear your theories, predictions, favorite characters, favorite tropes or themes, anything! In as much detail as you’d like! I love reading your well-articulated thoughts on the shows we share love for :) I hope you’re finding some solace within your favorite tv shows during this dark political time. I missed you while you were gone for a few days! I support you and I’m here if you ever need someone!

aw, thank you!!! i am feeling better having had a little break. and i am also VERY much enjoying throwing myself into caos talk, especially given what’s going on in the world. (sigh)

i did a big initial review write up to the show here [x] and that contains most of my general thoughts, but i’ll try to throw down a few other newer stray thoughts/theories/hopes:

-i really want to know who else is out there. the more i think about dr. cerberus, the more literally i do interpret his name. he’s definitely....something. be it real vamp, werewolf, or essentially a hell hound, i’m curious! either way, i hope hilda gets a cute love story out of it lol

-i want a jewish werewolf character. i want this joke so bad. gimme it. what’s the point without it 

-to the point about how literally do we take the name references of characters, a lot of people have brought up nick scratch being a combination of nicknames for the devil and suspect he’s actually satan in disguise. i am less inclined to take this at face value, truthfully, just because.....i don’t know. the stuff he was talking about in terms of love and romance just felt genuine? 

and i don’t even think it’s a shippy thing, because i’m not super sure where i stand on any ships rn (harvey and sabrina are tres cute and i suspect the pining/distance in s2 will gut me, but i just wish we had a bit more development into why they love each other)

i just feel like....in some ways these teen shows will always be a little bit dedicated towards making themselves a sensation, and i think they really want a love triangle. and i just think it’s more compelling if nick isn’t actually satan, seducing her in disguise. but that’s possibly bias because seduction-deception tends to gross me out. 

-BUT i think he’s definitely got an agenda, and he’s definitely got plenty of shady moments, so---i’m back to my original theory (before the show aired) that he’s working with/for the devil to get sabrina in the witch world. whether that’s because his arm is twisted for a layered reason or just because he was called to do it after signing his name, who knows. but i lean more towards “sabrina gets close to falling for him and then finds out he was working for satan” because, as we saw early on, she does not take deception well. and yanno, drama. anyway, that’s what i would do. 

-as i’ve mentioned a few times, i am just loving how the aesthetics and campiness are used deliberately, not just as references. which they are, of course (vinegar tom and daniel webster are my current faves) but they’re really used to further the plot and character development. the nightmare ep was kinda so/so but it did a lot for the spellman’s growth, and is a good example of how aesthetics can be used to bring internal things forward as external obstacles. 

susie and harvey kinda got the same treatment, as i posted in my big first write up. 

-i also want more development into the sisters and have their personalities start to come out a bit more clearly. dorcas (lol her name) is clearly the space cadet of the three, and prudence is devout and a clear leader, and agatha is....the most devilish? but that’s not really an individual personality. i hope to see more of that. 

-i think my fave character rn is sabrina herself---she’s just such a good heroine, especially in the way that her strengths also lead to some seriously big flaws. flaws that allow her to be fairly easily manipulated, frankly, because she only listens to what she wants to hear. and she gets humbled by it, but i don’t think we’ve seen the end of it. 

-as far as the “twins” thing i’ve seen floating around---i interpreted that to be more about sabrina worrying about her dual nature, not so literally that she has an evil twin running around. and/or it was foreshadowing for the blackwoods

-which leads me to my next theory, which is that father blackwood’s creepy warlock club is probably gonna be a large plotline of s2. as well as the murder of the guy from the first ep, that leads through the whole season and doens’t get resolved. ambrose’s bf clearly killed connor’s (the murdered warlock) familiar and i don’t think anyone believes his adopted parents actually committed suicide? so i do love a good whodunnit, even if it feels a bit obvious who dun it. 

i know i have more thoughts, but this is all i got at the moment. i’ll edit in more as i think of them!! let me know if you want to talk more specifically about one of these---i have to keep myself in check in a single post, but i’m happy to go off about one of these threads in more detail if you want. let me know!

[megadoob]

@c0mmencement right?? he's too good for this world 😭😭😭

you guys im crying, my cat learned what time i get home every day and he will promptly come yelling for cuddles. i now have daily cat-mandated snuggle time and i couldnt be happier

[the-sunshine-club]

new members: batch two

the long wait is finally over! here’s the second batch of beautiful sunny angels who got into the sunshine club! welcome and read this instruction to be added as a member of our fb group! thank you so much to everyone who participated! ps: batch one can be seen here.

@starfaes

@statuesinking

@little-liese

@faithoneey

artsyherbs

@myeolk

@libraerie

@sunflowerrgay

@blueskirted

@efflorescent-x-eloquence

@freakinjimin

@bpdope

@frida-txt

solflowr

@skyblushes

@lillithzoe

@pasteltrashbin

@radiohat

@if-only-weknew-stuff

@truculentcookie

@midnightmemehoe

@lucidtransparency

@ijunji

@cinnamonconangray

@avocabud

@peachrosepetal

@ohmysansastark

@fairydance

@consulteds

ughleavemealoneplease (cant find you)

@niathenerd

@only-firework

@lueurbby

@raydiate

@daisy-dulchains

@daisy-kiddo

@orthadox-gal

@b1ur

@daisiemom

@girlhoodinablur

@monotonousirregularity

@signofthetjmes

@awaykens

@411ft

@katrina-catherine

@les-do-math

@nahulia

@aoibhneasbeag

@dancr

@somasprite

@frecklebees

@merrink

@ooiocha

@magnificentpandaqueen

@dorkysides

@bbabycino

@honeybeesoul

@smiley-jasmine

@bluavocado

@ortheaux

@drizzlia

@c0mmencement

@formaangelica

see you around cuties! stay sunny!

[jacksonshannon]

Hey, I'm just letting you know that somebody removed your caption from the Bernie "eat the rich" Dump Trump cartoon you drew :( the uncredited version is now floating around

yeah, even if somebody reblogs it with the caption some shithead inevitably removes it cause it fucks up their precious aestheticThanks for the heads up though, good looking out

[sixyearsunder]

@c0mmencement

my blog is absolutely DEPRIVED of the beautiful washington photos you post on fb

Aww I’m sorry I just saw this! I’ll have to start posting on here 😊

[onceuponamirror]

Please tell me every single thought you have about twin peaks / the twin peaks reboot because the reboot confused me and truly made me feel like I wasn’t smart enough to understand it lol

i have not seen the reboot tbh!! i have been putting it off bc i heard mixed reviews and the original twin peaks is so dear to me. 

i don’t think i could really list off every thought i had about the tv series, but it’s just a really beautiful, haunting approach to a mystery into a small town’s seedy underbelly and the whisk of magical realism. it’s def meant to be surreal---did you have a more specific question about the show?? maybe i could answer it that way. 

[onceuponamirror]

Do you think the CW would be stupid enough to recycle the Lily/Rufus/Dan/Serena timeline from Gossip Girl? Meaning: introduce the kids as a couple, break them up, establish the parents as a couple due to their past history, break them up, and then make their children endgame?

i think that’s certainly the worry a lot of people have re: the two ships. it’s hard because, on one hand, writers strive to create drama. on the other, they know what’s popular, which translates into what works. 

i don’t know---honestly, i don’t have a lot of faith in these writers overall, but i’d hope that they can handle the direction wherever it goes. :/ 

[onceuponamirror]

What if Tall Boy and Alice were romantically involved and he was the actual father to Betty’s brother? And they’re now working together as the first and second Black Hood?

i mean........it’s a creative theory, but i don’t really see the connection between tall boy and alice. i think regardless, the second hood only really had one target that he was paid to kill, which was the sugarman. 

for the record, i would rather chic end up being a gumdrop who betty can rely on and trust, but i just feel that’s where the theory took me. i’d like to be wrong!! 

[onceuponamirror]

Hi!! I’ve been following you for literally years lol and I just now discovered you’re into Riverdale!! I went through your Riverdale tag (literally the whole thing, wow I love your analyses!) and saw extremely sparse references/theorizing about the Sabrina the Teenage Witch connection speculations. That said, I was wondering if you’d mind giving your input about it!! Have a great night!!

hi there!!! thank you for saying those nice things! 

i’d be happy to, but input in what sense? like...how i think the spin off will come about? will it technically be an spin off? i’m assuming that’s what you meant, so i’ll answer it in that way. 

as of right now, off the top of my head, here’s the sabrina information we have: 

some super sleuths zoomed in on the first page of the pilot script in the back of a photo, so if that is unchanged, we know that sabrina will become a witch in the pilot, but knows about it (she’s also so extra about it, love her)

[x]

it’s still currently being cast, as far as i know, or if they’ve finished they haven’t announced it yet

melissa joan hart said she and the cast of the 90s show are not involved, 

but that it sounds to her like it’ll be more like buffy than anything else [x]

theoretically, she’ll be in greendale, which is across the river. this was also nodded to in the canon tie-in comics

this is something that poses a bit of a world-building conundrum, because i’ve seen cast and writers speak to the fact that they don’t want to break the universe by introducing magic and supernatural, because that’s not something that can be taken back

however....in some ways that’s already happened. in the aforementioned canon tie-in comics, there’s one about pop being routinely visited by the actual fucking devil

in which he offhandedly mentions stopping in riverdale before going to greendale to ostensibly see sabrina and her aunts. 

the comics certainly aren’t the end-all of canon lore, but they are written by RAS, so there is a toeing of the line already going on

given the cw’s obsession with crossovers and the fact that riverdale is a very popular show, i think it’s unlikely to expect zero interaction between the two shows

we already know sabrina will have her own pilot, but these kind of things tend to have at least half of a backdoor pilot as well, so i personally wouldn’t be surprised if got her on a riverdale episode if/when her own pilot is picked up 

and i would be more surprised if the pilot doesn’t get picked up, btw

personally, i’m theorizing some kind of magical other universe that sabrina lives in, but at some point makes her way in out of the other canon verse. 

this sounds wacky and i’m not thrilled about breaking universes because it’s hard to do right and almost always flirts with disbelief, 

but it’s the only way i currently see maintaining the non-supernatural world of riverdale while also giving us sabrina

that’s about all i got at the mo. i’m personally really excited about it, because i was such a sabrina freak growing up, and i’m very here for another version of that. hopefully that was what you meant by the ask!

[onceuponamirror]

If you’re still on the fence about the show Grimm, it’s all on Amazon Video and it’s been a fun show to watch during quarantine. I had never seen it before (or even heard much about it, truthfully), but it’s not bad! The dialogue is a little cheesy at times and the lead has a tendency towards angst, but there aren’t a lot of crazy plot holes or anything. There have been some weird character developments as I’m nearing the end of the show, but I think it’s overall a fun exploration of folklore

good idea!! i’ve seen a few eps of the first season but now that i watched all of community in like 24 hours, i need something else to watch so i’ll try to get back into it!