#charmed analysis

[justgivemeabookplease]

Shrek 2, while a cinematic masterpiece, is also an interesting look at queerness and comp het.

Fiona is married so it's time to reunite with her parents. But instead of marrying a prince, she's married to an ogre. Not just that, but she's also an ogre. (Yes everyone knew she would sometimes be an ogre but that was when she was a child, she didn't know she would be an ogre for the rest of her life, and besides once she met the right prince she would stop being an ogre. She was supposed to stop being an ogre.)

But okay they're both ogres. We can still ask about when they'll have children because even if they're ogres they can still have kids, right? That's what married princes and princesses do so naturally that's what everyone does. Even if ogres might not be great parents (I've heard that ogres eat their young, is that something you people do?) it's still something that should be discussed.

And okay you can stay in Fiona's childhood bedroom filled with all the reminders that hey, everyone thought she was just a princess and princesses marry princes. Her toys left out from the last time she played with them. The prince slays the ogre. The princess offers a token of gratitude for slaying the ogre. Fiona wrote Mrs. Fiona Charming a million times in her diary because what else was she supposed to grow up to be?

And Harold, the Fairy Godmother says, you have to fix this, your kingdom can't be ruled by ogres. You were unfit to rule, to be loved, when you were a frog but I changed you, I made you better, I made you a prince. You know how this works. Think of your daughter's safety.

Shrek goes to the Fairy Godmother and oh honey, ogres don't live happily ever after. It's just not done. It hasn't happened in all of fairy tale history. You have to change the both of you to be happy. You have to present as a prince and a princess. It will be better. You'll fit in better that way. You'll be accepted that way.

[familyagrestefanblog]

Ladybug's Lucky Charms in Werepapas

Let's talk about another detail that people kinda REALLY wanna ignore about Marinette's decision in the Werepapas akuma battle. It's the fact that she hand-waves away FIVE Lucky Charms until she finally goes with the sixth:

No, that is NOT irrelevant. Marinette is not supposed to disregard her Lucky Charms left and right because they're trying to tell her what she's supposed to do. That's Lucky Charm 101 in an akuma battle.

I'm not gonna pretend like I know for 100% certainty what they all tried to tell her, but

1) a couple of them can be easily interpreted in very relevant ways.

And 2) I don't NEED to know what exactly they all mean because it doesn't need to be PROVEN that Marinette isn't supposed to cherry-pick her Lucky Charms. We've known since s1 how this works and it's still done like this in s6. Thanks to not being limited anymore to 1 Lucky Charm, she gained the luxury of sometimes just getting to summon one for the purpose of whooping ass instead of solving the actual situation - which is still a lucky charm's REAL purpose - but that doesn't change the fact that you're supposed to listen to the Lucky Charm, not the Lucky Charm to you!

Under special circumstances like a final battle, sure, use additional ones to whoop ass. But you can't just switch out the problem solving Charm with a purely ass whooping one which is what Marinette did here in "Werepapas". It's fine when you do that in an extremely dire situation, but a normal akuma battle is no dire situation. Especially not when the only real stakes there are is being reckless with Adrien's amoks!

She's supposed to use whatever she gets and that'll lead her to the right solution. Not going through a whole line of Lucky Charms until she gets one where she finally likes the first thought she gets from it because of how little it challenges her self-preservation (makes you wonder if having unlimited Lucky Charms now isnt the worst thing that ever happened to her. Now she can just ignore whole Lucky Charms until she finally gets one that tells her something closer to what she wants to hear instead of listening to the CHARM)

Let's take a look at her 6 Lucky Charms:

From my recollection (so correct me if I'm wrong), while the teapot sometimes shows up here and there as filler Charms it was firmly established and used several times as a visual cue for Marinette to go to Master Fu.

Obviously, she can't do that anymore, but she has Alya as co-guardian, Luka who was trained by Su-Han, and even Su-Han himself as Celestial Guardian who now does whatever she wants.

In a situation where Adrien's amoks are the akuma object, it's a pretty logical thing to happen that her first Lucky Charm tells her to get Guaridan-related help. She has the option, all the needed support, and all the resources, but doesn't use it because it wouldn't be nice having to face the baggage that could come with it.

And even if you wanna say "She didn't get help because she didn't wanted the new Butterfly to possibly find out that Adrien is a Sentibeing!" Then that excuse still falls flat because obviously Adrien's LIFE is supposed to be more important than preventing that secret from coming out. The secret has no value if Adrien is DEAD.

Afterwards she gets a fan and this obviously could VERY likely mean that she's supposed to get Felix involved because he's the Miraculous holder of the Peacock. And by "VERY likely" I mean "I doubt there is a likely chance that it ISNT a hint to get Felix".

I won't even elaborate on this further. Her second Lucky Charm tried telling her to get Felix when Adrien's amoks were on the line and she ignored it. It is what it is.

For the third and fifth ones, I personally don't know what they could mean because I already struggle recognizing what exactly they are supposed to be. Though, they do have recognizable shapes. I bet other people could look at them and know where they've seen these objects before in the show.

Then right between these two, the fourth Charm Marinette summons is an unicycle (that for some reason isn't polkadotted, but screw it)

An unicycle like she summoned back in season 2 "Sabotis", the episode in which Alya became Rena Rouge for the first time. Meaning this one pointed to getting Rena's help.

For me, this is one of the most interesting ones regarding Marinette's feelings of not wanting to face the Lucky Charm's solution to instead protect all her secrets. But if anything, I would want to give it its own post and not half-ass it here. Cause there are a lot of layers to this one.

And, of course, the last one: the scarf. It's alongside the fan the one for which the fandom does casually acknowledge the symbolism of it being a call back to 1x01 "The Bubbler" where Marinette now infamously made the decision to let Adrien believe that it was his father who made the scarf for him - and not her - because of how happy it made Adrien that his father finally "cared":

I don't think I need to explain why it makes sense that this is the one s6 Marinette cherry-picks to finally work with. The poor scarf has been made into the symbol of Marinette wanting to keep pretty much everything about Adrien's family a secret from him. Including him being a Sentibeing. I miss the good old days when we dreamed of the scarf being set-up to become the catalyst for Adrien to write off his father as a useless deadbeat who isnt worth his time and love.

So, unfortunately, of course this is the one she goes with now. Even if it means taking the risk to kill Adrien. Anything to keep the secrets save and lies unnoticed. How tf did we GET here?

[if-you-soul]

Mischaracterization in the CCCC fandom: a yapsesh (alternative title: Erm... What the Gore is Going On?)

Hi. Woaw. I'm actually making that post I talked about.

So. One thing I've noticed in the CCCC fandom is this weird fixation on gore, torture, violence, etc. Usually a level of graphic content that makes your average horror flick look... pretty tame!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy horror! I even think a horror story based around psychological conflict similar to CCCC could work well!

But is it just me, or has this fandom COMPLETELY lost track of what the characters are like in the source material?

Like. Let's be real. Nowhere in the album does Soul do gruesome surgeries on Mind, nowhere does Mind go ripping people to shreds like Doomguy, et cetera. The closest thing we have to an implication of violence is what most of us call the "Juno incident"- as even "tines stabbed through eyes" is clearly a metaphor with the next line: "that the sides have condemned."

Im gonna talk ab the characters themselves under the cut

I feel the biggest victim of this mischaracterization is Soul. In the album he's... kind of a victim, really. He toughs out being dismissed and fought over and pushed aside and outright dehumanized for so, so long. Are we seriously just... going to characterize him based solely on his lowest point in TSE? Spring and a Storm and Mucka Blucka are also songs where he's present- along with his presence in Just Apathy that the fandom seems to outright deny to keep their characterization of him as some violent, abusive monster. (Which, again, is quite literally never alluded to! He's honestly kind of a victim, if anything!)

Ohhkay. Next topic. Mind. Oh boy I have thoughts on how people characterize Mind.

He's not emotionless. If you believe this, you've fallen for his stoic facade. All of his songs are just. So full of so much rage. Maybe even a little bit of grief and sadness and fear, masked by said rage. He isn't some emotionless robot- (Heart calls him an automaton as an insult, but that's another rant.) and honestly it feels like such a disservice to such an interesting character with so much unexplored depth to portray him as such.

Heart. Oh boy. Where do I start. Heart what did they do to you.

Heart is the emotional side, yes, but that isn't just some... smol innocent uwu baby who cries all the time. Emotions aren't small and cute and timid. They're INTENSE and PASSIONATE and EXHAUSTING. Strong emotions leave you so, so drained, good OR bad. This is so much more interesting than portraying him as some "uwu hai dere!!" type of character. Which is nowhere in the album.

Whole is hardly even a character. Soul worshipping and praying to whole is fanon.

This fandom's weird obsession with creating shock gore and one-upping each other in a violence competition has spiraled pretty far out of control, and it's honestly crazy. How do you go from an album about internal conflict to violence that would make even the cast of Resident Evil cringe? Brah.

Final notes uhhh. Soul is a victim who got pushed to his limit, not an evil heartless abuser. Mind is angry and unstable and hurt, not some emotionless robot. Heart is the entire emotional spectrum, not some innocent baby. Ok i . I think that's all. Have a good one

[super-subraminion]

apple white is so horrible but she is also so kind and thats why she's awesome

(super long yap session below because i want to ramble about apple because she is so interesting to me just as a warning lmao)

i feel like i see sm ppl on like tiktok and all (which maybe my first mistake was expecting nuance on tiktok) acting like she's like the evilest character on the show and i feel like thats just so reductive of her character

like apple is so kind she genuinely loves her friends so much; she's always been so excited and kind around raven when everyone else was afraid of her; despite the fact that her happily ever after is essentially nepotism, she works so hard to prepare to be a good ruler and wants the best for her future kingdom; she's constantly seen helping people and trying to enact change as leader of student council(i.e having the duck crossing or smth along those lines, i don't remember exactly), etc etc.

but at the same time she fails to realize how cruel she can be at times and thats why shes so awesome. like hello, the daughter of snow white, this elegant, perfect, delicate princess also simultaneously being so selfish is so good?? even though she loves her friends so much, she fails to realize or understand why they wouldn't want to uphold the status quo; even though she is kind to raven, that kindness comes with the expectation that raven will sacrifice her life to uphold the system for apple's happily ever after; even though she grinds and grinds to be a good ruler, she is still unaware of the privilege she has; even though she helps people, she can just as easily say out-of-touch and cruel things(like when after legacy day, she takes a dig at the rebels because they don't have happily ever afters)

honestly apple's privilege in and of itself is so interesting to me- because she does go through so much and she is a victim of the system— imo everyone is a victim of the system because even those with happy endings have to sacrifice their free will in order to obtain it(i.e ashlynn's ending is good but she'd have to sacrifice her relationship with hunter for it, cerise also technically has a good ending assuming she goes w the red riding hood destiny but she sacrifices half of her identity for it). in apple's case, she was conditioned to accept everything that came with her destiny with a smile on her face, conditioned to accept a man as her destined prince when in reality they had no idea who her destined prince was and she's gay so she would've just been trapped in a loveless marriage, lied and manipulated to so she could maintain the system. assuming that eah's snow white follows the canon of the original fairytale(ik there's some differences like how raven technically wouldn't become apple's stepmom, and raven's mom wasn't apple's mom's stepmom), apple has to knowingly go through 2 near death experiences and one that basically works, only to have a someone she doesn't even love beyond accepting the fact that that he's destined for her to wake her up. one detail i've always liked about dragon games is how they went all out in the scene where apple is poisoned- the detail is visceral and horrifying, she is genuinely struggling, etc; and the reason i really liked that they animated it that way is it adds to the horror of apple's story, because the path to her happily ever after is horrible.

at the same time, the reason apple is willing to go through any of this is because she can afford to. i don't think(???) her parents die(someone pls feel free to correct me on this because im not actually sure) unlike ashlynn's (im only assuming because its explicitly mentioned for ashlynn but never talked about for apple). she isn't poisoned for long. she may not truly love daring, but he's a good enough guy, conventionally attractive, heroic, and a nice friend to her. and she goes through all this to be the most beloved person in the world, the ruler of like everyone, and get a life of absolute luxury. in the long run, she pays pretty small prices to get the best life ever. i think most of the fandom is in agreement when i say that she easily has like the best destiny on the show.

but from apple's perspective, her destiny isn't the best. she only knows her hardship, and she does have to go through a lot for her destiny— the point i mentioned earlier about how horrifying the animation is when she got poisoned is proof of that. its so telling that she cant understand why her friends would be hesitant of their destinies— especially her formerly royal friends like briar and ashlynn. briar and ashlynn similarily also get ultimately happy endings of a life of wealth and being beloved— but the price they pay is a lot greater than what apple goes through(not to mention ashlynn also has the extra motivation of being in a relationship with hunter). i feel this is especially obvious in thronecoming where apple tells briar that "we all have a part to play"— apple feels that she is also sacrificing a lot to uphold the system anyway and the way i see it is that she thinks its unfair that others are questioning their roles when it's the natural order of the world to make big sacrifices. but what she can't grasp is the others r willing to risk it all because their destiny is so tragic— like how raven tried to find everything she could about potential rebellion before she rebelled because if there was even a chance she didn't have to contractually obligate herself to a hellish life forever it was worth the risk(mostly emphasized in the books). apple upholds the system not only because of the way she has been lied and manipulated to, but also because she can afford to make sacrifices; raven rebels against the system because her sacrifice is sacrificing everything about her, including her wellbeing and life.

like shes so much more interesting than just being "the real villain of ever after high", she's another teenager a victim to the system— except she has more to gain than others so she simultaneously religously upholds the system. shes so interesting because of her sharp contrasts in character and i feel that reducing her like that takes away from the complexities of her character

obv i get why people don't like her character anyway, a character being complex doesn't mean people have to like said character. i'm definitely biased towards her because i do like her a lot but i get why people don't but idk man i feel like going in the direction of "she's the real problem!" takes away from the entire idea that this system is harmful to everyone, even those with privilege, and it also just makes her less interesting because part of why i like her and why she is such a compelling character is because she's so crazy in the sense that she is so kind and horrible at the same time— she's so hypocritical but her headspace makes sense at the same time and i find the duality she has to be really strong writing

if you made it all the way to the end thanks for reading my long ass yap session i wrote this instead of preparing for my lit essay i think i should get diagnosed-

also feel free to correct anything i said if i accidentally spread misinfo- theres always tiny details about this show that i get confused about every now and then and i always want to know more about this show

update i did my lit essay and unironically writing this helped me somehow so my lesson is that not doing my homework and yapping about ever after high is always the solution

[kai-zuha]

A continuation of this post of why Sky & Twilight are a perfect pairing

We know from the last update that our Skylight duo works perfectly together, but lets go farther into it.

Twilight get's hit right in the spot where he was injured in the last major updates. As we can see, Sky is immediately on alert after this but he doesn't make it known.

In a situation like this, if Twilight was with any other member of the chain there would've been a huge outburst of protection for Twi. One of the reasons that Wars suggested for either him or Hyrule to be with Twi was to prevent things like this happening.

But it's actually a good thing that this happened.

After Twilight get's hurt he takes matters into his own hands and uses his skills to gain the upper hand. Again, if Twilight was with anyone else I doubt they would even allow Twi to even use his sumo skills on the enemy.

Henceforth, why Sky was the perfect choice.

Sky is worried for Twilight, that is known, but he doesn't outright show it. He see's that Twilight is able to take care of himself and simply asks him if he's okay. Sky doesn't hover over him or mother him at all, because he knows that Twilight will be okay and will speak up if he needs too cause Twi trusts him.

Everyone trusts Sky to some degree and that is really important to me.

Sky is very laid back but also very protective of those in the chain, it's why everyone trusts him so much, we've seen it from Legend, Twilight, even Time.

I don't even remember what this analysis was supposed to be about but, moral of the story is that. Sky knows how to read the room and everyone trusts him greatly, Sky is also very understanding which is a factor in why everyone trusts him so much.

all art shown by @/linkeduniverse

[ksjanes]

"To analyze the charms of a flower is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt to fully understand."  

 ~Henry T. Tuckerman 

[agirlking]

Remmick is actually charming and capable of manipulation (he is also a bit off putting)

I see a lot of takes about how Remmick can't be suave, charming, seductive, so on, here's why I don't think they're entirely right.

(Though I agree he's not traditionally seductive, at least not when we see him in the film, he doesn't seem to focus on sex. But he can be seductive and tempting in another sense.)

Remmick's true strength in terms of charm and manipulation is not getting it right instantly, it's in his ability to rapidly adjust.

I think the scene with Bert and Joan shows this right away.

He stops using the word Choctaw when Bert starts using slurs. His manipulation wasn't perfect right away, but he adjusted almost right away. He sees how resistant they are and starts crying. People are going to be uncomfortable with someone they don't know crying in front of them, (unfortunately) all the more when they're a man, he was getting them to think less.

(Also he sees the robes and assumes that they don't have enough compassion to help someone out of the goodness of their hearts, which is a very reasonable assumption, and then he switches to offering money. Once again he is able to adapt rapidly.)

To touch on his limited background info; We know that Remmick came to America in 1911, and we know he lost his "family" on the boat, he was the only survivor. I personally believe that he spent the next 21 years isolated. He wasn't turning people, nor do I think turning people en masse was typical behavior for him.

He was leaving Ireland, he turned everyone on the boat (assuming none of them were older vampires who'd been with him for awhile) to hold onto his community, it just backfired horribly for one reason or another.

But if Remmick turned people like that all the time? There's no way he made it to 1300 without someone taking him out. Actually you can also look at his accent as further proof. He came to America in a time when he would absolutely be discriminated against for being Irish, and I think it must've taken time to hide his accent. If he was also super weird and off putting all the time on top of being Irish, again, he'd have constantly attracted violence. The fact he even put both the thought and the effort into faking an accent (which he's doing quite well at other than here or there where his real accent slips in) shows he's capable of calculation and manipulation.

I fully believe Remmick only turned Bert and Joan out of desperation. He approached the Choctaw (the real life Irish Choctaw history probably played a part in his decision making) wanting to turn them, the first major attempt he'd made since the boat, but they figured him out. He finally turns Bert and Joan because they were the only ones who opened the door, so to speak.

Then he gets to the Juke Joint, 21 years of isolation have him rusty, and he hasn't been around this particular community in that time I would bet. He doesn't have enough info to realize how strange he's coming across, and after seeing Sammie's gift and his desperation to see his ancestors he rushes into things. If he'd approached a group of people that didn't have reasons to be automatically wary of him then they'd likely have thought he was a bit odd but completely harmless and let him in.

(Notably, Cornbread liked the singing and so did Stack, and Stack was about to let him in but Smoke vetoed it. Even after, Stack gives him a chance and had Mary not... distracted him, Remmick would've gotten in. So it seems his manipulation isn't going too badly. Though obviously the money situation prompts a lot of that.)

When Mary approaches the group Remmick's already changed how he's handling things. His song is much more gentle and welcoming than the very creepy one he chose initially. He singles out Mary's specific pain, (I think this is key, he's better at manipulating individuals than he is massive groups. I also think he has some kind of telepathy or empathy because he seems to be able to sense Mary is grieving.), and her longing for companionship in her grief.

The way he speaks to her initially is completely normal ("were you lookin' for some fresh air, or?"), the only particularly strange thing is how Bert and Joan are acting (which I have thoughts about due to @cannibalfogdreams and I discussing this privately, but this post is long enough). When Remmick truly starts acting strange it's not because he can't act human or normal (he's been doing just fine in this conversation) it's because he's in a rush and doesn't need to do that. Mary's far enough away from the Juke Joint she has no chance of getting back to it even if she ran. He's already won.

I imagine if Remmick wasn't so frantic and if his goal had only been to turn Mary he would've taken his time and kept manipulating her and breaking down her walls until she was more inclined to listen to what he was saying. (I'm not swearing she ever would've fully bought into what he was selling, just that he was clearly succeeding at swaying her to some extent before he stopped bothering.)

Also why is it Remmick backs off when Mary pulls a gun on him? It's obviously not going to kill him, and there's reason to think their ability to feel pain (minus coming from something like garlic) is muted. Stack tells Sammie in 1992 he wouldn't hurt anymore, and Cornbread seems to be doing fine even with a ton of his face missing, same for the gentleman who got sliced up by the guy using loaded dice. So I don't think it's because a gunshot would be that painful for him.

I think it's because someone could've heard her fire and that would've made them suspicious of her and even more suspicious of Remmick and co than they already were. That's calculating.

He not only backed off and wiped his face when she pulled the gun, he waited until she fully turned her back and was walking away to attack and turn her. He could've just grabbed and bitten her then, but she probably would've fired a shot and/or screamed.

Later on he still attempts to convince everyone, but when Stack and Mary show up he lets them basically take over, and I do believe that is their own words, they are in a hivemind but their own self is not gone, just influenced. (As mentioned in a previous post I think they're basically high.) And it almost works! Stack nearly gets Smoke out the door. He knew to step back and let the people that know those in the Juke Joint take over the attempts at convincing.

There's probably more I'm forgetting but this has been bugging me a lot. Just because Remmick acts very strange sometimes doesn't mean he can't be suave and charming, it just depends on the situation, how much he wants to be convincing, and how much information he has.

TLDR: "Remmick is weird" and "Remmick is a capable, charismatic, manipulator" are takes that can coexist.

[sainteclectic]

the thing that's vital to understand about cccc is that they have reasons for what they do. but also, and this is important, they all kinda suck

mind is doing what he believes is best for them. he wants to be the perfect solution to every problem. he's also arrogant and incredibly petty, gloating and bitching every chance he gets about how much better he is than heart. he pretends his own feelings are just logical conclusions, while also devaluing other people's feelings. he sucks!

heart was never listened to by mind. he knows he's "weak and vile" but believes (rightfully!) that emotions are needed to survive. he also literally shot someone, refuses to admit that literally shooting someone is bad, and stubbornly both complains he's not listened to and never listens to anyone else. he sucks!

soul is exhausted. he's gone through this countless times, enduring the same arguments over and over. he just wants it to stop. so, he exerts as much power as he can over the two of them and threatens their lives. he's simultaneously both the most in control (of the three) and powerless (in the narrative), and he tries to control the other two for his own ends (even if those ends are ultimately good for them all). he sucks!

the story of cccc is ultimately about guys who kinda fucking sucks for their own reasons. the story is about the raw, unsanitized experience of mental illness. of course they're all deeply fucked up! removing their flaws is just re-sanitizing the purposeful mess that is the album and its characters

[royalarchivist]

Jaiden: Cucurucho, you have a lot of power, right?

Cucurucho: ...I don't know. Maybe.

Roier: Ah... Yes, you know, don't act like a dumbass, you have it. You have it, man. Eh?

Jaiden: Is there a way for us to protect all the Eggs? Do you know? I don't want anything to happen to the Eggs that happened to Bobby.

Cucurucho: Ha ha ha

Roier: WHAT? [Smacks Cucurucho]

Jaiden: [Bops him] Headpats.

Cucurucho: Maybe.

Jaiden: [Continues to bop him] Headpats. C'mon, I can get it out of you! Headpats! Chin scratches! Belly rubs!

Roier: [Joins Jaiden in bopping Cucurucho, chuckling and laughs]

Jaiden: Yeah? He's comin' around!

[Jaiden and Roier both laugh]

[that-random-outsider]

I heard mogan say this in an interview and I thought it was interesting to think about so here's a quick rant about Ella. So like Morgan was being asked about tge characters she plays (Ella if you some how didn’t get that from the beginning) and she mentions how Ella feels very much more like a teenager in the film, and I have to agree with that. She's very much more grounded, and blunt in the way you'd expect from someone who's realized just how shitty life can be. A trait that she shares with Red, who is another character who grew up poorly and tended to see things through a more jaded lens.

She also goes on to say that she thinks that because Ella didn’t have the best life growing up she channels all that energy into a protectiveness, and like I just don't feel like that's talked about enough because it's my favorite part of her character. Like throughout the story you hear Ella talk about her disdain for royalty and how Bridget is different, and how she's the strongest person she knows, and I just find that so interesting, because that protectiveness stems from a kind of selfishness in a way. She wants to keep Bridget safe because she doesn't want to have to believe that all of the world is this cruel. She wants to believe that if someone like Bridget can exist then there has to be good somewhere.

Bridget reminds her that there's good in the world, that maybe if you shine your light on the world, the world could shine back. And even if she doesn't completely believe that she's willing to protect Bridget’s light with her life because right now it's the only one she has. The only proof she has of good people existing, so yeah in Ella’s eyes she is different, and for not letting her light go out for all this time she is really strong, and Ella wants to protect her from the world's cruelty for as long as possible, and she does the same thing with Chloe decades later. She has this pattern of shielding the people she loves from all that's bad in the world (to the best of her ability) that she doesn't exactly know how to teach them to protect themselves. I.e Chloe’s naivety when she apologized to Lady Tremaine and Bridget falling for the prank. I don't know, I just feel like the people around Ella tend to become too reliant on her and it's really interesting because there's this fierce loyalty in Ella’s character that seems despite everything to never be enough.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

what would tom riddle's patronus?

Okay, it took me some time to answer this ask since I needed to spend some time thinking. I didn't really have an answer in mind until your question. It's just something I apparently never thought about. So I was interested in finding the most canon-adjacent answer I can for if Tom Riddle/Voldemort could cast a patronus, what would it be.

So, my approach to finding the right animal was based on a few factors, the first of which:

How exactly is the form your Patronus takes determined?

Because we don't actually get a straight answer in the books. We know Patroni can change with a person, but we don't exactly get an answer on what their form represents and why some couples have matching Patroni.

Basically, I don't know what you expected, Anon, but what you're getting is some rambling about the magical theory behind the Patronus charm followed by why that means Tom gets a certain animal over another.

So, let's start with the basics, the incantation:

"Expecto Patronum"

This is in Latin and literally translates to: "I await/expect a defender"

And Remus Lupin explains what the Patronus charm is as:

“Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus,” said Lupin, “which is a kind of anti-dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor.” ... “The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can’t hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.”

(POA, page 237)

We also know the patronus is cast by thinking of a happy memory — well, not really. The memory isn't really important; the emotion is. The memory is to help you have the right happy feelings that can fuel a Patronus. "You got to mean it" just like with an unforgivable.

So, what does it tell us about the Patronus:

We have a defender made out of happiness, literally.

This already sounds like something Tom Riddle would struggle with. I don't really see canon Tom Riddle/Voldemort being capable of producing one, but let's assume he can in some hypothetical AU. Let's take a look at a few patroni to see how their form is chosen and why.

Obviously, we have Harry's (and James') stag. A stag symbolizes many things in different cultures, but deer (both Stags and Does, like Lily and Snape) in general symbolize:

The cycle of life and death

Agility and grace

Bravery

Nobility

All this fits the Potters quite well. The nobility and bravery of Gryffindor and the cycle between life and death. Stags actually represent regeneration, as in a return from death, which fits with the Potters' connection to the Paverells and death perfectly.

Stags also symbolize authority, strength, leadership, and fatherhood, while does symbolize femininity, grace, intuition, and devotion. All in all, both animals fit James and Lily well. And while the stag does fit Harry (to a degree), I don't think his Patronus represents him.

I think Harry's patronus is a stag because James' patronus was a stag. Harry was actually convinced his father cast the Patronus when he first saw it in POA. And it makes sense.

I don't remember where I saw this theory, but it essentially was that your patrons would represent a person or an idea that you feel will defend you. It's why certain couples have matching Patroni, why a Patronus can change when you or your feelings about people change.

And Harry, when he casts his Patronus, the idea of his father who he never knew but would have protected him is the idea represented in Harry's Patronus. It's a stag like James' not because Harry and James are so similar (they have very different personalities actually) but because Harry's Patronus is James. It's a stag because James was a stag, and Harry is calling the concept of his father to defend him.

Following this logic, Lily's Patronus is a doe, because she is the doe. Lily's defender is herself. Courageous, noble, graceful and devoted. Lily's devotion to her son is what literally sets the series into motion. The reason she and James match is that they always have. He was always represented by the stag and she was always represented by the doe. Their Patroni aren't matching because of their relationship with each other, but because they are so compatible their Patroni matched from the get-go.

Snape's Patronus is a doe because of Lily. Lily is represented by the doe. As she was Snape's first friend and defender, whenever he calls for a protector, it's Lily.

Let's look at a few other Patroni, like Hermione's otter:

Playfulness

Joy

Family and close-knit friendships

Loyalty

All of this doesn't really sound like Hermione. Ron's Jack Russell Terrier on the other hand:

Loyalty

Courage

Playfulness

Cleverness

Protectiveness

Tanasity

Does sound very in line with who Ron is.

But then who does Hermione's otter represent? Well, an otter is from the weasel family and the list of characteristics looks closer to Ron's list of traits than Hermione's. I think Hermione's otter represents Ron who did step in to defend her since the troll incident in their first year multiple times.

So, where does that leave Tom Riddle?

Well, we established the Patronus becomes your defender, and in Tom's case, it'll be himself. Tom is distrustful and sees himself as more capable than anyone else. Not to mention he never had a real connection or person in his life he could call upon to defend him. So, whatever animal his Patronus is would represent himself as his own defender.

So, which animal represents Tom best?

The first animal I thought of, is of course: the serpent. Snakes are heavily associated with Tom (for obvious reasons) and is an animal we know he has a soft spot for. When looking at what snakes represent, you can see why he is associated with them:

Deceit

Transformation

Power

Regeneration and rebirth (shedding their skin)

Healing (Cadcadeus)

For the most part, the list seems to fit him well. Specifically their association with rebirth and the cycle of life and death by shedding their skin. Deceit and power are also right up Tom's alley. And even transformation considering he rewrote his entire identity to become Voldemort.

But, just "snake" wasn't good enough for me, I wanted to know which kind. And as I wanted his Patronus to be as rare as Harry's stag, I went to the list of official Pottermore possible Patroni to find a snake that is as hard to get in the test as the stag while not being magical.

(Magical Patroni are incredibly rare and to have yourself represented by a magical creature in your Patronus you need to be incredibly unique or incredibly full of yourself. At least, that's how I see it)

And low and behold, there was one on the aforementioned list:

The King Cobra

So I looked up if this snake has any interesting additional unique symbolism that would fit Tom. And, well, there was:

Authority and Leadership

Aggression and Fearlessness

Destruction and Creation

Intelligence and Cunning

Which all in all sounds fitting for Tom Riddle.

I also continued reading and apparently, snakes are associated with lightning by some Native American tribes. And when I saw that I was sold on the idea. Considering how the killing curse is represented by lightning (Harry's scar and the lightning-struck tower being the name of the chapter Dumbledore dies in). It feels appropriate with Tom's connection with snakes.

The King Cobra is actually not really a Cobra and is considered a unique breed of snake, which Tom would approve of. It's also the longest venomous snake and its venom can result in a rapid fatality, as soon as 30 minutes following a bite. It's also a cannibal snake that eats other snakes, including its own kind.

Overall it just fits perfectly, both in traits, symbolism, and how rare and dangerous it is. So, for your question, I think Tom Riddle's Patronus, if he could cast one, would be a King Cobra.

[jaggybot3000]

in my head mind is more mentally/verbally violent towards heart and heart is more physically violent towards mind, since the "mind" is more an abstract concept than the "heart", who is named after a literal physical body part. not that heart doesn't attack mind verbally or mind doesn't ever get physical with heart, just that they prefer their respective methods because of their respective roles.

and it just makes more sense for their characters, too, in that mind would feel superior to heart, in that he only cleverly points out all that is inferior about him, and would never go down to his level by getting physical, (despite his insults clearly being an outlet for his anger/frustration at their dissonance) and in that heart, the manifestation of the best and worst of all emotions and all of their impulsive desires, would lash out physically(see:Juno Incident) in an attempt defend himself/to be seen as equal(following his own twisted logic/justification for his actions, and later trying to explain them)

tldr: my hc is that mind is mentally strong but not so much physically, heart is physically strong but not so much mentally, they prefer to attack each other in ways they know the other is weaker

[internetgiraffekid1673]

Why the Charming Siblings are my Favorite

Guys, I am so in love with the sibling relationship between Daring, Dexter, and Darling. Darling and Dex in particular are very very close to my heart because they remind me SO strongly of my brother J-Dog and myself.

But even outside that resemblance, the three of them mean the world to me and are my favorite part of Ever After High. I daresay it is the most interesting relationship in the series. More than Briar and Apple, more than Duchess and Lizzie, more than Raven and her mother.

Blasphemy I know, but it's the truth. Their story is heartwarming and full of love and also rife with tragedy and I think it's HIGH time I rambled about them in detail. And I do mean rambling. Even more than usual, this is just me getting stupidly emotional about fiction and is not terribly coherent.

The Tragedy of Daring

First off, we need to talk about how tragic it is that Daring isn't close with the twins. Like at all.

It's very clear that to them, Daring is the epitome of the institution. He is everything Dexter is supposed to be and everything Darling WANTS to be and neither of them will ever be allowed to live up to him because he is the firstborn, he is the golden boy, he is the *favorite child.* His very presence in a room, his very existence, puts ungodly amounts of pressure on Darling and Dexter to conform, to shut up and do what you're told, to be perfect, to be a Charming.

Because Daring, at least on the exterior, is the perfect Charming. He can effortlessly fight dragons and rescue princesses and joust and swordfight and climb and woo girls and generally be distilled Happily Ever After. And he enjoys doing it. He is allowed to do and is praised for activities he enjoys. And all those factors means he's the favorite. He is the standard to which everybody else is compared, especially Dexter who both cannot live up to it and who is literally not allowed to escape Daring's shadow. He has the perfect life that both his siblings want. He has the approval and love of their father and their mother in a way Darling and Dexter have never gotten, especially not when they're being authentically themselves.

Now this isn't good for Daring either. Being under that much pressure and having the resentment of everyone else for being so perfect obviously fucks a person up, and Daring is no exception. But it does create a noticeable schism between the kids: Daring, who does what he's told, and Darling and Dexter who do not.

It means that the twins cannot trust their older brother. In their minds, Daring IS the institution. Dexter cannot trust him to value his skills and interests, and Darling cannot trust him to keep her secrets. And while they clearly love him, they are stiff and awkward with him because of the gaping chasm between their lived experiences and the fact that they don't believe they can be their true selves around him.

And this is SO TRAGIC! Because they are WRONG! We can see that Daring *doesn't fucking care.* Yes, he is brainwashed. When a huge rebellious activity like Raven ripping out her page in the Storybook of Legends happens, he is plenty bitter towards her and thinks she's dangerous. Y'know what Daring doesn't give a shit about though? Whatever folks are doing before their story. He can date Lizzie! No harm no foul! He and Apple aren't an official couple and don't want to be! He's perfectly polite and normal to most of the people who start rebelling against their story, especially if it's something small or temporary.

And whenever Darling or Dexter shows some more of their real selves, he is fully on board! Darling swings out of a carriage off him like he's monkey bars and he just laughs and takes it in stride! Whenever Dexter accomplishes something cool, Daring is the first to sing his praises! He loves his siblings so much, just as they are! He doesn't even know the real them, but you know he would be whole-heartedly accepting of them if he did! But Darling and Dexter don't know that.

These three are the perfect examples of how favoritism in children destroys a household. Darling and Dexter, united against the expectations their parents had against them, formed an unbreakable bond and became a team while Daring became the opposition. Not exactly the thing they had to protect each other from (their parents), but certainly not an ally. When Darling and Dexter are at their closest, both in childhood and in high school, it's when they are united in their rebellion. And that's something that Daring never gets to properly engage in during the series. Which means, despite how important they are to him and how much affection he has for them, he is locked out of the most important parts of their personality.

Daring is at fault here some too. He is dense. He doesn't think to ask his siblings how they're feeling. He doesn't notice them chafing under the rules, he doesn't seek to protect them from their parents the way the protect each other, and he is very much a bystander while they suffer the abuse of society. But it hurts so much because he would absolutely be willing to overcome that and to grow and change as a person if he just knew he needed to. If they would just let him in.

THIS KIND OF TRAGEDY IS FUCKING PEAK YA'LL!!! Oh to be a Charming sibling! Oh to be Daring Charming! Oh to be the kind of person who would love them wholly and fully come hell or high water and for them to not know that and to not confide in you to the point that you don't even know who they are and that you don't even know what you're missing! It makes me SO saaaadddd ya'll, in the best way!

The Dark Side of Darling's Secrets:

Darling is an extremely private person as a SURVIVAL mechanism. She has been locked in a tower "for her own safety" before and she is still in the care of her jailers and knows they wouldn't hesitate to do it again. If her secret has even the smallest chance of getting to her parents, Darling's life is over. And not just in the teenage drama way, in the "I will be removed from all the people I care about, forbidden from doing everything that makes me happy and healthy, and forced to live like an insane asylum patient," way.

Darling is probably the most "under surveillance" sibling, and during A Semi-Charming Kind of Life, you can see that she is paranoid ALL the time. And rightfully so! Darling does not trust a singular soul with her secrets because it puts not her physical well-being but her mental well-being in serious danger. Even with Maid Marian, she gets discovered, she doesn't tell her, and she still withholds a lot of her opinions and personal life from Maid Marian. With a singular exception: Dexter.

Now, it should be noticed that this isn't exactly by choice. The reason Dexter is privy to all of Darling's childhood secrets is because he was present during all the inciting incidents and because he is necessary to facilitate her rebellion. Dexter has to suffer the constant scorn and disappointment of their parents, since he doesn't have the capability to measure up the way Daring and Darling do. But in exchange, he has a lot more freedom of movement than either of them, because he has so few positive expectations. He is canonically the one who smuggles Darling all her banned books, and I extend that to most of her other activities. I'm sure Dexter was covering for her whenever she snuck out and helping her clean up whenever she needed and loaning her whatever items she may have needed.

And in exchange, she absolutely made excuses for him and did her best to make him look good and slowed down time for him with her freaky hair flip powers whenever she needed. And they of course are always still one another's shoulders to cry on when the world becomes too much. But it's notable that Dexter is not privvy to Darling's activities by the time they get to Ever After High. As soon as she gets the opportunity to freeze him out, to keep all her secrets completely guarded and unknown to anyone but her, she takes it.

They are still a special team. They are still best friends. They still confide in each other and care about each other and "rescue" each other when they need it. But there's a major shift in their dynamic, as Dexter assumes Darling has embraced the royal life and Darling now has to keep secrets from her closest friend too. It's not good! It alienates them both! Dexter thinks he's alone in his rebellion and Darling can no longer be her true self *ever.* But this survival mechanism is so deeply ingrained in Darling that she can't bring herself to trust anybody, not even her twin.

And I think there's an aspect of jealousy here too. Darling doesn't quite think Dexter would get it. It's back to that freedom of movement thing I was talking about. Dexter was always ALLOWED to try all the things Darling wanted, and was praised for what he did accomplish, even if it was always with the undertone of "do better next time." And when he is rebellious, he suffers social disgrace, but he's still allowed to do it. He does not get locked in a tower and is not physically separated from his hobbies like his tech or his books. He is allowed to exist as he is, even if he is ostracized and put down for it. He is not forced to stop the way Darling is, because he can escape notice. Darling absolutely covets the low expectations people have for him, and I think that subconscious bitterness also contributed to her drifting away from him.

Even by the end of a Semi Charming Kind of Life, she's still not telling him everything. Not telling him about her plans for fixing the competition or why Sir Gallopad is so trustworthy (or even that he IS in fact Sir Gallopad). It's a character flaw, which is something a lot of people fail to realize. I feel like Darling tends to get seen as perfect, as someone who would be the best friend and the best girlfriend because she is so confident and capable and understanding. But people fail to ask themselves WHY Darling is so isolated.

Her inability to trust even her brother, who has proved himself beyond comprehension and who she KNOWS on an instinctual level would never betray her, is something that I think she needs to overcome. It would absolutely translate to all her other relationships. She just does not tell people things and, as we see with Dexter, that seriously hurts, even when she does it from a place of love and is trying to protect them.

Dexter's Inferiority and Compassion:

Dexter is one of those characters that amazes me in every way. Because he probably has the worst lot of the three Charming kids. He is constantly being told he isn't good enough, being compared to his brother and the rest of his family, being screwed over by the universe itself with stuff like his glasses and his cowlick, and in general just getting kicked when he's down. His interests and intelligence are seen as unimportant and a waste of time even though they save the day more frequently than traditional heroics.

At the same time, he actually IS extremely good at a lot of the stuff he's "supposed" to be good at and even enjoys it! He's competent in swordfighting and jousting and climbing and playing basketball, and uses his impressive brain to assist him in stuff like building catapults. But he never gets the recognition he's earned because the standard is Daring, who effortlessly outclasses him in every way. I think it's notable that when you put him up against literally any other prince, Dexter is the gold standard and outpaces them by a mile. But it's not about Dexter is it? Nobody cares about him when his brother is there.

And if all that weren't enough, his father's favoritism towards his brother also involves ACTIVELY keeping Dexter down! If Dexter ever DOES begin to surpass Daring, then he is forced to throw the competition. By threat of his father's authority, he is not allowed to meet the expectations that everybody puts on him.

Is all that fucked up or what?

All of this gives an extreme blow to Dexter's self-esteem. Of course it does. He's been told his whole life that he doesn't measure up, even when he obviously does, so he's resigned himself to never measuring up. He's got a massive amount of resentment towards his siblings, who aren't put in this insane catch 22 he is, and are actually allowed success. Even when he loves them and understands that it's not their fault---Darling doesn't even want it, and Daring isn't really aware of what's happening. He's understandably pretty morose about all this. Like all the time. Dexter's chapter in OUAT is honestly extremely depressing. And with Darling, he at least gets some moments to explode at her for fucking with his life (not so much for Daring, but that's because the writers are allergic to letting his relationship with his siblings develop).

But the amazing part is that Dexter DOES NOT let this keep him down! Yeah he's severely depressed and has major self-worth issues, but he still keeps going and keeps taking joy in what he can. He's got a massive crush on Raven Queen. He enjoys tussling with his brother and running the MirrorCast and playing video games. He's kind and fair towards just about everybody and uses his advantageous position in life to help people. Whether it's as simple as getting Darling a book she's not supposed to have or as big as supporting Raven and the other Rebels on legacy day when she rips out her page.

And this all becomes relevant when public sentiment starts to shift towards the rebels. Because now, Dexter becomes the example, the one to look up to. Daring is the gold standard for the royals, for what Happily Ever After is supposed to be, for what following a destiny is supposed to look like. He's the standard that the institution is holding them to. But Dexter is the poster child for how someone who's a royal can make the world a better place by helping the rebel cause. And I personally feel that Darling and Daring start looking to him as the story continues. He's got a *touch* for interacting with commoners that the platonic ideals of Charmings just don't have. For once, it's Dexter who's in the lead, and that warms my heart. He deserves to be recognized as the hero he is.

Overarching Thoughts and Themes:

To close out, I thought we'd look at some of the biggest overarching things I notice in their relationship.

When you look at all the siblings, I find it interesting that everything is a scale with them, usually in the form of the boys being on opposite ends and Darling falling somewhere in the middle. Daring is the most perfect, Darling is in the middle, Dexter is the least. The royal to rebel scale, the scale in their confidence, the favored by their parents scale---it's all the same. Darling is kind of the bridge between her two brothers, as she's lived in both their worlds.

The love is there, but the communication is not, and it's what makes their relationship tragic. They take immense pride in each other, are very protective of one another, and are willing to go above and beyond to keep each other safe. But because they don't talk, don't confide in each other the way they probably should, don't share their biggest secrets, and don't sort out their emotions, they frequently end out being unable to provide that help.

They are all prone to making assumptions about each other, and it exacerbates the problem. Dexter easily assumes Darling has given up her rebellious childhood ways. Darling and Daring forget that Dexter is a capable athlete too. Daring assumes both his siblings are fine and doesn't notice their suffering. They've been together their whole lives, so they sometimes forget that they've still had extremely different experiences and aren't always the person the others expect.

I think this all shows the clear ground for exploring what their relationship looks like in the future: Daring needs to learn to get his head out of his ass and actually learn who his siblings are, Darling needs to work on being less secretive and trusting her brothers, and Dexter needs to work on taking the lead for once and adapting to being the one his siblings look to. And all of them obviously have to fight the final boss of their parents being terrible.

So yeah, that's my pitch. I genuinely think the Charmings are some of the most interesting and best relationships in the whole franchise. Anytime they are interacting with each other, it absolutely steals the show because there's so much going on there. But it's also criminally underexplored in the fandom because it's not a ship, so I just wanted to say my piece and share why they matter so much to me. Hopefully my propaganda is successful in either getting someone to write fanfic focused on them or at least getting someone in the room talk to me about it.

Charming Sibling Superiority. Abby out.

[mandareeboo]

Deltarune snuck back up on me and I just wanna say. I fucking. LOVE Susie Deltarune. I love her inherent, core design. I love how she's entirely free from us. I love how she doesn't take orders. I love how she's learned to ACT entirely free of us. I love that she hates Ralsei's philosophy of Darkners existing entirely for Lightners. I love that she teaches him to ACT (even if he doesn't want to). I love that she's learning healing magic and is, slowly, absorbing everyone's abilities to be a better Lightner. I love that she cares so much about shit being fair. I love that she pretended to be this big bully but the moment someone thought she was cool she melted. I love that she didn't bully Noelle over a fucking pencil.

What a great example of autonomy in video games. She really feels real, you know? She feels free in this game of text boxes and silly goofs. She's the greatest butch lesbian rep I've ever seen. She's not bound to anyone- she doesn't even follow the player's hand. She just loves everybody a lot, deep down, and she's not afraid to put her life on the line for someone who doesn't act like she's gonna put them six feet under, and that makes her a hero who keeps trucking right along on this path alongside the person we've enslaved.

[unluckycryptid]

An Unnecessary In-depth Analysis on the Movie and Soundtrack versions of "The Fight of Our Lives" from Descendants 4: The Rise of Red

Hi all, before I get started, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed watching The Rise of Red after being constantly bombarded about it on Tiktok, so now I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop. I know "Fight of Our Lives" is one of those songs that are either on the top or the bottom of someone's favs list, and for me, it's at the top. I've been listening to this one song on repeat--moreso than any of the other songs.

Now, let's get into it.

There are 3 different versions of the song I'm going to try to analyze side-by-side: 1) the extended version on the official soundtrack 2) the movie version and 3) the visuals of the movie version.

So as some of us know,

The extended version features a conversation between Red and Chloe:

[Extended Version] How naive to still believe you'll get a happy ever after A privileged little princess, a fairy-fail disaster Spoken like a slacker, Red, you're seeing someone else I've worked hard for every single trophy sitting on my shelf You need helpYou're a poser with a bad attitudeThat's not true, you don't know the things that I've been throughNeither do youWell, then tell me, little goody two-shoes What do you think we should do?

Whereas the movie version, the conversation is cut down to Red's lines on the matter

[Movie version] Give me that! *Makes a grab for the watch* I don't need the help of some princess goody-two-shoes. I'll handle this myself

Already we're starting out with a difference in subtle characterization between Chloe and Red. The extended version gives it to us explicitly how they see each other upon their initial interaction, one that the audience may also have initially assumed. Red calls Chloe "naive", "privileged" and a "fairy-fail disaster" whereas Chloe calls Red a "slacker" and a "poser". Their shared defensiveness in the line "you need help" is hilarious, but also keep in mind it is also their first shared line in the song. Taken out of context within their conversation, but held up to the rest of the song, it all comes back to the purpose of the song and the whole movie in general where the two need the help of each other to complete their mission.

Individual characterizations can also be found here. With Chloe, of the three insults that Red throws at her in the extended version, she chooses to respond to being called "privileged" by talking about how hard she's worked for her trophies and whatnot. We see this later come back in the movie in her interactions with Ella and Ella's own views on privilege, but it is nice to see how it is first brought up here.

As for Red, her response after being called a "poser" gets her a little more defensive. She's already been called a "slacker" by Chloe, but "poser" means she's pretending to be something. Is this because of how she sentenced Ella to treason in an attempt to please her mom? Is Chloe referring to their first interaction, where Red immediately tries to threaten her? Or does it touch a nerve due to the fact that she genuinely tries to express herself (aka her clothing) but is always shut down by her mother? Either way, Red's shown to be misunderstood and most likely a loner with the exception of Maddox. Getting called a poser probably cut a little more for Red who is still trying to figure out how she wants to be seen (it doesn't help that she already threatened to feed Chloe to the jabberwocky).

Additionally, the next verse is prompted differently by Red. As opposed to the movie version, the extended/studio version has her prompt and ask Chloe what Chloe thinks they should do. I'll keep touching on this a little more, but this shines a light on the difference between the two versions. In the extended version, you'll see that it is formatted as a conversation between the two characters, which I absolutely love.

Alright let's move on to the actual song now.

Chloe's Verse [Movie/Extended] I'll tell it to you straight to your face There isn't any time left to waste My kingdom back home needs to be saved Give me the pocket watch or you're getting slayed You best behave [Extended only] Tell your pack of cards I'm coming back to cut their deck I could beat your evil army in a millisec I'll slice them up like cheddar My mom won't have forever The clock is ticking and it's time That's why it's now or never

So the movie cuts out a good portion of Chloe's verse which I understand since they need to save time and the second portion of her verse isn't too important in terms of the story since we already know this part. However, I will say that I still think they should have kept it in since: this is the first time Chloe sings. She doesn't have any songs sang by herself and the two songs she is most prominently featured in are duets. In "Get You Hands Dirty", Ella starts the song and leads it for the most part, and Red has her own intro song. Again, while I understand why they cut it out of the movie, the second part of Chloe's verse serves to add more to what we may have picked up about her. The first three lines of that second verse lets us know that Chloe is confident in her skills as a sword fighter and that she's willing to fight. The last three lines add to her desperation to go back to the past to help her mom.

Chloe's chorus [Movie/Extended] I'm running out of hope, running out of time I'll do what it takes just to change your mind Or we'll cross swords, hope not to die We're on opposite sides in the fight of our lives [Extended] There is no future in the past We gotta move forward, not stay back The moment is now, but it won't last We're on opposite sides in the fight of our lives

I think this is where the major difference between the extended and movie version come into play. If you've only listened to the movie version, an additional voice is added in the 2nd and 4th lines as a short bit of harmony and it sounds as though Red is singing it. However, the extended version doesn't emphasize that second voice, keeping it focused only on Chloe's voice making it Chloe's chorus. Again, like I said, the extended version emphasizes the conversation between the two characters and Chloe's the first one up to share her thoughts on the matter. Going back to the point that this is the first time that Chloe sings in the movie, this is the only time she gets a chorus to herself--and like her verse, it's cut short. :/

Now onto Red:

Red's verse Use your brains Going back will just cause more pain We agreed we gotta make a change To beat the queen above everything You're on my side or you're in my way You wanna leave but I got to stay There's a reason we're here today For past, present and future's sake, wait Pre-chorus Got too much at stake to go home (That's not true) Guess I'm gonna do it on my own (I'm here too) You're not gonna catch me if I fall (Maybe) Got me runnin' on these walls Dippin', flippin' somersaults (Stop) 'Bout to risk it all

So unlike Chloe, we do end up getting to see the full version of Red's verse. I'm not going to touch too much into it since its fairly straightforward but I did want to focus during the pre-chorus. I want to touch on little bits that Chloe cuts in because, in a way, it reflects and foreshadows their relationship.

When Red goes "Got too much at stake to go home" and Chloe responds with "That's not true" this is currently where their relationship is at. Chloe doesn't know what stakes are on the table for Red, while alternatively, Chloe's sang about what stakes are in it for her in her verse.

Now when Red goes "Guess I'm gonna do it on my own" and Chloe says "I'm here too" I find this interesting because up until this point, we're lead to believe that if Chloe gets hold of the pocketwatch and is able to leave without any interference, she would have done so already.

I want to bring in a bit about what what visuals we see in the movie right now, but I have more to say about other parts of the visuals separately at the end. Anyway, we see that, yes, Chloe has the watch and she stops to listen during Red's verse and turns around to leave once Red gets to the pre-chorus.

She could keep walking away, hell she could run off and use the pocket watch on her own. What incentive does she have to take Red back to the future with her? At this point, Chloe hasn't decided to trust Red. But Red runs up to her, unarmed mind you, and the two end up circling each other--almost as though Chloe's decided to listen to her.

So now, Red says "you're not gonna catch me if I fall" and its kind of hard to hear and some lyric websites don't show it, but Chloe says "Maybe" in response to the line (it's clearer in the live/studio version). It's small but its the first time Chloe verbally shows that she might be willing to trust Red and not just cooperate with her. But it could go the other way: maybe she won't catch Red, maybe she will, but what's important here is that she's not outright denying that she won't work with Red.

They're still circling each other during this point, and again Chloe didn't need to fall into circle with Red, she could have just left. But it also shows that Chloe doesn't want to want to just abandon Red in the past. At this point, she still wants to go back to the future, but she's just hoping to get Red to agree to return with her which could be a reason she says "stop" in a hilariously exasperated tone in response to Red talking about "running up on these walls" and "dippin, flippin somersaults".

Before we get into Red's chorus, we should note that in the visuals, it's at the last lines of the pre-chorus that we see Red decide to get a weapon to fight for the pocket watch. I've talked about how Chloe could have just kept walking, but alternatively, why didn't Red make a grab for the weapon/flag earlier? She could have done so just as Chloe turned her back with the pocket-watch. She spent the entirety of her verse and pre-chorus trying to convince Chloe, but only now does she decide to even the match between her and Chloe.

I know it sounds like I'm reaching here but it could have something to do with Chloe's first insult at Red in calling her a "slacker". The main weapon we've seen Red use so far are her words (both in the song and in the act of accusing Cinderella of treason). Yes, she's been trying to convince Chloe to stay in the past to fix things, but it's starting to get too long. She's just going to have to speak another language to fully convince Chloe--and what's a better language to convince a girl with a sword than the language of fighting?

Red's Chorus I don't need your help 'cause the watch is mine If you hear me out, then you'll change your mind Let's not cross swords, hope not to die 'Cause we're on opposite sides in the fight of our lives Change the future in the past We gotta move forward where we're at The moment is now, but it won't last We're on opposite sides in the fight of our lives

Even though Red contradicts my earlier point about trying to convince Chloe with the line "I don't need your help 'cause the watch is mine", she immediately contradicts herself with her next line "If you hear me out, then you'll change your mind." I'll analyze the line "Let's not cross swords" later when we go over the shared chorus.

In terms of visuals, Red is definitely giving Chloe a fight. She's attacking while Chloe is defending and it all comes to a culmination at the end of the chorus when Red manages to knock the watch out of Chloe's possession.

At this point she can keep fighting Chloe and go for the watch herself. It's the same as 'why didn't Chloe just walk away with the watch' and 'why didn't Red grab the flagpole sooner?'.

Alright this takes us to the bridge/breakdown:

Bridge Let me ask you something Why should I trust you? Your mom just staged a violent coup For all I know, you're gonna stab me in the back too Think what you want to, boo I'm nothing like my mom Her power trip was way too strong, I knew that she was wrong Well, maybe we'll get along, maybe we're not that different Maybe we need each other to complete the same mission I'm glad you put your pride aside to make the right decisionWe'll work together until history is rewritten

You'll notice that Chloe actually backs up from Red's attack with the pocket watch as she starts her portion of the bridge.

She's waiting for Red to attack her, hence why she hasn't sheathed her sword yet. But you'll also notice that Red isn't poised to attack. The staff is under her arm, not in front of her. I think, at this point, Red's goal in attacking Chloe with a weapon is actually achieved. The goal being: separating the watch from Chloe before she could return them to the future. Also, you'll notice that they're finally on even ground-literally in that they're both standing on the same level on the balcony, and that they both have weapons they can use to attack each other. Neither of them have the advantage here. So when Red starts her next line "think what you want to boo, I'm nothing like my mom" and throws the staff down, it really brings home the point that she's being sincere in trying to convince Chloe to work with her.

And Chloe is convinced as she sheaths her sword once Red drops her weapon. I skipped this part earlier but the dialogue where the second part of Chloe's verse is cut is where Chloe has the sword on Red while Red says "What are you going to do? Run me through and steal my watch? I think there's a word for that actually...it starts with a V... oh right: Villain." Here, with Red throwing down her weapon, she trusts that Chloe wouldn't do that to her.

Back to the bridge, Chloe's next line is full of the word "maybe" calling back to her first "maybe" during Red's pre-chorus. While that initial "maybe" in the pre-chorus can be thought of as how Red might be able to rely on Chloe if she falls, these "maybe"s reflect the same questions but from the opposite perspective. Can Chloe trust Red to have her back and complete their mission? The initial "maybe" calls into question if the two can rely on each other while these latter "maybe"s call into question how much can they rely on each other.

The bridge ends with their second shared line before going into their shared chorus. If we put the first shared line to this second shared line:

"You need help" -> "We'll work together until history is rewritten"

This almost sounds like it an problem and solution. Yes, the "you need help" line refers to their personalities clashing with one another, but the double meaning of "you need help, you can't complete this mission on your own" is solved by "working together until history is rewritten".

Final Chorus We might not be a team, but we gotta try Did you change your heart, or just change your mind? So cross our swords, hope not to die I'm kinda surprised, are we on the same side? Change the future in the past We gotta move forward where we're at The moment is now, but it won't last So we're on the same side in the fight of our lives Fight of our lives The fight of our lives We're on the same side

So going into this final chorus that they both share, I want to look into the music a bit. Both in the movie and the extended soundtrack version, you'll notice, neither of them take the harmony. They're both singing the melody signifying their equality in this team/relationship. With how the movie is named after Red, you'd think that it would be a main character-sidekick kind of relationship, but the overall movie really makes sure to emphasize that-no, Chloe is needed and she's just as important as Red to make this story work. (So I guess one could come up with an AU where Red makes it into the past but without Chloe. How would things have turned out?)

Now I want to analyze the three chorus's side by side and I want to look in particular at the first three lines.

I'm running out of hope, running out of time I'll do what it takes just to change your mind Or we'll cross swords, hope not to die I don't need your help 'cause the watch is mine If you hear me out, then you'll change your mind Let's not cross swords, hope not to die We might not be a team, but we gotta try Did you change your heart, or just change your mind? So cross our swords, hope not to die

The first two lines of both Chloe and Red's chorus reflects the conversation between the two. Both of them making "I" statements and how each one is trying to change each other's mind about what they should do next. What gets me with the second line of both of their choruses is that Chloe's "I'll do what it takes to change your mind" leaves no room for compromise or work with Red, while Red's "If you hear me out, then you'll change your mind" shows Red wants Chloe to hear her out and that Red is the one extending the possibility of the two working together.

This point is further hammered home by each of their third lines. Chloe's third line reads a bit like an "or else" threat. 'Give me the watch "or [else] we'll cross swords".' Red's reads as 'I don't want to have to fight you' so "Let's not cross swords".

For someone who is a VK, you'd expect them to want take the lone road in getting what they want--that they'd be jumping at the opportunity to fight someone for what they want. But not Red, no this shows that Red really isn't like her mom and that while she may have some bad attitude, she doesn't want to be selfish, she's not doing this for personal glory, and she is even willing to work with others to defeat her mom.

The third line of the shared chorus "so cross our swords" now ends up reading like a handshake, maybe even a pinky promise to get through with their mission without dying because now they're on the same side in the fight of their lives.

-

Before I end this analysis, I did want to bring up a couple more stuff about the visuals that I couldn't find a place to talk about.

Mainly I wanted talk about Chloe as a swordsman and Red's initial perceptions on that.

First, I wanted to talk about Chloe's physicality on the field. We've already seen her fight her dad (and she's pretty impressive given that she was able to disarm him using her non-sword arm) so we know she's a great swordsman, but I will say this about her: she's not exactly the most graceful one out there.

Case 1:

Girl throws herself a the wall with her sword just to get in front of Red. You can see that Red absolutely does NOT expect that she'd jump in front of her like that. It's unconventional but effective.

Case 2:

Her little shuffle to dodge Red's staff always cracks me up cause you'd think there would be more finesse in her dodging ability. But again, its effective-she was able to dodge Red's attacks.

Case 3:

Miss ma'am chooses to full send off a balcony that had stairs (which Red takes).

Case 4:

Jumping for the pocket watch hoping to catch it with her sword, and not getting any on-screen assistance from Red at all. (Although I do wish that we saw Red help her in some way by either giving her a boost or using per parkour skills so that they could work together to grab it and hammer in the point that they're working together now.) She does eventually get it down though.

So while yes, Chloe isn't necessarily the most graceful swordsman, her moves are-for the most part-effective.

But now I also want to talk about Red's perceptions of Chloe as a swordsman.

When Red initially has the watch and Chloe makes a grab for it, they're running around and Red turns around to basically taunt Chloe. From Red's perspective, the only other swordsman that she's encountered are her card soldiers (that we know of) and she easily runs laps around the handfuls of guards in her opening scene. She's not initially intimidated by Chloe and her sword because she's confident that she can outrun her. So when Chloe pulls the unconventional move of (again) running full speed at a wall in front of Red with her sword drawn, the surprised face Red makes probably comes from "oh sh*t, I may have underestimated his girl".

Remember, at this point Red's called Chloe "naive" and in the scene prior, she's says to Chloe "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one" so with Chloe being a swordsman, she may have extended the same thought process in the other girl's skills on the battlefield. But I think that Chloe pulling that move just to catch Red and then Chloe's subsequent move in using her sword to catch the watch's chain to pull it out of Red's possession, it shows Red that this girl can hold her own in a fight.

Once Chloe takes possession of the watch, we see Red considering something before she starts her own verse. I think it's at this point where she's fully considering trying to convince Chloe to work together or at least see her point of view instead of just doing it on her own, and she ends up doing so as her verse starts.

So yeah, this kind of brings it all full circle. We watch Red and Chloe going at it, Chloe's swordsmanship skills impacts Red's perception of Chloe, going against Red's initial impression of Chloe's naivety and privilege, which leads Red to decide to convince Chloe to work alongside her. On the opposite end, Chloe's initial impressions of Red being a slacker and being a poser are challenged once Red matches her skills in physicality and weaponry as well as finally seeing Red's genuine intentions in convincing Chloe to help her. When the two finally are on the same side, its reflected in the music in which both sing the melody, and in the subtle lyric changes that show the initial formations of their team/duo relationship.

--

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I was hoping to get this out in one afternoon but this actually took a couple sessions to fully lay out everything I've noticed and wanted to talk about this song. Again, its my favorite song in the movie, so hopefully I've convinced some more people about how awesome this song actually is.

[hmsdoodlin]

HERE IT IS. MY WEIRDLY LONG ‘UNBIASED’ HEART ANALYSIS.

Things to note

- The person commenting is my very very good friend who is definitely the Mind between the two of us. If you don’t agree with my interpretation and there’s a comment on the paragraph you can expect to see a counter point or a better explanation 70% of the time.

- IMPORTANT: This friend is technically not in the fandom, and therefore is completely detached, non biased, and purely looking at it from an outsiders point of view. 💪

- Super sorry if the formatting on desktop is bad, I made this on mobile

- I’m a yapper and have the intelligence of a gecko so keep that in mind please 👍