#for context these are both introductory scenes

[swan2swan]

Watching Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington and I feel like Common Side Effects copied this part.

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

A couple weeks ago I was thinking about how the KimChay argument after the club was parallel to Kinn and Porsche's situation in E5 and therefore, if there had ever been a S2, KimChay should have gotten their own version of the forest episode.

The resulting fic is here; rambling about why I wrote it this way under the cut.

The Nature of the Problem

My starting point with this whole thing is that from a writerly POV, E6 is a problem-solving episode. The characters have been backed into a corner; they need a dramatic change.

For K/P, the episode is about redressing the power imbalance and control issues. The first part highlights Kinn's need to project power due to his position in the family. We saw in E5 how badly that position conflicts with his ability to be in a relationship with Porsche. The challenges they face and the conversations they have are shaped to provide a path to fixing that dynamic, giving space for their genuine attraction to one another to grow into a real connection. That path culminates in Kinn nulling their boss/employee relationship and giving up control (as symbolized by the handcuff), allowing them to start over as lovers.

If I was going to arrogate to myself the task of putting that same idea through a KimChay filter, what was the central problem to address? Kim does have some control issues, but in a very different way than Kinn does. Kim doesn't have a position of power, doesn't have a personal army, doesn't even carry a gun in daily life as far as we know. What he does have is an apparently long-standing habit (per that scene with Khun) of spying on his own family.

I keep coming back to the scene in Korn's office. There is nothing else in the season like it. Kinn has moments of disagreement with Korn but never displays anything other than implicit trust in his motives. Khun can stake out an opposite position to their father in family discussions (like with the one about Tawan), but there's no suggestion of a poor relationship between the two of them.

By sharp contrast, one of the very few Kim-centric scenes we got was completely devoted to showing us how he approaches his dad: fabricate an excuse for being there, search the room, ask a few lightly probing questions, get the fuck out. (I am legit obsessed with Kim's body language in this scene.) The icing on the dramatic cake being that the distrust goes both ways. Korn knows--or at least suspects--that Kim was there for some reason other than filial affection. We'll never know why.

(I still think a likely explanation is that Kim is a good enough observer to have picked up on some of Korn's manipulation techniques at work over the years, and that's why "get out of the house" was such a priority. This theory informs most of my Kim-related stories.)

That's a long-winded way to say that I think the fundamental problem with the KimChay dynamic is Kim's inability to trust people. He's a very isolated character; his introductory scene implies that this is the price of the life he wanted, that he knows it.

However. Kim wants to be with Chay. That will lead to him spending all that time with Chay, as long as the truth is comfortably far off, and finally to that lunge at the studio. As soon as reality hits, though, when it looks like the relationship is going to demand something beyond a surface connection, Kim doesn't merely run from it but tries to deny even to himself that this was something he wanted in the first place--and then regrets that, because the theme of the entire show is that connections with other people are the thing that will get you through life.

Parallels & Divergence

Kinn can't keep his power over Porsche and also have a relationship with him. Kim can't keep his defensive isolation and also connect with Chay. These are very different challenges.

What did that mean for the fic? The central conceit of removing the characters from their usual landscape, a change of context that requires cooperation and disrupts bad habits, holds up fine with both pairs. The symbolic washing away of the past, likewise. They all need a way to remember that they like each other to begin with, and genuine communication.

The handcuff thing was not relevant to KimChay, though. Kim does not need to learn how to let go of what he loves, but the opposite (the point of a B-plot is to either echo or contrast with the main plot). Rock-paper-scissors likewise is not useful to this couple. It's an equalizing game, one where Kinn's advantages of power, status, and money can't affect the outcome, but that's not a problem for Kim. Nor is it an issue of physical reliability. They needed something information-based, a way for him to inch into the space of trusting Chay with who he is.

Chay

Kim is not the only person in this story. Chay also has things to learn at this point--mainly that he can't chase Kim into a relationship. Kim is the cat in this pair (possibly the cheetah with anxiety who needs a companion dog). Chay has to figure out how to metaphorically or maybe literally just exist quietly near Kim until he relaxes, and not to assume that they're on the same page always, because Kim's entire life has been not normal. I don't think it's far-fetched for Chay to realize this eventually. Chay can hold the door open, but Kim has to walk through it on his own.

(I initially started the fic with Chay's POV and then decided I was taking the easy way out with that. Kim's opacity, the little we can even deduce about him from canon let alone actually know, is part of what makes him interesting to me, but is also a challenge for me to write. We don't know much about Chay either, but he's a lot more open and straightforward.)

The Ending

For K/P, the fight at the end of E6 not only precipitates the main plot in the back half of the season, but serves as a critical relaunch point for the K/P relationship. It closely reprises the scene of their first meeting, with one big difference: Porsche knows who Kinn is now, the good and the bad. There's no external pressure on his decision. He knows what he's getting into by coming back, and he chooses to do so. I wanted to use that thematic parallel for KimChay in this rather than echo the episode with an action scene. The initial context for their meeting was the open house, Chay's encyclopedic knowledge of the public side of Kim, and asking for tutoring.

(Also, fighting side by side is not a part of the K/C dynamic the way it is for K/P, who from their introduction straight through to the bullet-time tango are clearly a Battle Couple. KimChay started off their relationship with a duet. And anyway, I wrote two other stories where Kim takes a bullet for Chay.)

I did start writing a kind of 6.5-esque coda scene, but it was mostly "Kim tries to process trauma with an inadequate toolkit" and was depressing me, so I haven't finished it.

[sepublic]

Luz and Willow; Problem and Solution

            A dichotomy I’ve noticed in Luz and Willow’s arcs and how they converge/parallel in For the Future is that they both struggle with the same basic idea that they shouldn’t ask for help, that they don’t want to be a burden on others. But I think they also operate on opposite sides of a particular premise; Do people need me, am I helpful for them?

            Luz sees herself as the Problem Child, she’s cursed to destroy everything she touches, her presence invites chaos and issues. That’s how she was seen in Gravesfield, and she’s very much a disruptor to the status quo, befitting her out-of-context status, her unpredictable creativity, her penchant for rebellion, her drive to try and find out, etc. And while it ultimately leads to good, the road there is tumultuous, it could’ve been done better, Luz causes problems. For Luz it’s not as emphasized, but she doesn’t want to be seen as weak, because she fears being seen as a burden.

            Willow doesn’t see herself as effective, at the start of her arc and near the end of it; She can’t do anything right. She’s not even causing chaos or anything, there’s just nothing remarkable about her, nothing she can accomplish. In her introductory scene, Amity tries to “joke” over how easy it is to miss Willow, she’s a wall flower who’s trying not to be seen as she hides in her hood, and she tries not to see things that bother her, hence “Out of sight, out of mind.” Stay in your lane and don't attempt what you want.

            Boscha bullies her, not because Willow did anything to affect her (Not yet anyway), but just because she happened to notice and find Willow’s ineffectual, pointless existence hilarious. Maybe she wanted to possessively defend Amity from someone who had her first, while ignoring that Amity already –seemingly– left Willow for her, because she’s inherently insecure and paranoid like that. Both can be true, and one of them definitely is.

            Luz is chaotic, she’s good at causing a mess, and she can and will weaponize that against people like Belos at the end of seasons 1 and 2; Sometimes sabotaging an enemy is necessary to help the rest! But as we see in S2, Luz’s mistakes ultimately culminate in what she sees as her greatest mistake, the one with the biggest impact of all, something that would harm everyone she’s ever met in the isles, including Willow; So Luz sees herself as a ticking, dangerous time bomb. And it’s why she resolves to stay in the human realm at the start of S3; She pushes people away because she also thinks she hurts them, and their desire to stay is a self-destructive mistake.

            Whereas in S2, we see Willow begin to build up her confidence; She realizes she IS capable, she’s quite strong and effective. She’s nurturing, she can defend people, she can even lead them as a team captain that others look to for strategy! Where Luz and Amity fail (the former being a surprise given her track record), it’s Willow who gets Hunter to defy the coven for someone he’s met.

            She beats Hermonculus at his own literal game, and Hermonculus is established in Willow’s debut as one of the driving forces behind Willow’s ostracizing by her fellow students by emphasizing how ineffective she is to everyone, inviting them to notice and laugh at her; He’s arguably the true antagonist of Willow’s debut episode, with Amity just another pawn pitted against a fellow student, so seeing it come full-circle was catharsis. And this is after defeating Boscha at her own also literal game!

            Between this and finally, truly reiterating to Amity something she’s never understood since their childhood, since their debut –that Willow is effective and good at helping– you can see Willow affirm her belief that she’s dependable. That she’s helpful. Even, that some people need her, like Hunter, or Amity coming to her for advice, or Willow uplifting Gus as his first friend, etc. All the while, Luz is coming to the ‘realization’ that she’s the opposite. S2B is Luz at her most damaging, S2B is Willow at her most capable.

            So you have the backdrop in S3 of Luz thinking she can’t help people at all, and Willow believing she’s very helpful. And both of them want and believe in the same thing; To be helpful to others. And thus they both fear being a burden by asking for help. For Luz, this is just the natural extension of her destiny as the Problem Child. For Willow, it’s just a reminder of the ineffective person she used to be, her traumatic past. Luz thinks she never escaped her identity, Willow believes she has but is so afraid of going back to that.

            In their mutual climax, Luz believes she’s the root cause of the problem, Willow thinks she’s the solution that’s failing to be a solution; Flapjack died and Hunter is in a lot of pain because of Luz, Willow isn’t able to make him feel better. This whole situation with Kikimora using the threat of the Collector to become someone in power and a threat is Luz’s fault to begin with; Meanwhile Willow is reminded by Boscha that she’s someone people are counting on to get them out of here; Boscha is like Willow here, she feels pressured to protect Hexside from the Collector, who is a lot like Luz, down to imitating her intentionally.

            So again, they have the same wants, just coming from different presumptions of how close they actually are to these things, and neither’s anxiety is more or less valid than the other’s just because one sees herself as more capable now and the other doesn’t. Camila reiterates to Luz that mistakes are just a part of life she can’t keep blaming herself for, while Hunter reassures Willow that she didn’t do anything wrong. Camila and Hunter admit they made their loved one feel ineffectual in some way.

            And the epitome of this is that Luz and Willow are the ones who need to hear this, Camila and Hunter are the ones who need to say it… Yet it’s Camila who goes to Willow for advice, who has an interaction with her early in the episode, a different kind of parallel; Because they parallel one another as people who see themselves as in charge, as the ones who are responsible, as the “motherly” (quotations for Willow) nurturing figure.

            And Luz and Hunter’s parallels are self-explanatory, per the prior episode and trauma bonding over guilt on something they can’t control, actually making each other worse, plus feeling responsible for Flapjack’s death. So it’s this cross-section of parallels and foils, and it’s where all four culminate, before Luz moves on to cap off the show because it’s ultimately her own.

            Just. Something about how Willow is the first friend Luz makes outside of the core LEK trio, and the first main cast member in that regard. They’re both kids struggling over different yet dismissed and even mocked reputations at school. And their arcs both converge, with Willow’s arc essentially the final one outside of LEK bookending everything in the finale with the Collector, who is also explicitly Luz, and their journey comes to an end from him and the viewer understanding Luz’s.

[mashithamel]

When I first heard Rand would be working in a sanitarium in season 2 and he’d have a friend named Errol, I was kind of annoyed. Why would they spend precious time in a location and on a character that aren’t in the books, when there is so much ground to cover and so many characters to introduce?

But they used this setting and this character so economically, and so efficiently, that I have been completely converted. They didn’t waste a moment of screentime for Errol, and in only a few minutes justified his creation as a terrific vehicle for exposition and to introduce so many important concepts.

As soon as Rand walks in the door we’re introduced to the Aiel War (specifically—I means we got Blood Snow last season but it wasn’t put in a lot of context). We get a personal view into how much Cairhein specifically was affected by it (the effects of which are mentioned a couple more times this season), as well as giving it a relative timeframe—Errol is much older than Rand, so it wasn’t just a few years ago.

We are reminded that Rand looks like the Aiel even with shaving his head, reminding us about his adoption and that he’s an outsider. Here in Cairhein, even when people know and like him, the citizens are likely to have a gut reaction of surprise or fear when they first see him, something that may contribute to his difficulties ruling the place down the road. We are reminded that they are considered fierce fighters, and introduce that their women also fight and are considered deadly.

We are introduced to sword forms! We didn’t get Lan training Rand in either season (although it sounds like we will finally get it next season!), so it’s nice to learn he’s been getting at least some introductory training if he’s going to be a blademaster eventually. It’s also very consistent with the books for Rand to take advantage of opportunities to learn whatever and from whoever he can. We’re reminded about Rand’s heron-marked blade (before it does its important thing and melts in episode 8) and make the connection that it is carried by blademasters.

So importantly, we see how kind Rand is. He clearly knows and likes this crazy old man who’s calling for the guards. He speaks to him kindly without a trace of annoyance that they’re having the same conversation they do everyday (anyone who cares for people with dementia can probably understand that is really hard at times!). He puts Errol’s shoes on for him. This isn’t quite washing feet, which Biblically speaking is an act of humbling one’s self, but it’s definitely the sort of thing you wouldn’t expect the Promised One to be doing routinely. Right now it’s his job to do, but he does it with the care and compassion you might have for an elderly family member. He defends and comforts Errol when another employee is cruel. At heart Rand is kind and loving. Killing, ordering executions, sending people into danger where some will definitely die are all things he will need to do as Dragon Reborn, and his struggle with this will inform a large part of his arc over the next few seasons.

We see the inequality of the Cairheinin system (and then more blatently at the dinner party). Unsurprisingly the Cairheinin separate their health care by wealth and power, and it sounds like the poor ones may not even have a garden to walk around in? The Two Rivers doesn’t really have this type of inequality, and some of the first things Rand does in the books as the Dragon Reborn is make the elite start treating the poor and lower classes more fairly.

And of course we get PTSD and mental illness. Both PTSD and fears of going mad are important for Rand later, so this early introduction helps define the stakes for him.

It was such a short scene, and I’m sure there are other details those with more skill could expand on (the horse that Rand sets upright? the color palate?). I just really appreciated how much the writers crammed into an original character to help lay the groundwork not just for this season but for seasons (hopefully) to come.

[strangertheory]

I've finally started organizing all of my observations and theories about Stranger Things from over the years, and what I believe is truly going on behind the curtain (as Murray would say.)

It's going to be a while before I complete this theory masterpost, but I'd like to share an introductory post today which summarizes the overall structure of my masterpost and its contents so far.

...

I would like to lead with a list of claims that I believe I can very reasonably make about Stranger Things, and demonstrate to be true through canonical evidence and citing specific details and scenes in the show:

the show often focuses on the psychological and mental capacity of the human mind, and the human mind in general, both in casual ways ("mind-blowing!") and formal ways (ex. Mr. Clarke's lecture on Phineas Gage in season 2)

the show features consistent references to trauma and traumatic events, characters attempting to navigate living with their trauma, "shared trauma," as well as characters being seen by doctors who claim they will help characters work through and heal from their trauma

the concept of a greater collective consciousness is repeated throughout the series in different contexts

I suspect I'll add to this list of reasonable claims.

...

The following are topics that will each have their own dedicated section (or separate post, I haven't decided on the best approach yet.) I might reorder these based on how best they flow into one another as I go.

...

Topics:

themes of trauma and memories

Doctor Owens

Will and El

"Caught between two slides" - Will, El, and Mike

Kali and El

Hopper

Billy Hargrove

Will and Max parallels

Will and Eddie parallels

Henry Creel

The lab and Doctor Brenner

The Numbers

"Nancy Drew"

Robin and Steve

Lonnie

themes of "time travel" and the concept of exploring memories from the past

parallels between Murray and Mike (I get so much laughter on this one, but I'm serious)

Miscellaneous other relevant details (I'm sure somebody is going to say "but what about Terry Ives" and I can anticipate a number of other common critiques of my theories at this point since I've been talking about them for a while, so I'll try to get ahead of those common questions this time.)

Conclusion

*This list of topics will surely expand and shift as I go.

[livgr3]

Roundtable: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) dir. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Description on Disney+: Quasi leaves his tower on Notre Dame to help a kind and beautiful gypsy.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a true hidden gem of Disney's animated filmography, and a movie I've found so fascinating, shocking, and genuinely terrifying since I was a kid. The film was produced and released by Disney in a period retroactively referred to as the "Disney Renaissance," in which the company released several cutting edge animated musicals within a few years of one another, almost all of which were based on literature, history, or cultural mythology as opposed to classic fairy tales. While many of these films were relatively progressive and boundary pushing, Hunchback remains one of Disney’s most daring ventures with its criticism of religious hypocrisy and dark themes of xenophobia, lust, and morality.

Based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 Gothic novel of the same name, The Hunchback of Notre Dame occurs in Paris in the late 15th Century and highlights tensions between Catholic officials and Romani migrants. The film tells the story of Quasimodo, a deformed man who rings the bells of the Notre Dame Cathedral and must remain in the bell tower under the orders of Judge Claude Frollo, a corrupt minister who took a baby Quasimodo from Romani people attempting to flee twenty years prior. Frollo has made it his lifelong mission as the “Minister of Justice” to rid Paris of its Romani population, and hires Captain Phoebus to find the Romani’s safe haven hidden in the city. Frollo’s efforts are complicated by Esmerelda, a defiant gypsy woman whom he lusts after. Esmerelda befriends Quasimodo and the two help one another escape their situations of imprisonment. Meanwhile, Frollo begins to burn down the city of Paris until he finds Esmerelda, adamant that if he can’t “have” her, he’d like to kill her. The film is partially narrated by Clopin, a Romani jester-type figure who also plays a role within the story in the second-act. Other secondary characters are Quasimodi’s three talking gargoyle friends (one of whom is voiced by Jason Alexander/George Costanza).

Scoring and Narrative Context

Hunchback’s music is very crucial to distinguishing and defining the cultural identities of its characters, and its distinct musical styles are often associated with the space and physical location in which a musical number is performed. Given that the narrative centers on cultural differences between religious and ethnic groups, the film’s music takes influence from both Romani folk music and Catholic hymns. The uses of these two musical styles are differentiated by who is singing each number and where the number occurs. Romani folk music, for instance, makes up the introductory song “The Bells of Notre Dame” and the festival number “Topsy Turvy” which are both performed by Romani people and peasants on the streets of Paris. These numbers are fast paced, colorful, and lively, with percussion instruments and discordant chants by the crowds. Lyric and dialogue are indistinguishable from one another as these songs blend seamlessly into the diegetic space of the film and move the narrative forward.

The film uses Catholic music to underscore its scenes in the Cathedral, with deep bells and choral singing creating a contrast to the lively folk music signifying the world outside. It’s with this haunting music that the film’s critique of religious hypocrisy, characterized through Frollo, takes form. The sound of bells often linger as characters wander throughout the cathedral, a precarious space with guards at every turn despite being promoted as a “Sanctuary” for Romani people.

Quasimodo’s songs take elements from both musical styles while also embodying Disney’s more traditional “hero” songs, as he is confined to the cathedral yet yearns for the world of folk music and “freedom” on the streets of Paris.

Familiar Musical Framing

In her essay on the Western musical lens of Disney’s Moana entitled “Time to Face the Music,” Armstrong writes “This musical containment of unfamiliar sounds by familiar ones limits the audience’s access to the unfamiliar, controlling the representation of the otherness of Polynesian music” (113). This idea is quite relevant in reading Hunchback’s selective uses of Romani music and culture, specifically in regards to the character of Esmerelda (who is voiced by white actress Demi Moore).

As Quasimodo and Esmerelda become friends, Quasi remarks that Esmerelda is “not like other gypsies.” Though Esmerelda immediately refutes this claim and encourages Quasi to unlearn the discriminatory ideas which Frollo has taught him, I find that the film itself upholds Quasi’s sentiment through its formal elements. It is particularly through music that Esmerelda becomes more associated with Western culture than with the Romani culture to which she actually identifies. Her solo “I Want” song, “God Help the Outcasts,” is sung in the Cathedral and fuses elements of an archetypical Disney princess song with a Catholic prayer/hymn. It is through this Western visual and sonic environment that we are expected to most sympathize with Esmerelda.

Additionally, this number emphasizes the extent to which Esmerelda is chiefly an object of the male gaze. This is already apparent at a surface level, with her sexualized outfit, constant references to her appearance (see Disney+ description above), and the way her sexual allure brings about Frollo’s most villainous inclinations. Even further, there are only a few scenes in the whole film where Esmerelda is not being looked at by one of the three principal male characters.

For instance: (play last 30 seconds)

Even in what seems to be a private moment of prayer, Esmerelda is being watched by Quasimodo and the gaze of the camera for nearly the whole song. Her positioning within the way of light from the stained glass window at the end of the song makes her seem angelic, contrasting Frollo’s depiction of her as a seductive demon (coming up below). I argue that this over-positive representation of her is still dehumanizing, as she is represented as a conceptual figure of goodness rather than a whole person. The angelic way that Quasi views her also contributes to the film’s penultimate act of white saviorism in its climax:

Character Performance

As I began to touch on before, the musical direction of the film intrinsically links Frollo with the church, and even further associates his “religious” motives of justice and morality with evil and monstrosity. Frollo is displayed as corrupt and irredeemable from the first minutes of the film, with the chords of his song “Hellfire” played around his acts of evil several scenes before he performs the song. The film thus toys with the idea of “authenticity” by attaching Catholic-inspired music to one of Disney’s most evil characters to date. I don’t exactly think that the film is making a statement against Catholicism as a religion, but is rather pointing out the sense of evil that lies within those who believe themselves to be the most morally sound.

This brief moment from “The Bells of Notre Dame” and the iconic song “Hellfire” should speak for themselves:

(0:25-0:55)

(0:20-1:45)

Still, in making the unmistakable point that Frollo’s objectification of Esmerelda is very bad, all other acts of objectification towards her (and Romani people in the film more broadly) seem “good” in sheer comparison. The heightened attention to her beauty and sexuality also not only sexualizes Romani women, but echoes wider cultural notions of who is deemed “worthy” of saving.

[cysomen]

The first chapter of can't commit to a thing is finally real and posted and I get to talk about it! spoilers for the first chapter below of course :)

First, writing process!

The first chapter being an introductory one instead of an opening scene was something I debated on for a pretty long time. Originally it was just the second chapter, and then Sova's POV would start further along in the story. I thought that created too much of a challenge with establishing both his backstory and the plot, because some of it is too dense to get through with the POV flipping around three people.

It was originally a Cypher/Sova fic (about a year ago, when i started writing it)! And a (lot) shorter. This and just off the key of reason were the same work at one point; The plot was more emotionally driven, but it still opened with Icebox, and Cypher needing to help Sova with his bloodthirst. I split it into two because I didn't think I could properly write their relationship developing over the course of the fic with it jumping from: tentative allies-disliking each other further-friends again-in a relationship. Felt kind of fragmented. Eventually I'll explain the whole original plot but it has some spoilers for can't commit to a thing so I'll save it for later :0

Sova's backstory as to how he became a vampire is very different from just off the key of reason; hopefully I can make that clear enough through the story, but his recruitment with Brimstone and Viper was something I decided on really late. Writing it meant I had to be concrete on how the Protocol worked in the early days, and usually I try to keep things vague (in my head, idk how much of it translates) on certain aspects of canon because there's so little content on what it actually looks like. I thought it would be a good introduction to how vampirism has altered Sova's character, though.

The details for how vampirism work are also fairly similar to just off the key of reason-- I just finally get to go more in depth with it in the context of the story. I hope to eventually share both the outlines for the story and the details for the AU. I've done a RIDICULOUS amount of research and refining for how the biology works, and I'm so excited to continue showing y'all through the story!! You WILL see me infodumping through Viper and Killjoy even it takes a bit to get there.

and finally, THANK YOU FOR READING!!! Seeing people's responses to just off the key of reason and all of my other fics is incredibly inspiring, and it's very reassuring to know I'm not just talking into the void abt my fic stuff :D I have a lot of fun writing valorant fanfic, and I hope you have just as much fun reading it!

[freedom-in-the-dark]

A Fight Taken To Heart: How Edward Teach Became a Queer Ally in Honor of Charles Vane

This piece was originally written for the fantastic @blacksailszine, which unfathomably came out over a year ago (and you should check it out if you haven't!). Somehow, I managed to procrastinate posting this here for that long, which is asinine. Especially because I'm actually very proud of it!!!

The news about Ray Stevenson today has me emotional (of course) and thinking again about how his performance as Blackbeard had a great impact on me. In his honor, it feels like a fitting day to finally share my tribute to his character on this blog.

Without further ado... please enjoy my meta below 🖤

--------------

The first time we see Edward Teach’s eyes, they’re framed in a mirror with a heart carved above it. Within the context of a scene designed to convey that Teach is a figure who commands fear and respect, this seems to be a curious choice for an introductory shot. Yet, much like many details placed throughout Black Sails’ meticulous narrative, the mirror’s design is poetic in hindsight because Teach’s heart was his ultimate motivation.

Over the course of multiple scenes, the first half of season 3 introduces us to both the pillars of who Teach is as a character and the primary characteristics of his relationship with Charles Vane. Taken as a whole, the picture painted of Teach’s presence in the story is that he acts as a metaphor for heterosexuality, toxic masculinity, and tradition. We learn that Teach had nine wives over the course of eight years, at least partially because he is motivated by the desire for a son. He glorifies strength above weakness, and he defines strength as superior physicality, independence, and sufficient leadership. He reminisces about the original state of Nassau in his youth, in which the standard was an enforced masculinity, powered by the notion that “one had to prove his worth.” And as he says to Vane and Jack in 3x02, in his view,

“You have taken away the one thing that made Nassau what it was. You have given her prosperity. Strife is good. Strife makes a man strong.”

Upon his introduction, Teach sees only the small picture of Nassau, not its place in the bigger picture of the world. He looks upon a Nassau rich in monetary plunder, preparing to come to its own defense or go to war, and he sees the ease in which men can typically join any crew as a marker of a lack of conflict. What he fails to take into account is that the primary strife now originates externally rather than internally because it is the strife of oppression, and that the solidarity that results from that strife creates its own version of strength.

”Why are you so determined to defend Nassau?” he asks Vane in 3x02, because the island is no longer anything special to him. “A lion keeps no den,” he tells Vane in 3x05, “Because the savanna, all the space within it. . . belongs to him.” Teach is not beholden to Nassau for haven or home, because he was able to assimilate into civilization whenever he had cause or desire. He married multiple women, flew under the British flag, and even spoke their “language” of flag codes (3x10). While Teach is certainly a pirate, it is by choice rather than survival.

As a result, he cannot understand the importance of true solidarity amongst the oppressed–and thus, Nassau’s defense–because he’s never needed it, as a straight white man who’s never been limited by oppression. And because this is a narrative where piracy is arguably a metaphor for queerness, filled with characters who do not have the luxury or desire to play by civilization’s rules, Teach sticks out upon his entrance. It’s also partially why he’s initially framed in an antagonistic light; he is not “with them,” and therefore, he is “against them” by default in some capacity.

The exception, of course, is his bond with Vane. Teach is one of many characters motivated by the desire to leave a legacy; as he says in 3x03, “There is an instinct to leave behind something made in one’s own image.” In his case, this manifests as his desire for a son–but he saw parenthood as an opportunity to mold and form another man to be his reflection. Teach wanted Vane to be a copy of him, but Vane never was, and it’s the primary source of the conflicts between them.

Teach had no love lost for Nassau, and so he calls it a “burden” on Vane, while Vane insists that he is “committed to it” and Jack by extension (3x03). Teach scoffs at the idea of such loyalty, deriding and discounting Vane and Jack’s relationship, casting aspersions on Jack’s character in the process–even as Teach demands to receive such loyalty from Vane himself. It’s evident that Teach doesn’t understand core aspects of Vane’s personality and motivations, but Vane is unequipped to explain himself to him.

This is partially because Vane initially doesn’t understand his own motivations either, especially in the face of his father figure’s disapproval. His inner struggle is exemplified in how he’s torn between allegiance to Teach, or allegiance to the rebellion for Nassau’s independence and his people caught in the fight. Flint summarizes Vane’s internal conflict by bringing it to light for him in 3x06:

“They took my home. I can’t walk away from that. Can you? Forget me, forget Teach, forget loyalty, compacts, honor, debts, all of it. The only question that matters is this: Who are you?”

It is not insignificant that a gay man says this to Vane. The struggle of finding oneself is inherently queer as a framing device, especially in the context of a narrative where piracy and freedom are pursued by the marginalized. The fact that wrestling with identity is the defining point in Vane’s arc implies that the answer exists beyond the bounds of what others would ascribe to him. Straight people–particularly in regards to Black Sails’ main cast of characters–are not faced with this question.

And various players do try to ascribe an identity to him. Teach tells Vane that he’s a lion, while the Spanish soldier calls Vane a fellow sheep (3x05); Eleanor lists Vane as the antithesis to civilization (3x01) and calls him an “animal” to his face (3x09). Yet even up to his end, though civilization and history would paint him differently, Vane’s motivations were always painfully human. Vane was driven by emotions on a deeper level than most recognized, and by desire for two primary things: freedom and honest loyalty.

Vane felt empathy for the unfree, and he was defined by wanting to avoid living in chains again at all costs–literally or metaphorically. He explicitly compared the fear that slaves face to the wider struggle of the pirates on Nassau (3x01), and the fear they feel as they sit on “Spain’s gold on England’s island,” expecting a retaliatory response. Vane feared subjugation or submission at the hands of any person or power, considering it a fate worse than death; to him, “no measure of comfort [was] worth that price” (3x08). His manifesto was “side with me. . . and we’ll keep our freedom,” and he said he was “[a man] who would die before being another man’s slave again” (2x06), which became his ultimate fate.

Pursuing freedom defined both Vane’s life and death, but it was not an abstract concept. It was freedom to a purpose: freedom from expectation; to make his own choices; to define home as he saw fit; and, crucially, to surround himself with honest people who provided mutual loyalty and respect without subterfuge or manipulation. This is why Jack, who knew him best and cared for him most, called Vane a “good man” and summarized him this way in 4x07:

“He was the bravest man I ever knew. Not without fear, just unwilling to let it diminish him. And loyal to a fault. And in a world where honesty is so regularly and casually disregarded…”

Vane exhibited and sought both honesty and loyalty. It was also how he expressed his love, and the way he wanted love to be expressed to him in return. That is partially why Eleanor so effectively acted as his downfall: he repeatedly trusted her, but she could not or would not be loyal to him. By contrast, as he told Teach in 3x02, Vane found loyalty and commitment in Jack–and in Anne by extension.

So while “a lion keeps no den,” as Teach said, what a lion does keep is a pride. A lion may be free to roam, but it does so with a family. Teach did not begin to understand the significance of that to Vane until after Vane gave his life not only in the name of freedom, but also in defense of his family and home.

This turns Teach’s earlier question of “Why are you determined to defend Nassau?” into the unspoken question of Why did Charles Vane willingly die to defend Nassau and those who are fighting for it?

When Teach called Nassau–and, to some extent, Vane’s partnership with Jack–a “burden,” Vane tried to explain to him that wasn’t the case. At the time, Teach didn’t listen. He gave Vane an ultimatum: I’ll help protect these people, but you have to leave them, their cause, and your “commitment” behind.

Teach thought leaving all of that behind was freedom, and it was a definition of freedom he thought that he and Vane shared, referring to the two of them as being “of the same mind” (3x05). But Vane was unable to leave his people or their fight behind, because that’s not what freedom meant to him. For Teach, freedom meant solitary independence; for Vane, freedom came to mean solidarity (3x09):

“Because they know that my voice, a voice that refuses to be enslaved, once lived in you. And may yet still. They brought me here today to show you death and use it to frighten you into ignoring that voice. But know this. We are many. They are few. To fear death is a choice. And they can't hang us all.”

After Vane’s death, Teach listens. In the absence of being able to listen to Vane directly, he does the next best thing: he goes to the people Vane valued most and died to protect. In the name of the mutual interest of revenge, he listens to Vane’s family.

At first, Teach obviously thinks Jack and Anne are both weird–to use a different word, he thinks they’re both queer–and he makes that clear in underhanded comments. Neither Jack nor Anne fit into the boxes of “man” or “woman” in the traditional senses that Teach is most accustomed to valuing. He doesn’t understand why Vane would align with them and their cause above all else, or why Vane would be loyal to them and value their unconditional loyalty in return. But Teach seemingly knows that if he can get to know them, then perhaps he can understand what Vane saw in them, and–in turn–learn more about Vane as well. Vane lives on in pieces of them, and so it is upon listening to them that Teach ends up indirectly listening to Vane one last time.

In a discussion spurred by Anne’s concerns, Jack and Teach debate the merits of murdering Eleanor Guthrie or chasing Woodes Rogers, and they bond over their shared understanding and memory of Vane’s “distrust of sentimentality” (4x02). They can chase an empty version of revenge in the name of justice, fueled by emotion... or they can fight to win the war of resistance that Vane gave his life to incite. Between the two of them and their shared grief, and in an echo of Vane’s internalized arc, they find that the only question that matters is this: Who was Vane, and what mattered to him most? They both discover they already know the answer.

For Teach, acknowledging that answer involves fully accepting that Jack and Anne were the family that Vane chose, that the rebellion for Nassau’s freedom was personal enough to Vane that he died for it, and that this is a fight which holds value and necessity that Teach initially misunderstood.

Teach is straight, and his views on masculinity are not fully incompatible with the ones civilization enforces. Oppressive powers hold no true threat for him, because he is capable of assimilation; he could leave Nassau and thus the rebellion for its freedom behind. He always planned to. But after the sacrifice of the man he considered a son, he chooses to become an ally in the fight against white supremacy, and an explicit supporter of Jack and Anne–the queer found family that Vane prioritized, and died to protect.

Teach always thought he was molding Vane into his own image, but the reverse became oddly true instead: Teach allies with the cause, gives his life for it, and indirectly protects Jack and Anne with his final moments, echoing and honoring Vane’s sacrifice.

Woodes Rogers expected to keelhaul Teach into submission by default, through torture no man should have been able to repeatedly survive. But to fear death–to submit to death on anything other than one’s own terms–is a choice. A pirate’s fear is an opponent’s victory; Vane and Teach both knew that, and embodied it. Teach’s unwillingness to let fear diminish him or to be broken by Rogers was largely the result of his own principles and hard-won defiance, but it was also the only reason Jack and Anne narrowly avoided the same fate.

It aligns poetically: in the final months of his life, Teach’s actions were motivated by old shifting shrapnel lodged in his chest and the beating of his heart, which he referred to as “a grim little timepiece” (3x06). And “the louder that clock [ticked]”–the more the shrapnel moved, and the closer his end became–the more inclined he was to pursue happiness and purpose (3x01).

Ultimately, he was keelhauled 3 times, and then he was shot.

For Charles–tick.

For Jack–tick.

For Anne–tick.

And for Nassau–

Boom.

How fitting.

After all, Edward Teach always expected that his heart would bring about his end.

--------------

If you'd like to read more of my meta about this show, here are the other pieces I've written:

• Black Sails, Queer Representation, and the Valid Canonicity of Subtext

(I should crosspost that to tumblr at some point ^)

• The Flinthamilton Reunion Is Definitely Real

• James Flint Is Gay

And my pinned post on Twitter @/gaypiracy has a collection of the shorter posts / writing I inadvisably did on there.

Don't forget to check out the Black Sails Zine for a variety of incredible work :)

[wutheringmights]

Has anyone asked for the commentary for the latest Ctb chapter yet? 👀👀👀

Originally, everything from Link’s conversation with Impa to Link finally leaving for Kakariko was going to be at the end of the last chapter; but as you may recall, I ended up punting it over to this one in a waterfall effect from having to deal with a different delayed scene in the last section.

Good news is that on all fronts, the pacing is finally back on schedule. Mostly. There’s a scene in the present day that I’ve kicked off to a later chapter, but we’ll get to that when we get to that. 

Something I wasn’t able to quite talk about last chapter was why exactly I wanted this incident to be Link’s wake-up call; I wanted Link’s turning point to evolve around him realizing that his way of being a hero is messed up, not only for failing to save Kat but by being told that, politically, he saved the wrong person

Which will then tie into HOW Link saved her. I wanted Link to undoubtedly do the right thing, but I wanted his solution to be so extreme that it’s horrifying. Yes, he saved Kat. But he also brutally murdered three men-- and wanted to make them suffer in the process. Link can’t solve anything without taking extremes. These men have nothing redeemable to them, but in the context of Link’s history, I just wanted readers to sit there and go “huh” for at least a minute. Maybe two. 

As previously posted, the men’s names were based off of things that have given me brain worms as of late. 

This chapter made me realize that I really haven’t done enough with Impa; I’ve been relying too heavily on just telling you how Warriors feels as opposed to having her do things. Incredible work on my part. I will rectify that however I can. 

Speaking of which, Impa’s speech about becoming your role was originally going to include some extra information about her history with Lincoln before she became Impa, but I ended up cutting it because it was just an awkward time to go over that info; I hope there will be a time I can include it later, but it’s not super pressing or relevant so don’t get your hopes up. 

As previously mentioned, Kat’s disability is Broca’s Aphasia 

I remember when I was finalizing Kat and Icarius’s characters, I wondered if anyone was going to think there’s a thematic meaning to so many characters losing the ability to communicate; whatever is there is unintentional on my part, but whatever meaning you derive is still valid 

Also, out of everyone, Kat is the character I feel the worst about hurting. 

And for everyone wondering: Kat was knocked out when she was first bludgeoned. She was not awake when the men were killed. I am both touched and somewhat caught in disbelief that so many of you were worried about this.

When writing the introductory imagery for Kakariko-- describing the streets, people, etc--I was really worried that I was just retreading information that I already gave you all; but it’s also been, like, two years since the first Kakariko chapter came out, so I figured it was worth revisiting.

Hello, Jakucho! It’s been so long since she was in the story that I forgot how fun she is to write. She really brings an incredible energy to the mix. 

I’m trying to remember where exactly I got the idea for Link having to build his own house, especially since this is probably among the first ideas I had for the story. I think I came up with the idea of the house first and my brain immediately said, “Fine, but he built it while going through withdrawals.” O.K. Sounds cool. 

When I was writing the chapter, I didn’t like how I introduced Ayane. I got really hung up on the idea that she deserved something grander. Looking back at it now, I think it’s perfect. I’m glad I didn’t change it. 

There’s this through line I’ve been trying to maintain this entire story about Link feeling stuck in his role as a soldier, how inadequate he feels for not knowing a tradeskill (or really any skill outside of war-waging), and how jealous he is that Spirit can build nearly anything-- and this is the chapter where I finally feel the payoff of all those ideas. 

I hadn’t watched Vinland Saga when I finalized this idea, but now that I have watched it, do you know what this chapter is giving? Thorfinn emotionally healing via a farm arc. Go read Vinland Saga. It’s better than anything I can do. 

However, I did mean for that ending to be a little bit more ominous than it turned out. Sure, Link is deciding to move on and be happier, but he is doing so by ignoring all the things he has done. Surely, this isn’t going to bite him in the butt. 

Now that all of the war stuff is over, the story is now shifting towards a Link homesteading plotline, which will hopefully be as interesting, if not more. It’s definitely going to be harder to write, if only because now I have to take Link and show how he becomes Warriors.

Speaking of which.... onto the present day--

That opening scene where they’re escaping from the Sheikah by running across the rope bridge? That was a certified Pain In The Neck to write. I wrote about three different versions before finding one I thought was half-way decent. Why? I kept getting too elaborate with it and the scene kept running away from me. 

A part of the reason why that scene was such a pain is that it originally wasn’t going to happen! The last chapter was supposed to have a little transition scene about having to sneak away from the Sheikah before ending with the scene where Spirit helps Warriors with his arm. 

But with the canoodling scene kicked over to this chapter, I figured it was about time I began paying off the whole We’re Being Hunted Down By the Sheikah thing.

The hard march stuff then effectively ruined my original concept for the chapter: a series of scene where Spirit interacts one on one with each member of the Chain, to varying degrees of success. That got tossed out the window and never returned. 

But I think it was worth it? I like the hard marching stuff, and it helps with the blend the deep dark atmospheric stuff with the reunited Chain being absolute bozos

And I have missed all of the shenanigans. The exchange at the beginning where Warriors gets sarcastic about being told not to let go is very silly, but I like it. It makes me laugh. 

Speaking of which, I have decided that I am a big fan of Spirit’s whip. That’s all. Just wanted to put that into the world. 

Okay, let’s hop back to the canoodling stuff.

So that scene was what was supposed to be at the end of the previous chapter, if only to give you all the two-punch Spirit What The Fuck moments. Pacing-wise, the scene also acts as set-up for the house drama. Putting it at the end of last chapter would have made it seem like that plot point was more established. 

Also, another shout-out to Legend for being the character who is constantly surprising me with how fun he is to write. I’m not a big fan of him normally, so I always end up forgetting this until I get to write him again. Then again, I am also convinced that Legend is at his best when he’s a member of the supporting cast. He’s not main character material. 

And you guys have finally bullied me enough to convince me to make DILF Hunter Hyrule canon. You can’t say I don’t do anything for you guys. 

Four and Spirit not having a good relationship just feels correct. Even if Spirit was capable of not fumbling a social interaction for more than 10 minutes, I still think these two would not like each other very much. We might be able to get them to coworkers status, but that’s if we’re lucky. 

I finally got to do this scene with Warriors and Lana! Thank god! I think Lana scenes are among the first to get cut any time I need to make space, and this one has been getting pushed back for a awhile now. It’s good to finally get them to talk, if only to wrap up that little subplot about Warriors’s shittiness towards her while scratching the surface of my Sad Girl Lana agenda. 

Actually, this chapter did so well with the Lana and Linkle content that I feel bad that Midna got barely anything to do. Granted, her big moment where Twilight is seeking comfort from her is one of my favorites. So actually, Midna stays winning.

The scene where Spirit equates dead monsters to dead people is the spiritual successor to that scene way back in the past when he and Link had their big fight. I mean, that’s obvious.

A lot of readers seemed really surprised when Spirit was ruthless on the battlefield during Twilight’s rescue, and I want this scene to help remind everyone that Spirit kills people as easily as he kills monsters because, to him, they aren’t different. That’s still shocking, but it’s not because Spirit is uniquely cruel. 

The song that Spirit plays is the Song of Birds from his game, which functionally just summons a flock of birds. You need it to solve, like, one puzzle. I have decided that it’s actually an essential part of Lokomo burial rites. 

I regret giving Hyrule the line about understanding Spirit better. On one hand, I do think this would be a reason Hyrule would soften towards him. On the other, Hyrule was not on the battlefield when Spirit was being a ruthless soldier. What is there for him to understand better?

Legend’s game is a silly scene I have been trying to include in this story for so long, if only to give Spirit a moment to explain in-story how his senses work (and to have an allergic reaction towards Legend). I am trying so hard to drive home that Spirit’s abilities are only the senses. This guy does not have any other weird magic about him. He just knows extra information about people. 

Also, Wind robbing Spirit is extra funny when you remember that Spirit probably sensed him nearby and still somehow did not realize he was being pickpocketed. 

I think the things Spirit senses off of the boys are fairly obvious, except for Wild-- that water stuck in the nose feeling refers to Wild being submerged in the Shrine of Resurrection

I feel bad that I keep giving Wind more problems to deal with, but unfortunately, head trauma causes so many lasting conditions. I haven’t even really milked his newfound half-deafness yet. 

Also, thank you once more for everyone who gave me additional information on how signing with one hand works! You’re all the bomb!

The most painful cut this chapter was a scene where Spirit met Kat again. It's still gonna happen somehow, but the logistics didn't quite work (they're supposed to be on the run... what are they doing with meemaw???) and I just needed to focus on other things. It's such a shame, though. We almost had a perfect cohesive past and present chapter combo.

Initially, I was going to leave Toto in the well until the end of the story. He would act as extra motivation for Warriors to basically fix Hyrule-- if he doesn’t, Toto doesn’t go free. Then at least one person asked that he be rescued, and I crumbled. 

Also, if I did my job right, this is the first time in the present day that Anders’s name is said out loud! 

So you can probably guess that if I was willing to take as much time as needed to write the rest of CTB, I would have given saving Toto and burning the house down its own chapter. I’m not great at pacing (see: the fact that I wrote a whole chapter about characters traveling instead of skimming over that shit), but I figured I would take the risk and see if I could get away with having both off screen.

Was it effective? In some ways, yes. I think the shock when Warriors finds out is effective. 

What really makes my cutting corners work is that Warriors got to do something else that was really important instead, which is talking with Icarius. 

(By the way, I know most of you are doing a bit about being hardcore Warriors/Icarius shippers. But the few of you who are genuine, I need you all to wait until I actually show what the relationship is like before committing, if only because this is something I of all people would be writing). 

What isn’t effective is how Cia’s drawing was meant to foreshadow the house burning. I always thought of it as a minor detail akin to Cia’s warnings while she was in the bush, but a lot of you clung to it like it was going to hold the key to final climax of the narrative. That’s probably my fault. Oops. 

But Warriors and Spirit fighting... perfect. Love that scene. Honestly, I missed their violence. 

But my god. Getting to elaborate on the house and how it's filled with his mother's things at the start of the chapter before having it ripped away? Priceless. Perfect. I am patting myself on the back for that one.

I kinda hate that Warriors and Wind moment. It’s good and everything I like until after Wind offers up his earring. I didn’t know where else to take the scene, but I didn’t want to end it there. What I ended up writing is just really cliche, and I really wish I gave myself more time to redo it. 

And finally, that ending scene. Oh boy. Your honor, something is going on. If you guys are this stressed by a little cuddling, I cannot wait to see how next chapter is going to mess you up (pending on whether I chicken out or not)

Once more, I have to point out how insane everyone’s takes are making me. No one, and I mean no one, is on the same page about whatever is going on between Warriors and Spirit. There is no consensus. It’s driving me to insanity. I am still pushing myself to embrace different interpretations and to not view personal takeaways as a failing of the story. 

But the more space I give everyone to draw their own conclusions, the more I get worried about alienating a reader, or writing a story with an ending that one person likes and everyone else hates. 

But, again, this is a practice in ambiguity. Part of this story’s draw is how so many people are reading the same scenes and characters, and walking away with different perspectives. As nervous as it makes me, I love it.

[bright-hope-spot-19]

You know, I was just chilling when I remembered something I saw a long time ago. Now, for context, I was scrolling through YouTube one day, as one does, until I stumbled across a very peculiar Naruto short. Now, the channel this short belongs to is an ATLA centric one. As in: the guy has very interesting videos analyzing every episode of Avatar: the last Airbender. That's why it struck me as weird when I saw he'd made a Naruto short cause he'd never made any Nart content before. His channel was purely ATLA. The short was kinda analyzing the scene where Kankuro and Temari were introduced. As you can imagine, it was less of an analysis and more centered on this guy praising Temari and saying, "She had a better role than Kankuro" or something along those lines.

That surprised me, cause? Anyone who's watched the scene can tell that, before Gaara showed up, the scene was completely centered around Kankuro. He was the focus of attention. He was the one who got into a fight with the Konoha kids, starting the conflict. He was the one who threatened to murder both Konohamaru and Naruto. He's the one who first got his abilities foreshadowed by making Nart trip on his strings. He's the reason Sasuke and Gaara even showed up in the first place. He's the one who also starts a conflict with Sasuke cause he doesn't back down from Sasuke's warnings. He stands up to him, making Temari even more worried. He's the one who immediately gets a duality added to his character when Gaara shows up, and he immediately starts apologizing, showing more facets to him. Kankuro's not a coward cause we'd seen him stand up to Sasuke, but he shows fear towards Gaara. It just makes you more curious about Gaara and Kankuro.

What did Temari do in their introductory scene? Shrug her shoulders and stand in a corner while Kankuro created the conflict with the Leaf kids, absolving herself from it. Kankuro was the center of that conflict, while Temari stood outside of it. Blush at Sasuke when he showed up. Be used as a plot device to explain the chunin exams (which literally, anyone else could've done). Then, she started begging when Gaara appeared, which doesn't make sense for her. Kankuro got into trouble. He was the one beating these kids. It makes sense for him to be scared. Temari was just minding her business. She'd done nothing wrong to really warrant Gaara's anger, yet she's as terrified as Kank. Now, we can say it's because knowing Gaara and how unstable he was, he really could've killed her too, for just existing. So, it makes sense that she was scared. But you see, that only makes sense when you're doing a re-watch and already know Gaara's backstory. For a first-time viewer who doesn't know who Gaara is or why they're so scared of him, Temari's fear is unwarranted. It just paints a negative image of her, that she's easily scared. Unlike Kankuro, she didn't get a 'moment of courage' confronting the Konoha kids before showing her being terrified of Gaara. Of course, that notion of Temari being a coward would be disproved later on in the arc, but overall, it's not a good 1st impression. So, it baffles me when her fans not only imply but affirm with their whole chests that of her and Kankuro, she's the one with the superior introductory scene.

Kankuro got to show the main traits of his personality at the moment: irritable, mean, cruel, takes joy in the suffering of others, kinda selfish, but also proud, confident, stubborn, and cocky. It also shows a strained bond with Gaara that makes you curious to know more bout them cause, as I've said: Kank had a reason to be scared, Tem really didn't. The fact she was so scared with no real reason, immediately joining Kank in appeasing Gaara, just does one thing: show her as a peacemaker. It's not a good role to be stuck with cause all it means is that other people around her (her brothers in this instance) create the conflict, and she has to assuage it. It means she's more of a reactor than an actual active participant of the plot.

It tracks cause it happens again in the forest of death. Now, another thing I wanted to mention is that Gaara is never shown actually threatening her. The two times the sand sibs were caught in an argument (their introduction and the fod), he's threatening Kankuro, not her. Now, people just took this and wrongly assumed that it points out to him loving her more than Kankuro or favoring her in any way. Which is simply not true, lol. Not getting death threats doesn't mean he loved her any more than Kankuro cause there's also a lack of any positive interactions between them to point to a possible less toxic bond they could share. It's like, to give an example, when there's students in a class, and one of them is sent by the teacher to the headmaster office for misbehaving. We can't just assume this means the teacher loves all the other students more than the misbehaving one, cause that one got punished and the others didn't. Of course, teachers will have their favorites, but to ascertain who the favorite is, we'd need to first see the teacher showing that favoritism. Like, giving extra points, being gentler with, and always siding with one particular student. That's when we can assure the teacher has a fave. This simply doesn't happen with Gaara and Temari: yeah, he only ever threatened Kankuro onscreen, but at the same time, he never showed Tem any favoritism. So, the notion he loved her more or she was his favorite and understood him the most is utter bs.

It's also skipping over the fact that this was all done to show a particular tension between the brothers. One she was excluded from as the peacemaker. As well as the fact, Kank was the one chosen to stand next to the main character and narrate the entirety of the Gaara vs. Lee fight. It's not similar to Temari explaining the chunin exams, as narrating Gaara's abilities is something only him or Tem could've done while explaining the chunin exams could've been done by anyone else, cause it's more general information. Kank was chosen for the narrator role to show he has more private knowledge of his brother's techniques and abilities. Temari has almost no shots pan towards her, except for when Lee took off his weights and started kicking Gaara's behind, we get a shot of her surprised face with the others. Outside of that, Gaara and Lee were the active players, Naruto, the reactor, and Kankuro, the narrator. By the end of the arc, he's also the one picking Gaara up, commenting on his beat-up state after the fight with Naruto, and the first to react to Gaara's apology, while Temari says nothing.

This is all to say: Temari was indeed a 3rd wheel. Some of her stans are right when they note the fact that the two brothers seem to have a special bond she just seems to be excluded from. Even the anime studio seems to have picked up on it, as her whole infinite dream revolved around her, wishing they'd care more about her opinion. Yeah, people can interpret that as the distance that comes with being the elder and only girl, who just naturally grows to see her brothers form a closer bond. But the truth is: she really isn't better written than Kank in any way, shape, or form. That's a fact you gotta live with sweeties.

[burr-ell]

🔥Given your thoughts on Vaxleth in TLoVM (hard agree) how are you feeling about Perc’ahlia (and Vex in general) ?

This may not be the answer you're looking for, because I really enjoy both!

I love the slow-burn approach TLOVM is taking with Percy and Vex's relationship. The moments between them are primarily substantive conversations or little gestures—even She Wear He Coat is connected to the actual story—but they're not being pushed as overtly romantic yet. They have some really strong scenes in the last episodes of season 1, but they're framed pretty platonically as opposed to the much stronger romantic coding of Pike/Scanlan or Keyleth/Vax or Vax/Gilmore. They got more development in season 2 and some really good original moments (I love their conversation in the Fey Realm and the arrowhead symbolism), but it's primarily in episodes 4, 7, and 8; aside from a brief battle couple moment in the Killbox and them yelling each other's names a couple times in the fight with Umbrasyl, there's not much material for them in the last three episodes of season 2, whereas even Kima and Allura have more going on by that point. It does well at establishing their dynamic without real romantic tension, which is vital for getting me invested in any relationship.

I will say I would have framed the "they are definitely not worth you" scene a little better. I think they were trying to make it subtle, but even when divorced from the context of the campaign, it's an intimate conversation where Vex reveals one of her deepest insecurities and Percy reassures her with an uncharacteristic show of his hand. It needs to visually convey that with tighter framing—more close-up and shot-reverse-shots, give Percy a little more hesitation as he says that line. Maybe have an introductory wide shot where Percy and Vex are standing farther apart and then the transition shot between their conversation and Devana and Velora's entrance shows that they've moved physically closer to each other, but the viewer hasn't noticed because of the intimacy of the close-ups. It's a small thing, but I think those kinds of nitpicky pushes would have made the scene stronger while retaining what they were trying to convey.

On the whole, though, I really like that they've committed to the slow burn, even in a fast-paced show like this. I will never not lament the loss of the 26-episode season and what this show could have been if that was still the norm, but I love what we have, and I love that they've also given us some new scenes to enjoy.

As far as Vex herself, I like how she's been adapted. I think they're very faithful to her character—bitchy, but not heartless; strong, but not invulnerable; snarky, but not uncaring; hungry, but not greedy. A character with as many layers as Vex has can be difficult to get right when you're balancing everything else the story needs to be condensed and adapted for a completely different medium, and I think they do a very good job. Now, full disclosure, I was and still am pretty irritated that they added Vax to the story of how she got Trinket—but aside from that? I'm very pleased. She's allowed to be unlikable, and that just makes me love her even more.

[nomaxart]

Hey everyone! We've finally made it! The first update for Conway is now available to the public!

You can play it over here: https://nomaxart.itch.io/conway

This one is pretty sizable (at least for what i'm able to do as a one person project)

Well, admittedly I didn't quite get everything done that I wanted to, but I'm learning that If I did try that I'd just end up never releasing any new updates until the very end. There's always SOMETHING. So it's probably best to just go until it's time to release it and then release it. It's an unfinished project after all and not every version is it's own polished release.

So, let's rundown what to expect from this one. First off, I ditched the 0.XX version number. I don't know numbers in coding enough to make that work. So this being the second release, it's release version 2. Counting up one by one, now that I can do! (this part is clearly the most important thing!)

We got a continuation of the story with the beginning of day 2. I thought I might get day 2 finished but HOH BOY DID I NOT. Just bringing in variables from day 1 made it wider than I anticipated, but that's all good. And also just had a few writing days where I struggled to write much. (and I'm already a pretty slow writer). So it is shorter than what v1 had, but with that one I had the advantage of starting from zero and just being able to write the one introductory line right up until the dinner choice before any breadth came into it.

Art art art! Of course some you might have already seen teased, but now you get to see it in context! But yes, we've got some of the first proper character art, some expressions, some art scenes. A little bit of everything basically. Still far from finished, but again, single dev here, so just doing what I can with the time I can spare for this project.

Some stuff here and there. Ya know, stuff like preparing the gallery, exe icons and little stuff like that. Also had someone help me figure out some of my structural grammar mistakes and all that good stuff that comes with being a non-native speaker. So it's probably still far from perfect and some more have already been fixed for v3, but I did go over everything in both the new and old writing and hopefully fixed the biggest offenders here.

And of course, if you like this game then consider signing up to patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/Nomax

Everything helps to make this game possible.

[callme6olet]

What makes Arcane great: S1E3

This is it--the big one, the heart-render, the episode that I had to talk through in therapy because Jesus, was I not okay after watching this one for the first time. Season 1, Episode 3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change.

That title, it's a bit of a mouthful, but the episode does what it says on the tin. It shows us where everything went wrong, shows us what it took for the world to fall to pieces. The show could've been made to work without any of the first three episodes--in fact, I'd argue that this would be the conventional preference. It's best to conserve the amount of time and space a story takes up. If you can fit all the events into one day rather than two, do it. The writers could've kept the same narrative and avoided a six- to seven- year time skip. We would've gotten a good picture of who Jinx and Vi are from their re-introductions in episode 4. Hell, you could probably drop someone into that fourth episode with no context and they'd still understand and enjoy the show.

But storytelling is more than a set of rules. The grounding issue at the heart of the show is a discussion of privilege--a mature, empathetic discussion, not a manifesto or a handwave. It is not the story of a battle between two cities, but of the way that societal structures tear people apart and pit us against each other. That can't be accomplished with an unsympathetic villain. More than that, though, to do it well--to make the story stick, to create something that resonates--the show needs an antagonist who isn't a villain. Someone who we genuinely want to succeed, to live up to her potential, but who opposes the heroes. So, recognizing this, the writers gave us Powder and made us watch her go insane.

Here's my highlights from the episode.

Sudden and inevitable escalation

In prose writing, there's a lot of talk about discovery writers and outliners--people who find the story as they go, and people who plan it out beforehand. Film, as a medium, lends itself heavily to the latter style, both because of the intense demand for concision and the higher level of collaboration. Stories that are outlined, pre-plotted, tend to have a very satisfying feel in their structure. There's a moment when pieces come together, when everything starts to add up. Predicting the plot can almost become a minigame, an added dimension of entertainment for the viewer. The difficulty is making the plot both comprehensible and organic. Often, outliners wind up writing stories that merely ratchet up in tension rather than changing and evolving.

In the first two episodes of Arcane, we are introduced to a few plot threads. We see Jayce and Viktor's work topside, Vi and company's struggle with the law, and Silco's plotting. All three are clearly important, clearly escalating, but we don't have a clear expectation for when they'll cross over. It's the perfect setup for a sharp but not immerson-breaking escalation: Grayson and Benzo's death and Vander's kidnapping at the hands of Silco. There's enough set up for this to make sense, and Silco's introductory monologue about betrayal flags his storyline as the one to watch out for in this episode. At the same time, the writers manage to make this scene sharp and surprising by undercutting the audience expectations. While we're aware that the conflict is ramping up, we're also expecting this escalation to continue down the clearest path: Vi or Vander will wind up in jail. The Lanes will riot. But instead of the cops against the Lanes, we get Silco against Vander. The result is that we, the viewers, feel shocked but not betrayed. We got what we were told to expect, but the form it took was not what we had assumed. Nobody expected this.

Surprise is one of the easiest reactions to create in storytelling, but it's one of the hardest to pull off satisfactorily. Smaug showing up in Star Wars would be surprising; it wouldn't make any damn sense, so of course we wouldn't see it coming. Vader redeeming himself by killing the Emperor is satisfactory surprise. There's a thin line between the nonsensical and the merely unexpected, and Arcane skates down that tightrope by perfectly managing audience expectations.

Order from chaos

In the undercity, Silco is creating chaos in the hopes of propelling change in the form of rebellion: the Free Nation of Zaun. Topside, Jayce and Viktor are doing the exact same thing: cranking the hextech crystal to max oscillations in the hopes that it will stabilize. Typically for Arcane, this mirror plot works out well for Piltover and poorly for Zaun. Both groups are playing with powers beyond their comprehension, but those with privilege are rewarded for it while the have-nots die because of that same curiosity.

This suspended flight, hovering in the blue glow, mirrors Powder's fall later. We see the power of the arcane for beauty, and also for evil.

We also see some hints of Viktor's flaws in this plotline. He asks Jayce, "Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?" He has drive, passion, creativity, and a willingness to do what must be done. There is also a dark side to his ambition, though. Viktor, the outsider in Piltover, will always have something to prove. His worst mistakes will come about as a result of his own lack of privilege--a deficit which he has sorely tried to overcome.

Always ready to brawl

Once the kids (sans Powder) are in Silco's lair, the trap springs. Vi has to fight off Silco's goons while the others break Vander out. Powder, unbeknownst to them, decides that she will help by making a bomb out of the hextech crystals.

This sequence is great in terms of tension and escalation, but the standout to me, the flourish, is how grounded the fighting remains. We get to see Vi in her first real test, and she proves that she's everything she's cracked up to be, knocking out enemies twice her size with a single blow. It's great to see a competent protagonist. It makes us feel like we, the viewers, are adequately represented within the narrative by our surrogate, the hero. We aren't falling prey to stupid tricks. The difficulty is balancing character competence with realism, relatability, and danger. If this fight is too easy for Vi, she starts to look like a Mary Sue. But, no--she takes hits as she deals them out, goes down and has to get back up. And then, when she crosses a shimmered-out Deckard, she realizes she is far out of her league.

Too, Deckard manages to toe the line between villain cliches and verisimilitude. He's happy to gloat over Vi when he knows that he can bring her down, but when she starts to slide the door shut, he panics. He knows he's fucked up.

The same philosophy continues when Vander wades into the fight. We get to see him living up to his reputation. We get to see why he's afraid of his own fists, of his capacity for violence. At the same time, it never gets out of hand. He never becomes unstoppable. Hulked-out Deckard is a worthy opponent for him--and he can still be stabbed in the back. Then, when push comes to shove, Vander's final decision is artfully communicated: kill Silco or save Vi. Silco's escape doesn't feel forced because it wasn't a matter of beams falling or a bridge breaking. It was a matter of choice.

Time to say goodbye

We come to the core of this episode. The hard part. Trauma.

I once had a psychiatrist describe trauma to me as anything you walked away from thinking, 'things will never be the same.' That feeling is what this story so perfectly captures--the feeling of stepping over the line and having it all go wrong, of mistakes you can never go back from. Powder sees her friends in trouble, tries to help by sending in a bomb. It finally works, and when it does, the shrapnel kills Mylo and Claggor outright. The ensuing fight leads to Vander's death.

For me, Powder's story taps into a deep-buried fear: the fear that, by trying to help, I might irrevocably hurt the people closest to me. That I am broken; that my presence is a cancer. I think this is to some extent a universal fear, but it is perhaps most present in some of the circles that both Powder and I fall into: people with mental illnesses, people who have experienced codependence, and (in my case, though perhaps not in Powder's) queer people. We come to believe that we are defective, that there is something about us that is fundamentally wrong, that causes pain. That we are a jinx. Her experience here is like the dire, nightmare version of every neurodivergent's childhood social gaffs: you say or do something you thought was right, and when you act proud of it, people call you a freak. Worse, you realize that they were right, that you did cross a line you hadn't realized was there.

Powder sees the destruction, thinks it's beautiful. Feels pride. But also . . . something else, maybe. There is a vacancy to her expression which, to me, implies a buried fear. A buried understanding.

She even knocked Vi's toy loose. She did good. Right?

Or, Vi's childhood, such as it was--her remaining innocence--is lost now, thrown from the place where she so fearfully stowed it.

Powder finds Vi. Realizes what she did. Vi hits her, leaves her, and now Powder has to deal with the worst trauma of her life in the one way she's never learned: alone. So, when Silco volunteers sympathy, she latches onto him.

Vi, too, has her worst fear realized. After the explosion, she sees that Mylo and Claggor are not getting up. She can barely hold it together. Then, she sees a worse sight.

She knows where that monkey head came from. Knows that somehow, Powder is here, too. That her sister might have died while she, Vi, was powerless to protect her.

She has lost everything. Everyone.

It's worth noting, too, Vi's eyes in this shot--one blue, one grey. The show tends to use eye color to indicate characters' dualities. Powder, for example, has grey eyes, while Jinx has blue eyes (and, in her worst moments, purple eyes). My interpretation is that in Vi's case, it's a matter of expression and repression. When her eyes are blue, she is emotive, passionate, fully present. When her eyes are grey, she is buried beneath pain. I read this frame as a conflict, a tipping point: she is torn between the hope that Powder survived, that it might all still be okay, and the knowledge that every other member of her family is dead or dying.

Vi has built her relationship with Powder under the pretense that she is selfless, but in reality, she has only saddled her sister with all her hopes and expectations. As long as Powder is alive, Vi thinks, there is something in the world worth living for. There's a chance for things to get better. She hangs these hopes around Powder's neck in the same way she leaves her stuffed rabbit caught in the power lines. She claims that other people did it, that they stole from her, and she's right; but she also claims that she can't get it back, and that is wrong. Truth is, it's easier to keep those hopes close but out of reach than it is to chase them and embrace the possibility of failure. Vi refuses to live for herself because it's easier to offload that weight onto her sister. If she hadn't, then Powder might not have felt the need to prove herself, to live up to those hopes. She might not have made the bomb.

It all comes to a head when Vi realizes that Powder was the one behind this. She is torn between rage and love, the fury of loss and her endless sympathy for her sister, the one person on whom she hung all her hopes.

Vi's heterochromia persists through Vander's death, even--to my eye--through the moment when she first hears Powder's voice. But then, she puts two and two together. Asks, "You did this?" Both eyes go grey.

And then she hits Powder. Says, "I told you to stay away!"

It's an impossible moment. Vi has just done the one thing that she would never do--she's hurt her sister. She has been pushed to the point of breaking her prime directive, of proving to herself that she, fundamentally, is not the person she thought. We are shocked by Vi; we're angry that she did this, that she hit an eleven-year-old girl. At the same time, we don't hate her for it. In shattering her self image, Vi is doing irredeemable harm. It is an evil act. The yang in that yin, though, is the proof that she is not, in fact, defined by her sister. We recognize here that Vi is, for the first time since we've seen her, living for herself. If she had forgiven Powder immediately, hugged her and told her everything would be okay, it would've meant the death of Vi's own identity and volition. Vi should not have hurt her sister, but seeing the hurt that was done to her, as well as her genuine regret, I am able to forgive her.

Her eyes are blue. She is feeling everything. She realizes what she's done, what she still wants to do, and does the one thing she can to keep Powder safe: she leaves. Only for a second, she thinks--and then, her nightmare plays out, too. Vi is the other side of the codependent coin, is afraid of leaving Powder alone because something terrible might happen, because Powder needs her. And when she leaves, Marcus captures her. She cannot be the person she swore she was: her sister's protector.

Why it sticks.

The core of this show, of this episode, is Vi and Powder's codependence. And yet, I hold firmly that Vi and Powder are both blameless for their unhealthy relationship. They should, in fact, be lauded for it. They did not have the time, space, resources, wisdom, or support to deal with the violent death of their parents or the circumstances of their birth. They had an option between an unhealthy relationship based in love and a bitter, estranged relationship based in fear, and they chose the former. That's the correct decision. Every time. The reason we love both these characters is that they made that choice in the hardest moment of their lives. They are flawed, but in their hearts, both Vi and Powder are willing to choose love over fear.

[a-force-dyad-in-space]

I'm still not allowing myself to be excited for the One Piece live action but after having seen the trailer a few more times I'll say that as long as the pacing is good (bad pacing trips me up so hard) and the show captures the essence and spirit of the story, I won't hate it.

I just hope the rest of the writing is better than that "Not a crew" scene, I'm still not very happy with that. Sure, a lot of the comedy from the manga and the anime doesn't translate very well into live action but they can still bring out the silly parts without relying on the same kind of 0815 quips that are used by every action adventure movie since the beginning of the MCU.

Something I didn't learn until today is that Oda himself was heavily involved in the adaptation, including greenlighting the cast, which I guess gives me a little more confidence that the show won't be a trashfire.

I really like the cast (and now that I know Oda gave his okay for Nami's and Sanji's actors I'm putting my earlier reservations to the side), I like their energy, I highly appreciate their love for the One Piece universe, so I have a feeling they may be my favorite part of the adaptation.

Something that's also been pointed out is that the characters are wearing a lot of outfits from color spreads from the manga, which is really cool, I like that a lot, it gives them realistic costume changes while still staying true to their designs.

As for some of the criticism I've seen float around the tag:

"WHY ISN'T LUFFY WEARING FLIP FLOPS????" I was a little put off by that at first, too, but I honestly doubt that we'll pay a whole lot of attention to his feet when we watch the actual show (and who knows, maybe they'll show up at some point)

"WHERE IS SANJI'S CURLY BROW??????" This is probably completely a Me thing but when I watched the trailer for the first time I didn't even notice that because I was honestly much more worried about his hair before the trailer was released; I totally get that him not having the curly brow is a little disappointing and leaves out some of the greatest bickering between him and Zoro, but it's still possible that they'll bring it into the show some other way, even if he doesn't have it all the time; same goes for the smoking (which, given that it's an American production that is aimed at kids, isn't really surprising, since smoking/tobacco is its own content warning on American TV), we might see him light a cigarette here and there but we were never gonna see him chainsmoke the way he does in the manga/anime

"WHAT ABOUT USOPP'S NOSE????" Okay, let's be real here, had they given Usopp his Pinocchio nose through either CGI or VFX make-up, everyone probably would have complained how stupid and cringe it looks translated into live action; Jacob has a very expressive face that more than makes up for the lack of the Pinocchio nose in my opinion, but maybe that's just me (Jacob was also the first cast member I was fully on board with from the start, so maybe I'm biased, but that's how I feel)

"BUGGY LOOKS TOO SCARY" Guys, we only got one shot of him and we don't know the context for it; maybe this is his introductory shot, maybe this is a special dramatic shot, maybe this is how other people describe him, we just don't know; just wait until the show is out

"THE FOOTAGE IS TOO YELLOW" While it is likely that this is the final color grading, it's also possible that the final color grading wasn't done by the time they put the trailer together (like, some of the shots look like the yellow isn't as strong), they still have more than two months until release, they could still be doing final tweaks until then; and maybe they wanted to emphasize Luffy's sunny personality, who knows, the cinematography probably looks different in emotional scenes

Also, and this is only of interest to my fellow Germans, the German anime voice cast is dubbing the show, so I might actually watch it both in the original version and with the German voices because the nostalgia is reaaaaaaaallll

Be still, my heart, so you won't be disappointed, but be hopeful, be so so hopeful 🥲

[unmooring-britain]

Commenting on the movie:

In today’s session we discussed our first impression of our second novel “The Last September” by Elizabeth Bowen. In addition to talking about the historical context of the novel, we also watched a scene of its cinematic adaption, that premiered in 1999, alas seventy years after the publication of “The Last September”. Having seen the remainder after our class, I would like to comment on it in the following. “The Last September” is the first – and as far as I could make out – the only feature film that has ever been directed by the British theatre and opera director Deborah Warner, who is best known for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Royal National Theatre.[1] The screenplay of the movie was developed by the Irish novelist John Banville, who alongside screenplays also writes works of literary fiction and even has been awarded the Booker-Prize for his 2005 novel “The Sea”.[2] The film was co-founded by both British Screen, as well as Fís Éireann, formerly known as the Irish Film board.[3]

Whereas the novel lets the reader dive straight into the story by showing us the arrival of Mrs. and Mr. Montmorency the movie seems to want to avoid possible confusion, by informing its audience of the historic setting, as well as of the fact that we are going to witness a “story of an end of a world”, a sentence that is echoed by Sir Richard, when he at a later point of the film explains to Gerald: “you are losing a bit of a jolly old empire. Territory, revenue, subjects. When that is gone, England will still be there. But we are losing a country, a world”. However, even after the vanishing of these introductory slides, we are not presented with the arrival of the Montmorencys but see instead Lois frolicking around the driveway that leads to Danielstown. She is dancing with Gerald, who instead of being a simple officer, is made a captain here. He furthermore does not bear the name Lesworth (which as we discussed in class could have been deliberately chosen to hint at the fact that he is not of noble blood) but Colthurst. This change of name seems to me of rather arbitrary nature, as Gerald is indeed still considered to be “less worth”, as we can see in one of his final scenes, when Myra informs him that he has not nearly enough money to even consider a marriage to Lois, which leads him to suspect that he is not “county” enough either. So why then Colthurst? Personally, I could not find a clear reason, especially since the name is somewhat attached to the Irish noble family de la Touche Colthurst.  The only possible relation I could make out therefore was, that Gerald can be seen among the trees in many of the film’s scenes, which does indeed helps to associate him with the hurst. He furthermore dies not only young, but also by the shot of a pistol, two facts which could both be attributed to the word “colt”.

All in all, the beginning of the film the tone seems infinitely more merry and silly than in the novel, that is almost always marked by an oppressive atmosphere, which seems to emanate from an unnamed danger, which, if we regard the later events, of course is the Irish rebellion. In another film scene, the family is seen eating a lavish diner, an image that stands in stark contrast with the sinister contents of the audio, as the audience listens to Livvy’s recital of the death of two police officers. Both scenes however help to illustrate, how much the Naylors have willingly removed themselves from the reality of the war that is raging just outside their doorstep. Whereas the novel leaves the incidents that occur throughout the country mostly up to the imagination of the reader, the film gives us a clear insight into how the Black and Tans terrorize the townsfolk, prompting to rebels to go ahead and kill one of their leaders. This doomsday atmosphere is emphasised by the many scenes that show the town, as well as the country house in reddish morning light or at least with a yellow tint, that reminds one of fire – though the house never burns, not even at the end. Another rather obvious tweak that one can made out is, that Lois’ father, the ominous Mr. Farquar is somewhat more involved than in the novel, as he has sent his daughter a squirrel monkey named after Lloyd George, the English Prime minister at that time, which lives in Danielstown as well. Through him, the colonial ties of the family become evidently way more tangible than through the elephants of forgotten origin.

While all the former changes (with the exception of Geralds name maybe) can be understood as somewhat necessary to straighten out the plot and put emphasis on some of the central motifs of the novel, I would personally argue, that the film takes it too far, when it lets Lois enter the mill alone and gives her a kind some sort of relationship with the rebel who inhabits it. Not only does this decision change how Gerald’s death is brought about, namely by said rebel, and thus not by the arbitrariness of war, it also kills any form of sexual ambiguity. Whereas we can see Bowen’s Lois deeply enamoured with Marda, to a point that leads the reader could suspect some form of sexual attraction, Warner’s Lois seems to seek mainly advice from Marda, letting her devolve into some sort of motherly figure for the otherwise motherless Lois. For instance, she tells her about Gerald’s kiss, prompting a conversation about men in which Marda finally says: “They are the weaker sex really”. Lois response “Not of all of them. Surely there are other kind” and her statement “Well not in my experience. And I have had a lot of experience” seems to evoke that she is some kind of vamp. This impression is further strengthened by her sudden romance with Hugo, with whom she seems to have been involved with in the past, as well as her short dappling with Mr. Daventry. Just like Dracula the movie does seem to suffer from a heteronormativity that does eventually kill a lot of the amphiboly of the original text. Instead of thinking about running away with Marda, Lois leaves with her, but only to attend Marda’s wedding and honeymoon with the stockbroker Leslie Lawe, becoming presumably somewhat of their daughter. What the film has to be given credit for, though, is that Lois seems to neither enjoy her relationship with Gerald, nor with the rebel much – which does sound like her.

[1] Todd McCarthy: Movie Review: The last September. In: Variety. Online: https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-last-september-1117499788/ (last accessed 01.12.24).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[blueberry-ink-93]

introductory thoughts & silly stuff bc my humor is broken a la the house of atreus

introductions my beloved. i really loved reading the intro to the iliad both bc im still so new to the literature and i genuinely appreciated the summary the context and brief commentary provided. same here

more often than not i find myself in the sidelines admiring the behind the scenes work that goes into it (will be writing about this extensively bc the little things deserve love) so thank you to all those who take the time to write forewords and the like and write them well. i think of you fondly and very often

you can read here btw

and without further ado lol

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starting strong with the sillines:

i kid u not until 5 seconds ago i thought this was the guy that wrote alice in wonderland lmao. thats lewis carroll sdksjd

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put some respecc on my girl shes a child of divorce give her a break

idk why this is so funny to me. poor electra cant catch a break fr

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on the chorus of the trojan women: deeply fascinating insight on their psychology if you will (here at least) being descibed as faithful and fiercely loyal to their lord, they also rejoice in his demise (as they should)

while playing the role of main characters in their own right, they also serve as a reminder to the history and context of the time

"as before remarked, it would be an error of interpretation to force a harmony between these different aspects of their part"

they provide the humanity that in my eyes is the crowning jewel of the epics (and the literature of the time also). more on this later

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kindred counter: 1

metal line in general i think. love me some bloody imagery

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apollo my beloved, loved the usage of light and dark.

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paragraph i think is neat

murder runs in the family lol

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quotes that slap (to me):

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kindred counter: 4

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what do u call those appetiser entree thingies again?

i did say it was silly lol

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lion metaphor counter: 1

this is important for later hehe

also neat paragraph in general.

i love admiring prose hope ur ready for yappatron 3000 :3

edit: this last part is from agamemnon lol sorry. keeping it anyway XD

THE ORESTEIA

skipping anatomy to go to the cafeteria and read tragic greek plays *is* self care. will be blogging extensively about it btw lol

i got two hours and a pop tart lets get this pity part started >:]