#his name is gatsby and he is my son

[rorystr]

all of you look at my kitty right now.

[praisetheaxolotl]

The Arsonist Theory, Part 2: We Get It, The Billboard Was A Metaphor

Part 1: Mandibles!

First off, I want to say thank you all for giving the first part of my theory such love! I appreciate each and every one of you and I'm so happy that you all like my theories so much!

For those who are new here, the Arsonist Theory proposes that Bill wasn't alone in destroying his dimension- rather, he was used by a third party. This is part two of four, with the remaining two parts coming out very, very soon.

Also, same as before:

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK OF BILL, INCLUDING SOLUTIONS TO CIPHERS

Let's get into it, shall we?

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meani-- no, really, stay with me here!!

...Okay, fine. Let's back up.

In the Book Of Bill, you'll find a webpage called thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com. Go there, and you'll be prompted to enter a password. Go back to the Book of Bill, and hidden in a stretched-text section, you'll see the phrase NEED A PASSWORD? FINE, I'LL TALK / IT'S THE NAME OF THE EYEBALL DOC.

"The eyeball doc" is from the excerpts of The Great Gatsby further back in the book-- T.J. Eckleburg.

(Honestly, this explanation is moreso that context doesn't get lost to time.)

So... Gatsby. T.J. Eckleburg.

Hirsch could have chosen any number of public domain novels for that gag in the book... so why this one? Why tie it in by making it the password?

I believe it has some significance to the greater plot. Furthermore, eye doctors in general are a large point of Bill's early life in Euclidia. Take the silly straws- the red one has a numeric cipher, while the other three use a Caesar cipher.

In the order of RGBY, they read as follows:

TWISTED OUT OF SHAPE AFTER THE KILL / THE GHOSTS OF HIS FAMILY ARE HAUNTING HIM STILL Eye doctor of a different kind / Who wants to make his patients blind The doctor says / Three sips a day / Will make the visions / Go away Fussy eater / Baby Billy / Wouldn't drink / Unless it's silly

These ciphers refer to a certain couple of tidbits Bill tells us about his home.

One- He could see the third dimension. A rare mutation.

Two- Talking about it at all was illegal.

So, what were his parents to do when their son started talking about nonsense that was illegal to even mention? Well, if your child started acting strange and seeing things that weren't there... you would take them to the doctor.

It's clear to me that Bill's parents were concerned about the "visions" their son was experiencing, and took him to the doctor to cure them- an eye doctor that wants to make his patients blind. The blue straw explains how the medicine is supposed to work. The yellow straw explains why Bill has such a fondness for silly straws- he was a picky little kid, and hated his medicine, so his parents got him silly straws to drink it out of.

I wonder if that's why he collects them- because they remind him of home, of his mother urging him to take his medicine, of his life before all of this happened.

But never mind all that.

The thing is, an eye doctor is crucial to Bill's past, which of course brings me back to T.J. Eckleburg.

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meaning, and the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are no exception.

(Okay full disclosure, I have not actually read Gatsby and I'm Sparknotes-ing this shit. But, so did all of you when you were assigned this in high school, so we're even.)

They appear on a billboard in a place called the Valley Of Ashes, and at first, they seem to symbolize God. But as the scenes continue, they take on a different meaning.

See, our POV character, Nick, is going on this journey to meet the mistress of his friend. Nick is aware that this is an immoral action, yet does it anyway. Now, the eyes of Eckleburg cast judgement... along with issue a warning.

They now take on a new meaning-- a foreboding omen about the tragedy that lies in wait, inching ever closer. The tragedy in Gatsby being the death of Myrtle, the mistress, and subsequent string of deaths that follow it-- and, curiously, Nick states that the eyes of Eckleburg almost supernaturally draw him someplace... which ends up being where Myrtle is.

Both a higher being, and a warning of a horrible tragedy that ends in death upon death upon death... curious!

What's more curious is when Bill is admonishing the story and Un-Gatsby-ing us, he says this:

The billboard is a metaphor? Why mention that? Out of all the symbolism in this book, why the billboard? Is it because it was mentioned in the preceding pages? Then why mention the theme of the American Dream being a myth? That wasn't on those pages! If you had to mention symbolism, the green light would have been the most iconic example of it from the book.

So why the billboard?

Is, perhaps, the image of some sort of higher power watching you, admonishing you of the tragedy you will have a hand in causing, supernaturally pulling you to someone that will be the catalyst for it all.... relevant somehow, to Bill?

(And, as a sidenote- the theme of the American Dream being hollow could also apply here, as Bill got what he wanted- freedom into the third dimension, Weirdmageddon, all of it. But he's still not happy and still wracked with guilt over Euclidia, ultimately an interloper in a place he doesn't belong in, just as Nick says at the end of the novel that he is a Midwesterner unsuited to life in the East Coast city.)

Let's talk about Flatland.

It's interesting to note that in the original novel, A. Square does have help witnessing the third dimension-- a Sphere contacts him, and tells him about the third dimension, intending to use the Square as a conduit to educating the rest of Flatland.

This, of course, leads to mass imprisonments and executions, one of said imprisonments being of the Square's own brother, with the Square being imprisoned himself at the end of the book.

Point being... in the original story of Flatland, the two-dimensional outsider was visited by a higher being, one that used him to alter Flatland and only ended up causing chaos and ruining lives.

All I'm saying is, the Book of Bill and Bill's story in general draws parallels to two existing books-- Flatland, and now The Great Gatsby. It would be foolish to write this off as a random occurrence when the game of Gravity Falls has always been analyzing the smallest of details. I believe the choice in book was on purpose, and moreso, that it was specifically used to hint that maybe Bill wasn't alone in all this. There was some kind of higher being that influenced him, just as the Square was influenced. That looked down upon him with impossibly wide eyes, pulling him closer and closer to ruin.

Oh, by the way-- Bill up there mentions being touchy about his weaknesses ever since... something. This is clearly his death, but... is that all he means? But that's gonna be in part four.

Next time, it's all about the many cycles and the distinct breaking of them present in Gravity Falls itself, and what that means for Bill as the villain and foil to them.

Part 3: Journey To The Vicious Spiral Nebula

Part 4: Blame The Arson, Not The Fire

[lesbiansandco]

My opinions on The Great Gatsby characters compared to Bill and especially young Ford

Gatsby and Bill are copies of each other, no doubt about it. A lot of people, myself included, have put Ford into the role of Daisy. However, Daisy and Ford are only alike in the sense that they are the object of Gatsby's/Bill's devotion. I think Ford is really a lot more like Nick.

Bill and Gatsby both build magnificent lives for themselves out of dirt and pine after lovers they will never get back (The comparison between Gatsby and Bill deserves its own long post, but this is mainly about Ford). Gatsby pines after Daisy, and Bill pines after Ford, but that's the only thing Daisy and Ford have in common, is their role in the story. And even then, Ford plays parts of Nick's role as well.

Perhaps most obviously, Nick and Ford are both writers. Nick narrates the fateful summer he knew Gatsby, and Ford writes the Journals, narrating his life and experiences in both Gravity Falls and the multiverse.

Nick claims to be one of the few honest person he's ever known, but his writing is littered with bias towards people he admires, namely Gatsby. He admires Gatsby in a way that causes Nick to write long and poetically about him, leaving less room for other characters that are arguably just as important (notably, leaving out many details about his supposed relationship with Jordan). There is also reasonable evidence that Nick's writing about Gatsby has queer undertones.

Who mirrors this? Ford. Pre-betrayal, he writes about Bill much more favorably than his good friend Fiddleford or his brother Stanley. Ford clearly admires Bill, calling him his "Muse," and Ford even takes it a step further from admiration and worships Bill like a god. Fiddleford and Stanley are definitely important characters to the story - Fiddleford leaves his wife and son to help Ford with the portal, and Ford hasn't seen Stanley in years while Stanley wishes to reconnect - yet Ford chooses to focus on Bill's impact in his life in his writing. Very similarly to Nick, there is reasonable evidence of queer undertones in Ford's writing about Bill.

Nick (and the rest of New York) sees Gatsby as a mysterious entity, with a surely fascinating past that has to be guessed at and puzzled together. Ford also sees Bill as a mysterious entity, an anomaly that has come to inspire him in his work. Ford can't help but be curious about his muse and the divine insight Bill gives him.

Nick is drawn in by the mystery that is Gatsby himself, and Gatsby feeds him fantastic lies on their car ride up to New York for lunch with Wolfshiem. Bill lies to Ford about being a "Muse" and makes extravagant claims to earn Ford's trust and build up his ego.

Nick only learned the truth about Gatsby after everything came crashing down the day they all decided to go into the city. Ford only started to learn the truth about Bill when Bill's true plans for the portal were revealed.

I think there's more than sufficient evidence that Ford is the character that represents Nick in every aspect except for his one parallel to Daisy. And there really is only one parallel between them; they both have a crazy, devoted, blinded-by-desire ex-lover who can't seem to let it go. In every other way, they are different.

Daisy is careless and overly emotional; she romanticizes the past and can't help but worry about the future. She only wants what she thinks is the best for those she cares about (one good example being her daughter. She wants her daughter to be foolish and happy in a world where Daisy is a pessimist after everything she's seen and done). Meanwhile, Ford takes time to plan things out and is generally very stoic. He doesn't like to think about the past and would rather manifest a glorious future for himself. And while he cares about who he loves deep down, on the surface he can come across as cold and uncaring - towards his assistant who suffered a lot of trauma during the time it took to build the portal, to his brother who he only reached out to for a favor and not to reconnect after many years - which makes him seem very selfish (which he can be).

Daisy is trapped in a romantic relationship with a her husband, and while she still has some feelings for Gatsby, she doesn't wish to be in a relationship or run away with him. On the other hand, Ford isn't tried down to any romantic relationship, and he doesn't seem to have any feelings for Bill post-betrayal.

That's all. I know this got long, but with all of this comparison, it makes sense to me to view Ford as a very Nick-like character rather than Daisy. And of course, Bill is the magnificent Gatsby.

[theegreatgatsby]

ೃ⁀➷ ❜ ...~ I HAVE WAITED FIVE YEARS... AND TODAY IS THE DAY ~ ... ❛

Oh, hello there! It seems like you managed to find me in one of these little get togethers I throw, hm? Well...

I'm Jay... Jay Gatsby. I'm sure you've heard of me... Hopefully good things? Ha. ...Let's see... I'm 32, male. I don't particularly use labels. I don't enjoy them.

...Apologies, I don't particularly have the opportunity to talk about myself so... Freely. So I'm keeping it brief. ...Hm... I'm the son of some wealthy folks in the middle-west—all dead now. I was also educated in Oxford, most of my ancestors went there after all.

...I suppose that might be it. Feel free to ask other things.

Well well well! Quite Fancy seeing you back here! Yet ANOTHER BLOG?!?!??! THIS TIME FOR JAY GATSBY??? RELA????! Wowie!

Hi! Sit down fella, this will take a bit... Learn a bit, see some tags behind this wonderful super duper cool page, yakknow how it is!

The name's Dew! Dewey if you wanna be fancy, but nah, I'm just a guy on the internet here to write for his funny sad 1920s man... My pronouns are HE/SHE! I'm Genderfluid and Gay!

Right, right... Tags...

|🥂| ~ 𝑴𝑶𝑫 𝑻𝑨𝑳𝑲𝑺! - This is me talking!! :3 |🥂| ~ 𝑱𝑨𝒀'𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑺! - Replies to asks, you know how it is. |🥂| ~ 𝑱𝑨𝒀'𝑺 𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑬𝑺! - The little guy talking to people! Yay! |🥂| ~ 𝑮𝑨𝑻𝑺𝑩𝒀'𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺! - Random yapping he does, reblogs... etc. |🥂| ~ 𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑺! - We'll see, maybe a call for interactions?

ok i think that's it... until I decide to go bonkers again. thanks for reading if you got this far! smooches ur forehead /p

[lighten-up-no-one-died]

How Jack would end up

Disclaimer: it’s a theory, so it could be a bit inaccurate.

So after the strike, we all know that Jack Kelly actually didn’t leave New York, for Katherine and for his friends. Katherine broke the stereotypes for women, and Jack of course is very supportive of Katherine. Katherine was just like Nellie Bly, super talented, and Katherine married to her husband (aka Jack) pretty late.

Even though Jack sort of got over the obsession with Santa Fe, he still thinks about it. But this time he was more of a like, what will happen if I went to Santa Fe with my wife, and my best friend Crutchie? In the end they did save up enough money.

Although they had enough money, doesn’t mean they are the richest. While with the money in hand, because of WWI happening, Jack got drafted with Crutchie, (you can still go to war with polio.) When he fought in the war, he met Jay Gatsby. They both talked about their loved ones.

When the war ended Jack was super devastated. Because during it, Crutchie lost his life from saving him. Jack blamed himself for everything too. The Santa Fe obsession got back and he was saying stuff like, “I need to see the stars… Crutchie could be one of them.”

He and Katherine moved to the west, and they had a baby boy. Katherine agreed immediately with the idea of naming the boy Casey, which is basically after Crutchie.

Over the years the trauma got better, with the son’s, and Katherine’s help. But he still drank occasionally. His son, him, and Katherine moved back to New York, and Casey met the old Race that came back from France (from my other post). Race immediately thought of Jack when he saw the boy. Race later on figured out it was Jack’s son. Which answered the question of, “why does he have the appearance of an old friend?” “Because he is the son of an old friend.”

[starrybouquet]

Tag Game: First 10 Lines Challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

Tagged by @curator-on-ao3 - thank you so much!!

I have not been posting much recently so my last 10 fics span years (yes, years).

Caitlin Todd woke in an uncomfortable bed in a cold room.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea, NCIS, Kate/Gibbs, T

2. The United Airlines flight back from Fresno was long, boring, and cramped.

Mac stared out the window in a trance as the plane descended toward Dulles. The sun had long since set, and the entire city looked like a giant miniature train set, tiny cars moving down the roads as if controlled by some giant invisible hand.

this could be the end, JAG, Harm/Mac, T

3. Harm almost murdered Diane’s killer on a Friday.

He spent most of Saturday staring at the wall, trying to shove down the writhing mass of rope that seemed to have taken up residence in his stomach.

He felt guilty, he realized.

in case i need it when i'm older, JAG, Harm/Mac, G

4.

Say it was the right time To walk away When dreaming takes you nowhere It's time to play

—Playing with the Boys, Kenny Loggins

Maverick raps on the door sharply. When there’s no immediate reply, she shoves her hands in her pockets, where they curl into fists.

This is the most insane plan Penelope “Maverick” Mitchell has ever come up with, and that's saying something.

in for a penny, in for a pound, Top Gun, Ice/fem!Mav, T

5. Carter was perfectly professional all the way back to the tel'tak. She threw him a brief smile as they walked, and he felt his Carter senses light up, like the leaves of a plant on the first day of spring. But her face had stayed completely serious as they maneuvered Maybourne into the tel’tak and she helped him pack up the gear scattered across the campsite (it was laundry day, okay. They should be grateful he wasn’t going commando).

i won't let go 'til the end, Stargate SG-1, Sam/Jack, G

6. It's the kind of summer night that clings to the skin, like the darkness has absorbed the heat of day and is breathing it out onto the world.

a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways, Top Gun, Gen (Maverick and Rooster's father/son relationship), G

7. Tess leans on the side of the register. Wednesdays are always slow, for some reason. Not many people at a supermarket looking to buy balloons for a party or flowers for a date on Wednesday, she supposes. Last week on Wednesday, she'd snuck The Great Gatsby out of her bag and skimmed it while she was waiting for customers. This week, though, she isn't feeling quite as productive. So she people-watches instead.

Rearview Mirror, Stargate SG-1, Sam/Jack, T

8. “What do you want on your gravestone?”

Dearly Loved, Stargate SG-1, Sam/Jack, G

9. Daniel walks into the SGC wearing a jacket labeled O'Neill, causing guards to stare. More guards stare when someone comments and he glances down, "Oh, I must have grabbed the wrong jacket."

Musical Jackets, Stargate SG-1, Gen, G

10. Jack was in the middle of reading a Sky and Telescope article on the latest electronic telescopes when he heard the telltale hum of Carter's engine.

Tensing, he set the magazine aside and waited for the knock he knew was coming. He tried not to think of the blue shine of his ring on her hand. He failed.

A Vein to the Heart, Stargate SG-1, Sam/Jack, G

Apparently, I don't start with dialogue. Which amuses me because dialogue is easiest for me, and most of my stories start off as nothing but dialogue.

I write snappy, action-based beginnings, where a character is *doing* something. Which makes sense because that's what I like to read!

Clearly I need to stop starting the first sentence of a fic with a character's name, because seeing them all lined up like this makes me cringe.

No pressure tagging @sententiousandbellicose @sluttyhenley @redbelles @lannisterdaddyissues @doodledrawreblogs @tommyjop @geneeste and anyone else who sees this and wants to try their hand! <3

[ruthplaysthesims]

List 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to simblrs whose sims you adore

Ah anon! Sure thing. For this one, we're gonna go with my favorite boy <3333

Before Gatsby took him in as a Secret Agent, he was a pianist at Tartosa's prestigious lounge. He would also be occasionally hired to play at the Laurent's wedding venue.

He has a younger sister. Her name is Carla.

In his teenage years, he was romantically involved with Greta Laurent, but because of his poor background, she left him for a socialite's son that visited Tartosa for a vacation (Fuck you, Greta!)

Gatsby nicknamed Carlos his "killing machine" as he was able to take down one of San Myshuno's most wanted criminal, by beheading him with a katana he found while undercover. Which also happened to be the mission that put him in the hall of fame of secret agents. As much of a douche Gatsby is, he has grown very fond of Carlos and sees him as a son.

He suffers from insomnia disorder and tends to rely on sleeping pills to get sleep. When he doesn't sleep, he either gets a book to read, or sits with a gun by his side, wanting to be prepared in case someone were to attack him.

Additional fun fact: There is an agent who is head over heels "in love" with him... and it's not Kaori (at least not yet)

And between me and y'all (>.>) (<.<) I don't like her....

Okay I'm done lol!

Poses: @natalia-auditore @maylilysims

Cc: @johnnysimmer @simandy @nucrests @northernsiberiawinds @caio-cc @sentate @golyhawhaw

Props: @natalia-auditore

Car: @sims4cars-breezemotors

[ohyoufool]

I love supporting journalism but NYT is paywalled and we all need some GOOD NEW QUEER COMICS so posting the full article under the read more!

Original Article

By George Gene Gustines

June 9, 2023

‘The Dog Knight’

Frankie Jude Bryant is a nonbinary middle school student who is dealing with identity, the usual academic challenges and, oh yes, trying to become the Dog Knight, a champion for humans and canines. Despite the presence of magical talking pooches, this journey of heroism and self-discovery feels grounded thanks to captions that get into the head of Frankie, who prefers they/them pronouns. On the first page, they think, “Do you ever feel like you don’t make sense?” Later, Frankie muses about their frenemy Dallas, who misgenders them: “She gets it wrong on purpose just to make a big deal about correcting it.” And when Frankie finds their tribe, “For the first time in a long time, I look in the mirror and I don’t feel a pain in the pit of my stomach.” Written by Jeremy Whitley, drawn by Bre Indigo and colored by Melissa Capriglione.

‘Marry Me a Little: A Graphic Memoir’

The cartoonist Rob Kirby chronicles his 2013 march down the aisle in Minnesota with his longtime partner, John Capecci. The story highlights where gay marriage stood at the time (each state was making its own rules before same-sex unions became the law of the land in 2015) and looks back at Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, who somehow were able to obtain a marriage license in Minneapolis in 1971. The personal recollections are powerful and honest: Rob remembers when he first casually used the word “husband,” which felt like “a small but genuine political act.” He also acknowledges the white, middle-class privilege that allowed him ambivalence about getting married. His ultimate conclusion: “Marriage does not define a relationship. Unless you want it to.”

‘Gatsby’

The messages of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” — about social status, love and chasing dreams — are revisited in the present with a racially and sexually diverse set of characters in their 20s. Gatsby is a Black tech millionaire looking for a love who got away, and Lu Zhao, the stand-in for Nick Carraway, is visiting from Singapore and summering on Long Island (where a $5,000-plus afternoon shopping spree highlights the casual wealth). The main characters are refreshingly blasé about their sexuality: Lu’s girlfriend, Alexis, asks, “How do you identify?” But Lu’s answer does not really matter as Alexis says, “I love being on this journey with you. I’m here for you no matter what.” Written by Jeremy Holt, drawn by Felipe Cunha and colored by Dearbhla Kelly. 

‘Hex Americana’

The cartoonist Bree Wolf spins a tale about auto racing, teen romance, monsters and ghosts. Flesh-and-blood Ken forms an unlikely alliance with Dante, who died in a previous race and haunts his car as a ghost. A successful partnership will allow Ken to compete in the annual Grand Prix and help Dante move on to the afterlife. The more than 300-page story packs in a lot of character growth, action, flashbacks and drama. The relationship between Ken and Karen, his mother, is particularly nuanced. Karen is supportive of her son, who is gay, but she struggles with how to correct her overbearing friend James when he makes thoughtless jokes about Ken. (Iron Circus Comics. Aug. 30.)

‘Death Drop: Drag Assassin’

The Gayborhood, as it is called in this five-part series, has seen better days. Thugs feel empowered to assault young gay men, and a drag queen named Lunaira has gone missing from the club Posterior Delusions. Residents have little faith in the local police. Enter Death Drop, a former hit man and current drag queen, who is pushed by Mother Henny, the hostess of the club, to find Lunaira. “She’s a queen of color who has been missing for more than two days,” Mother Henny says. “You do the math.” It helps that Death Drop and Mother Henny used to date. Let the investigation begin. Written by David Hazan and drawn and colored by Alex Moore. (Scout Comics. June 14.)

‘Turtle Bread’

Kim-Joy, a British baker and cookbook writer, teams up with the artist Alti Firmansyah for this story about Yan, who is struggling with low self-esteem and social anxiety. When Yan finds a local baking club, she is plagued by doubts about whether she will fit in or be liked, but she soon learns that everyone struggles in different ways. Yan eventually becomes confident enough to rally the club members to seek out and support one of their fellow bakers who needs it. Yan would qualify as an ally, but there are characters with significant roles in the story who are gay and lesbian. And there are recipes, including one that gives this story its title. (Comixology Originals. Available now.)

Original article

[elxctrics]

"here's a glow at the face of the canyon and a sound blowing 'round says you're nowhere you've ever been before. take a plunge into the colorado river where you feel yourself for the very first time, i knew you'd be a friend of mine."

(—) ★ spotted!! PRESLEY ST. JAMES on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 45 year old looks like MILO VENTIMIGLIA, but i don’t really see it. while the ARTIST/PHOTOGRAPHER/MUSICIAN is known for being INTUITIVE my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be BROODY i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song CLARIE AND EDDIE by KINGS OF LEON { he/him / cismale }

  ˗ˏˋ ＊ ‣ 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬    :  

connections || musings || instagram || headcanons

𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼

name: presley st. james

age: forty five

nicknames: none

date of birth: may 13th, 1978

astrological sign: taurus

place of birth: ouray, colorado

occupation: artist / photographer / musician

voice claim: caleb followill from kings of leon

label: the brooder

positive traits: creative, artistic, deep, talented

negative traits: broody, reclusive, grumpy a perfectionist, 

characters/celebrities she’s like: caleb followill, luke danes from gilmore girls, keith scott from one tree hill, alaric saltzman from the vampire diaries, rufus humphrey from gossip girl, nick carraway from the great gatsby, noah callhoun from the notebook

𝓫𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝔂

born and raised in mountain town, ouray colorado, presley was raised as the only son of claire and eddie st. james. 

claire was a singer in a local bar, the leon, and eddie was the owner of said bar and the two had a ‘love at first sight’ kind of love, however their relationship was an incredibly toxic one - filled with jealousy and booze and rage, although they did their best to shield young presley from it.

presley had always been a lone wolf, much too quiet for his own good and never had or kept many friends. he preferred being alone and could often be found painting in his school’s art room or learning instruments in his father’s bar before they opened for the evening.

while he wasn’t the best student, he excelled in the arts and for his thirteenth birthday, his parents got him his first camera and living in such a picturesque little town, he fell in love with capturing it’s beauty and went on to win many photography awards throughout high school.

he loved writing music and singing, too, but after attempting to perform at the school’s talent show and getting all choked up on stage, he realized he was far too shy for that kind of spotlight and preferred to be behind the camera.

when college came around, he got accepted into parson’s school of the arts in new york city and double majored in fine art and photography.

there, he got in with the artsy scene in new york and it wasn’t long before his paintings and photography were hanging in galleries across the city and eventually, the globe.

he was on a high, but art was fleeting, and people were always looking for the next best thing, so it wasn’t long until he had to do what most had to do and sell his soul to hollywood.

he became a world renounced photographer for the rich and famous, shooting vogue covers and the most high profile fashion campaigns and became incredibly sought after in the industry.

however, he felt like it was sucking the life out of him and he hated it, causing him to become rather grumpy and recluse and thus, he turned to drinking, just as his parents did years prior.

while in the heart of his creative slump just last year, he lost both of his parents within six months of one another and truly hit rock bottom, feeling as though life meant nothing and turned to writing to get him out of it.

after getting a little too drunk at a bar one night with his friends, he drunkly performed one of the songs he had written in the presence of all of his industry friends and after hearing his deep, raspy unique voice, they pushed him to start taking music seriously, which he did, since had nothing left to lose. 

he got a group of his buddies together and formed the band ‘kings of leon’ - named after the leon bar that his father owned in their small town.

now,  after the release of his debut album ‘only by the night’  and riding on the high of the success of his singles ‘sex on fire’ and ‘use somebody’, he’s in a better headspace and has a newfound confidence in himself that he didn’t before.

he still works on photography projects on the side, since that’s where his heart is, and still very much spends late night hours in his studio trying to paint something great again.

[hightealowsociety]

Tom Wambsgans' American Dream

"Angry, and half in love [...], and tremendously sorry, I turned away." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Last Sunday, the fourth and final season of HBO's "Succession" premiered to critical acclaim. Many have waited with bated breath to learn the fate of Tom Wambsgans, the wimpy but cunning social climber, and his wife Siobhan "Shiv" Roy, the stubborn and hypocritical daughter of media magnate Logan Roy - who also happens to be Tom's boss and ally at the beginning of season 4. More specifically, many viewers - myself very much included - have been endlessly speculating about the future of their marriage since before the season even premiered. At the end of season 3, Tom backstabbed Shiv as she (along with her brothers Kendall and Roman) were on her way to stop their father from selling out Waystar Royco, the "family" media corporation that he built and that one of his four children was expected to inherit.

His marriage to Shiv has been fraught from the start, with Shiv cheating on Tom before asking for an open marriage on their wedding night, and Tom gaining control of the conservative news company that has been targeting Shiv's boss, Democratic presidential candidate Gil Eavis, for months. Another point of contention is their unequal footing in life, in part due to their unbelievably different upbringings. Shiv is the daughter of a British noblewoman and a multi-billionaire - Tom is the son of a lawyer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Tom is a transplant to Shiv's native New York City, having moved there after studying at Cornell. He's spent his entire career trying to impress people and gain social capital, to both significant successes and failures. Tom uses his relationship with the beautiful, intelligent, and most importantly, wealthy, Shiv to gain leverage in the cutthroat upper echelon society that she was raised in. But, ultimately, his love for Shiv runs deep - and her various infidelities (both in the marital sense and in the business world once Shiv throws her unqualified hat in the ring for Waystar's CEO, a position Tom has been grasping for for years) wound him even deeper.

As the series has unfolded, I have been fascinated by Tom. He's not my favorite character, as that title belongs to Greg, the awkward cousin of the Roy family who has been stumbling upward into oblivion with the help of Tom for the past four seasons. He's not even my second or third favorite - that's Shiv and Kendall respectively. He barely makes it into the top five (Gerri, one of Logan's top and most ruthless advisors, cuts him out for fourth). But, he's my favorite to write about. I think the reason for that is how he embodies the prototypical American Dream in the modern age. He is a 21st-century Jay Gatsby without the charm, but with the grit to claw his way into high society.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time, for precisely the same reason that Tom is my favorite character to write about - I am fascinated with the idea that, with enough determination and work behind you, you can become anything. Jay Gatsby, much like Tom, plays the game of life with a false air of confidence and disposable income trailing behind him like a cheap dupe of an expensive French cologne. Gatsby sees Daisy Buchanan, his longtime love interest, as both the love of his life and as a prize to be won to cement his place in NYC society and gain legitimacy in the Old Money world that Daisy and her husband (also named Tom!) reside. T. Wambsgans' underhanded business practices - namely the covering-up of massive scale corporate crimes - and emotional bribery is also mirrored in Gatsby's illegitimate means of monetary gain. Ultimately, Gatsby cannot overcome his history. He's a puffed-up fraud, as the closest thing he has to a friend (Daisy's cousin and the ultimate unreliable narrator, Nick Carraway) discovers towards the end of Gatsby's life. Gatsby's entire backstory was fabricated, down to his name - he was not Jay Gatsby, born to mysterious luxury; he was James Gatz of North Dakota.

It's easy to see parallels between Wambsgans and Gatsby. Both come from less fortunate circumstances (to varying degrees) than their love interests. Both of their love interests doubly represent their career goals. Both are undaunted in the face of competition, so long as they get what they want out of it. Will both ultimately fail, having spent their lives in pursuit of the women, respect, and social status that they'll never get? Only time will tell when - or whether - Tom Wambsgans will wake up from his own American Dream.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

[rxscss]

“𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒'𝓈 𝒶 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 '𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒. 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝓁𝓊𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑜 𝓇𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇, 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒾 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒. 𝑜𝒽, 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝑒'𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑒 𝒾𝒻 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒. 𝑜𝒽, 𝒶 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝓈𝑜 𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑜 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁”

(—) ★ spotted!! maverick ‘rick’ ledger on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 40 year old looks like charlie hunnam but i don’t really see it. while  the artist/photographer/musician is known for being creative my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be broody i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song claire and eddy by kings of leon { he/him cismale } - penned by candice, 25, cisfemale, she/her

𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓼

wanted connections + connections || musings || pinterest || instagram || headcanons

𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼

name: maverick colton ledger

age: forty

nicknames: rick, ricky

date of birth: may, 13th, 1983

astrological sign: taurus

place of birth: ouray, colorado

occupation: artist/photographer/musician

voice claim: caleb followill from kings of leon

label: the brooder

positive traits: creative, artistic, deep, talented

negative traits: broody, reclusive, grumpy a perfectionist, 

characters/celebrities he’s like: caleb followill, luke danes from gilmore girls, keith scott from one tree hill, alaric saltzman from the vampire diaries, rufus humphrey from gossip girl, nick carraway from the great gatsby, noah callhoun from the notebook

𝓫𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝔂

born and raised in mountain town, ouray colorado, maverick was raised as the only son of claire and eddy ledger. 

claire was a singer in a local bar, the leon, and eddy was the owner of said bar and the two had a ‘love at first sight’ kind of love, however their relationship was an incredibly toxic one - filled with jealousy and booze and rage, although they did their best to shield young maverick from it.

maverick had always been a lone wolf, much too quiet for his own good and never had or kept many friends. he preferred being alone and could often be found painting in his school’s art room or learning instruments in his father’s bar before they opened for the evening.

while he wasn’t the best student, he excelled in the arts and for his thirteenth birthday, his parents got him his first camera and living in such a picturesque little town, he fell in love with capturing it’s beauty and went on to win many photography awards throughout high school.

he loved writing music and singing, too, but after attempting to perform at the school’s talent show and getting all choked up on stage, he realized he was far too shy for that kind of spotlight and preferred to be behind the camera.

when college came around, he got accepted into parson’s school of the arts in new york city and double majored in fine art and photography.

there, he got in with the artsy scene in new york and it wasn’t long before his paintings and photography were hanging in galleries across the city and eventually, the globe.

he was on a high, but art was fleeting, and people were always looking for the next best thing, so it wasn’t long until he had to do what most had to do and sell his soul to hollywood.

he became a world renounced photographer for the rich and famous, shooting vogue covers and the most high profile fashion campaigns and became incredibly sought after in the industry.

however, he felt like it was sucking the life out of him and he hated it, causing him to become rather grumpy and recluse and thus, he turned to drinking, just as his parents did years prior.

while in the heart of his creative slump just last year, he lost both of his parents within six months of one another and truly hit rock bottom, feeling as though life meant nothing and turned to writing to get him out of it.

after getting a little too drunk at a bar one night with his friends, he drunkly performed one of the songs he had written in the presence of all of his industry friends and after hearing his deep, raspy unique voice, they pushed him to start taking music seriously, which he did, since had nothing left to lose. 

he got a group of his buddies together and formed the band ‘kings of leon’ - named after the leon bar that his father owned in their small town.

now,  after the release of his debut album ‘only by the night’  and riding on the high of the success of his singles ‘sex on fire’ and ‘use somebody’, he’s in a better headspace and has a newfound confidence in himself that he didn’t before.

he still works on photography projects on the side, since that’s where his heart is, and still very much spends late night hours in his studio trying to paint something great again.

[bucklikethedollar]

i love a tag game i love talking about myself i love @knightrelic for tagging me in this

1. nickname: bucky actually is my nickname! my last name is buck, so bucky was kind of a natural next step lol. even my dad used to be called bucky when he was younger

2. sign: pisces sun, libra moon, gemini rising. i do not believe in astrology and the only one of those i knew off the top of my head was my sun sign lol

3. height: 5’11, but that bumps up to 6’ if i wear my docs

4. last thing you googled: “did chadwick boseman do his own singing in get on up”. my dad and i watched it last night and i was curious lol. for those interested: it was mostly recordings of james brown, but but boseman did do some singing in select parts (he was great btw) and all of his own dancing!

5. song stuck in your head: father and son by cat stevens. i have a playlist called “most beautiful songs ever written” and that’s on it

6. amount of sleep: i went to sleep at around 3, and technically woke up at like 10:15, even though i stayed in bed and chilled for like 45 minutes before getting up, so that’s ~7 hours

7. dream job: tattoo artist! saving up for my third tattoo rn, and i wanna see if there are any shops looking to take on apprentices or receptionists or something as soon as i have the time

8. wearing: cassette tape socks, green pants with a chain for a belt, plain black sweatshirt, red & blue flannel, and earrings that look like i have screws stuck through my ears

9. books/movies that define you: not 100% sure if i understand this one, but i’ll just ramble a little i guess lol. movies: my own private idaho, bill and ted’s excellent adventure, monty python’s meaning of life, the muppet movie, walk hard, the silence of the lambs, the wall. books: house of leaves (mark danielewski), johnny got his gun (dalton trumbo), the raw shark texts (steven hall), the martian (andy weir), the time machine (hg wells), eunoia (christian bök) , frankenstein (mary shelley), the great gatsby (f scott fitzgerald). that is… more than i intended to list for either category lol

10. favorite song: in general it’s the re-recorded version of bloodstains by agent orange, but i’ve been listening to a lot of showtunes recently so hosanna fro jesus christ superstar and try me from she loves me are up there too

11. instrument: i’m mainly a singer & guitarist, but i also play ukulele and harmonica (i’m a bit better on ukulele but it’s been a looong time since i’ve practiced lol). i’m working on learning poems, prayers, & promises by john denver on guitar rn and man is it a doozy. guy fucking loved his altered travis patterns huh

12. aesthetic: i have,, no idea. sometimes (usually when it’s warmer) i lean a little towards grungy, but nowadays i look a little more like a cool librarian just cause it’s cold, but then i tend to look kinda preppy when i have to dress up for something, and i also have “sexiest person at this grocery store” disease so it’s… kind of all over the place. i like fun socks? i wear a lot of jewel tones??

13. favorite author: there are very few authors of whose works i have read more than one, but my all-time favorite book (house of leaves) was written by mark danielewski, so i’ll go with him. that being said, madeline miller writes gorgeous prose, james joyce has fantastic control of the english language (even if ulysses murdered me), and andy weir is fucking hilarious

14. fun fact: ooo lemme think. my belly button is off-center. i can wiggle my ears. my mom owns a car that used to belong to billy joe armstrong and i got to drive it to my senior prom. i can tap dance. i have a small but growing collection of funny mugs i find at thrift stores. i don’t know how to dive. i once drank worcestershire sauce on a dare from my sister. i’ve lived in arizona my whole life but i’ve never seen the grand canyon.

i guess im supposed to tag 14 people for 14 questions but like bracken said i don’t know 14 peoples so i’ll just tag @commander-vas-normandy @mattmurdockspainkink and @localmvthman along with anyone else who wants to do it! :•)

[livingfictionsystem]

Frequent Fronters Survey!

Full name? Xanthe Crow Lutece Zeitstück.

Gender/Pronouns? Androgyne. They and it, but 'it' is moreso preferred!

Orientation? Very pansexual. As in, gender has never factored into my attraction at all.

Role in the System? Cohost/social protector, everyone's collective OC, Cult Smasher 5000.

Star sign? Scorpio Sun, Leo Moon, Virgo Rising.

Favorite films? V for Vendetta, 2013 Great Gatsby, Grand Budapest Hotel.

Favorite TV series? Peaky Blinders and Shadow and Bone!

Favorite book? The Picture of Dorian Gray, the Diviners series, and the Six of Crows duology.

Favorite music? Shayfer James, Charming Disaster, Sarah and the Safe Word, Starset.

Favorite video games? Saints Row 2 and the entirety of the Bioshock series.

Characters you relate to? If Captain Jack Sparrow, Magnus Bane, and Howl Pendragon had a queer child, it would just be me.

Who’s your inner-system circle? Kaspar, Phisoxa, Aberle, Sumire, Koji, Prosper, sometimes the Harveys and, when it's Really a party, Oscar Wilde.

What do you look like in the inworld? Not too different than the outerworld! My skin is darker and my eyes are wider, rounder, and lighter. My mouth is wider and I'm a bit shorter-- about 5"5. My hair is split blonde and black, but in the inworld, I have a blonde streak on the black side and a dark blue streak on the blonde side.

What’s your aesthetic? I think y'all know. No, I'm a Victorian fop with a love of jewel tones, especially blue and gold. Sometimes I go more pirate, sometimes more vampire, sometimes a constellation-clad library goblin. But yes, I love neo-Victorian, ouji, fancy pirate, etc.

What’s your internal origin story? I was essentially an OC Phisoxa created to entertain his adoptive son. In the story he created, I was an androgynous AFAB German who moved to London and lived in a clocktower, before discovering I was actually dead the whole time. Then I was rekilled for being queer and "masquerading as a boy." (I reworked Phisoxa's original story because, no offense, but I'm the better writer. It's for sale!) Then Phisoxa decided that she wanted to bring her OC to life, and collected bits of souls, includling her own, to create my personality. Once Phisoxa had like, the rough draft of me, he stuck it into a clockwork crow, then a blue and gold pocket watch, with the idea that someone would find a body to fling me into. Phisoxa made me to have a creation with pieces of his own soul and to also have someone that will "break the cycle." See, there's a curse involving how we always end up with abusive people, in the inworld. Which has really OBVIOUS applications in the outerworld, when I look at it. (Phisoxa uses she and he, if you're confused.)

What’s your day-to-day life internally? Anywhere from brilliantly fun to insanely stressful. Sometimes, I'm in a castle and drinking cocktails and watching two centuries-old vampires banter about petty shit, sometimes I'm trying to talk someone out of committing suicide via magical/possessed means, sometimes I'm fighting for my life and actively feeling everything, sometimes I'm flying as a crow to the abandoned European building. It seems like it's always me involved in setting fires or putting them out. I live an old inn in Prague and work there for room and board. I also spend a lot of time in dimensional rifts and timelocked places since some of my favourite people are actually dead/ghosts in modern times.

What’s your day-to-day life externally? Taking selfies, writing, reading, promoting my work. I love exploring Rochester and taking walks, especially past anywhere that has a "no trespassing" sign. I love working at the bar and bantering with my hotel friends. I eat and breathe literature and love to rewatch some of my favourite shows. I do have good friends around here but we're all chronically under-spooned groundhogs that just lift up flags that say "I SUPPORT YOU' when none of us have the energy to text back. More often, I'll lock myself into my study and have a controlled breakdown about what's happened to me and suddenly a masterpiece comes out of my fingertips.

What do you wish more people knew about you?

What you see is what you get. I'm not as bad as whatever ex you're flashing back to, I'm not as good as you want me to be. I'm a selfish, aggrandizing, pun-wielding drunk with my head in the clouds, but I do my best not to be a hypocrite and not hurt the people I care about. You're not going to save me and I'm not going to save you, but we can at least trade jokes hunt for the art and romance in this fetid reality.

-Xanthe 🪶

[thelovelybitten]

vera's first watch of south park -- season 4 (part 1)

bc i know this is about to be so very long

EPISODE 1: SEGA DREAMCAST Y'ALL KNOW WHAT IS UP no I FORBID Y'ALL USUING KENNY'S TEEF TIMMEHHHH aww he's so cute NO NOT KENNY'S TEETH DFDSBKGBKSD :'(((( y'all rly stripped my son nakey... SHAME ON U i chuckled at cartman being the tooth fairy kyle is MAD MAD i was mad when i found out santa wasn't real stan kinda slayed w his plan omg MAFIA TOOTH FAIRY THIS IS SO GOOD WHAT "tits" cartman REALLY DEBATING NKDGKNJGFDJKN main four mafia gang WENDY IN FRAME I LOVE HER no bc if stan showed up in a spiffy suit working for the tooth fairy brigade at 8 years old, i don't know why wendy WOULDN'T BE WHIPPED KENNY'S HAT kyle is in his delusional arc, cartman, leave him be wtf... kyle y'all rly left kenny in the river ihy EPISODE 2:

AWWW A LITTLE SLED RACE ON THE TINY HILL

Tolkien slayed get him

please Wendy be in the select four

hc little Stan and little wendy are extremely competitive at sled racing and make it their whole personalities when the gangs hang out for the annual sled racing every year. they still got their little crush on each other but when they break up the first time OH THEY OUT FOR BLOOD.

Tolkien still ate and Cartman is a piece of shit

HATE CRIME ???? Ngl get ur Justice king

this is actually. so good I love when cartman gets what he deserves

Bebe and Kyle in the same frame it must be so

KENNY TAKE ME TO MEXICO

Kenny did not deserve that slap BYE

SJKDNSLCJXK THIS CHASE HAHA

Kyle: what the fuck is happening

the girls gaslighting, girlbossing and gatekeeping AS THEY SHOULD

juvenile hall is. Sumth.

OH THIS BOY ABT TO FUCK ERIC UPPPP

butters: I think Clyde is the next fattest kid SIR THE DISRESPECT ON MY SONS NAME FROM MY OTHER SON ITS PAINFUL. So hard to have multiple children out here

Girls are SLAYIN idc

AYO YALL GET OFF CLYDE I HAVE BEEF WITH CLYDE HATE

Clyde is literally a perfect size wtf y’all on ABT

“Oh my god we killed Kenny”

“We killed Kenny?”

“We killed Kenny, we’re bastards”

STYLE SO TRUE

Y’all hyping up cartmans ass LMAO

Bebe slayed

YALL CANT BREAK HIM OUTTA JAIL THATS ILLEGAL

THE PIG LATIN LMAOOOOOOO THEY DEVOURED

CARTMAN GROSS

KYLE THATS FUNNY LMAO

EW

this is so gross I hate it here

Not HIM FLUSHING THE CIGS

Tolkien rich as fuck

aAND THEY GET HISTORY LESSON LETS GO

WHAT THE FUCK CARTMAN

cartman in his gaslight era AGAIN

Jesus he’s so manipulative but it’s kinda iconic

THE THREE BOYS EPIC

OH THIS PRESENTATION IS WELL DONE MY BOYS WELL DONE

Lmao cartman is so heartless HAHA

CLYDE GET THEM

Bebe on the gals team let’s goooo

Clyde is CRYING LMAOOO

CARTMAN HAHAHAHAHAHA

YO NOT YALL HURTING THE GWORLS JAIL TIME

WHAT IS HAPPENING

okay. That was. An episode. Haha.

EPISODE 3

Kyle being up until 2:00 am UGH

WENDY AND KYLE MY SMART KIDS <3

MR GARRISON THUMBS DOWN DONT PICK ON TIMMY >:(

Timmy doesn’t have ADD but oh my lord I’d die if I had to listen to an audio book of the great gatsby

mackey and victoria asleep REAL OF THEM

STENDYLE ON THE COUCH TOGETHER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

specifically stendy as their heads lean on one another 🥹🥹🥹

KENNY DONT BONK UR HEAD U DESERVE BETTER

TIMMY SINGER ERAAAAAAA <3 u get em

everyone hyping up Timmy as they should !!! Wendy, Clyde and Tolkien my babies

POGS TIMMY IS A SLAY

Kenny and Cartman WHACKED OUT ON STIMULANTS

DAMN THEY ARE SO BORINGGGG LMAOOO ITS SO FUNNY

the kids: 😐😐😐

I hate this portrayal of Timmy’s disorder 😩

NOT THE PAN TO THE FACE POOR KENNY

NO DONT BEAT UR KIDS PARENTS

“AHHH ITS CHRISTINA AGULIERA” HAHA

Stan ate that speech

INTERESTING EP LOL

EPISODE 4

EVERYONE LOOKS SO CUTE DRESSED UP AWWWWW

KENNY *slams fists* THATS MY BOIIIIII

stan so unbothered by this clown

CARTMAN IS DEADASS ASLEEP ME TOO

contorting girlies got GAME

omg not them trying to do the same show LMAO

KENNY DKCMFHDHDJKCHD THIS COSTUME

not the boys naked PLEASE

Kenny reading on how to sing JSJFBDJSKD WHOLESOME

he's so cute u guys that's my fucking son

the oldies getting frisky EWWWWWWWWWWWW

wait she's dead????

NOOONOT THE GIRLS :(((((((

Kenny side quest I love it

HEMADE IT YAAAAAA

lil Romania girlies getting a slice of America

Stans HOUSE HOLY SHIT

not the girliessss

KENNY POPPING AWFFFFF

Kenny bffr come home

THEY SLAYED ATE THE BOYS UP

THE ENDING NOOOOO

note: Kenny can SING

EPISODE 5

domestic core 4 board game time

not AIDS Cartman bffr

OH KENNY’S GETTING A SIBLING?

CARTMAN NO

GET UR ASS OFF THE COMPUTER RIGHT THIS INSTANT

oh my god I'm actually scared for cartman for once

HE DOESNT DESERVE THIS FATE

STOP TOUCHING HIMMMMM

Kenny being worried abt this baby

Play catch! Cute

OH SHIT KENNY WHAT A FAST BALL

trying to stop him from having sex GENIUS

STAN AND KYLE ON THE WINDOWS JDHSHCJDKXKX THEY’RE MY BESTEST BOYS

Jesus cartman I'm so sorry don't know yet

HUH. NAMBLA IS FUCKED UP

GARRISON COMING OUT KING

MEPHESTO NOOOOOO

THE THREE OF THEM AT THE WINDOW AGAIN I LOVE THEM SO

OH SHES PREGGO SORRY KENNY

KENNY IS RLY TRYING TO KILL THIS KID ITS SO SAD

OH SHIT NOT THE DAD DRINKING IT DHDHCJSJBXHDBDDJDN

NASTY BRO

cartman nooooo

Kenny’s dad is going thru it

KENNYS DREAM OH MY LORD

Kyle NO TAKE IT BACK TAKE IT BACK

these men need jail time JAIL TIME

Don't LAY A GOD DAMN FINGER ON BUTTERS U FREAK OF NATURE

NOT TIMMY ANYONE BUT TIMMY

THIS IS SO FUCKED UP

NO I CANT NOT MY KIDS

RUN KIDS RUN

CARTMAN. YOU CANT BE SERIOUS

NO NOT BUTTERS

The actual trauma NO

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS CARTMAN I HATE YOU

NO BUTTERS NO NO NO

thank god he's okay

But kennys dad i’m so sorry

Oh KENNYS NEW SIBLING

wait it's kenny PLEASE

[moneflower]

A Spring Never Coming

—------

Synopsis: Children are often the light in the relationship for parents to keep moving forward, despite the hardships and sacrifices that follow being one. As the saying goes, “all it takes is just one small change to change your life.”

But what happens when that light is snuffed out? Where do we go from there, and if so, is it possible to move on.

—------------------------------------

Opening Notes: For my first one it will be focused on two characters in the BSD world that I believe have an interesting dynamic to their real life counterparts and to the storyline: Fitzgerald, Nakahara, and minor parts of Oguri if you squint closely.

This will be a two-piece coinciding work: a mini analysis and creative work. The second part will be formatted in a poem-like structure in dedication to our favorite poet, Chuuya Nakahara- plus it’s more digestible that way.

Don’t worry if poems aren’t your thing because I’ll try to simplify it as much as I can without too many hidden metaphors or symbolism. It will all come from the heart, which I believe everyone to a certain extent is capable of feeling, right?

—-----------------------------------

Warnings: Below contains contents of implied death, loss of a loved one, and grieving - mostly angtsy stuff.

—-----------------------

In the context of children, we can say that in the world of BSD it’s quite lenient and loose in terms of laws and regulations regarding minors. But besides that, Asagari seems to be adding a lot of hidden ironies that the characters and real-life counterparts have.

First is Fitzgareld and his goal to find ‘the book’ to save his daughter. If you think this is sad, then as bearer of bad news: Chuuya, the author died without any offspring. I mean, he did have some, but they didn’t live long enough to carry on the bloodline.

His well known piece of work: ‘Spring May Never Come,’ explores this with his first son who unfortunately didn’t survive tuberculosis; the same very disease that killed his second infant son not long after, him, and many authors that are now characters of BSD.

Real life Fitzgerald had an only child who lived a pretty long life according to news articles that I read so I wonder if this tiny detail is a homage to the japanese author or added in for the sake of plot.

He did at one point spend all of his life savings after the success of his well known: Great Gatsby - that much is true, canon and real life. But the fact that his ability stems from capitalism, something explored upon in ‘The Great Gatsby’ hits the jackpot for me.

—-----------------------

Lies Told in April

by Cerueusnight

-

Spring comes bearing wealth

such as flowers and fruits.

Like children is to mothers,

it keeps on giving

until it gives no more.

-

Some claim to bless

and revael in joy,

soon winter will be over

and the sun will rise.

-

Birds learn how to fly,

animals sprout from their burrows,

and soon they will be gone,

as if, leaving home for the first time.

-

Yet they lie,

for a season that claims to give

it takes until there’s no more.

Warmth feels like frost,

snow never melts.

The sun sets further,

until orange fades into black.

-

One unbefitting of spring,

yet stays true to it’s name:

a season of darkness

to remind those who left again.

A number that adds,

losing it’s value,

birthdays left behind,

and parents griveing alone.

-

A house filled with laugther

is now filled with silence.

From unfinished paintings,

half scribbled walls,

toys tidely kept in a corner

in hopes they will untidy themselves.

-

Yet days turn into years

and nothing seems to change:

from unbothered rooms, a kitchen left clean

there’s no one around,

no one to cry, laugh, or smile

at least anymore.

-

Winter turns into spring.

Children’s clothes grow to dress,

suits, and ties.

One for their graduation,

coming of age,

weddings of the future,

yet, despite silent whimpers

it continues to grow.

-

From birth to death

of clothing that will never be worn

because their owner has left,

an owner no longer here.

My spring, my youth.

—---------------------------

A/N: This is just the surface of the iceberg to the tragedy in which bsd explores. Besides loss, the themes of parental figures and children are often brought up but never explored, so I hope I gave you another perspective.

Fitzgerald-Chuuya, A Spring Never Coming

Analysis: Spring May Never Come

Oneshot: Lies Told in April

[more-than-tender-curiosity]

Hi unfortunately this is my only solace in the world!

So basically consider you are trying to be the “Perfect American Man”. What do you need for that?

White picket fence + wife + kids.

Jay got the money to have the white picket fence. Daisy will be the wife, kids might come after but he hasn’t thought that far yet. But she’s his last hope in regards to forcing himself into a shape of someone he thinks he needs to be (compulsory heterosexuality)

Unfortunately for Jay’s best laid plans, someone shows up and apparently shows him that there is another way. Someone shows up and is kind to him, believes in him, hands him the world and asks for nothing in return. Won’t even accept a job or money, won’t even let him pay for lunch. Suddenly a weight is taken off of his shoulders.

And why does Nick do this? Even though he claims over and over again “these rich people drag me into everything against my will” when he’s doing all of this (handing him the keys to his future) for Literally Nothing?

You know, Nick, the guy who fled the midwest because he was starting to feel entirely incompatible with the enforced traditions? Who couldn’t even hold onto Jordan for a full summer, despite claiming he was half in love with her?

There is something there between Jay and Nick that they themselves cannot confront because if they did, Nick’s ties to the rigid form of his father’s son melt away entirely, when he still relies on his father’s approval for everything (don’t forget who’s funding this extended vacation to Long Island). Jay has to admit that chasing Daisy was a pointless endeavor because who he really is will not change once he has her.

There are so many moments where they are almost able to admit it, too. To the point where Nick seems to want us to believe even he is unaware of how dedicated he is to Gatsby, to the idea of him, and to his own failure in the preservation of that idea.

After all, people don’t typically name their memoirs after other people.

For further reading I would recommend Absolution by F. Scott Fitzgerald (it’s a short story that was originally Jay’s backstory but scott changed the names and published it elsewhere for a quick buck) as it sort of displays that Jay may very well have realized somewhere around puberty (when tons of people hit their Not Straight awakening) that something was “wrong” with him.

Also, what I call “The Garden Scene” from the Princeton Draft of the great gatsby. It’s on my blog under #the garden scene, and it displays fully how Jay’s commitment to the bit, so to speak, has deteriorated since he met Nick. Jay all but gets on his knees begging Nick to give him a reason to give Daisy up and accept himself but Nick, ever the hypocrite, ever his father’s moralist son, spends most of that time deluding himself into believing Daisy was right for Jay and that Jay should suck it up and pursue her harder and whatever admission he had for Jay—perhaps that he loved him, too—died without ever living.

All of this makes more sense if you understand tgg to be a revisionist retelling of what happened that summer, and Nick’s doing everything in his power to obscure his guilt over what happened at the end (no spoilers). After all, for better or for worse, he touched that man’s life.

I’m reading the great gatsby and Im trying to figure out how people ship nick and gatsby because for one gatsby is the straightest man I’ve ever read, and two there’s absolutely no chemistry I’m sorry 😭