#lol sounds pretentious

[buttertheflame]

Persuasion, "We Could Live Together" and Romanticism

"Although things can go wrong, time will not change how I feel about you."

After quite a few years of fic writing under my belt, I sometimes get stuck, feeling like I've changed a lot. But on reflection, I always liked to keep it simple. I use my ASOIAF fics to persuasively argue theories that I have and share what I think the overall main series is about. (It's my humble interpretation, that is.) Another way I approach my fics is to bring in those conflicts and challenges — and have the characters forge intimacy to overcome them together. They get angsty, melancholic depending, as well as lighthearted and warm in other places. 

What does this have to do with Jane Austen? I picked up her last novel, Persuasion, a few years ago because "second chance at romance" is right up my alley. Little did I know that on the third or so read, I'd see a lot of parallels between this touching novel and my Jonerys fic A Long Way Home, which starts like this: After a post-Bolton botched assassination attempt, Dany fished Jon out of the Narrow Sea and gave him shelter on Dragonstone to recoup and heal...he went home to Winterfell but delayed returning to her with devastating consequences. Since readers have long wanted me to continue the story, I wanted to give Austen some homage, define a few Romantic characteristics she uses, and where they have and will fit over the span of the "We Could Live Together" fic series.

*spoilers below*

After some research earlier this year, I learned that for many reasons there's long been contention that she was not a Romantic author, more of a Sensibility author, but some people have put forth good arguments that she was both. Literature buffs have eventually conceded that Persuasion may well be Austen’s most melancholic and romantic story, exploring themes of lost love, missed opportunity, heartbreak, and becoming one’s own person. In Persuasion in particular, like Charlotte Bronte, she tackled these paramount Romantic characteristics: marginalized characters, close relation between the mind and body through emotions and reason vs. feeling (ultimately arguing for feeling over reason).

The additional Romantic characteristics in ASOIAF of religion/the supernatural (the two go hand-in-hand), self-knowledge and 'social energy' jumped out to me.

That said, in Persuasion, here are the main Romantic characteristics:

Marginalized character – Anne “just Anne” Elliot who lived under the “partialities and injustices of her [vain] father’s house knew love with her godmother, simply because she had no one else to love,” has already passed the bloom of her youth, yet finds that despite her social isolation, she draws and is drawn to the reappearance of her ex-fiance.

2. Close relation b/w mind and body via emotions – (Shout out to Mrs. Croft who boasts that even when she travels with her loving husband by sea, she never gets seriously ill)

3. Presentation of Reason vs. Feeling - Mr. Elliot, her cousin/father’s heir, she feels, does not speak from the heart and is therefore untrustworthy. When naval Captain Wentworth is restored to her, what emerges is a return, as close as they can be, in the countryside estates and private solars of Bath’s polite society. They fall in love again due to sheer proximity.

As for A Long Way Home, the main Romantic characteristics:

Marginalized characters in their feudal system – at first, neither Jon nor Dany were able to seize opportunities based on merit or achieve accomplishments due to competency; through sheer will, faith and dreams they were eventually made to be the hope of others, then found hope in one another.

Close relation between mind and body through emotions - the sensing of the other’s countenance celebrates the link between their bodies (heh) and hearts; in addition, Dany’s dreams and scrutiny of Jon’s Stark bloodline open up and fill in more magic lore, initiated by the tragedy that is Viserion’s death.

Reason vs. Feeling manifesting in the choices characters make:

Jon is in crisis - Reason (treated the incest discovery by Bran with reason, “I will not tell her yet, I will delay it if possible”) vs Feeling (there are worse things to do, worse things to be) (this won) Dany is the Rock -  Reason (considered, “maybe it is time to take steps away from him”)  vs Feeling (wishing not to be a ball and chain; carry the burden; not blame him) (this won)

As for similar themes in A Long Way Home, I'll drop a couple of lines in no particular order:

Lost Love: "We used to say 'if one of us should leave the other, I bet you'll always love me.'" He wanted a life with her. ... I will tell her when the time is right. Or else I'll lose her and this will have been for nothing. Missed Opportunity: "I know that my delay has cost us so much, but it's not the end is it?" "You've known for months! How could you? It's my right to know I'm not alone in this world!" Heartbreak: Yet not hearing him, now, only served to irk her in a way that felt much like a broken heart. "This hurts me, too." Becoming One's Own Person: "Your sister tried to apologize for you. I do not accept it. You are the master of your own life, Jon." “I am Jon Snow, son of Rhaegar of House Targaryen and Lyanna of House Stark. Nephew to Lord Eddard of House Stark. And nephew to you, Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen.”

Throughout the fic, I had fun touching base on the love vs. duty conflict George weaves so well with Jon. He had used his father Ned Stark's values to parse out difficult but straightforward decisions. Stay or Go? YOU SAID YOUR NIGHT'S WATCH VOWS, SO STAY! Although, like Jaime Lannister, he's realized it's sometimes more important to sacrifice name, reputation, even honor, for a greater cause--many months later in Winterfell, when the discovery of his parentage was made known to him by Bran, King Jon assumed his duty to his House and the North was in direct conflict with his love and sexual desire for Queen Daenerys. It caused him to choke like nothing else had. They entered a period of estrangement and division until he returned to her and eventually let her join in him in his crisis.

In the end... Rather than sticking to his father’s values--Jon takes up the risk of loving Dany as a man loves as woman, for a greater cause. To be a husband, a father, a king. Those are no small things to be. Those are the things that give his life meaning! He does not care about the right or wrong of it, so long as they are together. Dany, of course, happily concurs and wishes to only keep his heart.

And so I definitely credit this line from Persuasion as having pretty much inspired the direction in the continuance of the fic series:

“There they returned again into the past, more exquisitely happy, perhaps, in their reunion than when it had been first projected; more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other’s character, truth, and attachment; more equal to act, more justified in acting.” (Chapter 23, Persuasion)

In the end, the time away from each other has caused them to become even more mature leaders, managing realm-wide risks wisely, not risking those responsibilities for the love of one person. However, Jon has still got an inferiority complex and Dany still runs from trauma.

The next fic installment, In Full Bloom, will bring more tests to come, too heavy to carry alone, so they'll get through them together. And though my headcanon endgame is in sight, before then, they will have the chance to live together.

[freshfrenchtoast]

Kageyama's backstory only being revealed near the very end of the series is really interesting from a meta perspective.

For reference, his chapter is 387 out of 402. That's 96% of the way in.

To contrast, other characters like Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's backstories are shown in Chapters 87-88.

Now, we do get the explanation for his "King of the Court" title in Chapter 6, at the start of the series, but we don't see how he got to that point, or why he started playing volleyball in the first place like Tsukishima's and Yamaguchi's stories show.

It creates this situation where, despite being the deuteragonist, the character our protagonist, Hinata, is practically glued to the entire series, we barely know anything about him.

We don't even know he has a sister until that point whereas other characters' siblings like Natsu, Saeko, Akiteru, Alisa have all made appearances way before then. Even Oikawa's sister, though we don't see her, we at least know she exists because of Takeru.

He's both closed off to us (the audience) as well as the other characters in the series, and this results in them finding him rude or disliking his character in general (see: the "Kageyama is abusive" discourse that somehow keeps popping up even now).

Chapter 387 takes place in 2018 and was published in 2020 so it takes him 6 years of in-universe time and 8 years of irl time to really open up.

And the catalyst for all of this is Hinata fulfilling his promise of beating him.

You see, another thing to note is that, whenever Hinata thinks of Kageyama, he's always looking at him from behind.

His internal image of him is someone who's always up ahead, someone he needs to catch up to, meaning Hinata can only see one side of him, he cannot see all of Kageyama until he catches up and passes him.

Which he finally does here.

In this shot Hinata is finally the one who's looking back at Kageyama. At this moment, Hinata (and by extension the audience) can see him for all he is, can see how he was just a lonely boy who's been waiting for someone to meet him where he is, to keep running alongside him and not quit the race.

Someone he doesn't have to go easy on. Someone who would actually tell him to hurry up instead of slow down for a change.

His someone better.

[reasonsforhope]

Hey adults: Why do you like being an adult? What do you like about your life?

A couple weeks ago I told the kids at my work that "Being an adult is pretty nice, actually," and they looked shocked, laughed incredulously, and told me I was the first person they'd ever heard say that

So clearly we adults need to talk about this way more often

The past few years have been hard for a lot of people, me included. Covid sucked. I lost three relatives and three pets in one year. Right after lockdown ended, I got badly injured, and ended up housebound for six months and (much more) disabled for two years, and that sucked too.

And you know what? Literally all of that was easier and better than being a teenager.

I like being an adult. I like my life. Even when it's hard, it's mine, and I am building to the best of my ability the a life that I want to live.

I talked about a lot of why being an adult is something worth looking forward to in my last post, so right now I'll simply say this:

I love actually knowing who I am now. I love that I learned and am learning what I want and need. I love that I have independence and autonomy and don't get treated like a kid. I love the fact that I'm the one who gets to decide want I want to do and what I need. I also love that I'm learning to sew. I love that I've had pet rats, and next will have a pet cat. I love that I got top surgery. I love the way I've decorated my room. I love traveling to visit and crash and even just hang out and do work with my friends, when I can. I love that I started reading good news every day, and that I actually have hope for the future, and that I started this blog and have been able to help give so many other people hope, too.

So, here's a call to action for my fellow adults: comment or reply or tag what you like about being an adult. What you love about your life.

Let's give some kids some reasons for hope.

[vero-niche]

[share-the-light-stories]

Welcome to Share The Light Stories!

This is a blog dedicated to sharing silly and uplifting stories from the game Sky: Children of the Light.

The world is in a dark place right now, and unfortunately that can bleed into online spaces, so I want to share positivity where I can :)

Now, admittedly I usually play solo, so I don't usually have stories of my own to share. But! That's why asks and submissions (when I can figure them out) will be open! I'm hoping as other people find this blog they'll want to share their own stories. I'll also occasionally reblog stories and moments I find :)

The main tag I'll use is #operation: share the light that will be the tag all the stories are under

For posts like this I'll use #mod moment or if I'm posting about the blog mascot (yes I made a mascot) I'll use #stori moment

For now that's all you need to know, if you have any questions just ask!

Bonus Stori pictures below the cut :)

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

All I’m going to say I think now that my brain remembered part of what it was thinking is that Taylor and Joe went through a lot together (good and bad) and regardless of how it ended or what led to it they both seem to be determined to keep that private and not throw each other under the bus and in the end they’re just two very, very different people whose outlooks in the long term were just never going to align and never has that been clearer.

[galadriel-blue]

There are two trop fans inside of me:

One is like: "Galadriel is such a complex character outside of all of the shipping! I NEED people to understand her on the level I do (as a character on her own) because it's so deep and personal and she is such a great complex female character! If we limit her potential to just being a love interest, then what is it all for???"

And the other is like: "Haha Annatar/Adar/Celeborn/whoever you ship her with is hot, I think she should absolutely go for it."

[aight-griffin]

So, I had to talk in church today, and I’ve been writing about anime on the internet and working in retail long enough that it actually ended up being really good.

Afterwards, a mom came up to me and told me it was so amazing, one of the best talks she had heard in years.

And like. . . there’s something ironic about me, a pimo exmormon who hasn’t believed in god in years, talking in this Mormon church and managing to do a better job then the people who actually believe. How did it end up like this.

[liquidstar]

The agony of wanting a good gyro but there not being any good Greek places nearby

[ratethednpvideo]

it's so over

hey guys,

i've changed quite a bit as a person since starting this blog and most dnp videos just do not do it for me anymore. i've become a bit of a joyless communist, i suppose. i feel that it is disingenuous for me to keep posting polls for videos when i don't even watch the damn thangs these days.

it's a real shame, but i am grateful that we got to share these moments of human connection. i had a good time.

love you all. be good ok?

[farrahfawcetts]

welcome to my stranger things alternate universe / timeloop / time travel speculation corner! The theory (is that what it should be called?) Is under the cut, inspired on some set production leaks. I go into how I think time travel could work in this universe with some help from USS Elridge's disappearance and reappearance through time.

Hello stranger nation, I was looking at set photos for s5 I believe first uploaded by will80sbyers.

I notice this Hawkins high chalk board (I assume) and the math problem on it seemed interesting to me.

This was my interpretation of it. I am not 100% confident on it but if anyone smarter then me has other interpretations I would love to see them.

I also have a small theory on how time travel might be utilized in this universe. Again, there is likely huge holes in my theory and anyone with strong ideas willing to bounce off what I put down is more then welcome.

USS Elridge going outside of time then coming back, with two of its passengers potentially going forward in time during this leap creating a time paradox sort of situation due to them being returned back to their present time. (technically now their past.)

This might also be why there is multiple / alternate universes in general, as they created different possible futures due to their absence in their original universe/timeline and the absence of them in the alternative universe they accidentally visited.

now here is where I speculate who are potential knowing time travelers, though again if anyone else has better conclusions I'd love to see them!

(Dr. Who's time-war anyone?)

Thanks for coming to my Tedgate talk. *launched into dimension x*

Even more, thanks to everyone who has been putting all the leg work on this series (some shoutouts, wheelercore, henrysglock and aemiron-main who have had some really awesome thoughts regarding the series! And anyone else I might gotten ideas from but couldn't remember when posting this! Yall stranger things theorists rock!)

[13eyond13]

actually stunned by how gay The Beatles has been all this time and I just never knew

[aliothbuzzsawshark]

Babe. Why is your alarm at 5.

[that-rackin-frackin-varmint]

#4— 07/24/2022 12:17 AM

Back in Action review sort of

Back in Action is so funny to me. Cuz under my typical critical lens, I wouldn’t actually enjoy it as a whole, cuz the human characters aren’t that engaging, the villain is kinda forgettable (if not weirdly toon-like in demeanour), and the story I feel suffered some cutbacks (seeing from the sheer amount of deleted content).

I think what really saves it from being unbearable to me is the fact that the emotional backbone of it is Daffy and Bugs’ relationship, and especially Daffy.

He was portrayed so well with his character displaying the capacity to be so obnoxious and untouchable when he was toying with the security guard/human protagonist — which would mirror Bugs’ effortless ability to torment the ceo of comedy. So it puts them on equal standing in the sense that both are very good at tormenting people as individuals. And what’s more, the movie really goes out of its way to hold value to Daffy’s feelings, like not making his insecurities a joke (until the very last minute but I’ll get to that). The movie is very much driven by Daffy but it’s not made that apparent:

Why is this movie happening?

Because Daffy wanted to make a movie that focused on him without needing Bugs. Which ended with him getting fired.

What is the driving force of the story?

Daffy’s desire to take control of his life and be a hero of the story. But also the emotional desire to be treated like an equal.

Why doesn’t he want to come back to Warner Bros Studio?

Externally, it’s because he would rather go and find the monkey treasure with the human guy (which is just as true since Daffy’s very materialistic). Internally, it’s because he feels underappreciated and undervalued by the studio (and by association, Bugs).

The movie feels like it recognizes the anguish of Daffy’s odd status, and it doesn’t shy away from acknowledging the potent angst he could feel from being seen as replaceable. Course they didn’t get into anything obscure, like making Daffy mention his past as being beloved in the 30s-40s ish, cuz that’d be a lot of context for an average movie goer. So can’t say if that era was a thing for Daffy in this movie, but it feels like a natural development that after years of being second fiddle to Bugs, and not getting any of the acknowledgement for it, the guy would try to suggest a movie that centred around him. You can tell he’s done something like this a bunch of times before, but this time the new ceo of comedy straight up told him he has no leverage since his audience is pretty trashy, and he isn’t all that. So he got canned. Which also didn’t seem like a first time, since Bugs mentions he can make sure the pay won’t be docked as bad. Which brings me to my next topic: Bugs.

Bugs in this movie is not as dialled down like he is in the Space Jam movies, or TLTS. He is very manipulative and subtle when he wants to be, but also very teasing and attached to Daffy. Tbh, he isn’t as well-rounded of a lead as Daffy, but he is basically just following Daffy because he 1) cares about him, and 2) wants Daffy to get hired back into Warner Bros. When I say he ‘cares about him’, it’s not under any guise or gimmick, Bugs will go through the entire film because Daffy wants to. He personally isn’t invested in whatever monkey treasure Daffy and the security guard are up to, but he is kind of “obligated” since the ceo wants to find Daffy and get him back (since he isn’t as replaceable as she thought, as in, Bugs probably had a hand in screwing over her rep — quick tangent but I want to believe the only reason they were doing a Duck season-Rabbit season short without Daffy was because Bugs somehow led the conversation to that conclusion). Really, Bugs is capable of a lot of things, so if he didn’t want to be here, he probably wouldn’t. His emotional investment in the movie is Daffy. And that’s enough for him. Which is where I get into the ending of the movie…

God, when Bugs pulled a “Duck season! Rabbit season!” card on Daffy as his way of disguising a compliment, and Daffy caught onto the validation but not the point that Bugs was complimenting him, it felt right, like this was how it was going to end, and his arc was getting resolved.

And then we get a shot of the room but in a set, and my heart sank.

Bugs ends up coming out on top, as Daffy did technically end up starring in his movie. And this is the movie we’re watching at this moment. And Daffy’s resolution measures up to an empty promise from Bugs that he’ll be treated as an equal or something (I can’t remember what the exact promise was, I just know Bugs wouldn’t keep it). And so nothing changed, and maybe it meant something that this movie — which in-world was somewhat controlled by Bugs — was very much Daffy-focused as Daffy had wanted. But it’s conclusion is as ultimately ineffectual as Bugs’ efforts to somewhat give Daffy recognition. This movie can be deconstructed by the way Bugs described how he reconciles with Daffy:

“I tell him I need him. We hug, we cry, I drop something heavy on him, I laugh.”

If you were watching and emotionally invested in Daffy’s feelings like me, you got the second-hand equivalent of Bugs “dropping something heavy on him”. That even after Daffy got all that screentime, there’s no promise that things will change for him or his status. And Bugs basically leaves amused. And yes this only sounds as bleak cuz I’m viewing this so critically. That’s how I have fun, very tragic.

Basically, what this whole essay amounts to is that watching the movie on surface level is a drag.

But watching it under the perception that you’re watching Daffy and Bugs’ complicated relationship unfold on screen, makes it a lot more entertaining.

Present day thoughts:

Yeah, I feel like most of my thoughts are still intact for how I feel about this movie as both a pseudo-outsider back then, and a slightly wiser looney tunes fan now.

I have continuously analysed this film to varying degrees of seriousness, so all that's changed is that I feel like I let the impact of the ending offset the gravity of the journey's events.

Cause, as cluttered as the final product was, this film's unorthodox approach to character arcs and pacing gives it this distinct looney tunes-esque quality to it that I've yet to see be replicated in any other looney tunes modern film. The ending doesn't undermine the journey our characters took to get there.

Similar sentiments to the well-renowned Duck Amuck short directed by Chuck Jones -- the ending plot twist shouldn't reduce the story's quality. It isn't known as the "Bugs Bunny tortures Daffy Duck for 7 mins" the short. It's the critically-acclaimed short held in high regard for Jones' ability to convey personality in the face of ego death using Daffy Duck as his muse. Bugs being the artist is just a punchline.

So to this movie's ending, let me pose you a rhetorical question. What would a looney tunes film be without a punchline?

[caeslxys]

how is the cr fandom that petty oh my god

but van don't you know it's like a cardinal sin to give a flying fuck about uh. fuck. nuance I think.

[forgottenflickr]

i follow over 450 blogs, and this is the best one i've found so far. absolute pinnacle of blogging. i think this is as good as it gets.

the pictures you curate, i mean, not only are they stunningly, stunningly beautiful, and poingently emotional. but i mean, you're also pulling them out, pulling them out of time, out from the past. out from flickr which, really isn't used all that much these days. and you're giving them new life. going through your posts feels like flipping through an old family photo book. absolutely brilliant. brings me through to new emotions i've never felt before.

i've only just found this blog so i'm sure i'm only scraping the surface, but dear god is the surface incredible. i feel so much connection with these people and their lives. these photos are so so so deeply human.

great job. great great job. love the account. thank you.

oh wow, well I’ve been on tumblr many years and I have to say this is my favorite ask I’ve gotten :’) I’ll try to answer this well but definitely better at words than I am

I’m really so glad, because the way you describe it is exactly what I was hoping for. There’s a feeling that’s just so indescribable I get when looking through people’s old galleries, seeing years and years of memories of their families, beloved pets, people showing their hobbies and interests. Just the mundane daily life and special memories I get to see, it feels almost intimate and heart wrenching. And eventually, those posts just stop..

All I can think is “How are you doing now? Where are you now? Why did you go away, stop sharing these moments? Do you even remember them, that they’re here?”

I think about the photos of loved children I see, how they’ve grown up now. Would they remember? How are they? There is absolutely a sort of connection that’s hard to explain.

No matter if they remember themselves or not, my goal was to create something just like how you said - to preserve and share these memories, so they may never be lost and truly forgotten.

a big part of it for me is that I had my own digital camera when I was a little kid. I loved it and taking pictures so much. My pictures were much like the ones I post, mostly pictures of my cats, and you’ll notice a lot of what I post here is cats, almost all which have certainly passed away by now. I want to help remember them and share their memory.