#that’s for the viewer to interpret not me…

[gayofthefae]

Rewatched the van scene in context and the most coherent understanding I've ever had of Mike's monologue is this watch, seeing it as him talking about fearing "when this all over" - once they're safe but also now that he's figured out what's going on in him - that his personality isn't enough to keep him around if he isn't serving her romantically. The easiest I've ever been able to understand that monologue, most coherent and consistent to every line, moreso than any romantic interpretation I've seen that gets confusing and contradictory in all lines of being discarded if he CAN say it.

I'd also like to add that I had 0 confusion on my first watch. The first confusing/contradiction to him having feelings for Will was him saying "I love you". His speech here had complete consistency to me to the previously supported idea by 4x05 and 4x04 lines that he did not love El, loved Will, and was scared of losing El because of it.

I had 0 confusion before his following actions. All of his previous scenes supported it, in fact. Only his following actions were confusing but that doesn't retcon inconsistency, it only speaks to change of mind or odd decision-making after-the fact.

Mike's speech only makes sense if he's scared of losing El because this is the only thing keeping him around, not if he's scared of success not being enough - something unsupported by previous lines and that has required me to much more actively think his inner monologue while watching. That isn't how it should go, it works only forced and stretched at places. Audience members need to engage to connect dots before they're explained, but they shouldn't have to actively engage to understand anything happening or any words being said at all, that's not what that is. And engaging with analysis isn't the same as forcing interpretation - additionally, something that cannot be done on a first watch while you're still learning what he's gonna say next and can't forcibly connect dots you don't have.

Mike's speech should be comprehensible. It only is if he's scared of losing her due to failure, which is what he's said he is every previous time he's talked about it - there is also no additional reason to believe that he has since become capable offscreen. It is such on a rewatch only in this interpretation and this is the only interpretation that has been promoted to viewers on a first watch. We have repeatedly been told what Mike is thinking without being shown a single change in it then are shown this speech that at the very least can be interpreted the same, so a first viewer will and they know that. They intend it then. And even knowing after the fact, it just confirms it because it is not only what is prompted the first time, it is the only thing that works once we've heard it all too.

Regardless of following actions, if it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense. (Especially if his following actions have an explanation given further "engaging". Those are just dots to be connected.)

[novelconcepts]

i'm the same anon who asked abt the tattoo, so. you can be as controversial as you want, but could i ask why taivan is not as prominent/noticeable in comparison to shaunahat, or fanon ships? like, your opinion. because, genuinely, as much as i see their scenes and ppl cheering for them, idk, it's not as HARD and LOUD if that makes sense. thank you in advance!

I dunno about controversial--I'm never actively trying to be a shit-starter, I just. My honest take is twofold. One, people are definitely being steered by racism. I mean, I see that just in the way Jasmin is constantly under fire no matter what she does or says. This is a biracial Black queer person (noticed recently she's operating with she/they pronouns, playing in the gender sandbox, and good for them) who is clearly always working so hard to better their world and be a voice for the various minority groups she inhabits, and I feel like I'm just constantly seeing people be awful to and about them. Like, constantly finding excuses to set her aside, or send her the worst messages in the world, and I'm just like. Let this person live, for the love of Christ. The inability to not take unearned ownership of someone else's journey is...insane to me, but I feel like I see it constantly with her. So to have Taissa be this incredibly complex Black woman who is not always likeable, not soft and sweet and constantly striving for other people's approval--yeah, I'm not surprised the fandom ignores her. Furious! Always furious about it! But not surprised.

Van, too, gets set aside an awful lot, and that's obviously not about racism (although the interracial couple aspect is there). I think people are...so volatile about Van in ways that will never make sense to me. Half the time people are calling her a villain, the other half they're calling her boring, and in both cases, those people are just not watching the same show I am. Liv's performance is so nuanced and so carefully escalated, and Lauren is following suit; there is so much going on with this character, with Taissa's character, with their growth together and apart, and...yeah, I dunno, man. I think it's a lot of what Tai says onscreen in season one. They're not what people expect, or what people want them to be, so they get written off as "boring" or less appealing than the noncanon ships. Some of it is the racism, some is the complicated nature of gender and Van's butch qualities, and none of it makes sense to me because those aspects are so much of what I love about Taivan as a ship. Like. They are so real, so multifaceted, so good and so toxic for one another at the same time, and they are played by 3/4ths (at least, I don't know Ambrose's life) openly, proudly queer actors. DUDE. For me, that's the fucking dream.

THAT SAID. My other thought is a lot simpler. And that's just: what happens in canon belongs to the writers, and we get to share it. What happens in fanon belongs solely to fandom. The fanon interpretations of characters can be worlds away from the actuality of those characters onscreen, and I think there's a freedom there that a lot of people really love. Subtext has been the bread and butter of queer audiences for so long that I think a lot of viewers just naturally feel more comfortable in that space, reading between lines and making up the necessary filler as they go. It doesn't hurt that a lot of these characters are white and/or conventionally attractive, but I think it's more to do with...not needing to put the canon of it all at the forefront. Like I love Jackie/Shauna, I love Lottie/Nat, I live for Shauna/Lottie--but they're all subtextual relationships, to various degrees, and so I can just sort of...do whatever with them in stories, so long as I'm feeling the characters out. I personally have a preference for writing fic as close as I can to existing character profile/voice, but that's not for everyone, and I've noticed a lot of the fanon-born ships are...not simpler, necessarily, but simplified. Which, in turn, makes them more palatable. I dunno. I get it! I do. But I will never understand throwing aside the canon queer ship in favor of subtext. That just...ain't my bag.

And then I guess there's a third, less prominent idea of like. Who's the main character of the show? If you had to boil it all down, it's Shauna. She's the POV character, if we have one, from the start. So not only do you have the freedom of fan interpretation, but she's front and center a lot of the time just by the nature of the narrative. And then Natalie is probably the next "main" character, so...that speaks for a lot of the louder ships, I suppose. I'd really love to see more attention on Taissa for the same reason, since she's been at the front from the beginning, but...see above, i guess.

[dreagine]

Ourple

[swampgothing]

I don't consider anything the arcane writers said in dms, tweets, or interviews to be canon. If you wanted it to be canon, then put it in the show. You can't add secret details after the fact that only people who are deeply invested in your show find out about. The viewer should be able to completely understand what tf is going on in your show by simply watching the show.

[captainharlock]

took too long to crosspost all my xb1 x xb3 ortiz/shiora extended family content and now i just have a giant compilation for you all. if its not already observable the family tree i imagine in my head here is as follows:

thanks that's all

[yoinkschief]

Oh hey I just remembered I didn't schedule this lol

[tubbytarchia]

"Cool ship art, unfortunately I'm interpreting it platonically" dude it's literally fine lol. Guys please. Art is meant to be interpreted. Don't call it unfortunate just because you think your interpretation differs from the artist's vision (and please refrain from using wording that implies strictly correct and wrong interpretations, it dismisses others!)

[raptureshots]

I'm not providing context for this

[fuumiku]

Day 3 : fashion Jackalope & dungeon rabbit

"Who are you to Chilchuck Tims?" Smiling softly: "I’m his best friend, his confidante… His silly rabbit." "His… silly rabbit?" "Yes." "Does he call you that?" "No."

I spent way too long rendering this. Coloring Chilchuck’s hair is like painting an autumn landscape and I appreciate that

I love love love brown hares and jackalopes being a Chilchuck thing. Why jackalope specifically it’s more complex bc it’s also tied to my indulgent cultural hc for him but if you want to you can dig through this post, for when I talk about why rabbits are so good for him & them. Though now I also associate Rabbit Hole by Deco*27 with them… In my mind they alternate as Miku in that popular animation mv for it, equality for all… Also Zombies but that’s for another day. Also Fashion by Lady Gaga. Also-

They are both flat asses to me. In my heart of hearts

[puppppppppy]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[redshoes-blues]

I love seeing other people’s interpretations of 73 Yards. It’s about the fear of abandonment. It’s about being queer. It’s about growing old. It’s about having mommy issues.

To me? It’s about the deep-seeded fear that your intrusive thoughts are true. That, deep down, there is something awful about you. That if everyone who claims to love and care about you found out what went on in your head, they’d hate you as much as you hate yourself for having those thoughts. And in the end, you know what? When we see those fears manifest in Ruby’s life, we’re shown that she’s still never alone. Not even when everyone she cares about leaves her. She’s never alone because she has herself. And it’s not worth it to fear that side of herself, because it’s always with her, following her wherever she goes. For better or for worse, she’s stuck with that fear, so instead of shunning that side of herself—something that only makes her feel worse—she decides to be there for herself. Because, at the end of the day, you’re the only person who will always be there for yourself. You’re stuck with yourself. So why not treat that person, even with all the things you hate about yourself, especially with those aspects in mind, with a bit of kindness and understanding?

[5-turtleducks-in-a-trenchcoat]

I was thinking about episode 174 again. I'm absolutely fine in case you can’t tell.

[octodrawn]

Drawing requests open good good. I demand more catboy Vinnie. Anything, I just need him with cat ears and a cat tail maybe purring and/or meowing to be happy.

Kittie Terrio ₍^. .^₎⟆

bonus (?):

also ref pic

[dead-dove-orchid]

Deciding Moment.

[aprilblossomgirl]

# mood 1 + mood 2 (basically)

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

i think some people (especially on this web site) interpret succession the same way that people would interpret, like. glee. or bbc sherlock. or any media in the past decade-ish before queer characters and couples were more common in media. in the way that essentially boils down to “popular entertainment is so heteronormative, i need to hunt for clues that show the creators know gay people Exist beyond homophobic stereotypes” because that validates the queer person watching and any potential queer readings of the characters. and that period of time is still SO fresh, and queer representation in media is still not what it could or should be. 

but it’s just interesting and i think kind of unfruitful when people interpret the scenes of this show as clues or proof that greg is gay irl or something.

not only is that just patently Not The Point Of The Show, it’s also like. we don’t need to see a scene where greg comes out as gay. his dad who abandoned him was gay. logan calls every one of his family members a faggot if they do something he just slightly doesn’t like. tom asked greg the first day they met if greg would kiss him as a power play or plea for affection or a sign of his latent sexuality. etc etc etc. and all of these connect inextricably to the show’s actual themes and message. what exists in the show already is so much more meaningful and complex than any cumulative “proof” could be, and i think interpreting it as such undervalues the show’s thoughtful writing.