#this is not entirely serious media analysis lmao

[aceredshirt13]

So my buddy @oshawolt and I have watched the first two episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and by far the funniest part about the show is that its complete inability to give teenaged Indy anything like a concrete logical reason to enlist in WWI results in it reading like Indy is willing to go against his friends, his family, his loved ones, all logic, and a significant number of his moral codes, solely because his bestie T. E. Lawrence signed up for the war, and he apparently values that above literally all other aspects of his life.

Like. Listen. In the first episode, Indy joins Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution because he wants to help people, but when a poor villager tells him how even the most just of wars inflict untold suffering on the innocents the soldiers claim to be fighting for, Indy becomes disillusioned with the war effort... only to read a letter + photograph he keeps with him from Lawrence, who says he's joining the war effort in Arabia because he believes it is a cause worth fighting for. And Indy proceeds to immediately forget literally everything he just heard that Mexican villager say and go "fuck it, we ball. and by ball I mean go to the trenches." Indy has decided that the Mexican Revolution "isn't his war", but he's American - WWI in 1916 isn't his war any more than the Mexican Revolution is. So that obviously can't be his justification??

Now, ostensibly he goes because his friend Remy, a Belgian guy he met in Mexico who was fighting for the revolution after his family was killed, decides to go back to Belgium and fight in his own homeland's war instead of the Mexican one. In fact, in the upcoming episodes, he and Remy are together quite a lot. But during the first episode set in Mexico, we are never given to believe that he and Indy are particularly close - they seem like acquaintances at best. Not much time is shown of them together, and we hoped that in the second episode, when the two of them disembark in London and enlist in the Belgian Army, we'd get some of that good old intergenerational friendship energy and really see why Indy, despite not necessarily believing in this war, might want to go to support his friend in Belgium, and his more distant friend in the Middle East.

Nah. Remy ditches Indy for a hot widow almost immediately, and for the entire rest of the episode his ass is GONE. He literally doesn't show up again except to give Indy the papers saying it's time to go to the army, and to be like "oh by the way I'm married now!" at the train station. Bro apparently does not hang out with Indy or tell him anything. Which would be understandable if they were acquaintances, but like??? Aren't they meant to be so close as friends that Indy would up and fight a war with this guy???

Meanwhile, Indy follows a cute girl to a suffragette meeting, they become best friends on the virtue of "speaking an unbelievably unrealistic number of languages" and "having literally identical backstories" (to the point where we found ourselves wishing she'd been Indiana Jones in this show instead, given that she's apparently just his cooler genderbent version played by someone who can act better), meet and get along with his tutor since childhood (who apparently is close enough with Indy now not to want him to enlist in the Army and endanger himself, despite the fact that she disliked Indy so much as a child and allowed him in so many absurdly dangerous situations that we became convinced she was deliberately trying to get him killed in a way that looked like an accident), and eventually fall in love. All through this, Indy helps with the women's suffrage movement, lends money to a poor woman and her children, watches his friend/girlfriend throw a dessert at Winston Churchill (who is in this episode for five minutes because Why The Hell Not I Guess), meets multiple people whose loved ones have been killed in the war, and is told by an older suffragette that one day of the good work he's put in today is worth one year of time in the trenches. At one point, while visiting the girl's family, he is asked why he joined the war effort, and gives an unbelievably vague and evasive answer that all but proves he doesn't even know why. And in the end, he wants to ask the girl to marry him, but she says no - partially because of the implication that she doesn't know him quite well enough to be willing to sign her rights away, and partially because she doesn't know if after the war they'll be two different people.

So let's look at the facts. Here in London, he has friends, family, someone he loves who he could spend a life with and eventually marry after they've established themselves, and a purpose he enjoys with clear, positive results. Sure, he's already signed up for the Belgian Army, but he enlisted under a half-assed fake name that couldn't possibly be traced. He scarcely ever sees Remy - he seems to owe him nothing, and owe his country no allegiance. Why not just... not go when his number is up? What reason on Earth could he have to do anything but stay?

So naturally, he just. He just fucking goes! For no conceivable reason - no conceivable reason other than that Lawrence is also in the war!

Indy's been friends with Lawrence since they met when Lawrence was 20 and Indy was a nine-year-old kid who couldn't act very well - Lawrence asked him to call him "Ned", and he still does (which, for the record, Indy's tutor, who has literally known Lawrence longer than Indy has and is on good terms with him, does not. Apparently she didn't get the nicknaming permission. Rip). Still does, because the only time Indy is able to give a concrete answer about anything in the war is when said tutor angrily asks him why he's enlisted, and he says that "Ned" is in the war! He knows this because apparently Lawrence actually kept his promise to write to him, and they've been writing letters and sending stuff to each other since Indy was a child! And - judging by every other thing in his life suggesting otherwise - Indy values the actions of his pen pal more than anyone else's opinions, his friends and love life, and his own safety and happiness! That doesn't seem like a normal way to react to the actions of a guy you only knew in-person for a few days as a child!

Unless...

...

...In conclusion, world-famous fictional film character Indiana Jones would not have become the person he is if it hadn't been for his gay little crush on real human man T. E. Lawrence.

[saucerfulofsins]

I haven’t seen any posts comparing Buck’s coming out to Eddie and Tommy breaking up with Buck, which is a shame because the similarities drive me insane.

Or well. I say similarities, but that’s wrong. What I should be saying is: these scenes mirror each other. This post is more about the highlights than shot by shot comparisons – for that, I’d recommend you watch them side by side yourself.

Let’s start with the first and most obvious structural parallel: both scenes happen around 32 minutes into their respective episodes/between two-thirds to three-quarters in.

Now, for the scenes themselves. They follow the same basic outline, which I’ll discuss one by one. I’m following the same structure throughout: I discuss the coming out scene, then the breakup, and then give some analysis. At the end, I’ve included a section on further things of note that I couldn’t neatly fit into this structure and my final thoughts. Is this the first time I’m using the media analysis I was taught during my minor in Arts, Culture and Media with a focus on film in 2019? Yes, yes it is.

Buckle up, because this meta/essay is nearly 3k. For that reason (i.e. accessibility/readability and the amount of work I put in), this entire piece has been cross-post to AO3 (CLICK FOR LINK).

Opening shots

Seating 1.0

Buck in the kitchen

Seating 2.0

POV shots (both perspectives)

Eddie and Tommy leaving

Miscellany

Final thoughts

Analysis under the cut:

1. Opening shots

This part includes some of the most noticeable differences between the scenes, which explains why they feel different – at least at first.

CO: Eddie’s phone comes into view first – this is his chat conversation with Marisol, which the first part of the CO scene is about (note how this mirrors the gym scene, where Buck intended to come out before the conversation lingered on Eddie and Marisol). Eddie is also closest to the door during this part of the scene – which is where he will remain throughout.

BU: The first shot is of a closed door, which Buck opens for Tommy, i.e. Tommy certainly has no keys to Buck’s place, and this might well be a callback to doors as a recurrent theme. They greet with the briefest kiss possible. I rewatched this several times to make sure it really happened – it happens immediately after a cut and it’s filmed in such a way this could easily have been an air kiss lmao. (No seriously, I had to watch this screen by screen to properly catch it, and the audio is a lot more obvious than the visual). They make small talk about the movies and Tommy having ordered an uber (clearly a throwback to 7x05), and they switch positions so Buck is actually closest to the door.

As for clear similarities: Eddie and Tommy are standing up and remain mostly in the same place; Buck is moving around the loft – it’s an expression of his nervous energy, and the major changes in these scenes are about Buck, not Eddie or Tommy.

2. Sitting down

I made this a separate point for one reason, and one reason only: In CO, Eddie takes his own initiative to sit down, while saying he should go home and Buck offering him a beer, so clearly he won’t be leaving to go home any time soon(ilu Eddie but I’m begging you, stop putting yourself and also us through this 😭). In BU, Buck tells Tommy to sit down... which is in part to signal they need a more serious talk than can be done on the way to the cinema, but also shows a massive contrast in terms of familiarity and comfort, regardless of what Buck tries to tell Tommy later.

Both Eddie and Tommy sit down on the leftmost stool (closest to the door, i.e. it’s easiest for them to leave and Buck can’t get between them).

3. Buck in the kitchen

Fun fact! Before writing this post, I checked the scene where Buck confesses to Taylor that he kissed Lucy. During that scene, Buck is sitting down at the kitchen island, while Taylor lingers in the kitchen proper (i.e. with the island between them). She has moved in at that point – kitchens represent ‘being at home’ – but there’s a physical barrier between her and Buck, and it doesn’t actually keep from her leaving (even while saying she has nowhere to go).

CO: The camera uses a dolly shot to follow Buck throughout the kitchen – to the fridge and then back to the head of the kitchen island. He’s attentively listening to Eddie complain about Marisol and God watching him have sex (cursing God while sluttily drinking his beer).

BU: Buck walks out of view of the camera, through the kitchen, and there’s a dolly shot to the right to focus on Buck finding his place on the head of the kitchen island. He leans on the counter at this point. He does have a pretty open posture (identical to CO); Tommy sits with his hands/fingers folded together but he’s turned to Buck i.e. paying attention.

This is the position Buck has when he comes clear to Tommy about having dated Abby in the past; it’s also when his phone comes into the picture. Well. Pictures. Of Buck and Abby.

4. Seating 2.0

This is the longest section of analysis, and contains the part that makes me SCREAM but let’s start at the beginning. From the moment Buck sits down, the conversation turns serious in both scenes. This dialogue consists of mostly POV shots (which I will discuss next), and these medium shots that show Buck and Eddie, and Buck and Tommy.

CO: Buck sits down while Eddie says, “You and Tommy have the right idea, stay single.” This very clearly introduces a new section of the scene. Overall, the lighting of the loft is muted besides the yellow for visual interest and gay Eddie, thank you for your hard work Buddie colour theorists. Buck’s dining table is unlit and barely visible, so the space really takes a back seat and allows us to focus on Buck and Eddie. Please take note of the chair between them – this serves as a physical barrier, where someone is getting between them (a place for Marisol and Tommy, respectively).

BU: Here, the segway happens right after Buck’s come clear about being Abby’s ex 2.0. He sits down on the middle chair, but it’s quite obvious he’s shoved it away from Tommy. In fact, compared to CO, Buck is almost at the same distance from Tommy as he is from Eddie. There’s a barrier between Buck and Eddie, but there’s space between him and Tommy. This is emphasized by the lit dining table, which draws even more attention because of the white decorations: the loft is a space to be distracted by, focus on or even flee into.

Now. This is what kickstarted my obsession with these scenes, especially the coming out scene. The chair between them? Buck reaches out to Eddie, leans his arm onto it and in the process drawing attention to it. He actually leaves his arm there for an extended period, throughout several of the following shots, and only seems to pull back when he says he and Tommy were on a date.

The following shots – of Buck’s coming out and Eddie’s initial response – are back and forth POV shots. The first shot from medium distance, is this:

Do you see it. DO YOU SEE IT. Do you see what drives me crazy! Eddie is mirroring Buck’s earlier posture – also this is immediately after Buck says Tommy left him on the curb (i.e. Eddie realizes there’s no Tommy getting between them). Eddie’s not just opened up, he’s reaching out, extending his arm back onto that empty chair between them. And again, like Buck, he leaves it there for several shots. It’s still there when he tells Buck to call Tommy, although he briefly vaguely gestures to himself during the “He’ll love you! We all do!” It’s not clear when he takes his arm away; no shots show it and then he’s getting up.

This just. This drives me insane.

For comparison, Buck doesn’t reach out to Tommy during the BU scene. And, compare Tommy to Eddie:

5. POV shots

Okay, the section header is a bit of a misnomer because the scene consists mostly of dialogue and therefore has POV shots. Like I said, there’s also overlap between the POV shots and the wider establishing shots I used in section 4. The bulk of this part of the scene, however, shows a lot of over the shoulder close ups with quick POV switches. In both cases, this is where the subject at the heart of the scene is discussed.

Now, these differences are pretty small and they could be a consequence of these episodes having different directors. However, there’s zero doubt in my mind that Chad Lowe closely studied the CO scene for its sheer number of cinematographic parallels and therefore it might be entirely on purpose too YAY.

There’s some variation in the distance of these shots, but the most intimate ones look like this:

(Still not over that face he’s pulling here, dear Lord). Buck takes up most of the screen – his shoulders are visible, but the top of his head isn’t. I guess this is technically still an over the shoulder shot, but barely. Eddie is out of focus, just enough there to be a blurry ear. These shots are intimate. This is almost what Eddie is seeing – and actually these shots make it feel like they’re sitting a lot closer than they actually are.

"Until now.” Buck’s entire face (including hair) is in the shot, and we can see Tommy’s shirt. This is the closest/most intimate we get to see him (and Tommy, in reverse). For both sides, they’re very clear over the shoulder shots. Yes, this is intimate – but it is not intimate. A quarter to a third of the screen (esp as the conversation moves on) is dedicated to the other person. Buck is more visually interesting too. He has more colour in his face and his background is more clearly white than in CO, whereas Tommy blends in more with the brown coat rack background (shout-out to @sparklespiff for pointing out that difference while I was trying to figure out why Buck felt more noticeable, btw).

SIDENOTE: I know some posts have already been made about the pictures on Buck’s fridge and Eddie’s mantelpiece, like they seem thematically relevant (or perhaps not yet, but soon). Buck’s walls in general have more pictures on them in S8, which is evident both in Buck’s background and Tommy’s. I am nowhere near talented enough to identify them, but going by their general colour and composition, I believe all of Buck’s wall art pieces are that, art, not family photos.

6. Eddie and Tommy leaving

These scenes have some of the clearest parallels, and of course an incredibly clear difference in how Eddie and Tommy are leaving Buck.

CO: Eddie leaves not because of Buck (well, not technically), but because he has to go do something: “I gotta go talk to Marisol.” Buck is smiling while Eddie gets up and is on his way out. Of course, this is when Eddie stops, turns around, and Buck looks up. In fact, Eddie says “Come here” but he’s the one to walk up to Buck to give him a hug. Buck just stands up from the chair. During the hug, we get shots of both Eddie’s and Buck’s faces, and of course Eddie holding Buck’s shoulder. When Eddie leaves, we hear the door open and shut – the focus stays on Buck.

Again, when Tommy leaves, we only hear the door while the camera cuts to Buck. The show then picks up his response (with the same expression) during his arrival at Eddie’s, where Eddie lets him into his home.

BU: Of course, Tommy has nowhere he needs to go to (hello, return of the failed cinema date) – when he says “I should go” it is because of his conversation with Buck. There’s a medium wide shot of him getting up while Buck looks confused, looking like he’s about to reach out for Tommy – the first time during their conversation. The camera uses a slow dolly to the left, which is when Buck calls back Tommy to ask for clarification: “Did you just break up with me?” Tommy says, “Yeah, I guess I just did.” This has been pointed out before, but they’re clearly not sure. Tommy also says, “Believe me, I didn’t see it coming either.” (Was LFJ speaking from Tommy’s perspective in that interview?). That line is fascinating, actually, because only moments ago, he was incredibly adamant about being Buck’s first, not his last. This feels like a throwback to “Enjoy it while it lasts,” leaving them both overwhelmed/confused.

Look at how similar these shots are! Also, the reason I was adamant about calling these scenes mirrors and not parallels is because Buck and Tommy greet each other with a moment of physical affection (which, as I mentioned before, is incredibly short and barely visible). Eddie wouldn’t have ordinarily but feels it’s important to hug Buck to show him nothing has changed. In terms of meaning and cinematography, their interaction is a lot more substantial and reciprocal. They’re also making sure to leave on good terms – whereas Buck and Tommy meet on good terms, but part essentially as strangers. Buck and Tommy ending the scene like truly feels like an end. Buck and Eddie’s scene feels like a significant shift in their relationship, and for me part of that is a result of Eddie hugging Buck, and shaking up their routine.

7. Miscellany

Just some bits and bobs I couldn’t fit elsewhere in the analysis!

“I like him too. Just not the same way as you.” 7x05 was truly out there foreshadowing 8x06’s “I am not gay.” (I want to do a full 7x04 + 7x05 parallels post at some point, but that’s going to be a fuckload of work and possibly even larger than this post).

Like I pointed out, Buck and Eddie drink beer during their scene (which they often do during their conversations). Buck and Tommy are breaking up without accoutrements. Of course, we know Buck brings over beer to Eddie after the breakup. Because the scenes mirror each other so closely in every other aspect, it feels incredibly poignant: Eddie again fills a role in Buck’s life Tommy should have had. I also figured I’d check their fake brands, and they are different labels. I would assume Buck brought a new flavour, considering Eddie’s looks.

Speaking of continuity, Buck opening the door to Tommy in a sense mirrors Eddie opening the door to Buck at the end of 8x06. The key differences in their cinematography is that during BU, the establishing shot of the entire scene is of the closed door without a peephole shot. When Eddie opens the door, it follows his Risky Business tribute so the door takes up less presence, and even when it’s closed, Buck is clearly visible through the peephole.

Phones clearly are connected to (past) female love interests; Eddie is interacting with Marisol but it’s through text and impersonal – we don’t see the messages, we just hear Eddie complain. On the other hand, Buck is out of contact with Abby but he still treasures that relationship – otherwise he wouldn’t still have those pictures on his phone after 7 years. I guess that’s kind of cute? Idk, I never really liked Abby or how she treated Buck, but Tommy’s speech has turned me into an Abby defender lol

Like Buck, Maddie also stands at the head of the kitchen island during her conversation with Chimney. Chimney’s in the kitchen proper, though, and Maddie walks up to him so they can actually stand face to face and be happy about the new pregnancy together! (I genuinely missed that scene the first time I watched the episode, I was so caught up in the bones of it all SORRY MADNEY I LOVE YOU FOREVER).

8. Final thoughts

I mean. Are we really surprised? I’m not! Actually that’s a lie. I saw the similarities but was shocked at just how close these scenes are in full. However,I do think this scene in particular does a lot to show just how deliberate these parallels between S7 and S8 are (and between S8 and previous seasons in general – we’ve seen similar/near identical cinematography a couple of times now), and how deliberate the parallels are between Eddie and Tommy (who are literally taking up the same position in these two scenes).

And just. The fact it’s the coming out scene between Buck and Eddie, which was about opening up & telling the truth, and it doesn’t change anything (allegedly), versus Buck and Tommy, which is about opening up & telling the truth, which changes everything... it reaffirms how I feel about the coming out scene – this is a major moment of change, and that change is deeply entwined with their respective romantic relationships. AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

[hinamie]

My I ask why are you a gojohater? I am a gojolover and love your gojopieces and love your portrayal of Gojo and Megumi, and I've known you're a gojohater since before I hit follow, but I am honestly curious haha I am a gojolover, but I love criticism of Gojo (and anyone tbh but him in specific precisely because I like him a lot) both narratively and metanarratively, both his writing and his personality. So I am really curious, all the more because I always love your takes on him not just in image, but in concept. Many of my fave people to talk about my fave characters are haters of my characters, it's alright, truly. I really mean no harm. I'm just super curious because I think it could be very juicy and intricate analysis given your portrayals of Gojo xD

I am asking on anon because I'm shy and you're a big account, but I could ask off anon too if you're not comfortable with answering this question without putting a face on the sender, or in public as a whole. I am not shy enough that it would be a problem to me if you prefer it. Of course, please feel free to ignore my question too if you don't want to reply for whatever reason (even just not being in the mood, that's good enough reason in my books xD)

In any case, thanks for drawing and sharing your art with us!

Hi anon! i’m glad you like my art of him but if you’re expecting an intricate analysis on gojo you’ve come to the wrong blog :’> 

as fr my thoughts on him,,, listen. I hate on him as a meme gsdhjf it’s not that serious. i’ll come out and say it, I don’t /actually/ hate the guy, really the extent of it is just that I think he's annoying a lot of the time and not in a way that endears him to me. however when I started watching jjk I’ll admit I Was charmed by him! And even now I can recognize tht there’s undeniably a lot to his character that makes him super interesting, I think that his loneliness and burden of being the strongest hidden under a carefree mask r things that make him rly compelling. i like that he’s insane i like that he’s strong to the point of being unreachably Alone, i LOVE that despite that he cares so much about the kids and tries to connect with and protect them at every opportunity. he’s a tragic tragic character and annoying or not, I eat that up

my beef is with fanon gojo ghjgshd seeing the way that the audience treats him soured him for me Bad. It’s so hard to see a character for the tragedy of their desire for connection when the entirety of their personality and the significance of all their fascinating story beats are entirely drowned out by mischaracterization and audience horniness. he overshadows everything he’s in because That Type of gojo fan sees him and gets tunnel vision regarding everything else—see the people who were threatening gege's life over killing him and Hard banking on a gojo comeback until the very end despite th narrative uproot it would cause. someone could make the most emotionally poignant piece of gojo-centric content and you’d still have probably a majority of his fans doing nothing but barking because that’s their 6’4 dom top or whatever. 

atp i’m used to seeing it but it still makes me angry that such a deep character with so much story significance is completely objectified by ppl who claim to be his fans. that’s not my business tho, engage with media however u want, just know that i Am judging you

so long story short i hate on him out of principle. i saw the way fandom treats him and i simply decided that yeah i dont like this i will not contribute. i will not show him any love beyond the art i make of him. but I wouldn’t dedicate so much time and effort to making art of a character if I truly hated them lmao i’m not that dedicated to the bit

[luvrodite]

HIIII RO MY SWEETEST ANGEL MY LOVE!!!!! I HOPE YOU'RE DOING SOSOO WELLL!!!!!! since i loved the little selfship ask you sent me sm.. i am here to ask you the same question>:33333 you and jason plan a date night with presentations of topics of your own choosing – what are you presenting and what is he?????? could you do it without prep?????? who's gonna talk longer?? does one of you stutter more??? tell me everythingg<33333 ILYYY!!! - @teddybeartoji

mickey baby i love youuuuuuuu thank you for asking ME hehehe

i'm unfortunately subjecting jason to a nerdy analysis of different social networking/media sites and the constraints and benefits of their interfaces (sorry jason i love you its my degree coming out). like specifically the different trends and conventions of each site but also what features they include and what would be best for different purposes etc etc.

i think i'd also do a ranking of all the fictional men i find hot just to see him get annoyed (i did a presentation night last year and subjected some old friends to this LMAO and these were some of the slides

ummm ummmm jason is being so annoying (i love him) and dissing some philosophers. idk i just think it's like half shits and giggles and half entirely serious. i haven't read much philosophy personally unless you count like legal philosophy but anyway i think he goes in on these dudes and you know what? as he should! he is so sweet because he gives all of them a little introduction before tearing into them so i can accurately hate on them with him!

(it ends up running for an hour and we both consider him swapping in the mask for university education because he's passionate <3)

re stuttering - it's me i fear....i cannot speak without stuttering at least a few times </3 at least he thinks i'm cute? i can also blame it on him because who wouldn't get shy if they had HIS attention?? silly silly man.

re prep i would need a bit of prep for my presentations because i'm being incredibly serious about them and need time to make them look pretty hehehe but also if we were just going about it in a conversational way then i think i could pull off the social media presentation with little to no prep (i would hope so after being in uni for this long). jason is also able to do his with no prep!!

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

what do you think of aang's comments in "the southern raiders" and what they meant to katara? I watched that episode recently with my sister who dislikes atla, and assessed similar things to what certain people of the fandom are saying: "aang didn't understand her", "aang was pushing his beliefs onto her", "it didn't seem like he knew her", etc. she was more fair than those people of course because she did say it was realistic that he'd be so worried since she recognizes that he does love her.

Honestly those arguments are all,, tired. They’re outdated. They’re boring. They’re wrong. They’re a result of a fundamental misunderstanding of A:TLA canon. This isn’t to say that those who genuinely, truly believe these arguments are terrible people (obviously not lmao), but somewhere along the line they had a seed planted in their mind that posits them to have inherent dislike for Aang. And honestly? I just feel sorry for them, because not understanding and appreciating Aang means their A:TLA experience really can’t be that great. But I digress!

“aang didn’t understand her”

Oh, what’s the post? Right - “Fandom once again forgets that Aang is the sole survivor of genocide.” Aang understands better than anyone else what Katara is going through*. There is a direct parallel between Aang finding Gyatso’s skeleton and Katara finding Kya’s body. I’m not going to sit here and argue which was more traumatizing (literally can’t stand when people do that) because you can’t quantify grief like that, but it cannot be denied that Aang has experienced something incredibly similar to what Katara has gone through: the loss of a close parental figure followed by finding said parent’s corpse. Not only that, but Aang and Katara both share a unique sense of helplessness intertwined with their grief regarding their parental figures’ deaths. For Katara, there are the questions of:

- what if I wasn’t a waterbender

- what if I had run a little faster

- what if I had fought against Yon Rha back then

All leading to “Could I have saved her?” For Aang, there are the questions of:

- what if I wasn’t the Avatar

- what if I hadn’t run away

- what if I had stayed to fight the Fire Nation back then

All leading to “Could I have saved him?” Both of them feel incredibly guilty on a personal level about the death of their parental figures, thus blaming themselves. Katara tries to push it off onto Zuko/the Fire Nation and Aang tries to suppress it entirely, but ultimately it is revealed how closely they hold responsibility to their chests. For Aang, it comes out in “The Storm.” For Katara, it comes out in “The Southern Raiders.” So, bullshit that Aang doesn’t understand Katara! He understands her grief better than anyone.

Also, many, many people have gone into this before, but Aang’s example of Appa being stolen was not callous/rude/etc. Appa was the last living piece of his culture. Appa is not “just a pet.” People who insist so are the actual ones being callous, not Aang. And, as Aang himself says, “How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?” Aang has experienced more hurt at the hands of the Fire Nation than anyone. There’s a great meta here that delves into Aang’s experiences as the sole survivor of genocide. I don’t understand how someone could acknowledge all that Aang has lost (read: he has lost everything) and then argue that he doesn’t understand Katara’s pain. Like, what? Do you have no sense of empathy?

But most importantly, from Katara herself: “Thanks for understanding, Aang.” She says this after her initial dismissal of him. So take it from the source, my friend - Katara believed Aang understood her. Who are we to argue?

*The only exception perhaps being Sokka, since Kya was indeed his mother, too, but it is worth noting that Sokka did not have the same experience of seeing Kya’s dead body or feeling the intense self-blame that Katara did.

“aang was pushing his beliefs onto her”

It is SO funny how those SAME people have NO problem with everyone in the Gaang telling Aang to kill Ozai the finale! Y’know, when they were disregarding the pacifistic beliefs of his people in exchange for emphasizing their, ahem, more aggressive ones? SO funny! I’m laughing SO hard right now!

Heavy sarcasm, in case it wasn’t obvious. They’re hypocrites and they know it.

But, more importantly, Aang was not pushing his beliefs onto her? At all?? Tell me where in the episode Aang:

- refused to let Katara go after Yon Rha

- told Katara what she was doing was wrong

- told Katara that HE was right and that SHE needed to listen to HIM

Here’s the thing: none of that ever happened! Not only does Aang accept that Katara needs to go (see: “I wasn’t planning to [stop you]. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man.”), but he allows her to take Appa on her journey. Appa, the last living piece of his culture. Aang has incredible trust in Katara, and his choice to send Appa with her (essentially sending a piece of himself with her) demonstrates this fact clearly. That should end the discussion point blank, but I guess I’ll break down the lines people seem to have issues with:

1) “It’s okay, because I forgive you. [Pauses.] That give you any ideas?”

Honestly, the criticism this line gets is laughable to me. People use it to argue that Aang was being disrespectful to Katara’s feelings and?? I hate to break it to them, but you HAVE to look at the context a line is in if you’re going to judge it. That is Analysis 101: Context is Everything. This moment is used to break tension. That type of scenario is an entire literary trope, okay? A:TLA did not invent it! Shakespeare literally did it in Romeo and Juliet when he had Peter argue with musicians about something stupid after Juliet’s “death.” The whole point is to break tension before more serious scenes. In R&J, it is before the lovers kill themselves, and in A:TLA, it is before Katara leaves with Zuko to confront Yon Rha. That’s why there’s another moment just like it at the end of that scene! Y’know, Sokka asking to borrow Momo for no reason? It breaks tension! It’s a moment of respite before weighty scenes! It’s incredibly common in every form of media! This is what no Humanities classes did to some of y’all, I swear to God. So yeah, Aang was not disrespecting Katara’s feelings with this. It’s just a tension-breaker. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for those who devoutly believed it was a sign of Aang being a Horrible Person. You were wrong, ain’t no big thing, go drink some water and stay hydrated okay darlings?

2) “I don’t think so. I think it’s about getting revenge.”

Um, a major point of “The Southern Raiders” is that Aang was right about Katara’s initial drive to face Yon Rha? It was a quest for revenge? Katara literally bloodbends, an ability she was forced to learn and essentially feels cursed to bear? Also, nowhere here does Aang tell Katara she was a horrible person for feeling angry and wanting revenge. He simply brings her attention to the reality that what she’s currently seeking is revenge. He’s worried about her. She’s his best friend! He loves her! He doesn’t want her to kill Yon Rha because he knows that for Katara to have blood on her hands from a revenge quest would hurt her tremendously. (As a matter of fact, the audience knows - or should know - this, too.) So, sorry that Aang expresses concern for her? Apparently not wanting your best friend to murder someone is forcing your beliefs onto them? Damn. Y’all are harsh these days.

3) “The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you’re being poisoned yourself.” // “Katara, you do have a choice: forgiveness.” // “No, it’s not. It's easy to do nothing, but it’s hard to forgive.” // “But when you do, please don’t choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.”

I put all the forgiveness quotes together since people tend to complain about them as a whole. But like,, I really don’t see how this is Aang forcing his beliefs onto her? He asks her to choose forgiveness. And just speaking plainly: on an emotional level, it is better for someone to forgive than to murder. Killing someone is not easy, even if you hate that person with every bone in your body, and it will mentally scar whomever does it. Y’all know this! It’s obvious! I shouldn’t have to say it! But Aang knows this, too, and thus he doesn’t want to see Katara kill Yon Rha and perhaps kill a part of herself in the process. Katara is not a killer. I’m not arguing about whether she could have or even if she wanted to, because you know what, she admits she was tempted, but Katara is not a killer. An FMA quote is very fitting here:

“Your hands weren’t meant to kill. They were meant to give life.”

Why should Katara have to live with a man’s murder on her conscience, especially when his death would be a result of fruitless revenge? The answer is simple: she shouldn’t, and Aang doesn’t want her to. Katara is a warrior. A healer. A leader. A friend. But not a killer.

Anyways. Back to my point: Aang is not forcing his beliefs onto her here. He’s offering her another option, the option she ends up choosing, albeit she extends forgiveness to Zuko instead. And Prince Holier-Than-Thou (jk love you Zuzu) acknowledges it himself: “You [Aang] were right about what Katara needed.” Aang didn’t force anything on Katara here. He reminded her of her choices, he reminded her about the consequences of revenge, and he reminded her about the value of forgiveness. Never once did he tell her she had to forgive Yon Rha or else. And when it came down to it, he stepped aside, and he let her go, because he knew this was a journey she needed to take. So… He actually did the exact opposite of forcing his beliefs onto her! He respected her feelings and let her make her own decision! Seriously, how many pairs of anti-Aang goggles do people have to wear to genuinely believe otherwise??

“it didn't seem like he knew her”

Ohhhhhh my God this is SO close to one of the actual points of the episode! So close!! It’s not that Aang didn’t know her; it’s that Katara wasn’t acting like herself. I’ve talked about it before here and here, but Katara was incredibly consumed by her emotions in “The Southern Raiders.” It’s why she ignores Zuko the entire time before they leave on Appa! It’s why she makes that callous comment to Sokka about their mother that we know she never would have made normally! She is drowning in grief about her mother’s absence, guilt regarding her mother’s death, and anger about Zuko (she still does not trust him, and yet he can lead her to her mother’s killer; I don’t know about y’all, but that is really freaking difficult to reconcile). So when Aang compares her to Jet, it’s not a far-off description. She is acting like Jet, because she’s consumed by grief and hurt and anger and she’s not acting like herself. It is instrumental, too, that Katara isn’t acting like herself, because it makes her decision not to pursue revenge and instead offer a second third chance to Zuko even more profound. “I’m proud of you,” Aang tells her, and damn! The audience is, too! I was incredibly proud of her for finding her way out of what can be a bottomless spiral for some people. So again, it wasn’t that Aang didn’t know her. It was that Katara wasn’t acting like herself (I guess meaning… no one knew her?).

In conclusion, literally all of these anti-Aang arguments regarding TSR are exhausting and so easily disprovable. The fact that they somehow manage to live on is evidence that people just want excuses to hate Aang, plain and simple. Like, it’s so easy to just say you don’t vibe with his character? You don’t have to pull BS excuses to “justify” it? I don’t vibe with Ty Lee as much as I do other characters (although I have recently grown much more fond of her; bless the Renaissance for more Mailee content, even if some of it is just a Zukka byproduct), but y’all don’t see me twisting her sacrifice in “Boiling Rock” to make it seem like it was selfish or something (mostly because, spoiler alert, it wasn’t). Like, you can say Aang isn’t your favorite and move on instead of using the same boring rhetoric over and over and over that just makes it look like you lack critical thinking. :/

TL;DR - Aang’s comments to Katara in “The Southern Raiders” came from a place of concern. A place of wisdom. A place of love. And honestly? I think Katara realizes this, and she’s grateful to him all the more for it.

[clawsnoir]

I hope you don't mind me sharing a slightly different opinion here. It's definitely disheartening for characters this complex to be interacted with like this and I've complained about it all before, but with many of the people doing this I find that they genuinely do get the themes and, most importantly, possess media literacy. Like, if you wanted to have a serious talk with someone who does this (and I have with many) then you'd get a pretty productive conversation out of bunches of them. So I've personally never had much of a problem with people doing that kind of thing (excluding what's happening with Selina because it *does* stem from racism) because they're able to get it and they do, but they interact with this material and its characters in a way that is much less complex or serious. Like I said it's made me curse at the clouds before lmao but yeah, based on my own experiences with those that do it I've stopped seeing it as *that* much of an issue, as long as it's differentiated, because I've been shown that beyond the femboy Bruce Waynes there's a fair amount of comprehension. Again, I'm hoping I haven't overstepped here at any point, and I'm not sure about what your experiences with some of these guys entail, just wanted to share something a little different!

I see where you're coming from, beloved, I really do, but I have had conversations with these people and oftentimes I have come away feeling like we watched two completely different films. 🙂

There's nothing wrong with engaging with the text in a less serious manner, and honestly I think fandom would be a miserable place if it was solely based around analysis and meta. But it does become a problem when 90% of fandom content is so totally disconnected from the source material that it may as well be original content.

The minimization and erasure of Selina is a symptom of this problem, not something that's merely coincidental. Propping up Eddie at the expense of Selina is racist. Pretending like Bruce and Selina's romance isn't the central dynamic of the entire movie is racist. Every single one of these people I have interacted with genuinely acts as though Selina doesn't exist.

Again, I truly do not care if these people are creating woobie content, it just frustrates me that the content is dominating the tags and the creative fandom output. But I appreciate you sharing your opinion with me and I'm glad you've had interactions with people who actually do possess some media literacy <3

[tetriquinn]

Dream SMP locations/moments/characters as their respective canon Homestuck songs.

/rp /dreamsmp (based on characters, not creators)

Source: I said so.

SUPER LONG LMAO

The links go with the descriptions above them. Mobile formatting makes the list really confusing. Sorry about that.

The entire SMP. I tried to assign this to a specific event but I couldn't. Eternity is just too powerful. It literally has the best moment in all of Homestuck music history. That kind of raw energy cannot be defined by a single event. [Eternity Served Cold] Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur joining - L'Manburg War

[Sburban Jungle]

Pogtopia/Manburg War

[Welcome to the New Extreme]

The First Disc War(s, if you include the other disc-related conflicts)

[Showtime - Imp Strife]

The first half of the Final Disc War

[You Killed My Father (Prepare To Die)]

The second half of the Final Disc War

[Showtime - Piano Refrain]

The Eggpire after Tommy died (Yes I know I’ve made this joke before shut up it was my best meme)

The Banquet. Before the... y’know... murder part.

Actually no, The Banquet including the murder part.

[Pumpkin Party]

Ghostbur entering the prison

[Love You]

Revivedbur exiting the prison (er, just kinda showing up where he died I guess

[Hate You]

Manburg Festival (October 16th)

[Harlequin]

January 5th (New L'Manburg Festival + Ranboo's Panic Room)

[Dark Carnival]

The period between Tommy's death in the Prison and Tommy's revival

[Heir Of Grief]

Ranboo & Fundy's ice cream shop; Niki & Puffy's flower shop

[Moonsetter]

Revivedbur and Quackity with the burger shops

[Beatdown]

Ranboo and Tubbo with the burger shops

[Candles And Clockwork]

Jack Manifold. Just. In general. (AND NO IT’S NOT JUST A SOLLUX JOKE YEAH THAT’S RIGHT I SAW ONE OF YOU FUCKERS MEDIA SHARE THIS ONE TO HIM LAST WEEK)

[La2t Frontiier]

That little arc where Tubbo was trying to be a detective instead of mourning the violent and brutal death of his best friend

[BL1ND JUST1C3]

Doomsday

[Even In Death - T’Morra]

What? You thought I was going to say Carne Vale? You thought Doomsday was [S]: Game Over? Amateurs.

When Dream and Techno inevitably break out of the prison because let’s be real that’s happening one way or another (bonus points if Techno finds out about Dream manipulating Ranboo and goes apeshit)

[Carne Vale]

My DSMP sona when she encounters someone who manipulated the kids

Las Nevadas/ Casino Q

[Black]

The Syndicate lmfaooooooooo (I’m only half kidding here)

[I’m A Member Of The Midnight Crew but it’s the nice a capella version that everyone likes because it’s objectively the best one]

That one time Tubbo finally went to visit Tommy in exile and thought he [S] Game Over’d himself

[Flare]

The stream where they created Church Prime

[Creata]

PLEASE let Tommy just go apeshit ONE time every time he does even one SMALL THING for himself the entire fucking universe turns on him please he deserves to let it all out and kick actual fucking ASS EVEN ONE TIME COME ON

[Valor]

Tales From The SMP/ Karl in General

[Temporal Shenanigans]

Karl’s karaoke nights (yes I know this one isn’t a canon song but it’s a mix of 3 canon songs plus Space Jam okay it counts)

[Slam Jam]

Anyone remember the Karl Reef?

[Fuchsia Ruler]

Wilbur turning a drug van in the woods into an entire country

[WV: Become the Mayor of Cans]

The Dreamon Hunters, my absolute beloveds. My favorite arc on the entire SMP.

[At The Price Of Oblivion]

Tubbo sitting over the remains of his country on L’Manburgian Independance Day earlier this month (yes I’m spelling it as “Independance” because that’s what their constitution said okay it’s their fault not mine)

[Three In The Morning Aftermath]

Tommy leaving Exile (or him being revived I guess idk)

[Savior of the Waking World]

If Sapnap ever DID ANY LORE COME ON MAN YOU HAVE THE MOST POTENTIAL HERE

[Time On My Side]

The big final battle against The Egg that we never got :(

[Battle Against an Unfathomable Enemy]

Enderwalk Ranboo it’s literally perfect

[Black Rose / Green Sun]

I don’t think I even have to tell you what this is for. Look at the title. You’ll know.(Dream in the Prison in case you’re seeing this way in the future and don’t have this context)

[Constant Confinement]

Ranboo & Fundy doing dumb shit together (the good ol’ days)

[Wacky Antics]

I could use this for an actual, plot-relevant location, but no their SCUFFED-ASS NETHER IT HURTS SO BAD PLEASE SOMEONE JUST FIX IT IT’S SO GARBAGE (except for the portal hub that looks really nice)

[Underworld]

Ranboo’s lil’ Ender particles (chat) jammin to fuckin’ Cabinet Man or some shit during lore

[Arcade Thunder]

Tubbo’s execution

[Trials And Execution]

Clingyduo when they actually get to fight/hang out together canonically

[Skiain Skirmish]

Revivedbur (yes I’m serious)

[Hardchorale]

Dream XD

(I FORGOT IT HAD THE FLOWEY LAUGH AND I GOT WHIPLASH WHILE TYPING THIS DUSIGYUSIHV)

[Lordling]

Dream getting posessed by the Dreamon and having to be exorcised (yeah remember that? Probably not.)

[Sunslammer]

The Inbetween and The Other Side fighting to get Karl to listen (Another one I’m pretty sure is canon)

[Derse Dreamers]

The final battle of the SMP. It’ll happen eventually. It can’t last forever, you know

[Rex Duodecim Angelus]

This went from a shitpost to a very long, fairly accurate (and fairly full of memes) analysis help I’m so tired.

Honorable mentions that I couldn’t add because they’re technically not canon songs:

Eret all the time

[Let Me Dance, Let Me Glisten]

The Eggpire just being able to understand The Egg (I say sarcastically, as if I don’t have this song written in a fictional language memorized)

[Futma Kul Shemtor (Hymn of the Horrorterrors)]

[weishenkun]

Ppl were saying fendi only invited ten and they stuck lc there but what about yy? Iirc he was there too so they put him there on purpose as well or they won’t mention him because he’s not the one in trouble here? I’m not trying to give an attitude but if it sounds of it I’m really sorry. Idk there’s so much back and forth and ngl to that hardcore cbar fan and revealing all that info, if you saying he was such an a-hole throughout his entire career you didn’t bother leaving his fandom earlier and saying nothing? Idk that really irks me that this only came out because of what has been happening. Idk if you agree with me but I want to rant and I have so much to rant about but idk who to turn. Everything is being picked about from the littlest thing he has done or said and ppl are saying those interviews the 3 groups he in esp wayv ones have done were they praise him all must be fake. We don’t know his side of the story and in honest truth we will never know because how these things are handled through the west and Asian entertainment is so different. But I have I guess I have some reservations about what one of the victims said because of apparently who she is and it has made me think about some things. I still believe he was wrong for some of the things he has done because he needs to understand cheating and manipulation isn’t good. Idk idk idk my heart is heavy and people using this as a lololol ahahah moment to his fan community hurts too like going on and on how all along he was a douche and they always knew and we didn’t. And honestly I feel like there has been so much bandwagon hopping on the hate train because before this most ppl apart from the wayv fandom didn’t give a two cent shit about wayv. They never cared when sm mistreated them or that they got scrapings and were not treated like how 127 or dream were treated. But suddenly everyone who has never cared is up and arms about him in the group because when wayv is going to do their next projects I want to see if all these ppl are going to be cheering them on as loud about you cheering on about what’s going on currently. like I can guarantee you won’t watch an interview or stream their music. And there has been this post going around about what was revealed yesterday and it was about that cat and someone said to the girl well he didn’t give you the cat cause you ain’t his fav and she’s like go ask him on bubble cause that wasn’t what he told me yesterday and idk what it even means because everyone is jumping on it and going lololol he’s still in contact after the apology. Idk she had said it sarcastically and Idk if she’s being truthful or not but everyone is adamant he is still doing all this regardless. And honestly IF he did do that and you let him contact you like that i feel like it’s on her esp since everything has been going on for days. He was dumb for all of this and rn his entire career isn’t surviving so I can’t even tell if she is serious or not and given how this is going on I can’t imagine his devices not being taken away from him cause that’s dumb or someone watching him like a fucking hawk cause I would. Cause on top of everything ppl are saying he mistreats the animals/pets and it’s like wtf is going on?! Oh And with the surfing coach confirming they didn’t flirt but were just friendly, you could have said something earlier but did nothing for hours until you were asked directly because everyone was saying she’s number 5 but apparently in reality she wasn’t but you let it go on. Everything is plaguing me rn and I have so much more to talk about but I’m just so frustrated.

okay this is a long ask so let me just go through each point

1. i saw the fendi story and yeah, yangyang was there too but people are more 'forgiving' towards him cause hes not badmouthing other members like allegedly lucas is. also, labelv was basically trying to get more members into the thing than the organizer originally wanted to, so yangyang, since hes less popular, is pretty logical but lucas? really? he had his own shit almost always so what was the point

2. about that hardcore cbar fan, true, they did only come out with the rant after the stories came out but like they said - they were a hardcore fan. probably theres some money involved or even it was just ignoring stuff cause youre a fan. we did know about most of the things they mentioned, it was just over a long period of time so there were big gaps between each of the incidents and people forgot? idk

3. i agree, there's been a lot of analysis of every little thing he did, but like i said earlier - it was happening over a long period of time and people were blaming it on idk, the culture or the lack of knowledge of some language. now, when theres a chance it could be something more, because of the alleged badmouthing, people will bring that stuff up 🤷‍♀️

4. he had a chance to say something in the apology letter. he said literally nothing instead :D

5. there has been a lot of bandwagon hopping on the hate but theres also been a lot of just straight up ignoring everything. i saw a fan acc on twitter share a list of translators so the fans could block those, cause they've been spreading false news 🤡 like, he was trending for days so people will get interested in whats going on and they will have opinions, thats how world works. and yeah no one will give a single fuck about future wayv project for example but i just hope it will be because they wont care and not because there wont be any future wayv projects :DDDD cause wayv was never big lol, lets be realistic, and this scandal isnt helping them at all and also the fact its happening right when there's that social media/fans campaign going on, i think its even worse :D

6. the bubble thing... labelv isnt the brightest so idk if its that unrealistic. and i think theres the other girl who also said he was calling them non stop when they released their story so idk idk lol

7. wheres the cat :/ we all saw the pic of him getting it, i think i reblogged it with something like 'omg omg ot11 soon' lmao and we havent seen it ever since. it is weird, just like in general. i want to know wheres the cat

8. the coach 🤡🤡🤡 idk idk her story was weird but i think it made another person release their story so thanks i guess :DDD even if he didnt flirt with her, wow, omg, hes so brave for this, wow, bare minimum :)

okay i think i went through everything, thanks for letting me write a whole essay back to you, i will call it an english practice in my brain 😍

[in-tua-deep]

(TUA Asks) 9, 16, 20, 24, 28

9. We really only see Allison, Diego, and Vanya pursue actual careers. What careers do you think the other siblings would pursue if they got the chance?

I THINK Luther should be a mechanic or some kind of engineer bc he’s passionate about building things (model planes) and also was essentially an astronaut, he did all kind of analysis and reports on moon stuff so honestly he could probably work for NASA if he set his mind to it!! Luther is more than he muscle he’s very smart, just not very socially intelligent but let’s be real none of the Hargreeves are

Klaus I think should work in like. A more creative career?? Like I said in one au about him working at a yarn store and knitting in his spare time but I mean I could see him as a florist as well or any career that does on the job training bc I feel like Klaus isn’t super built for school (we stan an adhd icon)

Five would be UHHHH probably some very prestigious doctor of mathematics who probably works on the millennium problems and maybe solves one? Probably ends up doing some seriously complicated mathematics for some serious cash, maybe ends up turning his mathematical prowess to coding

Ben I think would’ve also become a doctor but of medicine bc I think that Ben has a lot of guilt about hurting people and, in the end, would want to do something that helps others - wants to actually save people instead of just slaughtering the bad guys?? Probably does doctors without borders and focuses mainly on kids

and I know the question doesn’t include the three kids we see with careers but

I could see Allison transferring from acting into a career in maybe marketing?? I feel like Allison would kick ass and take names in the corporate world like. She grew up with Reginald Hargreeves, none of these old white corporate assholes would intimidate her

Diego I know has boxing outside of being a vigilante, and even though he dropped out of the police academy he could probably work in the private sector if he really wanted to but he doesn’t. I think Diego would be good at teaching a self-defense class or working as like. Maybe a bartender who absolutely destroys anyone who dares slip something into someone else’s drink?

Vanya is passionate about the violin so I’m not sure I can think of a career for her outside of what she’s built for herself tbh with her position on the orchestra (and yeah, she’s not first chair but she doesn’t have to be. There’s only one first chair and the other chairs are equally important), her teaching (and I’m sure that’s very rewarding for her) but let’s be honest Vanya had the most functional life out of all the siblings (and even then her social life was nonexistent, she was emotionally closed off and seemingly had no friends, and i didn’t really see much evidence of hobbies outside of violin which is her career so. career wise though her life was the most in order)

---

16. If instagram or twitter existed in the UA universe, what would all their handles be?

I’mma be real with u chief I don’t have a twitter or an instagram and tumblr/discord functions as my main online social interaction sO i might genuinely have to skip this question

i mean if tumblr ever does crumple under the weight of its own hubris i’ll have to move to another social media site i guess and figure out how it works but i’m pretty set in my ways

---

20. If you were in The Umbrella Academy, would superpower would you have? (Bonus: What would your code-name be?)

UHHHH I mean if I got to pick it would probably be shapeshifting bc that’s the trans/nonbinary/genderqueer mood of the day

and as for codename,,, the chameleon? though that might be a bit subtle for a group whose names are things like The Boy and The Horror and The Rumor lmao

---

24. What sort of relationship do you think each sibling has with Pogo?

lmao remember when i went off about how Pogo was complicit in the squad’s abuse good times but yeah personally i’m not a big fan of pogo BUT

Luther and Vanya are probably closest with Pogo before everything happened, Luther because he spent all that time in the house and whenever he couldn’t go to Reginald with something then Pogo was always a good second choice. I’m sure Pogo spent a lot of time comforting a young Luther when his father brushed him off and encouraged him by telling him shit like that just being how his father showed affection etc. etc.

Vanya because while everyone else was training, I think Pogo would hang out with her and compliment her playing and generally interact with her more than any of the other siblings combined. He never ignored her, and he seemed to be the most forgiving of the family after she published her book, though admittedly I’m not sure how much Pogo was mentioned in the book

I don’t think Klaus was super close with Pogo? Mainly because I assume Pogo was aware of all the kids training and as such was one of the two (2) adults possessing free will in the house who were capable of opening the crypt door to let him out which. Neither did. But Pogo was kind to them, and occasionally looked the other way with their shenanigans, so Klaus didn’t hate him or anything. He was kind of condescending to adult!Klaus though

I think Allison and Five were both just sort of neutral about Pogo’s presence because neither of them were particularly in need of comfort or kindness or whatever Pogo had to offer to them. But he was around, and he is family, but they just aren’t super close, you know?

I don’t want to think about Grace’s relationship with Pogo because while Pogo was sort of a brother in arms in that he’s under Reginald’s power as well (considering I assume Pogo is financially dependent on Reginald and incapable of leaving) but also like. Pogo knew how to fix Grace the entire time and he didn’t. He allowed Reginald to frame Grace and kept his secrets. He reminded Grace to keep secrets. He’s like? The coworker you think is your friend until he reports something you said in confidence outside of work to the boss and gets you punished

that’s all i got on that

---

28. What do you think happened to the other 36 people born on October 1st?

this one I answered right here ;3c

[shushvera]

*toy story shark vc* howdy howdy howdy ! i would like to make it known i’ve been unabashedly eyeing this since it opened ! anyway ! i’ve lost my ooc intro groove so we gonna move down to my ic intro down below:

oh hi there, welcome to holiday, VERA FLOROS. you’ve been here for TWO MONTHS? awesome! you look just like MARINA DIAMANDIS, it’s crazy. oh, so you’re a 30 year old ‘FORTUNE TELLER’/’MUSICIAN’. and you’re FEMALE and use SHE/HER? okay, just checking! oh, people say you’re INTUITIVE & DILIGENT but DECEITFUL & RASH? well, i’m sure that you can prove yourself here. you’re looking forward to the HALLOWEEN celebration? that’s a good one, you’ll love it. i have to get going now, bye! [fleur, 19, est, she/her]

i would like to start by saying i’ve played vera once (1 time) before and it was,, so much fun,, the dumbest smart person to exist. i’ve tweaked her bg a little (because..... that’s what happens when you read lucille ball’s autobiography that was SUMN.....), but ! who cares !

update: this got rly long so there’s a tl;dr at the bottom if that better floats your boat !

INTRO-WORTHY STATS

aka, stats that aren’t that deep™

FULL NAME: Vera Floros DOB: August 17th, 1989 AGE: thirty FROM: Abergavenny, Wales OCCUPATION: “fortune teller” & a musician who doesn’t understand marketing ORIENTATION: bisexual CLASS: middle class ( that inheritance kicked in ! )

BACKGROUND: 

CHILDHOOD

triggers: parental death, brief mentions of child abuse

alright, vera was born to a very young couple in wales. they’d gotten married fresh out of high school and had a child (her) just two years later. that being said, for about two years after, her mother began distancing herself from the father... not because he was a bad guy, but he moved cities entirely and she was NOT about that.

to be perfectly redundant, for about two years, it was just vera and her mother. 

grandparents weren’t about their daughter being married. at 18. did they help pay rent for a separate living space? until vera’s mom was 21, yes. but was she welcomed in their house? lmao!!!!!

THEN her father blew back into town. they reconnected, they both began working more so that vera’s mother didn’t have to rely on her own (we’ll get to her dad’s parent’s in a second). 

vera, at the Tender Age of Three™ learned that she was a complete Daddy’s Girl™. although she loved her mom for obvious reasons, she connected with her dad on an entirely different level. he was fun! he was playful! he was young, but he was the perfect dad! he even told dad jokes! which she didn’t get until she was five because three year olds usually aren’t that smart! they did little ‘acrobatic’ things! it was cute and fun and good!

but? this is a roleplay character?

our man died from unexpected heart failure. the autopsy showed an abnormality that hadn’t previously been discovered, and we know our man rarely went to the doctor. vera was six at the time.

her mom: married at 18, mother at 20, widow at 26. 

because she and her mom had never developed that Close Bond™, it was difficult for her mother to figure out how to... like... keep her from wandering around... because just telling her not to wasn’t working... so she was like “you know what.... a leash.”

we love ‘puppy’ by george saunders

so whenever her mom was at work and vera wasn’t in school, she was tied to a tree in the backyard.

cruel and unusual punishment!

eventually, her mom kind of just... threw in the towel... she left completely for a change of pace. she said she would be back and that vera would be under the care of her father’s parents in athens until then.

her father’s parents had always been more accepting of the young marriage. they’d been more supportive of them being young parents, in spite of her father having left for a while. they’d definitely been supportive of vera and her mother during that time because they were like “omg mood”

there were a few other kids under their care, all related or not. they did some work for her father’s parents, but nothing very laborious – just sort of... Bonding™ ja feel?

so her mom DID keep her promise and returned three years later when vera was nine. mind you, vera had never held any feelings of resentment towards her mother. when she was six, she... just didn’t get it. at nine, she was old enough to be like “i get u.”

BUT her mother DID get remarried. she didn’t resent her for that, but... she was not fond of the new husband. he wouldn’t accept the ‘dad’ title, was very stern, very serious, made her mom seem like an absolute joy, etc. 

but her mom was in love, so what could she do? and then they had a son together, so what could she do? nothing.

that summer, to learn more Discipline™, vera was sent to live with her step-father’s parents in london. boy howdy, it was nothing like her father’s parents! they had a knack for pointing out flaws, induced actual laborious work, constantly quoted the bible at the worst of times, and thought that a single head nod was the equivalent of “good job!” there were a couple of other kids there too, but yikes.

TEENS ( *hang ten emoji* ) + COLLEGE

triggers: brief domestic abuse implications

early was filled with Drama™ surrounding her step-father’s parents and her step-father himself. the overall consensus was that he was not a dope dude, nor were his parents. vera’s mother filed for divorce and gained sole custody of their son (keeping in mind.... she basically already had sole custody of vera.... considering she was her only legal guardian left lmao)

after the divorce was filed, vera’s mother was like “u kno what. my parents hate me. my first husband is dead. my second husband was a douche. i have no reason to be here anymore.” so they went to the land of golden opportunity

but wound up in america instead

(joke patented by dr. doofenshmirtz)

vera, around sixteen at the time (y’all i’m figuring out ages as i go along bear with me), now attended some strange high-school where they were like “fahrenheit.” 

by the way! it was in holiday! that’s important to note for possible future connections!

it wasn’t an unwelcome change, though. starting over... was nice...

but the problem was that she was like her father in that she always acted before she thought... which made her a very dumb smart person. 

alright get ready for the single idea that drove this entire thing:

she majored in philosophy then was *pikachu shocked face* when she realized there were no jobs out there for philosophy majors.

ADULTHOOD

alright... so what do you do when you have no good opportunities for things in your major?

you would think you would do something like... idk... find a well-paying job that doesn’t require a major?

or maybe a job that just requires experience in ___?

or maybe a job that just requires a bachelor’s degree of any sort?

or maybe a job that doesn’t require a major, but would like a major similar to yours, thus giving you a leg up?

etc.?

lmao no. you go to new orleans and become one of many phony fortune tellers using the one good thing you got from your weird upbringing: easy analysis of body language.

in addition, you try to make something of your life through music, but have no clue what ‘marketing’ is because you really don’t understand social media and probably still have the egg as your twitter profile picture.

what do you mean print is out of style?

what do you mean no one listens to CDs anymore?

what do you mean garageband isn’t acceptable to record on?

that being said, it’s not like... she wasn’t good at it... i mean she was v good at it... but musician is in quotes because she has made NOTHING of her LIFE with it. DOES NOT UNDERSTAND MARKETING.

*sonic kid vc* WHEN WILL YOU LEARN? WHEN WILL YOU LEARN? *end vc*

she got some decent pay from being a ‘fortune teller,’ though. tourists totally flocked and using a fake russian accent helped, as did... just speaking a language they didn’t know while pretending to contact spirits...

at least she’s a good scam artist

can’t market very well, but could probs create the next big ponzi scheme

returned to holiday when she heard news from her brother that her mother had fallen ill.

honestly rest in peace.

is still around because... that’s her home! sentiment! also rip!

also marketing isn’t as hard in holiday so???

also testing fortune telling out in holiday is more interesting so???

DOPE.

PERSONALITY

either really dumb for a smart person or really smart for a dumb person.

still has a childlike trait tbh. i mean when ur growing up just laying beneath child labor laws, ur gonna have to become a kid again eventually.

really bad at technology for reasons unknown to... everyone, but really good at scams.

has not thought before she acted even ONCE.

hasn’t used her degree since she was 22. the closest she’s come is buying some misc. philosophy books and sharing tidbits with strangers. 

“now this is a taoist anthem” - vera @ ‘soak up the sun’ by sheryl crow

so many ragrets.

will find a way to bring up she’s half greek in every conversation. 

“and i’ve had mental illness since i was in middle school. good night.” - that video someone edited of professor tox

im so bad at personality sections but she’s got a fun one y’all one of the few characters i’ve played who’s had a Sad Backstory™ but wound up being a Fun And Comedic Character™

TL;DR

that was my first time ever writing this whole thing out, so it got real long. so we gonna give a tl;dr:

triggers: v brief mentions of parental death, brief mentions of child abuse, v brief implication of domestic abuse

born to a v young couple in wales. dad was like “brb” then he did, indeed, come rb. loved dad. but dad died when she was six lmao get wreckt this is a roleplay character.

mom was like “idk what 2 do” so she took notes from george saunders’s ‘puppy’ and just tied vera to a tree when she was gone adjsflka. went away for a while and vera stayed with her dad’s parent’s in greece. came back three years later and reunitedanditfeelssogood.mp3.

got married tho and vera was like “i don’t like this guy” and mom was like “i’m having his child.” lived with his parents over the next few summers. they almost violate child labor laws. like. just a hair more. hare? became source of any self-hatred lmao get wreckt

vera’s mom and step-dad divorced bc he was horrible and they moved to holiday when she was sixteen. she left for college when she was eighteen. she decided to major in philosophy which was a bad idea and the source of her entire character. 

decided to become a phony fortune teller in new orleans instead of... idk... just getting a job that didn’t require a degree or sumn? pretty successful tho! talked in a fake russian accent around tourists bc? why not? 

also did/does music but has no idea how marketing works. bad at social media. records things on garageband. an overall fool. good but a fool.

back in holiday bc mom died lmao get wreckt we’re an orphan now boizzzz

Sad But Rad™

WANTED CONNECTIONS

it’s 2:38AM as i write this part and i still have to go back and include a stats thing bc i love those then post ic but i’ll update this w/ some when im done i suppose?? but we do love brainstorming in this house!!

like this or hmu if you’d like to plot !

[unproduciblesmackdown]

a part of experiencing a media for the 79th time is going “ah...i see” sometimes abt things you could theoretically have picked up on the first time &/or going “hmm” abt those little elements like themes, threads, arcs, parallels, vibes, & etc. thinking cap things. going analysis mode. having thoughts

just throwing such remarks around like, only n viewings ago was i going like well sucks the valkyrie like turns around & dies so fast, but. then i properly noticed like, hey, wait, in her committing to the rest of the bit that she’s able to do before Knowing she’s going to die here probably, she’s taking out guys on the back of the truck who, later, furiosa Doesn’t have to take out, since there’s only the one imperator left to deal with thanks in part to the valkyrie in that moment. the alignments like this. i was thinking even < n viewings ago like hey also it’s cool how the green place is gone but that even one of the dead trees there lets them unmire the rig. i am a big fan of how during that effort you’ve got max trying to pull the tree back / hold it up as furiosa starts pushing against the wheelhouse. first of all, it’s funny, second of all it’s [parallels] / juxtaposition which owns, third of all it owns, when it’s like, does furiosa’s added two horsepower or max shifting the uprooting dead tree’s center of gravity back two centimeters make all the difference? well, maybe yes or maybe no, but it’s also like, what are they gonna do, nothing? how can they know it won’t make any difference, and it can’t hurt.

which is like the valkyrie knowing she’s probably about to die any second here but it can’t hurt to try taking out a few mfs, and it really didn’t. i also think of the [Knowing you’re going to die] thing and even just now occurred to me like, well that’s nux the entire time, and it’s something how he gets a moment registering furiosa’s gotten a serious stab wound. i also wonder what the specific action of nux specifically resheathing that knife after he takes over driving for her is all about, too. i would think it’s not a wild hypothesis to just look at it as Anything With Which You Can Kill Someone kind of embodied, it’s sure got this like bone handle, and a musical leitmotif, and it’s how furiosa could’ve killed nux earlier, but even she had some initial restraint about it and then let herself be talked out of it immediately, which is probably as surprising as anything, given that he’s the [doesn’t know anything else] person around here. trying to segue this into this one specific “hmm” i was turning over just the other day, wherein like, it’s also like. idk, looking at that one knife as [the ability to kill someone] kind of exemplified, you could easily go like well furiosa being stabbed with her own (parking brake?? not sure what that lever its kept in is for lmao exactly lol) knife that embodies violence and that that guy who stabs her with it even has b/c she threw it into him first is Narrative Punishment for engaging in violence so much. but i think it’s just Tragedy / bad luck, and that furiosa nor anyone else aligned with her (in the post apocalypse killing people action movie...) is in fact narratively punished for using violence, necessarily. like what was she gonna do, Not knife that guy who just shot a mini arrow at her? or, at any time, Not be killing people to defend herself or anyone in her party. clearly if anyone was trying to be like, no, no killing no biting no violence, they wouldn’t have gotten very far here & there’s the fact that furiosa is in a position to do [inciting action] through her position as a physical fighter in the first place

what i’m trying to segue into also still is i was going “hmm it’s so neat how you know the girls clearly consider Not Killing Anyone to be this theoretical ideal / care about & argue for no Unnecessary killing, but also you’ve got toast whose arc involves being the one who takes on handling guns / ammo, which are contrasted with the theme out here of creating &/or nurturing life, obviously” and how the way that’s handled is clearly not like, some “corruption” or Worse Choice for her than any of the other girls’ arcs, she’s not narratively punished....but then also i was wondering like hmm when do i think maximum Payoff is happening for toast, what is her arc exactly, and then was kinda puzzling like huh, does being the one who takes on the Guns / Ammo role play into her being captured in the climactic battle there, she sure didn’t have a gun or anything in that and that seemed to just be bad luck again based on where she happened to be sitting....but i think another not wild hypothesis i came up with there is just how like, in being the one who becomes the one who counted the ammo / kept track of it / loaded a gun or two, that’s just also most Furiosa Adjacent / makes them most similar/parallel, pick an adjective lol....also interesting how seemingly angharad was maybe the one Most knowledgable abt reloading weapons but toast took that over, when also at the start maybe it’d be like well angharad as the “leader” or at least sort of core member among the girls could make her seem like the Most similar/parallel to furiosa there, until whoops she dies from tragedy and from the narrative punishment / bad luck payoff of how shooting towards her, not necessarily meaning to hit her at all, still kind of kills her. and so did bringing her along in the first place, so that max & furiosa can have some parallels out here in feeling blame / guilt about things. although she also chose to take these risks obviously, in wanting to go and in stepping outside the cab to cut a chain. but i’m on a tangent here i believe

back to toast & her getting into guns, the anti seed, yeah think just clearly one of the girls embracing that is going to make her more parallel to furiosa’s experiences, and to make her someone furiosa would in fact see her own experience mirrored in a bonus degree in this way. since you know, the only plausible implication / extrapolation based on all info is to presume furiosa was once in their position, or was intended to be, but most likely did in fact share some of that experience, and naturally nothing that tells us how she then got out of that position and on track to becoming an imperator, the vastness of speculation there but it’s like, well what matters is that she did. and yet this isn’t about like, that either protagonist is like “i love killing. i wish i was killing right now” but that it is about Survival for the both of them, and for furiosa, even more so the protagonist, being an imperator is a means to her end of getting back to where she came from / getting back to Something Else and being a person rather than valued as one form or another of someone’s property / a tool to bolster their personal power. the one specific guy, you know, not just a hypothetical person lol. who, also, doesn’t just kill for survival, and sees specific lives, and life in general, as a tool, property, or bolster for his individual power. wherein he’s got like, specific weapons with arcs too, unfortunately and uncoincidentally being like let me just bust out my shiny de facto jockstrap groin guns, every time in an effort to murder this woman he presumably previously raped. it’s so bad eugh in like a fitting / deliberate way not a "media criticism: think this should be different” like. thank god she’s also not punished for [she specifically wants revenge on this guy] though that is transformed somewhat, and she still gets revenge, furthermore to now specifically kill him herself which wasn’t in the original plan, and to absolutely devastatingly own him right before doing so, though the effort does also almost kill her. would’ve been a sacrifice rather than a punishment really, another tragedy at most, and that, of course, it’s not just Luck or a serendipitous turn of fate that max is able to and chooses to save her, she had an active role in him being there to do so and being able to choose to do so too. anyways and furiosa Has also just been out here surviving and using the avenues and tools at her disposal and this is being at the end of a long paragraph like it’s a conclusive sentence for this paragraph, but it’s how like. back to “hmm” / “i think it’s neat” well i think it’s neat how like. arguably / imo we’re not really focusing on Moral Arcs / a Learning to be Better Specifically Because You Were Morally Failing Before Or You Just Weren’t Individually Being Strong Enough Already type of situation here for either protagonist. or any other character really. who is aligned with them lol

i am thinking about how. like okay clearly maternity is A Theme, or kind of a core manifestation of / centerpiece to a more general theme wherein like. yes sometimes this is literal like, people with babies. but also again like the broader Creating or Nurturing Life, broader ways of doing that / being metaphorically parental, like e.g. it can be this [maternity theme] situation for max to revive furiosa with his own willingly desperately given blood....the means of providing / sustaining life extending to various things like literally babies, water, plants, milk, but then somewhat more complex layers to it, beyond “is there life here at all, y/n” or these like elemental Necessities as an angle, though that’s more stark in post apocalyptic territory....like, it can be Life Sustaining here to kill a mf, which is pretty unambiguously the case throughout, and again is like, not narratively punished, it’s not like oh it’s Wrong for max & furiosa at the beginning to be these fighters out here who are focused on what it takes to Survive. but then truly lol dipping into Thriving, as this layer even Above that, when really like this strongest theme out here is that it’s the connecting / engaging / trusting / operating alongside other people towards a shared goal that creates / enhances possibilities, leads to success, and leads to humanity. it’s not like, that furiosa or max Need to stop operating as fairly self reliant survivors, b/c it’s been immoral or weak of them or something. it’s that their situations change and this is about like, self actualizing lol. it’s about Growth, but everyone’s Growth isn’t happening b/c of their mere Individual Choices or like internally morally switching gears or anything like oh i loved murder for its own sake but now i’m like, what if i should murder less? when the protagonists are already operating in self defense, though they both are like yeah grimacing emoji i have regrets abt my past....thinking about how the keeper of the seeds hasn’t been able to grow anything, but not b/c she’s like, making the wrong choices or has some weakness, it’s just b/c she hasn’t been in a situation where she could plant a seed somewhere hospitable enough, and clearly it’s not just her passing those along to a girl who’s going to be able to plant them somewhere they Can grow and be something that’s alive yes/no, but also the metaphorical Seed As Potential For Life hope being passed along with them, as importantly....furiosa & max [survive] their way towards having to work Alongside each other at first, then quickly are like okay warrior’s respect / trusting each other, but of course with a ways to go in this arc even once that’s happening, since the trust is still kind of out of necessity too / about recognizing that this person who knows how to keep themself alive can effectively help you in your shared/aligned goal rn of keeping alive, too. that every step of this Situation is needed to give them what’s needed for this dynamic / this arc to Grow, like, how a plant doesn’t grow b/c it chooses to be strong enough about it or makes the moral choice to grow, it’s what it’ll do and what it’ll be able to do if it’s in a situation it Can grow, get into this metaphor with like, sun, water, soil, maybe being planted, maybe being nurtured, maybe some symbiosis, etc....they weren’t in this kind of situation before, things are aligning, but also yeah of course they’re like still putting active efforts into things too / making choices Towards trust/connection, even as parts of calculated risks, of necessary survival, of strats, etc. sure is easy to go “hmm. kind of, scream” when max is doing the emotional arc completion of Giving One’s Name. i also go hmm. scream. about the fact i don’t think he asks or hears her name before that scene either, think it’s not before the valkyrie that anyone uses her name in front of him and “in front” is technical there when he’s far away enough he may not be supposed to be picking up on that dialogue, don’t think that he is, it’s capable leaning in / reaching over saying “furiosa” to try to help keep her alive as instructed by max which is also like, yeah. that shot is how i feel. i am reaching out like “Furiosa ;m;”

sort of losing the thread, but i also knew from the start i don’t have a thread entirely here lmao i’m just kind of addressing half a dozen Hmms at once, shaken up in a jar with glitter here. thinking how toast does kind of get the Gun / Ammo payoff quickly, wherein it’s thanks to her doing that inventory with the ammo that she can say max has two shots left with the rifle, in response to which furiosa trades off With Toast and gives her the handgun / entrusts her with what she was taking responsibility of herself, kind of significant. also a fun like easy to miss / bg little trust & teamwork moment just prior when furiosa trains the handgun on nux in the first place, wherein she walks over like Leave Him To Me and she and max wordlessly swap guns there, him getting the rifle & her the handgun to potentially handle nux, though that trustworthiness is proven quickly / is a necessary risk they all have to take anyways, furiosa not like, necessarily Wanting to hand over [keep a gun on this guy] to toast, but feeling like she both has to, but also can. even the teamwork with the rifle, the wordless “give it to me” gesture behind him, him providing this extra stability, this being the second time he’s had that like whoops furiosa puts a gun up to my head and you get the gunfire ear ringing moment....in addition to how she only didn’t blow him away within that first minute & a half b/c he was bluffing with a misfired shotgun, serendipitously....okay where’s that thread. so that That’s really enough of like, yep toast just handled the guns/ammo situation, now she’s even handling a loaded gun courtesy of furiosa passing that off to her and toast unhesitatingly taking it up, though she’s also of course not itching to actually have to use it, b/c again it’s like. not inherently like the wrong direction or this corruption, she doesn’t love to kill now, it’s got the potential necessary purpose for survival. then who knows if it kinnnda counts that toast is able to grab the “i’ll just shoot furiosa as she drags herself along the side of this car to kill me” dick gun so that he can’t, in fact, shoot her, giving her the opening to rip his face off, which is certainly not narratively punished though again, yknow, she Does then need max to be there to help pull her back up & figuratively give birth by bringing her back from the brink of death including via his own spontaneous blood donation there, and sharing Just Actualization Moments....she’s entrusting / passing off her entire goal here to him in her would be dying moments, he’s sharing his life & giving his name, does it matter? not for Survival, but for [hey...my more complete humanity / self, recovered With others] like. relationships develop over the course of things, people are less on their own, even as alliances that may be more necessitated / begrudging at first become truly more aligned and complex beyond what’s required for moment to moment survival. the relationships themselves are what like. allows for further Growth, like, we need two protagonists for a start, this is a story about their not going it alone (although again like okay someone’s the More So protagonist & that’s furiosa “inciting action” / “gets the emotional low point (although max gets like, the mini one afterwards? ish. his rejecting “hope” / would’ve been choosing to separate from the group. less an emotional dip though, and more just him not quite being There in terms of being ready to take action and change the story’s course atm, although give him like literally twenty seconds here)”) like, that these relationships themselves are Needed before anyone’s then in a situation where they can choose to stay on this course of trusting & connecting & maintaining alignment / choosing to more actively lean into a connection / build understanding, like risking it all for the shared goals / to protect another*, making halting, sparse conversation....*also thinking about how it’s not like oh furiosa being the violent warrior is Bad, being stabbed with her own rig’s secret knife is Narrative Punishment. when like for one thing, in that very first fight she could’ve been killed with her rig’s own secret gun that she was gonna use to kill max here, but he’s deigning not to shoot anyone immediately, though he Will also just leave them in the middle of the desert here. deserted....anyways. it’s Already been [live by the gun die by the gun] Potential that she has to already know is a risk...but she’s also not Just stabbed b/c of that, it’s b/c she’s made herself more vulnerable to keep max alive (i.e. is leaning out the window, keeping him from having completely fallen off the rig) & doesn’t even like. let go to kill the guy who just stabbed her herself. or to do anything else now that she’s been stabbed. it’s Tragic, b/c like, all this talk of [narrative punishment] but while survival violence isn’t punished, the times people Do refrain from unnecessary killing (like a clear example in nobody killing nux), or even simply are prevented from killing a future ally thanks to serendipity, that Is rewarded....the obvious way these arcs work again being like, it is Good that people are taking more risks for each other & developing relationships & not killing for fun & wanting more life....the Rewards coming through in like, More Is Possible through these things, more life does exist, more options become seen as feasible and are pursued. and that again it can just be like....it’s Practical, it’s Concomitant, like, that it’s not all about Individual Choices b/c this isn’t about people being individual, it’s about connections, it’s about two whole protagonists, it’s about only once a relationship is poised to exist do some of the possibilities afforded by it exist, you need a seed to have adequate soil & light & water & space & etc, like, it’s not about the journey of Morals needed here, it isn’t necessarily posited as Individual Failings that people don’t start this story in the situation in which they feel they can relate to the people around them in the way they do on the other side of their emotional / character arcs. and it’s like, it’s nice that these people who have been abused don’t need to necessarily be understood through this lens of like hmm okay what are those Personal Failings of theirs & how they’ve done what they can in this particular situation. nobody has to be like confronted and fought to change their mind on anything, angharad & the girls have to be like wait don’t kill this rando just some guy, we can easily kick his ass nonfatally & he’s also clueless, maybe we can clue him in while we do it....that’s not enough to convince nux of anything just quite yet fully, but furiosa a) doesn’t immediately actually kill nux anyways though she could’ve, and b) takes so little convincing Not to like ugh fiiine lol. and her character is never really asked to Kill Less / have even More restraint than she already has at the start, and again doesn’t have to like, pay for this, her nigh fatal wounding wasn’t some brand new risk, it’s part of the broad risk that is [the entire final battle] that none of them Had to take / everyone who dies during that isn’t like, oh that’s what they had coming, and that she was vulnerable in that moment b/c she was saving max, who had just risked diving around on the hood of the truck to help save her, and that you know, that risked vulnerability that did result in grave injury being to protect max & easily possibly preventing Him from dying, being paid off by him being able to & choosing to intervene to save her from this injury in the end. 

where’s the thread, who knows. also thinking how toast is similar to furiosa b/c she’s the one who’s cut her hair short. good several reasons furiosa might have also, though a simple explanation could also be just like, that everyone’s doing it, she’s unique for being a woman among the warboys / imperators but naturally there’s no like, differentiation. she gets the gird your loins accessory in the bioessentialist patriarchal society regardless. which is a sick element of her outfti lmao. also it took me so many viewings to even notice like oh the costuming with her sick as fuck arm also gives her like a practical(tm) would be corset / cinched waist (although her top’s also fitted when she has it off, so also it can be attributed to like. just adding visual detail lol, belts look neat) like oh wasn’t really striking b/c this is all so cinematographically normal, like beyond that that obviously this group of other women around for the whole thing have like two piece bikiniesque outfits and it isn’t like constant obtrusive horny moments, because like forget “constant,” there just isn’t That at all lol, visual language of cinematography employed in such a way like they’re people in a story about how they’re being treated as objects and property but are in fact people....also knowing that productionwise, things went the other way, warboys & co all having cropped hair came from furiosa having a buzzcut. where would we be if she just had long hair or something too. it would be. probably okay i guess but god nowhere near where we are today. society. okay it’s ten to 8am here lmao, how to wrap this up

ummm idk i love furiosa so much she’s so everything. that she can be killing her way out of her situation and that’s fine. she doesn’t like it, she doesn’t necessarily think it’s good either, she can have regrets and want redemption, and yet it’s still not about how Never Kill To Survive / do what you gotta do to escape a fundamentally abusive situation wherein b/c it is abusive everyone has very limited options, really clearly only the appearance of options “ideally” if joe is having things his way....that again it’s like. about Growth b/c seeds were planted in earth where those seeds could take, not b/c it was like, okay, have an arc about overcoming your individual failings okay? for god’s sake? rather, it’s also about how it’s inherently limiting, but not a personal failure per se, to have to Be operating as an individual in the first place, b/c you’re not in a situation that’s allowing for / fostering anything else; then Possibilities / further options grow when people are forming connections and in these situations where suddenly one thing allows for another, even when they didn’t always just Freely Choose their way into what would lead to further success / increased possibilities, some serendipitous alignments, some begrudgingly necessitated alliances before more fundamentally embraced / pursued ones. and other stuff, conclusion paragraph? umm just read it again? idk tl;dr obv have Been like hmm So Neat what’s going on here. i love furiosa like you could say plenty you could [gesture at entire film] like she’s so good. she’s so neat. good for her

[deveharrington]

💣 PhD Thesis: An objective assessment of Davinique 💣

Submitted to: The HMS Davinique’s Captains Quarters

Author: someone who cannot even comprehend their own interest in this topic.

Disclaimer:

This is a very in depth analysis of Mr. Duchovny and Ms. Pendleberry as I see them. What I say may on the surface contradict the notion of respect but please know that I do this OUT OF respect for them. Mainly, I want to know them better and know them as a real human beings, not infallible ideals.

Also, sorry to David Duchovny himself for continuously referring to him as “David”, as if I know him. I don’t. Ideally I would only refer to him as “Mr. Duchovny” but I got tired of typing that out. Sorry Mr. Duchovny! lmao.

Abstract:

My conclusion is that the Davinique relationship has its meaning inside Mr. Duchovny’s head, as in, it has everything to do with David’s inner psyche and unresolved emotions. Then there is the conflict of David’s mind clashing with his reality. For now, I can only conclude that his behaviours are operating in an attempt to address a truth he may not even be able to admit to himself: that, in this stage in his life, he is feeling bored and lonely.

He may also be confused about the current state of his life and unsure of which direction to take next. I want to elaborate on the evidence at hand rather than just simply label it as a “midlife crisis”. The best way I can describe my stance is that I see David as someone who has a lot of energy to give and a lot of drive to succeed, but right now he has no idea where to focus his efforts. In this way, we could see his relationship with Monique as a target for his energy. There is also the appeal for him that it is brand new, like a new “project”, and it relieves his loneliness.

I don’t believe this relationship is purely about sex. But I don’t think love or genuine partnership are involved either. To me, this relationship has nothing to do with what Monique can offer David on an intellectual or companionate/partner level. I see the main driving force of this relationship being what it offers to David as an opportunity to do something for himself and through his own efforts. 

By analyzing his behavioural pattern, I have also concluded that David does not know how to properly process his own emotions, and this leads to chaos in his behaviour and subsequently his real life. Yet, David is very good with words and arguments and can always justify his own actions in the end. So he essentially lives within this cycle. Perhaps frustration arises when it seems like he is making the same mistakes over and over.

In order to come to my conclusion I approached the relationship as if it were entirely serious to both David and Monique. There is always the possibility that this is simply a relationship of convenience on both ends, and I think this is the default reaction of anyone who views this relationship purely on the surface. Out of respect to David though, I tried to view it through his perspective.

I feel like this is the closest I can get to a direct explanation of their relationship: that the relationship exists to make David feel better about himself. And the person who is making David feel better is not Monique, but David.

Theories are under the cut! Thanks so much to anyone who reads this ❤️

To preface: On the subject of Monique and why I am focusing mainly, if not solely, on David for my analysis.

There will be a lot of focus on David, if not solely a focus on him, in my analysis. This is because I believe that he took advantage of Monique, her lack of maturity and experience, and manipulated this situation for his own gain. I see him as the instigator of this relationship, the one who calls all the shots, and this may be part of the appeal of the relationship to him (more on that later).

To be fair to David, I also discuss that he may not actually be consciously aware of this, that he has used his proficiency with words and his independent thinking to not only fool Monique but also fool himself into believing that this relationship is appropriate.

I do not believe that Monique desires to be famous or that she craves attention (at least not to the extent that that is why she would agree to be in a relationship with David). I believe she has a genuine admiration, affection for and attraction to David. Her interactions with him are different from some celebrity relationships we may see and know right away are strictly PR. In some ways, David and Monique may actually have more “chemistry” than Peter Morgan and Gillian Anderson. As in, there is a clear business element to the Peter and Gillian relationship that the David and Monique relationship does not have. Also, I believe David and Monique are genuinely attracted to each other but David may not be completely honest about his intentions, and if this is the case, then shame on him.

And I know people will not like what I just said but I stand by it. And honestly, someone please argue with me on this, because even I am confused by my own instincts. But for now, I choose to simply follow them.

What I think is also happening, with regards to Monique’s social media posts, is that Monique is simply too young or too inexperienced socially to have any tact or notion of privacy within a relationship. And people will blame her for this but really the blame lies on David. He should have considered these things before committing to a relationship with her, and I, as well as the rest of the world, do not consider ignorance of social media a viable excuse.

However, I also cannot shake the fact that if she really cared about David, she would respect his privacy as this seems like something that is very important to him. As well, she must know how badly their relationship comes across, so why would she want them to be exposed to the public and David seen in a bad light? Some questions I simply do not have the answer to.

SECTION ONE: Theories addressing the foundations of David’s behaviours

While creating my theories, I noticed some common themes. I consider these to be foundations for his behaviours and expressions. These ideas may also be involved in the way he rationalizes his own behaviours to himself. But please remember that they are just ideas, and not facts.

💣[THEORY 1] A lot of his behaviour, and especially this relationship with Monique, is an expression of the intense love he has for HIMSELF. Yes, seriously. I am talking about ego. And when an ego is that massive it needs constant attention and maintenance. Later in the thesis I suggest that he requires constant stimulation, change, and challenge, and I think it is related to his huge ego.

To relate it to Monique, I see this relationship as an energy source for his ego. And he found a source that will give what he feels he needs for little to not cost to himself, so why wouldn’t he be attracted to this situation?

And that is ok to have a massive ego. What I don’t think is ok is people lying about themselves or denying what they are. And actually I suspect David may be doing some lying about his intentions and probably even lying to himself but I need to process that thought more.

💣[THEORY 2] David lives in his head. His novels demonstrate that he has an active imagination. Also, his interests seem to have an artistic and creative element to them. Therefore, with regards to his relationship with Monique, I believe that the meaning of this relationship exists in his head, and cannot be fully understood by what we see on the surface (for example, pictures alone).

💣[THEORY 3] David is shallow. Sorry to David for this accusation. For the sake of the theory, I will take it seriously for now. I will discuss this more in-depth later in the thesis. For me, it is more than just being shallow about women’s physical appearances. I feel like his actions and arguments can also be seen as shallow and also driven by shallow motives. It could be that he reacts quickly to things according to a shallow understanding of the world. This could also relate to another theory I will discuss that suggests that David is easily excitable. There is also another possibility that he is very self conscious, but this is just a thought to put out there for now.

For example, if I were to try to relate it to Monique, I could say that David got excited when he met Monique because he was overwhelmed with the possibility of the situation. Not just a sexual relationship, but just a new relationship in general. I mean, just speaking objectively, he must’ve also been thinking about the opportunities to have a partner who would conform mostly to his lifestyle and cater to him. And I think he is also the type not to waste time. I’m kind of grossed out by what I wrote here so I’ll just leave it at that. Again, its just an idea.

💣 [THEORY 4] David demonstrates an unwillingness to mature and change. There is some evidence of a habit of repeating the past because it services him, and he is just lucky that he has the privilege to live this way. He makes no attempt to try to learn any new ways of coping with his issues because his issues can be solved through easier means (examples: money or privilege).

💣 [THEORY 5] David demonstrates a fear of closure. Ok, now is the time for some wonderful Gillovny talk (I swear i’m not being sarcastic). I love trying to solve the Gillovny puzzle and I don’t even know why.

Under this theory I will use Gillovny as an example, or at least what I make of their situation.

I believe that David and Gillian love each other very deeply, and in such a way that “friends with benefits” does not do justice to their relationship. I think they know this as well. However, I believe they purposefully keep themselves in limbo, playing each other and playing themselves, even communicating indirectly between themselves, because they are afraid of the depth of their own love (really!! Its just my theory, lmao).

I think their love is unique, so it is unfamiliar. They cannot figure each other out like they would figure out a spouse, friend, or life partner. They cannot forsee how they would make the relationship work through a plan or concrete means. They can only know their feelings but I think both of them are also afraid of the fact that they cannot control their feelings. They simply cannot see what their actions will lead to, so I think they default to avoidance. Avoidance of commitment, deep intimacy, trust, and rejection are the things I see they would do out of fear. So they kept their relationship light and open, probably rationalizing it as some type of liberal relationship, when in reality they are afraid the other half would leave them at the drop of a hat.

At least, I believe there is more to their relationship than just “friends with benefits” or even just two people who once dated for a few years. To me, there is no way their relationship would capture people’s imaginations the way it has if it were simply straightforward.

OK! So on the subject of fear of closure I’ll just give this example: David and Gillian keep their relationship light because they are afraid that committing themselves would “kill” the relationship somehow. Maybe they see themselves as both being about “the chase”, rather than “the reward”. When in reality they are just deathly afraid. But I think that they are also denying themselves of the affection and intimacy that all human beings need. For what reasons? I don't know.

AND lets just contrast this with his relationship with Monique, as it is almost he complete opposite: NO WORK AT ALL! More on this later, it has been stated already that it seems like David took the easy way out, and I feel that that basically sums it up. But I will go one step further and suggest that maybe David wants the easy way out right now because he was recently hurt by his breakup with Gillian (Ok sorry, yep they’re not joking when they say Gillovnies are crazy lmao).

💣 [THEORY 6] David tends to deflect and project himself upon others, while keeping his own heart guarded. But I think he does this subconsciously (which will be discussed later in the thesis). He imposes himself but has no intention of actually listening to feedback and changing himself. This is an issue of communication.

In trying to relate this to his relationship with Monique, we could say that he wants to be the sole agent of change in a relationship and want that his own life and interests would take priority over the relationship. Actually, I can see how this would also be a burden on his relationship with Gillian (to be discussed later).

SO, actually, on that note, to those who have a strong reaction to this relationship, don’t worry. Because we actually cannot be sure of David’s emotional engagement in this relationship. I suspect there is very little coming from his end in terms of respecting his partner. It could be that Monique is literally just a sounding board for David to reflect himself and see himself. And a plus is that Monique will listen to david and consider his words because she does not know any better. Later in the thesis I discuss a theory that suggests that David trapped Monique into this relationship financially because of the traumatic experience of his divorce.

To try to illustrate my idea that he projects onto others, I will use an example from his “music���. David wrote a song titled, “Mo” (and yeah, its just a funny coincidence that it sounds like a nickname for Monique, lmao. Please note that he wrote the song before he met her, so I’m pretty sure there is no connection to her).

When speaking about the song he uses the general term of “people”, stating that “”people” don’t know when to quit, nor don’t know when enough is enough”. Um, interesting statements coming from David.  

In my initial rage to the song I wrote this, lmao: David has the audacity to tell us/the world that WE don’t know when to quit. This song is about HIM but he is too glib to realize it or literally his defenses are so high that he cannot be that honest with himself.

For David, clearly it would be easier to present this song under some guise of being some form of all seeing prophet, tortured artist, poetic literary graduate or even just “dad having fun with the band” rather than ask HIMSELF these questions. He asks US, “when will YOU be satisfied?”. Its like he just took his sex addiction therapy homework and started singing it.

I think you get my point... he cannot face issues within himself so he tries to correct them in others. This gives him a brief moment of accomplishment but the fact remains that he has unresolved issues within himself.

Leaked footage of David writing “Mo”:

💣 [THEORY 7] He has been conditioned all of his life according to behavioural principles of reward and punishment (and this goes for every human being on the planet). He has habits he falls back on because they work, and he won’t change these habits because he has no reason to. This is no fault of his own, it is basic human behaviour. So, if his life has mainly been privileged then he will continue to act privileged.

For me, though, I sense something is wrong in that I also see David as someone who likes to expand himself and excel. So why is he like... stuck in a rut? spinning his wheels? My main assertion is that he is honestly just bored.

Even just compare his career right now to Gillian’s. She has so many projects coming up, and she focuses herself on acting and family, always improving. Could it be that David may actually have some self esteem issues? that he doesn’t believe in his own acting or he gravitates towards hobbies that do not threaten his self confidence, almost “collecting” them in order to build his identity? Its just a thought.

I believe he has a natural drive to succeed. But right now the problem is that he has no idea where to direct his efforts, and this leads to frustration. So, with regards to his relationship with Monique, he is focusing on her for now.

SECTION TWO: Theories of the mind

💣[THEORY 8] David is so smart that he has fooled himself. As in, he is so observant and insightful as well as so proficient with words and arguments that he has the ability to convince himself that he is correct in any situation, especially if the situation is also involving his emotions. The downside to this is that he has a hard time admitting his own faults or even seeing them. This would then interfere with his maturation process.

I stated in the abstract what I feel to be the cycle of David’s behaviour. I will re-iterate here:

Step 1: David becomes excited, his emotions take over.

Step 2: David acts without thinking, having rationalized to himself that perhaps “life is too short” or whatever he must tell himself.

Step 3: Chaos ensues in the real world, reality pushes back and is out of control.

Step 4: David’s privilege allows him to survive reality. David’s proficiency with words and his large ego causes him to rationalize in his head that he is correct. He succeeds, moves on, and repeats the same mistake in the future.

💣 [THEORY 9] David subconsciously gravitates towards and ends up creating these conflicts because he is bored. Ok, this is all I can come up with for this theory for now: nowadays he is singing lovesick songs for his ex-wife but, he’s the one who threw the marriage into turmoil so??? what dude?? lmao.

Actually, I think this idea is better explained in Theories 11 and 12!

💣 [THEORY 10] David is the type of person who gets excited by “newness”, potential, and opportunity. He is easily excitable and requires constant stimulation.  Take for example, all of his scattered interests and projects. Could there also be an underlying fear of “finishing what you start” or seeing the end of things? what exactly does he want? i think he does not even know himself exactly what he wants. Perhaps he enjoys the process more than finality.

With regards to Monique, this theory is better explained in Theory 20.

💣 [THEORY 11] David is subconsciously drawn to challenge and competition. He has a drive to impress. I feel that this is the true David: an ambitious guy who excels at whatever he sets his mind to. I once referred to his “scattered interests”, but I also believe that he is very open minded and capable of learning very easily. Actually, perhaps the scattered interests are like a diluted expression of his true self, because for me, the sign that something is off is that he doesn’t finish what he starts or there does not seem to be progression within his hobbies. I know some may not agree with me and thats fine. What i’m saying is that what I see is him spreading himself thin but not fully committing or going any deeper into his interests. almost as if he collects them for his identity or self esteem.

And this is where I sense a little issue: why is he not trying to come out on top with his acting? Why is he not pushing harder to direct this movie that has recently been put not he back burner? Maybe I am just being too demanding of him (lmao) but perhaps he is giving up a little bit? Just a thought.

i think David is also used to getting his way, with women, with work, and honestly it has to do with his position as a white male as well. But I feel like his true nature needs to be challenged and perhaps he is feeling a frustration that he is not being challenged enough? Hence, the restless lifestyle.

Relating this theory to Monique, it could be that she is simply an audience that he can impress. And I think the lack of challenge is exactly what initially drew David into this relationship and is what keeps it afloat. *sigh*

💣 [THEORY 12] David subconsciously desires results from his actions that are not straightforward. Meaning, he himself is not straightforward nor does he want things to come easily or simply to him. Ok, so here is just my theory: that David does not want to simply say that the relationship is solely for sex or simply for partnership, even if the reality may reflect this. I think it just comes back to his ego and him wanting to see himself as deeply complex or compassionate or anything but simple.

In regards to his relationship with Monique, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has created his own logic, or moral reasonings for the relationship. Suffice to say that this happens mostly in his head, and undoubtedly according to his own moral laws that he creates. I also think he does this so that he cannot be judged according to society’s moral barometer, since, technically speaking, if the laws were created by him then we couldn’t judge him according to any other laws. Again, this is related to him living in his own fantasy and having the means in the real world to make that fantasy a reality.

💣[THEORY 13] On a very deep level, he may have been drawn to this relationship due to the complexity of it, for example, its moral complexity or the taboo nature of the age gap. If the relationship seemed complex to him he may have interpreted it as a challenge, and I think he simply loves challenges. I know that is a stretch to say, but its just a theory to consider.

💣 [THEORY 14] David is not in touch with his own emotions, and this is what leads to the strange manifestations and expressions of the self. As well as him not being able to reflect upon himself, admit or accept his own limitations. For example, he might not be able to admit to himself he is bored. How can he if he is under the illusion that he is busy? I will add more to this eventually.

In terms of “strange manifestations/expressions of the self”, I propose a theory that David feels lost right now, he doesn’t know how to act in a precise way because he doesn’t know exactly what he wants. So he puts out a vague expression, and when that vague expression rightfully receives a vague response, he becomes frustrated that he was not received exactly the way he wanted to be received. So it is a cycle as well.

Or, he may even just simply be in denial of his old age, but I don’t want to default to that argument just yet.

💣 [THEORY 15] David is out of touch with the current times, and chooses to be out of touch. He well and truly lives in his head, and can afford to. He is also trying to live in this modern world with very old fashioned attitudes.

💣 [THEORY 16] David wants to have his cake and eat it too. As in, David wants the fun but not the consequence. For the most part, he has always been getting his way. Most likely he has just become accustomed to this.

💣 [THEORY 17] David does not truly understand women, therefore he cannot fully respect them. He also does not see women as equals. He does not desire an equal partner in a relationship. This is a huge assumption and accusation and I apologize to David already, but I feel like I have to get it out there as a theory at the very least.

To preface this discussion, for me, mere political statements with no action backing them up is not enough. Therefore, David having a female lead in his newest novel is not enough to believe that he is not a mysogynist. I look at actions to form theories and beliefs. Especially when someone says one thing and does another, which, to me, is more telling than any words.

I just don’t accept an argument such as, “Because David does X, it means he is not a mysogynist”, since I feel like that attitude can express itself in a multitude of ways. I just see David as untrustworthy (sorry David!), because of all of his rationalizations and unwillingness to be open to new ideas. I don’t see him as hopeless, just stuck in his own world that works for him.

Having said all of that, I think this theory speaks for itself with regards to the relationship with Monique. I think it is obvious enough what is going on. Actually, would it be possible to see their relationship any other way? As in, seeing David as some form of female crusader trying to demonstrate that women are not only equal to men, but equal at any age, regardless of lack of experience, education, life-lessons etc.? 

SECTION THREE: Theories of reality

💣 [THEORY 18] The subject of intimacy, as objectively as I can assess it. My conclusion is that Monique is simply the kind of woman that David is physically attracted to. I looked at the clues: in the past, he liked brunettes with kind of masculine faces, almost as if he wanted the woman to look like him. The woman’s body was masculine as well. I’ve stated before he has a large ego, and this is a trait of having a large ego.

@iva69s provided a lovely visual that sums it up:

💣 [THEORY 19] David trapped Monique into this relationship financially because of the traumatic experience of his divorce. I can see this as a component, but not the driving force of the relationship. Its just something to consider.

And maybe I shouldn’t use the word, “trapped”? I just mean that he is the main provider and most likely the one who calls the shots of all of their activities, together and separate.

💣 [THEORY 20] David loves being a father, loves teaching, and loves imposing himself. But now that his kids are grown, he misses them and feels lonely. Ok, i’m not even completely sure of this theory myself but I feel like it must play some role. Or at least, the pride of fatherhood is one aspect of David that seems genuine to me.

Being a father gave David the opportunity to also be a teacher, a hero, a provider, a protector etc. It also made him a main figure in his children lives, next to the mother. It was a positive role for him, it appealed to his ego, desire to impose, and love of challenges and unpredictability.

But now that his kids are grown, he simply misses playing that role. His kids are becoming more independent and he wants to try to hold onto the past. Enter: relationship with Monique, and the opportunity to keep being a teacher, hero, and provider.

And when I try to relate his relationship with Monique to being a father, please know that I mean this in the most objective way possible. I am in no way insinuating that David is a pedophile or anything related to that, that is a serious allegation that I do not claim to have any evidence for nor belief in.

So, here is a theory that I don't even know about myself but it just came to mind: maybe David also sees a lot of potential in Monique. He gets excited by this potential so is now trying to expose her to different countries, life experiences, and giving her life advice.

So, he is attracted to Monique’s youth not in a sexual way, but for what it means in terms of potential. On the surface it looks like something completely different (again, related to him not appearing straightforward), but in David’s mind, he has rationalized it as clean intentions, maybe even a noble cause.

Actually though, one thing I really cannot figure out about this relationship is why David would allow Monique to give up her post secondary education. This is appalling to me. And incomprehensible given what I thought to be David’s stance on the importance of education? Does he really think that he is a better teacher than post secondary education? That what he can give Monique would be better than a degree? I mean, I guess we can’t rule out this possibility.

💣 [THEORY 20] We keep asking, “does David not care how badly he looks with Monique?” and I think the answer is, YES, he does not care! When in the past has he ever cared about his image? And why would he start caring now? Just look at that poor fashion, those dance moves, those idiotic things that he’s said in the past. I think he’s an independent thinker who holds strong to his beliefs, and I respect him for that. The issue for me is that he seems unwilling to listen or be open to other perspectives, and unwilling to admit when he is wrong.

💣 [THEORY 21] His circle enables him, and he chooses his circle specifically to enable him. This is honestly just a theory, I don’t know anyone in his circle, I don’t even know David himself.

But one thing that strikes me is that his band that he travels with is comprised of younger guys. Like??? I don't even know.

Ok maybe I should do research? Does anyone know if there is someone in his circle that would benefit from this relationship? Are there any connections between the youths?

Wait, and what the heck are the adults that know David thinking in this situation? Maybe they just know that it is impossible to tell him what to do or change his mind? Ok, maybe I will look further into this.

Maybe this is not just a theory but the actual reality of the current situation. I have no idea. Things just don’t add up for now, I don’t even know if I can believe that no one around David has spoken up or has objections. God I wish I knew the dirt, lmao.

💣 [THEORY 22 - LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST] Gillian is taken! What happened between them? No seriously. something happened. Is Monique just a rebound? God, I hate being pro-Gillovny, its torture! Does anyone know if, during the time Gillian and David were supposedly together (tumblr lists it as starting around 2012), was David spotted with anyone else? I mean, wouldn’t that be a giveaway that they weren't together? Would David ever cheat on Gillian? And if so, can I be the one to personally admit him to a mental ward? TOO MANY QUESTIONS!! And so much “painful” research to do 😇

Thats it! Thats the end! (for now) Are you still alive? I’m not!

[heartsoftruth]

What bag do you love in the picture of ney davi and bruna?

The one she has with her, but there aren’t any other photos of it. 

Anonymous said:I still find it weird that Carol doesn’t follow Neymar 🤔

She doesn’t? I never noticed, but we all know they have a good and mature relationship. Social media is not important to me tbh. 

Anonymous said:Brumar will be on/off for many more years to come. Bruna is 22 and Ney is almost 26. It’ll go on until they approach their 30’s and realise their self worth.

We can only wait and see what will happen. 

Anonymous said:I don’t want to be mean (okay maybe just a little). But I see people saying that Bruna does not need pr, but in the “past” she has already had a fake relationship and has already been in a “date” with a singer and their team warned some paparazzi who “caught” they two. So pr is noting new to her.

How do you know her team warned the paps?? 

Anonymous said:P1. I think Bruna and Neymar both love the attention and publicity they are getting from their relationship. It seems like they are more in love with the idea of their relationship, I mean two of the most famous people in Brazil, than they are with each other. That is probably why they broke up so many times. If they were in love and “strong” just like they always say they are, they would be able to hold their relationship without any break ups or just breaks.Anonymous said:P2. They should ask themselves how much time they have to play games with each other. Bruna is young but Neymar is going on to his 26th birthday. It’s not just one of them who loves the spotlight because that relationship would’ve ended after the first or the second time of trying. Unless they become aware of the fact that they love what the person offers to them and not the actual person, they will continue breaking up and getting back together.Anonymous said:P3. After a break up they, especially Neymar, probably feel alone, not because the person, Bruna, isn’t there but the attention and love from the outside (Brumars) isn’t there too to cheer on their love, affection and actions. The idea of their relationship happening seems like it’s being misinterpreted as pure, selfless love in their relationship. That’s not only unhealthy but a vicious circle that will continue until one actually realises that they have to buckle up or let go of each other.Anonymous said:P4. Their relationship doesn’t have to be PR. When attention and encouragement is their foundation, they don’t need peopleto tell them to get together. People remember the feelings they get from one person. If Neymar and Bruna love the attention, they are going to remember the love and affection that may not be from within but that obviously doesn’t matter to them. Their relationship isn’t with passion, intimacy or commitment. It’s more of fatuous love.Anonymous said:P5. The Triangular theory of love by Robert Sternberg is my reference. Fatuous love is a relationship, often marriages, that exist with passion and with commitment. In this case their passion is shown by declarations and displays of their love publicly. I don’t know much about their commitment but it seems like they don’t cheat in any form on their partner. This is my theory (and kind of my experiment) because I’m reading about the psychology behind ‘love’ currently.

I think you’re right about Ney missing the affection and feeling of someone loving him and to come home too. 

I think they both have to put much effort in the relationship (also bc of the distance), but in all honesty I think they did that last time too. She was often in Barcelona and when she was she was there for a really long time. She was with him on vacay in the US and then Africa… Only thing that lacked - looking at it from the outside - was her supporting him from the stands. 

I dont get btw you say: “Their relationship isn’t with passion, intimacy or commitment. It’s more of fatuous love.”

Then you say: “Fatuous love is a relationship, often marriages, that exist with passion and with commitment”

So do they or do they lack passion and commitment? I was confused by that part. 

Anonymous said:Yep.. Libra and Gemini’s are the best match for Aquarius because they’re air signs. Kinda funny because Libra’s are dubbed the “soul mate” sign for Aquarius and guess who’s a Libra? CAROLINA LOL. All jokes aside, Astrology can be fun to get into but I’m a firm believer of God so hey who knows, maybe God has a plan for Ney&Bruna. Despite them being astrologically incompatible 😂

Hahah, well then I need to meet Ney 😜😜😜

Indeed if they’re meant to be: they will make it. I also believe in that. 

Anonymous said:[ part 1 ] their relationship is weirder than it ever had been before. You can clearly see that both are now way more active on instagram, especialy Bruna. She is getting over 1M likes now that she is back with him, she sometimes got 1M but now she gets in on every damn pic. And they also comment every time on each others post i mean ofc you can do that but EVERY DAMN TIME ?! another thing why it seems so forced. they are literally giving the “brumar” fans what they want.Anonymous said:[ part 2 ] on the websides with the „HIGH QUALITY PAPARAZZI PICTURES„ of Brumar all over the world speaks of her either as his „model girlfriend or the „Deus Salve o Rei actress„ and they are kissing so weird to me ?!?! i mean i saw Kevin&Izabel kissing next to them but it was far more delicate and cute. Btw Ney seemed taken back by her smashing her lips to her. She is an actress after all so she sure knows how to „handle„ all this.Anonymous said:[ part 3 ] the boat pics: oh well….. one fucking mood: „😴🌚„ Davi looked bored as fuuuuck dayum #MOOD. who the fuck brings their kid on a boring boat tour like that?! I remember Davi going on a boat party with Carol (tbh everywhere Carol goes with him it seems so fun!) and there was music and he was enjoying himself with her cute boyfriend who seems to be bonding quite well with him!! 💖 im happy for that since Neymar had only eyes for Bruna and Davi was only good for their pics lmao.Anonymous said:[ part 4 ] there is such a difference in the pictures of Ca/her bf/davi, where their pics seem more of a real, normal and simple. and Neymar/Bruna/Davi, too much trying to shape a perfect reality of life. which DOES NOT EXIST. I don’t see the passion in that „„„family„„„ pic of them. I have seen Davi kissing Ney’s cheek but someone just said kiss his cheek and he just did and that was kinda it, no passion whatsoever. all pics of him davi and bruna lack it. bye now imdone w this 4-part analysis😂Anonymous said:Bruna is getting a million likes & has about 1 million followers more than before. It’s just quite strange that she constantly posts about advertisements (on her stories and half of the post of the last week). She and her team is taking advantage of the situation pretty well.Anonymous said:Considering she hardly ever posts on Instagram, Bruna is sure milking the latest publicity stunt for all it’s worth. Well she has gained over 600k followers since NYE so i’m not shocked

Yeah I agree: it feels like they’re trying to force that ‘best couple of the world’ vibe on you. Like even Jelena wasnt that extra when they met up and continue to meet up tbh. They just looked really cute on that bike having fun (to compare comeback couples haha). 

And indeed her Insta - promo -activity together with the increase of followers is also just…. Maybe a coincidence, but a very lucky one then… 

Davi on that boat looked bored indeed, but we can’t say they didn’t do anything fun. I mean with Carol he indeed looked like he had more fun, but thats also bc they made it fun for him. Jumping off the boat and peddling on the sea… I think Ney didn’t thought that one out well and the fact that Davi likes to do things (like any kid his age). Like I said its also easier to bound when you do things with the other person. That way you also have something to talk about haha. 

I dont think he’s using him for pics or anything. But I agree the perfect family doesn’t excist. The perfect life doesn’t excist nor does the perfect person. Everyone has a scar or something going on in their lives. You may not see it, but everyone has their issues/thins they deal with. 

Anonymous said:i saw a non talking about a astrology i have to say I read a thousands and thousands of their sinastry and what seems to be the bigger problem is that they don’t know how to overcome problems and they tend to rush things too much, she is a Leo with moon in Scorpio and rising in Taurus, he is an Aquarius with moon in pieces and rising in Sagittarius (by the moon you can see they have an affinity) he has Mars in cap and shes in libra (they are so different in every level) shes a romantic and he’sAnonymous said:hes a person who all of his energies are directed to work and stuff.. and he has Venus in Capricorn she has in Leo. His Venus in cap searchs for estabilish in love, hes a serious type of person in that aspect (which means he won’t believe in anything crazy or a partner who claim they are in love too quickly) and she wants to be the star in the relationship wants a partner who will be her prince that explain why shes so into romance and all and why whenever shes with him it has to be all bout herAnonymous said:that could explain why they always coming and go, hes a person who gets too comfortable and established his entire future upon that person but at the same time hes an Aquarius who loves freedom and meeting people and shes a Leo who loves romance (she probably thinks it’s cute the fact hes come back she may the one and she like it) overall their sinastry says that the magnetic between it’s quick and the overall understanding it’s so easy between then but they are childish they love it all but+Anonymous said:but at the same time they hate, one proof that he didn’t mature yet it’s because he’s not into bullshit and drama and shes ain’t too but when they with each other they don’t care and it it’s the bigger problem

I have like basic knowledge of horoscopes. So this went way above my head also because I didn’t understand some of the words I think…. 

Like this: “Leo with moon in Scorpio and rising in Taurus, he is an Aquarius with moon in pieces and rising in Sagittarius (by the moon you can see they have an affinity) he has Mars in cap and shes in libra.”  OR “and he has Venus in Capricorn she has in Leo.”

I did my best and I really find horoscopes interesting, but this is a little too hard for me to understand… You did made me wonder how the moon etc is in my horoscope haha. I’m gonna search for that! 

And I like the second part of your message when you explain more about the Zodiac signs of them and personality. I think you can be really right with that tbh. 

Anonymous said:there was a rumour back in the day that the whole brumar thing started when neymar was looking for a woman with a clean image since he used to be seen with a lot of women ex BBB chicks and etc and first he was looking after marina but barbosa but something happened and he ended it up with Bruna.

I think I read about that too. But that rumor started around her wedding right? Or a little before… She’s a sweetheart and a gorgeous woman, but I dont think Ney’s type. 

Anonymous said:Which celebrity do you think would look good with Neymar? Just aesthetically.

I think Bruna looks good with him tbh. 

Anonymous said:Does bru not wear her ring that ney got

No idea… Sorry. 

Anonymous said:Hey what does Carol do ? Like is she studying or working?

No idea. I think she was studying something, but I think she stopped… She has that clothing line.

Anonymous said:Hmm, betcha all the money in the world she’ll turn up to Paris late Feb/early March during Paris Fashion Week. She turned up to the Paris Haute Couture Week in July. I believe that was her first ever appearance at Fashion Week. She wouldn’t miss out on the chance of “mingling” with her “idols” Kendall, Gigi etc.

Ughhh. Frontrow with Balmain then I guess… 

Anonymous said:Thank you for tagging your asks! 😘

No problem! (but I’m gonna tag this as well so I dont know if you gonna see haha). 

Anonymous said:So were gonna get a new Brumar pic everyday until the new novel series 😏☕️

#countdown haha. 

[benditlikebedford]

Halsey && Matty

Okay, so this is going to be long so I’m going to put it under a read more BUT I just want to say that I don’t have sources for most of this because it’s from Halsey’s old tumblr that she deleted and other stuff (screenshots, pictures, etc.) I’ve had saved on my computer for agessss so I don’t remember where I originally got them. But also a lot of this stuff, like the lyric analysis, just came from my own brain and the fact that I’ve seen way too many interviews of the 1975.

SO first things first. Halsey and Matty were friends with benefits (NOT dating... just friends that hooked up a lot) for ?? a period of time. I’m not sure when it started or when it ended but I’m thinking it ended around 2014 based on when they stopped appearing in pictures together.

Halsey has written three songs that I am 100% certain are about Matty, and there’s two others that I think MIGHT be about him but I’m not certain.

Generally speaking, Halsey has said in interviews that Matty was a huge influence on her writing and even helped write some of her songs.

So the first song, and most damning one, is Colors.

“Your little brother never tells you but he loves you so. You said your mother only smiled on her TV show.”

This is obviously about Louis (Matty’s younger brother) who’s lowkey a shithead but I love him so much and Matty’s mum (aka my mum that I WORSHIP) Denise. Denise has had depression and she’s also on a soap so that’s where those lines come from.

“You’re only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope. I hope you make it to the day you’re 28 years old.”

I’m sure you know by now that Matty loves weed. But this was also written long before ILIWYS era so we all know that during that last stretch of touring Matty was just very unhealthy and unhappy and tired. (And I’m so glad that’s no longer the case.) The second part is because he was 25/26ish at the time and loads of famous people die of suicide/drug overdose at/before age 28. Matty gave her a slight dig on twitter on his 28th birthday which I made a post about here lol.

((Less obvious, more of an assumption, but I think the “tearing through the pages and the ink” has to do with the fact that matty’s always on that damn typewriter and typewriters can be very wasteful since if you mess up you have to start completely over hence the tearing through the pages and ink.))

“Everything was grey, his hair, his smoke his dreams and now he’s so devoid of colour he don’t know what it means.”

After the beloved undercut/side shave from circa Girls MV, Matty’s hair actually grew back in grey so that’s that part. His smoke, oh gee, does Matty smoke? I don’t think he does? (lol) And also I’m pretty sure the so devoid of colour thing is about the fact that Halsey was with Matty around the time that everything they did was in black and white.

“You were a vision in the morning when the light came through. I know I’ve only felt religion when I’ve lied with you.”

Later in this post I’m going to talk about the poems that she wrote about Matty on her old tumblr and she LOVES to talk about waking up in the morning with him. Like. LOVES to talk about that. Also y’all should know Matty is always calling sex the closest thing to religion he’s ever felt. (Also? Grammar question, does anyone know the answer? Is it supposed to be lied or laid? I think it’s supposed to be laid.)

“You’ll never be forgiven until your boys are too.”

Matty is extremely reliant on the boys (George, Adam, Ross) he can’t really do anything without them sort of thing here.

Okay now let’s talk about Strange Love. My analysis for this one isn’t as intense as Colors don’t worry haha.  

Basically this entire song is about media being fascinated with Matty and how he’s a literal sex god. The whole “Everybody wants to know if we fucked on the bathroom sink, how your hands felt in my hair, etc. etc.” is about people wanting to know about their relationship as he gets more famous.

The most interesting part about this song though is the “We wrote a story in the fog on the window that night, but the ending is the same every damn time.” 

Matty, for whatever reason, has a fascination with writing in fog. You see in in both The Sound and in the Somebody Else music videos. 

I couldn’t find a gif of the part where Matty writes the rectangle on the car window in Somebody Else but he does it there too. 

Halsey also talks about his fog writing obsession in one of her poems aka THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER WRITTEN and we’ll talk about that later don’t worry it’s coming. 

The part about “the ending is the same every damn time” is how Halsey wanted their hook ups to end with something more, with a real relationship, but they never did. 

So the last one I want to go into detail about is EXTREMELY important and that’s Is There Somewhere. 

YALL THE WHOLE ROOM 93 EP IS ABOUT MATTY OKAY

So in the Room 93 Commentary Halsey talks about how the whole album is about a couple (her and Matty) in a hotel room “sharing a moment”. She says that “Is there somewhere you can meet me” was the text message frequently exchanged between her and the person the song is about (Matty) and how basically they always ended up meeting in a hotel room. Some other interview (don’t remember which one sorry guys) she says basically the same thing about the texts BUT she adds a super damning detail about how the texts were exchanged when “this person” (Matty) and her were both on tour and if they ever overlapped they’d send that text. 

As for the song itself, it’s just... so obviously about Matty. Some very telling details are “dancing in your tube socks” and the part about his crooked teeth.

NOW THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT LIKE !!! PAY ATTENTION 

“And I try to refrain but you're stuck in my brain and all I do is cry and complain because second's not the same.“

So right now you’re probably like ?? Halsey was a sidechick ?? Matty was cheating on someone??

NO (okay at least that’s not MY OPINION. Some people think he was cheating on Gemma with Halsey but I don’t have enough proof for that, and considering how crushed Matty was when he broke up with Gemma I really don’t think he would’ve cheated on her. Also I don’t think the timeline adds up (again, based on my research) I think Halsey came after Gemma, sort of as a placeholder for the loneliness he felt. WHICH i’ll talk about later.)

I think Halsey is referring to the fact that she’s second to the 1975. This period of Matty’s life right after the self titled came out and they started working on ILIWYS was HUGE for the band. More likely than not, he was putting most of his time and energy into the band and he wanted to focus on that more than on having a serious relationship. Halsey obviously wanted a serious relationship. 

OKAY SO THIS IS WHERE WE GET INTO THE TUMBLR STUFF NOW

Basically Halsey gave herself away big time because she posted this picture on her tumblr and captioned it “93″. Girl. 

BUT IT ONLY GETS BETTER FROM HERE. Halsey wrote SO MUCH poetry about him. Way too much for me to put all in this post but like, just for reference here’s two:

This one talks about how much she loves waking up with him in the morning (told yall). and obviously those DAMN CURLS. 

and yeah this is also about him lmao matty damn that boy

As for THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER WRITTEn okay get ready because its a lot its super long but

I lost one here I must’ve deleted it accidentally a long time ago but I don’t know where to find it again :( 

EDIT;; HERE’S THE WHOLE THING 

okay so

There’s a ton of religious metaphors, which is obviously such a Matty thing I mean, come on. She also mentions his black jeans, his staple back in the day, his socks are mentioned again, as is the whole window fog deal. She talks about drugs, sex, him being a fucking nerd with the way he talks AND the most interesting like “we fight about where the chord change should go” which is about him helping her write music, which she talked about on her tumblr as well (again, the tumblr is deleted and I don’t have a screenshot of that but I remember it) something like “Matty influenced so much of my writing”. 

Okay, so the last thing we’re going to talk about now is something I haven’t ever seen anyone else mention but it’s just ?? so obvious to me ??

She’s American (in my educated opinion, this is all guessing) is about Halsey.

So, let’s start with one of the very first lines “Synthetic apparitions of not being lonely”

Y’all come on. This is about one-night stands. It’s something made up (synthetic) that only lasts for a short amount of time (apparition) and they make you feel less lonely, only for one night. Pretty sure this is about Halsey and their “is there somewhere” meetings. ALSO THIS IS WHY I don’t think Matty was dating Gemma at the time because he was LONELY whenever he was with Halsey. Also she said somewhere, I think in the same place where she mentioned Matty influencing her writing that they met up, while they were both on tour, to get rid of loneliness just for the night. (but the way she said it was so much more poetic than me lol)

EDIT;; this is what i was talking about with “simply a friend to fill a king sized bed”

The whole chorus is about how she doesn't see how there’s any issue with their relationship and is focusing on all the superficial aspects (them being socially relevant, his teeth). You can see this in real life as Halsey is at events constantly and the 1975 rarely are. 

"She calls on the phone like the old days expecting the world.”

I’m 90% sure this is about Halsey hitting Matty with a “Is there somewhere you can meet me text.” within the last like two-three and he has to be like “We don’t do this anymore.” 

Also, as far as I’M aware, Matty was never in a relationship (I.E. hooking up more than once) with someone that was American other than Halsey. Gemma was British and Taylor Swift DIDN’T HAPPEN GUYS. 

Also New Americana was her most popular song at the time that ILIWYS was being written so. 

THERE YOU GO GUYS. I think that’s everything I’ve got BUT if I think of anything else I’ll make some edits or post something about it. I want to know what you guys think, if you have any thoughts or opinions or anything you want to add so slide into those dm’s or that inbox anytime and I’d love to chat (about this or anything else tbh!)

xoxo valarie