#wordy rambles

[wordycheeseblob]

Chevalier keeps justifying his reading material with the purpose of learning about the emotion of love so he can control others

He tells himself that

When he has a shrine of books, plays and poetry about love.

Yes, love is a difficult emotion, especially for someone like Chevalier because love operates on a logic Reason knows nothing of

But you'd think ten/twenty books would have been enough to get a grasp on it. It would have for all the other irrational emotions. Learning an emotion such as love through pages is like trying to imagine a colour you've never seen through a description.

So Chevalier absorbs those vast amounts of love prose for enjoyment more than anything else. Even if he wouldn't admit it.

Perhaps deep down, subconsciously, he yearns for it or wants to understand it. Love doesn't make sense at times. Humans don't make sense at times either. It's a very human emotion.

What you read actually decides what kind of person you want to be

So it would make sense for him to want to feel human?

[dustyspines]

best part of final stage editing/rereading is rediscovering lines u forgot u wrote to start with <3

[musashi]

i want more nuance to be entered into the discussion of the green girl sorority and how differently cynthia plays elphaba in comparison to those who came before her because while a lot of people are rightfully like "why was elphaba not black from the beginning" and celebrating that she is now being played by a black woman, i think we need to be careful in just writing off all the elphabas of the past as Random White Girls when the role was championed (and often followed/succeeded) by a jewish woman

the pop culture archetype of the Wicked Witch has deep roots in antisemitism stretching faaaar far back. there is a level of reclamation happening in casting idina menzel, a jewish woman, to play the Misunderstood and Maligned young girl who is branded as exactly that. and stage!Elphaba is also written and acted with jewish stereotypes in mind--she is loud, aggressive, no-nonsense, blunt. she is quick to advocate for herself and shut down the discrimination she faces. all of this is very intentional! her personality is abrasive from years of abuse, and that makes propagandizing her easy. this is literally the thesis statement of the musical--it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.

cynthia's performance of elphaba is fucking INSPIRED despite going in a completely different direction. she's much more reserved, analytical, one of her key character traits is how well she can read people (see her calling out Galinda as insecure/putting on airs in their first scene together, clocking that Fiyero is using his party guy persona as a shield for his own depression) elphaba's attempts to blend in and make herself smaller all fail simply because of her existence, if not that then because she feels empathy so strongly she often struggles to hold back from acting, protecting.

personality wise, though, cynthia's elphaba is very quiet and closed-off, not at all the bullet-to-the-face that she is in the stage show, and... she still gets propagandized and maligned. though this seems to contradict the other interpretation, it tells of the other end of the spectrum of propaganda, one that black women watching (and many, MANY other marginalized folks) are sure to identify with--it does not matter how "nice," how reserved, how small a black woman makes herself. a racist society will still scrutinize her every action for a way to parse ill intent from it, brand her as an angry black woman who is dangerous and wicked, and write off any humanity she has in the process.

these two very different interpretations tell of the lie of assimilation. the fact of the matter is, when you are marginalized, there is no way to sand down your edges enough to make the people oppressing you "accept" you. that is why wicked is a tragedy at its core. whether loud and aggressive or quiet and unimposing, there is nothing elphaba could have done to make the people of Oz see her as anything other than a scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

so while i definitely appreciate that people are excited for black girl era elphaba, i would encourage us all to still show appreciation for what came before--that was not white girl era elphaba. that was jewish girl era elphaba. two houses, both alike in dignity, two stories both worth being told.

[marsontherocks]

He will speak plainly enough when the time comes, be sure.

Jack, you fucking liar. I'm on chapter 26 and not ONCE have I understood a damn thing Van Helsing has said.

[applestorms]

“together we can stand with L.”

“together we can surpass L.”

it’s no wonder he ends up so insecure by the time of C-KIRA. how could he be exactly like L— when every other L has ended up dead, buried in the ruins of their own egos and obsessions? when he’s missing his other half, his better half, the part of him that would’ve allowed them to surpass their original? who even is the entity of Near without those who created him, hid him, needed him, hated him? the weight of legacies and the weight of grief are two sides of the same coin here— baseless, god-killing hubris and love for the ones you miss, who saved you and resented you and left you behind. your life was protected just long enough to ensure that you could mourn the ones who left you so that your life was protected. he protected you. now you’re left behind.

you outlive them. all of them. and then you kill the false god, too.

yet still, the responsibility hangs heavy over your head, the weight of the dead the new sword on your shoulder. you were groomed for the salvation of a humanity you will never meet. you will never be human yourself. your role was formed out of desire, and yet you were chosen due to your lack of it. you won because of your lack of it. your life is not a life, and yet still, you keep winning. L was once a role created out of desire, stolen out of obsession, and protected with a repressed regret. there was once another half to you that felt nothing but desire, yawning hunger you never had.

but he’s not around anymore. none of them are.

so maybe your grand prize all along was only the chance to finally lose.

[creaturefeaster]

doesn't make the most sense to me that there's 1000 of you, but it is exciting nonetheless. I'm wanting to do something for the occasion here soon, & already working on it.

love & appreciate you all 🖤

[a2zillustration]

The desire to draw these two again but without the motivation to make something more than one of these little charts (oops)

Thank you Valc0 for making the sheet!

[wordycheeseblob]

i like to think that the rule of only sleeping one with one woman (outside of "don't form romantic feelings for your coworker" and in general) is to keep track of where the information came from and better filter it

On the other hand with Gil I like the German saying

Kinder und Betrunkene sagen immer die Warheit

Literal translation: Children and drunks always say the truth. (And I'm guessing Gil dislikes drunks?)

The English equivalent would be "children and fools tell the truth"

Nah, I think half the women Jin snogs are actually informants or agents of espionage in his spy network.

I think it's a wonderful complement to Gilbert's spy network of children :')

[lixel-5]

i love the “they’re shipping us” “to where??” thing because for stanarrator i can see it go both ways

“you know, stanley, shipping is a common activity in fandom. in fact, our fans are shipping us.”

[to where]

“i forgot how stupid you tend to be, stanley. i mean that endearingly, but i think going back to high school would do you some good. for your information, fans think we are in a relationship. a romantic relationship, stanley. it feels like an invasion of privacy. i mean, what are they writting about us? i must know, stanley! hm. i supose i could look into it, that’s the only way to truly know!”

(cut to many days later, they have an ao3 tab open. they’re on page 48. they’re reading tons of 1k-5k word one shots and ranking them on how in character they are.)

-

*somehow got ao3 on one of the office computers* [they’re shipping us]

“what? no they aren’t, i appear to be staying in one place, stanley.”

[no. just look]

“….stanley slash the narrator, the stanley parable. what does this mean, stanley? no no, don’t tell me. i’m looking it up. i can’t trust you with anything.”

[fuck off]

“… us? stanley, what in the world makes these people think we have a sexual relationship? stanley, i don’t even have the ability to do that. whatever. close that forsaken tab and get on with the story.”

(they have sexual relations. stanley has so fucking clue what he’s on about. he also never tells him that shipping is more romantic.)

[wordycheeseblob]

Isn't it scary the possibility of a writer (someone who doesn't just read but makes a point in analyzing writing for better characterization) might know who you are just because of your turns of phrase in your ask?

Well it's not a disaster because hopefully you're not using anon as a mask in the same way a bandit would, but just... Imagine! Each person has their own unique tendencies and quirks in writing and that's almost imperceptible for some... But just perceptible enough for those who pay attention.

[dustyspines]

gang i love you yann fredericks i love you karl jenkins i love you polly chapman i love you cbj i LVOE you i have missed writing these guys sOOOOOoOO much

[wordycheeseblob]

Whenever I think of chev I think of the age of enlightenment and Neoclassicism (which is a child of the Age of Reason) and all of the values that they valued and maintained

Whenever I think of Clavis I think of Barroque which countered the austere feeling with contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep colour, grandeur, and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. Clavis makes me think of impressionism that sprang of the artists that struggled against the conventional art community but sought to break strict classical guidelines in art....

comprensible and reasonably lengthy analysis below (really just ramblings)

Art tends to be a sort of reflection into society and if you take a deep dive into history, each movement went from classical and rational to passionate and zealous, then again to serene and then again to fiery, from Apollonian* to Dyonisian**.

Apollonian: harmonious, measured, ordered, or balanced in character

Dyonisian: wild, irrational and undisciplined

Also slight digression but there is the mythological comparison:

Clavis as Dyonyssus, god of wine, also matches its colour purple and his boundless search for pleasure. His cult is of especial importance to art and literature and has the power to inspire and to create ecstasy.

He is irrationality and chaos, representing passion, emotions and instincts

"One of Dionysos’ major symbol is the grape vine. It symbolically represents his association with life. In terms of humours it is regarded as the hot plant. As the grape vine is a cultivated plant it requires constant maintenance for it to bear fruit"

(I may or may not expand on all the other symbolic elements of and their correlation to clavis later (and Chevy by extension))

And Chevalier as Apollo, colour being yellow, as the Greek god of sun, light, healing, music, poetry, truth, prophecy, rational thinking and order... Lots and lots more well you get the idea, he's talented we get it. He appeals to logic, prudence and purity and stands for reason. was also seen as the most beautiful of gods to top it off.

"He was known as the god of oracles and prophecy, he was believed to play a powerful role in shaping the course of events in ancient Greece."

Interestingly enough

"The ancient Greeks did not consider the two gods to be opposites or rivals, although they were often entwined by nature."

BACK TO THE POINT I like to compare those two mentalities to Clavis and chevalier, those ideals of serene and rational opposed to passionate and innovative that lived through the ages constantly opposing each other, falling but rising yet again, turn by turn one after eachother.

The fact neither fell into obscurity means neither is wrong and both are very necessary for the other to exist just like the two brothers.

Ngl, I always interpreted Chev as being rather unoriginal. Not in the way that he doesn't have imagination, he is canonically good at pretty much everything, but many times innovation comes from mistakes and the ridiculous, even the downright absurd, and Chev is not the type to make mistakes all that often or engage in ridiculous behavior (outrageous? yeah. ridiculous? nah). I think he would be an adept of Aristotle's philosophy of art as imitation and I associate him the most with 19th century french and russian literature (which is awesome btw)

What I am trying to say is that I think Chev would have a hard time creating something truly groundbreaking in the realm of art, be it literature, painting, music or anything else, because he would be too grounded in reality, when fiction is more of a parallel reality (this was actually a common critique brought towards Realism as a movement) and that would stump his potential as a creator

But I don't think that's a bad thing, because Chev was never made out to be a creator, he is a nurturer. He is not interested in creating something new, but in bettering what already exists (Rhodolite). It's an important side of his relationship with Clavis, who is an innovator and a creator, and how neither approach can exist in isolation, it's the classic debate. Innovation can't succeed without a latch back to reality, but if you're too grounded in rationality you will never change anything for the better

[musashi]

posts about the alt-right pipeline being compassionate towards young men while radical leftists shun and shame them are not fucking saying "the men are becoming violent because feminists are too mean!" and if that is your takeaway you need to get off tumblr until you've better honed your critical thinking skills.

those posts are talking about how effective the language and approach you take in your activism can be. this is literally cult deprogramming 101. if someone is being taken in by a violent or dangerous group, that violent or dangerous group is usually offering them compassion and solace while working hard to convince them everyone else in the world is their enemy. you are under no obligation to coddle or act compassionate toward these men and their violent ideologies, but if you have the means to try, it is something that you can do to make a tangible difference.

radicalized people are often only one loving friend or family member or external voice away from being de-radicalized. of course that is not always the case, but it very often is. a lot of y'all rightfully understand that you do not carry the burden of being that voice, but a lot of y'all also have a lot of internalized ideas about morals and punitive justice and have simply written off these people as deserving of only the worst and not worth saving.

ten years ago, my grandmother was a fox news watching republican who voted red in every election and very well could have fallen down the qanon rabbit hole if not for me and her daughter challenging her compassionately, walking her through hypotheticals that validated her feelings & proving why they were false, & being patient with her despite our extreme division in political ideology. it was frustrating fucking work! but i decided i wanted to do it, because i could see the horizon and i could see me making a difference!

"misogynists have been saying feminists are too mean for years, get new material" that is not the fucking POINT. the point is that you, feminist, can be the compassionate voice that guides your brother, your father, your cousin, your grandfather away from fucking becoming or staying a nazi. you can show them compassion and companionship. you can be the woman they think of when their alt-right bros try to convince them that women are the enemy. and you can choose to crystallize that image of yourself so wholly in their mind's eye as worth protecting that they may very well choose to reject those harmful ideas.

it's not saying you HAVE to do it! it's saying you CAN do it! don't you 'firebomb a walmart' people all love taking change into your own hands? where the fuck is that energy right now, huh?

[biblically-accurate-dca]

day 19: dolls/puppets/ect.

it's a puppet themed dca!! or maybe it's actually a dca themed puppet?

[imaginariumwanderer]

shadowvanilla for the ship bingo?

To quote financier: "This will be easy!"

Forsooth! I do verily believe this ship to be my Roman Empire, my valiant Argo favored by the gods, the destined ship to let me sail the daring sea that is the cookie run fandom!

An impromptu speech is much needed and I can't yap enough about how interesting/horrible these two are for each other. But this time I'll only made 2 points: First, I've played crk for 3+ years, this is the first and only ship in the fandom so far that have captured my interest as much as it did <- May or may not be a catastrophic mistake on my part, but the heart can't control what it yearns for, so, welp.

Second, a thing about shadvani is that it can be surprisingly versatile. SM and PV is the classic boke and tsukkomi, so yeah plenty of comedy/shitpost potential. Their angst/toxic potential is a no brainer. And we can't forget their symbolism and roles within the narrative, their dynamic is a ripe-open field for character studies/analyses. There's plenty of ways to enjoy this ship! Vanilla milkshake can be quite flavorful wow

[some-pers0n]

I may not be a person who's exactly talented with a pencil or pen, but I would 100% prefer making small and terrible doodles over going over to an AI image generator and simply getting the results I want. Art at its core is about the process rather than the results. It's about being human, taking a piece of your creativity and putting it into a form of media that can impact others. Drawing, writing, music, photography, what have you.

To have an AI generate an image is soulless. It robs you of that artistic expression. Why would you want to share around an AI-generated image, one that was made by scraping the internet of actual artwork and using an algorithm to piece it together, when you can simply, I dunno, draw?

I find it infinitely more rewarding and satisfying to create the artwork myself than to use AI. Even if the quality is lesser, it means more to me; and at the end of the day, isn't that what art is about? Self-expression? Being alive and sharing a part of your experience on this planet through the lens of artistic media? Being an individual with your own ideas and thoughts? I'd say so.