absolutely genius of rf kuang to elaborate on virtually nothing about speer's culture. the only things said about speer are "speerlies are mindless savages" and "speerlies are most definitely not mindless savages". there are no deep dives, no explanations of their way of life, nothing beyond the glimpses that disproves nikan's belief that they are nothing but a violent group. we saw that they had leaders that cared about their people and children. we saw that they are people who found joy in life. but that's really not much.
this emphasizes the horror of genocide. millenia of culture and history, individual lives filled with love, pain, and passion, just completely wiped away. there were only two surviving speerlies. one of them was too young when he was taken away, and probably doesn't remember much. the things he did remember was also probably buried under years of abuse and drugs people were plying him with. the other one didn't even know she was from speer until the last few months of her life, and there was really no one around to teach her about their culture. and if there was, life as she knows it was falling apart. learning about her dead people's culture probably didn't even cross her mind.
without saying any of these things and by intentionally leaving readers in the dark about what speer was truly like, rf kuang said so much about the horrors of genocide. by not saying anything, she said everything. she did the "show me, don't tell me" tip for writers and it was brilliant.
we will never learn most of speer's culture and history and that was the point.
i will NEVER stop talking about “you’re hurting me”. there couldn’t have been better or more devastating last words for kitay. for so long he endured the pain every time rin called the fire. he never said anything. rin saw how much he was hurting, constantly asked him if he wants her to stop, but he always said no, always said he was fine because he never wanted to deny her anything. because he knew how important the fire was to her. the only time he denies her is at the very end, when rin loses her mind. and even then, at her worst, as she tries to overpower kitay, the SECOND he says “you’re hurting me” she stops. and not only does she stop, but it stops her descent into madness and she has one final moment of clarity. because “rin couldn’t hurt kitay and not worry about it. if she could, she’d be lost.”
Aemond + Lucerys iconic dinner scene
The thing about Bunny at the beginning is not that bad, little annoying may be but it was tolerable. Later when Richard gets to know about the farmer murder, his visions got distorted which I believe a result of Henry's manipulation. If bunny was that bad then he wouldn't have a girlfriend. Henry wouldn't be his friend from the beginning at all. What he was going through total nervous breakdown. Think if your friends murder an innocent bystander and be totally chill about it. Like yes, we are guilty but not enough to surrender ourselves to the police. Which is totally normal. I would also be frustrated with their hypocrisy. Also he being rude to Camalia like Camalia was not sleeping with her brother.
He was the only normal one among them.
One thing i can yap and yap on about for ages is the fact that the greek class cant for the life of them grasp the fact that bunny is upset by the murder of the farmer
When henry is telling the story of the bacchanal to richard, he says bunny couldnt understand how serious the situation was because he was freaking out which is funny, because he was the only one who understood
Henry also said that bunny wasnt upset about the murder but rather about the fact that theyd gone without him, and that he couldn't possibly care that theyd killed a man because he wasnt "exactly the most moral man" as if u needed to be fucking gandhi to realize that killing someone is wrong
When bunny started acting out they were all convinced he was doing it out of spite or to get under their skin, completely ignoring the signs that showed he was having a complete nervous breakdown and was slowly losing his mind because of what they had done
This is because they themselves did not see the act as something that was morally wrong, but rather an inconvenience for them. Like francis said, it wasnt voltaire they killed. They were so out of touch with reality that they lived not in this world but in one where morality doesnt exist, one they are the center of where the gods personally descend to be by their side. They lived in their ancient tales and greek poems. Bunny was the only one who was grounded and they cant understand that. It doesnt even begin to cross their minds. And its the same with bunnys death, they dont care about the morality of it because in their mind they are closer to gods than to humans and gods do whatever they please. They can kill a farmer and who cares? Its not like he was voltaire. They can kill their friend and who cares? Heroes kill and heroes die all the time.
this distance between them and the real world is the most important part of their characters because it explains everything else, from the incest to henrys suicide. Bunny was the only one who was rooted to reality which is what always set him apart from the rest and most importantly why things started to spiral out of control as soon as they killed him. He was their anchor to the real world and to sanity.
all the changes taylor made to the eras tour in paris tonight (in order):
“straight from the tortured poets department” soundbite added to the intro
orange lover bodysuit, orange blazer, orange boots
“the archer” CUT from lover era
new silver fearless era dress
red era is now third instead of sixth -moving directly after fearless (skipping evermore, reputation, and speak now)
new/altered red bodysuit (deeper neckline)
new red t-shirt that says “this is not taylor’s version”
speak now era is fourth instead of fifth
new speak now intro
new speak now dress
“long live” CUT from speak now
reputation set is fifth instead fourth
new “delicate” visuals
the reputation snake is white instead of purple
folklore is now sixth instead of seventh
“cardigan” OPENS the folklore set, replacing “the 1”
“seven” spoken word CUT from folklore intro
new yellow folklore dress
evermore and folklore era merged together (folkmore / everlore) into the seventh era
performed “champagne problems” after “betty”
“the 1”, “the last great american dynasty”, “tis the damn season”, and “tolerate it” are CUT from the folklore/evermore set
new folklore/evermore combined setlist: cardigan -> betty -> champagne problems -> august -> illicit affairs -> my tears ricochet -> marjorie -> willow
new 1989 outfit
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT IS THE EIGHTH ERA!!!!
TTPD era set list: “but daddy i love him” -> “so high school” -> “who’s afraid of little old me” -> “down bad” -> “fortnight” -> “the smallest man who ever lived” -> “i can do it with a broken heart”
surprise songs after TTPD era
new acoustic/surprise set dress
new midnights bodysuit
new eras order: lover -> fearless -> red -> speak now -> reputation-> folklore/evermore -> 1989 -> the tortured poets department -> surprise songs -> midnights
cut songs: the archer, long live, seven, the 1, the last great american dynasty, tis the damn season, tolerate it
And then we found wonderland
She calms all our fears with a Cheshire cat smile. 😄
📸: Kevin Winter
Lucerys's outline in aemond's sapphire when he jumps him at storms end, like how to add little proofs of obsession, he's both the reason for the sapphire being there and complete focus of aemond 🤌
I want my bride back
I want my bride back
I want my bride back
Truth.
“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them and their response is “you’re safe with me” - that’s intimacy.”
— The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid
19. 05. 2021
A super productive day. I studied for 5 hours on forensics report and completed it :)
I prefer listening to podcast or using animedoro method for long hour work. Have a happy week ahead 😊