66 posts
the only star that kept shining
in the meantime: study, journal, read more books, sit in silence, listen to music, take walks, take the stairs, do more things alone, do more things with friends, take notice of the small wonders of the world, create a sacred space in your mind
do you ever think about how a series of tiny choices like "I guess I'll watch that show" can like totally and entirely change huge aspects of your life
Zaun vik and Jayce
at all the people hissing knowing I'm the one they hate
and at the big finale I would tear my face away
look into my eyeholes tell me what you see
My health has been really shit guys. But here’s some Caitvi inspired by the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet ⚔️
A lot of people point out the visual parallels between Mel and Viktor but not enough people talk about the thematic parallels between them (also excuse the shitty screenshots).
they both grew up with mentors who ended up doing something they couldn't understand (Viktor believing death is better than sacrificing humanity, Mel believing war is bad)
and they remain haunted by that memory as an adult
they later left that mentor, Viktor on his own decision, Mel got cast out. Then they reconnected with that mentor when they are struggling with the same dilemma but their position has shifted. Again Viktor does this on his own accord and Ambessa comes to Mel
After this encounter though they realise their error and shift back to their original position
They stick to the same morals after Jinx's bomb hits but the decision was taken from them, Jayce already sacrificed Viktor's humanity, the council already decided on war
Then for the rest of season two we see them attempt to keep up their original stance but their hand is forced. (It is also interesting that Viktor is already taking away their humanity he just doesn't realize it yet, probably because he is so far from his own humanity he has forgotten what that even means)
They also both have parallels to the one they once defended as a kid
But I'm still having trouble finding what the purpose of all these parallels are. Viktor and Mel aren't very close in the narrative and they're both close to Jayce but I don't feel we see these parallels used in their relationship to him. I think the end point is that it's not Viktor's fault he became a villian in the end. Both him and Mel fought for what they thought was right and they both lost, it was only because of how others used Viktor that he was the reason so many people almost died.
if house md were running in 2024 there would be an episode with a patient who identifies as an ‘online content creator’ (cagily) where house agrees to take the case primarily because when he offhandedly refers to her as an onlyfans model both cameron and cuddy get really offended and say it’s a sexist assumption so he doubles down and becomes committed to finding the patient’s onlyfans and proving it. at some point it would be revealed that chase actually is an onlyfans model and started doing it as a stopgap after his dad died and he suddenly got disinherited but he makes so much money off it that now medicine is basically just a hobby. cameron and foreman both disagree with the concept online sex work but it turns out they disagree for different reasons (cameron thinks it’s exploitative and not-feminist, foreman finds it distasteful and thinks people should get ‘real jobs’) and spend most of their scenes together arguing about this while chase gets continually more shifty. they break into the patient’s house and there’s a full ringlight and camera setup which seems to confirm house’s suspicions. while trying to find the patient’s onlyfans house accidentally finds chase’s onlyfans instead and considers publicly embarrassing him about it like he did with wilson’s sex tape but soon realises that most of the staff at the hospital are already subscribed to chase’s onlyfans so makes fun of him for that instead. it then transpires that the reason why the patient is so cagey about being a content creator is that she’s an ASMR artist and all the soap she’s been shaving on camera has irritated her lungs. cuddy is about to make house give her 20 extra hours of clinic duty as recompense but at last minute it’s revealed that the website the patient uses for some of her bonus commissions is, drumroll…onlyfans, because she’s been banned from patreon. how does house know this? wilson is subscribed to her because the soap videos sometimes soothe him to sleep. something by cigarettes after sex plays. roll end credits.
Final Glorious Evolution
Everything between Jayce and Viktor can really be traced back to their childhood inciting incidents and it’s killing me.
Jayce: a miracle saves him and his mom, forever imprinting him with the certainty that miracles do exist, they can be controlled, he can save his loved ones no matter how awful things get, if he can just be smart and bold and quick enough.
Viktor: he saw the horror of what Singed had done—of forcing a creature to live against its will, of the degradation and terror of being fundamentally changed. For a while he thought he understood Singed, when he decided that he was willing to throw away all his principles to survive his own body. But he didn’t, really. He didn’t understand. There was still a line he would not cross. He wanted to die human.
It’s fitting, then, and unspeakably tragic, that Jayce is the one who played Singed’s role in the end. Because you can’t ask Jayce to let a loved one go, when he knows there’s a miracle that can save him, the solution is right there, it will work if you will just let him try—and so he forces a change onto Viktor against his will. He traps him into the Arcane, takes apart and reassembles his body, strips him of his selfhood and humanity. All so that Viktor will live. Singed wasn’t talking about the desperation not to die—he was talking about the desperation not to lose someone you love.
And so Viktor is…changed. He lives, whether he wants to or not.
And so Jayce loses him anyway.
something something despite the all horrors and tragedies of the world, love was there and that's all that matters
fatima aamer bilal, excerpt from moony moonless sky’s ‘you must burn.’
Mary Oliver, from a poem titled "When I Am Among The Trees," featured in Devotions: Poems
man this piece of media i like that's bad and sucks would be so cool and awesome if it wasnt bad and didnt suck. unfortunately,
Typical marvel gay rep: yeah 🤭 this side character is gay 🥰😜 it will only be mentioned once tho😓😣😅 and this background character has gay parents!! 😱😱😍 but the main character can't be lgbt!!🫤😖 we have to appeal to straight people 🥺🥺 for profit 🥺🥺🥺 you get it 🥰😜
Marvel with Agatha All Along for some reason: this middle aged witch is a LESBIAN and her love interest is the personification of death who is ALSO A LESBIAN and they are BITTER BITTER EXES but are STILL in love and her coven is 90 percent SAPPHICS and the only man on screen is a GAY TEENAGER and
I would not have guessed Disney/Marvel would be the ones to make the show about middle aged gay witches I’ve always wanted, but here we are
Suzanne Scanlon, from "Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen," published in 2024
"it will come back" is so unhinged.
"honey, stop feeding that poor animal. PSYCH! It's me! HOWWWWWWWLLLLLLL!"
Charles' line "There's so much more to you than you know" has always struck me because it's SO easy for Charles to come off unlikeable-
"There's so much more to you than you know" (But I do)
"What do you know about me? - Everything." (Whether you like it or not)
"I know what this means to you but you have to let go!" (Stop this nonsense)
"There's a mutant here already! [Exposing Hank]"
"I don't want your pain. They sent back the wrong man [To Logan]"
"I've seen what Shaw did to you"
"I feel your agony [After Nina died]"
"[Jean expresses no one knows how it feels to be tormented telepathically] Oh but I do."
Like on a base level what he communicates is such an invasion of privacy and instantly gets the hackles up because it's not natural. He can sound, at first glance, self-important and even dismissive (even Erik at one point calls him 'arrogant'). Charles' telepathy gift is so alienating. He knows people's most personal, thoughts, feelings, dreams, and nightmares. Seeing into someone's soul is as simple as breathing and second nature to him -- and he knows how repulsive this must be (see: how profusely he apologized for outting Hank. This speaks to a past/youth where he clearly unintentionally shared the secrets of others or caused trouble with his abilities and disturbed the people around him or endangered himself/others).
But Charles can't help his powers in the same way that Rogue can't - actually, Charles' abilities could easily been seen in some regards as the psychic equivalent to Rogue's physical gift. She can't touch ANYONE without hurting them in some manner, she is dangerous in some regard. And it's the same thing with Charles -- wherever his mind goes he exposes and hurts people. It's a side effect of his powers.
But unlike Rogue, Charles can't wear gloves. He can try to keep up psychic shields (which hurt HIM), or he can promise Raven he'll never read her mind, but he can't ever lessen his gift. He can't be perfect but he has to try. He can't or he'll be hated, despised, and feared. Rogue and he share a similar distress. Rogue suffers from touch-starvation but has to deal or she'll be seen as a monster. Charles suffers from the same kind of thing is a psychic way - he has to block his abilities or been seen as arrogant, invasive, and holier-than-thou. He has to starve his mind and powers.
So that's why it's sooooo touching that he tries SO hard to do good with it despite all that. Especially as he grows as a person and sees how powerful he can be with appendages like Cerebro. He ALWAYS makes an effort to clarify his knowledge of someone's mind with encouragement, love, understanding, and hope.
He can't help reading someone's mind but he CAN help how they react to it or how they feel about what's been exposed and the constant effort he exerts to express empathy, kindness, and aid is a testament to how hard he works to do good with his mutation. He frankly just doesn't have to do that. He could be like Emma Frost or Jean Grey or Psylocke. They know your thoughts, they use telepathy, and it's as simple as that.
Charles feels people's pain so ardently, sees their struggles so clearly, that it literally torments him not to help. How can he see that and just walk away? Innermost pain and secrets are revealed to him by nature -- he could ignore it, exploit it, or use it maliciously. Instead he takes the information and tries to help (surely in part to make up for how sensitive the invasion is).
"There's so much more to you than you know" (But one day you'll be more powerful than me. Don't get lost, keep going, you have so much more to remember and you aren't just made up of this pain that is so so heavy for you. This is not all that you are, I've seen what you forgot, I promise it's still there. You're still a person. Hold on).
"What do you know about me? - Everything" (I have seen your whole mind - the good and the bad - and still I came out here to ask you to stay. Because nothing in there scares me and in fact it gives me hope. I need you. We could do something great together.)
"I know what this means to you but you have to let go!" (They'll succeed in killing you if you let them. You deserve better)
"There's a mutant already here!" (Thank god! And you're incredible!)
"I don't want your pain. They sent back the wrong man." (Proceeds to cry at Logan's life and is amazed at his strength, you poor poor man. Is inspired to keep going from Logan's strength).
"I've seen what Shaw did to you." (Shaw did it to you. It's not a shameful secret and you aren't Frankenstein's Monster. It won't stop me from seeing who you really are. You're free).
"I feel your agony." (Come back to us. I can help you. You're not alone. You never had to leave. You still have a family. Grieve with us.)
"Oh but I do" (I survived. So will you. I didn't have help and I also had parents who didn't love me. I won't let that happen to you or leave you alone. I promise. You can sleep. You're safe. I'll protect you.)
Clarice Lispector, from "Too Much of Life Complete Chronicles," publ. in 2022
M.L.Rio, “If We Were Villains.”
Ohhh [fictional character with worse mental health than me] save meeeee from this cruel world.