#guess the famous painting I referenced in this!!!!

[as-the-stars-foretold]

uhuhuh aru

#aru shah #tpq #pandava quintet #my art #tpq aru #guess the famous painting I referenced in this!!!! #also chat she did not smoke a fat blunt. I swear

[sweatervest-obsessed]

Violent Delights Have Violent Ends - Part 2

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!reader

WC: 1.8k

TW: Serial killers, murders, blood, referencing to infidelity, descriptions of dead bodies, bugs

A/N: Enjoy part 2 babes!!!!

Part 1

The worst part about a crime scene was not seeing the dead bodies, it was smelling them as soon as you entered the house. However, seeing them was not exactly great either. 

This would have been much better advice than Derek telling you seeing a dead body for the first time can be a bit freaky. 

You don’t really know why you agreed to go to the crime scene, but God did you fucking regret it now. Your eyes were starting to water and your hands were ever so slightly shaking. It was clear to you that all the profilers around you knew what you felt. Even if you were hard to read, they would have known just by the way you stopped talking. 

Hotch gently put his hand on your arm, causing you to jump slightly and give him a small smile. He led you both to the kitchen to sit down for a moment, giving you a moment away from the whole scene. 

Looking at the pictures was so different than seeing it in person. Someone actually dipped their hand in the neck of someone else and wrote on the wall in their blood. And they were cold and calculated enough to put gloves on first so there was no DNA left behind. Fucking psychopath. 

“Y/n?” 

You looked up from your hands and let out a curt laugh when a tear fell down your cheek. “Shit. Sorry.” Quickly wiping it away, you looked back down at your hands. “Sorry, I just….”

“It’s a lot.” 

“Why–why do you need me here Hotch.”

He nodded and looked back at the living room. “Because we have a feeling the way he’s positioning the bodies might help us figure something else out, and you are our resident expert.” 

“Don’t let Reid hear you say that. He might just have an aneurysm.” You muttered, a small smile on your face. 

It got Hotch to smile in response. “He knows that you know more about this than him. Don’t worry. Can you get back in there or would you like us to take pictures and send them to you?” 

You shook your head and stood up. “I’m fine. Just an initial shock I guess. Thank you, Hotch.” 

The two of you walked back into the living room, and you were still grateful that you decided to forgo lunch, not giving your stomach any ammo in case it decided to evacuate your body. 

The scene was gruesome. The wife’s body was lying on the floor in front of the fireplace arms above her head as if she was lifting something. Her blonde hair had been stained red, almost purposefully with blood, and braided into two long braids that came down the front of her chest. The only indication of any blood on her body, besides the gaping wound on her neck, was that the palms of her hands were coated in now-dried blood. 

“It’s um.” You closed your eyes for a second. “It’s John Singer Sargent.” 

“The famous painter?” Spencer turned to look at you from across the room where he had been talking to Prentiss. 

You nodded. “His, uh. Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, where she um, lifts the crown onto her head…It’s massive, like seven feet tall, four feet wide, at the Tate Britain in London.” 

“What does this have to do with her.” Derek gestured to the corpse on the floor. Spencer, who noted that you really couldn’t take your eyes off of the body, pulled out his phone and quickly found the painting you were referencing. 

“Oh wow,” Morgan muttered. “He even dressed her in the same shade of green…”

“It’s one of the most famous portrayals of Lady Macbeth out there. Her dress was decorated with….” Your eyes widened. 

“With what.” Hotch walked over to you and looked between you and the body, and then over to Spencer. “What was her dress decorated with.” 

Spencer quickly made his way over to you and kneeled next to the wife. “Oh my god.” 

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Derek crossed his arms, unamused by the lack of information being spread around. 

“Beetles. Ellen Terry’s dress was decorated with the wings of beetles.” You spoke up.  _________________________________________________________

Spencer had volunteered to drive you back to the station so that you could look at the actual bodies of the previous victims to see if you could find more details that they had missed. 

“This one, Spencer, she’s uh…” You bit your lip, looking at the first set of victims. “This was the Romeo and Juliet one right? Because she’s draped on top of him like every production and painting of Romeo and Juliet I’ve ever seen. If we have to go specifics then I would say probably “The Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets” by Leighton. And the um…” You placed that image down and hunted for another one. 

“And this one is the Hamlet one since she’s positioned exactly like Ophelia in Sir John Everett Milais’ painting. The Pre-Raphelite one with all the flowers. Look at the sheet the unsub placed her on, it’s completely floral, and did the autopsy come back saying she had drowned, or was drowned and then resuscitated or something?” 

Spencer nodded. He was honestly in awe of you. The way you reset your head when you left the crime scene. The urgency you had developed. The sheer breadth of knowledge you possessed just continued to make him fall head first for you. Not that he could ever do anything about it since you lived in London half of the time, and he was always traveling around the US with no sort of set schedule. 

“And…uh, where is it.” 

“What are you looking for?” 

“The one with the, uh, um. What the fuck was that guy’s name?” 

Spencer looked at you with a furrowed brow. “Are you talking about Caesar?” 

“YES. God. I always forget his name. Portia. She swallowed hot coals to kill herself right? But in the picture…” You pulled the photo out of the depths of the pile. “There’s a wound on the wife’s leg. Her cause of death was bleeding out, right? With the way she’s draped on the bed, and her husband is in the other room, it’s not the show. I think it’s the baroque piece of Portia by, uh, um…oh shit what was her name….” 

Watching you work literally made Spencer’s heart want to bleed. He would actually propose to you on the spot if it wasn’t an extremely insensitive time to do so, and also you weren’t even dating. It was baffling to him that he had only known you for three days.

“Elisabetta Sirani!” You pulled out your phone and looked up the picture, and lo and behold, it matched the body. 

“I think that it’s an art student, or someone heavily involved in art. Some of these are famous paintings, sure, but others? There’s a history there Spence. I only know these paintings because of my Ph.D. Sirani is not as common an artist as she should be.”

He sputtered at the nickname but quickly recovered. “I’ll call Hotch and let him know.” 

You smiled at him and he smiled right back at you. 

There was too long of a pause. It shouldn’t have happened at all really. But the sheriff knocked on the door, misinterpreting the stare for something more aggressive. “I don’t mean to break up whatever yelling session is about to happen, but the autopsy report came back…those were real wings.”

You looked back over at Spencer. “Tell him to get the team back. You guys need to give the profile.”  _____________________________________________________________

“I just don’t understand where someone even gets that many beetle wings. It’s not like you can order them online and have them shipped to your house.” 

“That tells you how premeditated this was then.” 

“Woman, where have you been all our lives.” 

You laughed and Derek smiled over at you. 

“No, seriously Y/n. I never thought Art history could be so…”

“Violent?” You guessed, smirking slightly and shaking her head. “There’s a painting I think yo should look up Derek. Well a few of them—Saturn Devouring His Son by Goya is a favorite of mine, and then Judith Beheading Holofernes by Virmiglio has a shit ton of blood in it…or if you want some heartbreak, I am personally fond of Caleron’s Broken Vows, or anything portraying the Kiss of Franchesca and Paulo.” 

“I just don’t get how you can store all of this in your head.” Derek pulled up to the college campus and flashed his badge at the campus security, who let him through the gate. 

“Well, I don’t know how to take apart a gun, and then put it back together, let alone fire it. We all have our different skills.” 

This caused Derek to laugh. “Touche.” 

The two of you pulled up to the building with the offices of the Art History faculty and looked around the campus. “This is a massive campus, Derek. I’m pretty sure they have an MA and a Ph.D. in Art History beyond undergrad…”

“Believe it or not, this is not our first murderous college student case.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Great. It’s good to know the youth of America are doing alright.” 

That caused Derek to crack a smile. “Well. Let’s go find this professor and see what we can find out.”  

The trek across campus brought you back to your college days. It was kind of nice to see that kids still hung out on the lawns and with one another, not just staring at their phones and laptops all of the time. 

The both of you made your way up to the stairs of this slightly blocky building. It felt a bit like a museum with the amount of artifacts that they kept on the first and second floors, but as you walked through the fifth floor offices, your face started to fall. 

“Derek what was the name of the professor we were supposed to talk to?” You whispered, slowly moving to a stop. 

He turned and looked at you. “uh…Doctor Kolek, why?” 

You pointed to the door you stopped in front of. 

It was slightly ajar and looked as if the lock had been busted. Morgan quickly, pulled out his gun and shoved you behind him, calling out the woman’s name as you both held your breath. 

When there was no response, Derek slowly pushed the door open. Her office was a wreck, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Papers were scattered, there were frames on the floor, and a dent in the wall as if someone had tried to throw something at someone. You called out the woman’s name again, only to gasp. Derek turned and faced the same way you were looking. 

Doctor Kolek was face down on the floor. There was no blood around her, and the room didn’t smell like death, so that was a good sign, but she was clearly unconscious. Derek quickly rolled her over and checked for her vitals. 

“She’s still breathing. Call a medic.” 

You scrambled to pull out your phone, dialing 911. 

#x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid angst #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader fluff #spencer reid fluff #dr spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x self insert #Spencer reid x y/n angst #Dr Spencer reid x dr!reader

[mygwenchan]

Teena through Zouey's eyes - Famous artworks and movies in Playboyy the Series - Part 2

Like in EP1, the Teena-Zouey scenes in the second episode of Playboyy also reference other pieces of media. I was able to identify imagery that directly copies the Canadian-French gay movie "J'ai tué ma mère" (eng title "I killed my mother") from 2009.

First, let's compare the scenes.

Paint splattering on canvas in "J'ai tué ma mère":

And the paint splattering during the Teena-Zouey scene:

The two boys in both the movie and in Playboyy are also depicted in a similar way, including the background that consists of old newspapers:

However, that's pretty much where the similarities end. I could go on and interpret what it means that they used "J'ai tué ma mère" for Playboyy, maybe compare the two main characters with Teena and Zouey and so on. But to be honest, I don't think it's that deep.

I suspect the reason why famous paintings, sculptures and now even movies are referenced in Playboyy is very simple: These scenes are shown from Zouey's point of view and Zouey is an artist and he is very gay and he is very horny 😌 (the paint splattering has a totally different meaning in Playboyy than in the French movie > Teena and Zouey had a lot of fun together hehe)

It's not a coincidence that pretty much all the art works used show the naked human body. Zouey himself said in the first episode: "We are majoring in art because we like beautiful things. What else is more beautiful than the human body?" It's very obvious what Zouey believes to be the most beautiful body type: a male body with the classical Greek proportions. And let's face it, Teena comes very close to that ideal (yes, I'm using this as an excuse to post naked Teena ✌).

Here we've got the Doryphoros for comparison (yes, I'm using this as an excuse to post naked sculpture ✌)

The Greek ideal has always had a certain homoerotic connotation (even in ancient times), so it's no surprise that Zouey is attracted to it as well. And in Zouey's case, that boy get's really horny about it. Being sexually attracted to pieces of art is actually not that unheard of. He could lean towards pictophilia (attraction to pictorial erotic art), schediaphilia (attraction to cartoon characters), agalmatophilia (attraction to statues). Or Zouey simply can't get aroused unless he is confronted with beauty, be it in a painting, a manga or in real life.

Right now Zouey is focused on a real life beauty: Teena. But what I find interesting about this is, that by viewing Teena as the ideal male body, Zouey is forgetting that Teena is a human like everyone else. Teena actually feeds into that fantasy. He presents himself as the perfect muse, he is charming and sweet and not too pushy. But is that actually the real Teena? When asked what his dreams and plans for the future are, Teena doesn't give an honest answer.

My best guess is that Teena too wants to live in that fantasy, in which Zouey and he have this perfect relationship and both of them are happy. This will most likely present a problem in the future. Because in the end Teena is a normal human. He has actual real things he dreams of and he has flaws. It's something both of them will have to accept at some point and maybe then "What else is more beautiful than the human body?" will become "What else is more beautiful than the human heart?"

[Part 1] [Part 3]

#playboyy the series #playboyy #playboyy meta #meta #teena x zouey #playboyy ep2 #gwen's watchlist

[sophietv]

I like your latest post intricately explaining the LSK secret family theory and such even though I'm not thoroughly convinced yet, simply because in my gaylorism playbook I put lyric analysis above everything and I believe her art and her words in melodies and songs are the ones that conveys her story in it's most truthful sense before any hints shown through clothing items or merch etc (even though they are very interesting & convincing too I must say). That is how I got into gaylorism and how I could connect to her artistry and songs as a lesbian even when PR news publications and the general public all reports about her as this boy-crazy straight woman, I knew it's not true because her songs paint this unique specific experience that gay/lesbian women go through so I believe in that more rather than some staged pap walks of her with some random famous man.

Now the question is that, so many songs in evermore and midnights talk about Taylor fearing and not wanting the marriage and family model in all it's varieties, especially the system of lavender marriage itself. One song even explicitly states how she's annoyed at being pressured into it. The daughter-in-law line in anti hero feels more like a confirmation of her fear of family to me and for Peace, I saw it more as a contemplation with herself if lavender marriage/family is something that she wants (which she then answers in lavender haze, midnight rain, champagne problems, antihero, dear reader, etc).

If theres any late stage theory between Kaylor I see it more as taylor being an outsider looking in through karlie's domestic life and being on good terms/supportive to her, and I do believe they are love of each other's lives, they'll never forget each other and they'll keep referencing each other etc etc but they also recognized they wanted different things in life (Midnight Rain, I personally think this song finalizes and marks the end of any possibility of them getting back together).

All these songs in evermore and midnights painting this picture of taylor being alone and a pariah with self loathing and feeling sorry and guilty and melancholic about her old love that is doing good creates this perception in my head that when an LSK says they both are in a happy family raising a child together it felt like all those time in 2020-2021 when toes/hetlors were trying to convince everyone taylor is in a stable happy longlasting relationship while in contrast she writes 2 albums about a disastrous falling out and a damn near divorce.

However, I do try to keep an open mind and there are some songs in midnights that could point towards the secret family theory of LSK, such as the great war, bigger than the whole sky, sweet nothing, labyrinth and glitch but idk. The sadder songs about her being alone and rejecting the family model, being a pariah, etc feels more real to me. I guess if ts11 is coming I'll know for sure when it drops. P.S: I do think that random "mom! " voice over in Dear Reader is sus as hell. Perhaps the one thing I cant get my mind off.

Oh and also if we get into any kind of LSK stuff, what are your thoughts about the two of them coming out, either alone or together? We all know 2019 taylor wanted to come out, some say karlie was also in the picture but there was lack of evidence for it I think? In Midnight Rain it says that K wanted it "comfortable", which explains marrying her beard of 7 years while T is the opposite of that, to which I believe that she'll keep dropping hairpins untill the time comes where she'll do some grand dramatic thing, maybe in the long future. I just wanna your thoughts if T or K ever decides to come out, how will it all unfold?

Hi!

Thank you for your questiond!!

I see what you are saying.

And you are not the only one. The songs are a big part of why people question LSK.

Since it's a really long and complicated answer. I already wrote a post about it here: (X)

This post about my reflexion on why I still believe in Kaylor and my thoughts about them having a family off of the public eye might help as well (X)

I don't believe that Taylor was gonna come out with Karlie in 2019. Whatever happened there seem to have had a change of plan made toward May to exclude Karlie of this.

I don't believe that this was either Karlie's or Taylor's choice.

So in 2019 when she was to come out, I believe she would have come out as bi with Joe by her side.

As for now.

Tree seems to be working really hard toward the reconcialliciation narrative.

Especially since Karlie went to the Eras Tour.

So I believe there is chances that if Taylor comes out. She does so with Karlie by her side.

Hope this answers your questions!

Don't hesitate if you have any other!

#anon #lsk #kaylor

[xknivesandpensx]

Like Pieces of a Puzzle

Chapter 14

Summary: What if Harry wasn't the only extra student called upon to participate in the Triwizard Tournament? Far from the most popular candidate, Draco not only has to take on the trials but also deal with his unexpected feelings for Hermione. Will he be able to face the challenges as well as follow his heart? Chapter length will vary. I'll be referencing both the books and movie versions. Some things from what I've previously written will be mentioned, all of which you can find here.  And for those who asked to be tagged: @dayane245love

Draco hardly heard a word Ludo Bagman said, not truly able to get himself to care. The classroom was filled with not only the champions but their respective headmasters and a woman he never met before, who for the moment hovered in the background. Unfortunately, his mind kept drifting back to Potions, to Hermione.

What if Pansy or another Slytherin caught him grab Hermione’s hand? Sure, he automatically reached out in regards to the venom she almost touched, but any guesses could turn into wild accusations. Which he really didn’t need. He supposed acting like nothing happened would be the best course of action to take. And he knew almost confessing his feelings held the potential to haunt him for days, if not longer.

When Draco started paying attention again, Bagman mentioned taking a few photos, an aspect he didn’t mind, (even if he was asked to remove his POTTER STINKS badge). Fleur sat on a chair in the middle, situating herself comfortably. Her golden blonde hair fell down the length of her back, tied into a neat ponytail. Both Cedric and Viktor were told to stand directly behind, their height aiding them, while both Harry and Draco took either end.

The camera went off a total of three times before Rita introduced herself. “Of course, I’m sure you all know I work for the Daily Prophet. But what the people are interested in is the five of you. What makes this group set apart from the rest, the reasons behind your bold choices to enter such a dangerous competition.”

Draco tried not to roll his eyes at her fairly intuitive speech. Her flashy appearance spoke volumes, hair set in elaborate curls, a pair of jeweled glasses studded in rhinestones, crimson painted nails, red lips, and a flashy shade of green making up her outfit.

She circled the group as she went on. “I say we get these interviews started. Who’s up for sharing?” No one made a sound in response, leading Rita to make the choice herself. “Of course, we should start with the youngest.”  

Now Draco really did roll his eyes as she pulled Harry from the room. Rita made it very obvious who she wanted to talk to first.

He spent a good ten minutes aimlessly lost in thought, mostly thinking he had much better things to be doing, before he bothered to speak to anyone. “I bet she’s getting the full backstory of the famous Boy Who Lived.” Draco directed his nonchalant set of words at Viktor, for Fleur and Cedric started a conversation of their own.

“From what I can tell Harry is a decent person.” At least from what he gathered during their minor interactions. “I have to say, you said some unfavorable things the night we were chosen. Unlike many at Durmstrang, I disagree.”

Draco almost forgot he called Hermione a Mudblood in front of them and insulted Ron too. Then proceeded to get into a fight – not the greatest way to show the solidarity Dumbledore expected of them, though he hardly took his opinions into consideration. 

“Given Karkaroff doesn’t allow Muggle-born students, I’m surprised you think otherwise.” It caught him off-guard. Maybe in a way, it confused him more than anything else.

“His beliefs don’t reflect my own,” Viktor simply answered, maintaining his usual stoic state. “I’ve heard one of Hogwarts best students is in your year and she is Muggle-born.”

Obviously, he meant Hermione. Just alluding to her name caused him to feel a slight tautness along his muscles. Suddenly, Draco wished he hadn’t said anything at all. It brought her back to the forefront of his mind. Her picture a clear image in his head.

Lucius announced very early on about what separated them from other wizards. Even when the Chamber of Secrets opened and students started getting petrified, he favored the results. Draco, now upon reflection, wondered how he wished the same fate upon Hermione.

“Ah yes, Granger. She’s hardly worth mentioning. More of a stuck-up, know-it-all than anything else really,” he replied, using his irritation in the form of a slight.  

“I do not think it wise to insult one of Harry’s friends.” Viktor tried not to judge the younger competitors too harshly. Draco seemed very much like Igor, their similarities apparent. “It does nothing but makes you out to be the sort who cares little for the opinions of others. Especially when they don’t meet your own.”

“He pretty much hit the mark, hasn’t he?” Harry, thanks to Dumbledore’s interruption, managed to get away from Rita and the small broom cupboard she squeezed them into. “She asked for you next. I’m sure you’ll have loads to tell her.”

Draco sneered yet otherwise said nothing in reply. He had quite enough of him for one day and thought sharing the extra placement in the tournament was a bit unfair. Any attention he gained became shadowed by Harry.

He walked to the other side of the room and took the offered chair.

“Unfortunately, Dumbledore has restricted us to the classroom. A Quick-Quotes Quill is all right? Excellent.” Rita didn’t even pause for a response, ready to jump right in. “Now tell me, how does it feel to be competing against the famous Harry Potter? Nervous?

Draco bit back the urge to complain. He saw his chance to appear more put together, to make a good impression and maybe even get a few jabs at Harry. A smugness filled his expression. “Hardly. He can barely handle the most basic spells. He prefers to boast more than anything else.”

“Am I sensing a bit of a rivalry between you two?” Rita asked, taking the opportunity to gain more information. “What was he like when you met him? Still traumatized by the death of his parents?”

He paused for a moment, watching the quill scribble away. “Significantly rude, actually. Practically snubbed my offer of friendship. A missed opportunity on his part. But isn’t this interview supposed to be about me? Not that I couldn’t offer many details involving Potter’s true personality and how he isn’t as everyone perceives him.”

“Quite right. We’ll circle back.” She nodded to her quill, which flipped to a new page. “Now your family is rather tradition based, are they not? Very proud people. Is it possible their high expectations encouraged you to enter?”

“I didn’t put my name in,” Draco automatically replied. “Whoever did has yet to be found. I consider it about time someone recognized my abilities. I may fare better than those older than me considering my lineage.”

“Very sure of yourself, I see.” Rita took a second to look him over. “Speaking of, the Malfoy’s are closely linked to You-Know-Who, not only through your father, but through relatives as well. Just between us, and my many readers, do you support their cause?”

His brows furrowed at the question. It thew him off the same as when Moody brought Voldemort into their conversation. He cleared his throat, however, trying to hide his annoyance. If she aimed to make him look bad, he wouldn’t be surprised. Narcissa never said anything good in relation to her articles, though Lucius favored any snippets that turned a negative light on Dumbledore.  

“He was acquitted of any crime.” Draco drew his gaze towards the group of professors, none were paying him any mind, too absorbed in rehashing the same complaints. “As a reporter, you should know all about it.”

He dodged answering the actual question she placed. Draco spent his whole childhood under a general feeling of regret that Voldemort never succeeded in his goals. He was prudently reminded not to express such sentiments outside of close friends and family. He almost pictured the Dark Lord as a story, despite his obvious realness. After all, he vanished soon after his first birthday. In a way, Draco sustained his ideals because he knew little else, but the support became expected and therefore not once did he consider believing differently.

“And how does it feel to be the son of a Death Eater? Or former Death Eater, as they say. Such an immense weight for someone so young to bear,” Rita added, putting on an air of curiosity.

“How does this hold any importance?” Draco asked. He knew there were wizards out their who’d love to shine a light on his families ties with Voldemort yet he didn’t expect her to go anywhere near the subject.

His cagey retort caused a hum of interest to follow, and Rita eagerly leaned a little closer so she could properly hear whatever else he may give away. “Has it caused a lot of friction between Harry and yourself given a relative of yours aided in the murder of his parents?”

Obviously, she meant Sirius Black. But to bring up Lily and James? Well, he supposed he hadn’t considered it. Her sheer lack of tact and intent to back him into a corner gave Draco the impression he better end things now before he said anything else Rita could use against the Malfoy reputation.

“I think I’m finished here. Wait until my father hears how you conduct interviews.” He rose from the seat, unable to move more than a step after her hand shot out and grabbed hold of his left arm. The chair skid on the wooden floor from his sudden halt.

Rita looked up at him, presenting a (fake) smile full of earnest concern. “So defensive. You wouldn’t happen to be hiding something?”

Draco yanked free, sending a glower in her direction. “You won’t find the Dark Mark if that’s what you’re hoping for.” Realizing he might’ve spoken too loudly, a silent, undetectable flare of panic stretched between his lungs. Only once he reassured himself no one’s attention veered his way did Draco notice the quill continuing to scribble away. He swiped the notepad from midair, a line of ink pulled down to the bottom of the sheet. “What’s this rubbish? I’m certainly not tormented by my family’s dark past, nor am I scared of it. I think you ought to try real journalism or at least know who you’re trying to make a mockery of.”

“Oh Draco, you are so similar to Harry.” She stood, plucking her notebook from his loose hold. “Both so determined. In fact, you share the same reckless attitude and desperate need for attention. It’s written all over that young, impressionable face of yours.”

“Forgive the interruption,” Dumbledore announced, having caught a few unfavorable words (as he tended to keep a preceptive ear). “If you could restrain from interrogating the students it’d be much appreciated. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to have me or another headmaster present for the duration of your discussions.”

Rita plastered another false grin. “Certainly, there’s no need. In fact, I think I’ve got everything I require. I’m ready for the next competitor. Cedric, if you may.”

Draco sauntered off as she ushered the last Hogwarts champion towards her.

“I see your interview went as spectacular as my own,” Harry offered, rather amused at the other’s sullen demeanor. If he really heard where the conversation drifted concerning his parents, his mood would’ve been far less pleased.

“Shove off, Scarhead.” Draco banged roughly into his shoulder as he passed, determined to take a note from Viktor and stay stashed away in the corner. If he mentioned the absurdity of Rita’s questions to his father then he’d remedy the problem for sure.

For the moment, however, he’d have to wait out the other’s conversations and probably take more pictures. All of which would probably drag into dinner.

Hermione assumed it to be the reason since neither competitor showed up. She sat at the end of the table, secluded enough to talk to Ginny, filling her in on all the details concerning what happened in class. Her last sentence ended in rather annoyed huff. “I just don’t know what to make of it. He's acting very strange lately.”

“Well, this is Malfoy we’re talking about.” Ginny paused, tilting her head, and reconsidered her statement. “I was skeptical at first, but what if he actually does like you? That would explain things, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t think it’s possible.” Hermione started pushing her food around the plate. She wanted to consider it an option more than anything. “My parents are Muggles. He’s never seen me as an equal before and I doubt he’ll change his opinion. I feel positively dimwitted considering the option to be true. Besides, I think I ought to spend my time focusing on helping Harry in the tournament and on S.P.E.W instead.”

She wondered who’d try to aid Draco in the challenges. Undoubtedly, even Cedric’s close friends were willing to spend their days by his side if needed. Crabbe and Goyle always remained near Malfoy, nonetheless neither happened to be very bright.

“How is Harry handling it?” Ginny hadn’t said much to him since the Goblet chose him. She hung back, not willing to get engulfed in the sea of people usually crowding him.

“If he and Ron made up, probably much better.” She sighed, sparing a moment to glance in his direction. Fred and George sat next to their younger brother, sharing a laugh.

“He can be very stubborn. I tried talking to him myself. He refused to listen to me. Kept going on regarding picking sides or whatever.” Ginny shrugged before she took a sip of her pumpkin juice. “So, you’re going to do what about Malfoy exactly?”

Hermione provided herself a moment to stall by shoving a forkful of food in her mouth. The answer should be nothing because in reality her options were extremely limited. Yet one particular sentenced kept popping in her head. One he didn’t finish. She conceded to the notion of him grabbing her hand as an unintentional reflex, nothing else made sense.

“Think on it some other day?” Her qualms surfaced, breaking across her face. “Oh, I don’t know. Why can’t I fancy a boy who isn’t as complicated as Draco Malfoy? I must be mental.” She dropped her head onto her arms.

“I feel that way about Harry too,” Ginny admitted, able to empathize. “He’ll never look at me the way he does Cho. I still have a bit of a hard time talking to him, which isn’t helpful.”

Hermione placed her chin on her arms, thinking on it. “Maybe you should take your own advice and go out with other people. Try relaxing around him. I think Harry might take a bit more notice to you if you’re a little more yourself.”

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll give it a go if I happen to catch anyone’s attention.” Soon afterwards they went back to eating and let their discussion drift to casual chatter, until dinner ended anyway. “Want to walk back to the common room together?”

“Tomorrow? I need to talk to Professor Moody.” Hermione noticed his seat at the head table remained vacant, so she assumed his classroom was the best place to check.

His absence presented an open opportunity to ask about the tournament. While Hermione didn’t relish the idea of doubting Moody’s innocence, the newest staff member became a good starting point on who placed Harry and Draco’s name in the cup.

The two girls went their separate ways as Hermione considered the most respectable way to start her line of questioning. And hopefully prevent him from forming any accusatory conclusions, not that she’d blame him. Dumbledore trusted him and that should chase away any reservations.

#dramione #hermione granger #draco x hermione #harry potter #the goblet of fire #i meant to get this out last week #but there was thanksgiving #and some other things that got in the way #but here we are #nice comments are always appreciated #sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes

[nightwere-mojo]

From tonight's painting exercises in VC. The challenge was a famous painting is only badly described to us, and we either could correctly guess and use that reference, or if we didn't know, do our best with the description.

First, The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai. I forgot that the original had long boats in it, so I wasn't sure if that was the referenced painting and did my own thing.

Next was a self portrait by Van Gogh "that had primarily teals, yellows, and oranges". The impasto brush in Krita carried me. I don't have faith in my ability with human faces (yet) so Wayne replaced him.

Last was The Kiss by Gustave Klimt. A part of the bad description was "2 lo🅱ers" so I went with my lobster misreading.

#mojos art #painting studies #timed drawing #anthro #lobsters #hylics

[sandyrantsxo]

I'm boring

I found out that I have a new fear. A fear of being too boring and not interesting. Well, I know that I'm not as exciting as other teens my age, but I've never ever expected that I'm this shallow and there's really nothing worth knowing about me.

Exhibit A. I'm not "pretty". Like, I know I'm pretty but I just don't pass the conventional standards of being pretty.

Exhibit B. I'm not skinny, and I'm fine with that. That's the least of my insecurities. I love my body the way that it is and it took me time to finally accept that this body is mine.

Exhibit C. I don't play sports. I used to be sporty but now it's just not in my radar. I used to play badminton, volleyball, chess, and even basketball. Damn, I used to be so great in badminton and basketball.

Exhibit D. I love isolating myself from others. Yes, I might not come off as an introvert but most days I just wanna spend time alone when I'm outside our house. It's just so chaotic back home so when I'm out with my friends, I'm trying to find this peace and calmness from my surroundings, thus making it look like I'm an introvert. Well, I might be an ambivert, but who cares, right?

Exhibit E. I don't have a lot of friends. I have 5-7 friends but then that's it.

Exhibit F. I don't have a lot of money. We're not rich, so I can't go out and buy things and flex it to everyone. Let's be honest, people like you when you have money, which leads me to exhibit G.

Exhibit G. I'm not popular. I would be fine being a basic bland bitch if I was famous at school or whatever, but I'm not!

Exhibit F. I don't have a talent. Yes, I can dance, sign, etc. but I'm barely good at it. I guess I'm pretty decent, that's all.

Exhibit G. I don't have an interesting hobby. I don't watch animes. I don't listen to kpop. I don't watch k-dramas, even famous Western series. I don't know how to draw or paint. I suck at content creation (TikTok/YouTube). It's hard to find friends when all you do is watch comedians have fun on YT or watch an adult man play Roblox and other video games. Well, I love Smosh, Flamingo, Taylor Swift, and other indie-pop (not completely underground) artists, but then that's it. Literally. I used to like writing, like novels, poems, short stories, but now it feels as if it's a chore. I hate to admit it but I don't enjoy it as much anymore, which makes me sad because I feel like I'm straying away my first dream when I was teen. To be a published author.

Exhibit H. I'm awkward. My humor's off in comparison to my peers' humor. Maybe it's a result of watching sketch comedy? I don't know. I try not to think about it often because it makes me sad that people don't know what meme I'm referencing to. Even my FYP's different from theirs, lol. I laugh at little things that I shouldn't be laughing at. Maybe it's also a result of being chronically online. I don't know.

Exhibit I. I'm nostalgic about everything. I tend to stay in the past and compare everything to what happened in the past. Although I always tell everyone that I'd rather pay attention to the future rather than the past, I can't deny that sometimes, it's good to reminisce the good times. I miss being a kid and truly enjoying the holidays. I miss being a kid who wishes to be an adult so she do everything she wants. Turns out adulthood is not that simple. Fuck, I'm not even halfway into adulthood and yet I'm already feeling this way.

I could probably write more about how boring I am. Just yesterday, I found myself talking to chatbots. Yes, those AI things that makes you feel like you're actually talking to a real person. I rate it a whopping 10000000/10. It works so good. I got it to write an essay for me. Twice. I even came across an AI chatbot with a background story. I loved every minute of talking to them. Weird, right? Told you so.

[taiblogcomics]

Get Rich, Go to the Moon

Hey there, jerked ovums. Half done with Green Team now! Let's finish it and do something else by the time June is over as well~

Here's the cover:

Does anyone even remember The Right Stuff? The astronaut film from 1983? I mean, everybody knows the famous "power walk" scene (think Monsters Inc.), but did you know The Right Stuff was what it was referencing? I didn't for the longest time. One of those references where the origin is lost over the frequency of use. Anyways, I guess it's an exciting enough cover, despite the 30-year-old references. Speaking of references, JP seems to be doing his best Peter Griffin cosplay here.

We immediately start with the spaceship on the cover launching into space, with someone asking "why are there green flames painted on it?" And the answer is "They make it go faster". I'm pretty sure it's the red that makes it go faster. Green flames also means you're likely burning copper, which is not respiratorily healthy. Anyways, LL tells Mo that JP and Commodore have ten years of Space Camp experience between them, so they're perfectly qualified to fly them to some remote meteor. I hope she means the actual NASA camp and not the 1986 movie, but given the reference on the cover, I can't be sure anymore~

They also mention that Riot is still basically metal goo, while people are looking into him in a lab. Commodore hasn't been able to manipulate his suit like he did since then, and Cecilia is still missing an arm. The doctors say she experienced no pain or trauma, which is definitely why she immediately snaps and starts screaming angrily at Comm when he suggests building her a new prosthetic. Yes, no trauma. This must be the same kind of evaluation that got them to build the mental health facility in Heroes in Crisis in a few years...

JP gets frustrated and puts the landing sequence in auto so he can go swimming. Yes, swimming. They have some sort of stasis-lock rods that hold things in place, and they've used them to hold water in place so they can have a pool on the shuttle. Also, the shuttle is big enough to allow for this. I think that's gonna be my "too rich to be plausible" point for this issue. Not the stasis-locked pool, but the space to accomodate it. The comic gets really wordy as JP and Commodore argue, but the gist of it is: there might be answers to their problems in this subsidary company's meteor.

JP's frustration is that Commodore treats people like assets instead of, you know, people. Which might be true, and definitely sounds like rich people. Comm's describing how the ores they might extract from the meteor would be useful, and JP notes he doesn't mention Cecilia by name at all, which proves his point apparently. Mo interrupts them to point out that there's ice spreading over the spaceship. That's never a good sign for any spaceship, but at least it ends the argument for a moment.

The weight of the ice causes the ship to crash. But it's not like the movies, they just get drawn into the meteor's gravitational field and are pulled to the surface. There's no explosions. I dunno how I feel about this comic trying to tell me "haha, that's not how it works in real life" when it's been slapping me in the face with a wad of cash the last few issues. The Green Team suit up and leave the shuttle, discovering equipment on the meteor already. It's some sort of guidance system, and it's pointing the meteor at Earth.

And if that's not enough problems, the equipment is being guarded by an enforcer of sorts. Meet the New 52 version of Icicle! The subsidary company who owns the meteor hired him to watch out, just in case. It's your pretty basic plan: strip out the resources of the meteor with nano-tech, and then crash it into a rival country to hide the evidence. Icicle's just in it because there's no laws regarding killing people in space. Oh, he's definitely one of those guys who retweeted the "what if an astronaut killed the other with a rock, would that be fucked up or what?" post unironically a bunch of times.

Commodore switches from his spacesuit to his super suit, and this lets him tap into the shuttle's technology and manipulate it. He flies the spaceship directly into Icicle to knock him around a bit. He muses that the suit's powers seem to actually run on adrenaline, or at least it feels that way. He swings the ship around to do it again, but Icicle will be ready for him this time. So instead Comm goes out to fight Icicle directly, which turns out to be a bad idea. Icicle has more control over his powers than Comm does, and he ices up his suit into not working.

Icicle then turns on the ship, icing that back up too. He can sense the water inside, also mocking them for having a pool. I don't mean to side with the bag guy here, but I'm glad somebody said it. But just so you know he is the bad guy, Icicle uses the pool water to spread ice inside the ship. JP and Cecilia share a tender kiss before he forces the suit disc on her and pushes her to safety. And the comic ends with Icicle tearing the ship apart from the inside out while Commodore looks on in horror. So maybe they should have worried about explosions like in the movies after all.

Riot’s arc is over, how can we further show these people as excessively rich? How about they go into space for no reason~? Sure, that’ll do it. Anyways, I do like the use of Icicle as a villain here. He’s normally a tangentally Justice Society villain, but since that doesn’t exist in the New 52, I’m glad they find a way to use him instead of just discarding the character. I’m a little surprised he can survive shirtless in the vacuum of space, but I guess he’s cold enough to handle it. Otherwise, we’ll just have to see where this goes~

#comics #reviews #Green Team #The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires #Taiblog

[kaypeace21]

When do you think the next teaser trailers will be released? I'm curious why they chose May 6th to release the teaser...

*Well like I said before , may 6th adds up to 11. (may)=5. 5+6 =11. 

 *Hopper's was on valentines day with the saying "from russia with love.” Which references his Russian storyline - that quote being a title of a James Bond film where he’s dealing with Russians .

*If there was a hellfire club teaser probably the holliday of "Michael and his angels" also called “Michaelmas” September 29, 2021. Not only being ironic but because st reffed this Holliday before. This holliday is supposed to celebrate the archangel Michael with his lower angels helping defeat the devil-who is a 7 headed dragon. Cough -demogorgan in d& d is a demon with multiple heads and Mike writes a story at the end of s1- where he defeats a 7 headed monster for Will.  The s4 movies also mention the artist /writer William Blake (in multiple films): his most famous picture is of that  Michael/dragon  story. In fact 3 out of the 4 films reference William Blake mention that michael/dragon painting.PS if you read my st name analysis- you’ll realize st has a lot of religious symbolism.

* If Will has a teaser - Well Duffers referenced William blake before: he  also painted for the art display “worlds turned upside down” the st book by the duffers is even called “world turned upsidedown” (with Will upsidedown on the cover). Blake also wrote a story about a fictional jesus/satan hybrid who had fire powers (Will the wise) and brought peace after endtimes . SO idk...maybe William Blake’s b day (since it’s implied s4 takes place during Will’s b day)? So November 28th,2021  If not idk something associated with 7′s or 12. Will’s b day/easter passed so those aren’t possible. William blake’s poem also reffed ascension day but i doubt we get another teaser this month in May. 

 There was a theory I heard which was based on 4 old st tweets- a pic of hopper, pic of Joyce, a pic of el, and a pic of Will all labeled 4 . And so those 4 may have the main teasers instead to match the 4 teasers that will come out. if that's the case... Given all the religious symbolism -like a lot... read my name analysis. 

Instead of a hellfire club trailer-Her teaser could be on ‘assumption of marry’- when jesus' mother died (which although probably temporary... i do suspect joyce does -theory here). So August 15,2021?

 But honestly I have no clue. Lol . your guess is as good as mineXD

#stranger things #el hopper #will byers #mike wheeler #jim hopper #joyce byers #stranger things theory

[thedreadvampy]

A few notes for people coming in through my Mechanisms posts:

Morgan (who plays Ivy Alexandria) is my big brother (big as in age, he's shorter than me 😊). His pronouns are he/him but Ivy's are she/her afaik. Also APPARENTLY he reads my TUMBLR still so hi Morgan I'm Exposed

Kofi (Marius) is my partner. Further back on the blog he's also sometimes referred to as Mechsam (because my other partner's name is Sam). Sometimes he tag searches Marius or the Mechanisms on here, you have been warned. also things you say to me I may mention to him so like. Bear in mind. I'm also working with him on art for his upcoming solo albums The Wassailant and The Death Of Byron Von Raum so I HOLD FORBIDDEN MARIUS LORE which I Will Not Be Revealing.

Yes I know the person who played Nastya, but they've asked to remain relatively anonymous so I will generally refer to them as Nastya or the Artist Formerly Known as Nastya and use neutral pronouns. Because of their request for privacy I will generally steer clear of talking about them as a person except in passing.

While I consider the other Mechs friends to varying degrees, at time of writing I don't think I've seen them since DTTM and we haven't seen much of each other in the last few years. so I'm not like. a direct line to Jonny or Tim or whoever

Which being said I'm not a direct line to anyone. if you want to ask Kofi something, he's on Twitter and happy to be @ed directly.

which being said, don't be weird about it. Kofi is a performer but he's also a person and it's been discomforting for him the few times strangers have approached him asking about our relationship or referencing conversations and injokes he and I have had.

I worked with the Mechs for a good few years on official art for albums and publicity (I did paintings for Once, Ulysses and High Noon, and the poster and logo for DTTM - Bifrost official character art was @evelynhewett) and I've been into the band since 2011. However I was never on the Discord or very active in fandom beyond live events and chatting with a few people, so my knowledge of Old Fan Lore is potentially limited.

I also did Kofi's makeup and styling for DTTM, you're welcome

the mechanisms are all dorks it's weird they're like. Famous People now.

Serious note: there are some deadnames/names that have fallen out of use on this blog bc I've been on here for the whole 9 year Mechs history. It goes without saying: please be cool about this and don't run around saying SO AND SO'S NAME USED TO BE X, and if you could flag it to me if you think you've seen something you shouldn't, that would be useful, bc it's weird to have long-defunct deadnames pop up in my notifs.

If you were gonna ask, the weirdest thing about the explosion of Mechs fandom is how many of you have photos of my brother as your icon bc I'm used to him being on Tumblr (he's not any more) and I keep thinking you're him at first glance.

If you would like to know more about the Mechanisms the people rather than the Mechanisms the characters, I have compiled and anonymised some of my favourite anecdotes here and you can play a game called Which Mechanism Did This Ridiculous Thing. u can send me your guesses I will neither confirm not deny but I will enjoy it

I'm not bothered by ships but I don't engage in shipping content among crewmates because Those Are My Friends. I won't give you shipping hcs (because I don't have any) and I would prefer not to hear yours.

Nothing I say is canon. the only thing that's meaningfully canon is what's in the albums and fiction published by the band. Also my memory is crap so sometimes I do misunderstand or misremember things and it's not my story to tell.

Having said which: there is no hard and fast Mechanisms canon, according to the band, everything each member writes/says is canon to their character but not necessarily to everyone (which I suppose means in Jonny's universe there is no tube sun)

also I started the tube sun fight in 2014 by accident (I thought Tube Sun was the only obvious take given that the whole band agreed Fort Galfridian was a cylinder) and have not backed down since and now you're all my accomplices in bullying Jonny which 😘👌If you're confused about anything Tube Sun I will explain Tube Sun I have a Lot of explanatory drawings kicking around from the original discussion and more recent conversations

PLEASE do not tag posts I make about the band members out of character as “lore” or “forbidden mechanisms lore” or stuff like that. let’s be clear here. it is not lore it’s gossip. I’m telling anecdotes about my friends. on this blog we maintain a separation between the Mechanisms as characters and the Mechanisms as Actual Human People Who Exist. the space pirate crew of the aurora are fair game but the 9 people who started a band in college are actual people who I know and who are part of my life and it is weird and uncomfortable when people take the things I say about my friends and build them into like. headcanons or fan lore or basis for speculation about their lives or whatever. do what you want on your own time but please respect that it’s weird for me to have my anecdotes about Actual People and our Actual Lives treated as juicy fandom content.

Additional note about TMA because apparently I have to say this: Just because I have in the past been friends with Jonny (and there hasn't been much overlap between when we socialised with each other much and when he did TMA) DOES NOT MEAN I HAVE ANY PARTICULAR INSIGHT INTO TMA. I had nothing to do with any element of the production, nor did Morgan or Kofi, I have had a grand total of one (1) conversation with Jonny in like 2017 about the podcast which can be summed up as 'I listened to your podcast' 'cool I don't really want to talk about it'. I have no special or particular knowledge about TMA (other than that I know a handful of the actors involved through my Mechanisms social groups) and yet sometimes people hold me to the standard of some sort of authority/voice of God which is. wild. I Do Not Know Anything About The Magnus Archives Except That I Have Listened To The Podcast.

[swiftgronmasterpost]

The Speak Now Tour - Feb 9, 2011 – Mar 18, 2012 (and flashback to 2008-2010 to introduce Liz and TayLiz)

Update from November 2021 - Hey guys it’s Cam!  I have come around to seeing most of Red is actually about Jake Gyllenhaal and I fully believe Taylor to simply be bisexual.  I don’t really think she had anything romantic or sexual with Liz but it’s possible.  I’m leaving this section here just to show Taylor was busy with other people during this time and the song writing receipts.  If you want to know more about Jake, who I am now basically certain is the red break up muse you can read a timeline here and listen to a podcast episode about it here.

So what’s Taylor up to while Dianna is outing herself, traveling the world, and holding hands with Lea Michele?

She’s out on the Speak Now tour with one Liz Huett.  It’s hard to know the exact nature of their relationship but there are a few pieces of info from Taylor’s tour blog and vlogs that could suggest they had something more than friendship.

They meet well before the Speak Now tour and Liz makes quite an impression on Taylor:

Liz joins the band for the Fearless Tour and they have a lot of fun, room together, and seem to be quite close:

The most suspicious post of all - Liz and Taylor are sharing a hotel room on tour:

So I checked in with Shawn (one of my contacts in the industry, she dated a famous singer and learned QUITE a bit about how musicians function and the PR surrounding them, ect.) and here’s what she had to say about a singer of Taylor’s caliber at that time sharing a hotel room with a backup singer:

This alone is frankly enough to convince me that they were something beyond friends/co-workers.

2-22-2010 entry has several more photos of Liz:

5/19/2011 - Tay and Liz are on the Speak Now tour at this point and Taylor cooks for her

So now we can flash forward to the summer of the Speak Now Tour - Taylor takes all the girls from the tour on a vacation:

8-22-2011 (RIGHT before she meets with Dianna in public for the first time)

Turns out they may have been sharing a bed? or at least joking about it:

Liz posted a birthday message (now deleted) to taylor about that very trip in 2015 and insinuates that Taylor planned the whole trip just for her! 

Here’s some more general Tiz content:

Did they have something?  Perhaps on and off during the Fearless Tour and then again during the Speak Now Tour?

It’s hard to say.  There are other rumors surrounding Taylor and Claire (one of her backup dancers) and Taylor and Caitlin (her fiddle player that replaced Emily) along with Taylor and Julianne Hough.  But the person with the most amount of content seems to be Liz.

I do suspect she may be referencing Taylor in her music and she even gives a befuddled blonde girl a kiss at the end of her H8U music video:

Some of Liz’s lyrics seem to almost blatantly reference Taylor:

“Never Know” - released November 2012 - might be about Taylor>> “It’s crazy how life goes on / And then I catch myself singing your song / And wonder if you think about me / I guess we’ll never know”

“Don’t LV U Anymore” - released some time in 2018 - “I don’t steal your chapstick anymore / Don’t wake up to your kiss anymore / And I don’t have a washer and dryer full of guitar picks anymore / ‘Cause you don’t come over to my place anymore / … / I don’t love you anymore / I don’t love you anymore / I don’t love you anymore / But I don’t love you any less” (seems to describe their relationship post 2012 or so however Liz was at the Rep tour, perhaps seeing Taylor triggered old memories for her to write a song about her)

Other songs that might be about Taylor include:

So Easy

Dammit - Jana Kramer (written by Liz) Talks about a lover playing guitar in the kitchen.

STFU and Hold Me – about a “rocky and volatile” relationship. Liz paints herself as a cheater in the MV and wears Red throughout the whole thing. The lyric “it started with a bang, went all in” is similar to Holy Ground’s “took off faster than a green light go.” Seems very similar to the relationships described in Red.

And here’s some discussion on Reddit about why Liz left Taylor’s band:

Sounds like a girl that was Trouble don’t you think?

Check out the blog @taylizmasterpost​ for more on this interesting and less explored Gaylor ship!

Anyway...the point of all of this before we get back to the timeline is to show that Taylor very well may have been involved with LIz and the nature of that relationship does seem to match some of the drama described in the breakup songs on Red.

Back to the timeline now:

June 10, 2011:  Taylor is emo on the Speak Now Tour:

“In Detroit, Swift seemed somewhat melancholy. Once in a while, I had the feeling that she was on the verge of bursting into tears. She said that she had recently decided that life is “about achieving contentment. . . . You’re not always going to be ridiculously happy.” She had written about ten songs so far for her next album[i counted 8].  Asked to characterize them, she said, “They’re sad? If I’m being honest.” The most recent one, she said, “is about moving on.”(x)

So here we learn that Taylor has written 8-10 sad songs for the Red album.  As far as we know she’s never even met Dianna and Dianna is still very obviously involved with Lea.

June 11, 2011 - Shirtgate!

Lover Diary Entry during the Speak Now Tour where Taylor is super happy for some reason On June 17, 2011:

I propose that whatever Taylor is so happy about is not related to Dianna because on the 16th Dianna reaches out to Lea during Somebody To Love and then on the 17th they are back holding hands happily.

Conclusion - While Achele appears to be very on during the summer of 2011 it also seems completely possible that Tayliz was on during the Speak Now Tour as well.  If Tayliz went on for a while during the Fearless Tour and then halted and then started back up again during the Speak Now Tour could it be the inspiration for some of the chaotic breakup songs on Red?  I think it’s very possible.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go read @taylizmasterpost​ for more on this amazing ship!

Click here to keep reading!

#part 9 #tiz #tour #summer

[dabistits]

@/SOFIAASMARA ON INSTAGRAM OR @/SOFIA_X_SAMARA ON TWITTER IS A RACIST. 

I have recently came in contact with Sofia through Instagram DMs, and she confirmed something that can be seen through her art.

Stop supporting shitty authors. Sofia may be famous for her realistic painting technique, but she is a racist and that obviously reflects into her artwork. Anime characters are in fact asian, (unless stated otherwise) yet creators like her choose to overlook this. 

If artist can spend hours on finding good references, good brushes, developing a style, then an artist can also has time to properly educate themselves on how to draw people of colour. 

i’m aware that something (apparently unrelated) went down recently that led to this person privating her account, but i received this submission awhile ago and i guess i might as well address it now. i know she has recently been getting attention for her artwork and i have seen it in passing from time to time, and i would agree with anon that her art is pretty whitewashed.

(my screencaps under the cut)

it’s very hard to hide in some of her realistic art, where everything from nose shape, eye shape, and face shape is more in line with white features (sharp protruding nose, obvious eyelid crease, deep set eyes, sharper and more angular face shape) than Asian ones***

for specific people referenced (not just poses or concepts), she’s respectively listed a white model and a hispanic-identified actor for bakugou and dabi, which i think shows a pretty blatant disregard for the characters’ ethnicities. there are plenty of japanese models and actors who could serve as a reference.

***i am not saying that all (east) asians look the same. there are plenty of mixed and some non-mixed east asians who can pass as white, asians with visible eyelid creases and sharp noses and thin faces, who are nevertheless still asian. but there are plenty more of us who are very visibly, obviously not white, even if we are light-skinned with dyed hair. the best way to learn to draw asians with a variety of features in realism would be to… actually look up real asian people, but she just chose not to i guess?

with this particular artist, the problem isn’t in a singular piece or character which arguably looks white - she seems to lean towards a specific set of features again and again, which also happen to be features that white people are more comfortable drawing because it resembles their own physical (and overrepresented) characteristics. it also appears that she has very little interest in learning to draw beyond those features, since the most obvious place to look would be real life references of east asian people, which she completely avoided.

#receipts #racism #submission #it's not super important to me that everyone spread this #to cancel her or w/e since there's already other stuff going on #but look just learn to draw diversely

[foiblepnoteworthy]

[ID 4 images. First is of Jon and his Nan holding hands and walking, then sitting together both looking away. Second is of Jon and Gertrude, backs to eath other bit watching each other from across the room. Third is of Jon and Gerry painting each others nails. Fourth is adult Jon in a large pink cardigan.

Extended ID under the cut. I recommend that you check it out even if you don’t want to read the full analysis and reasoning, as it points out the parts of the drawings that mean things, if that’s what you’re into yanno.]

I am once again talking about @polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup’s fic nature has taught her creatures to hate bc i am on a crusade to get everyone to read it (i do not know how i will accomplish this but i shall).

Anyway latest chapter had a few lines that made me feel things and a few lines that made me think things and then i started thinking about how i design Jon’s outfits for this au again and now i have to talk about it a bit under the cut.

Okay, so - first up i made a lil’ mistake with the first drawing - which was inspired by the line, ‘”They smell like home”’ in reference to Jon smoking cigarettes (from chapter 9). Naturally my first thought was his Nan, which is what inspired the above drawing, until I re-reread chapter 2 today and noticed the line ‘Nan hates smoking’, which rather suggests she wasn’t the person Jon was referencing. 

This is fascinating because, up until now, I had assumed that all of Jon’s wishes to ‘go home’ were wished to see his Nan. Clearly this isn’t the case when it comes to the cigarettes. However, later in the new chapter there came a reference to my canon-smoking dead gay goth son, Gerry. I have concluded that Jon has changed his definition of home to Gerry at some point. 

In a way I can’t quite articulate, I feel that there is a connection between Jon’s starving chain-smoking, his only connection between his home and his friend, and the line ‘”I’m more like me, like this”’ (in reference to his statement starvation). With the way smokers will often smoke to reduce their appetite, I think that smoking serves as a pseudo-anchor for him; that by attaching himself to Gerry as much as he can, he is trying to hold onto an identity he can barely recognise. 

The point of these drawings was to try to analyse Jon’s identity and self-expression. Naturally, how Jon presents himself is something I think about a lot in relation to this series because if i didn’t i would never get anything done. So far there haven’t been many canon descriptions of him, but the smaller details paint an interesting picture, and the missing gaps are just a playground for me I guess. 

Aside form references to how exhausted he looks in general, the first description of Jon, as i recall, came from Gertrude, describing Jon after what I believe was a few years under Elias’/Wright’s ‘care’. She mentioned his ‘short neat hair’ and his ‘clean white shirt’, (or something to that effect), which did not match the Jon I was more familiar with - with tiredness sagging his shoulders and the bags under his eyes; and feminine clothing and hair - but it did match Elias rather well. Elias would never have allowed Jon to look like anything other than his model son, a shrunken mirror image, so the long hair had to go. 

Gertrude, I don’t think, was ever unkind to Jon. He felt her eyes on him often, and their conversations were never more or less than cordial words between strangers, but they spent years in each others company, shackled to the same rooms and man and god. Her little kitten knick-knack still sits in pride of place on his/her/their desk, and Jon never could clear out the spare clothes that smelled of burning buildings and insulted the dress code. 

During the brief months or years he was allowed Gerry’s company, Jon would naturally have picked up on the other kid’s famous talent for self-expression. At this point he began to re-grow his hair out, tying it up in a bun in an imitation of his old style; of how his Nan wore it. Gerry wore skirts for their gender and Jon wore his for his Nan (putting a pin in the gender thing for a spare day that would never come). Gerry walked around in a cloud of rebellious smoke, sheltering Jon under their wing and smiles, and when they were gone Jon puffed out a cloud of lonely fog in an imitation of their company. 

Extended ID

[ID 4 images in a rough wavy chalky style. This style doesn’t lend itself well to close detail, so no faces are rendered. In all drawings Jon is depicted with brown skin and dark hair. 

First is of Jon and his Nan. There are two drawings in this image, first the two of them walking together, holding hands and looking away from each other. Jon is looking at his book, which has a red cover and cream pages, and Nan is smoking a cream cigarette with a glowing red end. 

Their outfits are matching: Jon’s trousers and Nan’s blouse are both a pale blue; and Jon’s top and Nan’s floor length skirt are red-pink. Nan’s colour palette is more washed out than Jon’s, but the resemblance is clear. They both have long hair up in buns and where their hand link they blend together seamlessly. 

The background for the first image is pale, but gets darker going down the image (think ‘colour of the sky’). In the second part of this drawing Jon and Nan both sit on the floor, back to back. Nan is curled up tight, her face buried in a book; her shoulders are tense, up to her ears. Jon sits turned away from the viewer, a lit cigarette in his hand, the slump of his shoulders and the limp hand signifying defeat. Once again their colours and hair match each other.

In both of these images the signature is in bright red, encouraging the viewer to look at the shared cigarette and book, the link and the downfall. 

The second image shows Jon and Gertrude. Gertrude has short grey hair in a perm, and wears a pale blouse and long purple skirt. She is surrounded by vague smoke. Jon wears pressed slacks and a neat buttoned-up shirt, and his hair is short and neatly combed. A spider hangs, unnoticed, from his elbow. They’re both turned away from each other, a statement in hand, each at a three-quarter angle. The light source is between them, meaning that the farthest side of each of their faces is in shadow. In that shadow shines a green eye, which watches the other. 

The third image shows Jon and Gerry together, sat on the floor next to some empty shelves. Gerry is dressed in almost all black, with a black trench coat and skirt and long black-brown hair. They also wear silver piercings, fishnets and a pink crop top. Their skin is pale. In one hand they hold a purple nail polish brush, and in the other they hold Jon’s hand. A lit cigarette hangs between their lips, smoke filling the upper quarter of the image. 

Jon sits against the wall. He wears a pinkish skirt an blue blouse, similar to his Nan’s clothes in the first images. The sides of his dark hair hangs to his chin, while the top is help up in a small bun, which is close to collapsing. The hand that Gerry isn’t holding is wrapped around his knees, which are pulled up to his chest. He leans forwards, intent on Gerry.

On the shelf next to them there are three bottles of nail polish. On the floor beside them are their shoes - Jon’s neat brown oxfords and Gerry’s chunky steel-toed platforms - and a red and cream packet of cigarettes. 

They are turned towards each other, something tender in the faceless looks they give each other, in the gentle hold Gerry has on Jon’s hand with it’s freshly painted purple nails. 

The fourth image shows Jon on his own. His hair is up in a bun, and he wears a long red skirt. He wears a long pink cardigan that used to belong to Gertrude, half off the shoulder as though it doesn’t matter .He has platform heels, purple painted nails, a metal band t-shirt and a cigarette in his mouth. 

#wow this rambled a lot huh #i should get a proper art tag huh #tma #fic rec #fanart #ill probably come back to clean up my rambles #probably #maybe #i didnt think i would get this done so quickly #ive been drawing for like 9 hrs today my hand is so sore

[theparanormalperiodical]

Top 10 Scariest Horror Films You Didn't Know Were Based On A TRUE Story feat. Trailers + Where To Watch

There’s something about horror films that are based on real events that just make me weak.

So weak, in fact, I’ve decided to spend the last *checks watch* one and a half years of my early 20s delving into the facts and the fiction haunting the horror genre. 

My parents must be so proud.

Most of these films wear the badge of ‘this is reality or close enough to it, anyway’ with dignity, leveraging gullible paranormalists like me to drive ticket sales. The Conjuring (2013) is just one of these films that is explicit in its basis in reality, going on to rake in 16 times its budget and inspiring me to delve deeper into my occultist journey.

(No, really, they’re so proud.)

But the ventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren are not the only experiences of horrifying and haunting events to be reinterpreted via the silver screen. There are some horror films you wouldn’t expect to have reality flushing through their veins.

Some of horror’s biggest hitters aren’t just living in your nightmares. They actually happened IRL.

Which is, ummm, fine, yeah, it’s not like I need to sleep anyway.

*Stay tuned to discover the horror films you didn’t know were based on true stories and the real accounts that inspired them.*

Jaws (1975)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fu_sA7XhE 

This cinematic classic follows the adventures of a great white shark as it terrorises the summer resort town of Amity. A couple of corpses later, and the local police chief, rookie marine biologist, and wild-card shark hunter track the beast down themselves.

Most horror films use a person or a story as a basis for a film. Jaws, however, is an amalgamation of experiences recorded by the writer of the novel inspiring the film, Peter Benchley.

Benchley admittedly had a life-long obsession with sharks and was inspired to write a book on a rogue great white after reading about a bloke called Frank Mundus.

"...in 1964, I read an item in a newspaper about a fisherman who harpooned a 4,500-pound great white shark off Long Island. I remember thinking at the time, Lord! What would happen if one of those monsters came into a resort community and wouldn't go away?”

Quint, the wild card shark hunter, was based directly on Mundus.

Another influence, although not referenced by Benchley, was the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks.

In high summer, five Americans were attacked by a great white off the coast of the Jersey Shore with 4 falling victim to their wounds. For the next 11 days, the same shark cruised along the 70 miles of the beach towns and small villages. The shark even performed the first shark attack reported in US history, countering the long-standing belief that sharks couldn’t bite through human bone.

(Spoiler alert: they can.)

When beach goers came to the beach early morning to discover the 3rd victim bitten in half, this was disproven. After that discovery - which bares a striking resemblance to the opening scenes of Jaws - the story hit The New York Times front page.

Just like the film the mayors tried to deny there was a deadly shark making the rounds to secure profit to their seaside resorts. And just like the film a swimmer was even mauled in an estuary.

It wasn’t long before they settled on the identity of the perpetrator and the locals set off with rifles and pitchforks.

(Not sure how useful they’d be against a shark, but okay.)

The shark met its end after it attacked one of the hunters’ boats, a scene we also witness in the film.

You can rent it for £2.50 on Amazon Prime.

Deliver Us From Evil (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDM_p68HAQ

We follow a policeman who has a side gig as an exorcist as he encounters strange goings on in the Bronx. Ralph Sarchie chases up the paranormal activity and attempts to untangle why possessed people are painting ancient messages and images in various places.

Here’s the thing: none of this actually happened. As far as we know, anyway.

What this film is based on is the real Ralph Sarchie who wrote the memoir Beware The Night as an ode to his work as a demonologist. It’s based on his character, his tone of voice, and how he carried out his work.

Sarchie presents his work as his destiny, as some form of divine intervention he believes was signalled by his survival of a severe illness he contracted when he was 10.

He claims to carry a splinter of the ‘true cross’ - I guess the one Jesus actually died on - and considers himself more of a priestly figure armed with relics and holy water than a paranormal investigator.

Sarchie has worked on many possessions and hauntings, claiming he didn’t charge a cent despite the high fee he probably got from the book sales and the film’s debut. The most famous tale is that of the ‘Halloween Horror’:

A woman named Gabby began to see a woman floating in a cloud of white smoke in the corner of her bedroom. It wasn’t long before this smoky woman began to speak through Gabby according to her partner Dominick.

Gabby’s friend then says this was the ghost of a woman murdered on her wedding night. She then apparently saw the spirit of her father. Activity followed with flying books, moans and growls, and the word ‘HELP’ written on the mirror. Eventually an incubus rocks up and is hell bent on attacking various family members.

When Gabby gets possessed in the presence of Sarchie and his paranormal-busting-partner, he exorcises her of the spirit.

In total, Sarchie has assisted in 25 exorcisms and hundreds of ‘house exorcisms’.

You can watch it for free on Netflix.

The Blob (1958/1988)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUsyXQ8Wrs

*cue the canned screams*

In some rural town in America, a meteorite crashes to the ground. Someone investigates and a jelly globule attaches itself to their hand before consuming it. It then begins to consume their entire body. It’s not long before it starts to consume, well, everyone and everything in its path.

8 years before the horror icon first became a cult classic, two police officers in Philadelphia saw something float down from the sky. They thought it was a parachute and decided to investigate.

What they discovered was a six feet wide purple glob of odourless gloop. It was filled with crystals and gave off a mist. One of the police officers took the plunge - quite literally - and dipped a hand in. He kept the hand, but noticed the sticky residue left on his hands.

The gloop quickly disappeared and left the grass underneath it unbent. It was allegedly only there for 25 minutes. They were the only ones that saw it. It soon made its way into the press and the FBI asked the Air Force to investigate. They declined.

You can watch it for £3.50 on Amazon Prime.

Wolf Creek (2005)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S13W69FQhs

Two British tourists are backpacking across Australia when they run into trouble in Wolf Creek National Park. A helpful local offers to help fix their broken down car and provide some shelter. Turns out the helpful local is actually a psychopathic xenophobic murderer. He entraps tourists, lures them to his shelter, and tortures/kills them.

Most gory horror films can be compared to real life murders and other crimes. Unfortunately, even the most imaginative forms of torture or murder has probably already happened. But the film was directly based on the backpacker murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 90s.

Milat murdered 7 people aged 19 to 22, preying on those encouraged to backpack across Australia after several tourism campaigns revealed how cheap and easy it was. In ‘92 and ‘93 the bodies were discovered in Belanglo State Forest with the wounds and injuries suggesting the scenes played out in film were similar to those Milat committed.

In late ‘93 a force dedicated to hunting the unknown killer emerged. It used gym memberships, gun licensing, and police records to narrow down a list of 32 suspects.

It was only when Paul Onions, a British backpacker reported he was nearly murdered near Belanglo State Forest that the police could pinpoint that Milat.

You can watch it for £2 on Amazon Prime.

Open Water (2004)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9q1qJi1nMs

It’s everyone’s worst nightmare: being left in the middle of the ocean. A distant couple decide to take a relaxing break and head out for a scuba-diving vacation. Their holiday is ruined, however, when the guy driving the boat f*cks up the head count and thinks everyone is back on board after a diving sesh. The couple come back to the surface and discover the boat is gone.

Yep, this all happened in real life.

In 1998, Thomas and Eileen Lonergan went on a scuba diving trip to Australia’s Coral Sea. They were mistakenly stranded by the boat crew leading the dive and their absence wasn’t noticed until 2 days later when a bag containing their belongings was discovered.

The crew and other rescue teams searched the area but did not discover their bodies. Personal belongings were found.

A diver’s slate - a device for communicating underwater - was one of these items.

"Monday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 1998 3pm. Please help to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"

The other items that washed up, including a wetsuit, suggested they had probably not fallen victim to shark attacks but had become disoriented, dehydrated, or injured by coral. Alternate theories claim it may have been a murder-suicide to avoid the slow, distressing death of being left at sea, or that it was a faked death/disappearance. No bank accounts had been tampered with, however.

Tougher regulations for scuba-diving in Australia shortly followed their disappearance.

You can watch it for free on Amazon Prime.

The Rite (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hG3ktopqv8

We follow exorcist-in-training Father Gary Thomas as he navigates the loss of this faith. When the opportunity for fighting growing demonic possessions arises, Thomas decides to become an exorcist. We see Thomas as he is confronted by evil and reaffirms his devotion to God.

Portrayed by veteran actor Anthony Hopkins, Father Gary Thomas is a real American exorcist - one of the 14 Vatican-verified exorcists working State-side. He did in fact study in the Vatican to become an exorcist, and another student he met there would chronicle his experiences in the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist.

Thomas even spent a week on set advising the director, utilising his experiences of the 100 odd people he had seen possessed in his career.

Just like in the film, Thomas echoes that most people that come to him for an exorcism have been abused in their past, linking mental health issues to demonic attachment. Thomas also has a lot of praise for the film, claiming the way those possessed moved in a serpentine way is accurate to those he has seen:

“I was beginning to do some deliverance prayers. Within a few minutes she began to tremor and her facial countenance began to change. You saw a snake. She began sticking her tongue out like a snake and hissing and rolling her eyes. She coiled herself up.”

- Father Gary Thomas on a possessed Venezualan woman

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Mm8Sbe__o

Anthony Hopkins refers to a staple horror film - a film with truth spilling like blood from a bloated corpse…

This psychological horror sees an FBI trainee as they work with an imprisoned serial killer to hunt down a murderer, Buffalo Bill. Add in just a dash of transphobia and we arrive at the film that made my parents actually walk out of the cinema when they first saw it.

First, let’s talk about Hannibal Lecter and his role as an advisor to the FBI: this has actually happened, using a seasoned killer to catch another. The most famous example of this is none other than Ted Bundy, one of the most infamous in history. Bundy told investigators to stake out the graves of victims or the places where bodies had been dumped as necrophiles like himself would return to the site.

Bundy actually helped them catch Gary Ridgeway who killed an estimated 90 people.

Now let’s turn to Buffalo Bill. The characters were never directly inspired by real people but their crimes were. He was an amalgamation of other crimes with Ed Gein serving as the main inspiration. Ed Gein, most known for skinning his victims and wearing the skins, took 9 lives and would also inspire the character Norman Bates.

He would make clothing out of body parts, make soup bowls from dug-up skulls, and build chairs from human bones.

Ted Bundy even made another appearance in Buffalo Bill’s character in terms of how he lures his victims, acting hurt and helpless until the victim was just within reach.

You can buy this film on Amazon Prime for £8.

Scream (1996)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWm_mkbdpCA

This satirical slasher redefined the genre, putting comedy firmly into horror as we know it. It follows Sidney Prescott, a preppy high school student, as she navigates high school drama and a rampant serial killer.

Just like The Silence Of The Lambs, the crimes witnessed in Scream had basis in reality. Daniel Rolling - the Gainesville Ripper - was an American serial killer who murdered 5 students in Florida within the short span of 4 days back in 1990.

Rolling would sexually assault, rape, threaten, and kill his young victims before leaving them in ‘sexual’ positions. He even decapitated one of those murdered and left the head on the shelf opposite the rest of the body amongst other vile acts. He later claimed his motive was to become a ‘superstar’ like Ted Bundy.

Yeah, that’s enough of that.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977/2006)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUQd9OB75dw

It’s time to hear about another vacay gone cray-cray. In the middle of a roadtrip to California, a family’s car breaks down in a mysterious area closed off to the public and they encounter a strange community of cannibals.

Instead of being based on modern crimes that hit far too close to home, this film is based on a historic event - or the legend of Sawney Bean.

Bean was a mythical leader of a cannibalistic group of insurgents in the 16th century. He grew up in a community of witches and later began his own community full of his children which he expanded with rampant incest. They would leave traps and eat their prey in a cave.

The King of Scotland, James VI, even led a team to root the family out of their lair. According to legend they were burnt at the stake while others were hung.

This tale also bears similarities to urban legends from Russia: there is a trope in the Southern Urals which claims after the Chernobyl accident irradiated peoples would become savage peoples, echoing the nuclear testing themes shown by the film.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1978)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ

In this cult class gore-fest we see a group of friends visit an old homestead but instead run into a family of murderous cannibals.

Yet again the crimes of Ed Gein make an appearance. The friends walk in on a home full of furniture made of human remains and meet a man - Leatherface - wearing a mask made of human skin. We also witness various people butchered in different brutal ways.

But this film also has a more political inspiration. Tobe Hooper - the director, producer, and writer - pinned his inspiration on changes in the cultural and political landscape, focusing on misinformation that overran America during the 70s.

*looks into camera a la Jim from The Office*

Hooper pinned the claims of a true story onto the film, responding to how he felt he was being lied to by the government regarding things like Watergate, the 1973 Oil Crisis, and the Vietnam War. The news only confirmed the brutal acts of humanity.

"man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film".

You can watch this for free on Amazon Prime.

Well that was, uhh, fun?

If you enjoyed these traumatic discoveries - you know, that some of the most terrifying horror films of all time are based on real people and crimes - then make sure you like ‘n’ reblog to let me know.

I post a new article on horror and the paranormal every Saturday + a new real ghost story everyday so make sure you hit follow to tag along for the ride!

#horror #Horror Movies #best horror movies #based on a true story #based on real events #best movies based on true stories #jack the ripper #deliver us from evil #the blob #wolf creek #the silence of the lambs #the texas chainsaw massacre #slasher #supernatural #paranormal #the conjuring #real ghost #real ghost stories #true ghost stories #Paranormal Investigation #unsolved mystery #unsolved crime #ted bundy #ed gein #demons #spirits #ghosts #urban legends #Ed and Lorraine Warren

[springfieldblues]

my long ass review for S32E03 Now Museum, Now You Don’t

warning: LONG because i rambled about history more than i thought i would

id been looking forward to this one because i like art history, especially after seeing how they tried their best to stick to historical accuracy in the previous episode I, Carumbus. this time however….they didnt try that hard. i dont know why i thought theyd go through that sort of trouble again LMAO

but its okay, i dont really expect the simpsons to be the paragon of historical accuracy or anything. especially in anthology episodes told through a particular character's lens (in this case, lisa, whos already feverish so whatever)

first i just wanna say that this is, i guess, less of a review and more of an accidental list of history fun facts. so im just gonna get my general thoughts out of the way first.

the episode was fun! to me at least haha. i mean it got me to think and do a lot of research on my own so that must count for something. besides a couple of really weird ones, the jokes were good. anthology episodes tend to be….not that good but i thought this one was one of the better ones so far. idk.

anyway on to lisanardo da vinky its the renaissance! jesus christ the italian accents in the beginning of this segment were annoying as hell but i also feel like that was the joke lmao. ill be real i kind of tuned out for a second there when grampa started rambling so idk what he said.

i told myself i wouldnt get nitpicky with historical accuracy if the jokes were funny (final edit: so that was a lie) but this meh bit with the pizza guys and mascots was really not worth ignoring the fact that its impossible for italy to have any tomato-based food in the 15th century (tomatoes were brought to europe from the americas in the 16th century, and pizza as we know it today—flatbread, cheese, tomato—originated in the late 18th century)

oh this next part was kind of legit tho. lisanardo, like the real leonardo, became andrea del verrochio's apprentice at his workshop. i loved this next bit:

"Whoever paints the sweetest cherub will have the honor of having MY name signed on their work. That's what great artists do!"

SO YEAH as it turns out, lisanardo painted the sweetest cherubs. the painting here is called The Baptism of Christ, and the real leonardo assisted verrochio in finishing it. specifically, he painted the cherubs in the corner.

this causes verrochio to quit and go someplace with less talented people: a music school (yes, verrochio did quit painting after getting owned by young leo and his mad angel painting skills. he never did anything with music tho, he was more of a sculptor)

alongside lisanardo, in mr largo-verrochio's workshop we have barticelli (botticelli bart), dolphatello (donatello dolph), ralphael (raphael...ralph) and mediocrito (no one that i know of. sorry milhouse) (and kearney i guess but they dont refer to him by name). botticelli and donatello are said to have also been apprentices at verrochio's workshop, but raphael came a couple of decades later so he couldnt have been there. and donatello was too old so that claim is a bit questionable. but anyway

it IS true that leonardo's peers envied him, to the point where he was anonymously and purposefully accused of being gay (a major crime punishable by death in 15th century florence) while he was still working at verrochio's workshop

we are then treated by what im pretty sure is the fourth time the show has used 'at seventeen' by janis ian, this time sung by a dejected lisanardo (man they really do keep making yeardley sing these days huh) who only wishes to be appreciated and not envied.

"I'll show them all! I'll show them all in a secret diary that no one will decipher for 400 years!"

some of lisanardo's future inventions. who wouldve known

so after barticelli, for some reason (revenge??? or something?? what was his plan here idgi) steals lisanardo's diaries full of blueprints of her inventions and takes them to mr burns who i have to assume is pope alexander VI here, they decide to use her inventions for war.

"With these, we can kill the most evil people in the world!! ....Slightly different Christians."

leo actually did this of his own accord. im surprised this is what they decided to do with lisanardo instead of talking about leo's love of nature and vegetarianism (not a single mention of that in this episode? come on...) then again, trying to do good only to end up indirectly making things worse is a very standard lisa storyline. i guess they didnt want to miss the chance to have evil pope burns (very fitting, especially for that era since they were all about money and controlling the people)

so lisanardo decides to leave for france, unlike the real leonardo who was more or less persuaded by his ultimate fanboy king francis I to move to france.

"Lisanardo, I have many questions. Why are you hitting yourself? A nerd says 'what'? And how is it possible that I am rubber and you are glue? Et cetera, et cetera."

that line may seem a little random, like hes just nelson saying nelson things (and i mean, obviously he is) but the real francis also "had an unquenchable thirst for learning, and Leonardo was the world’s best source of experimental knowledge. He could teach the king about almost any subject there was to know, from how the eye works to why the moon shines." so yeah, he did have many questions and lisanardo, finally being appreciated for her intellect, was happy to answer them all. its very interesting how lisa assigned this role to nelson in her retelling of da vinci’s life :^)

and so she lived the rest of her days in france, nat king cole's 'mona lisa' plays because duh, and they make a da vinci code reference because duh. and the segment ends. and not a single time did they show the actual mona lisa painting. the fuck?

(ngl i was fully expecting bart to say 'leonardo da vinky' for a second here)

so this next segment is about french impressionist painters, most likely the batignolles group, a name adopted by the early representatives of impressionism. its much more vague than the lisanardo segment since no one here is referred to by name (except moe, more on him in a sec) but i dont feel like it really matters in this case. bart is prrrrooobably claude monet but its hard to say, this segment is kind of a mish-mash of a lot of things. also i gotta say i really liked how lisa introduced the story to bart with an 'if you hate the formal study of art' and not 'if you hate art' because thats exactly my headcanon. i LOVE the concept of artist bart and whenever its referenced it just makes perfect sense to me.

anyway the segment opens in 1863 at the école des beaux-arts (back then it was actually known as the académie des beaux-arts), preserver of traditional french art styles. skinner reviews his students’ paintings one by one. praises the plain, unimaginative paintings depicting your typical european countryside landscapes. very run-of-the-mill (haha get it...cuz theres….a windmill) (although the real académie didnt approve of such basic stuff, they wanted artists to draw epic historical and mythological scenes) then he gets to barts painting and he gives him an F- because the painting made him think.

(the paintings in this scene arent real famous paintings as far as i know but they are inspired by real paintings enough to get the point across)

in comes barney dressed as bacchus as a model for the students to sketch, which i just loved:

barney: “You prefer robe open or robe off?” skinner: “Just cover your privates with this walnut shell.” barney: “Whoa!!! So roomy!”

skinner gasps in horror at bart’s sketch, which “looks nothing like him” and bart explains that “it shouldn’t; we’re making the art that we feel because we can’t compete with a camera.” damn, you go bart. take that, realism. draw what you feel!!

(also no, you didnt need to hold still for 17 hours for a daguerreotype. 30 min tops.)

nelson haw-haw of the week: FOIE-gras!

so here they are at the moulin rouge (“enjoy it before baz luhrmann ruins it” hey shut up. i love that movie), which wouldnt be built for another 26 years, but it is the most widely known gathering place for bohemians in the public consciousness so i can understand why they went with the moulin. nelson delivers this anachronistic line:

“This époque keeps getting beller and beller!”

which alludes to la belle époque, the golden age of france usually dated from 1880 to 1914. made me snort so ill let that slide

and heres moe! as henri de toulouse-lautrec, who was actually born a year after the year this segment is set in. yo moe szyslak he was just 1

toulouse-moetrec introduces himself as the chronicler of the demimonde (not an actual job). an iconic figure associated with the moulin rouge (largely due to his affinity for alcohol and prostitutes), toulouse-lautrec was also a painter, having illustrated a series of posters for the moulin himself. he simply had to be in this segment, anachronisms be damned, just because they decided to include the moulin. cant have one without the other.

and yes he did have a walking cane where he kept his liquor.

i love how everyone drinks absinthe in this place. theyre bohemians what else would they drink

toulouse-moetrec points out that barts paintings are the greatest thing hes ever seen (and hes seen like five things!) and that hes a genius. milhouse realizes that they should stop doing what the teacher says and use their own minds to instead...start doing what bart says lmao. to the easels!

next we have skinner hyping up chalmers about the art his students made for the salon de paris, an art exhibition that the emperor of france will attend. he assures him that none of these paintings will encourage debate, provoke thought or be out of place at a dentist’s office. when they unveil the art, theyre both SHOCKED at how scandalous the paintings actually are.

this reaction was kind of accurate. impressionism was severely rejected at the salon de paris, due to paintings not looking finished enough to them, they thought they were ugly and vulgar for depicting nudity in a contemporary setting (historical and mythological nudity was fine). these impressionist paintings were sent to the salon de refusés, which is. yeah. the place where they sent the rejects. the salon de refusés does not make an appearance but this scene makes a reference to it when the artists get expelled from the royal salon. also:

“What about our student loans?” “Oh they’ll be refunded. We are not barbarians, I mean, come on.”

(god if only)

so the painters are down because they want the emperor to actually see their paintings. toulouse-moetrec pipes in once again with an idea.

“There is one thing the emperor loves more than anything.” “France?” “No, he hates France.”

apparently the emperor really loves cheese, which makes sense since its napoleon III (who loved cheese) and homer (who loves cheese.) so the painters roll into the salon inside a giant wheel of cheese (obviously.) as lenny said, “Eh, you know French cheese. Very runny.” napoleon III chases after the wheel into a room, where the wheel falls apart after getting chomped on by the emperor. now that they got his attention, the painters proudly show the emperor their impressionist art, which he couldnt be more indifferent about because he just wants to eat his cheese dammit, and he awards them with the royal medallion just to kind of get them out of his way. skinner immediately starts kissing ass (as he does) until marge’s like ‘hey wait a minute. you expelled these students from the royal salon’ and an executioner immediately starts ominously measuring skinners neck.

“Uh, sir...is your tongue sticking out because you’re dead or because you’re mad at me?”

and thats the end of that lmao (gore in this episode, gore in the last episode, and next week we’re getting gore too cuz its THOH, what the hell is goin on)

we get a short intermission with maggie, who wants a story for her too! lisa tells her that renaissance artists loved to put babies in their paintings, especially baby angels.

here she is showing her The Triumph Of Galatea by raphael:

King David Playing The Harp by peter paul reubens:

and a very simplified version of pretty much any depiction of hell by hyeronimus bosch lmao:

not much else to say about this one, really. but i really liked that sky!

the last segment is about frida kahlo and diego rivera. or as bart puts it ‘the one about a fat guy whos wife is too good for him.’ i was REALLY looking forward to this one because i love frida and i thought itd be a cool opportunity for animators to go bonkers and do really cool shit with her art as inspiration…..but the segment is not about frida, its about diego and his selling out to capitalism. and its also yet another story with homer and marge drama. no funky cool animation here. sigh i guess i’ll take it

the story begins in 1929 at la casa azul, frida’s home (now museum dedicated to her life and work.) frida and diego are getting married. this courtyard definitely did not look this way yet back in 1929. also theres something very cringy yet funny about lovejoy saying spanish words the way he does, i honestly cant decide how i feel about that one

the writers know theyre being cringy with their gringoness so they go along with it.

moe: “Spanish for ‘best wishes’!” mel: “Spanish for ‘congratulations’!” bumblebee man: “Spanish for ‘muy bueno’!”

OH YEAH BUMBLEBEE MAN this is his new voice actor, eric lopez! hes not mexican but its still great to finally have a latino actor voicing a latino character and hes very excited to be part of the show so i hope to hear more of him!! im rooting for him

el barto/zorro makes an appearance which i am very confused about. he has jack shit to do with frida and diego and mexico in the 20s-30s. el zorro was set in the spanish california of the early 19th century. their use of the original theme song makes me think they just wanted to flex their disney privileges tbh

lets not talk about that that whole scene was bad

anyway diego announces he and frida are going to new york, without even asking her first. frida is obviously pissed.

“Don’t worry, as a woman, you’ll be treated with much more respect in America.”

so in new york, diego is having a bit of a business meeting with mr burns as one of the members of the rockefellers, who is commissioning him to draw a mural for the rockefeller center. its kinda funny how he refers to him and frida as socialists even though they were very much communists lmao its okay you can say it. ok so far, but then frida says ‘yes, we hate the capitalists! right now, a young socialist is being born who will take them down! mr. bernie sanders. i hope hes quick about it’ and that was a simple enough joke and couldve been left at that but then its immediately followed by this weird as fuck family guy-esque cutaway gag to bernie as a baby:

“Getting a cootie shot should not cost your lunch money. And if you don’t listen to me, listen to the Bernie Babies! What? Everybody’s got goons.” *larger babies start beating up this other baby* “I disavow that, and welcome it.”

this confused me so much that i had to ask one of my american friends to help me understand, but even she was like ‘uhhh yeah thats a weird joke,’ especially now that hes been out of the race for months (then again these episodes take almost a year to produce. i guess they couldnt be bothered to replace it with something more relevant.) whatever that was weird and confusing and unfunny moving on

frida is pretty irked that diego is going through with this deal. after all, it goes against everything they believe in. im not sure how the real frida felt about diego doing the mural, but she did feel a bit of rage during her visit to the united states, especially the obvious disparity between rich and poor. she hated having to interact with capitalists and found americans very boring. in this segment, frida seems to be acting more like the american communist party, which diego got kicked out of for accepting commissions from wealthy patrons. in any case, frida is pretty upset about this whole thing.

and finally we get the first and only kind of surreal frida moment. kinda. maybe. its more cartoonish than anything but im desperate ok

interesting how they felt like they had to add a “don’t smoke” in big letters after showing patty and selma flying away on their giant cigarettes. i wonder if this is something theyre making them do now? i remember hearing something about them toning down patty and selma’s smoking

diego comes home to frida, drunk as hell, followed by the marx brothers. i cant believe they didnt make a marxism joke come on it was RIGHT THERE. THE MARX BROTHERS. KARL MARX. COME ON

frida paints her feelings.

this makes diego realize that frida is a genius and he is not half the artist she is. he proclaims he will now show his awe of her by sleeping with other women, starting “an hour ago.” to which frida replies, “and i will start sleeping with other women, starting two hours ago.” yes this was pretty much their relationship. though im just wondering how the hell did diego not know frida was this kind of artist until now? i know homers an idiot but jeez. art was how frida and diego met, diego knew from the get-go that frida was an incredible artist. i guess the fame got to his head or something. again, homer just being stupid.

“well enough already, while the art is still deco, okay?”

its time for the mural diego painted, Man At The Crossroads, to be unveiled:

rockefeller examines it. good and great so far, and then...uh oh

“Who’s that fellow…? With the beard, and the bolshevik smile…” “That’s the founder of Soviet Russia, Lenin!”

“B-b-but he’s a communist!” “Oh he just attended a couple of meetings.”

rockefeller will not have this communist in the temple to capitalism that is the rockefeller center, so he orders diego to paint over it. diego stands his ground and refuses. despite rockefeller’s threats, diego says that theres only one person he wants to be proud of him no matter what and in true homer & marge fashion, frida is touched by this. they happily leave the rockefeller center.

now, the real story of Man At The Crossroads and the rockefeller center was actually not that different. as soon as the rockefellers found out diego had snuck in a portrait of lenin into the mural, they ordered him to paint over it, to which he refused. diego even offered to include abraham lincoln and even american abolitionists in the mural as a compromise, but the rockefellers simply did not want any references to communism whatsoever. they did not complain about the hammer and sickle, though. yes, they did know diego was a communist and hired him anyway. what did they expect? lmao. diego said:

"Rather than mutilate the conception [of the mural], I shall prefer the physical destruction of the conception in its entirety, but preserving, at least, its integrity."

so they decided to destroy the mural before it was even finished and they never talked to each other again.

diego then repainted the mural at the palacio de bellas artes back in mexico, this time known as Man, Controller of the Universe. this new version included even more communist leaders and a depiction of john d. rockefeller jr. drinking at a nightclub, right underneath a depiction of syphilis bacteria. cue nelson haw-haw:

this was the version they used in the episode also, since the original was, well, never finished and also destroyed. only a black and white photograph of it exists, taken by diego before it was destroyed so he could remake it.

right so, homer!diego then pulls a Barthood and finishes the episode with a large mural summarizing the entire episode. he says some rick and morty thing i didnt get because i dont watch the show idk idc

the end

ALRIGHT NOW ITS TIME FOR THE STORY OF VINCENT VAN MOE

#if you read all of this bless you #the imageless gdocs version of this is 8 pages long #hope you...enjoy?!?! these art history fun facts?!?! #dont let me do something like this again but also let me know if i should do something like this again #i was really only motivated to do this because im already passionate about the subject so idk if i could do it otherwise #anyway. this took me all day yesterday because the power kept going out #but im finally done #bye

[rokutouxei]

in future tense

part 3 of: atelier heart

ikemen vampire: temptation in the dark theodorus van gogh / mc | gen | 2565 | [ao3 in bio]

She and Theo were born and lived in times a hundred years apart. In the weeks they're together, she and Theo attempt to understand their time-separated worlds through a back and forth of trivia. But Theo learns much more than just what it's like to be in the 21st century.

spoiler warning: a conversation between MC and Theo in chapter 4 of his route is referenced.

What does it mean to be born in the 21st century?

Theo tries his best to imagine what it would be like, in a world more than a hundred years from his now; his “now” which is already ten years ahead of his “then”, before vampires, before Comte. And yet even in his wildest imaginations he can’t seem to grasp what it would mean to live in the future; time is instead a looping spiral instead of straight arrow, the kind he used to imagine it was.

When he takes her out into the city the day after she arrived, it’s her first time out of the mansion, into the world that is late 19th century Paris, France. To Theo, nothing really strikes him as different or interesting in this time period; sure, the fashion has changed a little from when before he was turned, and maybe there were a few different landmarks here and there, but nothing that was enough to warrant the look on her face, that was, in two words: entirely wonderstruck.

Eyes as wide as saucers like an excited child, an unashamed smile on her face. At the most mundane things too: the architecture, the cobblestone streets, turns her head at carriages like she had never seen one in her entire life before this point. She observes the ladies passing by, her eyes roaming over their clothes, and then turning back towards her own rather simple set—le Comte hadn’t had a chance to have clothes tailored for her yet, but soon he will. For now, she tugs at her sleeves and runs her hands over her dress like trying her best not to seem like she’s trying too hard to fit in, like these clothes aren’t hers to begin with, like this isn’t the world she belongs to.

And yet, instead, she does the opposite: carries the aura of being someone otherworldly, not entirely alien but at the same time—so strikingly unfamiliar.

At that moment, the image of a recognizable painting fills Theo’s mind, one he’d seen at an auction once, and he wonders if it is rather too on-brand of him as an art dealer to think of such a parallel like that.

Meisje met tulband, painted in the 17th century by Johannes Vermeer, during the Dutch Golden Age. An obviously European woman in what seems like clothes borrowed from worldly trips far from the embrace of home. During this time, what was exotic was valuable. It illuminated experience, knowledge of a bigger world beyond the borders of the mountains and seas. On her head, a turban from an Eastern country, on her frame, clothes that do not suit the style of European garb. But most importantly: a pearl earring, large and glimmering, treasure of the faraway seas, hovering just underneath her ear like hesitating if it actually hangs from it or if it is only an illusion of grandiosity.

So attractive, in all her exoticism, pulled back from the gray of European normal, that is known and familiar and comfortable, standing above all others.

And yet so remarkably out of place.

So on the first week, she and Theo make a deal.

For every thing about the 19th century that Theo explains to her, she would tell him something about the 21st century in exchange. A fair deal, Theo thinks. This is what he can give her. Just a trade of information: nothing too personal to be shared, nothing too involved. This guarantees that both of their curiosities are satisfied, and—well, Theo will never say it out loud, but—this is also his way of getting to know each other in tiny, unobtrusive ways.

Not enough to make a difference, of course, he thinks. He doesn’t want there to be a difference. If he’s keeping her by his side at all times to monitor her, he’ll just have to do his fair share of understanding who he’s working with. That’s about it.

Except there was one thing Theo did not get to add onto his assumptions: that the woman never runs out of questions.

Sure, she has the hindsight of having been born in the time when this has all technically already happened, already a time long past her—time is a spiral, or something, Theo reminds himself—but the reality of having to live all this is still way beyond her. So she doesn’t stop asking. Even about the most trivial of things.

It drives Theo insane.

Like what kinds of clothes people find fashionable. (“You could see it on the street.” “Well, yeah, but I wanted to know what you found fashionable.” “I don’t really care.” “You’re boring.”)

Or if ankles are still scandalous things. (A squint of eyebrows. “Dresses are often supposed to touch the floor.” “Not where I’m from. You’ll see much more than just ankles.” “…Knees?” “…Thighs. Or more.” “…Why.” “Why not?”)

And what kind of things people enjoy. (“Séances? Sounds scary.” “Others talk in flower codes.” “Oh! We still have that in the future! Kinda.”)

Also, if Kings and Queens are still “a thing” (her words)—and she can’t seem to believe him when he says they do, still, in fact, exist, and reign over nations. (“So instead, you have, democracy, you call it?” “Well, we’re trying.”)

But even if she always seems so awed by the workings of this era, somehow it is Theo who is left much more bewildered with the stories she tells. While she listens to him with this kind of avid wonder, the kind a child would have to a storytelling adult, Theo sits next to her like a skeptic, incredulous, mind unable to process what she is saying.

Like, what is an internet? The inter-, he figures out, but a net? Of what?

“It’s a network! That’s what the net stands for. So it’s kind of like a group of people, who get to talk, but digital.”

“Digital? What do fingers have to do with his?”

“Fingers? …oh, because digits. Um. No, it’s kind of like… a space that… you can’t touch? It’s sort of… mental?”

Theo doesn’t have a follow-up question because he doesn’t know how to follow-up to that. He just kind of looks like her like she grew a second head. Can this much change really happen in a hundred years or so? Why is her world so foreign from his?

But it doesn’t deter him. He listens intently to her stories about art in a hundred years. Cameras so small, they can fit in your pocket, so fast they can take a photo in a second. Artworks made not of canvas and paint, but of, again, this “digital” medium, which is accessible to nearly the entire world. And because of this “internet”, everyone who has it can both make and see art so easily—and they can fit these in their “cell phones”, hand-held telephones that can connect to nearly anyone… without wires!

And with each and every one of her attempts to explain the overwhelming time she used to come from, something inside Theo grows, a feeling he does not understand yet. It’s dizzying—but he cannot stop listening.

So he doesn’t stop answering either.

By the second week, whenever their schedule allows, he takes her to museums, introduces her to art movements that have flourished, are only beginning to flourish. Occasionally, she will point at one and say, “Oh, that one’s pretty famous in the future!” and Theo feels a sense of pride. The appreciation for art and beauty is one of the many things that transcends time—if the world allows it to.

He’s far from Comte’s level of elite, but he takes her to shops anyway, to see what things are in stores. The feeling that sits in Theo’s chest only grows as she points at things and says, “That’s a classic vintage piece. I’ve seen those a lot in museums,” and sooner than Theo would like, every mention of time gives him that feeling of distance, pulls her away from him.

So far away.

The fact keeps pressing itself into Theo’s brain, that she doesn’t belong here, she is only a tourist, she is only here for a short while.

The world is a gentler place in that time she is from. He doesn’t want to selfishly keep her here.

(But if he could, if she would, maybe, he wouldn’t be opposed to it.)

Shortly after a conversation about traveling from her home country to Paris in the 21st century—“You can get halfway across the world in half a day?” “Yeah, non-stop flights do that. 900 people in a single ride.” “…I find it hard to believe you.” “You don’t have to, it won’t change the fact.”—that last remark pushes Theo to finally, finally ask the question that he has held hesitantly in his mouth for the longest time.

“What’s it like, sitting here in the 19th century, knowing the future?”

She doesn’t answer for a moment, her eyes shifting off to one side, away from Theo, as she ponders on his question. Theo takes this time to observe her instead—the way she holds herself up now, so comfortable, rather confident in her 19th century clothing, the little ways she’s learned the mannerisms apt for the time. She’s so different from the girl he’d seen that first night, trembling, afraid of a (well-meaning) nightmare.

Ah, yes, yet another reminder that she does not belong here.

Not with him. Not like this.

Theo snaps back into focus once she speaks. “It’s a little conflicting to me,” she begins. “I don’t know how time works, so somehow it both feels like much of it is already set in stone, but also there are so many more things that can change.” She turns to him, meeting his gaze. “But what I’m sure of is that everything you’re doing now is going to have an impact on the future—I guess I’ll see it when I get back.”

(Theo withers ever so slightly, but not enough for her to notice.)

She continues. “It’s a little scary too, because historically—well, I guess it’s not history yet, but, there are still a lot of bad things that will happen, in the next hundred years. So many.” She cringes. “But after that? There are also so many good things that will happen. Things that—well, I haven’t stayed long enough here to say for sure, but—I think many of the good things that will happen by then still seem unthinkable now. The same way you don’t believe me sometimes. But they will happen.”

And she’s so sure of it: tells him that millions of people of all ages, classes, and nationalities go to museums to enjoy art—even Vincent’s!—in the future. That some of them even get to go for free, that the world’s governments actually want people to be in any degree appreciative of art. She tells him how she could just look up a painting on her “cell phone” and she would already be able to experience it, in a way. She tells him that so much of the world revolves around art being accessible, that people don’t even think about it too much anymore. It’s just normal.

“You won’t believe it, Theo,” she says. “Art is everywhere.”

She reminds him of the sunrise.

The sunrise he’s long dreamt of—the dawn of the new era of Art, in a better world where artists are free to make what they want to make, to showcase their work, to continuously push the barriers of the human understanding of beauty and creation. The fact that she’s come from that time doesn’t only make her a reminder of it—but also an assurance, that all of this will pay off, that he is making a difference.

He may not have been one of the chosen ones, the gifted ones, who had extraordinary talents, who could, with a wave of their hand, change the turning of the world, influence society, but—he has something he can do.

And she believes in him.

Why does it make him feel so much steadier just knowing she believes in him?

He is no one. He is nobody important. They can give him names now, call him the Phantom of Goupil, but in the long stretch of time after this, in a hundred years, in a thousand—he will be no one. History will eventually forget his name—and Theo has long accepted this truth. And if he doesn’t have much to offer to time, he has much less for her. The 19th century is no match to the 21st century’s innovations and astonishing development. He is just a plain man from a backwards time.

But at some point in the past few weeks with her, that feeling he’s once again started to ask if he could reclaim has grown in him. The desire to be remembered.

Not by the world, not by history—just by her.

Even a hundred years into the future.

There are a lot of things Theo doesn’t know yet about what’s to come. But if there is one thing about art that he knows is consistent across time, it’s that a single piece of art has the power to change something fundamental in people: the way they see life, the way they see art, the way they think about the world, the way they feel. A fateful encounter not only with the piece of art itself, but with the moment in which one meets it. The feeling that rushes, that consumes, the recognition: that one’s life has now been altered, irrevocably, by that one piece of art.

It is falling in love, but greater.

Theo really thought he would never find the capacity to ever feel that way again. That that moment, with that painting, is the pinnacle of what his heart can take.

But now he knows he isn’t.

Now he knows it isn’t, so he prays.

He doesn’t have much to give, but he prays.

That maybe she will give him the taste of it. Carve the shape of it in his mouth.

Down his throat. Chase it down into the pit of his belly where the acid of his self-resentment remains. Let it echo in his veins.

And if she does—his voice will scramble will to make sense of the sound, and he will settle for other ways to let himself be heard, the strained vocal cords of his heart, calling her hondje, knabbeltje, the only way he knows how. To say “this is for you.” To tell her how good she’s been to him, so obedient. To scoff at her rebuttals. To join in her laughter. To tell her things only the hollow in the center of his chest he’d long shouted at have ever heard.

Oh, she doesn’t even need to ask.

The fact dissolves like something bitter turning sweet, sweet, impossibly sweet on his tongue.

She doesn’t need to do much of anything: she just needs to stay.

To forgive his grumbling, his shaking footsteps, his frequent step-backs into a past that has long left him behind. To look back over her shoulder, call out his name in the star-like lilt of her voice, Theo?

And he will give her everything.

---

in the atelier: The Girl with the Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer, 1665.

this is just a fun trivia thing, but the title "the Girl with the Pearl Earring" (Meisje met de parel in Dutch) was apparently only given to the painting in 1995. i didn't find what it was called much earlier (it was auctioned somewhere in the Hague in 1881, bought by a private collector), but after it was transferred to the Mauritshuis (also in the Hague) in 1902, it was called "Girl with a Turban" (Meisje met tulband). that's kind of why i decided to go for the more obscure / older name.

#ikevamp theo #ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikemen vampire theo #ikevam #ikevam theo #fic #atelier heart #in future tense