Jagged Jot

Ari (they/them)

[ultraviolentangel-deactivated20]

Just because you did something wrong in the past doesn’t mean you can’t advocate against it now. It doesn’t make you a hypocrite. You just grew. Don’t let people use your past to invalidate your current mindset.

[ravenobviously]

Bruh. This needs to be a mandatory post on everybody’s blog. Y'all really be pullin out decade old receipts like woah.

[emmaubler]

Either you want people to grow and change or you want people to stay evil villains soyou can feel superior as you shame them.

[rederiswrites]

I think that media literacy step one for any video is "why is a camera pointed at this?" If there's no obvious reason for a camera to be pointing that way all the time, someone filmed the video on purpose. We aren't a fly on the wall, we're a deliberate audience.

[coldeveryseason]

i'm really gonna make it my mission during s3 to tie every single detail of lestat's backstory back to claudia somehow. it's all claudia. this is the claudia show. oh there's a shot of lestat holding a gun in the sdcc teaser?? here's another shot of claudia holding a gun from s2ep1. something something they were both gifted a predator's upbringing something something

[apatheticfluorescence]

some hyper famous artists like Van Gogh transcend overratedness and become underrated because they're so normalized. Like I'll look at a van Gogh and I'm like wait this really is amazing you guys don't get it

[headspace-hotel]

Shakespeare is like this

[insufferablepirate]

Every time I see a Van Gogh that’s not one of his better known pieces it absolutely blows me away

Have you seen this shit my liege? smh unreal

[art-is-art-is-art]

Veranda, Ivan Kramskoy

[handweavers]

"violence is never justified under any circumstances" types when you tell them that they have already implicitly accepted that violence is sometimes justified by expressing ambivalence if not outright allegiance to capitalist politicians and systems of governance. you have already accepted that violence, under certain circumstances, is at least tolerable if not entirely reasonable and necessary, and you assert that all the time. you have already decided what sort of violence is okay to you

[slaygentford]

so sick that Lestat’s first confession of loneliness came in a theater sitting in the audience and the second one came as a performance on the stage. God

[zegalba]

The circular island that rotates in Argentina

[yusiyomogi]

what people often don't realize about "dear, this is a stein" scene in s2e4 is that it's not even super important if armand put those photos there or not. i can easily imagine the scenario that talamasca did it, for example, in order to put more tension between two powerful vampires.

what mattered the most in that scene (and their subsequent argument) is that it revealed hidden dynamic in dubai apartment. and i think once you fully realize all the implications of that scene, you'll also realize that there's no point at all to defend armand with technicality of "who did this".

season 1 depicted louis as someone who had full power in the apartment, since armand was pretending to be a member of the staff, someone who served louis. after it's revealed to be a disguise, armand and louis give another, more subtle performance instead: that they're equals, that they're romantic partners who do everything together. there are some suspicious details you can notice in their interactions etc, but they're almost always downplayed, made to be seen as some sorta compromise ("could i see the pages we removed?" - "we made an agreement").

and the thing is, this is the first moment when we see something very clear in their dynamic, something bigger than all the hints we got before it. the scene still doesn't say it explicitly, but it's a great opening for what's gonna be revealed in s2e5. so it's still subtle but it's also not subtle enough to be ignored anymore.

the show does some interesting things there, and i greatly enjoy thinking about them. let's look at some of them closely.

the first thing that happens after louis looks at the photographs is that he starts questioning armand. there's almost no hesitation, he immediately looks at armand and asks him "what is this?".

he also looks very distressed, even though from our pov there is seemingly no reason to think it's something more than misunderstanding or mistake in archival process. and it reveals two fascinating things at once:

1) louis is already on high-alert mode with armand, he already suspects that armand is doing something behind his back specifically to mess with his mind (and we'll come back to "mess with his mind" part a bit later).

2) armand has more control over the house than anyone else, including louis: louis immediately assumes that armand would know who put it there even if louis himself doesn't. he's asking him like he's the owner of the archive, even though it's mostly about louis' life.

and let's look at how the show masterfully frames the dynamic between two of them visually. louis is squatting of the floor in order to look at photographs, but he technically doesn't have to. this is deliberate creative decision: louis is positioned in the shot to once again look up at armand from the lower point, while armand looks down on him. it's the framing of adult talking to a child, not someone equal. very similar thing was done in s1e7 as well.

and here's the iconic line: "dear, this is a stein". armand is very condescending here, maybe a bit ironic. instead of putting himself to louis' level, like trying to look at the photos himself and maybe make some believable theories, he uses the situation to frame louis as the "hysterical" and "unreasonable" one. so even if armand didn't do this, his reaction reveals that he doesn't take louis seriously and (at the very least) doesn't mind that it makes louis look delusional in front of other people.

meanwhile louis looks increasingly anxious and desperate to be believed to. he wants to hear validation that he's not out of his mind. this is clearly not the first time something like this happened: the way louis also immediately tries to defend and explain himself demonstrates that it's a common occurrence in the house that he gets blamed for "weird" things like this. and it seems like usually armand is both the source of accusation and comfort: he implies the possibility that louis is delusional and he also calms louis down, gives him possible excuses. it's a routine.

and speaking of dismissing louis, let's look at the next thing armand does. louis asks him questions, but armand answers to daniel. the same exact thing will happen in s2e6 too when armand explains the whole san francisco incident (not looking in louis' direction at all). this is the most clear display of power: armand is calm and collected, not even looking at louis, but talking to his guest instead. there's a message here, it's like he's saying "you see, dear guest, louis sometimes acts out, but let's not blame him because he's not healthy".

another interesting thing about their dynamic: louis takes this! he's still pissed off obviously (and they will continue to argue about this later), but instead of pushing back and at least standing up to look armand in the eyes, he stops questioning him. because it's embarrassing. and now he's put in the situation where he has to apologize and explain himself to daniel. the framing is not a genuine confusion or misunderstanding, the framing is pure humiliation. and this is exactly why this scene is often compared to the painting scene in 'gaslight (1944)'.

and speaking of gaslighting, we see this scene developing into the full-blown argument later in their bedroom. and once again, the show is framing louis as standing below armand. and once again, louis looks very distressed over the situation next to mostly calm armand. and at this point it may seem like louis is simply paranoid or delusional. but this time around the audience for this is not daniel, but us and louis himself. here's another key line that reveals another hidden dynamic between louis and armand:

at this point in the show "you sure about that?" may seem like genuine frustrated reaction from armand, who's tired of being accused. and it could even be genuine! but it demonstrates how he react to louis' "paranoia": instead of finding ways to stop it or ease it, he deflects this paranoia back on louis himself.

and remember, louis already experienced hallucinations and memory lapses, louis already has doubts in his own sanity. at this point of time, he's convinced that armand knows what's better for him. so why put it there, why feed into that doubt even more? because it's all about control.

but what's also interesting, louis doesn't easily accept the excuses this time. he fights back. and he once again brings up what he thinks armand is doing: messing with his mind, trying to "coddle him". as dutifully as louis plays his role of the owner of the house, he's very aware of his position in relation to armand and what kind of control armand has over him.

and not only he's aware of it, he basically accepts this totally fucked up thing as some frustrating but unavoidable part of their life together: he's stressed, he's fighting back, he's yelling, but he's still in the bedroom with armand. they're gonna sleep in the same bed after this. it's a common occurrence that's normalized in their home.

and this theme will continue to be explored in more details in s2e5 and s2e6 ("maitre only when it's hot and convenient" - "that's how i took it"). but it was already there in s2e4.

[occidentalist]

The thing is, I’m not even particularly opposed to Egyptian artefacts being in museums around the world. I really am not, I’m a firm believer as an Egyptian that the entirety of the ancient world is all of our shared history as a species, none of it is more ‘mine’ than it is yours, or anyone’s. I think it can get really reactionary and bourgeois really fast when people allow themselves to get nationalistic and territorial about their people’s ancient past and accomplishments, and we’ve seen firsthand how appeals to ancient greatness and sowing nationalism that way can be deployed to distract the people from their depreciating material conditions under an imperialist-installed regime. But it’s not all without context is it. The fact artefacts from the history of the imperial periphery specifically are scattered across the globe is not a phenomenon that came to exist by happenstance and in a vacuum. The fact that like only 9 out of the 29 obelisks discovered in Egypt are still on the continent isn’t because Europe just started sprouting granite pillars in the 19th century. So every time I read about some new ancient Egyptian exhibit somewhere half the world away, my first thought will always be “I wonder which era of colonial plunder they got this one from.” Which kind of poisons the well a bit

[shop5]

Happy March 15th to those who celebrate.

[werewolfoffeverswamp]

the phasmid in disco elysium has to be in the 99.99th percentile of effectiveness for characters that, when i actually interacted with them first, changed my perception of the entire world a piece of media had built up. like DE, pre-phasmid, has some wondrous magical realism kind of elements that appear more as you progress (the existence of the pale and its whole deal, harry’s skills allowing him insight he should not have, etc) that juxtapose some of the more gritty and real aspects (we’re investigating a murder here. and an extremely politically and emotionally charged one at that) but i just feel like the phasmid’s appearance really solidifies that yes, this game does feature serious topics and interactions that are desperate and sad and violent, but oh my god we have to keep going. like oh my GOD we have to keep living so bad. there’s hope and here is wonder still undiscovered by the rest of the world. there’s more to see out there and while we have that we have to continue seeking it out. things can be strange and impossible and beautiful and so sad at the same time and i want to see it all. all bc this big fuck-off insect that looks like a clump of reeds told me to do it for the working class. nods. okay phasmid. okay

[werewolfoffeverswamp]

[aphony-cree]

What if Buffy's mom hadn't found out about slaying at the end of season 2 and Buffy had to convince Spike to stay in town and pretend to be in a band with her because that was the cover story they'd told Joyce

[fluffyspuffy]

And then eventually end up accidentally actually starting a band because it’s easier than maintaining the lie

[aphony-cree]

Joyce says they can use the garage to rehearse and she always makes them snacks. Buffy starts to worry she'll never get Spike to leave

[fluffyspuffy]

Buffy insists on calling the band Slayer and Spike keeps failing to convince her that there’s already a band with that name

[disco-tea]

Low key I feel like Buffy would just see it as a cover and it’s a ‘fake band’ but Spike gets like way into it and it’s a Real Band™️ to him and he’s a little annoyed Buffy doesn’t take it as seriously. He’s always like “you missed practice this Tuesday what the hell’s up with that. We have a gig next week btw”

[saunteringvaguelydownwards]

#he starts trailing after her on patrol to bitch about missing practice or how she's sloppy on her chords #starts pitching in on the slayage because vampires keep interrupting his tirades #''EXCUSE ME we are having a ROW'' *stakes fledgling* #no chip necessary spike is literally the guy in the band with zero chill about the band #he undeads the band. he unbreathes the band. he spends all his time not sleeping... on the band. #(willow is their manager xander is the merch guy) #(giles was secretly plotting to lure spike into a trap until he notices spike is... actually better at corralling buffy on patrol than he is #because spike doesn't want her injuring her hands or doing anything that fucks with her breath control) #(giles is also weak to the nostalgia of it all and tunes their instruments when he thinks they're not looking) #(when faith arrives mid-S3 she's quickly recruited to sing backup) (via @entirelytookeen)

[muffinlance]

@worldsokayestdragon :

#spike after learning Oz plays guitar: why İsn't he in the band? #buffy: he's already in his own band. which is actually a real band unlike our fake band that you keep forgetting is just a cover story #spike: we're never going to make it in the music industry if you don't stop calling our band fake

Spike (with reluctant but knowledgeable backup from Giles) finally convinces her that "Slayer" risks bringing copyright lawyers down upon their heads, a fate worse than vampires

Buffy turns around and re-names their band "Fake"

[esmeralda-anistasia]

#Buffy at their next concert: hi this is my Fake band and you're at my Fake concert#Fake band fans go NUTS when the Fake lead singer pulls her signature move: peacing out mid-song to go beat up some guys out back#Meanwhile: extended guitar and drum solos#the fans eat. that. gimmick. up.#Buffy returning covered in blood an hour later: oh god you're still going. Okay Fake second song here we go#and the crowd goes WILD

[carlottagiudicellivevo]

I think one of the big ironies of the media literacy crisis going on is that a lot of people have taken the need to approach things with nuance and understand character depth to mean every single character’s flaws in a given work should be taken as weightily and as as much of a contributor to an atmosphere of dysfunction as every other character’s flaws, regardless of what the work in question actually says on the matter or even how dysfunctional the dynamics in question are. You can ask people to look for shades of grey in the narrative and they’ll respond by throwing dark grey sludge over everything.

[carlottagiudicellivevo]

#This is the ‘everyone sucks equally’ readings of iwtv in a nutshell#the insistent dead dove readings of Claudeleine are like. Own that you’re horny bc the academic word salad is just coming off as ableist#the instinct to say Claudia is equally culpable as her wrongdoers is misogynoir#and while we’re here? The dumb racists posting this week how Louis is equally to blame re the book being published after the clip dropped#ohhh he didn’t SAY he rescinded consent ohhhh he was mean to Daniel who was consistently racist to him oh he aired lesmand’s dirty laundry#☝️🤓 this is the bad people show (and they throw in Claudia the one person he did wrong. For cover)#while utterly failing to analyze Louis’ reactions as part of a very justified response to people who wronged him#I respect none of you. Anyway

this was legit about 75% of what inspired this post. the other 25% was the more general and less hateful but still really fucking annoying fandom tendency to reduce literally anyone to hapless idiots, including very competent and experienced characters in situations in which they are well-suited (or treating a competent person in a situation where they do make mistakes or even just lose their temper as a major personal dysfunction/loss of intelligence)

[dakeus-art]

I've always loved drawing swamps and water lillies

And ladies covered in blood

[coldeveryseason]

it's actually pretty meta that the first thing most fans are hearing about the story of iwtv s3- a show that's preoccupied with theme of memory, personal subjectivity and how a narrative gets shaped by what's omitted from it as much as what's included in it- are set leaks of debatable credibility that have been filtered through several heavily biased fandom sources. and everyone's trying to piece together what "actually" happens, "how true" the leaks are and speculating on what the objective canon is. great job y'all let's give ourselves a virtual pat on the back, this is a top-tier iwtv exercise

[diasdelfuego]

the thing about art is that sometimes you'll be moved to tears by stuff that is not very good

[diasdelfuego]

every time this post gets a comment like this i kill another hostage