Mads + Maddy // Mads Squared // Teacher/Student + Age Gap
Mak and Anya, u are so brave.
These tropes CAN be seen as rather ~controversial and there is good reason for it -- they have been done very badly in media (looking at u PLL). HOWEVER, these tropes really can be so juicy when executed well and I feel like Mads Squared has done a great job of doing that.
I do genuinely really like and ship them even if they might not be OTP because of Mads's overall goals. I think the set-up is so so good. They are adults, hooked up before Maddy became his student, and now they both have to navigate what that means for them, all within the context of the classroom. I LOVE that tension. I also LOVE the overall aesthetic of libraries and classrooms and the university in general. I dunno how they might evolve, but I am looking!!
February Task Aesthetic 3/3: Lovu
(Overbearing Girlfriend + Miscommunication + Unrequited Love + Dark Secret Trope Vibes)
Boy, you in danger.
A relationship that makes me want to wave red flags around like my own parade. WEEEWOOO WEEEWOOO Stage 11 clinger. Big purchases without prior discussion. Confusion as to how a relationship *happened* off of a NYE kiss. Borderline obsession. Unhinged behavior. A surprise dog. Also DAEMONS.
I sit on the edge of my seat watching for an absolute meltdown crash bang explosion of an ending at some point whilst I eat it up and also reflect on my own self like, Kovu, you are a far better more considerate man than I.
She's in love and he isn't (or isn't quite there yet). I love the delusion, queen. Live laugh Lovu.
Beyond the unhinged behavior, I do think they're very cute. Kovu being her gentleman. Queue me playing "Cowboy take me away" on the boombox. A gentleman and a diva, de-licious.
I wait, and I watch to see what shenanigans may appear.
Caiette's Notes!! I love a good first meeting thread. I love the way Marcy and Linnet talk about their different life experiences, the way that Linnet talks about her old Hollow with such a lived memory and Marcy's inexperience and trepidation with joining one.
A few of my favorite things have been:
'She gave up her search for amphibians and started to hunt down the songstress. How disappointing, Wu, you'd fall right into a harpy's or a siren's trap.' // It really gives some insight and it sort of tickles me that this is a 'realistic' thought within our world.
'Linnet saw the beauty and the good in all colors of songs. She didn't believe in such a thing as a bad song either-- all melodies had their time, place, and situation. If a song grated on you, well, it ain't for you then. But it belonged somewhere.' // I love this because it already is going into a theme later in this thread in belonging, especially knowing Linnet's history with the Creature Coven and Marcy's feelings of sometimes being an outsider even when she's on the inside.
Marcy's description of Linnet's music, how stories are woven into the songs. I love when there's a weaving of things like magic or personalities. I thought it was delightful.
Linnet nodded. It was wrong-- to kill a living thing for something without a heart or a soul. She knew humans needed their factories to keep up with their way of life. But there had to be some middle ground that Fair Folk and the humans could meet on, to find a way to share land without one side killing it.
If Linnet ever figured out how, maybe she'd write that song-- a song that could heal scars and build bridges. // I love this. The idea of a hurt that Linnet feels so strongly about that she wanted to heal with something else so vital to her.
All of Linnet's sayings
The quotes in the aesthetic, which I love for both of their stories. The belonging bit I mentioned earlier, I do love it for these two characters. Linnet displaced from Sugar Holler, and Marcy having never felt belonging in Enchantra. The community aspect that Linnet loves in Enchantra and the way that Marcy felt that she has to protect Gary by not finding and getting to have that community herself.
Also references to characters who have since closed. Linnet mentioning Willow, for instance. That just made me :')
From Marcy, "In her mother's eyes, how could you be made an outcast if they didn't know you belonged in the first place" because you know I love a complicated mother-daughter relationship
But there was a connection between herself and Marcy. She felt it so strongly, as if touching Marcy would play the last note in a chord progression-- and complete the harmony. // Okay Linnet, you got me here. I loved this bit.
"You've done that for me, Linnet," her eyes returned to the other girl, "You made me feel welcomed and safe. More than I knew I could be. Thank you." // Anyways, I'm unwell and emotional and glad these two have a new relationship and I'm so excited to see where it goes!
Halloween costumes for Georgette, Chief, Banzai, & Collette!
1. Georgettes and her family dressed like the Wizard of Oz at Denises lead. Unable to take the spot light from her mother Georgette was dressed as the scarecrow to her mothers Dorthy and Thomas's tinman!
2. Chief was dressed as a rodeo clown! A simple little costume his mother Judy and Grandmother Harriette found to be the cutest little costume!
3. Banzai like most is a huge fan of the multiverse! Banzai is also a huge fan of dressing in costume yet still looking like himself. All through college he followed that theme....even with Miles Morales!
4. Collette and her sisters dressed as Rainbow Bright as they were brought trick or treating with their baby brother. In true 80s fashion their costumes were made from patterns found at the fabric stores in Tribeca and they were entered in their mothers Junior League costume party! ( the triplets won!)
And when your brother says it, determination and pride on his face from all his hard work and all the work ahead, it's too hard to disagree, to not believe it.
Because he believes all people should be saved, that all people deserve that.
And you nod, excited, with your head filled with superheroes and battles and vibrant colored daydreams of reaching those heights. Because you believe him.
Because his dreams will help so many people.
And later when you have stolen his dreams without ever meaning to, when he is gone and there is no help for him because of you, you carry that dream for him.
Because you believed him, because he is no longer only your brother; he is the immortal reminder that good people help.
Because people who are brilliant, or strong, or anything other than average are meant to do better, because he did.
Meant to be good, because he was.
Meant to save the world, because he was going to.
And your version of saving the world was still a colorful splash page of good versus evil when his was real.
So you borrow his dream and you think about it every day how he believed every person deserved to be saved.
And never let yourself say what you thought so long ago, that maybe only good people deserved to be saved.
the demon went down to texas: a playlist for the devil within ( @boointhenight / @kenneth-carson )
the family jewels by marina
the devil went down to georgia by the charlie daniels band
you first by paramore (feat. remi wolf)
eat your young by hozier
hospital (one man down) by madison cunningham (feat. remi wolf)
haunted by taylor swift
doomsday by lizzy mcalpine
punisher by phoebe bridgers
satanist by boygenius
the kids don't stand a chance by vampire weekend
the family jewels by marina
Oh, you think I'm unfit
Little did you know that I was cut for it
No glass slipper will ever fit
'Cause I could never see a diamond in it
One thing that I love about this arc is the way that Vicky and Lins use the supernatural as a way to talk about toxic family dynamics and generational trauma and general difficult family stuff! And I think this song gets at that and the use of jewels as a metaphor is perfect for the uber rich Carsons. Plus I pulled out this part because I think it nods to how Ken is kind of seen as less than his siblings, but really it's because he sees through the toxic nature of the family's past in the way others don't.
2. the devil went down to georgia by the charlie daniels band
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards.
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose the Devil gets your soul.
How could I not?? This is the og demon deal song and I think the southern gothic of it all is very fitting for this thread being set in Texas. I wanted this playlist to kind of go chronologically through the story and this is the part when the Carsons make the deal with the devil kind of.
3. you first by paramore (feat. remi wolf)
Everyone is a bad guy
And there's no way, no way to know
Who's the worst
Karma's gonna come for all of us
And I hope, yeah, I hope, I just hope
She comes, comes for you first
I know this is not what this song is about but I like to think of it as being from the demon's perspective lol. It also reminds me of like the way Boo talks to demons and how she's not easily spooked by them because she's dealt with them all her life. Idk do you feel the vibe??
4. eat your young by hozier
I'm starving, darling
Let me put my lips to something
Let me wrap my teeth around the world
Start carving, darling
I wanna smell the dinner cooking
I wanna feel the edges start to burn
So this song has been interpreted in a lot of different ways and they're all valid but to me this song is largely about screwing over the next generation to get what you want now. And I think that's kind of the story of the Carsons' demon; they just keep making it the next generation's problem and that's why Ken and Boo are so determined to break the cycle!
5. hospital (one man down) by madison cunningham (feat. remi wolf)
Checking into a hospital
Where the nurse is earth and sky
Fighting against my flesh and blood
There's nothing I won't try
Even heartache looks so easy
To a pair of grieving eyes
I am always one man down
There's just something about a Remi Wolf collab idk idk it just works for this playlist. So idk what this song is really about but to me it is about like the world beating you down and you feel unwell about it? There's a lot of rlly visceral imagery here and idk it was just giving me Ken and Boo vibes
6. haunted by taylor swift
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted
hadtodoittoem.jpg Look it's a spooky playlist I had to put Haunted on it. To me this song is about when everything that was already kind of fragile suddenly turns into a horror movie!!! And all the dark stuff you were trying to ignore comes to light. I see this as the soundtrack to that crazy scene in the barn!!
7. doomsday by lizzy mcalpine
I'd have liked to plan out my part in this
But you're such a narcissist
That you did it on Halloween
I had no choice in the matter
Why would I? It's only the death of me
Ok so this song is about a breakup lmfao but I mostly wanted to include it because the idea of arguing with your murderer about the correct way to do it is so funny to me and idk just seems to fit here. Are you picking up the vibe I'm putting down? I also like that it's kind of a quieter song in the midst of a generally loud playlist, like an eerie moment of quiet.
8. punisher by phoebe bridgers
The drugstores are open all night
The only real reason I moved to the east side
I love a good place to hide in plain sight
This song is also more about vibes than meaning. I just find it so creepy lol I think Phoebe did an amazing job of like portraying this ghostly persona that works with the lyrics so seamlessly. But rather than really talking about the lyrics I just think that the sneaky, secretive nature of this song is fitting for like the demons hitching a ride back to Swynlake with Ken and Boo!
9. satanist by boygenius
Will you be an anarchist with me?
Sleep in cars and kill the bourgeoisie
At least until you find out what a fake I am
Spray paint my initials on an ATM
I burn my cash and smash my old TV
To me this song is about like rebellion and dealing with a shattered worldview and feelings of ennui by like picking some philosophy and just going crazy with it with your friends. Ken and Boo are not satanists/nihilists/anarchists as far as I am aware but they are dealing with a lot of shit together! And kind of rebelling in their own ways against some of the values they grew up with. So I thought this was fitting!
10. the kids don't stand a chance by vampire weekend
The pin-striped men of morning
Are coming forward to dance
Forty-million dollars
The kids don't stand a chance
So I hate to end this playlist on a downer but think of it this way: this story isn't finished! I think a cool part of this arc was that it was a complicated victory: they saved Ken's life, but now they have a whole other set of problems. And meanwhile, the Carson family fortune and their tie to the demon continue on! The same way the evils of the world that the demon can represent, like greed and exploitation, also continue on. That's what this song is about to me: you win a minor victory, but now you have a whole other set of problems that makes it hard to feel hopeful.
