hewwo. checking in from my fandom vacation. how goes things over here
Patton got a skirt photo shoot (so did Remus), the finale is 4 parts, Logan is an alcoholic, and we have officially stooped lower than ever- we lost our shits at a literal orange on a chair ❤
Janus in the tree there biting a (green) apple obviously reeks of religious imagery. He is the snake of temptation in the garden of Eden, holding onto the fruit that bestowed knowledge onto Adam & Eve. I’m almost tempted to factor in his gloves with how particular & specific this imagery is. Much like in the court room scene, we can speculate that he wasn’t touching a Bible while he swore to the truth because of his gloves. Is he, then, not touching the sin of the apple in the same way until he takes that definitive bite? A very fun question I think.
But to tie this framing into Remus’ religious imagery - Remus himself represents the fruit of knowledge. His debut song was all about welcoming Thomas into the forbidden knowledge that is himself & his intrusive thoughts, after all.
Janus clutching the apple in his hands & taking of a bite of it then represents very clearly that he is in control of this forbidden knowledge - in control of Remus, at the very least. As Denial, he is the keeper of Thomas’ most scandalous & clandestine secrets. We saw it in the Patreon poster art as well; Remus kept in a box on the top shelf with Janus holding the key. Though that analogy can be naturally extended to say he is keeping all of the Sides locked up in their respective casing, which I think is very close to the truth.
This scene was very clever imagery however. It orchestrated that Janus really does have an undefined but potentially vast amount of control over the Sides. From his position off away from the others, above them in a tree, observing them, & then passing an approving judgement that “everything is fine,” on the situation - he had the last say (ignoring Orange’s brief appearance). Much like God, I’d like to think. He is, after all, based loosely on the Roman god of beginnings & endings - Alpha & Omega - much like the Christian God.
I can’t wait to see how much more power he has. What he is actually capable of. How much string pulling he’s doing behind the scenes. I know everyone is very excited for Orange (& intrulogical, naturally) but I think this sort of cliffhanger for us Janus stans has alotof potential.
Not to like, look too deep at what was clearly a joke video (or point out the obvious if people were already talking about this & i missed the posts), but if in the corner is where Janus does end up standing when all are present, I would be perfectly okay with that, for two reasons (that have nothing to do with moceit surprisingly).
First, the background fits him very well I think - I really like how the “split effect” of the normal wall to his left & the blinds to his right is reminiscent of his own split face, which has always been just a physical manifestation of his innate duality as Self-Preservation & Deceit of course. It just continues to drive home that our Janus is based on the Roman two faced god of beginnings & endings. That isn’t all the Roman god represented though; high up on that list is the concept of transitions, as in transitioning through doors or gates, from life to death, youth to adulthood, etc. This also ties into his background, since visually, he’s serving as the middle piece between the two wall types.
Second, he’s standing in a corner, much like Virgil - well, not muchlike Virgil, exactlylike Virgil. Both Janus & Virgil serve as innate bodily functions primarily; Fight or Flight & Self Preservation. From my understanding of how the room is shaped, I think Janus is almost directly across from Virgil, though I could be wrong about that part. Regardless, it has the obvious effect of making people see Janus as “cornered,” which is the state that Self Preservation & Deceit usually kicks in. When you’re up against a wall & have no options left - you resort to these defense mechanisms automatically.
So yeah, if this is where Janus stands usually, I’m okay with that! I quite like it.
Janus’ expression here is something to be talked about. I feel like “regret” is too strong of a word, just as “sad” has always been too harsh of a judgement for his playlist. I prefer “melancholy,” as @/beauty-and-passion said in their playlist analysis. Everything about Janus represents the bittersweet in life. There is no good without bad, no bad without good. He’s a neutral force between the “Light” & “Dark” Sides. Just as the Roman god Janus represents beginnings, endings, & transitioning spaces such as doorways & gates, so does our Janus represent that middle ground.
In the face of this episode’s chaos, he says with grief that everything is just … fine. Of course he knows that nothing is fine. As everyone gives their sly digs at each other, the mural in the background is begging the Sides to stay connected. Work together. Don’t allow yourself to be so separated between good & bad because at the end of the day, there is no such thing.
Janus is Denial; Deceit, & Self Preservation. He fights for whatever Thomas wants that is ultimately good for Thomas. Not in the same hands on & direct way that Logan does, but in his own puppet master, string-pulling way that hides him in the shadows. Declaring that everything is just fine is not malicious, is not evil; Janus is neither.
Janus is comfort.
Denial is comforting.
All the distraction in the world sometimes pales in comparison to simply telling yourself that everything is fine, & then forcing yourself to push through until it is.
hi so i’m probably not gonna be on here very much for the near future. i’m going through a fandom vacation era so if you’re a fan of attack on titan & still wanna read my writing in particular even if it’s not sanders sides, go follow me on @erwinsmithshairgellmao
It is a painful truth that actually none of my fics are abandoned, no, not even the ones that haven’t updated in five years. I still know exactly what happens next, and after that, and so on. They’re not abandoned; they’re right here, haunting me, characters climbing up my pants like kittens nagging for dinner.
truly am in aot hell lately. desperately trying to finish at least the writetober prompt, i’m but my father’s son, loceit smut, & commissions before i throw myself fully into this new hyperfixation
truly am in aot hell lately. desperately trying to finish at least the writetober prompt, i’m but my father’s son, loceit smut, & commissions before i throw myself fully into this new hyperfixation
nothing angers me more than the amount of young gays who are erasing the rainbow flag to replace it with the new mlm flag. like, if you personally want to use an mlm flag go ahead idc but so many people are really out here ignoring the history and significane of the rainbow flag, which was literally made by a gay man. also angering is just how much people try to divide up the lgbt community into ever smaller subgroups instead of focusing on the point that its supposed to be a community.
hi so i’ve spent the last four days basically doing nothing but watching attack on titan & reading eruri fanfiction so if i disappear from this blog you know where to find me ✌️
It is difficult having a family game night when every member of your family is a highly competitive god. I’m glad monopoly was not a game found on Asgard.
5 min shitpost of only a small amount of highlights from the stream so far LOL
@markiplier goal is to earn $200,000 for Stand Up To Cancer. Consider donating at the stream https://youtu.be/6oLX5XjvRjA or just share that link if you can’t donate.
to fight or not to fight: band of brothers edition
just shitposting something from my drafts because I have no other content for you at the moment. Just to put this into perspective for you, I’ll let you know I’m a 5’2” 110 lb teenage girl. And yes, I will be fighting several of these men. I don’t care how attractive they are.
Dick Winters: I would not want to fight him. Like, at all. He’s a dad. But if I had to fight him, he would lay my ass out. Would definitely sicko god mode curb stomp you and then ask you “Are you okay, son? What’s going on? You can always talk to your dear old dad.”
Lewis Nixon: Oh, I would absolutely fight him solely for the fact that I’d fucking WIN. He would probably be drunk, and he’s not much of a fighter anyways. We would look back on it and laugh.
Carwood Lipton: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? That would be like punching my mom. Besides, we know that Momma Lip will give you an ass-whooping if necessary, he’s got kids.
Ron Speirs: ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY N OT. He would practically smell me getting ready for a fight, and I would lose the little dignity I have left when he knocks me out with one punch. He is scary, I would not fight in a million years. I would forfeit.
Captain Sobel: BITCH IT IS ON SIGHT AND I COULD PROBABLY BEAT HIM TF UP-
Harry Welsh: No, I wouldn’t fight him, but it would be funny if I tried. Actually, now that I think about it, I would win, but I wouldn’t have the heart to fight him in the first place.
Buck Compton: Absolutely not. He would punch me so hard without mercy. I would die.
Norman Dike: ABSOLUTELY, AND I WOULDN’T EVEN NEED TO PUNCH HIM MORE THAN ONCE-
Joe Liebgott: YOU KNOW THAT WHEN THIS MOTHERFUCKER AND I LOCK EYES IT’S ON SIGHT. Not that Joe and I would hate each other, we would just have that relationship were sometimes we just gotta deck the fuck out of the other person’s halls. Would fight 100%, and I actually might win because we are both skinny legends.
David Webster: I’d fight him because I’d win and it would be easy. If he thinks Shakespeare is good, we are automatically fighting. END OF STORY.
Don Malarkey: I’d never fight him, I love him too much. I’d be messing up a wonderful human being. Also, I would lose, and he wouldn’t even intentionally be trying to win.
Floyd Talbert: I could definitely have a fair fight against this man, but I wouldn’t fight him solely on the grounds that I fear he would get an adrenaline boner.
Chuck Grant: I- No. Absolutely not. He would definitely win.
Bill Guarnere: I would try to fight him for no reason and lose miserably. RIP me.
Johnny Martin: Absolutely not. Could literally incinerate me with one look. I’d be dead before the fight even started. Could roast my ass afterwards. Also, he’s got Bull on his side. No thank you, I will be minding my goddamn business.
Shifty Powers: I would never want to fight him in the first place. I would also lose. He also, like Malarkey, wouldn’t even be trying to win. I feel like he would apologize for the rest of his life if I so much as got a bruise from it. So, no.
Joe Toye: I would do it for shits and giggles and he would not be messing around. I would lose 100%. He does not think it was funny. I think it’s fuckin hilarious.
Skip Muck: I would fight him, and I stand a fair chance at either losing or winning. Idk guys, tell me who you think would win.
Bull Randleman: Are you kidding me. The man is like half a body taller than me. I would rather just die. Also, he could just like pick me up by the back of the neck and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it??? I would not fight, and if I had to, I would lose.
Skinny Sisk: I wouldn’t wanna fight him, but I could definitely win.
George Luz: I would fight a hoe. Solely for the fact that it would be funny. Still don’t know if I would win or lose.
Frank Perconte: Would fight this little gremlin. Could probably win.
Eugene Roe: I wouldn’t fight him because JESUS DOES HE NEED ANYMORE TRAUMA??? Also, he could beat me up in like 2 minutes. He’s a friggin medic he can literally carry wounded soldiers.
Babe Heffron: No, who the hell would fight an infant. Also, he could probably beat me up. He’s got Guarnere,Toye, Roe, and all of Easy Co hey, that rhymes. I’m not taking that chance.
Alex Penkala: Yeah, I would fight him, but for fun. I would win. Don’t even ask me how I know, I just do.
Albert Blithe: What, are we trying to give the poor man MORE PTSD???? Absolutely not. I would win if I had to, though.
Roy Cobb: I WOULD MILLY ROCK THIS BITCH INTO THE NEXT MILLENIA WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT.
Alton More: Homeboi had the balls to talk back to Speirs. I don’t wanna find out what type of punch he packs. I’m good.
Pat Christenson: I don’t care that the man has limbs like Slenderman, we are fighting, and it is on sight. Little gossip bitch boy. I would so win.
Antonio Garcia: No, I wouldn’t fight him cause he’s baby. But I could probably win.
hahahaha this made me snort in the sitting room, my dad’s got his concerned face on again.
