#even if the one liners were. a bit much. her delivery was great | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zeeboomblebee · 2 years

Text

Ok, my turn to do a Crystalized Review

...instead of working on my essay that’s due tonight. It’s fine though, screaming about the new episodes is way more important dsklgfhjsk.

General spoilers for Ninjago Crystalized episodes 1-12 under the cut.

First of all, wow! I had heard we were getting a teaser or a trailer today, but honestly fully expected to get another 1 minute teaser or something. I did not expect to wake up to nearly half of the much anticipated season slapping me in the face from LEGO’s official YouTube channel.

It was a surprise, but certainly a welcome one. I think the only thing I could wish for is for them to space out the releases of the episode just a bit more (maybe 2 new eps a day or something), because I have absolutely zero self control, and have already sacrificed several hours of productivity to binging a lego show on a Friday morning/afternoon instead of writing an essay, doing homework, and going to a Pride event asklsdhg.

I want to go over the overall impressions first though. One of the things I absolutely love is emotional delivery of these new episodes so far. I just mentioned it in a recent post, but the humor has just been spot on. All the little jokes and one-liners have had me cracking up. But it’s not even just the humor that has landed really well, it’s been all the range of emotions. When the audience is meant to feel sad about a certain scene, they do. When the audience is meant to feel a foreboding foreshadowy feeling, they do. Same with excitement, and everything else. I can’t speak for everyone of course, but I think the general quality is absolutely sky high, even compared to a lot of the other Ninjago seasons! The writers are doing it right!

The plot itself has been super interesting too. Episode 1 starts us off, saying it’s been exactly one year since Nya merged with the sea, which man, brought so many feels. The team has definitely struggled to cope though. I love how Cole’s kinda stepped back up to be the leader, in Lloyd’s place since he’s really grieving, poor kid. He really is the rock of the team. Zane shutting off his emotions really hurt augh. Guess all those “over-analyzing” posts were really onto something haha. Kai training kids to automatically attack a new foe and pulling up a fricken Kalmaar cardboard cutout had me in stitches. And Jay just slightly going insane, living in the Lighthouse and talking to tap water was both a little funny and very tragic. Everyone is pretty in character; nice writing, writers.

I was really hoping to get an episode about Nya and her time merged with the sea, and was delighted to see that be the case only 2 episodes in. I must admit, I’m a bit surprised she regained her memories and attempted to reconnect with her family so soon in the season, but it definitely serves as a major plot driver farther down the line, so it makes sense for it to happen when it does. I was SO excited to see the return of that gorgeous water dragon. And omg, Nya meeting Nyad was such an incredible scene. Nyad attempting to help Nya find herself again despite being fully lost to the sea herself, just aughhh feels. And Nya seeing her own memorial lanterns and that serving as the trigger for her to regain her memories of her family and of herself ohh my godddd. Beautiful, emotional, perfect. She came back exactly one year after merging; that just aaaaahhhhhh.

I’m frankly flabbergasted that I hadn’t even considered the possibility of using Aspheera’s elemental draining powers to return Nya back to her human form, especially after seeing the ninja break her out of prison in the trailers, but its frankly ingenious. Also ahh, Skylor’s back!!! :D Great way for her to join in on the party.

Pixal, describing how long it would take for anyone else to build everything and then building all of those vehicles and mechs virtually overnight is such a fricken power move. Such an absolute queen!!

Omg and the neon ninja just being themselves and trying their best is very hilarious. I love how the ninja are just slowly becoming more and more annoyed with them. Wonder if they’ll ever unmask. I’m sure they well at some point, but personally think they’re all new characters that we haven’t seen before.

The way the ninja sacrificed and risked so much to bring Nya back just brought so many emotions I wasn’t prepared for. And how Lloyd said breaking the law and getting arrested was worth it to bring their sister back im cryingggg. It was a very satisfying way to bring Nya back, drive the plot forward, and bring a lot of emotions to the table.

The whole set of episodes about the ninja escaping Kryptarium were also very good! I really liked having that Zane-centric episode (episode 10: The Benefit of Grief), and him learning to embrace all of his emotions, even the bad ones. Sally was an absolute joy, and I hope to see her again at some point, hopefully as a very successful pop star in Ninjago City!!

Also Fugi-Dove totally has a crush on Jay and no one can convince me otherwise. His heartfelt sacrifice to allow the ninja to escape was so good omg. I was definitely not expecting that!

The Crystal King is certainly appearing to be quite the formidable villain. Plus that reveal at the end of episode 12... oh daaang. I didn’t even notice the foreshadowing, but now that I’m aware of it, it was so obvious. I loved it!!! Fantastic reveal/plot twist, even if a lot of us were already aware of Harumi’s return. Can’t wait to learn more about what happened to her since we saw her last.

Anyway, this was just a summary of my first impressions and an outlet for all the feelings I was experiencing as I watched the episodes. All in all, despite holding several surprises, I think this was a fantastic start to the season. It’s been very strong in terms of writing, action, plot, and animation, at least in my opinion. I’m really looking forward to getting the next set of episodes soon!!

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago crystalized #crystalized spoilers #ninjago crystalized spoilers #ns15/n16 #ns15 #ns16 #ns16 spoilers #ns15 spoilers #ninjago crystalized ep 1-12 #ninjago crystalized reaction

21 notes · View notes

literateleah · 3 years

Text

the paradox of emily prentiss’ audience perception and character design

some of y’all about to be real mad at me, but it must be said:

emily prentiss’ character design makes no sense: my personal opinion + an objective analysis

i think it can be challenging to separate the versions of characters we have in our little brains from actual canon content, but doing so is important for understanding what those characters are truly like, especially within the context of their environment and in contrast to others around them. plus developing a deeper understanding of the media we consume is super fun and interesting! with that being said: emily prentiss should not work for the fbi and here’s why (in three parts regarding who’s responsible: cbs, paget, and fans) (sit down and grab a snack i promise this is over 3k words)

quick disclaimer: i don’t dislike emily at all! that’s my girl, i just looked closer and realized some funky things the writers did and felt the need to analyze her of course: so let’s get into it

part one: what cbs did

cbs set the stage for emily’s introduction on the heels of the departure of lola glaudini as elle greenaway! lola has clarified that she decided to leave the show because filming in los angeles was not the best environment for her personally, and after one successful season on a major network (but not much established long term plot or drama beyond elle’s departure as a character) a consistent ensemble cast was required- particularly because the bau had been criticized for being predominantly male in the first few episodes of the show and not much development was given to penelope or jj yet. enter emily prentiss.

for the duration of seasons 2-3ish, emily was framed as a chip off the block that was elle greenaway, just slightly…richer? in her first few episodes emily was hesitantly polite but ambitious, clean cut, intellectually concise and held her own within the team. she seemed equal parts intimidated and frustrated by her male superiors (gideon, hotch) but certainly proves herself among other profilers. her childhood was explored only within reference to her strained relationship with her mother (which was only ever referenced once more after the fact) and we received a short overview of her educational and career history in her first few episodes. emily fit right into the hole elle had left, and didn’t have many major storylines yet.

seasons 4-6 brought a bit more development and depth to emily’s character! she begins dropping more snarky remarks, one liners, and socially deepening her relationships with the other team members. this seems more within the lines of elle’s design, but emily arguably took more time to grow into her place within the team. during the foyet arc she was vulnerable and supportive, and the doyle arc gave her some independence and agency she didn’t have previously. this era also solidified her appearance and persona as more edgy, which falls in line with general fanon perception of her character (especially when compared to jj or penelope). i can’t address this era or season 7 without mentioning that cbs was actively trying to remove paget from the cast, similar to how they did to aj cook as well. paget has spoken about this instance before, and i believe it slightly affected her portrayal of her character, and “lauren” was somewhat of a goodbye for both paget and emily (thus why she wished for mgg to direct since they were best friends).

season 7: in my opinion, one of the best seasons for emily. she was wisened and deeply wounded by her experiences with doyle, which was understandable of course. she returned to the team she loved and learned to appreciate life in a different way, remaining mature during this time period as well! though her departure was a bit less than graceful and sudden at the end of this season, it made sense compared to some other exits the team had seen.

now *sigh* all the rest.

paget as emily appears in two separate guest appearances (once in s9 and once in s11, and she is referenced offscreen as well) before permanently reprising her role as unit chief of the bau. these appearances were most likely to boost ratings and get the team back together (i.e. 200) or just to pepper in international cases (tribute). emily’s personality remains pretty consistent here, just more mature and comfortable in leadership positions (seeing as she is running an entire branch of an international law enforcement organization). then season 12 hit.

upon the departure of thomas gibson as hotch, cbs reached out to paget to see if she would be interested in fulfilling her role as emily within a longer term unit chief position. i’ll get into why this is wack in a few paragraphs, but the remainder of her time on the show is spent on a mature portrayal that seems very distant from her previous versions. emily is more authoritative, gives orders with ease, and has no qualms about leading a team of agents or even receiving promotion offers as director of the entire bureau.

thus concludes a general summary of the canon content cbs gave us as viewers. now let's talk about what they didn’t give us, regrettably

the primary aspect of emily’s design that comes to mind for many is her queer coding. though not much was to be expected from cbs, a prime time cable tv network, each of her relationships on the show (all with men) seemed oddly forced, and without much chemistry as compared to the SOs of other main characters. rumors of scrapped plotlines have floated around about what may have been, but the ultimate lack of acknowledgement of any queer characters in the main ensemble still leaves a feeling of disappointment to audiences, and leaves more to be desired as for how emily navigates social bonds.

part two (sidebar): what paget did

i think it could be agreed within audiences that paget brewster’s portrayal of emily made the role what it was! her dry witty delivery and emotional prowess combined with sitcom acting experience made her performance a mainstay for years. i think she did the best she could with a confusing and at times flat characterization, and brought the role to life.

paget also heavily contributes to fanon indirectly with her comments outside of the show (press, cameos, twitter etc). her general continued interest and fondness for the role post production affects fan perception, particularly in what she chooses to elevate and comment on. she and aj have both spoken about viewing jemily content, and paget and thomas have both also commented on hotchniss. most cast members feel free to comment on their characters in the appropriate timing, and seem open to discussing fanon ships and theories outside of canon!

part three: what fanon did

as we can tell from this fan space as well as the presence on insta, tik tok and twitter, fans LATCHED onto emily super quickly. she’s remained a favorite over the years, and this fan persistence is what brought her back so many times after leaving (so many times). in my opinion, queer coding and a bolder female trope (in contrast to her female counterparts) are the main pulls because they resonated with so many fans- new and old. with that being said, newer fans of the show in the past year in particular have been heavily influential in fanon, solely because of the large influx of fan content and popularity of it.

fan content began to take coding and bite size moments and snippets from the show as canon, and cemented it into much of the content and discourse they created. these small pieces of emily’s character are significant, but have become magnified by how easily they are to share and edit. for example, a collection of catchy one liners from emily over the seasons makes for a great video edit intro, or gifset! there’s absolutely no problem with this content, it just all combines to create a certain fanon perception no character escapes (this isn’t a phenomenon limited to emily or the cm fandom!)

these droves of content also solidified emily’s personality as much more defined, but at the same time, simplified it in a way that’s slightly harder to explain.

fanon: more emo/goth than canon basis

fanon: more introverted/anti social than canon basis

fanon: more violent/chaotic when canon emily is relatively well mannered and doesn’t start many conflicts (particularly in the workspace)

fanon: much less maternal when canon emily displays desire on multiple occasions (even crossing professional borders) for children, particularly teenage girls (possibly projection)

(again, nothing wrong with this interpretation at all and it still varies! This is just a generalization based on most of the popular content i have seen)

part 4: why it doesn’t work

let me start with this: emily prentiss does not like her job.

we don’t receive much in depth information about emily’s internal feelings and thoughts towards her mother beyond resentment. this stems from wanting to make it on her own, as a professional and as an individual (cough cough college deposits). this makes emily’s insistence on proving herself to authority figures in her earlier seasons is interesting to watch in different circumstances. she cites her experience and denies help from her mother when justifying her placement in the bau to hotch, she is extra vigilant about being helpful on her first case with gideon, etc. nevertheless, emily forges her own path outside of diplomacy and becomes a successful profiler and agent, with the help of her privilege, wealth and name whether she likes it or not. but if we read between the lines and fill in the blanks cbs neglected, these ambitions may subconsciously be oriented towards pleasing her mother.

example one: emily’s authority issues go further than just “rebellion” or “anarchy”, she frequently questions the ethics and sustainability of the work that the bau does. every team member does this, but emily much more so than anybody else.

in “amplification”, emily almost breaks federal protocol to inform civilians of anthrax threats. she butts heads with both hotch and rossi on this front, and ends the episode with having a conversation with rossi about the ethics of lying in their line of work. emily resigns to a solemn “it be like that” and moves along, accepting this reality.

on multiple different occasions emily laments to derek about the darkness she sees on the job, and it’s shown that this gets to her quickly on particularly bad cases. this is another contradiction of the design that she can supposedly “compartmentalize” better than others on the team, when she cannot unless the lives of others are at risk (doyle arc, s7 finale).

emily also responds in this way to many cases involving children, a similarity to jj many don’t notice upon first watching the series. “seven seconds” and “children of the dark” come to mind, during the latter in which emily is prepared to cross multiple professional lines to adopt a teenage girl left orphaned by the case, until hotch stops her and establishes that her emotions can’t rule her judgement on the job. regardless of hotch’s thoughts about her attempted caretaking abilities, these actions and impulses deeply contradict the typical bureaucratic pathways of the work the bau does.

the looming reputation of her mother’s diplomatic history hangs over emily, and after going to law school and working for the cia, she most likely did want to forge her own path as far away from being a socialite: being a spy. her inner nature doesn’t always reflect this profession, and leads me to believe that with her knowledge of psychology, law procedure and care for children: emily prentiss might be more inclined to working in social work, placing suffering children and teenagers in homes they deserve.

and finally, the hill i will die on: emily prentiss was an bad unit chief

this wonderful post touches on my general sentiment, but there were many reasons as to why emily prentiss’ career arc makes little to no sense (plot holes included).

first: her background. emily attended chesapeake bay university as well as yale and achieved a ba in criminal justice. keep in mind that though timelines evidently don’t exist in the cm universe, emily prentiss is ONE YEAR older than aaron hotchner (for context). in her first episode, she professes that she has worked for the bureau for a little under ten years in midwestern offices- something the audience laters knows to not be true. emily worked with the cia and interpol as a part of a profiling team and undercover agent up until roughly TWO YEARS before her canon introduction. plot holes and time gaps aside, this makes me wonder, why didn’t she just say the cia was a backstop without revealing the highly confidential nature of her work with doyle (similar to jj’s state department backstop and cover story)? penelope or hotch could have easily accessed her file and seen that she did not in fact have experience with the bureau in midwestern offices recently, and given the fact that erin strauss set up her bau placement, i’m presuming these formalities or references were overlooked.

second: her experience within the team. emily worked as a part of the bau with the bureau for roughly 6 or 7 years. after this, she is invited to run the entire london branch of interpol, one of the most renowned international law enforcement organizations. i’m surely not the most knowledgeable on requirements or standard timelines for such matters, but with the fact that emily had never led a team in her life (not in the bau or interpol previously) and had roughly 10 years of field experience, i don’t believe she would have ever realistically been considered eligible to run the whole london department.

third: her return to the bureau. fanon depiction of their relationship aside, if you believe aaron hotchner’s last wish before going into witsec was to entrust his team to emily prentiss, you’re dead mistaken. bringing emily back was clearly a pull for ratings after the loss of two main characters (hotch and derek), but logistically a bad decision. let’s suppose emily has had 4 or 5 years of experience in london now, this established authority position would be unlikely to change at the drop of a hat, even for old teammates or friends. also considering how close they were after a decade of working closely in bureaucratic and field contexts, i firmly believe hotch would have referred jj for the job of unit chief but that’s another discussion for another time.

emily’s reign as unit chief is odd, because of the many chaotic storylines crammed into it. but amidst bad writing and viewings plummeting, emily’s character is completely flattened. completely. emily is unrecognizable, both in appearance (that god awful wig) and personality. at times she acts as a complete wise authority, giving orders and delegating local authorities as hotch did. but at other times she makes multiple illegal, emotional, and incorrect judgement calls based on personal circumstances that lead to further chaos (deleting the recording of her and reid’s mexico conversation and reprimanding luke in “luke” for the exact same thing she did in season 6 even though she enabled her to do so come to mind).

i’m not sure if this is due to paget trying to find her footing in the role again, or the writer’s bad decisions towards the end of the show wrecking any previous design for their ensemble. then, there’s the infamous “wheels up” scene in s13e1. notoriously cringey, this seems like a vague caricature of something rossi would say many years in the past (the same goes for her pep talk in “red light” in the hunt for diana reid). these moments are meant to mature emily in the audience’s eye, but instead completely removed her from who we understood her to be, and made her an unreliable leader.

part five: and why it does

in theory, emily was a bolder foil to jj, similar to elle who she arguably replaced at first. she came into her own, and stands as a more uniquely developed character than almost any other in the main ensemble. she isn’t as maternal or domestically inspiring as canon jj, less bright and sunny than penelope, not quite as stoic or intimidating as derek or hotch. And yet at the same time, she’s a fairly blank slate. stripping fanon content away entirely, canon emily has few defining traits (all of which are constantly changing), and that may be the key to why we love her so much.

#long post #emily prentiss #ITS HERE #and its a doozy #read if you'd like #leah writes #if there's typos i apologize #this was a fever dream

187 notes · View notes

clandestine-j · 3 years

Text

Gossip Girl Reboot, EP. 3

Review/Reaction

alright, we're here for ep 3 reaction and thoughts &

man, i must say, DRAMA.

love it. i'm going to try and make this short but i fail horribly at stuff like that soooo lets see how this will go. i think imma split it into three groups! adults, kids, other random shit.

adults

you know what? i was here for most of them. people talk about zoyas dad bad acting but he was fine in his little scene, i'm happy that he's forcing zoya to take time with obie or whatever. i know people hate her dad and zobie but it was a little nice scene.

i'm really loving julien's dad. i'm glad he can own up and apologize and i get where he was coming from. honestly 10/10 so far, i love the relationship he has with julien and how's he's learning to cope with her becoming an adult and seeing it happen.

fucking love max's dad and the whole family dynamic thing before it went to shit. obvi, the one day is shitty but his other dad, lovely, i love their relationship. parents are winning in this ep.

teachers? JAIL (maybe not rafa but we'll still see). honestly, i'm not hating the teachers being gg, i like that they put gg out there for other private schools so i'm enjoying it but still JAIL. JAIL. JAIL.

our mains

we didn’t get to see much of monet but her little blow up motion at the end was funny and when the chick offered her name, monet said no. queen. and home girl accepted it.

luna was #theebest from her doing the zoya glow up. i think everyone agrees that her holding up the phone is a fan favorite. luna is my best one liner girl. her delivery is on point.

obie, more of obie, i know people don’t like him but he’s an alright character for me. i see potential but we need to flush him out a bit more. i hope to see more of his interactions with aki, give us the friendship. i want him to take what he learns to heart.

zoya, yes girl, pop off. i guess she can when it comes to her passions but not to her. (just be catty once back) i love that she did call luna when it came to the hashtag and she realized who she couldn’t be fairly quickly. i wonder if the play wright is the new friend.

julien! honestly, she really is a queen and i’m loving her pushing back against monet and luna more and more. i also love the scheming and her night out with max. they’re great together and i just wanna see more of it. (all of the friendships) i also love her relationship with her dad. i like that they talk and work things out and while he shouldn’t have lied, i get why and i love that he thought about her so much.

idk how to even to the next few but here we go.

honestly, i found aud and aki funny this episode. their reactions were so alike but so different. the awkward wave and everything. i get that they’re lying to themselves but damn, if they could find a way to spice up their sex life they’d be good. i find them so cute as a couple when they’re all cuddly and just ugh. guys. talk. i will say that after though, when they met in the hall way, i like that once it was out there, aki was straight to the point. honestly, if they broke up...i don’t think it’d be bad, i think they’d be good friends and understanding of each other.

i saw people saying that they didn’t give enough (aki) but max was on his monologue shit and i think they were in two different mindsets. aki didn’t look blank, he looked pissed. and i would be too lowkey, you say you don’t wanna be in the middle of it but then you put yourself, right in the middle. and aside from the kiss, i don’t think aki tried anything more with him unless it comes out that he did. but a few days passed (julien jetting around) so i don’t if they were that thirsty. audrey probs thought that in that moment, she’d really lose aki and that’s what brought her too tears. i think aki already accepted what might happen and was just pissed while audrey, even when she told julien about it, she was disconnected in her head about what she had done.

max was a rollercoaster this episode. from the taking julien out to posting her with the coke to making the plans. it’s was all chaos. i think the moment i felt the worst from aside from the break down? when he didn’t realize the trouble with his parents marriage at the table but we could all see it. that was heart breaking and my dude though, his planning was on ten. making the profile, switching the seats, the hands on the thigh (aki licking his lips) and then his break down and just telling of the truth, exploding, spilling the tea. whatever you wanna call it. it was wonderful and his reasons for doing it, so childish and backfired but you get it. he just wanted the truth out with his parents and it all went to hell. really, heart breaking but amazing for the show and his character development.

my man is still messy though, even without telling the business. like aud and max were in a relationship but those were yo friends my dude. you legit blocked aki from sitting next to his girlfriend, im crying. (messy and he knows it and aki liked his lips. sick.)

now random thoughts that had no real place

audrey’s actress makes these strange faces sometimes...idk...it’s funny to me because i’m wondering why

the scene when max’s dads and rafa met, jesus

would you spell it buffl-ho?

it’s the least you could do

did aki say shenanigans, boy you are a kid

the moment with max and his dad, still, thinking about and it still cute, all cuddly, idk if the og parents were like this but i love it

since we’re getting mostly reasonable parents i expect the worse ones to pop up soon

the way monet delivered that brad line, it sends

why would he put her doing coke on

aud / aki had reasons to think max would blab because he’s messy

my boy aki flirting with other dudes as rafa

i could see aud asking aki to make out with any boy while she watches, so guys get it together please

how did obie not see aki stops talking and suddenly look at max

i wonder if someone has tried to take advantage of max because those words hit too hard

those teachers really set home girl up, omg, JAIL.

aki needs new friends who’ll love his movie drops. he just gets bullied into things, maybe it’s his kink i won’t judge but he couldn’t change by himself, pushed into the bathhouse, the profile, obie won’t let the group chat name stick #stopgettingbullied

aki’s & max’s relationship summed up into one tweet, he really likes this boi, once i’m SICK (click the sentence)

i haven’t loved all of at school looks but i really liked juliens at the end of the episode

was the music transitions a little jarring to anyone else?

thanks all for now, just my minds ramblings as normal. i could go more in depth about all of this but i’m sure ya’ll are sick of reading it now.

#gossip girl reboot #max wolfe #aki menzies #julien calloway #luna la #c;gg

35 notes · View notes

wistfulcynic · 3 years

Note

The letter’s route, please!!!

Right. So. This is in reference to the letter Mary Margaret sends Emma at the end of The Outlaw Killian Jones (and the legend Emma Swan). This letter follows a very roundabout path to get from A to B, and Krystal wanted to know if that was to conceal Emma's whereabouts or if it was just how the mail travelled. The answer is yes and yes.

Everyone buckle in.

Here's the passage that describes the letter's route:

This letter travelled by mail coach from the Haven general store—where Miss Blanchard posted it to the care of a P.O. Box in San Francisco—to the main post office in Casper. From there it went via train to Cheyenne, where it was loaded onto the mail car of the Union Pacific Railway and thence made its journey to the west coast. In San Francisco its fortunes underwent a curious change, for it was redirected by a clerk there, in accordance with instructions, and placed back on the Union Pacific, headed this time for Denver. From Denver it voyaged onwards to Kansas City, then Chicago, and finally to New York, where it abandoned train travel forever in favour of a steam ship bound for Buenos Aires.

Upon arrival at port it was placed in the charge of a courier who carried it along with a scant handful of others over the rough roads of the Argentinian coast to Puerto Santa Cruz and then inland, where it finally, many months after its departure, came to rest at a tiny, dusty outpost in southern Patagonia.

This fic is set at the turn of the 20th century, when mail coaches, trains, and steam ships were the only options for transporting international post. The Transcontinental Railroad by then had been carrying mail for several decades and the branch railway lines helped distribute it to smaller towns, from where it would then go by coach or horseback to some sort of collection point where people would stop by when they could to pick it up. At that time door-to-door mail delivery didn't exist.

Which of course doesn't answer the question of why MM's letter first went to a San Francisco P.O. Box before doubling back and going to the east coast to catch its steam liner. For that we need to mine the backstory of Emma and Killian's relationship and how they managed to keep it a complete secret for three years. Fleshing this out in original novel form is going to be my NaNoWriMo project this year so I've given it a bit of thought.

Emma lives in a cabin next to an outcrop of rock. This rock seems solid but there is actually a gap in it, which leads to a canyon that's invisible from any road. On the night they meet, Killian is injured and he gets lost. He ends up in this canyon by chance and his horse finds the way out, leading him to Emma who takes him in and bandages him up.

You can pretty much guess where the story goes from there.

The canyon then becomes the way that Killian enters and exits Haven without anyone seeing him, and also where he keeps his horse when he's with Emma. It's the way they leave when they go to Argentina. They head west through the canyon to Idaho, Nevada, then to San Francisco where they set up the P.O. Box (and Emma writes to Mary Margaret to tell her of its existence) and get themselves new clothes and new identities. Armed with those, they get on a train--much like the letter does--and travel to NYC, then to Buenos Aires on a steam ship of their own.

I believe it was possible at the time to sail down the west coast of the USA and South America and around Cape Horn to reach Argentina. But that route has always been notoriously difficult and also uncomfortable, compared to the trains of the time and the steam ships that operated in the Atlantic. It makes sense that Emma and Killian would choose the latter, both for practical purposes and to evade the bounty hunters on Killian's tail.

So, TL;DR yes and yes. The letter took the route it did as part of the way Emma and Killian concealed their whereabouts and also because that was the way mail travelled in those days.

I deeply love and appreciate questions of this nature because I basically always have a backstory, even for one-shots, and will take any excuse to expound on them at great length. Thanks, K ❤️❤️❤️.

The Outlaw Killian Jones (and the legend Emma Swan) is my contribution to the @cshistfic event! Read it HERE on Tumblr or HERE on AO3.

#cshistfic #captain swan #kmomof4 #the outlaw Killian Jones (and the legend Emma Swan)#profdanglaisstuff #asked and answered #lovely shipmates

17 notes · View notes

katsubiatch · 3 years

Text

Hopelessly Devoted-1

Warnings~Slight smut-making out, drinking of alcoholic beverages, bar shenanigans, Hospitals, obnoxious exes, way too long of a chapter

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Your head throbbed as you tried to concentrate on keeping your eyes open, forcing yourself to breath no matter how hard you wanted to just quit. You could feel blood pooling out underneath you and knew you were a goner if no one found you.

No one would find you, no one would suspect you to be here. You'd just decided to help out in the ER after your latest fight with Katsuki. What a pain that was turning into.

Your eyes traveled around the intake room, it was a mess now after the man had thrown you around it. You couldn't be angry, he hadn't meant to be violent and was passed out again in his bed.

The ER was busy, and this mans vitals were fine. No one was going to find you. You'd die here, never to see Katsuki again. Oh you couldn't believe the fight you'd had. It was the same one as always but now you couldn't help but think that you'd never run your hands through that annoyingly spiky hair that never stayed put, or across his cheeks, the scars on his body. You'd never be able to tell him about...

Your thoughts were disrupted when the door to the intake room opened and in came an Angel you were sure of it. The Angel of death to take you away. At this point you'd have anyone if it meant the pain would go away.

The Angel dropped down to his knees next to you, pulling out all kinds of equipment and swearing under his breath. He looked a lot like Shinsou in his white coat. "What the hell happened?" He sure sounded a lot like Shinsou too. "Sweet cheeks stay with me." He muttered, a gentle hand touching your cheek. At least you'd have a gentle touch to help you through to the other side as your eyes slowly started to shift shut and you heard Shinsou yelling for help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Year and a Half Earlier~~~~~~~~~~

It had been another long day at the hospital, twelve hours that somehow turned into fourteen. You weren't sure why you always stayed late to help out when most of the time it felt like they couldn't care less about it but it was worth it in it's own way. You'd been able to help deliver a baby of a mom that had come in at the start of your shift so that had been a highlight.

Most of the time you worked was on labor and delivery, helping moms get through the rough process that was childbirth. Weather that be medicated, natural, water birth, c-section. You'd seen and helped through almost everything. However you also flip flopped between that and the ER which was a beast all in itself. Bloody limbs, gun shot wounds, cuts and bruises from villain attacks. It was all rough and fast paced, which was nice to get your shift out of the way but most of the time you'd end up staying later, caught up in the rush of it all.

You slammed down your third shot glass of the night, barely hearing Shinsou beside you telling you that you should probably slow down. "Slow down? Come on!! The night is young, beside it's only my third shot." You rolled your eyes, sipping on the drink that you'd had since you'd gotten there. It was a good buffer for the tequila that you'd just downed. "Come on, loosen up. You're always so up tight when we go out." "Probably because I have to be the responsible one." Shinsou rolled his eyes, taking a sip of the beer that he'd gotten himself. He'd take on shot with you but that was it. "Someone has to get us back to the apartment in one piece."

Shinsou had been your best friend since collage, he was studying to be a doctor and you a nurse. Which meant you had separate classes but were generally in the same buildings and just happened to meet up in the library one day. The rest was history as they would say. Grueling exams, late night study sessions and clinicals caused you two to have a strong bond however despite popular belief you two were not in a relationship. Just a close friendship. Of course there had been a few make-out sessions that while steamy, had made the two of you decide that you weren't right for each other. It hadn't made things awkward at all. Okay well it had made things awkward for a few weeks but the two of you had quickly gotten past that. Now the two of you often worked together still and shared an apartment, even if the two of you weren’t always there at the same time.

“You do not have to be responsible here. There are things called ubers that can drive us home. Besides it’s no fun to get tipsy on your own!! There’s karaoke too! Some of the other nurses are coming over and we’re going to sing a few songs, you should join us.” You smiled happily up at Shinsou, sipping at your drink as your eyes wandered around the bar. They stalled at a table where two guys seemed to be busy with getting another blond man to relax with them while a girl with pink skin giggled at the three of them. In the back of your mind you had to know that they were all pro-heros but you couldn’t quite remember their names but damn they were attractive.

Your eyes moved along their muscled arms, toned bodies, extremly handsome faces... god when did heros get so attractive? You had to tear your eyes away before they got suspicious of your lingering glance. You were sure that it was difficult for them to go out without being noticed and you didn’t want to come off as this freaky fan. You’d helped patch up the electric blond hero after he’d gotten hurt one time. He’d spent the entire time sending one liners and flirting with you but you’d brushed it off as jokes. The redhead, Red Riot, had been totally polite, even apologizing the entire time about her having to stich up a pretty deep cut on his arm. She couldn’t remember who the other two were but they were all too attractive for their own good.

Soon enough the other floor nurses that you worked with made their way to the bar and Shinsou left you in their caring hands. Which would have been except the three of you got.. well a bit more tipsy than Shinsou would have liked if he was there. It was fine you’d figure out how you’d get home later, now it was time for karaoke. After a few songs you found yourself needing the bathroom, which wasn’t surprising with the amount of alcohol you’d been drinking. You put it off for as long as you could before the call of the bathroom was too hard to ignore. Once you had finished your business and washed your hands, you were stopped on your way back to your table. Your hand grabbed and you were pushed against the wall. Your eyes widened as you looked up and noticed who it was. Your asshole ex who you had broken up with months before, the one who had gotten creepy and clingy fast.

“Y/N.. what are you doing here?” He slurred, obviously having drank a bit. “I thought you didn’t like these kind of places.” “I didn’t like these kind of places with you.” Your eyes rolled as he tried to fight against his grip. “Hmm looks like your little roommate isn’t here to save you this time. Why don’t we go into that bathroom and make some noise?” He purred in your ear, making you shiver. “I don’t think so...” You struggled to get out of his grip as he tried to haul you towards the bathrooms. You thought all hope was lost when suddenly you didn’t feel the strong grip crushing your wrist.

“I think the lady said she didn’t want to go with you.” A gruff voice sounded in the little hallway with the bathrooms. You opened your eyes and saw a head of ash blond hair, red eyes that were narrowed in annoyance basically staring holes into your exes head, holding on tightly to his wrist. Was there smoke coming off his hand?

“Right.. right sorry DynaMight sir. I...” He didn’t get to say much more before the hero was growling at him, gripping his wrist tighter. “You shouldn’t be saying sorry to me, you should be saying sorry to the lady, dumbass.” He ground out, keeping his eyes on the other man.

“Oh.. yeah. Sorry Y/N, I’ll leave you alone.” Once it seemed that the blond was satisfied with his apology he roughly let go of the other mans wrist before finally turning his eyes on you. “You okay?” He asked, a little rough but slightly more gentle than when he’d been talking to your ex. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” You shook your head, sighing a little and wrapping your arms around yourself. You felt a bit shaken up after this encounter but you didn’t want to let it ruin your night. “I.. I really appreciate it.” “It’s my job, don’t think about it too much.” The hero got out, a bit rougher than he intended.

“R-right. Well thanks again.” You nodded as you started to walk back to your table, only to find that your friends had ditched you. “Oh nice, perfect.” You sighed, groaning at the fact that you’d probably have to ask Shinsou to come get you and he wouldn’t be happy about it. “Your friends leave you?” The same rough voice from before asked you, making you jump a bit with how unexpected it had been. “Yeah, they probably all got too drunk and forgot all about me.” You huffed a little, not quite ready for the night to end but not wanting to sit and be lonely at the bar. You heard a loud sigh and looked back to see the man running his hand through his hair. He was too handsome for his own good, you could drown in those eyes, and those arms. Oh what you wouldn’t give to feel them wrapped around you, your legs wrapped around his waist with those full lips whispering... a sudden snapping got your attention and the sound of the bar brought you back. “Hey did you hear me? I said that you could come hangout with my dumbasses if you want.” He murmured looking at you with concern. You shook your head of your little daydream, maybe it was time to stop drinking. “Yeah sure, that would be great. Thanks.”

So that was how you found yourself at the table with the heros, whose names you all learned rather quickly. Kirishima and Kaminari had vaguely remembered you from the ER, but you’d never met the pink hero or the sinfully delicious man that had saved you. You were quick to find out their names as Mina and Bakagou. It was then that you spent the night, probably drinking more than you should, exchanging numbers with the group of heros, watching Kaminari get obnoxiously drunk which ended with Kaminari and Mina dragging him home.

So you found yourself alone. With the insanely hot guy that you were having too many thoughts about. You blamed the alcohol in your veins for wanting you to push him up against the wall and suck face. “Hey you’re doing that weird thing again... you alright?” He asked waving a hand in front of your face. God his hands were beautiful.. “Yeah I’m great. Just peachy.” Laughing, you looking up at the man who was watching you with curious eyes. “Okay well... do you need me to walk you home?” Bakagou asked, leaning against the brick wall outside of the bar, bathed in the fake yellow of the lights lining the outside. “Uhh yeah actually that would be perfect but there is something I need to do first, and we don’t have to talk about it afterwards. I just wanna know what it feels like..” After all you probably won’t see this guy again, at least not in person anyway so what did you have to lose? You grabbed onto his shirt collar, pulling him more down to your level. The alcohol was giving you too much courage but you did falter for a moment before crashing your lips against his. Oh they were so much better than you had imagined.

He stumbled into the kiss, clearly not having expected it but he recovered quite quickly, his hand coming to rest on your hip and the other cradling your face. You were glad that he didn’t instantly pull away, and your lips danced together sighing into his mouth. He tasted so good, like smoke and caramel. His lips were a bit rough but felt oh so good. You wanted to give into other desires, the ex from earlier bringing back too many bad memories that you wanted to wash away. But if you came back, slightly drunk, to your shared apartment with a guy you were sure it wouldn’t end well with Shinsou. He could be a real cock block, but you were grateful for it sometimes. You didn’t want to make decisions you’d regret when you were drunk.

Soon enough the two of you broke for air, and you instantly bit down on your bottom lip as you looked up at the man who had a slight pink tint on his cheeks now. “Well, okay now that I have that out of my system lets go.” You tried to make a joke of it, letting go of his shirt and patting it back down before leading the way. Thankfully he didn’t mention it and managed to get you back safely to your apartment,

Little did you know that soon enough you’d been seeing the hero again...

~~~~~~~~ A/N: Wow okay that was a bit longer than I had anticipated! I’m sorry the writing is not the greatest, I’m still trying to get back to this whole writing thing and find my groove again! Anywho this is basically just setting the scene and getting things ready for the start of their relationship! Thank you for reading. (:

#Bakagou X Reader #Katasuki Bakagou X Reader #Bakagou x y/n #Bakagou x you #bnha imagines #ProHeros #DynaMight x reader

10 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 37 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Things looked up for Violet as she finally settled into the new normal of working in design.

This Chapter: One of New York’s most illustrious editors-in-chief turns 40--in style.

***

Shit.

It had been an absolute hell week, Courtney being run ragged all day, everyday. She’d missed more meals than not, barely slept, had gotten used to only using the bathroom when Fame was occupied.

It was really the first time that she and Miss Fame had to interact directly for more than a few words, and if Courtney thought she was high-maintenance before, she had no idea how weird it would get.

On Tuesday, Courtney had been torn a new one for ringing the doorbell when she had dropped off a package at Fame’s house, Fame looking at her like she was absolute vermin.

How was Courtney supposed to have known that it was a deathsin not to just let herself into her boss’ house, Fame explaining to her like she was a retarded toddler that she valued her family life and private time too much to be interrupted, not at all catching the irony of the fact that she was imposing on Courtney’s private time by forcing her to come to her house at 10 pm.

And now, a casual text from Adore that she’d be there around 7:30 reminded her about Bianca’s party and she was absolutely panicking. She had less than an hour to make herself presentable with literally nothing to wear.

She’d meant to ask Ivy about a dress, days ago, and then again yesterday when she was arranging the delivery of Miss Fame’s present to the Marie Claire offices, but it had slipped her mind amongst all the other things she had to remember.

She jumped up and raced into Raja’s suite, a cramp in her side, relieved to find the redhead still at her desk.

“Courtney? Are you okay?” Ivy rose from her seat, a concerned look on her face, ever the empath.

“I just...I forgot…” Courtney tried to catch her breath.

“Okay, take a breath. Whatever it is, it’s fixable. I promise.”

Courtney gulped. “I forgot that I’m supposed to go to this party tonight at the Guggenheim and it’s super fancy and my ride will be here in 40 minutes and I don’t have anything to wear and I don’t even know what the dress code means and I was just wondering if I could borrow something and I promise I’ll have it cleaned and returned by Monday but-”

“Courtney, breathe. Okay?” Ivy took her hand, inhaling deeply and then blowing out dramatically.

Had this job really killed so many of her brain cells that she needed assistance breathing now? Regardless, Courtney followed Ivy’s lead, taking a few deep breaths to slow her racing heart.

“Now,” Ivy began. “What does the dress code say?”

“Creative black tie?”

“Ah. Okay. Follow me.”

Courtney nearly cried with gratitude as Ivy led her into the wardrobe closet.

“Luckily, you’re a sample size, so this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge,” Ivy said. “It’s Bianca Del Rio’s party, right?”

“Yeah,” Courtney said, watching her paw expertly through the racks.

“Are you going for anything in particular?”

“I guess I wanna look…” Courtney racked her brain, unsure of what to say, when the word, “older” slipped from her lips.

Ivy paused, clearly not expecting that answer, and gave Courtney a curious look before nodding.

“I can work with that. Now, Bianca likes bold colors and dramatic silhouettes with clean lines, so I think something like this…” Ivy pulled a stunning, beaded blue cocktail dress out off the rack. “This will look good on you.”

Ivy was truly a gift from god. Not only did they find a dress that fit perfectly (they settled on a short, fire-engine red silk number with a plunging neckline), along with shoes, accessories, and a glamorous faux-fur wrap, but she even stayed to help Courtney with her hair and makeup, giving her a chic updo and dramatic winged liner.

“Ivy, honestly, if you ever need anything. Someone to cover your desk...a kidney...whatever...you know who to ask.”

“Good to know.” Ivy laughed, checking her makeup one more time, adding a little more glimmering highlighter to her cheekbones, and then proclaiming, “Alright, I think you’re done.”

“Thank you so much,” Courtney said again, pulling out her phone. She hadn’t heard from Adore in awhile, and wondered if she was stuck in traffic or something. She seriously hoped that she hadn’t rushed like crazy, inconveniencing Ivy and nearly giving herself an ulcer worrying, just to sit around waiting for an hour.

COURTNEY: ETA?

ADORE: Soon, I think. I’m on my way to Pearl’s, then we’ll pick you up. Do you want a gyro?

COURTNEY: I’M A VEGAN

ADORE: Oh yeah. Gross. I’ll text you when we’re close.

***

“Bianca! Darling!” Fame reached out her arms to pull Bianca in for a tight embrace. “Happy Birthday!”

She and Patrick had just arrived at the stunning event space a few minutes earlier, and were immediately whisked off to a VIP area with a private bar, where Raja and Raven were already relaxing on sofas, Sutan and Violet standing at the bar chatting with Detox and Jujubee.

It was perfect, removed enough from the chaos of the dance floor, but with a perfect view over the railing. And the speed with which Bianca had arrived to greet her told her that she’s given special instructions for the staff to alert her to Fame’s presence--exactly the kind of preferential treatment that Fame expected.

“Thanks, blondie,” Bianca grinned, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Fame smiled widely, fluttering her lashes. “So do you. I love this dress!”

“Yeah, your tits look great!” Raja chimed in.

Bianca was wearing a sinfully tight black bandage dress, the neckline showing off her breasts and glowing skin, the hem just above her knees, her legs one of Bianca’s best assets.

“You can barely see that you’re turning 40.” Fame grinned, which earned her a pinch from Bianca, the other still keeping her in her arms.

“Shush.”

“Please,” Fame squeezed Bianca’s forearm, “So, tell me the truth, do you like the ring?”

Bianca held up her hand, where it glittered on her index finger.

Yesterday, Fame had had Bianca’s birthday present delivered to her office at the exact time of her birth, 3:57 pm. Fame knew Bianca liked her statement pieces, so she had custom ordered a cocktail ring, but not just any cocktail ring. Instead of the usual single band, a stone in the middle, Fame had gone for a three part twist in gold, sparkling garnets adorning it.

“It’s perfect, I love it,” Bianca said.

“Wonderful!” Fame clasped her hands together. “You’re impossible to shop for.”

“No I’m not! I love stuff,” Bianca countered. “Plus, you know...I’ll never say no to a present that’s unavailable in stores…”

She grinned wickedly, dimples deep, hand drifting down to Fame’s ass. Fame swatted it away with a scolding look.

“Really, Bianca.”

“What, it’s my birthday!” Bianca said. “You gotta give me something.”

“Fine, a tiny something,” Fame laughed, leaning in and giving her a sweet kiss on the lips, then following up with a light smack to her cheek.

“That’s not where I like being spanked,” Bianca said.

“Oh my god, you’re impossible!” Fame exclaimed, breaking away and stepping over to the bar while Bianca laughed gleefully behind her. “Now come on, tell me about your presents.”

***

“And a drink for the lady.” Sutan smiled as he handed Violet a glass, his date taking it with a sweet smile and a thank you, Sutan putting his arm back around her waist as they walked around.

He had picked Violet up at her apartment, his heart almost skipping a beat as she had pushed the double doors open and walked down the steps, her dress of the night absolutely stunning, the back open and taunting with it’s promise of bare impossibly soft skin.

“So,” Sutan rubbed his thumb up and down, gently caressing Violet’s back, “are you having fun?”

Sutan was happy that she was there, enjoyed spending time with her, but as he got to know her more and more, he slowly realized how little she actually enjoyed big crowds.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Sutan bit his lip, hiding a smile at Violet’s quick but short reply.

***

Alaska giggled delightedly, letting Jinkx twirl her on the dance floor. If you’d told Alaska a few years ago that she’d have a friend who she could have this much fun with sober, she’d have laughed in your face. But, even though Jinkx didn’t mind it, Alaska really didn’t enjoy drinking around her. So when they were together, Alaska felt like it was the least she could do to hold off on the booze. What she did enjoy was being with her, sober or not, looking into her sparkling brown eyes as they tripped all over their feet.

“For a Broadway star, you’re really uncoordinated,” Alaska laughed, and Jinkx pretended to be offended, then giggled.

“It’s hard to be mad when you call me a Broadway star.”

“Well, you are!” Alaska said, wrapping her arms around Jinkx’s neck and gazing at her happily. She loved these moments, just the two of them having the time of their lives, dancing and laughing and ignoring every other person in the room. They always had fun, but tonight, Jinkx seemed to have an extra bounce in her step, radiating a kind of joy, and it made Alaska feel so grateful to be around her.

“Thanks Lasky...you’re the best.”

They whirled and stumbled around the dance floor some more, until they were both breathless and needed a break.

“What are we feeling like tonight? Ginger ale? Cranberry and soda?” Alaska asked.

“You choose,” Jinkx said, clinging to her arm.

Alaska ordered a couple of drinks for them and then turned back to Jinkx, who was looking at her with the cutest little dreamy half-smile. She couldn’t help the tingling rush that went down her spine as she lowered her eyes and asked, “So...what’s going on with you tonight?”

“What do you mean?” Jinkx asked, eyes widening innocently.

“I mean...you’re just very...I don’t know...” A smile tugged at Alaska’s lips. “...twinkly tonight.”

“Well...I wasn’t gonna say anything because...it’s kind of silly, but,” she lowered her voice, eyes shining. “I ran into her again. Ivy.”

Alaska felt her whole chest deflate, forcing a smile as Jinkx continued.

“At Zabar’s! It’s like the universe is just conspiring to help us get together, you know?” Jinkx giggled happily.

A lump rose in Alaska’s throat and she nodded, using all her willpower to keep the smile painted across her face. “Oh, wow. That’s...that’s cool. Did you talk?”

“Yes. You’d be so proud of me, I even got her number!”

“Wow. Awesome!” Alaska felt like she was going to throw up, shifting her gaze to the bartender, grateful for the distraction as he slid two ginger ales across the bar. She couldn’t help wishing that half the glass was Jack Daniels. She handed one of them to Jinkx and took her own. It tasted just dust.

“Yeah, but she was still a bit formal, you know? I think I need to see her in a more relaxed setting. Do you think she likes opera? Maybe I can ask her to Madame Butterfly?” Jinkx chattered, away, oblivious to Alaska’s shift in mood.

“You really think the Met is a relaxed setting?”

Jinkx threw back her head and laughed, squeezing Alaska’s arm. “Omigod, you’re right. I’m such a dingbat. What would I do without you, Lasky?”

“I don’t know…” Alaska stirred her drink.

“What do you think she likes?”

“Uh, I’m really not sure,” Alaska said. And it was true. She knew that Ivy was sweet, and professional, and did her job with a kind of calm efficiency. But she didn’t know her very well on a personal level, their professional paths rarely crossing directly.

“Hmm, maybe you can ask around? If that wouldn’t be too weird?” Jinkx looked so hopeful and earnest that Alaska couldn’t help but smile for real in spite of herself, immediately agreeing to help her on this quest to capture Ivy’s heart.

“Of course. I’ll ask around.”

Jinkx sighed happily, leaning on Alaska’s shoulder, eyes falling closed for a moment. “You really are my favorite person, Lask.”

“Back atcha, Jinxky.”

***

Adore walked into Bianca’s party, feeling like a million bucks. Everyone that was anyone and even some who were nothing were there, and Adore knew she looked better than all of them with her purple hair, her pouty red lips, her short black leather dress, fishnets, and best of all… Pearl, the sexiest fucking goddess she’d ever seen in her life at her side.

She hung on Pearl’s arm, enjoying the jealous looks she got; knowing that everyone at the party wanted to be in her place. She even got a nasty look from some models, who were clearly all in love with her girl, but Adore didn’t care.

Pearl was here with her and only her. Pearl glanced at her every few seconds with a smug grin on her face, like the cat that just ate the canary. Well, if the canary was Adore’s pussy. Which would mean the cat was… Well whatever, Adore wasn’t an English scholar. She was in love.

The only thing that sucked was that Courtney looked so fucking miserable. They’d been a little late picking her up, due to getting, well, sidetracked for a while at Pearl’s, and then stopping for food. She thought that Courtney would be a bit more understanding, but she’d barely spoken two words in the car, even Pearl picking up on her obvious anger.

And now, even though she was at the coolest party in Manhattan, she didn’t look happy at all. Adore caught her eye, offering a hopeful smile, but received only a resigned nod in return. She reached out to touch her hand.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look?” Adore asked, hoping that a compliment and a charming grin would be enough to lighten her mood.

“You think?” Courtney asked, adjusting one of her straps nervously. “I don’t look out of place?”

“Bitch, you put all these other girls to shame,” Adore promised, and was rewarded, finally, with a pleased smile from Courtney.

“Thanks.”

“Pearl!”

Adore looked over at the group of giggling socialites who were approaching them, only slightly annoyed when they swept her girlfriend up. She pouted as Pearl dropped her hand, but smiled again when she doubled back to whisper into her ear, “I’m gonna try and squeeze some gossip out of these hoes, and then I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Okay, but don’t be too long!” Adore pulled her in, branding her cheek with a dark red kiss before taking Courtney’s arm and sauntering away, pleased with herself. She scanned the party, looking for her sister and finally spotting her holding court near the bar. She cupped her hands over her mouth to shout through the crowd. “Bianca! Happy birthday, you ancient whore!”

Bianca turned towards her sister’s voice, barking out, “You’re late!”

“Whaddaya mean, we’re right on time for a grand entrance!” Adore countered, laughing.

“Well-” Bianca stopped, completely losing her train of thought when her eyes landed on Courtney. She was wearing a short red dress, the first time Bianca has seen her in a color other than pastels, and she looked absolutely fucking stunning--legs a mile long, one blonde curl falling into her eyes. Damn.

“You look cute, B. Very boobalicious,” Adore said, giving her a hug. “Not bad for an old lady.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Bianca said, eyes still locked on Courtney. “Hi, Courtney.”

“Hi. Happy birthday,” Courtney said, giving her a sweet smile. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Bianca told her. “But here, uh...this’ll help you catch up.”

She took a couple of the signature drinks from a passing tray and handed them over. Adore immediately began to suck hers down, but Courtney hesitated.

“Um, what’s in this?”

“Courtney’s afraid of tequila. It makes her messy, right bae?” Adore bumped her hip.

“Something like that.”

“It’s called a Madras. Vodka, orange juice and cranberry. No tequila, but it will fuck you up. Be warned,” Bianca said with a wink.

“Well...cheers,” Courtney said, giving an adorable little laugh.

“Cheers.” Bianca took a sip of her own drink, then leaned in closer. “You look amazing, by the way.”

“Yeah?” Courtney’s eyes shone, her fingers twirling that stray lock of hair.

“Yeah.” Bianca tried unsuccessfully to wipe the stupid grin off her face, and instead broke the tension with, “I’m shocked that someone who’s friends with my sister has such good taste.”

“Hey!” Adore exclaimed.

“Don’t be too impressed. It’s a loaner,” Courtney replied drily, causing Bianca to throw back her head and laugh.

“Fair enough.” She downed the rest of her drink, waving off a couple of acquaintances who were trying to get her attention.

“Be right back,” Adore said, scampering away towards Pearl, of course jumping the second the blonde so much as crooked a little finger.

Courtney reached out for her, but she was already gone. She sighed slightly, looking a little bit dejected, and Bianca cleared her throat.

“So listen, I heard through the grapevine that you’re looking for a way to avoid your, uh, Galactica employers while you’re here?”

Courtney looked up, startled. She seemed shocked that Bianca was still talking to her, and she stammered uncomfortably. “Oh. Yeah, no, I just-”

“Listen, it’s understandable, you wanna have a good time. Can’t do that while your boss is breathing down your neck, right?” Bianca flashed her dimples.

“Well...yeah,” Courtney admitted, laughing a little.

Bianca stepped closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders and lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Fame and Raja are well contained, don’t worry. I made a VIP section since those two need a velvet rope to feel like they’re having a good time.”

Courtney giggled. “Like a rich person playpen?”

“It’s a prison of their own making,” Bianca affirmed, giving her a wink. “Trust me, they’re looking down on everyone the way they prefer, and they ain’t leaving.”

“Well...thank you.” Courtney bit her lip. It was hard to tell in this light, but it looked like a slight blush had crept into her cheeks, and Bianca found herself even more enamored.

“Anytime.”

A second later, she felt someone tap on her arm: one of the Marie-Claire board members, who she sadly couldn’t ignore.

“Sorry, I have go...do hostess shit,” Bianca said, regret flooding her chest, and Courtney nodded.

“Of course.”

She turned towards the middle-aged man and his young wife, saying her cursory hellos and giving air kisses, making small talk with them both. As soon as she could manage, though, she spared a glance back at Courtney.

The plan, from the moment Adore told her that Courtney was coming, had been to seduce this smoking hot friend of her sister’s. And she figured that the “rough break-up” that Adore’d reported would make it a sure thing. An easy and fun little fling--a birthday present to herself.

But now, something about the wistful, faraway expression on her delicate face as she smoothed down her skirt made her look vulnerable, in a way that gave Bianca pause. As stunning as she was--and fuck, she was an absolute knock-out--it didn’t make Bianca want to seduce her. Instead, it made her want to protect her. Ugh, why did her fucking conscience have rear its ugly head tonight, on her birthday of all nights?

“Thank you so much. Be sure to check out the raw bar!” she said, finally escaping and ready to head back to Courtney--but Adore beat her to it.

She watched as her sister came bounding up, Pearl in tow, and grabbed Courtney’s hands to pull her onto the dance floor.

Well, good. She should have a good time. Lord knows, anyone who worked for Fame deserved to blow off some steam. Bianca snatched another drink from a passing tray, trying to redirect her attention to the Welsh model who’d been giving her bedroom eyes all night.

***

Violet was having a surprisingly good time, taking small sips of her champagne. She had hurried home from work, almost ready when Sutan had texted that he was downstairs, the smile on Sutan’s face when he had seen her dress almost, almost, almost worth it’s price tag.

She had never been to an event of this size without having to worry if catering ran out of ice, or if she’d need to get taxis for whoever got way too drunk. It was nice to just stand by Sutan’s side, nice to be allowed to just be, without having to entertain or constantly think about everything that could go wrong.

“Ah, yes, of course.” Sutan smiled, his thumb rubbing up and down the small of Violet’s back. He was talking to one of the models from Elite, Violet vaguely recognizing her from some of the headshots she had presented to Fame for the fall collection. “I’ll be sure to tell Marcel about that.”

“Excuse me,” Violet turned, her eyes falling on a man with a camera, the card around his neck instantly telling her that he was from OK! magazine. “I was wondering if I could take a few pictures?”

“Oh,” Violet didn’t know what to do, her stomach instantly tightening.

“Sure,” Sutan grinned, turning towards the camera. “Right girls?”

“I-” Violet didn’t want to be in the picture, didn’t want someone she didn’t know documenting where she was, didn’t want to risk it ending up online. “I don’t-”

“Oh of course,” Sutan took her glass, handing it off to someone. “There we go.”

“Sutan”

“Come here,” Sutan put an arm around the model, posing both of them.

“Please-” Violet could feel Sutan’s hand on her hip, holding her tight, keeping her trapped, her throat closing up.

“Should we smile?”

“No,” The photographer looked out from behind his camera, “just be natural.”

Violet pushed away, forcing Sutan to let her go as the camera went off. She didn’t hear Sutan say her name, a quick flicker of a question on his face, didn’t see him smile apologetically to the photographer and pose with the model, didn’t notice any of it as she made her way outside, escaping the only thing she could think of.

***

Juju strolled through the crowd with Raven. She appreciated the whole VIP setup as much as anyone, but this was a massive party, and they’d decided to come spend a little time where the action was, maybe dance a bit -at least as much as her poor pregnant body would allow. They were stopped by a group of models, Raven proudly showing off her engagement ring and letting the other girls fawn all over her.

Juju put up with the schmoozing for a couple of minutes--after all, those girls were potential clients, until she spotted Bianca nearby and politely excused herself from the group, knowing that Raven would be perfectly content with her little fan club.

Bianca was chatting up some sweet young thing (typical), and Juju couldn’t resist messing with her a little. She wrapped her arms around Bianca’s waist from behind, asking in a low, husky voice, “Tell me I’m your favorite, Daddy.”

It was a joke between the two of them, something that had started years ago when Juju and Detox were first dating. They’d shown up at brunch one morning in the middle of a heated argument about whether it was appropriate for her to call him “Daddy” during sex--ironically, only a few months before she got preganant with their first child. It wasn’t a kink thing, exactly, it was just that she thought it was funny, and especially so when she saw his freaked out reaction. The group agreed that right or wrong, if it bothered him then she probably shouldn’t say it. But Bianca, ever the good sport, had pulled the smaller woman into her lap and declared that if she really needed to call someone Daddy, she was ‘willing to take one for the team.’

Juju accompanied her breathy greeting by biting gently on Bianca’s ear, adding, “Pwease?”

Bianca burst out laughing, pulling her close and introducing her to a very confused looking girl. “Tayce, you must know my friend Juju Sanderson. The brilliant hairstylist who owns Jujubee’s downtown?”

“Oh, yeah! It’s an honor!” Tayce said, her brown eyes lighting up as a dazzling smile spread across her face. “I’ve been trying to get an appointment with you, but you’re booked up for months!”

Juju had to bite back her laugh when she heard Tayce speak--Bianca always was a sucker for an accent.

“Well, play your luck with Daddy here, and you might jump the queue,” Juju said with a wink.

“Among other benefits,” Bianca cackled. “You know you’re the only one who I’d let get away with that Daddy shit, right?”

“Yes, thank you. You’re a lot more fun than my husband.”

“In so many ways,” Bianca said, turning to Tayce and giving her a playful smirk.

***

Violet took a deep breath, letting it out through her teeth as she could finally feel her heart slow down, though the knot in her stomach wasn’t going away.

She knew she couldn’t help it, but it was impossible not to feel an inkling of shame travel up her spine, the feeling that she was being ridiculous impossible to push down.

Sutan hadn’t meant anything by it, taking photos a part of his life, being in the public eye something that simply came natural for him.

Violet took a last breath, pushing away from the wall she had been leaning against to go back to the party, hoping that Sutan hadn’t noticed how strange she was acting.

It wasn’t that Violet liked acting this way, that she wanted to feel the panic rising in her body whenever she saw a camera in a stranger's hand, but she couldn’t help it.

She was an adult now, she had her own life, her own money and even her own job and her own apartment, but it was hard not to hide, impossible not to react to the instinctive fear that welled up in her at the risk of being found.

Violet walked back inside, the noise and the amount of people feeling so much more overwhelming when she wasn’t at Sutan’s side. She made her way through the crowd, easily spotting both Fame and Pearl, avoiding both of them.

She was starting to think Sutan had left, Raja nowhere to be found either, when she saw him sitting at a table, surrounded by models. He was laughing loudly, his arm around one of the girls, several of the models’ phones taking pictures of everything that was happening.

Violet’s stomach did a flip, the panic from earlier rushing through her body. She couldn’t go over there, couldn’t be a part of that part of Sutan’s world, so instead, Violet did what she always did.

Turned around, and walked away.

***

[Raja?] Sutan put a hand on Raja’s hip, turning her around. Sutan had been sitting with a group of models, doing shots and having fun right up until one of them had touched his legs under the table, and he had abandoned ship instantly.

[Have you seen Violet?]

He hadn’t seen her in over an hour, and while Sutan was more than sure that Violet could take care of herself, he had started to worry.

[Sutan!] Raja grinned, stepping into his space, looping her arms around his neck. [Hello brother dear.]

[Hello.] Sutan smiled, once again reminded of how much he truly loved Raja. She was tipsy, her eyes swimming slightly, which was probably why she hadn’t responded to his question. [Have you seen Violet?]

[Violet?] Raja tilted her head, her hand fiddling with the hairs at the nape of his neck. [No?]

[Shit.] Sutan bit his lip, his hands resting on Raja’s hips.

[Maybe she just left?] Raja smiled, running her fingers through his hair. [There’s no need to worry.]

[Maybe...]

[She can handle herself.]

[Mmmh.] Sutan knew that Raja was probably right, but it still felt weird that VIolet hadn’t said goodbye, and if he was honest, he was disappointed that they wouldn’t be going home together at the end of the night. [I’ll send her a text.]

Sutan was just about to reach into his pocket, was just about to get his phone out, when he saw a photographer to his left, just outside the VIP section. The paparazzi always loved to get photos of him and Raja together, and while he was sure Raja hadn’t noticed, he made sure to twist her slightly to the left, getting her good side as he smiled at the camera.

***

“Every guy here is drooling over you, bae,” Adore giggled, spinning Courtney on the dance floor before accepting another drink from Pearl.

“Not just the guys,” Pearl added with a wink.

Courtney laughed. In spite of her hesitation in tagging along, she’d been having a pretty good time. The attention was fun, of course, but Courtney’d barely noticed the alleged guys drooling over her. She couldn’t help thinking about the way she’d felt when Bianca put that arm around her, the way her brown eyes had sparkled in the dim light. The way goosebumps prickled her skin as Bianca’s fingers grazed her shoulder.

Her gaze kept being pulled in Bianca’s direction. Eyes drifting over her enticing curves in that tight dress. And occasionally, to her absolute thrill, Bianca would be looking back at her. Every time their eyes met, her stomach flipped around like crazy.

It was silly, she knew that. She knew that Bianca was only being nice to her because she was Adore’s friend. A nice kid. That it didn’t mean anything deep. This was, after all, a woman who dated supermodels and Oscar winners. Like the gorgeous girl by her side most of the evening, who had a face that Courtney instantly recognized from last month’s British Vogue cover.

Still.

The reality of the situation didn’t stop her from pretending, even just to herself, even just for the night, that maybe there was something there, that warranted all these confusing feelings swirling around inside her like a tornado.

And later, when they were saying goodbye, she allowed herself to enjoy the way Bianca’s palm pressed to the small of her back. She even let her lips linger for a few moments on Bianca’s warm cheek, kissing her goodnight.

***

SUTAN: Did you leave?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: The party is still going.

SUTAN: Did you get home safe?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: I can’t find you.

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: Violet??

VIOLET: I’m fine.

7 notes · View notes

anthropologicalhands · 4 years

Text

It makes me sad that Dilwale wasn’t apparently very well liked when it first came out, because it is like...ridiculously fun and awesome? Like SO MUCH FUN!

it is a movie that knows EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, and that is glossy, fun, romantic, and ridiculous

look Veer’s introduction is drifting a souped-up car around a statue of jesus, looking totally fuckboi-esque, and CROSSING HIMSELF IN SLOW MOTION

that pretty much sets the tone for most of the movie - pretty, extra, and absurd

now, caveat: I don’t speak Hindi, so it’s entirely possible that the dialogue is genuinely bad so I can’t tell. But the delivery sounds in earnest so it’s still fun

and beneath the fun and ridiculousness is a beating heart, with both Kaali+Veer’s parental sibling relationship and Kaali+Meera’s love story

Like…one of my favorite parts about the movie is how Kaali and Meera have this intense and painful backstory, but the new world and lives they’ve built for themselves are so bright and beautiful and colorful. So when they (inevitably) reconcile, you know that they are going to have a good life together.

Surrounded by idiots, yes, but I think they would like that!

Also I wish I could find a color theory post about this movie because they are gorgeous and there is this specific shade of dark blue that keeps showing up at dramatic moments.

*MOVIE SPOILERS, IF ANYBODY CARES*

Admittedly, whatever town they’re in (I think it’s somewhere in Goa) is insanely gorgeous and must have something in the water because nearly all of those residents are in possession of ONE BRAINCELL! Minus Kaali, who clearly drinks filtered water, as does Meera. They have kept their braincells.

Shakti and Anwar, Kaali’s best friends, are touch and go – sometimes they have the brain cell, sometimes they don’t

SO KAALI AND MEERA’S BACKSTORY IS BATSHIT -- THEY WERE THE RIGHT HANDS OF THEIR MAFIA-ESQUE PARENTS BACK IN BULGARIA.

They met because he hit her with his car! (because she was trying to take him out)

He falls in love at first sight. She plays civilian for a bit, lets him try to charm her, falls in love with him and takes a little time to figure it out (after realizing she can’t kill him and having to pass it off as a whim, rather than a symptom of *an emotion*)

They try to set up a marriage, her father sets up a meeting to kill them instead without telling his daughter, both fathers die, Meera is fed false information that they were betrayed and, as she promised Kaali not long after they got together, she shoots him in the heart for his betrayal.

But only once! If she reaaaallly wanted him dead, it would have been in the head! (my addition – not stated in the movie proper)

They then spend the next 15 years raising their much younger siblings (brother and sister respectively, of course) and turning respectable themselves. Kaali has established a garage for modifying fancy cars and we don’t know what Meera did before she moved to Goa, but now she is in the process of opening a restaurant.

Kaali is even going by a new name: Raj

They do not want their baby siblings to know about their criminal pasts, so they very much do not tell their siblings about it.

But anyways, Veer and Ishita are two sweet-natured, pretty kids who meet and take a liking to each other, and them liking each other enough to want to get married kicks off the ACTUAL ROMANTIC PLOT OF THE MOVIE, AKA KAALI AND MEERA AKA SRK AND KAJOL

They meet again because their much-younger siblings want to get married, and Meera, still under the impression that Kaali killed her father and betrayed her trust, IS NOT FOR IT

So baby siblings, using their one braincell, try to figure out what happened, because obviously their siblings must know each other, why else object to the marriage?

To get info, Veer bugs his brother’s two best friends, who were also in Bulgaria with Kaali at the time

the best friends were ordered by Kaali not to talk about his criminal past, but they are weak to Veer’s puppy eyes and they proceed to come up with this BATSHIT VERSION of Kaali and Meera’s past that is EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS than their actual past. Including fake names: Ramlal and Pogo.

Veer is Overwhelmed By Emotions

Kaali is Not Amused upon being confronted by this undignified backstory, but his friends defend themselves by pointing out that a) they can’t just outright lie and say they don’t know, because that would be even more improbable and b) it does remove the criminal element

They seem to be together? not totally clear but they act like a married couple so I’m down.

Their explanation when the boys come back to suspiciously ask why THEY never married is to say: We didn’t want to be fathers!

(reasonable, given that veer + sid together are clearly a handful)

So baby siblings, who have the details totally wrong but the basic gist what happened, decide that the easiest way to stay together is to get their older siblings to FALL BACK IN LOVE, obviously, because neither have remarried since their affair, so they must have unresolved feelings!

(this is not wrong, but still the leap ain’t logical)

cue wacky hijinks from the kids and intense, UST-laden scenes and songs between Meera and Kaali, who have enough chemistry to burn the town down

(They snarl at each other, choke each other in the ruins and are extremely conscious of each other’s personal space and are clearly two inches from falling into each other at any given moment IT’S SO GREAT)

AND THERE IS KING, THE WANNABE DRUG KINGPIN - seriously, like he is trying SO HARD to be the A-plot - flamboyant, scarily intimidating guy taking over this seaside town with one liners and pop culture references. BUT HE’S NOT.

LIKE, HE’S JUST A NUISANCE TO THE OTHER CHARACTERS WITH THEIR INTENSE UST/TRYING TO UNRESOLVE TENSION SO THEY CAN GET MARRIED

I guess I get it if people don’t like the humor, because the tone shifts can be pretty abrupt, but still, it’s a rollicking good time

And there are a few scenes it blatantly steals from other movies? only one I recognized was the Love Actually cards, and tbh I don’t really care - I didn’t get distracted or confused by references I didn’t get, so I’m fine by it

All right, there is also the DDLJ line at the very end, but it fits for me! because Kaali is playing off the fact that his ‘going straight’ name is Raj and he’ll always be her Raj, meaning that there isn’t anything he won’t do for her. I kinda liked it.

Things I actually didn’t like:

I wish Ishita had more character. She has some moments, but not nearly as much time is spent on her as there is on Veer

the dialogue bits that basically served as PSAs for drugs - we know they are bad! no need to keep saying it

Siddhu’s plot could have been better if jenny had a voice during his ‘it’s hard to date’ rant. cause like, dude, she didn’t ask you to spend money on her

Less didn’t like and more ‘I want more Kajol’ - it would have been nice to see a little more of how Meera went straight and what prompted her move down from Bangalore to Goa

#dilwale #bollywood #ellie rambles #i didn't even get into the SONGS man #it's seriously a shame that there isn't really any fic

28 notes · View notes

wellhalesbells · 3 years

Text

as i no longer sleep (apparently), let’s do this awesome thing @yodas-yo-yo tagged me on!! thank you!!

Rules: Tag 9 people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions.

3 SHIPS

i’m going with not necessarily my all-time favorite ships but the ones i’ve been reading like crazy lately

stiles and derek, as i’m sure we’re all well aware. those’re my boys. the dynamic they have just cannot be beat; it’s all shades of gray and built rather than plopped down without foundation. derek, who has been betrayed and abandoned and is neglected at every turn by every other character in this universe, and stiles, who - importantly - doesn’t have pity for him but pragmatism: ‘you’re a useful dude, and so i am going to use you regardless of how everyone else would just like to write you off.’ it’s not an immediate, ‘ah, you’re perfect for each other,’ moment, it’s kind of a, ‘shit, dude, that is not a guy you should use because he’s suffered that too many times already and this is bad.’ but only through that does it become less about using derek and more about relying on each other, trusting each other’s judgments, and being the first call rather than the last. i’m so emotionally tied to it because it’s freaking earned and no one is... pure. stiles’ motives aren’t pure, derek’s actions aren’t pure, no one is a one-dimensional hero who can abide by a concept as infantile as good vs evil, they’re more real because of it and i’m more attached to them because of it.

okay, weirdly, lately..... clark and lex (and after i was just talking about one-dimensional good vs evil characters, lol), preferably with the smallville backstory of once being besties. it’s just like the best of the best when it comes to tropes that do it for me. they’re baked in and, unless it’s an au, unavoidable. epic pining, best friends turned enemies turned lovers (or some variation thereof), a betrayed character (love when that’s lex and it’s post-belle reve), a morally gray manipulative genius who if they are depicted as not having ulterior motives is considered WILDLY out of character, a fucking canonical son made from both their dna, parallel universes in canon, not to mention there’s sex pollen in canon as well with red kryptonite in the mix. (there’s nothing better than fics where clark is dosed so he’ll finally kill lex luthor only to fuck him practically down to his soul instead.) i never even finished smallville and while i was always a fan of the ship, it was sort of more of a ‘ships in the night’ kind of ship, like: oh yeah, i know you *waves as you cross my dash* and nothing more. then i read (and read and re-read and read some more) reconcilable differences and.... there is not enough fic for them out there, friends. there just isn’t, and i’m sad.

merlin and arthur from bbc merlin. again, i really like what’s often baked into this pairing: a scenario that comes up with some regularity is a betrayed or banished!merlin and arthur realizing too late what merlin means to him and having to go after him and prove himself. i live for that shit, okay? i live for the character who seemingly has everything realizing they have nothing without this other person (especially if said person is often mistreated or sidelined in canon - thank you, fix-it fanon!!!!). i never was big into merlin fanfic UNTIL ao3 came up with the ‘exclude’ part of the search function. i don’t want modern merlin pretty much ever and somehow that fandom is about 50% modern aus???? so i never read fic for it because it was so hard to find what i was looking for. literally the day i saw the exclude option, i started reading merthur fanfic. i wish there were more percival/merlin fics (i am SO FUCKING INTO size difference lately and i do noooot have a pair that i LOVE that has that, some that i casually read like jaskier/geralt but none that i can’t live without yet and i NEED IT), especially ones featuring a jealous arthur that endgames into merthur but that’s, er, a bit specific? haha, and i have less than zero desire to write for either this fandom or the one above it sadly.

LAST SONG I LISTENED TO

clairo - sofia, i love how hard my radio station is fangirling over clairo, she has such a nostalgia-inducing sound for me.

CURRENTLY WATCHING

okay, well, i actually just finished the shows i was watching: prodigal son, which was like a less avant garde, less horny, less gay, less people-eating version of hannibal. instead of a guy who was too unstable to qualify to be an actual fbi agent and who has a loose relationship with reality and mental health, and maybe also a darker side, and a cannibal who definitely does, both of whom badly want to bang each other, it’s a serial killer father who has a darker side and a guy who was fired from the fbi for being too unstable, who maybe has one of his own, in addition to a loose relationship with reality and mental health. i mostly enjoyed it. i really liked the actors, the morbid and understated humor was hilarious (seriously, some of those one liners, both the delivery by the actors and the offhandedness inherent to them were just perfection), but.... they fridged the love interest (very VERY predictably) and they’re clearly shoving together the only unattached (”normal”) vagina and penis on the show because HETERONORMATIVITY!!!!! (i expect more of you, greg berlanti, tsk.) i’m hoping for more edrisa in the future because she is a fucking GEM (and it’s just SO NICE to see lane on my screen again!!!!), more jessica who might have the best sense of self and humor in the whole dang show, more michael sheen (because i just love the man in anything and everything), and about that finale (even though i saw it coming WELL in advance) i’ll just say: AINSLEY, MY GIRLLLLLLLL!!!!

the other i finished was the crown, season four. this show never really wows me tbh. i watch it mostly for a) the performances and b) my mom and dad, who love it immensely and love to talk about it with me. if not for them i could easily zone out for an entire episode without even realizing it, with all the quietness and sweeping landscape shots, there’s just nothing grabby in there for me. it’s very uppercrust british, y’know? haha. where a comment about your lilac drapes is really a dig about how you’re bringing down the entire commonwealth, which i love to read but watching? it doesn’t really pull me in. the high point of this season for me was gillian anderson’s portrayal of margaret thatcher, just the way she would contort her face was amazing to me, and the episode with fagan because hey, i totally knew about that already (which never happens, lol) and i love that actor from preacher and it was just really well-written and acted. but, overall, pretty much i spent the whole season wanting a violent and bloody and embarrassing death to befall charles, that entitled and cruel little piss-ant, while knowing it wasn’t going to happen. it’s one of those shows i watch where i’m glad i watched it, but i won’t remember any details about it in a week’s time.

and as for what i soon will be currently watching: i’m starting the great tomorrow!

okay, tagging: @livthelion, @ohlookagaydraco, @grimmypuff, @clotpolesonly, @midnightisquiet, @urban-barbarian, @callunavulgari, @hrast-ika and @i-sveikata!!

#meme answers #meme #uh oh i've found the keyboard again

10 notes · View notes

nodesiretogrowup · 4 years

Text

alrighty, play-by-play recap time!

“A shining civilization, until it fell...INTO THE SEA.” Something about that line/delivery makes me laugh

Kind of wish we had seen them solve to clues to Mervana

Why was this Huey’s quest? He doesn’t end up doing much. Did he chose this adventure?

“I like them.” “We know, Webby.”

Scrooge and Huey nerding out together is ADORABLE

Louie is already done

“Cool, now there’s two people who want to put us in constant danger.” Donald understands your pain. We need an episode focusing on Louie and Donald

I NEED to know why Della hates fish

Why is Della piloting the sub if she hates the ocean? I feel like Donald would be more qualified

“HEY, KNOCK IT OFF!” That was SUCH a sibling moment

LP isn’t here because he needed a break after last week’s episode OR something went down when he was with Oceanika and he can’t be in the ocean for some reason

Louie knows how this shit goes down

So according to Louie’s chart; Huey has been sacrificed the less with 10, then Webby with 15, Louie at 23, and Dewey at 63

“DEWEY’S ON TOP!” Sweetie, that’s not a good thing. How many of those times do you think LP saved him?

I bet Donald had/has a tally sheet too

Webby is PRECIOUS

“Life’s not some fairytale filled with happy endings and...” “MERMAIDS!” Webby is SUCH A MOOD this episode

It’s so cute how in AWE all of them are...

Except for Della

One more Della moment in the theme

Poor Donald

Those things in Aletheia’s headband look like eyes and I can’t unsee it. Also, STARFIRE THE MERMAID!

BEAST BOY THE MERMAN! He pretty much looks like a duck/mermaid version of Greg. It’s great

“So, speaking as a mermaid, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO ACHIEVE MY DREAM?!” WEBBY IS ME

I know the “suffering builds character” line is a joke, but it rubs me the wrong way

How is Scrooge’s hat not floating away?

Della’s reaction to saying fish is how I feel about eating fish

“Look at this stuff, isn’t neat!” THAT’S MY GIRL! I bet The Little Mermaid is Webby’s favorite Disney movie

This was much less dangerous than the last time Webby played hacky sack

Scrooge 100% DONE when they say that he’ll have to give up his worldly possessions

THERE’S THAT ONE MERMAID THAT LOOKS LIKE GOSALYN! I’m gonna pretend they are distantly related

Why is Honestus’ statue so BEEFY?

Louie is ALREADY calling bullshit

NO ONE MAY TOUCH THE DONALD

“Wow, a laid-back society where everything is free. Sounds PERFECT for you!” “It’s too perfect.” I love when Louie and Webby are paired off. They have pretty much opposite views of the world

“IT’S. A. TRAP! And take it down a notch, Beakley!” “Sorry, I was trying to drown out your nonsense.” You’re harshing her vibes, bro

“These hippies are harmless!”

Donald playing drums is adorable

“Operation Flower Power was...groovy.” FIRST THAT SUMMER IN PARAGUAY, NOW THIS! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! Beakley probably has fucked as many people as Launchpad, possibly more

The face Louie makes after Beakley leaves is great. He knows Beakley fucks and does NOT want to think about that

I want to know all the warnings on the cave. My favorite of the ones I could see was NAAAAAHHHHHHH!

“Those MER-MURDERERS” Alliteration is fun, kids!

Digging the more proactive Louie, even if it is just to keep himself from dying

Donald is digging the vibe and Dewey is SO FOCUSED on playing the drums

FUCK YEAH, ARTS AND CRAFTS! Dewey was like “MY TIME HAS COME!” And Donald seemed pretty happy about arts and crafts too

Donald was TOTALLY checking out his own ass

Dewey is SO FOCUSED. Arts and crafts are SERIOUS BUSINESS

He looks SO PISSED when Scrooge takes the tail

Why do they have toxic markers? Hell, where did they even GET those markers?

“They’re ALL our markers” That face she makes is great

Dude, the harp fucking DRAGGED Honestus! We stan!

“It’s a beautiful castle made of coral and shells...” Webby, those are ruins

I knew that fish monster was Honestus. He had a crown and everything. Also they call him a sea serpent but nothing about him is serpent-like

“This is a chase” Is that really any better than a trap?

BEAKLEY TO THE RESCUE

“I’ve never been happier to see an adult!”

“Same thing we are-snoopin”

Webby ended up being spot on that the Mervanans had no idea what was really going on

“Something is going on here.” And Louie raises his arms in victory

I want more Beakley and Louie episodes. They are both cynical but deal with it in different ways, especially when it comes to Webby. Plus Louie has a unique position when he’s been the one that had secrets kept from him

“Her optimism is her strength!” “You can’t hide the truth from her forever!” “I kept her in a mansion for a decade, that worked out pretty well.” I don’t know why but this reminds me of how the Crystal Gems and Greg dealt with Steven

I love that Huey’s tail has the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook logo on it

Me and my sister agreed that Donald’s tail looks like an Easter egg

DONALD IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR! NAMASTE, MY FRIEND

Dewey has flames on his tail because of course he does

“Man, these are hard to get around in. And off I go.” He just accepts that he’s falling

I’m with Louie, FUCK STAIRS

Della has that dumbass energy. We stan. Also, she and LP need to hang out. I feel like they’d somehow both lose in a game of Go Fish. Stupid, beautiful pilots :’)

“MOM LOOK AT MY SUPER COOL FINS!” “*gags* I have no family.”

CAPITALISTS DO NOT GET TO KNOW TRUE PEACE

Donald and Huey nodding after Aletheia calls Scrooge a judgemental boomer, beautiful

“I don’t want inner-truth, I want outer harp!” That’s a good line

“Scrooge, back to the arts and crafts section!” And then his face! Golden!

Louie clinging to Beakley’s arm is so cute

I LOVE YOU, HARP LADY!

“But I only tell the truth, a thing the merpeople used to value.” I feel like that could apply to other (current) situations

Whenever Honestus speaks during the song I lol

Also, what hard work was going on above the sea? Was there like a war or something? I need more!

I think the Harp and Honestus were a thing at one point

If the merpeople become more monstrous the longer they stay in the water, why are the ones who have lived their ENTIRE LIVES in the ocean still humanoid? How long was he gone? How many generations have come and gone? Why didn’t he age? I NEED MORE INFORMATION

Poor Webby. The person she trusted the most has been lying to her for who knows how long! I think we know what Webby’s arc for the season will involve

Louie does NOT want to be in the middle of this

MER-MURDER-MAIDS!

I want to PERSONALLY THANK the GENIUS that had David Tennant use hippie slang. You did the lord’s work

The face Scrooge makes when he thinks that they are gonna take his money is PRICELESS

I feel bad for the Mervanans. They were left to fend for themselves. They did pretty good for themselves all things considered but still

Della taking baby steps only to be pushed right back into her comfort zone, I felt that

She’s just like, nope

“Gotta get harp down. Gotta save family. Maybe sell the harp later.” The kid has his priorities straight

The way the Harp acts when Beakley picks her up is a mood and I ship it

“Is that what I sound like? Oh, boy.” I love the way Bobby says “oh, boy”

“We would never!” “Yeah, we’re vegan.” At least these merpeople actually flat out say they don’t eat fish, unlike other merpeople who act all high and mighty even though they probably eat fish too

I love the one dude who just kinda flaps out of the water

“I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.” “CORRECT!”

DUDE, DON’T INSULT THE MAN’S COOKING SKILLS! IT’S YZMA, KRONK, AND THE SPINACH PUFFS ALL OVER AGAIN!

I think Donald is just always angry ala Bruce Banner

Donald is me when someone says the wrong thing to me on an already shitty day

He just slings Dewey over his shoulder and drags Huey. I feel like a family meeting about chili is in their future. Though the Harp didn’t say whether or not Dewey was lying so...

“Our king returned and tried to eat us.” In the words of Zuko; that’s rough, buddy

“We’re all monsters on the inside.” “WE ARE?! GET IT OUT OF ME!” Vero is having a very bad day

“Mervana isn’t a place. It’s, oh boy, it’s in your heart!”

Louie and Webby make each other better and that’s what’s great about their team ups

“We need your inner-truths to move from your hearts to YOUR FISTS!” WEBBY WILL FUCK YOU UP

“WELCOME TO MERVANA” BITCH!

Poor Harp. It’s not her fault that she only has one setting

I WANNA RIDE A MERMAID! No, not that way! ok maybe that way too

Webby’s eyes sparkle when the merpeople get to land

DROP ON THE DECK AND FLOP LIKE A FISH

“TIME TO SEND THIS FISH BACK TO SCHOOL!” Della knows how to one-liner

Her Naruto run is great. I bet she’s been watching it with the kids

Della is gonna wash her leg SO HARD after that

I don’t think Honestus should have gotten off so easy. The dude’s a dick who only cares about himself. I know that wouldn’t mesh with the moral of the episode, but I still hate him

Della looks so fucking confused, like LP usually does. THEY ARE MEANT TO BE BESTIES

Dewey kept his tail. So cute!

“She’s kinda harshin’ my vibe.” I know, my dude, I know

“And it’s finally where it belongs.” “Telling shiftless hippies to get a job!” Scrooge is harshin’ my vibe. Stupid capitalist

The head kiss Beakley gives Webby GIVES ME LIFE! SO PURE

Well of course she’s fibbing! Beakley is/was a SPY! Her job was secret keeping!

I really enjoyed this episode. I, like Webby, ADORE mermaids so I wasn’t gonna complain there. I liked that the merpeople weren’t actually evil because that would have been predictable af. It really ties in with the legacy theme of this season. Just because the people who came before you were jerks doesn’t mean you have to be. I think I enjoyed the other episodes a bit more but that’s probably because they were a bit more focused on a single character and only introduced a few new characters. I give it an 8/10, not enough Launchpad and not NEARLY ENOUGH fish puns

#ducktales #dt spoilers #I think I might ship fethry and vero

10 notes · View notes

j-v-dewolfe · 4 years

Text

*Spoilers* Thoughts on Episode 5 of the Mandolorian “The Gunslinger”

- I wish the opening alone had been 5-10 minutes long at least but it’s like 90 seconds and while it has a cool delivery of a one liner, I would’ve preferred some set up and tension to the scene. Granted I could say that about just about every episode so far, the 30-40 minute run time severely limits the chance for great dialogue and character moments that would seriously help the episodes.

- The Mandolorian still manages to impress me with his smooth delivery and presence.

- Baby Yoda was still cute, but took a back seat for the episode’s mission which is fine. Can’t always be a meme machine but would’ve liked at least one “Awww” moment besides sleepy Baby Yoda walking.

- The mechanic character was fine, cool that she uses those repair droids from the prequels but could’ve taken a minute to let the character breathe especially if she’s gonna be in it for more than 30 seconds. She was just awkward, would’ve preferred her to be a bit more of a swindler or something. Maybe just constantly overcharging Mando for taking care of Baby Yoda.

- It was cool to see Tatooine again post Return of the Jedi and see how its stayed the same but also changed, feels like it has fallen on hard times post Jabba’s death. And it’s hinted that the rest of the Hutts might be wiped out as well. Definitely could’ve used some close ups on aliens so it still felt like it was this wild space port.

- Who is the Rookie? Why does he have so much money? Why does he want to be legendary? Is he the son of wealthy Imperialists? Is he the son of some Legendary Bounty Hunter hoping to excel beyond his father’s reputation? Is this set up for future conflicts or just a plot device? He really captured my curiousity in ways I didn’t expect after watching the episode and I’m not sure the writers expected or wanted me to. He just insists over and over that money is not what he’s looking for but gives no explaination as to why. I hope that’s set up for something later.

- Love the Tusken Raiders negotiations and the quick line of basically, “They’re the locals, we’re the trespassers.”

- Sleeping Mando was a pretty great scene for me, I loved he was just messing with the rookie so he’d embarrass himself.

- The sniper vs flash bang on speeder bike scene was an interesting take. I was worried the Beskar Steel might become the personification of plot armor, so it’s nice to see him have some plasma scarring on his armor.

- Kinda feels like a waste of Min-Na Wen, but still surprising scene overall and shows that the Rookie isn’t clueless.

- Who was the one leaning over Min-Na? No idea. Desperately want answers to my many questions.

Over all, another 7/10 episode that sadly can’t top “The Sin” with its pacing, direction, action, and plot.

Finally, I just wanna say, I hope Disney gives their Star Wars and Marvel shows the budgets that HBO, Netflix, and Hulu seem to. They have early seasons of Walking Dead and Game of Thrones levels of hype around The Mandolorian and should be pumping as much money into it as the directors and writers need so the plots, characters, and action scenes are seen as exquisite and not passable. This could be the next cultural and cinematic juggernaut that makes us question what kind of stories and vision you can show on the small screen but it feels like something I’d find on basic cable in the 90s and early 2000s. Except even then there were shows like Firefly that did it better and it was on Fox. This should be Disney’s introduction to the world for their take on high production quality television that should be make AMC fear putting their Halo show out. Instead, it feels like they’re pulling their punches unsure if this business model is profitable at all making the creators beg for every penny they can get their hands on.

Here’s hoping the next 3 episodes get better.

#the mandolorian #Episode 5 #the gunslinger #star wars #disney+#lucasfilm #Mando #spoilers

41 notes · View notes

tlbodine · 4 years

Text

1970s: Exploitation Horror

The 1970s were a strange period in history, and that oddness shows through in the horror of the time. The decade is a grab-bag of content, featuring the rise of some of the best-known tropes and landmark films of the genre, but also some really baffling, awful movies.

We decided to launch our journey through the decade by getting one of its most unnerving trends checked off the list early: the exploitation film.

The death knell of the Hays Production Code and the moral gatekeeping by the 1960s left a period of cinematic anarchy. The MPAA would take a bit to solidify our modern rating system and lay out the rules for film content, so for a while the only real limitation on movie content was what a movie theater would play. These decisions came on a case-by-case basis, and so-called “grindhouse” theaters capitalized on it by offering the kind of shocking, low-brow, vulgar or otherwise unpalatable content other theaters wouldn’t touch.

Thus, “exploitation” films were all about exploiting the tumultuous times in cinema.

One popular genre to crop up in this setting was the rape-revenge movie. The basic formula: a woman is raped, left for dead, and returns to wreak bloody vengeance on her attacker(s). The plot provides an excuse to show both graphic sex and violence, which is like a 2-for-1 exploitation buffet and also incidentally the theme of this week’s film series.

Analysis below the cut!

First up: I Spit On Your Grave

youtube

This 1974 film, written and directed by Meir Zarchi, is probably the best-known and possibly best-made of the rape-revenge movies of the era. It’s also incredibly hard to watch.

The story is straightforward. Jennifer, a female author, moves to a remote summer home to work on her novel. There she attracts the attention of a group of men, including one mentally challenged delivery boy named Matthew. Matthew’s friends are assholes, and they goad him about the “crush” he has on this fancy city woman, and decide it would be entertaining for him to lose his virginity to her. So they, uh, harass her, physically assault her, and take turns raping her before leaving Matthew to kill her (he doesn’t, and lies to his friends about it, leaving her beaten but alive and thus able to exact revenge).

There are several things about this movie that are noteworthy:

It portrays the rape in the least-sexy, least-romanticized way imaginable. It is not titillating or exciting in any way. The rape sequence lasts for 30 minutes of film time, and they are excruciating to watch. There is no soundtrack, so you have only the flat silence punctuated by screams, grunts, and scant dialogue. The camera is often stationary, focused on the scene as an objective viewer rather than spending a lot of time cutting and zooming -- putting the audience in the role of helpless witness.

The character of Matthew is interesting and, honestly, sympathetic. It’s pretty clear that he has the intellect of a child, and he has no real idea of what’s really going on. He’s goaded and pressured into participating, and he’s reluctant and tries several times to stop and escape. In a way, he’s a victim almost as much as Jennifer.

The second half of the film is pure revenge fantasy. Jennifer is transformed. She is suddenly cool, calculating, physically capable, and able to deliver cutting one-liners. The villains, never the sharpest tools in the shed, transform into unbelievably stupid caricatures capable only of thinking with their dicks. Jennifer systematically seduces and murders them in increasingly violent ways.

It’s probable that the film’s events are meant to be taken at face value, but I think a more interesting read on the story is that the second half -- the revenge portion -- is literally a fantasy. After the attack, we see Jennifer spend some time recovering physically, then piecing together the torn pages of her manuscript before sitting down to write. Perhaps, then, the revenge is happening on the page rather than in reality. Perhaps she has put together the pieces of her life and rewritten her narrative such that she can take control of her sexuality and work through her anger and grief and pain.

Maybe it’s just the writer in me, but I think that’s a cool interpretation and one that makes a lot of sense in context.

Either way: I Spit On Your Grave is an uncomfortable but well-made film that’s worth talking about. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding it even to this day (and it was a box office disaster, grindhouse or no), but I think on the balance it’s ultimately a feminist film, or at least a sympathetic one.

Note: There was a remake and multiple sequels released in the 2010s. I haven’t seen any of them, but my understanding is they’re more over-the-top violent and sensationalized, and I can’t help but suspect that cheapens the brutal elegance of the original. If you’ve seen them, feel free to weigh in!

The second film of the night was The Last House on the Left.

youtube

Wes Craven’s directorial debut, The Last House on the Left (1972) tells the story of two teenage girls who run afoul of a gang of psychotic thugs who kidnap, torture, rape, and eventually murder them. The thugs then end up coincidentally at the house of one victim’s parents, who exact their revenge after discovering their daughter’s body dumped in the woods nearby and put two and two together.

All I can say is: What the fuck did I just watch.

I’d never seen this movie, although I was familiar with it by reputation. It’s famous, and I heard good things about its 2009 remake. What nobody thought to warn me about is the goddamn soundtrack.

I can respect the artistic technique of pairing graphic violence with tonally inconsistent music as a way to create dissonance and cause audience discomfort. But that’s not the effect this had. This had the effect of causing me to burst out into laughter at the absolute absurdity. There is synth keyboard. There is banjo. Snare drum. A fucking kazoo. And it’s relentless, showing up to hammer you over the head and also drown out everything else that’s happening in the movie.

Like, at one point, I seriously considered muting the damn movie so I could at least try to concentrate on the story because the music is so distracting and undercuts the tension at every possible moment.

Music aside (and boy do I wish the music had been an aside), the film just...wasn’t great. The violence is comparably tame and lacks the visceral discomfort of I Spit On Your Grave. The villainous gang members are pretty much flat characters who seem like a bad parody of Sopranos extras. Even the parental revenge is bizarrely absurd, with the father opting to booby-trap the house in a Home Alone-esque fashion despite literally owning a shotgun and literally using the shotgun to threaten the bad guys. At least in the remake a guy’s head gets exploded in a microwave! No such fun here.

Oh. And do we need to talk about the two bumbling police officers who end up running around town in a long-running slapstick gag? At one point their squad car runs out of gas because one of them is too stupid to fill up the tank, so they have to waddle around on foot and hitch a ride on the roof of a car loaded up with chickens. For. Some reason.

Honestly, this movie was a disaster, and I’m honestly amazed that Wes Craven managed to make more movies afterward (and I’m glad he did, because they are much better than this). Sweet lord.

I give you permission to skip this one. As far as I’m concerned it’s irredeemable.

As a note, the movie is apparently a (very) loose adaptation/inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, which was itself adapted from a 13th century Swedish ballad. Go figure. I don’t think I’ve seen it (although I may have watched a part of it in a college film class, because it does seem familiar) but I feel pretty confident that it’s a better movie so...watch that instead, probably.

Or, if you can stomach it, check out one of the other many...many...rape/revenge stories from the 1970s and beyond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_and_revenge_film

#rape #tw: rape #horror movies #horror movies by the decade #horror through the decades #i spit on your grave #last house on the left

21 notes · View notes

you-turn-it-into-light · 4 years

Text

Wakana - magic moment (2020) Album Review

My girl releases another album less than a year after her first. What a hardworking woman! First, let’s do some overall thoughts:

I really love the title of this album, it’s a happy title for a mostly happy sounding album

I also love the cover, maybe even more than the ‘Wakana’ Album

Are those shoes the same ones from the Aki no Sakura EP?

I really love the diversity of sound in this album. One of my complaints of the first album was the lack of variety. I love me some ballads (70% of my playlist of all the music I listen to are sad songs) but it felt a bit stale after a while.

My complaints with Wakana’s singing is always going to be the same thing since her vocal delivery has not really changed technically that much. Her vibrato is actually quite nice as opposed to what some people would say as ‘Goat Wakana’ (great criticism I must say), especially at the end of 442, her lower register is gorgeous but has no support (as expected of a soprano) and her higher notes in her chest voice are quite nasally. Her falsetto however is quite grating on the ears (I’ll elaborate later)

Why is Orange on the album? To fill up space, that’s why (I get it, making an album is hard, but why not just leave it out? There’d still be 10 songs) And Wakana wrote the lyrics, I guess?

I’m really interested to see how some songs will be performed live with some overlapping vocals (in 442) and strings being in many of the songs (without a violinist for the upcoming live)

I listened to the album first when I was in a bit of a bad mood so everything seemed super average. I’m feeling a bit better about most of the songs. Also after reading the self-liner notes for the album and listening to the lyrics, I was able to appreciate some of the songs more.

Okay, now for the individual songs:

breathing

(Lyrics: Wakana | Arrangement/Composition: Yumemi Kujira)

The orchestra sound is so gorgeous. At first it was weird hearing the japanese lyrics though lol. I like how they added different instruments for variety’s sake. The choir in the background was more hit or miss for me. During the first chorus is was really distracting but it was great for the rest of the song. My main problem is not the song itself but Wakana’s delivery of the falsetto; it’s very disconnected and screechy. It’s very hard to listen to and since the same chorus is repeated 4 times? It makes it a bit of a hard song to listen to overall. Wakana needs to develop better placement, breathing techniques and support when hitting notes in her head voice.

揺れる春 (Yureru Haru)

Lyrics: Wakana | Arrangement/Composition: Miki Sakurai

I don’t really like this song? The lyrics are quite nice, but it just feels like a plain upbeat song about being happy and reaching for goals and all that fun generic stuff. But what Wakana said in the self liner notes made me feel a bit better about the song:

“The hook’s 駆け出した (run off) and 君の叫び (your scream) are connected, right?”

“The urge to run off and shout. It’s exhilarating, and the canvas that you have now is white so you can draw freely and go with the urge. And the second verse’s 睫毛に触れたのは昨日の自分の欠片 (What touched my eyelashes was the pieces of yesterday’s me) are about tears. The tears hit my eyelashes and one part stops there. The fragments that came out of itself include those that you pick up yourself (I had a hard time translating that sentence so I used google translate hehe).

where

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Akihito Takashi

I LOVE Wakana’s low register in this song and the verses. I also really like the acoustic guitar, it provides a really contrast to the more dance-centric feeling of the song. The first chorus still lacks the appropriate punch, but the key change for the second half of the song makes up for it. Also those ‘wooah’s’ are really awesome. Wakana’s voice during the 3rd verse (after the key change) is just gorgeous.

442

Lyrics: Wakana, Airi Okamoto | Arrangement/Composition: Koichi Ikekubo

I really wanted to know the meaning of the title, and apparently it’s the hertz sound of a baby crying for the first time!

“The lyrics are co-authored. First we talked about the subject (of the lyrics), we said “When we plan the song, let’s make the theme the reason why you started singing”. So when looking at the lyrics given to me, words came out from inside of me. In particular, the phrase 愛の声が聴こえた (I heard the voice of love) that Okamoto-san produced for us for the hook. [...] I thought that I was born to listen to the “voice of love”. And so, that singing voice is echoing throughout my whole body. It’s strange to cry with the same sound of when we were born. I wonder why? I thought about it, I was born to do something and I thought that your first cry was a singing voice that expressed it.”

I love the melody and instrumentation of this song, especially the chorus. The chorus holds an incredible amount of weight. Apart from her nasality, Wakana’s singing is quite solid throughout this song. I love Wakana’s ‘ai no’ at the last chorus. So much power! I also really like the violin and am disappointed that there won’t be any in the live... Also I love the last line 響き渡る歌声 (resounding singing voice) and the music stops when Wakana sings ‘singing voice’. I don’t have anything objective to say about it, I just adore that part.

ひらりひらり (Hirari Hirari)

Lyrics/Composition: Silence! | Arrangement: Mamoru Kuge

Bland... It might take me a few listens but I don’t know if I’ll like this song. Wakana’s singing during the verses is gorgeous, very clear and the melody of the verses and pre-choruses are lovely, but the chorus is really bland and forgettable. I like what Wakana said about the song though.

“It's a song for people who want to meet but can't meet, whether it’s because you can't meet because you're away or because you don't have the courage.”

I’m in a long-distance relationship, so this song hits home a little bit. The lyrics are actually quite sad. If the whole song was like the verses I’d like it a lot more but the chorus is so uplifting...

アキノサクラ (Aki no Sakura) (Acoustic ver.)

Lyrics: Kei Saito, Yoshitaka Taira | Composition: Kei Saito | Arrangement: Toshio Uchida

I love the combo of bongos and accordion! There isn’t much to say about this song apart from the new instrumentation and the tempo. I really like the former but not really the latter. I don’t think I like it more than the original, but it’s a very nice song. The vocalisations during the bridge is also a pretty touch, especially when Wakana sings along with the music. and that ‘naite’ at the end was so emotional

myself

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Yoshifumi Ise

When I first heard this song, I thought it was BORING. On the second listen, I really liked it. Wakana’s voice is so gorgeous on this song. I love the melody of the line 壊れぬように抱きしめてた (I embraced it so it wouldn’t break). Her vibrato is a bit shaky with the delivery and her low register is not as clear as other tracks (but maybe that’s because of the mixing). Some of the strings sound synth, especially during the bridge but I’m not very sure. The parts with just the one violin instead of the quartet are my favourite bits of the instrumentation; it sounds really lonely. There’s nothing much else to say about it, a very solid song.

君だけのステージ

Lyrics: Wakana | Composition/Arrangement: Satoshi Takebe

I was disappointed. I really like this song and in my review of the live version I mentioned that her high register suits a song like this. But the way Wakana’s singing in the recorded version sounds different to me. The vowels are shaped in a way that sounds like a sadder song. Maybe this me being picky, but it took away from the happier experience. The nasality in her voice is the worst in this song, it literally sounds like she needs to sneeze and drink some water. Also the added noises (synth bells?) during the pre-chorus is very distracting. My review sounds very negative, but I really like this song and the lyrics are gorgeous.

Happy Hello Day

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: Akihiro Kasuga | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

At this point, the strings are really nice, even if they’re getting a bit old. But the piano during the verses is very cool... I really like the strings in the chorus and the melody of it too. The message of the song is quite sweet and easily applicable to anyone in every day life. These lyrics in particular:

手を叩き軽やかに Clap your hands lightly, 口笛吹いて whistling. ありふれた幸せで僕らはできてる We are made of ordinary happiness.

君が空を仰いで涙流し You look up at the sky, shedding tears. 息を詰まらせて動けなくなったら If you get short of breath and can't move, 此処に僕が居る I'm here.

These lyrics (for like the first 2 lines) are about a performer and the audience. Creating the atmosphere of a happy and chill live (clapping lightly, still listening to the music) and everyone being the same, even the performer. The second section reflects the way some people view performers and music to be an escape from their life. But it can also be interpreted as just an everyday person being happy to have met someone they like. I love how it’s so interchangeable and up for interpretation.

magic moment

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: SIRA | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

The strings are gorgeous (why no strings for the live????!!!!) and so are the verses. I particularly love the pre-chorus. The chorus however is quite bland and boring and the changing rhythm is a bit hard to grasp. The lyrics are lovely as well. I mean, I’m biased because Wakana wrote them. But I love these ones:

いつから夢も見ない大人になったの？ Since when did I become an adult that never dreamed? 最後の場所は決めたよ　さあ行こう I've decided on the last place. So, let's go!

The song is actually quite growing on me. I’m sure I’ll keep liking it but the chorus is still weighing it down.

OVERALL:

I really like this album. An unimpressive first impression followed by a very nice second and third one. I’m impressed with the amount of variety in the songs and her singing is mostly solid. I just wish she would improve on different places and I’ll probably keep complaining about them. I think Wakana is liking the independence when it comes to helping the creation of these songs and I’m very happy for me.

#wakana #magic moment #album #review #2020 #kalafina

9 notes · View notes

paperclipninja · 5 years

Text

Younger post-ep ramble 6x09

After the very public outing of Liza’s real age last week, it was no surprise that this week’s Younger episode, ‘Millennial’s Next Top Model’, was all about the fallout. In true Younger style we were treated to some unexpected twists and turns, saw Kelsey take control at work and in her personal life and welcomed back my #1 mega-villain who I hate-love fiercely, Quinn Tyler. This ep was written by Grant Sloss, who is responsible for a number of my favourite episodes and lot of my fave moments in the series and one thing I am always blown away by is his ability to craft character interactions in which the sentiment and emotion are really palpable (plus the one-liners are always top of the game) and we certainly saw a number of those this week. Even though Liza is 100% responsible for the position she now finds herself in, my heart went out to her this whole episode and Kelsey, Charles and Diana’s show of solidarity right from the get-go pretty much sums up everything I love about this show.

I need to say upfront that while I know this episode is all about Liza, it is hands down my favourite episode of Kelsey’s in the series. In a time of real pressure and stress, we see Kelsey step up in the role of publisher, starting with the damage control team meeting in her office. I have big feelings about this opening moment, in which Diana proves why she is an actual Queen who rises above past grievances and now offers unwavering support of Liza while continuing to have zero time for Zane’s bullshit (the ‘well mercifully they have a paywall now’ to Zane’s New York Magazine tidbit was all of the yes). We learn of the deal with Infinitely 21 (was it just me or did anyone else get heart flutters at the thought of Kelsey, Diana and Liza being their brilliant selves and brokering that arrangement? Just me? Cool) and I have spoken of my love for the way this show parodies real life things but this might take the cake. Alexa, what are synonyms for ‘forever’? I just adore that it is very clear that Kelsey is in charge and that Charles and Diana are offering up potential solutions (Diana’s ‘rest her a bit’ is so in character I cannot. Between that and Charles’ thoroughbred thighs from season 4 I fully expect her to have a couple of horses upstate somewhere called Charles and Liza by the end of this series), meanwhile Zane clearly still hasn’t caught on to the fact that these three are not going to throw Liza under a bus.

Enter Liza as he’s ending his tirade about her poisoning the company (and lbh, what he is saying isn’t actually ridiculous from a business p.o.v but he’s talking about the best friend, girlfriend and (old) maid of honour of the people in the room) and it’s awkward af and pretty awful and I want to climb through my screen, wrap Liza in a blanket and tell her it’s all going to be ok. Zane’s extreme over-estimation of his importance in Liza’s life continues when he tells her that what he’s saying can’t be personal because ‘I don’t know who you are’ (worth it for Charles’ ‘Zane’ reprimand though amirite) and as I said after last week’s episode, I can’t even count on one hand the number of interactions Zane and Liza have had so yes Zane, that is accurate and nothing to do with her age reveal. At least once he discovered that Kelsey has known about the lie he FINALLY has a reason to be hurt (maybe? Still a little fuzzy on this one) and look Zane saying they’re all insane might be somewhat accurate but everyone in that room loves Liza and I love all of them so I felt personally attacked tbh.

Keeping with the stellar guest star casting this season, Shelly Rozansky (played by Annaleigh Ashford) is every kind of irritating as brand rep of Infinitely 21. Kelsey and Liza’s meeting with her, in which Shelly explains that 'the tea’ is that their authentic brand cannot be associated with Millennial’s inauthentic one (I love the moral high ground re: brand but I’m pretty sure Millennial doesn’t have factory workers making less than a living wage so…) and this very real ramification of Liza’s lie paves the way for one of Liza’s best moments on the show to date.

Taking that tea of Shelly’s and throwing it in her face, Liza’s monologue that 'everyone is pretending to be younger’ reaches it’s climax with the zinger, 'Millennial is not an age, it’s an attitude and if you can’t sell that, we’ll go somewhere else’, and Kelsey’s look of pride, same girl SAME. One thing I have commented on in the past is that as a '26 year old’ Liza rarely, if ever, really stood up for herself. The few times we’ve seen her do so have been as the forty year old who takes no crap from anyone (David, Charles, Don) so I am here times a million for strong ass Liza to finally shed that guilt, know her worth and be able to show this side of herself now that the lie is no longer in play (I feel like Diana will dig this very much).

Turns out Shelly was quite into Liza’s feisty outburst too ('what you screamed at me today, justifiably, we’re still friends promise…it resonated’ = award winning line/delivery combo), as she calls to let Liza know they’re going to unfreeze the partnership and asks Liza to be the face (and legs) of Infinitely 21’s Spring campaign. This phone call takes place in a very delicious looking cupcake shop where Liza and Charles are playing cards with his daughters in an all round delightful family situation that gives us a glimpse of the Miller-Brooks dynamic and makes the point that after a pretty terrible day, Liza is grateful to have this in her life to counter all the drama. I am also pleased to see that Bianca and Nicole have been located (meanwhile Caitlin, Beth and all of Josh’s friends remain stuck in the Upside Down or have become bunker people or something equally ominous I fear).

I am very into a number of aspects of this entire scene: a) Charles eating candy just up and gets me for some reason. I don’t know why, I can’t explain it, but it’s akin to seeing him walking round barefoot, it confuses my brain but I’m pretty sure I like it; b) Bianca is clearly the fave child with her cute little, 'I won’t take your last bag of candy Liza’ (lol at Charles’ 'wow’ when Liza offers that up for the taking btw, he knows that’s a serious gamble) though I was 100% Nicole as a kid; c) those kids are so not sleeping after all that sugar so I hope they’re staying at Pauline’s, while Charles’ dad game is strong with the breakfast cupcakes and; d) Charles kissing Liza on the cheek as she takes Shelly’s call is so damn sweet (pun intended) and supportive and I love that Liza suggesting he go stand with the girls in case she starts crying again indicates she has been an open mess around him. It’s writing like this that I really appreciate when there is so much to fit into an episode, because it provides insight into the kind of relationship Liza and Charles have when there simply isn’t time to show it.

While Liza is drowning her sorrows in candy and cupcakes, Maggie is at the brilliantly cringy art exhibit, 'Masculinity Detox: A Softer Male Gaze’. Look I have to be honest, I was really happy to see Oded Fehr because he can play a skeeze with charm like no other, but I don’t know how I feel about this entire plot. I can only comment on it from a straight perspective, so I am aware that I’m not really in a position to express an opinion in relation to the impact of showing a gay character thinking it’s a good idea to sample a penis every ten years or so, but I certainly feel like it’s problematic. In relation to this character though, it is consistent with Maggie sleeping with Tommy Minetti (and his sister Tammy) as a result of Berlin’s 'Take my Breath Away’ (I don’t know why I remember that, I can’t remember what month it is yet this stuff is right there) and there is no denying that there were actual sparks between Maggie and Rafael in the loft, the palpable chemistry that Grant Sloss’ eps seem to draw out on full display.

Another dimension of Maggie that I love seeing emerge in this ep is that while she is usually a total badass in absolute control, every now and then we see that her judgement of character is just way off. There was Montana, those weirdo art collectors who actually collect artists and now this guy. I love that there’s a side of her that gets a bit blinded by flattery so she thinks 'what the hell?’ and the inevitable 'oh I CAN-NOT with this bullshit’ that follows, usually very publicly - Exhibit A: Maggie countering dirtbag Rafael’s, 'I’ll change you mind, I’m a flipper’ with a literal flip of the restaurant table once she realises she was simply another conquest. She seems so unflappable that these reminders that she’s fallible (I legit sometimes forget she’s not an actual super hero) are really great and maintains the 'flawed human’ aspect this show does so well. Honestly, other than Liza in a full tracksuit (sweat clothes?? I don’t know what it is in American but that cute pink sweat top and sweatpants combo) thinking they were being robbed and very confused by what had happened (so were we all lbh and Kinsey 9 LOL), it was Maggie equating sex with a man to being suffocated by a damp rug that was the highlight of this entire storyline for me. So damn funny.

Diana continues to have Liza’s back as she heads to the photo-shoot to steer her away from anything pleather (I may need a spin off of these two or some kind of one off special episode that’s just an elaborate Diana/Liza adventure, maybe rescuing Caitlin and co. from the bunker??), but not before we catch Kelsey still slaying it as a boss as she leaves a voicemail for the increasingly petulant Zane. Hearing her so firm and sure of herself is brilliant and the friendship vibe between Diana and Kelsey is peaking and I am loving every bit of it. I am so glad we heard Diana asking Kelsey how she took the lie, while Diana was able to forgive and move forward it would have been strange if we didn’t see her still processing some of it this week. Plus it’s Diana who points out that Zane’s tantrum is not because Liza is who he is upset with (and THANK YOU Kelsey for pointing out that Liza and Zane hardly know each other).

Rather than letting the whole Zane thing fester away, Kelsey continues to impressively show initiative by going to Zane’s and offering to cook dinner (which Zane knows is a lol and it’s not long before he’s cooking, so well played Kels) to give him the opportunity to ask anything he wants and she will answer honestly. Once a proper explanation of why Liza lied and why Kelsey kept it from him is given, Zane suddenly reverts back to being a rational human being which is a relief because he was fast becoming the worst (though his comment that they were all bad liars, what now?? Yes they be cray but their lying game is strong friend). I am not particularly invested in Kelsey and Zane as a pairing but I always appreciate good storytelling and writing, and revisiting the fact Zane told her he loved her in past tense was an example of both of these. In order for any kind of relationship between these two to progress believably this needed to be addressed and hearing Kelsey call Zane out on his shitty and manipulative behaviour was great, but even greater was seeing Kelsey drop her guard.

Opening up about being mad at herself too and that maybe if they were both more open about their feelings they wouldn’t have wasted so much time denying how they really felt; that she felt, no, feels, the same way, present tense; the resetting of the timer so she can finish what she was going to say instead of taking the option of backing out; the honest conversation…you know what all this is? Growth. Kelsey Lorraine Peters, I am just so damn proud of you because I am the first to admit that I was not sure this character could be redeemed for me after last season but here we are. The emotion for this whole scene, you could feel it and Zane’s, 'oh that timer was for food’ was fab, before he just casually drops in, ’ I love you, but stay out of my kitchen’. OK. Smitten mode activated.

Meanwhile, Diana is no doubt enjoying Shelly’s disbelief that she and Liza are almost the same age about as much as a root canal and Lauren appears with a 'bowflex for your face’ to combat the 5 o'clock jowls. Side note: Lauren and Liza really need to have a convo asap because I definitely feel like Lauren is not ok with the lie since it’s been revealed. Scene of the ep goes to Charles walking into the trailer (with flowers for Liza *swoon*) while Diana is flapping that contraption, before he slowly backs away and I tell you, I was howling so hard I almost ruptured something. Liza’s hideous romper/scooter combo is just no on many levels, she clearly feels super unnatural and the photographer snapping Charles and Liza, who are not expecting to be photographed while her being made up to look so young obviously makes them look very far apart in age and a bit awks means that yes, the daddy/daughter dance vibe is strong, though that line made me vom in my mouth a little bit.

Between shoots our extremely excellent villain Quinn pays Liza a visit to show her support and her well-polling glasses. Her real talk that the good news about the publishing reaction to Liza’s lie is that 'eight blocks outside of midtown, nobody cares’, is what we were all thinking and is def to be filed under 'G’ for Gold. So naturally Quinn drags her into a completely self-serving NY1 interview (bless Liza for thinking they wanted to interview her) and I freaking love Quinn, she’s such a delicious character coz she’s awful and funny and pretty and a total smart ass. I stan.

Before we jump to the second part of the photo-shoot I have to say that the very obvious ploy to try and juxtapose Liza’s relationships with Charles and Josh felt like it was trying too hard and was mostly disappointing to me because it felt so forced. I want to be very clear that it has nothing to do with who I like Liza with romantically, it would have felt contrived regardless and was the only aspect of the episode that I felt could have been crafted with a little more nuance. Or maybe that was the point? Perhaps the obviousness was part of the humour of it *shrug emoji*

Either way, Liza is looking pretty exhausted when Josh turns up at the bar photo-shoot for reasons (whose name I am betting is Lauren Heller because there is no way he would just turn up and it is 100% in her wheelhouse to send him along after seeing the expressions on her face at the earlier shoot. I feel like this will def come out at some point and that really this whole shoot is serving to bring about stuff in future eps) and he doesn’t get to explain why he is there because he’s teasing Liza about being a model and I really do love their banter. Shelly has no idea what’s happening but she likes it and is thirsting pretty hard as she shakes his hand and I enjoyed hearing Liza talk about Josh as patient zero, her 'would you correct him?’ as she squeezed his cheeks made me smile. I know there have been a LOT of feelings about this scene expressed on social media, but I found the reminiscing, as Josh talked about how when he first met Liza he thought she was smart and sexy and he wanted to keep talking to her, really sweet (and quickly countered by his joking about being really drunk and it being dark).

I actually love this dynamic so much and if this show had moved these two properly into the friendzone I would be celebrating this as a pin-up example of how to show romantic-platonic relationship transition. I still may, because at this stage there is nothing to indicate that Liza is anything but committed to Charles and Josh gave no impression of pining for her IMO, but as an experienced TV connoisseur (aka obsessive tv show watcher) I am not naive enough to think that this interaction mightn’t be setting in motion a resurgence of the triangle. By the same token, I do not see any triangle in play at the moment and one thing this show does excel at is surprising us, so time will tell, but I am going to keep my faith in the writers to tell good, compelling stories that stay true to all the excellent characters and narratives they have in front of them, as they have done up until now.

While Liza’s colleagues aren’t going to throw her under a bus, Quinn is not only more than happy to, I’m pretty sure she’d drive the bus herself if it served her own self interest. Quinn saying that she found out about Liza’s lie the week before in The New Yorker article, ooomph, did you feel that? It was the wind being knocked out of all of us, along with poor Liza, as Quinn counters Liza’s suggestion that she knew the truth before she invested on live TV. It was evident fairly quickly that Quinn was using the interview as a campaign platform and Liza’s expression as Quinn betrays her so publicly is yet another credit to Sutton Foster’s incredible talent.

My Kelsey love was brought home this week when she met Quinn following the NY1 interview. She is unrelenting in her backing of Liza and unwavering in her stance to Quinn when she is asks her to fire Liza. From the moment she arrives Kelsey is so kick ass, she sees every one of Quinn’s attempts to bully her into getting what she wants and Kelsey’s, 'please don’t minimise the strength I bring to this meeting’ was such a hell yes moment. There is something so satisfying about seeing Quinn in a position where she needs something from Kelsey and Kelsey standing so firm. Kelsey’s 'are we done here?’ before walking away was such a power move and the transition into her own office the next day, with Charles reassuring her that she did the right thing, was wonderful. Seeing these two as equals, talking business with a bit of a mentor/mentee dynamic is a dream. It was on my season 6 wish list and I can’t wait to see more of it.

It is upon discovering that Audrey Colbert’s manuscript delivery cheque bounced and that Diana just heard one of the Jennifer’s, the sloppy one from publicity (this line, I swear and also I need to meet her), say her direct deposit didn’t go through that we discover Quinn has thrown the ultimate tantrum and pulled her funding and Mercurennial is broke.

Poor Liza feels that it’s all her fault, I’m sure partly because of the way her colleagues turn and look at her when she walks in the office and partly because it is, but Charles continues to play the role of ultimate supportive partner as they stroll down the street after work, pointing out that Liza attracted Quinn to the company in the first place (and we ALL know it was not the company she was attracted to). I am simple folk and Charles saying he’s spoken for as he put his arm around her made me melt into a puddle and if anyone is feeling concerned about Liza’s level of besotted, watch this final scene as Charles reassures her that, 'you know what’s great about the worst thing happening? There’s no place to go but up. Only good things ahead’. I may have actually died from the sweetness of the entire thing and Liza does exactly what any self respecting person would in that situation and kisses him before they walk off hand in hand. To live happily ever after…jokes LOL I mean it’s television and it turns out Infinitely 21 has the most efficient marketing team on the planet because their campaign is launched and whattya know, it looks as though Liza and her ex will be plastered all over the city.

File under 'O’ for OF COURSE.

#youngertv #younger tv #ramble #review #younger season 6 #6x09 #liza miller #charles brooks #diana trout #kelsey peters #team charles #tv

8 notes · View notes

byebyler · 5 years

Text

My random It 2 thoughts

That I just want to get out bc I want to talk about it, not because I have any piping hot takes or anything. Hiding it under a read more to spare you all

So basically before we go see any new movie, my sister will be like “Well I’ve been reading stuff online and here’s every shitty thing anyone has said about this movie so far” and I’m always just like mhmm but this time I especially didn’t care? Idk I was excited about the movie and the comments had me hesitant but actually none of it was all that bad to me. There was something about the flashbacks not adding anything to the story, and the horrible baby-fication cgi they used on the kids to make them look younger, but it didn’t really bother me. The cgi looked worst on Richie but even then I didn’t care cause tbh I liked his scenes the best. I think the flashbacks were some of my fave parts, just cause I love the kids. They’re so adorable and such good actors and yeah

Even the love triangle between the adults was just whatever. It wasn’t as bad as I expected. Mostly because it wasn’t even there to me? Like Bev forgot who wrote the letter, she thought it was Bill, it was actually Ben and then Benverly happens. Way to go. Also I was like pssh I don’t care about Benverly but then when they were separated and Ben starts in with “Your hair is winter fire!”??? It made me cry, ngl

Honestly though the adults were kind of the weak point for me? Like I only know Bill Hader and Jessica and James, and I’m sure everyone else has been good in other stuff. But they just seemed kinda bleh for me. Mike was good enough, Bill had some good moments, and the guy playing Eddie was like amazing at mimicking young Eddie. And I love Bill Hader. I loved his portrayal of Richie. Tbh Richie was my favorite in this movie. In the first movie I’m gonna say it was Eddie, cause he had the most personality and was funny and charismatic and had good line delivery. And yet I don’t like adult Eddie for acting just like young Eddie lol go figure. Anyway I just love Bill Hader. He was my favorite part of the whole movie

Although honestly some of the comedy bits were odd for me. Like a joke or one liner in places there shouldn’t really be a joke or one liner? Idk I just felt like they could’ve edited better. Same with some overly long scenes. Several times I found myself sitting there just like ....so this is why the movie is three hours long? Was it worth it? Idk

Like it was just trying to be comedy horror instead of just a horror drama? I don’t really know how I felt about all that. Also the whole set up was just... I don’t know. Like everyone comes together, there’s the scene in the restaurant, and before you know it everyone is split up again for like an hour looking for tokens?? So much time is spent on Bill getting his bike back and I thought the little bell on the handle was going to be his token but then he just gets the paper boat from the sewers and that’s it?? And all the stuff at the carnival. Like it was a cool scene and carnivals were hot in horror/sci fi this summer (Us, Stranger Things) so I guess it’s a given. But idk all the stuff with the kid just felt like it could’ve been easily cut. And we didn’t even waste time going along with Ben or Mike (surprise!) to find their tokens so I feel like they really could’ve cut stuff down. But again, Bill Hader and the flashbacks were some of my fave parts so I guess I can’t complain about the Richie stuff, in the past or present

Also god. The scene where he starts carving “R + ” onto the bridge. I was like “If I have to see an R + E on there I’m gonna lose my goddamn mind” and my sister was like “Oh you know he’s going to revisit that spot at the end after Eddie dies and stare longingly at it” and I was like well I’m gonna lose my goddamn mind then. And I did

Oh and I loved Henry Bowers, I thought he was great. The part where he gets in the car and zombie!Patrick is driving cracked me up more than anything else. It was hilarious. Also it was totally unbelievable that young Bowers fell like fifty feet down that well and banged all up against the sides of the rock walls and was able to walk away with no broken bones or internal bleeding or head trauma?? I guess he’s invincible since he was like possessed or whatever

Other random thoughts: I cried so much during the movie. Like not full on sobbing but tearing up practically every ten minutes. Even at the beginning with the gay bashing because yikes. That was brutal to watch. That little girl with the birthmark- honestly I thought she had her face painted at first since they were at the carnival. I didn’t even realize it was just her skin. Also idk what happened to her bc I wasn’t looking, but I knew they were gonna do like a countdown fakeout and then make you wait and THEN do the jump scare. Still wasn’t looking. Also the weird long limbed old lady scared me. I thought it was just going to be an old lady but nope. And I jumped at the Paul Bunyan statue part. But I also jumped when Richie locked his car and it lit up and made a noise sooo I’m basically a scaredy cat. But yeah those parts did scare me but also the cgi was so bad? Mostly with the old lady. It just was not fun to look at. They did a spider head monster like in The Thing. They should’ve also honored The Thing by throwing some practical effects in there to switch it up. But I guess that’s asking too much

Anyway I know the movie is still fresh in my mind and every time something is new I’m just like “this was the best!” but I really did like it. For everything I complained about, I still thought it was a great movie. And I kind of like how fucking looong it was because that just gives us more content to watch and rewatch and comb through. I know I’m already planning to see it in theaters at least two more times. But yeah lately it’s getting harder and harder to find something to be excited about but this did the trick for me, for now. I really loved it, and I love both parts of the whole, and I think when part 2 comes out on blu ray and I can watch them back to back, it’ll be a good cohesive piece

#it #it chapter 2 #it 2 #it 2019 #it part 2 #not stranger things

5 notes · View notes