#except rachel's actress I think that was perfect | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

betweentheracks · 3 years

Text

We*bo Night Style Review

The following is my insight and perception as a professional stylist and is subjective to my position and role.

Long post is long.

Starting from the first I saw, I will address Yibo's blue Chanel number. This look pulls directly from Chanel's Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear line. It is paired with Jimmy Choo Mocca loafers and a beret which has a badge on it bearing "my own private planet" on it. This is a cute accessory for the The Little Prince homage alone. I won’t go into how fitting it is for Yibo to pull from this beloved book as it would make this post needlessly gushy and too long, just know that I have had loud feelings about it all day.

Honestly, I was underwhelmed upon first impression when I saw this fit. Setting aside my own personal dislike of Chanel, the overall feel of this look didn't catch nor meet what I would have expected to see. It held a cute air of youth to it and played upon the boyish charm Yibo simply cannot be rid of thanks to his facial structure and features. It is jarring for me to write about Chanel in conjunction to "youthful, boyish charms" as Chanel caters near exclusively to women with deep pockets that enjoy looking as if they corner the ideal of being a Stepford Wife, no matter the age.

However, Yibo has always successfully turned Chanel's overt "Emily Gilmore" aesthetic on its head and has singlehandedly returned Chanel to being in the ranks of fashion which are aimed at younger to middle range adults. Tonight is no exception to this as he did look wonderful. The accessories and the shirt are all also Chanel and initially debuted in as an ensemble when this Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear line was trotted out at the end of last year. In my opinion as a professional and critical eye, Yibo wore this look better than the original model. The way his hair stylist did his hair with micro extensions and false locks to give him that additional length and furthering the ideal of youthful leisure really made this style snap off.

Some notes on the pieces in play:

This is not the first time Yibo has worn this specific collection of Chanel’s. His styles from Tencent Star Awards were also from this range.

This collection was inspired by actresses of the vintage screen. Virginie Viard has commented that she wanted to capture the duality of modern actress lifestyles - high production value and quality of the red carpet service styles, to the staged nuance of being off screen and therefore off duty while waiting in line for coffee - framed by classic lines of the bygone Hollywood era. Yibo specifically seems drawn to the separates-based mix of the set, which were all styled from the draw of the 1980s - hence the shoulder pads and candy colors of pink and now blue. I feel it is worth mentioning that when this line debuted the runway many comments flew about how the collection felt very reminiscent of looking at Regina George inspired couture. Mean Girls, but make it Wang Yibo.

The mini purse around his waist is actually a necklace, not a belt.

He is wearing the Coco Crush ring. This item is peak comfort item material as he seems incredibly keen on wearing it whenever possible and is unabashed to have it called to attention. There is a story behind this ring, of this my professional chimes are ringing loudly in certainty.

My impression of this style changed drastically the more I looked at it and marveled at the almost pale vulnerability the look managed to pluck upon. The color is flattering despite it being candy-bright and almost too pigmented to think of as a functional red carpet choice. Also, I strongly suspect the play here was to highlight the duality of Yibo himself since the style he served up immediately after this completely overwhelms the fawning spring of this style.

Wang Yibo 2.0

This second look features Fendi, Patek Philippe, and Louboutin. The blazer is a Fendi black wool piece and the shirt, also Fendi, is from their lovely Spring/Summer 2021 collection. The watch is Patek Philippe and further showcases Yibo’s taste for expensive and bold watches and it’s actually incredibly admirable for him to use watches as an accessory which seals the deal on an ensemble. There aren’t many that can pull this off due to how often watches remain hidden by the cuffs and sleeves of jackets and shirts and therefore go unnoticed or are seen as bulky obstructions and are being slowly and steadily phased out from being considered staples of style. Of course the shoes are Louboutin, which is just a nice choice no matter what. Solid footwear; sleek and stylish no matter what.

If I was initially underwhelmed by the previous fashion choice then this look did more than simply overwhelm me; it devastated me and left me gaping. The! Hair! The black on black silhouette! The way he flawlessly transitioned from being youthfully boyish and bursting with charm to a domineering presence of matured angles and sharp zeal!! Wang Yibo with an undercut and draped in matte black Fendi is enough to score through my bingo card of styles I was unprepared for and yet thankfully blessed by.

Some notes on the pieces in play:

While the Fendi blazer isn’t altogether spectacular and one of their more run of the mill items, the shirt beneath and the collection it was pulled from are interesting. The Spring/Summer 2021 Fendi line caters to the celebration of love and the surreal intensity of what a domestic experience quarantine and lockdown was like. The menswear was notably designed as “boardroom to boudoir” meaning that the concept was embellished loose linens which could be tucked into a business or formal setting only to later be tugged free and worn sweetly casual, bordering intimate.

This is the shirt in it’s full glory. It isn’t something you would expect to be expertly tucked into the slim lines of Yibo’s stature and one can imagine how it must appear when it left to fall loose around his lean frame. It is a bed shirt in essence and was utilized in such a way that it looks like an entirely new garment on him.

And now we move along to Xiao Zhan and his timeless and classic style.

A man of brand/designer solidarity, he is decked from head to toe in Gucci. I won a bet on this as I wagered he would absolutely be in his chosen favorite. The brooch is another staple in his fashion repertoire and is a Tiffany & Co. item.

He appears very timeless in these classic and clean lines. This is a straight fit wool suit which Gucci favors in tailoring to accentuate slim and tall builds and as such drapes over Zhan’s body as if it were an extension of his body itself. The fit is that perfect. He strikes me as looking very refined and noble in this suit; mature and aloof.

Some notes on the pieces in play:

Gucci has a reputation for constantly improving the way they tailor suits and as such this “relaxed straight fit” is exclusive to their label. Any other fashion house has slim fits, which are the original frame for this style, but entirely different in how Gucci has renovated the way it all fits and hangs. They alter jackets to be comfortably loose along the back of the neck while remaining pleasantly tucked to accentuate the lines of the shoulders, arms, and chest. The pants are brought in at the waist to make slim appear sleek, and the fall straight through the legs to provide the air of being relaxed.

The brooch he is wearing, “Four Leaves” by Jean Schlumberger via Tiffany & Co, is an antique item as Schlumberger was alive from 1907 to 1987. Schlumberger is only one of four designers ever given allowance to sign their work to Tiffany & Co. He created the collection the “Four Leaves” brooch hails from at behest of a friend and fellow admirer of nature’s glory, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon. The irony of Xiao Zhan, resident rabbit, wearing a piece created on the request of someone called Bunny is not lost to me and hopefully not any of you now that I’ve made mention of it.

The gemstone in the brooch is blue-green tourmaline. Tourmaline has many different correspondences depending on the color at hand. Blue-green rouses luck and success and is often used to manifest goals, notably of a creative nature. It is also a crystal of peace and encourages the release of past hurts by bringing them to the surface to be healed via honest and heartfelt communication. Tourmaline can evolve as it is worn and will adhere to the wearer’s conviction, rousing the idea of living a life of integrity and accountability; inviting the wearer to accept any perceived flaws and weaknesses with easy tolerance. I am making this mention because every bit of this seems so incredibly in line with where Xiao Zhan is in life and in his career, especially in light of what he so graciously said on we*bo yesterday as we made it to a year since hell came for him. I am always very moved by this man.

Here is the brooch just so you can have a proper look:

And that’s a wrap on We*bo Night’s lookbook!

This is a bit of a messy post and I do apologize for that, but nevertheless I hope it was enjoyable and gave you some new insights on the way fashion fits together at every turn.

#racks chats #weibo night #wang yibo #xiao zhan #style #styling #fashion deconstruction

155 notes · View notes

eizneckam · 3 years

Text

Not that this would ever happen, but I like rolling around the idea of fancasts in my head, so here’s some ideas for an Omori fancast (I used mostly anime VAs since they tend to do video games too). I’ll put a couple roles next to the names in case you don’t recognize them so you can look them up:

Main Cast

Sunny/Omori - I mean. This VA would get Persona levels of “no actual voice lines”, since neither of these characters speak until the last 5% of the game, but still… I saw someone suggest Kyle McCarley (Hyde Kido from UNIB, Shinji from Fate/stay night, Narancia from JJBA: Golden Wind) for this, and even if I weren’t a huge fan of Kyle, I still would choose him for this. It’s actually a really good fit. (Of course, this video contains an… interesting alternate suggestion.)

Aubrey - Cassandra Lee (Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!, Kyubey from Madoka Magica). Again, this is a bit of personal bias since she’s one of my favorite VAs, but she can do both the “cute little girl” voice (for Headspace Aubrey) and the “abrasive” voice (for the real Aubrey), so I think this works out really well.

Kel - Two VAs for this one. I think in real life, Kel would be one of those boys who’s tiny and cute when he’s little, but grows up to have a surprisingly deep voice, so for Headspace Kel I went with Brittney Karbowski (Selim Bradley from FMAB, Black Star from Soul Eater) since I think she’s one of the few female VAs that can do an actually good impression of a little boy’s voice. (Maxey Whitehead (Alphonse Elric from FMAB) would also work.) For the real Kel, I would probably go with Austin Tindle (Karma Akabane from Assassination Classroom), since he sounds friendly (though Karma is really anything but).

Hero - This was the hardest one for me, because I feel like Hero’s voice needs to be just right. After a lot of deliberation, I settled on two - Johnny Yong Bosch (Yu Narukami from Persona 4) or Bryce Papenbrook (Shirou Emiya from Fate/stay night). I still don’t know if these are correct, so if you have a better idea, tell me.

Mari - Cristina Vee (Sakura Matou from Fate/stay night and countless others). This is one of those that I can’t really explain, only say that it fits in my head. Don’t you agree?

Basil - ...okay. I’m just going to say - I actually don’t like the “female VA plays young boy” trope. Yes, I know I did it for Kel above, but I used two actresses who I actually think can pull it off - I just don’t think most female VAs are good at it (not that they’re bad actors - it’s just that despite similar pitches, a young boy’s voice still sounds different from an adult woman’s). All that said… there’s no way I hear Basil with a male VA. Maybe one with an extremely high-pitched voice, but until someone can suggest one of those, I’ll go with Lindsay Seidel (Nagisa Shiota from Assassination Classroom). She’s among those few actresses I mentioned who can somewhat pull off the “young boy” voice. Of course, I also chose her because of the similarities between Nagisa and Basil - young man, looks like a girl (kinda), bad parents, seems shy but has a hidden dangerous side, etc. So yeah. (This explanation was unnecessarily long.) ...except several meme videos have also made me read Basil with the voice of Red Van Buskirk (Silver from Real-Time Fandub), which, despite being a joke idea, works scarily well.

Side Characters

Pluto - One of two actors. Either Christopher Sabat or Patrick Seitz, as they are the biggest hams the English-speaking VA community has to offer. (See: Vegeta and Dio.) Now that I’m thinking about it, Sung-Won Cho (a.k.a. ProZD) would be perfect too.

Space Boyfriend - Thanks to Osulan, I am unable to unhear SB as Chase Young (a.k.a. Mephiles from the Real-Time Fandub series). This is not a serious choice, but it’s the only one I have.

Sweetheart - Due to Sweetheart essentially being “Beatrice+Erika minus the nasty bits”, I really want to say Sayaka Ohara (the voice of Beatrice). But I did say English voice actors, so we’ll go with Mela Lee (Rachel Alucard from BlazBlue), mainly because Rachel and Sweetheart are both “elegant lady”-type characters.

Mr. Jawsum - Probably Patrick Seitz again. Yeah, actually I think this one works.

Slime Girls - I really don’t know about this one… Probably Monica Rial for Marina, Jamie Marchi for Molly, and Laura Bailey for Medusa. That sounds about right.

Humphrey - As a joke idea, Humphrey with the voice of Tom Kenny (Spongebob from… well) would be absolutely hilarious. (Imagine Spunch Bop saying “I fucking love air conditioning”.) Anyway, for a real idea, maybe Sonny Strait because Koro-sensei’s and Humphrey’s laughs are eerily similar. (Also, Sonny Strait is scarily good at changing his voice pitch. I would never recognize Krillin, Hughes, and Kyuzo as all being the same person.)

Hooligang - Unfortunately, I couldn’t really think of any except Todd Haberkorn (Ling from FMAB, Italy from Hetalia) for Mikhael, so if you have any ideas, add them.

I’m out of ideas. (Sorry, Polly.) Feel free to debate (politely) and add more.

#omori #omori spoilers #probably #oh god #am i going to have to tag every character #sigh #omori omori #omori sunny #omori aubrey #omori kel #omori hero #omori mari #omori basil #alright NO #i ... am NOT doing that #long post #very long post

18 notes · View notes

what-do-1000-swords-look-like · 3 years

Text

and the rewatch continues

So rewatching most of season 5 and dipping into season 6, after coming from season 4, I found some things very interesting, things I actually had forgotten about and some that just hit differently now that the show has ended:

Season 4:

Brothers - different iterations: Had that finale happened after this season, it might have made better sense (though I STILL say the manner of Dean’s death is laughable)

Destiel & Cas: While Cas and Dean have some uncomfortable staring contests and there’s chemistry, I didn’t get the whole Destiel vibe (this is just my personal take), yes there’s a bond there, a growing partnership so to speak but I feel like Cas is not around enough for it to be in the forefront of the story or even to demand Dean’s attention in a way. Like Cas made his big entrance in 4x01 and we saw how things took off from there for the story and for this connection/bond between he and Dean but Dean is early season Dean and Cas is early season Cas. Though I found Cas’ interest in everything Dean Winchester to be intriguing (and he put Dean back together with his own hands, I just...this really does become the greatest love story ever told, I swear), I personally didn’t get the whole UST vibes that has been talked about. I actually found myself wanting to go deeper into Cas’ story (a la 6x20 style) aside from Dean’s and Sam’s.

Anna: That whole night with Anna was purely that: a night. There wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between Jensen and Julie and it’s very clear that this whole sex-on-last-night-on-earth thing is for comfort, for both characters. I kind of get why they switched up gears there for Dean’s angel role, even if they didn’t intend for Destiel to read as romantic at all initially. 4x09 & especially 4x10 were so obviously trying to ying and yang the brothers and the sides that had chosen them/complemented them: Anna | Ruby, Heaven | Hell -> eventually Michael | Lucifer. But back to Anna, while I enjoyed her character and would have loved to delve deeper with her, I am glad Cas was the one who got to stay. Anna and Dean had no chemistry, outside of a couple of glances before the big hookup/last night on Earth deal, there wasn’t really anything there. Tbf, they didn’t have a lot of private time before that, except maybe one convo. To me, in this scenario, Anna was a source of comfort (after she tells Dean he needs to forgive himself for what happened in Hell which I very much appreciated, someone had to tell him that) and attraction, letting her have her last night on Earth, a hookup, etc. But there was nothing deeper there. And for this bond with an angel to happen, there needed to be something deeper there. Perhaps had Anna been around longer and didn’t go the way she did in season 5, it might have but I honestly tend to doubt it. We all know Cas and Dean’s (Misha’s and Jensen’s) natural chemistry is off the charts. I’m not sure Anna (Julie) could have competed with that had both Cas and Anna stuck around together. I know I’m completely biased here, but I almost felt like Anna and Cas had more chemistry together, it might have been because they got more face time, I’m not sure. But I thoroughly enjoyed watching it all go down again.

Adam: Omg I forgot about how Adam wasn’t Adam when Dean and Sam first met him. That was heartbreaking on so many levels, but mostly for Adam and his mom dying the way they did and of course, for Dean and Sam. Namely Dean because he was the most affected by finding out about Adam’s existence. And I swear I fell in love with Dean more in that episode as a character because despite his pain, his anger, his hurt, he still tries to do the right thing by Adam, to honor his dad’s wishes. And John...that mf’er doesn’t deserve any of those boys as his sons. What an asshole through and through.

Season 5:

Destiel & Cas: And now we see Cas becoming a bit more forefront and the vibe has changed...slightly. Now it’s a partnership turning into a friendship. Dean and Cas get a bit more face time and it shows. 5x03 was awesome and of course the wholly unnecessary line of “One, Bert and Ernie are gay” -- like where did that come from? I still loved it. It was tough to see Dean and Sam go their separate ways in the beginning but we still got some gold out of it with 5x03 and 5x04. And thankfully, we get more into not only more of the angel and apocalypse lore this season, but we also get to see how Cas’ relationship with the Winchesters is changing and more of what makes Cas tick as a character in his own right. And of course, bamf!Cas was very present.

Brothers: Once again, had that finale happened after this season, it might have made more sense (sans the junk death) - because it’s very obvious that the co-dependency is alive and well here and it would have made more sense for their characters - while they have others outside of the two of them they are caring about (Bobby, Ellen, Jo just to name a few), it’s still the exclusive Winchester-only club. I truly enjoyed watching these two working together and moving towards the season finale. Dean’s memory of Sam and the fireworks, Dean talking about how Sam’s best memories weren’t the same as his (shocker, John Winchester is a d-bag, I’ll keep saying it), Dean struggling to make the decision to say yes to Michael, having to agree with the plan for Sam to say yes to Lucifer to try to trap the latter, Dean showing up to the cemetery -- all of it was incredible and the two of them were the beating heart of the show at that point. 5x22 will always be one of my favorite season finales for that show. It was pure awesomeness, truly epic and perfect.

Dean: holy hell, they really, really threw a lot into Dean this season - not that they hadn’t before, but damn. Each season just amps up the Dean game, just like I remember, and I am happily here for it again. No offense to Sam at all, but Dean is just so complex, so complicated yet straightforward, and there’s so many layers to him that they just keep peeling back and they feed us well each season. I swear, if you turned the sound off and just watched that scene where Dean tells Zachariah to call Michael, where Dean and Sam go their separate ways, you would know exactly everything Dean is feeling and thinking thanks to the incredible talent of one Mr. Jensen Ackles. Just really incredible. How this man never got nominated for an Emmy at any point for this show just astounds me. Yes, I know that show wasn’t considered a contender for that type of award run, but dammmnnnn. He deserves it and more. Watching this season and season 4 really brought back the original reasons I fell in love with Dean as a character in the first place. One of the best characters ever, I’m telling you. And may I just say, I hated that they brought back John’s leather jacket for him in the season finale but I get it, it was Kripke’s swan song (did I just do that? I believe I did) so we of course went back to core Winchester things, not just in story but every element. I’m ngl, I was so glad to see Dean shed it though when he is sitting down to dinner with Lisa and Ben.

Apocalypse: I thoroughly enjoyed this whole plot line - this really was high stakes, more than ever before, and though angels were dicks, there was Lucifer of course and a mysterious though mostly absent God behind the curtain - you just never knew what was going to be thrown at you next, just like the boys were going through.

Heaven/Mary: even though this definitely has to do with Dean more so, I did enjoy them seeing Ash and Pam, Ash’s setup, and of course Mary being there, seeing how such a good memory could be manipulated by the dick angels and the horrible things Mary said to Dean. Of course, I felt for Dean but it was interesting to see that whole scene play out. Plus we got even more confirmation of what we’ve known all along: John is a bonafide asshole and Dean really did experience facets of spousification, even before Mary died (which just makes me so sad for him, I swear if they don’t put a Cas vs John scene in the reboot... because you know Cas will win that thumb war)

Meg: ngl, I wasn’t really crazy about this iteration of Meg - I don’t mean Rachel Miner’s version, just this particular performance, which I chalk up to whoever decided they wanted her to go this route in her performance - I couldn’t believe it was the same character, the same actress - I am so glad the show/Rachel developed the character we all love to hate and secretly really love to how she was in later seasons

Jo: omg Jo. I have to admit, in season 2, in the first episode she showed up in, I despised her. She was like that bratty teenage kid who’s a real pain in the ass and whines and doesn’t get it. But after that episode, I grew to love her with each one she was in. She became a bamf in her own right and I loved seeing that come through this season especially. Her death was horrific (what is it with this show killing off bamf female hunters in such a gruesome way? it brought back horrible Eileen flashbacks for me personally, and for them to turn Meg and Ketch into somewhat redeemable characters after that... you know, I swear...) but heroic and I had never been more proud of my girl. Except the scene with Dean in the kitchen. As much as I love my chaotic hunter son, I was glad to see Jo flip him off in the way she did. So proud. And then her goodbye with Dean, I had forgotten exactly what he did so I was going “omg, she just saved you, Dean, this girl has feelings for you, she deserves at least a kiss, kiss her. right. the fuck. now!” and sure enough, he did, on the forehead, which I was like okay, well I get it, he doesn’t return those feelings but he does care about her but dammit, she deserved for him to plant one on her. and then he did and I was just gone, I was a complete bawling mess. And her goodbye scene with Ellen, and then her death along with Ellen’s sacrificing herself to stay by Jo’s side and give the boys a chance to get out of there...yeah, I didn’t stop crying for about five minutes. I cannot tell you how much I miss those characters and I would have sold someone else’s right arm to make their return in the series finale happen. Besides the obvious characters that should have been present, Ellen, Jo, and Ash deserved to be there (just not Samantha and Chad, if we can get a “Cas helped” for the third major character/lead, we can also get a “Ellen and Jo went to assist in setting up the honeymoon suite above the roadhouse - I said what I said).

John: usually, I cannot abide giving any time to this jerk, never mind talking about him, but I have to say I enjoyed seeing pre-loss John in 5x13. That conversation he has with Sam I think is so glaringly important. I know it was for Sam to forgive John and heal, but the fact that John himself is saying “how could he do that to you? he was supposed to protect you” -- yep, that was pure poetic cinema in my eyes. Because pre-loss John is right, how dare post-loss John do that to his boys? There’s no excuse anyone or this show can give him. As much as I love JDM, post-loss John Winchester will never be okay in my book.

Adam: omg Adam. First of all, I loved his dynamic with Sam and Dean. I really, really wish we could have had him around longer just for that alone. What an awesome character we could have had giving Dean and Sam a run for their money. “Well, we’re working on the power of love.” “How’s that going?” “Not so great.” -- give me an episode of the three brothers on a milk run hunt (sans generic mask-wearing vampmimes) with all of the fixings and I swear we would get done!Sam, consistently being roasted between Dean and Adam, and then Dean thinking he’s got a mutual now, a BFF, and Adam turning right around to roast him as well. It would be epic, I tell you, epic. I wish Adam had gotten a better end, this season and at the end of the series. He certainly deserved better. And this may be a random observation but why did Michael take Adam at all? I know the countdown had begun and he was desperate to grab a vessel so he could fight Lucifer at the appointed time and Dean was not giving in (that he knew of), but what chance of victory did he think he had without using his true vessel? Using that logic, I guess Michael’s end in the series makes more sense now...? Who knows.

Chuck: Swan Song (5x22) and the lines, “Endings are hard. Any chapped ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There’s always gonna be holes. And since it’s the ending, it’s all supposed to add up to something. I’m telling you, they’re a raging pain in the ass“ -- did anyone else feel like that was Kripke speaking or is it just me?

Season 6:

the whole Lisa thing: while it was nice to see Dean go domestic, I have to say I was more invested in Dean and Ben’s relationship development than I was with Dean and Lisa’s. The chemistry just wasn’t there, I have to be honest (he and Anna actually had more chemistry for a few minutes than he did with Lisa this whole season). I don’t doubt they loved each other, it was real, and Lisa was good for him at the time but it just didn’t have that spark. I loved Lisa as a character in her own right, but I was happy to see her and Dean eventually go their separate ways. Though my heart broke for Ben on that one. He and Dean really had a whole father-son bond happening there. I appreciated that when Ben called him, even that one time that nothing was really wrong, Dean dropped everything and headed right over. They had a bond of their own happening outside of Dean and Lisa’s. I think Dean ultimately made the right choice in the end to keep Lisa and Ben safe (though they should have been able to choose if they wanted this), but God did that cost him and we see it in that scene outside of the hospital with Sam. How much that hurt for him, and for us to see how it killed him to do it. I’m still grateful that he got to see what the domestic life was like and that he got a reprieve from hunting for a bit. It made complete sense as to why Cas didn’t want to pull him back in to ask for help with Raphael.

Destiel: Welp, now there’s definitely an emotional relationship happening. Meaning the bond has become even more forefront and not only is Dean affected, but we also see that Cas is, too. Dean’s reaction to finding out Cas was working with Crowley the whole time, Cas’ reaction to Dean choosing to save the two boys instead of focusing on finding Eve, Cas’ reaction to Dean’s stance on the Crowley situation, Dean’s finding out Crowley kidnapped Lisa and Ben, Cas asking Dean to trust him, Dean seeing Cas becoming the new God and needing to summon Death, etc. It was fantastic. While it hurt during some moments, I enjoyed seeing the dynamics and reactions to these situations play out. This is definitely a friendship now, a family relationship formed (and still forming) like Dean says in 6x20. Imho, Jensen and Misha knocked it out of the park this season when it came to that relationship. I loved it.

Cas: holy hell, 6x20 has become one of my all-time favorite episodes of SPN. I loved seeing Cas’ POV. Cas was already a fave character of mine but this episode made me fall in love with him all over again. This was incredible and I’m so thankful they fed us so well with this one. I really enjoyed seeing Cas as a character stepping into the forefront, right there with Dean and Sam. Yes, he was a part of TFW before this, but you have to admit that in this season, it becomes a whole new ball game. Really amazing stuff and of course, Misha slayed it all.

Meg & Megstiel: I was so happy to see the iteration of Meg return that we know from later seasons. Maybe I’m just too used to that version but to me this felt more effortless for the character and for Rachel, that really let both shine. Personally, I’m not a Megstiel shipper. While I love their dynamic, it just isn’t there for me, but I really did enjoy their scenes together. Cas felt as if he needed a little shaking up so to speak so I think she was perfect for that. Plus, I have a hard time forgiving those in the show that sic Hellhounds on my bamf female hunters so that might be partially the reason for my bias, just saying. (I never really forgave Ketch either)

Samuel...& Co: I just...why? Don’t get me wrong, I liked Mitch but this felt a bit...I don’t know...off? Other than some place for Soulless!Sam to go while Dean was playing house and for nabbing Alphas for Crowley, I don’t get what the point of this story line was? Was it to show us that Mary’s dad was a d-bag? Check. Was it to show us how people sometimes make the worst decisions when it comes to their family? Double check. Like, we kind of already got that and it was just unnecessary confirmation if that makes sense. And the thing that kills me is that Samuel was in Hell (or goes to Hell, I kind of did other things in the background during that arc) but he loved his daughter enough to betray her sons and do the wrong thing but John gets to go to Heaven? This still confounds me. Though I enjoyed Gwen and it was a shame she couldn’t be a family contact in another state for the boys later on to pop up every now and then.

Soulless!Sam: I enjoyed this part of Sam’s arc but I won’t lie, I was relieved like everyone else when he finally got his soul back though waited with bated breath for the other shoe to drop. But it was interesting to see this side of Sam.

Dad!Dean: I know I mentioned Dean and Ben above, but that one episode with the shifter!baby, that was priceless and God, did I love it.

I just loved going back to this for both boys

#spn posts #spn rewatch #episode mentions #spn 5x03 #spn 5x04 #spn 6x20 #spn 5x22 #spn 4x19 #spn 5x13 #spn 5x19 #this was in my drafts #i'm kicking it out #spn season 4 #spn season 5 #spn season 6 #destiel mention #anti john winchester #dean winchester

2 notes · View notes

flawlesspeasant · 4 years

Note

“I promise after this time, I’ll never try again.”

———————————

Quinn always thought she knew the answers to everything in the universe. She was one of those obnoxious kids; one who believed she was always right no matter what anyone else said. Her parents could tell her that the sky was blue, and if she had decided that it was purple that day, it was purple and there was no convincing her otherwise. She would argue until she exhausted the other person — until they gave up with nothing more than a sigh of defeat and a wave of their hand and said, “whatever you say, Quinn.” It wasn’t that she wanted to argue, it was just that she was always right and nobody ever wanted to respect that.

When she was fourteen, Quinn had decided that underneath her skin, she was made of glass. It was just under the surface, deep enough so you couldn’t feel it if she touched someone, but close enough to the surface to break. She knew this because something in her hand shattered. Nowhere else, just her hand.

She walked down the hallway of her new school with her hair newly bleached blonde, a white dress swaying from side to side with each stride. She kept her head down, blinders held close to her body. She didn’t know it, but she held her breath when she walked. She held her breath, full of the familiar dread and anxiety that always accompanied her to school. This time, though, she wanted it to be different. She lost the weight, spent half the morning poking her eyeball to get the contacts in just right. High school was going to be the dawn of a new beginning, she was damn determined.

She finally found her locker and started twisting it to the correct numbers when she felt the rubber tip of a brown penny loafer nudge the heel of her foot. She looked up immediately, met with a curtain of luscious, deep brown hair clouding her vision as a small, petite body crashed into the locker beside her.

If she had been paying attention to her surroundings, it’s very possible — perhaps even likely — that Quinn would have heard the thunderous laughter erupting in the hallway around her. But more pressing than the sound of bullies giggling from their newest target was the sound of the glass.

It shattered in her hand, and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple. It wasn’t a bone, it didn’t hurt… it just bubbled. Underneath the surface, even when she sat still in chemistry ten minutes later. Her hand shook. It shook and shook and shook and shook and she couldn’t do anything about it except think about the pretty brunette that almost collided with her.

Her eyes roamed the room, then settled on her. Caramel skin, smooth, shiny brown hair. Quinn decided in that moment that she had never met someone quite like her, and took it upon herself to slip her a note.

In hindsight, maybe she came off a little strong. Maybe a piece of ripped notebook paper and loopy, cursive writing saying, “I’m Quinn. You’re very pretty!” etched across it in green highlighter pen wasn’t exactly what girls at McKinley High School wanted to hear. Maybe, just maybe, she should have toned it down a little on her first day. Because maybe being gay wasn’t the first thing people in her new school should have known about her.

She wasn’t surprised when the girl — Rachel, she learned her name was — didn’t send a note back. Her hand just shook as she watched Rachel glance over it, offer a smile in her direction, then throw it away. She wasn’t surprised, and she wasn’t offended.

She just decided to tone it down for a while and try again some other time.

She broke the glass in her hand, she’d decided. It wasn’t a bone that broke and made the anxiety shake her hand, it was the glass. It was the layer between her body and whatever lay on the outside.

———————————

Quinn was a sophomore when she decided that she wanted to be an actress, and she was very serious about her future plans. In fact, she’d even researched good drama schools on the east coast that she could get into, just to make sure she perfected her craft.

It was the only thing that made sense to her, and something she knew she should work hard to hone. She already knew she was good at it and she figured her talent shouldn’t go to waste. After all, she’d been pretending to hate Rachel for a little over one full year. Everybody believed it, too. She had been so convincing, so damning in her role, that everybody in McKinley High School had accepted it as fact. Two plus two is four, water is wet, the square root of sixteen is four, Pluto is no longer a planet, and Quinn Fabray hates Rachel Berry. It was common knowledge at that point, something everyone just knew was true. Quinn thought that maybe they’d hand her an Oscar on the spot if they knew she’d been faking it.

She was pregnant when she first let the mask slip.

She was pregnant, sitting on a bench with tears dribbling down her chin when she forgot to put on her best facade and keep up her charade. Rachel approached her gently, apologizing for telling Quinn’s secret before she even sat down. Quinn stopped her, though. She looked at Rachel with tears in her eyes and told her not to apologize for something that she was too much of a coward to say on her own.

They sat in silence for a while, just listening to the sound of each other breathing. Neither of them felt the need to speak, the silence wasn’t awkward. Quinn’s thoughts were racing, too fast to make sense of anything there buzzing. She was able to grab a hold of one thought, able to make sense of it, process it, and put it into action. She thought it was the perfect time to try again.

The glass broke again. All of it, everywhere, not just in her hand that time. She reached over to hold Rachel’s hand — to send her a signal that maybe she likes her in a special kind of way — but Rachel pulled away. How could she be so wrong? She thought she felt it, that sticky hot connection between them. It felt like static electricity running through both their bodies, the same current hitting them both simultaneously. She thought Rachel felt it, too. How could she miss the mark so completely?

Whatever that was between her body and the outside, it completely shattered and she couldn’t breathe. Rachel pulled her hand away and Quinn didn’t quite know how to pick up the pieces.

Maybe someday, though, she’d have the strength to try again.

———————————

Everyone kept telling her that she was too young to know what love is. She’d laugh in their faces and tell them that loving someone has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with the kind of person you fall in love with. The only time she thought that maybe everyone else was right for a change was when Rachel came into the choir room and said that she was getting married to Finn.

What do they know about love? Quinn thought to herself as she watched Rachel nestle her hand deeper into Finn’s. They’re barely eighteen years old, they haven’t even graduated high school yet! They’re too young to know about love, she decided. Way, way too young.

They were in the hallway when she asked. Something about being stuffed inside of a too-tight vest and a skirt that barely covered her butt made her feel as confident as she needed to be to ask Rachel the important questions. There was no anxiety, no feeling of hopelessness or dread. She stood in front of Rachel, hands on her hips, and stared into her chocolate brown eyes that made her feel warm.

She wanted to try again right then, she wanted to try again while she wasn’t nervous.

But as soon as the question fell between her lips, she immediately wished she never asked. She didn’t think she really wanted to know the answer.

“You were singing to Finn… and only Finn… right?”

She winced as she watched Rachel’s lips quiver, her brain forming a response. She didn’t need an answer at that point, Rachel’s face said it all.

“He really does make you so happy,” Quinn managed to give another one of her Oscar-winning performances and held back tears.

It wasn’t until Rachel hugged her that she felt the glass in her chest break. The glass over her ribcage shattered into sharp, jagged pieces. She knew because one poked through, pierced her heart straight through and left a hole. A huge, gaping hole that used to be filled with so much love that it amazed her that she could care about another human being that way… and now, it had nowhere to go.

Where did all that love go? Did it disintegrate into thin air? Did Rachel take it with her when she decided to walk down the aisle and marry him and not her? Whatever happened to it, Quinn knew it wasn’t hers anymore. The glass over her heart had broken and she decided that love wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

And she decided that she never wanted to try again.

———————————

Her feet crunched through the fresh blanket of New York snow as she walked up to the bricked building. For once, Quinn had no idea what she was going to say. She wanted to start with an apology because she felt like she owed one, but the word “sorry” just didn’t seem to cut it. How could she apologize for not being there when she probably needed her the absolute most?

She didn’t know what she was going to walk into, either. She heard from Santana that Rachel never got out of the bed anymore, heard from Kurt that she goes days without eating. She wondered if she was going to walk into their apartment and see Rachel, a lifeless shell of who she used to be. Quinn doubted that she could pull her out of it, but she was damn well going to try.

Her fist rapped against the door twice before she pulled it away, stuffing her hands back into her pockets to keep them warm. She called Santana as soon as her train got to the station, but Santana warned her that neither she nor Kurt would be home. That’s fine, Quinn thought to herself when Santana told her. I came to see Rachel anyway.

The words she wanted to say danced in her brain, but she couldn’t find the right way to string them together. They flowed through her train of thought, chugging along and sputtering out smoke in jumbled up forms of “sorry” and “I wanted to come home for his funeral but I just couldn’t.” Rachel would understand, Quinn knew she would.

She brought her hand up to the door for the second time and prepared to knock, but the doorknob rattled and turned and the wood swung open.

As soon as she saw her, Quinn felt something different. It was like the glass had shattered when she saw Rachel’s messy hair, clothes hanging off her body, eyes puffy. It felt exactly like the glass shattering, except maybe a little different this time.

They looked at each other, Rachel’s eyes low and Quinn’s apologetic. Everything that Quinn wanted to say just flew out of the window and her heart melted. She wanted to try again after all… and maybe it wasn’t the right time since he’d only died a month ago, but if she didn’t say it now while she had the courage, she’d never say it ever.

“I promise,” Quinn started, voice thick and heavy with emotion. “After this time, I’ll never try again.”

Rachel closed her eyes and rested her head against the door because somehow… somehow, she knew exactly what Quinn was talking about.

“I love you, Rachel,” Quinn cleared her throat. “I… I always have.”

“I know,” Rachel whispered. “I’ve always known.”

“Can I come in?” Quinn asked.

And she couldn’t explain just how it felt that time. It was like the glass shattered again, but not as intense. She noticed that everything felt so much better. She felt like maybe it would never shatter again.

“I love you, too.” Rachel mumbled and stepped aside to let her in.

The words fell out like a secret. Brushed up against her lips, keeping them slightly parted as soon as they left them. Quinn stared at her for a long time, so sure she’d heard them wrong. What else could she have said? It had to be something else, anything else besides I love you too.

Quinn walked into the crowded apartment and felt different as Rachel closed the door.

She loved her with something deeper than anything she’d ever known. Even deeper than the broken layers of glass that she spent years trying to fix. She loved Rachel with every single piece, every single shard that she put back together inside of her.

She loved her so much that it made her whole. ——————————— just in case you’ve never followed my blog and never saw me do a writing blitz, it’s just this thing i do where my followers send me a word or a phrase that they want me to create an entire mini fic around, and i pick some of the best ones and i do it. the words can be really random and i have to incorporate it into my fic somehow, and the phrases can be random too!

if anyone has any words or phrases like the one i just wrote about, feel free to leave them in my ask :)

#faberry #quinn fabray #fanfiction #rachel berry

24 notes · View notes

gleefail · 4 years

Text

Glee Memories: 1x10 Ballad

A long, long time ago, as Glee was approaching graduation in Season 3, I found myself nostalgic with some rare free time on my hands. So I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning and jot down some memories, discrepancies that have arisen since, fave quotes, tally solos - all that good stuff, strictly for shits and giggles.

8 years later (eek!) and once more I find myself with an unexpected abundance of free time. With so many revisiting or being newly introduced to the show between binge watching during Quarantine and all the tragedy that has surrounded the show since it went off the air, I figured I’d finish what I started. And by finish, I mean go through the end of S3. Cause I truly cannot acknowledge what happened after that. Except for 5B.

Kicking this off by reposting the first 15 episodes I already went through. Enjoy!

1x10 Ballad “Ok, who can tell me what a ballad is?” “It’s a male duck”

ok, I disagree with Schue’s definition of a ballad. “Stories set to music” – um…isn’t that every song? Or is it just in musicals that it’s supposed to be, lol?

“Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio showchoir committee FINALLY paid off” and the look she gives Puck. Haha. This Rachel Berry is funny. Cause they’re letting us laugh at her right along with her. Not asking us to put her on a pedestal and/or take her seriously all the damn time. I’m not even gonna get started. I’m watching this post Props/Nationals, and though I didn’t think it could, my hate has grown. In abundance. Trying to keep it in check. Moving on…

“I bet that duck’s in the hat”

“Matt’s out sick today. He had to go to the hospital cause they found a spider in his ear” Um, ew. Also terrifying. However, humorous nonetheless. And an effort to explain a random absence of a Glee club member. Remember how they used to do that?

Aw, Artie drew Quinn’s name out of the hat. :) 2 seasons later and they’ll get 2 duets (both of which I loooove). Shame they didn’t do it this ep. Romantic or just friends, I ADORE the chemistry with Diana and Kevin. I really wanted to see more of that. :(

omg. Kurt’s face when Finn pulls his name. Adorable. Also, I love that Finn is not cool with it but a year later Sam is totes fine. Maybe that’s just cause I love dudes that are comfortable enough in their sexuality to do things that d-bags in high school might tease them about being gay for. Or maybe that’s just cause I love Sam Evans. Couldn’t tell ya. Except yeah, I totes could. It’s cause I wants a Trouty Mouth to call my very own. *lesigh*

“other asian” Ha!

Brittana!

“The fates talked, Mr. Schue” #BlessFinnsHeart

I love the voice-overs during Endless Love: “Screw him if he thinks he’s taking the Diana Ross part from me” “I love the days when I wear no underwear” “I never noticed how nice Rachel’s butt is…oh crap! I think Quinn knows I’m staring at it!”

I also love the facial expressions of Rachel and Mr. Schue here. Hilarious.

Haha – Brad’s like “wtf is happening?”

“Crap – she looks crazy right now!” hahahahahaha

Because of Rachel’s realization through this song, it means Lea Michele can’t squint nearly as much. Wow. It’s like a whole new Rachel with her eyes open while she’s singing.

Artie’s face after the duet. It’s like someone stepped in dog poop.

Ok, Charlotte Ross was in a show in the 90’s I used to watch that, if I recall, failed miserably but nonetheless had a brief stint as my guilty pleasure show. And I can’t remember what it is for the life of me and keep forgetting to look when I have access to google it. Anyone?

“I don’t want you to lift a finger for me. I’m your wife!” Oh wow. So unhealthy. So republican. Soooooo some parts of Ohio. These are the folks that voted for Bush. :/ Yep, I’m still ashamed to be from Ohio when I think of that election.

Suzy. Pepper. Yes. I love this actress. Bright and Hannah were my OTP on Everwood. I miss them.

“You knew it was me just by the sound of my breath. That’s so romantic.”

“Listen, you little psycho, this is Will’s wife, and if I don’t get enough sleep my anti-depressants won’t work, and then I’ll go crazy and I’ll kill you.” Oh Terri. So maternal and loving.

Suzy Pepper is sobbing to More Than Words. That was my jam back in the day!

“Your lashing out at me is fantastically compelling…and….inappropriate.”

“Thank God I never missed a piano lesson” – really Kurt? Is this the first and only time we’re to believe Kurt can play piano well enough to accompany someone from memory?

Finn singing I’ll Stand By You to a sonogram dvd on his laptop. I have no words. I don’t think I thought it was this weird the first time I watched it.

So Finn’s mom busts him singing to said laptop sonogram dvd…and he doesn’t close the laptop…or stop the dvd…or try to hide the screen. He sits up next to it as she approaches him, almost begging her to see it. I felt the same way then as I do now – it was an opportunity for him to not tell her necessarily but for her to find out anyways and I think he really wanted her to know so he could go to her for help and comfort and to relieve everything he couldn’t deal with about the situation. I’m just sayin’.

Oh old school Carol with her denim and that hair…she’s still such a great mom though. And this actress. My God. She’s amazing.

“You’re wrong, I’m right. I’m smart, you’re dumb.”

“Dude. Impulse control!” haha

“I dunno why I find his stupidity charming. I mean, he’s cheating off a girl who thinks the square root of 4 is rainbows.” #BlessFinnsHeart

Oh Young Girl/Don’t Stand So Close to Me mash-up. I fell in lust with you from the first moment I laid eyes on you.

Seriously. Matthew Morrison is so hot in this mash-up. Yowzah.

“So, Rachel, do you think you understood the message I was trying to get across with that ballad?” “Yes! It means I’m very young and it’s hard for you to stand close to me.”

“You’re a very good performer. He’s very good.”

Finn and Kurt bonding over their lost parents. This is a sweet scene.

“You think I should bring a gun?” #BlessFinnsHeart

“Casserole’s almost ready. Hope you like venison!” Ok. TERRIFYING to come home and find Rachel Berry in an apron, cooking you dinner, in your home.

Hey, remember that time that Rachel literally sang 3 lines of Crush and they released it in its entirety as a single from this episode? Ridonk.

“I found out today that my hamster was pregnant in biology class and I just started weeping!”

Aw, Mercedes and Puck are paired up for duet ballads.

haha. Babygate.

“Finn’s not the father! I am.” People be spilling out their truths to Mercedes y’all.

“Alright, look, you need to get something through your Mohawk real quick: you’re the baby’s daddy. It takes a hell of a lot more to be a father and that role’s already been cast because Quinn chose Finn. You need to accept that and move on cause you have no business messin’ up that girl’s life more than you already have. You need to back off. You owe her at least that much. ”Aw, Mercedes. Laying down tough love. And looking out for Quinn before they were even friends. Man. I love Mercedes.

Oh that’s right – Quinn has an older sister! Why did we never meet her?

“He wears a helmet when he plays, right?” – THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYIN’! #BlessFinnsHeart

“I have to go, they’ll think I’m pooping.” Hehehehe.

omg. So I love this still. Finn is doing karate moves in the bathroom mirror to pump himself up to sing to the Fabrays that Quinn’s pregnant. That is so effing funny. What happened to this Finn?

You’re Having My Baby. Haha. This song is so cheesy. This scene is so uncomfortable.

So Quinn’s parents, unlike Finn, are NOT simple-minded and have figured it out. And it’s terrifying.

“We didn’t even have sex” #BlessFinnsHeart

Quinn’s parents are kicking her out. Well, her dad is and her mom isn’t standing up to him. This is rough. Especially when you realize they’re supposed to be 15. So wrong. Poor Quinn. And her dad just screamed at her that she was a disappointment. Yeah…she’s had to deal with some shit. And in the end, they don’t acknowledge that she did and try to make her out to be the bad guy, and selfish… Way to go, RIB.

Oh good ole Carol, without a moment of hesitationlets Quinn stay with them.

“Honey, you can stay here as long as you want.” Carol’s the best. So glad she found Burt.

“We’re not so different, you and me. We’re both mildly attractive and extremely grating. Love is hard for us. We look for boys we know we can never have. Mr. Schue is a perfect target for our self-esteem issues. He can never reciprocate our feelings which only reinforces the conviction that we’re not worthy of being loved. Trust me. I’m a cautionary tale. You need to find some self-respect, Rachel. Get that mildly attractive groove back.” Suzy Pepper, ladies and gentlemen. Dropping truth bombs.

“There’s some boy out there who’s gonna like you for everything you are, including those parts of you that even you don’t like. Those are gonna be the things about you that he likes the most.” Hmm…might be true. Never thought about this, but I’d say that describes Jesse. But not Finn so much. Maybe recently. But…he has made several comments about her being annoying or controlling as they were dating. And not in a ‘those are my favorite things about her’ kinda way. Just sayin’.

Aw. Kurt seems like he feels really bad about Quinn getting kicked out.

“Open your eyes! I didn’t tell you to close your eyes.” “Is there a cake?” No, there’s no cake!” #BlessFinnsHeart

Lean On Me. Watching this now, with one ep left and it’s graduation…yeah, I’m crying. Dammit, Glee.

haha, Mercedes just kinda pushed past Rachel who was front and center to sing her solo. Probably not intentional but still funny.

Damn, Kevin McHale.

Damn, Amber Riley.

SOLOS: Rachel (1), Will (2), Finn (2), Artie (1), Mercedes (1)

#Glee Memories #Glee #lol Glee #Glee Ballad

2 notes · View notes

ctl-yuejie · 5 years

Note

Do you have any recommendations for wlw dramas?? P. S. I love your blog! C:

aww, you are too cute! also: perfect timing, I was just ranting with @earthpodd about having no wlw shows to watch.

i’ll just give you the shows I’ve watched and would recommend, just note that there sadly is a lack of well-written and interesting wlw shows in general, even more so if I am solely considering the main characters or the main storyline. i don’t include fetishizing content, shows that bury their gays and those that have incest storylines (side-eyes Japan hard).

the sad reality is that most wlw content can only be found in super dramatic or artistic movies, often made by men. there are some wonderful exceptions (listed below) and there are promising things announced for after 2019, but not as many series.

i usually prefer asian series because they feel like elaborate movies (not a fan of too many seasons) and i am always on the look out for wlw content that’s not only “just” a romcom, but alas, there’s not much to choose from. (give me space lesbians with a solid adventure storyline! give me bi women as main characters in fantasy epics!)

(i also haven’t watched some popular shows like “The L Word” so they are missing from this list -> if anyone has further suggestions feel free to add to this list in the comments!)

going to sort them after my sapphic meter: the more wlw romance and the more important the sexuality of the main character for the story, the higher it is on this list!

Gentleman Jack (2019, HBO, USA/GB) - Historical Dramaperiod drama based on the real life of Anne Lister, lesbian and industrialist. I haven’t finished this yet but I live for the main character, she is a badass and she and her love interest are everything together. this show is also super intense, with all the conflicts that arise when male landowners and other industrialists want to get a piece of her land.

EDIT: finished it and it is brilliant!!

Sense8 (2015-2018, Netflix, USA) - Sci-Fii think most people have heard of this so i don’t think i need to write much about the plot. finally some sci-fi content with an unusual amount of queer main characters. netflix was a dick to this series but it was great and something different.

Skam España (2018 -, Moviestar+, Spain) - Teen Dramathis is the spanish adaptation of the norwegian tv series skam. innovative in its format it tells the daily life of teenagers in short clips and on social media accounts. the third season’s main story focuses on two girls falling in love and it is a GOOD. they tackle some serious issues but overall this is more of a school/coming of age romance. (note that the other adaptations and the og don’t feature a wlw couple in the main story)

Killing Eve (2018 -, BBC America, UK) - Spy Thrillerdespite horrifying killings that need investigating this series, genre typically, focusses on the relationship of its two main characters. we follow MI6 agent eve polastri (sandra oh) on her hunt for assassin villanelle (jodie comer), who takes an unsettling liking to her. we don’t know their sexualities but villanelle is canonically not straight and for eve, we have to wait and see. they do have insane chemistry and sexual tension which is also very important for the plot. and fiona shaw (actual lesbian) is in this so win-win for representation. the acting is superb.

Fleabag (2016 - 2019, Amazon, UK) - Drama Comedythe stories centers around fleabag, an angry, unstable, and sexually insatiable woman. great use of the fourth wall. even though the main love interests are male, fleabag is bi and it plays an important role in the story. the writing is so on point this series is pure perfection. phoebe waller-bridge is super attractive and a scarily relatable mess as fleabag. fantastic depiction of trauma and how people deal with it while being funny af. has fiona shaw (actual lesbian) and andrew scott (actual gay) in it, so win-win-win for representation. also: olivia colman is in it.

Brooklyn 99 (2013 -, NBC, USA) - Sit Commost people are aware of this brilliant sit com which features an amazing bi main character. it’s an ensemble cast so it counts.

Derry Girls (2018 -, Channel 4, UK) - Sit Comset during the Troubles in northern ireland the series follows a group of catholic school girls (plus their lovely male english rose) on their adventures. there’s a wee lesbian in the ensemble cast and she’s great and important.

Diary of Tootsies (2016-2017, GMM 25, Thailand) - Comedythe show follows 4 friends, 3 gay drag queens and a lesbian with terrible taste in women, on their search for love. this show is bonkers but has a super satisfying lesbian storyline

The Good Place (2016 -, NBC, USA) - Sit Com -> disclaimer: I haven’t seen the newest season so idk how heavily the bisexual part features in itthis show has a super interesting premise and focuses more on philosophical questions. nevertheless it has a bi main character and some wlw content.

honorary mentions (under the cut)

these are not ranked, just in the order they popped into my mind

Legend of Korra (2012-2014, Nickelodeon, USA)animated series so i didn’t include it on the main list but still a good story with a wlw storyline that took everyone by surprise.

Colette (2018, USA / UK) - Historical Dramabased on the life of the french novelist of the same name it is a great movie about feminism and emancipation. keira knightly is pure bisexual perfection in this and has multiple romances with women, including a fabulous butch lesbian.

Queer as Folk (2000-2005, Showtime, USA / Canada) - Dramaputting this here because the lesbian couple was more of a side couple. still a good series this somehow manages to be bold in 2019, even though it’s old. the lesbian couple get a tad more disappointing over the seasons.

Atomic Blonde (2017, USA) - Action Spy Thrillerthe plot is absolute nonsense and the production value is sometimes questionable. but it has charlize theron beating up people with great fight choreography and she makes out with female french spies. charlize theron puts the wlw in every scene of this movie.

The Handmaiden (2016, South Korea) - Period Dramasuper interesting plot, very enjoyable overall, i had some problems with the male gaze in this though

In Between (2016, Israel / France) - Dramavery moving film about three Palestinian women sharing a flat in tel aviv. the desire for personal and sexual freedom is the center piece of this movie and allows an unusual insight into the progressive Palestinian underground scene.

Cloudburst (2011, Canada / USA) - Comedy Dramaabout a senior lesbian couple that decides to elope to Canada to get married, after one of them gets put into a nursing home by her granddaughter. the last 12 minutes are horrible (mostly the writing) but everything before that is absolutely great. i live for badass grandmothers in love.

Boss in Love (2018, South Korea) - RomComsuper cute short movie with some great sex positivity.

Don’t Say Sorry (2018, South Korea) - Romancevery beautiful short movie about discovering one’s sexuality and first love.

The Favourite (2018, UK / Ireland / USA) - Black Comedyolivia colman as pitiful queen anne and rachel weisz and emma stone playing two cousins competing for her favour. absolutely hysterical, wonderfully shot and very gay. rachel weisz is so attractive in male clothes i don’t know what to do with myself.

iStories L (2018, Thailand)actually filmed as a commercial this lesbian short film is wonderful and has a great aesthetic. its about an assistant producer helping the main actress with her lines and developing feelings for her in the process.

last but not least: there’s some movies that I know are good & important but haven’t watched yet such as Rafiki (Kenya), Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (India) etc.

the Korean short movies are on vimeo, the Thai stuff has official uploads on youtube, and with the rest google should help. didn’t include any german wlw even though there is a bunch, because I have yet to find something that really satisfies me (don’t get me started on tv series).

#ctlyuejie writes #cutest anon alert #rec!#queer media

36 notes · View notes

moodyvalentinestories · 5 years

Text

Something Just Like This Series: Part 3 – An Unlikely Alliance | Thomas Hunt x Rachel Fields

“Hey, do you think you could help me with something?”

Summary: I’m telling you, they’re being idiots. Even though they miss each other terribly, they’re not going to admit it. Like, at all. So maybe… maybe they need a little nudge in the right direction.

Pairing: Thomas Hunt x Rachel Fields

Word Count: ~ 2,400 words

Notes: Oh-oh. Is that… is that a ship waiting to happen?

❥ Moodyvalentine’s Masterlist

❥ Something Just Like This: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Epilogue

Rachel taking a leave of absence from school to work on her film was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant he didn’t have to see her in his class every day, a curse because the more time she spent on set, the more the speculations about her and Mr Winters’ relationship flourished. And as much as Thomas told himself he didn’t care, as much as he tried to ignore the front pages of the tabloids whenever he passed the three newsstands on his way to and from the university, as much as he avoided thinking about it by burying himself in work… it would never be enough. It would never work. Because he did care. Deeply. These last two weeks of not seeing her – not once – had been, for lack of a better word, hell. A hell he himself had created.

Even now, as his focus should have been solely on the essays of his Hollywood 101 students, she weaselled her way into his thoughts. He’d hoped staying in his office on campus late would help, as he would at least not have any reminders of her lying around – because despite how untidy it made the place look, he couldn’t bring himself to put away the necklace she’d so carelessly abandoned on his night stand before joining him in bed or take off the little note she’d pinned to his fridge when she’d left the next morning – but it was no use. She was right there, even when she wasn’t. He wondered when that would stop, if it would ever—

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a faint knock on the door. He looked at his watch – it was late. Too late for any student to come by, especially on a Friday. Unless… His heart picked up speed. What if it was her?

“Come in,” he called out, trying to keep his voice steady. What would he say to her?

It didn’t matter. Because the girl that walked in was not Rachel. Though she may have very well been sent by her.

“Miss Sinclair, what can I do for you?” Thomas asked, clenching his jaw. How much did she know? Had he truly hurt Rachel enough for her to talk? To try and get him fired? He wouldn’t have thought she’d stoop so low. Maybe he’d given her too much credit.

The young blonde sat down across from him, folding her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. She was scared – unlike Rachel, she wasn’t one to look for trouble – and Thomas knew then that he didn’t want to hear whatever she would say. But he would. Because if he was right, and this did have to do with Rachel, he needed to know. Anything he possibly could, he’d soak it all in.

“For me? Nothing. I lost all my respect for you when I found out that you’re the reason my best friend is crying herself to sleep every night,” she said in a hostile tone he’d never heard from her before, and it felt as if she’d put her hand right through his chest and ripped his heart out. He’d known Rachel wouldn’t have taken it well. But he’d hoped that, unlike him, she would have found a way to forget by now. Even if that way came in the form of a certain Hollywood heartthrob.

But he couldn’t let her know that. He stood up, putting both his hands on his desk as he spoke. “You should leave, Miss Sinclair. I will not let you throw around baseless accusations and—”

“No,” she said, showing no inclination to stand. She sat, looking calmer by the second, and stared him down. “I’m not leaving until I’ve said my piece. You would do well to listen. Because I’m very protective when it comes to my friends. And Rachel is my best friend, Professor.”

Thomas swallowed hard but felt inclined to obey as he sat back down. “Very well. What is it you wanted to say?”

“You’re going to make things right with her. Because, regardless of what I think of you, she cares about you. Far more than you deserve, honestly,” she said. As if he needed anyone to point that out for him. “And you’re going to do everything in your power to make her happy. Or I will not hesitate to call up my bodyguard friends and send them after you, understood?”

_____________

It wasn’t like she didn’t love what she was doing anymore. She still did. She still had her passion for it. But it was hard for her to enjoy anything when her stupid brain spent every fucking second of every fucking day thinking about him. The cast and crew all noticed, but they left her alone as long as she was on set and did her job. Except for Chris. Because Chris was just too damn nice to ignore his former friend’s suffering.

Luckily for her, he’d accepted her constant I’m fine’s and Don’t worry’s without much of an objection. Until tonight, that was. Because tonight, it seemed, he’d finally had enough. As they waited outside the studio for their respective drivers, he turned to her and said, “I’m sorry about the tabloids.”

“What?” Rachel asked, surprised that he’d even tried to start a conversation. Usually, they’d just stand next to each other in uncomfortable silence after she assured him she was fine. There wasn’t really much they could say to each other, after all.

“It’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?” he said, tilting his head to one side. “That people are talking about us. As in us, being together.”

She had to suppress a laugh. As if she gave half a fuck about what the general public thought. Though, he wasn’t entirely wrong. The tabloids did bother her. Because, despite everything, she wondered what a certain professor of hers must have thought. He probably thinks I’m a slut for moving on so quickly. “Yeah, it kinda sucks.”

“Kinda sucks?” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Excuse my French, but you’re not acting like it kinda sucks. You’re acting like you’d rather die than work with me.”

She sighed. She didn’t want him to feel like she had an issue with being in this movie together. Because she didn’t. Starring in a film alongside him was something many – including her not long ago – could only dream of. “That’s not it. I don’t… I don’t have a problem with you. I’m just… there’s just a lot of stuff going on in my life at the moment and—” Her phone rang and she couldn’t have been more relieved. It was the perfect excuse to get out of this conversation. “I should take this. It’s probably important.”

“Of course. Yeah, sure,” Chris said and stepped away to give her some privacy.

Rachel answered the call, unsure what to expect. It was a number she didn’t recognise, but that probably just meant that Ethan had given her contact information to someone who may be interested in working with her. Why anyone would make a call about work at this hour, though, she couldn’t fathom. “Hello?”

“Are you Rachel?” someone said on the other end of the line. His voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on where she knew it from.

“Who’s asking?”

“This is Ryan Summers,” the man said and Rachel nearly dropped her phone. Holy crap! Of course the voice had seemed familiar – the guy was a legend! But why would he be calling her? “I got your number from Hunt… well, it’s not like he gave it to me. But I went through his phone when he wasn’t looking and I… never mind. Do you have a moment?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course this was about Thomas. How could it not have been? “Not interested,” she said, about to hang up.

“Wait! Wait, don’t… please. You’re going to want to hear this, I promise.”

She bit her lip. Of course she wanted to hear it. She wanted to hear whatever she could about him. How was he doing? Had he moved on? Of course he had. He never felt the same way about you, remember? “Fine. But make it quick.”

_____________

Addison couldn’t believe she’d just threatened her professor. Who had she turned into? This was so not her thing. Sure, she didn’t always follow the rules, but, unlike her best friend, she also wasn’t hellbent on breaking them. Damn. She was tempted to apologise immediately after but, remembering that she wasn’t doing this for herself but for Rachel, she bit back the apology and continued to stare at Professor Hunt with a stern look in her eyes.

“Miss Sinclair, I do not appreciate being threatened by a student,” he said eventually, glaring at her.

Christ, how does Rachel do it? How could anyone not be deterred by that cruel, icy glare? She would just have to try. Because she wasn’t going to give up. Remember, you’re a good actress. Just pretend this doesn’t scare the ever-loving shit out of you. “And I don’t appreciate seeing my friends in pain.”

His expression changed at that statement, and he faltered for a moment. “I—” His features hardened again. “I’m not discussing this with you. If Miss Fields wants to speak to me, tell her not to send someone in her stead next time.”

“She didn’t send me. She doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Then I’ll assume she doesn’t want to see me,” he said and while Addison couldn’t see any emotion on his face, she heard it in his voice. It had hurt him to even say that. She opened her mouth to speak again, but he shut her down. “This is your cue to leave, Miss Sinclair. You would do well to take it.”

She huffed but got up anyway. Fine. So that had been a bust. All she’d accomplished was getting on Hunt’s bad side. But that didn’t mean she’d let this go just yet. She’d just have to try harder.

_____________

Ryan was surprised at how young the woman that had picked up the phone sounded. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he had the right number. He’d simply chosen the number Thomas had called the most, but maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe he should have gone through his texts to be entirely certain that this Rachel woman was the right one.

His doubts disappeared soon enough when she told him she wasn’t interested. Her voice had sounded like it was laced with thousands of tiny needles. Yes, this was the woman who’d been deeply hurt by his idiot of a friend’s words. And if there had been any doubts left, they would have been entirely gone by the time she’d agreed to listen without much convincing on his part.

“Look, I don’t know who you are. Nor do I know what happened between you two. But I’ve never – or, at least not in a long time – seen him this way. I think—”

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it,” she said. “I’m tired, and I’ve got neither the time nor the patience to deal with his shenanigans.”

Ryan held back a chuckle. She sounded like a woman Hunt would go for alright. For a moment, he wondered where he’d found her – though, in the back of his mind, he already knew. He just couldn’t believe it yet. “My point is, you two should talk. I’m sure—”

“Does he want to talk to me?” she asked. Her voice sounded almost hopeful.

He swallowed hard. “Well… I…”

“That’s what I thought. Good night, Mr Summers.” And with that, she hung up.

Damn it, Ryan thought to himself as he looked out the window of the car. And then he realised where he was. Hunt’s place was less than two minutes away. Fine then. If that hadn’t worked, he’d just have to try to knock some sense into him again. He quickly told his driver the new destination. Unfortunately, he was out of luck – Thomas wasn’t home. But he wasn’t simply going to give up like that. There was another place he could try. He would find him tonight and he would get him to see reason. Somehow.

_____________

As she brainstormed how to possibly go about this endeavour on her way back to her dorm, Addison didn’t pay any attention to her surroundings and promptly crashed into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorr—” they both said at the same time and laughed.

She looked up and it took her a few seconds to recognise the man in front of her. It was dark out, after all. But once she did, she nearly had a heart attack. “You’re Ryan Summers.”

He let out a good-natured laugh. “And you are…”

“Really, really sorry. I was kind of lost in thought and… well…”

“Oh, tell me about it,” he said. He hadn’t been particularly attentive, either, as he tried to figure out how on Earth he would get Hunt to listen. “I’m pretty sure this was my fault.”

“No, no,” she said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Even after years in Hollywood, after hanging out with A-Listers left and right, she was still in awe whenever she met someone famous she had not yet talked to.

“Let’s say we’re both at fault then, hm?” She was positively adorable.

He probably just said it to make her feel better, but it would have been a stupid thing to argue about. “I can live with that.”

Before they both went their separate ways, Ryan asked, “Hey, would you happen to know if Hunt’s still in his office?”

Addison grimaced. “I mean… yes, he is. But I have a feeling he’s in a really bad mood so you may not want to talk to him.”

“What, forgot to hand in an essay on time?” he joked.

“Something along those lines,” she said with a shrug. She couldn’t very well tell him the truth, could she now?

Ryan smiled. “Well, thanks for the warning. Have a good rest of your night.”

“You too,” she replied. “And good luck. I hope I won’t read about your murder in the papers tomorrow.”

He laughed again as they continued on their ways. After taking a few steps in opposite directions, they both turned around at the same time.

“Hey, do you think you could help me with something?”

Tags: @lilyofchoices @trappedinfandoms @flyawayboo @alleksa16 @silversparrow02 @hopelessromantic1352

#wherefore art thou my professor #wherefore art thou my student #rachel #hwu #hwu hunt #thomas hunt

27 notes · View notes

pass-the-bechdel · 5 years

Text

Continuum full series review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

73.81% (thirty-one out of forty-two).

What is the average percentage of female characters with names and lines for the full series?

32.75%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

Ten.

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 50% female?

One, episode 2.07, “Second Degree” (50%).

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

One, episode 3.09, “Minute of Silence” (18.2%).

Positive Content Status:

The definition of unremarkable—it may not be making any egregious mistakes, but aside from its chief concern, it’s not saying anything of interest (average episode rating of 3.00).

Which season had the best representation statistics overall?

Season three not only had the best Bechdel scores, but the highest amount of female characters.

Which season had the worst representation statistics overall?

Season four. While it didn’t feature the episode with the least female characters—that would be season three—it features the least Bechdel passes and the least amount of female characters.

Overall Series Quality:

Worth watching. It won’t blow your mind, but it won’t waste your time, either.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

If a word describes Continuum, it’s “solid”. It’s a well-made show, one that understands the basic building blocks of well-made genre television and doesn’t attempt to upend them for the sake of upending them (except when it does). However, my enjoyment of the series is more intellectual than visceral, and creating a list of my top ten favorite episodes is nigh-impossible, since I don’t really feel that strongly about them as individual units.

So if the series is rarely great—if even its best rarely makes your heart race the way the best episodes of Nikita or Person of Interest do—then why do I still consider it exceptional and worth one’s time?

Reason number one: Kiera Cameron.

Television, over the past decade, has done a steady job of perfecting its female genre-show anti-heroes, which, unsurprisingly, has resulted in a fair amount of sameness. It is often enjoyable sameness, to be clear—Root and Shaw are fantastic characters, and I love them—but sameness all the same. These female characters do not care for the rules (except when they do—for example, they never look unattractive or unmade-up). They are loud. They are often hedonistic. There is a sense that characters have to be fun, even if they are A Lot. They are, in many ways, rebels. And to be clear, these stories are absolutely necessary; that we now have these characters is important. Yet, there are other ways to be, which are also equally compelling and equally feminist.

Kiera Cameron is not a rebel. All she ever wanted to be a comfortable drone (even as her instincts told her something was terribly wrong) and a mother. In another place, in another time, she’d be one of the Nazis who were allegedly “just doing [their] job,” which is not something one usually says of heroes. She is also decisive, quick-thinking, adaptable and manipulative, with a keen understanding of people. She likes operating under a clear leadership structure, but she can operate perfectly well—thrive, even—without it. Within forty-eight hours of being stranded in an entirely new world, she has integrated herself into its law enforcement apparatus and made a life for herself.

Kiera is, in the end, the best part of Continuum, because of the way the series allows her to be shaped by her contradictions. Credit must also be given to Rachel Nichols, who is one of the more underrated white actresses currently working on television. Continuum asks a lot of Kiera, and she allows her to be a lot of different things while still being recognizably Kiera.

A good protagonist deserves a good antagonist, and boy, does Liber8 deliver. The group may have an extremely silly name, but it is, like Kiera, something one doesn’t see every day: an enemy group with a point, and which arguably holds the moral high ground, even as it performs mass murder.

In a worse show, the various members of Liber8 would have been hypocrites. They would have either not believed in what they preached, or been more concerned with themselves than with the cause, or proved willing to abandon it for their survival. Alternatively, they would have been presented as all bark and no bite, more Robin Hood than Osama Bin Laden. And while all those things are true for one specific member of the group—Kellog—the fact that he exists at a remove both allows the series to explore that hypocrisy, while leaving Liber8 free to actually be something else.

Furthermore, I enjoy that Liber8 is smart. Mass murder is not the only thing they do. While I’m not sure I’d call Continuum a competence porn series the way something like Leverage is, there is something very satisfying about seeing Liber8 continuously switch up their tactics and be clever about how they approach their battle against corporate interests. Yes, they do mass murder, but they also do blackmail, corporate espionage, political assassination and political patronage, sabotage, whistleblowing, community-building, and public relations. They know that their cause will need funds, but don’t sell out in order to obtain them. It is very satisfying.

I’ve heard commentary on Continuum arguing that the series’ unwillingness to cast explicit judgment on Kiera is a weakness. In her own small way, she is complicit in the oppression of millions, and is willing to replicate oppressive power structures; shouldn’t the series have something to say about that? And yet, this...objectivity, I guess you could call it, is, I feel, one of the series’ chief strengths. It’s not that the series isn’t aware of what Kiera believes and has done; it’s just that the series trusts the audience to draw its own conclusions. Kiera can be heroic and have a fascist mindset. The members of Liber8 can be mass murderers who are also in the right. Dillon can be a cheerleader for the privatization of his police department, and still be sympathetic. A TV series can be a traditional police procedural at heart and admit that cops are scum 80% of the time. One doesn’t negate the other, and that the series goes as far as it does with its characters and concepts feels uncommonly audacious for the sort of show this is.

Another element that makes the series memorable is its commitment to its central conflict. Person of Interest may have been about the surveillance state and the increasing role of artificial intelligence, but most of its episodes were actually about Finch and company being super-heroes. The same could have been the case for Continuum—“police procedural” is a key part of its DNA—and the fact that it isn’t—that its anti-capitalist sensibilities are almost always there, and critical—helps make the series feel singular, and relevant. It’s not the first TV show to have something to say about a specific thing, but it’s easily the show most dedicated to saying it.

This, however, is a double-edged sword.

Simon Barry, Continuum’s creator, is a white dude. It shows. For all of the thought the show puts into the dangers of unchecked capitalism (or just capitalism, if you’d prefer), it puts very little, if any, into how oppression is shaped by prejudices or group identities. The future of Continuum may be terrible, we’re shown, and yet it never quite seems terrible enough, or weirdly uniformly terrible. That Jaworski, of all the Liber8 members, is the one who is most forcibly dehumanized by the corporate state rings very false. Having the majority of Liber8 consist of people of color isn’t enough—not when the series is claiming that 2077 is a direct reflection of 2012.

Similarly, while the show boasts more female characters than is the norm for shows like this, I can’t actually say it does much beside that. Going through the series, it’s hard not to notice that very few of the female characters have what I would consider a satisfying overall story. Betty is killed off after months of misery. Katherine is killed off before she can really have any sort of impact besides filling in a necessary storytelling role. Garza and Emily are in a sort of limbo by the time the series ends. Ann Saddler just disappears. Aside from Kiera, only Sonya is said to have a story with a beginning, middle, end, and like Betty’s, it ends with her death. While these are all fantastic characters, their stories are generally disappointing.

Part of the problem is, of course, that the show barely has time for deep dives into its characters’ psyches, given all the things on its plate. The show only has so much time to spend on character development, and its priority is breadth rather than depth. On the other hand, it’s hard not to notice that of the characters who do get consistent focus and character development (Kiera, Alec, Carlos, Dillon, Julian), only Kiera is a woman.

It’s also worth noting that while the show kills off fairly similar numbers of male and female characters—at least when speaking in absolute numbers—things look quite different when speaking in relative terms. It’s perhaps best seen with Liber8’s dwindling numbers: sure, you can kill off Jaworski, Chen, and Kagame, but you’ll still have Travis, Marcus, and Kellog. Kill off Sonya, on the other hand, and the hole she leaves becomes very hard to fill. The same rings true for the series as a whole, which is why its final season feels so bereft, when it comes to female representation.

Additionally, while it’s pleasing to see male and female characters used more or less in the same way (although it’s worth noting that this doesn’t actually result in a 50/50 gender ratio) it is less so when the series in turn makes an implicit argument that there is not a sexist element to institutionalized oppression. Scattered instances of potential subtext aside, the series has very little to say about sexism in the future, which again, rings quite false when so many of the characters are freedom fighters.

And yet…

Had the series been more traditional, it’s likely these issues would have felt fatal. Instead, they merely feel bothersome; they annoy instead of cripple. It either speaks to how satisfying Continuum generally is, or how dispassionate my enjoyment of the series is. In any case, Continuum does what it does so interestingly, it’s hard not to set all of these aside and just get swept away by it. It tried something different and did some very interesting things with it, and, as it turns out, that’s more than enough.

#Continuum #Female Representation #Bechdel Test #MimeParadox #full series review

6 notes · View notes

ladyculebras · 5 years

Text

ALL THE WAYS THE PET SEMATARY REMAKE IS BAD

SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY FOR EVERYTHING

1. This movie blames Rachel for EVERYTHING. This is the big main thing that bothers me throughout the film. Rachel is at fault, either directly or subtly, throughout the film.

First off, Rachel is the one who fears death so much she cannot bear to prepare her daughter for the possibility of Church dying, while the original actively had them trying to get Church fixed so he wouldn't wander around so much and thus, less likely to die. This wouldn't bother me so much, but LOUIS is the one who okay talking about death and wants to talk to Ellie about it and wants to not shield her from the truth that Church could die. This...ruins the whole narrative thrust. Louis is supposed to be fearful of death, shying away from exposing his family to it in any capacity, to the point where he avoid any kind of confrontation and causes the whole problem. Louis and his inability to handle death when it hits home is the whole POINT.

But furthermore, Rachel is the one who doesn't want to tell Ellie about Church dying! Louis WANTS to tell her but Rachel convinces him to tell her that Church ran away and tells him to go bury Church in secret. So inadvertently, it's all Rachel's fault. If Louis just talked to his daughter about death, and her dead cat, none of this would have happened. It completely removes accountability from Louis, when that is his whole tragic flaw.

Look this wouldn't bother me so much if Rachel were the main character instead. You want to make it her fault this happens, that's okay! But make her drive the story then! Don't do it as a way to absolve Louis of further responsibility!!!!!!

FURTHERMORE!!!! YES THERE'S MORE. After Ellie's death, Rachel is the one who decides to go away and leaves Louis behind...for reasons. Like yes I understand why she would want to get away from this awful place, but the movie completely cuts out the subplot of Rachel's parents hating Louis, so there is no reason for him not to go. But this also removes Louis actively conspiring to get Rachel to go away so he can go do a bad thing. It's a small thing but a really important thing that means Louis just doesn't come off as badly as he did in the original. The original movie is about grief but it's also about the folly of a man who is unable to let go or listen to anyone around him, and making terrible decisions that he hides from the female members of his family that ruins them all. It's so clearly obvious the male directors did not want Louis to look TOO BAD. Trying to remove accountability from Louis ruins the whole point and the tragedy as well. If Louis doesn't make these choices, if held held back from accepting death because his wife asked him too, how can this be his fault.

2. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE ON RACHEL'S HANDS.

In the original, Rachel recounts her sister Zelda's death in a scene with Louis and explains that she wanted her to die and she felt awful for wanting that. Louis comforts her and tells her she did nothing wrong and her parents were awful for putting her through that. Then insists she takes a valium for her anxiety because LOLZ THE 80s AND CASUAL DRUG USE, MAN.

Here, she tells Louis the story but explains that she ACCIDENTALLY killed her sister, by forcing her sister--who can't get out of bed--to crawl to a dumbwaiter to get her food where she falls in, because Rachel was too scared.to go up to her and give her the food herself. Now, I don't have a problem with this, this doesn't make her a bad person in my eyes, but the change itself puts some responsibility on an EIGHT YEAR OLD KID for her sister's death in a way that the original movie and book didn't.

Then later, reanimated Ellie says YOU PRAYED YOUR SISTER WOULD DIE like it's an evil dark secret that she's revealing. AS IF THATS SOMETHING A EIGHT YEAR OLD NEEDS TO FEEL BAD ABOUT. AS IF THAT MAKES RACHEL ACTUALLY TERRIBLE.

God I hate this change the most because I adored the original for going there with the themes of grief and exploring all the ugly messy emotions involved in grief and not just dead children but prolonged illness. And demonizing those emotions for a cheap shocking reveal at the end is not dark and mature storytelling, its childish.

3. Also holy shit this movie mishandled Zelda so badly. They have Zelda straight up threaten Rachel and say she hated her and she was going to end up just like her. Her NEVER GET OUT OF BED AGAIN line is an actual threat to her. It was a weird demonization of an ill woman, when the original was already sketching the line in its portrayal of meningitis, but this was so much worse. Those words are manifestations of Rachel's anxiety!!! THEY ARE NOT ACTUAL THREATS. IT'S JUST RACHEL THINKING HER SISTER MUST HATE HER.

The whole scene is played for weird jack in the box jump scares instead of the existential horror of watching your sister be ravaged by disease when you are too young to understand what that is.

4. Ellie is this weird perfect angel child, and it bothers me. In the original story, she's scared of the pet sematary at first. She has a great speech about how Church is her cat, not God's cat, he can't have him! She cries and storms off and throws tantrums and says SHIT. She is a regular kid, basically. In the book, she actively annoys Louis! Here, she's just...boringly perfect. Everyone loves her. She never gets angry. She never cries. She doesn't even seem upset when Church attacks her. Jud is enchanted by her, literally saying he is under her spell, WTF. This wouldn't be so bad in general, bad writing for a child but not necessarily awful, but it bothers me the most here because it's all set up for when Ellie dies and comes back as a total monster. Ellie cannot actually be her own character but a pedestaled symbol of a child for Louis to cry over, and for the audience to feel horrified by when she returns as a shell of herself. At least when the original did that with Gage, it made sense, because he is a TODDLER and they have no real personalities. We as a whole tend to over idealize babies and the only thing you can really do with Gage narratively is make him a symbol.

5. Speaking of Zombie Ellie, I wanted to be open to the whole Ellie dies and comes back thing! I hated the idea of it initially but I was hoping it'd be interesting. I liked the beginning, with Ellie being set up as fascinated and drawn to the pet semetary to begin with, and I was kinda hoping the movie would follow her pov instead. After all, I love a good monster girl story and I was really intrigued by the idea of Ellie being AWARE she's been reanimated, and angry about it, upset about it. But tbh, I think the movie in general seemed to go with the idea that Ellie is not Ellie at all but the wendigo, acting through her.

But it was BAD, partly because the actress was not good--not her fault she was given poor direction and shitty material and she's just a KID--but also partly because these dudes just don't know how to write women and don't know how to write girls and didn't really grant the reanimated Ellie any actual humanity or depth. She existed to torment those around her, like she was seeking revenge, rather than coming back wrong as something monstrous like child Gage in the original. She came off as a generic creepy girl child who was possessed.

HONESTLY just having Ellie speak was a terrible idea. I sort of get what they were going for, after all,in the book, undead Gage speaks and knows things he should not know, and Elie as an avatar of...the wendigo *TAKE A FUCKING SHOT* would do the same, I get that they were doing that. But oh god the batman voice they gave her and the terrible lines sounded so OFF. She would have been creepier if she didn't say anything or at least, spoke in a regular little girl voice. It would have been creepier if she was clearly not Ellie and Louis didn't care--they kept going so back and forth on Louis in these scenes, first he is scared of what he brought back and uncomfortable with her and yelling at her, but then he is all HUG YOUR DAUGHTER!!!!!!! GOD CAN HAVE HIS OWN CHILD!!!!! And then he is back to wanting to kill her. But honestly, I don't need the movie to have done things my way, just...not this. This was terribly executed.

6. Speaking of, they were doing some weird...psychosexual Elektra complex with undead Ellie and Louis. First the shot with both of them in the bed together is mirrored earlier with a shot of both Rachel and Louis in bed together....okay then. I mean. That doesn't mean anything. Maybe I am just misinterpreting. But then Ellie is like SHE DOESNT WANT ME HERE AND I DON'T WANT MOMMY HERE (but she still...reanimates her...for reasons. Why. I don't understand).

Then Ellie attacks Jud and wears the face of his WIFE TO DO IT and torments him like that.

Why. Why would you do this. I hate these writers. These are the worst choices.

7. THEY GAVE ELLIE'S PSYCHIC POWERS TO GAGE I'M SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS.

8. This movie legit single perfect tears Louis during Ellie's funeral. Are you kidding me. A single perfect tear. FOR REAL. THIS IS A MOVIE ABOUT GRIEF.

9. A lot of the promo material before the movie came out made a big deal about staying truer to the book than the original and it being an adaptation of the book, not a remake of the movie. Sure, but they barely do anything with wendigo and I'm kinda glad, because the whole INDIAN BURIAL GROUND is a bad trope and King's depiction of the Wendigo is soooo wrong and misinformed and terrible but like..this movie didn't do anything with the mythology except name drop it.

10. I AM ACTUALLY MAD THEY MADE CHURCH EVIL. Like this is nitpicking I know but! In the book, Church (and the reanimated dog) isn't actually evil, he's a zombie. Hes described as not quite how to be a cat anymore. And even in the movie, Church doesn't do anything sinister. He only attacks Louis and who could blame him, and he never hurts Ellie at all. She still sleeps with him in her bed. So I am honestly annoyed they had Church actively attack Ellie jklasfasda

11. Oh my god let's talk about Pascow. WHAT THE FUCK HAVE THEY DONE TO PASCOW. They completely neutered him and made him just a generic ghost, for the most part. Pascow is cheerful in the original, while also being creepy yet relatable. You can really emphasize with his sheer helplessness to stop the tragedy from unfolding. But none of that comes across here. Maybe they wanted to maintain the completely SERIOUS tone, but ultimately Pascow is supposed to be a soothing presence. He is there to remind people that death isn't evil and something that needs to be accepted. He isn't supposed to be there for jump scares, and then completely disappear for the most part.

12. Also the optics of casting a black man for Pascow , and then completely and grotesquely fucking up his face so bad his brains are exposed in his scenes...while Ellie also gets hit by a truck and she looks completely okay, like a perfect corpse angel is just. Gross and bad and racist and sexist ALL AT ONCE, AMAZING.

Like look, I don't WANT to see a mutilated gored up child, sure, but it's so shitty that both these characters get hit by trucks and the black man looks like....he got hit by a truck but the white child looks fine. She looks fine. Her head is stapled and her eyes are a little mismatched but fine.

13. THE EDITING IS SO BAD. It feels like they couldn't WAIT to get to the ending fast enough so scenes will literally smash cut to the next right in the middle of an action. There was a moment where Church is hissing and then it just CUTS immediately in the middle of hissing, he doesn't even get to finish hissing! Just cut to the next scene! There is no lingering on a moment to just process. Things just happen.

14. The story of Timothy, the person who was brought back one time, is just a footnote in this movie. It's barely relevant. That was a such a great creepy moment that underscored the whole movie and it's themes, and it's just gone.

15. Why is Jud so creepy. He literally looks at Louis and the family from a distance and ominously smokes a cigarette and he's so mysterious for no reason and even his first meeting with Ellie he yells at her and then is like WHAT, CAN'T YOU READ about the pet sematary sign. WHAT ARE THESE CHOICES. For a moment I thought Jud would be evil but no he's just weird and creepy for reasons? The movie sacrificed his and Louis' relationship to build one with him and Ellie, which is cute but also kinda bothers me because it's really to just make Ellie look like she is SO IMPORTANT TO JUD and that's why he tells Louis how to bring her cat back and it's…weird. Jud seems overinvested in the family and kids that aren't his rather than like,being friends with them all.

Jud is CHARMING. You fall in love with his kindly old man gentleman nature. He feels like everyone's grandpa. He is warm and delightful and it's such a shock and horror when he dies in such a brutal way. Trying to frame him in shadow with an ominous cigarette reduces the warmth of the character for no reason!

Furthermore, Jud's warmth is meant to obscure that he's ultimately rather weak himself, in character, just like Louis. He's not entirely at fault for the events but he cant help himself in telling Louis about burying church, rather than implying that the dark power is literally ensnaring him to make Louis do it jaksfsadfasdfa

16. LOUIS LITERALLY DRUGS JUD LIKE A DATE RAPIST WHAT THE FUCK

17. Guys, you can't just turn on a fog machine on your set and say you're an atmospheric movie. HAVING FOG IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR GENUINE DREAD.

18. The ending is just bad. I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE zombie family but its filmed like for cheap shock, rather than genuine horror. I love dark endings, but it didn't feel like a tragedy the movie should be, it just felt like the hand of the writers were trying to do a different ending to say SEE THIS IS DIFFERENT! LOOK AT HOW DIFFERENT AND DARK WE ARE. I just...hate the whole framing. I love the idea of the whole family being reanimated but I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY. Ellie wanted to torture them like she is being tortured? That's a great concept but it's not really a thing in the movie. You can't tell if Zombie Rachel or Zombie Louis feel any kind of horror or torment at their own state, which undercuts the whole reanimation.

Ok in the interest of being fair, here are some things I liked.

1. I do genuinely love Ellie in this movie at the beginning. I liked the idea of her being drawn to the cemetery. I really liked the scene where Louis is giving her a bath and he sees the staples from the autopsy. I loved the bits when it was sort of suggested that even she didn't know why she was back and where she had gone and did not understand why she could feel the woods inside her. I wish we just expanded on that more.

2. Church. Church is great. Church is always great. Best cat, did no wrong. This movie did not kill the cat off for good, so that is a bonus.

3. There's a moment where Louis is trying to justify bring Ellie back to life and Rachel is just staring at him agog and horrified and Louis is wild eyed and shaking and it's the most terrifying moment in the movie for me. Not Ellie or the wendigo, but LOUIS, having completely lost it and not giving a shit that he has an undead monster daughter right now. SO GREAT. The movie undercuts it later by having him realize he ~needs to kill Ellie~ again and like...no, go full steam ahead with that.

4. SOME SHOTS LOOK GOOD I GUESS

In conclusion MEN ARE DUMB AND SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN WOMEN'S FILMS TO REMAKE

#anti pet semetary #pet semetary spoilers #sometimes dead REALLY IS BETTER

23 notes · View notes

thesimplyluxuriouslife · 5 years

Text

255: 34 Inspiring Daily Rituals to Ignite Your Creativity

We talk quite often about the importance of routine, and how by having a routine, we actually set ourselves free, especially our minds. And it is in that vein that Mason Curry shares his two books Daily Rituals. His second is focused entirely on Women at Work, sharing the routines and preferences of creative women who lived and created over the past four centuries.

I thoroughly enjoyed his second book, even more than the first which I also found great inspiration. It was refreshing to see so many women living their lives in a variety of different ways, but all in which they discovered worked well for them and the craft they most loved.

Not all of the ideas resonated with me, but it was wonderful to get into the minds for a moment of these women and how they approached their days. I highlighted vigorously from beginning to end, and would like to share 34 daily routines to consider to enable your creative ideas to flow freely and without withdrawal.

Some will speak to you, some will not, but each one is inspired by a woman's routine which is shared in the book: Daily Rituals: Woman at Work - 143 artists on how they paint, write, perform, direct, choreograph, design, sclpt, compose, dance, etc.

~Be sure to tune into the audio version of the podcast where much more discussion takes place on each point.

1.Begin with a hot glass of lemon water

Designer Elsa Schiaparelli woke up at 8 am, sipped lemon-juice-and-water and a cup of tea for breakfast as she read the papers, handled private correspondence, made telephone calls and gave the menus of the day to the cook.

2. Wake up early if that is when your creativity is most fruitful

—Lillian Hellman would wake up at 6am.

—Marie Bashkirtseff would wake up at 6am

—Maggie Hambling wakes up at 5am each morning

"I get up between three or four o'clock in the morning, because that's my best writing time." —Octavia Butler

3. If spending less time with people fuels your creativity, embrace it fully

"I enjoy people best if I can be alone much of the time. I used to worry about it because my family worried about it. And I finally realized: This is the way I am. That's that." —Octavia Butler in 1998

4. If traditional "holidays" don't work for you, create your own, or dive into what you love.

Coco Chanel worked six days a week, and dreaded Sundays and holidays. As she told one confidant, "That word, 'vacation,' makes me sweat."

5. Greet the day in a habitual way that sets the tone for a great day

6. Live your ideas, don't talk about them

"People would sit around and talk about things constantly. I never really went in for that. If you talk something out, you will never do it. You can spend every evening talking with your friends and colleagues about your dreams, but they will remain just that —dreams." —choreographer Martha Graham

7. Keep a small journal next to your bed to capture ideas

"I always have notebook and pencil on the table at my bedside. I may wake up in the middle of the night with something I want to put down." —American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay

8. If you work at home, carve out a part of the day to get out of the house and just absorb inspiration or let go of the day completely

"In the nocturnal evening, I get the hell out to some movie or damn play and I come back and sleep like a rock." —Frida Kahlo

9. Figure out the ingredients that are needed to let the ideas find you

To develop a new work of choreography, Agnes de Mille needed 'a pot of tea, walking space, privacy and an idea'.

10. Don't feel obligated to keep the same schedule when you are in the middle of creating your art or craft

Margaret Bourke-White required long periods of solitude to write, with as few interruptions as possible." In an interview with a Life photographer Nina Leen, Leen remembers after asking her if she would have lunch with her, "She told me she was writing a book and there was no hope of a lunch for several years.

11. Don't feel bad for loving your work and working on what you love beyond the traditional work hours.

"Everything seems petty and uninteresting, everything except my work . . . ". Russian-born painter and sculptor Marie Bashkirtseff

12. Do something during the day that is relaxing and keeps you present

'I relax before lunch by arranging flowers . . . When these are all beautifully arranged in bowls and vases, it's usually lunch time." —English actress Gertrude Lawrence

13. Have a studio or space of your own to create

"The most important thing is to have a studio and establish and preserve its atmosphere." —Agnes Martin

14. If you love solitude, embrace it

"But it is, as Yeats said, a 'solitary sedentary trade.' And I did a lot of gardening and cooked my own food, and listened to music, and of course I would read. I was really very happy. I can live a solitary life for month at a time, and it does me good." —poet Katherine Anne Porter

15. Trust your intuition as to what works best for you

"It's not right if it doesn't feel right." —English painter Bridget Riley

16. Find regular time to just read what you love

Rachel Whiteread [English sculptor] would "at some point stop for lunch, and she'd often spend an hour of the day reading sitting in a comfortable chair away from her desk.

17. Establish a flexible routine to work with what you need

Morning routine: "Zittel feeds her chickens, waters plants, and performs other outdoor chores before meditating, taking a shower, making breakfast and getting dressed. In the winter, Zittel's morning schedule reverses: She meditates, showers and eats breakfast first; then, once the sun has raised the outdoor temperature, she heads out on her hike and does chores. 'It's really all about establishing a flexible routine."Andrea Zittel, an American artist, in 2017

18. Don't quit trying to live the life you wish to live

"It never occurred to me that I couldn't live the life I wanted to lead. It never occurred to me that I could be stopped . . . I had this very simple view: that the reason people who start out with ideals or aspirations don't do what they dream of doing when they're young is because they quit. I thought, well, I won't quit." —Susan Sontag

19. Try a crossword puzzle like Joan Mitchell

20. Determine what view in your studio/sanctuary/work space is most productive for inspiration

"Where do I write? In a Morris chair beside the window, where I can see a few trees and a patch of sky, more or less blue." —Kate Chopin, American writer

21. End the day with a signal to your mind to relax

"During the performance I drink water with breadcrumbs, which is most refeshing. After the ballet I have a bath as soon as possible. Then I go out to dinner, as by that time I have an unmerciful hunger. When I get home I drink tea." —Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova

22. Let baths be your creative muse

"Baths also played a part in her creative process - a post-breakfast bath enjoyed regularly by Virginia Woolf.

23. Let lunch be a true mid-day break

At 1:00 p.m., Hambling has lunch, takes her Tibetan terrier, Lux, for a walk, and switches on the television to satisfy her tennis addiction.

24. Write when inspiration hits - even if it is in bed in the morning so as not lose the ideas.

25. Go outside and breathe in the fresh air

"Fresh air and cold water are my stimulants." —Harriet Martineau - the first female sociologist

26. Enjoy someone's company for tea, lunch or a walk regularly

Emily Post would regularly welcome a guest or two for tea in the afternoon.

27. It's okay for your personal time to be less than what others feel is acceptable

"It seems to me you have to have your personal life organized so that it takes as little of your time as possible. Otherwise you can't make your art." –Eleanor Antin

28. Don't expect the routine to come naturally, create one and stick with it as it enables you to flourish

29. Cook and walk

"The only other essential component of her day is a twice-daily walk with her dog, during which she avoids thinking about her writing project. In the evening, she makes herself a simple dinner and goes to bed at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.." —Isabel Allende

30. Create space for your ideas to be seen

"Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient." — Hilary Mantel

"I think the way to become inspired is to empty your mind and let things come into your mind." —Joan Jonas

31. Do you and don't apologize

"I live here as in Paris. I rise every day at 5 o'clock; I drink my two large glasses of hot water; I take my coffee; I write when I am alone, which is rare; I do my hair in company; I dine every day with the king, chez lui, or with him and les seigneurs. I make calls after dinner; I go to the theater; I return to my place at ten o'clock; I drink my hot water , and I go to bed." —Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin, a major salonniéres of the French Englightenment

32. Turn on music paired with your favorite drink to start the day

"I wake about nine, turn on the symphony and have juice, fruit and a pot of black coffee . . . " —Grace Hartigan, American painter

33. Leave evenings open for your social engagements

"In the evening, she would see a friend for dinner or attend another social engagement. But the real key to this perfect writing day, she said, was to know that the following day would be exactly the same." —Eudora Welty

34. Be patient until you find what works, then cherish it

"Trial and error, and then when you've found your needs, what feeds you, what is your instinctive rhythm and routine, then cherish it." —novelist Doris Lessing

~SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~Why Not . . . Be Creative?

~The Benefit of Daily Rituals

~The Importance of a Daily Routine & How to Create One You Love, episode #164

Petit Plaisir:

~Chilled Cucumber and Yogurt Soup with Dill and Fresh Mint, a Patricia Wells recipe, click here for the recipe

~Why Not . . . Grow a(n) Herb Garden?

~Check out TSLL's IG account, see the Highlights and Part 3 of my FR Trip '18 - mid-roll to see the presentation of the dish in Provence.

~Chilled Cucumber and Yogurt Soup with Dill and Fresh Mint, enjoyed in Provence with Patricia Wells and the other cooking class students during the summer of 2018~

~the same dish served this past weekend as the second course during a dinner party at my home. Cool and crisp cucumber and yogurt soup.~

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

#tsllpodcast thesimplesophisticate

6 notes · View notes

oddcoupler222 · 5 years

Note

Let's do a top 10 (cause I think a top 5 would be too hard lol)

okay! this is so exciting! top 10 fics ~ever~ (but they are not in any particular order! i tried to give a smattering from fandoms)

1. Between the Lines (Alex Danvers/Astra from Supergirl) by anonymississippi:

The letters come without warning. It’s a weird, formal vernacular, but it seems sincere. Hank is going to kill her if he ever finds out she’s responded. Kara will kill her, then apologize for killing her, and then treat any of the wounds she’s inflicted in the killing.

Really, the last thing Alex Danvers needs is an alien pen-pal, especially one who’s working for the enemy. But Alex writes, and she reads, and falls deeply into something that she just can’t seem to capture with paper and pen alone.

2. Sword of Damocles (also Alex/Astra!) by uisceb:

Canon divergent from 1x13: When Hank shows up on the rooftop to stop Astra from activating Myriad, Astra manages to outmaneuver him, taking Alex hostage as a means of escape. Now, Alex finds herself a prisoner at the hostile Fort Rozz base, but as time goes by, she and Astra begin to form an unexpected bond, challenging each of their beliefs, and loyalties.

3. the mothering of us (Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli from Agent Carter) by QuickYoke and ratherembarrassing:

The Black and White Ball was a masquerade ball held on November 28, 1966 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Hosted by author Truman Capote, the ball was in honor of The Washington Post publisher, Katharine Graham. – Director Carter attends.

4. i can’t believe we’re here (Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer from Supergirl) by inspectorboxer and zennie:

“I don’t know how to tell you this, Detective, but I’d like to introduce you to Jamie. Your daughter.” (a canon divergent from s3 fic) *the only unfinished fic on this list, but it leaves off in a very good/satisfying place and is still being updated)

5. Send Up A Signal (that everything’s fine) (Emma Swan/Regina Mills from Once Upon A Time) by coalitiongirl:

Emma Swan is catapulted into stardom, the newest lead actress on a sanitized show featuring modern fairytales. Regina Mills is a long-undermined star with a chip on her shoulder and a thousand reasons why she’s invested. Naturally, they loathe each other on sight.

Their characters’ fanbases, however, have other ideas.

6. Keep the Bouquets series (Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones) by netgirl_y2k:

3 one-shots based in a canon-divergent world where Sansa and Margaery were arranged to be married by Joffrey as an insult, but it doesn’t quite stay that way.

7. Meet Me Halfway To Your Heart (Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein from Carmilla) by ariadnerue:

The media had always assumed they were dating anyway. What big difference was it if they had to pretend to be engaged for a couple months?

a.k.a. The Second-Hand Famous Fake Engagement AU no one asked for.

8. I’ll Be (Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray from Glee) by stix04:

Can Quinn pretend to be in love with Rachel just to get out of Lima? Can Rachel pretend to love Quinn so she’s not so lonely in New York? And what happens when both girls realize they’re no longer pretending?

9. Simple Parts (also Quinn/Rachel) by FlyingFleshEater:

That awkward moment when you travel thirty years forward in time and find out you’re married to your high school nemesis? Yeah, it totally sucks…except…maybe it doesn’t.

10. You Still Make Sense To Me (your mess is mine) (Beca Mitchell/Chloe Beale from Pitch Perfect) by wherehopelies:

“Chloe fills up all of the spaces inside her that she didn’t even know existed until Chloe was there.”

orrrrr the one where it takes a fake-engagement and being domestic as hell for these two idiots to realize they’re in love. Set two years after PP2 and mostly canon compliant.

I have 2 honorable mentions that would have been like first on the list! … if only they were complete, but I’m going to put them here anyway because they are great if you don’t mind the frustration of an unfinished fic lol

- wildfire by lordvoldyfarts (sanvers): Alex has seen beautiful women before, her sister is one of them, but not one has ever taken her breath away so quickly it felt like she was being knocked over. Maybe it was simply the shock of seeing another person here when the school had seemed so desolate. Or maybe, maybe, it was because that was the most beautiful woman that Alex has ever seen.

or the one where alex teaches chemistry, maggie teaches history, and they teach each other a little something about falling in love.

there was. so. much. POTENTIAL HERE

- We court our own captivity/than Thrones more great and innocent by heart_nouveau: Promises meant nothing; they were little more than pretty words, and Sansa had heard enough of them to last her a lifetime. But the way that Margaery spoke, with that strange fierceness in her voice—for a moment, Sansa could almost believe her.

(this one HURTS SO GOOD)

#fic recs

15 notes · View notes

otheroutlandertales · 6 years

Photo

A prompt passed on to OOT from @imagineclaireandjamie: I would to read some canon or AU about Ian and Rachel! I know this blog has J and C's names attached but I and R are my second favorite couple!!

This will be a multi-chapter story.

Wine and Whisky - Chapter 1

by @whiskynottea

“It’s just another job interview,” Rachel murmured to herself as she stepped out of the bus, closing her eyes under the blinding sunlight. With a smile, she breathed in deeply, reveling in the feel of the sun against her skin.

How she’d missed it.

It was an elegant move of the hand, reminiscent of a Hollywood actress, that brought Rachel’s sunglasses to her face before she looked around, almost sure that she’d see the two-story houses on the main street of St. Helena.

Almost.

Instead of the colors that painted her memories, the lovely little shops and galleries, Rachel saw only the grim gothic houses of Edinburgh. So different from California. And so much colder. It was mid-June and she was still wearing a blazer. A light one, but still, a blazer. So much of the clothing and shoes she’d brought would probably never see the light of day. Her summer dresses. Her beautiful sandals.

But today it was sunny. And the days were still long.

Rachel walked across the street, phone in hand, searching for the bar where she was supposed meet the man. Conducting an interview in a bar. Scots were strange.

Rachel had pondered for more than an hour about going to the interview after she’d gotten the call.

How serious could an interview in a bar could be?

It was then, when she googled the bar’s name, that she discovered the Lallybroch Distillery and the Whisky and Freedom had the same owner, a man named James Fraser. She was supposed to meet William. Not meeting with the big boss yet.

Five minutes on foot, the app calculated.

Her pace was faster than normal, her anxiety passing from an overthinking brain to sweaty palms and fast strides. No matter how awkward this first interview was, the Lallybroch Distillery made one of the best whiskies in Scotland - or so was written in the reviews. It would be a great position to get. Assistant distiller in the firm’s branch in Edinburgh. And Rachel needed a job.

She wasn’t used to staying idle, and the idea of Denny having to provide enough to pay for them both was like a nettle, irritating her skin. She’d started applying for jobs, for any job available, from her first week in Scotland. She would compromise if she had to. But for this job, she didn’t need to compromise that much.

Just a little. Whisky wasn’t wine, after all.

Rachel had to say goodbye to the days when she tried to find the perfect balance between cherry and tomato notes in a rosé. The complementary taste of butter and vanilla in a white after staying in an oak barrel for six months. The deep color of a red, hitting her palate with black currants and plums.

Rachel was a chemist and her love for wine was at first sight. Or rather first taste. She had been the only woman in the team of winemakers in the Vittorio Sattui Winery, earning her position with studies, hard work and her unwillingness to accept “no.” She’d achieved all this before her brother decided it was a great opportunity for him to attend one of the specialty programmes in Scotland. Rachel didn’t talk to him for a week after his announcement. She then tried to put Italy and France on the table, too, but Denny was resolute. The Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery training programme in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was the one of his dreams. He applied and they’d accepted him. As simple as that.

And as simple as that, Rachel left the vineyards, the wine tasting, and her passion behind. She had promised to their mother that she’d never leave Denny alone. Not that she could, even if she wanted to. Denny was the only person she had in her life.

Well, he and Andrew, but things with Andrew were merely beginning when the siblings left for Scotland. Rachel and Andrew said their final goodbyes at the airport in LA, and never talked again.

She still missed his voice. The feel of his fingers in her hair.

The sunny, warm days on the beach, watching the sun setting into the ocean, orange flames burning around them as they glided on the water, swallowed by the waves only to emerge again fiercer.

The thoughts of a past life, of memories that formed less than a month ago and yet were so far away now, brought Rachel in front of the bar ten minutes early for the interview. Standing in front of the place, half a world away from the sunsets in California, her gaze travelled to the soft, worn wood of the sign.

Whisky and Freedom

Whisky. A whole new world to discover. A whole new world she knew nothing about.

Rachel knew grapes. Their varieties and peak harvest times, how long before the skins had to be removed so that the color of the rose color would be Provence-perfect and what casks should be used for the desired round body and just enough tannins. She had absolutely no idea about whisky. She knew nothing about barley and rye, about temperatures and distillation apart from what she’d read on Wikipedia, just before the interview. And she hoped it would be enough.

Rachel checked her watch, fixed her shirt and hair. Taking a deep breath, she opened the heavy door while looking at the reflection of her face on the yellow glass, hair smooth as silk, lipstick perfect. Removing her sunglasses, she put them on her head and squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness of the bar. It was empty at such an early hour, but the interior’s deep brown wood gave her a warm and relaxed feeling.

Dude. The sunglasses. Be professional.

Hearing the little voice in her head, Rachel placed the sunglasses back in their case and in her purse.

Much better.

Seeing no one around but a man behind the bar, doubled up, making noise as he moved bottles into empty crates, Rachel walked towards him with her head up high, shoulders proud, facial expression well-controlled. Ready to make a good impression.

Her efforts were in vain as the man, on his way up, bumped his head on the counter, making her burst out in laughter. So much for professionalism.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want to…”

Fuck.

The man - the young man - gave her a genuine smile, rubbing the back of his head. “Do I amuse ye, lass?” He asked her in a thick accent, making a grin blossom in her face.

“Maybe… a little…” She grimaced, shrugging apologetically. “I’m sorry, I’m horrible.”

“Aye, ye are,” he leaned on the counter, looking at her. His eyes were a common brown, much like hers, but his gaze was sweet and straightforward; open. Like a dessert wine, easy to drink and easy to get drunk with. A Napa Valley late harvest with notes of apricot, orange marmalade and honey.

“What?” She asked, realizing that she hadn’t heard a word of what he’d said.

“I asked, how can I help ye? Tis early and the bar is still closed but for ye, I could make an exception.”

Is he hitting on me? How long have I been staring at him?

Rachel composed her features again, and with a blunt voice she announced that she had an interview with William. Feeling the absence of a last name echoing in her short request, she turned her gaze on her hands, fidgeting with her bracelet.

“Are ye applying for the position?”

“Apparently,” she said, immediately regretting her clipped response. However, he didn’t seem to take any offense.

“Willie isna here yet, lass, but ye can keep me company, if ye want to.” Pointing at the stool across from him, he smiled. “I’m Ian, by the way.”

“Rachel,” she said, propping herself up onto the stool.

“From?”

“Pennsylvania. But I lived in California for years.”

“If I was in L.A…” He sang-murmured.

“Exactly! Well, I was,” she said, feeling the same rueful smile forming on her face again.

“And judging from that tone, you want to go back.” He simply stated reading her expression as he moved a bit closer.

“Well, it’s not - ”

“I’m here!” A voice came from the opened door, which was now letting the sunrays sneak into the bar. A tall man, with broad shoulders and brown curls, approached the two, a huge smile displaying an array of white teeth. He seemed nice, but Rachel’s gaze instantly went back to Ian. He was looking at her. With a wink, Ian stood straight inside the bar counter again and turned to the newcomer.

“Willie, this is Rachel.” He said, rolling the ‘r’ of her name, and Rachel realized how beautiful it sounded.

“Nice to meet ye, Rachel,” William extended a hand and Rachel rushed to take it in hers. “I’m William.”

A firm shake. Good start.

“I’m sorry that I’m late,” William said, pausing for a moment before he added, rolling his eyes and looking at Ian, “Bree.”

Ian chuckled, shaking his head. “Will you two want anything to drink?”

“I think we’re fine, Ian,” William looked at him with his r his lips in a prudish pucker.

“Could I have a glass of water, if that’s not too much trouble?” Rachel asked with a smile.

“Sure,” Ian grinned and cocked an eyebrow to William, making it hard for Rachel to stop the smile from turning into a grin. “Here ye are, lass,” he placed the cold glass of water on the counter, his eyes in hers.

“Shall we go then, Rachel?” William gestured towards a closed door, that most likely was the office.

“Sure,” she said and followed William with a last glance back at Ian, who mouthed ‘good luck,’ boosting her confidence and making the grin reappear.

William, apparently, was the son of Jamie Fraser and worked in the distillery department at Lallybroch, a place in the Highlands, near Inverness. The interview lasted for about an hour, and William was much better prepared than Rachel thought when she first met him. He was about her age, but he’d been educated in the prestigious ‘Wine and Spirit Education Trust’ and knew a lot about wine - not as much as she did, but still enough. They talked about the Fraser distillery, its history and values, and its whisky production. Rachel assured him that she’d learn the art of making whisky fast, if properly trained, as she tried to project her passion from wine to whisky. She must have been quite successful, because at the end William stood up, shook her hand again and told her that she should wait for a phone call, to arrange a second interview, this time with Jamie Fraser.

“Would you like to stay? For a dram?” He asked her before reaching the door, his slanted blue eyes fixed on her. “To have a taste of the Fraser whisky?”

Was that a trap?

“Yes, sure,” she nodded, nervously opening and closing the clasp of her purse.

The door opened, revealing a bar that was half full now, with a busy Ian serving the patrons occupying the stools on the counter.

She briefly contemplated why she seemed to be so concerned with Ian’s work, but brushed the thought aside as William stopped at a small table.

“Shall we sit here?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

Rachel took a chair as William left to get their drinks. He was impressive, towering most of the men in the bar and yet he was modest, as if he didn’t know the effect he had on women. Heads turned discreetly towards him as he passed by the tables, gazes moving with him. Rachel’s eyes followed him as well, until he reached the bar. From that point on, they stayed fixed on Ian.

Ian poured whisky into two low glasses and passed them to the men standing in front of him before raising his head to find her eyes. He tied his light brown hair into a bun, and smiled at her, shyly, giving her a questioning thumbs up as he nodded at William. Rachel shrugged in response, only to see him winking at her encouragingly, and raising a glass as if in a toast. William moved behind him unaware of their silent communication, taking a bottle from the display and two glasses before he walked back to the table.

In the next couple of hours, Rachel had more whisky than she’d had in her whole life. She searched for the complexity, the different notes - fruity, flowers, nuts and smokiness - and she found them all.

Yes, she could work on whisky. It offered a challenge.

As time passed though, the qualities got mixed, her head buzzed and she just wanted her bed. Thanking William - not William anymore, just Willie - for all his help, she tried to focus on placing one foot in front of the other and reach the bar’s door.

She stood in the fresh air for a moment, feeling the cold breeze against her face when she heard her name, followed by a hand on her arm.

“Are ye okay?” His voice was low, hiding a hint of worry.

“Mmm,” she responded with her eyes closed.

“D’ye want me to take ye home? I canna leave right now, but - ”

She opened her eyes then and saw him. Lean and tall, with toned muscles just visible beneath his T-shirt. Strong but subtle. “I’m fine, Ian,” she smiled, searching for the pine honey in his eyes. “I don’t drive, I’ll just walk back to the bus.”

“Are ye sure?” He asked, pressing her to admit her drunkness. His gaze trailed over the grey sidewalk and he added, somehow regretfully, “Willie could walk ye home.”

“I’m more than sure, no need to call Willie. I can hold my alcohol.”

“Aye, that ye do, lass.” She smiled at her, and she thought that his smile held just the right amount of sweetness and mischief. Like a merlot, fruity, with tantalizing hints of vanilla and spice.

“Good night, Ian,” she said and squeezed his arm. “And thank you!”

“Good night, Rachel.”

These ‘r’s again, rolling like the water when it reaches the roots, nurturing, giving life.

Rachel walked back to the bus station, seeing, for the first time, the Edinburgh buildings for what they were.

Mysterious and beautiful. Like whisky. Like the Scots.

Continue to Chapter 2.

#outlander fanfiction #otheroutlandertales #mod whisky #pair: Young Ian x Rachel #ch: Young Ian #ch: Rachel #ch: william #modern AU #category: mf #Wine and Whisky #oot #*

117 notes · View notes

hollyplays · 5 years

Text

Top Ten Movies of 2018

Alright. Now that it’s *checks watch* March 14th, I’m ready to give you my top ten movies of last year. I know, it’s absurdly late, but a lot of the big movies didn’t show in my theater so I had to wait til they hit digital or blu-ray to see them. Hell, there’s some I still haven’t seen. We’re all doing our best, right?

(I’m gonna spare you the “sorry for how long its been”. you know how long its been and how sorry i am by now. <3)

#10- Eighth Grade

You can tell this is gonna be a good list, because a movie this good is at the bottom. Eighth Grade is a hard, brilliant time capsule of a time in our lives we all do our best to black out. It speaks eloquently and simply about the effect social media has on the process of maturing without sounding like an after-school special for baby boomers. It’s phenomenal on a technical level as well- the cinematography is gorgeous and the soundtrack is immersive and haunting. I cannot reccomend Eighth Grade enough. (Nor can I spell recommend properly, apparently.)

#9- Hereditary

This movie fucked me up. I don’t have the biggest tolerance for horror (which I’m working on!) but typically a jumpscare movie like Sinister doesn’t do much for me afterwords. Hereditary had me on edge for days. You should absolutely go watch this movie wrapped up in a blanket, and you should absolutely read the doesthedogdie.com page for it so you’re completely prepared. Because trust me- you do not know what is going to happen.

#8- Thunder Road

Thunder Road had my number one spot for a long time, but there’s so many other excellent movies this year. I expected this movie to make me cry, but I didn’t expect it to hit me as hard as it did. Thunder Road is a fantastic indie movie with a fantastic cast and script. Jim Cummings delivers a picture-perfect performance.

#7- Roma

Roma is so hard to rank among the other movies, because I know it’s going to be a part of the film “canon” for years. Alfonso Cuaron is an excellent director, but I didn’t get into any of his other films as much as I enjoyed Y Tu Mama Tambien. Roma changed that. It is hauntingly beautiful, especially for black and white. It’s engineered to make you crave color, to make you crave depth from it’s characters and it’s scenery, and it delivers hard. Roma was so interesting and striking I wanted to do research on it after it was done. That’s some hardcore shit.

#6- First Reformed

My first Paul Schrader. (Far from my first Ethan Hawke, though. That man can get it.) This is one that haunts me, too. Every time I see some shit about Jeff Bezos’ wealth growing or workers being exploited, I hear Ethan Hawke’s voice in my head saying “Will god forgive us?”. This was especially striking to me as someone well-versed in the teachings and customs of Christianity. Planning a rewatch soon. First Reformed absolutely deserves it.

#5- BlacKkKlansman

I was nervous to watch this one, and I’m not sure why now. I think I had it in my head it wouldn’t be very good? I don’t know why I thought that. Spike Lee is good, and it’s no surprise that this movie is also quite good. John David Washington should be the next Batman. This movie doesn’t break the fourth wall so much as it glides through it like a permeable membrane. Casting Alec Baldwin as the KKK spokesman in the beginning of the movie is brilliant- Spike Lee knows you associate him with Trump thanks to SNL, and it forces you to both recontextualize what he’s saying with modernity, but also to recontextualize what Trump is saying with the horrible history of his rhetoric. And then that ending, jesus christ. There is exactly one (1) feel-good moment. Everything else is designed carefully to make sure you know- nothing has changed.

#4- Sorry To Bother You

Okay, from #6 on you cannot hold me responsible for how I rank things. Everything is so close to everything else. It’s all so good. Please do not yell at me in the comments.

Sorry to Bother You is fucking amazing. Everything about it is phenomenal. The script is tight, funny, depressing satire. The dialogue is believable and surreal. The cast is incredible. The soundtrack is wonderful. I could watch this movie forever. Don’t read any spoilers for it. Don’t look up anything. Just watch it.

#3- Blindspotting

Blindspotting was the only movie on this list that had me genuinely sobbing and shaking in fear. Blindspotting on paper should not work, but it works so, so well. Diggs and Casal fucking kill it. Blindspotting has so much to say about gentrification and the justice system and parole and it says it so eloquently. It’s so hard to rank Blindspotting next to Sorry to Bother You and BlacKkKlansman because they’re all such exceptional movies, but Blindspotting’s visceral third act keeps it a touch above the others.

#1- Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse

Spider Verse is the perfect superhero movie. It stands so triumphantly above the rest of the comic book movie canon. And I love superhero movies! Everything about Spider Verse is to be commended. The writing is fucking impeccable. The first act is devastating. The character work is phenomenal, especially for a film that literally shoves three spider-people at you in a single scene.

That’s to say nothing of the absolute visual treat that Spider-Verse is. The animation is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The colors are striking and blended so perfectly.

Spider Verse is a superhero movie, but it’s also a visually enthralling artistic masterpiece. It’s tied for me for the best movie of 2018.

#1- The Favourite

I hated The Lobster. I thought Killing of a Sacred Deer was a solid 8/10. But The Favourite is so, so far above Yorgos Lanthimos’ other work.

The cinematography is amazing. I never thought I’d enjoy a fish-eye lens in a movie, but it works so well here to distort your perspective of these people’s home and lives.

Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman are all amazing. Any one of them could’ve won Best Actress.

The Favourite is a movie about lesbian love. It never feels voyeuristic- even when scenes where it by all rights should- or fetishistic. It never objectifies lesbian sex or romance.

The script is amazing. The dialogue is smart and complex and simultaneously understandable. It never feels stuffy or forced. It’s often laugh-out-loud funny.

I was /not/ prepared for how good The Favourite is. I don’t think you are, either.

So that’s my top ten movies of 2018! I’ve got something special in the pipeline for you, so look out for that soon!

#holly plays #top ten of 2018

4 notes · View notes