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pharawee · 6 months

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Welcome to the second part of my Pit Babe novel commentary aka "hey this isn't so ba---wait where's Babe's sudden daddy kink even coming from??"

And I try (oh my god do I try). 🤡

I'm now at chapter 10, trying to pace myself because the (auto-translated) translation I'm reading is apparently a WIP. I'm on the edge of my seat. The plot is beginning to thicken.

Previously, Charlie was being sus and Babe was catching feelings, but most importantly there was a lot of pwp and very little racing.

Now there's more racing. Babe even brings Charlie (he still has to wear a mask and a hat) but gets too distracted by his presence (he's apparently addicting enough to kiss through the mask) and promptly forgets to check his car before the race (even though Charlie warns him against it but such is the power of scent - or lack of scent in this case. I don't even know anymore - neither does Babe but at some point Charlie states that's he's now in an alpha rut which I suppose means exactly what it says on the tin).

But, oh no! Babe runs into trouble during the race. He loses the lead and his car gets increasingly difficult to control until it crashes and bursts into flames. But it's okay, Babe jumps out of the driving car just in the nick of time (have you ever seen a supercar outfitted for racing? It's difficult enough to climb into one - funny how I'm apparently okay with omegaverse shenanigans but I draw the line at wonky motorsports physics 🤣).

Anyway, the track marshals are doing a really shit job because somehow they 1. let Charlie on the track to singlehandedly try and rescue Babe and 2. they also completely miss that Babe has literally jumped ship car and is lying on the track. He ends up with a broken wrist and a sprained knee (or was it the other way around? anyway, he's wearing several casts) which means he won't be able to finish the season and lose the title of King (all because he was too horny to check his car... but yeah also apparently it was sabotage ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So much for the racing part.

Babe needs weeks to heal so naturally he needs Charlie to pamper and feed him and dick him down several times a day but what else is new. No offence to the the dicking down part but ugh I hate this trope. Maybe it's just because I dislike the dynamics but I don't like the way Babe is taking on more and more cliché omega traits. If I have to read one more time about how much smaller he is (or about his "rounded" hips... are you ok google translate?)...

Oh, and btw. There are omegas in this! Charlie gets flirted at by one (which Babe absolutely hates) and he does have a scent and all. Later, when Charlie is busy being extremely sus again he meets up with a childhood friend, Jeff (Pon's character in the series is called Jeff - oh. oh no...), and if I'm not mistaken he's an omega as well. Jeff cautions Charlie against being with Babe and displeasing his father (which also seems to be Jeff's father? Dude sure has a lots of adoptive kids...) but Charlie argues that he knows what he's doing and he doesn't want to stop anyway.

Later on he tells the exact same thing to his (adoptive?) father, and why do I get the feeling that this might be the same father Babe mentioned earlier when he was telling a feverish Charlie a story to get him to sleep:

In his story, Babe mentions how when he was very small he used to go hungry every day because his mum was out of the picture and his father didn't even make enough money bring food to the table. One day the hunger was so bad that he passed out and woke up in the hospital where a stranger told him he'd be his new family. With little choice in the matter, Babe accepted and went on to spend the rest of his childhood well-cared for and in elite schools etc. That is, until he turned (presumably...) 18 and discovered that his father didn't adopt him out of the kindness of his heart but for ulterior motives that Babe doesn't explain any further because at that point Charlie has fallen asleep.

So yeah, what are the odds that Babe's "father" and Charlie's father are the same person (no spoilers, please)? Because if so then... that's disturbing, especially since Charlie's father seems to want Charlie to lure Babe back home. I mean, Charlie seems to have his own plans but it's not like his father throws him out after their secret meeting. Sus, very sus.

Meanwhile, Babe is slowly losing his heightened senses (the novel doesn't mention it yet but I'm pretty sure this is Charlie's doing) but he doesn't seem to mind because he's too busy falling in love. There's a lovely scene where Charlie and he spend the night stargazing, and this is when Babe realises that something's different because usually his heart only beats this fast when he thinks about racing (lmao).

Cue to them not having sex for a week because Babe feels like he's going crazy.

Meanwhile, it's been decided that Charlie will finish Babe's racing season for him because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and I'm sure he'll win the title too because he's Charlie, alphaest of alphas. Or something.

So one night Babe officially introduces him to the rest of team X-Hunter (and curiously Sonic and North seem to be racers in the novel as well) but things go awry when Babe is too busy fooling around with Way (no you cannot be affectionate with a male friend in a BL novel it is forbidden!!). Charlie and Babe argue and proceed to ignore each other for the rest of the night until they make up (and out) during the official X-Hunter sleepover (with Way and another poor dude sleeping in the same room).

They're polite enough to seek out the indoor pool (this isn't even their house - have you no shame?) and talk it out. And by talk it out I mean there's an inappropriate amount of daddy-calling and Little Mermaid jokes. This is where Charlie claims Babe. Yes, there's knotting (I think? like I said, I'm not axactly an expert and auto-translate is a bit vague, bless its little AI heart). Charlie threatens (I'm sure it's all meant very lovingly 🤡) to impregnate Babe if there's no other way to show others that he's his. To which Babe replies that that's impossible anway.

It's impossible, right? Right??

#pit babe the series #pit babe spoilers #pit babe #jane watches stuff #(in a way)#pit babe meta #bl meta #i wrote this is the middle of the night because i can't sleep #but this feels like a fever dream anyway so #to everyone reading this:#you have my thanks but also sry for subjecting you to this lmao 🙏

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spacecolonie · 9 months

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i adore your paintings so muchhh would you happen to have any other tips or tutorials for your process? anything from thumbnailing all the way to final render

Thank you 😭♥ I appreciate that a lot!! To start with I've got my advice tag (both new and veeery old stuff lol), & my youtube has a couple of speedpaints on it, one with commentary including process, brushes etc

In terms of general stuff about how I approach painting, I tend to tailor the method to the desired outcome. I talk about it more in depth on this post here, I also link to some references & tutorials that I really enjoy/recommend!

Besides that though, I guess I can do a little walkthrough of the Whisper & Tangle painting I uploaded a few months ago, since I tried something new with it that I pseudo integrated into my workflow & could be fun to talk about? 🤔

SO yes, I do always thumbnail when I'm doing a bigger painting, and they're definitely not pretty LOL. I usually use the colour fill lasso just to block in basic shapes and values with a gradient map slapped on the top -- I ended up swapping the values around in the end because it let me use the fireflies as the sole light source, making it more character focused! Then it's the usual process of resketching it all & flatting in the base colours (I also added Whisper's wisps hehe), then adding shading:

This is how I usually approach it, w/ all the shading layers clipped to the original flats to preserve editing. Multiply, screen & overlay are the most common layer modes I use while doing this, and if I'm ever struggling I'll sometimes add a gradient map too in order to unify awkward colours etc. The new thing I tried for this painting was doing what's often nicknamed as a 'clown pass' -- which is using hard edged shapes to create an easily-accessible selection mask for each part:

It looks Super funny but I actually found it very helpful, and I ended up using it to select & cut out all of their body parts onto seperate layers, which were then alpha locked. It meant I could go ham w/ large or textured brushes, smudges etc without worrying about losing those edges, or accidentally over-rendering and screwing up the anatomy in the process!!

I've kept doing something similar since, though it's a bit more dialed back; mainly using the lasso select to chop it up directly and preserve specific/necessary edges, grouping up similar body parts on a single layer etc.

After doing all that, I sat down and started rendering. The background was all blocked in & detailed with a hard round brush and these amazing brushes from Devin Elle Kurtz. There isn't anything super insightful that I think I could type on how I render, but I do have that speedpaint I mentioned earlier that'll probably shed more light. It's just a lot of eyedropping & painting, rinse and repeat

When rendering is done I usually add a concoction of adjustment layers, as well as an overlay w/ a noise texture on it. I also sharpen it all after doing so! These are the ones that I ended up adding for this painting:

The dupe & blur is a fun thing that doesn't always work, but it looks super neat when the painting itself calls for it, especially when paired w/ that noise texture. It can make stuff look like an old/low quality photograph or recording -- here's another example w/ a shadow and amy doodle I posted a few months ago:

That's about it for this painting, the majority of the time spent on it was honestly me rendering those damn leaves 🥲 Very tedious but worth it & it was a really good learning experience. I'm not sure if any of this will prove useful but thank you so much for sending in the ask, & if you (or anyone else reading this) wants a similar breakdown for a different painting of mine, please do let me know and I'll try my best to do one!! 🥺💞

#tutorial #kinda. i'm counting this as one... i should really start a new tag for these sorts of posts because theyre super fun #art breakdown #maybe??#either way thank you so much ♥

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justforbooks · 15 days

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Christina Hendricks

The star of Good Girls discusses Mad Men, sexual harassment and squaring her glamorous reputation with her ‘weird, goofy’ personality

Christina Hendricks appears on our video call with the most dramatic backdrop. Art deco gold peacocks bedeck a black wall, making her look, as she has so often in her career, a bit too good to be human. Perfectly poised, perfectly framed, perfectly lit, she is more like a dreamy vision of what humans look like. “I, erm, like your wall,” I say, pointlessly. She flashes a smile, as if to say: “Obviously.”

We are here primarily to discuss the comedy-drama series Good Girls, the fourth season of which will resume in the US this month after a midseason break. The elevator pitch would be Breaking Bad for girls: three suburban women, each hovering on the edge of bankruptcy, unite to embark on a life of cack-handed crime, only to discover they are good at it. The ensemble – Hendricks, Mae Whitman, who plays her sister, and Retta, their friend – works strikingly well, their pacey comic rapport instilling a sense of perpetual motion. You just can’t imagine Good Girls ending. Every time a plot line seems to be reaching its climax, something worse – and funnier – happens.

“It’s funny you say that, because originally, when I read the pilot script, I thought: ‘I love this, but I can’t imagine this being more than one episode,’” says Hendricks. “It felt like it finished itself.” She is unsentimental about it. Hendricks wasn’t looking for a new show – “I was happy doing films, taking my time” – but went into it with her eyes open. It is a network drama, for NBC – it is shown on Netflix in the UK – so producers are always aware that “it’s going into every house in the US on a Thursday or a Sunday and a family is watching it. They’re much more careful about numbers and advertisers and people being offended or not getting it. A cable show is much more: ‘We trust this creator – they’re a visionary.’”

It has a conventional tone – however dark the material, it is handled very lightly. Yet you can’t help but notice some hard-boiled social commentary from the off – if it weren’t for the bracingly callous US health system, the generation of wage-stagnation casualties and the patriarchy, none of the characters would have gone anywhere near a supermarket heist. More than Breaking Bad, it reminds me of Roseanne and the golden age of US mainstream comedy, when you could be poor on TV without that being a breach of good taste.

The 48-year-old has been a household name for almost 15 years, thanks to Mad Men. She was born in Tennessee, where her mother was a psychologist and her father worked for the Forest Service, and educated in Oregon and then Idaho. She didn’t have time for formal acting training; by the time she was 18, her modelling career had taken off. Later, when she had a manager, she took acting lessons: “I did that for almost a year and a half and put auditions on ice. Then I was watching a film – I don’t even remember what film it was or who was in it – and I thought: ‘I’m ready. I can do this.’” She has the most insistent work ethic; as she describes her life’s trajectory, she notes diligently the jobs she had while she was at high school, at a hair salon and a menswear shop.

In 2007, she appeared as Joan Holloway in Mad Men. She played the role for the next eight years, her character growing around the depth she brought to it, until by season seven she was almost the central part. In the early 2010s, Hendricks was talked about constantly, although she says the original focal points of obsession were the male characters: “Men started dressing like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. Suits came back in, skinny ties came back in. It took three to four seasons and then all of a sudden people wanted us [the female stars] on magazines. We were like: ‘This is strange – we’ve been doing this for a while.’”

Hendricks, along with January Jones, who played Betty Draper, came to represent so much. There was a great deal of rumination on their physicality, Jones as elegant as an afghan hound, Hendricks like the pin-up painted on the side of a bomber. What did it mean, people asked, that in the middle of the 20th century there were multiple ideals of the female form, whereas in the 21st century there was only one? How did that complicate the perception of gender equality as a steady march towards the light? Thousands of column inches went on that question – but, from the actor’s perspective, it was an annoying distraction. “There certainly was a time when we were very critically acclaimed, and getting a lot of attention for our very good work and our very hard work, and everyone just wanted to ask me about my bra again. There are only two sentences to say about a bra,” she says.

The signal impression the show left was of an ensemble at the peak of its creativity: actors, writers and the creator, Matthew Weiner, working in almost telepathic unison. It won the Emmy for outstanding drama series four times in a row, but the more notable year was 2012, when it was nominated for 17 Emmys (and didn’t win any of them). The take-home was: everyone involved with this is absolutely brilliant.

That harmonious picture was blurred two years after the show ended, when one of the former writers, Kater Gordon, accused Weiner of sexual harassment. Marti Noxon, a consulting producer on Mad Men, concurred that Weiner had created a toxic environment and said that he was an “‘emotional terrorist’ who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met”.

Hendricks takes this head on, in a considered, straightforward manner. “My relationship with Matt was in no way toxic,” she says. “I don’t discount anyone’s experience if I wasn’t there to see it, but that wasn’t my experience. Was he a perfectionist, was he tough, did he expect a lot? Yes. And he would say that in a second. We were hard on each other.”

It is impossible, from this distance, to adjudicate on Weiner’s character, but Hendricks’s response reveals something of hers. The easiest response in this situation, and the one 90% of actors give, is: “No comment.” Hendricks is always collected, never evasive, doesn’t gabble. She reminds me powerfully of Joan Holloway – and I am sorry to say it, because she insists throughout: “I’m an actress. I am completely not Joan. Not in any way. I wish I was more like Joan.”

I wonder if, while we were all fixating on Joan’s bras and whether or not, in the asinine words of Lynne Featherstone, the UK’s equalities minister in 2010, she represented a “curvy role model”, the audience was responding to Joan’s deeper life lesson – that self-possession is 9/10ths of the law.

What Hendricks emphatically doesn’t do is minimise the existence of sexism and sexual harassment in the industry: “Boy, do you think anyone in the entertainment industry comes out unscathed and not objectified? I don’t know one musician or one model or one actor who has escaped that. I have had moments – not on Mad Men; on other things – where people have tried to take advantage of me, use my body in a way I wasn’t comfortable with, persuade me or coerce me or professionally shame me: ‘If you took your work seriously, you would do this …’

“Maybe it was my modelling background, but I knew to immediately get on the phone and go: ‘Uh oh, trouble,’” she says. “That’s where it’s very much a job. We need to talk to the producers and handle this professionally.”

Yet, at the same time, she is defensive of her industry. “It gets a lot of attention because people know who we are. I’m sure there’s a casting couch at the bank down the street, I’m sure the same thing happens in management consultancy, but people don’t know who the management consultants are.”

Modelling always sounds like a harsh environment – predatory photographers vying with stringent agents to give everyone a complex about their thighs and stop them eating carbs. But that is not how Hendricks describes it at all. Her career sounds like one out of an 80s Judy annual: innocent and hearty, good for pin money and travel opportunities. “I think I was lucky – I didn’t start when I was 14. When I was about 18 or 19, I went to Japan for the first time, I went to Italy. We’d be lots of girls, sharing a house, and I sort of became the den mother. I’d make everyone egg salad sandwiches and Greek salads, going into this mother hen role.”

That is what they say about being taken hostage: if you want to survive, choose someone to look after. “Oh,” she says, coolly. “I wouldn’t consider being a model as being a hostage.”

She was only ever medium-successful, she insists – an “unusual and quirky” hire, rather than the slam-dunk face of everything. About as far as it went was that she never had to get another job to supplement her income. Probably the most famous image of that era in which she was involved was the poster for American Beauty. Two models were in the frame, so they took a photo of the stomach and the hands of each. In the end, they used Hendricks’s hand on the other model’s stomach. It sounds like a clunky metaphor, but it is true.

During this period, she moved to London with a friend, for the hell of it, living in a flat on Gloucester Road, “surviving on cider and hummus”. It is a glimpse of the oddball she says she was growing up, the outsider as whom she is rarely cast. This has been the story of her CV. “Early on in my career, I would get auditions and I would call my manager and say: ‘I would never cast me in this – she’s a cheerleader, she’s a bimbo. Can I audition for the other one, the weird doctor?’ And they’d be like: ‘No, they saw your picture.’ And I started realising that people didn’t see the weird, goofy me that I saw.”

She made the jump from modelling to acting via adverts, with what looks like fairytale ease. In fact, it was “a lot of pounding the pavement and showing up for auditions and getting rejected – and learning, as a young woman, to not take that personally”. By the late 90s, she was the face of ultimate female confidence, the woman who drinks Johnnie Walker and doesn’t need a chauffeur (these are two ads, not one for drink-driving). “I always thought of modelling as freeze-frame acting. It felt like a scene, and I still consider it that way. There are so many technical things that I think people don’t notice. They see you playing dress-up.”

From the commercials, she learned “how to hit a mark, how to memorise a line”, but acting wasn’t novel. She had been doing community theatre since the age of 10, and grew up expecting an alternative life, supplementing an art-house existence any which way. She never amplifies her creative urges. She is much happier talking about professionalism and graft, but that is strategic more than anything else. “I am incredibly emotional and I take things very personally. But I’ve learned to be a little bit of a politician and a little bit of a producer along the way. As a female actor, the easy go-to is: ‘She was emotional, she was hysterical.’ It can be a million other people’s fault, but it’s easy to point your finger at an emotional artist. So, I realised: if I’m going to be taken seriously, I need to have professional perspective and I can cry about it to my friends later.”

Yet she cares deeply about creativity, as is clear when she talks about Mad Men. “It may eclipse anything I ever did. And, if it does, it was a good one and I’m proud of it,” she says. “I got to bring who I was as a woman. I think I learned some of how to be a woman from Joan. No one would give a shit about me if it wasn’t for that show. I’d still be doing good work, but no one would have found me. If that’s the best thing I ever do, it was pretty good.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Christina Hendricks #Portrait

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princesscolumbia · 6 months

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Ranma 1/2 Thoughts, Meta Edition

I have consumed...a lot of Ranma 1/2 content.

I mean, this is kinda what happens when you're a repressed transgirl who discovers the manga a year into a marriage that you got into to "fix" being trans and be "a real boy" in a desperate bid to fill the hole that you wouldn't learn for two decades could only be filled by living as your true self.

I've encountered precisely four (4) types of Ranma 1/2 fans in that time:

Transwomen who see Ranma as their idealized expression of the gender experience ("I'm not like this because I want to be, it's a curse. A curse that gives me a smokin' hot body and HUGE tits! But it's tooootally a curse, for realsies! I'll find a cure any day now, see how hard I'm looking? I'm trying sooooo hard to find a cure...")

Transmen who see Ranma as their perfect representation of their gender experience ("I'm a guy, damnit! This body...it's a curse! I hate it and I want nothing better than to be cured, but all sorts of Life Bullshit keeps getting in the way!")

Lesbians who kin either Ranma (butch NB lesbian) or one of their love interests (Akane - comphet closetted butch lesbian, Shampoo - Strong, smokin' hot bad bitch who goes after what she wants, Ukyo - transmasc coded genderfluid NB)

Completely clueless nimrods who miss the FUCKING POINT and are only into the show for the martial arts and think it would be better if Ranma got cured and they stopped having funny stuff happen.

(In case it's not obvious, IMHO the last group are the worst parts of the fandom and need to Go Away. Most of the toxic stuff that exists in R.5 fanspaces is because of this group of assholes which includes the incels that think everything would be better if Ranma just did stuff that's questionable from an ethics and morality perspective and chased after Shampoo because she's the closest thing to a Barbie-doll these closet fascists can allow themselves to fantasize about playing with, completely ignoring that she's a complex character that's a subversive pastiche to the Japanese racist stereotypes of the 1980s.)

I'm not kidding when I say that in the early days of the public Internet (before Facebook and Twitter ruined it for everyone), Ranma 1/2 was the SINGLE largest fandom by a MASSIVE stretch. I once checked my math on this by going to Fanfiction.net (before the massive purges) and brought up the Big List of All Fandoms and right there at the top with a MASSIVE number of fics was Ranma 1/2 by a HUGE margin. It took three fandoms (Star Trek, Doctor Who, and I believe Naruto if I'm recalling correctly) to have their combined total number of fics exceed the number of R.5 fics on FF.net...and that was JUST FF.net. There was an entire separate index (The Penultimate Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Index) that had the single task of listing, not even curating or reading or reviewing, ONLY Ranma 1/2 fanfics. Not fanart, not commentary, no RP blogs or chat transcripts or whatever, JUST fanfics. And only about half of those linked to FF.net, meaning that if you dig up the archives you'll find at least 60% of all fanfics that people had managed to index in the Ranma 1/2 fandom are missing because they were never properly archived and just...faded from the Internet as the public servers and places like Geocities started disappearing. You can find teasing, tantalizing hints of larger works that all we have left, like scraps of ancient papyri revealing a quote from a missing book of the Bible, are single chapters backed up on niche sites that managed to get spider-crawled by Archive.org, but many great works are just...lost. (There's an ero fic called "Playing with Water" that was SUPER hot and featured elements that we have tags for on porn sites but didn't really have proper words for back in the day...but even back when it was first being written finding the thing was hard...and today? Nearly impossible.)

(If you wonder why I'm such an absolute RABID advocate of AO3, this is why)

For me, Ranma will always be the transfemme coded genderfluid hero that we needed in the late 80s and early 90s. We were on the tail end of the AIDS pandemic, and just like COVID-19 there were a bunch of assholes who used it to ride to power and marginalize queer folk. It was easier to do with AIDS, of course, given the absolutely massive numbers of queer cis men and transwomen who contracted it and died. (Sidebar: the reason "L" comes first in "LGBTQIA+" is because it was the Lesbian nurses who were the caretakers of the Gay men who were dying in numbers large enough to be counted as a tragic statistic instead of a mere tragedy) and while the world was starting to acknowledge (again) that gay men was a thing that existed and they weren't actually trying to corrupt the youth, what we now call "transgender" was still listed in the DSM as a mental disorder that required treatment to "cure." According to the cultural majority in damn near every field you can imagine, the Gender Binary was the only way to exist and if you didn't fit neatly into one or the other then you were Damaged™ and had to be Fixed™ for The Good of All People™ (but specifically so cis-het-white folks, usually men, could feel comfy and not be confronted by things that made them feel icky and might have cooties). It's a truism that's treated as a joke that transwomen get into coding and wind up doing IT work in such massive numbers that between us and the furries we ARE the foundation of the modern Internet. And into the fanspaces packed to the brim with closetted AMAB transwomen who hadn't yet had their egg cracked came this plucky martial artist that gets to swap their gender with a splash of water but somehow still winds up the best of the best, the finest martial artist of their generation. (Goku can suck it, Ranma would turn the Kamea-meha right back on the over-muscled, braindead loser with a food fetish and still make it home in time for Kasumi's dinner)

I'm no sociologist, anthropologist, behaviorist, whatever, but I suspect that the reason Ranma Saotome spawned such a large fanbase so early in the modern Internet's history was specifically because the series created a safe space where people could talk about gender issues with a degree of separation that helped strip away the stigma surrounding feeling like you were in the wrong body.

I get why people like the martial arts aspect. I mean, Ranma kills a demigod. This is NOT something to sneeze at. I also understand the transmen who latch onto Ranma as a kin because I get the feeling like you have no control over what your body's doing and you're going through your days in existential dread of what might be dragging you further and further away from what you always knew was right and correct about yourself. It's a terrifying thing and here's someone who (esp. the anime version) IS a guy trapped in a girl's body.

For me, though, and for a LOT of transwomen out there, Ranma is transfemme. And, yes, canonically Ranma states right near the end of the manga that they're both and they kinda forgot about the 'cure' when they had to pick between that and the really important stuff and that they're okay with being fluid ('cause water, gettit?!) about their gender and it's a damn shame this was the 80s 'cause a continuation might wind up showing Ranma embracing being both...

BUT, and this is a transfemme thing, I know, if you continue the parabolic arc of Ranma's character development, the logical conclusion (for us) is that she eventually decides that she's a woman and just lives in her "cursed" form the majority (or all) of the time.

And yes, this is because that's the transfemme story arc. In the manga in some distant part of the multiverse that peers into our universe and for some reason decides to make me the MC (god, that must be a FUCKING BORING manga by our standards, I weep for those fans), my story arc is the gradual progression of uncracked, closetted transgirl to transitioned out and proud transbien mom. At one point I swapped back and forth between gender presentations because it was safer for me to appear in some spaces as the male that they thought I was. Now I would prefer to die before being forced to go back to pretending to be a man again.

Ranma has the choice, and good for them. Until the Kaisufuu is permanently destroyed, even if the "curse" is locked, they have the option of going one way or the other based solely on their own, personal desire. I can't say I'd be comfortable with that option being available. In that theoretical manga where there's a reboot that gives me a condition like Ranma's, I'd probably wind up destroying the equivalent to the Kaisufuu just because of the threat to my mental wellbeing it presents.

So it's not a stretch to imagine Ranma making the same choice. She's a woman now, she has the life she never realized she wanted because she never had the choice so didn't know she was allowed to imagine it, but now she's happier than ever and why would she ever go back to that struggle of being a guy that only ever brought her pain and challenges and heartache?

#ranma 1/2 #ranma #meta #fandom #trans #transition #transgender #trans woman #transgirl #lgbt

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karuuhnia · 9 months

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Okay, I doubt anyone’s ever gonna read this, but I just need to write down my thoughts on Good Omens Season 2. (Beware of spoilers)

The Characters

First of all, I love, love, LOVE the writing and especially the acting of everyone involved! Both Michael Sheen and David Tennant (and everyone else) gave absolutely stunning performances! I also like that the main cast was a lot smaller than in season 1, so everyone had more time to shine. Great choice! (I did however kinda miss God’s narration and meta commentary).

My favourite new character is Muriel by far. She is like Aziraphale's cute, naive, dorky little sister or niece and I had the biggest smile on my face whenever she was on screen! I hope to see more of her in season 3 (which we probably will since she now runs the bookshop).

What I also liked was that Nina and Maggie don’t just magically fall in love in the end. I mean, they barely know each other and Nina is still in a relationship for most of the season. I liked that they even call out Crowley and Aziraphale for trying to force a romance between them instead of treating them like real humans with free will. (Was that a slight call-out to shippers in fandoms? Who knows lol) I hope they'll find love along the way, but I'm glad they were portrayed as realistic human beings.

Gabriel goes from smug, condescending asshole everyone loved to hate to adorkable himbo and I'm all for it! lol I wasn't in the fandom back in the day, but apparently Gabriel x Beelzebub was a popular ship and I can only imagine how happy the fans must be now that it became canon! I didn't see it coming at all, but it played out really well and didn't come across as forced. I just found it a bit funny and sad that these two fell in love and decided to break away from Heaven and Hell to be together in only a couple of years whereas Crowley and Aziraphale haven't managed to do that in more than 6000 years.

Which brings me to...

The Last Episode

We all know the last 20 minutes of episode 6 were absolutely heart-wrenching, but I wouldn't have it any other way! It was the perfect ending/cliffhanger in all regards and both their decisions make perfect sense. I wouldn't have wanted Crowley and Aziraphale to get their happy end at this point in the story because they're simply not there yet, character-wise.

Also, then a huge plot point and conflict would miss from the final 3rd season. I live for the angst and the drama and I can't wait for satisfying character development and the ultimate, heartfelt conclusion. (Please, Neil! ;__;)

Character Analysis

Crowley:

The most interesting things for me were the several hints that Crowley used to be a very high-ranking and powerful angel before he fell (maybe Gabriel’s predecessor?).

In S2-1 Aziraphale already knows who Angel Crowley is and looks at him with awe and admiration. (In German we have the great expression "jemanden anhimmeln" - roughly meaning sth like "to admire someone as if they came from heaven")

Crowley was part of the designer team of the universe and worked together closely with the higher-ups. He was also entrusted with starting the engine of a quadrant.

He is a creator and visionary who loves the stars, the planets, the whole universe and sees the big picture. He also uses critical thinking and encourages others to do the same.

The miracle he performs with Aziraphale to hide Gabriel’s identity is so strong that Heaven thinks the most powerful of Archangels must have done it. Since Aziraphale hides Gabriel from Hell and Crowley hides him from Heaven, but the alarm only goes off in Heaven, we can assume that Crowley had a bigger part in the miracle.

He can somehow deceive other angels from recognizing him as a demon: Gabriel, Michael & Co. in the Ijob episode and later Muriel when she first comes to observe Aziraphale.

He can change the weather and cause fire or lightning at will.

He still has access to classified files for dominions or above.

He literally brings the guy who was killed by the demon horde back to life like it's nothing. Short update: Neil recently said that Mr. Brown wasn't actually dead but only held captive during the battle. Well, Crowley at least healed Mr. Brown's injuries and removed his traumatic memories.

He is the only one in a room full of high-ranking angels who recognizes Metatron as what he is.

But it’s also implied that Crowley may have memory loss after he was kicked out of heaven because the angels did to him something similar to what they want to do to Gabriel now.

He doesn't remember working on the universe with Saraqael.

He remembers being in the Great War, but not battling right beside Furfur.

He vaguely remembers discussing gravity with the other angels, but he doesn’t remember why it was a good idea.

He seems to know exactly what the amnestic Gabriel is going through (the empty house metaphor, the physical pain of trying to remember etc.)

Crowley is hiding a huge trauma and it becomes really obvious how hurt and lonely he really is.

In S1-5 we learn Crowley was tortured by being thrown into a pool of boiling sulfur, just because he dared to ask a few questions and make suggestions. Heaven is cruel beyond all measure! (But because of their chronic lack of communication I doubt Aziraphale knows exactly how much Crowley suffered both physically and mentally.)

At the end of the Ijob episode in season 2 he laughs at the distraught Aziraphale because he knows what it’s really like to have fallen. The thought of someone like Aziraphale going to Hell is ridiculous to him. And he wouldn’t wish something so terrible on anybody anyway, especially not Aziraphale. He knows first hand what Heaven does to “traitors”.

He’s been tortured and kicked out of Heaven, but he doesn’t resent creation itself like the other demons do, quite the contrary. He often goes out of his way to help humans, even if it means punishment from Hell.

Because both Heaven and Hell are cruel and toxic, he decides he doesn’t want to be on any side in this eternal and pointless conflict. This, of course, leads him on a very, very lonely road.

Maybe this is why he (consciously or unconsciously) latches onto Aziraphale so much: He notices Aziraphale’s own doubts about the heavenly plan really early on. So he constantly encourages him to question his beliefs and own morals.

I don’t think he does it for overly selfish reasons, he just wants to show someone else that not everything is black and white and that Heaven’s plans are not always as good as they want to come across. But of course he also doesn’t want to be all alone anymore.

Aziraphale:

Aziraphale is, first and foremost, a guardian, a protector. But we can’t forget he is also a warrior and a leader.

In the beginning he was wielding a flaming sword, in S1-5 he is supposed to lead the heavenly troops into battle, in 1941 we learn he owns and knows how to use a gun. In S1-6 he is willing to shoot the Antichrist (who is in the body of a child I might add!!), but Madame Tracey stops him.

He likes spending his time helping others and indulging in his quirky little hobbies, but if he needs to, he steps up and becomes a leader (e.g. the stand-off in S2-6 when the demons and angels shout at each other and he takes control of the situation).

Aziraphale embodies many positive core values: Love, loyalty, politeness, kindness, forgiveness - which sometimes lets him come across as naive. He is also a big people pleaser.

In Season 2 we once again see how much Aziraphale values and loves humanity (more than we deserve tbh). His heart is so big and full of love for them. He is his best self when he can do good for humans and he thrives off it. The thought of innocent people, especially children dying is really the only thing that ever convinces him to go against Heaven’s rules/orders (seen in the entirety of season 1 and in season 2 in the Ijob and graverobber episodes).

But because of these core values he sometimes acts pretty holier-than-thou and hypocritical: He tends to try to make others do the dirty work so that he can wash his hands of responsibility.

We also learn that he sometimes abuses his heavenly powers to get what he wants. I mean, organizing a ball itself is a very wholesome idea, but he literally manipulates everyone’s clothes, feelings and behaviours, making them do or feel things they wouldn’t normally do in this situation. Nina is the one affected by this the most: She just got dumped and is sad and angry, but Aziraphale’s magic doesn’t allow her to feel those very valid emotions. He only means to do good, but ultimately he forces his will on the participants of the ball. And he doesn’t even realize it! This is not okay.

There is this one very meaningful line in Season 1 where Aziraphale says: "You go too fast for me, Crowley". And it really shows in every aspect of his personality and character design.

Aziraphale always wears similar, familiar clothes and barely changes his hairstyle over the centuries. Crowley on the other hand looks completely different in each time period we see him. Crowley lives in the present, goes with the time, Aziraphale lives in the past, can’t catch up.

No matter how often Heaven disappoints and mistreats him, he still desperately clings to the idea that their plans and institution are good at their core. Even after more than 6000 years Aziraphale is still so obsessed with the idea of good vs. evil, Heaven vs. Hell and to an extent even Aziraphale vs. Crowley. Yes, the two have become visibly closer and more familiar with each other since season 1, but Aziraphale still thinks in the good side vs. the bad side ("my people" vs. "your people", “Of course you said no to Hell, you [not “THEY”!!] are the bad guys!”) absolute, whereas Crowley has distanced himself from both sides long ago and only wants to be with Aziraphale.

Besides their lack of communication this is their biggest problem: Aziraphale can’t accept Crowley for what he is - or is not anymore.

First there is some sort of resentment and caution towards this fallen angel, of course. But Aziraphale wouldn’t be Aziraphale if his big loving heart held onto those feelings for long. He quickly sees that Crowley isn’t purely evil as demons are supposed to be. He likes and WANTS to see the good in everything and everyone.

Aziraphale begins to enjoy Crowley’s company over the centuries and eventually trusts him completely. But due to his indoctrination by Heaven he still unconsciously believes that Crowley, as an evil demon, is beneath him, Aziraphale, who is a righteous and morally superior angel. And while he has compassion and sympathy for Crowley and his terrible fate - he also somewhat pities him. (And being pitied is certainly nothing Crowley wants.)

This is the reason he is so incredibly happy about the thought that he could give Crowley his angel status back. As sad as it is to see how little Aziraphale understands Crowley after all those millenia, it feels completely in-character why he wants Crowley to be an angel again. He sees that there is still so much good left of the former angel he admired so much. He witnessed how brilliant Crowley used to be, an angel who loved creating and gazed at the universe with such exaltation. How happy he was, how bright, how enthusiastic in what he was doing!

This plays right into Metatron’s hands in the last episode.

Early in the season Crowley is offered a huge promotion in Hell if he finds Gabriel. And Crowley doesn’t even consider it for a single second - even though he hates Gabriel (He still clearly remembers the "Shut your stupid mouth and die" and all the other horrible things). When Aziraphale is offered the new position as Supreme Archangel he hesitates at first, but as soon as Metatron suggests reinstating Crowley to angelic status, he agrees in delight. Aziraphale thinks now they wouldn't have to be separated, they could even be together officially and it wouldn’t be reprehensible anymore because they’d now both be angels, both on the “good” side. They’d finally be equals and could even do good together, change the system.

So of course, from Aziraphale’s perspective, making Crowley an angel again would solve all of their problems (or what he perceives as problems). He, Aziraphale, wouldn't have to have a bad conscience anymore for spending time with someone who should be a mortal enemy. He could finally “fix” Crowley, make him truly good again. But of course it backfires horribly.

Their relationship:

As much as I loved the funny banter, the wholesome and adorable slice-of-life moments, this season made one thing really obvious to me: There is a big power-imbalance (for the lack of a better word) between them in their relationship.

As far as we've seen, Crowley is almost always the one who gives, Aziraphale is almost always the one who takes. When Aziraphale wants something (e.g. protect Gabriel, take the Bentley to Edinburgh, have Crowley take care of the bookshop in his absence, organize a dance etc.), Crowley initially refuses - but in the end always gives in to what Aziraphale wants.

Aziraphale is very outgoing, has a whole little community with the vendors in his street, actively mingles with humans and has hobbies (reading, collecting books, eating at fine restaurants, listening to music, practicing magic, going on little detective adventures etc.). What I’m saying is: Aziraphale has a life for himself, even after becoming a persona-non-grata in Heaven.

Crowley on the other hand... He either goes along with what Aziraphale does/wants or sleeps in his car (and takes care of his plants I guess). That's pretty much it. He doesn’t get any new tasks from Hell and only communicates with Shax on occasion when she brings him his mail or random news. He is so isolated from Hell, Heaven and Earth that literally his only reason for existing at this point seems to be Aziraphale. He practically has no ambitions or life of his own. Aziraphale always lets Crowley be his rescuer because it makes Crowley happy. But isn’t it sad that Crowley is only ever happy when he can protect and be around Aziraphale? Crowley’s whole life revolves around him and nothing else. This is not healthy!

Think back to season 1 when the bookshop burns down and Crowley thinks he’s lost Aziraphale forever. He is a mess, he screams and cries and breaks down. It was only for a couple of hours, but he’s experienced what a life without his one true friend is like and the loss hits him so hard, it hurts even us as an audience!

And the worst thing: I don't think either of them really notice all that - because they don't TALK! Nina and Maggie were so right: The two idiots never really talk to each other about their true thoughts and feelings.

There is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding of each other's needs because of that:

Aziraphale is internally conflicted about what he wants (be a good angel of Heaven vs. be with the enemy, an "evil" demon).

Crowley knows exactly what he wants (to be with and ONLY with Aziraphale), but he can’t muster up the courage to say it. After all, the last time he spoke freely about his thoughts, he was branded a traitor, tortured and cast out by Heaven.

So they constantly fail to find a solution that both of them are happy with:

Both in Season 1 and 2 Crowley asks Aziraphale to leave everything behind and run away with him, not acknowledging Aziraphale's undying love for and loyalty to humankind. And he gets rejected for it both times.

In S2-6 Aziraphale asks Crowley to come to Heaven with him, not acknowledging how Heaven has hurt Crowley, not accepting him for who he is. Instead he wants to fix him. Over the years he has also become so used to Crowley always being there for him, he takes his help for granted. So when Crowley actually stands his ground for once and refuses to do what Aziraphale wants, it shocks Aziraphale to his core. He’s never been rejected like that.

They aren’t humans, they are both ageless, sex- and genderless, asexual, otherworldly beings, so human relationship standards don’t apply to them. We can also see that in Gabriel’s and Beelzebubs relationship. Their love is something emotional, not physical. They don’t kiss or even hug, they just look at each other and sing "Everyday" - their personal love song - before they go off together.

Crowley and Aziraphale have spent so much time away from Heaven and Hell and lead almost human-like lives on Earth. So in a desperate, last ditch effort Crowley chooses to show his emotions in a very physical, human way, a way that beings like them wouldn’t normally do. But it’s his very last chance to make Aziraphale understand. So he kisses him. It’s an angry, sad, messy, utterly unpleasant kiss, it’s painful to look at.

Aziraphale doesn’t kiss back, his hands are erratic. He is so torn. His heart and his brain tell him two different things. He needs Crowley, but Crowley refuses to come to Heaven with him.

And what is the first thing that comes to Aziraphale’s mind after the kiss? “I forgive you!” Because that’s what he’s good at, right? Forgiveness. He told Maggie that in the first episode of the season. I don’t know what exactly he wants to forgive and I’m not sure he knows himself.

When they part they’re both in emotional agony, they both feel betrayed. Crowley storms out, but still waits outside his car. He still has this tiny bit of hope left that Aziraphale will come with him after all. He only gets in and drives off once he sees the doors to Heaven close behind Aziraphale and Metatron.

Metatron’s plan

I read some theories that Metatron poisoned Aziraphale’s coffee, but I really, REALLY hope that this isn’t true. It would take away all the gravity of Aziraphale’s decision if he is just drugged to go along with Metatron and comes to his senses once the drug wears off. That would be boring and lame!

I also don’t think that Crowley and Aziraphale switch appearances again as they did in Season 1: Clearly Metatron would be able to see through the disguise, he is much more powerful than the angels after all.

No, I think Metatron cleverly manipulates Aziraphale by giving him the opportunity (or rather the illusion thereof) to make changes in Heaven with Crowley at his side. Aziraphale is so convinced that Crowley would be full of joy and gratitude at the prospect of becoming an angel again. He once again fails to understand that this is the exact opposite of what Crowley wants.

Metatron on the other hand appears to know Crowley much better in that regard. He remembers how powerful Crowley is and how far he fell for asking the wrong questions. He loathes Crowley and would never want him in a position of power in Heaven ever again. So from the outset Metatron knows that Crowley would not agree to become an angel again, that’s why he makes that specific offer to Aziraphale in the first place. It’s his clever way to make the two fall out with each other, to separate them and still win Aziraphale over for his plan.

I just wonder what his real goal is here. Michael or Uriel seem like a much more logical choice for Supreme Archangel if he really only wants to go through with the next Armageddon. That can’t be everything, right? He knows that Aziraphale actively worked on preventing the first Armageddon. Why would he think Aziraphale would now be on board for the second one? Metatron can’t underestimate Aziraphale that much, right? He’s way too cunning to believe that Aziraphale is weak-minded and gullible.

I mean, I’m not too versed in religious mythology, but doesn’t the Second Coming of Christ mean Judgement Day and that God’s kingdom takes over the world after smiting all enemies? That doesn’t sound like something Aziraphale wants (especially the smiting of all enemies which would include Crowley). So why does he still agree to go with Metatron after learning about this???

Does Aziraphale think he can outsmart Metatron and all the other high-ranking angels and avert the end of the world when he’s in a position of power? I mean, he is intelligent, he must have a plan after hearing about the Second Coming, right? That would at least somewhat explain his very weird and uncanny smile during the credit roll. I just don’t know what to think about all this.

My best guess is that Aziraphale will first try to undermine Metatron and speak to the Almighty Themselves (something he already wanted to do in season 1 but was denied), and also to make positive reforms in Heaven. But Metatron sees this coming of course. To make Aziraphale his obedient puppet he will simply threaten to erase Crowley from the Book of Life should Aziraphale ever dare to step out of line.

Crowley never told Aziraphale about what he and Muriel found out in Heaven - that Michael & Co. were actively planning Armageddon 2.0 before Gabriel went renegade. But now Crowley can’t do anything to help prevent it because he knows that Aziraphale is completely at Metatron’s mercy.

I’m dying to see how this will all play out, but at this moment I’m just confused and unsure about all of this.

So what do I want/expect from season 3?

I want Crowley to overcome his trauma, his pain, his trust issues, all the rejection and loss he faced. I want him to be able to be himself: Free, loved, respected, cared for, accepted. I want him to live a happy life with, but not live FOR Aziraphale. I want him to make other meaningful connections. Maybe with Muriel? She is the only other kind and good-hearted angel we see in the show and a friendship would benefit both of them greatly in my opinion.

I want Aziraphale to fight for Crowley, to protect him for once. When they meet again I want him to do the stupid apology dance for three hours. I want him to finally accept Crowley as his best friend, his soulmate, his true love, his equal. I want him to take Crowley’s glasses off, look him in the eyes and then be the one to lean in for a kiss. A kiss that isn’t forceful and desperate, but heartfelt and genuine.

As for the plot of season 3… I’d really like to see a flashback of the often mentioned Great War between the angels and soon-to-be-demons. I’d also like characters from season 1 to make a cameo appearance if possible. Apart from that I don’t have any predictions or big ideas (as I said before, still very confused about Metatron’s plan).

I will put my faith in Neil Gaiman and Wait and See (TM) what he ultimately comes up with. :’)

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens spoilers #karuuhnia writes

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controversial-blorbo-bracket · 9 months

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Too many Binghe haters jumping into the askbox so I'm here to represent Binghe lovers.

Luo Binghe is a fun, interesting character who suffers a lot from shallow readings. Which is ironic considering the main source of tension in his relationship with Shen Qingqiu, the MC - who is originally a reader of the novel in which Luo Binghe is the protagonist - is that Shen Qingqiu keeps reading him shallowly / expecting him to act according to some or other character archetype, and thus misses that Binghe is a complex person with his own rich inner world. Basically it's meta-commentary on how readers do a disservice to characters by oversimplifying them to just a few traits and/or their role in the story (SVSSS in general is super meta) but unfortunately not a few ppl read the novel and fell into those same trappings ^^"

It also doesn't help that Shen Qingqiu is an unreliable af narrator, which leads to some people insisting that Luo Binghe forced him into a relationship or is manipulating him or w/e... This is about a guy who waxes poetics about Luo Binghe's unparalleled beauty every time he lays eyes on him. Like cmon, he just has a lot of internalized homophobia and shame to work through, give him a break!! And the so-called 'manipulation' is half the time Luo Binghe looking vaguely disappointed and Shen Qingqiu going "wow! I cannot believe the most beautiful man in the world whom i love so much that i died for him twice and whom im dating is making me have sex with him! Luo Binghe sure is a master of emotional manipulation!" and other half the time Luo Binghe super obviously whining for attention which - canonically, its in the text - makes it easier for Shen Qingqiu to be honest with him.

But enough salt; reasons why Binghe is a top blorbo go:

The narrative (which btw is a real force in this world) is trying to make him into an iron-fist Ruler Of Everything but his greatest aspiration in life is to be a househusband.

Was supposed to be a protagonist of an uber-straight harem novel but threw heterosexuality out the window within 3 interactions with MC.

His love language is cooking! It's adorable but it'll also hurt u. (Binghe kept making three meals a day for Shen Qingqiu during the five years the latter was dead :) )

A big part of his arc is about learning to be vulnerable and show his sensitive side. (In general, one of the novel's major themes is toxic masculinity and how it harms ppl; I just particularly like how its explored with Binghe.)

A Good Boy (has been going through a corruption arc for 2/3rds of the novel yet it still took a cursed sword controlling his mind for him to start acting like the OG)

Lotsa delicious fridge horror around him being the narrative's favorite chew toy. Things only ever get worse for him and reality will warp itself to deny him a chance to heal while the story is in progress, because he has a Role and that role is ‘a villainous protagonist’.

But also u get to cry about how he was saved in the end by the power of just one reader loving him and wanting better for him. (SVSSS is also a love letter to fandom/fanworks okay :] )

Very powerful but also a nervous wreck. Tripped and fell flat on his face when proposing to his boyfriend.

Just in general him being clingy and whiny and a mess is mega cute (me 🤝 Shen Qingqiu)

This makes for a great contrast with him being a super OP nigh-unkillable demon lord btw. He could drown the world in blood but he's too busy crying Ghibli tears in his man’s lap.

Also I need to mention he's extremely funny about being nigh-unkillable too. Like, *gets injured* Shen Qingqiu: "We can have sex once u r better 😔" Luo Binghe: *popping broken limbs back into place*: "I'm better! :D"

Has a praise kink AND a masochistic streak. Apparently when Shen Qingqiu praises him and pats his head it's exciting, but when Shen Qingqiu scolds him and hits him that's also exciting.

Has the peak character design detail in the form of a demon mark on his forehead. Built-in kissies target 🥰 Also when fanartists draw it in different shapes to represent his mood? Absolutely delightful 100/10 no notes <3

Why do I feel like this man has Kenergy

#I could be totally off here but I’m getting the Vibes #not a poll #ask #luo binghe #propaganda #verycharismaticdragon

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tatumrileyslover · 7 months

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SPOILER THOUGHTS ON THE FNAF MOVIE

You were warned

First off MR MATTHEW PATRICK

That man had EVERYONE CONVINCED HE WASN’T IN IT, the group of teenage boys beside me were as equally excited and we all gasped when he said, “well that’s just a theory”

I had my lore brain on when I watched it and let me tell you the second I saw the DREAM THEORY book I thought it was a matpat reference because I had assumed he wasn’t in it, (I was obviously very wrong)

I absolutely loved seeing my one true love Matthew Lillard as a villain once more, the springlock scene was so good, especially with that scene with golden Freddy boy just staring at him as he quivered in agony

Also the William Afton reveal was very funny because the teenage boys beside me just said “I would have never guessed that” I loved the commentary <3

Abby was honestly adorable and I saw a lot of myself in her, with her drawing 24/7, I loved how her and Mikes relationship were explored, the stress of trying to look after his little sister, while juggling a job and then the aunt trying to take Abby just for a check. The way Mike feels Abby doesn’t really care for him, but (as the teacher points out) Mike is at the centre of almost all her drawing.

The Vanessa as William Zafron’s daughter reveal kind of obvious to me, but I mainly think it was because I was planning a fanfic where the main character was Aftons daughter so a lot of things she done were thing I was thinking about (stuff like knowing her way around the place and knowing about the springlock suits)

The horror aspect of the movie is very pg13 as expected (as someone who loves horror movies) which is good in a sense because I think it’s a very good introduction to horror for tween/young teens. Nothing is crazy graphic (except for Maxs death which I thought was very unexpected for a pg13 movie but I mean it really added to the horror aspect) most of the jump scares have the (what I like to call) “delayed visuals/sounds” which let the audience brace themselves for the scares. I do kind of wish the animatronics were a little bit more “bloody” after killing the break in gang, I mean Freddy bit Max in half, you’d think he would have a bit of blood somewhere on him.

I loved Josh Hutcherson acting in the movie though, he was really enjoyable to watch (but I also absolutely LOVE Josh so :P ) i think he portrayal of his trauma relating to his brother is very clever, this deal golden Freddy boy made with him, capitalising on his desire to fix what happened to get to Abby.

Speaking of Abby, the ending when she puts up the drawing she made, is very clever but I think the way it was portrayed was a bit strange. We see Abby making drawings for the animatronics so we see that they value her art, and I think the idea of her drawing their actual fate to counteract the image of Spring Bonnie being their friend is very smart. But just replacing the image is a bit weak, I think if Abby tried to run around to show them, or get their attention is some way would work better but it’s only a small flaw.

I think since Vanessa was stabbed, and she doesn’t wake from the coma by the end of the movie it’s probably setting up for the next movie, it’s a bit of a lacklustre ending for her. On the note of Vanessa, I feel her relationship with William Afton wasn’t explored nearly enough, just a small part of dialogue, discussing what he did and how she didn’t want to clean up after him anymore.

Final note: the part where William Afton (as Steve Raglin the career counsellor) reads the file for Mike Schmidt, the way he doesn’t even finish saying his last name foreshadows how he knew that he was sitting in front of one of his victims siblings. I just love Matthew Lillard and everything he does

I will most definitely be seeing it again, probably streaming it online so my little sister can see it because she really wants to see it

#fnaf #fnaf bonnie #fnaf chica #fnaf freddy #fnaf movie #five nights at freddy’s movie #five nights at freddy's #spoilers #Fnaf spoilers

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captainsolocide · 7 months

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solo talks about cbs elementary part 1

okay so yesterday I made post wondering if anyone would be interesting in hearing my cbs elementary thoughts. in the tags of that post I threatened said that one note was all it took to make this (a fleshed out series? of posts detailing pretty much everything I've ever thought about this show) happen, and for better or worse, I got that note, so instead of studying for one of my two midterms I have next week, I started this!

I am currently in the first half of season 4 but I started recording my thoughts from the very beginning. unfortunately they are very disorganized, so at least until I get to where I am currently watching I think I'm going to group these by multiple episodes. This section covers about the first half of season one

Since I've watched past the episodes I'll be talking about at first, I thought I would also add commentary if I have any hindsight to add to any of them. Any future knowledge commentary will prefaced as such.

Enjoy! and don't be afraid to leave your own thoughts if you feel so inclined, even if you completely disagree. I am insane about them so I am always ready to discuss :)

the good:

Holmes getting weird with his investigating (i.e. sniffing the walls, crawling around on the floor, licking things, etc.). It is very important to me that Holmes is, at the end of the day, a weird little guy

bitchy Holmes! Also very important to me! This also ties in with Holmes having emotions, but basically I just want Holmes to be written like the drama queen he is. (future solo thought: Elementary and JLM consistently do a good job of portraying him as such)

Avoidance of both teh stupid Watson and angry Watson trope. At this point, that's perfection

Holmes hates rich people! (future solo thought: I did not realize just how much copaganda there is in this how. it's very difficult to portray some of his more left-leaning ideals in shows like this, so I'm honestly glad for whatever scraps we can get)

I think Holmes having tattoos is a good call for a modernized version of him

crediting Watson with helping even when she hasn't done anything — this is something ACD!Holmes does as well and I think it's really funny (of course we know that Watson actually does help, just not always in obvious ways — sometimes even she's confused when Holmes thanks her, it's just funny the way he does this because he very rarely elaborates)

Encouraging Watson to make her own deductions (future solo thought: at this point in my watching this I didn't realize they were going to make Watson a detective in her own right, so this goes double now)

Telling Watson that she's necessary to his process fairly early into their relationship — we love codependent besties <3

Watson as a puzzle — not everyone likes this read of their relationship, but personally I love it

"WATSON!!!" — when Holmes yells her name like this I cannot help but be reminded of Jeremy Brett which can only do good things for my opinion of JLM's version

Holmes having daddy issues is always fun to explore, not mad at all if they decide to do more with this (future solo thought: I was very correct in this lmao)

Holmes just 🧍‍♂️-ing next to Watson's bed to wake her up occasionally. Again, reminds me of Brett, and it's objectively funny

"My dear Watson," I love this sentiment in the books when Holmes was saying this every other sentence, so seeing him say that at a time where it's not as common. It means a lot. To me.

Holmes' reaction to Watson calling herself his friend 🥹🥹

CIGARETTE ASH MONOGRAPH YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

Okay. This one needs some explaining. Holmes starts out misogynistic does go in the good BECAUSE I think his growth through that can be a really interesting and important thing to watch — it shows that even the smartest of us can hold unconscious biases that we need to do work to undo

the bad

The reworking of Watson's backstory — not all of this is bad, in fact some of it was necessary to distinguish Joan as her own character, but I do resent how Watson's tragic backstory in this meant that her doctor title is not used, and I feel like taking away Watson's injuries was missed opportunity as well

no live-in Mrs. Hudson = Watson getting relegated to house keeper duties, something that character does not do in the books. wonder what the difference is here? (future solo thought: this was a bigger issue in season one, I think. as far as I can tell, there seems to be a more even sharing of household chores as their relationship develops more, but my point for early season one stands)

Copaganda. It's lame and not in line with Holmes' characterization if you think about it for more than two seconds. I understand he works with them sometimes, but the amount of respect they have Holmes have for the police is disgusting. there have been several episodes I could barely finish because it was just so so bad

Holmes called Freud a genius in season one. girl.

#cbs elementary #sherlock holmes #joan watson #solo talks about elementary

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rulers-of-hungary-tournament · 4 months

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ROUND 3, MATCH 4

Admin's commentary: ...okay this one is just. Not fair. For once I wish the Czechs were there to balance the score, although it still would be an incredibly lopsided battle. Zmikund, my poor baby.

***

Zsigmond (Žigmund Luxemburský) 1387-1437

also king of Bohemia and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, elsewhere best known from what he did to Jan Hus, but we don't have enough time to unpack that, needless to say he's responsible for the bratríks (branch of hussites that went on supply raids into Hungary), so fuck him just for that

his rule in Hungary was long and eventful, after he secured the throne, his first order of business was a war with Ottomans, which ended in the catastrophic battle of Nicopolis, later another war, during which he regained Beograd, but lost Golubac, which was an important fortress

after the Hungarian nobles were found to conspire against him, he instituted harsh repressions, destroying many important noble houses, which he then tried to replace with a nobility faithful to him - but that just caused yet another conspiracy, which Zsigmond had to appease by marrying Barbara of Celle

founded the Order Of The Dragon, which is how Vlad II. Dracul and after him his son Vlad III. Dracula got their monikers

supported the rights of cities, especially in his Minor Decree, but lest our fellow medieval city kinnies start liking him too much, he was also the guy who lended several cities in Spiš to the Poles (cities formally stayed part of Hungary, but the profits from them went to the king od Poland; which is basically how it stayed untill the divisions of Poland)

he also instituted another two law codes concerning courts and army, gave himself placetum regium (right to veto reading of papal bulls on his territories, which meant he could witheld the orders of the pope itself from his people; @best-habsburg-monarch might recognize this one)... basically for better or for worse, he was a Big Damn Deal here, truly one of the most important monarchs of Hungary, just look at how long his entry is

@biksarddedrak said about him: "I want to see Zsigmund to win because well: a) catastrophic results of battle of Nicopolis weren't his fault. Those damm Frenchmen once again doomed Europe by their arrogance. Funny enough they were so scared after this battle, that it ended their support for any war with Ottomans in the future. (Forget that whole beef with Habsburgs, that comes much later.); b) ugh, well, he may king of the Romans and king f the Bohemia and temporary the most inportant ruler of Christendom, but it was the kingdom of Hungary he could trully call his own and had here full authority. And that is truly impressive because, well... Hungary was always kinda difficult to manage.; c) the dragon. The Dragon. THE DRAGON!!!; d) and also time to spice up relationship between Slovaks and Czechs right after anniversary of our divorce.

I.Mátyás (Matej I.); also known as Hunyadi Mátyás (Matej Korvín) 1458-1490

I mean, do I even have to say anything??? you know who this guy is right.

fought the Ottomans. supported arts and sciences. instituted important reforms. founded Academia Istropolitana. made Buda the capital and built the Buda Castle. gained the crown of Bohemia and stole territory from Austria. the man. the myth. the legend.

@deetherusalka said about him: "Lmao Bohemian crown snatcher, it's still so funny to me how in Czechia he's always presented as the evil himself and then everywhere else he's celebrated (which is not wrong imho! it's just funny how the narrative changes depending on perspective you learn about it)"

@durzarya said about him: #listen i love Mátyás király and i have voted for him#but my guy had some interesting policies#hilarious information about him: at 19 he captured Vlad ��epeș

@biksarddedrak said about him: #It's not even fight#It's just bloody beating#Matyás is remembered even in many historical legends as a good and just ruler#he reformed military and made the world fear Hungary#first profesional army#he managed to pay not only for the one for a THREE armies at a time#also his love with his wife Beatrice is a thing of a legends#The GOOD sort of legends#also I am completely obsessed with a way how his name is pronouced#seriously check that out it's hilarious#black army

#main bracket #zsigmond #sigismund of luxembourg #i.mátyás #matthias corvinus #history #hungary

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korrasamibottles · 5 months

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you know what I would absolutely love a director’s commentary on is the shoe store scene from Over Me, Under Me👀 (hi Ming ily)

CAN YOU BELIEVE Ming was supposed to be a guy without a name? That scene wasn't even suppozed to be more than maybe three sentences. Then my evil little clone burst forth and ruined countless lives and I'm so, so proud of her.

Originally Korra was supposed to pop in, buy a pair of heels, and leave without really interacting with anyone. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like Korra didn't seem like a heel lady (they just don't seem practical for a person whose job entails having to be ready to throw down at a moment's notice. you know.) plus I wanted her to feel confident hat Asami wouldn't know what she was up to, and heels are pretty loud and conspicuous.

So then I thought "what about those lifts they make for insecure politicians" which ended up being PERFECT because it served the dual purpose of allowing me to talk shit about Raiko, which, as we all know, is my reason for living.

But I felt like getting the lifts necessitated some shopkeeper interaction, since most people probably wouldn't think of those an option. So: Ming. I've never experienced a character just begging to be created before, and her scene was SO fun to write. Like, cackling alone in my room in the dark at midnight fun.

The part where she flips her name tag around after Korra calls her by name was extremely funny and vindicating to me personally, and I decided that the question of whether or not Korra-era retail workers would realistically wear lanyards like that didn't matter; that's what Ming wanted to to, so that's what I wrote. I was 100% not in control of that scene, it was all Ming grabbing hold of the fic and taking it where she wanted god bless.

One other tidbit: Asami bought those boots on her to Future Industries that morning, so she was Ming's first customer of the day and Korra was her last. Also she knew exactly who both of them were and pretended not to recognize either of them because she thinks famous people deserve to be knocked down a peg.

Read my horrible smut here

#appalesbian #asks #mw

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larkral · 1 year

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Directors cut ask—whatever chapter of Good at Something you want to talk about!

What's that? More Good at Something commentary? IF I MUST. (I'm going to. Y'all are going to get every chapter. It is decided) Here is my commentary on Chapter 2 of Good at Something. If you thought that the commentary on Chapter 1 was excessive, get ready for this. It's even longer! I have so many thoughts and here they are. Writing about writing: a thing I like to do

Good at something directors commentary on chapter two. Let's goooooo.

Okay, so I'm pretty sure that the main reason that I branched out from blowjobs in their dorm room was that the setting was beginning to lose interest for me, and I assumed that readers would be feeling similarly. Note: this was before I wrote the oft-opened-envelope scene, so I obviously walked that idea back.

Anyway, notice: the world continues apace despite the fellatio marathon these two are competing in.

Also notice: they're getting very familiar with each other. Making jokes! Simon pressing up against Baz's back in the hallway, tugging Baz towards him with his belt loops. The goal was that this section start to feel mutually warm in addition to being hot.

So, aside from a subtle shift in the intended vibe of their relationship, this scene stands out for me because it's got some rocking jokes. It's a very funny scene! "never lock a door with a boiled carrot" is a legit Irish idiom that I learned from a board game called Wise or Otherwise when I was probably 12, and I still think it's hilarious. Let it never be said that writers don't use every fucking thing in their lives as fodder. "Top marks for consent." (Yes, we're still grading the blowjobs!)

Next comes piano bench sex! Leg over the shoulder sex! Sex where balance is an issue because come the fuck on if you were being blown in the middle of a room and had nothing to lean against you too would stack it. I have a LOT of "smut needs a dose of realism" opinions, and this is one of them. Orgasms: not generally good for one's ability to stand unsupported.

Get ready for the broken record because….this scene is super hot. I adore it. It's an incredibly awkward scene as well, which for me makes it even better. They're figuring things out! The position they start in is really bad, and the position they end in is not much better! I did a lot more research than is reasonable to figure out if one could actually get into this position, and the position is precarious but still makes me think of a weighted blanket.

And!!! And! The most important part of this scene is the laughing. The fall and the laughing and the way that overwhelming joy can intersect with the bodily pleasure of sex, and how they're wiring those things together for each other. Even though they're still looking past each other, seeing something different in each other's reactions to the situation than they're experiencing, and both believing themselves to be the more invested one, they're getting there. (Though, my heart, when Simon thinks Baz was kind of amused and Baz is like: I have been bitten by a highyena. See prev point re: looking past each other.)

This scene also includes one of my favorite descriptions of Baz tangling his hands in Simon's hair: "My fingertips are just hidden under his curls." And then afterwards (and truly you will be aghast when I say I did not realize that I was doing this as I did it) Simon jerks off almost exclusively to Baz's tenderness with him, including HAIR TOUCHING.

I feel once again honor bound to mention my influences, and in this case the influence that led to Simon's come-eating is HP headcanon I invested 100% in after reading a drarry fic that lives rent free in my head even now: @firethesound 's begging (fair warning: part of an unfinished WIP, and a big part of the reason I no longer hesitate to read something that's a WIP. I'm glad I read it even if there's never more). The headcanon (which is my own invention, not even slightly mentioned in the above fic) is: as a pubescent child growing up in unfriendly circumstances, the easiest way to dispose of the evidence of masturbation is to eat it. And if that's a part of all of one's initial sexual experiences, it's something that's likely to continue into maturity. Not necessarily as a fetish (though I'm not saying *never* as a fetish), but as a part of what it means for a sexual experience to feel complete. For Simon Snow, a character with a canonical oral fixation, this feels like a no brainer. You're welcome.

Also in this scene: the very beginnings of plot!!! Simon's successful clean as a whistle came at the end of this scene, self-evident, fully formed in my brain, without any prompting. And is part of the reason I've started to really trust myself and my process as a discovery writer. Sometimes something I can't explain comes out of a story, and I know it's right because it feels right. It feels like what the characters would do, or feels like what happens in the story, and even if (as this was, intensely so) it's confusing and not what I think I'm doing here, not what I'm going for, not what I expected… sometimes it's just exactly where the story needs to go. In the last commentary I called Good at Something my magnum opus which is a bit of hyperbole, but also this story is my heart, and if I hadn't trusted the part of my brain that said "Simon does a clean as a whistle here, and it works" that wouldn't be true. This story wouldn't have gone where it went and I (perhaps, probably) wouldn't love it the way I do.

Aaaaand this is originally where the chapter ended! And we went from this directly into Simon sees Baz and Agatha talking in the dining hall. We have @petedavidsonscock and @facewithoutheart to that for the fact that it didn't, because after lengthy discussions with both of them, I formulated the potty/editing/re-writing plans that concluded in the Mage's office blowjob!

Baz's brain scene that follows does a lot of work, but the most important work is…they give weeks into the semester. Whyever would I be mentioning explicit timelines so frequently!? Can't say. Won't say. (You know why.) Also cements Baz's internal voice as snarky and hilarious. I love writing Baz's internal voice.

Fuck, okay, Mage's office blowjob may actually be strong competition for my favorite sex scene in this fic. It's just wrapped up in so much emotion!! And uh, it's also incredibly hot. So. Sooooo, okay. Here's where I reveal that I originally conceived this type of blowjob (facefucking/deepthroating) as the final sexy exchange of the fic. The blowjobs all have a genre in my mind, and this one seemed like the natural conclusion of the sexual evolution of this story. But also as I worked in that direction it just seemed incorrect. Yes, it's like, the boss level of the blow job video game, but it's absolutely not the boss level of Simon and Baz's relationship, especially given that it doesn't facilitate emotional intimacy, which is where they're heading. So here it is, the final exam in the blowjob seminar, coming midway through the story.

This chapter is full of my soapbox stands, it turns out, because I am OBSESSED with the fact that Simon isn't just bam immediately capable of deepthroating. As I said in response to a comment @bookish-bogwitch left on the fic: it's so important to me that it's not something he's innately capable of. This is a story about working at something and getting better at it. About built skill, and that includes Simon wanting to do something and working at it and getting there. As a result of that, I did too much research on what deepthroating is like and how you might achieve it. (My lived sexual experience has never involved a penis, so research is a firm necessity.)

Part of the reason this scene just incredibly does it for me is that they're both shaky and uncertain about how much of what they want they're going to get, and even so, they're going for it entirely. I think that's something that's characteristic of both Simon and Baz in relation to this scenario. Simon: going for it because he wants it until he realizes how much he needs it. Baz: going for it even though he thinks it'll destroy him, because he can't say no to how close it is to what he wants.

Also, hello, parallel between my writing process and the scenario I've put Simon in: he's learning to trust himself. It has cascading results! 🎉

And, oh man, okay, the end of this scene again references canon in a way that I am obsessed with as a part of fanfiction: Simon finds the book with a picture of Baz in it. He's gobsmacked by it. His reaction is so entirely changed by having begun to experience Baz in a different way, but it's also fundamentally similar. It gives me such a good feeling to think about moments in canon framed through changed circumstances in fic and vice versa. Different lenses on the same moments give such a deep view of these characters, perhaps even of humanity as a whole?

(Also, and this is getting excessively long so I'll keep this short, but the moment when Baz is getting dire about what he thinks Simon is going to do with the book and then Simon surprises him, that is a kind of emotional chain yanking that I absolutely fucking love when an author does it to me. Do other people feel that way? I don't know. But I did it to you anyway, as a treat.)

#writing about writing #epic navel gazing #good at something #my writing #meta #directors commentary

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saltygilmores · 1 year

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Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 11 ("Secrets & Loans"), Part 1

Read my previous commentary here. I wouldn't call this episode 100% midseason filler. Maybe like 80%. Rory and Lorelai get into a fight which is something new and different but all of the other events in the episode are pretty inconsequential. I've seen the show a few times and had zero memory of this episode. Rory wears cute pajamas, Lorelai interrupts Sookie & Jackson's sex games, Dean throws a basketball at Rory.

Rory has the most enviable pajama collection.

Me stepping onto my porch, breathing in the chill winter air, and sitting down to come up with a thousand more creative ways for Dean Forrester to die. Since this episode's theme is insect related, maybe a swarm of something could descend on the Forrester household and carry him away. Kirk Job: Pest Control.

Louise bemoans the absence of Jeremy, who hasn't returned her calls since they had sex in the school's supply closet.

Rory meanwhile remains unfucked and unfazed while she enjoys her favorite meal, the Prison Cafeteria Special, two slices of plain white bread with nothing in between. The Chiltoners are taking their PSAT's. Not very exciting stuff.

Paris attempts to pry Rory's test scores out of her which leads to a not at all sexually tense exchange of words with Paris trying to gauge whether or not Rory is "the type of person who finds happiness in looking at a sunset". Can we compare the way Rory looks at Paris versus the way she looks at her boyfriend?

Like night and day. If at the end of the day “team (whoever)” just means the person who should be Rory’s endgame then I’m Team Paris and not Team Jess. To escape the termites, Lorelai flees with Rory to Sookie's house where Lorelai does what she does best, interrupts a sexual encounter, forcing Sookie to shove Jackson into a closet in order to spare Rory the trauma of witnessing their unholy sex games.

The running tally on jokes about sex & closets are at least three total in this show with two of them in the last 5 minutes.

Quick, which Gilmore Girls character is she talking about?

Yeah, Lorelai definitely interrupted some kind of kinky sex game. Anyone else think Sookie has a pretty crappy kitchen for a professional chef?

Let's pause for an Ancient Technology Break (ATB) Lorelai says that if Paris and Emily were to ever share the same room the world would implode, which led me down a pointless ADHD sidequest to find evidence of Paris and Emily meeting on the show at some point, I immediately thought of Season 6 Episode 5 ("We've Got Magic To Do") only to find that Paris stays in the kitchen at that goofy DAR party the whole time while Emily is outside, but I'm counting it. Any experts want to weigh in? I've mostly blacked out seasons 5-7 anyway. Anyhoo, Rory fucks everything up at FND by blurting out that Lorelai doesn't have enough money to remedy her termite problem, so Emily tries to cut her a check, so Lor's pride is hella bruised because she told Rory she didn't want to ask for money from her parents, and now she is reaaaaal mad at Rory. Angry at Rory on a level I have not seen in the last 1 and half seasons.

Just spitballing here but with Stars Hollow love of shindigs and The Gilmores I don't see why SH couldn't throw together another fundraiser, you know, like "Save the Gilmore House" or a "Squash A Bug Festival". Kirk could do an interpretive dance in a termite costume while people pitched dollar bills at him. I guess that would hurt Lorelai's pride though. Just gotta say Lauren Graham's "angry" acting is sooo extra, it's so over the top sometimes that it's funny. Sure her angry confronation with Rory in this episode is no "Teach Me Tonight" (that's just around the corner, actually, and I will NOT be watching it), but she's getting ready and warming up her vocal chords.

Dean thows a basketball at Rory's head and misses but she is unfazed.

Something something, swarm of angry insects, carrying him away to their lair to be sarcificed to their Queen, etc etc.

Okay Deano, the next time someone tries to throw a basketball at her when she's not looking I'm sure she'll try her best to sound more sane when she questions why they did it.

Basketball=not acceptable. Disgusting Lay's salt & vinegar chips=This is still acceptable. This poor girl cannot sit on a step and read without someone throwing something at her. Rory explains to Dean that she got into a fight with her mother and as usual he is full of loving and helpful advice and was totally listening to her and not thinking about Battlebots or stocking cans of corn or Naked Lorelai the whole time. Or whatever he daydreams about.

D: I was just trying to say that with all of the amazing, wonderful qualities that you and your mother share... Number 1, PROJECTILE VOMIT, number 2, the only quality you admire in both of them is that you want to see them both naked at some point. "You and your mother tend to dig your heels in. You'll make up." is his helpful contribution to this situation, and Rory is super duper appreciative.

Sadly he was talking about a basketball and not his genitals, which would have spared the world from him reproducing.

Sometimes I hear things on this show that floor me because they are so unbelievably dirty, I can't imagine how they ever slipped past the censors and made it onto this squeaky clean WB network show in the year of our lord 2001. Lorelai is getting desperate to convince a bank to give her a loan. Michel first suggests Lorelai perform a lap dance, then when she shoots that down he says "Women in Thailand do this thing with a pingpong ball that is a real crowd pleaser." Yes, I know what he is talking about. If you don't, google at your own risk. Or just use context clues. Whatever you prefer.

Dave's father works at a bank huh?

I like you guys, my dear readers, so I don't know why I'd constantly subject you to the horrors that are Dean & Rory's dry sandpaper makeouts. I guess I just don't want to suffer alone.

LMAO, they really tried to make the "Keep Thinking What You're Thinking" Jess and Rory Kiss In Front of Luke's Diner happen with Dean and Rory first. That was hilarious!

Rory questions Lane's decision to join the cheerleading squad, which makes total sense because Rory loves it when people pick on her for enjoying the things she loves, like reading, being a virgin, or eating French toast with her bare hands. Rory asks Lane why she never told her she joined the squad, and it's because Lane is very wise and knew Rory would be a judgemental bitch about it. And welp. She wasn't wrong.

I don't know Janie Fertman, but I'm appointing myself her defense lawyer and declaring my client innocent, because if Rory hates her then I know her only crimes were likely being too pretty/ popular/ sexually experienced/ and or/ getting in the way of some boy Rory had a crush on. In other words, Jamie got the Shane treatment. Ran out of space, part 2 in the next post, you know the drill.

#gilmore girls #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #lane kim #Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls #Gilmore Girls Season 2 #Secrets and Loans

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casasupernovas · 1 year

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Here it is. My commentary for 'Human Nature' and 'The Family of Blood'. Part 1.

Whew. I have been putting this off for a while because I have a lot to say. Lots of missed opportunities, questionable choices and more. Without further ado, here are my thoughts.

Let me preface this by actually saying what the story is, or was. This story is written by Paul Cornell, based off of his book of the same name from the 90s Virgin New Adventure's Doctor Who book series. After the show had been cancelled, it was this material amongst Big Finish that kept the fandom going. The story featured companion Bernice Summerfield and the Seventh Doctor and is basically the same plotline: the Doctor becomes a human teacher named John Smith in the early 20th century. Due to being a book, it's a lot more detailed and the villains are a lot more intense but that's the basics. I'd also like to note that despite Cornell's credit, showrunner Russell T Davies made it clear in 'The Writer's Tale' that he contributed/edited and signed off on stories for Series 3, even going so far as to not have his name on some, something he did not have a grudge over. So bear that in mind when I discuss some choices the episode makes.

So, off we go and in a pretty solid and gripping opening scene, we are thrown right into the middle of a pretty intense scenario featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. They are being chased by something and the Doctor has to make a pretty quick choice to throw them off. So, the Doctor chooses to so something that entirely depends on Martha. His life depends on Martha. Hands out the watch. I'm invested immediately. It then cuts off to a different scene where confusion. What. Where. How? The Doctor is speaking funny, saying he dreamed of being a traveller. Why is Martha dressed as his maid? Why is she calling him Smith? Why is she saying he's human. Why on earth are they in 1913. We the audience are left to ponder what the hell is going on as the credits roll to reveal the title: 'Human Nature'. One thing I do really like about this story is how it doesn't immediately answer questions, but trickles through, and uses flashbacks to weave it all together.

We learn pretty quickly that this isn't a conventional Doctor Who story, and for the first time in the series, the Doctor is largely absent for TWO episodes, which is quite a bold decision to make. But a great way to ensure that the audience understands his importance and want him back. I read somewhere that David Tennant was actually sick during the filming for this, which added another layer of the Doctor being gone, due to him being obviously less like himself and quieter, something observed by the crew.

So, this is not the Doctor, but John Smith, a history teacher, who notably in the only lesson we actually see him teach, tells the class about battle, combat, the Battle of Waterloo, 1815. Remember this episode is set in 1913, November 1913 to be exact.

I do remember wondering if Martha had also changed, but being convinced that it was a story where she was the only one who knew the truth, due to her being the one to dismiss John Smith's dreams and tell him he is human. And we see her once more, performing the role of a maid. Martha Jones. Brilliant Martha Jones is having to be a maid. In 1913. Wow. I wasn't mad at this at first, mainly because this just reinforced to me how deep in trouble the Doctor and Martha must have be in. The stakes are high. I had already realised he has changed into a human to avoid these advesaries, just not known why. Martha clearly wouldn't have had to do this without good reason. To be placed in such a hostile environment as we begin to see, only fortifies the idea that this is the most dangerous scenario the Doctor and Martha have faced.

We are also introduced to Jenny, Martha's only friend in 1913. People have spoke of the 'Doctorfication' of Martha Jones this season as she has to take the reigns multiple times in ways many companions never do. So, like the Doctor, she gets her own companion in Jenny. Jenny who points out Martha's Londoner accent and admires her boldness. Because she's clearly the first person to challenge the roles they both are placed in, as women but also as a black woman. Martha and Jenny is then patronised and talked down to by Baines and Hutchinson, two boys attending the school in the most snooty, pompous, blood boiling way possible.

One of the positives of this episode is how it does not shy away from calling out just how arrogant and downright vile the attidudes of the country could be, especially during this period of time in British History. Baines and Hutchinson were not born that way. We see later exactly what kind of education these two are getting. Hutchinson then makes a racist remark to Martha, comparing the colour of her skin to filth before laughing and leaving. Martha is clearly riled by it but chillingly and accurately says (more to herself than Jenny) after Jenny points out the bleak apparent truth that boys like that would be the leaders of the country, that that may not be the case, knowing in the next year, a whole generation would be killed in a bloody, unnecessary and tragic war.

It's at this point it's made crystal clear that Martha Jones knows. Whatever is going on here, why she is here, with the absent minded John Smith, who flits by, 'head's in the clouds' says Jenny, Martha is the one who is in the know. And knowing the war is coming and being in this environment has to be so emotionally draining, especially as she knows there is nothing she can do to stop it. Not that they would listen to her, according to Martha, Jenny and Mr Smith are the only people who show her kindess here. Which is interesting, because John Smith doesn't seem kind to Martha at all in these episodes. Just polite. There is a difference. Not once does he ever defend her from condescension from the staff. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We are then introduced to a character that also was in the original book - Nurse Joan Redfern. In some typical cutesy/awkward banter between her and John, it's pretty clear what is going to happen in this episode. I remember literally saying out loud "NO!" When Joan said "we make quite a team." Because I knew that I was gonna get a love story and I didn't want it. Mainly because it would take time away from the main companion, Martha, something that happens far too frequently this season. In fact, Martha is not just mainly reduced to the woman pining on the outside, but the woman pining alone. Martha Jones is seperated from the Doctor for most of this season, no doubt to reflect his literal emotional distance but all this achieves is a isolated companion. Which, as a viewer who is always excited to see who the Doctor meets next and how they interact, is a huge disappointment. And kind of maddening. Especially as this new woman is a racist. The scene before literally told us bold faced that this school has racists in it. Baines does not call out Hutchinson for his comments but laughs with him. The school is clearly full of racially prejudiced people and no doubt the staff. Which includes this lady. So I immediately knew she was going to be one so I automatically didn't like her and certainly was not going to invest in whatever love story they were going to push. I've seen many people say making her 'complicated' by showing her accurate prejudice for the time period is a good thing because it makes for a complex chatacter reading. Which I only agree maybe 10% with. Because it's true. People are complex beings. We see with Joan in her first scene that she is capable of being empathetic, polite and helpful. But we are later confirmed that she's also a racist. And as a black person, I am quite frankly tired of having to give characters like this grace. Because that courtesy is never extended the opposite way. I've made up my mind and being a racist is a pretty good reason to not like someone. Anyway, during this scene John Smith falls backwards down the stairs.

Martha bursts in as Joan tends to his wounded head because of course she does and Joan pointedly reminds her of her position, saying it is rude to enter "a master's study without knocking." To which Martha hilariously, mockingly, knocks on the already open door and comes back in. As Martha queries what happened, John Smith looks away and mumbles that it wasn't that big a deal, probably embarassed because it only happened because he was flustered by Joan. Again, even though what Matron is saying is accurate for the attitude of the time, the person that Martha says is 'kind' to her doesn't exactly defend her from Joan's little rebukes. Doesn't say "it's okay it's only Martha." When she enters his study, doesn't say "she's just wants to make sure I'm okay" after Joan cuts Martha again after she asks if she's checked for a concussion. And most cutting of all, Martha can't even use her medical knowledge to help because Joan knows more than her. Yeah, 20th century Matron knows more than the 2007 medical student. It's not just because Joan is older, or because Martha is a servant either. I'm sure Martha wanted to scream in frustration. We are immediately shown just how difficult Martha's role here is. We know she's clearly looking out for the Doctor here, but how is she supposed to do that when she is looked down on by everyone, so much so her voice is not heeded as useful or needed but borderline impertinent.

John Smith changes the subject though, and tells Martha how he was telling Matron about his impossible dreams and we get another plot twist. The biggest indicator that the Doctor is an alien are his two hearts. So the shock when Matron confirms only one heart. The Doctor is indeed human. How? We don't know yet, but we know it's tied to the watch. In another hint, John Smith says he dreamt he was hiding.

We then get John Smith showing Matron the journal showcasing classic Doctor Who villains, old faces officially making the 8th Doctor canon and of course, a callback to Rose Tyler, the sixth direct mention this season in episode 8 oh joy. I made a post before about what a missed opportunity it was to not show Martha's page. It does exist. I don't wanna watch John and Joan go all 'ooh' over his apparent 'fiction'. I want a moment where Joan finds the journal by mistake or purpose and finds Martha's page, because the journal doesn't just show crazy things but John Smith's lingering fears that something is not quite right. They're not just dreams, they're nightmares too. And in Martha's page he is clearly simultaneously disturbed and intriged by her. It's also an intriguing peek into the residual thoughts the Doctor has on her. That he doesn't know her too well (who's fault is that?) and that she wants to help. This is never addressed in the show and the page is never shown. Once again, Martha's character takes a backseat.

It's not lost on me that in this racist period, even with a rewritten brain, Rose still gets a poignant emotional beat and Martha is left in the wings. Again. I'm tired of Martha getting the backseat in her own damn season. In 1913. An era where white people are supposed to be superior. Does this ever get addressed? No. It gets worse. And it's painfully clear that there were no black people in the writers room because the optics of this are crazy.

Martha is concerned by the book of course, they need to be HIDDEN. Can't very well stay lowkey if he's writing the sh*t down can they? I think it's also the first time Martha has seen the journal. It's probably the first time he's began to speak about it openly. Maybe he's only just begun to dream about his true self. We found out that they've been there for maybe a maximum of almost three months. This seems to be a new development, or maybe he has been writing all the time. So Martha tries to downplay it, lest Joan get too curious. But Joan rather alarmingly confirms to Martha that she knows something is wrong with him, "it's like he's left the kettle on." We also get the Doctor and Martha's cover story - she arrived with him and he got her a job as a maid, and they know each other because she used to work for the Smith family, he 'inherited' her. Yikes. And Joan, in a 'sorry not sorry' brusk manner says for her to back off essentially; "you sometimes seem a little familiar with him. Best remember your position." A loaded statement. Not just pointing out her being a maid. But a black one. Remember your place. He's not just a man but your superior.

Throughout most of this season, there definitely feels like there's a vendetta out against Martha. In her debut she's clever, brilliant, beautiful and confident. And for some odd reason, it feels like the show feels like that is wrong. So we need to pull her down a couple pegs. Have the Doctor aggressively reject her at the end of the episode. And in the next. Take her to the slums with drug addled versions of her human race. Then the Great Depression where we have remind the audience that she is only just a unrequited love interest. Separate her from him so they can't bond as a companion/Doctor duo. Have him dump her back home then return immediately because she is apparently something he can pick up and drop off like a doll whenever he fancies. Then, in the episode where we are supposed to get headway, we tear him away from her in the early 20th century.

Martha Jones is brilliant, but it sucks that she has to do so much alone.

I'm barely through the episode but this post is already too long, so this is part 1. Part 2 will be up soon!!!!!

#doctor who #martha jones #tenth doctor #10th doctor #tenmartha #joan redfern #baines #hutchinson #jenny #rocastle #tim latimer #doctor who commentary #dw analysis #paul cornell #russell t davies #90s doctor who #series 3 #rose tyler #8th doctor

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aqueeracademic · 11 months

Text

morse being queer (and other commentary) pt 18:

season 5, episode 2, “Cartouche”:

- lmao morse code

- get it?

- anyways

- the way people used to just… smoke? in movie theaters? i fuckin wish

- oh my god morse…

- i am obsessed with this man.

- debryn greets morse by calling him “neyland smith” which is a character from the Fu-Manchu books

- he’s like the good guy

- who is a detective

- super random reference but i respect the idea that debryn reads mystery novels

- at the time debryn is referencing the character, the movies The Face of Fu Manchu, The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, and (i think) The Blood of Fu Manchu were already out

- with The Castle of Fu Manchu on its way

- there were several films BEFORE the ones listed above, but those are most prevalent as they’re the ones released in the 1960s

- three different actors play neyland smith across these films

- one of the actors to play the character in the 60s was Nigel Green who was recognizable due to his size and handsome face

- the second actor to play him in the 60s was Douglas Wilmer, who was known for playing sherlock holmes

- the third and final actor to play the character in the 60s was Richard Greene, who was known for playing robin hood

- what’s FUNNY

- is that all of these actors were known for being good looking and did some modeling or played strapping characters in their time

- obviously debryn references the character because he’s a detective, as morse is

- but it’s also funny that he chose a character that is supposed to be like… really hot

- and it’s even better because morse laughs at the quip, meaning he understands the reference and appreciates it

- love to see it

- there we go, five minutes in and you’ve already had your history lesson!

- let’s move on

- trewlove is way to good for fancy but i gotta respect her for liking him

- i can see it

- morse just staring up at that dude changing the movie titles out

- no need to b watching the dudes ass my brother 😁

- “these people are british subjects. passport holders. we have a responsibility.”

- YES BRIGHT

- he’s old as god but he ain’t racist

- i respect it

- morse disliking horror movies is so…

- idk how i feel about that

- wait no

- i thought about it

- he’s a detective who deals with homicide for the most part

- so it adds up that he wouldn’t like horror

- morse asking debryn if he goes in for horror and debryn basically telling him no and then they just stand there looking at each other

- they literally work so well together i’m SICK

- they’re perfect your honor 🗣️🗣️

- also i like the idea that, if debryn had said yes, morse might have gotten him tickets to that horror showing

- we know they hang out outside of work so who’s to say they wouldn’t go see a movie?

- and i bet you morse would suffer through a horror film for debryn

- i’m just sayin 🤷‍♀️

- joan helping immigrants for work is so cool

- i love her so much

- racist bastards 😐

- morse is somehow so awkward w girls

- and yet

- hes a fucking rizz GOD

- how is he pulling a girl like THAT?

- i’m sick.

- strange housewife agenda ‼️

- i love strange and joan

- and i love the idea of them together

- and i love that he calls her “joanie”

- and i love them.

- how on earth is this thursdays brother?

- AYO?!!!!????????

- HE FUCKED THURSDAYS NIECE?????

- never recovering from that

- having an organ player at a movie theater is so strange to me

- how was that ever a thing

- fancy finally asking the real questions🙄

- moharram is lowkey….

- let me just 🤐

- “no slight was intended, doctor.” “with the british, it never is.”

- YOU GET THEIR IMPERIALISTIC ASSES

- [i love all u brits out there i just don’t love your museums]

- [in fairness i don’t like several american museums either]

- [oh well]

- bruh… no shot fancy got drunk during his investigation

- he’s so embarrassing im sick of this

- “the thing about mistakes is not to repeat them.” “is that what it was? a mistake?”

- like i said, his rizz is unlimited, but once he’s actually got with them he’s AWFULLLLL with women

- i can’t stand it

- PLEASE the way she stands there upset and he thinks there’s something wrong w the bridge

- he could not be more ignorant with women it’s wild

- “im a policeman. im allowed anywhere.”

- first off, no. 🤨

- my tv just turned off the entire episode so i guess it’s time for a brief intermission

- alr she’s working‼️

- idk what the fuck that movie is supposed to be about but i know it would have like a 2% on rotten tomatoes

- work moharram!

- stand up for what’s right 🗣️🗣️

- snapping at waiters is the biggest ick of ALL TIME

- it disgusts me to be honest

- who tf r u snapping at 🤨🤨🤨

- if the picture moharram has on his desk isn’t of himself then ima j assume he’s gay

- thursday just having a stroke over bright joining them at dinner is killing me

- this old man reminds me of mark rylance

- aka one of my favorite actors

- i think he’s supposed to represent henry fonda or some such actor tho

- this girl morse is on a date with is having the night of her fucking life

- good for her ‼️

- i stan carol im obsessed w her

- his face after she tells him it wasn’t a mistake 🥺🥺🥺

- he is so self deprecating i hate it

- the way this usher was super cool and respectable and then says something straight up racist so morse and thursday are both like 😧😮😐

- like sir???

- the way the shot they take of the roxy combines the pristine white front with the rugged and sketchy looking side and back

- nothing i love more than symbolism that’s completely on the nose

- the pigeon hitting the car 💀💀

- it’s not funny but goddam

- his brother asking for a loan is the worst thing to ever happen to me and it’s scarred in my brain forever

- UPDATE MOHARRAM IS NOT GAY AND THAT PICTURE WAS OF HIS SON I APOLOGIZE

- moharram is right and should be respected!

- solid apology from thursday there tbh

- PLEASE why did that extra covered in blood TERRIFY me just now

- i need to go to bed 😔

- the casual racism from this old man right now…

- i love that this kid being a movie buff is getting him off murder chargers

- fancy 🥺🥺

- finally stepping up to the plate

- obsessed w him

- what the fuck is goin on in this cafe on this day 🤨🤨🤨

- once again, why tf are doorknobs so HIGH UP in this country?????

- who tf thought a doorknob right next to your head would make sense?

- it should be down by your hand like a good american door 🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🌎🏈💵💵🦅🦅🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

- joan and morse are so awkward i can’t handle it anymore

- morse showing strange how they spiked the orange juice and then just being like “i just killed you” 😜😜 is SO FUCKING FUNNY

- i always get so unreasonably nervous at these final standoff moments in this show

- like girl what r u afraid of???

- acting like i don’t already know what’s gonna happen 🤨

- all i can say is that i’m glad moharram is not the villain in this episode i would have been so damn mad

- the way he says “i was 19” 😧

- i’m so ill

- i hate war

- [certainly not an original statement but sure]

- he was obviously wrong to send them back into battle like that but he was a literal child and placed in charge of a unit like what did anyone think was gonna happen

- WOAH

- he just shot that dude no big deal that was crazy

- they’re all gonna die of smoke inhalation ☹️

- what on earth is gordon doing

- morse needs to get out of there asap

- why is he always a damsel in distress

- i don’t get it

- he’s just a lil guy 🥺

- [hes a middle aged white man with a pension and a drinking problem]

- brights office looks so different now than it did in season one

- im really not sure if it actually changed it just looks different

- “you’re the best of us, fred.” “the best of us never came home.”

- that was my final straw 😁

- “we are each of us, i think, keepers of the dead.”

- that line goes so hard i had to write it down

- everything goes dramatically downhill from here if im remembering correctly

- cant wait

#good night #endeavour #endeavour itv #endeavour morse #morse #itv endeavour

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