#like chill it lasts three episodes in the cartoon | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oneatlatime · 11 months

Text

Ten episodes in!

Roughly half way through the first season, so it's time for a bit of a round up of my thoughts and impressions.

First, and most important: IT'S SO PRETTY. Seriously! The animators didn't have to pour so much love into each background and sunset, but they did! Introductory shots that last for three seconds or less ought to be framed and hung on a gallery wall. And I think that really sets the tone for the rest of this show: as a viewer, you can feel that everyone who worked on this show has love for it. There are background flourishes, pauses in plot for character and vice-versa, delicate and thoughtful treatments of difficult themes, and just so much heart. Not insincere performative heartwarming chicken noodle soup for the soul forward to five of your friends and then the whole bus clapped garbage either. Genuine heart. I feel like I'm watching something that is well loved, that comes from a happy home.

And that heart is the reason this show works. The concept of 'Kids' cartoon about a genocide survivor' never would have made it off the drawing board otherwise. It still sounds crazy when I type it out.

My thoughts so far on the characters:

Aang: Sweet little guy. Literally the only child currently alive not born into a world at war, and it shows. Also exactly the dose of fun and light-heartedness that the world as it is seems to be lacking. Has enviable serenity and a deeply rooted sense of self/self-confidence (probably thanks to Gyatso) that most adults don't. Deceptively deadly, if he ever chose violence. I am really hoping that the show doesn't make him grow up and kill people. He's lovely as he is right now.

Katara: Huge heart, too much trust. Intense. Frankly a bit much at times. Certainly feels way too much quite often. Ride or die for Aang. Would kill for and kill her brother. PEAK little sister. Has a borderline irrational amount of compassion that, when paired with her explosive temper, would make her the most deadly person in the world if it ever got twisted around to face the wrong direction (if that makes sense - like the potential for some really bad outcomes is there). Totally the girl who stole from the mall in 8th grade. Not over her mother's death to a borderline annoying degree. Tries so hard to be an adult, but keeps slipping up and acting her age.

Sokka: My favourite by a mile. Funny, delightfully sarcastic, wicked smart, can keep up with (and in fact is in charge of babysitting) the most powerful bender in the world and a fairly volatile, half-trained bender with temper problems. Perceptive (looking at you, Jet). Also ride or die for Aang and Katara, just in a more quiet way. The fact that he was willing to single-handedly face down a fire nation ship and certain death to protect his family & village kind of says it all. Either completely over his mom's death or has bottled up all emotion to the point where he wouldn't recognise her if he passed her on the street. Swings regularly between far too old for his years and half-grown teenage boy with manliness issues. Motormouth. Somehow both comic relief and linchpin. If he ever gets really quiet, you'll know things are getting serious - like there's a fire nation ship about to attack his village.

Appa: How many times has his big fluffy butt saved the day? Understands an amount of English that changes from episode to episode depending on the needs of the plot. Probably as deadly as Aang, if he chose to be, except with teeth and several tonnes of weight too. Both Aang's dog and Aang's dad. Why does he have six legs? Do extra legs present any flying advantages? Are they just for enhanced hugging? I hope so. There's a reason he's plastered all over this blog and it's not his martial prowess.

Momo: I'm not sure if he knows what's going on? Appa and the humans are very much aware that they're all on a quest, but I think Momo is just chilling. Can be very useful when he feels like contributing (thinking of the pirates and the keep-away scroll shenanigans), but is certainly the group's cat-equivalent. Also seems to vary wildly in size depending on the needs of the animators. I love his noises.

Zuko: I don't know? Winter Solstice Part 1 Zuko and Waterbending Scroll Zuko are two different people. Either highly volatile with wildly inconsistent reactions, or poorly written. Judging by the quality of the rest of this show, where even episodes I hate contain something I love, I'm guessing it's the former? Either way, it must be pretty exhausting to be Zuko. Has drive for days, smarts, leadership, logistics, and seamanship abilities, and temper problems. Oddly, his temper seems to be his most predictable aspect. I can predict what will set him off (most everything) much more accurately than I can gauge what crawled up Katara's butt. I honestly thought he was in his twenties, probably late twenties, until it was mentioned that he was 16. He comes across as much more adult, despite (or maybe because of?) the temper tantrums. Then again, if that Zhao guy is representative, maybe fire nation tempers run hot?

Iroh: Much more consistent characterisation. Something going on here. Deep well of firebending knowledge contrasted with doddery old man persona/personality (which is it?) contrasted with some not-so-subtle attempts to obstruct Zuko's quest. I'd better not find out that he's been leading Zuko on a wild goose chase for years.

Love Bumi, love what little I've seen of Gyatso, Roku seems pretty calm, Zhao is an asshole, but he's so good at it.

Relationships:

Whoever wrote Sokka & Katara's interactions obviously grew up with siblings. I'm not sure I've ever seen such accurate sibling dynamics on television. Long-suffering super smart idiot of an older brother attempting mostly in vain to claim some authority vs. ruthless little sister with a nose like a bloodhound for mocking opportunities and a contractual obligation to sharpen her claws on said brother. That's good stuff, and I love to see it.

Zuko & Iroh, partly thanks to Zuko's inconsistent character, flip flop between long-suffering mentor and hot-headed student (episodes 1 & 2), bickering old couple who love each other really (Winter Solstice Part 1 & 2), and no-nonsense super soldier whose hippy uncle came along for the ride (Waterbending Scroll). In all iterations of their dynamic, they give off the impression that they've been together for a long time and know each other well. Which is nice! I feel like Zuko especially could use a friend.

Bending:

Airbending is stupidly deadly. I think, from looking at the whole monks and temples thing, that the airbenders as a whole leaned pretty hard into the pacifist lifestyle, and (if you'll forgive the momentary foray into fanfiction territory) I think that they chose this lifestyle because they realised how crazy deadly their powers could be when misused. Aang can send a whole row of soldiers flying with one swipe of his staff. He flings people into walls without effort, without even looking. He can run faster than any other human we see, he can fly (albeit assisted), he whips up a tornado when fighting Bumi. Presumably (fanfiction territory again) he could control/prevent breathing, therefore control/end life. Gyatso certainly obliterated a bunch of comet-enhanced (I think?) firebenders. Now, some of this might be because Aang is the Avatar, which maybe gives him an airbending power-up? What I really love about airbending (or at least Aang's approach to it, which let's be honest, is the only one we're ever going to see) is how integrated it is into his daily life. Why stand up when you can airbend yourself up? Why twiddle your thumbs when you can twiddle marbles? It's thoughtless in a good way, as in it's effortless. Is Aang even aware of how often he bends? How much of it is unconscious bending? Is this because he's the avatar? Can other bending styles be so central to how a person lives their everyday life?

We haven't seen any master-level waterbending yet, but what we have seen invites speculation. Unlike airbending, where air is air is air, water is kind of defined by its variety. Solid? Liquid? Gas? We've already seen Katara bend water to ice, bend snow, bend salt and fresh water. Is waterbending the most limitless of the bending styles?

Unless you're Bumi, earthbending seems to promote stupidity. I was blown away by what Bumi could do, but every earthbender since has lost, and lost badly. I don't count the earthbenders in Imprisoned, because they had some hefty psychological factors at play, but the earthbending soldiers in the Winter Solstice part 1 who capture Iroh were literally surrounded by their element, with numbers on their side and their captive in chains, and they lost to a naked guy and a teenager. Does being a non-Bumi earthbender have a negative effect on cognitive abilities? Does the solidity of the element prevent creativity?

Firebending is dangerous, not in the way airbending can be dangerous, but in the way a drunk with a firecracker is dangerous. Probably the element that requires the most responsibility and self-regulation, ironically gifted to the most volatile people. All we've seen so far are fairly large plumes of fire - is precision firebending possible or is it more of a 'point it in the general direction of the enemy' technique? It does feel like an outlier, in that it comes from within, not the surrounding environment. That being said, airbenders can also be said to carry their element wherever they go, because everywhere humans can go (at least for more than a few minutes) has air, so fire isn't actually that much of an outlier. Also, either Zuko is suffering from a serious case of cartoon physics, or firebending causes some sort of muscle intensification and bone hardening, because last time I checked you can't kick a flying rock the size of a small child out of mid air or shatter handcuffs with an axe kick.

Final thoughts:

I think I'm preferring the monster of the week episodes to the season-long plot episodes. I think I want lower stakes while I'm still getting to know the characters. I want - no I NEED - more Appa. Give me an Appa episode. Give me a Sokka episode too. I also want more Gyasto - he seemed like a stand up guy, and I feel like he is what an older Aang will become, if all goes well. Obviously he's dead, so if there is more it will be flashback only, but I'll take what I can get.

I think the best point of the show, and what's really drawn and kept my attention, is the finality of things, even in these early, fairly plot-light episodes. Whatever blew away half of Zuko's face hasn't been undone. Sokka & Katara's mom is dead, and looks to stay that way. Aang really is the last of his people (and so, I suspect, is Appa). Aang disappearing for a century has left a duty in some way unfulfilled, and the world has suffered for it. Legitimate consequences, which means legitimate stakes, which means I feel like getting invested in the show is not a waste of my time. No Marvel fake-out deaths here! This world is one in which actions, and inaction, have weight. No bait and switch, no last-minute saves, no "it was _____ all along!" I don't think this would have mattered to me at all if I had seen this show as a child, but as an adult who is sick of how much of modern media shies away from sincerity, this show is refreshing.

Rankings so far:

Best episode (as in most competently executed) and favourite episode are getting different categories, because in a show that deals with some heavy themes, sometimes the most expertly done episode isn't all that pleasant to watch. I think the best episode so far, by far, is Jet. It feels head and shoulders above everything that came before it. It was at times uncomfortable to watch for how accurately it portrays both what war does to children, and what war-torn children will do to/with powerful children they happen to ensnare. Like I said in my post about it, I'll probably never watch it again because it's a little too real, but it is an episode that hums along like a well-tuned engine. A close second on the best/most competent list has to be The Southern Air Temple. The way the two stories weave together, and the way they mirror each other despite depicting characters destined to be enemies, AND the way all that gets represented in contrasting colour palettes is all so clever. It also gave me my first taste of the kind of long-term thought and planning that I'm already detecting hints of. Could you really write an episode like The Southern Air Temple without knowing how your season, even your series, would ultimately end? It's the episode where I first got a taste of the wider world, the scale of the stakes, the eventual endgame.

The worst executed episode so far is probably Imprisoned. I found the tonal switch in the middle completely jarring. I know what it was trying to say about Katara (compassionate and impassioned and will act on both to protect the innocent), but honestly the message I got was that Katara is closed-minded, naive, without any sense of proportion or any ability to pick and choose battles, with no long-term planning skill, and who is far too used to having Sokka around to clean up her messes and do her thinking for her. That being said, the worldbuilding was well done: this episode told us earthbenders' weakness (take away their element by sticking them in the middle of the ocean on a metal-only rig) and what life is like under fire nation rule (pretty hairy).

My favourite episode so far is The Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World. I have literally no idea why, but it made me happy. Things I liked about it include: -It's so PRETTY -Sokka being ride or die for Aang to the extent of being subjected to spirit kidnapping -Zuko pulling the Exhausted Parent (TM) move of 'five more minutes on the playground then I'm leaving with or without you,' followed by not following through -Katara being stirred to action by Appa's worry -Zuko and Iroh absolutely flattening those earthbenders -Zuko and Iroh's odd couple dynamic throughout the episode -Zuko being competent at something! -How genuinely alien that spirit thing was, especially its movement. -Aang's "I have to try, don't I?" If I could have reached through the screen and given him a hug, I would have.

My second favourite is The King of Omashu. Maximum goofiness at all times is just delightful. Bumi has an enlightened way of looking at the world that gets all the more poignant when you realise how old he is and what he's lived through. There is serious angst potential there. But the episode is so light-hearted that you don't realise that while you're watching it. Also the absolute pinnacle of earthbending so far, and some pretty peak airbending too.

My least favourite is The Warriors of Kyoshi. They gave me a badass troupe of warrior ladies and then nerfed them so that Sokka could learn feminism. Sokka (as he was characterised in that episode at least) did need to learn it, but the trope of the male student effortlessly surpassing the female master is just so tired. At least the b-plot of the avatar title going to Aang's head was both fun and necessary story ground to cover.

An excellent run of episodes so far, despite my many and varied gripes with mostly minor things. Bring on episode 11.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender

40 notes · View notes

construingseacats · 7 months

Text

Umireread: Legend of the Golden Witch - Chapter 10: The Six Chosen by the Key

Sun, Oct 5 1986 - 6:00AM

The following contains spoilers for the entirety of Umineko. Please do not read if you are yet to finish it.

I’m so excited for this chapter, you have no idea.

Extremely funny mental image of Yasu going to Natsuhi’s room, seeing the charm, then deciding “well if she’s off the table then I’m killing that asshole who gave me night duty while he did his crossword”. Of course, she probably had to kill Gohda to help avoid any incriminating testimony from her changing her assigned position last night, but it’s still funny to think about.

Since the rest are the adults, it’s easy to think about Gohda being an odd one out and the obvious replacement for Natsuhi, but given the above I wonder who the unfortunate backup was. Maybe Rosa? Or potentially one of either Rudolf or Kyrie, originally intending to only kill one of the adults per pair?

I love how Genji goes “Sorry. The Telephones are down” then “By the way Gohda is missing”, and completely neglects to mention that Natsuhi’s door is coated in bloodstains. Just leave the most obvious detail as something for her to find out for herself, you know.

“Natsuhi had a pretty good idea” is SUCH a funny line. Not even concerned by the horror movie trope, she already suspects which family member did it. I wonder who her mind immediately jumps to - although let’s be real, it’s probably Eva.

Eva tries to check on Kinzo and Natsuhi immediately shoots her down. It’s really funny how blatant the cover up is. Like, you’re unlikely to question it, since we keep getting fantasy scenes of Kinzo in his study, but it sure is there if you go looking for it.

Speaking of - the moment we see Kinzo in the office here, we’ve accounted for 17 of our 18 (with 5 known missing). Good game Shannon, we have our six chosen by the key.

Natsuhi, alone in the study, worries about how much Eva is going to tear into her, and then immediately makes up a pep talk to make herself feel good. I’m telling you, these study scenes are a goldmine.

Yeah, Eva absolutely would have been the one to leave bloody scratch marks all over Natsuhi’s door.

Here we go

HERE WE GO

…Okay, you can have that one. Saying it’s a sigh of relief right as they uncover the bodies is very cheeky, but the irony balances out how tense the scene is. It’s a breather for the reader as well.

We actually get a breather with the kids as well. Final moments of innocent Battler caught on tape.

Chills. Full chills.

And here it is.

Allow me to indulge for a moment.

When I was a kid, my first anime was The Haruhi of Melancholy Suzumiya. I watched it through low-resolution fansubs that had been posted on a YouTube that was still in its youth, with each episode awkwardly split into three parts since you couldn’t upload videos longer than ten minutes. I probably watched that at an age that was slightly too young for it, but as a kid who only knew the world of animation through the veneer of kids cartoons and Matt Groening shows (except maybe that one time I watched Spirited Away when I was 5 - which also left a stark impression on me), it really opened my eyes to a world of new media that I hadn’t even conceived of before. I really wanted to see what else there was.

Anyway, my second anime was Higurashi no naku koro ni.

If I was slightly too young for Haruhi, I was definitely too young for Higurashi. But that was part of the appeal, I suppose - the prepubescent desire to cast away the shackles of childhood and prove your maturity. That you’ve grown up. I legitimately remember 10 or 11 year old me showing a friend the scene of Rika stabbing herself in the head while going “look at what I’m watching now! Look how mature I am!” - admittedly, this was to a friend who had allegedly already seen all manner of films rated 15 or 18, so it arguably would have been relatively tame to them, and boasting about your maturity is undoubtedly the most immature thing a person can do.

While the initial appeal there was that Higurashi was “mature”, it was still really interesting. There was good intrigue there, the plot had me hooked, and from start to finish it was a really good piece of media. I’m pretty sure my younger self saw the scene where the sound of gunshots are covered up by fireworks at the local festival and thought it was the smartest plot point in any piece of media ever. Anyway, a short while later, I heard that there was going to be a sequel anime to Higurashi - a new show, called Umineko.

Now, I had a fine time with the Umineko anime. I would have been 12-13 as it was airing - still eager to consume media I was too young for - and, with no bar for quality, I enjoyed it. There was cool gore! The mystery was exciting! The red truth was such a neat concept and the witch fights were badass! Sure, it may not have had as much of a lasting impact on me as Higurashi, but it was still good, right?

Well, it wasn’t good. In fact, pretty much all the anime reviews I saw for it were negative. There were still a few fools like myself who had enjoyed it, but there was one thing I kept seeing - a sentiment that was effectively universal. A simple statement.

“The Visual Novel is so much better.”

I held onto those words for a few years.

I don’t know what the instigator for it was, but somewhere down the line, I decided to act on it. I bought the original japanese version of Episodes 1-4 and 5-8 through what I believe was the old Witch Hunt site - quite possibly one of the dodgiest deals I’ve ever made, as anyone who procured Umineko back in the old days can attest to - and applied the fanmade english patch. The PS3 sprite mod looked so much better than the original sprites, so I installed that as well. And, 10 years ago, I started playing.

It was… fine. I wasn’t a huge fan of how the text covered the whole screen, rather than appearing in text boxes, like it did in the other VNs I’d played. I say that as if I’d actually played any VN other than Katawa Shoujo at that time. But, I remembered liking Umineko, so I pressed on. I pressed on through the boring introductions, through the boring discussions of the inheritance, waiting to get to the cool parts where Beatrice showed up and the magic fights started happening.

But then, we got to this scene.

There I was, sitting with my laptop on holiday, with my cheap earphones plugged in, as the cousins approached the gardening shed. As the adults told them not to get any closer. As they did so anyway.

What followed is some of the most unrelentingly raw reactions to a visceral scene like this that I’d ever seen in any piece of media, ever. This wasn’t the dulled impact that the anime had hit me with - this was a full, unfiltered, uncensored dive into the immutable affliction of being human. They’ve got no faces - you could feel Battler’s unmitigated despair oozing from it all. These weren’t just characters reacting to a scene in a book. This was something more.

This was the moment that I fell in love with Umineko.

Perhaps I gave too much background to that statement - perhaps I’ve fallen afoot of the same criticisms I levied against the earlier parts of the tale for not getting to the point quicker. But that is the play-by-play of how, 10 years ago, this scene went straight for the jugular and bled me dry. This is where I knew I wasn’t just reading another version of that anime I’d seen the years prior, I was reading something special.

I would be remiss to say this is entirely down to the writing - a lot of this is also heavily driven by the blaring tones of goldenslaughterer. If Umineko was simply a series of 8 books, it wouldn’t have had the same effect on me as it has done for the past decade. If this scene wasn’t equipped with one of the most perfect aural accompaniments imaginable, I don’t think it would have stuck with me as much as it did. But the palpable emotion dripping from each word - the killer performances from each of the VAs (Jessica’s screams are INCREDIBLE) - and the musical storytelling doing just as much heavy lifting as the writing is… it’s an inimitable experience. This is what everyone was telling me that I was missing out on back in the halcyon days of 2009. They were right.

Perhaps it was for the best that I did give it those few extra years, so that I could truly appreciate the masterwork being crafted before me. I can’t imagine even beginning to comprehend the themes or the mystery of this tale at age 13, when I scarcely did so at 17. But regardless of the what ifs, this is the path that led me to what I consider, with no exaggeration, a pivotal moment in my life. It’s hard to describe the emotions that were stirred as I approached this scene for the reread - if I had to approximate it, then it would be unbound excitement mixed with trepidation, a great interest in re-experiencing such an important scene tempered by a fear that it may not have been as good as I remembered.

Of course, it wasn’t going to hit me in the exact same way that it did the first time round - you cannot recreate the sensation of a sucker punch when you know that it’s coming. But I can say, with certainty, that this scene was just as good as I remembered. That it still hit all the points that made me fall in love with the story originally.

I cannot wait to keep reading the rest.

Honestly, after what I’ve just said (and my feelings at large), it feels sacreligious to stop and dissect this scene. It’s something you want to just let play out, to absorb the experience - part of me wants to just skip straight to the end.

But still, I’d feel remiss not to mention Nanjo’s acting here - he goes into doctor mode and then realises “wait, I need to be more emotional” before dropping it immediately. One of those moments that doesn’t arouse suspicion on a first read but feels super blatant afterwards.

In for a penny, in for a pound. Hideyoshi looks and sounds so pained having to perpetuate the crucial lie over here. You can really feel the thoughts running through his head of “do I expose it? Is it worth it?”

AND THEN WE GET HIT WITH WORLD END. I cannot stress how much music matters to me and accentuates the experience; a sound novel utilised to the full extent of the medium can truly produce a story that no traditional paper novel ever can.

Phenomenal work from the VA here - they clearly got the memo that this is a panicked “no” of not wanting the lie to be unveiled, rather than one of sincere desire to protect George. Again, you can still interpret it as the latter, so you’re unlikely to pick it up on a first read, but absolutely there on the reread.

There’s an incredible parallel made here of George holding onto Shannon’s smile, while Battler is doomed to remember the gored faces of his parents. Not only is this great by itself, it’s yet another example of fantasy versus reality, with George being able to hold onto happy memories by being ignorant to the truth (even if that truth isn’t a real truth in this case).

“Proved beyond doubt”, the narrative says, about the one body that we should doubt.

No commentary - this is just a great line and I wanted to highlight it.

And so all the associates chime in to cover it up.

I feel like it’s fairly easy to miss how well Eva is taking the whole thing in this scene. Everyone else is traumatised, and she’s holding up remarkably well.

Interesting how it’s the associates setting up the howdunnit as well! I suppose Yasu wants to make sure that element isn’t missed by the would-be detectives.

And so Umineko tells you to your face that this is the story about a serial killer who wants to be discovered. I suppose there’s already elements of that in the letter to solve the Epitaph, but it’s really made explicit here.

I’m still riding the high of the first twilight. I’m not sure if there’s any other scene in Umineko that I’ll gush about to that extent, but I know there’s plenty of moments yet to come that won’t fail to blow me away.

I know it’s integral to the story, and it wouldn’t work otherwise, but I do have to say that the howdunnit hook adds so much to Umineko that wouldn’t be there otherwise. Some of my fondest memories from the first readthrough was trying to figure out how it was all done (without ever considering the scenes that were lying to us, oops). I’m really looking forward to going through that all again, with the lens of love.

#umireread #umineko #umineko spoilers

9 notes · View notes

mdhwrites · 8 months

Note

So I know you adore Amphibia, have flaws with Owl House, and only saw the first episode and three parter series finale for Gravity Falls, but ever see the other two of the big 5 story driven Disney cartoons with DuckTales 2017 and Star vs the Forces of Evil? Thoughts on them?

I don't think I've EVER seen an episode of Ducktales. It looks like a lot of fun from the clips I've seen, just never have happened into watching any or getting sat down to watch it. Also in general, I'm slow about watching television, even if I'm trying to get better about trying new media.

Star Vs. I believe went that I saw the first season with my brother, enjoyed it, was REALLY rooting for Marco and Jackie because I think their relationship was honestly really cute and I thought they had way better chemistry than Star and Marco, watched a little of S2 and then my busy life and depression made me drop off. Then my brother told me about the clusterfuck that show becomes and the BS ending to Marco and Jackie's relationship and any interest in picking it back up died there.

I don't really have any critical thoughts about Star Vs. It's a very good concept for what many would perceive as a reverse isekai, an other worldly being coming to us, with lots of charm and fun in the time I spent with it. I think the biggest issue I had with it was that while it was fun, I didn't ever really grab onto anyone besides Marco. Star is a little too brain dead at times, a lot of the side characters are either underutilized or kind of boring/annoying to me (I straight up did not like Pony Head because she's just not the sort of character I usually like as an example.) None of it was actually bad, a lot of it came down to personal taste and that's okay, kind of like how personal taste made me bounce off of Steven Universe pretty hard when I tried an episode of it.

I think, and this might not be comprehensive, that if you want a full list of shows I've seen in the past seven years, since there were a few years where I didn't watch anything, it would be: One Punch Man S1

My Hero Academia S1-3

Wednesday

The Owl House

Amphibia

The Ghost and Molly McGee S1

A good chunk of Komi Can't Communicate, at least S1

...And that might be it? When I moved out of my parent's place, I kind of just stopped watching most stuff. Part of that was being busy, part of that is that I tend to overthink stuff when I watch professionally scripted content so I prefer streams and Youtube. There's also stuff I've probably seen an episode or two of here and there, especially when I last lived with my parents for half a year, but nothing I stuck with too well. It's kind of why I want some recommendations for what to watch now that I've finished Amphibia, or what might be coming out soon because honestly I'd LOVE to join at the start of a fandom and hope that helps motivate me to get more writing done.

Sorry for the potentially disappointing answer admittedly. I'm trying to do more, get my brain to be okay with sitting for 20 minutes like that and chill, but it'll be a process after so long.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

2 notes · View notes

you-remind-me-of-the-babe · 2 years

Text

Get to Know Me Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @cutestkilla I loved reading your answers 💜

Relationship status: Married for nine years. Hubs and I got married on our 10 year dating anniversary. We started dating when we were 17. So yeah, we’ve been together a long ass time.

Favorite color: Green, and any shade thereof. My eyes are green, so it’s been my fave since I was a kid.

Favorite food: I love bread, though I try to eat less of it now as I get older, as it doesn’t do my body good. Also coffee, cheese and chocolate make life worth living sometimes.

Song stuck in your head: I’m going to pretend it’s not a theme song from kiddo’s cartoon and say Age of Consent by New Order because I adore that song and it came on while watching Paper Girls the other night. (Just started this show and loved the first two episodes.)

Last thing you Googled: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Was beta reading for @whatevertheweather last night and she used it for a spell and I sadly did not know the reference. Now I do!

Time: 11:05 am

Dream Trip: I would really like to get over my fear of traveling to a non-English speaking country. I’ve only ever picked English speaking locations for vacations for fear of getting lost or not being able to communicate. The only exception was three days in Paris as part of a school trip where we went to London first, and the embarrassment I felt every time I had to ask someone if they spoke English is probably what’s fueling this fear. I live within driving distance of Mexico and have never been, despite taking Spanish in school for years. So yeah, some day I’d like to go to the Mediterranean and just chill if I need to use my phone for help. Or even Mexico. It’s right there!

Last book you read: I’ve got about an hour left of Reputation by Lex Chroucher and am enjoying it. The audiobook narrator does a fantastic job.

Last book you enjoyed reading: Going to pick a different book here and say Boyfriend Material.(Also loved the audiobook narration!) (Very much looking forward to Husband Material!) @bookish-bogwitch crafted an amazing ending bingo for it and I’m SO ready!

Last book you hated reading: I am slogging through the last Mirror Visitor book. I’ve been reading a few pages at a time for months and it is just so slow and boring. I devoured the first three and I can’t tell if Snowbaz brain rot is affecting my engagement or if it’s truly that bad. I turned my friend on to these books and he’s been anxiously waiting to talk to me about the last one and I just…can’t muster the will to read it for longer than ten minutes at a time. RIP. I also hated the narrator who read House on the Cerrulean Sea, so I abandoned that one even though everyone adores that book. Oh well!

Favorite thing to cook/bake: Cookies, scones, bars, pies. I never bake unless it’s a holiday because I can’t control myself if I make something like this and then have a massive amount there. I used to love cooking soups, stir fries and casseroles but having picky children turn their noses up at something I spent an hour or more making really makes me hate cooking these days. The 7 year old is getting more adventurous but the 3 year old hates dinners on principle so I phone it in a lot.

Favorite craft to do in your spare time: Spare time? What is this you speak of? I am not super crafty. I’ve tried a few things over the years but usually abandon these hobbies after a few attempts. I’m frankly shocked I’m still writing fic almost a year later because hobbies don’t usually stick for me. Does weeding and gardening count as crafting? It’s almost an art right? I do like being out in the sun with my hands in the dirt and seeing the way my yard evolves.

Most niche dislikes: This is a fun question. I doubt my dislikes are very niche. I hate the feeling of like a stray hair on my arm or wrapped around a finger. I dislike cilantro. I have a hard time watching a kid attempt a task that is far above their skill level. Watching them struggle when they are almost about to succeed is a joy but watching say, a kid try to open something you know they literally can’t drives me mad. Just give it to me so I can do it and we can move on!

Opinions on circuses, now and in history: What a weird question. Never been to a circus. Closest was a Cirque du Soleil performance which was amazing. I like books about circuses like Water for Elephants and Night Circus. That’s all I got. I feel like this question is trying to get you to say circuses in the past (maybe also now) are bad because of the way they treat animals. And like, you make that decision yourself. You don’t need me to tell you what to think.

Do you have a sense of direction, if not what is the worst way you’ve gotten lost: If I am with someone else I will often miss a turn from chatting and not paying attention so the other person’s ability to co-pilot is critical. I followed @fatalfangirl around in Vegas and just assumed they knew what was up. (Lol sorry I wasn’t helpful!) If I’m by myself I can usually focus and manage. I often have dreams of needing to get somewhere and just not fucking managing because a thousand obstacle get in the way. Worst gotten lost story: some friends and I in our early 20s miscalculated how long it would take to float down a river. We found ourselves with slowly deflating rafts, while it got dark, with no flashlights, and the river had turned away from the roads. We tried to beach our rafts and walk but found a bear instead. Oops, back in the rafts we went. Then we made it to a dam that we had to get out and walk around but we couldn’t find the path, only a path going the other way to the highway so we ditched our boats and followed the path in the dark, ignoring sounds of wildlife. Finally made it to the road and got picked up by a very nice older couple who probably took pity on us because we looked like their kids or something. When we went back to get our boats the next day the path around the dam was very easy to find by the light of day and we were like…a 20 minute float from our campsite LOL. Good times. I can laugh about it now but it was Not Fun when it was happening.

Tagging @fatalfangirl @whatevertheweather @bookish-bogwitch @moodandmist @aristocratic-otter @facewithoutheart @raenestee @martsonmars @sillyunicorn no pressure, only if you want to! 💜

24 notes · View notes

superbdragoncollection-stuff · 6 months

Text

An analysis of the new Planet of the Apes movies, having seen the latest trailer.

There are two things missing from the new Planet of the Apes series, the themes about deliberate destruction of civilization, and the themes of civil rights. The removal of those elements undermine the entire point of the series.

I used to think it was irrational that I didn't like the new Planet of the Apes movies, especially after I hadn't seen them. Mostly I don't want to see them because I find the premise annoying, antithetical to many themes of the franchise, anti-science, and other ridiculous things. I'm a big fan of the old series, I sought out EVERYTHING once upon a time. I found comics, I found all the movies, I found the cartoon, I found the TV show, I found the video games. But I have never EVER wanted to even see the new movies. I had an irrational hatred of them ever since I saw them.

Then I realized something. I thought it was shallow I hadn't seen any of them, but it's hard to see them when they've just been remaking my least favorite installment in the franchise three or four times. I saw Planet of the Apes, Beneath, Escape, and Battle, 1, 2, 3, and 5, but never Conquest, 4, because it seemed sad and depressing. If I'm seeing that movie being remade over and over and over, no wonder I don't want to see them! A die hard fan like me didn't want to see the original version, and then they just remake that movie three times?! Sometimes it is a legit point of critique if a fan can't watch an installment, or finish reading it.

Having heard from someone who has seen it though, the themes that do exist within the new films make it less powerful emotionally. They've cut out all the aspects that made the original series compelling. You can have natural disaster, you can have science gone wrong, the problem is attaching the Apes name to it. One of the fundamental parts of Planet of the Apes is that the films, the ape takeover is not the result of hubris, or by accident, it is explicitly a deliberate tragedy. It is stupid, but it is by no means foolish or an accident. It is deliberate.

You don't fall into nuclear war by accident. You don't stumble across total atomic annihilation. You knowingly and deliberately cause it. One has to first invent the atomic bomb. Then one has to make more. Hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. You have to make the infrastructure to build and deliver them. You have to have the political will to keep them. None of this is by accident. It may be fired by accident, but for that to even be possible requires an awful and cruel and deliberate mindset to begin with. You can't point your car at someone, jump out at the last second, and claim the car killed them. One can't duct-tape a gun to someone's hand, tell them they have to shoot someone or else they'll die, and avoid all blame. Nuclear war is not pride, or arrogance, it is the homo sapiens' own inhumanity. It is the stupid and cruel desire to hit someone else with a rock. Taylor screaming at the end might be a funny meme, but when you watch the entire film, it's chilling. All you hear is this poor astronaut cursing the men who destroyed his civilization, as the waves crash against the shore. To say that nuclear war happens because we didn't know any better is just as bad as saying slavery happened because we didn't know any better.

The civil rights connections are another key piece missing from the puzzle. First of all, there are tons of references to it in the original franchise. In the first film, Taylor is sprayed with a fire hose, a sight that people in 1968 would've been seeing on the nightly news. He is denied the rights to a trial, his buddies are experimented on or stuffed and put on display in a museum, all things that people were becoming aware of. Lynch mobs, the Tuskegee Experiment, the thousands of bodies put on display in American museums without proper burial.

In the 1974 TV show, the first episode has a kid ask why they can't let the humans know about the spaceship. His father says, "because humans know their place! If they knew others could build a thing like this, it would ruin everything! They might think they're equal!" "But father, these humans are obviously better than we are--" The kid is smacked around, "Never say such a thing again!" You have people thinking about zero-sum equality now, still thinking that if someone gains equality, someone else loses it.

Something established in the book and the third movie is that the apes did not become sapient by accident. The humans knowingly and deliberately wanted slave labor, and so they altered the apes to create that labor. Conquest makes this explicit, with a black man showing sympathy for obvious reasons. There are obvious commentaries on human slave labor, and the resulting righteous anger. It is unrelated to the nuclear war, and it is not human arrogance or hubris that does it. It is the result of an inherently selfish desire.

The story is not that apes or humans are better, it is that treating people badly is wrong. We have always known slave labor is wrong. Slave revolts date back thousands of years. Spartacus was the Third Servile Rebellion. Yet people do it anyway. We know it is just as wrong as nuclear war. Oppenheimer cursed what he did. The first anti-nuclear war books came out in the late 40s and early 50s. Yet we still built thousands of bombs and people to this day expect there to be a winnable nuclear war.

So, the new movies decide to cut out all the civil rights aspects, and replace the nuclear war with a virus. Okay, do they try and replace it? No, not really. One can argue they are trying to say that apes are better than us, or that humans are better. And neither works.

Their "replacement" is insulting, and undermines the entire situation emotionally. The apes are accidentally created by something really selfless, an Alzheimer's cure, that accidentally spreads a plague. Everything is entirely by accident, and by stupidity. One might even go so far as to say it is racist, bigoted, and defends pro-colonizer sentiments. It depicts the entire situation as an accident, a buffoonish mess caused by people who were so stupid they didn't realize that coughing up blood on someone was bad.

I once had a professor say that the empires Europe built across the world were by accident. "Oh, whoops, we were just biting off a little territory at a time, we didn't mean to cause this!" He also asked who gets up in the morning to oppress people. This was wrong. The truth is that there are those who think it is their right. Europe knew exactly what they were doing while they conquered half the globe. This is what it feels like, like that professor wrote this. It removes all culpability from the humans, and blames science, rather than our own flaws. It insists that trying to cure a terrifying and ugly disease is wrong, and that we deserve to die for that. At the same time it insists that it was all an accident, no one is really to blame. You can't claim the apes are oppressed in the same way because they didn't know they were sapient! That is not only stupid, it undermines the entire concept of slavery within the story, that enslaving people is bad. Because slavery is not an accident. By making it all an accident, it makes it feel like it was written by the people in Get Out. It doesn't say that all slavery is by accident, it echoes the sentiments of its defenders.

By portraying the apes as seemingly better, it undermines the point. Taylor in the original says that "it seems some apes are more equal than others". For all their vaunted superiority over humanity, they are just as vulnerable to our same flaws. The point is that being cruel is bad.

Did I mention the guy running the company that made the Alzheimer's cure is black? And there are pretty much no other black actors in the new franchise, compared to the two named and heroic black characters in the original franchise. I know, I know, it's not great even by comparison. When a 70s series is beating you out for positive black representation, while you have none, that says a lot about your franchise.

You can't just swap out one disaster for another with a franchise that relies on the disaster being human made, and not accidental! The only acceptable alternative in this case would be deliberate germ warfare. The point of the original series is that we did this to ourselves. Nuclear weapons are bad, and they are not the result of a mistake, or an accident. Slavery is bad, and exploiting people deliberately is wrong.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes is the darkest ending in the entire franchise. An old doomsday bomb goes off, and wipes out Earth. We hear a narrator say "In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe lies a medium-sized star. And one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead."

The problem does not lie in humanity, or in apes. The problem lies in the concepts of war, cruelty, hatred, and selfishness.

#planet of the apes #rise of the planet of the apes

0 notes

irenic-raccoon · 6 months

Text

Yall wanna see my The Young Ones creepypasta? Of course you do here u go. This is a joke btw. I'm not a good writer but I wanted to write something funny. The Narrator is unreliable. Or not. U decide lol. I just tried to write this fic with somewhat similar humor to that of The Young Ones.

____________________________

Neil.Exe

I wanted to share this story as I am now in my Late 40s early 30s and this memory still sends a chill down my spine... Ow, my back.

It was the 80s and I was a British youngster. Don't worry, I recovered. I'm now a proud American. USA!!! Before my recovery, I'd watch alot of Television. This was before TV went extinct. No seriously. Some coder made a digital meteor and wiped all technology into extinction. Why did he even do that what's wrong with him??

I'd watch BBC and they had this show called "The Young Ones". It was this very nonsensical sitcom with slapstick and toilet humor. It wasn't even a cartoon this was all live action. What kinda drugs were they on??? Errmmmm 😂. My pops really liked it though because was a stupid alcoholic who'd laugh at paint drying. I prefer watching the grass grow but to each their own I guess. He'd record the episodes and save them on VHS. We burned them all one day because it was cold and he drunk us out of home. He gambled our house for bitcoin. Yes, Bitcoin existed in the 80s shut up this is my story.

One of the VHS tapes wasn't burnt though. My father mentioned something like how "it's haunted" and he "bought it from some strange man with a black cloak and glowing orb"... Even though HE recorded the episodes himself!?!? I got bored of living on the streets and bought a house with the money I had in my bank account. R.i.p Mom and Dad, they ate eachother alive while being homeless. If only there was something I could have done to help 💔. Still had that one recording of "The Young Ones". I got bored of watching the grass grow in the green room that costed 3 thousand dollars, so I decided to give it a watch. The VHS tape had writing on it. "DON'T PLAY THIS TAPE!!! IT'S CURSED AND YOU WILL DIE!!! ESPECIALLY YOU JOHN YOU BASTARD!!!!". Typical dad, always such a drunk comedian!! 😊

It started off normal. This was the last episode of the series. The main characters die in a bus crash at the end. At least thats how I remembered it before I watched this recording. The tall one, Neil, was being insulted by everyone while in the back yard, talking about summer break. Strange, since they looked too old for highschool, but that's also typical in media so I brushed that thought aside. Neil was usually the punching bag because he was a dirty hippie. In the original episode he tuned into the Hulk. Well, it was a daydream segment. The usual nonsensical shit. But in this one when they got a close up on his face before his Hulk transformation, the screen got really glitchy. Nothing out of the norm since it was a VHS. Except for the fact that his eyes got all black and he started crying blood. I thought it was just the VHS acting up so I turned the TV off and on again. It played the episode back from the beginning and it was just a black screen for 10 minutes this time.

I just sat there watching the black screen, since that was my 2nd favorite activity behind watching grass grow. I was having the time of my life. After that, it just showed Neil in the back yard, the same place before the tape started acting up. It was nighttime for whatever reason and he just stood there, looking at me... What the hell was he looking at? He needs to get a hobby! What did I do to him?! I looked at the screen a little closer since the screen was so dark. Bad directing on their part. Three bloody bodies laid there behind him. I don't remember the episode being this dark but also this show was all over the place and I was probably just high and imagining things again. It's a serious problem. I'm just like my father.

I had to go take a shit so I stood up and went to the restroom. Couldn't shit on the couch again. The stain was still there and it smelt bad. When I came back, Neil was gone and it was just the bodies. Boooring! I took the VHS tape out and threw it away.

None of this has to do with the creepy thing I mentioned in the beginning, just got off topic. I ran out of Adderall. Anyways, I was outside looking directly at the sun since that was my 3rd favorite activity. When I was out there, I saw a guy walk by wearing a Nirvana t-shirt. Nirvana didn't even exist by then. What the fuck. But bitcoin did. Don't question me!

Okay that's all I had to write. Time to go gamble away the child support I just received OH FUCK OH SHIT HELP ME NEIL IS IN MY FUCKING HOUSE SOMEONE CALL THE COPS IM TOO BUSY TYPING TO CALL 911 FUCK OW MY ORGANS!!! HES EATING MY FUCKING ORGANS AND IM STILL TYPING!!!!! THIS IS PURE TORTURE!!!!!!! I DONT SEE THE LIGHT I ONLY SMELL LENTILS AAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!

Neil.exe is coming...

Hahaha I said "coming."

The And

#why did I waste my time writing this omg this is so stupid #ngl kinda fun tho #hope this got a laugh out of some of u #the young ones #tyo #neil pye #rick pratt #vyvyan basterd #mike the cool person #rik mayall #ade edmondson #if Rik Mayall read this would he be proud or confused

0 notes

dawnsy · 3 years

Text

Have a short little Amphibia writing

I watched episode one of season 3 today and I absolutely can't wait for the next episode!!

Anyway to help me cope I decided to write some Fluff/ Angst but mostly fluff Of Marcyyyyy

enjoy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marcy!

Marcy! it's time to wake up, we're going to be late for class!

Marcy rolled over onto her side and groaned trying to bury herself deeper into the pillow, she could feel something pressed up against her side, which judging by the warmth and the way the contact made Marcys head feel like static she knew it was Anne.

A gentle finger prodded the girl until she huffed and sat up, hugging a pillow tightly in her arms as her tired scrunched up eyes glared at Anne for waking her from her peaceful slumber. "Oh come on Mar Mar, I wanna sleep too but we cant be late." Anne said, smiling at Marcy before jumping out of bed. Marcy yawned and nodded, she unwrapped herself from the soft blanket and felt the icy chill of the morning air against her sleep warmed skin. She shivered and climbed out of bed, walking past Anne as she slid on her favorite hoodie.

"Why did we even have a sleepover on a weekday? I'm always more tired when you stay over." Marcy grumbled, but she knew she was only tired because no matter how early the two laid down in bed they would be kept awake chatting for hours before either fell asleep. And of course there was the fact that when Anne was there Marcy would stay awake as long as she could to relish the warmth of her friend beside her as much as possible. Marcys parents never let her have sleepovers on weekdays, luckily her parents were not in town at the moment so they had no say in the matter.

Marcy looked up at Anne who met her eyes and gave her a cute smile and giggled as she slid her hands down Marcy's hair "You have quite the bed head." Anne said stifling back laughter at the beautiful black hair that was sticking straight up as if on the head of an electrocuted cartoon character. Marcy grumbled and tried to flatten out her own hair, her hand brushing Annes in the process which sent a warm wave over her body.

Marcy stretched her arms above her head and closed her eyes in a deep yawn but as she did a staticy sound filled her ears. She suddenly felt the hard ground disappear from under her feet, she felt like she was floating in liquid. Confusion clouded her brain and she panicked as she realized her inability to move her arms or legs. She tried to open her eyes but was interrupted by a voice.

"Marcy please!"

"Marcy please! You gotta come with us to the concert tonight, it's gonna be the best night of our lives!" Sasha pleaded as Marcy opened her eyes, standing in the hallway of school beside her own locker which was open and overflowing with various papers and books.

"I already told you Sash, I'd love to, but my parents would never allow it!" Marcy responded as her memories started to fill in like a crashing wave filling in the cracks between rocks on a beach. Sasha leaned against the locker and moved her hand forward and down, doing a motion Marcy liked to call "the gay hand". Marcy snickered quietly to herself at the thought.

"Come on Marc it'll be fineeee, we can just…. go without asking your parents." Sasha said, now moving her hand in a circular motion. Marcy rubbed the back of her neck nervously, I mean what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and besides taking a night off to have fun with friends would reduce Marcys stress level and likely improve her performance on her academics, which wasss what her parents wanted sooo. Marcy let out a sigh and pushed her locker shut, slightly struggling as the books and papers kept the door from closing but she eventually got it, though it wasn't as smooth of a motion as she had hoped. "Fine, we just can't get caught, ok?" She said looking up at Sasha's beautiful face with a smile. Sashas face lit up and she nodded "Of course Marshmallow! they'll never know you were gone."

Marcy doesn't know how her eyes end up closed this time but she is shoved back into the darkness, the liquid. She is filled with a sudden rush of memories of her first vision, what the hell was happening?

"Please Marcy, wake up!"

Marcys body suddenly regained feeling as all her just regained memories were torn from her mind

"Please Marcy wake up!" Marcy could hear Anne shout from above her. Marcy opened her eyes and squinted upwards at her two best friends staring at her in deep concern. Pain flashed across Marcy as an aching soreness covered her whole body. A wave of memories crashed over her once more. "Are you ok?!" Anne asked, she was very close to Marcy examining the girl who was laying in the bright green grass right below the large oak tree. Marcy sat up rubbing her head as she blinked a few times trying to clear the slight blur from her vision "Yeah i'm alright, but man that was a hard fall." Marcy said gazing up at the branch she had been sitting on happily only a few moments ago. Before the conversation between the three teen girls had changed to crushes and with one question Marcy had fallen backwards off the branch.

Without another word Sasha started diggin through Annes backpack and pulled out a first aid kit box, except the white letters that said first aid kit had been written over with Marker and now read "Marcy protection box" Sasha clicked it open and pulled out a bandaid which had an assortment of wizards and magical beings on it. Sasha gently peeled the bandaid off while Anne grabbed some hydrogen peroxide from the first aid kit and with a little cotton ball applied some to the scratch on Marcys knee, which Marcy hadn't even noticed. After Anne was finished Sasha gently laid the bandaid over the scratch and patted Marcy's knee gently "There you go Mar mar, good as new!" Anne said, giving her friend a sweet smile. The whole routine was a normal everyday thing for the trio and Anne and Sasha were basically pros at treating injuries by now.

Anne reached over and pulled some twigs from marcy's hair as the three sat in the grass Anne and Sasha leaning against the tree trunk and Marcy layed down over Sashas legs with her head on Annes lap. Even after all the leaves and sticks were gone Anne took the opportunity to continue to play with Marcy's hair. Sashas eyes were closed as she enjoyed the moment with the warmth of her friends against her, filling her with a strange peace and safety she only ever felt around her two girls. Anne was also enjoying the relaxing moment as she lazily dug her fingers in Marcy's hair combing them through the soft strands gently.

As for Marcy she didn't mind the free head massage one bit and soon her eyelids grew heavy, a sleepiness brought on by the overwhelming comfort her friends provided. Her eyes blinked closed for a second, then another, and eventually Marcy just couldn't hold them open anymore and let them fall and as they closed she was torn away from the beautiful scene and her mind was filled with all her previous memories once more. This time Marcy was fully aware, she could feel the thick suffocating liquid that surrounded her, she still couldn't move, but she knew something was happening, she knew she was reliving her past memories. But why? How did she get here? Marcy fought against a fog in her mind, trying to find whatever memory she was missing.

"Marcy please, wake up, please, I love you."

With another clear voice through the darkness Marcy expected to get thrown into another memory. But instead she felt all her memories flash one by one through her head as it searched for one that matched the words, nothing.

No one had ever said those last three words to Marcy before.

Marcy remembered everything

and despite being almost numb in the cold darkness

she could still feel the warm tears drip down her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not even her parents have said those words to Marcy ;-;

can you imagine how depressing that would be

If Marcy had never even heard those words before

Alright well ima go cry for a few hours bye bye

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #sasha waybright #amphibia snippet #marcanne #sashannarcy #im not crying you are

63 notes · View notes

ilikekidsshows · 3 years

Note

One thing that pisses me off not just about the miraculous fandom but modern fandoms is fans inability to consume long overarching stories.

Like so many people are complaining about how long the reveal is taking or why haven't certain characters outgrown this trait yet or why is this character arc botched or abandoned. Like guys we just got the confirmation this show will be 7 seasons long PLUS like 3 tv specials. We're only roughly halfway through the series.

Once the reveal happens half the tension in the show is gone! I'm not saying leave the reveal till season 7 and make us wait 9 years this isn't HIMYM but miraculous is not a fast paced story. It's a long haul story. I just wish more fans would be patient. Miraculous is in the extremely fortunate and rare position that it will have a conclusive end and not be suddenly cancelled. That was and still is a huge problem for shows and cartoons with dedicated fans but networks pull the plug for stupid ass reasons.

So miraculous fans please chill the fuck out on things not resolving right away. We still have 78+ episodes plus the tv specials. If we get the end to certain things now it'll be so boring.

I think the concept of Instant Gratification describes the issue with many modern fandoms today. I hate to sound like I'm anti-technology, but the constant stream of quick and short bursts of entertainment allowed by the information age has made people more impatient. It's not about waiting for the climax to get a deeper sense of satisfaction, it's about getting that instant gratification right this instant. It's why one-shot fanfics are all over the place, when multi-chapter stories used to be just as common and popular, if not even more so, and it’s also why people are less willing to read a fic that’s still a work in progress. It's why people refuse to watch Youtube video essays even as they leave comments on the topic based on the title and thumbnail alone because, while they couldn't be assed to watch a 20-minute video (let alone an hour long one), they sure can spend that time calling the Youtuber names and making arguments the video actually already refutes. It's why a lot of online arguments happen only because one party read nothing but the first and maybe the last paragraph of someone's post and skipped all the explanation for their point of view (if I've ignored an counter argument for one of my posts, it was either because I missed it or because said counter argument did this. I have attention deficit issues so I do genuinely forget responses sometimes, but I'm also not writing a second essay for someone who's proven to me they won't read it).

Of course, it's only by constantly consuming only fast-paced content that you can become this impatient. People have different ideas about stories based on what stories they have encountered in the past.

Another thing that influences the Miraculous fandom in particular is that, while I love to show off exactly how much Miraculous has done to build up the overarching plotlines, Miraculous isn't really a show that's about a single story. It's easy to understand why people think it is one though: there's one main villain, we keep discovering more about the mythology, one of the main plot threads is the romantic relationship between the leads and singular episodes and plot elements tend to get payoff later. What is the purpose of a show if not to progress the story? Because the heroes aren't getting closer to defeating Gabriel or getting together, people think that the story isn't accomplishing anything.

I'll do a comparison to illustrate why these things aren't as clear-cut signs of a continuous storyline as people think. In the Spider-Man comics, you can pick any issue up and the chances are that the villain will be a part of Spider-Man's already established Rogues Gallery, who's back for more after who knows how many defeats, and those past defeats might even get referenced in callbacks to previous issues. It's also very possible that Peter and Mary Jane's relationship is the central focus with them not being together yet, having relationship problems or even having broken up (in really old issues the girl might be Gwen Stacy and short-term options have also always been available for romantic entanglements). Does this mean Spider-Man is a continuous story where the only point is that all the villains get put away for good and Peter and MJ live happily ever after? No, it doesn't. Spider-Man is designed to go on indefinitely, so there's no clear ending point. So, what is the point of Spider-Man then, if there is no Ending?

It used to be the single issue, because comic books used to have every issue be a stand-alone story about the hero and their supportive cast. These days it's more every three-to-six issues, because superhero comics are written to have short story arcs that can then be collected into trade paperbacks. A superhero series is not a single story; it's a series that functions as a story engine, meaning the series can generate several shorter stories where the hero helps fix a problem or solve a mystery.

In the superhero genre a villain will never get killed off or removed from stories permanently as long as the writers think they can still come up with stories to tell about them. The hero's romantic life will never be completely smooth sailing unless the writer is using other things to ramp up the stakes. Everything always allows for there to be another adventure.

I think the huge success of Avatar: the Last Airbender made people think that a series that is a single story is always superior to a series with multiple shorter plots. When I was liveblogging Sailor Moon, a viewer offered to give me a list of all the non-filler episodes because they genuinely thought I'd feel like I was wasting time on the show otherwise. This attitude is simply not based on fact. It's not fair to compare Miraculous Ladybug to Avatar, because they're both setting up to do completely different things. Miraculous Ladybug is trying to become a brand, like Batman or Spider-Man. It is part of the "Zag Heroes" lineup, a series of French-created superhero franchises to compete in the America-centric superhero market. This challenge is good for the genre, because Marvel and DC have started resembling each other more and more as these companies stew in their old ideas and copy everything that worked for the other one. The superhero genre needs new blood.

Also, Avatar: the Last Airbender first became popular by doing episodic plots for almost the entirety of the first season because it's actually not a wise choice to expect the audience to be willing to commit to a story that'll only give payoff later when working with an untested IP. Very often shows with longer story arcs start with the episodic format to hook people first, and sometimes the more linear plot is introduced specifically because the audience for the show is now expected to be both dedicated enough and older and capable of keeping up. Because, here's the thing: you can't expect little kids to remember every episode or even every character you've introduced in your show. I'm not sure if people are ready to hear that but I'm throwing it out there anyway. Kids are not dumb, they can understand more complex storylines, but many kids are still training their memory, so they might not remember the details of complex storylines that go on for too long.

This is why the news that Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season was going to have a recommended viewing order originally had me concerned. Miraculous is being branded for kids. The plot requiring too much skill in memorizing story details will make it less accessible to kids and might put those two additional seasons at risk. However, it seems that the "constantly changing status quo" concept of Truth, Lies and Gang of Secrets was a fluke and the evolution of the show is more subtle, so they might not be cutting the amount of episodes for those final seasons because the show is getting too complicated for kids to follow all the important details.

Regardless, Miraculous Ladybug being an adventure cartoon TV show instead of a comic book or a more cheaper-to-produce TV drama does mean that Miraculous Ladybug isn’t expected to go on for decades like a superhero comic or a soap opera. Because of this, it can have evolution and changes and even a planned ending. The show is expected to end at some point, even by the people making money off of it, mostly because making a cartoon like this indefinitely costs a lot of money, and kids’ adventure shows tend to see a decrease in returns if they go on for too long.

#media and fandom response #ml fandom salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir

50 notes · View notes

sttngfashion · 3 years

Text

5.26 and 6.1 - Time’s Arrow

Oh my god. Y’all. It’s a new Fashion It So post. In the year of our Picard 2020. Yes.

For literal years, Charlie and I have been like UGH WE NEED TO DO TIME’S ARROW PARTS 1 AND 2 BUT IT’S JUST SUCH A MONSTER.

Well, I’m doing a complete rewatch of the series with my partner and we just got to these two, so IT IS TIME.

We open in a cave in San Francisco, where Data and Picard are checking something out:

Rent for the cave is $6,000 per month

Showing them around is this guy in a Science Outfit:

He’s ready to go night biking

We’ve seen this look before in both Silicon Avatar and Devil’s Due, and it’s functional, yet cute. Basically a windbreaker in jumpsuit form.

They find a couple of items in the cave, including a pocket watch from 1889 and also:

I left my head in San Francisco

IT’S DATA’S HEAD!!! And it’s been there for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. What could have caused this? And why is Data’s head so absolutely terrifying?

Is that fondant

This head is, in a word, haunting. The 2020 of heads.

Data and Geordi chat in Ten-Forward about what the presence of Data’s head in the cave means. Data says it means he’s mortal; that someday he will die, and that’s comforting. Spoiler alert: that’s not what it means. But it’s a nice conversation.

Also, Guinan is here!!!

Merlot My God!!

Or maybe: Burgundy-lightful!! Or perhaps: De-Crimson-alize Sex Work!! Okay that last one was a stretch but I really think I missed my calling as a nail polish shade namer.

Anyway, she’s here in her classic look of a pizza-sized hat and a flowing gown/coat/top/robe. The collar here is a little too close to a mock turtleneck for my liking and honestly - this is a little staid for our friend Guinan. I want a TEXTURE or a SWEEP or some WIDE RIBBING or some PLEATS. Don’t worry, though...she will get plenty more later.

Then there’s some plot which frankly we DO NOT HAVE TIME to get into but let’s just say: the away team goes to a planet, there’s a temporal disturbance, and Data ends up here:

Huge mood

Where are we? Or should I say WHEN are we??

Well that old-timey font is a good clue...also the horse

Are we in the Old West land of an off-brand Disneyworld? Are we going to ride something called Large Lightning Mesa Train Tracks? What colorful characters will we meet here?

Winner of 1893’s Mustache Medal

This type of ‘stache is called a Fu Manchu, after the character Dr. Fu Manchu. It’s not...a great look? But it is memorable, which is sometimes enough. He’s also wearing a simple black cap, probably made of silk. He’s keeping it cazh.

So where are we?

SAN FRANCISCO, OPEN YOUR GOLDEN GATE / YOU’LL LET NOBODY WAIT / OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR

Yes, it’s San Francisco. And it’s *eyes popping out of head like a cartoon wolf seeing a busty babe* 1893!!!! That temporal disturbance was...disturbing.

So who else do we have hanging out?

Please check out our Vaudeville act, Knit Cap ‘n’ Bowly

These dudes understand those famous Bay Area MICROCLIMATES, amirite? We’ve got a Henley. We’ve got a buttondown. We’ve got a vest. We’ve got a coat. No matter which way the thermometer decides to go, THEY ARE READY. Also loving the pop of forest green on Knit Cap’s knit cap.

We also have a 49er:

No, it’s not Steve Young. I googled “famous 49ers” to complete this joke so if there is a more famous 49er please let me know

It’s a literal 49er. Since it’s 1893, this guy’s been hanging around in town for a while, and he’s also familiar with the layering techniques one must master if one is to conquer the Bay Area’s climate. He also has a kicky Colonel Sanders-type tie. He asks Data for money and gives him a few panhandling tips. He’s chill. We like him. But don’t get too attached if you know what I mean!!!!

Data decides he needs somewhere to stay, so he finds a hotel:

Brian.

Why is this so funny to me. Brian. Why would you name your hotel Brian. Brian!!!! I know it’s a last name but like...Brian. HOTEL BRIAN.

This bellhop’s name is not Brian:

Where’s your hat, bro

He’s giving us a classic bellhop look, complete with too many buttons. He gives Data the very important information that there’s a poker game happening in the back of the hotel, which means: Data is about to be RICH rich.

The poker game includes a few good looks:

Louie Anderson IS Wolverine IN a Lands’ End barn coat

Two plaids? Sir...I salute you

Colonel Sanders Goes to Carnaval

Data, of course, wipes the floor with them so hard that he wins their clothes:

Didn’t get that barn coat tho

Yes, that’s the actual vest and the actual hat of those guys from the previous scene. Oh, I love it. I love Data in a vest over his uniform and I love Data with a feather in his cap. Let’s call it macaroni.

Meanwhile, out on the street, the plot is happening:

Beige: inescapable

This is our first taste of the decadent 1890’s sleeves that appear in this episode, and these aren’t even the best sleeves!! These are an amuse-bouche of sleeves. An armuse-bouche, if you will.

Anyway, these two are aliens disguised as humans who are here to steal the 49er’s life energy.

Pew pew pew

I told you not to get attached!!!

Back on the Enterprise, Guinan is doing mixology:

She would never call it something as stupid as mixology though

She tells Picard that he needs to go check out the temporal disturbance, too, even though captains don’t normally go on away missions, and then she gives him this look:

It’s that serious

When Guinan looks at you like this, you do what she says.

Now this outfit is much better than the earlier one. We have some pleated sleeves, which I didn’t even think was a thing you could DO. We have some sort of functional(?) strap(??) across the front. We even have matching fingerless gloves which always make a look A LOOK. And if Picard wasn’t sure whether he needed to go on this away mission, she then gives him THIS look:

Okay now it’s REALLY serious

Back in 1893, Data is making something:

It’s actually just a really complicated and large music box that plays “I Left My Head in San Francisco”

He’s gotten his hands on some more period-appropriate clothing, including a bow tie and a vest. Since he’s not wearing arm garters and his sleeves appear to be the correct length for his arms, we can conclude that the shirt was custom-made, not ready-made, because Data is now a baller due to his poker earnings.

Then, Data sees this in the paper:

I know her!! From work!!!!

Yes, it’s Guinan. In 1893. In a hat!!!!

We cut to the literary reception, which is honestly not as well-attended as I thought it would be, considering it got a GIANT photo of Guinan on page THREE of the paper, but okay. And who should we spy there but:

You’ll love my secret blend of 11 herbs and spices

No, it’s not Colonel Sanders. (Sorry, I really have Colonel Sanders on the brain because of that Lifetime movie.) It’s Samuel Clements, AKA Mark Twain. I had an English teacher in high school who explained the origin of his pseudonym (it indicates a mark of two fathoms, aka twelve feet, on a steamboat) and for some reason she shouted MAAAARK TWAAAAAIN when she told us that story so now her delivery of that line is in my head until I die I guess.

Anyway, it’s Mark Twain.

He’s wearing his iconic white linen suit with a black bow tie, and he’s also wearing a lot of prosthetics, because the actor playing him (Jerry Hardin, AKA Deep Throat from The X-Files AKA Melora Hardin AKA Jan Levinson-Gould’s dad) (was that too many AKAs) (you get it, right?) didn’t look enough like Mark Twain, I guess? In conclusion: what if eyebrow wigs were a thing?

Twain is having a chit chat with “Madame Guinan,” who is wearing what can only be called a sumptuous gown:

It’s 11:30 and the gown is sumptin’ sumptin’

There are so many ELEMENTS to this look! First of all: the color. Royal purple. Fit for a queen. Appropriate.

Then: those sleeves! These sleeves are known as “leg of mutton sleeves” because they KIND OF look like a leg of mutton. Have you ever seen a leg of mutton? I haven’t. I’ve only seen these sleeves. Plus they have a stripe?? No, I don’t know why, but I LOVE IT.

The cuffs and the cravat bring this from “dress” to “lewk.” Top it all off with this hat and you have a true 1893 mood.

What bird is that feather even from

We get a few good extra looks in this scene as well:

Pink Lady is NOT wearing a corset

Look, sometimes you don’t have enough period-appropriate undergarments for all the background people and that’s fine. But I WILL notice.

Is that Loretta Lynn

I am loving all of this! That purple dress is fantastic, those stripes? I die. Military man has some fun flair on his shoulder, and there is a dude in a beautiful turban back there. Plus, another Black lady in addition to Guinan and That One Ensign Who Is On The Bridge Sometimes.

Data rolls in to the literary event in a different suit with a CRAVAT:

Craving a cravat

Data is like “we serve together on the same starship in the 24th century” and Guinan is like “huh” but then she’s like “okay” which...I’m not sure if I would believe that? But let’s just say it’s fine.

Over in the 24th century, the literal entire bridge crew is checking out the temporal disturbance and I DON’T LIKE THIS AT ALL:

Blue Man Group...on ACID

These beings are like ghosts but also like Dr. Manhattan but also like pure energy.

Then everyone goes through the temporal disturbance AND THE SEASON ENDS.

Fortunately for you, this post will continue...right now.

Okay, so we’re back in San Francisco in 1893. You can tell by the horses:

Also the fruit carts

Samuel Clemens is strolling around with a reporter, telling him that he has a great story for him that involves time travelers and, like, protecting the nation.

Here’s the thing about this episode’s version of Mark Twain: he’s kind of a dick. Was the real Mark Twain kind of a dick? I just feel like Mark Twain should be JAZZED about meeting time travelers and not acting like a fuckin’ time cop* and trying to put the Enterprise crew on blast.

Anyway I love his double-breasted vest.

See my vest

The reporter’s hat is technically period-accurate, but that style is SO associated with the 1930s-1950s that I would have gone with something else. He looks cute though.

Meanwhile, Data is wearing a three-piece suit:

My positronic olfactory synapses are interpreting something as...a fart

I hate brown, but this is fine.

Additionally, the beige baddies from before are back and this time, they’ve got a SNAKE CANE:

Love the snake cane, hate how they suck the life out of people

But we are not here for them, we are here to see our faves in period clothing. Our first look is at Riker, who is dressed as an actual cop, not a time cop like Mark Twain:

The past just had...so many buttons

I guess if you’re a time-traveling white man there are worse disguises than a cop. But WHERE DID HE GET THIS UNIFORM? I choose to believe that he found a cop with a similar large handsome body to his own and beat the shit out of him and stole his clothes. Now we can all enjoy imagining a cop being beat up.

The badge that Riker is wearing is a great historical detail; the SFPD started wearing them in 1886 and are reportedly the first law enforcement agency to have worn the seven-pointed star, which is now a common shape among sheriff’s departments across the United States.

But let’s move on to a better look: Dr. Beverly Crusher:

Curlz MT

Okay, now I have more questions. Beverly obviously wouldn’t beat someone up for their clothes, so where did SHE get HER outfit? And who did her hair? Did she do her OWN hair? Where did she get a curling iron? Does she know how to use a curling iron? Was it one of those ones that’s actually made of iron that you have to heat up in a fireplace?

We will get answers to zero (0) of these questions.

We actually get a much better look at her dress later, so let’s focus on that cloak!!! I love it and I also love her hat. Okay, I guess I had less to say about those than I thought.

Bev and Will, along with the rest of the officers, have somehow procured a room/apartment in some lady’s lodging house. It’s cute!

They gave it 5 stars on AirBnB

This also raises questions. How did they get this room? How many bedrooms does it have? Are they sharing one large bed? If so, who has to sleep crossways at the foot of the bed and why is it Geordi? We will get zero answers to these questions as well, so let’s move on to arguably the hottest costume in this two-parter:

I’ll be in Holodeck 4

Whewwwwwww. He’s giving us a rolled sleeve. He’s giving us a casual tweed vest. The pants? They’re perfect. And he KNOWS how that slouch is working. It’s working VERY well. But the Irish landlady? She’s having NONE OF IT.

Absolutely NO nonsense

She needs the rent, but Picard charms her and she leaves. So I guess that’s how they got the room. Her look is knitwear-forward:

Eileen Fisher does sound like an Irish name

She’s got a shawl AND a cardigan! The cozy factor is OFF THE CHARTS. She also has a brooch, because a touch of fancy is always welcome. I will say that her hair is a little more fashion-forward than I’d expect for a woman of her age and station. This is straight up 1890s hair, and she would probably still be rocking an 1860s look, which isn’t as sweepy and would likely involve more braids. Still, she looks lovely.

Geordi is also here looking dapper:

Make the collar as high as you can. I want to be sliced open by my own collar

You CAN go wrong with a three-piece suit, but it’s difficult to. He can’t wear his visor, so he has some kicky shades which we’ll get a better look at in a sec.

Back at the Hotel Brian (lol), the bellboy (who we learn in this scene is Jack London, inspired to be a writer by Mark Twain [citation needed]) lets Mark Twain into Data’s room and allows him to look around unsupervised. This is very bad hotel management.

Great Scott

Then Data and Guinan show back up, and Mark Twain hides in an armoire.

One short day in the emerald brocade

I think one reason I love Guinan’s looks so much, both in the 24th and the 19th century, is that our color palette is very similar. We’re both winters. Bold jewel tones are the vibe. This one is in a beautiful deep green fabric with what looks like a velvet flocking pattern on it. The collar is also velvet, and I love that sleeve with a flounce on top like there wasn’t already enough fucking fabric on the sleeve so they just added a random piece to be like “yes, bitch. I’m a sleeve.”

Naturally, the hat is also jaunty af:

San Francisco’s hottest milliner is: Madame Guinan

This hat has everything: feathers, netting, a brim, an angle that makes you think it’s going to fall off but it doesn’t. We stan.

Meanwhile, Picard is setting up a sensor in a hospital while wearing a hat:

I’m bowled over

We haven’t even asked where Picard got these clothes, but I would like to point out that he’s dressed as a lower-class guy, while Riker is a cop, and Geordi looks like a gentleman. Was there even a discussion they all had about how they would disguise themselves? Was Picard like “I just really want to wear a beat-up bowler hat” and since he’s the captain, they extrapolated from there? This episode is NOT CONCERNED about any of this. They all have clothes, end of story.

Bev even has TWO outfits!!

Hello nurse!!!!

I love this look. She still has her unlikely hairstyle happening, which means her nurse’s cap is sitting atop her voluminous hairstyle. (Not very practical, but realistic!) She’s sporting a simple striped dress and a button-on apron. (Look closely and you can see the two buttons holding the apron to the dress.) The fabric underneath might be cotton seersucker, but it’s likely a lightweight cotton or linen twill. You can see how closely her look matches these nurses from a similar time period:

Hello nurses!!!!

Deanna is also in this scene and this episode, but you wouldn’t know it from what she’s given to do. HUGE SHOCKER: TROI NOT GIVEN ENOUGH TO DO IN AN EPISODE. 🙃

She still looks beautiful:

Why aren’t capelets more popular

We never get a really GREAT look at her whole outfit, but I can tell you that it has a capelet, it’s in the red family, and the hat has a lot of business going on. For those reasons: approved. It has a flounce in the back too:

More fabric = more wealth

Sometimes I think about just how much fabric it took to make these old-timey dresses and I’m like...how did anyone get anything done?? It takes me like 4 weeks to finish a pair of leggings and those have like 5 seams and I own a serger. These historical bitches were sewing whole ass dresses in no time at all.

Okay, so Bev is in this hospital and here come some more energy-stealing aliens, disguised as healthcare professionals this time:

I cannot take a medical professional wearing a LIGHT BROWN TOP HAT seriously, sorry

Bev AND this energy-stealing alien have BOTH managed to get their hands on the SAME nurse’s uniform?? I guess in the case of the alien, she is a shape-shifter, so she got her clothes from...that. And her hair.

I hate this light brown top hat. If you’re going to wear a top hat, don’t DISRESPECT IT by making it BROWN, but if you’re going to make it brown, make it a good brown, like chocolate. Stupid energy-stealing aliens.

There’s a skirmish, the energy-stealing aliens disappear, and the real cops show up:

MOUSTACHE

Of course, the cops showing up is bad, because when has a cop showing up ever made a bad situation better? Never. Defund the police, but don’t defund handlebar mustaches. Those can stay.

Fortunately, Data has gotten a ping on that machine he was building before and shows up on a motherfucking HORSE:

Brent just wanted to show off

He’s back in his brown striped suit and red tie. Okay.

Everyone returns to the boarding house to suss out the situation, and we get a look at what Riker is rocking underneath his cop jacket:

Suspend me daddy

You can see very clearly here how the collar is not actually attached to the shirt. This was a thing people in the olden days did so they could wear their shirt for multiple days in a row and just switch out the collar and cuffs so they looked clean. As someone who is wearing the same sweatshirt for the third day in a row, I support this method. (If you’re interested on more info about collars, here is a very enjoyable article about them.)

We are also blessed with a better look at Deanna’s sleeves and bodice:

Black lace cuffs? Decadent!!!

You can also see Geordi’s shades, which suit him really nicely. One thing I’ve been enjoying on this rewatch is just how well LeVar Burton can act without having his eyes visible. He’s great. Let’s just all think about how great LeVar Burton is for a second

And also Bev’s dress:

I legitimately want this dress

I don’t think those buttons are functional. Can you imagine how annoying THAT would be? But I am absolutely in love with this dress. Two paisleys, Beverly???? A goddess. I’m also dying for that brooch with the chain. A+ look all around, great work.

Finally, FINALLY, Guinan meets the rest of the crew:

When you meet someone you won’t actually know for 500 years

She is wearing a hat that looks like a toilet paper cozy. Did your grandma have one of these? They’re so stupid and I love them so much.

Picard and Guinan meet for what is the first time for her, but not the first time for him, and honestly it is...sensual?????

If I got a m’lady from P. Stew I wouldn’t even mind

Patrick and Whoopi truly do some nice work in this ep. But we are here to yell about clothes, so: LOOK AT THIS DRESS ON AN EXTRA:

Gimme dat dress

I just want that dress to wear around my house. I legitimately bought an 18th century costume dress to do just that, so don’t think I won’t literally do this.

OKAY, WE ARE ALMOST TO THE END.

The crew, plus Guinan, go back to the cave where this all started:

Cave Club, the only club that meets in a cave

We get a nice look at the bodice of Guinan’s dress here and guess what: MORE BUTTONS. Buttons on the lapels, and also buttons on the front panel with the pointy top. I wonder if she has multiple front panels for that dress in different colors, like a Swatch watch.

Unbeknownst to them, Mark Twain followed them!! Then there’s a scuffle with the energy-stealing aliens during which a few things happen:

Data’s head flies off

Mark Twain gets sucked into the temporal disturbance

Guinan gets hurt

Picard stays behind to make sure Guinan is okay

So we end up with Mark Twain on the Enterprise, where he sees Worf, and he’s like:

Buh-WHAT

Worf is also confused:

This is...extremely perplexing

We have a few more looks back on the Enterprise, including Regular Guinan:

ShoulderSpreads™: The Bed Spread for Your Shoulders

I love love LOVE this outfit. The color is perfect, the shoulderspreads are perfect, the front draping is perfect. It looks like a velvet housedress from the 1960s except FANCY which is kind of my ideal aesthetic. And it’s red (my fave).

We get a quick glimpse at the barber uniform:

Bitch let me pass, idc if you wrote Huck Finn

This barber does. not. give. a. fuck!!!!

Geordi reattaches Data’s head, the one they already had, which means this whole thing was a ding dang closed loop. The reattachment also kind of diminishes the whole conversation they had earlier about how Data’s head in the cave meant that Data could die someday, because...he didn’t. He still might, but his head is back and he’s fine now.

Meanwhile, Picard is still back in 1893 and they have to go get him, but only one person can come back through the temporal disturbance, so Mark Twain is like “duh I’ll go get him.”

And finally Guinan and Picard can talk about how their friendship spans 500 years!!!!

Hey girl

Hey

YOU’RE WELCOME

*abolish the police

#SEASON 5 #SEASON 6 #TNG #TNG FASHION #STAR TREK #STAR TREK FASHION

276 notes · View notes

stillebesat · 4 years

Text

The Sweater

Cartoon Therapy: Emile Sanders Shorts: Remy (Sleep) Sanders Sides: Janus Blurb: Emile had said he was making a sweater for a friend. Only he neglected to tell Remy that this friend wasn’t exactly...well...human. Fic Type: General, NotQuiteHuman!AU, Kid!Janus Overall Fic Warnings: Extra Limbs, Implied Child Abandonment Taglist in Reblog

“You didn’t have to come.”

Remy flinched at the unexpected rumble from the towering man walking next to him. After three days spent with Emile, he was sure that he would have such a reaction under control sooner rather than later...so long as the dude stopped speaking up out of the blue like this that is.

Emile licked his lips, adjusting his glasses as he held the tissue wrapped package closer to his chest. “Really.”

Remy took a sip from his Starbucks cup, savoring the warmth of the hot chocolate in the chill evening air, glad that the snow had stopped falling for a glacier minute. “Gurl.” He looked up over the rims of his sunglasses and smirked, again trying to not take it to heart that this guy was a good hulking foot taller than him. “I soo did. With all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into helping you--you owe me this at least.”

It wasn’t everyday that he walked into the room reserved for teaching beginners how to be dressmakers in search of an extra spool of green thread to find this unexpectedly gentle giant awkwardly hunched over the sewing machine attempting to make….something.

He’d heard the term bull in a china shop before, but Remy had never felt the term applicable to anyone until he saw Emile. He’d been sure one wrong twitch of his dinner plate sized hands would mean bye bye sewing machine.

Of course, after getting the big guy to spill the beans and admit that he’d been trying to make a sweater for a ‘friend’ by threatening to kick him out of the sewing lab for being there outside hours; Remy had learned that just like the Mythbusters had proven, despite Emile’s wrestling sized figure, he was just as delicate as the bull in the episode had been. His large fingers were far more dexterous -if prone to being pricked by needles- than Remy had expected of the guy who could probably crush a watermelon with his bare hands.

But that didn’t mean he’d leave this amateur to his own devices. No Ma’am! Not after he’d seen the pitiful first attempt of something that could have been a sweater fit for a large teddy bear or maybe a small child, Remy had delegated himself as Emile’s pseudo teacher if only to ensure no sewing machines ended up crushed into teacups.

He needn’t have worried though. Emile had a soft touch.

The big guy bit his lip, keeping his eyes firmly straight ahead in a way that told Remy he didn’t want to make eye contact.

That was probably wise for him because Remy could pull a mean puppy dog look when he wanted to. He’d received more than his fair share of drinks on the house from it and he could and would use those eyes against Emile if he thought it would help his case.

Emile exhaled, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I just--I don’t know if--if Stitch will like...well...strangers. He’s very shy.”

Stitch. Like the alien from that kids movie.

Kids movies that Emile was rather obsessed with once he opened that particular can of gummy worms though Remy was sure he was only beginning to uncover that massive iceberg of an interest. This intimidating mountain of a man had morphed into quite the giant nerdy softie when it came to him talking about his cartoons.

Maybe that was why the sweater had been comically small. Of course, getting the proper sizing for this gift from Emile had been rather...like pulling teeth. It had taken a full hour of wheedling before Emile had admitted that he was only guessing at the size he needed for this...friend.

“Sugarbee.” Remy shook his head. “If he likes you I don’t see how little--” and it galled him that he had to call himself little because he was a good five foot eleven inches thank you very much. “Old me would frighten him away.”

Emile shrugged a shoulder, fingers brushing the string on the package. “He’s just...I don’t want to scare him. I barely have any trust with him as it is and if I bring someone new--”

Remy rolled his eyes, flexing his fingers around his cooling cup. It was like the guy was talking about a feral dog and not a person. “Trust me, babes. I ain’t gonna scare him.”

The sweater on the other hand?

That was less certain.

Because it had to be the strangest one ever created.

Like Remy had seen his fair share of Ugly Sweaters over the years.

But this one would probably take the cake if only for the fact that Emile had insisted that said sweater have six arms.

After having to figure out the logistics of that particular snag, and after doing most of the sewing of those extra arms himself, there was no way Remy wasn’t seeing the reaction of this ‘Stitch’ kid to this particular present.

Maybe the dude just liked pretending to be the alien and Emile was humoring him.

Regardless, Remy wanted to make sure that said monstrosity actually fit. It was a good eighty-two percent of his work after all and he prided himself on his garments fitting perfectly.

Emile exhaled, still avoiding eye contact. “Just...stay behind me okay?”

Remy gulped the last of his hot chocolate, tossing the cup into a nearby trash can as he followed Emile around the corner into a tree filled snow covered park. “Three steps back. Got it, Princess.”

Though seriously, if Stitch wasn’t afraid of Emile, towering giant that he was, he highly doubted his presence would be an issue.

Remy shoved his hands into his pockets, letting the big guy move ahead to cut a swath through the untouched snow like a snowplow on a highway towards a huge pine tree in an out of the way corner that had branches all the way down to the ground, hiding the trunk completely from view. It was an odd spot to meet a ‘friend.’ Especially since said friend had apparently not arrived yet.

Remy exhaled, hunching his shoulders. “Looks like we’re early.” He commented, glancing around the park, seeing no one else. Which made sense. It was nearly sunset. It was cold. The sky had a dark enough overcast that he was sure it would start snowing again any second. Who in their right mind would be out right now?

“We’re not.” Emile said, glancing over his shoulder. “Remember. Stay back.” He again cautioned before he knelt, letting out a soft three pitch whistle. “Stitch?” He called softly. “Hey buddy, it’s me, Emile. I--I brought you something.”

Remy frowned, staring at the silent tree. “Did you actually have me help you make a sweater for a mutant squirrel?” That or Emile had a screw loose and he’d just spent three days making a monstrosity of a sweater for an imaginary friend. “Shh!” Emile hissed before again whistling at the tree. “Stitch? It’s okay. This is Remy. He’s a…”

Remy raised an eyebrow as Emile bit his lip, glancing back at him.

“He’s a friend, he won’t hurt you.” The big guy edged another foot closer, hand brushing the tips of the pine needles sending snow showering down off the branches. “Please come out? I--we brought you something.”

The pine tree remained silent.

Remy shoved his hands deeper in his pockets, regretting more that he’d drunk all his hot chocolate. “Maybe he’s not home.” Everyone who was anyone in their right mind would be anywhere but outside in this weather.

“Maybe you’re scaring him.” Emile snapped back before wincing. “Ah...could you like...kneel down? Please.”

Remy scoffed. Him? Scaring the imaginary friend? If Emile wasn’t scary then Remy definitely wasn’t scary either. “And freeze to death?” He asked, awkwardly crouching on his heels. His designer shoes were already feeling the damp chill of the snow working its way in to soak his socks, there was no way he would allow his knees to experience the same torment.

“Stitch?” Emile pleaded, again whistling as he edged closer. “Stitch.”

They were gonna be out here until midnight at this point. “Come on, Stitcharoo.” He said ignoring the big guy’s frantic hissing to shut up. “I’m friendly. Emile is friendly. We’re all friendily freezing here so how about you come out an--” Remy cut off as the branches rustled.

A single yellow eye peered out at them, glinting in the fading sunlight.

Okay. Imaginary friend out. Mutant feral squirrel back in.

“Meal?” A shaky voice asked. A young shaky voice.

Ooohhh Goodie. Remy pressed his lips together, fighting the way his heart had jumped into his throat. Freaking talking mutant feral squirrel. It had better be a mutant squirrel because if there was a freaking child living in this tree in the middle of a freaking snow storm--

Emile visibly sagged with relief. “Hey Stitch, buddy. You okay?”

The eye gave a slow blink. “C-c-cold.”

“Aren’t we all.” Remy muttered, glad that his sunglasses protected him from whatever baleful glare the creature was casting on him now. He gave a two fingered wave. “I’m freezing too, buckaroo.”

“Remy.”

“What?”

Emile gave him the patented Will you shut up look that would have made any mother proud.

Remy made a face. “You never said I couldn’t talk.” He was still behind him wasn’t he? He was crouching in the freaking snow freezing his toes off. He should be allowed to talk to the glowing eye that had better not be a child living in the tree in the middle of winter!

Emile exhaled, before pulling off the string on the present, unwrapping the black and yellow sweater. “Remy and I made you this, Stitch. To help with the cold.” He said, holding it out in all its six-armed glory.

A soft gasp came from the tree as the yellow eye opened wide. “Me?”

“Yah, kiddo.” Emile said, nodding. “Can I help you put it on?”

The branches shifted, the yellow eye glancing to Remy before vanishing.

Sugarbee hadn’t been kidding when he said his friend was shy.

“C-cold.” The voice whispered from somewhere within the tree. “Meal. Safe?”

Remy fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, anger burning in his chest. They’d be out here all night at this rate. “Yah, honeysuckle, you’re safe. Let Emile put the sweater on you okay? I’ll stay right here.” There was no one else in the park. Who would leave a child out here alone! One that had apparently been out here for a while if previous conversations with Emile were anything to go by.

The branches didn’t move.

Perfect.

“Stitch.” Emile whispered, slowly lowering the sweater, stretching out a hand to the branches. “Please? You’re cold, let me help you this time.”

Remy frowned again, poking Emile in the back. “This time?”

Emile flinched. “He--ah...he hasn’t actually let me...touch him? Before. This is the closest I’ve gotten.”

Oh for the love of! Remy shot to his feet. “Gurl!”

The big guy was there, a plate sized hand on his chest holding him back and radiating heat like the sun, before he could take a step. “I said he was shy.” Emile said, eyes wide and pleading. “Don’t. Scare. Him.”

Ah huh. And in the process of not scaring him they were just going to have this mysterious friend freeze to death because there would be no way a simple sweater would help the kid survive the night! Remy growled trying to move around Emile, but it was like trying to move around a mountain. “The sound of that voice tells me that’s a child, Sugarbee. A FREAKING CHILD and you’re just letting him stay here.”

“He doesn’t trust humans!”

That pulled him up short. “Humans.” Remy repeated, lowering his sunglasses. “HUMANS? Is he not human, Emile?” If this was an actual real life Stitch then--then!!

Emile had the grace to look embarrassed. “I--I---uhh--”

Remy threw up his hands. He would burn that particular bridge when he got there, But right now, he needed to see this ‘not human’ child and make sure he was safe. Remy ducked under Emile’s arm, scooping up the sweater in the process. “Hey Stitcharoo.” He said crouching at the base of the tree branches, ignoring the frantic warnings hissing like a teapot behind him as he pulled off his sunglasses, hanging them from the collar of his jacket. “It’s gonna snow again, tonight. You know. Get colder? Freeze. And my buddy here is like this giant heating blanket and wants to keep you warm. You’ll like the warm. I promise it’s--”

He froze as a child’s pale hand, nearly tinged blue, popped out of the tree, visibly shaking as it poked his cheek before jerking back out of sight.

“It’s--it’s--I uhh Hi?” Remy stuttered out, brain trying to process what had just happened as he rubbed the spot the child had touched.

Surely. Surely, he hadn’t seen what he thought he’d seen. There hadn’t been glittering scales on that hand. No. No trick of the light. Maybe it was cosmetic? Part of a costume?

The branches rustled before two hands, two scaled covered left hands, parted them, revealing a child’s face half covered in scales, peering back at him. “Hi.” The kid said, eyes -one golden, one a regular brown- shifting to Emile as he knelt down next to Remy before focusing on Remy himself. “Safe?”

“I--” Remy blinked before nodding dumbly as a third hand, a right hand with no scales on the pale skin this time, reached out to Emile’s ginormous hand.

Suddenly Emile’s insistence that there needed to be six arms made a lot more sense. If Remy had already seen three hands, surely that could mean that there were three more still hidden out of sight.

“You’re safe.” Emile said, gently taking the boy’s hand and squeezing it.

The boy bit his lip before he surged forward straight into Emile’s chest. “Wa-warm.” He whispered, multiple hands gripping onto his coat as snow from the branches above showered down on top of them.

Remy tsked, quickly shaking off the white powder, heart pounding like a drum as he took in the ragged state of the kid’s clothes, the so called ‘sweater’ he currently wore was barely worth the name, only having two proper arms and four more holes in the sides for the--for the, Gee Manetti, the kid actually had six arms!!!! as Emile pulled open his tent of a jacket to wrap around the boy.

“I got you. I got you.” Emile soothed as he scooped Stitch--Remy really hoped that wasn’t his actual name--into his lap, getting his bare feet out of the snow.

The boy visibly shivered, tucking his toes -normal human toes beyond the left set being more scaled- into the crease between Emile’s shirt and pants.

Remy bit back a growl. No shoes. Barely any clothes. Some welcome to Earth this kid got. Just because he had six freaking arms didn’t mean that the boy deserved to be abandoned! Even Superman had had a willing farm couple to look after him!

“I hope you know he is not staying here.” Remy softly scolded, moving cautiously closer. Despite his misgivings about exposing the boy to the weather, he pulled Emile’s coat away so he could get his divine gift of a sweater onto the kid, a difficult feat as Stitch had practically glued himself against Emile’s side.

The boy made a sound of protest, but didn’t fight him, eyes barely open as he watched Remy finagle the sweater over the rags he currently wore.

It was pathetic. The boy was practically skin and bones! Remy could feel each individual rib as he tugged the fabric over him for crying out loud! Not to mention the arms themselves were practically sticks! This kid had been neglected for some time. It was--it was---Remy did growl. No one should have to live like this!

“If you aren’t taking him home with you, by golly I will bring him to my place.” He said, pulling each sleeve over the boy’s ice cold hands. “Crofters! Emile, he needs another three sweaters, new pants, socks, SHOES, mittens--no no gloves. Probably gloves. This isn’t RIGHT!” The boy was COLD. His scales were like ice. How he wasn’t dead yet from hypothermia or frostbite was a mystery but No Ma’am was the kid gonna spend another night out here. “He needs soup, hot chocolate, a warm water bottle, a heated blanket a--”

“I know.”

Remy jerked his head up at Emile’s quiet words. “Well. Good.” He pulled off his coat so he could slip his own sweater over his head and use it to create some temporary pants for the kid, until he could find something better. At least the boy had two normal legs so he could stuff one into each sleeve.

“Do--” Emile cleared his throat, keeping his eyes firmly on Stitch’s hair. “Do you...have a place for him?”

Remy blinked as he slipped his own coat back on. “Do I---of course I do--do you not?!” What had he been planning to do once he got the boy to trust him? Leave him here?

Emile flushed, ducking his head.

Okay. Okay. He took a calming breath as the boy dropped two of his hands down to grab one of Remy’s in a tight grip, golden eye practically glowing as it flickered between him and Emile. “Rephrase. Do you have a place to stay yourself, Em?”

“Not one safe for him.” Came the soft response. “I...it’s barely safe for me.”

Barely safe for a guy who could feasibly dead lift a car? Punch a hole in concrete? He’d have to unpack the meaning of that particular admission some other time. Right after he had time to process that this kid had six freaking arms and was either an actual alien or escaped mutant experiment of some sort.

“Right.” Remy exhaled, running his free hand through his hair. “Right. First. We get you both back to my place. Second. Get him warm and fed.” Maybe to a doctor--did he even know any doctors who could handle this?! “Third. Figure out living arrangements. Capiche?” Oh and Fourth. Figure out the boy’s actual name or give him a cooler one because no way would he be continuing to call him Stitch.

That was a simple enough list right? Just four things. Nothing complicated about that.

Emile blinked, adjusting his glasses. “But you don’t know me.”

Remy scoffed, squeezing the boy’s hands. Sure three days haraunanging the guy on how to properly thread a bobbin wasn’t a normal way to invite someone to be your roommate, but it wasn’t the worst way either. “I don’t know the kid either, Em. But I do know that he needs a home and if you need one too then you’ve got one with me.” The dude had a good heart. He’d been attempting to make a sweater instead of buying one and poking holes in it for crying out loud.

“I--uh--” Emile cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” At least not until he got them all out of the cold. Then they could talk.

The kid shivered again, tightening his grip on their hands. “Safe?” He whispered, resting his head against Emile’s chest, eyes flickering between them both.

Safe? There was no question about it. Not with another snowstorm coming. Not when Remy desperately itched to pull out all his extra fabric from his sewing closet to throw onto the kid just to give him a proper, better fitting outfit. “Of course, honeysuckle.” He said, pulling the tent of a coat that Emile wore back over the boy to protect him from the cold. “We’ll keep you safe.” He looked up, meeting Emile’s eyes, smirking as he found acceptance there. “We promise.”

#The Sweater #stillebesat #Emile Picani #Remy #Sleep #Janus #Deceit #extra limbs tw #child abandonment tw #Kid!Janus #Kid!Deceit #Stitch #Cartoon Therapy #Sanders Shorts #Sanders Sides #Sweater Verse

303 notes · View notes

mayeetjim · 3 years

Text

Meat is the backbone of American Society, and without the likes of Dr. Temple Grandin, America would not be the country it is. Ever since the invention of trains to bring cattle to the Eastern United States, citizens all across America eat meat, and it is the job of those who work in the industry to provide that comfort to the homes of many Americans. Although these people's work goes mostly unnoticed, it is a grueling task that requires much preparation, hard work, fluctuating temperatures, and a strong stomach to provide this service. It is not a task that just anyone can handle, and is one of the best examples of no job is an unskilled job. Even the dirtiest jobs need to be done, and these heroic workers fulfil this job daily with not a word of thanks.

The prime age of each animal changes with each species, depending on the time that the meat would be best. For chickens, their age can range from six weeks to one and a half years, while cows are typically slaughtered around the age of eighteen months. Lambs and pigs are taken younger, usually around seven months, and turkeys are at about seventeen weeks. At this age, the process begins with taking these animals from their pens to be checked for any diseases. One processing plant may use many different farms to raise animals, and each one needs to be checked for any diseases that could infect other animals or cause issues in the meat.

Once they have been cleared, animals are taken in small groups into the trucks uses to transport them. Many of these trucks can be found in and around Chattanooga, as there is in fact a chicken processing plant within the city. These trucks are identifiable by their silver outsides with many holes for ventilation. In the hot months of spring or summer, these are left as open as possible as to not overheat the animals, keeping water for the livestock to not become dehydrated. In colder times, these ventilations are covered, leaving a few open for air to circulate through, but the goal is to keep the animals as well cared for as possible. While entering and exiting these vehicles, the ramps and walkways must be non-slick, and are typically found with a layer of hay to reduce slips and falls of animals, as it can hurt the meat and is considered inhumane for the animals.

Once they have been transported to a holding facility, animals are corralled into holding pens. Most workers are advised to fill the pens to about seventy five percent capacity, which ensures room for the animals to lay and move around comfortably, as well as provide working space. Once again, they are moved in small groups, this helps the handlers keep better control and assure that the animals remain calm. They can use many tools in order to move the animals to different areas. These may include rattlers and plastic bags to cause noise, or soft boards and flags to gently push the animals into the correct direction.

During this stage in the process, animals must be allowed to rest for at least an hour, but some animals are recommended to have even longer resting periods. As example, lambs are recommended two to four hours, but cows are recommended anywhere from twenty four to forty eight hours. During their resting period, all animals are required to have clean water available, and it is often found in walkways and paths that the animals take to go into the resting areas. If an animal is held for more than twenty four hours, they are required to be provided food. This helps ensure the animals quality of life is high and they are required to not know they are going to be slaughtered. This often means guards are created, solid barriers that prevent the animals from seeing any humans they may be running towards, reducing the stress.

The next step begins with corralling small groups of the animal into different conveyors. This differs for each animal, for example, a cow will go into a cow restrainer, while a sheep or pig may go into a v conveyor. Poultry are taken and put into shackles and hung upside down on a rail system, all with care as to not cause pain or damage to the animals. These last five minutes are critical in ensuring good meat, and any fighting back or tension in the animals can result in tougher meat. They will travel in these to a step known as stunning, in which the animal will be rendered insensible.

There are a variety of ways to do this stunning, but the three most common are CO2 atmosphere changes, electrical shock, and bolt guns. The first type, CO2 atmosphere changes, is mostly used on poultry such as chickens and turkeys as well as pigs. Chickens are the most attuned to changes, and thus their atmospheric change must happen slowly, and while turkeys can go faster than chickens, it's still not as fast as the pigs, who can be suddenly dropped into a co2 based atmosphere and have little to no fight. This puts them in a state similar to anestesia, and is a simple way to go about this, causing little to no movement after stunning. Electrical shock is also common, used on pigs and sheep, sometimes used for turkeys in an electric bath. Sheep are hosed down for this, as wool is a known insulator, and thus can be harmful to the animal. This method delivers a quick, painless shock to both the brain and heart simultaneously, creating a forced eptileptic seizure in the animal, causing a forced shutdown of the brain. This and the next method both shut down the brain, which makes the walking tracks in the spinal cord go haywire, which is why many animals may seem to still be kicking after the next step, but they are not able to comprehend anything, including pain or fear. Finally there is the bolt gun. Used as many a horror media’s weapon, such as the episode of The Magnus Archives entitled The Killing Floor, the bolt gun fires a steel bolt into the head of the animal, creating irreversible brain damage and rendering the animal unresponsive. This is typically used in cattle, but is also found along the bleeding floor, in case an inspection reveals an extremely rare case of an animal not succumbing to the other two options. An animal is not allowed to pass the bleeding station conscious, and thus must be rendered unconscious by a handheld bolt gun, also known as a captive bolt gun.

The next station is where it gets real, so readers discretion is advised. Once the animal has been stunned, they have a shackle wrapped around a leg and are hung head down, where the throat is sliced. This position allows the blood to flow from the animal onto the floor or catching area, which prevents contamination of the meat. The blood is removed as much as possible to avoid blood going everywhere during the skinning and organ removal process, as well as to help reduce meat contamination. It is a rather gorey sight to behold, so most people do not recommend going to look for photographic evidence.

Once the blood is mostly gone, pigs and poultry are placed in the scalder, which is a hot bather bath that helps to loosen hair and feathers from the skin. The conveyor drags the cracasses through the water and then into a machine. For pigs, this machine is the dehairing machine. Within this machine, pigs are tumbled about, removing hair from the skin, leaving them as smooth as one would see in cartoons. Poultry however would be put into a machine with tiny rubber fingers, which help to pull and remove the feathers from the skin. Many birds and such will be sent out with the skin still on, causing the need for all the feathers to be removed. Sometimes the machine misses some feathers, causing a need for a worker to check the birds as they exit the machine. Once through these machines, the pigs go into the searer, which helps to remove any bacteria and remaining hair on the body.

While this happens to pigs and birds, cattle and sheep have a different approach. The cows have their hides removed, and are then moved along the railway to organ removal. Sheep have their organs removed before their wool, which is removed via a special machine that pulls the wool away from the meat so as to not contaminate it. Pigs and birds get to skin the skinning step, but their organs are also removed at this point, which does not seem like the best job to have. It is vital that these organs are removed without injury to them, as it could contaminate the meat if any of the insides were in contact with the meat. In many cases, factory workers will use a special machine in order to vacuum out the feces, as an extra precaution.

At this point, the meat is put into chillers, also known as giant freezers. The meat is sorted by grade, and in some cases hardly looks like an animal that was alive mere hours ago. It is sorted not only by grade, but also by size. This is judged by cameras that take pictures of the hide and gutless carcasses, which check for impurities as well as telling the grade. This meat will later be moved and cut into smaller pieces to sell to large scale customers, but only after chilling anywhere from one to two days.

The meat industry is larger than most people imagine, producing more than 9.6 billion pounds of meat in 2012, and is the largest section of United States agriculture. The average American is recommended to eat about 5.7 ounces of meat a day, and the meat industry is there to help achieve that goal. There are many fears on whether this industry is sustainable or not, and people are working hard to address these concerns and help reduce the environmental impact that comes from these plants. Just because they deal in living organisms does not mean there is no danger to the environment, and people are rightfully concerned. Thanks to the work of Dr. Temple Grandin, many meat processing plants are taking the same steps to ensure their environmental footprint is growing smaller, and making sure the work they do is helpful to all humans and painless and fearless for the animal.

#yall asked for it #tw death #tw animal death #tw meat industry #idk what else to tag #the meat industry #real life avatar of the flesh i guess

8 notes · View notes

stina-is-a-punk-rocker · 3 years

Text

'birds of prey': a cinematic masterpiece

It's been a little over a year since Birds of Prey came out, a couple of months since I watched in on a whim, and I'm still not over this film.

Too many men people get pressed whenever you say you like this movie. "It's objectively bad," they say. "It's campy. It's too divergent from the canon. It's SJW propaganda."

Who gives a fuck, Richard? Who gives a single flying fuck?

I'll preface this by saying, my knowledge of the DCU is flimsy, at best. I've watched a couple of movies. My mum used to watch Smallville. I watched the pilot episode of Gotham. And I know enough about it to get the few references sprinkled in other media. But I draw a complete blank when it comes to the comics. So the canon of the comics had no effect on my enjoyment of the movie. Which I did. A lot.

I walked in blind when I watched Birds of Prey for the first time. I was unaware of the controversy surrounding it, and the only reason I even gave it the time of day was because I was bored.

I watched Suicide Squad circa 2016, and positively abhorred it- the only good thing about it was the soundtrack (the best songs are always wasted on the worst movies. Case in point: Twilight). And the not-so-casual misogyny was just... Yikes.

And then, we got Birds of Prey.

Since watching the film, I did a bit of research (see: Googling 'birds of prey movie reviews' and clicking on the first few results that popped up). The response was mixed- which honestly came as a surprise, since I thought it was great, and mine is the only opinion that holds weight.

I've read and watched a lot of those reviews. I watched the CinemaSins video. I watched the CinemaWins video, because CinemaSins has taken a major nosedive since I first started watching them.

Were all the negative reviews not-so-subtly indicative of the (predominantly male) critics' misogyny? I dunno; how did they talk about similar male-centered action films? I don't think it's fair to scream, "SEXIST!" just because someone didn't like the movie. Critics hated Venom (which was admittedly pretty meh. I still enjoyed it, though), but it was still pretty well-received by viewers.

I saw one review say that Birds of Prey was 'for the birds'... I'll let you unpack that yourself.

And yet, though I try to keep an open mind, I find it unfathomable how anyone can dislike Birds of Prey.

One of my favorite parts about the movie was the female gaze present throughout its entirety. I've seen people bring up the obvious change in Harley's costume- which I'm a bit iffy about, to be honest. Don't get me wrong- I love her choppy bangs and fun pigtails and the whole fluffy top thing she's got going on, but a whole lot of the critique towards her getup in Suicide Squad comes off a tad too slut-shamey (that isn't a word? Well, it is now).

Her outfit wasn't the issue. It's how she was framed.

In Suicide Squad, we get loads of shots of men leering at Harley, and a little too much emphasis on her breasts and arse in almost every scene she's in. As opposed to Birds of Prey, where Harley's still sexy (I'm seriously concerned for the straight men who found Harley unattractive in this film... You good, Pete?), but we focus on her face instead.

That part where Harley gives Canary a hair tie in the middle of a fight scene? Brilliant.

The characters have depth (a lot of reviews disagree with me. Well, what do I know? I am but a lowly STEM student). One of my favorites was Canary (and not just because I found her insanely attractive)- I love, love, love her arc in the film.

I've seen people complain that the villain didn't really get all villainy until towards the end of the film; which, if Sionis had to put on the mask for you to finally see him as the bad guy, then you've clearly missed most of the film. He's literally introduced while he's peeling the skin off of someone's face. Not to mention that one particular scene at the club- I won't go into too much detail, because it could be triggering to a lot of people- but it chilled me to the bone.

Following up with the villains: "All the men are bad guys," they say. "The whole film is feminist propaganda," they say.

And me posting this on International Women's Day is a bit on-the-nose, I'll admit, but this particular critique bothers me. Because those men aren't unrealistic. They aren't caricatures of men in the real world. We all know men just like them. A lot of them hit a little too close to home for me.

I've seen people complain that women touting the film as feminist turned them off from it- which, I dunno about you, but seems problematic to me on so many levels. Sure, not everything has to have a political agenda, but it's hardly like Harley & Co. scream, "GIRL POWER!" every three minutes.

(Also: it's funny how way more people get mad about poorly executed feminism than actual issues a lot of women in the world face, but that's a topic for another day.)

The diversity was just- wow. Getting not only one but FOUR Asian characters with lines? Hollywood, am I dreaming? The LGBTQ+ representation (not going into Sionis and Zsasz being queer coded)? Holy shit, yes! Maybe I'm getting too excited about this- Hollywood's a lot kinder to us minorities as of late- but it still fills me with joy whenever I see people like me onscreen.

Another complaint that springs up with regards to Birds of Prey is the skewed order in which Harley narrates the events. Which is kind of one of her defining traits- she's an unreliable narrator. And she makes it pretty obvious (this video explains it better than I can). The cartooned beginning was engaging, as corny as some of it was (loved the style, too).

The fight scenes were thrilling to watch. Not a single minute passed by where I was bored (my eyes usually glaze over during prolonged action scenes in films, which did not happen in this case). The comedy was well-timed and bold; the cartoonishness added to its charm.

And this is probably not even significant, but I adored the color scheme. I loved the bright, shocking colors; the emphasis on the pinks, reds and blacks.

And, finally, how could I go without mentioning the soundtrack? It was divine- I listen to the Birds of Prey album on Spotify almost every day; Lonely Gun and Experiment On Me are among my most-played songs, and the rest of the music is just as delightful.

In conclusion: go watch Birds of Prey if you haven't already. It's the closest thing to a spiritual experience I had last year.

#birds of prey #harley quinn #suicide squad #movie #movie review #dc comics #dcu #feminism #international womens day #women #action #margot robbie #joker #canary #huntress #feminist

28 notes · View notes

reineyday · 4 years

Text

geraskier zoom conference hc's based on that 'and they were video conferencing' post

(this has turned into a fic in point-form oops; also it's more pre-slash 'cuz this quarantine is ongoing and i don't have any specific ideas about how a relationship discussion would go or be handled over zoom haha)

it starts as a group conference call between yennefer and triss and jaskier and geralt probably because yen and triss and geralt run some sort of small business and they need jaskier for something artistic probably (he's a freelancer)

let's say they have some sort of start-up to do with children's education somehow, inspired by ciri, and they want to start a small educational web series and they want music in each episode and so hire jaskier as a composer

geralt is in charge of episode content because this web series is gonna be about mythology and he has a masters in it and has done a fair amount of traveling for it (and lowkey has been learning about different kinds of myrhs and legends and heroes and monsters all his life alongside swordfighting thanks vesemir)

ANYWAYS at first they just talk about work: geralt knows which myths he wants to talk about and how, but can't quite come up with a good narrative because he has a bad tendency to ramble on about very precise specific details that get boring, and he also doesnt know how to set the tone for children despite having one himself

jaskier suggests they make the show centre around a hero that is a witcher who goes off on adventures meeting all these creatures, and jaskier already has some fun ideas for songs

jaskier thinks geralt isnt very forthcoming but he's clearly interested in the project and there's excitement in his eyes when he says ciri will like something they write together

geralt also gets kind of moody about inaccuracies (like a nerd 'cuz he is one lol), and jaskier thinks it's funny and likes to pull his leg by saying they should just change this detail or that detail and that he's allowed bc he's the composer and he's taking creative liberties

about three zoom meetings in, they decide the witcher should have a horse and jaskier says they should give it a name and geralt says "roach" and jaskier laughs and asks about cockroaches and geralt looks... petulant??? and says there are fish called roach too and he meant the fish, and jaskier feels fond and relents and says yes fine the horse's name is "roach"

the next video call they have, they start talking again about work and jaskier's trying not to focus too much on the fact that geralt has shown up with his hair braided but goodness it makes him look softer with the way it pulls back and some strands of hair escape to frame his face

geralt eventually notices and hmms his questioning hmm (and when did jaskier start distinguishing the difference?) and when jask asks about the braid, geralt's face goes EVEN SOFTER and says ciri can't practice braiding on her friends' hair at school anymore so she practices with him and jaskier's like "well fuck that's it this is it ive never even seen him in person but here we are this is a crush oh shit"

the first time geralt laughs is because in one of their meetings, jaskier decided he was gonna be chill and wear a work shirt but just his boxers with stupid cartoon pizzas on them, amd he feels so comfortsble he forgets he's just wesring his underwrar 'till he gets up to grab his acoustic guitar and geralt sounds like he was startled into laughter and yeah, that's right, he's wearing stupid boxers and he flushes but geralt looks pretty amused and jaskier did that so he's not too embarrassed

halfway through the session after that, where jaskier has given up on slightly professional looking clothes but has committed to wearing something over his boxers at all times, he hears some barking and he sees a german shepherd's nose enter the bottom of the frame by geralt's arm

jaskier is obviously like YOU HAVE A DOG and geralt explains ciri usually plays with him during their meetings but they decided to go earlier that day and when jaskier asks what the dog's name is, geralt pauses and looks a cross between irritated and embarassed and then says "roach"

jaskier laughs and laughs and geralt just looks on stoically and it's not on his mouth but jaskier can see the pout in his eyes, but after he's done laughing, all he says is, "like the fish" and geralt smiles a tiny smile and shakes his head and jaskier's a goner, truly

one day, jaskier is caught on trying to find the perfect wording and chord progression for one of the episodes, and focuses on his guitar and keyboard for a while as he toys with this key and that rhyme, and when he looks up, geralt is in a kitchen putting on tea and mixing something in a pot and it's an hour past when they usually hang up

"you could have stopped me, you know?" jaskier asks, but geralt looks at him and hmms and jaskier feels all warm goddammit

he tells jaskier to go take a break and jaskier obliges and brings his laptop to his kitchen and they kind of just have tea together for twenty minutes before something dings and geralt has to go 'cuz it's dinner time for him and ciri

the next meeting, geralt shows up and his daughter's there in the background and she has hair like geralt's and a sunshine personality the complete opposite of geralt (though they both give off disintguished kinds of vibes)

jaskier is charmed; she's a great cheerleader and a wonderful person to run ideas by especially considering she's the target age group for their show, and when she makes a comment about how she wishes she could play the ukulele she got as a gift two years ago, jaskier brightens up and says he can teach her

now jaskier zoom calls a little earlier so ciri can have a short ukulele lesson before his work meeting with geralt, and it's so nice whenever he hears ciri practicing off to the side or roach barking from out of the frame and jaskier wonders what it would be like to truly be in the house with them

the next meeting after, they go a bit too long again bc they were arguing (well, jaslier was actually pulling geralt's leg some more, to be honest, but he can't help it if that's how he flirts), and ciri shows up and says it's time for food and when jaskier says he'll leave them to it, ciri suggests he just stay on amd they can eat together

geralt doesn't immediately say no and actually seems to be waiting for jaskier's answer so jaskier says yeah okay, and he grabs some food and they all have dinner together and they get to talking and jakier and ciri bond over disney movies and ciri says she wants to watch them together the three of them and yennefer and triss

the watch party happens and over zoom yennefer seems deeply amused the entire time and triss keeps giggling and geralt seems extra annoyed for some reason but jaskier enjoys himself and sings along to the movie and he tries not to imagine sitting right next to geralt on his couch on the side not occupied by his daughter

jaskier wakes up with a headache very close to their meeting time one day, and kind of just opens his laptop while he's lying in bed and opens the window to wait for geralt to start the meeting while he reaches over to get his ukulele 'cuz it's the closest instrument to his bed and the easiest on his brain when it's pounding like this

when he settles back against his headbkard and pillows once more, geralt is looking at him with a frown and asks if he's feeling okay, to which jaskier replies he's fine it's not covid he just gets headaches every now and then and it sucks but he can still compose (and he shakes his lil uke at the camera)

geralt says no he should sleep and when jaskier pouts he says he's going to sit here and wait for jaskier to put down the damn ukulele and drink some water and eat a granola bar and then tuck himself back into bed and he looks all fierce about it while he says it and how can jaskier not lug his laptop around while he does these things and fall a little more in love

eventually it becomes totally normal for jaskier to just hang out for long stretches of time, whether or not they talk about their witcher web series, and they cook together and hang out in their pajamas and jaskier and ciri have their music lessons and their disney nights and geralt even starts getting him to work out during some of their work breaks by doing 8 minuts abs

(jaskier was pretty adamant about not exercising but said he's do it just the one time but after 8 minutes of pain, geralt was flushed and kind of sweaty and said he needed to chamge his shirt anf then just took it off right there on the camera before he walked out frame to grab a new one and jaskier had to rush to pick his jaw off the floor before going to change out of his own sweaty clothes and yeah so he does 8 minute abs with geralt sometimes now)

once, geralt sends him a zoom link for a meeting at 2am on a night when jaskier can't fall asleep (his sleeping schedule's been so fucked since quarantine started) and when jaskier joins him, he looks like hell and he apologizes but when jaskier says he probably won't sleep for another three hours anyways, geralt looks the tiniest bit grateful and asks if they can work so they do, and if jaskier writes a song that's a little more like a lullabye dyring their meeting, and feels like his heart is about to burst when geralt, who'd moved from his desk to his couch, nods off while jaskier softly sings to him, well... jaskier doesn't know what to do with himself after he makes sure geralt is properly sleeping and then leaves the zoom meeting

they work and work and really get to know each other and then, all of a sudden, there are no more songs to be written for their witcher series and jaskier says "that's the last song, i think" and geralt hmms but neither of them hangs up

jaskier bites his lip and says, "i'll see you at the team meeting we'll have with yennefer and triss to wrap up my contract, i guess?"

and geralt says, "you should add me on facebook; we should keep in touch for future projects"

jaskier tries not to feel too bummed out because this is still a connection point and also yay more creative projects with the hot man he is probably definitely in love with and also potentially more money! but he's still a little bummed and then he decides if he's going to feel bummed he should at least do something about it and he says, "i will! you know facebook has video chat too"

and geralt hmms again but there's definitely a smile, and it's even an actual smile! "im aware," he says, and then before he hangs up the zoom call he looks stern and adds, "dont forget about ciri's ukulele lessons" and honestly jaskier wasn't expecting to continue with them but he's relieved they can still keep doing those

he shoots geralt that friend request and sates the need to scroll down his wall by going through geralt's past previous profile photos instead (they're usually of him and ciri and they're adorable)

and then, delight of delights, the next day around when they usually have their meeting, there's a video chat request from one geralt of rivia coming through facebook, and even more delightful: geralt's clearly on his phone and he only waits on the screen long enough to make sure jaskier's there and to give him a quirked eyebrow and a trademark hmm before he turns the camera around and jaskier is treated to an outside view and a walk with geralt and roach via mobile

and thus geralt becomes a fixture of his every day life

#geraskier #rei writes #rei rambles #geralt #geralt of rivia #jaskier #julian alfred pankratz #long post

304 notes · View notes

charmandhex · 4 years

Text

A TOTALLY UNOFFICIAL AND VERY MUCH NOT SANCTIONED BY NBC OPENING SCENE FOR AN AS OF YET NONEXISTENT PILOT OF THE ADVENTURE ZONE: BALANCE ANIMATED SHOW THAT I AM 100% NOT GETTING PAID FOR

Credit to: the McElboys

No credit to: me, Charm H. Adventurezone, sleep deprived [job title redacted] and overly ambitious fic writer

[Our opening shot is of the world of Abeir-Toril (or whatever the fuck we’re going to call it to avoid copyright issues idk that redacted job title up there sure isn’t lawyer) as it drifts through the Prime Material Plane. From here, we can see little but clouds, water, and land masses. One regular-sized moon orbiting the world drifts into view. If you look closely, but you’re only looking closely because you’re a nerd who knows what to look for, you can see a much, much smaller moon -THAT’S NO MOON got there first Clint what now- drifts over a massive, still lake and a brightly colored spot that we might know to be Neverwinter, wait- Eversummer, hm, that was graphic novel, but can we use that there?- KINDASPRING there we go. The initial shot is quiet, for a moment, before seven notes -yes those ones folks- ring out.]

GRIFFIN [audio only]: I can guess what you’re probably all expecting. Some big, dramatic speech to match the big, dramatic intro we’ve got going on here. [As Griffin talks, we start to zoom in on a continent conveniently labeled NOT-FAERUN. We fly by our much smaller moon, but not close enough to see anything of interest – yet. We see Kindaspring, all busy and fantasy and so on. We catch a glimpse of a city buried in the shadow of a mountain range, with a bunch of dudes who all look the same. A city on a cliff, a shining gold monument in the center and trails of dust on a track around the city. Canyons, and a dash of pearlescent color just for a moment. Blink and you miss it, and a flash of a black and white tent in the woods near Kindaspring. You get the picture.] But, fact of the matter is, folks, we kinda blew all the budget on this one shot! Completely boned it in the first two seconds! So, let’s get right into it and roll some fuckin’ initiative- oh, can I say fuck? Are we allowed to do that, here on NBC Peacock? Shit, I’m going to completely bone our cussing budget too- anyway! Let’s roll some initiative and meet our heroes.

[Zoom in on wagon on road outside Kindaspring. It’s not a very impressive wagon. There are patches on the canvas. The wheels are all creaky and bouncy over the dirt road. The horses look like they could use a nap. There are stink lines, y’all. The road, meanwhile, is pretty well-used. There are ruts, and the sides of the road run clean and even. It’s surrounded by woods, and we’re far enough out of Kindaspring to not get any noise from the city, nor close enough to our destination to even get a hint of whatever the fuck I’m going to have to call Phandalin that isn’t Phandalin.

But back to our characters. Right now, only one is visible, a buff human man, like super buff, no you don’t understand animators, he must be a brick shithouse of a man, he’s very sensitive about this. He has massive muscles and massive sideburns, and he looks way too happy to be driving this wagon. You just know the vehicle proficiency jokes are coming. Cartoon GRIFFIN pops up in the corner of the screen, looking unimpressed.]

GRIFFIN: …Well, maybe not heroes. Three… boys. Three very messy, very murder hobo, very horny boys. [A beat.] Tres horny boys, if you will. So, uh, first up is-

MAGNUS [aware of Griffin and waving at everyone- listen, fourth wall breaks are kinda a thing for me, folks]: I’m Magnus Burnsides, human fighter! [Stat card for Magnus pops up on the side. There’s a not very flattering picture with it.] Also… [with the wagon reigns in hand, he starts counting off on his fingers, concentrating] Uh, master carpenter, man of action, rush into battle- oh, and I’m from Raven’s Roost, and-

[The canvas flaps blow open behind MAGNUS, and MAGNUS’S stat card disappears with a pop and a tiny bit of white smoke. TAAKO steps out, already exasperated and swinging a hand, colliding with MAGNUS’S head and pushing it to the side.]

TAAKO: Yeah, save the backstory for like… 40 more episodes, my dude. We don’t have time for that shit right now.

GRIFFIN: O-kay, guess we’re just gonna assume we can swear whenever we want.

[As GRIFFIN is talking, TAAKO stops pushing on MAGNUS’S head.]

TAAKO [triumphant, shouting]: FUCK!

[Flock of birds flies out of the trees.]

GRIFFIN: So this is Taako, the elf wizard [TAAKO’S stat card pops up. Much more flattering picture.] and-

TAAKO: That’s Taako, you know, from… podcast, elf wizard and baller chef, yes, thank you, very much. AND very, very beautiful. [TAAKO does a hair flip. There are sparkles and magical sounds.] And very, very bored. [TAAKO’S stat card disappears.] How far away is this fuckin’ town? What’s it called again?

MAGNUS [shrugging]: Beats me. [To GRIFFIN] Did we come up with a name that doesn’t violate copyright?

GRIFFIN [evading the question, because I still am]: Aaaaaaaaaaaaand last but not least, Merle Highchurch. [A beat. GRIFFIN sighs.] Merle, that’s your cue.

MERLE [inside the tent]: Wha? Somebody say my name? [Canvas flaps rustle rustle rustle. MERLE’S face pops out, looking around owlishly. He also steps out to the front of the wagon.]

MAGNUS [now very crowded and still trying to drive]: You missed your cue, old man.

MERLE [indignant]: I was busy studying my cantrips!

TAAKO and MAGNUS [in unison]: Gross!

MERLE: No, not like-

GRIFFIN [interrupting]: And Merle is a cleric! [MERLE’S stat card pops up. The picture was taken too high, so we can only see MERLE’S hair and forehead.]

MERLE: I’m a what now?

GRIFFIN [overly enthusiastic, it’s a bit now, folks]: Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar, clerics are kind of a support class magic user. They can cast things like buffs-

MERLE: Huh?

GRIFFIN [still overly enthusiastic]: and heal their party members-

MERLE: I can do that?

GRIFFIN: Clerics also serve gods, and Merle’s god is Mort-

MERLE [indignant again]: Hang on! That doesn’t sound right!

GRIFFIN [pushing out of his little bubble and leaning into the scene]: Then who is your god?

MERLE: Uh… Pan! [MERLE pulls out the Extreme Teen Bible.] See? Pan!

MAGNUS [whispering to TAAKO]: Okay, I guess this is how we’re resolving that whole thing. [TAAKO shrugs. MERLE is smiling. It’s adorable, like those little smiles Carey Pietsch does I love them so much, y’all.]

GRIFFIN: So, Magnus, Taako, Merle. Off on an adventure of epic proportions. [GRIFFIN is getting excited.] Full of action and danger and goofs and found family and-

MAGNUS: Now hold on! Epic proportions? Epic? [MAGNUS waves a hand around at the generally pretty chill woods, the boring road, and the stink lines wagon.]

TAAKO: Yeah, so far this is snoozeville, population, uh, me and these two chucklefucks.

MERLE [peering at GRIFFIN]: you sure you got the right dnd party, bud?

GRIFFIN [looking at audience]: We’re still negotiating contracts, so I’m filling in for, uh… someone. So for now, hey, I’m Griffin McElroy, your Dungeon Master, your best friend, and your announcer for this pilot episode. Ahem. [GRIFFIN clears his throat.] Grab your shields and ready your spell slots. Strap in your asses and… really, just strap in your asses. And, for the very first time, welcome to the animated version of… THE ADVENTURE ZONE!

[Title card and Mort Garson’s “Déjà Vu” plays. All my ideas went into dialogue, folks. Fan artists, this one’s all yours.]

[We pop back into the same scene as before.]

MAGNUS: Yeah, so, uh, like we were saying, before, uh, whatever that was, what we’re doing now is-

TAAKO [interrupting]: Hold on! We are not, I repeat, not doing some dumb recap where we explain this boring job... unless…

MAGNUS, MERLE, and GRIFFIN [all have gone laser eye meme]: UNLESS?

TAAKO [singing]: Flashback sequence!

[There’s a loud POP! as the scene shifts, and we’re now in your standard fantasy tavern. There’s a table with four chairs right in front of us, all of which are empty. The tavern acts as a backdrop behind that, illustrating just how fantasy this world is. We see humans and elves and dwarves yes, because we’ve already seen them, but also Gnomes and tieflings and haflings and orcs and Genasi and aarakocra (try spelling that one, folks ;) I’m sure that won’t come up later) and so on and so forth.

There’s another POP! as GRIFFIN’S window reappears in the upper right corner. He looks slightly ruffled.]

GRIFFIN [straightening his hair and glasses]: Wow, that is going to take some getting used to. Anyway, the boys should be here in a second, and-

[Three more pops as MAGNUS, TAAKO, and MERLE appear in three of the four seats at the table. MERLE lands upside down. He immediately starts struggling to right himself]

MAGNUS [looking at the empty chair and frowning]: Wait, what was the name of the guy we were meeting again? Gumdrop?

TAAKO: Hm… Gurgle? Guava? Gumbo?

MERLE [having finally righted himself]: No! My cousin, uh… um… oh, that’s right, Gundren!

[As MERLE says GUNDREN, another pop as GUNDREN pops into existence in the chair. He looks like if you put MERLE through a grinder, not like we’re gonna run into one of those in an episode or two, right, fellas?

Nasty boy that he is, GUNDREN lets out a grunt and then spits on the floor. People have to clean that, GUNDREN! This is why you- (SPOILERS REDACTED)- anyway.]

GUNDREN: So, like I was saying, boys. You take my wagon from here in Kindaspring down the road to Mandolin-

TAAKO: Oh, that’s what we’re calling it?

MERLE: I thought that was another TV show?

[Up in the corner, GRIFFIN shrugs.]

GUNDREN: Uh… yes? That’s… what it’s called? [GUNDREN looks suspiciously at them. It seems like he’d give the job to someone else in an instant, if literally anyone else would take the job. But magically, he’s stuck with these boys.] But, uh, you get my wagon and my goods to Mandolin, and I’ll let you in on the next job. And that job, boys… [GUNDREN laughs. It sounds like if you threw rocks in a blender.] That’s the kinda job that will be the last job you ever need to take.

MAGNUS [cheerfully]: Well, that sounds murdery!

[There’s a loud POP! and we’re back on the wagon again, all of our boys already in place.]

GRIFFIN [shrugging, smiling]: Guess you’re going to find out! Oh, and boys… let’s roll initiative.

#taz #taz balance #the adventure zone #mcelroy family #mcelboys #charm works #this is basically a glorified overly long shitpost and the level of editing that went into this reflects that #PLEASE HIRE ME MCELROYS

60 notes · View notes

jeonjeonggukenergy · 4 years

Text

Anti-Hero

summary ~ in search of wine at a party that’s so not your scene, you run into jungkook, the weeb from your film class, and become determined to learn just how much he lives up to his big reputation.

pairing ~ jungkook x reader

genre ~ fluff, smut (coming in ch3!) - college!au

wordcount ~ 2.3k

warnings ~ pretty much n/a, mentions of drinking and light smut

a/n ~ v excited for these lil dorks! i thought about combining this with the upcoming chapter but it felt right on its own and i wanted to go ahead and post an update for yall haha. ch 3 will most definitely have some serious smut to look forward to 👀 thank yall for reading, i love and appreciate any form of support or feedback so so much, so feel free to msg me or send me an ask abt whatever you want! 🥰 hope u enjoy this chapter!!!

previous: chapter 1 ~ next: chapter 3 | chapter 4 (coming soon!)

~ read on ao3 ~

CHAPTER 2 ~ cowboy bebop & chill

You couldn't stop thinking about Jungkook. Every time you brought the enamel of your favorite mug to your lips, teeth knocking the rim as you exhaled to cool off your tea, it called back the click of his earrings in your mouth. Whenever you reached behind your ear to tuck away the hair you'd impulsively cropped to your chin this year, it hit the same spot you'd sucked into a bruise on his neck and you shivered. Even your slight headache thanks to the shitty vodka from the pregame reminded you of the wine you'd sought out from him in the first place and never fucking got to drink.

You found yourself reading over your responses to each other's discussion posts from your film class, trying to find any more justification for this sudden crush than the drunken flirtation that mortified you as soon as you remembered it sober. He did seem to like your directness...but you could easily ascribe that to his similarly loosened-up state. Scanning through your reflections on The Shawshank Redemption and Casablanca, you painstakingly overanalyzed every smiley face and "I loved that part too!" Could he have been into you at all before this? Or had he just eyed you for another quick fuck at a party? Shit, what if he hated you for working him up and then leaving? If he wanted to, you knew he would have easily found someone else to finish the night with. But what if he still held it against you? The image of him bitterly turning aside to find another girl in the crowd, with your hickey still fresh on his jaw, turned your stomach more than you wanted to admit.

Shaking your head with a grounding exhale, you reminded yourself that whoever else he did or didn't hook up with was none of your business. Plus, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and probably didn't hate you in the first place. Wow, the bar really was so fucking low. Maybe that was part of the reason you were never that bold with boys. Every classmate you'd fallen for so far at college had remained innocently unaware of your feelings, likely because you never worked up the courage to clearly express them. You hadn't even been trying this time, though—this semester had been so busy you'd barely had time for your friends, much less crushes. And now your one blowoff class had become your biggest distraction.

Jungkook, a communications & media major, couldn't afford to lose as much focus in this class as you. Normally near front-and-center, he sat all the way in the corner of the last row, wary of imaginary stares burning through the hopefully-opaque-enough curtain of his hair. Even the risk of zoning out staring at the back of your head stressed him out less than the thought of you doing the same to him.

You walked into class through the back right entrance today so you'd pass Jungkook in the front row, though you could have gone straight to your usual left-side seat from the main door. Knowing you'd never summon the courage to talk to him, you still couldn't help wanting to see his face. You didn't know just what you were looking for—some kind of confirmation or dismissal that would let you just move on with your dry-ass life—but any reason to catch a glimpse of Jungkook was a good one. Today, though, he sat far closer to the entrance than you'd expected, and his proximity stopped you in your tracks a few feet behind him. Eyes dragging down the sculpted form under his soft black sweatsuit, your stare traced the veins in his forearms to reach the hands in his lap. Catching a half-page cartoon ass in your view of the manga he gazed at intently, a snort-laugh escaped you, the sound setting him on high alert. He snapped the book shut, spinning around with eyes wide and still-long hair an understandable mess for a Monday.

"I'm so—"

"I'm so sorry!"

You both shoved out the words at the same time.

A pause swelled between you, eye contact maintained as your mouths fluttered open and shut like fish. Even awkward and off-guard like this, he was just so damn pretty. It felt unreasonable for him to seem as flustered around you as you were around him. Finally, you spoke again, solely to force the conversation forward and put you both out of your misery.

"W-what do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who, like—ugh, I was drunk, I'm so sorry, I never would have been so, yknow, if I was sober, like that's not me I promise, I really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or—"

"No-no-no-no-no!" Jungkook cut you off, dismissing your barely intelligible apology. Before you could cut him off in return and continue, he held up both hands between you, his eyebrows knit together in a pleading expression. "Are you kidding me? Seriously, I feel so bad, I was kind of drunk too, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable! Please, you have nothing to worry about, it was, uh...I was...good...if...you were." He grew shyer as he continued, drifting off as a hand reached back to rub his neck. A light laugh. "You did make me have to keep my hair long for another few days, though. It's gotten so annoying to take care of, I was planning on cutting it right after the costume."

This admission perked up all your earlier curiosities about him, and a cautious smile spread over your face as Jungkook unconsciously reminded you that he was, in fact, a total dork, rather than the fuckboy you'd irrationally feared him to be.

"Wait, hold up," you snorted again. Gently. "You're telling me you grew out your hair for three, maybe four, months...for a Cowboy Bebop costume?"

"Hey, it was free and way less lame than a wig," he defended himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, he fidgeted uncomfortably, face blushing into a grin as you continued to giggle at him.

"You are such a fucking weeb," you accused lightheartedly.

Jungkook furrowed his brows back together, an anxious hand grazing the spot where you'd marked him again. "Well, you recognized my Spike costume, at least," he pouted. "You're not all innocent."

"I watched one episode with my friend, and it was dubbed," you downplayed. "Isn't watching dubs instead of subs a crime for real anime fans?"

"Actually," his eyes lit up at your rhetorical question. "The dub of Cowboy Bebop is excellent. It's pretty universally considered better than watching the OG with subs. You're right though, that is the general rule."

"Oh man, who knew." Looking down, grinning, you tried to hide how endeared you were by his earnestness. "Well, it was pretty cool, not gonna lie. I guess I kind of get the appeal."

"Would you want to start watching the rest sometime? That's one I just never get tired of," he blurted, then blushed, closing his mouth and working his lips between his teeth as his eyes stayed wide and on you. Jungkook's heart accelerated in his chest, a fist opening and closing at his hip as he tried to decide whether he regretted taking a chance on the question.

You instantly diverted all your mental energy from hoping he couldn't sense your attraction to massively overthinking your response. This was a "Netflix and chill" kind of invite, right? If he wanted you, of course you wanted him, but you had to be sure before you did something else stupid and risked having to find another discussion board buddy.

"Um...yeah, sure," you accepted. "I have to ask, though, do you mean, like...Cowboy Bebop and chill?" You raised an eyebrow, trying to look bolder than you felt. "Or...Cowboy Bebop and just...Cowboy Bebop?"

"I..." Mirroring your playful grin, Jungkook shrugged, not wanting to look like a fuckboy if he answered with the first option but also wondering—were you actually interested in watching this anime with him? The possibility puzzled him, the same way it confused you how he could go bold and then back to his shy weeb-ass self within seconds. You shrugged too, with an anxious exhale of a laugh.

"That was...weird to just say like that, sorry. We can just see where it goes, whatever you want," you backtracked, full of faux-nonchalance. The Google Calendar schedule on your phone suddenly became very interesting. "We could do another day if that works for you, but I'm free after this class once I write my discussion post—I don't have any other homework or meetings today for once."

He nodded quickly, eyebrows up. Swallowing, Jungkook saw the opportunity to show a little more initiative and seized it. "We could do that together even, 'cause we usually jump off each other anyway. So you can come over right after class if you want." He glanced up and to the left for a quick mental inventory. "Oh shit, wait, but I seriously need to clean my apartment first, can we do more like dinner time tonight? You can just come over for ramen or takeout if you want, or eat first or whatever."

"Yeah, that's fine!" you agreed warmly. "Ramen and homework, two birds with one scone. I should probably, like...get your number? So you can send me your address when you're ready or something?" You didn't want to sound too desperate, especially since you knew he was used to it, but you found yourself weirdly excited to experience something he so obviously loved. If you got dicked down too, even better, but you were definitely willing to wait on that part, especially now that this first sober conversation had restored your inhibitions. He had this slightly shy sweetness about him that just made you want to make him happy somehow. You wanted to see more of his cheesy little smile. You wanted to hear the bright laugh that occasionally rang out at the most inappropriate times, during Citizen Kane or attendance. You wanted to watch his light pink lips fall open in bliss as you kissed down his sensitive neck to the trim of his worn-in hoodie...

"Yeah sure, here." The quick touch of his hand over yours snapped you out of your thoughts as he took your phone, ready to type in his number, and—

"Wait, did you say 'two birds with one scone'? Not 'one stone'?"

You blushed furiously. Somehow him calling you out on your quirks embarrassed you more than the indecent daydream he'd interrupted. "Okay, so I saw this tweet a while back where they said 'feed two birds with one scone' to replace 'kill two birds with one stone,' I think it was just some vegan troll being all like 'don't talk about killing birds!' but it stuck with me because I just really fucking love scones."

"You...really fucking love scones?" he repeated in slight sarcasm, eyes down on your phone. You grew even shyer, but continued.

"Yeah, I bake a lot and they're my favorite thing to make. The flavor possibilities are endless and they last for days so I just keep them on hand for breakfast and snacks and to give out to friends. And they go with tea, which is my other favorite thing." Ooh, was he a tea person? Should you bring some tonight? Something earthy, to go with your ramen. Your go-to green sencha, or maybe chrysanthemum? Chamomile?

Jungkook held your phone back out in front of you, but waited silently for you to notice, enjoying the view of wheels turning in your head as you pondered tea pairings. This was the you he was used to, daydreaming in class and going on tangents as dorky as his in discussions. Even from a distance, he'd noticed you consistently gave off a vibe somewhere between absentminded professor and grandma, and this confirmation made you even cuter to him. But the hair still falling over his ears wouldn't let him forget his new physical proof of another side to you.

You finally collected your phone with a mumbly "Oh right, yeah, cool, thanks," that you prayed sounded more chill to him than it did to you.

"I just texted myself, so I have your number too now, and I'll just send you my address when I'm ready, and, uh...yeah!" he rambled a bit in response.

You nodded, confirming. "I'll see you tonight!"

"Yeah, see you tonight."

Jungkook watched you walk to your desk, silently admiring your ass and allowing himself only a moment to savor the memory of half of it filling his hand. A strange nervousness tingled through him. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about you all weekend either, and now he had a chance to get closer to you than ever before. He hoped, more than he could remember hoping for anything else, that this would go well, one way or another. He had no idea what you wanted with him, but you had him questioning everything he'd thought he wanted. Easing open his laptop, he pulled up your last discussion board response to him, signed off with a smiley face but backwards.

I like the way you think. (:

He turned his head to read it right-side-up, letting his face scrunch into a smile you wouldn't see.

Meanwhile, though the film thrilled you, you struggled to stay facing forward for the duration of class. You suspected the plot of Rear Window was simply unsettling you, but you swore you could feel Jungkook's eyes on your back. No, he was probably actually watching the movie as usual, or reading his manga if not. You were definitely just being paranoid. Definitely. Probably. Right?

next chapter

#jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #jungkook x reader smut #bts smut #bts fic #college!jungkook #college au!jungkook #bts college au #jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook #jungkook imagine #bts imagine #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfic #my writing #anti-hero #anti hero

540 notes · View notes