#more​stuff I’m noticing upon rewatch

[stuckasmain]

I may need to double check but I find it kinda funny that a movie that’s notorious for limited dialogue has more than the book. I genuinely think Dave and Frank talk more in the movie, largely thanks to the interview. Which is also just, generally a great way to inform the audience and get across all the information that was narration and internal thoughts in the book. Similarly to how the briefing on the TMA-1 was skipped in favor of a conversation about it.

#more​stuff I’m noticing upon rewatch #2001 a space odyssey #2001 aso #space odyssey #stanley kubrick #film making #movie details #book v movie #character details #2001 meta

[bkatlips]

Ranking and explaining my rankings of Mike Flanagan’s shows and how they make me feel in honor of spooky season and just finishing Usher!! Why not!! Everyone else is doing it!! I’m also going to give it a gay score based on how gay they are (which also includes how big of a role gay characters played).

Disclaimer: Every one of these shows is well-made in one way or another and deserves to be watched based on whether someone else finds the premise interesting and not whether I liked the show. Too often I see “that show was bad to me therefore you shouldn’t watch it” and I disagree with that line of thinking.

1. The Haunting of Bly Manor-I can already hear people screaming “Hill House is better!” In some ways, yes! In some very important ways, however, I disagree. The biggest being Bly Manor emotionally resonated with me a lot more. The themes, the found family (as someone who is an only child), and of course, the lesbianism. Dani’s story of compulsory heterosexuality may be one of if not the best in media and her love story with Jamie ended up being one of the best media has to offer, too. And really using a horror story and turning it into a love story is kind of brilliant (and annoying for the people who were just there for the jumpscares I guess). Don’t get me wrong the show has flaws (why the FUCK do Peter and Rebecca have so much screentime? was that eight episode really the best placement?) but the stuff that lands, really really lands. I’m still thinking about Dani and Jamie 3 years later. Hannah’s episode was very well done. The kid actors little Amelie and Ben were phenomenal. Upon rewatch you notice most decisions and dialogue in the show were made with some purpose and it usually relates to something thematic. Some people may say it doesn’t really have one defining central thesis therefore making it messy, but to me the fact it has many themes actually makes it more fun to think about. Gay score: 100000/10

2. The Haunting of Hill House-A horror classic that got me into Flanagan! This is Flanagan’s best series as far as making you pee your pants. That hat man is just scary! The character work is nice. Those first 6 episodes are incredible. Perfect. The thing that brings it under Bly Manor for me is honestly the ending. It left something to be desired for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but it just did not conclude in such an emotionally resonant way as Bly Manor to me. Shout out to the Newton Bros because the music on this damn show (and Bly too but that’s basically Hill House music continued) is so so good. Also the character work is masterful because Shirley Crain is kind of a bitch but you do come to love her. In fact, there wasn’t a Crain I didn’t feel for. They’re deeply fucked up, sympathetic people. It’s a great show with some great thematic work but it just doesn’t speak to me quite as much as Bly, that’s it. I know that’s unpopular but it is what it is. A great good show nonetheless. Gay score: 8/10

3. The Fall of the House of Usher-This show is wild and honestly I couldn’t decide between ranking this one or Midnight Club third. I went with this one because the acting and technical stuff was so phenomenal. I’m not really into gore horror so this wasn’t like my thing on the surface but I do appreciate what a homage to Poe it is in the very limited knowledge of Poe’s work that I have. It was fun to see all the cast from previous shows back again especially T’nia. One of the downsides to this show is it doesn’t really make you feel a lot and so compared to the Haunting shows for me that makes it inferior for sure. But it’s a fun watch and honestly I need to rewatch the final episode because I had a hard time paying attention for that one. Gay score: really fucking queer/10

4. The Midnight Club-Ah Flanagan’s little dud. This one is really not very loved compared to the others, seems to be just about nobody’s favorite, however personally I liked it. I think people are a little unfair to it and while it may not be Flanagan’s best, I don’t think it’s awful. It doesn’t really tackle anything new when it comes to themes. There’s some death, grief, stages of acceptance, and cult stuff. I think the way it has these kids telling stories to deal with their reality was really brilliant in a way. There was one episode (six I think) that dealt with depression and suicide that made me sob and I thought was super well done. That one stuck with me.I think it would have benefited from a more likeable main character and also from the second season that was planned! Gay score: 6/10

5. Midnight Mass-To be honest, I probably could have gone without watching this show. It just didn’t really resonate with me and didn’t really entertain me save like the very last two episodes. It’s technically well-made and I appreciate what Flanagan was trying to do and convey with the danger of cults and religion. It was obviously a very personal project and was him working through his own experiences but it wasn’t for me. It had a few too many monologues and I don’t think monologues make an interesting character piece. However, it’s a critically acclaimed work so I recommend anyone who wants to check out Flanagan’s work still check it out! Especially if you like weird vampire stuff I guess. Also the acting especially from the priest was phenomenal. So there’s definitely pros to this show, but it didn’t add anything to my life for me! Gay score: 3/10 :/

Also, shout out to Mike because every single one of these shows is queer to one degree or another. He loves the gays! Ally! Bisexual wife probably helps too!

#the haunting of bly manor #the haunting of hill house #mike flanagan #the midnight club #midnight mass #the fall of the house of usher #bly manor #hill house #thobm #jamie and dani

[dotthings]

After rewatching 4.19 Jump the Shark, here's some thoughts on hunting, the making of personal connections, and what SPN is about.

As often happens with SPN, the characters themselves play out ruminations on these themes. I barely even have to write commentary.

DEAN What the hell was that? SAM What? DEAN 'Hunting is life. You can't have connections.' Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him? SAM Yeah, well, turns out Dad was right. DEAN Since when? SAM Since always. Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see? DEAN A normal kid. SAM No. Meat. Because the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. But now I think I understand. So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad did right by us. He taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same.

Notice how this severe idea that all they can have is this, nothing else, no friends (even friendships with other hunters is frowned upon, John was noticeably isolationist and distrustful and alienated his hunter friends who loved him, like Bobby), no love stories, nothing but the hunt, comes right from John's words.

Dean's shocked to hear it from Sam. In part because Sam always fought John about it and now Sam is quoting John, but in part it's because one of Dean's long arcs is rethinking a lot of John's ideas and finding his own identity outside of being John's shadow, or mimic.

In season 4, as Sam goes deeper and deeper under the influence of demon blood and Ruby's coaching, he goes colder and more ruthless and more remote, less like the Sam we know, and Dean notices more and more.

DEAN Listen to yourself, man. SAM You think I’m wrong? DEAN I think it's too late for us. This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor.

Now it pulls back to Dean's resignation--but it's too late, the words are already out there with Dean questioning it. Too late for the audience not to notice.

While Dean doesn't expressly voice the idea that as hunters, maybe they don't have to sever all personal connections and turn off their hearts, it's self-evidently on Dean's mind. He doesn't see much hope for himself. That doesn't mean he isn't thinking it. And it's a very obvious part of the canon story for the run of the show.

As usual with SPN, two things can be true at once. Or there's a seed of truth but it's an incomplete truth. It is difficult to form and maintain connections in the hunting life, even with other hunters in the life. That doesn't mean Sam and Dean don't have any or can't have any. SPN self evidently shows they absolutely did, right along. Not just with each other.

Found family--the forging of connections, the human heart--is part of the life's blood of the story and always has been.

Dean in particular, throughout the series, has been adept at forming these connections and caring. He may at times try to shut himself away because it feels safer. The other people get less hurt. He'll get less hurt. But always he lets them in, he always cares.

It's easier with other hunters. People in the life with them, who understand that life.

John's narrow worldview of hunting, the ruthlessness, that's mirrored in Sam in this episode, and the idea that they can't have anyone else--isn't presented as the right answer.

Dean, as the series goes on, moves more and more into living the hunting life in a way that's by his own definitions, his own way, not his father's dictates. Despite the challenges of the hunting life. Dean makes his own rules.

We also see more instances of people in the hunting life who don't live by the extreme isolationist ideas of John Winchester. In fact, it turns out John was unusual and that hunters are sociable with each other, even if the life can be harsh and isolating. There's a hunting community. We only see glimpses of it early on because John kept Sam and Dean unusually isolated due to the circumstances of his particular quest, the YED.

But Sam and Dean are not their father. They forge their own path.

Most of all, SPN is a story about the connections that form between people--including the brothers, but not limited solely to the brothers.

SAM Dean...all this...it's not real. The dad Adam knew—he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows—they are real. The world is coming to an end. That's real. Everything else is just part of the crap people tell themselves to get through the day.

You know what popped into my head when Sam said that? Dean's voice telling Cas in 4.22 -- You know what's real? People, families -- that's real.

Sam falls into a dark despairing mindset where all he can see is monsters and he is losing his heart. 4.19 ends on an ominous note

DEAN You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person. SAM looks over. DEAN I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now. SAM I'll take that as a compliment. DEAN You take it any way you want.

Dean's coming to some realizations about his own hero-worship and imitation of his father, and seeing how he's not in fact, his father, no matter how much he fears it (or used to wish for it), and learning how much Sam is the one who is more like John than he is, despite Sam's lack of imitation and worship.

And without their friends who are like family, Sam and Dean aren't ever finding their way out of this thicket. They'd be lost, the world would be lost.

SPN is first and foremost about love.

#Dean meta #Sam meta #spn meta

[smokiedokie]

My brother called me to watch the next three episodes of IWTV with him and omgggg the JOY I feel at being able to experience this show again for the first time through him and hear his theories on where this is all leading… I’m so thrilled. He’s never watched the movie or read the books so he’s going into this totally blind. Some interesting ideas he has so far:

A) he’s so much more insightful than I was/am watching it. He’s picking up on SO MANY things that I didn’t pick up on until I rewatched (he’s even pointed out stuff I’ve never noticed— my favorite so far was in episode two where Daniel is served rabbit while Louis feasts upon the fox, symbolizing their predator/prey relationship — HOW THE FUCK DID I MISS THAT; AND HE GOT IT IMMEDIATELY. He also pointed out that in episode three at the poker game he calls all the white men by their names, no more “sirs” attached— AGAIN, HOW DID I MISS THAT??)

B) He thinks season one is going to end with Claudia’s death; he doesn’t know why or how but he thinks she’s going to die at the end of season one as the big cliffhanger and then season two will end with Louis killing Lestat (he’s thinking ahead to other seasons and how things will play out later!! His MIND!!) Which is so interesting bc as we know, it happens the other way around, but I love how close he’s getting without even realizing!!

C) He thinks Louis killed Lestat in the early 70’s and that’s what prompted him to seek out Daniel in the first place, as a way to justify his actions to someone and tell himself he was right. That’s why the modern Interview is more nuanced, Louis has more separation from the murder to understand where Lestat was coming from.

D) he thinks Louis WANTED to turn Daniel in the 70s and Daniel was against it (I brought up what we hear in the first episode where Daniel asks Louis for the Dark Gift and Louis rages at him, but my brother thinks that’s misconstrued somehow) and he’s reaching out again to set the record straight about his true feelings about Lestat and also breach that subject again

E) He REALLY likes the relationship between Louis and Daniel, he’s picked up on the importance of their relationship and expects it to develop well before I did. When I first watched the show I was a big fan of the movie, so I just assumed Daniel served only as the crux for Louis to tell his story to; I didn’t think the modern era stuff was all that important until we were well into the season because I assumed Daniel’s role in the show would be the same as it was in the movie: the audience sub-in. But my brother picked up on the nuance between the two immediately and honed in on it. He thinks they’re both of on a high-horse off and is waiting to see who will crack first.

F) He suspects NOTHING of Rashid, just thinks he’s a weird servant guy

#I’m having so much fun with this #I do love having his texts to look back on for episode two but getting to hear him laugh and gasp along is so much more satisfying sorry #I’m converting souls to our cause one individual at a time #he will be an iwtv girlie by the time I’m done with him #he’s already bisexual like he’s halfway there already #iwtv #interview with the vampire #iwtv reactions

[blanktrouser]

Something no one asked for and no one cares about:

An in-depth discussion about Gustholomule and their leitmotifs because I’m a music nerd and I just finished rewatching s2 and find this shit fun and interesting.

The songs and episodes I’ll be mostly discussing are: Through The Looking Glass Ruins (TTLGRs) (S2 Ep5), ‘Maybe I Can Help’ & ‘Does this mean we’re friends’. And For The Fans (FTFs) (S3 Ep2), ‘A Walk Down Memory Lane’.

I’m gonna start off kinda technical so if you don’t get music theory this might be ever so slightly confusing (maybe? Idk-)

The notes for the melody have a very noticeable similarity: their endings.

Let’s take ‘A Walk Down Memory Lane’.

In a simple drawn out diagram it’d look like this:

And the way that ‘Maybe I Can Help’ would be drawn out would be like this:

As you can see, they’re very obviously similar. Of course this isn’t exact, but visually speaking, they’re very similar. They both have an incline in their notes, both songs slowing near the ends.

Off the topic of technical stuff, onto one thing most people would notice about the two songs: the instruments used.

It is clear that the main family used in these songs is the strings, which occasional percussion thrown into ‘Maybe I Can Help’.

The Instruments heard in both were:

A Possible Cello or Double Bass (playing the bass line)

Violin and/or Violian (playing the melody and harmony lines)

However, in TTLGRs, Piano, Triangle, and Virtual Instruments were heard, which makes more sense to be there given the mood of the scene that the song was in.

Back to the string family, upon searching up “what string instruments symbolise”, the results were:

While this is kinda…vague, it can still help us get some deeper insight into out scenes and their scores!

Let’s take a closer look into TTLGRs first!

The scene, on a basic level, was about helping people and friendship. Matt and Gus were offering to clean up the graveyard and, later on, offered to come back on the weekends to build the defences.

It was a lighthearted scene which filled the viewer with a sense of accomplishment and almost excitement and passion about the project the boys took on for themselves, excited to see how this would go. It made everyone feel like things would be going well for everyone. The boys felt sympathy (see image about string family symbolism) for the keeper and therefore helped him set up the defences. This is one of the episodes in the series I’d refer to as “The Calm before The Storm” (A sense of tranquility (see image again), if I may)

Let’s take a look into the FTFs scene now!

On a basic level, this scene was about the same things as the last one: friendship and helping people.

In this scene, Gus and Matt were discussing what Matt was doing while Gus was gone and what Matt’s ideas were to help the people who lived in Hexside 2.0 (I think that’s what they called it anyways LMAO please correct me if I’m wrong). Gus was saying how he thought Matts ideas were good ones and it was another very lighthearted scene.

It was filled with comedy and playful banter between them both, lightening the mood that had been made by the scarier or sadder aspects of the episode and the episode before it. It gave the viewers time to relax, almost time to process what’s happened, and/or enjoy a moment of piece, a moment of calmness before utter mayhem ensues, like what I said before, “the calm before the storm”, though I feel like “the eye of the hurricane” works better here. This scene did a great job with the sense of tranquility again.

Now, there’s one major thing these two scenes have in common. There always seems to be a sense of tranquility every time Gus and Matt are together. They’re the comedy duo. They gain a for. Of comfort when they’re together due to their close friendship. There hasn’t been a moment with these two (mostly since TTLGRs) that they haven’t had this feeling emulated from their scenes. Both characters have always been written with comedy aspects and funny one liners, but when they’re together, the humour is doubled and almost makes you forget all the bad things because you’re only focused on the peace and calm you’re experiencing right then. And honestly I love that. These two need each other, platonically and/or romantically, and it’s sweet to see how much they rely on each other and how they can just enjoy themselves and been the teens they are when they’re together in times like that.

Their humour and the tranquility of this comedy duo makes sense when paired with the instruments used (Strings) and the leitmotifs in their songs (the endings going up at the end, up usually signifying good and positives). And I think it was such smart music work and writing done by the writing team and music team and just everyone involved.

#the owl house #toh #Gustholomule #Gus Porter #mattholomule #matt tholomule #toh analysis #music analysis #Gustholomule analysis #god I have too much fun making shit like this #also if anything’s off #blame it on the fact I’m sick atm #or idk #blame it on the boogie

[lampmanliveblogs]

A little bit of both, it is.

The thing younger Luz was digging for was a snake skin. Ah, sorry, I meant snake pajama. The other kids at the playground are kinda freaked out, and honestly? Same.

The kids’ parents watching are also grossed out, and honestly? I hate to say it, but same. But my opinion doesn't really matter, the important part is this: When the other parents talk ill of Luz, Camila immediately jumps in to defend her (and the parenting skills of wolves). We don’t see the reaction of the other parents.

Next, we see Luz’ during the Romeo & Juliet tryouts (which we saw in the very first episode of season one ((except the other kids’ faces are blurred this time))) but from the perspective of the audience. Camila finds Luz’ trick with the sausages funny and comments that her dad taught her that. But again, two other parents speaks ill of Luz’ antics. Camila turns around to, once again, defend her daughter. bUt just like before, we don’t see the results before we’re transported to the next scene.

We next find ourselves in the office of this imposing figure.

Hm… I’m gonna keep watching a little longer before I speak more, but I will say this:

Upon rewatching A Lying Witch and a Warden, it seems pretty clear to me that Camila was always very hesitant about sending Luz to camp. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy here is largely responsible for convincing her that camp was the right decision, regardless of what any rational thought or gut feeling might’ve told her.

Alright, there’s some stuff to talk about here, but first… notice there, lower left corner? Garlic powder is crossed over. My garlic allergy headcanon is not completely dead yet.

So I was kinda right in that Big Red Guy was the one who at least gave Camila the idea of sending Luz to Reality Check Camp.

His voice sounded somewhat familiar. I don’t know the voice actor, so I could be way off, but he sounded a lot like Warden Wrath. Aside from both being framed as these large imposing figures, these two share another similarity. Recall what Warden Wrath was doing back in A Lying Witch and a Warden? Imprisoning people in the Conformitorium for being weird.

And what does Big Red Guy here do? He wants to send Luz to Reality Check Camp (once described as prison) to learn how to conform to an arbitrary standard of normal because she is weird.

Like I said, not sure if this is an intentional parallel, I could be wrong, but I thought it was interesting.

As far as the actual scene goes… Big Red Guy claims Luz’ antics are her way of acting out for attention caused by the grief of losing her father. Camila concurs that losing Manny was difficult for both of them, but that Luz has always done things differently, she’s always been an original. It might be of note that her defense of Luz is meeker here than in the two previous scenes, perhaps due to a perceived power imbalance: Camila was on the same levels as the other parents, but Big Red Guy here looms over her.

Regardless, Big Red Guy points out that Camila herself was bullied in high school and basically tells her that Luz is going to end up going through that same struggle as Camila did if something doesn’t change. And sadly, this was enough to convince Camila that what needed to change was Luz.

I feel like this was really scatterbrained. Not my best work. I know I said I wanted to see this, but that doesn’t mean I find it easy to talk about.

(sidenote: Big Red Guy’s comment about Luz bringing a snake to school means this likely takes place right before the meeting in the principal’s office we saw at the beginning of A Lying Witch and a Warden)

On a brighter note, look at those cute photos! We got the classic one of Camila & Luz, which first appeared all the way back in A Lying Witch and a Warden, we got a new addition in the from of Camila & Vee. Also, a giraffe.

We also see Camila has a little spot dedicated to Manny, as well as more books on parenting, in particular on how to support LGBTQ+ kids. Because Camila is determined not to mess up (again).

We also have what looks like the snake skin pajama Luz found as a kid. So that’s�� nice? I do wonder how Vee would react to seeing that.

Anyways, what was that about a heartwarming moment between mother and daughter just now? I kinda zoned out for a moment.

D’awww… this is sweeter than caramel.

It’s good that Luz got to hear that Camila is not mad and doesn’t hate her, she really needed to hear that. Now she just gotta hear it from her friends too and also accept it and we should be golden. 

That will have to wait though, because this is where I’ll end thing off for today. It sure is nice to end this session off on a nice, wholesome, cosy note. I definitely did not watch a few seconds further and saw something super creepy. That’s something for Future Lampman to worry about.

Before I go, I’ll quickly go over some numbers. We are currently, roughly at 16:30 in this episode. I have taken 50 screenshots thus far and written a little under 7 400 words. You can see why this took… wait, how long did it take, lemme check when I started watching… THREE WEEKS AGO!?!? Bloody hell’s bells!

Whew. Let’s hope it doesn’t take five weeks to get through the rest of the episode, eh? We’ll see, we’ll see.

Until next time… take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s3e1 #thanks to them

[thevibraniumveterans]

REBELS REWATCH

S1E11 — IDIOT’S ARRAY

In the Ghost’s main cargo hold, Ezra sits atop a few crates, levitating his helmet and likely practicing his focusing skills. Nearby, Sabine sits on green and off-white speeder bike, receiving pointers from Hera. Zeb walks in, looking guilty; Hera is just as confused as Sabine.

Zeb explains his side of the story, while Ezra looks on, surprised at the revelation at Chopper being betted on, and to Lando, of all people.

Zeb and Ezra are hanging out by the holochess table, keeping an eye on Lando and Chopper, who are standing in front of a large mural of a phoenix that Sabine has painted.. Zeb notes, “Can’t believe the little bolt bucket’s actually waiting on that guy.” Ezra is entirely too smug at this turn of events, leaning back with one hand behind his head. Grinning, he says, “I can’t believe you lost Chopper. Good thing I wasn’t there. You’d have bet me.” Zeb replies, “Mmm, nah. You wouldn’t have covered the pot. Besides, I think Calrissian cheated.” Ezra tells him, “You’re just a sore loser. Lando seems nice enough.” Zeb, however, disagrees: “I’m telling you, I don’t like that guy.”

Sabine approaches Chopper and Lando, who greets Sabine and says, “I understand this is your work.” Ezra, however, becomes suspicious and leans forward, a frown replacing his grin. Lando continues, “Reminds me of Janyor’s protest paintings on Bith.” Sabine, being the Ghost’s residential artist who takes pride in her various pieces of artwork, shows that she understands historical and art-related references, something she likely got from her dad. She responds, “Janyor of Bith is a major influence.” Appreciative of fine art, Lando compliments Sabine’s artistry: “Well, your work is even more stunning in its simplicity.” Ezra gets up from his seat, telling Sabine, “Hey, I told you your stuff was good months ago.” Sabine frowns, and responds, “Yeah, but you didn’t know why.” This is curious because while Sabine is much more art-inclined, Ezra isn’t too much into the arts. He’s only said that because he might be a bit jealous, as Lando is a bit of a ladies’ man himself. However, it should be noted that Sabine told Ezra he “didn’t know why”, as a reference to how he didn’t know the specifics of what or why she was painting, who she was inspired by, and so on, but Lando, having pointed out a historical fact, understood the finer points of fine art, and complimented on the technicality of Sabine’s artwork. Lando notices this exchange, and says, “That’s hardly fair.” Sabine looks away. Lando continues, “He’s just a child with no experience of the galaxy.” (Which, in a way, is true, and as a result, ends up becoming something of an unintended backhanded insult.) Zeb, watching this whole interaction go down, tries to cover the fact that he’s laughing at Ezra’s expense. Ever proud of her artwork, and partly because hosts should impart a good impression upon their guests, Sabine asks, “I don’t suppose you’d like to see my more impressionistic pieces?” Sabine uses a technical term to showcase her knowledge and skill, not because she’s a showoff, but because it’s a good thing when an artist invites someone who is appreciative of their artwork’s specific technicalities. Lando replies, “I happen to be an impressionistic connoisseur. That means—” In the background, Ezra remains standing, hands on his hips, none too pleased. He looks away but interrupts: “I know what it means.” But he doesn’t. Sabine walks away. Ezra turns to Zeb and asks, “Hey, what does that mean?” Zeb replies, “A lot less than he thinks.” Having changed his mind, Ezra notes, “I don’t like that guy.” Yes, Lando is shady, charming, and a smooth-talker, but it’s less so about those and more so that it’s most likely, and pretty evident, that Ezra is jealous that some stranger is talking to his crush. It should also be noted that jealousy is not a good look on Ezra.

After some time, Sabine says to Kanan, “Quite a day you’re having. First, you lose Chopper, now Hera.” Sabine looks away, but interestingly, the shot stays on her just barely a second longer than is absolutely necessary.

The Ghost leaves. Inside, Ezra is tinkering with the speeder bike that Sabine had previously been checking out earlier this episode. Zeb, Lando, and Chopper approach with the cargo as promised. Ezra wonders what is inside, but Lando lies. Ezra is a bit suspicious, and Zeb is confused. There seems to be something alive in there.

Hera escapes the other ship in an escape pod as discussed, and Sabine heads to the airlock with Lando to intercept Hera.

Ezra and Zeb discuss whether they should open the crate; it is opened anyway, and a puffer pig comes out. Ezra thinks it’s “kinda cute” but doesn’t know what it is. The creature, however, sees Zeb and flees up the ladder, and Ezra and Zeb pursue it. The puffer pig bounds past the pilot’s bay where Kanan is sitting. Kanan is bewildered, and Ezra shrugs and continues chasing the poor animal. He and Zeb continue running around trying to catch the puffer pig, and pass the corridor where Chopper, Sabine, Hera, and Lando are standing. Sabine is surprised, as is Hera. Lando, unhelpfully, states, “That’s what was in the crate.” The puffer pig bumps into Chopper but continues running; Ezra takes advantage of that and tries to grab the creature, but falls down. Lando advises that the best course of action is to not scare the creature, but that is exactly what Zeb inadvertently does.

The puffer pig, well, puffs up. Sabine and Hera are astonished.The puffer pig scared stiff, blocks the hallway, momentarily separating Ezra and Kanan from Sabine, Hera, and Lando. On one side of the poor creature, Ezra overhears Lando on the other side suggest that he’d like to purchase some of Sabine’s artwork. On a surface level, this could mean that the Spectres get paid either way, which could benefit them. However, Ezra isn’t too pleased with Lando’s phrasing. Sabine asks Lando, “Really? My work. You’d pay?” Ezra clambers up the puffer pig, stating, “Oh, he’ll pay.” The creature gets scared further and expands again.

Of course, the Imperials discover the Spectres’ ploy, and fires upon them. Sabine, stuck on one side of the Ghost, fires back at the Imperials from the gunner’s bay.

Hera confronts Lando: “All right. Enough with the divide and conquer. You think by setting us against each other, you’ll keep us off-balance enough to get what you want. But what you want depends on my crew working together in sync. Is that clear?”

The Ghost touches down on Lothal, puffer pig and Lando in tow. The crew exits the ship, and Ezra tells Zeb, “This time, try to keep it calm. We don’t want you inflating it again.” Zeb protests: “Hey, it wasn’t my fault.” Half amused, Ezra responds, “It’s your faces fault.”

A shootout ensues, and Ezra and Kanan take cover behind a few crates. Ezra reaches for his newly constructed gun/saber combo, and Kanan immediately disapproves of Ezra using the saber. Ezra says, “You worry too much.” He takes aim, and downs a guard with an energy bolt. Kanan is surprised, amazed, and a little zealous: “Hey, mine doesn’t do that.” Ezra replies, “Nope. I might not be able to sword fight yet, but I can shoot.” Kanan grins: “Kid, you continue to impress.” Ezra notes, “…Just not as much as Lando.”

Taking advantage of the puffer pigs distractions, Sabine leaps onto a landspeeder, and jumps onto the other side of it, catapulting herself into the air, bounces off the puffer pig, and disappears to the other side of the building. Illuminated by the night sky, she takes aim at two assailants, and shoots twice, her shots scaring them enough to run.

Post shoot-out, the Spectres walk back to the Ghost. Zeb and Chopper head up the ramp, followed by Hera and Kanan. Ezra and Sabine are the last to board. Kanan and Hera have a little discussion. Hera says, “Well, we got Chopper back.” Kanan replies, “I”m looking for a positive here.” Hera tells him, “There are a lot of things we couldn’t accomplish without him. You should appreciate that more.” Behind them, Sabine and Ezra walk up the ramp. Evidently, Ezra has been paying attention to the conversation, because he proceeds to admit, “I always appreciated you, Sabine.” Note that here, the statement is completely DEVOID of any flirtatious intent and tone, and it’s only expressed with honest admiration. Sabine takes off her helmet, closes the ramp, smiles, and responds with, “Yes, Ezra, I know.” As Hera and Kanan continue their conversation, Ezra follows Sabine into the ship. Hera turns around to head back into the ship as well.

Sabine stops before a pile of crates, and grins: “Oh, hey, Chopper stole Lando’s fuel!” By the landing bay, Ezra watches the conversation, and smiles.

#star wars #star wars rebels #rebels rewatch #ezra bridger #sabine wren #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #lando calrissian #sabezra #ezrabine #ezra x sabine #sabine x ezra

[noperopesaredope]

SvtFoE Rhombulus Rewrite (Pt. 2)

I’m back, baby. Here’s the first part which also has a link to the context post. And now for the actual important stuff that you actually care about (but just for Season One because I like splitting things into parts I guess):

Season 2:

- Rhombulus is basically the same guy as before in Season 2, but I will add some stuff. But he’s basically the same.

- In “Page Turner”, he is literally exactly the same. Nothing is different. It has everything I need for this and sets him up perfectly, both his personality, flaws, relationships, and room for growth.

- It most importantly shows his impulsiveness and how he acts without thinking, as well as his relationships with the others and how he is treated like a child. He dislikes Glossaryck while also seeking his approval. He’s often left out of these important meetings because of his slightly immature attitude and place as the youngest and least experienced of the MHC. These will all be important to his arc.

- Since “Crystal Clear” is the first episode where we actually get to know this guy, I will make a slight few changes, but not many.

- First off, Star and Rhombulus have had slightly more interactions before this episode in comparison to canon, though not that many, and they still barely know each other anyways.

- In terms of the dynamic between Rhombulus and Lekmet, no one is really sure who’s taking care of whom. Lekmet acts as a bit of a parental figure to Rhombulus, while Rhombulus is basically looking after a senior citizen. It will subtly show that they care about each other a lot and have a pretty close bond, which we can kinda see in the episode already, but I’m just extra pointing this out, as it will be important for later.

- During their more personal conversation, the two might also connect over how they are seen as immature and incapable of handling responsibility. They don’t get particularly into it, but if Star ever mentions how she’s both expected to be responsible while still not being taken seriously, Rhombulus will admit that he feels the same way a lot, but not really elaborate on this.

- Honestly, upon rewatching that episode? It sets up everything I liked about Rhombulus as a character and everything I want to explore as well. Those moments where he’s talking to his hands or to himself perfectly capture a lot of his insecurities and issues, as well as his general personality. It basically sets up a great potential character arc...that fact honestly makes me even more mad that they didn’t do anything with it.

- “Face the Music” stays the same because Rhombulus supporting Star was nice and also I don’t feel like changing all that.

- I’d only change one thing about “Starcrushed”, and that is a small moment between Rhombulus and Lekmet. When Rhombulus notices Lekmet reviving people and tells him “you can’t keep doing that, Chancellor,” I’d instead change it to this:

- Lekmet revives Rhombulus, who takes a second to look at the battle, then to Lekmet, who, like in the show, falls to his knees. Rhombulus looks at him with concern and, putting a hand on the Chancellor’s shoulder, (very emotionally) says “Lekmet, please, you know what’ll happen if you do that again.” 

- This is important because Rhombulus will always refer to him as Chancellor before this line. This is a more personal and open moment between the two of them and shows Rhombulus’ genuine concern for his elderly companion. 

- Lekmet weakly smiles at him and gives him a pat on the head, causing Rhombulus to tear up a bit before he nods and runs back into the battle. This is the last moment he will ever see Lekmet alive again.

Frick, now I’m making myself cry. This is going to happen multiple times throughout this AU. Which you will read more about LATER in Part 3!

#rhombulus rewrite #nr rhombulus rewrite #svtfoe rhombulus #rhombulus #svtfoe #svtfoe mhc #star vs #star vs the forces of evil #magic high commission #lekmet #svtfoe lekmet #star butterfly #svtfoe star #disney #disney show #rewrite #show rewrite #svtfoe season 1 #star vs the forces of evil season one #i made myself sad #i love him so much #i love them

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 thoughts. Scattered because pain.

- I gotta say right off the bat, best trilogy in the MCU. It’s not even close. And I’m so relieved that they stuck the landing.

- I thought having a Guardians photo album for the end credits was cute. Though it didn’t escape my notice that IW and EG didn’t pop up much (and understandably so.) Hell, the Christmas special got more representation in it than EG did. But the shot of Rocket, Groot, and Thor landing in Wakanda is all they really needed from IW anyway. lol.

- Actually, side bar: Speaking of IW/EG, it just occurred to me after rewatching EG yesterday, where the hell was Kraglin during all that? He joined the team at the end of V2 and appeared to be living on their ship, so what happened? Sean Gunn does Rocket’s mocap, so it’s not like he couldn’t be on set. I guess it doesn’t really matter ultimately, but it’s something I noticed.

- Cosmo was delightful. I knew the “bad dog” gag would would pay off eventually. But still. How dare.

- That fight set to “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” *chef’s kiss*

- D: “You think I’m stupid.” That cut deep.

- Mantis defending Drax from Nebula was great in context, but it also felt very pointed in a way. Or maybe I’m just projecting because of stuff I’ve seen from other folks in this fandom regarding him and Mantis.

- I know there are issues with Drax’ treatment of Mantis in V2, but their dynamic has become a surprising highlight. The way she freaked out when she thought he died and the way he cried when she left were so impactful.

- The squishy bits of the Orgoscope were unsettling.

- THEY LET PETER SAY “FUCK.” I had to back up the movie to make sure I didn’t mishear. It’s so funny to me that after all the hullabaloo in the fandom about who should/will say the first full, untranslated “fuck” that in the end it came out of Quill and in a pretty mundane moment as well.

- Starmora - I’m actually glad they went the direction they did for Peter and 2014!Gamora. It wouldn’t have made sense and frankly, would’ve been cheap if she’d just fallen for him instantly, because prime!Gamora didn’t either. They were a slow burn and came about, in part, due to the influence the team had on each other.

- I loved when the High Evolutionary’s subordinates turned on him, even if doing so didn’t work out for them.

- Blurp needs to go hang out with Morris from The Legend of the Ten Rings.

- Peter almost dying at the end had me close to raging out. I would’ve been so upset, for so many reasons. Mantis screaming for him and Groot trying to save him destroyed me.

- And since I’ve been putting it off *sighs* ...let’s talk about Rocket. First off, I’m very glad he survived. I’ve worried since V2 that he was a goner and was very glad to be proven wrong. Still, as worried for his fate as I was going into the film, the thing that concerned me the most was finally getting into the nitty gritty of his backstory. I knew from the bits of the comics I’ve seen that it was going to be highly upsetting and... yeah... that’s putting it mildly. Case in point, the fact that the first word out of his mouth was “Hurts.” And it just gets worse from there. Just pain all the way down.

- G: “I’m family!” N: “So is he.” Between that line and Nebula crying upon hearing Rocket’s voice again, the five year gap clearly made them very close. And it makes sense given all of their similarities, too. That Nebula thinks what happened to him is worse than what she endured speaks volumes about what was done to him.

- And finally, everything with Batch 89 was obviously heartbreaking, but oh my God, Floor. I don’t know why that character in particular tugged at my heart, but she did and... yeah. There’s that.

So, yeah, in short, this movie made me a mess, but all the Guardians films do and I’d be disappointed if it didn’t punch me in the face.

Metaphorically, of course.

#gotgv3 spoilers #spoilers #guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 #slowpoke goes to the movies (eventually)

[bye-bye-firefly]

Helloo! So, I’ve been wondering, how do you like to take notes? Like, what’s your note taking style in general? And how do you like to write your character and language study stuff? I’ve been kinda curious about it for a bit since you mention that you have these things and stuff sort of often. Like I think it’s been in the back of my mind since that time you mentioned in your notes that you write character studies in a journal. My mind kinda just latched onto that specific detail, most likely because I think physically writing stuff down is really cool and I could never.

(Hopefully this doesn’t sound too awkward? I’m really sleepy and my mind has been very jumpy today but I tried to sound normal, not sure if I succeeded)

no its so totally chill so basically i have like. MADNESS. im cutting this post up because i basically did a brain dump and its so long.

its pure and utter madness in this fucking journal there are clear notes and bullets and i mostly just dedicate pages upon pages depending on the length of the media, the complexity of the character, the amount of change throughout the series like. okay. for example. in my succession character study i have it set up so every character has 5 pages because theyre all pretty static and dont require a lot of notetaking because what i can observe from them is almost always set in stone, a base reaction from the character. drv3 however each character got 10 pages because 1) drv3 is long and its a lot of fucking text to go through 2) characters, even past their death, are referenced and spoken about and have things revealed about them a lot AND 3) the characters are REALLY dynamic and lots of events happen that change the characters in either slight or big ways that i need to note down and explain to myself WHAT EXACTLY caused this change and what the change was. other than these big moments i like to put down moments that i think are interesting or stand out to me upon revisiting the piece of media so when i first go through something it might not stand out because i dont have the knowledge that something is going to happen but upon rewatch or replay im like Wait a second. and this is why i never go into something and immediately start doing analysis because if i did that i would never notice the things that im meant to notice when doing a deep dive into a character

but on length again it really depends what im going into right. if youre going into a text-based 100+ hour game then you probably want to dedicate a lot of pages and time to understanding the characters than if it was like. a 5 season show with 10-14 episodes that are each an hour long. of course this also depends because breaking bad and succession are a similar length but breaking bad has way more dynamic characters than succession. in fact breaking bad is ALL moving parts so making a character study about breaking bad i would probably put all the characters down and dedicate like 8-10 pages per character and that might be overdoing it for some.

but other than characters its also important to recognise that the characters are in a setting. so what causes them to behave the way they do in this setting and do i know what best replicates it. drv3, theyre in a killing game. kokichi ouma would not act the way he does if he wasnt in a killing game and this is extremely important to recognise. kokichi mostly acts like he does because hes in a life-or-death situation and the way he behaves is him coping and keeping himself safe from other people. however, its also him hiding what hes planning so that things can go off without a hitch and without anyone stopping him because ultimately, he wants to end the killing game. he thinks that working with people is way too much effort and its way too complicated and it makes things harder and worse but most importantly, its just not for him. like hes ultimately fine with other people working together, but fuck the notion that he should work with anyone. hes boy genius and also thats so much work ON TOP OF doing the amount of work he was already doing. but outside of the killing game, this whole thing would just drop like theres nothing to work towards anymore. sure hes going to keep lying but maybe not be so cagey or brattish or rile people up as much as he does or as HORRIBLY as he does because theres no point to it. hes not in a life-or-death situation anymore so that act should just crumble. it would take a bit of work but yeah that facade should fall away and leave this joking prankster teenage boy. and a lot of people who dont like kokichi (not most not all just a lot) did not pay attention to the game and took everything at face value much like shuichi and i dont BLAME them i mean its kind of hard to read kokichi and figure out what the fuck hes talking about or what he means by the things he says like it took me a LONG FUCKING TIME to TRULY get kokichi. i had to do my character study before i actually truly understood him and now hes just in my head forever. like i will never let go of him. hes the best and i love him. but yeah you have to think about these things like why is this character like this and what IN THE SETTING causes this or AMPLIFIES this. likeeeee this is kind of a spoiler but tom is super into acting big and macho and very masculine right? at work he acts like The Man and he very clearly wants to play archetypal 1950s husband to his housewife, shiv, but shiv is never going to BE that. he knows this but he doesnt WANT to recognise this so he seeks this elsewhere through his work with greg. thus the tomgreggers win BUT ALSO we get to see two sides of tom: tom when he is sensitive and emotional and tom when he is playing up his machismo because he cannot stand NOT DOING THAT. thats like tom's THING. he is a midwestern boy who is in his 40s who grew up on this dream that he was the man of the house and therefor he was the most specialest man in the whole wide world to this wife that would make him dinner and fuck him and do whatever he pleased but he DIDNT get that and he is NOT THAT GUY. tom is INCREDIBLY sensitive and you can visibly see when he is anguished or excited to see someone (mostly greg) or depressed. he wouldnt be this way if he wasnt in this setting (running a right-wing news network that THRIVES on these values) or with the people he was with (most notably, a father in law who he wants to show respect to and receive respect from for the ENTIRETY of the show)

okay so character and setting and its impact. other than that WHAT ELSE. so a lot of the other stuff that i then look through is like. extra tidbits that i notice. my current succession character study has a list of chapters. so i have each character and their pages listed out for quick navigation (yes this means i number the pages) i have a 2 page tidbits section and then i have an INFINITE AMOUNT of researching pages. because nothing ever just stops at The Character Study no no no. i have researched:

shakespeare and what makes something shakespearean (took like. a few days? really wasn't that hard it was a well researched topic)

succession speak (i did this while i watched the show so i did some multitasking while doing character studies. updating kendall's page while also talking about his usage of buzzwords)

cops (fic specific dont worry its all bad as expected)

for drv3 i researched a lot of mental disorders, i did research into trauma, specifically for nameless (because that was ALWAYS what i was gearing up for) i originally did a lot of research into fbi and catching murderers so a lot of reading but then i pivoted and did research into non-euclidean structures, the language of horror (meaning i just read a lot of horror and took notes), and then i did The Action Plan.

The Action Plan brings everything together and is specific to me this is not necessarily essential for understanding the characters nor is the extra studying that has nothing to do with the piece of media. like succession requires that i research shakespeare and how they talk but it doesnt require me to know how the police work or what they think of themselves. the action plan is mostly for me to figure out what the hell i actually want to do. the action plan is also the place where i put down a final answer as to how i want to end the BIG FIC that im planning. for the drv3 character study, i do in fact have nameless' planned ending written down and it has surprisingly not really changed all that much aside from the weird bullshit that i wanted to throw in on top of the weird bullshit that is already going on in nameless. a lot of the time the action plan contains what i want the fic to end on.

right here im going to delve into writing advice because i love this shit and i know that people struggle with this okay If you. DON'T. Want to go into a story blind and want to plan it through and want to start with the ending (always what i recommend). Do NOT. Write the ending in the abstract. what i mean by this is like an ending to a story is almost always an arc. like. everything everywhere all at once the ending is a very drawn-out sequence taking place across a bunch of universes but ultimately are leading to the same thing: evelyn keeping joy around, and this means two things: keeping her in her life or alive at all. this is not an abstract ending. this is set in stone and pans out beautifully with the mixture of universes all in play. the ending is that evelyn gets to keep her daughter, joy, around in her life and saves every single world in existence. a different more abstract way to view the movie is that it begins with evelyn filing taxes in a stressful environment, extremely bitter and feeling alone on her father's birthday. it ends with evelyn doing taxes with her family. I may not remember this right so dont correct me this is what i remember BUT!!!! thats not the point the point is that its an incredibly abstract way to view the movie when thats not what the point of it all IS. the point of the whole movie is for evelyn to realise she fucked up A LOT and that doesnt make her a horrible person but it does mean she has to apologise and that joy DOES deserve an apology and joy DESERVES to live and she has to save her because she is her mother and she loves her and she is willing to be better if it means that joy gets to live or stay in her life. THATS the point but you miss the point when you frame it in that abstract way so endings always have to be very set in stone and multiple events, an entire ARC because that determines how you're going to write THE ENTIRE THING and what things you choose to include or remove. like if nameless ends with kaede killing everyone and the world exploding theres no reason for me to include these really hopeful messages and send the reader off course or to include symbols of love and immortality because that doesnt make sense when it ends the way that it does. even if it DID make sense it sends a WHOLE other message. even through hope, it is hopeless <- not the message i intended but because i wrote the ending the way i did, people are going to interpret it this way. this is also why im not a fan of my older work, propaganda, having like. multiple endings. because there really truly honestly is no reason why i decided to make it have 3 different endings other than I couldn't decide on one because I didn't plan the ending out before I started writing the story.

This is why the action plan exists. my osomatsu san character analysis is lacking this action plan most likely because i kept it somewhere else probably online but it doesnt matter because i dont REMEMBER it existing so it probably DIDNT exist. i can remember my nameless action plan that was 2 years ago (yes i went and checked to make sure) i didnt even remember i wrote other drv3 fics other than the multichapters out now and a good song never dies SO WHAT IS GOING ON THERE. if i am not referring to the action plan then im clearly not going to have a good grasp on what the hell is going on in there

of course those that may know me are reading this like "you dont plan. your stories" And they're right. I don't. the action plan section is solidifying how i view the characters, what i think should happen with them because i LOVE juggling plot lines, but most importantly, the ending. a solid REAL ending not an abstract version of it or an idea i mean like REAL SOLID FOUNDATION. as an example for the nameless ending IM NOT ABOUT TO TEL LYOU HOW NAMELESS ENDS DONT WORRY i have it set up so that i have the setting, the major event that happens, the effect of this, the aftermath with all the characters, and then if i want a key detail in there that i think is important. this comes FIRST. ALWAYS. i can only ever start with the ending when im planning a story because otherwise i have no idea what to do with all the other moving parts and i add too many variants and then i end up with 3 different endings and i cant choose because im indecisive and ive put out TOO MANY SIGNS there are TOO MANY WAYS this could end for the readers.

but yeah. i mean i make it sound way more complicated than it is but i mean this so seriously doing character studies are so fun. i love immersing myself in a piece of media. this is a real fucking story i got so deep into drv3 character study that i started laughing like kokichi. and that lasted for a few weeks or something i dont remember. but really doing character studies is all up to how YOU do it. its important to note that when im going through a piece of media for analysis, i first comb through the parts that are most important for me to understand a character. so drv3 the character hangouts, their chapters where they shine the most, important scenes that i can remember off the top of my head, and then i go through the whole thing over again. im doing this with succession right now though its kind of hard because succession is a very all killer no filler show so choosing the MOST IMPORTANT episodes is based entirely on who is important and what important moment happens and if that affects EVERYONE. i will have to watch through succession again and i will have to see what i missed, if i missed anything, which is likely a no. you can do whatever notetaking style you want, whatever works for you, but i love doing brain dumps and then going back and highlighting what is important to me for quick reference. im just not a very organised person and im not ever going to become one so i might as well embrace it and work around it right if plans bore me i might as well do things on the seat of my pants because thats the only way to keep me engaged

VERY sorry this was so long but i love talking about this stuff and i love dumping my brain out. this is very therapeutic for me i think

#fae's asks #authorisms

[takerfoxx]

The Sandman, Season 1, Episode 9, "The Collectors," First Impressions!

First of all I’d like to just say that I’ve been listening to this song on repeat for days.

Okay, before I get to the meat of things, there are two very small pieces of criticism I’d like to get out of the way, because for all that is great about this show, there’s always going to be things that don’t work for certain people, and these just don’t work that well for me.

First is something I’ve already made mention of, but I’ll just say it again: I’m not too hot on them splitting the Lyta and Hector Hall stuff away from Jed’s Silver Age Sandman dream. Like, I get the why of it. I get that having Lyta actually suffer Hector’s loss, get him back, and then be made to suffer it all over again makes for greater motivation for her going on her eventual revenge world tour. I also get that establishing a relationship between Rose and the Halls and having her witness Hector being banished back to the afterlife gives her more motivation to have that coming clash with Dream. The mechanics make perfect sense.

I just don’t personally care for the execution, as in wanting to set all of those motivations up, both Jed and Lyta’s destroyed dreamworlds are made to be less interesting in the original version. Having Lyta spend years as basically a drugged-out pregnant doll controlled by Brute and Glob living in a facsimile of a Silver Age comic book onto be roughly ripped back into harsh reality and left to pick up the pieces when Dream essentially destroyed her life was fascinating. There was a very unnerving quality to the contrast that is now missing. What it’s been replaced with isn’t bad, per se, and I doubt any new viewers that haven’t read the comics would even notice that something is out of place. I’m just saying that she and Hector’s dream house feels kind of paint-by-the-numbers in comparison, like they’re making sure they hit all of the essential points to set up The Kindly Ones but didn’t put as much thought into making as weird and interesting than the original. Same with Jed. Yes, making him the Sandman instead of Hector was actually a cool idea. But I really do feel more time should have been spent on that, instead of one scene at the beginning and one scene at the end.

The second issue is the Walker siblings themselves. Now, I’ve read a lot of complaints about Vanesu Samunyai's performance as Rose being kind of flat, especially in comparison to the rest of the cast. I honestly didn’t feel that way my first watchthrough, but upon rewatches…yeah, hate to say it, but I do see where they’re coming from. There’s a lot of dull surprise at play, especially since Rose had been recharacterized as being much more active and taking greater agency than her comic counterpart, so there’s a lot of parts that could’ve had a lot more oomph in her reactions. As for Jed, Eddie Karanja is actually doing a pretty good job, especially when it comes to emoting, but there are a lot of moments when his natural British accent is really obvious. Then again, he is just a kid, so that’s pretty understandable. But yeah, none of this is honestly that bad, it's just one of the weaker points that could stand to get tightened up.

Okay, I’ve got my mild criticisms out of the way. Let’s about the motherfuckin’ Cereal Convention!

The Cereal Convention was probably my favorite part of The Doll’s House, so I was so happy in how much attention it got. They clearly had a lot of fun putting this all together, and it all feels very familiar. There’s Fun Land with his stupid hat (more on him later), there’s the lame puns (yes!), and there’s the collectors themselves.

At first I was a little bewildered at how many of them there were. Like, there can’t be that many serial killers active, can there? But I read an analysis on the storyline that made a lot of sense. The Corinthian has been wreaking havoc in his own twisted way for over a century, and as a living Nightmare he ended up infusing his own twisted dream into the world, inspiring dozens, if not hundreds. That’s actually pretty terrifying, to have so many monsters be brought together under his delusion.

And they were all here! We already met the Corinthian, Nimrod, Fun Land, and the Good Doctor, but there was Moon River! And there was the Connoisseur, though I definitely see why they cut out exactly what he specialized in. You see all of these deluded monsters strutting around, thinking themselves to be heroes, only to show the cracks in their own delusion, such as Fun Land’s childish outbursts to Nimrod’s evident annoyance at someone in the crowd making a mild joke. Like, these people are all incredibly emotionally stunted people, and for as much fun as bringing them all together definitely was, the show also showed just how pathetic they are.

And, okay, the panels! They kept the panels! I am so happy with how they did it, too! Having Gilbert wander around from one panel to the next was comedy gold! My favorite is the Women’s panel, where Gilbert is just nodding along in agreement to the rant about women not being taken seriously, only for him to go, “Hey, wait a minute…” That was great. Though I admit I do prefer my own take on how the Hammer of God sounds, as I always pictured him having this droning Reverend Lovejoy with a Texan accent voice, but it was still fantastic.

And yup! There’s the serial-killer fanboy pretending to be the Boogeyman, complete with his blog! If ever having someone victimized by these people was well-deserved, it was this guy!

There were a couple of changes that I wasn’t too keen on. For one, they cut out Gilbert’s telling of Red Riding Hood, which did play very well into the Fun Land stuff later, especially given his big wolf shirt. Also, I do prefer the seedy Bate’s Motel-look from the comics instead of the swanky Four Seasons here, but those are very minor complaints in the grand scheme of things.

And finally, having the Corinthian just kill Fun Land was an improvement, because while there was something weirdly poetic with how Dream neutralized him, this guy is a child murderer! I’m sorry, but if anyone doesn’t deserve any sort of redemption, it’s him!

All right, almost done here. I truly hope we get a second season. Please, Netflix, don’t Dark Crystal this one!

#the sandman #neil gaiman #dream of the endless #rose walker #jed walker #lyta hall #hector hall #cereal convention #nimrod #fun land #gilbert #netflix #the collectors #review #Youtube

[bellamysgriffin]

Now I’m curious about your ST thoughts!!!😭 but could you talk about your favorite parts of stranger things/your favorite characters? (If you don’t want to share the unpopular opinions ofc!)

omg of course i have No Fear of discourse, i'm always open to sharing unpopular opinions, i just couldn't be bothered to type up a whole post unprompted lmao but okay

starting with my fav parts of the show:

i will forever say s1 is the best season of the show and it really doesn't matter how good s5 is, because it won't top s1. from the bottom of my heart i think stranger things would have been a kickass miniseries and probably should have stopped after season 1 because i think it went from a good show to a fun show after that

that said there are always things i love from each season. in s2 i really adored hopper and el's story, in s3 i loved robin's inclusion, and in s4 i thought the max stuff was really great

i am also unashamedly a stancy truther and i literally dont care what y'all say i'm correct and it would actually make PERFECT sense for them to get back together now

hopper is forever my fav character and i think david harbour's performance in this show is truly incredible

then if we want to go to my um... controversial opinions. i'll just let them rip

i think all the kid actors except for sadie sink have gotten noticeably worse. although i would say gaten matarazzo is pretty much the same, and i want to say finn wolfhard hasn't gotten worse but maybe that's because he was so great in the it movies. in this, there's really no way to tell bc they don't give him anything to do lmao

i don't have any real investment in the mike/will/el love triangle but i will say if you rewatch the first season, it's pretty clear that mike really loved el and i think it's just because they feel so lackluster right now that people are convinced they won't end up together but like. i personally would not be getting my hopes up lmao

i also think fanon perception of the show has truly gotten so divorced from reality it's literally crazy. i can expand upon this but i don't want to piss people off THAT much lmao

i think stranger things has a huge problem with consistent characterization and there's always one character you see that with most pronounced from season to season. in s2 it was joyce who straightened her hair and put on eyeshadow and became an entirely different kind of parent because of that i guess. s3 it was hopper who became an oafish comedic device. and in s4 i hate to say it and you guys will be mad, but robin. that is a different fucking character than season 3!!! in s3 she was like. the cool girl/savvy loner, kind of snarky, relatively sarcastic and like ridiculously smart. in s4 she's just like gangly and awkward and talks a mild a minute and claims to have no understanding of social cues. what???? i mean, i like the nerdy lesbian as much as the cool lesbian but that's just blatantly not what she was and i think it's really disappointing that they took this character that was aloof and witty and very socially savvy and made her a nerd because that's how writing lesbians made more sense in their brain i guess i don't know

and for the real kicker..... i think eleven should have died in s4. i'm actually so fucking bored that she didn't. and that's not because i hate her character but because she has effectively turned into a deus ex machina and i am tired of every season ending with millie bobby brown sticking her hand out and screaming until the monster dies. i was SO BORED during the last half of that battle. and look, they had their chance to get rid of that deus ex machina without killing her when they took her powers away, but they obviously didn't know how to write without that convenient plot device in their back pocket so they immediately gave her powers back to her. stupid! killing 11 would have genuinely been the most interesting thing to do going into s5 because then our main cast would be confronted with how to stop the monster without their resident superhero, and that's a difficult thing to write which is obviously why the stranger things writers didn't want to do it lmao. so yea. i'm team kill eleven before the finale so i don't have to sit through another hour of telekinetic lazy writing

#dana answers stuff #sorry this was so negative but !! that's my thoughts

[hellodarjeeling]

As promised here are some fragments from my two UFO fics. They’re not finished by any means, and I’m long overdue for a rewatch, but I hope you enjoy them all the same. Thanks! @someawkwardprose

The Price We Pay - A UFO Fic

[Freeman learns the consequences of his actions]

[Inspired by episode “A Question of Priorities"]

Alec Freeman‘s footfalls echoed down the bright corridor as he rounded the corner of S.H.A.D.O.’s central command hub. He’d forgotten a bit of paperwork at Keith Ford’s desk and meant to pick it up before finally heading home. The past sixteen hours had been particularly grueling after a string of UFOs managed to sneak past the interceptors, enter the atmosphere, and evade Sky One long enough to give everyone ulcers. With the day finally behind him he was eager to crawl between the sheets and expected to be asleep before his head touched the pillow.

Ford, ever a neat man, kept his station clean and Freeman found the survey maps immediately. He glanced at them disinterestedly, barely registering words as he touched a cigarette to his lips for the long walk to his car. Just once, he thought, I’d like to get out of here at a reasonable hour. Tucking the maps under his arm, he fished a lighter from his pocket and took a drag as the cigarette caught. As he turned to leave he noticed a sliver of light under Ed Straker’s office door. Odd, he thought, taking another pull from the cigarette. I’d assumed he’d left already.

The unmistakable smell of alcohol hit him as the doors opened at his approach; Freeman paused at the entry, trying to make sense of the scene before him.

Straker was seated, slumped over a mess of dossiers that spilled from his desk onto the floor, clutching a half empty glass in a white-knuckle grip. He apparently had heard the door open and sat up straight in alarm, jerking his head around to see Freeman lingering in the doorway. A look of panic passed behind his cool stare and settled into mild wariness.

“Easy,” Freeman began as he walked into the room, “it’s only me.”

Straker acknowledged him with a nod but otherwise said nothing. All their interactions over the past few days had been constrained, and despite Straker’s brusque assurances to the contrary, Freeman had a gut feeling he didn’t have the whole story. Seeing Straker partake in alcohol did little to alleviate his concerns, on the contrary it amplified them; the man made a point never to touch the stuff.

He glanced at the glass again and frowned. “All right, who died?”

Straker stared hard at the wall opposite him, unblinking. His fingers tensed around the glass.

“John,” he managed quietly. “John died.”

Freeman froze. John?

“The transport didn’t make it in time. It carried antibiotics...”

“Antibiotics?”

Freeman suddenly recalled the way Straker’s face paled upon hearing the transport had been used to find the downed UFO. He swallowed back sour bile rising in his throat as realization set in. He'd made the decision to divert the transport, they were his orders, on his call.

His fault.

“For God’s sake, Ed, why didn’t you tell me that transport carried medication for your son? Had I known I never would have ordered it to change course!”

Freeman ran his free hand through his hair as he desperately paced the office, cigarette dangling forgotten in his other. He turned to pin Straker with a desperate, pleading look.

“You should have told me!”

“To what end, Alec? What could I have done? We can’t afford to waste any opportunity, any chance, to learn more about these alien invaders.”

“But your son—”

Straker’s fists slammed the desk surface, upsetting the glass and sending a flurry of pages fluttering to the office floor. His eyes widened, equally started by the sudden outburst as his colleague. Freeman stopped pacing. 

“You know as well as I do, the responsibility of this job! The sacrifices we agreed to when joining S.H.A.D.O.!”

Freeman dropped his eyes to the floor and sighed. He rolled the cigarette between his thumb and finger, watching the ash fall onto the tile. Normally he would never have been so inconsiderate, but courtesy was furthest from his mind. 

“How can I perform my duties if I don’t know what’s going on?”

---------------------------------------------------------🛸

Domestic Strife - A UFO Fic

[Straker has second thoughts about his marriage]

[Inspired by episode “Confetti Check A-O.K.”]

⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅

Alec Freeman picked up a pair of glasses and gestured toward the bar.

“Shall we?”

Ed Straker leaned back into his new chair and propped his feet on the desk's corner, blowing out a puff of smoke while giving Freeman a side-long glance. The older man raised his brows expectantly, waiting for an answer. Straker shook his head and smiled around his cigar.

"Well if you won't, I will."

“You know, Alec, I had a feeling you’d put that machine through its paces. I just didn’t expect you to do so so quickly. It's been operational for a grand total of ten minutes now.”

He took another pull from his cigar.

“Must be some kind of record,” he added through a haze of smoke.

Freeman flashed him a smile and pressed the button marked WHISKY.

Straker took another drag from his cigar and looked around his new office. At the moment its furnishing were sparse; besides the office bar, conference table, and video screens there wasn't much else. He had a few maps and diagrams he planned to put up, and had asked some of the boys to install a working model of the Earth's orbit, complete with its own rotating Moon, along the far wall.

"It's coming along nicely," Freeman said, sipping from his glass. He pointed at the expansive wall behind the conference table. "Any plans for that bit of space there?"

"Not at the moment. At any rate I've asked that the walls be painted, get rid of this industrial Spartan gloom.”

"Speaking of paint, how's the house coming along? Been there a few months, I'm sure Mary's got it looking like a home by now."

⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅

(Straker is stuck doing paperwork. Freeman walks in with a bouquet of flowers and sets them on Ed’s desk. Straker’s like ??? “I’d thank you Alex but what’s the occasion?” They’re for Mary” “I asked Miss Ealand to have them delivered. You mentioned her birthday was today/it is her birthday, isn’t it?” Straker just blanches. Freeman tells him to take credit for the flowers, chalking his forgetfulness to stress/them being newlyweds.)

"They're for Mary. I asked Miss Ealand to have them delivered," he said, setting them on Straker's desk. "You mentioned her birthday was today. It is her birthday, isn't it?"

Straker stared at the flowers, cool blue stare growing cooler by the second. Freeman took a little card from the bouquet and quietly folded it before placing it in his pocket.

"Tell her they're from you.”

Straker hardly smiled anymore. He was starting to develop fine lines at the corner of his mouth and eyes, aging him prematurely. At times like this his platinum hair looked white.

“I owe you, Alec.”

⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅

“I don’t think I’m cut out for this marriage business, Alec.”

“Nonsense. What’s marriage compared to global security?”

Freeman’s eyes flicked over to his friend with guarded emotion.

“Well, you love her, don’t you?”

“Of course, Alec, don’t get me wrong. I love Mary very much.” He paused, staring into space. “Sometimes I just wonder if she deserves to be with someone who won’t keep secrets.”

#ufo #Gerry Anderson’s ufo #commander ed straker #colonel alec freeman #my fic #go watch this funky sci fi show #it's really good #:)

[thisislizheather]

February Feats 2024

Above Photo: NYC, February 2024

Welcome to March! You’re well aware of how much I love this month. Will I overdo it and be left a shell of a person come April 1st? Most likely, but there’s nothing that can be done about that! Here’s what went down last month.

The best tweets of the month can be found over here.

I kept up with my weekly Winter Wednesdays series.

I finally finished the Mel Brooks memoir I’ve been reading for months.

If this coat (below) was under $100, then I would’ve had no choice but to buy it.

Above Photo: Bury me at the Nordstrom flagship

God, I love a small batch cookie recipe.

People won’t shut up about this New York Times marry-me chicken recipe but I absolutely would reject that proposal. I made it and it was FINE at best. And more recently, I made a cauliflower soup of theirs and it was bland as hell! I definitely need to take a step back from their recipes. Maybe the food styling is what’s tricking me? Gorgeous looking food doesn’t always taste amazing. There’s a lesson there??

I made this brioche berry bread pudding that was delicious. Something feels very wrong about using strawberries in February, but the Grand Marnier soak really helped the flavour.

Above Photo: Brioche berry bread pudding

I can’t stop wearing these Aerie brown stockings.

Found a new coffee shop that I’m loving - Sonbobs in Astoria.

We bought Baby Dog a ramp to get on and off our bed and it’s been a huge help. Sometimes she’ll just leap off into the pillows alongside it, so it may take some time for her to trust this new inanimate object in her life.

Above Photo: Baby Dog begrudgingly on her new ramp

I tried out a colour corrector from Huda because the internet told me to and it did absolutely nothing different to my face hahah?? Sometimes I seem smart and other times I do stuff like this.

Nathan and I saw the play An Enemy Of The People with Jeremy Strong (from Succession) and Michael Imperioli (from The Sopranos & The White Lotus) and it was great! Absolutely love the Circle in the Square theatre. $40 tickets straight from the box office can’t be beat.

The winter kale salad at Uva Next Door on the Upper East Side was top tier.

The patty melt at Daily Provisions? Wow. Makes zero sense that a coffee shop has that good a sandwich.

I’ve finally learned my lesson and I’ve stopped using third-party websites for booking travel. Took me decades to learn this lesson.

Also, I’m sure no one but me buys Visa gift cards - but just incase, stay very far away from the brand Vanilla. I’ve had so many issues with money that was loaded improperly and their customer service is nonexistent.

Some things I watched:

Sometimes I Think About Dying: so great! Our friend Dave does such a great job in it.

Two Weeks Notice and The Wedding Date (combining them because they don’t deserve individual billing): WOOF. Why do I do this to myself when I have a list full of actually watchable movies?

If Lucy Fell: an old Sarah Jessica Parker movie? Course I’d watch that. It actually wouldn’t have been so terrible if the main guy wasn’t such an awful actor. He wrote, directed and starred in it, which was the wrong decision.

Waiting To Exhale: such a great rewatch.

Once Upon A Crime: perfect rewatch. It’s baffling that this movie did so bad at the box office.

New season of Curb: ugh. I don’t want to be mean, but I really hate this show now. The storylines are so tired and it really didn’t need to come back at all. (Richard Lewis will remain the best thing about the whole show.)

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: taking Baby Dog to Niagara Falls, I really want to try the vodka chicken parm from Compton’s in Astoria, excited to spend some time with my brother + family visiting from Scotland and there are so many birthday cakes I get to make for other people this month.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can read what went on in January over here.

#this is liz heather #Liz Heather #NYC #best of NYC #February #February Feats 2024 #monthly #monthly post #monthly roundup

[sheepisreading]

Books I finished in Febuary 2023

The first three I grabbed at the same time at the boostore because I was bored and needed cheering up!

Naked, David Sedaris, 1997

This is an essay collection! I’d previously read Calypso by the same author and loved it. It’s a fun read, not hard to read or get into and doesn’t require too much concentration to read while still being very entertaining. I chose it as my next book for that reason, because I’ve been pretty fucking stressed recently and thought I could read it without spiralling. It worked! I loved it, it was funny and earnest, recounting amusing anecdotes and real learning moments. I love these kinds of essay collections heartfelt but self aware and comedic.

(Also, because I’ll probably never review it since I read it like six years ago: in the same vein I can only recommend Watsky’s essay collection “How to ruin everything”, probably even more than Naked! It’s I think less emotional or about emotions but I honestly loved it, it made me very happy, Watsky is awesome.)

Assembly, Natasha Brown, 2020

Fully picked this one up in the bookshop because the cover is pretty but after reading the blurb I immediately bought it. It’s fiction but clearly inspired by the authors life. The main character muses on her life so far and the decisions she’s made. It says clearly some shit that’s obvious but for some reason still an issue! The author clearly writes about the differences in class and upbringing between rich old money white people (her colleages) and hardworking new money black people (her). It’s about stuff we take for granted and casual racism. Very good ! It packs a punch in only a hundred pages.

Bluets, Maggie Nelson, 2009

Maggie Nelson writes “propositions” meaning short prose-poetry rambling-things about blue. I’m very into blue and gave a school presentation two years ago on the history of blue in art inspired by the vsauce video about it (which is amazing by the way, I rewatch it often), so I’ve been wanting to read it for a while. It’s good! Maggie Nelson writes beautifully about artists who have used the colour in the past (which is good inspiration) and her own relationship with blue, as well as with two people she cares about at the moment of writing. Her writing is absolutely beautiful! There is a lot of mention of romantic and physical longing which I cannot relate to, but that’s an issue I run into often and her way of discussing it remains interesting. It’s a beautiful book and its atmosphere stays with you.

The Nice House on the Lake vol. 1, James Tynion IV, 2021

Okay apparently the author is well known but I’ve never heard of him as I don’t really read comics and read like one graphic novel a year. As I understand it what I read (volume 1) spans the first six issues of the comic (out of 12). I grabbed it while browsing and loved the colours and was intrigued by the premise (having watched and thoroughly enjoyed Glass Onion not long before, I kinda thought it was a hardcore version of that, turns out: way more sci-fi shit in Nice House). I got home after my first day of internship, spent an hour doing jack shit and then picked this book up and read the whole thing straight. It’s amazing, there are fleshed out characters (some of them are queer yay), suspense, tension, emotion, it’s just really good! I will warn for like apocalypse, discussions of suicide and body horror though if that’s a thing you can’t go near! But if you can and are into weird sci-fi horror I recommend it! (I actually kind of like Walter I have to say, he just loves his friends !)

Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse, 1927

!!! My mum is a big Hermann Hesse fan and always advocated for me reading one of his books. I happened upon this one at the used book market and immediately bought it because I noticed someone had anotated parts of it which. Yeah. Anyways, a bit of a slow start with the introduction written from an outside perspective from the narrator of the remainder of the book but absolutely hang in there! It's absolutely amazing; reflections on selfhood and the way we choose to live or not live our lives, connections with others, finding joy and excitement. It really did exceed my expectations. I thought there would be too much romance talk for my taste but it's so beautifully written that it's not an issue at all. It left a mark on me, that's for sure, it's a really powerful book.

#david sedaris #natasha brown #maggie nelson #james tynion iv #hermann hesse #book community #bookblr #bookish #books #book review #book isnt a word anymore

[takenbyabook]

WANDAVISION THEORIES

Ok so I just rewatched episodes 1 and 2 of Wandavision and I noticed some stuff I hadn't before

1- THE HEXAGONS/HONEYCOMBS : they're everywhere. At first I just noticed it on the closing of episode one and thought it was an odd shape to frame them in (would've made more sense if it was a diamond shape given Vision's iconography). Upon the second watch, though, I saw it in the closing of episode two and also IN THE OPENING. The animated sequence starts with a full moon and shining stars around it, and the stars form... you guessed it. A hexagon. This is absolutely a clue, because of course we see that man in the beekeeper suit at the end of ep. 2, and honeycombs are shaped like hexagons.

2- EVERYTHING ALWAYS GOES WANDA'S WAY - sure, sitcoms usually have feel-good endings, but I think it's more than that. Dinner with the Harts was a disaster - Wanda was in a nightgown, the first meeting was awkward, the food was late, Mrs Hart felt woozy, food was breakfast for dinner, entertainment was poor, they failed to even make simple conversation and, of course, Mr. Hart almost DIED. If I remember correctly the other employee had prepared a 5 course meal with a string quartet and still got sacked. But not Vision - he not only "passed the test", but he was PROMOTED. And then there's that disastrous talent show, which sure, maybe it really was entertaining, but for Dottie to do a 180 and praise Wanda and Vision like that after letting Wanda know she didn't like them to her face was very, very odd and fairy-tale like. And, of course, there's Wanda's "No." in ep. 2. All of these for me are definite proof that she is controlling everything and everyone in the neighbourhood; she wants to fit in, so she's fitting in, no matter how disastrous her actual attempts are. EVERYTHING ALWAYS GOES WANDA'S WAY.

3-WANDA DOESN'T MEAN ANYONE ANY HARM - I thought this answer was odd when I first watched it, but now I'm convinced this means Wanda is behind this "suburban paradise". When Dottie tells her she's heard things about her and Vision, Wanda's answer is not to ask what she's heard or say something like "I'm not sure what you heard, but it isn't true" or "Vision and I are good people, we did nothing wrong" or "we just want to fit in", which is something she keeps saying. She may not be sure what the rumours are, but she uses the opportunity to say: "hey, maybe you don't appreciate I trapped you in here to play house, but whatever it is I'm putting you through, it's not ill-intentioned. I don't mean any harm". I may be reading into this a little too much, but I do think there was some significance to this line, especially considering how good and intricate the writing is.

#wandavision #wandavision spoilers #wandavision spoiler #marvel #scarlet witch #vision #wanda maximoff #wandavision theory #text