#the piano at the end makes me go bonkers

[chosetherose]

Super interesting idea to have the album be from Karlie’s perspective. I’ve always held the belief that some songs have been from the muses’ perspective or switching between her and the muse. I also saw someone on x (sorry I can’t share the user cos I was just randomly scrolling) mentioning how the eras intro to tolerate it could be on the album. Probably not, but I’m sure we have unknowingly heard some of it. That piano intro reminds me of evermore, when the music changes at the end, with the piano. Sorry, I don’t know how to describe it! “can we just get a pause” - the TTPD logo has a pause sign in it. Could even be parallel lines. Like on the cake in IBYTAM.

Agreed! I bet throughout her discography there are songs from the perspective of muses. I’d be surprised if the whole TTPD album was from the perspective of a muse/muses but maybe others could see it.

Wouldn’t that be wild if we’ve already heard some of the music?! She must know that would make us go bonkers lol.

Maybe you’re on to something with the pause stuff. A very interesting idea I’ve never thought of.

For background, the TTPD logo and IBYTAM cake:

#CTRask #and no worries anon #there’s a huge difference between relaying something you saw scrolling and taking credit for someone else’s work!

[sunburnacoustic]

1, 16, 19, 21, 34, 35, and 48 😊

Hi @domwhoreward!! Thanks for this, it was fun, it was hard! It gave me an excuse to think about Muse a lot :P

1. What's your favourite live performance?

It’s so hard to pick… I will try answering this as favourite live shows in general, and specific songs I thought were freakishly good at a particular gig. I can't say any one is my one-and-only favourite because as soon as I hit publish, something else will land into my head and I won't be able to pick 😅

I think New Born live at the Mayan in 2015 is contender for one of the best recent live performances of the song, and the Mayan for one of their best live gigs overall! Pitch perfect. That show took my breath away. It’s also got the coolest outro on Assassin that is so heavy and just bonkers good, and Chris' backing vocals on Apocalypse Please (!!). Good gig. Everything about this gig was great. Madness live in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, 2012! Popcorn on Taratata, just because they’re having so much fun it makes the performance 25x more fun to watch! Space Dementia live at Pinkpop 2002! One day I will go digging and find that clip again, but Matt had the smuggest grin on his face having nailed that piano chorus outro. Showoff lol. They were excellent at that show! And of course, Glastonbury 2004. Wembley 2007. Unmatched quality. They're an excellent live band; like 97% of their gigs are of the quality that most bands would clamour to call the pinnacle of their own careers. It's a normal night for Muse. No one comes close.

(This Warchild UK performance is a strong contender too)

[This isn't technically a live gig but an in-store signing session, but I can see the raised eyebrows coming if I don't mention it because it is literally in my url for a reason - 1999 HMV Bristol in-store acoustic set. Sunburn, Cave, Muscle Museum. So good.]

16. Favourite Chris pic?

Ooh, this q is just asking for a Chris photo dump!

Some silly and cute baby era pics I really like!

Chris goth girl era from when Muse were in school (from the Origin of Muse booklet!)

Look at Chris swinging about!

Babysitting Matt with an NME award, what a sweetheart. Just want to mention what the article reviewing one of these gigs said: "While many gigs have ended with the guitars being thrown into the drums, this is the first time I've seen the bassist throw the guitarist at the drums." He big.

And just generally, smiley Chris pics are the best! Some other assorted pics from gigs and such that I like:

The drama in the first two! And Chris looking out for Dom, and just chilling with the band ♥️♥️

One of my absolute favourites though, and I’m biased towards this because Time Is Running Out at Wembley was one of the earliest Muse performances I saw when I first got into the band— this cemented my love for them! It’s got to be the moment at the end of the extended improvised Jimmy Jam riff intro to TIRO where Chris lifts his bass and points it to the crowd. Instantly changed my life. Infinitely cool. You want to be him. So that (series of image frames put into a gif) is my favourite picture of Chris!

Honorary mention: your pictures of Chris from this tour, which are excellent!!

19. Favourite photoshoot of the band?

I am a little crazy about most of their Black Holes era promotional work! That coordinated black-and-white shirts and coat jackets with braces look was such a vibe:

One of my favourites out of those is this surreal artsy photoshoot they did where they all pretended to have died (Dom probably did the most realistic job of it… Matt and Chris just looked like peacefully sleeping angels lol)

This Q photoshoot, of course:

Pink shirt photoshoot:

This one photoshoot, I don’t know when it’s from exactly but I loved the composition of it. Blue skies overhead, band unbothered, Matt in aviators. Lovely vibe, I had it in a folder of pictures I meant to print as posters for the longest time when I was younger!

And this one Resistance era photoshoot (that ended up on the album sleeve). I so badly wanted this as the full-length poster, but I was one era too late to the band. This one's my favourite!

21. Favourite wtf moment in an interview?

A few lol. The whole entire 2011 NME awards drunk interview (he's heading for gweatness, he's getting there but it's an uphill stwuggle), "pair of pink fluffy handcuffs" interview, "come to our gigs, anything could happen, I could kill Dom, I could get naked and fuck Chris" interview, "Dom's still doing lines of coke off models' tits" interview, deflated balls interview, fan interview where Matt insisted on having the socks the fans gifted them, and on the topic of socks:

(I have hit the 30 image limit, incredibly; I answered this last)

All the shit he said in Black Holes-era interviews... ([On being asked if the Queen was hot] "You know, when she was younger, in her prime. She might not look great on the £50 note, but she had her glory days.")

There are so many with this band!

34. Have you met any of the band (/if not, any favourite fan interaction/gig stories)?

Haven't met the band unfortunately, I'd be a changed person if I did I think. Meeting Muse will fix me (<- lies; it will break up and shake up my entire core I think).

But the gifts fans give them are always a favourite moment of mine! The fan giving Dom the Slipknot mask that gave us "sit the fuck down!" (well, she actually gave it to Matt, but he passed it on to Dom). The various shirts with edits of Dom fans have gifted Matt that he's worn on the road.

My favourite live interactions: when Muse interact with the crowd, play to them, smile at them (especially when Matt sings Starlight straight to fans in the front!), when they come down to the barricade. Chris going crowdsurfing at Glastonbury 2004.

These moments:

This last one isn't an interaction per se, but while we're on the subject of fans I must add this because it melts my heart into a puddle on the floor:

35. Favourite Muse moment that's overused in the fandom to literal meme status (e.g. fuck off you cunt, Soldier's Poem was on Absolution, anything at all from Panic Station, Hey You Crazy Kids!, etc.)

I am not immune to a bit of

To this day I still use Matt/Chris/Dom from Muse as my tag for all their silly moments and shenanigans because it still cracks me up, every single time. I've never been able to watch this video with a straight face, it'll never be overused to me 😅

48. Have you made friends through Muse fan communities?

😊😊😊😊😊♥️♥️♥️ yes, I have! I met all of you, had the best gig of my life, and made some amazing friends that have stuck by me outside of just Muse fan-ning together!

#this got long! Sorry it took a while to post! #muse band #muse #musers #asks! #it's (not) too much to ask #muse asks #niche Muse asks #Muse nitty gritties asks #long post #Muse

[triviareads]

Are there any sugar daddy or sugar mama books?

You know, I've yet to come across a sugar mama romance (there have been a few books I've read where the hero had a sugar mama in the past but they... were never really framed as healthy relationships which I feel is kind of telling).

There are a lot of historical romances with wealthy heroes and not-so-wealthy heroines (and he'll inevitably buy stuff for her) but I can only think of two heroes who actually have sugar daddy vibes, and both of them unsurprisingly are Lisa Kleypas heroes. Secrets of a Summer Night's hero Simon Hunt is the og; he wants to make Annabelle his mistress and is fully like "tell me your price" and "you could do with a bit of spoiling", and backs it up by buying her really nice boots (the first pair of shoes in a long line of extravagant shoe purchases), and there's a very sugar daddy-esque scene where he buys her jewels and the second they're home, she all but pounces him to thank him. Marrying Winterborne's hero Rhys Winterborne has a similar energy where he thinks plying a gal with gifts is the best way to court her (and plying her with a piano or a greenhouse is the best way to get her to sleep with him which.... does work tbh), and Helen actually has to teach him to curb some of his more extravagant impulses.

Moving onto contemporary recs:

No Ordinary Love by Ann Christopher is similar to Marrying Winterborne in that the hero has only ever had transactional relationships before, so that's all he knows. So this man, Baptiste (he's French) hooks up with Samira ONCE and pays off 11k in credit card debt. She's understandably shocked and tries to make him take it back and as the story goes on, she teaches him that affection ≠ money.

So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon: A classic modern sugar relationship; Kayla signs up for a sugar website but ends up hitting it off with the website owner/Internet billionaire Michael at a mixer and they begin a sugar relationship that morphs into something more pretty quickly. I also appreciate how it dealt with a pretty common misconception about the kind of person who has success attracting sugar daddies (skinny, white).

Skyscraper Cinderella series by K. Webster: Kind of a bonkers sugar relationship; Winston propositions Ash, the maid who's cleaning his office, and then financially incentivizes every sex act (and non-sexual acts) that Ash performs. There's a good amount of degradation involved. That being said, their relationship is actually really hot and pretty damn hysterical.

Highest Bidder by Sara Cate: Fairly run of the mill as far as sugar daddy/baby romances go, but it fits the bill; obscenely rich older man, financially unstable younger woman, he likes to be called daddy in bed, he takes her to Paris at some point.

The Master by Kresley Cole: So Cat is a substitute escort and it's supposed to be a one-night thing, except it isn't, and then he freaks out about her baby-trapping him and holds her as prisoner in his penthouse so she buys a lot of stuff on his card out of spite (or as she calls it "retaliatory consumerism"). That's the sugar aspect, but honestly the highlight is the prisoner bit.

Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre: Mikhail offers Kate money to get her our of debt in exchange for domming him. There is also a huge financial domination component that takes a WILD turn when she has him donating money to Super PACs to (ironically) overturn Citizens United.

#book recs #lisa kleypas #ann christopher #rebekah weatherspoon #k. webster #sara cate #kresley cole #heather guerre #historical romance #ask #contemporary romance #romance novels

[fortunemars]

FRIENDS

URGENT (not really, medium urgent)

Im writing a script for a (kinda long) short film and I am desperately searching for music that is anywhere near the tone of the script but unfortunately YouTube and even spotify don't know how to sort genres correctly (fuckin bonkers. What do you mean THE MUSIC APP doesn't know how any genres and doesn't know how to put together playlists that are what they say they are!!!)

The general idea of the script is that we're watching a kid grow up (starting at abt 5, kindergarten age) until they're about 18 (not sure about that, might have it end a couple years after, I'll get to it). It's going to be a bunch of snapshots of this kid's life as they grow up, put into sections marked by birthdays! It's (planned to be) filmed in a very home made way, as if a parent is recording these snapshots of their kid so they can all look back on it later.

The general tone is gonna be happy, there will be some sad parts in the actual film but those aren't the main point. Any of me talking abt making the viewers sad is more "make them sad bc they're seeing this life go by so fast". Like how people (me) cry at slideshows of random moments in a kids life leading up to a big event...

Ahem, page break bc the actual point of this post is going to be long. Below the break is the list of music I'm looking for!! (Doesn't need to be copyright free, I'm mostly looking for inspiration music rn)

SO, I'm looking for music to fit a few vibes, im probably gonna make different playlists in general, but here are The Needs

General note: (I'd prefer songs with an "indie" vibe -- meaning songs without big technical instruments like synths or electric guitar riffs lol, I don't think any pop or metal type music would fit here)

- anti-folk (excluding folk-punk. A little confusing sorry! Think of the Juno soundtrack or most of kimya dawson. It's really that bright and happy, vibrant sounding music that I need)

- folk (general, soft guitar and no harsh vocals, famous songs are good too! Something that ppl would feel like they know even if they don't. Nostalgia country... Think "time in a bottle" - Jim Croce. I need that down to earth, slow and chill music yk?)

- folk-rock (are you seeing a pattern?) (Also idk if this is the right term, for this I mean music like The Lumineers, Vance Joy, the kind of music you'd hear on the radio around 2010-2016 but NON EXPLICIT) (there is a concerning amount of music we listened to as kids that was just. Just about sex. Wack)

- kids music! (By this I mean specific recordings of nostalgic kids songs, not just nursery rhymes tho! This is the real "devastate the viewers" music. My example for this is "little bird little bird" by Elizabeth Mitchell, though I'd like any kind of recorded kids songs! Double points if there's a kid singing in them.)

+ I want to say classical but I don't know how to explain the kind I'm looking for? Something that you could listen to while reading a book in a field???

+ generally calm or chill music! Piano, guitar, harmonica, and soft vocals.

I don't have any other ideas currently but yeah! If anyone has any music (single songs or playlists!!) I will accept anything!!!! I'm just looking for ANYTHING to help me focus on this writing bc I really wanna get this script done 😭😭😭

#short film #writing #scripting #music for writing #a desperate cry for help (i need the vibes to fit or I can't get the tone right in the script)

[found-droid]

#bop of the day #great running song #the piano at the end makes me go bonkers #me taking an airport studio and fluid dynamics in the same semester: it’s all coming together #also if u wanna wild math stories look up the Bernoulli family they were so MESSY #father: I will now steal this mathematical work from my son and pass it off as my own #l’hopital watching johann do this: what a great idea sure would be a shame if someone published johanns lectures under their own name #and got a famous mathematical identity named after them instead of the actual creator #aka *our* mathematics meme #Spotify

[troquantary]

Edward Cullen: That Boy Ain’t Right

So I was doing a reread of @therealvinelle 's collection of Twilight metas, as one does, and in "Edward, Denial, and a Human Girlfriend" she mentions that she doesn't believe Edward is sane. I thought, "ha, yeah, he's definitely not," and also, "but wait, what does that mean exactly, please say more about that." But since she's already inundated with asks, I've decided to use my own head-muscle and explore this idea. (TL;DR: I start out more or less organized, synthesize some points Vinelle has made across several posts (and have hopefully linked to them all where relevant but please tell me if not), touch a little on narcissism, then take a hard left into the negative effects of being a telepath.)

Just a couple things to note at the outset, though. Theses have been written already (probably) about Edward as an abuser. Edward being insane doesn't negate that at all; he's definitely an asshole and just...a disaster of a human being. (I find it more funny than anything, but YMMV.) I'm also going to try to avoid talking specifically about mental illness and how it relates (or doesn't relate) to abusive behavior -- that's territory I'm not really equipped to discuss, like at all. My starting point is "Edward has a deeply warped perception of reality," not "Edward has X disorder."

So: deeply warped perception of reality. The evidence? Goes behind a cut, because my one character trait is Verbose.

Vinelle provides a great example of it in the post linked above, which I'll just quote because she does words good: "[Edward] keeps acting like his romance with Bella is a romantic tragedy, and all the cast of Twilight are actors on a stage making it as sublime as possible." Edward's the one to pursue Bella, but he does so with the full belief, from the very beginning, that it will never last; Bella will "outgrow" him, go on her human way, and he can spend the rest of eternity brooding magnificently over his too-short romantic bliss. [Insert premature ejaculation joke.] Turning her is never an option, even though Alice, Noted Psychic, says that romancing Bella will either end with her dead (exsanguinated) or dead (vampire).

This framing, where he's a dark anti-hero in love with -- but never tainting! -- the pure maiden and eventually leaving her in a grand, tragic sacrifice to preserve her soul? It's fucking bonkers. Bella isn't a person to him in this scenario. As Vinelle points out, Bella's never really a person to him at all; he falls in love with his own mental construct, cherry-picking from what he observes of her behavior and her responses to his 20 (thousand) Questions to convince himself that she is the ideal woman.

Bella's not the only one who gets the projection/cardboard-cutout treatment. Edward sees everything and everyone through a highly particular, personalized lens. He filters his entire reality, which we all do to an extent, but the thing with Edward is that he starts with his conclusions and then only pays attention to the evidence that supports those conclusions. Often that evidence consists of what he admits in New Moon are only "surface" thoughts -- but recognizing that limitation doesn't keep him from taking those thoughts as representative of what people are. Edward then becomes absolutely convinced by his own "reasoning" and won't be swayed from what he has decided is Objectively True. It's obvious with Bella; it's also painfully obvious with Rosalie. (Vinelle explains this and brings up Edward's raging Madonna/Whore complex in the same post, so refer to that again -- she's right.)

He also catastrophizes. Everything. Bella's just vibing in her room, rereading Wuthering Heights for the 87th time? She's gonna be hit by a meteor, better sneak into her room while she sleeps. Bella's going to the beach with the filthy mundanes their human classmates? She's gonna fall in the ocean. Jasper's cannibal pals are stopping by for a visit, but know not to hunt in the area? DISASTER, DEFCON 1, ALSO FUCK YOU JASPER FOR EVEN EXISTING IN MY AND BELLA'S SPHERE YOU UNSPEAKABLE BURDEN. Edward must believe that Bella is vulnerable and in near-constant peril, to support the reality he has created in which he is the villain turned protector and maybe?? hero??? (!!!) for his beloved. So when the actual, James-shaped danger arrives, he goes berserk, snarling and flipping his shit and generally not helping the situation. His fantasy demands that Bella remain human, so instead of doing the very thing Alice, Noted Psychic, assures him will neutralize the threat (and not just a threat to Bella, either, but to Bella's family and any other human James might decide to include in the "game"), he vetoes it immediately, no discussion. Bella Must Not Turn, and he sticks to those guns despite James nearly reducing her to ground beef, despite leaving Bella catatonic with depression (but human! success!) in New Moon, despite Aro's order and his family's vote and, let's not forget, Bella's clearly and repeatedly stated desire to be a vampire. It's going to happen. But he doesn't accept it until Renesmee busts out of Bella like the Kool-Aid man and the poor girl's heart finally, unequivocally stops.

Sane people don't behave this way. I don't want to slap labels on Edward, but I can't help but note that he comes across as highly narcissistic. He's the only real person in his universe, the lone player among us NPCs. That probably has a lot to do with him being frozen in the mindset and maturity of a seventeen-year-old boy, but I think it's also just...him, on some fundamental level. His failure to connect with others and recognize them as full, independent beings with their own wants and priorities isn't like Bella's failure -- she's badly depressed. Edward is...something else, and I get the sense that his sanity has been steadily deteriorating over time. And a cursory google of narcissistic traits turns up some familiar-looking stuff. He's self-loathing, yes, but also grandiose; he hates himself for the monster he is (and hates most vampires besides Esme and Carlisle for their monstrosity, too) but still feels superior to humans, to the extent that he felt entitled to human blood and resented Carlisle for depriving him of his "proper" diet. He eventually returns to Carlisle, but he's far from content -- the beginning of Midnight Sun finds him in a state of ennui, bored and dismissive of (if not outright disgusted by) everyone around him, that has apparently persisted for years and years. He doesn't play the piano, he doesn't compose, he doesn't enjoy anything...at least until Bella comes along and then he becomes obsessed to a disturbing degree with her and his new, romantic tragedy spin on reality.

[Next-day edit: I’m not sure where else to fit this in, but the way Edward casually contemplates violence against people who have, at best, mildly annoyed him is...chilling. I have a hard time writing off his strategizing how to murder the entire Biology class as a result of bloodlust -- it’s so calculated, nothing like the blackout state of thirst Emmett describes when he encountered his own “singer,” and that is probably the default for when a vampire is extremely thirsty. But even ignoring the Biology class incident, Edward still does things like consider, with disturbing frequency, how he might grievously injure or kill Mike Newton, all because...Edward considers him his romantic rival (despite Bella barely giving the kid the time of day). He thinks about slapping Mike through a wall, which might be an amusing slapstick image, except as a vampire Edward’s actually capable of turning this boy’s skeleton to a fine powder. So it’s, y’know, kind of sick when you think about it.

But even worse than that, when Bella tells Edward about how she flirted with Jacob to get at that sweet, sweet vampire lore, Edward chuckles and then, after dropping Bella home, flippantly observes that now that the treaty’s broken, why not genocide? I’m not even kidding, it’s right there in Midnight Sun; he seriously thinks about the fact that he’d be technically justified now in wiping out the entire tribe because a teenager tried to impress a girl with a spooky story. That is fucked. Remember, Edward was there with Carlisle when the treaty was first established. He knows how remarkable it is that they even came to a truce in the first place, that it was only ever possible because Carlisle is...well, Carlisle, and that it marks a pretty significant moment in supernatural history. He doesn’t care; he doesn’t respect it, or he’d never think something like “Ha ha, if I went and killed them all, I wouldn’t even be wrong. I mean, I won’t do it, but I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be wrong.”

Again: not the thought process or behavior of a sane person. (Or a person that respects life in general -- sorry Carlisle, big L.)]

Finally, whether he's a narcissist or not, I think the fact that Edward has constant, unavoidable access to everyone's thoughts is a powerful contributing factor to his instability. He can tune out the mental noise to an extent, but he can't stop it -- so he comes to rely on it like another sense. This causes issues with disconnect and lack of empathy, of course, but there's another facet to this shit diamond: he's basically experiencing a ceaseless flow of intrusive thoughts. His narration in Midnight Sun suggests that he "hears" the words people think, can "see" what they visualize in their mind's eye, and can sense the emotional "tone" and intensity of their thoughts. Therefore, perceiving Jasper's thirst through his thoughts makes Edward more aware of his own, "doubling" the discomfort. This would be a lot to deal with even from just his immediate coven members, but Edward gets all of this pouring into his head like a firehose on a day-to-day basis because the Cullens live right alongside humans. I know Meyerpires have galaxy brains or whatever, but that's a ton to process.

Besides the compounding effect on his own thirst when he "feels" the thirst of others, Meyer never suggests that Edward has difficulty separating his own thoughts from other people's; even when he was newly turned, he recognized Carlisle's "voice" in his head as Carlisle's. That would create a whole different host of issues around identity, but it looks like Edward's escaped that particular torment. However, I can easily imagine that what he does experience is just shy of unbearable nonetheless, with an eroding effect on his sanity over decades. He can't sleep to escape it; he's on a dishwater diet and probably (like the rest of his family) experiencing a perpetual, low-grade physical discomfort due to his thirst never being fully satisfied; and he's around far more people than is the norm for vampires -- even discounting all the humans, his own coven is unusually large -- meaning more noise.

Honestly, it would be weirder if he were all there, considering.

And even though I feel like I lost a sense of structure around where I started ranting about telepathy, I've written like 1.5k words about Edward fucking Cullen and I think that's enough for one post.

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight meta #edward cullen #i stared too long and the twilight abyss gazed back #long post #major credit due to therealvinelle for having basically all the ideas already #theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin too since they agree and build off each other's metas a lot #idk how people who write meta can just crank these posts out i've been here for two hours #edited to add stuff i forgot to mention about edward's disproportionately violent fantasies

[brittlebutch]

OK. are y’all ready to listen to me overanalyze wyld stallyns music? Wyld Stallyns music from Bill and Ted?? PLEASE say you are

I’ve been listening to ‘That Which Binds Us Through Time’ and ‘Face the Music’ a lot lately because i’m obsessive, but I’ve been thinking about how much the two songs are able to tell about Bill and Ted’s struggle with their music over the years. Even outside of the entire plot and action of the movie, these two songs say nearly everything you need to know about the journey lmao

‘That Which Binds Us Through Time...’ is a song that utilizes a lot of instruments and a lot of looping; several sections of the song are just repeated chunks of melodies and rhythm played by separate instruments. There are several little arcs of the music, but everything returns back to the same loops. You can hear guitar playing as well, but it’s never the Primary focus of the song - it’s used as an undercurrent beneath some of the primary looping instruments, like the Theremin. When Bill and Ted play the song at the wedding, their guitars don’t even make it to center stage (they also don’t get a chance to play them at all, which I’ll come back to). 

It really is an excellent song, but there’s kind of a slogged sound to it. The repetition is part of that - I do really like the repeating loops and they sound great because Bill and Ted are good at playing the instruments but none of the instruments are allowed to shine because they have to balance so many - especially when performing it live. They don’t have a band behind them anymore it’s only them, and there’s only so much they can do on their own. They have to rely on loops to pad out the song - to extend it and make sure that it sounds like More than just two dudes with a couple instruments - because they can’t rely on any bandmates to help them perform Or help them write. 

It also, like I said, doesn’t really have a big climax to the song that helps burst the vague sense of anticipation that runs through the melody - there’s a lot of build up but no Release in the tension. This, I think, does an excellent job of underlining the place that Bill and Ted are in in regards to their music. They’ve been working so hard throughout their entire life to write the song that unites the world, but they haven’t been able to do it yet. All build up with no release - the tension can’t go anywhere because Bill and Ted still have to carry it. And like I said before, there’s no one around to bear that burden with them, so there’s nothing else contributed to the sound BUT the years of desperation that Bill and Ted have put into it. 

Now with ‘Face the Music’ I’m only focusing on Bill and Ted’s solo towards the end of the song since the overall composition is Billie and Thea, not theirs. But even JUST THAT part of the song is such a Climax for them, both the song and Bill and Ted themselves. It drives me insane, and I think the fact that they went back to guitar has a lot to do with it, because THE FIRST shot we see of Bill and Ted in Every Single Movie is them with their guitars (Not counting the reveal of Evil Robot Bill and Ted in Bogus Journey - Bill and Ted themselves are first seen in their Battle of the Bands audition), but they don’t get a chance to play it even once before MP46. Like I said, even though ‘That Which Binds Us’ has guitar sections included in it, they don’t get a chance to play in movie because they get interrupted due to the unconventional sound of the song.

I think, more than anything, Bill and Ted are guitarists. When they were still planning Wyld Stallyns in high school, they have a piano and a drumset, but they don’t play them. Even despite the fact that it takes them years to properly learn how to play the guitar, they still love to play and perform just because it’s Fun. They don’t even necessarily care what the sound is, just the act of playing delights them, which I’m obsessed with. But anyway, Bill and Ted - shown through ‘That Which Binds Us’ are really good at playing a bunch of different instruments, but they still love the guitar more than anything. 

So during ‘Face the Music’, Billie and Thea could have handed Bill and Ted any instrument, and I bet they’d be able to play it. After all, Jimmi Hendrix is there so they already have a guitar in the sound, and they give Jo and Liz a keytar and a violin, so they’re clearly adding other instruments. BUT they give Bill and Ted both guitars because they know their dads (ALSO worth noting that I’m similarly obsessed with the fact that Billie and Thea were the only ones who stopped to consider the fact that Bill and Ted have been alone in the band for years. When The Great Leader brings Bill and Ted to the future to write the song she talks about Preston/Logan And The Band and claims she gave them ‘everything they needed’, BUT the first thing Billie and Thea tell to Kellye is that ‘they’re all alone’ and they want to help support them because they don’t HAVE a band, they’ve only had each other. Anyway) 

They give Bill and Ted guitars and for the first time in GOD KNOWS how long, they get to play with other people. You can SEE how excited that makes them before they even start to play; how thrilled they are that Billie and Thea have built up this composition and that they get to play with other people again. Ted hops all over the stage to give high fives to his family because they’re all there with him for the first time in a long time!! i LOVE the little grins that Jimmi Hendrix and Bill are able to share - because there’s no WAY that only Billie and Thea were Hendrix fans, Bill and Ted almost certainly were too and to get that surprised little look and nod of approval from HENDRIX HIMSELF - no wonder Bill’s face scrunches up so excitedly dude!! 

Not only that BUT because the sound isn’t resting wholly on Bill and Ted’s shoulders they get to have fun with the music. When they play ‘That Which Binds Us’ during the wedding, they don’t smile before Or during the performance because they’re so concentrated on getting everything done. It’s not something they have the freedom to relax during because the work is balanced so precariously between them. in ‘Face the Music’ however, it’s not just them! They have the space to bounce around stage, to play with each other (in a classic sense, not Just an instrument sense) and play their guitars with proper feel, because they don’t have to focus on playing each part so precisely. The song isn’t preplanned, it’s an Improvisational song they’re all playing by ear with each other. The music has personality because they finally have the breathing room to Give it to it, and the tension that hung over ‘That Which Binds Us’ is GONE because Bill and Ted are finally given the release that they’ve been working for all these years. Their solo IS the climax and the release of the ‘Face the Music’ song, they break the tension! They can play and have fun, work off of each other and the other people in the band, and it can be natural instead of a very carefully planned deliberate attempt and you can HEAR all of that in the solos themselves.

Tl;dr: Both are EXCELLENT songs because Bill and Ted are good at what they do, But “That Which Binds Us Through Time” is a tense and precariously balanced song with no release or relief because Bill and Ted have to handle it alone, while their solo in “Face the Music” grants them the breathing room to play and have fun with feel in their playing because they’re finally able to work with a band again instead of just being on their own. AND I’m still fucking bonkers over these dudes. 

#N posts stuff #bill and ted #bnt #bill and ted face the music #mixed reviews whether 'read mores' work on mobile so.. apologies just in case. this got out of hand. #YES i wrote this whole thing because I listened to 'face the music' in the car on the way home from grocery shopping and teared up #YES i went back to review the scenes and started bawling from 'shot where Bill and Ted see Billie and Thea playing on stage' again #CHRIST #but anyway i'm fucking insane and i'm Beyond thrilled that the people who made bill and ted 3 CLEARLY loved the series #1500 word essay can't even begin to encapsulate how much i LOVE these songs #i AM also writing a fic that centers on bill and ted's burnout which is closer to 7000 words but i'm still working on that one lmao

[arbitrarygreay]

Okay, so I don't really twig with Tsubaki Factory because most of their music is pretty conventional anisong-style crap (feels like H!P selling out), but their most recent single especially irks me because yeah, 2/3 still doesn't feel very H!P...but all three songs are VERY GOOD. XD YRK is the one that does feel like H!P (thank you Hoshibe/Ookubo). It most directly reminds me of a few Angerme tracks: Namida wa Chou ni Kawaru, Itoshima Distance, and Samui Ne. The flirting-with-reggaeton chorus arrangement, especially the double claps, also calls to mind the pop-flamenco of Juice=Juice's Hadaka no Hadaka no Hadaka no KISS. Tbh, I still get the kneejerk instinct to dismiss Garakuta Diamond because of the composition, but the arrangement is so good. Now I'm extra amused by Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no, because it seems like Ookubo heard this and was like "well I can do that!" The piano hits are very Hirata. But still, this song sounds like a 48G stage song, beefed up into a single by the production. >:/ At least the end of the chorus has a H!P-ish turn. The actual reason I'm writing this post is because of Namida no Heroine Kouban Geki. It doesn't sound like H!P in the composition! It doesn't! The arrangement doesn't even sound like Jpop, done by the Scandinavians as it is! But it's so good! I mean, to be honest, before the bridge this could be a Dua Lipa song, that's how Westernized it is. Lacks the sublime lack of subtlety/sincere cheese I prefer in my Jpop, with the overprogrammed rhythms having processed the soul out of the song, constraining the girls' expression. But then. The bridge hits. The song goes completely off the rails. Suddenly we're doing a speedrun of as many genres as possible like it's already the remix version of itself. We've got showgirl/cabaret jazz (drum drum), into faux-samba shouts but still on top of disco guitar, and then an electro breakdown transition into the final chorus that's enlivened by Kishimon adlibs. What the fuck even. Does Josef Melin secretly want to do one of those bonkers "girl idol hip hop" songs like for Momoclo, Especial, or Lyrical School? (Man, what wouldn't I give for invisible manners to write for H!P.) This might also be an experimental jazz thing, since Mononkul's Daite Hold On Me cover similarly WENT OFF for the bridge. Huh, now that I mention it, this is a down side to H!P going so hard in on the disco and EDM. They're not really trying for hip hop at all anymore. Pour one out for the hip young girly hosoi. Anyways, I resent H!P trying to make me pay attention to Tsubaki Factory. DUN WANNA.

#tsubaki factory #shushui #josef melin #makaino koji #kamata toshiya #sumikama tomohiro #hoshibe shou #ookubo kaoru #category: idols #category: music #whoops I accidentally a word vomit #shout out to the special generation eccentric remix and the ATC Media The Boys remix

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 6: 7x01

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

23 September, 2021

7x01: Meet the New Boss

Written by: Sera Gamble

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia

Original air date: 23 September, 2011

Plot Synopsis:

Castiel believes he is the new God and becomes obsessed with power. Sam, Dean, and Bobby try to find a way to stop him before he explodes with power, even if that means talking to Death himself.

Features:

Queer-friendly genocidal maniac Godstiel, the beginning of Sam’s hallucination arc, Dean’s cute little mechanic coveralls, some light breaking and entering, the original Death and his love of pickle chips, Leviathan reveal.

My Thoughts:

Hooo baby a lot happens in this episode. I have a feeling that early and late Stacked is going to be absolutely bonkers and mid-seasons Stacked is going to be…. either torturous or boring. We’ll see. Check in with me again at the end of October when I’ve been watching 15 episodes a week on top of my full time job.

It is so funny to me that the way they show that Godstiel is “evil” is having him kill the leaders of hate groups and healing leprosy patients. That church scene is sooo choice and the stained glass moment fucks extremely hard.

Some fun accidental foreshadowing of the Equalizer in season 14 and 15 when they’re talking about what to do about Cas in the garage and Bobby says, “What we've got to do is hunt the son of bitch. Unfortunately, I lost my God guns.” I don’t have anything insightful to say about that I just think it’s funny that they later introduced a God gun. I also find it very funny that in Season 5 Dean says about God, “Try New Mexico, I hear he’s on a tortilla” and in this episode Bobby is talking about looking for signs of Cas and says “Miracles, mass visions, trench coat on a tortilla?”. Like father, like son. I love them.

Had to pause the stream and rewind like 5 times but from what I can tell the sticky note on the spell from Crowley says “Bye forever you fools. Kisses, C”. Crowley maybe best character on Supernatural?

The three of them doing the death-binding ritual in this rich couple’s house is so good. Was that always the plan? Were they just going to quickly summon actual Death into these people’s home while they were asleep? Just bring the lightning thing to Bobby’s panic room or something. Leave the random white rich people out of it, the only thing they did wrong was have too much money and questionable taste in decor.

Also in that same scene, when Cas and Death are talking face to face and Dean is out of focus but visually between them… I don’t have the brain for meta at the moment but Dean either protecting Cas or leading him to Death via confession…. Waaah.

Is it just me or does Death confirm the existence of aliens? Like sentient aliens? “Maybe I should spend my effort on a better planet”.

I LOVE Sam’s hallucination arc. It’s good fucking writing to have him be legitimately traumatized by hell and the “torture” of his own brain making him doubt reality is genuinely scary to me in the abstract sense. I don’t know, I just read A Complete Kingdom for the first time so it’s working for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched this era of Supernatural so I might be wrong but I feel like this is one of the last interesting plotlines that Sam gets, which is a bummer. I just remember really loving everything to do with the hallucinations and the cut on his palm.

Also in the (jesus christ) ten years since this episode aired, I’ve watched The Good Place like three times so I do love that hallucination-lucifer’s (are we still doing HaLucifer?) whole deal is basically the plot of an objectively better-written show.

There is a LOT going on in the last scene. For one thing it’s even more destiel-y than I remember. The whole “Is he breathing? Maybe angels don’t need to breathe” thing, the sad fucking piano that kicks in as Bobby says that he’s gone and the camera is close up on Dean, the shaky little way that he says “Damn it. Cas, you child”. The arm caress when he helps him up. That little reunion is filmed so that Bobby might as well not be there at all. Absolutely insane that we were YEARS from the market research here.

I can’t end this little ramble-y review without screaming about Misha’s acting, especially the leviathan button at the end of the episode. He’s so creepy and obviously Not Cas in that moment. Society if leviathan were That for the entire season rather than what we all know is coming.

In the Secret Good Supernatural that lives in my head, Godstiel lasts MINIMUM half a season and the degradation of his vessel and the creeping in of leviathan were a slow burn issue that culminates at the mid-season finale. And then the other half of the finale is Misha acting completely deranged as a vessel for leviathan before walking into the lake and giving us some solid grief arc episodes for Dean to wrap it up.

I love this episode but it loses points for Dean watching hentai. I hate it and I'm miserable and he needs headphones.

Notable/Kickass Lines:

“What a brave little ant you are.”

“Annoying little protozoa, aren’t they?”

“I am not petty. I’m punishing the woman who causes poverty and despair in my name. I put your needs first, don’t you understand?”

“Cas is -- he's gone. He's dead. We run the show now. Ah. Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.7

IMdB rating: 9.0

In conclusion: I really thought that my 1 hour lunch break would be enough time to watch the episode and write this post and now I’m committing wage theft. Fuck.

<< Last Day | Next Day >>

#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #7x01 #Meet the New Boss #it was a real busy day at the office too RIP my productivity

[coeurdastronaute]

Essays in Existentialism: Kiwi 12

Previously on Kiwi

For three days the world was rampant with news of Lexa and Costia. It was a hot topic for speculation and Lexa realized she hadn’t missed that aspect of dating, nor did she truly crave that kind of pressure or notice any longer. It was pure distraction, and it could not end soon enough. 

The reunion had its desired effect on the world. There were pictures that rolled all over the universe, or so it seemed, with headlines proclaiming all sorts of wild stories and theories as to the reason the bad girl model turned actress was seen paling around, post-show, with reformed and enjoying a successful third album world tour rock star. They hypothesized about the lost love and the rekindling, the cheating that might have happened, the whole entire thing. Two very distinct sections of the internet went bonkers for the pictures and news and fourth-hand accounts of their five minutes together in public since the break up. 

Lexa hated all of it, but bore it because she was now someone who did good things or at least tried to do good things, even if she didn’t like those things. Costia needed it, Indra asked her, and so Lexa stuck to the line that they were just friends and didn’t answer any other questions. It was easier that way. 

None of it mattered Lexa was too happy, feeling too good despite the normal trials and tribulations of the tour, and counting down the days until she would get unrestricted access to her girlfriend, her real girlfriend, her true and honest girlfriend who was currently squatting in her apartment back home. 

So she ignored the tabloids and tried to focus, ticking off the days and existing as far away from Costia as she humanly could. 

Even though there was a lot to get done for the show, even though there was a lot to run through and she should have hung around and helped her sister, Lexa was basically useless and dismissed relatively early in the day. She’d warned Clarke that she would have to send a car to get her, but there was suddenly free time. 

Practically vibrating, Lexa tugged her baseball cap lower and adjusted her glasses. Nervously, she looked around and tried to blend in as much as possible as she anxiously awaited her girlfriend’s arrival. As far as she was concerned, she was absolutely being an amazing girlfriend. The best perhaps. And everything was falling into place in a way that she hadn’t expected or ever truly experienced. 

Lexa saw Clarke before Clarke saw her, and she felt her heart sip a little. It wasn’t supposed to do things like that, and for an instant she was slightly annoyed that she was falling. It was a rare thing to have a moment to look at the girl with pretty lips without her knowing, but Lexa gave herself a few moments. And Clarke looked at her phone and smiled before Lexa felt her own vibrate. 

I made it! I’m going to see you soon! Prepare yourself.

From a reasonable distance, Lexa followed along as Clarke moved to pick up her luggage, carefully apologizing for pumping into someone, smiling warmly at someone else. 

And what should I prepare for?

It might have been slightly voyeuristic, but Lexa didn’t care. She was so used to being the one who was watched, that this felt rewarding in many ways. She would have never gotten to see the view of her girlfriend grinning at her phone and debating what to write, the casual glance around, as if someone was going to know or read it over her shoulder. 

Me, your exceptionally horny and understanding and downright magical girlfriend. 

When she got her bag and moved toward the exit, looking around for the ride that was promised, Lexa finally gave up her watching. 

Bring it on, Griffin. Look at the car rental place behind you.

It took a few seconds for it to register, but Clarke turned around and searched before meeting Lexa’s eyes, hidden as they were behind glasses and beneath a ball cap. And though she felt her, the pull and the need to close the gap as quickly as possible, Clarke stared at her girlfriend and smiled, relieved and surprised and happy. 

XXXXXXXXXX

“I missed you,” Lexa whispered. 

“Did you?” 

There wasn’t a wasted moment or movement. Lexa pushed forward until Clarke was pressed against the wall in the hotel room. She smiled, hovering near her lips, hesitating, teasing, waiting until she couldn’t wait again. Hands moved up from hips and Clarke moaned at the contact of lips on neck. 

It was the closeness that did it-- the unwavering feeling of another body and hands gripping into muscles despite already being closer than close. Lexa liked that Clarke clung, that she grabbed and dug her nails into skin and her legs wrapped around hips. She was unable to lie with her movements. She liked the feeling of being needed so innately. 

“You just popped into my life with a swipe and now I think about you a lot,” Lexa explained. “You made me someone who misses someone.” 

“I’m a terrible influence.” 

“You really are,” she agreed eagerly, kissing the girl in her arms once again before stumbling them toward the bed. 

With a flop, they landed and Lexa made quick work of pressing into Clarke’s hips, spreading her legs even more. 

“Can we do the slow and intimate after. I just--”

Hips canted and Lexa smiled down at the girl wiggling beneath her, cheeks flushed and hands gripping and pulling and tugging. 

“What do you need?” she murmured, dipping her head to kiss her jaw and neck again. 

“Lexa... “ It was somewhere between a whine and a command. 

“Tell me.” 

“Please.” 

“Since you asked so nicely.” 

XXXXXXXXXXX

Spent and sweaty, sprawled across the bed with arms wide and sheets tangled, Lexa sighed and ran her hand along her stomach. Clarke was in love with her knees and the point of her ankles. She was in love with the way her gangly limbs seemed to stretch and tangle themselves everywhere. And sometimes, without even meaning to, Clarke fell in love with all of those parts at one time and it was simultaneously soothing and overwhelming, leaving her startled and warm. 

All within one body, she saw so many contradictions and in that, an overwhelming kind of affection that Clarke hadn’t experienced before with anyone. From her spot between Lexa’s legs, her ear pressed against her thigh, Clarke thought about it more than she ever had before, because she was across the world and it’d been nearly a year, and there was nothing more terrifying than realizing you were in love with something like the wind. With a sigh, Clarke kissed Lexa’s thigh before lifting her head and slouching her way toward her hip. Lexa took a deep breath and held it as she shifted, stretching and adjusting, compensating for Clarke’s movement. The ink on her ribs moved and shifted on the skin there. Clarke kissed her stomach, kissed the giggle that came at the base of her rib cage an instant later. 

With a tiny smile, Clarke pressed her face into Lexa’s stomach and blanketed her hip. She ran her fingertips along the soft skin of her breast, over her nipple. Clarke fell in love with the sound of her lungs when she breathed and she fell in love with the piano keys of her ribs and she was surely in love with the slant of her wrist and elbow and shoulders. 

Not one thing existed-- the world was not at all composed at all of anything other than the bed and the night and the two bodies. Lexa’s fingers slowly tapped a rhythm on her own chest while her other hand swirled through Clarke’s messy hair. 

Sometimes it was too much; all of the feelings and such, and Clarke didn’t know how to explain or feel them or say anything. Words didn’t seem needed in the moment. And so she lifted herself once again and slithered lower until she could taste Lexa again, because she desperately needed to communicate and she needed to express, and she had no way to do it other than to make Lexa arch and grip the sheets and swear. It only made it worse, that Lexa gave all of herself over. But Clarke was in love with a live wire, and she knew that sometimes. 

When all tension that had been worked into her muscles left in an instant despite Clarke’s desire to prolong it, and the body in the sheets was once again pliant and spent, Clarke laid once more on her thigh and kissed her there before closing her eyes and listening to Lexa catch her breath. 

It was possible to fall in love with a moment, and it was possible to fall in love with a dream-- what Clarke wasn’t sure of, was if it was possible to fall in love with a person who navigated through those moments and those dreams. She wanted to reason her way out of whatever it was that was plaguing her, but deep down she knew that it wasn’t something she could do, and she was presently stuck with it. The only choices left were to nurture it and let it grow or ignore it and let it strangle her. 

“I missed you, too,” Clarke whispered. 

XXXXXXXXXX

“Wake up please. I want to go look at castles.” 

Clarke groaned in complaint before yawning into the pillow. A body settled near her, sitting on the edge of the bed as it rustled this way and that. The sleeping girl pushed the hair out of her face and watched as the rockstar typed on her phone before tossing it on the desk and pulling her shirt over her head. 

There was a tray of fruit, coffee, and scones on the table, and lit in the morning sun from the window, a shirtless girl ate a strawberry and surveyed the land outside before turning back toward the bed. 

Clarke just smiled and grabbed her phone before groaning once again at the time, enjoying the smile it garnered from her girlfriend. It was still early. Too early. 

“Did you already work out?” 

“Sure did. Ordered us breakfast, too. Already checked in with Anya and Indra for the day, and returned a few emails.” 

“Are you always like this?” 

“What?” Lexa asked, flexing slightly in the mirror before taking a sip of her coffee. 

“So perky in the morning?” 

“Honestly, just when you’re here. You’re a good reason to want to get stuff done. I want to waste a whole day with you.” 

“You left me alone in bed though.” 

“Yeah, or else I wouldn’t have gotten anything done. Can we go see some castles now? I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting til you got here.” 

“Can we shower first?” 

“I guess. If we must.” But Lexa didn’t move. She sat and began her breakfast. “I got your coffee ready, darling.”

Only then did Clarke find it incentive enough to heave herself out of bed. She wrapped the sheet around herself and moved toward the table, careful to lean down to kiss her girlfriend’s cheek then neck then shoulder as she did. 

“Are we going to grab dinner before your show tonight?” 

“Definitely. Anya has already picked out a spot. I thought tomorrow we could grab something just us. I mean… the weather is going to be nice. I found a place-- It’s already set. You’re fed for the next two days at least.” 

“Good. Because I broke down and bought very unhealthy food to contaminate your kitchen and I need proper sustenance.”

“You’re a growing girl.” 

“Exactly.” 

XXXXXXXXXX

“You really like castles.” 

“They’re so cool. I feel a bit like I’m in a Jane Austen book or something.” 

There was always a surprise with Lexa, and Clarke wished she could predict it, or at least figure out a way to be less blown over when Lexa said things like enjoying Jane Austen books and still, as a full adult, dreaming about owning a castle.

“I can barely fathom squatting in your loft let alone, so please don’t go buying a castle anytime soon.” 

Goofy and happy, Lexa smiled and shook her head, carefully slinging her arm over Clarke’s shoulder as they perused. 

“I try to read a book by an author from every country I visit. I made myself read Emma, and I’ve been a bit of a castle fan ever since. It was genuinely the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time.” 

“And what are you reading now?” Clarke asked as they walked along a rather drizzly path along the grounds with the other tourists. 

“I went with something called The Guts, about rock music and junk. I’m a cliché.” 

“You never told me you were a big reader.” 

“I don’t like to advertise it too much.” 

“God forbid people think you’re clever,” Clarke rolled her eyes and teased, earning a kiss on her temple. 

“I don’t know if you know this or not,” Lexa chuckled. “But I’m a high school drop out.” 

“You’re--”

Aimlessly walking and enjoying the mildly warm day despite the spitting rain, the pair was interrupted by the growing murmurs of people noticing. Clarke felt Lexa’s arm tighten slightly on her shoulders, guiding her away from someone else. 

“This is going to happen, huh?” Clarke sighed. “And we were having such a good time.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“If you weren’t so damn good looking and you know, sang those songs, and gyrated your hips a little less…” 

Lexa burst out into a laugh, unable to contain it. The cameras caught it, snapping pictures and documenting every move. For most of it, Clarke forgot to be too nervous. She couldn’t be completely distracted from the people following and stealing their moment, but Lexa did her best and it worked in its own way. 

On the way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, Clarke scrolled through her phone while Lexa chatted with some friends on a scheduled call. She paused when she recognized herself and Lexa from just a few hours ago, paired with the picture Lexa posted of the two of them on her account. There were a lot of comments about them, speculation about who she was, linking to the previous pictures. 

For the moment, Clarke felt her heart race and her cheeks blush. She wasn’t sure what to say, or what to do or what to feel about it all. Suddenly, the privacy of a castle didn’t seem like a terrible life. 

XXXXXXXXX

There was something fantastic about a concert behind the scenes. There was something absolutely magical about watching Lexa onstage that simultaneously made the incident with the cameras seem better and worse. 

But for a while, it was gone and Clarke was infatuated with the girl on stage who had twenty thousand people hanging on her every word and song. During a song, Lexa looked over and winked and Clarke was certain that there was nothing better. 

Fingers moving up and down the guitar frets, Lexa leaned into the microphone and sang to her heart's content. She turned and looked at Anya and smiled. She moved and danced with the rest of the band. She chatted up the crowd, holding them in the palm of her hand, keeping them hooked. An entire stadium sang back her own words to her, and Clarke was in awe of the whole display. She wondered if the amazement would ever go away, or if she was doomed to be bowled over by Lexa every other night. 

Slightly sweaty and still high from her show, the lights went black and Lexa appeared close to Clarke, earning a hug. 

“You looked good out there, Woods.” 

“She never does this well,” Anya teased. “We should bring you along more often.” 

“I didn’t do anything special,” Lexa disagreed, enjoying the kisses she received. 

The crowd chanted and begged for more and Clarke knew what was going to happen. She saw Lexa soak it up a little bit more. She enjoyed the mood and the contagious feeling of it all. 

“I have to go back out there for a bit longer. You good?” 

Earnest and eager, Lexa waited for Clarke’s answer and nod. If Clarke would have said no, she knew that Lexa wouldn’t have gone back out, and that was something. So Clarke hugged her once more. 

“I guess I’ll chant your name later,” she whispered. 

She expected a smile or maybe a moan, or something inherently Lexa as a reaction to a comment like that-- something cocky and interested all at once. Instad, Clarke earned Lexa’s eyes and a very set jaw. 

“I need you to understand what I mean when I say this,” Lexa insisted, her forehead pressed against Clarke’s, the rest of the band already taking the stage for the encore. “I've come here to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is, and always will be, yours.”

She hadn’t meant to hear the words, and she certainly hadn’t expected such brutal honesty in such a sweaty and loud and public moment. Still pressed together tightly, Clarke felt a tear roll down her cheek because she was completely blindsided by such a confession. 

“I understand,” Clarke nodded. 

Lexa smiled and Clarke knew only because her cheeks crinkled near her eyes. The music started, but Lexa wouldn’t move. Clarke tapped her thumbs against her girlfriend’s chest. 

“You should go finish work.” 

“I should. Chanting my name, huh?” 

Lexa kissed Clarke quickly and disappeared back on stage before she could answer. 

NEXT

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

My Relationship With Sherman Brother's Music

If you have talked to me for more than five minutes about Disney anything, odds are that I've brought up this duo of brother's, Richard M Sherman and the former Robert B Sherman. The Sherman Brother's were the only musicians and lyricists that were hired by Walt Disney himself strictly to work for his company. They were the only one's that regularly had a job there. They never knew what the next production would be but they knew that there would be one. They worked continuously through the 50's, 60's, 70's and into the 80's. Through those four decades they wrote some of Disney's best known musicals. They brought the idea of musical theater to Disney for the first time ever. They were the first team up to bring the stage to the screen.

If you have the same ideals as my dad, you prefer older Disney movies. You miss the way that it used to be back in the day and quite frankly I can't blame you. If there is one thing about older Disney that I miss greatly is the sense of musical continuity. Most older Disney movies sounded cohesive because 9/10 they were all done by one duo that duo being the Sherman Brothers. They had this style when it came to writing lyrics that made them feel more heartfelt and real. There songs were so memorable that to this day I'll catch myself humming them even if I hadn't heard the song in ages (most of the time that happens to me with I Wanna Be Like You from Jungle Book).

I grew up glued to television screens that played older Disney movies. Whether on the screen it was Sword In The Stone, Jungle Book, Winnie The Pooh, or my favorite thing that they ever touched Mary Poppins, there was always Sherman Brother's music coming out of my family's small television. Every child that grew up with Disney knows their songs but not many people really think about the substantial impact that they made on their lives. I, for one, know that these movies would not be the same without the music. While the relationship between the brothers might have been sufficiently turbulent towards the end, they had four decades of absolutely incredible work. There work has heavily influenced the way that I grew up and I really want to talk about that impact.

The further I go back in my life I can't remember a time in my life where I haven't been humming their songs. Music is something that was so uniquely older Disney that I think they've really struggled in the later years because of it. They no longer have a cohesive sound and are just going with whatever is popular. As much as I love Moana, it doesn't compare to the songs that The Sherman Brother's wrote. At least in my heart it doesn't. The beauty of their music was in it's simplicity. When I think about it, they were the only writing duo that tried their best to rhyme everything. Because when you rhyme words together, the lyrics become more memorable. You find them more hummable because their music sticks with you easier. For an example of this phenomenon allow me to show you one of my dad's favorite Disney songs.

https://youtu.be/qhwXgvOfJc8

(I grew up watching the misadventures of Merlin and Wart or Arthur. The music in this film is something that ties the movie together through either life lessons or comedic antics. I can't pack a bag for a trip without singing Higitus Figitus or Merlin's packing song. It's just something that I've done so many times by now that it feels wrong to not do it.)

The creativity in word usage where they were the only ones that trusted themselves enough to create their own words, whether it be Fortuosity a word that in their mind means good fortune that they use in The Happiest Millionaire, or everyone's iconic Supercalifragilisticexpialidcious from Mary Poppins, they were the only Disney lyricists that made up their own words. This would often happen the same with rhyming by the younger of the two brother's, Richard Sherman the piano player loudly banging out a lyric until something made sense to the more word conscious older brother, Robert Sherman. Despite their personalities being like somebody had tried to combine oil and water together to see what would happen and it eventually caused a pretty major fire, for four decades they were able to keep it together.

The older I get the more I look back on The Sherman Brother's lyrics and what they are able to convey through simple songs. The melodies were almost always simple paving the way for more complex and uniquely made up words. The songs are something that both kids and adults can find enjoyment in. Instead of just caving to something that would appeal to children but would drive the adults absolutely bonkers from hearing it so many times, they made sure that the song sequences would appeal to *families* not just kids.

I feel like this should be the time for Disney to hire a main team of writers and not switch them out every time that they make a new film. Lin Manual Miranda is brilliant and he's made the closest thing to Howard Ashman music that I fell in love with. But, he's just one guy. I love duo's that work for Disney because they're just stronger together. Richard and Robert Sherman were individually incredibly skilled but when you got a team of people behind them then you'd get something truly magical. Spending the last few years studying their work has only made me fall deeper in love with the way that they wrote music.

The Sherman Brother's are definitely two people that left their imprint on Disney history that I don't hear the passing by Disney fan mentioning a whole lot. I hope that I can bring some appreciation and my own personal history to this dynamic duo.

#Youtube #mary poppins #sword in the stone #chitty chitty bang bang #the happiest millionaire #lyricists #disney history

[horrorslashergirl]

A takeback on a raven. A Shadow Story

Authors Note: History is always interesting and everyone has one. Shall we take a glimpse at the infamous Boston Serial Killer?

Warning: 18+ because of sexual assault, abusive behaviour perhaps and some uestionable themes. Just putting the warning in case.

Words: 1.9k

It was autumn in Boston and the rain just stopped as the preteenagers exited the school, all glad for the ending of the program, looking forward to getting home for the weekend. Everything was peaceful until a little boy was pushed into a puddle from the rain, all his clothes getting wet and leaves sticking to his face.

He looked up at the group of boys laughing and smirking at his form, the books from his satchel fell out into the dirty ground, destroying the pristine white pages.

"Looks like the ugly raven fell off the tree." one of the boys, probably the leader mocked, kicking at the books and throwing them all around the ground covered by the amber leaves of autumn.

The little boy didn't say anything, but he avoided looking up at the aggressors, only for one of them to take his book from the ground and hit him upside the head with it.

"We are talking with you, crow. Hey! What's this?" he asked, opening the destroyed book and looking at the content inside, the group accompanying him and checking what the pages held.

They all began to laugh and the boy felt a heavy force on his head from the obnoxious and obscene sounds the group was making.

"Check this out, guys! Naked women!" the leader said, snorting at the images.

It was actually an anatomy book, very much detailed and nothing improper at all; it was educative, but the low-brains were too blind to actually see, probably couldn't even read the title of the book anyway.

Before they could throw any more insults, the teacher came by them, scolding the group and promising them that she will have a very nice discussion with their parents. The pre-teenagers scowled and looked down at the boy on the ground, rolling their eyes and starting to walk away.

"See you on Monday, pervert!" The leader yelled before stalking away after his group.

"I told you that you should away conflicts, especially with Henry." The female teacher told the boy, getting his books from the ground and handing them to the black-haired boy.

"I-I tried." he whispered, putting his belongings back in his leather satchel.

"Lucas, if you indeed tried you wouldn't have been here. Now, go home. You wouldn't want to be late for dinner." she quickly told him, then walked away, leaving Lucas alone, who slowly got up, whipping the dirt and leaves from his pale cheeks, which had a slight rosy tint.

He walked to the bus station, waiting for the next one since he missed the principal one. At last, this one wasn't crowded with his classmates and bullies, so he could sit in silence until he arrived home. On the long drive, he pulled out his books so that he could inspect them; indeed destroyed, but not completely, although he will have to get all the unwanted mess off and dry them.

He really hated this school, but not because he didn't want to learn or because of homework. The classmates and pretty much every kid was a Buffon, ignorant over the edge and it made him always wonder why he was learning among a wave of monkeys who couldn't distinguish tendons from bones.

"Last stop! We are here." the driver announced, getting off from the seat and exiting the vehicle to be met with the imposing view of his house that looked like something from a Tim Burton art book.

He opened the large gate to enter, stepping on the brick sidewalk and on the stairs to the large mahogany double doors, his tiny hand wrapping around the door handle and pushing the door open, only to be met with the face of his aunt, younger sister of his mother.

"You're late and oh my! You look horrible!" Aunt Mia said, her brown eyes widening and she grimaced at the dirty and disheveled look Lucas was sporting, not like he wanted to.

"Your mother is in the living room, having tea with the ladies of her literature club. If she sees you like this, she will go bonkers." Mia whispered to Lucas, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"Get your clothes off right now. I just whipped the floorboards and cleaned the carpets. I don't want to see one spot of mud on them." Mia said with finality, moving with the tray of tea tools to the kitchen to refill them.

Lucas sighed, putting his satchel down and tugging on the black vest off, the white button-down came next, a shiver running down his spine at the coldness. He put his shoes neatly on the doormat and unbuckling the belt, tugging his khaki slacks down when he heard a scream.

His amber eyes looked up to see his older sister at the top of the main staircase, looking at him like she saw something repulsive.

"Mother!" Amelia yelled, making Lucas's eyes widen, knowing that this won't turn out to be good.

In a few seconds, not enough time for him to get his clothes and run upstairs to his room, his mother exited the livingroom stopping once her amber eyes laid on him, the other ladies peeking their heads from the living-room, curious and also hungry for something to gossip about later.

Everything happened in a flash of his mother's long black dress and a slap echoed in the gigantic victorian style house.

"You pervert! This is how you present yourself in front of so many ladies?!" Evelyn's booming voice meets Luca's ears, his cheek stinging from the slap, his tiny hand holding the red spot of skin.

He wasn't one to cry, he never cried, just looking down in shame as he heard his older sister snicker and his mother's friends whispering all kinds of things that he blocked from understanding; probably very judgemental comments.

Evelyn looked down at her son with a viper like glare, her amber eyes matching Lucas. He looked up and felt his legs tremble, so as quickly as possible he got his wet and dirty clothes off the floor and dashed upstairs to his room, avoiding his sister's smirking face at the embarrassing moment.

After cleaning himself up and getting dry clothes from his closet, Lucas looked into the mirror of his bedroom, making sure he was presentable, his raven black hair slicked back.

He grimaced at the color; the reason for why he was labeled as the raven or crow.

A knock at his door made him glance to see his aunt, Mia with her lips pulled into a thin line.

"You missed dinner, young man. Also tomorrow you have waltz classes, piano lessons and let's not forget about your homework and also Evelyn told me that tomorrow you will clean the attic. A reminder to never pull a stunt like that again. I saved you some dinner, but don't expect this to be a normal occurrence. You know how important punctuality is." Mia rambled and all Lucas did was listen, because what else was he supposed to do when you're surrounded by women.

He was the only male inside the house; Evelyn, his mother who reminded him of a witch from the fairytales, then his older sister Amelia who looked a lot like Evelyn and Mia, his aunt and younger sister of Evelyn who was responsible for cooking and cleaning, since she hasn't married a rich man like his father.

All Lucas know about his father was that he was rich as his mother stated and he was very fond of literature, one of the reasons the library of the house was mostly used by Lucas. Amelia was too busy following after Evelyn to actually open a book and read, at last, a paragraph.

Lucas followed Mia to the kitchen, sitting down at the table and eating the leftover boiled vegetables and cold steak of beef. He heard Evelyn and Mia talk outside the kitchen into the front entrance of the house.

After he was finished, he washed the dishes and was ready to head back to his bedroom or perhaps the library to find a book to take his mind of the events today.

He was meet with his mother and aunt, all put together, dresses perfectly without a wrinkle, make-up was neatly done to hide the aging and the hair? Not even a rebel lock out of place.

"Mother?" Lucas asked, making the women look at him.

"We're going out tonight, Lucas. There is an important event in town about new investors for the new hotel. We've got invitations." Evelyn said, fixing her fur coat and lipstick in the mirror by the front door.

Of course, they were out hunting new fresh meat or better said a new wallet to get their manicured hands onto.

"I'm no longer with Mr. Gladstone to tie me down so we don't have to worry about anything." Evelyn muttered and Lucas fought the urge to grimace and say something.

Mr. Gladstone as in his father; Evelyn's former husband, now deceased and a loving father as much as Lucas could remember.

The two ladies exited the house and closed the door behind them, not even saying goodbye to the little boy, leaving him in the darkness, save for the faint light coming from the chandelier above.

He sighed and decided to went straight to bed, not even in the mood to read anything. He was tired and not in the mood to do anything at all. He marched upstairs and sadly he had to pass his sisters' door that was wide open, more feminine voices coming from inside.

Amelia was with her friends, probably having a sleepover or just a gathering for doing make-up and their hair.

He tried to be discreet and quickly pass the door, so he won't be observed.

"Hey!"

No such luck.

He looked over his shoulder and saw one of Amelia's friends, long curly hair in a golden color following down her shoulder and mischievous sky blue eyes looked at him.

"You're Amelia's little brother, right?" she asked, making him slowly nod.

Amelia turned from her friends and grimaced once she saw Lucas.

"You again? Stop creeping out of the corners like that, pervert!" she yelled, bopping his nose pretty roughly and making it sting; a normal habit of hers.

"I'm going downstairs to get some snacks. It might take a while." Amelia said and walked out of her bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen.

Lucas was ready to bolt to his bedroom, but he was pushed inside his sister's room by the blonde; his amber eyes looking at the older girls who smirked or whispered to each other.

Lucas was only 10, while his sister was 17 as were the females in front of him.

"Umm...I need to go...My curfew is...." he shuttered, trying to excuse himself, but then he felt the blonde move behind him.

"Awww why in such a hurry? You're too big for a curfew." the girl whispered in his ear, making him blush and gulp down.

Before he could say anything else, he was pushed forward, two girls holding his arms and his eyes widened as he looked at the blonde, who snorted.

"Yell and we will tell that you tried to come upon us." the way she spoke, made the boy shake in fear, not used to what was happening. Sure, he was slapped and beaten up over his hands with a wooden spoon by his mother, but not this.

The blonde started to work on the belt that held his slacks; the gesture finally hitting on what they were planning. Lucas wasn't obvious to this kind of activity; he was very educated, but never indulged in them.

Another girl, a redhead closed and locked the door, giggling at Lucas's scared expression.

"This will stay between us all." the blonde whispered against Lucas's lips.

#Shadow #Serial Killer #Salem #Original characters #Slasher OC #Boston #Horror OC #Story Time

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: My Top Ten Muppets

Listeners of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour recently cast their votes to rank the best Muppets – an impossible decision, really. And yet, once the top ten list was read aloud on the podcast, I found myself completely unsurprised. It’s a list that made sense, a list of safe bets. It’s also an incredibly Muppet Show-heavy list, even though the competition was open to Muppets of all properties, including Sesame Street and my beloved Dark Crystal. The full top 25 list, available here, reveals that a few Sesame Street Muppets ranked in the teens, but still. We all know the top ten is where it’s at, and this top ten was neither creative nor representative. It struck me as a list of popular Muppets, not a list of the best Muppets. Most of my favorites weren’t on that list at all!

So, here’s my take on the ten best Muppets – and because I don’t believe in objective Muppet rankings, I want YOU to reblog this post and tell me your favorites!

10. Swedish Chef              

The Chef came in ninth on NPR’s rankings, and I gotta be honest, I’m on the same page with them on this one. Maybe it’s the fact that when he comes onscreen, there’s no way to predict how the sketch will end. Maybe it’s the bizarreness of human fingers on Muppet arms – and knowing that those arms indicate a frankly superhuman feat of teamwork going on under the table. Maybe it’s just the Popcorn video, which always brightens my mood. Whatever it is, the Swedish Chef is definitely tenth best.

9. Fozzie Bear

I like Fozzie. He’s an underdog, never giving up in his pursuit of fame and audience acclaim. And even though his whole shtick is that he can’t succeed – Statler and Waldorf always get bigger laughs during his bits – he objectively has succeeded, because he’s still around and making us laugh after all these years.

What puts Fozzie in the top ten for me, though, is that I genuinely find his jokes funny. Honestly. I really do. So maybe Fozzie Bear sketches don’t really work for me, but Fozzie Bear himself does.

8. Rosita

I mentioned my disappointment before in the “official” ranking’s lack of Sesame Street characters. Sure, the cast of The Muppet Show has had a notable cultural impact, but it would be a disservice to Muppetkind if we ignored the impact of their friends on Sesame Street.

I could never forget Rosita. She’s not the most popular Muppet; she’s never had a super catchy song or a roll-on-the-floor-laughing one-liner to rival the others’ success. But her “Spanish Word of the Day” segments have a permanent spot in my memory. She’s sweet, she’s sincere, and she’s an excellent friend to her more famous fellow Muppets. (And as a bilingual Muppet, she’s really hecking important – there’s an episode where she deals with some kids making fun of her accent, and it’s equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming!)

7. Rowlf

While other Muppets have one-note personalities – see number 10 on this list above, and number 5 below – there’s also Muppets like Rowlf. He’s not an “Anything Muppet,” by any means – he’s a character in his own right – but Rowlf is a dog who rises to any occasion. He sits at the piano to bring both beautiful classical pieces and hilarious parodies to life, and it’s all music to my ears. He can be the Straight Man to more chaotic Muppets’ antics, but just one clip of “Veterinarian’s Hospital” proves that he’s got enough silliness in him to take center stage.

And all the while, no matter what role he’s playing, he’s still that chill dog I adore – calm and adorable, with that round black nose, those big fluffy paws, and those floppy ears just begging to be scratched.

6. Deethra

As much as I love the original Dark Crystal film, the Netflix prequel series Age of Resistance has one big thing going for it: its characters. The protagonists of this show draw me in and make me care, quickly and continually. And best among them all is Deet. Deethra the Gelfling – small and beautiful, kind and powerful. She cares wholeheartedly about the world around her, and that care begets a wisdom that balances out her naivete in fascinating ways.

Muppets are so often silly, and we love them for it. But Deet embodies the Muppets’ potential to tell a serious story, a potential we would be remiss to ignore.

5. Animal

Oh my god, Animal. If you want to talk about the sheer silliness of Muppets, you need to talk about Animal. There’s just no way around it. He’s loud – in both sound and color scheme. And he’s absolutely bonkers. I know every drummer has an Animal in them, and it’s likely that all humans do. We’re just not all comfortable with letting him out to play.

That’s what’s so great about watching Animal do his thing. He has no inhibitions; he is freedom, he is chaos. And he lets me feel a little freer by association.

4. Hup

I talked a bit about underdogs in the Fozzie Bear section above. There’s an essay to be written about the Muppet as underdog; it’s an essential Muppet quality. Muppets are characters you logically wouldn’t expect to succeed, but they persevere, nonetheless.

Hup is the underdog of Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He’s the Podling who wants to be a paladin. Dear god he’s adorable, dear god he’s funny, and dear god do you root for him (and his spoon) to save the day! Of all the characters in this show, he feels the most Muppety – and that’s why he’s higher on the list than Deet. He’s still a serious character in a serious story (when he cries… my goodness), but he’s got that classic Muppet spirit to him.

3. Elmo

You know, I just don’t get why Elmo gets such a bad rap. Is it that people think he’s annoying? Sure, he is! Muppets are objectively annoying characters – they all are. Yes, even the one you’re thinking of right now. But I fricking love Elmo. He’s joyful, he’s spirited, and he’s exploring the world around him in that carefree way only a child can – and he brings you along on that adventure! “Elmo’s World” is your world. “Elmo’s Song” is your song. Elmo’s laugh is fricking infectious. And yeah, I’m probably biased by nostalgia (my dad’s Elmo impression cracks me up to this day), but Elmo is a darn good Muppet and he deserves our respect and admiration.

2. SkekSil

On a completely different note… let’s talk about the Chamberlain. There aren’t really that many Muppet villains. There are plenty of Muppet henchmen, providing comic relief for a human actor who isn’t supposed to be seen as that much of a threat anyway. The Skeksis of Dark Crystal are a notable exception, and SkekSil, better known as the Chamberlain, stands out among them. He is evil and he is smart. I hate him, and at the same time, I am fascinated by him. He knows what he wants and how to get it, even though he’s nowhere near as strong as the other Skeksis. He is, in his own way, an underdog. He believes in himself, and he wields that confidence as a weapon, calmly explaining to his enemies why they should do what he wants. You just can’t look away. He’s an amazing character, embodying the dark side of Muppethood.

1. Cookie Monster

When my mom first shared that episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour with me, in which the hosts talked about their favorite Muppets, I first thought, “How could you decide?” And then Stephen Thompson said his favorite was Cookie Monster, and I shouted “YES!!!” out loud. Because he’s right – Cookie’s the best.

Cookie Monster is eternally funny, whether you’re five or fifty-five. Everything that comes out of his mouth is pure gold (“Why me not get royalties?”) He’s got the best songs – not only the classic “C is for Cookie,” but also “Me Want It (But Me Wait),” “Me Am What Me Am,” and the “Healthy Foods” rap. All the stuff I love about other Muppets on this list – the unpredictability, the ability to fit into any role a sketch requires, the lack of inhibitions, the confidence, the chaos, the unexpected moments of wisdom – he’s got it all. He’s irreplaceable, he’s lovable, and he’s the top of my Top Ten Muppets list.

#thursday thoughts #the muppets #muppets #top ten #listicles #the muppet show #sesame street #dark crystal #age of resistance #dark crystal age of resistance #the dark crystal #muppet #swedish chef #fozzie bear #rosita #rowlf #rowlf the dog #deet #deethra #animal #hup #elmo #skeksil #skeksis #the chamberlain #cookie monster

[trans-girl-sora]

Me: I’ll make Sora and Namine in sims 4 so they can go to college and fall in love there :)

Me, twelve hours later, having designed two households that I actually have to play to get them to college: UGHGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Also here’s a couple paragraphs about their backstory because I can’t help myself dsgjvlksac)

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all grew up together so they’ve been friends since... like elementary school. (Sora doesn’t come out til later so I’m gonna be using he/him for now)

Sora and Kairi dated for a while in middle school before being like “Ehh”. Kairi and Riku also kind of have a thing sometimes but it’s weird and no one really talks about it and there’s not really a hard and fast label. Sora’s dad pushed him into soccer early enough on that by the end of high school it was basically “You WILL go to school on a soccer scholarship, get scouted, and go pro” like, it was never in the cards that he’d do anything else. Riku just tagged along for Sora and Kairi taped them from the sidelines on her flip phone and she credits them for her meteoric rise to mediocre internet fame.

Namine was born to a bunch of stuck up rich white folks who ran country clubs, and she was basically their pretty porcelain doll that they forced into piano lessons so she could play quiet sonatas with clinical precision to a room full of golf clapping 50 year old men. And then - god bless - in her freshman year an art teacher saw how tense she was and was like “Do you wanna just like... splash paint on a canvas for a while?”. What resulted was an hour of screaming catharsis and Namine has never looked back

She met Xion because the two were both drawing fan art of the same anime, exchanged eye contact, and then basically never broke apart. At one point in high school they had a messy polycule with Roxas (Xion was his plug) and broke it off pretty quickly but since then they’ve dragged him EVERYWHERE much to his dismay. Nami is avant garde to the point of being GARISH and Roxas is consistently embarrassed to be seen in public with her even though he loves his girls to death (though more familial at this point)

And... that’s it lol hopefully the rest emerges organically and goes Bonkers

I’m getting them into little part time jobs rn while I wait to get them into college, building some skills, etc

#look how good they look tho #i should've made sora darker but ehhh #maybe i'll cheat later #anyway i'm sure i'll abandon this run in like 3 days but i really like them rn #they're so good #sora #namine #roxas #riku #kairi #xion #sonami #sonami sims 4 #namiso #namora

[agentnico]

Rebecca (2020) Review

Wow, Ben Wheatley really gets right close up with his sexual erotic sequences! Really could see that sticky saliva in betwixt Armie Hammer’s and Lily James’ lips! Not that I’m complaining, and not that there was much point of me bringing it up, yet here we are.

Plot: A young newlywed arrives at her husband's imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.

Ben Wheatley is one apt British filmmaker who enjoy experimenting in various filmmaking styles. Hence for every trashy bonkers Free Fire where you just have a bunch of popular actors shooting one another in a warehouse there is a High-Rise that challenges the ideologies of capitalism and tries to create a political message through its metaphors. And one may remember High-Rise to be a peculiar yet a visually stylish motion picture. With Rebecca, Wheatley brings class and elegance to the late 1930′s setting, with lavish costume and production design, and he’s also gotten composer Clint Mansell to set the eerily gothic yet romantic music tone of the film, through simple yet powerful piano notes, none of which are as dramatic or enthralling as Mansell famous “Lux Aeterna” composition that he created for Requiem for a Dream, yet still the harmony and the melodies here are both beautiful yet haunting. Basically, the movie looks and feels good! No surprise really, Netflix is swimming in all that money that it’s squeezing out of its many millions of subscribers, so they have no problem with providing solid budgets for films such as this. 

However, visual appeal doesn’t counterfeit for lack of narrative appeal. Unfortunately Rebecca lacks any true substance that makes it a worthy watch. For one, it’s supposed to be this intricate grief-filled tale about a new marriage and the ghosts that haunt us from our pasts. Yet, it seems Ben Wheatley is both disengaged and voiceless upon the matter, as he presents us with a movie that delivers none of the emotion that it promises on. The movie simply feels flat, and you end up questioning what really is the point of it all?

Lily James is as genuinely charming and innocent as she was in Baby Driver. She is the typical damsel in distress, a role that in this day and age can come off as a bit weak and premature for the empowering female movement, however this movie is a call-back to old-school Hollywood and the setting is befitting of that time, so this aspect can be understood. Armie Hammer is strongly sophisticated and exhibiting his theatrical talent by delivering lines with prowess and vigour, which makes sense, as during filming of this movie he was also prepping for the stage production of Trace Letts’ The Minutes, though that has not seen the light of day at this time due to a certain pandemic that shall be left unnamed... though I’m talking about COVID if there were any doubts. So, both James and Hammer are trying their best, but due to a weak script and misguided direction, both actors are more used for their pretty looks rather than their talents. Hammer feels empty and blunt whenever delivering any of the uninspired lines (no matter how theatrical his expression may be), and James spends the film acting like a wounded sparrow. There’s nothing going on behind these actors’ faces - no conflict, no complication, no lust or touch of naivete. It literally feels like Wheatley just told James to act and look sad and that is all she does. On Hammer’s part, he just stands and pouts. And there there is Kristin Scott Thomas acting evil. That’s it. That’s here entire role. 

Overall Rebecca is a movie that is nice to look at, but if you are seeking a real gothic tale, this is not it. This is the kind of movie that will come and pass, forgotten in Netflix’s endless library of original releases. Here’s hoping Ben Wheatley has more fun next time.

Overall score: 5/10

#rebecca #netflix #ben wheatley #2020 #alfred hitchcock #rebecca review #movie #film #gothic #romance #thriller #mystery #drama #movie reviews #film reviews #2020 in film #2020 films #lily james #armie hammer #kristin scott thomas #sam riley