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thatscarletflycatcher · 3 months

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Sense and Sensibility (2024, Hallmark) a review

I had expectations for this movie. They were not surpassed. It didn't perform below them either.

Spoilers under the cut.

So, this is a short movie (1.24hr long) a tv movie, a hallmark movie. You must keep that in mind as a frame of reference for what I'm about to say. You cannot really compare this with theatrical movies on equal footing.

Where to start. Costumes and sets. It is Bridgerton's world and we live in it. Everything is VERY colorful and shiny and not very real looking; that was to be expected. I think that sort of semi-fantasy aspect didn't hurt at all, and it was consistent. If you are not going to stick to the time period, at least go ham and show me something really interesting. I'm looking at you, Netflix Persuasion. There are some dresses that are pretty, and some others that... aren't. Considering that apparently the costume designer had to make something like 60 pieces in a month, it's kind of impressive that it came out as it did.

One funny bit, though, in this respect, is that they complain about how small the cottage is like some actual estate houses aren't the same size IRL XD Allenham we only get to see from afar, and it is rather disappointing.

Music: nothing to write home about, to be expected. Yes, we got one of those Vitamin String Quartet modern-song-played-by-strings. IDK. They were a bit dorky in their heyday, I don't know why they are so sought after in these pieces lately. I digress.

The acting. Deborah Ayorinde was a really good Elinor. She definitely deserved better writing and direction. The rest of the cast was good enough; I feel some roles really benefited from their characters being a bit hammy already in the source material (Lucy, Mrs Jennings, Anne, Fanny, Robert), others were really struggling because of being given very poor dialogue (Mrs Dashwood), and others were just... not good (Willoughby and Brandon, sadly). Edward was... a very special case. I can only describe it as the actor having two expressions: one, an attempt at reaching Hugh Grant's adorkableness AND Dan Stevens' ease at the same time, and two [SCREAMING INTERNALLY], but I guess those two were indeed enough to make it work just fine!

Which leads me to the writing. We all knew this adaptation was going to live or die in the writing, and most likely die.

The thing is that most of it is written around repeating 95' and 08's greatest hits, while attempting to compress the narrative into an hour and a half. And that goes as well as you can expect it to. Some scenes are painfully rushed -Brandon's backstory was extremely awkward to get through- some things are over before you have any time to assess their real weight -Marianne's illness, and many others end up being... incongruous.

Let me stop a little on those. The movie keeps Margaret, and gives her the whole play acting as a pirate with Edward from 95', but then removes the only real plot relevant thing she does in the book. So why keep the character at all? (Willoughby asks for Marianne's handkerchief in exchange for Queen Maab, instead of cutting a lock of her hair).

Because 2008 makes Brandon suspicious of Willoughby from the get go, this one makes it so that they know each other and implies that Brandon knows dirt on Willoughby, but then plays the rest of the story straight, which makes it... pretty inconsistent.

Speaking of Brandon, we have reached adaptation #5 that cuts out the fact that he tried to elope with Eliza sr. This time the backstory is that his father promised to let him marry Eliza if he proved himself as a soldier, but when he came back, he found his father has kicked her out of the house. Yeah, that was utter nonsense.

The adaptation makes a clumsy attempt at including the dinner at Mrs Ferrars... but Brandon isn't there to see Marianne defend Elinor.

We needed to have a "Brandon rescues Marianne in the rain" scene, but in this case, she's not faint or anything, he just grabs her because she's sad XD

And the list goes on and on and on. It was to be expected that the shadow of both 95 and 08 would be large over this one, but it truly is to the point that the references and contrivances are almost constant. Which is a pity because I think most of the original choices were interesting.

For example, Marianne twists her ankle running after Margaret, to try and stop her from asking something embarrassing, which is a good choice in terms of showing that Marianne is passionate, but she has more sense than Margaret.

On his deathbed, Mr Dashwood makes Elinor promise that she will take care of her mom and sisters and keep the family together. That added pressure on Elinor works really well in the context of the adaptation, and ads a new layer of interest.

John Dashwood is written mostly as a hapless but not malicious idiot. This is similar to what From Prada to Nada did (though there it made more sense because of the father having two families simultaneously), but I'm not sure where was that going. They did cut the Palmers, so I suppose the choice was so that they could go to Norland instead on their way to Barton (it is never established that Norland is so far away as it is in the book, so I guess one could give it a pass), but in that case, I feel the most cost effective shortcut is... have them go to Barton? Because we do get to see Barton (Marianne goes alone with Brandon to see it close to the end, and they get engaged before Edward returns, don't think much about it, manners and such are... for this movie... loose guidelines. But it isn't super offensive most of the time).

Anne Steele is decent fun as she's supposed to be, but Lucy really suffers the flattening. The mastermind has been flanderized into just a mean girl, and that's a pity.

Oh, Edward is sassy at times! And the sassy jokes land! I have to say it is not my preferred way of doing the character, but he does show some sass at the end of the novel, so, you know, I'll allow it I suppose XD

Edward's return and proposal started pretty good, but it overstayed its welcome. I cannot emphasize enough that, when writing this kind of proposal, you must avoid the word love if you can, and if you must use it, use it once, and with great reluctance.

The movie chooses to dedicate quite a time to the reveal of Edward and Lucy's relationship, and it's honestly... decent? For a scene made out of whole cloth it stands on its own feet reasonably well. But there's no Fanny freakout. This is probably the most shocking plot twist in the adaptation. This very on-the-nose Hallmark adaptation decided to cut the Fanny freakout of all things. Impressive restraint.

One thing, however, that was sadly cut out was Elinor and Marianne's conversation about Willoughby at Barton. It is instead replaced by an unsubtle comparison between Willoughby and Edward, and an exchange between Brandon and Marianne. It is one of the several points where the storytelling relies on previous knowledge of the work.

These are my main, disordered thoughts. I leave you with this choice from the ending, that I cannot form a thought about:

At Elinor and Edward's wedding, on the first pew are in attendance, from center to side: Mrs Dashwood, Margaret, Marianne, colonel Brandon... and Eliza Williams with her baby in her arms.

As a summary, I'd say Elinor and Edward's story was good enough, the relationship between the sisters was sweet, there were some odd choices, some interesting choices, and overall the writing was severely downgraded by attempting so much to stick to the choices of previous famous adaptations.

#Jane Austen #Sense and Sensibility #Sense and Sensibility Hallmark #Sense and Sensibility 2024

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ln-stories · 7 months

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Mammon's mc!

This is the second drawing and headcannons of my mini series with the obey charachers with their custom sheep mcs. Previously i done simeon's mc, after alot of consideration i decided to do Mammon next with his own custom sheep mc!. If you wanna check previous stuff check my page and thank you for reading and im accepting requests for the next obey me characher!

(Apologies for any grammar mistakes)

Second Mammon's MC

Warnings: spoiler alert for the series lessons

Headcanons:

This mc (she/they)

Personality: confident, skillful (plus knows karate), a dumbass sometimes like Mammon, small anger issues, chaotic good vibes.

1) This mc is the exact opposite of simeon's mc since she is the largest one in this series. Height is around 5'3 on two legs

2) She is very fluffy and glittery giving magical girl vibes on her looks

3) When The mc arrived at the devildom, she was shocked but was feeling like she could take the demons in a fight if they didn't return her back. (spoiler alert: those karate classes she took back in the human world didn't work much on The demon prince Lucifer XDDDD)

4)Later on she was assigned to Mammon to guard her and guide her through the devildom. Let me tell you reader this didn't go as planned as you saw in the earliest chapters of the story. This mc is much more fiesty as well so this didn't help much the situation either.

5) Slowly mc is trying her best to adapt her new lifestyle while also go ham on Mammon everytime that he tried to steal something from her room to sell it off.

6)Mammon was forced to make the pact the mc after the "Goldie incident". He is now listening to her more. Thought they still don't trust eachother at all.

7)After the TLC showdown event, Mammon was never felt such frustration for not being there to save mc on time to the point he started regretting all the time he has been completly scammy and ditching them on random occasions.

8) Both of them made peace with eachother and started to actually putting effort to their friendship. (Occasionally ofc Mammon would be a tsudere as per usual XD)

9)They started hang out more and more, slowly lowering the iQ of the Mc as Mammon was pulling them into pranks, and other dumb situations. MC didn't mind it one bit though. Sometimes it's ok to be a little silly.

10) Mc teaches Mammon karate whitch is probably hilarious cuz Mammon would show the brothers what he learn just to not mess with him and embarrassed himself everytime he either falls down the stairs or he trying to punch metal and instantly regret it.

11) obviously Mc is Mammon's "first" as mammon call it. They are absolutely jealous when other people try to get close to them, especially the purgatory squad that just want to get to know her better. It's a big no to him. (closest friendships: Mammon, Levi, maybe Beel too?)

12)At this point Mammon and mc are besties. Mammon is not the best when it comes to sharing or gifting but for the mc he will even use Goldie whitch is a really rare occasion.

13)Movie nights and hellsauce noodles are regular thing when they hang out. It's like a comfort for both of them. (both cheap and fun!)

14) At the lesson 16 Mammon felt like he lost some centuries of his life just by mc not moving in his arms. He didn't felt like he lost just a friend. He felt like he lost the first person who actually gets him in a deep level. (oop mc is alive and so is Mammon's sanity!)

15) After a while Mammon felt like he became mc's right hand man, doing pranks, hanging out everyday, sitting down together at lunch and prank lucifer from time to time for good measure. (bad idea)

16)Lucifer himself sometimes tried to seperate you two because they were lowering the IQ of the whole house of lamentation as the other brothers joined in the dumbassery for fun.

17) Mammon is getting better at karate? Ye! He even humiliated a lower demons for trying to harm mc. Mc found was crying with tears of joy because she teached him well.

18) The mc showed the human realm to Mammon and the brothers. Let's say Mammon loved all the new flavor cheap noodles packets that got from the human Realm.

19) The mc loves to wear earrings so the final gift that Mammon gave her before RAD ended was an earring with his symbol to always remember that he will always be next to her whenever he needed her. The mc treasured it for life.

20) After RAD ended Mammon and mc were visiting their realms back and forth whenever they could, mostly Mc visited devildom thought. Mc made had mostly befriended all the brothers but the purgatory hall squad aren't as close as she wanted to admit.

Thank you for reading! request are open for next obey me characher and custom mc!

#obey me mammon #om! mammon #mammon x mc #obm #obey me nightbringer #leviathan #obey me headcanons #obey me #obey me main character #obey me female mc #mammon avatar of greed #mammon headcanon #obey me shall we date

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crystallizsch · 4 months

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hi hi!! welcome to my twst blog 💖 my name is ian!! (or "crystal" from my user if it’s easier to recognize/remember)

[ masterlists ] - ocs / art (+ some writing) - my fridge (stuffs for me :3) - tag directory (self-explanatory)

[ main: @scint1llat3 ] - multifandom reblogs galore (not spoiler-free) - i also follow and interact from here!

[ credits ] - used game assets from @/alchemivich for dividers/deco on my posts! - banner by @/midnightmah07 🥺💕

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- i am 18+ !! (but everyone is still free to interact! / this is a sfw acc) - twst blog (with a fixation for jamil viper at the moment help me) - i usually do art (oc x canon content / other silly stuff) + occasional shitposts/rambles - (i think it should also be important to note that sometimes the majority of my thoughts are in the tags ack)

- not spoiler-free for EN content, i WILL be posting about them immediately the moment new content comes out - JP content will be tagged with #twst jp & #twst jp spoilers so please filter them out if you dont want to see them!

- tagging me anywhere and spam is fine! love em!! :0 - asks/dms are open for everyone and anything!! - (i have anon available for asks!)

(slightly more detailed/rambly version below!) ━━━━━━✦

welcome ~ ♡

for the people finding themselves here uhhh-

hi! you can refer to me as ian or i don't mind crystal -from my user- if it's easier to remember!

twisted wonderland has been haunting my every waking moment so that's gonna be this entire blog ;;;

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i do mostly art (forgive the style inconsistency from one post to another i'm experimenting), i sometimes do writing???, and generally i just post whatever comes to mind.

also a lot of oc x canon stuff and the occasional shitposts and rambles.

(also also when i freak out about things it’s usually an over-exaggeration so please don’t take everything i say too seriously and 100% my opinion 😭)

i also ramble a lot in the tags which is usually where 90% of my thoughts are ;;;

and despite being a majority jamil viper content at the moment (bc brainrot for him is real rn), i do in fact still have a love for the rest of the twst game --

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this blog is not spoiler-free for already released EN content (stuff as recent as they come out); i will only tag spoilers for JP content with #twst jp / #twst jp spoilers so please filter those out if you do not want to see those posts!

i consume spoilers and can be quick to react to them, so please keep that in mind!

i am mainly based on EN because that's what i play but i also catch up with JP stuff; so my knowledge and preferences about twst are very mix-and-match.

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i am 18+ but i am a sfw account so nothing here will be too mature/nsfw!! (if there would be anything that i think would be too crude/sensitive/suggestive, i will put a warning! but it’s very unlikely i’ll even post that kind of stuff)

again just please be aware that you are interacting with an 18+ account even though there won’t necessarily be anything here that i believe you shouldn’t be seeing if you’re under 18.

(and on that note, if anything else just rubs you the wrong way or makes you feel uncomfortable, it's okay to suddenly block/unfollow i will not take it personally; please prioritize your health/safety/comfort!)

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tagging me and spam is absolutely fine :0

i love seeing the interactions, y’all are fun. even you silent lurkers, likers, and rebloggers. i understand and i tend to be the same, so you are all hella appreciated too 💖

and irdc what you do with reblogs, go ham and have fun you lovelies.

also i read all tags and replies even if i don't respond to all of them. i appreciate them all, thank you so much 😭😭💕💕

also also i can be incredibly slow at responding sometimes so pls forgive me on that 🙏

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ask box ~ ☆

always open! and feel free to send about anything! (anon is always available if you prefer!)

i welcome thoughts, questions, etc and i'm always looking to chat or just gush about twst! (i'm also okay with things that aren't twst-related like just silly random asks :3)

on that note, i'm also down for requests / ideas! canon stuff, oc ramblings / interactions, oc x canon, etc. !!!

(no specific rules at the moment because i'm not sure what to expect yet;;; but everyone has been generally cool!!)

AND!!! if i haven't gotten to your ask yet don't worry i have! im usually giving it a response it deserves so i apologize if sometimes it takes a long while ;;;

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~ hopefully you enjoy looking around !!!

#last edit: 05/25/24 #*editing for the umpteenth time because of formatting and wording*#also hi im just vibing #and yelling into the void ;;;#help why is the void yelling back

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player-1 · 1 year

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Big brain moment for TriStamp fans to finally make a valid crossover with Kekkai Sensen aka. Blood Blockade Battlefront, and not just because they were both made by Nightow (mangas made in 1995 and 2008 respectively):

-Both main characters, Vash and Leonardo Watch, are lovable pacifist goofballs just trying to make the best of life in a more-than extraordinary world, either in Gunsmoke/No Man's Land or Hellsalem's Lot. They also have some kind of supernatural power that they don't feel inclined on using unless absolutely necessary (Vash being a sentient generator and Leo has the All-Seeing Eyes of God (sick name though)). Knives is still Knives but actually doesn't lose hope in humanity since they actually accept and acclimate to living alongside the AlterWorld in a blended society (giving them major whiplash since they find people, ie. the Libra team, who care about them both as a "human" or a Plant without fear or discrimination).

-TriStamp logic shows that Vash's Gate functions as a blackhole, an energy well, and a portal to the higher dimension between life, death, and the Plant's true energy source. Meanwhile in B3, a mysterious portal to the AlterWorld opens in the heart of New York and releases monsters and demons into the city, leaving a strange mushroom fog that prevents people/monsters from entering or leaving (As Above, So Below anyone?). For possible fic timeline, Vash and Nai might've accidentally went through the Gate if he had a bit more foresight and (accidentally) move his arm to protect himself/not become an immediate amputee target; landing them smack-dab in the middle of a normal Tuesday in York as all hell literally breaks loose around them.

-Nightow made plenty of parallels of the Libra gang to both manga and 98 Trigun, but the twins Black and White (aka. William and Mary Macbeth) hold a lot more similarities to the TriStamp twins to me. The MacBeth siblings are the children of Casters, where White was born with no powers while her brother had psychic abilities twofold instead (but doesn't use them out of fear/discrimination); White is quiet and meek before slowly warming up to Leo while Black is open-minded and talkative with other people. While I don't want to get into major spoiler territory, but no matter what the canon says, Vash and Nai would adopt those two in a heartbeat.

-And before you ask, yes Kuroneko is alive and well in both anime (even shows up in ep. 1 eating ice cream off the sidewalk, a truly decadent life). Besides a bunch of other cameos/easter eggs to Trigun (even w. Chain stealing Wolfwood's drip among other things), all the more reason for interdimensional travel to be viable in both universes. So go ham, TriStamp fans! :D

#trigun #trigun stampede #trigun vash #million knives #trigun knives #kekkai sensen #The crossover potential is finally here! :D

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computerything · 8 months

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Opinions on The Adventure Zone [comic vers.]

I decided to, a while back, read up to book 3 of the comic version of TAZ along with skimming book 4 enough to get a good idea of it. And I've certainly got a few thoughts here in this noodle of mine.

Disclaimer: I have not listened to the original podcast the comic is based on. I've only read the books. So keep that in mind.

Also, spoiler warning.

Individual reviews:

Book 1: I rather enjoyed it! It was some silly guys going on silly adventures with a nice helping of drama and mystique, mainly from the flame glove thing and all the weird static talk. The characters were likeable in a doofus-y way, and I liked the implication that there was advanced tech in this universe in addition to magic. That's something I wished was in more fantasy.

I really liked Magic Bryan's over-the-top theatrics. I do find it odd that a supposedly high-level wizard lost to a bunch of random adventures, but okay, it's DnD. That stuff happens for the plot.

The magic fire glove was badass, and I like the concept of the guy using it being consumed by his own rage and going ham. Rather fitting.

Art wise, the style was very nice. I like the semi-sketchiness of it, it fits the narrative!

Book 2: I didn't like this one quite as much as book 1. We meet the Bureau of Balance, who immediately act suspicious. For heaven's sake, they have a damn otherworldly abomination that sucks the knowledge out of people's brains on a universal scale! Yet it's played off as "perfectly fine" and "nothing to worry about." Huh? Wha? It's... it's a giant brainwashing jellyfish thing... and that's not spooky? WHAT? And don't worry, I have more to say about these bureaucratic buffoons.

Garfield was great though. Very cool guy.

Anyway, the idea of a murder mystery on a train is absolutely awesome. Murder on the Oriental Express, anyone? But everyone clowning on the murderer [Jeeves, this butler-looking guy] made him feel like less than an actual threat, and his rather anticlimactic disposal felt contrived and forced.

I rather liked the concept of the Oculus, the idea of making an army out of illusions is kind of neat. A shame that not only was it never really used, the damn bureau destroys it.

This was when I began to realize that I hated the BoB. Rather than research the artifacts and try to find a way to safely use them, they just destroy them. Sure, they're dangerous, but perhaps there's a way to filter their power so that it is no longer corruptive? But no. Artifact bad, must destroy. Knowledge bad, must feed to big fish. Urgh.

Book 3: Kind of not super memorable to me. Uh... The car designs were pretty neat. I like the idea of underground racing, it's an old trope but it's a good one. The artifact was cool, though I wish it was more racing-based. Or the race was more plant-based, like in a giant tree or something. That would have rocked.

Overall, I really liked Hurley and Sloane's dynamic. They had nice chemistry and I actually felt for them! In fact, Sloane was definitely the star of this one. I always love a badass thief with a cool outfit, lol.

The one thing I didn't like was that it felt like Sloane being turned evil was just shoved in by the DM to go, "See? See? The BoB is good because the artifacts made this lady go all evil and kill her girlfriend! And she felt so much guilt she sacrificed herself too! The artifacts are totally evil guys! More evil than the BoB!"

And the random council guy turning all evil was kind of pointless. I felt nothing when he died.

Book 4: Oh boy do I have some words about this one.

Positive first... positive first...

Uh, the setting was nice. I like science facilities. The imminent demise of the world was a pretty good motivator, too.

The main guy trying to bring people back from the dead [cough cough his mom] in robot bodies was a little cliché but still a neat concept.

The art was pretty much at its peak here, I think. I love the robot designs!! I love guys with screens for faces so much. Especially Hodgepodge, he was such a silly smug bastard.

Hodgepodge...

Dear, sweet hodgepodge... he didn't deserve to perish. Him dying because of the jellyfish's meddling took my hatred for the BoB from mild annoyance to PURE UNBRIDLED LOATHING. Actually, this whole book kind of did, really.

As I implied before, TAZ has this weird underlying plot thread of "knowledge is evil" that has always bothered me, and it's on full display here, and even extends a bit into "scientists are evil" territory.

For starters, apparently none of the science guys' ideas are theirs, they're just stolen from other dimensions. Which is stupid as hell. If this is supposed to be "no idea is original" again, it does a poor job.

For another, the science guy's mom goes crazy from, you guessed it, knowledge, and would rather die than have said knowledge. Which really pissed me off because I'm the kind of freak who would read all the forbidden texts which drive people mad.

And for yet another, the BoB is portrayed as heroic all over again. The comic literally ends with them all agreeing to trust the director of the BoB and called stupid for having any doubts about the organization. So remember: don't think, don't seek to learn things, just blindly follow your superiors!

Overall:

TAZ has wonderful art and pretty neat characters, settings, and scenarios, but is deeply undermined by it's uncanny promotion of blind trust, discouragement of thinking, and hatred of knowledge. It's weird and creepy.

Also, I will not forgive them for killing hodgepodge. Look at this smug little feller:

Poor guy. Rest in pieces.

#taz #taz balance #taz comic #review #ramblings #sorry for how poorly structured this is I'm not a great reviwer

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 3 years

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Also Dee buys them all matching pjs (even Nanaue and Sebastian)

I combined this with your Christmas request because I thought they fit together really well lol hope you don't mind and that you enjoy!

If I Go Universe - Merry Christmas, Squad (Rick Flag x OC)

Summary: First Christmas in the Squad House gets even merrier when DuBois brings his daughter and Delphia's parents join the celebrations.

Pairing: Rick Flag x OC / Squad Family & OC (Delphia Holman)

Word Count: 3315

Warnings: fluffy goodness, some suggestive language, language in general, some The Suicide Squad spoilers I suppose

Timeline: December 2021

if i go masterlist

“Sebastian, can you string the popcorn, please?” Delphia asked as she set the overflowing bowl in front of the rat.

He nodded his little head and got right to work. Picking up the string and beginning to push the pieces of popcorn down to the knot at the end. Delphia smiled before moving to check on Abner, Cleo, and Nanaue in the living room. They had been put in charge of decorating the tree. And when she came into the room it brought an instant smile to her face.

“The tree looks beautiful, guys!” she gushed.

And it was true. The tree was huge, nearly twelve feet tall and covered floor to ceiling in ornaments and twinkling lights. There were presents already piled under the tree. Wrapped to varying degrees of success but still symbols of the squads love for one another. There was sparkling gold garland wrapped around the bannister of the stairs, along the mantel, draped from corner to corner of the room. Cleo had even found empty nooks and crannies to set santa figurines and reindeer. The place seemed to glow with Christmas cheer.

“Why thank you, Dee.” Cleo smiled up at her from her spot cross-legged on the floor. “I’ve never had a Christmas like in the movies before.”

“Me either,” Abner commented, “It’s…Festive so far.”

“Just you wait!” Delphia threaded her fingers together, unable to control the excited smile on her face. “When Rick gets back with my parents — ugh, the dinner is gonna be amazing. Smoked ham, mashed potatoes, rolls. Then we’ll do presents and watch a Christmas movie!”

“Is this what you and Colonel Flag used to do? Before us?” Cleo asked, leaning back on her hands and admiring her handy work.

“More or less.” Delphia shrugged. “Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. The lights, the joy, the togetherness. Makes me feel good. Rick just kind of puts up with it.”

“No,” Cleo laughed, “I’m sure that he loves it just as much — because you love it.”

“That’s very sweet — “

“Star!” Nanaue announced as he stomped into the room.

Delphia glanced up at the star way up at the top of the tree that he was pointing at. She grinned at the shark-man. “Did you put the star on the top of the tree, Nanaue?”

“You did not!” Abner interjected, sounding offended, “Sebastian and his friends put the star on top for us. You big liar.”

“No!” Nanaue shook his hand at the tree then gestured for them to follow. “In here!”

Delphia shrugged and followed him out into the foyer with a grin. The staircase was decorated with lights, garland, and ribbon. The wreath on the front door could be seen from the glass. And now there was a beautiful golden star hanging from the chandelier.

“Oh, Nanaue, it's beautiful!”

He looked proud as he stared up at the star. A near smile tugging at his mouth. Then Delphia took hold of his hand, or really just one of his fingers since they were so large, out of appreciation. She had to wonder how he got it up there though. The chandelier was hanging from the second story ceiling. And to hang something even on the tip of it was at least fourteen feet in the air. Then she noticed the distinct, webbed foot dent in the wood flooring and made the connection. Yes. She had heard that thud. But most thuds that occured in the house she chose to ignore for her own sanity’s sake. She’ll just add it to the list of things that needed to be fixed. Though Rick was going to be none too pleased, as he had just replaced one of the bathtubs upstairs from being overfilled and…Sinking into the floor.

“Thank you,” she said, “You did a great job.”

“You’re welcome.” Nanaue nodded.

As he began to walk out of the foyer, Delphia called after him, “If you want, you can help Sebastian string popcorn!”

“No!”

“Okay then,” she chuckled after him.

But then she noticed just how quiet the house was. Of course there was Christmas music playing softly from the living room speakers. But underneath that, for the past several hours, was the noise of someone dancing through the house. Hopping and skipping and singing along loudly. But now there was nothing. Only the sweet sounds of The Oakridge Boys singing Silver Bells.

Delphia came back into the living room and asked Abner and Cleo, who were now helping Sebastian string the popcorn, “Have you guys seen Harley?”

“Hm — no.” Abner shook his head. “Last I saw her she was putting tinsel everywhere.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

Harley’s room was upstairs to the right. Her door was always open, allowing people to see the fact that she had indeed grafitied the walls and put up crime scene tape that Delphia did not know where came from. It was so she could stop people in the hall and talk to them. Out of everyone, Harley was the most talkative in the house. Cleo was probably second in line. It made Delphia’s heart happy to hear all the chatter in the house while she was cooking or cleaning or helping Rick fix something. But right now there was no chatter. Harley’s door was left only slightly cracked. And there were soft sniffles coming from the other side.

“Harley?” Delphia called softly as she approached the door. The lights were off inside. She knocked on the wood gently with her knuckles. “Can I come in?”

“I guess so,” she called, voice strained and full of tears.

Delphia stepped into the dim room and frowned compassionately at what she found. Harley laid stomach down on her bed, tears streaming down her face and smearing her eyeliner. Bruce 2 was laying next to her, occasionally nudging at her arm asking for attention and whining softly.

“What’s wrong?” Delphia asked as she crossed the room and sat at the edge of the bed.

Harley snorted back her snot loudly and sat up slightly. “Christmas just won’t be the same without Boomer this year.”

“Oh — did you and Harkness do something for Christmas together at Belle Reve?”

“No.” Harley sat up entirely and Bruce 2 put his head in her lap. “But we could have. And what if we lost our chance? He was like family — “

“Well, once he’s healed up from all that tree shraptenel and — and the burns — he’ll be back to doing missions with Task Force X. He’s gotta be close to getting out by now, right?”

“I suppose so,” Harley said.

“Trust me, when he’s out, we’ll be sure to wrangle him into staying here with us.” Delphia smiled.

Harley grinned wide and threw her arms around Delphia’s neck, pulling her in for a tight hug. She sighed loudly and said, “Thanks, Dee, darlin’. You’re the best.”

“I know,” Delphia chuckled.

“Guess who’s here!” Rick’s voice boomed from downstairs, “What happened to the fuckin’ floor?”

“Language, Colonel!” her mother’s voice answered.

“Oh! My parents!”

Delphia jogged from the room and down the stairs, a grin splitting her face so badly it was beginning to hurt. Rick was standing next to the dent in the floor, staring at it with sad and tired eyes, arms laden with wrapped presents. Her parents were standing close to the door, coats and scarves hanging from their arms but smiles on their faces as they looked around the house.

Arlo and Fanny. Absolute saints in Delphia’s eyes. Taking in a baby born in a max security prison when they were fifty years old. They raised her gently, encouragingly, and lovingly when no one else would. They were much older now. Nearing on eighty and looking it. Her father was round about the middle, balding, and white haired. Her mother was plump, rosy cheeked, and squinty eyed. They were adorable and felt like home, and seeing them made Delphia tear up as she practically lept from the bottom step to reach them faster.

“Mom!” she exclaimed as she slammed the woman into a tight embrace.

“Oh, Ducky, darling!” Fanny laughed, holding her daughter just as tight.

“Hey, Duckster!” her father greeted, patting her on the back to let her know that he thought it was time for his hug now.

“Dad,” she struggled to say around her tears as she pulled away from Fanny and threw her arms around Arlo’s middle.

It had been two years since they had been together. Louisiana was far away from where they lived in Baltimore. Plus they were just getting too old for extensive travel like that. Especially with Arlo’s C-Pap machine, the medications, and the stress. But North Carolina was much closer. Only an hour flight and Rick had been more than willing to pick them up from the airport and drive them there when the festivities were done.

Arlo pulled back from the hug and placed his hand on his daughter’s cheek. “You’re getting old, Duckster.”

“Speak for yourself, old man,” she laughed back, patting his cheek affectionately.

“Dee — you want these under the tree?” Rick asked, lifting the many presents he still had stacked and jammed under his arms.

She pulled back from Arlo and wiped at her cheeks quickly. “Oh — er, yeah. Yeah, that’s perfect, babe. Thank you.”

As he passed her on his way to the living room, he stopped with a smile and planted a kiss on her lips.

“Merry Christmas, baby.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Alright, give me the tour! Introduce us to everybody!” Fanny clapped her hands together with a smile once she had her and her husband’s coats hanging on the halltree.

“Yeah, I saw them all on the news when that starfish thing happened.” Arlo nodded as he followed his wife and daughter into the kitchen. “I would like to thank them all myself for what they did. They’re real heroes.”

“Well, we can start with Abner Krill…”

Christmas dinner was ready and it smelled like heaven. Smoked ham. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Rolls. Freshly baked pies and cookies awaited for dessert. Everything was steaming and at it’s peak of delectability but —

“We can’t eat until DuBois gets here with his daughter. We’re just gonna have to wait.” At Rick’s statement everyone groaned unanimously. “He said they’d be here in five so quit whining.”

Nobody else complained after that. They all went back to their own little conversations. Harley and Abner were talking with Arlo about being a hero. Cleo and Fanny were discussing knitting, a recent hobby they had both taken up. Nanaue sat in the middle of them all, seemingly enjoying themselves. Rick and Delphia sat side by side, watching them all, small smiles on their faces. His hand encompassed her thigh. Her head was leaned on his shoulder. She made a noise in the back of her throat, almost like a purr, when he kissed the top of her head. A noise of content that made him chuckle deep in his bones.

“What a merry Christmas indeed,” she sighed, swiveling her head so her chin rested on his shoulder and she could look up into Rick’s face.

That stupidly handsome face that smiled down at her like she was the best thing that ever happened to him. That she woke up at the crack of dawn to each morning. That reassured her from across a crowded room. That pulled funny faces when she needed to loosen up. That any time she looked into it, those prominent cheekbones and those hazel-green eyes, she knew she was right where she needed to be. Loved, happy, in love, home.

“I’m fuckin’ starvin’,” he whispered to her.

“I know, me too,” she said, “When’s DuBois gonna get here again?”

Rick looked down at his watch. “Mm — any minute now.”

“He could hurry it up,” she huffed, picking up her chin from his shoulder and straightening out her hair.

“Hey, I told everyone else to be patient.” He leaned in close, breath and lips hot against her ear. “That includes you.”

“Oh, does it now?” she mumbled, squirming when his grip on her thigh became that much tighter.

“Don’t make me give you an order,” he whispered, hot and heavy against her ear — giving it a playful nip.

Delphia pulled away and gave him a look of arroused surprise. Her parents were right there and he just bit her damn ear. He only winked at her in reponse and she nearly combusted.

But then the front door opened, bringing a cold draft right into the dining room. And with that draft carried DuBois voice.

“Sorry we’re late!”

Delphia quickly rose from the table to greet them. Basically anything to get away from Rick at that point, because any longer and she was going to drag him upstairs. DuBois was shaking off his boots, scraping the cap from his head. His daughter, Tyla, stood off to the side. Looking unsure with her hands in her coat pockets.

“Hey, you’re just in time!” Delphia smiled as she approached them. She held out a hand to the young girl. “You must be Tyla?”

“Yeah, I am.” She smiled and shook Delphia’s hand.

“Here, here, take off your coat — your shoes. Dinner is all ready.”

Delphia made quick work of taking Tyla’s things and putting them away. The girl even snuck a small present labeled “dad” into her hands and made a face like she didn’t know what to do with it. Delphia nodded and hid it away in her cardigan pocket.

“Thanks for lettin’ ‘er come — again,” DuBois said as he followed Delphia into the dining room.

“Yeah, thanks,” Tyla agreed.

“It’s honestly our pleasure.” Delphia smiled over her shoulder at them. “The more the merrier, in my opinion.”

Once Tyla was properly introduced and they were both seated, Delphia snuck off to the living room. All the lights were off except the flames burning in the fireplace. It was a beautiful sight. The tree all aglow, the decorations everywhere, the smell of pine and cinnamon and joy in the air. Delphia pulled Tyla’s present for her father from her pocket and placed it gently on top of the pile. She smiled as she took it all in. Changed somehow just by the addition of one small present.

One small present that meant so much more.

Post dinner, when everyone was at their most vulnerable and malleable, Delphia brought out a surprise. One that people were either going to love or hate. But she didn’t really care.

“Matching pajamas?” DuBois asked as he held up the red and green striped pajama pants from the box he had just unwrapped. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah!” she replied with a wide smile, “Rick and I’ve done it every year we’ve been together and I thought it’d be fun if we brought the tradition over to you guys.”

“I like them,” Cleo said, then she pulled out another, tinier set of pajamas from her box and she melted, “Oh, my God! You made a pair for Sebastian!”

“I like ‘em too. They’re classy,” Harley said.

“You fuckin’ wear these, Flag?”

“Hey, they’re fuckin’ comfortable man,” Rick answered with a point of his finger, “Plus they make her happy so I’m not just gonna say no.”

“Pants!” Nanaue exclaimed as he held up the giant pair of fleece pajama pants from his box, “For me?”

“Of course!” Delphia said, “Sorry I couldn’t make you a shirt too, but — er — well, I couldn’t find enough fabric.”

Abner got up from the table, pajamas in hand, and moved around it quickly. When he got to Delphia, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a breathtaking hug that surprised almost everyone in the room. Including Delphia.

“Thank you,” he whispered before he pulled away, then he turned to the rest of the group, “I am going to put these on. Cause they’re like family.”

And before he even left the room, the rest of them got up and went to their respective bedrooms to change. DuBois somewhat begrudgingly, but still he went. Delphia flashed Rick an excited grin before snatching up her own pajamas and jogging from the room.

“She always been like this for Christmas?” Rick asked Fanny and Arlo with a smile as he helped them clear away the dinner dishes.

“Oh, always.” Fanny nodded. “For a long time, I think — it was when she felt the most like other kids.”

Once everyone was changed, presents were opened. Then everyone happily and sleepily settled into the living room to watch Elf with a cup of hot cocoa. It had been perfect. Chaotic — but perfect. Abner got a stack of ten new books. Cleo got the start of a tunnel system for the rats. Harley got a new mallet that Rick made sure she knew was for outside use only. Nanaue got a fake mustache. DuBois got a tea subscription that he said was fine but Delphia knew he loved. Tyla had given her father a bracelet with her birthdate on it. A reminder for when they were apart. It nearly made Delphia cry.

But before Rick or Delphia could even think about sitting down to enjoy the movie with everyone else, Harley and Cleo stopped them just before they went into the living room.

“We’ll take those,” Cleo said as she took the mugs of hot chocolate away from the couple.

“Uh, my cocoa,” Delphia mumbled as she watched it get set down on the kitchen counter.

Before Rick could protest any further, Harley held up her hands. “You guys have been doin’ all sorts of stuff for us lately. So we wanted to give you a little special somethin’ on Christmas. It’s out in the back.”

“But it’s snowing,” Rick laughed in unbelief.

“Then you better grab your boots,” Cleo suggested with a smile.

Delphia and Rick gave each other a look before relenting and going to the foyer for their shoes. There really was no point in arguing with them. They were blocking the way to the living room and Harley was way stronger than she looked. Boots and coats over their matching pajamas, they went out the back sliding glass door to the garden.

It was beautiful. Snow was falling gently from the sky. A nice layer already on the ground like a puffy blanket. The gazebo out back had been decorated with shimmering garland and strung up with lights.

Delphia gasped when she saw it, face already pinked from the cold. “It’s like our own little piece of Christmas magic.”

“Christmas magic?” Rick asked, grinning, as he took her hand and began trudging through the snow to get to the gazebo.

“Just indulge me, Flag,” she replied, nudging his shoulder with her own.

When their feet landed on the clean wood of the gazebo flooring, music started up. There was a wireless speaker hidden somewhere. But Delphia really didn’t care to find out. It was playing The Christmas Song. And it honestly felt like magic to her.

“Will you have this dance, ma’am?” Rick asked as he offered her his hand.

“Absolutely.”

He pulled her in close. She happily rested her head against his chest, arms slung around his broad shoulders. His arms encircled her waist and he began to spin them in slow circles to the beat of the song. It was quiet, and still, and beautiful and so unlike their lives as of late. It felt like a deserved rest to dance in the cold on Christmas.

“We should pick a wedding date, you know,” he mentioned softly.

“Hm — how’s June third sound?”

“Perfect.”

“And where?”

“How about right here — in the backyard?” Rick suggested.

Delphia picked her head up off his chest and mumbled against his lips, “Even more perfect.”

“Merry Christmas, baby girl.”

“Merry Christmas, Colonel.”

Taglist (if you would like to be tagged in future installments of this just let me know): @bbygrgu @vvola13 @slayerx147 @xoxabs88xox @kasey-puff @witchygagirl @the-pink-petite-princess @blooo0ooop @woodlandmouth @csigeoblue @rexorangecouny

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fangirleaconmigo · 2 years

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The Witcher Season 2 Episode 1 Recap and Review: A Grain of Truth

Here be monsters. And your season two Witcher episode recaps from a wordy witcher book fan.

I'll probably do one a day until I've done all the episodes for S2. (Unless there's no interest, in which case I'll quietly drop off and you never heard me say this).

If you have any questions drop a reply or an ask, whatever! And if you like it put an rb on it?

Full disclosure, LONG FUCKING POST I really go in depth,(that's what she said) and there's a section at the end comparing/contrasting the books.

All under the cut because spoilers!

A Grain of Truth

This episode opens with a brutal monster attack. (Very similar to the opening of Nightmare of the Wolf) So right off, The Witcher says, here! Welcome back! Here, take a severed disemboweled torso and come on in! (Don’t mind if I do)

The flying monster is unseen, setting the stage for the central theme of the episode: “Monsters: What Are They Even? How Do I Know If I Am One? Also, My New Dad Kills Monsters. Does This Represent a Conflict of Interest?”

Next, we go to the battlefield post-Sodden. Full disclosure, the battle of Sodden finale was by far my favorite part of Season 1. I just, personally, love a good siege. I love a good battle prep episode, I love all the magic, the different styles of fighting, and mages making a desperate stand to defend humans. I love the bittersweet feeling of heading towards doom for a good cause.

Yes, they changed a lot about the magic from the books, but I don't care because why? Because I think it’s cool and neat to see Yen go ham and shoot fire out of her hands. Fuck yeah.

Ok, back to the current episode. The aftermath is far less cool. War is hell, folks. There are corpses, severed body parts, and moaning half dead people strewn about. Our new daddy Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) is stabbing the wounded. I guess he is afraid they’ll get up to some mischief before they expire in a pool of their own bowel excretions and sad limp intestines. Tissaia (Myanna Buring) is touching the wounded, jumping psychically into their minds in a desperate attempt to locate Yennefer.

(ETA: this ability to read the minds of the recently deceased is actually referenced in the books, though not shown 'on the page'. In Chapter 1 of Blood of Elves after Yen rescues Dandelion, he asks Yen if she should have done so to get info out of the men she killed to rescue him. She says necromancy is forbidden by the chapter, and they probably wouldn't have known much anyway.)

Alright, I’m just gonna tell you right now. For me? Myanna Buring is the MVP in this episode. It is her grief stricken, shell shocked face, more than any of the gore on display, that make me *feel* the post-battle devastation. She looks bereft, and devastated. She is shaky, filthy, and bloody.

Vilgefortz seems in much better spirits, skewering the maimed with his sword like he’s gonna make s'mores with them later, and listing the numbers of the dead. He tells Tissaia just to presume Yennefer is dead. In desperation, she screams for Yennefer where she stands. That part made me tear up every time I watched it. (I rewound and watched it a few times). That’s called bringing the emotional dimension. It’s called ACTING folks, give her all the statues.

Then we hear Geralt (Henry Cavill, obviously) in the distance screaming for Yennefer. He is there too, leading Roach. Ciri (Freya Allen) is atop Roach (Zeus). (Horses deserve credit too, damnit)

I was so excited to see Geralt and Tissaia meet, that for a minute I forgot that I lived in a world where Tissaia is a grief stricken shell of a human being, and Geralt is meeting her across a vista of rotting corpses. But, unfortunately, that’s where we are. Geralt asks Tissaia whether Yennefer is alive. Tissaia doesn’t say that Yennefer is dead, but she looks so devastated and bewildered, that he instantly accepts Yennefer’s death as fact.

Tissaia says they won because of Yennefer. Geralt steps into Tissaia’s face and asks “was it worth it?” Then he walks away, grief, shock, and anger on his face. When Ciri asks him who Yennefer is, he answers that it doesn’t matter, because she’s gone.

From here the episode breaks up into three threads. We see Tissaia dealing with the fallout of the battle. We see Geralt and Ciri on their way to Kaer Morhen, and we find out what happened to Yen.

TISSAIA’S ARC

First, Tissaia’s arc. We go back to a place where they are caring for the wounded. We find out what happened to Triss (Anna Schaffer). She survived, but she is in horrible shape. Vilgefortz, Artorius Vigo (Terence Maynard) and Tissaia use healing magic to help her. Myanna Buring stroking Triss’s hair in that scene did everything for me. She was so harsh with her girls in S1, even essentially murdering several of them to turn them into eels. (I’ll be honest, I’m still baffled by the eels). It took the battle of Sodden to really get her to visibly show her affection for them. And it’s little touches like that, her being soft, there in front of other mages even, to show how broken apart she is, and how much she loves them.

Vilgefortz tells Artorius that his niece was the ringleader of the attack. “She has abandoned all rules of chaos.” He’s like eh...lost cause I guess. Dead to me. Bye. They move on pretty quickly from that, and we learn they have a prisoner that no one has been able to break. Tissaia guarantees she can break him. Artorius says they have rules, implying torture might be considered bad. Vilgefortz backs her up. “She wasn’t asking your permission.”

As I suspected, the prisoner is Cahir. He says Tissaia can torture him, he doesn’t care, because “the white flame will cleanse us all.” (The whole religious zealot thing.) After zapping him a few times with magic, Tissaia walks behind him and gives this chilling little speech:

“Tis not in my nature to be cruel. (Ed Note: We know some eel girls who might have something to say about that) But you have taken someone from me. Someone I care about deeply. So now I will take your knowledge, your memories, your very being, and leave you cold and helpless, trapped in the eternal darkness of your own mind.”

She goes on for a while and this little speech is fucking chilling. Also it accomplishes quite a bit for the story. Thanks to Myanna Buring's powerful acting, it still shows Tissaia’s vulnerability and grief underneath the threat. It drives in deep how much she loves Yen, and how beside herself she is with grief and rage.

(Note: The threats Tissaia makes to fuck up his mind were taken from the book Blood of Elves, but the words were spoken by Philippa Eilhart to some unfortunate soul who thought he could come for Geralt. They repurposed them for Tissaia.)

Their relationship was the highlight for me of S1, so complex, dynamic, and rich. I am so happy to see it being treated as significant here. This speech also sets up an ethical question. Torture in stories usually sets up questions of ‘who is the good guy, how much evil can we do in the course of a cause and not be evil ourselves, etc etc’ so I’m expecting that to be thematic in some way.

YEN AND FRINGILLA’S ARC

We find out that my best girl Yennefer is in dimeritium shackles, having been taken prisoner by Fringilla. They taunt each other a bit, and we learn that Fringilla is in trouble for losing Cintra, and bringing Yennefer in hot (as the Mandalorian would say) is her way of getting back in her leader’s good graces.

Fringilla says Yen is in trouble too for using fire magic. Yen doesn’t seem too worried. Tissaia told her to do it, after all. Yen continues poking at her, trying to find weaknesses. She says this plan won’t save her life and that her leader is just using her as a pawn. She says Fringilla should just come back to the Brotherhood.

Fringilla says that the Brotherhood used them as pawns too. Yen says they were given choices, and Fringilla says they weren’t good choices. (I’m with Fringilla on this one)

That scene made me smile. I love seeing Yen being Yen. Thinking on her feet, looking for the angle, poking, taunting, always a survivor. I am also fascinated by their exchanges. They were two girls from vastly different social strata, shoved into the same cold, calculating, and abusive school. They must have found some support or friendship in each other. But the system pitted them against each other for survival, and they ended up at odds. You wonder who they would have been or what their relationship would have been if they had been allowed to simply be.

But suddenly, they are attacked by an enemy they can’t see. Their soldiers are speared and pulled away from them. (LOOKS FREAKY) Fringilla refuses to unshackle Yennefer (BAD DECISION), and the episode leaves them standing back to back in the forest in the dark with an unknown enemy about to presumably attack them.

GERALT AND CIRI’S ARC

Now for the arc that is most central to this episode. Geralt is taking Ciri to Kaer Morhen. WOOP WOOP KAER MORHEN. I'm basically vibrating with anticipation to see the old keep and meet the witchers. But that isn't until next ep, judging by the titles.

We join them again on their travels as they camp for the night. Geralt is sitting awake. Ciri is sleeping but having nightmares. She went through a thing or two last season, and her nightmares are also in the books. I am glad they kept that, because I always appreciate when they show at least some of the emotional effects of trauma. (fic writers can’t do it all, damnit).

Ciri wakes up, and Geralt shares that he also has nightmares. He makes her feel comfortable enough to share hers. Her nightmares are about Cintra burning, as well as the Black Knight, Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (Eamon Farren), the Nilfgaardian zealot who killed Eist in battle, killed Mousesack to have the doppler take his form (RIP Mousesack, you deserved better, buddy), and kidnapped her. Yeah, that would give you nightmares.

Then they have some exposition where they clarify what the law of surprise is and why Geralt claimed it. Geralt says something that really touched me. When he explains the law of surprise, he reassures her that her father didn’t know what he was giving up. Geralt, a man with an abandonment complex the size of the empire state building, felt the need to make sure she didn’t feel the same. He reassures her that her father would have never given her up on purpose. Ugh that really got me in my heart.

In this conversation they also establish why Ciri is choosing to stay with Geralt. He tells Ciri that if she goes back to her people in Skellige, she’ll be married off against her will to someone who would want her for her throne. She’s not down with that.

The next day, they give more exposition. It is mostly context for the premise of bigotry against witchers, and for Geralt’s origin story. He says that Kaer Morhen is his home. Ciri has never heard of it, which underlines the message that it is a mysterious place. The witchers keep it secret because there was a genocidal attack when Geralt was a little boy that almost wiped them all out.

Ciri asks “Were you attacked because you were different?”

After a long pause, Geralt replies. “Sure.” That didn’t feel like a yes. Which....I have a lot of feelings about that. To me it should be 100% a yes if you’ve read the books. Maybe he hasn’t read the books. Then he essentially changes the subject by saying “we can’t see the future like you can.” That didn’t answer her question.

Then Roach, being the goodest girl that she is, senses something in their surroundings is amiss. They come across a mansion that looks pretty creepy, and a beast jumps out and attacks Geralt. (the short story the episode is based on is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast). After a bit of suspense, Geralt recognizes him as an old friend called Nivellen (Kristofer Hivju) who only looks like a beast because of a curse (like Duny last season).

They go inside and hey there’s food and a bath! But everything still feels creepy! The house is creepy! The guy feels like he’s hiding something!

When Ciri is in the bath, we hear scratching and pattering in the ceiling and see a creepy pair of eyes. (Run, Ciri! Geralt, do something goddamnit) Ciri doesn’t see the eyes, she just hears the noise and the beautiful dress laid out for her. She wears it to dinner, in more shades of Beauty and the Beast.

At dinner, Nivellen reminisces about meeting Geralt, calling him a softy. (Which. Trufax.) Then Geralt asks for the true reason for his being cursed.

He says he fell in with a bad crowd, was high on mushrooms and trashed a temple. Geralt says, “all the mushrooms in the world wouldn’t make anyone that stupid." This line is important, I’ll explain later.

Then Nivellen says after the damage was done, a priestess cursed him. She screamed something about love and blood. Nivellen says he has tried to end his own life several times, but he keeps coming back to life. He is doomed to live like that.

Then Geralt asks why the town is abandoned. This harkens back to the first scene where the merchant and his family walked into an abandoned town and were attacked by a flying monster..

Nivellen claims The Wild Hunt has been sighted, and that has driven people away. (The Wild Hunt, besides being a very cool name, is a group of spectral riders that gallop across the sky. They are regarded as a dark omen and they kidnap souls to join them.)

Ciri calls them “The Wraiths of Morhogg”, which is what they call them in Skellige. She says her grandfather saw them just before Cintra fell. Geralt gets a look and says “Your grandfather was a drunk” (harsh thing to say to a girl who just lost grandfather and is still grieving and having nightmares about it, but ok, Geralt my boy).

Nivellen is like...anywayyyyyy I’m just saying, it might be the end of days. Geralt calls that horseshit. There is more scratching in the ceiling. And Nivellen claims it is a cat named Verenna.

IT AIN’T A CAT, NIVELLEN. Neither Ciri nor Geralt buy it. Geralt decides to scope out the property.

We go back to Nivellen, he is in Ciri’s room telling her about a tragic fairy tale, The Fall of the Elders. This is important lore building that will become more significant later on as we find out more about Ciri’s powers. However, it’s just creeping me out that he’s in her room. I just don’t trust him.

We cut to Geralt outside talking to Roach. I love the Roach chats we have. Geralt is lamenting that Ciri is always endangering herself by not listening and by being rash or foolish and he worries about her. He worries about his ability to keep her safe.

Then we cut back to Nivellen and Ciri (Eds Note: Get away from her! Get a job!)

Ciri asks what it is like being alone because of what you are. You get the idea that she is worried about herself. She is worried that she is monstrous. Nivellen says loneliness eats him alive, so, he isn’t super comforting.

Ciri tells him that her father was cured by true love. Nivellen said he can’t be because he isn’t worthy. He says he killed all his staff when he was turned. Ciri reassures him that since he didn’t mean to kill them, he isn’t a monster. This harkens back to when Ciri killed all of those men who were attacking her. (To be fair, Ciri, fuck them).

Ciri reassures him that she has seen monsters (the humans who burned her family) and he isn’t a monster. Again, it’s the theme of, it’s your actions that makes you monstrous. Not your appearance or species.

Geralt is still outside, brooding in the snow. I wasn’t clear on why he was out there, given that he knows the danger is actually inside the house (the ceiling more specifically). But then Roach gets spooked, and catches his attention. (Twice now Roach has alerted him to something dodgy. That’s called being a good friend. Give that girl a carrot. Or apple. Whatever such good girls eat.)

Geralt goes inside and challenges Nivellen to a game. He suggests they throw knives at the portrait of Nivellen’s father (legit), and every time someone misses, they have to tell the truth.

Seems like he’s trying to get the truth out of Nivellen about what he is hiding. HOWEVER, Geralt keeps missing, which is WEIRD and we all know it. My man should have perfect aim.

But we get more exposition every time he misses and has to tell a truth. (there is no dare in this version, just the truth bit. Geralt and Nivellen won’t be streaking across the yard, toilet papering anyone’s house, or making out) He explains how he came to have Ciri, and says his only plan so far is to keep her alive. So there isn’t any overarching strategy yet. He doesn’t seem to know about her powers. I don’t know why I assumed he would know by now.

Nivellen asks what has changed him enough to care about a child, and Geralt says it was Yennefer of Vengerberg. It is a very unsatisfying answer for me narratively, but I know we need to get the romantic lines in for the trailers. He says Yen died a few days ago and Nivellen seems shocked by his stoic appearance.

“How are you not heartbroken?”

“Who says I’m not?”

At this point, Tissaia is carrying all the visible emotional weight for grieving Yennefer. Geralt has a child to take care of.

Then Nivellen beastsplains to Geralt what a witcher is (thanks Nivellen?) and he asks whether Ciri knows how awful all that witcher shit is. Geralt promises he won’t put Ciri through any trials. (obviously, does my man look like he would torture and kill a child? Look at his innocent egg yolk eyes. God, Nivellen, what the fuck is wrong with you?) I jest, but yeah, that is a really important part of the narrative. Geralt avoided taking her from Calanthe to begin with, because he would never do that to a child. HIS HEART IS BIG AND SQUISHY BEHIND HIS COOL BLACK LEATHER TITTY ARMOR OK.

Geralt says that Nivellen is cheating with magic knives. (We all knew something was amiss. Mr. Hapless Betusked Creep can’t throw knives better than Geralt of gatdamn Rivia). Geralt asks what he is hiding. Nivellen refuses to open up.

Now we go back to Ciri. The creepy eyes come down, revealing themselves to be on the face of an even creepier woman (Agnes Born). VERY COOL AND VERY CREEPY She talks to Ciri, claiming to be ‘different’, but saying that Ciri is different too. Vereena asks why she travels with Geralt. She says he ‘kills’ monsters.

This creepy chick just dropped down out of the ceiling and decided to be a manipulative little shit, trying to pit Ciri against Geralt. Maybe she thinks if she manipulates her enough, she’ll be able to deputize her in the “protect her against Geralt” club. FAT CHANCE, LADY.

We go back to Geralt. He still doesn’t feel Ciri is safe, and he is nothing if not a protector. So he is roaming the grounds again. He comes upon the dead (parts of) bodies from the opening scene. He looks at them, and puts it all together. He runs in and wakes Ciri, saying there is a bruxa in the house. For the uninitiated, a bruxa is a class of female vampire. They are incredibly powerful, crafty, and hard to kill. They also kill people and drink their blood.

I mean, vampires have to drink blood to live. But we still don’t endorse tearing innocent people limb from limb. It’s just rude. Also, there have been many shows and movies that have led me to believe vampires CAN survive on pigs or rat blood, so, that's always going to be ethically preferable.

Either way, Geralt cannot stand by and let a bruxa slaughter people wholesale. (Or even partialsale) Why? He’s a hero. Fuck yeah.

Geralt then takes his potions, and doesn’t explain to Ciri what’s happening. So when he transforms, he looks ‘monstrous’ and scares the shit out of her. Again, the show is trying to make us nervous that Ciri will bolt, stop trusting Geralt, etc etc. He tells her to go chill with Roach. (So far in the episode, Roach has been a good listener, a danger warning system, and a babysitter. Roach is the best.)

THEN, fuck yeah, monster fight scene. Geralt walks through the halls, ready to rumble. He comes upon Vereena feeding off of Nivellen. He doesn’t seem like a prize to me, but she is just gobbling him up, sounding like she’s experiencing the longest lasting orgasm of her life.

Get her Geralt!

Geralt gets her. She does the fucked up bruxa scream and slams him against a wall. They fight. He uses aard. (He’s already using his signs a lot more this season) She slams into the snow outside where Ciri is supposed to be standing next to Roach, but being the tender hearted girl she is, she runs to Vereena to check on her.

Vereena puts on a sad voice and is like “he hurt me.” (Oh, fuck you, girl. Shut the fuck up. Nobody is buying it.)

Geralt runs out and tells Ciri to go back to Roach. Ciri runs back to Roach. I am uncertain what Roach would do if the bruxa attacked them.

Vereena keeps pleading her case to Ciri while she scream slams Geralt. The actress goes SO seamlessly from innocent to terrifying. Also, I love the effects. It all looks very cool.

Now she flies around, they fight some more. She turns into a monsterbat!! (I’m very shitty at describing fight scenes, but you probably already watched it, so just delve into your memory banks). Geralt finally gets her and she slams across the snow as she turns into a naked woman.

Of course, this has the visual effect of making it look like Geralt killed a naked woman (which screams vulnerable person), and not a monsterbat. Ciri runs up to check on her. Vereena pops up and is about to rip Ciri’s throat out when Nivellen shows up and stabs her through the chest.

Nivellen is apologizing as he stabs her, and you might think he’s apologizing to Geralt and Ciri for endangering their lives. But when she goes to bite Nivellen (they describe her pulling her body up a blade like that in the books and it stuck in my head, so it was cool to see it) and Geralt lops off her head. Nivellen is devastated. Turns out he was apologizing to Vereena for stabbing her. THAT’S JUST GREAT, NIVELLEN, JUST GREAT. YOU ARE VERY NORMAL AND COOL.

(No one ever thanks Geralt for saving their lives smh toss some fucking gratitude to your witcher once in awhile)

Ciri looks startled, as one might be when they witness a decapitation. There is a disembodied Vereena voice telling Ciri via psychic methods that one day Geralt will come for her too. (STFU Vereena, no he won’t)

Having that voice speak only in Ciri’s head is a narrative way to isolate Ciri and spell out that Ciri is afraid she’s a monster, which would mean it would be Geralt’s job to kill her. (WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS ACT LIKE WITCHERS JUST KILL MONSTERS WILLY NILLY LIKE THEY JUST DO IT EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY AS SOME SACRED CALLING. NO! YOU HAVE TO PAY THEM! Let me ask you, do pest control people just kill every rat they see on the subway or like at the park? NO!)

Ok, getting back on track. Nivellen transforms into Kristofer Hivju.

The curse has been lifted. Geralt tells him he is free. He asks, sifting through the ashes of the love of his life, whether this is what Geralt calls free. He is devastated. He tells the story of how he came across Vereena and how even though she slaughtered people he didn’t see her as a monster. (well good for you Nivellen, but I’m guess all the slaughtered people felt like she was pretty monstrous before she gutted them)

Ciri reassures him that monster or not, she did love him. I should also mention here that Hivju does an AMAZING job in this scene. He’s on his knees, he’s emotional. It’s a whole thing. Geralt waxes philosophical.

“Love and blood, they both possess a mighty power. Learned men and mages have racked their brains over it for years.”

(My apologies for being a Buffy stan for a minute but it reminded me of Spike's 'love is blood' speech)

Nivellen admits he turned his eyes away from her murderous rampages because she knew why he was cursed and she still loved him. It is then that he confesses the real reason he was cursed. He was actually cursed for raping the priestess.

That, understandably, does not go over well with our heroes Geralt and Ciri. It’s a bit of a....what the entire fuck...moment for them. Nivellen reaches out and says “Ciri--please stay, don’t go-”

But they turn and walk away from him.

Then he begs Geralt to kill him. They keep walking. Geralt says “You’re mortal now. Do it yourself.”

DAMN good line.

They walk away together, leaving him on his knees.

I thought it was really powerful and a great end to their encounter with Nivellen. Ciri might be very conflicted and confused about what makes a monster, and Geralt may debate and negotiate that boundary from time to time. But they are both good and decent at heart and they can both agree that rape is monstrous, and they both decide to walk away from him.

When they have another campfire going, and Geralt has recovered from the effects of his potion, he tells her she needs to listen to him and do as he says.

“If I say run, run. If I say hide, hide...”

You can tell this is going to be a theme throughout the season. Will Ciri trust him to take care of her? Ciri agrees. She also confesses that she thinks something is wrong with her. She doesn’t explicitly tell him about her powers. But she opens up enough to say that “wherever she goes, people die” and that she feels responsible, and that it makes her feel afraid all the time.

It isn’t the whole story, but it is a start.

Geralt shares some wisdom with her. He says that fear is an illness and that you must treat it. You treat it by facing your fears. He says it isn’t easy, but he’s there for her (sobs). He also says he won’t let anything happen to her. (I confess when someone says that in a story I yell NOOOO don’t say that! at the screen. It always feels like famous last words.)

But Ciri hasn’t seen that many horror movies I guess, because she simply says “alright.”

WHAT I LOVED WHAT I DIDN’T AND NOTES ON THE BOOKS

LOVED

The beginnings of the relationship between Ciri and Geralt. The ways he reached out to her felt so organic to his own trauma and experiences. It is beautiful to see him giving her something he never had. That is the healing aspect of parenthood.

Tissaia’s grief and love for Yen.

Yen and Fringilla challenging each other.

The exploration of classic witcher themes like monsterhood and what that means.

The acting. Everyone seems so much more settled into their roles.

Just seeing my Yenna again, still thinking on her feet, still a survivor.

DIDN’T LOVE

The only part that frustrated me was how quickly Geralt decides Yen is dead. Geralt doesn’t know Tissaia, so why would he trust her assessment? Beyond that, Tissaia doesn’t even say she’s dead! No one has seen a body! Perhaps they stab the wounded, but sometimes people get captured by the enemy for intel purposes! Why not her? But Geralt just accepts that she’s dead in all of thirty seconds. Maybe Tissaia senses her absences with magic but why would Geralt not even ask her how she knows?

However, that was about it! There wasn’t anything I actively disliked. There were just a few reminders of the missed opportunities last season. When they are talking and Ciri says:

“I’m your destiny.”

And Geralt answers

“You’re much more than that, Cirilla.

Oh my god, when he said that to her in the books, I was screamin. I was jumping up and down. I was tearing up. I just, I can’t tell you. That short story was what made me fall in love with the whole saga. It was the emotional centerpiece of the whole saga. It baffles me to this day how any storyteller could read that story and be like nahhhhh, we won’t put this one it. ????

So hearing that and not it having the same emotional weight just reminded me of what we didn’t get. BUT they are obviously focusing on building it now, and I am here for it, and I can’t wait for it to develop. So onwards and upwards.

Also, there were allusions to a few things that I hope don’t come to pass. Like the bruxa taunting Ciri that Geralt would come for her. I genuinely and deeply hope that they aren’t foreshadowing Ciri running from Geralt or failing to trust him because she sees him as a killer. I just really hope that’s not coming down the pike.

So none of that really counts as a dislike. Just some thoughts.

I’d give this episode an A.

RANDOM NOTES:

At the campfire in the beginning when Geralt is sharing with Ciri that he has nightmares, he says this:

“Except for the one about the rock troll. Overly friendly. Tough image to shake.”

This moment is pretty odd. The words sound like a joke, but the delivery fell flat to me. I was just confused. Then someone on twitter said that maybe the writers have read that fanfic where Geralt catches Jaskier mid-fucking a rock troll. (Which, that IS something Jaskier would do, I’m sorry but it’s true. That fic was both in character, and hilarious.) Now I will always imagine Geralt referring to that and I will get a big laugh out of it.

BOOK NOTES BOOK SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY

So, the plot with Tissaia and Yen, all of that are all brand new. The books don’t even have Yen POVs the first three books and barely any the fourth. So everything with Yen is by necessity going to be brand new.

Also, a lot was changed with Nivellen to fit the narrative of Ciri’s growth. It is a little odd to see so many changes. It’s like walking into your old school and there’s a bunch of new students, and you’re like...this is my school, but not quite? But it was good! The changes all made perfect sense to me. Also, they improved on one thing I didn’t like from the story.

In the short story, Geralt doesn’t really react to Nivellen’s confession of raping a priestess. Nivellen tells him early. He's like...eh I was young and high and peer pressure you know. The priestess was right there. Geralt just seems to accept that and offers to help him. I hated that. The book had already established that the first ‘monster’ Geralt killed was a rapist. So, to have him in a story where he doesn’t react poorly to someone raping a priestess, was deeply irritating and seemed out of step with the character they were already establishing. Also, one of Geralt’s dearest life long friends is a priestess and that should make it feel even more personal to him.

I had hoped the show would take out the rape element, but actually what they did was better. They included it but gave it the weight it deserved, and had Geralt react the way I think he would.

Seeing Triss in pain, and remembering her role in Sodden, confirms they are giving her her chest scars and making that battle an important part of her character development. I really appreciate that.

We had out first references to Emyhr! I’m so curious to see if they are going to actually follow the book on this one...concerning his motivations for chasing Ciri.

Cahir. So, let’s talk about Cahir. LOTS OF SPOILERS HERE FOR FUTURE BOOKS TURN BACK IF YOU CARE ABOUT THAT In the books, he is not much more than a boy, very close to Ciri’s age. He is assigned to go get her so he does. But he is basically a hapless pawn and practically a child soldier. He is also very adamant that he is ‘not a nilfgaardian’. He ends up deserting and aiding Ciri, falling in with Geralt’s group of friends. He also has romantic feelings for Ciri.

The show has made him in his mid thirties, a commander, a zealot, a killer, and a legitimate villain. He is probably the character they have changed the most drastically up to this point. They can’t introduce his character having feelings for Ciri if they don’t want to make him a pedophile. BUT I wonder if Tissaia erasing his mind will lead to transforming his character back into the kind of person who can become friends with Geralt. I don’t know. It’s a thought.

#the witcher #the witcher season 2 #geralt of rivia #yennefer of vengerberg #tissaia de vries #cirilla of cintra #recaps and reviews #talking twn

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ratcandy · 3 years

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Subcon Forest Analysis

Hi everyone I'm here to spill my aggressive overflowing thoughts on Subcon Forest and what it represents because it's been driving me insane since I finished the Sleepy Subcon time rift. Okay let's go. Obvious spoilers for AHIT ahead so proceed with caution.

This is also very, very long.

Disclaimer/warning: I will be discussing abusive/unhealthy relationships in this analysis. I mean. Vanessa. Come on. Also, there is a section on the nooses, and that delves, of course, into mentions of suicide. It will be sectioned off and easily skipped, but if you'd rather be safe and skip the entire post, that's completely understandable! Please stay safe. <3

Alright. Main point to be had here:

Subcon Forest is a giant extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character.

You all get to now listen to me spout nonsense about metaphors and symbolism because I'm a sucker for analysis and I'm given an opportunity to go ham. So perish.

The Ice

Let's start with the most obvious and most glaring thing in Subcon. The ice. It's everywhere. Not just outside Vanessa's manor, either; no, it's throughout the village, too. Shows up in the well and in random locations sprinkled about. When it comes to literal plot, we know that ice is just what lingers after Vanessa's wintery curse on Subcon. But going deeper and analyzing the meaning behind it?

Well, let's look at this from the perspective I've suggested. Subcon Forest being an extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character. A symbol for Vanessa then litters his mind, enough where it's certainly noticeable at first but blends in more easily once more of Subcon is unlocked to Hat Kid. This is clearly meant to be his lingering trauma, whether or not he wants to acknowledge it. Which he doesn't, as he never mentions it directly in his forest (that I can recall). Her influence plagues him, as to be expected with the traumatic experiences he went through with her. Breaking the ice is something Hat Kid must do in order to fulfill the wishes of the Fire Spirits (another subject I'll get into shortly), which, if self-indulgently playing with the found family idea, could mean that Hat Kid is helping him heal; if indirectly. Even if fulfilling the Fire Spirits' wish to die is... counterproductive, in that measure, which I'm now getting ahead of myself so hold on a sec!!

Vanessa. Ice. Everywhere. Traces of it all over his forest. That's the effects of an abusive relationship! Especially in a worst-case scenario where... yknow! One party in the relationship dies! So of course ice would be everywhere.

In and of itself, ice is a common symbol in literature and other forms of media. In this case, it's presented as an antagonistic force; emphasis is placed upon freezing and the harm that comes with it. The cold is unwelcoming, threatening, merciless. Snow can act as an insulating force, at least, but ice cannot. It can only make things colder.

A slight stretch: Seeing as this game deals a lot with time shenaniganry, I'm not sure if it'd be too out of left field to connect "freezing" with the theme of time. Yknow. Frozen in time. Both parties here, Snatcher and Vanessa, would be in this frozen state. One largely repressing it and never fully moving on, and the other doomed to her isolation ever since the event in question. They never moved past that moment after the Prince and florist's interaction.

The Fire Spirits (& the Portraits)

I'll put a slight warning here for suicidal ideation, if only because... it's the Fire Spirits we're talking about. It's not as grossly in-detail as the noose discussion will be, though, so make of that what you will.

To me, the Fire Spirits are a very interesting case. After all, they're fire. They're a direct contrast to the ice, thus being the only thing we're shown that could potentially melt it. The Fire Spirits, in my opinion, represent hope or a strength to continue. A strength to move on after troubles of the past.

...And that hope wants to die.

The Fire Spirits wish to burn out, to leave this mortal coil and abandon the forest to the cold. They make no effort to melt the ice, they simply dance, blissfully ignorant towards their surroundings. This being a metaphor for Snatcher's own hope for moving on is made all the more obvious by the fact he wants them gone. The first contract is to kill the Fire Spirits, to kill the hope. Perhaps he believes that sort of thing to be fruitless or naïve, so it only clutters his mind or has him foolishly optimistic at points. So, get rid of it. And the hope is happy to oblige.

(That, or their willingness to leave the forest to its own suffering and not aid in the ice's thaw angers him. Besides the whole "bark bark growl I can't get to parts of my forest because of them!!" which... also could represent a naïve hope clouding his judgement, not allowing him to see a bigger picture. But hope can't all be lost if one wants to move forward...)

A little side-tangent now on the portraits! And it's another slight stretch but the idea is in my head and I can't let it go. Portraits are another common symbol, usually being a physical representation of a memory or idea. For our purposes, let's say they're memories. I know in canon they appear to just hold souls captive or something but for now we're just Ignoring That(tm). The Fire Spirits have to burn the portraits to disappear. See where I'm going with this, maybe?

Instead of handling bad memories (or perhaps memories of the past in general) in any healthy manner, Snatcher chooses to forget/repress them, which just allows his hope to progressively die out.

I'm really hoping this is making sense because it makes a lot of sense to me but I might be insane rn

The Fact that this is a Forest

Forest symbolism breakdown! What's a forest usually mean in literature? "Traditionally, the forest has come to represent being lost, exploration and potential danger as well as mystery and 'other worldliness'." Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. That certainly works with the whole aesthetic we've got going on. Wood usually is life, growth and strength. But the trees of subcon are all dead. So what about that? It stands for death, big whoop, very spooky, we know Snatcher's dead and so are the children, yadda yadda wowie wowie. But. :) The trees in Subcon look a lot like trees that were scorched in a forest fire. Don't believe me?

(You could also argue they're just regular marsh/swamp trees bUT SSHHSUUHSH HANG ON HEAR ME OUT LOOK LOOK,)

What I believe to have happened was a controlled fire to rid the forest of the majority of its ice and snow. Likely done by Snatcher. It leaves behind a very desolate, depressing, barren scene... but. What else do dead/burnt trees symbolize? Rebirth. After all, controlled fires happen to make way for new trees to take the place of old ones. Some trees only drop seeds in fires/hot temperatures, so new ones take root and begin anew. Weird. It's almost like... I dunno. Snatcher was given some sorta second chance, given he's not just a corpse in Vanessa's cellar. So were the subconites. Another life given then by Snatcher. All connected I tell ya!!

Generally, aside from that, forests have many connotations. Mystery, isolation, claustrophobia; a place to dwell on regrets, or the past; to worry over one's future; to seek escape from or escape inside of... hmgmrnmm!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Nooses

The t/w is given at the top and another cut-off point will follow the bottom of this, for those that would like to skip. This will delve into talk of suicide and abusive tactics used by abusers. Please don't read if it will upset you or make you feel unsafe!!!

Personally, I cannot stand the nooses, but that's just due to my own triggers. Were there a way to hide those from the game or replace the damned talking ones with anything else. I would take it. In a heartbeat. But I can still appreciate the potential analysis to be had with them. So now i'm gonna talk about it despite how uncomfortable it will make me to do so. yEa

So, what about 'em? There are three types of nooses seen in Subcon. At least that I remember but I didn't really go looking for them. Empty ones, ones containing empty subconites, and the talking ones.

Nooses in general obviously can hint towards suicidal thoughts or behaviors of the characters that interact with them. If saying Subcon is Snatcher's mind, it could suggest that he suffered from some sort of suicidal thoughts in life (or currently, if second death is possible... or if he never truly died... or maybe he's trying to figure that out...which has given me... a separate idea...uh oh). But. And hear me out. Different perspective.

A talking noose. I hate them with a fiery passion that is unmatched. But think of the packed symbolism of a noose that talks. And think more about what it says. "I wouldn't mind being strapped around a cute neck like yours." "Be careful now, I don't want to see you meet a miserable end anywhere, but with me." Oddly, a lot of what the noose says seems almost... endearing? One could argue it's a way of luring someone to put it around their necks, which in and of itself is a whole lot to unpack when it comes to suicidal thoughts beckoning one forward; painting itself as something romantic, almost. But. Here's a wild idea, now. What if the nooses, at least the talking ones, are another symbol for Vanessa?

They're tinted blue, after all. While Vanessa's scheme is more red, one could argue two things: One, ice. Blue. Ice. yeah. Or two, the fact that Snatcher's scheme is more purple. Blue and red... make... purple. So, for all we know, Snatcher's current state was a compound effort between suicidal thoughts and Vanessa's treatment of him. Perhaps he even found a way to put himself out of his misery before freezing/starving to death. (I know he has dialogue that argues against that, but... are we certain Snatcher would be the kind to admit suicide over freezing to death?... I don't think so.)

At any rate, a common threat by those in "control" of an abusive relationship is that of killing themselves should the other person not do as they desire. It's a cruel form of emotional manipulation to get their way, worse off if the other party is an empathetic individual. As a person who has been the empathetic individual in relationships like this... I would know. I've been here, unfortunately So, it's not completely out of the question to say Vanessa could've used some tactic like that, even before the whole... cellar ordeal. Did she? I dunno. I'm tossing ideas around. But if she did, the threats of such would sit around in the Prince's mind easily. Even if she has a reputation of not going through with it. It doesn't matter. That shit sticks with you forever, that scare, the potential of it ever being true, is horrifying and it ruins you. I'm projecting, Squirtle.

Still. A noose cannot hang itself. It has to have a victim.

...yea.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W PASSED -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Misc. Ideas

- The spiders: Aside from the usual things spiders can be chalked up to symbolizing - toxicity, alluring danger, just... general pain - I like the potential wordplay that can happen here. Yknow. A black widow. Say the Prince and Vanessa were married when one died. What would that leave Vanessa? A widow. ...She's red and black, too. Yknow. Like a black widow. HA wordplay is fun isn't it?

- Snatcher's tree: Love this place, love sitting in here. But not the point! The inside of Snatcher's tree is such a harsh juxtaposition to the rest of Subcon that it kinda throws ya off guard. After all, the dark, purples and blues then contrasted with the bright warm colors of the inside. Even the music switches over. The thorns outside aren't present indoors. Ohh yeah this is gonna be on the nose as hell but the Tree(tm) is 100% representing Snatcher's appearance/put-on personality vs. his truer nature. Spooky outside with thorns, foreboding, unwelcoming. Then the more comfortable interior. VULnerable. Have I even mentioned that the tree is HOLLOW I mean COME ON. The sturdiness of that tree? Nonexistent. He's not a sturdy guy at all no matter how he fronts

- Intrusions are unwelcome: Snatcher does not like the fact that Hat Kid sticks around in his forest. His personal space. His mind. In fact he tries desperately to get rid of her after their fight, not wanting her presence in his forest at all. He has no problem providing more contracts later on with the Death Wish thing, and he finds great entertainment in messing around with Hat Kid, so it's not just a weird sudden hatred he has for her; it's the fact that. After she's finished being useful, he no longer wants her around, lest she find some things she shouldn't find. Now he's just uncomfortable with her in his personal boundaries. Could just be a denial that she's helped him heal (breaking ice, stealing from Vanessa, being something interesting for his kids to interact with) or just not really wanting a child to get wrapped up in. All that. Most likely the former. Considering the amount of joke-hints he drops regarding his background during his Death Wish dialogue. I see you funny man, making jokes out of your trauma as a coping mechanism. Punts him

Annnd I think that's all I got, for now! I'll make an update post if I get any more sporadic ideas. If you read this whole thing, thank you!! and also!! Wow that was a lot!! Hell world. Please feel free to elaborate on any of my points or debate with me on em!! I'm always open to other ideas, just be aware that if I disagree I am not shy when it comes to debate hehehe, tho I won't be aggressive to any extent I prommy!!

Alrighty. goes to sleep goodnight

#clamtalk #VERY long ramble #a hat in time #snatcher #ahit snatcher #subcon forest #vanessa ahit #ahit #analysis #the prince ahit #goes crazy. goes insane #ask to tag #i'm frazzled I can't add more tags I'll do so later

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purplerose244 · 3 years

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My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (1/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Finally Nya's season! Our queen, our water goddess, our amazing girl gets what she deserves! 😍😍😍

What I know about the season beforehand is that Nya's powers apparently are getting problematic for some reasons? Which is a pretty common topic in other shows but it's a first in Ninjago, usually the elemental powers don't have focus and I LOVE that we now get to see stuff like that 💕💕💕

I know there should be Wojira involved, trusting The Island to deliver that little foreshadowing at the end of the episode 🤷‍♀️ Also Maya is back... MAYA IS FINALLY BACK AFTER SEVEN SEASONS YES!!! 😭😭😭

I have nothing else to say, I have no idea what this will bring, hopefully something as good as Master of the Mountain! 🖤

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Warning reader, I might be fangirling to an extreme because I love mah girl Nya and I've been wanting Kai and Nya's parents to be back ever since Hands of Time ended. So yeah... screaming alert 😅

At this point I don't doubt that the intro is great, we reached such a level of animation and we got The Fold 😍😍 Love the marine vibe and how it's similar to The Island, because it's a great intro 👌

NOW I like the writing! Maybe they rushed the dialogue's quality for The Island to get here? It's just fun and in character, maybe it's just me but I'm enjoying it a lot for now

How many episodes are in this? Wiki says ten, then I checked again and it's sixteen like with Master of Mountain... eh, it looks good so far so it's fine whatever happens 🤷‍♀️

A BIG SPLASH

Oohhh, new villain! One that uses... flames... huh, does she know there's literally a master of fire in the ninja team? Eh whatever she looks cute, give it up for Miss Demeanor!! 👏👏

Wait... OMG IS THAT ERIN MATTHEWS??? WE GOT MACY!! ❤❤❤

Whoa, we're finding out where did the order of the vengestone from season 13 come from?? YAS! CONTINUITY!

Yep, there it is, Nya lost control... her attacks look so cool 😍

Lol that kid trying to be a nindroid and Zane being offended 😂😂 Sorry hun, you're that popular

Aaahhh, thank you Ninjago! You gave me back Nya the perfectionist 😂 I was worried her reaction to her powers wasn't going to be in character but it looks fair so far. Brings me back to Possession, my favorite season 💙💙💙

WE GOT BACK THE FACT THAT SHE CAN MAKE IT RAIN!!! YAS!!! I might be easy to please but I love these details 🤩

🤯🤯🤯 Okay they are definitely going somewhere this time and I LOVE IT, because wow. WOW. Are we actually addressing the forever questioned fact that wind and water weren't elements that Chen needed at the Tournament? Are we giving a reason for them to exist outside the main set of elements and the elemental masters?? Duuuude, season 15 don't let me stop you, keep going 😍

Mm, so water and wind are connected to Wojira (now I see the connection with the special). Are we setting the ground for a new master of wind? 😏😏 It's risky going for a Morro replacement but it's a super intriguing idea! Oooor Edgy Boy TM might come back? WHO KNOWS I'M CURIOUS ANYWAY 🤩

Love how it is universal knowledge that Nya is super indipendent 👌

YES YES FINALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYA!!! 😍😍😍 Is it too much hoping into a Ray cameo as well?? Pleaaaase? Also addressing Krux after so many seasons, this feels exciting!! 😊

This is what I'm talking about, training, fighting scenes, show me everything that water goddess can do! 🌊🌊🌊

Aaahhh, Nya flexing her mightiness through anger, just to remind us that she is the descendant of a water master as much as of a fire master 😅

YES YES YES YES IT'S HAPPENING FINALLY AFTER SEVEN SEASON THE FIRE WATER PARENTS ARE FINALLY BACK!!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊 I'M SO HAPPY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!!! 😭

RAY IS THERE TOO HECK YES!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I shouldn't get this excited at only the first episode... WHO CARES RAY IS BAAAAACK!!! ❤❤❤

Omg Maya is definitely different from what I expected, turns out Kai's enthusiasm came from her 😂

Oh look at my flame babe 😍

He's so happy his parents are here, he's a total family man ❤❤❤

Nya is maaaaad... 😅

THERE SHE IS

WELCOME BACK JILLIAN I MISSED YOU 💚💚💚 Would it be too much having a "Your voice sounds familiar" moment with Maya and Lloyd? 😂

I'm so stoked for this! I want all the interactions I've missed for all of this time, asap!! HECK yes!! 😍😍😍😍

Oh, are we looking over the Miss Demeanor, vengestone situation? Mm... for now at least... WHO CARES FIRE WATER PARENTS!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊

THE CALL OF THE DEEP

Imma just slow clap for The Fold because this is another amazing intro, one of those things in this show that stays awesome no matter what happens 👍👍

So Maya gave Nya her discipline and perfectionism, but not the passion behind it 😂 I like this, it's not your conventional master of water, although I'd say it's different from the impression she gave me back in HoT. Maybe this is how she is when she's not trapped for fifty years? 😅😅

Is it too much asking for Kai and Ray bonding while the water women get the work done? 😅😅

Is this the sequel of Green Eggs and Ham?

Green Pancakes and Ham? 😂

Oh it's seaweed nevermind... at breakfast? I'm all for sushi rolls but this is a little 😅 Although since Maya missed their childhood she probably never cooked meals for them... how did I get myself sad 😢

Whoa, Maya is a strict teacher! I got flashbacks from my first and only dance lesson, teachers nitpicking every single pose, uuurrrggg I feel ya waterlily 😡

Again, not a fan of Misako, but coming from her the whole speech about wanting to be there for her child makes a lot of sense

Yes. YES.

YEEEEESSSS KAI AND RAY FAMILY BONDING THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED I'M GETTING ALL OF MY WISHES GRANTED FOR THIS ONE ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

AND MY FLAME BABE IS SO GLAD HE GOT HIS PARENTS!!! 😭😭😭

Lol with Kai's new hair they look even more related 🤣

Ray also sounds so happy he gets to have his moment with his son 😢 I feel so blessed in this moment 👍

Also this scene makes a lot of sense. Nya grew up to be indipendent, one that succeed in most of stuff without problems, she built her life without any help and doesn't look for it. Kai grew up more insecure, he got some walls up but loves to take care of others and be taken care of. With a childhood lost he looks forward to a bit of softness ❤❤

Did Maya make real bacon for that sandwich? Do I smell some favoritism? 😅 Or maybe she really wants Nya to get onto the water mind setting idk 🤷‍♀️

Little tiny complain, why isn't Jay doing the fixing? Did he give up mechanics completely? It feels like we haven't seen him do tech stuff in so long, I miss techy boy in action 😞

And no, having to check on the bathroom doesn't count 😅

Aww robot date 💜🤍💜🤍

AAAHH ROBOT DISASTER 😱😱😱 ZANE DANG IT YOU WERE DOING SO GOOD NOT TRYING TO DIE IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS!!

Oh that was weird, weird magic purple wave thingie?

I DID NOT ASK FOR A SEASON WITH A BEST GIRL AT THE EXPENCE OF ANOTHER BEST GIRL PIX DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME 😱😱😱😱😱

"Well this is troubling." I love this samurai so freaking much 💜💜💜

GUYS THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE, I'M A LITTLE SCARED NOW 😢

Okay Nya admitting that something's wrong looking so apologetic, girl you don't need to do that you already own my heart 😭

Alright, I'm guessing this is Wojira's power or something, and they will have to go down below and find out why... just throwing this in, maybe Maya did something? Because she wanted to finally be with her family and needed an excuse? JUST A THEORY WITH NO BASE I REALLY HOPE I'M WRONG!!!

Okay, two episodes and I'm BEYOND engaged, let's keep it up! 😍

UNSINKABLE

Getting an idea how this episode might end already 😂😂

Look, I love best girl Pixal, but I'm kinda sad that she seems to be the only one tinkering at this point. Like, I saw Nya fix little stuff, while Jay dropped engineering altogether, I miss my engineers team 😭

Aww, the guys didn't want to crush Pixal's dream of an unsinkable boat 💜 But honestly yeah, I agree with Cole, this might end badly 😅😅

Thank goodness

I was worried they forgot about Jaya ❤💙❤💙 Jay is such a cutie omg

Nya: Mm, going on a potentially dangerous mission with unstable powers in the heart of my element or... mom's tofu pancakes... *yeets herself over the ship*

I'm making too many screenshots of the Smith family... WHO CARES THEY ARE BACK AND THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD!!! 😍😍😍😍

Aww Ray wants to play with his son and his friends so CUTE ❤❤❤ Still can't believe they play Prime Empire after everything that went down 😂😂

Whoa whoa whoa, Kai and Cole are sitting this one out? That's actually interesting, I'm pretty sure I saw Cole's scuba suit in the sets though so I didn't expect it... lol it's actually kinda fair that the two that used to be afraid of water aren't going 😂😂

Bet Kai is happy to stay behind because he gets to spend time with his dad 😭

Also studying the fire elementals?? Uhm, yes please?? TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT MY FLAME BABE!!! 😍😍😍😍

I'm sure this one scene...

... made so many lavashippers happy ❤🖤❤🖤 Cole you got Ray's blessing

Ninja team acting cool while Jay is being Jay, it's how it always goes, it's the entire show's description and I absolutely love it 😂 That wink though 💙

PIRATE ZANE IS BACK 😂😂😂 Haven't seen him since Possession, and this time he's not even malfunctioning 👌 Pixal is so done with his dorky boyfriend 😝

Of course Jay already has a ghost butler theory going on 😂

OF COURSE IT'S MAYA 😂😂

To be honest muffins would sold me too 😅 Not sure if she will make them out of tofu again though...

It's actually really interesting that we still haven't met the actual enemies, it does build up excitment! Very curious about these squid guys 👍

Well what do you know, the Unsinkable sank. Who would have thought?

... yeah same, sorry Pix 😅

FIVE THOUSANDS FATHOMS DOWN

Aaaahhh, Nya fixing stuff! That's more like it!! 😍😍

Oww, that one speech, I've been waiting for so long for that! Maya just wants to catch up with her daughter and it's not her fault she was separated from her children, but Nya did everything on her own with Kai. Only fair she isn't seeking for her help right now... still sad 😢

Pff, with this ninja team there's not a moment of privacy 😂😂

Maya cleaning his future son-in-law's laundry what the HECK 😂😂😂 To be fair Jay has a bit of a history of having to change underwears during sea travels 😝

Zane was attached to a battery? When?... are you talking about that one scene in Prime Empire? Cause that's not really a flashback I wanna ha- whoops never mind got the flashback 😱

Maya looks more calm now, I think she's trying to act more reasonable and she's got good points 👍 I know people were a little weirded out by how more cheerful she looks in comparison to Hands of Time, but I think she gets the most serious and rational when time needs. That's actually fascinating of her 🤔

CALLING OUT AN ATTEMPTED MURDER

THIS GIRL IS TOO GORGEOUS MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT 🤩🤩🤩 Like my gosh that smirk, what the heck Pix 💜💜💜

Okay but Jay looking at Nya until the doors are completely closed?? CAN YOU FEEL MY JAYA HEART BEATING?? ❤💙❤💙

Whoa green gas I thought this was Nya's season 😂

MAYA WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS STUFF YOU'RE SCARING ME 😱😱😱 I SWEAR LEGO IF YOU BROUGHT BACK WATER MOM JUST TO KILL HER OFF I'M GONNA SUE YOU 😭😭😭

I really REALLY like the atmosphere of the entrante of the temple! Super sealike and ancient! 🌊🌊🌊

Maya: off we go, into the spooky old temple! (Why does it feel like something Kai would say? 😂)

Oh gee, someone sleeping in the deep, who could that be? Coff Wojira coff

Whoa the jellyfishes look pretty lifelike!

HERE HE COMES

WELCOME BACK GILES!!! ONCE AGAIN ON A LEGO SHOW I MISSED YOU SO MUCH YOU AND YOUR GODLIKE VOICE!!! 😍😍😍😍 Gosh he's a villain but he's got Clay's voice, how can I even try to hate him?? 😅

Alright, knocking down my water girls, that is pretty hateful material... BUT CLAAAYYY 💙💙💙

So they need the two amulets to wake up Wojira? Isn't one on the island? Fire dad and son coming to the rescue? WHO KNOWS BUT I'M ENJOYING THIS A LOT SO FAR KEEP GOING SEABOUND 😍😍😍

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kyluxtrashpit · 3 years

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Hi, I'm wondering if you'd mind briefly telling what's happened in plague doctor from issue 8 onwards? I have no access to the comics nor can I read Russian but I'm obsessed 😭

Hello! And sure, I absolutely can give you some brief summary! I feel you though, I've been translating the issues myself out of desperation skdsldlss. They're just SO GOOD!

Okay I'm gonna assume you've read to the end of volume 7 and just go from there, and I'll put it all behind a cut for those who don't want spoilers (also this is long cause I'm rambly RIP lmao)

Okay so we leave off 7 with Oleg captured and Sergey finding out. In 8 Sergey essentially has a near mental breakdown, asks if he's still alive, and then is instructed to go to a certain address - alone, no PD suit (cause they still think it's him in the suit). Sergey agrees. He picks up Lera, has her drive because he's so nervous he almost crashed the car twice and got it scraped up, and then he basically infodumps the whole Rag/Bird situation at her. He confirms Bird is gone but that Rag is still there, and it's Rag he fears - he hates being helpless

He drops Lera off in the suit early so she can find a good place to hide and Sergey goes in alone. His only weapons are a powerbank and Oleg's wolf necklace, both of which Vad lets him keep. Altan pulls out a sword to cut Sergey's head off without a word but Sergey pleads for him to at least explain how he figured out Sergey was still alive. Apparently Altan has connections to Holt Manufacturing and thus heard about someone getting a PD suit - who else could it be? Altan raises the sword again but, before he can do any damage, Lera interferes, dropping a hanging platform as a distraction. She strikes at Altan, but it's revealed he's also wearing a combat suit from Holt

Then we go right to 9 where it's mostly fighting. Sergey takes out a few guys before Oleg appears out of the dust clouds, commenting that he wont survive a 6th bullet and telling Sergey not to miss "this time" as he holds the handcuffs above his head. Sergey shoots the chain and they stand back to back. Vad, meanwhile, is not participating in the fight, just sits on a fold-out stool and keeps score basically lmao (I'm not kidding)

Meanwhile, Lera and Altan fight, Lera taking one of his swords, and Altan lectures her about serving someone else's agenda, how she's not the moral one here for following Sergey, stuff like that. Lera basically says she knows Sergey sucks but Altan isn't better here, so she's going to stop him. There's a glorious montage of Sergey just going ham with a knife and we also learn that Oleg's wolf pendant came from his father. Anyway, Sergey and Oleg succeed and take out all the mercenaries but Vad is gone. Oleg is tired and hurt. Cut back to Lera: she disarms Altan and puts the sword to Altan's neck. He comments that she's not kilingl him and she says he needs to go to jail, but he basically scoffs and says he'll be out in a day, he's rich and powerful like Sergey, death is the only option. But before that can go anywhere, Vad appears from behind Lera and throws her off the platform, hitting the stairs a few floors below hard. Vad carries Altan off, Sergey helps Oleg to the car, and then goes back for Lera, who's unconscious and bleeding from her nose

Now we get to volume 10, where we have 3 stories. Sergey's and Oleg's revolve around them talking about their emotions and relationship (no, I'm not exaggerating lmao). We also find out Lera had to go to the hospital and is resting at home now, but more on her later. Sergey cleans Oleg's wounds and redoes his bandages. Oleg confesses he was angry with Sergey about not listening to him, and that Sergey can't decide if Oleg is his 'friend, partner, or subordinate'. Yes, PARTNER. Anyway, they resolve that spat, and talk about the 5 bullets too, and Oleg says that out of all he's done, that's the thing Sergey had the least responsibility in and thus he shouldn't feel guilty. Sergey goes to get more supplies and dinner and thinks to himself that Oleg is wrong, Sergey lost control so it is his fault, and he still loves to kill people. He worries about keeping control of that else it'll destroy their relationship.

At the restaurant, he runs into Vad, but both of them are unarmed, so they just talk. Vad doesn't take Altan seriously as a boss it seems, and Sergey asks why Vad didn't participate. Vad just says he was curious to see how it'd go. Sergey notes Altan could've died but Vad just says he didn't. They part with Vad warning Sergey about that Altan isn't the scariest thing in the city and that Sergey has now attracted the attention of far worse people. Sergey scoffs, ignoring the warning

Then Altan's story opens with his father being assassinated by a mysterious order that is present in Igor Grom, followed by a flashback to Altan first arriving in St Petersburg to enact his plans. The rest is about him in Hong Kong, angry, training with Vad. Yuma, his sister, calls him in to talk. Yuma runs the whole gang and she is absolutely not impressed with how Altan fumbled the Plague Doctor situation. She says that a man who hates his enemy can't think straight. Altan protests, says he never wanted this life, wasn't trained from birth to take over the clan like she was. But he'll get Sergey next time, he swears. She threatens him, points a knife at him, and says that if he can't, she will deal with it, the way she usually does

The last is Lera's where she has a nightmare about a horrible bird creature using her as a puppet and a monstrous Altan killing her family and then her. She wakes up to her worried mother. We see that Lera's ribs were broken and she is just COVERED in bruises. Her family is worried, but Lera insists she fell from an icy railroad crossing. None of them believe her. Kirill asks if Sergey is her boyfriend and is beating her but she scoffs and dismisses that and explains how exhausted she is and how she doesn't have the energy to keep arguing about this. Meanwhile, her mother meets with some friends (also characters from Igor Grom) and confesses her worries. They say they have police connections who can help - the connection turns out to be Dima. He talks to Lera but she sticks with her story, though she does ask if anything really does happen, can she call him, and he says yes and gives her his card. He goes back to her family and tells them to trust her, she'll tell the truth in time. There's another nightmare and this time Lera frees herself. She vows that she doesn't want to be Sergey's puppet anymore. She's the Plague Doctor now and he'll have to admit it

There's then a final scene of someone buying a lot of meat at a corner store and beating the shit out of some assholes there. Like as in with supernatural strength. It's revealed at the end this person is Chrysalis, another Igor Grom character, who is a serious threat. Vad's words about a more serious threat are written again

OKAY and 11 lmao. 11 is a crossover with Major Igor Grom. We get a flashback of Rubenstein talking about how special and weird Sergey is, and how he must treat this entirely new form of mental illness that is Bird. Of course, we know he loses Sergey when he escapes, so he talks about his next 3 patients (Poet, Chrysalis, and the third I can't remember the name of - these are also Igor Grom characters). They had potential but they don't have what he's looking for and they're uncontrollable, killing patients, so he has to "hide them somewhere no one will find them". He also talks about Igor and how he's promising but resisting treatment. Rubenstein is insistent on finding a cure, no matter the cost

Next scene is Sergey having a nightmare about Igor and a mirror, and then we get into some new characters, some cultists taking about a "cleansing" they need to do. We're next introduced to Max and Banu, police officers who've been looking into the Dagbaev case, and they're looking for clues on the 15 bodies serovolk left at the warehouse. It's all very odd for the Dagbaevs to leave bodies behind. Charon, the medical examiner, is also introduced. Max is the prosecuter's son and so he gets the baby treatment by being partnered with Banu, as she's a lot older and more cautious. Max is sick of it, wants to do more exciting things, like the famous Igor does. But, due to the higher ups wanting it to happen, Banu, despite her protests to them, informs Max they've been given the Plague Doctor case and he's thrilled

They investigate for a bit and ultimately decide to call Igor for info. Igor reluctantly agrees to chat. His analysis is that the person on the roof wasn't Sergey and that Igor would've known if it was, but that this whole scheme could either be him or a very convincing copycat - it's his style. Igor confesses that it worries him that this could be Sergey and Igor says he never wants to see him again. He doesn't want to lose anyone else he cares about. He hopes Sergey agrees. Banu and Max leave him alone after that, not involving him in the investigation

Then we get to see Sergey! He's at a museum, looking at a famous Botticelli piece and enjoying it greatly. There's a flashback to him and Oleg talking. Oleg is in bed, still healing, and tells Sergey can't you wait, you need to be careful. Sergey says he just won't be able to wait and he'll be careful, it's a museum, it'll be fine. Oleg reluctantly agrees so Sergey tells him he'll be back by 8 to help change his bandages. Back at the museum, Sergey is approached by a stranger who starts talking about all the people in the museum. Sergey is annoyed, tells him repeatedly to go away. Then some people with guns come in and the stranger explains that they are cultists, who believe everyone there is lost and needs to be "saved" (by being killed) and that the art is a symbol of paganism, which is corrupting them. The stranger is then revealed to be Poet, saying 'so, should we talk now, Sergey?'. Which means he knows who Sergey is

And that's the end! I tried to include the important details but this still only a summary lmao. I highly recommend finding a way to read them when you have the chance, they're SO good omg

#I love these comics so much okay #anyway hope this helps!#I've posted and reblogged some panels too so check those out was well #ask tag #anon #anonymous #plague doctor #major grom #text

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qwertyfingers · 3 years

Note

hi it's watch order anon again i sent the time travel ep ask before you answered the tng watch order one (after i saw your post about it taking a while) and i was actually thanking you for recommending spn eps to me (because i'm also the spn watch order anon) and talking about spn time travel episodes (which i am going to look up you don't have to rec any to me if you don't want to). thank you VERY much however for the tng time travel rec list i'm adding them to... the list

OH IM STUPIT KLSGJCHGFG

well, here we have: FITZ’S FUN-RANKED LIST OF SUPERNATURAL TIME TRAVEL EPS (TAKING A ROUNDABOUT DEFINITION OF TIME TRAVEL TO INCLUDE ALTERNATE UNIVERSES BECAUSE THEYRE FUN IN THE SAME WAY OKAY)

IMPORTNANT DISCLAIMER: S5E4 The End is theeeeee iconic Supernatural time travel/au ep but do NOT be led astray you HAVE to watch this one with context. do the full deancas lazarus rising to the end speedrun you will NOT regret it I PROMISE

S6E15 The French Mistake THEEEEEEEEE episode of all time amongst thee show of all time. they KILL eric kripke ONSCREEN

S3E11 Mystery Spot - LITERALLY a timeloop fanfic. EXTREMELY good. fave pre-Cas episode for me.

S5E8 Changing Channels - brings back mystery spots MOTW and makes him even more powerful. iconic behaviour, great episode.

S6E17 My Heart Will Go On is fun hijinks-y but admittedly has very little on-screen time travel. Balthazar is in it though and I like him

S6E18 Frontierland - Dean and Sam send themselves back in time AND it’s a cowboy episode. VERY star trek

S13E16 Scoobynatural - IT COUNTS I THINK. Semi-related, S8E8 Hunteri Heroici involves a guy who make cartoons come to life with his mind. It’s a very fun and very pretty episode and Cas and Dean r gay, well worth watching <3

S4E17 It’s A Terrible Life - Zachariah traps Sam and Dean in alternate reality where Dean is a (heavily implied out queer) businessman of some sort and wears fruity suits. Sam is there I guess. One of its finest Gay Homophobia episodes and genuinely very fun to watch.

S11E14 The Vessel - Dean wears a fruity little sailor outfit and Casifer (Lucifer who is possessing Castiel and the Winchesters don’t know yet - it’s a whole story arc) fists Sam’s soul just for funsies. The ONLY reason Casifer couldn’t get on that boat is because if Cas saw Dean’s fruity sailor outfit for more than a minute he would have lost his MIND and Lucifer woulda had to leave his vessel sharpish.

S8E11 LARP and the Real Girl - I think the title speaks for itself really, I think this counts! Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day’s character) is in it and she’s cool and gay and Dean wears chainmail <3

S7E12 Time After Time I can’t remember that much about this ep but Dean does wear a very good 40s suit including a shoulder holster <3

I really want to tell you to watch the Belphegor episodes (S15E1-S15E3) but none of it would actually make sense I’m just obsessed with them bringing a messy gay bitch demon into Jack’s body literally top 10 Supernatural Gay Homophobia Moments in my onion.

S8E12 As Time Goes By - Sam and Dean’s grandfather jumps forward in time to find them, and introduces them to the history of the Men Of Letters, whose house they will steal in the next episode

S4E3 In The Beginning - This and the next episode are only ranked so low because I don’t care about Mary and John drama. HOWEVER. Zachariah sends Dean back in time to meet his mum before she married John and Zachariah very possibly fucked her. There are a LOT of memes about this now.

S5E13 The Song Remains The Same - Anna tries to stop Sam from being born. This entire concept is VERY funny to me. As is Sam and Dean showing up on the doorstep of their mum and dad, who do not have children yet, telling them their real names and saying ‘it’s a family name’ when John points out that Mary has relatives with the same name. Comedic genius I don’t care about the rest of the episode but from what I remember it’s pretty good.

S14E13 Lebanon - this episode is bad because it tries to redemption arc John BUT. it gave us [spoilers] 1) lesbian steve jobs ted talk sam 2) Dean trying to placate alt-Cas who never got to know him by doing the ‘Cas....’ and gentle touch thing and alt-Cas just going ham and obliterating his ass 3) Dean choosing to go back to their world (with Cas <3) over staying in this universe with his Dad because he’s not worth it <3

There are several flashback eps to Dean and Sam’s childhoods, but as you can imagine these are all pretty sad and not the kind of thing you wanna watch For Funsies. The wiki has a list of those here.

The longest alt-universe arc is the Apocalypse World - a world where the Angels and Demons successfully orchestrated their plan to cause the apocalypse and are steadily wiping out the last of the human population. This isn’t overall a “fun” arc, but is v interesting and pique your attention if you like time travel and AU content. The wiki lists all the episodes here.

#I LIKE THAT THIS IS MY JOB NOW #IM GENUINELY HAVING A REALLY GOOD TIME MAKING EPISODE REC LISTS IT MAKES MY BRAIN HAPPT #spn #watch lists

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missnight0wl · 3 years

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You know what the reveal of Rakepick's villainy lacks? A Agatha All Along song montage, where it's revealed that everything bad that has happened to MC was Rakepicks doing. That one time MC stubbed their toe? Rakepick did it! And she killed MC's pet! Like it would all still be bullcrap, but it would be fun bullcrap! Like don't turn Rakepick into a villain... But if you have to at least go full ham with it. I never completely bought Agathas villain reveal, but she is so ham that I didn't care X'D

To be fair, the reveal of Rakepick's villainy lacks a lot of things. Mainly any sign of logic or sense in the overall picture of the story. So, I’d take care of that in the first place. But besides that, I suppose that such a montage would be fun.

I won’t comment on the Agatha thing, simply because I didn’t see the episode yet. I mean, I assume you’re talking about WandaVision. I’ve seen some thumbnails, of course, and I was following all of the theories, but I didn’t check it any further. Look, just because I don’t mind spoilers for HPHM doesn’t mean I don’t want to be surprised sometimes with some other titles and/or experience them first-hand. So, if you want to talk about that, contact me not sooner than this Sunday to come. Still, I wanted to answer this ask know, because the more I think about it, the more I realise that it’s exactly what bothers me about HPHM – there’s no conclusions or summaries of the plot whatsoever. So, I suppose that you were just half-joking, but I’m gonna rant. Hope you don’t mind.

Like, let’s take Rakepick as you proposed it already. You’re telling me that she was always a bad guy and she left Jacob in the Vault? Cool. But what does it mean for the story? Why she didn’t appear before Y4, even though Dumbledore was looking for her since Y1? Why she took the DADA job, even though she was already at Hogwarts? Why Jacob was allegedly trapped if the previous victim of the Portrait Curse was freed? I know that most players don’t even remember those things, but that’s why the protagonist should’ve been smarter – to lead us through the story. But no, we have a fucking moron MC who can’t question a single thing. And look, I know that Jam City also have problems to follow the plot, but they HAVE TO have some kind of overall plan they use. That’s how we got the Merula’s reveal. So, just include in-story summaries – make things easier for us and for yourselves.

Actually, it’s even worse with Merula now. Like, this fucking scene?

No, you stupid bitch. This is possibly your weakest argument. Now, I don’t expect MC to go all the way back to the beginning of the story and be like: “Oh, Merula is the mole. That’s why she got interested in the Vaults so suddenly. That’s why she went after Jacob’s room. Wait… She claimed to take somewhere from there! What the hell was it about?!”. But I do expect MC to be like: “Oh. Merula is the mole. So that’s why she was insisting so much on taking her to the Sunken Vault and wouldn’t take “no” for the answer. That’s why she was so nervous why I planned the Weird Sisters concert without her knowing about it.” All of that happened just a couple of chapters ago. And again, it seems like some players don’t remember about it already, BUT THAT’S WHY WE NEED MC TO BE FUCKING SMARTER!

God, I hate this stupid kid so much.

So yeah, I’d actually love to have a montage showing how everything bad was caused by Rakepick or Merula. Or whoever. Just show me an explanation for anything.

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm spoilers #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #patricia rakepick #merula snyde #jam city #ask #anonymous

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markcampbells · 4 years

Note

pick five episodes to experience for the first time all over again!

1) "The Innkeepers" (Frasier, 2x23) - This is probably my favorite episode of anything ever (any list that tells you "Ham Radio" is the best is erasure) and my mom had described it to me a bit before we watched it, so going in totally blind would be truly hilarious. ("OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!!!")

2) "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept" (One Tree Hill, 3x16) - I watched OTH knowing a lot of spoilers and that was probably a good thing in this case, but I'd still love to see this one with fresh eyes. I prefer it to the Grey's shooting episode because I feel it did a better job at actually addressing the gun violence aspect (bullying, media sensationalism, being a parent when this is going on), and because I feel it moved OTH's future plotlines along better than the Grey's episode did. (Is that tea? I don't know.)

3) "Dr. Erica" (Being Erica, 4x11) - Just one of the best and most emotionally resonant finales I've ever seen. I'd be a sobbing mess seeing the final scene between Erica and Dr. Tom all over again.

4) "Therapy Patrol" (Doom Patrol, 1x07) - There is a late-stage reveal I wouldn't spoil for ANYTHING that got such a reaction out of me that I would go into it blind over and over again if I could. The rest of the episodes on this list skew one way or the other, comedy or drama, but this one is the perfect blend of both.

5) "Into You Like a Train" (Grey's Anatomy, 2x06) - I have really complicated feelings about Grey's, and this is one of the only episodes I've never stopped loving, though it's truly crushing. The situation of the two patients is morally complex and probably led to one of the best character moments for early seasons Meredith, her devastation that they can't save Bonnie. Derek's "if love were enough, she'd still be here with you," and Bailey having a rare moment of compassion and patience for him and stopping the elevator to give him a moment to break down, is the sort of thing that made early Grey's so good.

#ask box #malionnes #evacampbells #[top 5s]#oh and honorable mention to #'kiksuya' westworld 2x08 #which should have won an emmy fight me in the street

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gerryconway · 5 years

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Burton's Revenge.

After a miserable time at the movies last night, I've come to the conclusion that Tim Burton's grim and joyless "Dumbo" is an auteur triumph.

SPOILERS AHEAD. (Though for this movie, "spoiler" is descriptive as well as a warning label.)

I don't recommend "Dumbo," but I admire it. Burton has accomplished something almost startling with this film: he's made a movie that is about as unsubtle a "f**k you" to both his corporate sponsors and the audience as one could get without actually superimposing "F*CK YOU!" on every frame. Contempt for Disney and for the audience that gobble up the company's live action remakes of classic animated films oozes from every shot, every scene, and in particular, from the entire second half of the movie. If some films are a love letter, this is hate mail. Tim Burton clearly hates how Disney is exploiting the animated films he cherished as a child, and "Dumbo" is his bitter revenge.

Why am I sure "Dumbo" is the angry vision of a furious auteur and not a well-meaning misfire? Because I respect Tim Burton as a filmmaker too much to believe this movie isn't exactly what he wanted it to be.

Burton has been making films for thirty-five years, and though the films he's made lately haven't been quite as quirky and strange as his earlier movies, they still display the control of a man who knows what he wants to achieve, and how to achieve it. You might not like where he goes, but he knows how to get you there. So, "Dumbo," with all of the issues I'll mention below, is exactly the movie Burton wanted it to be.

The question is, why? Why would Burton want to make a movie so driven by rage against audience and corporate sponsors both?

And why "Dumbo"?

If you've seen Burton's interview with Ray Harryhausen, available on some of the Blu-ray reissues of Harryhausen's films, you're reminded of how much of Burton's vision of filmmaking is informed by his still-childlike appreciation for simple wonder. As he sits with Harryhausen and plays with the saucer models from "Earth vs the Flying Saucers," Burton looks and sounds like a five year old kid gawping in awe at a shopping mall Santa Claus. He still loves the things he loved as a child, and he becomes a child again in their presence. His joy is sincere.

The man who felt joy and wonder in the presence of Ray Harryhausen could never have produced the grim, joyless, misery-soaked downer that is "Dumbo" unless he was trying to say something about the destruction of his own childhood sense of joy and wonder.

I think "Dumbo," in its not-so-thinly veiled critique of the cruelty of corporate exploitation of children and nostalgia, is Burton's attempt to tear down the structure he helped to build.

It was Burton's own remake of "Alice in Wonderland" that set the current live-action remake frenzy in motion, remember. Whatever you may think of that movie (I like it for its weird and subversive charm), there's no question it was enormously successful and clearly inspired the corporate minds at Disney to authorize a wholesale ransacking of Disney animated classics as fodder for subsequent live-action redos.

As a loving fan of those original classics, I think Burton must have been horrified by what he'd unleashed. He couldn't have felt otherwise. Again, look at his interview with Harryhausen. The kid in him cherishes joy and wonder. Whatever virtues the Disney live-action remakes have, with the exception, I'd say, of Burton's own "Alice," joy and wonder aren't an apparent high priority for the filmmakers involved. If anything, most of the remakes are drained of wonder by the translation from the imagined to the tangible.

Which brings us to "Dumbo."

The original "Dumbo" is a slight, one-hour fairy tale, centered entirely on a baby elephant with big ears who can fly, and cast almost completely with talking and singing animals. With the exception of a thoughtless racist element, it is a film of charming childlike innocence with a simple message about the strength of mother and child love and the power we gain when we let go of emotional crutches. ("I need a feather to fly.")

This is not a movie that demands a live-action remake, or even, in its story elements, supports the possibility of one.

And, in fact, Burton's "Dumbo" isn't a live-action remake-- it's an angry, passionate argument *against* such a remake. The baby flying elephant is a MacGuffin in Burton's "Dumbo"--not the emotional core of the story. There are no talking or singing animals, no other fantasy elements, not even a hint of fairy tale atmosphere. From a character point of view, I'd argue, there is no emotional core: none of the "live" characters in Dumbo have any emotional resonance at all. They are all bleak and joyless and broken, emotionally dead, barely responsive to the world and the story supposedly taking place around them. One of them, a little boy, has no character existence at all-- I'm not sure he's even named, and he could be removed completely from the film without any discernable impact. For a filmmaker with Burton's skill set such a failure to develop even marginally interesting characters with a vital stake in the story is inexplicable-- unless it was intentional.

I think it was intentional.

I think "Dumbo" is an act of auteur subversion, one of the most breathtaking acts of creative defiance since "Citizen Kane," though certainly far less successful as a piece of entertainment. In fact that may well be the movie's most defining artistic characteristic-- its complete unwillingness to entertain.

It really is a remarkable achievement. To trick Disney into financing and releasing a major motion picture which savages everything about the company's approach to its classic films, and, in addition, to its entire corporate raison d'etre, is a stunning accomplishment. What a trick. I imagine the script reads very different from what Burton shot-- it's possible to describe something one way, shoot it another, and edit it all together to produce the opposite effect from what the screenplay suggests. Because there's so much CGI involved, Disney executives probably never realized what Burton was doing until final cut. And that, in itself, is part of Burton's savage attack on Disney's corporate methodology. The further film executives get from true hands-on creative involvement in the films they make-- through increasing dependency on CGI and post-production manipulation-- the less they really know about the movies they're making. The very power to ham-handedly rework a mediocre director's work in post allows a master director to hide his intentions until it's too late to reverse them. By the time Disney executives possibly realized what Burton was up to, if they ever did, they'd sunk too much money and time into his version of the film-- and had no choice but to either scrap the movie entirely or release it as it is. Given the exigencies of corporate finance, and the apparent belief on the part of Disney executives that the appetite for live-action versions of beloved animated classics is insatiable, releasing Burton's hate mail movie was ultimately the only logical thing to do.

In the end, "Dumbo" isn't a good movie. It probably was not intended to be. It's Tim Burton's angry rant against making movies like itself. It's a slap in the face to the people who financed it and the audience who shows up for it. As a work of protest it's kind of admirable. As a film-going experience, as I stated above, it's a miserable two hours.

You've been warned. At least now, if you see it, you can "enjoy" the movie for what it is-- a scream of contempt, an artist setting fire to the gallery displaying his work. Personally, now that I've defined it... I think I like it.

YMMV.

#dumbo 2019 #Dumbo

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