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shadowthestoryteller · 2 years

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I have finally made peace (somewhat) with the Bad Batch show

I still am unsatisfied with how they did things, namely Crosshair's dechipped reveal and the over abundance of cameos. I also feel like most of the time and effort went into the animation. Which admittedly is ASTOUNDING compared to Season 1 of the clone wars. The pacing is still a bit odd, and I feel the Infested ep should DEFINITELY have come before Ryloth.

But all that aside, I've come to accept something

It just wasn't made for me

Let me explain

TLDR at the end for those with ADD like myself

I felt often that the episodes lacked the deeper "omph" that some episodes in the clone wars had. There was angst, yes, but it wasn't really explored or fleshed out. Things kinda happened more for shock value (ex. civvie BBQ, dechipping, ect) and then weren't ever... mentioned again??? Crosshair, forced against his will to brutally murder unarmed civvies alive, only to never have it mentioned again. That's no small incident. The Crosshair from tcw would definitely have felt deep rooted and visceral horror at what he'd done, even if he didn't say it aloud. Because he's not evil.

You don't just brush something like that off. Admittedly, we do see him reflect at the end of that episode but then we just... move on. It is never brought up again. His abandonment gets a bit more spotlight, with that absolutely gut-wrenching speech in episode 15. Even still, it doesn't go as deep into it as I feel it could.

Ultimately, much of my issue boils down to that; things weren't really addressed in-depth like I felt they should be. Many of my fellow Bad Batch stans have the same thought. There are many fans out there who have, in my opinion, written the Batch better than the show-writers. I myself have gotten the same praise, which is not to brag but to point out that even those writing for purely hobby's sake go in-depth with the characters and their issues.

Thing is... we go deeper into these issues, into what should be broken men, because of one critical factor.

Our target audience is NOT a bunch of kids.

The Bad Batch show, per IMDb, is rated TV-PG. PG. That's for kids. Just like the Clone Wars.

I was eight when the Clone Wars movie came out. EIGHT. Why did I watch it? Cool lightsabers, neat character designs, kick-ass action sequences, and intriguing plots. NOT deep and intricate characterizations. Hell, half of it probably went right over my head. Because I was a KID. Kids aren't really gonna get the deeper meaning of things. Ask a eight year old to read Shakespeare and see what happens. They don't care. They care about action or cool visual effects.

The Clone Wars, and by extension Rebels, did mature as the seasons went on, but that's probably because the audience who started with Season 1 was also more mature. They could better understand the death. The corruption. The deeper, more adult themes.

Many of us fanfic writers, or at least those in my circle, are 17+ verging on 18+. My material is not for kids. Or even teens at some points. I can delve into things like PTSD, abandonment, perfectionism, trauma, abuse, and so on. Because I'm not targeting young kids; I'm targeting people around my age. Those who too grew up with the clone wars and deeply yearn for a different outcome. A different outcome where the galaxy didn't fall. The clones got their freedom. And the musty crusty dusty raisin choked on a grapefruit.

My audience is different. As such, I'm going to tackle topics a completely different way. Ways that no kid, or sometimes even teen should be exposed to.

Writing is an art, and a hella difficult one at that. Especially when aimed at kids. Even if you want to explore the character on a deeper level, you can't. Not if you want the rating to stay the same. A kid will look at Crosshair's speech and go "yeah he's hurt". But they probably won't think too much of it.

I didn't realized the true terror of the mind control worms. I didn't think too much of Pond's death. Umbara didn't horrify and scar me. It was only when Ahsoka underwent the hell that she did that I really felt impacted by the show. Because at that point, I was 12 almost 13. And I'd been attached to Ahsoka for years, so saying goodbye to her was saying goodbye to my childhood. But if you showed me that exact same scene at 8, I would have just "noo!! she's leaving!" and then jumped to something else.

Because that's how kids are. They don't really get the deeper "what's happening here". Looking back they will, just how looking back we all are like "bro what were those early kid's movies ON that is NOT child friendly" (Pink Elephants in Dumbo, the entirety of All Dogs Go to Heaven, ect). Another example? That scene in the Patriot (2000) where the surrendering soldier got shot in the face? I remember very vividly my seventh grade classmates laughing. Kids and very young teens aren’t exactly gonna take dark things seriously.

The Bad Batch isn't meant to be a deeper, thought provoking show with convoluted and twisted morals, showing the horrible and dark reality of war.

It's a kids show.

For kids.

Hence Omi. She's the tether for the kids. As such, the topics cannot get overly dark. But when they do, they can only be shown at surface level. Something that, to an older audience (such as myself) comes across as shallow and lazy.

Do I still wish they did things differently? Yes. Do I prefer my/others version over the show? Yes. Will I still grumble about things? Most likely yes. Will I make shots at canon in my fics? Hell yeah, its fun.

Here's the thing.

You're allowed to complain! You're allowed to hate something! You're allowed to wish they did something differently! Welcome to media consumption!

But you can't go into a kids' show with adult expectations and then be surprised when it doesn't meet those expectations. If you want a animated series catered to adults, watch Arcane. The Bad Batch show, a show rated PG, is simply not for you.

Additionally, you most certainly cannot bash others who like the show/characters. The amount of hate I see towards Omi, a literal child, is sickening. Do I like her within the context of the show? Not really, no. I feel like her presence limits how dark they can go, and I also feel like she replaced Crosshair as the marksman. But do I hate Omi herself? NO. She's the new generation's Ahsoka.

TLDR;

The Bad Batch is made for kids, and judging it by adult standards will just leave you disappointed. I know, because I did the exact same thing and have suffered for it.

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zerobotic · 3 years

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Well, you asked for it and you can’t say I didn’t warn you :3

First off, the usual disclaimer that I did enjoy DH2. I thought it had some very interesting level design ideas with the clockwork mansion and crack in the slab, the new powers were very cool and fun to use, and it polished some of the rough edges from the first game’s mechanics. It’s just the story and such that disappointed me after how much I loved the first game.

So to start off here’s some of the things I found disappointing or frustrating (and keep in mind these are all just my personal feelings on the games):

“Spoiled rich person learns a lesson from poverty tourism” is a plot that gets on my nerves in general and that’s more or less what happened here with Emily’s story

Like, not to disagree with an anti-rich-people story but the first one did a much more poignant job of highlighting greed and corruption and letting you be the one actually fighting it, rather than putting you in the position of perpetuating it. It felt like the first game showed it, while the second game just preached about it.

Boy this sure did feel out of character for both Corvo and Emily. Emily watched her mother be murdered at ten years old for the sake of political power, and then was held hostage for six months while being told her father was executed for her mother’s death. She got a firsthand view of how much the people of the empire were suffering during this time, and then when she finally got rescued she was immediately kidnapped and used as a pawn again by yet more schemers after her mother’s throne. You cannot tell me that’s a person who would grow up to be spoiled and carefree and complacent with their position, or someone who wouldn’t give a shit about their people. Yes, I know that she was a headstrong, rebellious kid with an adventurous streak, and I’m not trying to claim she wouldn’t probably still prefer, on some level or another, to escape to the rooftops with a sword rather than being stuck in court. I’m just saying that kids grow up and change and whoever wrote the second game seems to be stuck on taking ten-year-old Emily at face value for her adult self’s personality too, instead of considering how the first game’s events might have actually influenced her. She’s got more than enough firsthand experience to know to be wary of scheming nobles. (Also I definitely got the feeling, playing the first game, that at least a bit of how Emily behaved at the Hound Pits was her trying to cope with what was happening.) You also can’t tell me that Corvo, father and royal protector of the current empress, man with the most reason and justification to be paranoid out of everyone in the whole damn empire after everything he’s been through, would be so negligent in paying attention to a coup that the first mission claims pretty much everyone in Dunwall knew was happening.

Building off of that, in general it felt like the first game wasn’t allowed to have much of an impact. It pays lipservice to Jessamine’s death, and acknowledges Corvo having been a badass back then, but that’s....about it? Like I said in the other post, the first game felt so saturated in grief, both for Jessamine and for everything else going on in Dunwall, that it really influenced the overall tone of the game. The second one kinda feels like the first one never happened, or at least didn’t have any lasting influence on the characters or world, and it’s kind of jarring going from one to the other.

So with all that said, here’s my idea for a different DH2. Still using Karnaca as the setting and Delilah as the primary antagonist, just...different.

"Delilah wants to use a reality-altering painting to change the world into her vision of it” is still a plot point. Except, instead of the end of the game, it’s the beginning. It’s a logical extension of her actions and powers during the Daud DLC - the plan to use Emily’s painting to take over almost worked til it was stopped, so there’s clearly potential there. She’ll just think bigger, more direct this time.

The game starts on a ship. Emily and Corvo are en route to Karnaca for some sort of diplomatic mission. We get to know them a little bit during this opening trip: Emily isn’t an absent, complacent ruler, she's a young woman who inherited a difficult throne as a child, after a series of traumatic events, and now she's trying hard to live up to her mother's legacy and prove herself worthy to an empire that still seems to only see her as the child she was during the interregnum. She’s doing her best, but she’s insecure about all of that, and spends a lot of time frustrated with the back and forth scheming of the nobles, trying to please everyone instead of putting her foot down and getting things done. Corvo is trying to keep her safe where he failed Jessamine, but court still isn’t his preferred arena either.

The night before they’re due to arrive in Karnaca, we start getting hints that something is...off. Strange dreams, maybe?

They land in Karnaca and things are different than expected. But they don’t get time to look around, because there's guards there to arrest them, claiming they’re wanted criminals. They’ve got music boxes or something that can strip Corvo of his powers, and only one of them gets away while the other is taken. The one that gets away is stuck alone, disoriented, and hunted in an unfamiliar city - even if you play as Corvo, things are different than he remembers. More different than can be explained by just time.

They meet Meagan Foster. She takes them to meet a group of ex-whalers (the player character doesn’t know who they are). They’re a group that got back in touch with each other in Karnaca after Daud left and the whalers split, and they still do shady shit, but these days it’s generally more smuggling type stuff and they’ve put down the assassin blades. They’re the equivalent of the loyalist home base in this game. Meagan is still the Samuel stand-in, taking the player places and narrating things as necessary.

Information is shared and the player finds out that somehow, the world is changed from what they remember. Delilah is the empress, here, come by it what seemed like legitimately at some point in the 15 years between Jessamine’s death and now, and Emily and Corvo are wanted criminals. No one seems aware of the change except for the player and the whalers (who only remember it because of their experience with magic, though the player character doesn’t learn that til much later).

Clearly it’s Delilah who did something, because she has magic, and she’s the one on the throne now.

The Outsider shows up in their dreams that first night in the new world, but something is clearly wrong in the void, too, and it seems like he’s barely capable of reaching out and communicating with them. He offers the mark, but disappears before really getting a chance to explain anything.

The player goes through the game now with the goal of finding out what happened, how it happened, and how it can be fixed. DH2 and DOTO explained a lot more than I felt they should’ve, at times, and I preferred how the first game balanced worldbuilding with mystery. So, let things be explored and figured out along the way.

Things are real bad in this universe. From Emily's perspective as she goes through the game, we get commentary questioning whether or not she was doing a good job, and comparing it to how things are in Delilah's world. There’s lots of corruption and poverty and people suffering, and the question "is this just Delilah's world? How much of this going on in mine too? In trying to navigate court instead of putting my foot down, was I failing my people in the end after all? Would it have been better if my mother was still the empress?" The difference between this and what DH2 did is that she was trying, there was just a lot hindering her, including her own doubts. In this one, those questions aren’t preaching, they’re a sign that she does care and is pained by the idea of her people suffering like this again, by the mere possibility that it might not be just Delilah’s world.

Corvo and Emily have distinct perspectives, not just the same lines very slightly altered.

The bloodfly infestations are either 1) a natural thing that wasnt supposed to turn ugly like this and has been affected by Delilah’s magic, or 2) wholly the product of unnatural magic. None of this "we need them and they’re always like this, just not this bad" stuff. if you're gonna repeat the plague motif, make it actually horrifying, like the rat plague was. In fact, there’s obvious magic influence here and there in general - maybe not quite as thorough as at Brigmore Manor, but it’s present enough to give you the creeping feeling that things aren’t right, here, visual confirmation of Delilah’s influence, that things have been changed and twisted from their normal state of things. Hell, maybe this is where the hollows from DOTO come in, the original world and Delilah’s altered version of it trying to bleed through each other in some spaces. Maybe that’s a different explanation for the crack in the slab mission, even.

Actually, if you’re gonna repeat the plague motif, lean into the similarities between the rat plague era and now. Have them be reminded here and there by things they see, recount what happened and how terrible it was, compare it to now. Give NPCs lines about the comparison and how some of them left Dunwall only to be stuck living through something like this a second time. Let the first game have happened and had an impact, folks, cmon.

On a similar note, if you’re gonna keep Delilah's backstory the same when we finally learn it, let Emily and Corvo get mad about it. They lived through the first game - what right does Delilah have to talk like she's got a monopoly on suffering and that's why she should have the throne?

Delilah's mistake was assuming Emily was a sheltered child who wouldn’t come for her, rather than someone who's already been through a lot and come out on top. That was almost a satisfying thing about the second game but they messed up the execution of the whole concept and I want it to actually pay off.

I’m not sure if the targets in this one should be the same or how much should change there. Honestly, except for Breanna, the targets in DH2 felt a lot less relevant to what was going on than the DH1 targets did, like...why are half these people even at this ritual? But for simplicity’s sake let’s keep it as close as we can, while also adjusting for the fact that this reality has been tailor-made for Delilah and her buddies. Perhaps the Duke is only the Duke here because things were rewritten to put one of Delilah’s allies in charge, and it was supposed to still be his father. Hypatia isn’t the crown killer (what even was that plot point honestly), she’s the doctor they found to help Delilah recover after her time in the void, and now they’ve rewritten things to imprison her in the institute to keep her quiet and out of the way, and you get wind of it and go to see what she knows. Etc. Is Sokolov involved in this version of things? I dunno! But speaking of Sokolov I want some sort of explanation for where the other surviving loyalists are, damnit.

Delilah did something in and to the void, just like in canon, but it actually has a visible impact here (beyond just a total aesthetic redesign of the void between games that never gets commented on). The void is struggling under her influence when you find shrines, and you never know what you're gonna find at one of them, or what the Outsider is gonna be like, if he even shows up. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the way DH2 gave him a human backstory, because I liked the mystery there behind what he was and what the void was, but this is open to go either way, either with Delilah finding his death site like in canon, or some other way she found to influence it. I’m not sure how the progression would go of how the void changes over the course of the game, but it would be cool to get to help/save the Outsider in some kinda way.

Finding Corvo's childhood home should have more impact. Let it be like when you find the saferoom in Dunwall tower, in the first game. A temporary refuge in a dangerous place, full of obvious memory and grief - not so much for the time spent here since that's so long in the past, but for all that's been lost, everything they've been through and are in the middle of going through. Especially if you're playing Emily - this is the home of the father she just lost.

Let the heart be vague and ominous again, and let our interactions with it be sad, especially as Emily! I’m still messed up about the first time I heard "the doom of Pandyssia has come to the city" in DH1, and the lines about the floodwaters and the plague victims, give me stuff like that! Especially in a world that isn’t meant to exist the way it currently is, where things have been twisted almost beyond recognition. And give me lines that remind Emily of the mother she lost and how this is the first time she's heard her voice since she was a child!

Give us more on citizens and how they're suffering in this world, the way the first game showed us plague victims who died in each other's arms, journals from the desperate and dying, living people sent to the flooded district. Let it be a reminder to Emily why it's worth it, why she has to change the world back and what she wants to be fighting for when she gets her throne back. Another reason to question - has she been doing all she can? (Alternatively, a source of righteous fury for high chaos Emily.)

This is a journey of self discovery for Emily, either low or high chaos. It's about realizing she hasn’t been doing all she could, despite her intentions, because she's been trying to please everyone and in the end it still wasn’t good enough. She needs to stop living under her mother's shadow and come into her own (and the heart plays a role in this epiphany, probably. This might actually come to a head when she has to let her mother's spirit go, if we're gonna keep that plot point.)

High chaos Emily is similar but in a more "alright no more nice empress" kinda way whereas low chaos is more about conviction to put her foot down to do what's right.

You meet people during the game who in a good ending become part of her new council. Common people, who are more in touch with what needs to be done. It pisses nobles off but she's determined to do better, after everything. It helps both her and Corvo come to terms with the whole safety thing, because you can't ever make sure you're totally safe but you can try to make sure the empire can keep going should something happen to its ruler.

In fact, part of Corvo's perspective on this game probably would involve him still wanting to keep Emily out of things for safety's sake, and wondering if sheltering her from knowledge of magic and such contributed to this situation.

When it's revealed who the whalers are, it's late in the game after we've already come to like them a lot. They don't betray you like the loyalists did, but it should still feel like a punch to the gut for Emily and Corvo.

They don’t know where Daud is, haven’t seen him since the whalers disbanded .

Billie talks about that whole thing, and it's complicated. She decides maybe she should try to find him, after all. Cue DLC, which is about finding Daud, and helping/saving him, and the two reconciling and Billie finding some kind of...if not redemption, then absolution. A parallel to the first game’s DLC, Billie getting an arc like that in Emily’s game the way Daud got that arc in Corvo’s game. Y’know, instead of DOTO going and undoing all of Daud’s character growth.

I know I’m kind of handwaving the actual mechanics of who the targets are and how you actually go about uncovering what happened and how you can fix it and take down Delilah in the end, but this is all just. Concepts. If I were to try to write this as a fic or something I’d have to actually sit down and work out all those details, but for now this is something that’s just been living in my head since like an hour after I finished DH2 for the first time a couple years ago.

(I did warn you it was gonna be long lmao)

#turnabout rambles #mvtk42

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hirazuki · 4 years

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Can't say I'm a fan of tdp s3's pacing, it felt way too quick (and ngl, the pacing has me rooting for Callum and Rayla to break up by the end like call me cynical but these two haven't even known each other a month.) Also I don't like the direction they took Viren in :/ he was actually starting to seem really sympathetic thanks to s2, until he gaslit Soren in s3.

Under a cut because salt and spoilers! :D

Yeah, exactly :/ The pacing was really weird, the humor was off (idk if it was just me, but most of the jokes or things that were played for laughs were… just not funny), Callum/Rayla was way too quick (I think that most fans would have been fine with them going in this direction but maybe only like 1/3 of the way by the end of the season?), and the discrepancy between what was going on with their easy-going fun little romantic adventure vs. the crisis the rest of the world was having and Viren’s body horror galore situation was just really jarring.

I have no idea what they’re trying to do with Viren and tbh I don’t think they do either – he started as a very pragmatic villain in S1, then became sympathetic antagonist in S2 with clear and understandable motivations, and now it feels like they went “oh shit we made him too sympathetic BETTER PUT THIS WHOLE SHINDIG IN REVERSE AND SPRINKLE SOME EVULZ FOR GOOD MEASURE,” which had me going 😑Not to mention his perceived horror at Claudia bringing him back from the dead -- if he was really that evil of a person, I feel like he wouldn’t be horrified? But from his expression, it looks like he thinks that maybe his daughter went too far??? Which makes no sense given how they’ve been building him up??? Are they setting Claudia up to be the next big bad? Is it because Aaravos is no longer in his mind/did dying release him from some star elf magic shenanigans? Wtf? Adding that to what we know about him being named after Ehasz’s close friend and that he’s a staff favorite (and remembering that Lotor was also based off of one of JDS’s close friends and was, supposedly, a staff favorite), I’m just not too hopeful about even things as basic as keeping character consistency.

It just felt like the whole show suddenly gave up any nuance it had built up in S2. The animation has gotten a lot smoother, to the point where I can actually watch without getting dizzy, and even though I’m not a fan of the visual world building as a whole (I can’t tell if they’re going for a medieval society, or renaissance, or enlightenment or what with their setting, there are too many conflicting elements for me to not find it distracting), the individual character designs are super cool, so I was really hoping this could be a series I eventually managed to settle into. I’d much rather genuinely enjoy a show than salt-watch it :/

I think what bugged me the most is that it professes itself to be a super progressive show, with representation and sense of morality, etc., except that it continues to glorify really archaic ideals without providing any kind of solid proof as to why these are good things. Like child monarchs or divine right to rule, etc. – I know Opeli said kings are chosen by vote, but there’s been nothing but proof to the contrary for that. Whereas Viren, who has been the only non-royal main character (along with his kids) and essentially the voice/perspective of a more common type of person, esp in S2, keeps offering some of the most forward-thinking and pragmatic courses of action, but which always keep being undermined as “dark magic = evil lolz.” I just… don’t get where they’re trying to go with this, I guess.

The dynamic between Aaravos, Claudia, and Viren was super enjoyable though. Kinda makes me wish the show was about them lmao. It feels like, once again, the writing surrounding the villains is more compelling than that of the protags, and I think that it’s, again, because of the fact that villains don’t have to be “cinammon rolls uwu” and can be real people, whereas the heroes have to be P E R F E C T. I just wish people would write characters as just people, regardless of where they fall on the archetype/moral scale X_X

(I’m not even gonna touch Kasef lol, someone better qualified than me can do that XD).

If anything, I feel like it’s super obvious there was Stuff™ going on behind the scenes, and if we didn’t know about it from the tweets, I would have def wondered what the hell was going on with the writing team. I read some reviews that chalked the pacing up to the show runners not knowing if the series will be renewed and wanting to provide closure should this be the end of the show, but also leave it open enough so that they could continue it if they got the chance, but like… supposedly this season was done some time ago and there was never any risk of it being cancelled, so there should have been no need to make it so rushed?

Idk man ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I feel like my biggest takeaway from this season is that either the whole AtLA team had one single braincell between them so that when they split to do their own projects, all those projects went dismally, or that the stars were in alignment for some kind of magic to birth AtLA. or it was actually ghostwritten by some third party lmao bc I literally have no other explanation for it.

#legendofcarl #thanks for the ask!#i wasn't expecting much of this season esp after I read all the tweet drama but it was still very underwhelming #all i really want is an animated series with a good story; consistent characters; and free of bts drama/horrible industry working conditions #is that too much to ask?#good music and animation are always great perks but i will happily pass on those if everything else is solid

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mysterylover123 · 5 years

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BNHA Rewatch: Season 1 Episode 7 “Deku vs Kacchan”

mysterylover123

Here. We. Go!

Backstory time. (I guess this episode is all about Deku and Kacchan, BTW, so no corner this time. Too much stuff would be in there). Deku recounts their past together. The phrasing is different in different translations. I like how honest Deku is about his rival’s character - how he’s not necessarily “good” or “evil”, but became kind of an asshole after developing his quirk. Also, cute!

More below the cut

Poor Iida, BTW. Saddled with the Worst Teammate Ever. (at least right now. Contrast point: JTA Bakugou)

Though Deku isn’t much better! Sure, get rid of Uraraka! it’s not like you’re fighting a powerful opponent or anything! Not like that Zero G couldn’t solve this problem easily! (You just really wanna mono y mono him, don’t you Deku?)

Deku being strategic! (Why isn’t Bakugou considered captured then and there? All Might said! Capture tape! Shouldn’t that have…oh never mind, who cares. Fight!)

Here we have the explanation as to why Deku tells Kacchan about his quirk: Kacchan thinks Deku’s been lying to him. And the thing is, he…well, has. Not his whole life, but he has lied to his mom, and presumably via sin of omission, to everyone in his middle school (and UA), including Bakugou. Which Deku is fine with - for everyone else. Because it’s All Might’s secret, and it’s understandable, and Bakugou later reprimands him for telling even him. But that’s the thing. Deku doesn’t feel comfortable lying to Bakugou, and Bakugou alone. For some reason.

Yes, he has a good, rational explanation of why he didn’t work with Uraraka and let her go off to fight Iida. But he immediately undercuts it by reminding us that he does, in fact, wish to fight Kacchan himself. Again, why Filler!Deku is so scared of meeting Kacchan’s challenges head-on when he’s been fully committed to being his rival since Episode7/Chapter 9 is beyond me.

I kinda like how Bakugou has no Tragic Backstory or reason to be the way he is beyond being told his whole life that he’s better than everyone else. It’s such a perfect deconstruction of that Main Hero mindset - you see this same setup in so many other stories, where the Chosen One hero is told from a young age that he’s Destined for Greatness or whatever. And he’s always a perfect cinnamon roll. Instead of the kind of person that treatment would really create. Basically, someone like Bakugou.

More adorable/mean flashbacks. (It’s like watching South Park. They’re so mean but the art style is so cute!) I like how Deku, even LilDeku, doesn’t take shit from Kacchan. He talks back. And he never stops following him around.

Ah, the defining moments. Deku is declared Quirkless and therefore worthless (somebody hug him!) Then the creek incident. This scene is so cute, and it starts this big visual motif throughout the series pertaining to these two: Deku’s outstretched hand. (one translation I heard of “The Day” translates the line right before they fight in the OP as “reach out and finally take my hand”, which is perfect). But yes, there is this long buildup for Bakugou to one day cast aside that pride, realize that Deku just wants to help him, and Take. That. Hand.

Iidaraka! This scene is so hilariously funny. If I wasn’t already in love with this series before, this moment clinched it. Iida pretending to be a villain, complete with monologuing (I bet the dub was intentionally referencing The Incredibles there.) Cute Iichaco moment here, I love how he cracks her up. (Though Iida also makes the mistake of taking it too easy on her here. He doesn’t go for the knockout punch and loses for it. Thankfully a certain hothead does not make that same mistake in the sports festival.)

This freaked me out hard the first time I saw it. It’s such a hit. Like damn, how is Deku even alive now? The way it’s animated is so brutal! Though there is an explanation for the giant gauntlets and Bakugou’s quirk that makes a ton of sense here though; Hori even explained how his parents’ quirks made the power later on! It’s all so well thought out.

So again, this also freaked me out the first time around. He looks fucking crazy (And I loooove crazy characters. Deku the Absolute Madman and Bakugou’s crazyface are a big part of why I watch this series). But later on this gets a callback when All Might is talking about Bakugou “smiling in the face of a wall”, compiled with his smile when facing Uraraka and All Might. So this puts Deku on the same level as those two, the only two opponents Bakugou truly respects. Well, well. :)

BTW the second of the two manga chapters this episode is based on is called “Breaking Bakugou”. Just a funny bit of trivia.

Uraraka’s main character flaw at this point, her general lackadaisacal attitude and lack of willingness to just jump in and take initiative, shows up in this arc, and she makes her first step towards overcoming it. She’s inspired by how much Deku wants to win to Go Plus Ultra. I think Uraraka is a character who tends to mold herself after the people around her (her parents, Deku, even Bakugou post Sports Fest briefly), hence why Toga is her Evil Counterpart. This is her flaw, that she doesn’t quite know who she is outside of copying others, and what she needs to overcome.

We get some comedy as Bakugou gets jealous of Deku ignoring him again. Notice me you damn nerd! You idiot baka!

Kirishima’s first impressions of Bakugou are all so terrible. It’s hilarious in hindsight since they end up BFFs, but he really thought Bakugou was a reckless asshole the first time around. Also Todoroki’s first line is talking about how Bakugou is smarter than he looks. So let’s enjoy some of my personal headcanon, namely that if Kiri has a crush on a member of Wonder Duo it’s actually Deku, and for Todoroki it’s actually Bakugou. Yes, the reverse of what everyone else thinks.

This fight is so damn brutal. Bakugou pays Deku back in kind for bodyslamming him. Of course, I loved that Deku was planning something that whole time (I knew, first time around, when his dialogue with Uraraka was muted, that he had a plan up his sleeve. And what a plan it is!). But still, watching him get beaten up this badly is hard to see.

Now the big buildup moment. Deku confesses the truth: He wants to beat Kacchan because he thinks Kacchan is amazing. Bakugou thinks Deku is looking down on him, which is such a weird way to twist Midoriya’s behavior - but makes sense if Bakugou, deep down, knows that Deku totally can. And Deku, he just wants to surpass him. As he puts it later on, his image of Victory.

YOU SAY RUN. Drink! As an aside, All Might has a very interesting role in the whole Deku vs Kacchan thing. Not only is he the reason for their conflict (each idolize him/wanna be like him in different ways), he also perpetuates it willingly here by not stopping the fight. And he does so because he wants to support Deku. Which is interesting. All Might has some perception into Midoriya, and he comments here that this is the most pumped up he’s seen Deku. Bakugou brings that out in Midoriya, and that’s why All Might is, overall, rather supportive of them mending their friendship, ending up as Wonder Duo, the best heroes who Win and Rescue. Because Deku needs that challenge in his life to amp him up. To keep him going.

And now Deku’s plan. I’m not sure if the Entrance Exam bit counts, because at the time he didn’t know how badly his body would be effed up, but this time he does. So I’m calling it: The first instance of Absolute Madman Deku. My favorite Deku moments are always these bits, where he does something so crazy and brilliant and self-destructive that it shouldn’t work, but because he’s also clever, it totally does. And with Uraraka’s teamwork, the Hero Team wins!

We end on a moment between Deku and Kacchan, where Deku (pulling the first of his true Crazy Eyes faces) tells Kacchan that he was not, in fact, looking down on him, and only holding back because he’d be hurt. And the anime adds, from the Manga, Kacchan looking kind of shocked about what he’s seeing, maybe even a little guilty/horrified by Deku hurting himself. What an ending!

So the first time around, after watching the first four eps day-by-day at work, I had a weekend where I binged through the rest of Season 1, so my first impressions of the rest of the season aren’t as clear to me as those first few episodes. In hindsight, I think this is one of the best episodes of Season 1, and one of the first that really started fleshing out these characters into the complex little tragic heroes they are today. It’s all just glimpses of the surface; little to indicate how much is really lying beneath. But it’s important, nonetheless, as an early indicator.

Best Girl of the Episode: Mina Ashido!

Ranker: Favorite BNHA Fights (So Far)

10. Deku vs Kacchan 1

This is my favorite fight of S1. I love the strategy that Deku uses.

9. Deku vs Muscular

So hard to watch. So much pain. The tears the joy. Everything.

8. Todoroki and Momo vs Aizawa

Momo needs more fights. But she and Todoroki make a great tag team.

7. Deku and Kacchan vs All Might

As do Wonder Duo. Fighting All Might is just cool. Character Development!

6. Deku vs Overhaul

Season 4 is going to be Lit.

5. Hero Killer Stain vs UA Students

Such a multilayered fight. Three great fighters vs one unstoppable villain.

4. Uraraka vs Bakugou

Absolutely astounding. Full of surprises and emotional and cool.

3. Deku vs Todoroki

An absolute tearjerker and unbelievably brutal. Cannot watch without getting nervous.

2. Deku vs Kacchan Part 2

Partly the animation, which is so beautiful it should be in the Louvre. But also the fight itself. Of course. Strategy, emotion, Deku and Kacchan.

Hon Mention: The Movie’s Class A and All Might vs Metal Villain, All Might vs Nomu, Todoroki vs Bakugou, all the Beta Sports Fest fights, Jiro and Koda vs Present mic, Tetsu and Kendo vs Mustard, Deku vs Gentle and La Brava, Endeavor vs high End.

1. All Might vs All for One

4 words. “Now it’s your turn.”

#my hero academia #midoriya izuku #katsuki bakugou #uraraka ochako #tenya iida #season 1 episode 7 #deku vs kacchan #katsudeku #bakudeku #iichako #this episode is great overall #the animation is so good #they throw themselves into it #So much meta in this one #there's a lot to unpack #with deku and kacchan #there will be more #oh so much more #i need a madman deku counter

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knaccblog · 5 years

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Okay okay I need to talk about the whole Crowley taking credit for the Spanish Inquisition in the show thing. I've seen people acting like it's a major change but it's not really? Crowley as a character has always been about reading between the lines. He's basically always underselling how he feels, trying to fake apathy to protect himself.

For example, in the book he references the 14th century about four times and the first time he call it the most boring century but then immediately after he calls Hastur and Ligur real 14th century minds and by the end of the book when he's driving his on fire Bentley to Tadfield and the shear effort of it is making him feel like absolute shit, he says "he hadn't felt this bad since the 14th century." And what happened in the 14th century? Oh just so much horrible suffering and death like a great famine that killed millions, the black death killing a third of the population of Europe and thousands of Jews getting massacred in Anti Jewish pogroms in Spain and Portugal. So yeah, taking what Crowley says at face value is generally not a good idea. (An aside but show!Crowley also references the 14th century in the scene with Hastur in the Bentley, mentioning that he hated it and Hastur would have loved it so show! Crowley clearly agrees with book!Crowley on this note.)

Anyway, let's say Crowley took credit for the Spanish Inquisition (Aziraphale is the one who mentions it but Crowley agrees so it is probable that he did), that doesn't mean he wasn't horrified by it? In fact, they have an entire sequence in episode 3 of him being upset by the cruelty of God and humans such as at the Noah's Arc, the crusafiction and the French Revolution. Do you really think the character we saw in the beginning of episode 3 wouldn't have been absolutely horrified by the Spanish Inquisition? And even without the info from the book, do you think that the show isn't expecting viewers to take the knowledge they learned about Crowley in that sequence and apply it to things he's already said and will say? He overall doesn't talk particularly openly about how he feels so there is no reason to think he was cool with it just because he didn't say he wasn't. And what are the chances he told Aziraphale (the one who brought it up) how upset he was, how drunk he got back then? Pretty unlikely. Honestly it makes perfect sense for him to take credit for such a horrible atrocity no matter how much it upset him because it gets him out of doing work and having to hurt humans any more then they are hurting each other. (additional note: Book!Crowley mentions writing reports about the Spanish Inquisition so he clearly followed up on the thing he got credit for all the same, even if he didn't initially take the credit.)

Like when I first watched the show, I was truely really worried for like the first two episodes that they were making him more evil, less soft due to cutting some of his early softer moments. But then when I hit episode 3, I knew why they'd cut them: you don't need to do that subtle stuff when you have a half an hour dedicated to how much he despises cruelty and loves Aziraphale (Also it's probably a pacing thing, kinda hiding the true depths of Crowley's goodness until the beginning of episode three?). I'm even pretty sure they used the French Revolution scene to have him discuss some of his Spanish Inquisition thoughts (as openly as he'd say them out loud at least) but in a way that let them keep building his relationship with Aziraphale.

The show is a visual medium, the natures of the characters have to come across through dialogue and body language and almost no internal narration (which the book leans on heavily) so some stuff had to be a bit different in some ways but I feel like more stuff is similar or in the same spirit as the book then some people are giving the show credit for really. Crowley is still a very soft demon who is troubled by the horrible things of the world in the show, don't worry so much.

#Good Omens #Crowley #Good Omens Crowley #knacc chats #I have too many thoughts #Ugh set me free #I still have a bunch of these in the works my brain is so loud #my GO thoughts and feels

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twdmusicboxmystery · 6 years

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Analysis of New Opening Credits for S9: Wow!

I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Is everyone seeing this?

Hey Everyone! Happy Friday! As I said yesterday, I had a lot of people asking me to analyze the new opening credits. So, here goes! They’re VERY interesting.

Before I get started, let me give creds to plenty of people in my group, including @katkhaos, @lily.loup (IG), @wdway, @frangipanilove, @boltthrutheheart, and a handful of others. I also know that some of their observations were things they got from other places in the fandom. In short, these opening credits have already bounced around so much, it’s hard to know who noticed what first. So…creds to whoever did.

Okay, a couple of very general observations. I notice that the camera, throughout the entire thing up until the end, pans backwards. It’s kind of the opposite of the Kaleidescope Promo, in which the camera pans forward. And I think this is by design. I think these opening credits are an homage to everything that’s happened in the series thus far. I’ll illustrate as we go along.

As far as TD goes, most people’s first question was whether Beth’s flash is still in these opening credits. The answer is no. Not as far as we can tell, and lots of us have gone frame by frame looking for it. I’m taking that as a good sign for this season. Think of it this way: that flash has been present in the credits since S5, when she first disappeared. It’s been present in every season since, and she hasn’t shown up in any of them. Almost to remind us of her or tell us she’s still coming. This season, it’s gone. I feel like that means she’ll finally arrive, so the flash is no longer needed.

So, we start with black birds on a white background.

We don’t necessarily see white birds, but the black and white theme is definitely present. And remember that we recently saw some very important black birds in Fear as well.

The camera pans back and we see the tree. This is the same tree from 8x16 with the plate glass pane with the Celtic cross/knot on it.

To be honest, I’m glad to see this in the opening credits. We all had so many theories about these panes of stained glass, and they didn’t give us much to go on in terms of interpretation in 8x16. Obviously, these are still in play.

Also, you’ll understand this more as I go along, but there are a lot of homages to dead characters in this tree and all throughout the opening credits. It makes me think that maybe this tree wasn’t JUST about Carl and Rick or JUST about AOW, but rather, because 8x16 was the end of the huge S4-S8 arc, it was meant to be a funeral to all the characters we lost during those seasons, during this arc. The opening credits do point to that.

Let’s be more specific. In this tree, we see Rick’s ax, Abraham’s dog tags, and even the Governor’s eye patch. We also see a bird eating something red. It’s honestly impossible to tell exactly what it is. Maybe a berry. More likely a hunk of flesh. Because this is TD and these birds are carrion/scavengers. So about the only thing we can say for sure about this is that it’s a RED OBJECT. And as @frangipanilove so aptly explained HERE, red objects = red Easter Eggs = resurrection.

Then something interesting happens. The tree explodes with greenery, and all the birds take flight. Obviously we’ve always equated the color green with Beth Greene, but also keep in mind that, because these birds are scavengers, they represent death. Green always represents life, and the life banishes the death. In short y’all, this is a resurrection symbol. Life overcoming death. And there’s a red Easter egg in it. Just saying.

It’s also interesting to note that this is very similar to the title card used for Lauren Cohan in S2/S3:

The camera pans back to this picture of a pitchfork in a skull. We see Daryl’s bow and three arrows on (our) left and Carol’s knuckleduster knife on the right. I feel like this represents season 2. This was when Daryl and Carol first bonded over Sophia’s death, which could be represented by the skull. And the pitch fork reminds us of Hershel’s farm.

Daryl’s arrows are interesting too. There are three of them (Rule of Threes) and two of the create an X (X Theory). But it also reminds me of Norman’s old title card from S2/S3. Granted, there are only two arrows in that old card, but it still reminds me of it.

We also see the helicopter fly over at this point. The helicopters were most prevalent so far in S1 (outside Rick’s hospital), S3 (when Merle returned), and S4 (on top of the Big Spot in 4x01).

We pan back some more and we see two horses with riders. I think this is supposed to be Rick and Michonne. One is a man and one is a woman, and they look like they could be silhouettes of Richonne.

My first thought was that this was reminiscent of them meeting in S3. But of course we didn’t see Michonne on a horse until S4 (another callback to 4x01).

More evidence for this being Richonne is that when the camera pans further back, we see Michonne’s katana. Then, we see Carl’s grave on the right. You can tell it’s his grave because Rick’s gun is hung from the cross grave marker. So I think this represents the entire Rick/Michonne/Carl dynamic in general. Their entire history, ending most recently in Carl’s death.

And while it’s true that we’ve always equated the black/white horse theme with Bethyl (it really looks to me like the woman/horse on the right is white, while the man/horse on the left is black) it really doesn’t bother me that this might be a representation of Richonne. Why? Because I think they’re about to repeat Bethyl’s arc this season with Rick leaving. Rick will “Die.” Michonne will mourn him and be sad for several seasons, etc. It’s just a fulfillment of everything they foreshadowed in 7x12.

On the left, we see Glenn’s grave as well. You can tell because Hershel’s watch is hanging on it. More history and evidence that this is a tribute to the fallen of TF.

Then we see a walker standing at a break in the brick wall. A few things this is reminiscent of. It reminds me of S3 when Sasha and Ty came into the prison. Also of Shirewilt (Noah’s home) which had similar holes in the outer, brick walls. And many people in my group were reminded of the dark tunnel in the previous title sequence that Emily, Chad Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Michael Cudlitz’s names all hung out in at some point.

It also reminds me a little bit of Conquer. Not because of a visual parallel but because it obviously represents walkers getting inside the walls, which is what Rick’s entire speech at the end of 5x16 was about. Perhaps we’ll see a fulfillment of that speech here?

We also see a sheriff’s hat on the gate next to this walker, which is interesting.

Next we see Lucille and Rick’s Colt laying side by side in the grass, outside what looks like Alexandria’s walls. The words, “Final warning” are written on the gate. Not sure what to make of that phrase yet, but perhaps we’ll understand as the season progresses. To me, this shot obviously represents the fight between Rick and Negan. The two of them being pitted against one another.

Here’s a darker one where you can see the “Final Warning” on the wall:

Then we’re suddenly inside the walls. And this does look like the inside of Alexandria to me. I emphasize that because of what we see here. The focus, of course, is on Daryl’s bike. But look closely, guys, because this is huge. The geniuses in my group picked up something I didn’t. Look at the handle bars of this bike. They’re long, deep, and Y-shaped. This is not Daryl’s current bike. It’s the one he had in S1-4 and left behind at the prison.

Digest that for a minute. We’re seeing Daryl’s OLD bike INSIDE Alexandria.

I made the comment to my group that wouldn’t it be amazing if Beth, at some point, went back to the prison and got Daryl’s old bike and showed up on it? I mean, as far as we know, there’s nothing wrong with it. It just got left behind.

Now, we’ve never been told that Beth knows how to ride a motorcycle, but a girl can have head canons, right? Maybe even one where she almost crashes 27 times and chuckles to herself about how horrified Daryl would be at her biking skills? Hehe.

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit I’m probably being too literal about this. The bike is PROBABLY purely symbolic. After all, it was left behind by Daryl and never seen or spoken of again. Kinda like Beth. (Remember my super-ancient Bike/Dog/Kidnapping theories?). So I’m thinking this bike may be symbolically indicative of Beth’s arrival at Alexandria. But if she showed up on his bike, wearing his poncho, you gotta admit that’d be pretty damn cool.

Oh, but that is not all we have to say about this shot, my friends. There’s SO much more. Because what do have next the bike, between the bike and the barns, actually? But the Red. Freaking. Machete.

(Yes, I posted the shot twice so you could see it again.)

Now, in terms of being a callback to S4, it makes sense. The red machete was first acquired from Joe Claimer not long after the prison went down and Daryl left his bike behind. So, okay. It works. But we recently had The Red Machete mini series and have tied it (because of the Claimed trading card) to Bethyl. And strawberries. And the current season.

At the very least, this shows the red machete is still in play. And where did we last see it? In the hands of the mysterious individual known only as Legs. So what I’m saying is that this tells me that Legs will figure in S9 somehow.

And let’s be honest: most of us believe Legs is Beth. The Red Machete represents Rick, of course, but given that Beth will be the “new sheriff in town” and all the callbacks to her arc that we saw in the RM mini-series, I think the red machete represents the role of “Sheriff” on the show. So it represents the transition from Rick to Beth. Rick going out, Beth coming in.

And this shot in the opening credits supports that. Because the only other thing in this shot is a barn. Very reminiscent of Hershel’s barn from S2. So we have a reference to the Greene family (the barn) and a reference to Daryl (the bike) and between them is the Red Machete (the transition from Rick to Beth).

Moving on. We see the barn being built up, which obviously suggests the rebuilding of the world, society, etc. We already know that’s a big theme this season. I do notice that there are holes in the roof at first, and then they’re filled as the barn is built up. That’s kind of interesting. If you need a refresh, read my Hole in the Roof Theory and @frangipanilove’s recent update to it. If the holes represent Beth’s death and Daryl’s loss of her, then seeing them filled could represent that those holes are about to be filled. And we all know there’s really only one way to do that.

We also see a noose on the barn. My first thought was that it was another callback to S2, because originally the group was going to hang Randall, but decided not to. Then the people in my group also pointed out that it’s probably indicative of Gregory’s fate. If you’ve read the CBs or any spoilers, you know what I mean. I’ll leave it at that. I have some thoughts about the juxtaposition of those two things, but I don’t want to be spoilery in this post, so I’ll leave that (probably a rabbit hole anyway) for another day.

Then we see the windmill and more birds. Obviously windmills will be big this season.

Then we see the eye of a walker and the camera pans out from it’s eye.

@boltthrutheheart pointed out that the premiere of S3, 3x01, started this way. It focused on a walker’s eye and then panned out. So kind of a throwback to S3, but I’m not sure what the purpose of it is yet.

So then, for the first time in the credit’s sequence, the camera spins around. I said at the beginning, it continually pans backward, right? Well, here, it flips around as if to look at all things we just saw and left behind. So this walker is actually facing/staggering toward everything we just saw. Just kind of interesting.

And I gotta say, this shot at the end of these opening credits:

Reminds me a lot of this promo shot from S2:

Which is not only a famous Rick promo (end mirroring beginning) but it was a promo from S2, when Beth was introduced. Just saying.

And finally, we get the new TWD logo with all the greenery, which has already been extensively discussed.

So yeah, that’s what I got, folks. See why I think it’s a tribute to everything that’s come before? Plenty of Easter eggs. Plenty of homages to deceased characters. Plenty of promise for what’s to come

Thoughts?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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unofferable-fic · 6 years

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THE ADVENTURES OF STEVE AND TRYING TOO HARD — ONESHOT

Summary: In an ideal universe where Loki and Ellie find themselves living happily in the Avengers Compound, Bucky Barnes presents us with the reasons why a certain super soldier can’t help but be enamoured by the young woman, but also elaborates as to why it is an absolutely terrible idea.

Gif originally found here

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Set Post Thor Ragnarok (Infinity War never happened because I said so!)

Pairing: Loki x OFC

Warnings: Language, Steve getting mercilessly teased, hopefully excessive humour.

Word Count: 3,253

Playlist: “Still Into You” — Paramore, “Hard Times” — Paramore

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A/N: Also available on AO3. The idea for this oneshot came about through a conversation I had with a close friend with regards how the other Avengers would get on with Ellie if they were to ever meet within the Unofferable universe. As it was, my friend was convinced that Steve Rogers would have the hots for Ellie, but I suppose we couldn’t really blame him right? This is pure humour, crack, banter between pals, with a little bit of Loki and Ellie thrown in, but hopefully y’all enjoy it either way. For the purpose of this oneshot, let’s just imagine that Ellie has been living on Earth since TDW with no idea that Loki was still alive, alrighty? And THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWERS! You’s are a delight to write for and thanks for sticking with me <3

If there was one thing Bucky couldn’t fault Steve for, it was for trying.

Incessantly.

And if there was one person Steve could not stop trying to get the attention of, it was Ellie.

He saw the way the Super Soldier eyed the young woman when he thought no one was looking. Heck, you would have to be blind not to see it — even then, Bucky questioned whether someone who was visually impaired wouldn’t notice the constant pining. To him, and most of the team, it was as plain as day. This was, however, an awful idea for two reasons:

One, Ellie was still completely infatuated with her former lover, Loki, also known as the God of fucking Mischief, no matter how she might deny it given recent events.

And two, it didn’t seem like Steve was her type. At All.

Bucky couldn’t fault her for that. After all, being attracted to someone of the desirable sex was all down to uncontrollable personal preference. He loved Steve more than anyone, but if she saw his friend as nothing more than just that, he wasn’t going to argue. As long as she wasn’t a bitch about it, he would leave her to whatever men she wanted to actually date. She seemed to enjoy flirting with Bucky more than even attempting to reciprocate Steve’s advances. At least Bucky knew that she was merely joking with him, given the nature of how their friendship had blossomed after he was taken out of cryo. He enjoyed her company immensely, and it was refreshing to be around someone who was aware of his struggles while also avoiding treating him like he was made of glass.

Since Thor and Loki had returned to Earth, after what was apparently the destruction of their home world — planet, realm? I ain’t got no fuckin’ clue — things in the compound had been tense. Bucky was not surprised when Ellie placed a cracking slap on the very-much-alive-Loki’s cheek. He whistled at the sight, while the god tried his best to smile at her while she verbally destroyed him for faking his death again. Having heard all about their relationship, Bucky understood her anger and frustration. You couldn’t help but sympathise with her when she stormed out of the room to cool off. It was sometime before she was willing to stay in the same room as him, but the insistence of pressing missions and requests for the Avengers’ assistance meant she would have to adjust to the new team member faster than she had hoped. Eventually, they were on — albeit, tense — speaking terms. Now that he saw them together, it was clear that they shared a deep bond spanning years. They were alike in mannerisms and habits, and Bucky usually watched them intently when they were in close quarters; they spent a great deal of time staring at the other when their back was turned. Bucky was getting impatient as to when they would stop being so stubborn and just admit they still loved each other.

Of course, Steve, the punk, saw this as his window of opportunity to declare his feelings for her. The day he approached Bucky for advice in the kitchen nearly left the latter crying in amusement.

“Ya wanna what?” he asked the Captain, wiping the tears from his cheeks as he sat at the counter eating a massive bowl of cereal.

Steve glared at him and pursed his lips together. “Jesus, Buck. There’s no need to be an ass about it.”

“No, no, no, ’m sorry. Just…explain that again.”

With a roll of his eyes, Steve repeated himself. “I want to ask Ellie out to dinner. Or maybe coffee, if she’d prefer that. Like a date.”

“You want to ask Ellie out on a date?”

“Yes.”

Bucky paused, holding back his grin. “Ah, I think ya might be punchin’ above your weight there, Stevie.”

Steve’s face fell immediately. “What do you mean?”

Frowning in his seat, the Winter Soldier let out a sigh and set down his spoon in the bowl. “Judgin’ by her relationship history, she seems to have a kinda…particular taste. And high end taste, at that.”

“You saying I’m not high end?”

“Nah, punk. I’m sayin’ that she was so deeply involved with Loki. Plus, it’s obvious he still loves her and that she loves him, if ya ask me. I mean…he’s basically a god. Maybe you shoulda sat this one out, pal.”

“If they loved each other, would they not just talk it out and get back together?” he asked, apparently not entirely convinced by his reasoning.

“I don’t think their situation is as easily put as that, even though I think they should just bite the bullet and talk about it.”

Steve shrugged, doing nothing to mask his dejected expression at the thought of Ellie not reciprocating his feelings. “Alright, that’s fair to say. But I really like her, Buck. What’s to say that maybe she likes me too? We get on pretty well.”

“I know ya do, but Loki would probably try to kill ya if you went anywhere near her and you know it. He has superpowers and shit. Don’t mess with magic, Steve.”

“Awh, c’mon—”

“D’ya see how he shoots energy from his hands? That’s fuckin’ cool. Ya can’t do that.”

“I know but—”

“He’d end ya in two seconds flat. Give up before you begin, that’s my advice. ’Ve got fifty bucks on Loki anyway; twenty that she’s gonna slap ya ’round like a rag doll.”

“Why would Ellie do—?”

“Ya got no hope, Steve. Punchin’ way above your weight here.”

“Okay, Bucky! I see your point!”

The former assassin did his best to hold back a grin. He loved to tease his best friend when the opportunity arose, so this occasion was no different. “’M not sure ya do. Lemme explain, okay, pal?”

“Oh, this should be good,” Steve said dryly and sat down on a stool next to him. “Well? Out with it.”

“Well, you’re punchin’ above your weight here, number one, ’cause that guy is a literal god or some shit, and, number two, she’s too hot for you anyway. ‘Ve a better chance with a dame like that.”

The Captain’s face was anything but amused, his eyes now narrowed and lips pursed tightly. “Of course, Bucky.”

Bucky shrugged casually and went back to eating his previously abandoned cornflakes. “I ain’t wrong!”

“Something tells me that you’re talking shit, punk,” Steve grunted and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Your advice has been anything but helpful.”

“You came to me for advice,” he replied. “’S not my problem if you think it’s harsh. I’m just tryin’ to look out for ya. I don’t think it would end well.”

“What wouldn’t end well?” an unmistakable voice called from the other side of the room. The super soldiers turned to see Tony strolling towards them.

“Awh, Jesus,” Steve groaned under his breath. “Anyone but him…”

Without hesitation, Bucky explained the situation. “Steve wants to ask Ellie out on a date because he thinks she pretty.”

Steve’s gaze immediately shot to his (now former) best friend. “Bucky?! What the hell—!?”

“Oh,” Tony whistled with a cringe on his face and made his way over to the presses. “Damn, Cap. That’s a terrible idea.”

“Why?” he demanded, distraught. “And why are you making that face?”

“It’s a terrible idea because there is a certain demigod in your way,” he stated simply as he grabbed a mug for some coffee. “Loki would sooner tear you in half then let your big muscly-self get anywhere near his beloved. And I’ll have you know that this is the face I make when I hear a very stupid idea.”

“Have ya forgotten he threw Stark outta window before?”

“You weren’t even there when that happened!”

“That’s irrelevant.”

“Not really!”

“Alright,” Tony cut in, waving his free hand while he poured coffee into his mug with the other. “We’re getting sidetracked.”

Bucky nodded in agreement. “The main point we’re tryin’ to make is that ya definitely shouldn’t be chasin’ after Loki’s girl, even if you guys are close. While what I said about her likin’ me instead of you was meant to kinda annoy ya, I also meant it in terms of her taste in guys.”

As Bucky was expressing his thoughts, Tony stood there umm-hmming along and blowing on his hot beverage. “I’m with Sergeant Plum on this one, Cap. Punching way above your weight. Plus, last time you fought Loki, he slapped you silly until I showed up to save the day.”

Captain America stood there and scoffed aloud with the biggest pout on his face. “I hate all of you.”

“No you don’t; you love us.”

Steve looked positively horrified as Tony made a kissy face at him, and Bucky nearly choked on his cereal as he laughed. “How old are you, Tony?”

The billionaire was quick to gasp in mock hurt. “That is a very impolite question so I will not dignify it with an answer. Also, Barnes is right; he would have a better chance with her. You’re too…blonde, or something. Too morally righteous! You need to break the rules a little! Be spontaneous!”

“Unpredictable!” Bucky added excitedly.

Tony clicked his fingers and continued on. “If you plan to compete with the God of Mischief, obviously! Reindeer Games is always doing spontaneous stuff.”

“He’s probably the most spontaneous guy here.”

“Oh, and dye your hair. Get a beard!” Tony paused thoughtfully, took a quick sip of his coffee, and then explained further. “Basically, become Barnes in terms of looks, and Loki in terms of attitude. Got it? That way you’ll be set!” Steve was about to reply, but was overshadowed by more of his friend’s quick thinking. “Although she still might choose Loki ’cause, you know, history and stuff.” He shrugged. “Can’t compete with that.”

“Tony’s got a point,” Bucky confirmed. “You’re competin’ with someone she basically grew up with…on another planet… While you were frozen in some ice.” He hesitated for a few seconds then nodded his head firmly and met his old friend’s eyes. “Maybe ya should just sit down, Stevie.”

“It’s over, Rogers,” Tony agreed and gave the man a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “You tried but it was never going to work out.”

“What?” Steve exclaimed, looking between the pair completely stunned. “But I didn’t even get to try yet!”

“You tried your best,” Bucky went on, ignoring his outburst. “But she just wasn’t into ya.”

“Just hold on a minute,” he grumbled, using his Captain’s voice to shut them up. “I’m not afraid of Loki, okay? He has no say over who she decides she wants to go on dates with. He doesn’t own her.”

Tony raised a brow and casually leaned against the counter behind him. “Uh, it’s not just Loki you have to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“You forgot about the shippers.”

“Awh Jesus, Tony…”

“The who?” Bucky asked, realising that he was missing something important. “I don’t follow.”

“The shippers,” Tony repeated, his face quite relaxed. “It’s a name given to fans who really love two characters together as a couple. They say that they ‘ship them’. And when they have a favourite ship — let’s say Ellie and Loki — they mix their names together to make the ship name. In this case, it’s Lollie, which is sickeningly adorable. Loki plus Ellie makes Lollie. You get it?”

“Kinda,” Bucky replied, scratching his bearded jaw. “And they do this for all different characters?”

“You bet they do! My personal favourite is the ship name for Pepper and I; Pepperony. It’s genius.”

“Oh, that is pretty clever! So, hypothetically, Steve and Ellie would make…Stellie?”

“Eww,” Tony gasped as a shudder ran through him. “It sounds unnatural.”

“Okay,” Steve grabbed their attention, finding it hard to keep himself calm. “You two are getting distracted again. Why should I be worried about the shippers?”

Tony looked at him in mild disbelief. “Are you joking? They would not approve at all! Do you have any idea how loyal the Lollie shippers are?”

“I’m assuming very?”

“Very.”

Steve sighed heavily. “Alright but I don’t exactly care about the opinion of these people. Let them be disappointed. Is the main concern here not Ellie and I being happy?”

“Look, nobody likes disappointing shippers. You could always just veer towards another pairing—”

“I’ve already told you, I’m not gay, Tony.”

“Well I hope you’re happy disappointing all the Stucky and Stony shippers.”

Bucky leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing. Did he just fuckin’ say…

“Did you just smash our names together?” he asked Tony, pointing between himself and Steve. “In one’a those ship name things?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, some of them are into the idea of you two bumping uglies.”

“Pfft, no way. He’s not my type; way too needy.”

“Did you just call me needy, jerk?”

“I’m just sayin’ what we’re all thinkin’, punk.”

“See?” Tony insisted, waving his free hand between them. “It’s playful banter like that that makes people ship you two beefcakes.”

“Look, Tony,” Steve began slowly, doing his best to regain some amount of control over the conversation. “I see the points you’ve both made, but I think I’m just going to ask Ellie myself and see what she says.”

“Ask Ellie what, Captain?”

All three of the men froze mid-conversation at the sound of another person’s voice joining in. Bucky slowly turned his head to see the God of Mischief himself standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His face was completely blank, not giving away any ounce of emotion, and all this did was make the Winter Soldier unsure as to whether he had heard much of the conversation.

“Uh,” Steve drawled, looking very much like a cornered animal. Bucky had to hold back a grin at his previous statement of not being afraid of Loki. “I j-just was going to ask Ellie if she wanted to, eh, go for a…run later.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Bucky mumbled under his breath and withheld the urge to facepalm. Steve was always a terrible liar.

Loki, looking completely stone faced, walked slowly into the kitchen and replied. “I see.”

“How are you two doing, actually?” Tony asked, watching as the demigod opened the fridge and pulled out an apple. “You and Ellie? Still having trouble in paradise?”

“There is no trouble, Stark.”

“Uh, not to be the bearer of bad news, but have you forgotten that wicked handprint she left on your chiselled cheek?”

“I think that is of little relevance,” he shrugged and sat at the counter across from Bucky and Steve with his apple and a knife in hand. “Women do that to me frequently.”

“Didn’t ya also get a slap off the Hulk?” Bucky asked as he finished his own food

“Banner hits a little harder than Ellie,” Loki answered, cringing slightly at the memory. “I find that when she hits me it is a lot more…pleasurable.”

Steve’s eyes nearly fell out of his head at that. “What the fu—”

“So you two are…” Tony set down is mug and made a circle with his index finger and thumb before repeatedly putting his other index finger through. “Gettin’ some again?”

Loki stared back, expression unreadable. “I beg your pardon?”

“Never mind. What I mean is, let’s say someone were to — oh, I don’t know — ask her out, let’s say on an intimate get-together. We call that kinda thing a date here on Earth. What would you do if someone asked Ellie out on a date?”

All three men looked at Loki intently, gauging his reaction in a way that Bucky was aware probably made it very obvious that someone did in fact want to ask Ellie out. Alas, they sat expectantly and the Trickster picked up his apple and began slowly carving slices as he spoke. “If someone were to seek out the little one and ask to court her, I can assure you that he would not get within ten feet of her before I were to slit his throat with this knife, Captain.”

As if to drive his point home further, Loki stabbed the knife down through the apple’s core and suddenly levelled his gaze on a very stunned Steve. The silence in the room was deafening for some time.

“It as nice knowing you, Cap,” Tony said in a rush, patted his shoulder, then hurried out of the room as quickly as possible with coffee in hand.

The two super soldiers were staring at the god in disbelief, a sweat very clearly beginning to break out on Steve’s forehead.

“Do you think me an idiot?” Loki hissed, green eyes boring into him.

“Eh…no.”

“I did warn ya,” Bucky mumbled, awkwardly sitting there with his bowl in his grasp.

“Hey, guys.”

The sight of the subject of their conversation walking into the kitchen caused Bucky to let out a relieved sigh. Ellie walked up to the counter and assessed them all. “Jesus, what’s goin’ on in here? You’s look a bit tense.”

“We’re just talkin’ about…women,” Bucky explained while the other two glared at each other. “Ya know how guys get about women! Anyway, what brings ya to this side of the compound?”

Ellie nodded slowly, clearly not convinced in the slightest, but avoided the subject anyway. “I was lookin’ for Loki, actually. Tony said you were in here.”

“Yes, love?” he answered, grinning in delight.

“I was comin’ to get you so we could watch some more Black Mirror. Are you good to go?”

“Of course.” He got to his feet and handed her a slice of apple which she took happily. ��Lead the way.”

Before they could get anywhere near the door, Steve bit the bullet and called out. “Hey, uh, Ellie?”

Bucky was quick to intervene with a hushed, “Steve—”

“What’s up?” Ellie asked, standing in front of Loki and unaware of the look of complete distain her former lover (possibly current? Who fuckin’ knows…) was sending the Captain.

“Any chance you might want to, uh, get a cup of coffee together later? I’d love to talk more about that book we were discussing before.”

The young woman showed no obvious signs of surprise, but Bucky knew that she became a master of hiding her emotions because she learned from the best. Even still, it took her a few seconds to answer. “Sorry, Steve. I promised I’d watch telly with Loki tonight. Maybe another time soon though? ”

He smiled slightly and nodded. “Sure, have a good night.”

With that, the pair left the room and left Steve and Bucky sitting at the counter alone once more.

“Sorry, pal,” Bucky said sympathetically after a moment.

His friend met his gaze and answered. “What?”

“I know ya liked her a lot. It’s never nice gettin’ rejected.”

Steve was the picture of confusion. “What are you talking about, Buck? I didn’t get rejected.”

Bucky’s eyes went wide at his statement. “Yes, ya did. Did ya just fail to notice that she said no?”

“Actually, she said ‘another time’. That’s not an outright no. There’s still a chance!”

“Oh my god,” Bucky sighed and held his head in his hands. “You’re really not helpin’ the blonde beefcake stereotype, ya know that?”

Steve let out a chuckle at that and shook his head. “Shut up, jerk.”

“Not a chance, punk.”

Taglist: @jonsaiscomiing @wrappedinlokisarms @unseelie1963 @talinalani @fightmelight @spookass @myinnerkemono @tumbler-bumblr @jclements919 @ao3-hipster-fangirl-trash @proactiveturtles @iamthered @tlbrooks-68

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lucky-clover-gazette · 6 years

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season 4 first watch impressions

under the cut are my thoughts and my new overall series episode ranking (spoilers)

ep1 - uss callister

- by far my favorite of the season

- a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy

- i would have loved this as a full movie

- honestly nanette is amazing, like she owns her smarts and sexuality and never gives up i love her

- male coder: “it won’t work, i’ve already tried”

nanette: “well i haven’t” HELL YEAH

- i honestly loved all the ‘crew’ characters, even the gym rat boss

- i especially enjoyed the speech from the boss to robert, where he’s like ‘i acknowledge that i was an ass, but dude, YOU PUSHED MY SON OUT AN AIRLOCK’

- also the fuckin casual dialogue between the monster and bad guy and the crew

- OHHH BOY AND THE FACT THAT ROBERT’S GONNA ROT TO DEATH IN HIS APARTMENT BECAUSE HE PUT ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ ON HIS APARTMENT DOOR, HELL YEAH

- ‘oh my fuck’

- 10/10, watch it now

ep2 - arkangel

- preface: the kid playing young owen teague and his family were actually really close with my family when he and my little sister were kids. it was goddamn surreal to see that lil guy talking about porn when i remember him being, like, eight. but nice going nick, keep kicking ass lil dude

- okay so this episode was... conflicting

- the opener made sense, but in some ways i thought it was TOO obvious and indicative of the episode’s message and tone. i can’t help but wonder if it would have been better just starting like five minutes in

- her father looked like counselor healy from orange is the new black, so that was distracting

- okay jesus christ lady, i get that losing your kid is scary, but implanting her with ‘optional’ optic spying and censoring software is such a massive violation of her privacy. like, it’s one thing when she’s tiny, but how the hell are you going to feel okay with yourself as a parent when she’s an adolescent?

- the blocking especially pissed me off. that’s so fucking dangerous. either this woman is just very stupid, or very desperate

- at least the narrative established that it kind of was the latter. when her father gets sick, the mother has to care both for both her father and her child. that’s a lot. but still not an excuse for such mental violation of a quickly-growing human being

- young edgelord and sara are fucking adorable

- sara’s self-harm and rage issues are not, however,, and i’m glad that her mother took her head out of her ass and ditched the tablet

- is it just me or is fifteen-year-old sara kind of an idiot? like i get it she’s grunge and artsy, and i loved her giving a treat to the dog, but she seems to be almost hanging out with owen teague because he deals, and not despite it. like i get that i’m supposed to buy that their romance has kind of a subtext of him ‘teaching’ her about things, but like the underage sex and coke are kinda yikes. i feel like he definitely should have had more restraint, and although what the mother does is royally fucked, he and sara are also both to blame

- all right, so the smoothie motif. what a great narrative tool. the miscarriage pill was the most clever part of the episode. sara’s reaction was very well-acted, and the standoff between her and her mother was intense as hell

- i liked that sara’s rage issues remained into adolescence. i was glad that the tablet got wreckt, but i can’t help but wonder if it would have been more effective to have her rage-smash it prior to her mother coming come, leaving the pieces for her to find. the actual beating up of the mother with the tablet seemed to literal, too much sinking in the message. there were moments in crocodile and hang the dj that were the same way.

- the ending, with sara hitchhiking in some stranger’s truck, was very smart. the ambiguity of a young girl, on her own, hopping in some stranger’s vehicle, is powerful without much explanation. any parent would be horrified by this; that’s what i don’t think we actually needed to see the mother screaming sara’s name and bleeding to understand the horror of losing a child to the unknown

- this one definitely gives me the most complicated feelings of the season; on one hand, it had a lot of great devices going for it. on the other hand, it was over-written and at times trying too hard to be ‘black mirror.’ the grey morality and ambiguous ending reminded me of a literary short story, which i love in my TV.

- 7/10, watch it if you liked most black mirror episodes that weren’t san junipero

ep3 - crocodile

- ah yes, the ‘i watch black mirror to be fuckin ashamed of humanity’ episode

- idk man, i liked it. it was bleak, and fucked up, but i’m all about that downward spiral. i liked that the story kind of began in three different places and then tied together. just as i had with ‘hated in the nation,’ i love police procedural stuff

- also damn, it was freaky as hell to see the straight-laced white blonde soccer-mom type being a despicable murdering sociopath!!! like, gotta go kill an entire family of POC, including a goddamn INFANT, and then see my kid’s show, that’s great. i was so happy when she got what she deserved.

- all right, so i had one MAJOR PROBLEM with this episode: why the fuck did they make the son blind? the guinea pig twist was so GOOD, and mia fuckin killed a BABY, they didn’t need to further modify that!!! this is another example of black mirror doing just a tad more than it needs to make the audience feel horrible.

- okay black mirror, we get it, that song is your thing, but can you maybe slide it in as a less glaring easter egg?

- 8/10, but only if you’re into dark shit and bad endings

ep4 - hang the dj

- not nearly gay enough

- seriously, the entire episode i was unable to focus on the main characters because i kept looking around this Tinder-esque 20′s dating paradise and saw ZERO GAY OR LESBIAN COUPLES. i’m so surprised by this, especially after ‘san junipero.’ at first i was like, maybe this is like society’s way of encouraging procreation because of population decline, but that wasn’t the twist at all. no reason for nearly everyone to be hetero

- THAT BEING SAID, i see you. bi amy. even before the girl partner, i was aware that she used ‘they/them’ pronouns when referring to hypothetical partners. i just wish we could have seen more gay couples in the background (for example, at the choosing ceremony thing, it coulda been two dudes of something)

- uh okay, so everyone loved this episode, and it was okay. some of the banter and jokes were funny and relatable, but honestly, this wasn’t *that* good. the plot wasn’t super original (reminded me a lot of ep1 of hulu’s ‘dimension 404′) and the execution was kind of suuuuuuper basic. like, black suited Enforcers with tasers? a massive matrix wall? the whole thing seemed so predictable and just... basic as hell.

- but shit man, amy was cool. loved that character in a vacuum.

- honestly if someone could explain the reasons for loving this episode, i’d like to hear them. because i just don’t get it, man. maybe it’s because i’m gay, or young, or single, or unexperienced... but i just wasn’t very impressed

- 6/10, not even fuckin close to ‘san junipero’ lmao

ep5 - metalhead

- black and white seemed sort of pretentious, not gonna lie. i think i would have preferred the dirty palette of ‘white bear’ post-apocalypse

- i am all for these female protagonists this season. hell yeah

- soo those corpses in the bed were heavy, but i actually kind of wish we got to see more of that? like, the remains of humanity after the dogs attacked? also, more small explanations for the dogs’ attack would have been interesting

- loved the chase and fight scenes. i can see how they’d be boring, but the moments of conflict between man v. machine were fucking awesome

- K N I F E D O G

- anyone else get serious farenheit 451 vibes?

- the teddy bear thing was dumb. i don’t think we needed to see what was inside the warehouse. yet another time black mirror threw in just a little more than we needed

- okay so belle keeps alluding to the fact that she has safe family members out there somewhere, so am i to believe that there is some place where humans are safe from dogs? if so, why the actual fuck did she leave? i can’t believe it was just because of fuckin teddy bears

- alllllll the david lynch vibes

- 7/10, but you gotta actually pay attention to the visual details to get the best parts

ep6 - black museum

- BOOOOYYYYYYY! this entire episode i waited for the fuckin shoe to drop and then SHE! DID! THAT!

- the amount of callbacks to previous episodes was,, nice,, but also it was kind of annoying??? and unnecessary?

- the museum owner was reaaaaaalllly annoying, which is think was intentional. what a fuckin sleaze. in comparison, i thought that jon hamm in ‘white christmas’ was still a somewhat charismatic narrator, but this dude was just yikes

- so, the first story was... kind of a lazy reach? idk, it just felt kinda like a parody of black mirror itself. i get the entire ‘mad science’ vibe they were trying to evoke, but as opposed to the next story, this one had very little to say about human nature. black mirror works its best when it tells stories that use technology as a way to analyze humanity; this one really didn’t (we all already know we’ve got weird kinks)

- the second story was better, but, like, SUPER heartbreaking. poor carrie. i don’t think her husband should have done The Thing at all, honestly, I don’t believe that he couldn’t have seen what happened next coming. it’s like the arkangel mom again; either these characters are just SUPER present-oriented, or just fuckin dumb

- the most tragic moment in this season was ‘monkey needs a hug.’ i felt nauseous

- okay, now for THE TWIST! the accent drop was a great touch, and i loved that she was poisoning him the entire time. also fuck white men and supremacists, and fuck the museum dude for enabling them.

- the ending was great. i liked that her mom was chillin with her. the building blowing up was very tarantino. loved her a lot

- 8.5/10, boring in the beginning but the end is worth it

and now..

BLACK MIRROR EPISODES RANKED (AS OF SEASON 4)

1. U.S.S. Callister

2. Nosedive

3. Hated in the Nation

4. San Junipero

5. Fifteen Million Merits

6. Be Right Back

7. White Bear

8. White Christmas

9. Black Museum

10. Crocodile

11. Arkangel

12. Metalhead

13. Hang the DJ

14. Playtest

15. The Entire History of You

16. Men Against Fire

17. Shut Up and Dance

18. The National Anthem

19. The Waldo Moment

#black mirror #black mirror s4 #sam reviews #uss callister #arkangel #crocodile #hang the dj #metalhead #black museum #bm

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redscullyrevival · 6 years

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Take You There: Vid Notes

This here post will mostly focus on inspiration, the process, and some technical stuff for my vid Revolutionary Girl Utena “Take You There”.

‘Cause I’ll tell ya what; I may have spent months working on this dumb thing but in a years time I will absolutely be like “LOL why’d I do that?”

I don’t even know where to begin talking about how I got to where this vid ended up. It’s a messy ball of so many things.

Finding a song was not even remotely difficult thanks to Mr. Baz Luhrmann. Dude always pulls through with soundtracks that I’m cool listening to for a full year non-stop every single time and The Get Down has been no exception.

Miguel’s “Cadillac” is a sampled and refitted version of Hot Chocolate’s “Heaven’s in the Backseat of my Cadillac” and is a complete euphonious joy. But while the lyrics are good for an amused chuckle thanks to the creepy car obsessed Akio Ohtori, they weren’t exactly enough of a pull to justify the amount of work required for the vid. Five minutes and fifteen seconds in life is nothing, but as far as a song goes it’s on the longer side of pop and in the vidding world it’s a goddamn eternity - and that’s after I had edited it down some.

The real reason I even bothered with this monster of a song is for it’s ending, which is jazzy, breezy, and just a little bit sad. I figured the later half of the song was were I’d put my vid’s soul. I, uhh, have no idea if I’ve actually pulled such a thing off mind you, but that’s expected.

For those of you who don’t fan vid, here is the thing: Eventually you get to a point of no longer being able to discern if what you’re toiling for is any good - which is horrifying but that’s just what working on a lengthy long term project is like a lot of the time. Your enthusiasm winds down and you enter the chasm, which is when you have to trust that your idea is solid enough to pull you through your own disassociation with having heard the same song and seen the same images so many times they no longer hold any meaning.

Going in I knew that hallow chasm feeling was going to be the hardest part (I’m an idiot who picked a five minute song after all) so I outlined the shit out of what I wanted to do. When in doubt, when lost, I’d consult my outline and notes. I even took extreme measures and only ripped the first few episodes and then the Akio and Apocalypse Arcs of the show. I didn’t want to be tempted to dive off from the planned idea and waste time combing footage (I already have to fight for editing time as it is). And that pained me and scared me. Having limited footage meant I needed to really prioritize and focus. Ugh, ew.

My biggest visual inspiration are those old VHS recordings of the Revolutionary Girl Utena musicals. Back in the days before youtube the best most of us could hope for peaking a glimpse at the stage productions was to wait a full day on dail-up downloading a horrible quality clip from a fan site. The humor of using all that new technology for mere glimpses of grainy off tracking glory wasn’t lost on me back then and once I ripped my beautiful limited edition DVDs I slowly became convinced the best idea I’ve ever had would be to take this pristine cleaned up footage, to make the best I’ve ever seen Utena look (until those blurays are mine anyways!) and drag it back down to fuck-all quality.

I stand by that choice but like many of my best ideas it was also kinda dumb. The process of making “from scratch” effects in adobe premiere pro is a doozy and I know from experience that that’s why Sony Vegas has such a following; it’s presets aren’t total shit.

But, eh, what can I say? Getting the footage to look how I wanted wasn’t hard necessarily, just a time consuming vacuum that created a rendering hellscape!

The majority of my footage has been adjusted to look “old”. Overlaying tracking footage onto images does not give an accurate feeling of “old”, what it does is make nice footage look like it has bad tracking on top of it. As such, the entire video has had a noise overlay added to it (in varying degrees of grainy, as needed) and the overwhelming majority of my used clips have been ‘adjusted’.

A quick rundown for posterity’s sake: I had to copy a clip three times and with each copy assign a RGB value, blend them together, then adjust the most bottom, the original clip, to be larger than those above it - a simple but somewhat tedious method of giving footage a saturated, worn, slightly off look.

The next big thing was to overlay that sweet, sweet tracking footage. Big thanks to the weirdos out there who are sharing blank footage of VHS players being shit. Love you guys. The easy thing would have been to simply overlay tracking footage in it’s entirety and let it be but I’m controlling as all hell and had in mind specific tracking visuals for every damn use I had for tracking. So, I amassed a sturdy collection of tracking footage and combed through them marking which squiggles and wiggles I liked best then found homes for them peppered throughout my vid. Yikes Scoob!

This vid took me a little over five months to complete from planing to final edit and in the end I’m pretty… Honestly, I’m pretty ambivalent about it. Mostly I feel kinda exposed. Again, this isn’t like the vids I’ve shared in the past, this is a lot more like the editing stuff I do for my eyes only and the natural feeling of showing others that is kind of weird? I feel weird. I like what I’ve done, I’ve gotten as close to replicating my idea as best to my ability (sans the instances of footage I made up in my head to fit my vid - the forever dilemma) but I don’t think it’s particularity what-people-want-from-Utena a lot of the time? So why am I even sharing it? Le sigh.

Basically, I’m having a lot of doubt and I’m hoping that has more to do with me feeling uncomfortable putting something so full of ME out there and not because I’ve actually made something shit. And, of course, some overall massive overthinking.

My thematic goal was to try and simultaneously capture both the goofy and emotional side of Utena - which in reality are one and the same. The general over-the-top-ness of Revolutionary Girl Utena isn’t a up and down experience traveling hills of emotion down into zany valleys; it is an all around extremely level experiment in information totality, with the absurd meaning just as much as the emotional.

I like to think I’ve pulled off my silly song choice hitting emotional home runs. A very Utena-like goal.

BORING TECHNICAL STUFF: Footage - Ripped from Nozomi’s Limited Edition DVD release of Revolutionary Girl Utena (plus a few sneaky shots from Adolescence of Utena) Original Footage Dimensions - 1440x1080; beautiful and transcendent tumblr Dimensions - Who the fuck knows; eyeball garbage Audio - "Cadillac" by Miguel (from The Get Down soundtrack Part I) Completion Time - Five-ish months

#vid notes #vidding #editing #mine #revolutionary girl utena

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netflixonyourcouch · 6 years

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Black Mirror Season 4

Spoilers.

I have to start by saying that I love Black Mirror. It’s one of my favorite shows on television and easily one of the objectively best series ever made. But it’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not great because it’s flawless, it’s great because it’s intriguing.

One of the things that I think people will hint on is this idea of the memory consciousness and other biometrics being digitized. This idea of taking something that makes us human and making it digital while retaining the human properties is explored to great effect all season. And I’m actually not too mad at that? Like, if the series started becoming about riffs of a central theme for an entire season I think that would be cool too. Sort of bridging the gap between serialized and non-serialized TV. Anywho.

Alex mentioned after watching Episode 2 that this is like the “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” for adults. And I’m not totally mad at the comparison. While “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and by extension, Goosebumps aim for more horror scenarios, sort of like Stephen King for kids, Black Mirror is more centered around technology. And that’s not to say that Black Mirror isn’t horrifying, because some episodes definitely are, especially the actual horror episode. But it’s more about near future technology scenarios more than anything else.

Being a huge fan of tech, I can’t say that I’m always in love with the scenarios they present. I’m a huge hater of the instagram episode, which suggests that our digital “popularity ratings” could actually play a role in how people respond to us in real life. It’s too snide and direct to be good social commentary. Likewise, I was ready to tear the roof off episode 4, which suggested at its surface that society devolved into a tinder-like forced dating system in which the smart device tells people who they should date and imposes hard limits on how long they should date. I was like, “this is ridiculous and completely out of the realm of possibility.” However, while not explicitly explained, the digital “Tinder” app was actually feeding off a digital representation of its users, matching them through the system until they found a 99.8% reliable match. It’s a treatise on smart match algorithms that are totally fucking smart lol.

However you had some duds. 2 episodes in particular stand in stark comparison to the rest. The first is episode 3 -- why on earth does the protagonist have to murder everyone she comes into contact with? Lol. And the second episode is episode 5, with the murderous robot dogs. What was the point? It was too open to interpretation so it was about everything and about nothing at the same time. At the very least, explain why the robot dogs came to be, otherwise it’s kinda just Terminator with robot dogs, lol. Also, I think the ending reveal only makes sense if it’s linked to the concept revealed in the last episode, transferring consciousness inside of an inanimate object.

Visually, the series continues to astound. One of my favorite bits about Black Mirror is how the visual and sound contribute to the atmosphere. All the little things that aren’t really about the core concept (such as the personalized door in episode 1) are really fucking cool.

My favorite episode, tentatively is episode 2. I watched that one with Trey, Eric and Alex and we had so much fun guessing which turns the episode would take.

What can I say? Other than it’s quality, not quantity. Anyone who has a problem with it only being 6 episodes needs to realize that it’s better to have 6 great ones than 20 mediocre ones.

Loving it bro.

#black mirror #season 4 #tv review

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cosmosogler · 7 years

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hmmm. my day didn’t start when my alarm went off. it started last night when i tried to go to bed.

about two hours into my sleeping period (maybe? i don’t have a clock where i can see it from the bed. it was a very long time.) i was laying there and i said to myself, “it seems i am still awake.” i wasn’t... experiencing any normal symptoms of anxiety? i wasn’t doing the racing thoughts thing, i guess i was having a little trouble breathing regularly which has been A Thing for a really long time...

like, entire life amount of time. it does keep me awake sometimes though because i have to struggle to do in-out in a non-erratic way.

i just wasn’t asleep. i don’t know why. i dozed off eventually because later i had memories that definitely weren’t real floating around in my head. i woke up again maybe around 4 or 4:30. so four hours of sleep? my arm was super itchy. i couldn’t sleep because of that. i dragged myself over to the bathroom and scrubbed my arm with a wet towel and that helped a little. i tried taking a look at it and i was worried i had been bitten by a bug or something, but it was just red from messing around with it for so long.

that kept me up for 30 or 40 minutes. then my alarm went off at 6:20. i whined at it but i got up. i didn’t feel like i was particularly behind in my schedule? i did everything i needed to do and had a few minutes to chat with asher. i wasn’t sure when the bus lines started. when i checked my phone i saw one was scheduled to arrive in five minutes so i headed to the stop, but it must have passed by several minutes earlier because the next bus didn’t show up for 10 minutes. so then i was running late.

i couldn’t find the disability resource center even though i had confirmed its location on the campus map yesterday. i wandered around with my cupcake trays for like 20 minutes. i was late for my appointment, but i did eventually find it... i don’t know how ANYONE could find it if they didn’t have a ton of patience or desperation though. and my manager said that a lot of people do miss their appointments because they get lost or too frustrated to keep looking and give up.

they have a lot of accommodations available though! i got my letters printed and carried my cupcakes over to the physics building. i didn’t offer any to the disability office, and i was bummed about that. i ended up needing all of them anyway though. well, “needing” as in they all got eaten well before i left the building.

no one was in the grad offices so i took one of my letters down to my new e&m professor. i was just going to drop it off since it pretty clearly outlines what my accommodations are and i told him if he had any questions he could email my manager.

i guess there’s a better word i could be using than manager but i don’t actually remember what it might be right now.

he said “no no, wait, we have to talk about this.” and i kind of side-eyed him, like he was going to ask for my diagnosis or something, which the resources center had made clear i didn’t need to share. and then he said something wild!

“i mean, just from how you looked, i could tell, but,”

i narrowed my eyes at him. i wish i’d been a little more obnoxious though. could tell what, sir? what could you tell? i wonder what gave it away. asher said i look perpetually worried. my english teacher in high school said the same. but there’s also other things. i fidget a lot, i don’t wear makeup. i don’t make much eye contact.

i wonder what, exactly, i looked like to him. because usually when people make judgment calls like that, it’s to say i look stupid. or “retarded,” as mother likes to put it.

like... there’s a lot of things that could “give it away.” i wonder which one it was.

anyway through gritted teeth i stood through another of his meandering lectures about protocol and set up an appointment to speak with him about it in more detail on tuesday. then i went to classical mechanics.

i talked to suzanne a little bit on the way there. she’d not slept much last night either. a lot less than me, but the same problem.

then when class started my brain shut off and i stopped recognizing things that were happening around me? like i could see something moving in front of me and white lines were showing up on the black-green expanse but i didn’t know what was going on. then five minutes later i kind of remembered where i was but the professor had already started erasing his first notes. i asked suzanne if i could borrow her notes later to copy. i did write down a few things i heard him say that he didn’t put on the board.

i felt really bad because he drew a diagram that did not make any sense at all and i got really hung up on it. and when i’d ask why the diagram was like that he would react as if i’d corrected his math when i was asking about the geometry and the proportions and what was actually happening there. i gave up by the end of class. keegan explained it to me a little better afterward. he borrowed my calculator and we talked with luis about cases where there might be more than one solution since the professor had spent some time on a proof that there could only be one solution. i dunno. normal stuff i guess.

i did a little better during the second period, quantum. i got everything down fine and i let both the other professors know that i had my letter to discuss on tuesday.

after that i gave some cupcakes out to non-ta grad students and then i brought my cupcakes into the lab and left them on the front table. that got more than half of them eaten. i was partnered with harrison today and we sat behind taylor and dazhi. i was talking to harrison about how basic mechanics was my favorite because i could always clearly see what was going on. he commented that sometimes quantum was easier because you could just do the math and it would work out and you didn’t HAVE to visualize what was going on. i joked that i felt more at ease when i could see everything and that matrices just didn’t have that physicality.

taylor turned around and explained matrices to me. he very slowly told me that i could think of matrices as a collection of numbers and two-dimensional matrices were 2x2, and three-dimensional would be 3x3, and so on for n dimensions. he continued about how to multiply matrices and how they interacted with basic quantum notational stuff. i put my chin in my fists and smiled at him. harrison looked baffled.

“why are you explaining matrices to us?” he finally asked.

“you asked about matrices,” he said, looking at me.

i frowned. “i was talking about how like a matrix would apply to my pencil,” i said. “like how do those numbers directly affect what is happening as it moves. i know what a matrix is. i’m not stupid.”

then harrison and i found out our computer wasn’t working so we moved our equipment to another table and i didn’t interact with anyone else until the pizza arrived. about 20 minutes after we got back from our little teaching story exchange i got extremely ill and had to leave harrison to fend for himself against the terrifying position-velocity box experiment.

i’m thinking pizza might be a non-option for me going forward.

i’m not stupid.

at the end of the experiment i mentioned i had a quiz in my e&m class and harrison panicked, thinking that the grad professor had done something sneaky. i told harrison i was in undergrad e&m now because i’m stupid. he said oh. i think he might have said some other things but i didn’t hear him very well.

the quiz was actually horrifying. it’s kind of funny... i had so much trouble with it, but when i was explaining what the quiz was about to suzanne later i told her i didn’t know how to integrate a function i should know, and then i immediately guessed what the right answer was just talking about it off the top of my head.

i’m thinking test anxiety is a real thing for me.

it didn’t help that i really wasn’t happy with that professor after our little disability adventure in his lab.

after that was over i summoned keegan and he kicked my ass at smash brothers some more. i almost won a few times. then another guy joined us and that was really fun because they were both really good at duels and i was much better at multiplayer. i have also gotten significantly better at melee over my 2 games with keegan. like this time i successfully prevented him from getting back on the stage once.

after that a whole bunch of us went to a bar right off campus. i had my first drink in like a year. over a year. i got pretty tipsy but i did only have one cocktail and then i stuck to water and pita bread and felt better real fast. we played pool and i accidentally smashed my finger against the edge of the table trying to make a shot and ripped the skin off the second knuckle. the bartender had to go get me a bandage.

i had my “test anxiety” conversation with suzanne while we were hanging out by the table, i was sipping my drink. her brother in law alex showed up and i talked to him a little too. i couldn’t hear him very well because he speaks quietly and not very clearly. i met some of the older grad students and we talked about arizona wildlife. ioannus showed us a picture of the first alligator he’s ever seen.

keegan was being very friendly with me. i am not sure what’s going on there. i asked him where his girlfriend was and he said he’d be going to dinner with her. but before he left he patted my shoulder a couple times. i jolted a little bit at the physical contact but it’s not like he came up behind me and also i was just chill enough that it didn’t matter as much.

i went home around 7:45. actually since i had had so much water and pita bread i felt pretty alert. about 2 minutes into my 25-minute walk home THE DELUGE began. so i walked in the rain. it was actually really nice. it woke me up, it was kinda warm (it got cold after i’d worked up a sweat carrying my full backpack and the two cupcake tins so i cooled off too), and it was just... nice. rain in arizona is usually sideways and lasts 15 minutes and then blows away. this was like standing in a good powerful shower.

when i got home i was soaked. i tore my shoes off and put them in the bathroom first thing and then i dumped my stuff on the floor and tried to space it all out so it could dry. all my electronics stayed pretty dry since my backpack is awesome. i got into some warm pajamas and blow-dried my hair to warm up. then i had a pretty quiet evening watching some youtube videos i’d bookmarked earlier and (half) a taz episode. i’ll have to do the other half tomorrow. now it’s 10:50. i should sleep or else tomorrow i’m going to be completely incoherent.

when i feel really bad about myself talking to suzanne sometimes feels like she’s kind of patronizing me. i noticed she does that around alex too a little bit. he seems ok with it. but it always rubs me the wrong way. so lately i’ve been trying to put a little more reciprocity into the relationship there and ask how she’s doing and do the cupcake thing and stuff. she seems pretty happy either way but i feel better about asking for help when i have already been contributing to... whatever. something. explaining some quantum to my classmate counts right?

i’m not stupid. i guess i look stupid. but i’m not.

i’m just... tired.

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latinalesbi · 7 years

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there was no Danny Nucci name in the opening, right ? They fanally decided to get rid of him... ? It's funny I thought "no Mike means no Ana"... but you know, Gabe is there so they can hang out in Stef and Lena's house while they are not there.

Correct. I have been suspecting this might be the case for a while. His time has been cut each and every season. Last couple, he’s been on as much as other side characters. I do think that Freeform’s budget has really cut his time down as they extend into season 5. He also was not in the cast pictures. I believe that they cut the money and insisted on one less regular. I think letting Danny direct is a concession to the fact that he is no longer a regular. There is an outside possibility that Mike leaves at some point. Or maybe he’ll be listed as a regular on the episodes he is in.

Anonymous said: It’s completely horrifying to see how much wasted screen time Ana and Gabe took on last nights episode! Babies! They say there and cried and complained like two immature toddlers! And where was Mike? Shouldn’t Ana be with him? Then Gabe trying to act like the hero for helping Jesús! Bull-hockey! They don’t belong in the show at all. In fact, it’s so hard to watch their scenes and it’s almost as if I should wait until the next day to fast forward thru them. I agree with you 100%!

It’s like they’re 20 years old instead of the middle aged people they should be. I guess maybe immature people are into that, but I am not. Babies. And Gabe acting as if it’s some big huge burden that he gets to live in a nice home for fucking free. I wonder if they’re buying his beer. Probably Jesus steals from Lena so Gabe can have his beer. Ana is so thirsty for Gabe. I mean really. There was no need for her to be all up his ass at their house. Why was she there? If I was Mike I wouldn’t like that at all. If you want to arise jealousy, don’t act a fool. I should have waited, but I really wanted to see the promo and well ugh. Thanks for your thoughts!

Anonymous said: I know Jesus is sick or whatever but I’m also sick of him. I’m tired of him yelling at Lena. And Gabe is all cool with him he doesn’t say anything and now what, Lena is going to be the bad guy because she’s actually parenting HER son ? what happened to her being the mom the kids went to ?

Here’s the thing, like I’ve always said. I would take care of my aging mom (dad’s dead) till the end with pretty much any disease, except if they had dementia and were trying to hurt me. No one deserves abuse. If a condition is causing irrational behavior it has to be treated. I saw a real life show where a man had a stroke and changed his personality so much he ended up murdering his wife, his adult daughter and his grandchild. It’s no joke and Jesus, intentionally or not, is going to hurt Lena. I see Lena running towards Jesus and Brandon fighting, it’s not going to end well.

And sure Gabe was effective this time because he’ just about the only person physically able to stop him. That isn’t a solution. Emma can’t possibly deal with him like that. So what Gabe did is not a solution. Lena is right as always, he needs to be able to manage or he can’t live with them. It’s just that simple.

Anonymous said: As for the writers being ridiculed? LMAO! I write and am ridiculed! It comes with the territory, and honestly, they are practically turning a deaf ear to the audience! This show should have ended in season 1 because that season was where it was truly at!

Honestly, what’s the point of asking how people are feeling and to discuss the show if all you actually want an echo chamber of how amazing the show is? Don’t ask for opinions if you don’t like them. They aren’t turning a deaf ear to their audience, just a certain segment. I can’t say that I would have liked the show to have ended in s1. I just wish that in what could possibly be their final year, they would focus on their main characters. This was essentially a Gabe and Ana episode and that’s wrong. No matter how you slice it. Even when they have done that for Girl’s united, I could at least say, well they really haven’t had a voice. Gabe’s woes are like the stuff of every tv show novel. Daddy regret. Heck we’ve had enough of that with Mike.

Anonymous said: This is fast becoming about how two moms can’t raise their 5 kids and need help! I’m pretty sure, “It takes a village,” isn’t referring to bio humans helping the parents! UGHHHHHH

I always make this point, you never see biological families needing the local homosexual for some nice homosexual bonding with their children. No, it doesn’t take a village, most of the time out there in the real world, it often just takes one mom.

Anonymous said: I’m really, really tired of the show acting like Gabe, Ana or Robert do or should have any say in decisions made about the kids. Mariana, Jesus and Callie are quite literally Stef & Lena’s kids. They don’t need anyone’s permission to parent their kids. Honestly, I worried we’d end up here when the show had Robert constantly making a point of calling Callie “his” daughter as if she wasn’t Stef & Lena’s and the show never acknowledged that was wrong of him. I didn’t think it would be this bad tho.

They all think they have a say because they put their penis in a vagina. That’s all Gabe did. He can be there in whatever capacity Jesus and his moms allow, but he doesn’t get to dictate. For people who don’t understand how Callie could choose her moms over her rich bio daddy. Lena took one look in her eyes, saw her soul and took her home, straight from Juvy. Stef saw her value after just like a day. Bio daddy needed a DNA test to even see if he wanted to get invested. Tell me which connection would feel more real to you? No worries though, in case you missed it, Robert is right there disciplining Callie, though I am sure he takes a crack at Stef and Lena’s parenting.

Anonymous said: I love The Fosters, but I can’t get over how much I hated tonight’s episode. The unnecessary focus on Ana and Gabe totally contradicts what’s supposed to be the message of this show (that love makes a family, not DNA). It struck me as disrespectful. The idea that Lena and Stef aren’t enough for their own kids? Who they raised? Nah. I’m equal parts mad (the idea that Jesus needs a man is offensive, full stop) and confused (who asked for this?). Have TPTB forgotten the premise of their own show?

Yeah, it wasn’t just like their point of view, it was entirely their episode. It is disrespectful to lesbian moms in particular. Here’s the thing, I don’t know where they are going with this. Even if they have a point to make, the visuals have already been made. You’ll have tons of people swooning over Jesus’ dad. The only thing I liked in an interview with Noah, was him saying biological father, instead of the “dad” the insensitive interviewer kept using. These visuals, these words will be the ones that stick with the people, and there are many, who think lesbians can’t raise kids without male role models.

Anonymous said: The worst thing is that the episodes are already done. Even if we tell Bradley or Peter that Gabe being around in Stef and Lena’s house is wrong , it’s too late. And I think that the worst is yet to come. I knew I wasn’t going to like the first episode but I didn’t know it was going to be like this the whole 5A part. I can’t stand Jesus anymore.

Well, they supposedly change the tone next episode, but we will see. I still see this show as too depressing and too unhappy. The dykes can’t just raise their kids and be happy in a family, it has to be constant misery. I think the worse is yet to come too. I am going to try to ignore Gabe, but that’s going to be hard. And yes, I can’t stand Jesus anymore either. It’s not even the TBI, he was already aggressive and drooling over his daddy before that.

Anonymous said: How do people know Stef is going to cuddle with another woman? I get they need drama to keep the show interesting but Stef would never do that.

Ahh, yes, no, we don’t know that. I think there was a misunderstanding. We are saying, Tess is the woman Stef cuddled with on the couch when she was a teen. CUDDLED in the past, not going to cuddle with. I agree that Stef would never do that. We just know it’s going to bring up interesting issues, especially if Lena is frustrated with being a stranger in her own house as the bio takeover continues.

Anonymous said: Callie said she can’t forget about the past and she’s right but she told Jude to use the pain in a positive way. Callie needs to do the same. Which is why I’m happy she’s wanting to do art. Just that pain to make a project.

That’s a good point. I am living for people yelling at Callie. She needs it. That’s why AJ was good for her, too bad.

Anonymous said: I hated that Stef and Callie scene. But that’s something they really needed. Callie needed to her that. I’m glad they had that talk.

I am glad that least Stef was the one parenting Callie. Yay! It was needed, but it did feel cold but behind it was a lot of love. Stef will get emotional next episode. I am sure we’ll get some scene with them later on in the season that is warmer.

Anonymous said: Freaking Kamar ordered a bunch of sushi while Sherri is out of town and he’s eating it on their bed. He posted a pic on Instagram. Sherri replies he better not get it on her favorite sheets or he’ll be punished and now all I have in my head is a visual of a dominatrix Sherri dressed in all leather and a riding crop and to be honest it’s kinda weirding me out. LolAhh, my instagram monitor! Lol, Sherri’s funny and I am not sure my mind would have gone there, but it would not surprise. Sherri’s bossy. I instead will focus on all the lovely things Sherri said about Teri and Stef and Lena last night! Maybe I’ll make a post later since there’s NOTHING to gif.

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papermoth-bird-blog · 5 years

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New Orleans: Clowns & more curious things.

I’ve always thought the best way to really learn a city is to walk until you can’t walk anymore, and then, take the transit. I know I have a tendency to romanticize things, but New Orleans is feeding this reciprocally. I mean, it’s definitely more dangerous than the cities I’ve spend time in before, but it also has an air about it that draws you in. This is the start of Carnival season & many of the houses are decorated with beads and Banners already. Some even have floats parked in their backyards (7th ward). King cake is front & center in terms of deserts. It’s the most sugary thing I’ve ever tasted- crunchy, gooey, buttery- like candy-cake. Almost felt like something a 7 year old would make if left to their own devices in the kitchen. Not usually my style at all, but it was worth it for saying I have. Other local foodie things that I liked a lot more were Swamp pop (particularly the Satsuma one) & Voodoo chips- which Asa and Leon definitely got me hooked on. Apparently you can get Voodoo chips everywhere in the states- but it’s definitely a Cajun thing, so I’m glad I tried them here first.

New Orleans is as bright & filled with life, as it is dark & full of death. The houses are colourful and decorated, but many of them still have the spray paint markings left on them during the post-hurricaine search. For every fun-feathery mask, there is a decapitated Crocodile head. For every person playing jazz, there is a person behind a curtain reading palms, or tea leaves, or tarot cards or crystal balls, or what have you.

Yesterday, I decided to get my palm read... because when in Rome. And let’s be honest, the reason I’m here in the first place is for similarly mysteriously-provoked reasons. I decided to go to Bottom of the Cup, which is one of the more established fortune-telling joints- and honestly, you probably pay a premium for that too. I was fine with it though, cause I’ve been pretty good so far about staying on the low end of the budget. So I’m sitting in the cafe for a good 20 minutes patiently with my camomile tea, when my reader rushes my me & kinda grumbles for me to come in. It was a man, which I didn’t realize would be strange for me- but I don’t think I’ve every had my fortune told by a man before. He honestly looked like something out of Tim Burton sketch book. Tall, thin, austere-looking. He was wearing black skinny jeans, rolled above the ankle with shiny black boots. He also had on a peacoat that had the collar popped up beside his ears- which he kept on, even when inside, because everyone is freaking out about the “cold” in NOLA right now (it’s 8 degrees.. which is unseasonable cold here, but by comparison, it’s fine). He didn’t ask me much, but my Sign, which is Aries. He told me I didn’t have typical Fire hands- actually more Watery (but I had fire fingers apparently). Which is funnny, because most people, when guessing think I am a Pisces through&through. Honestly, I thought what he told me was pretty accurate- that I would be unhappy to settle doing one thing for too long, that I tend to have really deep-genuine connections that are slightly ephemeral by nature (because it would take a lot for me to settle down with one person). Something about a triple life-line? anyways. Anyways, what was more interesting, was (maybe cause of my broken fate line?) he brought up that he really think I should do DEATH MEDITATION. I kept a pretty good poker face, but I was all WTF IS THAT. Basically he wants me to sit there & visualize my body decaying & sinking into the ground- apparently this will both help with any anxiety I feel (dunno bout that) & open me up to receiving messages from spirits. Of course, I’m thinking of the whole “go to new orleans to learn about death” thing. So might have to give that a shot soon. I have a recording of it too-- so for any of my close friends- we can listen to it together (Katie & Mare... I know y’all might want to). Charlie also mentioned I should be careful with my manifestation, because I’m very very good at it & I should use it more sparingly. Which I again, kinda poker-faced, because That has been another huge thing that has come up in my life more recently- I am really good at manifesting exactly what I’m seeking. Even freaky, off-the-beaten path type stuff... stlll looking for a witch for a place that has no seasons though, Mare. (As another tangent, I have this thing where I test out if I can manifest certain songs as I’m walking though areas where the radio is playing. So far, fleetwood mac, rising appalachia & bob dylan have alllll met me there- which sure, could be co-incidence, could be magic???)

This, however wasn’t the most novel, or most curious thing I’ve been up to so far--- which has to be Clownless. Which, as you may remember from my previous post, is the all-clown cast adaptation of the 90s classic film ‘Clueless’. It was “staged” in the Marigny, in a very DIY type-theatre in what was either an old warehouse, or a large garage. The front was open & held a art show with works featuring clowns. Bright ones, Macabre ones, all sorts. Many people were dressed as clowns too- which made Asa wish that we had had time to dress-up before hand too (alas, we were at Sarah-Jane’s art show, which would have definitely of been less-appropriate). We were all jammed in the car tho, which meant we definitely looked like clowns as we all tumbled out of the front seat when we pulled up to the theatre. The play itself was a host for crude, queer, self aware comedy. It was definitely funny, but a little “sticky” at times. Overall, so glad I went, cause I mean, when else am I going to get that opportunity again?! It is funny how often clowns are coming up for me on this trip so far- I really don’t think the world is usually so clown-y. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the Zeitgeist.

After the show, we all went back to the house and got into a big discussion about how odd Louisiana is as a place. I mean, it has a lot of influences- French, Spanish, English, American & the huge legacy the Slave trade has left on the place. The liquor laws were the fist thing. (I already talked about that though). Asa started to tell me about this strange tradition here called “Prison Rodeos” which is as barbaric and horrifying as you can imagine. It’s like modern day gladiator trials. Prisoners can win money by staying in a chair for the longest amount of time while a bull attacks them, and other “fun” stuff like that. And people go to these things. In droves. On the bright side, they also have prisoner craft-market things that the prisoners can sell their woodworkings, or leather-workings, or what have you. Asa showed me the really beautiful ostrich wallet & the really odd “Highwater dragon” sculpture that he got when he went. The fact that there are more people in the prison system today than were ever slaves really jumps out to me here. It’s “out of sight, out of mind” though, and so it isn’t really being thought of as the HUGE issue it really is. It’s been a super humbling experience in that way.

Though not as horrifying (?) I was also told about other traditions that come from the swamp- including a certain kind of roast that I now forget the name of. But basically, it’s a roasted hog, stuffed with a racoon, stuffed with a Nutria (Which is a giant, swamp dwelling, dog-sized rat). And apparently this is an actual tradition. I’m not one to judge, but I sure am glad I am a vegetarian & have a valid cop-out for indulging in that one.

Another tradition, which is far more familiar to me is ‘Fais Do-Do’. Which is the Lousianan answer to a Ceilidh. These fiddle parties, however more likely take place in a neighbourhood street, more so than a kitchen (probably cause of the heat). I’ve yet to go to one, but I’m working on manifesting one while I’m here still.

In the 7th especially, I’ve found a lot of people have been greating me with “I hope you are staying warm.” Which I’ve just smiled about because, in Canada, this is late summer/ early fall kind of weather (which is kind of my favourite). I mean, there are still flowers in bloom here! Full blown blooming Magnolias. Too be fair, it is unseasonable cold here. A couple of days ago it was 8 degrees! Which happened to have been the same temperature it was in Halifax that day (but okay, it was unseasonably warm there that day). Yeah, I do wish that I was experiencing the normal 18-degree “winter” they have usually, but it’s definetly been okay with me. The only thing being, the houses and buildings aren’t entirely equiped for weather like this. The floors are tiled, ceilings really tall- designed to keep the house as cool as possible, which is great, except on days like these when they are then cooler than even the outside temperatures.

If this was winter, I really started to wonder what summer was like over here. I mean, I can only imagine it being a little bit unbareable. Asa’s friend Satori described New Orleans as “Seasonally Biblical” in reference to not only the heat/humidity, but also the awe-striking influx of insects (including, termits & other kinds of swamp bugs). Apparently there is pretty much a mass exodus from the city, for those that can afford to leave.

I love how people dress down here too. A lot of the people in the Bywater dress super gothic (and for that I am happy). Lace, black, pin-stripes- It’s a style Jack White would be pleased with. Many of the folks are also wearing fur in this weather- very 1920s vibes, but with slightly weirder & wilder cuts/colours. On my first day I even saw a man dressed up like a full voodoo priest (not even in a hokey way). He was just casually sitting on Elysian-Feilds, eating an ice cream bar. It was kinda glorious.

Every morning, I’ve been the first to wake, which has kind of been nice. I usually eat my breakfast in the backyard with the cat & listen to the mardi gras beads lining the fence blowing in the wind. I then journal a little & think of all my gratitudes. It’s super peaceful & grounding. Missing the hali-fam rituals though. Overall though, I’m quite enjoying the amount of alone time I’m getting. Travelling alone so far, as been super rewarding. I feel braver & confident & more autonomous than ever. The only down side, I’ve discovered so far, is that you have to ask strangers if you still have powdered sugar on your face apres-beignets.

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