#also the song where it goes 'this girl is capable of murder' is playing on repeat in my head

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 GOOD Things About Season Two

Oh, season two... how you hurt me so. 

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about this game-- S2 of TWDG is my least favorite of all five games. I could probably give you a top TEN things that I hate about season two, but... while I don’t love it, I do believe that there is good to be found in it. That’s what I want to discuss today. 

I did have some help brainstorming ideas for this list, so big thanks to @pi-creates, @kaylee-wolf, @taurusicorn2400, and @daisystarss for bouncing ideas around with me! :D

5. The Lee dream sequence.

This scene is super well done. The only reason that it’s so low on the list is because I tend to forget about it due to all the bullshit surrounding it. It usually isn’t until Arvo shoots Clementine that I remember Lee’s gonna show up and make me cry. Then he leaves all too quickly, and it’s back to the Kenny/Jane bullshit train. 

But pushing aside the shitshow, I love this scene. Of course, emotions are all over the place seeing Lee again given the state he was in at the end of s1. Plus there’s something about seeing baby Clementine again after being an older version of her that gets me. 

Their talk is interesting, too, calling back to your choices about Lilly and Carley/Doug, plus discussing Duck being bit. The part that’s always stood out to me, and I’m sure everyone else, is when Clementine asks Lee why people do the things they do.

And Lee’s response is one that doesn’t just apply to s2, it applies to several characters over the course of the series: “Clem, people don't always make sense... 'Cause bad things happen to everyone. And it's hard to keep bein' yourself after they do.”

As the conversation goes on, he also says, “Well, it's not like math, Clem. Sometimes there just isn't a right answer... but part of growing up is doing what's best for the people you care about...even if sometimes...that means hurting someone else.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“...It’s not that easy.” 

Ugh, it’s so good. It ends with Lee asking what he can say to make Clementine feel better, and it really just hurts because y’know it’s not real, y’know that Clementine’s dreaming all of this and Lee’s going to go away.

Overall a powerful scene that gets me every time. 

4. Clementine walking through the snowstorm

Okay look.... I adore this scene. Everything about it. 

Like okay, we have the stupid bullshit that is Kenny and Jane being literal children in the truck, then we nearly crash. Kenny leaves to look for gas, Jane gets Clementine to drive which dumb idea Jane and she crashes. 

That part sucks, but then the actual greatness begins. Jane runs off with AJ, and Clementine’s left alone with nothing but her gun as she begins her walk through the terrible blizzard. 

It has such a sense of loneliness to it-- hearing Clementine shiver and walk around calling out for help before going silent, the song ‘It’s Out There’ that plays while the wind whips and whistles, and then seeing all the frozen walkers standing around like statues really gives you a sense that something terrible is going to happen. It’s this weird calm before the storm kind of thing that also happens to take place during a harsh snow fall? if that makes sense? 

It’s a beautiful scene but it’s also sad, y’know? Sad because once again, Clementine is all alone. She’s been through so much bullshit, and this bullshit train isn’t even at it’s final stop. She’s alone, she’s still injured from when Arvo shot her, she’s gonna freeze to death if she doesn’t keep moving, she has no idea where the fuck Kenny, Jane, and AJ are, and just... it’s a lot. 

But damn it, it’s so good. 

3. AJ is born

AJ being born is one of the best things to happen in S2, and not just because AJ is a super interesting character himself in S2 or even what his being born does for the story. 

If AJ wasn’t born here, then we wouldn’t have had him in TFS where he finally got to become this compelling character and player in the overall story. Don’t get me wrong, his birth does bring an cool aspect to S2 when you willfully ignore how the hell he’s managed to stay alive and healthy the entire time.

Not only that, but we get to see the start of Clementine’s relationship with him. It doesn’t matter what choices you pick, Clementine shows time and time again that she cares about AJ. She nearly breaks down when she believes he died in the snow before the Kenny and Jane fight, then cries again when she discovers he’s alive. 

I enjoy the big sister aspect they went with for Clementine [it definitely beats ANF’s mom nonsense] and I like the growth it shows with her relationship to Rebecca as well... even though that could’ve been written a lot smoother. Rebecca just kind of does a 180 and they blame it on pregnant hormones which.... eh, okay sure. 

For all it’s flaws, this season gave us the start of AJ and I can’t hate it for that, y’know? 

2. Carver is a pretty great antagonist

I like Carver. I think he’s a great antagonist and I really wish they hadn’t killed him off as early as they did.

I find him to be a fascinating character study, y’know? 

From the very beginning, even before we get to physically meet him, we’re told that Carver is a threat. The cabin group are running from someone, and we can easily put the pieces together that Rebecca might be pregnant with his baby rather than Alvin’s.

Then we actually get to meet him when he comes to the cabin and it’s well executed. From Sarah having a panic attack at seeing a glimpse of him through the window, to his friendly and charismatic nature, to the way he talks to Clementine and just... it’s unsettling.

He’s clever, and he knows that Clementine’s covering for the cabin group, but he’s trying to trick her into giving him info. I also hate how smug he gets when he finds the photo of Sarah, but then he just looks at her, and asks, “You have no idea who these people are, do you?” or whatever and just... something about that, y’know? 

Then his “You have a nice day,” as he leaves and you know he’s coming right back with more people, so the group has gotta go. 

Then of course comes his later scenes where he shows up with his people to the lodge, murders Walter while saying he didn’t want to do it but Kenny left him no choice, and he can possibly murder Alvin if Kenny keeps shooting which is a huge holy shit moment because of how Rebecca reacts. 

Ugh, y’know just the way Carver talks to Rebecca and is so matter-of-fact about the baby being his and how he justifies his actions. Like, we can’t forget Reggie and how Carver threw him off the roof only to turn around like “I liked Reggie, he was chill, but he was weak.”

I dunno man, it’s super well done!

I truly believe Carver could’ve gone down as the best antagonist in the series if the writers hadn’t killed him off so damn early to make more room for Kenny to become the new antagonist of the season. Ugh.

I don’t even have an issue with how he died, either. Having Kenny kill him the way he did makes sense and it’s brutal, it was just premature.

Anyway, Carver’s pretty great. One of the best parts of S2. 

1. Clementine 

I mean, are we really surprised? Clementine is what makes this game playable. She’s the best written, most consistent character [which I know is a bit iffy because we do make choices for her but ya get me] and her growth over the season is the most compelling compared to the other characters. 

Hell, of the four Clementine’s we get across the series, this Clementine is my second favorite! She’s fantastic! 

I also love how self-aware she is that her group is just a bunch of morons and she’s gotta do everything around here, but then the same group underestimates her time and time again even though she’s proven herself to be the most competent. 

And on top of that, she goes through so much bullshit. Right from the start, Christa’s still cold to her after what happened to Omid and the baby, then she gets separated from Christa and nearly drowns in a river, then she comes across a dog that attacks and nearly killing her, forcing her to fight back which kills the dog, and then when she finds some decent people, she passes out and this group thinks it’s a walker bite because their “doctor” is incompetent. They lock her up in a shed because ??? so she has to break in and steal supplies to sew up her own arm, which she does and you feel the pain of it the whole way through, BUT THEN she gets attacked by a walker and has to fight it off before the dumb dumb crew come in to help her. 

And that’s just the first part of episode one. 

It’s like the writers were like “Hey, let’s torture Clem so that we can get easy sympathy points from the audience” and then dialed it back a bit because if you look at some of the initial concepts for this season... oof.

But really, S2 in a nutshell is basically “Clementine does anything and gets punished for it.” 

However, it’s not all bad and a lot of it does make her story all the more interesting as it progresses. She goes from a young girl who needs a group to survive, to a survivor herself who is capable of taking care of herself and those she loves. 

This part pertains to my personal ending for this game-- So, by the time we reach the shit show that is the Kenny and Jane fight, I want Clementine to get as far away from both of them as fucking possible. For me, the best endings Clementine can have is to either go alone, or to go to Wellington. 

Wellington’s my personal favorite because I like the idea of Clementine being in a community with strong walls and people to help with AJ. I mean, we gotta throw out the logic when it comes to AJ surviving because in every single endings, he should be dead. 

Honestly, that’s the only thing that keeps me from shooting Kenny. Hell, in my opinion, walking off into the woods with him instead of staying at Wellington is the worst ending in the entire game-- I’d rather go with ding dong dingus Jane than stick around with Kenny, but for me, neither of those are a good conclusion to Clementine’s story and character in S2

Anyway, endings aside, Clementine is the only part of the story that doesn’t make me side eye the writers the way I do for everything else... well, I side eye them sometimes but S2 as a whole is such a mess that it takes a lot to not straight up glare at them and the amount of fuck ups they had here. 

Clementine is hands down the best part of S2.

--- Honorable Mentions

-Big brother Luke in the first couple episodes -This game does have a bunch of different endings that you can get, which is pretty neat until you realize that they mean practically nothing come ANF and they’re totally unbalanced sooo... nice try? -Uncle Pete is pretty cool -The setting of the ski resort is super nice and cozy until murder happens. -In fact, the snowy nature is visually pretty and the skyboxes are some of the best in the series. 

---

So what do you think? Do you agree with this list? What are some of your favorite parts of Season 2? Are you looking at this and asking where the Kenny entry is? Well, I’m sure if you scroll up just a wee bit, you’ll find your answer. 

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Character Deaths That Made Me Side-Eye the Writers 

#twdg t5f #twdg #twdg clementine #twdg aj #twdg kenny #twdg jane #twdg luke #twdg carver #twdg lee #twdg rebecca #twdg alvin

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Rapunzel and the Great Tree Part 2

Continuing on with the midseason finale of season two.

Part 1 is here  https://rachelbethhines.tumblr.com/post/628826170657570816/tangled-salt-marathon-rapunzel-and-the-great

Summary: After Adira saves Rapunzel and the group from the hurt incarnation, Cassandra makes her suspicions of Adira known which causes a falling out between her and Rapunzel. Meanwhile Hector uses the dormant power of the tree to try and attack everyone. 

Cassandra’s Motivation Doesn’t Aline With Her Later Actions 

If you’re going to have a character do a complete 180 from her original goal, than you need a better reason than just mommy issues; or validation issues, or career problems, or just simply having a falling out, or jealousy, or a ghost girl whispering in your ear, or whatever the fuck they’re trying to do with Cassandra.  

Going from ‘protect’ to ‘murder’ is a huge moral alignment shift that needed clear and reasonable justification. Cassandra is never given that. Instead they just throw everything at the wall that they can think of in the hope that something sticks. 

Only it never does because her original story was re-written at the last minute.   

Well That Was Pointless

Max and Pascal wind up saving Eugene and Lance from the man eating plant. Which adds nothing to the story. It happens and is then never brought up again. It’s just an excuse to write Eugene out of the Cass and Raps conflict and not an extension of either his or Lance’s own narratives. 

That’s a problem, because Eugene should be a main character and Lance an important supporting side character. Instead Eugene is regulated to side character status while Lance is unimportant comic relief. Not only does this ignore that fact that Eugene was the protagonist of the movie same as Rapunzel, but it also ignores the basic writing rule of ‘don’t add in characters who don’t serve a purpose in the story’. 

Adira Just Saved All of Your Asses, Cass

Boy does Adira put up with a lot of bullshit in this show, and 90% of it comes from Cass being a little bitch. 

She has no biases for this argument. Adira hasn’t done anything to warrant this accusation. In fact she’s proven herself time and time again only for Cass to lash out like a spoilt teenager with an inferiority complex. 

And Cassandra is 23!!!    

The young adults on this show are constantly written like pre-teens while the only actual teenager is constantly forced to be the most mature person in the show. 

It’s mind boggling. 

Rapunzel is In the Right Here, But the Show Wants Us to Sympathize with Cass Instead?

Oh No! Raps raised her voice at Cassandra and made her feel bad, you guys. Feel sorry for the poor paranoid baby who who’s acting like a jealous brat for no reason. 

Bull Shit. 

Cassandra not only has nothing to back up her accusation but the narrative never goes on to prove her right either. Adria is on the up and up, and always had been according to Destinies Collide. For all the show’s efforts to make Cass seem reasonable by having Adira mysteriously pop in and out, it all falls flat once you know where everything is heading. 

Plus, even if she were magically right about Adira that wouldn’t excuse her bossing Rapunzel around and insulting her intelligence. Had she done that to me I’d be telling her something a lot harsher than just to knock it off. 

Oh, But I Thought You Said Flashbacks to Corona Would Be Too Confusing?

So one of the writers, Ricky, has gone on record stating that they did originally have plans to show flashbacks to Corona to show what was going on with Rapunzel’s parents, Varian, and the Saporians. He then said they dropped them because they feared that it would be too confusing for the audience. 

Yet we get this pointless scene thrown into the middle of the mid-season finale. 

And by the looks of it it’s before even Beginnings, or maybe after Beginnings, who knows; so it’s not just a change of scene, it’s also a change in time as well. A point in the timeline that’s not been firmly established enough. So it not only has less reasons to exist then a Varian flashback would, but it’s also potentially more confusing than what a simple single episode set in Corona would have been. 

I don’t know who to blame for this poor decision making, if it’s just Chris, Chris and Ben, or a shared blame with all of the writers, but while the buck does stop with Chris, much of what Ricky has said online doesn’t reflect very well on his writing skills. Cause that’s a huge and utter bullshit excuse. 

So What Does This Add, Exactly?

Cass gives Rapunzel this purse as a gift. A purse that’s not been shown to be all that important before and isn’t made significant again. Then Raps launches into this speech about how good a friend Cass is and how lost she’d be without her. 

I understand what the thought process for this was; it’s to show how far Raps and Cass have grown apart recently and what Cassandra herself liked about being friends with Rapunzel to being with, which was the validation boost of being useful and needed; but there’s a lot of problems with including it here. 

For starters, lack of validation isn’t enough to suddenly switch into ‘kill mode’ which is where all of this is eventually leading.  

Validation shouldn’t be the foundation of any long term relationship and so rather than proving how good of a friend they are to each other, you’ve only given futher reason for why they’re toxic together. 

You needed to be building them up all throughout season one before launching into this break up plot. This scene is too little too late because we’ve spent too many episodes tearing Raps and Cass down for this plot to have the effect that they wanted it to. 

Cassandra is just doing her job. She’s suppose to show Rapunzel around and help her with shit, that’s what a lady in waiting does. Cassandra’s friendship with Rapunzel shouldn’t be so tied to her career trajectory to begin with. Not only is it unhealthy but it then is used to victim-blame Rapunzel for all of Cassandra’s problems. Even though the only thing actually holding Cass back is herself, as proven in season three. 

Timeline Confirmed

So it is indeed six months since Secret of the Sun Drop, give or take a few days to organize stuff before the trip. Meaning we’re now a year out from Before Happily Ever After. I point this out now, in order to prove something later on. 

This Logically Should Have Been the End of the Argument, But the Writers are Dragging Things Out Needlessly 

You know what I hate more than a ‘lack of communication causes drama' trope? Characters taking the time to communicate and still missing the bloody point and not resolving anything. 

Technically, Rapunzel is still in the right. She is an autonomous person capable of making decisions for herself, and Cass does need to get over herself and treat Rapunzel as such and stop getting butt hurt over not being the one in charge. 

But then we have to ruin that message by throwing in this line. 

Like, yes you’re technically in charge here Raps, but making decisions shouldn’t mean walking all over someone's feelings either. Being a leader is just as much about listening as it is about taking charge and neither of these characters understand that yet. 

And they never will, cause the writing for them is shit. 

When I first saw season two I honestly believe that this would tie into Rapunzel’s previous conflicts regarding responsibility and hypocrisy. I thought they had an arc here about learning to balance assertiveness and personal boundaries, with genuine compassion and respect for others. Had they went through with that then this could have been something truly special, but they go and throw it all away come season three. Now its just heartbreak and frustrating to watch. 

Also Stupid ‘Sisters’ Plot Foreshadowing 

More on this later, but just know if you hate the idea of calling Raps and Cass sisters then blame Chris. 

This Song Underlines The Core Problem With Cassandra's Arc

There’s no stakes.

I’ve already discussed at length now about how Cassandra’s goals and motivations are inconsistent, and how her actions don’t line up. But the reason the writers are struggling so hard to find something that fits her, is because the story has grown past her. 

We’ve already seen characters who struggle with poverty, homelessness, neglect/abuse, and oppression. There are now tons of people in the story who are fighting just for survival, and they’re all regulated to either supporting roles, one off appearances, or are background characters. 

So with that in mind what is there to justify Cassandra getting focus over them? What is she struggling with here that deserves more screen time and attention than, Eugene, Varian, Lady Caine, or even Adira? 

Cassandra isn’t poor. She lives well off in the castle and has high ranking connections. She’s not even struggling with a job she hates anymore because we’ve already seen her promoted to the one she wanted by this point.  

Cassandra isn’t homeless, she once again lives in the castle and if she chooses to leave she has plenty of opportunities waiting for her, as evidenced by Goodbye and Goodwill and Beginnings. Plus she’s shown to be capable of supporting herself both in this season and the next.  

Cassandra isn’t oppressed. She can leave anytime she wants to. She can defy the king's orders in SotSD because she’s the princesses’s bestie. She doesn’t face jail or hanging just because she and Raps has a fight now and then. 

The only thing going for her is possibly neglect/abuse, but that’s not been introduced into the story yet and isn’t what she’s discussing here. It also contradicts what was previously established between her and Cap in season one when it does come into play. 

Validation Alone is Not Enough to Connect With Most of the Audience 

Even the stanchest of Cassandra supporter often has to heavily project onto her in order to connect with her. Which isn’t a bad thing in of itself. Everyone projects to some degree or other when exploring media, that’s part of being human. But the problem is that because she’s so thinly written you’re left with little else but projection. And so you’ll hear excuses like, well she’s fighting the class system, she’s an abuse survivor, or she deserves to lash out over not getting what she wants when she’s worked so hard for it. But none of those excuses are actually presented on screen. 

Cassandra doesn’t fight against the class system. If she did she would be fighting for everyone. She’d be singing about everyone’s problems not just her own. 

Cassandra’s past abuse is just slapped on at the last minute and then disregarded when convenient. It doesn’t actually factor into the decisions she makes later on.  

Also, you don’t deserve anything just because you ‘work hard’ nor because you just really, really want it. 

It’s that point that I really take issue with. 

On the surface Cassandra should be the most relatable person in the show. I mean what young adult or teen living in this post apocalyptic nightmare of a capitalist dystopia not ever felt disappointed over not getting the job they wanted or not being given enough positive validation while crushed underneath mounting unrealistic expectations. It’s the main reason why so many of her supporters are teenagers and LGBT+. 

But all of those worries stem from something deeper than just a lack of positive reinforcement. 

You know why I had to give up on my career as an animator?

It didn’t pay benefits. 

I had medical issues and needed health insurance, but since most animation is commissioned and/or contract based, particularly if you live/work on the east coast, then you’re not going to get that most of the time. And this is after spending the majority of my time in college homeless, living out of my car, crashing on friends and families couches. I did this for three fucking years because I didn’t want to wind up in a textile mill or a carpet factory like everyone I else knew growing up, and I was told my whole life that if I went to school and worked hard enough I could have a well paying job that I enjoyed and got me away from my abusive home life. 

People like me, we’re bitter over not getting the jobs we wanted or the support we needed, not because we believe we’re special and therefore deserve it or some such bullshit, but because our very lives are dependent upon it! We’re victims of a class system that lets you starve if you don't find work. Where you’ll be trapped in abusive situations cause you can’t afford a home on your own. Where simply being yourself can be dangerous as there are people who vocally want to deny us rights and even kill us. 

Cass is an entitled whiny brat in canon because she doesn’t have any of those underlying issues. She doesn’t face real discrimination, oppression, poverty, or the looming threat of death hanging over her. She’s just throwing a temper tantrum. 

Once Again Adira is Saving Your Butt Cass

Adira is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in the marathon. I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate her more when I first watched the show. 

Also, I’m Sorry I Didn’t Recognize the Awesomeness That Is Hector Until Now Either.

Like this is a good conflict. They both have legitimate reasons for what they do. They’re both in the right here. That’s what makes them interesting. 

They’re both fighting for something. They’re home and the belief that they can fix things, vs the fate of the world and their loyalty to both the cause and their family. All on top of having their own relationship issues. 

Hector so should have been the main villain of season two, because he just has the most reason to be opposed to the mains’ goal. 

That’s more than whatever Cass and Raps are fighting about. The only thing at stake there is their friendship, which isn’t that big of deal when you compare it to the lives and safety of billions of people. 

Plus Hector’s just flat out entertaining. 

Why is Everybody Just Standing Around Doing Nothing Here?

Fucking do something you lugnuts!!!

You’re all capable fighters. You’ve all taken down much harder enemies than one lone guy and two bearcats. Why aren’t you helping Cass fight back? Or heck, if you wanted Cass to face Hector alone then have her be a distraction so that the others can escape. Anything but having them just stand there and be useless!

Yet Again I Have to Ask Why Should Cass Care? 

Or rather why should the audience care? 

Cass isn’t a lady in waiting just because some random jerk who's already taunting her and trying to kick her ass calls her such. Hector’s not from Corona and has no knowledge of Cassandra’s life beyond what he may have heard repeated by Adiria (who is also not from Corona) or what Cass herself said in her very metaphorical song.  Nor does either them have a say in how Cass’s career goes. 

If you want to push the narrative that Cass is still a lady-in-waiting and a maid, despite having earned Cap’s approval and being appointed by the king to guard Rapunzel, then you damn well need to establish that among the mains. 

Or you know, stop trying to go back on what you’ve set up in season one. 

So How Is This Suppose To Work?

So from the backstory that we get on both the Tree and Zhan Tiri herself, this shouldn’t happen. Like Zhan Tiri is currently trapped in another dimension and according to season three she has no possession powers herself. 

Now the tree itself is said to be sentient and that Zhan Tiri took control of it, but how? How is a tree sentient? Why is it sentient? How did Zhan Tiri bend it to her will? Why is it still under her control while she’s been trapped in another dimension for hundreds of years? Why and how does the spear keep it dormant? Why does the tree itself have possession powers when Zhan Tiri has none? Is there any connection between this Great Tree and the cursed tree that was suppose to free Zhan Tiri back in Painter’s Block? If so then why are these things never brought back into play during season three? 

Give me answers damn it! 

Now This is a Good Conflit, Shame It’s Never Resolved 

Both have valid reasons to do what they do. Both are neither right nor wrong. Both however wind up getting in the way of each other because neither will listen or trust the other. 

Rapunzel thinks that this will stop Hector, and she is right it does, but more importantly she chooses this route because it gives everyone else a chance to run away. The problem is that she can’t control it, but from her point of view that’ll only put her and Hector at risk if everyone else will just do as she says and leaves. 

Cassandra thinks the spear will stop it because it’s done so before, and that’s a logical assumption. It also means that Rapunzel herself won’t be in any danger, though the others might. Cass can’t free everyone at once like Rapunzel can. It’ll also be a threat to herself, and there’s the risk that tree will stop her before she can deal the final blow.  

So what’s happening on a personal level is that Rapunzel thinks taking charge means that everyone needs to follow her say without question. Cassandra thinks Rapunzel should listen to her more, not because Rapunzel needs to listen better in general, but because she doesn’t feel Rapunzel is mature enough to make big decisions and that she herself should be in charge of the group. Both girls feel superior to the other and above other people as well, because they’re convinced they’re always right. 

Had this been the actual conflict that they went with in season three, had they actually had both characters held accountable for their actions and learn something, and hadn’t dragged innocent people into their bullshit with so much as a ‘by your leave’ or ‘I’m sorry’; then this might have been a decent story. Perhaps not as impactful as Varian’s, but still meaningful, thoughtful, and well, coherent. 

But that’s not what they did, and we’ll see no real resolution to this disagreement. 

So Why Is No One Affected By the Hurt Incantation This Time?

Eugene here was injured by the tree earlier, that’s why he’s past out, but everyone else remains unharmed by Rapunzel’s singing. Even though just last episode everyone around her were dying from it, and again in the season finale everyone dies from said incantation. But here and in Rapunzel’s Return, Rapunzel can use the incantation without harming anyone nearby so, how does that work? 

Some people have suggested that when Rapunzel focuses her hair on a target like the tree here or the amber later, that it doesn’t spread to other people, but that’s never stated on screen so it’s still a flaw. 

 Well This Goes Nowhere 

I think the writers just like throwing in shocking ‘twists’ and moments like this just for the sake of looking edgy and ‘deep’ but then they never actually follow through on the impact of such moments on the characters nor consider the more troubling implications of including them. 

I grew up on Gargoyles, Batman the Animated Series, the 90s X-Men Cartoon, and The Pirates of Dark Water. I’ve seen far more shocking and edgy stuff than this when I was six years old. In many ways the american animated tv landscape has regressed since the early 2000s when it comes to more mature cartoons, and no that’s not a complaint about modern cartoons being bad; some are good some are bad, just like its always been; but that culturally we’ve shied away more from darker moments like this and we’ve having to push for them all over again in media.   

But the difference between Tangled and those 90s cartoons I’ve mentioned is that Tangled’s darker moments are misplaced. It clashes horribly with the more comedic route that the series usually takes and as such they don’t get the focus that they need too. 

After season two is done, Cass’s hand will never be mentioned again. It does not tie into her later motivations at all nor influences her actions. Throughout the series she’ll be able to use it easily without consequence. We don't even get any on screen confirmation if it’s healed by grabbing the moonstone, by the sundrop incarnation in the finale, or if she just forever has a burnt arm. That’s how little importance it is to the story. 

This Also Goes Nowhere

Hector calls out this warning but it’s then never followed up on. Adira is proven not to be a liar at all and nobody in the group is actually doomed. Yes the wider world is put in jeopardy, but that’s Cass’s fault not Adira’s. 

The writers were too focused on making Adira the red herring for Cassandra that they forgot to make her an actual person, with wants, feelings, desires, goals, and a life beyond her mission. She’s never shown helping her family and barely interacts with them, she’s never given a reason for why she keeps disappearing, and the idea that she’s doing this to save her home is just supposition on my part because otherwise she has no reason. The series never gives us one. 

And ‘Destiny’ Is Not A Fucking Reason!!!

Oh, So Adira Will Help Hector But Not Quirin or Varian?

If Hector and Adira consider each other siblings because they’re both in the Brotherhood, than logically Adira would consider Quirin her brother as well, and Varian would be her nephew. 

She was around long enough to see the final battle in SotSD. That’s why she appears at the end of that episode, how she knows Rapunzel is the sundrop and has ‘seen her power’, and how she knows that the group has met both Quirin and Varian before now. 

She knows that Quirin is trapped in amber. She knows her nephew has been arrested by a kingdom with a poor track record of punishing orphaned teens and poor people with overly harsh sentences. So why didn't she do anything there? 

We find out during season three that the black rocks can cut through the amber, and its established that Adira’s sword can cut through the rocks, so clearly she didn’t even try to save Quirin has just given him up for dead. But there’s no reason why she couldn’t have broken Varian out of the prison and taken her with him. 

In fact Adira hiding Varian from the rest of the group during season two would have been an actual reason for her disappearance and an actual reason not to trust her. That would have upped the stakes and given Cass reasons for what she does. Plus more time for Varian’s redemption, more chances to call out Rapunzel and Fredric on their BS, and ties seasons one and two together better. 

Seriously leaving Varian out of season two was the dumbest decision in television. Putting Varian back in actually fixes everything in the show. 

The Real Reason for the Burnt Hand is a Costume Change for Cass

I don’t know if she even got merchandise for this costume.   

Conclusion 

Much like season one’s arc episodes, The Great Tree held a lot of promise that was then completely wasted by season three. It’s also one of the very few episodes in the season to have actual stakes and conflict so it easily jumps to the top of the pile. But what it sets up is then never resolved or expounded upon, making it a waste. 

Next up we’ll have the mid season recap. 

#tangled #anti-tangled #anti-cassandra #anti-rapunzel #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #adira #hector #the brotherhood

[marshmallowprotection]

The clock still ticks on, And time still goes on. If I could have, I would have stopped time so many times. But that’s beyond my power. And so I deal with the world, The cruel reality.

I grasp onto the hand of the one whom I love, My death seems to be nearing, So for her sake, I ask she doesn’t feel sad, For the release of death feels cathartic After a life of twists and turns. Tragedies and even a few happy moments. The clock continues to tick, And as the seconds go by, My death continues to grow near.

Maybe I’m just pessimistic, Ha, that seems like an apt description; You’d become that way too after 5 whole years of wondering- Killing- Murderering- A life of little meaning. But now I feel the urge to smile, For now that I have my children and wife with me, I think I could say that I am “happy”.

I grasp onto the hand of the one whom I love, My death seems to be nearing, So for her sake, I ask she doesn’t feel sad, For the release of death feels cathartic After a life of twists and turns. Tragedies and even a few happy moments. The clock continues to tick, And as the seconds go by, My death continues to grow near.

The clock ticks on and the world seems to slow. My heartbeat diminishes, And my eyes feel the urge to close. I hear the soft sobs of my beautiful wife. Her blue eyes fill with tears and they then stain my blanket. My children surround me, My sisters not daring to lag behind. It’s been years now since that day, The day we won the war. And now I think it’s time to say “Goodbye”.

Eyes filling with tears, I say my last words: “I love you all.” And as my life slips away, I smile and- A tear falls as I close my eyes…

~~~~~~

Ok, so heres another “pseudo lyric” thing. This is the last song Cora Hallow, one of my characters, made at the end of her life. She actually didn’t physically write it herself, as she wrote it when she was on her deathbed. Cora’s wife, Lillian, acted as a ghost writer for her, writing these lyrics for a piano composition Cora had finished before she became so sick she couldn’t leave her bed. 

I don’t know if I told you about Cora before, but I’ll tell you about her character anyways even if I did:

Since as far as Cora could remember, she loved to play the piano. She lived and breathed music. However, her parents discouraged her to focus on anything other than becoming a “perfect wife”. You see, Cora’s parents (specifically her mother) were nobility who had been kicked out of their noble house due to how distantly related they were (in the Vesper Empire, where Cora is from, the farther related you are to the main branch of your noble house, the less “noble” you are) to the main branch. And so Cora’s parents wanted to marry her to the heir to one of the “big time” noble houses, such as House Mariah, however, first off, Cora’s a lesbian, and second off, she had no interest in getting married to a man she didn’t even know. Also, Cora had 4 little sisters, Seraphine Hallow, Alia Hallow, and later, twin sisters Elysia and Briella Hallow (remember these four!). 

Cora only found solace with her great aunt, Alena, the sister of her father’s father, who was the one to teach her how to play the piano better as Cora was originally teaching herself. Cora was really close with Alena, as she never shunned her for liking girls or not being “wife material”. 

Cora honestly just despised her parents and often argued them. However as she grew older, in order to avoid their verbally abusive ways, she started to ignore them and avoid them whenever possible instead of actively fighting back. she also didn’t want to traumatize her younger sisters, though they ended up traumatized in other ways in the future anyways, and her parents fought together often, and there wasn’t much she could do about it except take her sisters away from the scene of the fight. 

Cora also taught herself how to use a lance, and as she grew older she would become a extremely capable fighter.

And now we arrive at the fateful year of 1545 T.C. (Cora is 17 by this point). 

Originally the day seemed like a perfectly normal one, but soon Cora caught glimpse of a strange looking person wearing a cloak with strange symbols, and before she knew it, the person had used fire magic to set the town ablaze. Cora was unable to make it anywhere near where she knew her sisters were, and ended up having to flee to save herself. 

Later during the night, she returned to the village only to find it just a pile of ashes. only the house that were made of stone or some other nonflammable material were still standing. The town was littered with corpses, most pitch black and burnt beyond recognition. She found her parents’ bodies, and, well, upon seeing them, she froze, and then, walked away. She honestly didn’t care. They had shunned her and hated her for almost everything she did that they deemed was not “wife-material”. 

Despite not being able to find her younger sisters’s bodies, she thought they were dead, and this event traumatized her beyond repair. She ended beginning to wander Theda, staying with several different people who were willing to take her in for varying periods of time. Soon, she found out that a cult worshipping the goddess Nymeria (though Nymeria was not at all affiliated with them and despised them) were the ones behind the fire of Saseraia (her home town), and massacred everyone in the cult upon finding their hide out. After that she became a wandering vigilante, killing criminals, both suspected and convicted. 

For the next 5 years she spent her days making friends and enemies and betraying people, but overall was a lone wolf in a sense. She eventually wandered her way to Windsor, the capital of the Kingdom of Solenne, where she ended up finding out the her younger sisters Seraphine (now 17), and Alia (now 13), were alive. 

After a lot of twists turns she ended up becoming one of the generals of the Thedian Resistance Army, who were fighting against Nymeria and her cronies’ corrupt ways. Eventually the war is won in the Thedian Resistance’s favor and a new system is set up to replace Nymeria’s. Cora marries Lillian Winchester (a fellow Thedian Rebel who Cora had been slowly falling in love with) and then adopt three children. Cora becomes a musician, writing songs and making compositions. Most of her songs had a fire or time theme, and many of her songs told a story that was in general tragic and without a happy ending. Of course, this happened after she finally retired from the mercenary group she and Seraphine ran together when she was 43. 

Finally, at the age of 69, Cora passes away peacefully, surrounded by her children, wife, and 4 younger sisters, and those younger sisters’ children and even some grandchildren. 

Her sisters, Lillian, and her sisters’ spouses would follow her to death within the next decade, and in their world, the phrase “When one dies, the others follow.” would originate because of her, Lillian, her younger sisters’ and their spouses all dying within the same decade. 

Cora was in general a person who was quiet and calm, but before the war, she was far more cold and distant. she was stuck on the fact she couldn’t protect her sisters and save them from the fire (even though they all did survive it but she didn’t know at the time) and even when she found out they were all alive the traumatic experience just couldn’t be forgotten. Lillian certainly helped her open up more, but even so through out her life she had nightmares of the fire of Saseraia, and sometimes would go through a depressive episode where she hid away from everyone and hauled herself up in the music room of her home. She, however, produced some of her greatest songs during those depressive episodes, so I suppose there is a silver lining there.

Cora, At Age 58 ^

“Thank you for loving me, Lillian, and for being there for me throughout all these years.” - Cora, 1582 T.C., Age 58, To Lillian On Their 30th Year of Marriage Anniversary. —Submission

Can everyone relax and get a hug for five minutes because everything that I hear makes me wanna cry or scream or both; but I mean this in the nicest and most compliment-y way because I just adore how detailed the world building is over here. I hadn’t heard the full-details of this OC before but let me tell you that my reaction is very: 

#ask #oc #mod kait #littleghostlyrose #submission

[mightydragoon]

Prince Luke fanfic Recs

@silvereddaye you know the drill

For all your Prince Luke Skywalker/ Amidala/Organa etc needs.  Also ft a lot of Leia Skywalker along with that. 

1. The Prince and the Bodyguard  Toomanyfandoms99

Bail is unsure why he’s being told this, but he is intrigued. “Where is the boy now?”

“Here,” Mon smiles, “on this base, being cared for by Shara Bey and Kes Dameron.”

Bail nods upon recognizing the names. Shara is their best pilot, and Kes is their best combat leader.

“However,” Mon states, “they cannot care for the boy full-time. There is something...unique about him. Something you are more equipped to handle.”

Bail narrows his eyes. “What?”

“Ezra Bridger is Force-sensitive,” Mon reveals.

Bail leans back in his chair and blinks once. “I see…”

“If your son is anything like his true parents,” Mon says, “he will soon require guidance. This boy also requires that guidance.”

“So,” Bail says, “you want me to shield them both from the Empire. Get them a...teacher.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633573/chapters/54092221

2.First Impressions   Idhren15

Mara Jade attended the rich party on Coruscant for one purpose: to kidnap the Alderaan heir, Prince Luke Organa.

She didn't expect any of these complications.

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740592

3. Crowned Usurper  planningconquest

Princess Leia managed to capture the elusive rebel Jedi. She finds someone she never expected.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663147/chapters/41657678

4.  The kidnappings of a Sith Lord  maedre13

How a certain Sith Lord may or may not kidnap his rebel son. One-shots. Strongly inspired by sparklight´s “Where Our Intrepid Hero Doesn´t Get Away”.

Current chapter: In which the prince of the Sith gets a new bodyguard (3/3)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/23453241

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/52681459 (Part 1)

(Note* Fic is episodic often not connecting, sometimes is, so there is a good variety of stories, some involving Prince Luke others not) 

5. Sparks  SpellCleaver

Vader had every intention of ignoring that petty—if notorious—burglar on Coruscant, until evidence suggested that this "Angel" had Rebel ties.

Meanwhile, Luke never expected his father to actively hunt him down, and he doesn't like it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20031373/chapters/47433331

6. No Distance Far Enough   KaelinaLovesLomaris

Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker is kidnapped by the Rebellion. His father is not happy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549516

7. Hostage  Slx99

AU in which Luke grows up as the Prince of Alderaan and Bail and Breha Organa’s son. When Luke is sixteen Bail becomes too outspoken against the Emperor, who sends Lord Vader to take the young prince as a hostage and cow his father into submission. Held captive aboard Vader’s ship, Luke is faced with the unpleasant reality of being the pawn in this power play under his captor’s watchful eyes; until they both realize a thing or two…

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9707774/chapters/21902741

8. Hostage Interludes  Slx99

Interlude pieces of the ‘Hostage’ universe from my ongoing long-fic that don't fit into the main story, but which I still wanted to share. Some will be more fun, others more serious. They have no influence on the main story.

Basic premise of the main story: Luke grew up with Bail and Breha Organa as the Prince of Alderaan. When Bail becomes too outspoken against Palpatine he orders Vader to take the young prince as a Hostage. Luke now lives aboard the Executor. He finds out rather soon that Vader is his father and the story goes from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148811/chapters/35129507

9.  Hostage

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1063433

10. Runaway   SilverDaye

Imperial Prince Luke runs away from home to escape his overprotective father Emperor Vader. Jumping from planet to planet he finds himself creditless on Tatooine. While working for more money to leave the planet, Luke meets an old man named Ben Kenobi. But Luke knows he can't stay in one place for long for surely his father is hunting him down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630196/chapters/33813027

11.A Song of Dragon's Fire & Slaves Blood   Fan0fFIM17

A Slave is finally truly made Free.

Lost in a strange primitive Land, he takes advantage of his circumstances to rise to the position of King. A Slave, a Jedi Knight, a Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Father, Son, all this and more. Read as he Fights for the Iron-Throne!

Winter Is Coming!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400920/chapters/35743227

12. My sister has it    jedileia (cptnwintersoldier)

"You want me to fight my dad? Kill him? How could you think I would be capable on any of that, after what I just heard? Have I been training just so I could kill my father? Is that what this Jedi training was about? If so then i deeply regret the evening I went to look for parts for my speeder and ended up at Obi-Wan's yard."

Leia, a farm girl from Tatoiine, learns that she is force sensitive and the daughter of the evil Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker. She begins her Jedi training, meets her twin brother Luke Organa and confronts his father.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6537682/chapters/14957098

13. what is lost in the darkness.....hanorganaas

Starkiller is destroyed, the great Jedi Hero who saved the Galaxy Leia Skywalker Solo and her husband Han are presumed dead, and Luke mourns. But he isn't alone in his grief

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7668604

14. our eyes; they were pointed at the sky (looking for answers) pieandsouffle

The last few weeks have been a nightmare: Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are dead and gone, the farm is skeletal and dead, she found out her father was a Jedi, brutally murdered by a traitorous friend, and now she's going to die because Han Solo is an incompetent nerf-herder who is apparently completely incapable of opening a krething door.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159772/chapters/24904917

15.  Possibilities of If May Be - Valerie_Vancollie

Co-authored by Selinthia Avenchesca.

What if two different Star Wars realities started to merge?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946578

16.  Skywalker Swap -  stitchy

https://archiveofourown.org/series/930435

(Note Series is a mixture of a fancomic and a fanfic and it is glorious) 

17. There Is Another  stitchy

A comicbook retelling of Episode IV in the spirit of the old Star Wars Infinities!

Luke and Leia are placed in opposite homes after the fall of the Republic. Young Leia Skywalker is called to adventure when she meets two droids that belong to the strange witch, Old Kah.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597686/chapters/23428284

(Note* Seriously this comic retelling is fantastic ) 

18 Here Among The Clouds   stitchy

In a universe where Leia Skywalker joins the Rebel Alliance of her long lost brother Prince Luke Organa, the Millenium Falcon and her crew arrive to Cloud City with a fully functioning hyperdrive. In the weeks following the Battle of Hoth, Lando Calrissian becomes entangled in their their quest to defeat the evil Empire. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13507038

19. A Farm girl, a Twink, and an Uber driver-  Daniellecluck

This is literally just a collection of drabbles of a New Hope rescue scene various original trilogy scenes but gayer and Luke and Leia swapped places.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13345347/chapters/30553272

20. The Adventures of Leia Skywalker, Episode One: The New Hope   MaraWinchester

Nineteen-year-old Leia Skywalker lives with her Aunt and Uncle on the remote desert planet Tatooine, where there’s something ready to kill you behind every corner. Three moons make the nights bitterly cold, and the two suns makes the days unbearably hot. When a droid bought by her uncle contains a message by a prince, asking for help from a legendary Jedi Knight, Leia senses her ticket off world. Little does she know that her journey will take her right and center to a galaxy torn apart by war, involve smugglers of ill repute, and possibly shed more information on her father that she could possibly imagine...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122483/chapters/18619693

21.  Another Kind of Hope  Skyrissian (ErinacchiLove)

In a period of a galactic civil war, the brave Rebel Alliance has won their first victory against the Galactic Empire and stolen the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star.

When the starship of Prince Luke Organa, who is transporting the plans, falls under the Empire's attack, the future of the galaxy depends on two droids carrying the secret plans and their new owner, a farm girl named Leia Skywalker.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705637

22 The Princess, the Smuggler and the Sith Lord's Son  Sassaphrass

Han Solo was trying to rescue her Royal Annoyingness from the Death Star when he runs smack into Vader's kid. Naturally he does the logical thing and takes him hostage. This is where the story starts. OR

Luke just wanted to get some snacks when he ran into a Wookie, a Princess and a Space Pirate. The day's pretty much downhill from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751661/chapters/13252696

23. At Least the War is Over  Sassaphrass

The only thing Luke and Leia have in common are those nine months they spent in the womb and that time they brought down the Empire.

It's hard to build a new family when the last one got blown to smithereens with the entire planet, but Leia's never thought anything worthwhile would be easy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663834

24. His Imperial Highness Luke Amidala -  Sassaphrass 

https://archiveofourown.org/series/744999

25.  Chiaroscuro  SpellCleaver

A series of oneshots focusing on Luke and Vader's relationship, with other characters occasionally thrown into the mix. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16363772/chapters/38293637

26. Prince Luke Organa: A New Hope   -lightningbisexual

An AU where Leia was sent to Tatooine with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and Luke was sent to Alderaan as the prince. It begins from where Luke is captured by the Empire in A New Hope. I follow more his story than Leia's because we all know she's going to be a badass on her own and I really want to see Luke grow up and learn to face his fears.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024390/chapters/45181531

(Note* see sequel below Leia centric) 

27.  Leia Skywalker: The Empire Strikes Back  lightningbisexual

A continuation of my twin swap fic. Leia Skywalker is being sought by the Dark Side and the Light, who both hope to use her power for their own agendas. However, her ferocity and anger make it difficult for her to train as a Jedi. Han Solo is also developing feelings for Prince Luke Organa and has no goddamn clue how to deal with it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533487/chapters/48737117

28. Between the Light and Shadows: Luke & Vader One-Shots  SilverDaye

One-shot collection focused on Luke and Vader. All AU.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128117/chapters/48583628

29. How the Other Half Lives -aradian_nights

(Note* How can I talk about Prince Luke fics without mentioning them cause WOW. 10/10.  I  highly recommend even if you aren’t a fan of the Prince Luke trope cause wow. It is something.  Warning: Angst . )

https://archiveofourown.org/series/609151. 

Trial and Error - https://archiveofourown.org/works/8417668

Layers of Dust  -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/8900971

For Love of a Queen - https://archiveofourown.org/works/9342596/chapters/21167591

Deep Doubt-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10361913

Vision Void-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628475/chapters/23511120

Fate Defied- https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947714

When Destinies Split -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11017986/chapters/24552093

Risk and Chance - https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506092/chapters/25817655

A Shout in the  Dark -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11699232/chapters/26341971

Walking the Line Between - https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172817/chapters/30129249

AO3 Tag

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Prince%20Luke/works

#prince luke #luke skywalker #star wars #fanfic recs #fanfic reccomendation #list #sw #leia organa #long post #i am reccomending a lot of fics so hold on

[superryunosukeyuki]

The True Nature of the Oggai

In the latter half of Tokyo Ghoul :re, the reader is introduced to a group known as the Oggai. This is a group of more advanced Quinx that each have one of Rize Kamishiro‘s kakuhou implanted into them. They were created by Akihiro Kanou on the orders of Furuta, supposedly to eliminate all ghouls in the city. However, it’s later revealed that they were created with the intention of eventually being eaten by Kaneki, so the resulting overload of rc cells would trigger his transformation into Dragon.

However, there are still a number of things about the Oggai that were never revealed. Where did the come from? Why, despite being only pre-/early teens did they seem to have no problem with mass slaughter, and why did they normally show no emotion? Also, why would Furuta use children for this purpose?

Origins

Some have theorized that the Oggai were typical CCG revenge recruits: their families were killed by ghouls, and they thus sought revenge. This was likely supported by the presence of Hajime Hazuki, their squad A leader who was such a recruit. However, the fact that there were 100 Oggai calls this into question. To elaborate:

Remember, the Oggai were a type of Quinx. When the original Quinx team were in their final year at the CCG junior academy, they were given an aptitude test to whether they could actually become Quinx. In the above picture, all of the cadets appear around the same age. This suggests that only the graduating class was tested. This is further supported by Aura and Higemaru (a year younger) not receiving the test until the following year.

So, the orginal Quinx team (Urie, Saiko, Mutsuki, and Shirazu) all came from that year’s graduating class. However, the CCG has seven junior academies, and so they had seven graduating classes (Mutsuki was from the second academy, while the others were from the seventh academy). This likely amounted to hundreds of graduates (if not more).

So, here’s the point: in a graduating class of at least hundreds only six (Urie, Saiko, Mutsuki, Shirazu, and two unnamed others) were capable of becoming Quinx. From this ratio, we assume that in order to find one hundred candidates for the Oggai, it would take a candidate pool of thousands (if not tens of thousands). Also, all of the Oggai were around the same age. Even with seven academies, it’s doubtful the CCG had this many kids of the same age on hand. So, where did they come from?

Another explanation is that many of the Oggai came from the Sunlit Garden. Ching-li Hsiao, a half-human from the Sunlit Garden, was able to become a Quinx. Also, since Rize (the ghoul whose kakuhou they received) came from the garden as well, her half-human relatives would acclimate to her kakuhou especially well.

However, there may be one more explanation. In the first picture above, I've drawn an arrow point to someone administering the test. It appears to be a blood test. In the series, humans have an average rc cell blood factor somewhere between 200 and 500. The first Quinx all had rc factors that were (for some reason) above 500, but below 1000 (the minimum rc factor for a ghoul). This above average rc rate is likely what determines whether one can become a Quinx. Also, from chapter 29 of the original series:

RC cell tests are performed even on ordinary citizens, with the CCG being allowed to take citizens with above average levels into custody. So, Furuta and Kanou could have simply searched through public records to find children with above average rc rates. Then, using the above law as as a precedent, took them into custody and forcibly converted them into Oggai.

So, the likely answer to where the Oggai came from is a combination of the above three hypotheses. While a few (like Hajime) may have been academy students searching for revenge, most were likely taken from the Sunlit Garden and the general public, and then subjected to the ghoulification procedure against their will.

However, this raises another question. If most of the Oggai were forcibly conscripted, why do they obey Furuta without question? The answer lies with how they were both created and trained.

The Walking Dead

While in the story it’s referenced that the Oggai were created using Quinx technology, Hajime states they were “made differently.” How they differ is alluded to in a :Re volume 11 omake.

Okahira was an investigator who died when the CCG attacked the Tsukiyama family in the Rose arc. Later, he was revived by Dr. Kanou in the Rushima Island arc as a half-ghoul using Quinx technology. By making this allusion, could Ishida be telling us that the Oggai were created in the same way (killed and then revived as half-ghouls)? There is additional evidence supporting this.

For example, even during battle the Oggai typically wore blank, stoic expressions on their faces. This is similar to Okahira after his revival.

However, there are exceptions to this. Hajime of course shifts his facial features, and a girl named Mayuzumi does as well.

Hajime and Mayuzumi were the only Oggai named in-story, and this suggests there was something special about them. However, most of the Oggai typically had bland expressions like Okahira did. Also:

In :re chapter 134, the Oggai are beginning to frame out. In the official English translation, one of them keeps asking “why did you kill me” over and over again. This further suggests that the Oggai were murdered and then revived as half-ghouls to do Furuta’s bidding. It also helps explain their absolute obedience. After his own resurrection, Okahira says he has no choice but to serve Kanou, and later gives a reason as to why.

He mentions that there is a medicine he has to take every so often or else he will die again. This “medicine” is likely a concentrated rc cell solution, and if the Oggai were made in the same way Okahira was it means they would have to take this medicine as well. As Furuta and Kanou are the only ones who could supply this, they would be forced to do Furuta’s bidding unless they wanted to die a second time.

On a side note, the kanji for Oggai is an invented one that is basically just two of the death kanji. They were made to die twice: once for their resurrection as half-ghouls, and then again as fuel to create Dragon.

A Clockwork Orange

The Oggai being undead dependents explains why they obey Furuta. However, this doesn’t seem to explain why they are able to kill without hesitation despite their young age. Psychologically, the mass slaughters they are forced to commit should have some effect on them, but we don’t see this. However, this may be explain by something referenced in the story. 

In :re chapter 127, when Mayuzumi enters a coffee shop owned by a ghoul, her companions tell her to “tolchok” him. Tolchok isn’t a real word, but an invented word mentioned in the novel (and its later film adaptation) called “A Clockwork Orange.”

Set in a dystopian setting, the story features a slang known as “Nadsat” which is a hybrid of Russian and English. One word of Nadsat is tolchok, which means “hit.” The film’s main character is a teenager named Alex DeLarge (played by a young Malcolm McDowell).

Alex regularly goes out at night with his gang members (called “droogs”) to engage in “ultra-violence.” Whenever he performs these violent acts, he sings the song “Singing in the Rain.” When Hajime is in his cell in the 24th ward in :re chapter 131.

Two different Oggai both saying things related to this film suggests a correlation. In the film, Alex is caught after one of his violent escapades and is forced to go through a brainwashing therapy. Essentially, his eyes are forcibly kept open while he is made to watch terrifying images of violence and destruction on a projector.

This treatment makes Alex so adverse to violence that even thinking of violent acts makes him feel ill. It works to the point where can’t even defend himself. So, while Alex was brainwashed against violence, what if the Oggai were brainwashed towards it? This would explain why killing is no problem at all for them.

RC Cell Potential

The previous points all explain where the Oggai came from and reasons for their behavior. However, all of this begs the question: why would Furuta go to such lengths to use children for his project? For his kidnapping and brainwashing, why not use older teens/early adults? A textual reason:

Kanou mentions that their young bodies cause their kakuhou to permeate quicker. This is likely due to the nature of rc cells as a type of blood cell. A post by @coromoor​ titled “Ghoulology 101″ suggests the rc cell to be a type of human blood stem cell because of its presence in the blood, its shape (it looks like a blood cell that has undergone sickle-cell anemia) and because it can regenerate several different tissue types. Blood cells are produced in the red marrow of the bones, and the younger you are the more red marrow you have in your bones.

The Oggai, being in their pre-/early teens, have more red marrow in their bones than older ghouls and half-ghouls. This means they have more potential for rc cell production, and thus they can both adapt to kakuhou more quickly and form larger kagune. This is shown on occasions when the Oggai are able to quickly generate huge kagune.

Remember, the main reason Furuta had to create the Oggai was for them to be eaten by Kaneki in order to form Dragon. Since the Oggai had greater rc cell production then that means Kaneki received a greater rc cell overload (and thus formed a larger Dragon).

Conclusion

The Oggai were (for the most part) forcibly conscripted into service for Furuta. They were kidnapped, killed, and resurrected as half-ghouls before subsequently being brainwashed into killing machines. They were subjected to all of this for the express purpose of being eaten in order to create an eldritch abomination. They were disregarded by the CCG who they were forced to work for, and despised by the ghouls they were forced to hunt. After their deaths, both sides simply forgot about them. Their story is a tragedy that shows the darkest aspects of the Tokyo Ghoul universe.

#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul: re #tg #tgre #tokyo ghoul meta #tokyo ghoul :re meta #tg meta #tgre meta #tokyo ghoul biology #oggai #rize kamishiro #akihiro kanou #washuu furuta souta #ken kaneki #hajime hazuki #ccg #shinsanpei aura #touma higemaru #kuki urie #saiko yonebayashi #ginshi shirazu #tooru mutsuki #ching-li hsiao #okahira #mayuzumi #coromoor

[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

If it is okay, can you please write a fic where Jaskier would be braiding his daughter’s hair and the reader is awe at how close your husband Jaskier and your daughter are and while the daughter is either out playing or taking a nap, the reader and Jaskier struggle up and he braids the reader/his wife’s hair too.

Fandom: The WitcherPairing: Jaskier x ReaderWord Count: 1,180Rating: Ga/n: I think I’ve given myself a cavity. Right in the ovaries, nonners. Also, yes, it is always ok Also, I’ve named their daughter Aksamitka which is Polish for Marigold. She goes by Sam and Mitka is the pet name Jaskier has for her.

When you’d left home that morning to run errands Sam had been all but literally bouncing off the walls. Your rowdy girl whose restlessness you recognized all too well as a dangerous blend of yourself and her father. She’d been turning whatever she could get her tiny hands on into swords since she could clasp things in her chubby, baby fists, pretending to fight her Uncle Geralt when he came to visit and always courageously felling him swiftly. Her knees were always scraped up and no matter how often you cleaned her face there was always dirt on it within minutes somehow. At four she had upped her love of sword fighting to include dramatic narrations. That was all her father’s doing. You knew it should be disturbing hearing that tiny voice talk about cleaving but she had her father’s bright blue eyes and his smile that was already getting her out of trouble too often to probably be good for her. Despite the chaos of the morning when you arrive home the first thing you notice is the quiet. There are no shrieks or laughter and for a moment you think the worst, a paranoia you inherited the moment you’d learned you were pregnant.

You see them before they see you and you duck out of the way, hiding a little bit behind the door to take in the beautiful scene. Sam sitting in her father’s lap, hands clasped as she tries to echo the sound her father is making and you realize he’s taking her through her scales. As they sing, Jaskier gently brushes through the long y/h/c/ hair, picking out the occasional twig as he does.

“I’m tired of scales I want to sing words,” the little girl complains, sighing dramatically.

“What do you want to sing, my little love?” Jaskier asks.Some would say that fatherhood had tamed him or softened him, but they would be terribly wrong. He had always been capable of such softness, a fact you’d learned before long in your relationship. And he was just as feral now, if not more. He could be doing anything in the world and the moment he heard his daughter’s cries he was ruthless in his pursuit of her, immediately ready to vanquish whatever had hurt her whether it be a tree stump or a fellow child.

“I want to sing my song,” she responds. Her father’s daughter through and through. They begin to sing one of the many lullabies he’s written about her, this one featuring a girl and her pet wolf. As they sing Jaskier threads sections of her hair nimbly and you’re in awe of how still she is for him, and frankly how still he is at all. He’d always been the restless sort and while his travelling days weren’t all behind him, he seemed more at peace nowadays. Neither of you had been sure how a child would complicate your lives and there was more than one night you could see him warring with the fear that he wouldn’t be up to the challenge of caring for a child. The moment she wrapped her small fist around his finger, it was over. You and your daughter were close but the bond Jaskier had with Sam was something truly special and you were grateful you were able to be a part of it. Jaskier ties off the end of the braid with a yellow ribbon that will be dangling from her hair within moments but it’s beautiful and you can see the pride in his eyes as he examines his work.

“Look, Mitka, look who’s home!” he says when he catches you watching them. Your daughter turns her face to yours and it lights up, the same bright smile as her father. She squeals your name and barrels at you, tackling you in a hug before you spin her around. You know you’re winding her up but you can’t help it, you love the gleeful sounds she makes. Once you put her down she runs out the door but she knows to stay within the boundaries of the yard and you let her wander off. Jaskier walks up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you in and giving you a kiss on the temple.

“How do you do it?” you ask aloud.

“Do what? Stay so youthfully handsome?” he asks with a roguish wink.

“No,” you say, swatting him away playfully, “How do you get her to stay so still? Do you remember that one and only time I tried to do her hair? You’d have thought I was murdering her with the way she carried on.”

“I have a surprising set of skills, Y/N, you should know this by now,” he says, pulling you into the small living space with him. He sits on the floor and pats his lap.

“Come on, your turn,” he says, “I’ll show you what I mean.”

You need to start dinner but you get so little time alone, mostly when Geralt comes around to visit and takes Sam for a ride on Roach, so you agree. You sit between his legs, a familiar position but this time chaste, and he pulls the ribbon out of your hair that’s been holding it in a haphazard bun. He’s gentle as he brushes through your hair, carefully loosening the knots in a way that spares you any pain, humming quietly to himself as he does. He gently massages your scalp as he works out the last knots, pulling a contented sigh from your lips. There was a time he would have talked through these moments, never good with silences in the past. But he’s grown to appreciate the power of shared space and touch and the intimacy that can come from simply being by each other. You feel the braids begin to take shape, the weight of your hair being lifted as his hands work deftly. When he takes the ribbon from you and ties it off you let yourself lean into him, his arms wrapping around you and holding you against him tightly.

“Have I told you lately that I love you?” you ask, whispering the words into his collar bones. You feel the soft rumble of his chuckling.

“Only once this morning. I was going to say something about it, ask if there was someone else, but thankfully you’ve spared me the torment,” he replies. You laugh and then both of your heads turn at the sound of scampering feet.

“UNCLE GERALT IS HERE!” she screeches, unable to contain all of the joy in her tiny frame. You help Jaskier up off the floor and after Sam runs back outside he pulls you back in for a kiss.

“How quickly do you think we can get him to take her on aride?” you ask.

“Oh about one or two verses should do,” Jaskier replies with a devilish grin. You walk out to greet your friend, your daughter already hoisted on his shoulders, happy to have your little family complete again.

#Anonymous #jaskier x reader #jaskier imagines #fluff #reader request

[esperwatchesfilms]

New Year’s Evil

I got the idea to start this challenge while stoned in the middle of the night and desperate for a goal. Something to put myself into. And I thought, “COVID has made me a shut-in who only watches films and talks to people. What better way to spend that time than to actually attempt to beat that world record I set out to beat so long ago. Unfortunately, I’m doing it very unofficially so only the people I talk to on a regular basis are likely to pay it any attention. I’ve got to point out here and now that my scoring system for films is arbitrary and is not a true reflection of how much I enjoyed watching a film. My scores are based on silly things that I give and deduce points for as I see fit. The Esper Scale of Entertainment (or the ESE) is understood by no one, but I will give a clear indication of why points were given and taken away at the end of each post. With those two things out of the way, I’ve got to admit I really enjoyed New Year’s Evil despite its 35/100 ESE rating. It starts off with a disappointing horror movie rule-breaking trope. There’s a woman of color in the first scene. Clearly, this means the killer is going to kill her. She committed one of the ultimate horror movie sins by being a woman of color, and thus, the movie gods decided she had to die, which was made even worse by her cliché killer-pops-out-from-behind-a-shower-curtain death. Then we get the opening titles. About eight 80s punk-rockers are packed into a convertible and blasting “New Year’s Evil” by Shadow, the video I attached to this post. So, from the word go, I have no idea what I’m watching, but I’m here for it. The song slaps, so I’m immediately all in. Earlier we saw the Yvonne (the woman of color) talking to a friend over the phone saying, “I’m on my way” before her horror-movie-trope demise, and once the credits end, we are more properly introduced to Diane, aka Blaze, a TV/radio personality who is hosting a party she calls New Year’s Evil, which appears to be a punk show where all the opening title convertible punks were headed. Before going out on stage and starting the show, Diane/Blaze’s son rocks up in fancy coat tails with blue jeans and a crumpled tie. He’s handsome as hell, but holy hell, I can’t deal with this look. I should have probably taken more than five points off for this look alone, but it’s too late now. Anyway, Blaze and Derek (Coat Tails) have a weird mother-son exchange, and their interactions are cringey at best, but incestual-feeling at worst. Anyway, the show Blaze is hosting is a punk rock show where there are some unexplained people on a stage answering telephones (is it a telethon? We don’t know. No one seems to be pledging anything. Are they making requests? It is not explained). So, Blaze is the host and decides to get in on the answering-the-phone action. When she does, a modified voice says to call him “Ee-vil!” He pronounces it exactly the way Mermaid Man does in Spongebob Squarepants, and I could only see the ridiculous face of Mermaid Man in my head any time he said it (because, oh, yes, friends. He can’t only say it once! Anyhow, the man says he’ll be killing one person on the hour every hour from 9 pm to 12 pm. (East Coast’s New Year to West Coast’s New Year) So, naturally, Blaze informs her agent that he needs to get ALL the police there to protect everyone. Meanwhile, there’s a mosh pit happening in a sanitarium, where they are watching the New Year’s Evil show live on television. While we are at the sanitarium, an orderly (I think?) and a nurse sneak off to have some fun. The orderly has a small radio capable of recording external sound (like an oversized Talkboy) as well as the sound being emitted from the radio. The nurse makes some mention of it, to which he responds, “I always come well-equipped.” She giggles, bites her lip and says, “I bet you do!” Which tells us, as the audience, that not only are they about to do the do... but this dude’s definitely the murderer. Because we’ve already seen one horror movie rules death. So, of course, we need to see another. Nurse lady has sex? Nurse lady has to die. From here on out, there are more killings as the police rock up and try to sort out what’s happening. They’re portrayed as very useless, very authoritarian/demanding, and very judgmental -- soooooo, accurately, I suppose, is the word I’d use. They’re portrayed accurately. We see the killer in the car with two women, one of which is a ditzy blonde who just cannot shut up. She talks about all the different types of meditation she’s tried. She tells the killer her friend tried one of the types, too, for her “nervous diarrhea”. You know, just the thing you tell a stranger you’re thinking about sleeping with... that your friend gets nervous poops. The ditzy blonde girl is our next horror movie trope. “The Fool”. Done in by her own stupidity. They stop somewhere for snacks or some such (I honestly don’t remember), and the friend goes in leaving the killer alone with the ditz, whom he strangles with a plastic baggie that is also full of weed. When the friend comes back, the car is gone and in its place is her friend’s shoe. She sees a nearby dumpster with a piece of fabric matching her friend’s dress poking out. She walks over while some generic horror music mixed with some Walmart Brand Jason Voorhees breathing plays, and she opens the dumpster, and the killer is inside with a lighter which he flicks on and grins menacingly at the woman, who is yanked into the dumpster, where we can assume she, too, was murdered.

I should note that somewhere before being murdered, the ditz says, “When a girl doesn’t have a date on New Year’s Eve, she’s in Shit City.” And ditzy girl? I hear ya. From here on out, there are some necessity injuries. He is being hunted down by bikers for what seems like no reason at one point, so he hides at a drive-in movie, where he sort of kidnaps a girl who was getting felt up by her boyfriend. He yanks the dude out of the car and throws him aside after stabbing one of the bikers who was chasing him. We don’t see him die, so I’m going to assume it’s an injury since he seems to only be interested in killing women. He then, later, knocks out a security guard trying to get into the punk party because the police have now determined that Blaze is probably the final target. The police and Blaze are about to check on Blaze's hotel room (the party is being held in the hotel in a ballroom or something, I’m assuming. Convention center? I don’t know. The place is connected to the hotel), where her son is, and they pull a gun on him. She yells that it’s her son, and they apologize and leave, and she apologizes to Derek saying she forgot he was there, and he storms out, “YOU ALWAYS FORGET ME WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”. The police leave, and when another officer comes back, THE KILLER ANSWERS HER DOOR. PLOT TWIST -- THE KILLER IS DIANE/BLAZE’S HUSBAND!!!! He called earlier to say he would be late, and when he shows up? HE’S THE KILLER!!!! I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. The husband was mentioned briefly, but my brain didn’t connect it, so it was a pleasant surprise that this 80s film done duped me. Good job, New Year’s Evil!!

Anyway, Blaze is seen in the elevator moments later flirting with the officer, who’s married and has two sets of twins, information to which Blaze comments, “What’s the matter? No TV?” Suggest, Blaze. Very suggestive! It sucks that your creepy murder-husband rigged the camera in the elevator, so he knows about your weird suggestive conversations with randos, something it seems his son has also alerted him to, because when he reveals he’s the killer to her, he mentions that ladies are evil in general. Okay. So, it wasn’t just me. It wasn’t speculative. Dudeski really does just hate women. The whole film is just, “Guy hates women. Guy’s New Year Resolutions include killing all the nasty womens.” He tortures her a while by handcuffing her to some chains underneath the elevator, and then making the elevator go up and down with some fuse box of some kind that happens to just be easily accessible and next to where the elevator is. At least I haven’t seen this form of torture in film before, so that’s fun. The end is relatively boring. The police sort out that the husband used to be in the sanitarium we saw earlier where the nurse died. They find him torturing his wife, and they chase him to the roof, where he runs to the edge of the building, quotes Hamlet, and immediately plummets to his death wearing a goofy mask that he’s only worn twice in the film, both for short periods of time. He dies on impact, and everyone goes to investigate the body. The son picks up his mask and ominously stares into the distance, telling us before he’s actually told us that he’s totally going to take up his father’s quest to murder the womens.

Blaze is put in an ambulance, and when it pans to the driver, it’s the son, wearing his father’s mask. The film ends, the credits roll, and I move on to the next one.

Overall, I laughed throughout. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this film, but if you’re bored on New Year’s Eve and feel like a “horror” film, this one isn’t the *worst* one you could watch. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the ESE rating I gave it.

Quick ESE explanation: every film starts with 50 points for being a film. From there, I add or deduct points based on... my whim.

35/100

50 +4 for packed punk convertible +2 for New Year’s Evil 80s metal theme song +1 for switchblade comb -5 for coat tails with blue jeans -5 for creepy incestuous mother-son duo -2 for Mermaid Man pronunciation of “Ee-vil!” +10 for “I always come well-equipped.” “I bet you do” -5 for punks moshing to some funky blues -5 for predictable horror movie trope deaths +2 for maniacal punk laugh +3 for the “Oops” because he pissed off the bikers +5 for punks booing the police at the New Year’s Evil party -7 for the creepy incestual feeling of the interactions between Blaze and Derek +10 for PLOT TWIST!!!! -25 for the woman-hating killer +5 for creative elevator thing +2 for Hamlet quote -5 for highly predictable ending

#movies #world records #most movies watched #New Year's Evil #New Year's #review #spoilers #80s films #punk movies

[chiseler]

Mitchell Leisen: How’s About It?

Mitchell Leisen was a major American film director. He belongs in the first rank, not the second tier, where he has often been placed by those who value the scripts he was given by Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett more than what he actually did with those scripts. Leisen’s name was usually written in sloping cursive in his opening credits, and that set the mood for what he had to offer. His was a gentle style, a deliberately unobtrusive style, smooth and gliding, attentive to nuances, visual and emotional.

Leisen made a point of nearly always moving the camera only when it is following a character who is moving right along with it, and the edits in his movies are as invisible as possible. He made three films that are undisputed classics: Easy Living (1937), written by Sturges, Midnight (1939), written by Wilder and Brackett, and Remember the Night (1939), written by Sturges. All three of these classic Leisen movies are partly about pretending to be something you’re not in order to move up or over into another social atmosphere or class and take on a new identity, and this theme is something that always interested Leisen particularly.

He got his start making costumes and dressing sets for Cecil B. DeMille, and he also made costumes for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. That training shows through in his later work, that sense of fantasy and beauty for its own sake. Leisen had a fetish for absolute authenticity when he did period pictures, and he took this fetish to nearly Erich Von Stroheim lengths if he had the money to spend. Remember the peacock headdress that he designed for Gloria Swanson in DeMille’s Male and Female (1919), or the sexy harem pants he put on Fairbanks for The Thief of Bagdad (1924), or the barely-there garments he designed for Claudette Colbert in The Sign of the Cross (1932) and you can get a first sense of Leisen’s aesthetic: hopeful, fantastical, erotic. And he was a pretender himself on some of these early movies because he was very skillful at making sets and crowd scenes look more opulent than they actually were given some of the budgets he had to work with.

He took the reins from nominal director Stuart Walker for two films that proved his range: Tonight Is Ours (1933), a high comedy that begins with a sexy masked ball, and The Eagle and the Hawk (1933), as grim and concentrated an anti-war film as you will find from this era. Leisen next graduated to prestige pictures like Cradle Song (1933) and Death Takes a Holiday (1934), with its high-flown Maxwell Anderson script. Leisen was fond of Death Takes a Holiday all his life, and he even wanted to re-make it in the late 1940s, but it has not held up as well as some of his lesser-known pictures from the 1930s.

After Murder at the Vanities (1934), a backstage movie with some odd musical numbers, Leisen took flight with three pictures that demonstrated the full scope of his talent. What makes a really great director, a major director? The ability to take a poor script, like the one Leisen was given for Behold My Wife! (1934), and make it into something that moves like a dream and seems inevitable. While you watch Behold My Wife!, there is a double consciousness of how outlandish and slapdash the plot and dialogue are and how Leisen transcends this through pacing, framing, and staging, so that there is always something to delight the eye. Leisen movies generally have a difficult-to-describe kind of creamy look, as if every person and table and chair were covered in the same sort of protective satin sheen.

He used a similarly fast, super-controlled pace for Four Hours to Kill! (1935), another backstage movie where Leisen himself plays the orchestra leader but you never see the numbers on stage. A kind of musical proto-noir, this movie depends on Richard Barthelmess, who is playing a criminal waiting to be taken to jail, and Leisen is alert to Barthelmess’s needs and sensitive to his big scene, where his character talks about his unhappy past. And then Leisen was given a script (by Norman Krasna) and two stars, Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, that were particularly congenial to his style, and the result was his first classic, Hands Across the Table (1935), a rather anguished comedy about love and the urge for security. Leisen had mastered form, and now he mastered the content that interested him, good-bad people navigating their own wants and desires and what they will do for them. For Leisen, mixed emotions are really the only emotions possible.

In all of his most characteristic films, Leisen’s characters are at a crisis point and need to decide to take a chance and see what they can get away with to become another version of themselves. There is lots of comedy in a situation like this, of course, but Leisen always hints at the dark underside of pretending. There is an American urge in these pictures that says, “What I say I am is what I am,” and that urge is usually naïve (think of early Joan Crawford heroines). Leisen looks at this urge from a height of sophistication, almost always warmly and tenderly, but sometimes he lets a really grim insight slip through. Think of Carole Lombard’s anti-social asides in Hands Across the Table, or that harrowing scene where Barbara Stanwyck goes home to her grudge-holding and cruelly puritanical mother in Remember the Night and you will feel the hurt that animates Leisen’s search for a created world of his own.

In many ways, the 1930s were Leisen’s best creative period, where he turned out beautifully balanced and finished entertainments like 13 Hours by Air (1936). He was a romantic who had a special way of visually enfolding the lovers in his movies that is almost Frank Borzage-like, and he glorifies very different women in what must be the best close-ups of their careers: look at some of the close-ups of the melancholy Sylvia Sidney in Behold My Wife! and then look at the close-ups of the wised-up Joan Bennett in 13 Hours by Air and see how Leisen gives them the same glamorizing treatment without ever losing what makes them so individual. Even pure assignments like Artists and Models Abroad (1938) glow with a kind of dreamlike assurance, as if to say, “Why shouldn’t a comedy look beautiful?”

And when Leisen had a meatier script, like Swing High, Swing Low (1937), which also starred Lombard and MacMurray, he was capable of virtuoso work that blended comedy and drama so seamlessly that it’s difficult to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. He did some Sturges-like slapstick for Easy Living, including the famous automat scene where the windows fly open and everybody grabs at the food, which was his idea. But for Remember the Night, Leisen pared down the Sturges script, cutting unnecessary scenes and verbose dialogue until he had what he wanted, a portrait of a hard-boiled woman who starts to long for the warmth of a “why not?” idealized mid-West home. Remember the Night is probably Leisen’s finest film, and a peak in his career, a comedy-drama or a dramatic comedy all whipped together until the consistency is exquisite and just right.

After the very sensitive Hold Back the Dawn (1941), a Wilder-Brackett script about a hard-boiled male gigolo (Charles Boyer) pretending to love a sheltered, repressed girl (Olivia de Havilland) until his feelings actually become genuine, Leisen’s career settled in for a few years to minor comedies, as if wartime austerity had affected his budgets, his scripts, and his imagination. In 1944, he did two movies in color, Lady in the Dark and Frenchman’s Creek, one anti-feminist and one feminist, and both rather nightmarishly disconnected and self-indulgent.

Leisen was going through a crisis in his personal life by the mid-1940s, and it showed in his work. He was mainly gay, but he didn’t want to be, and so he had married a fledgling opera singer (“a horror” according to the sharp-tongued Ray Milland) and he was carrying on a tortured affair with costumer Natalie Visart while also pursuing men. Leisen’s loyal secretary Eleanor Broder told David Chierichetti, the author of the definitive Leisen book, Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director, that her boss tried taking hormone shots at one point because he thought they might eradicate his homosexuality, but of course that didn’t work. Leisen lived with the pilot Eddie Anderson in the late 1930s, and Anderson left him for Shirley Ross, the actress who talk-sings “Thanks for the Memory” with Bob Hope in The Big Broadcast of 1938, an unusually sentimental scene within his work that Leisen insisted on. When that picture finished, he had a heart attack, and his health was never quite the same afterwards.

In the 1940s, after Visart had gotten pregnant with his child and lost it, Leisen took up with the dancer Billy Daniels, and his unhappiness grew. Daniels dances in what has to be Leisen’s worst feature, Masquerade in Mexico (1945), a semi-remake of Midnight that is so distracted and poorly timed that it would seem to give credence to Billy Wilder’s many complaints about Leisen over the years in interviews; if you were to watch Masquerade in Mexico right after Midnight, it would seem like a mark against Leisen as an artist in his own right rather than a servant of superior scripts where he could get them. Daniels is actually the only thing this movie has going for it: he’s an exciting dancer, and an intriguing screen presence, sexy, petulant, a little dangerous. Many in Leisen’s inner circle disliked Daniels, but maybe Masquerade in Mexico might work if it could just be Daniels dancing as Leisen watches.

The blandness of the décor in something like Suddenly It’s Spring (1947) is a real comedown from his Art Deco 1930s pictures, but Leisen rallied in this period with some of his best and most personal films, starting with Kitty (1945), a sumptuous Gainsborough period piece with all the trimmings and a Pygmalion subject that activates all of Leisen’s interest in pretending and “passing” as something you are not. Best of all from this time is Song of Surrender (1949), an uncommonly severe movie about a New England girl named Abigail (Wanda Hendrix) who finds a way out of her repressive environment by listening to music. What Abigail feels in Song of Surrender is surely what Leisen himself must have often felt as a young man growing up in the mid-West at the turn of the last century, and so this picture, which he said he didn’t much like, is his secret movie, his confession movie. It’s a great film, daringly stark and stripped-down, and it is as unerringly paced and controlled as all of his best 1930s work; there are moments when it feels like a precursor to Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993) in its insistence on the will power needed for a woman to find aesthetic and sexual fulfillment.

Leisen did an intriguing noir with Stanwyck called No Man of Her Own (1950) and an overlooked, charming adaptation of J. M. Barrie called Darling, How Could You! (1951), which is filled with longing for family life that Leisen certainly knows is a fantasy like any of his others. (How poignant it is when Joan Fontaine says in that movie that if her children are going to love her they mustn’t “think me over first.”) He spent twenty years working at Paramount Studios, and he was a creature of the studio system; when the studio system went, so did he, but not before one more diverting small musical, The Girl Most Likely (1958), which was the last feature made at RKO. “When the studio decided we no longer needed a certain department, it was shut down and if we needed something after that, we had to make do ourselves,” Leisen said. “It was really eerie.”

Ill-health and an unwarranted reputation for spending too much money kept Leisen mainly working for TV in his last years, so that he was back to low budgets and bringing in his own furniture to dress his sets. He had been fired from Bedevilled (1955) for hitting on one of the straight actors he was working with (the actor complained to MGM), and this put another shadow over his reputation. He had made Fred MacMurray’s career, but when he tried to get work as a director on MacMurray’s hit TV show My Three Sons, it was no go. “He sent me a telegram asking for the job,” MacMurray said. “He was, well, you know, a homosexual and he had gotten into some trouble on a picture he was making in Europe. With the three young boys we had working on the show, I just didn’t think it was right. So I never answered the telegram.”

It was his women who stayed loyal to Leisen in his final years, both his secretary Broder (who was a lesbian), and his old lover Natalie Visart, who had never really gotten over her love for him and came to stay with him toward the end (Visart’s son Peter was killed in a gay-bashing in the 1970s). Leisen’s responses to David Chierichetti’s questions in their interview book are unfailingly candid, insightful, and juicy, but his standing has never ascended to the level of that of Preston Sturges or Billy Wilder, even though his visual style was far more developed than theirs, and his point of view arguably more sophisticated and certainly more kind-hearted. He was a romantic with an edge of disquiet, and this made for matchlessly rich pictures, pulsing with hope and with pain.

Leisen knew about all aspects of picture making, and he has the requisite number of classics for entrance to the pantheon, plus a whole slew of other pictures of interest. He made Remember the Night and Song of Surrender. He made Midnight and Kitty. And he made Easy Living and Darling, How Could You! Those are all heights, and from different periods, and they prove the consistency of his inventiveness and the distinctiveness of his talent. His creativity came out of personal unhappiness on the one hand and unprecedented creative license and support under the old Hollywood studio system on the other. We will not see that particular combination again.

by Dan Callahan

[luckyspike]

Northern Exposure - a Good Omens fanfic

I was thinking about playing ‘Banished’ (top 10 video games of all time, fight me) and got this idea so i wrote some fanfic instead

this is definitely NOT going to be updated with any regularity until the murder mystery and the tornado hunting story get finished BUT i might throw out a chapter here and there as i feel like it

also everyone meet my new favorite OC of all time, Phyllis

--

“Heretics! Heretics!” There were cries echoing from the town square, a mass of voices raised in anger. “Heretics!” 

Aziraphale was knelt in a stable, finishing the laborious task of packing - mostly books and scrolls, but also some heavy blankets and tartans, and a few other sundries - just so for a prolonged period of transport. To his right, his mule was placidly munching hay in spite of the cries from the square. Aziraphale sighed. “I’m afraid this might be rather a rough go, old chap,” he confided to the mule. 

The mule, who was, in fact, not a chap at all but a hinny who privately referred to herself as ‘Phyllis’, not that anybody had ever asked, did not respond. She had expected it, when she’d seen the angel show up with two full packs and an extra satchel full of things that he probably felt certain he could find some room for somewhere. He would, although Phyllis was aware that this was largely because he believed he would, and not because the packs were capable of holding anything more.

At least, she reflected as she munched, there was a bonus: no matter how many things the strange angel stuffed into the packs, they never felt heavy enough to truly burden her. Probably comes from being an angel, she’d thought to herself the first time she’d noticed the phenomenon, and since that time had wasted no further thought on the matter. No sense in it, anyway: whatever it was he was going to do with the packs was going to happen whether she thought about it or not, and that was that.

“I don’t suppose there could have been anything more virtuous to do with my time,” he muttered as he swung the packs over her pack. Phyllis was more attuned to human (and ethereal) emotions and inflections than most mules, and over the sound of her own chewing she was certain she could sense a little bitterness and a lot of sarcasm. She began to chew more vigorously. “I was really starting to get the sexton to come around,” Aziraphale was saying. “I think a few more years, and we could have had this whole area running along quite smoothly. Optimistic of me, I suppose.”

“Heretics, heretics!” shouted the crowd in the square. Munch munch munch, went Phyllis.

“Still.” He fastened the cinch, never tightly enough to cause her any discomfort, though the load never slipped. “I suppose they are quite nice people. Could be a worse group to travel with.” He ensured the packs were secure, and patted Phyllis on the top of her rump. She swished her tail, but otherwise tried not to take offense. “I’m concerned it really will be dreadful, though.” Phyllis did not respond. 

The angel was dithering now. He often did, before he and Phyllis would set off on their little jaunts, usually about Gabriel, who Phyllis assumed was the tall man-looking angel with purple eyes. She strongly disliked Gabriel. The first time she had met him, he had materialized out of the ether in the middle of her stall, and then had the audacity to remark on the quality of the straw. The nerve. “Oh, but I was just starting to get settled, as well! All those years of moving around, but I haven’t moved in - what? Ten years? I thought I could make this a base of operations, my boy, I really did.” He lip wobbled. “I do hope the sexton watches after those scrolls like I asked. Some of them are so very old …” He made a frustrated noise. “If I’d known I would have had them preserved and laid aside in London!” He groaned. “I thought they were going to let me be, I really did, you know?” 

Phyllis knew. She’d known for about a week, because Aziraphale had been repeating the same old refrain to her since he’d been visited by Gabriel and informed that they were, for some reason, to be accompanying a group of pilgrims out of the city and into exile in the wild north. “Heretics, heretics!” cried the crowd outside. Aziraphale scowled at the window.

“And over such a message, all this mess!” He crossed his arms, expression deeply offended as the chant outside droned on. “‘Be kind to one another’; I tell you my friend, that Crowley wasn’t wrong when he said that would do it every time.” He sobered then, and his eyes got that misty look that usually meant he was thinking about something. “Every time.”

Phyllis swished her tail. It was a small thing, but it seemed to startle the angel out of his reverie, which she was glad for. He didn’t say anything, but he started moving again, checking over her tack and glancing into the packs at his supplies, before finally fastening the last bag closed and scritching her made. “Very well. If we must go, then we go, eh? I think they should be leaving soon.” He tied the halter on, and tugged the lead, urging her out. “Come now. It’s spring yet: there will be plenty of grass on the way.”

Phyllis sighed, and trudged after him. Certainly there would be grass, of course there would. But there would be such a lot of walking in between.

She was resolving herself to her fate - up until the lead was on, she had been holding out hope that perhaps that Gabriel twit would show up and say there’d been a change of plans - when a smell startled her, and quite despite herself, she shied. Aziraphale spun around, free hand raised. 

“Who goes …” He trailed off, opened a closed his mouth a few times and then leaned forward, one reassuring hand on his mule’s neck as he narrowed his eyes at the black-robed figure with the long staff that had been waiting for them outside of the stables. “Is that Crowley in there?”

The figure pushed its hood back, and a tumble of messy red hair fell forward, across the figure’s face and broad grin, although it didn’t seem to notice. Might have been hard to, with the blindfold tied over its eyes.

“What happened to your eyes?” The angel asked, suspiciously.

“Hm?” The figure spoke. Phyllis took a step backwards, away. “Oh, nothing. No, people were just getting a bit weird about them is all, and last time I tried the glasses the rector claimed to have seen a demon in dark lenses.” He pushed the black length of cloth up, the better to wink at Aziraphale and Phyllis with one golden, slit-pupiled eye. 

Aziraphale frowned. “Well. I mean.”

“Not the point. Point is, life’s easier like this. For now.” He tugged the cloth back over his eyes. “Plan on dumping it as soon as I get out of town.”

The angel was rubbing her neck in smooth circles, and although it really was very soothing for her, prompting her head to droop just a little and her ears to swing out and to the side, she had the distinct impression that the action was more to soothe his own nerves rather than calm her in the presence of the demon. “Ah. You’re on your way out too, as well?”

“Business.” He leaned against the brick structure to his right and shrugged. “You know how it is. You?”

“The same.” He tilted his head toward the northern gate, and then apparently remembered that the other person couldn’t see him at the moment. “Ah, I’m headed north.”

Crowley nodded. “Mm. Nice time of year for it. For now.”

“Suppose so.”

“What about you?” Aziraphale cleared his throat. “Ah … going north, that is. Tempting?”

Under the hood, the dark figure smirked. “Gathering intelligence, are you?” He stretched his fingers around the staff. “Can’t say, really. Shouldn’t say. But yes, broadly. Tempting. Not sure where, though. Supposed to be following somebody.” He shrugged. “Could be anywhere.”

Aziraphale’s smile faltered, although with the blindfold on Crowley never saw. “Ah. Well … I suppose I shouldn’t say good luck, but, er.”

“Same, really.” He snorted. “Wouldn’t it be funny if we were just cancelling each other out again? Both off on some daft mission to who-knows-where …” He leaned forward, onto the staff. “Could just stay home,” he murmured in a sing-song sort of way. Aziraphale scowled, and Phyllis flicked her ears. “Bet your mule likes that option.”

“Phyllis,” Phyllis whickered, because she always tried, even if nobody ever understood her. Crowley cocked his head, but didn’t say anything. 

“I’m sure he does.” Aziraphale squared up his shoulders and did his best to look determined, although Phyllis was sure anybody in a 10-foot radius could smell the uncertainty on him. “But duty calls -”

“She.”

“Hm?” The angel stopped short, and blinked. “Sorry?”

“She. She says her name’s Phyllis.” Crowley jerked his chin toward the mule. “You never asked?”

“You … can understand animals?”

The robed figure looked surprised. “You can’t?”

“Afraid not.”

Crowley was quiet for a moment. “Weird, that. Anyway ah, yeah. I suppose I can do. And your hinny likes Phyllis.”

“Very well. Terribly sorry, dear girl.” He paused to pat her on the neck, and listened to the square as he did so. The angry chanting had died down, and there was a man speaking urgently. “Oh. I believe that’s … my cue, so to speak.”

“I could take care of both,” Crowley sing-songed again. “Bit of blessing here, a bit of tempting there, no one’s the wiser.”

“You can’t do blessings,” Aziraphale scoffed. “You’re a demon.”

Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Hm, can’t I? News to me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“What’d I do on the ark, then?” There was an undercurrent of mockery in his voice now. “Or that time in Hamburg -”

“Thwarting God’s will,” Aziraphale replied promptly. He tugged on Phyllis’s lead, and she took a reluctant step after him, toward the square and the North. She snuffed the demon’s robe in thanks as she went by; he may be a creature of pure, unadulterated evil, stinking of brimstone and despair and hatred, but he had told her angel her name. 

The demon sighed. “Depends on who you ask, I suppose. Anyway, see you around. Maybe. Don’t have too much fun up north.” Aziraphale huffed and didn’t look back, resolutely walking onward toward the square. Phyllis did look back though - a perk of her 350 degree field of vision, thank you years of natural selection - and could see the demon listening to them go, before he pushed off the wall and strode away, staff tapping the cobbles ahead of him. He seemed to be going the opposite direction, until at the last minute she saw him stop, lift the blindfold to get his bearings, and then sharply turn down a side-street and out of sight.

It was all very odd.

Naturally, Phyllis assumed they were going to the square, where all the people were shouting again. At first she didn’t bother to try to discern what they were shouting, but as they drew closer it came to her attention that the mob’s cry had changed from ‘heretics’, whatever that meant, to ‘exile’.

Oh, dear. She knew that word. And to the north …? Oh dear, oh dear.

Her hooves were carrying her toward the square, but then Aziraphale tugged on the lead and drew her down a side alley. “We’ll meet them at the gates, I think. No sense wading into a mob - they’ll make it out of town just fine.” It was one of those Things he said, Phyllis noted. Where it might not have been true, had no basis in reality, and yet because he had said it that way, it would just sort of … become reality. She snorted, and followed after him, plodding along the street, the miraculously-light load of his goods shifting around on her back as she shook her hide and adjusted the blanket a little more comfortably. From the sound of it, they were going to be in for a long trip.

“So, er. Phyllis, hm?” Aziraphale glanced at her over his shoulder, brow knit with concern and, perhaps, embarrassment. “So sorry I didn’t … well, the man did say ‘he’ when I purchased you, to be fair.” Six months ago, she thought. That was six months ago, and the angel had still not noticed. It wasn’t as if she’d hidden anything. She was a mule, for God’s sake. “Anyway, sorry. Would, ah, would ‘dear girl’ be preferable, in that case?”

She flicked an ear. Oh yes, a very long trip indeed.

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #good omens fanfic #aziraphale #crowley #welcome to 10th century england #inspired by my fav video game #phyllis the mule #phyllis goes north #i wish i didn't enjoy fanfiction so much

[tamayokny]

Name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people

This was extremely difficult to do. The first two were easy, since they are my ride or die, but choosing 10 different characters? From ten different things? I don’t know if I even like 10 different things, but I found some loopholes, lol.

tagged by @bpdanakins <3

1. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider

Lara Croft has been one of my idols since I was a small child. My mom had bought Tomb Raider: Starring Lara Croft and Tomb Raider: Adventures of Lara Croft for my sister on the PlayStation. I remember watching my sister play it, and then sometimes I was allowed to play it. I continued the Tomb Raider legacy throughout the years.

Lara Croft is just. Amazing. I love every version of her. Classic Lara deflected the life her parents had wanted her to have, and paid the price for it. Did that stop her? No, it did not! She was able to make her own mark in the world. LAU!Lara wanted to find out what happened to her mother, and honestly I love Keeley Hawes as Lara. She was witty and funny, and Legend is one of my favorite TR games. And Reboot!Lara? I love her. I honestly don’t care what people say, Reboot!Lara is great! Her first game is also fun to play. Each version of Lara Croft offers something different, and I love it. While many of Lara’s core values are in each incarnation (adventurous, ambitious, brave, etc.), each brings a new perspective which I enjoy!

Fun fact: my irl best friend and Lara share the same zodiac sign!

2. Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) - Marvel

I LOVE WANDA MAXIMOFF WITH ALL MY HEART!!! She’s a huge comfort character for me. She’s one of the most powerful mutants (yes, I am ignoring the retcon), and she’s complex. Wanda first appeared in X-Men #4 alongside her brother, Pietro, as members of Magneto’s Brotherhood. Eventually, the twins become heroes and join the Avengers.

Wanda’s mutation is magic; probability, to put it at best. She can warp reality. While she is strong, she is also human. Many remember her best as having a mental breakdown and creates House of M (influenced by her beloved brother). After this, she goes off the radar for a few years before her reincarnated sons find her.

I love Wanda because she has heart, courage, and cares for others. She’s intuitive and sensitive and, in many ways, reminds me of myself. I genuinely love Wanda with all my heart. She remains to be my number one favorite superhero. I wish more people knew her--the real her. The MCU does not do her (or her brother) justice. At all. (At least AOU kind of got their “reluctant villains to heroes” origin story well enough?)

Also: fuck you Marvel for retconning Magneto as the Maximoffs’ father. It’s been 5 years but I still elect to ignore that.

3. Phoebe Halliwell - Charmed

Growing up, Charmed was one of my favorite TV shows. To sum it up, it’s about a group of sisters who discover that they’re witches. Specifically, they’re the Charmed Ones and they protect the innocent. For awhile, I’ve said that Piper is my favorite sister but after my last rewatch, I say that Phoebe is my favorite.

At the beginning of the series, Phoebe was the youngest and the rebel of the family. Before the pilot, Phoebe was living in New York but we see her move back in. We also see that she has a strained relationship with her eldest sister, Prue, due to her scummy fiancé. Phoebe is also the reason why their magic was unlocked. (As children, their powers were bounded in order to keep them safe.)

Over time, we see Phoebe mature more. However, there are a few things that never changes with Phoebe. She’s kind and caring for others, always wanting to help them no matter what. (She shares this trait with the youngest sister, Paige.) She is deeply connected with her emotions (which causes her to gain the power of empathy in season 6). Phoebe has also had rough luck with love (see: Cole the demon, etc.) but no matter how much she gets hurt, Phoebe still has hope. She still has love in her heart. No matter how much she gets knocked down, she finds a way of getting back up, and I admire her a lot for it.

4. Catelyn Stark - A Song of Ice and Fire

Family. Duty. Honor. This is House Tully’s family motto, which is deeply embedded into Catelyn. Catelyn was married to Ned Stark during Robert’s Rebellion, after her former betrothed was murdered in King’s Landing (who, ironically, was Ned’s older brother). Their wedding night resulted in the birth of their firstborn: Robb Stark, heir to Winterfell and King in the North.

Catelyn Stark is the mother of the wolves, and her love for her family is no doubt a core of her character. However, Catelyn is clever and if you mess with her, you will certainly gain her wrath. Her eldest values her for her wisdom, and will turn to her for help. She will do anything for her family, such as freeing Jaime Lannister to get her girls back, or offering herself to save her eldest during the horrific events of the Red Wedding.

Catelyn is murdered, along with majority of the Stark party, at the Red Wedding. However, she is resurrected and becomes Lady Stoneheart. Stoneheart is out for vengeance, because she believes all of her children are gone; taken by the enemy. Stoneheart murders Frey or Lannister alike--whoever is associated with them. She holds no mercy.

There is so much more to Catelyn that I could go on, but I will stop here. (Besides, I need to reread the books again!) I will say this: fuck you, D&D.

5. Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) - Marvel

MAGNETO TIME? MAGNETO TIME.

Erik Lehnsherr was a young boy when World War II happened and because he was Jewish, he was sent to Auschwitz. His family did not survive, but Erik did. Depending on what you follow on, Erik either A) escaped with Magda (who is the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s mother) and started a life with her or B) he hunted down the men who worked for Sebastian Shaw (movie universe).

Anyway, Erik had been a mutant since around the time he was sent to the camps and after the horror and trauma he’s faced, Erik decided that mutants would never be accepted by “their less evolved kin”. So, he became Magneto, a protector for mutants and enemy for humans.

Magneto is only one side of the coin, however. Charles Xavier is a longtime frenemy of sorts, both having different perspectives in life. Xavier believes in coexistence, but Magneto believes otherwise. He had seen what humanity is capable of, and he never wants that to happen again. If he must be a villain, than so be it.

Magneto is beautifully complex. He has done some questionable things (I’m thinking of the comics for this one), but he has also done great things for his people. “Never again,” he says. He fights to keep it that way. Magneto is sympathetic at best, and I certainly understand where he comes from. Tell me this: if you were Magneto, what would you have done?

Also: while Michael Fassbender is not Jewish in any way, he did one hell of a job portraying this amazing character.

6. Kira Yukimura - Teen Wolf

I wasn’t planning on adding Teen Wolf to the list, but here I am.

Kira was introduced to us in season 3b, written as a “new love interest” for Scott McCall. I remember a lot of fans of a certain ship were pissed, but whatever. I’m not here to talk about romance.

So, in 3b Kira was a new student, with her dad as the new history teacher at Beacon Hills High School. She’s of both Korean and Japanese descent, and she ends up playing an important role in the story arc. We find out that she’s a Kitsune, thanks to her mother who explains how a Kitsune and a werewolf must come together to defeat the Nogitsune, who happens to be possessing the loveable Stiles Stilinski.

After this, Kira becomes a part of the McCall Pack and Scott’s girlfriend. In my opinion, they’re cute together but many people hate them together. Oh well. Kira also becomes a badass in her own right, as her abilities evolve. However, in season 5, the creators put her on the shelf, as she trains with Skinwalkers and is never seen again. I am so fucking MAD about that.

Like many characters on this list, Kira has heart and courage. She’s a bit of an introvert but she is loyal, and cares for her pack. She’s cute and a bit goofy. She is skilled and deadly. Kira is one of the coolest characters Teen Wolf had, and the way they treated her was disappointed. (Even though after her death, Allison was always mentioned/connected in some way. I like Allison, don’t get me wrong but all I can say is: interesting...)

Fun fact: Arden Cho, the actress, is the VA for Sam Nishimura in Tomb Raider (2013)!

7. Lois Wilkerson - Malcolm in the Middle

The mother of four boys, the matriarch of the Wilkerson household is not one to push around.

Lois has had a rather rough life. Her parents were not the best, and everyone tries to push her down. However, Lois fights back and is not afraid to stand up for what is right. Francis, her oldest, describes her as an absolute menace and while her sons and husband fear her, they also admire her for her strength and courage. Lois is tough as nails, but she can also break, too. However, her family--the family she and Hal created, no one else--is there for her. Lois is incredibly strong willed no matter what, and I love her so much.

8. Theon Greyjoy - A Song of Ice and Fire

No words can describe on how much I love this fashionable war criminal.

Before the start of the series, Theon is a hostage/ward of Lord Stark, as a result of his father’s failed rebellion. Theon was a reminder that if Balon Greyjoy pulled something again, his last (male) heir would get the chopping block. Pretty brutal for a young child, right?

Now, at the start of the series, Theon is nineteen and is seemingly best friends with Robb Stark, the heir to Winterfell and the North. He shows loyalty to Robb and the Starks, claiming that Lord Stark was like a father to him. He’s also skilled with archery and, like I mentioned earlier, fashion.

Then A Clash of Kings occur, and we began to see how Theon Greyjoy is.

Robb Stark has been proclaimed as King of the North, and sends Theon to the Iron Islands in hopes to gain allies with Balon Greyjoy. However, this does not occur. Old Greyjoy says “fuck that and if you’re [Theon] aren’t with us, then you‘re against us.” We see Theon conflicted, but we also see how strained his relationship with his father is. In the end, Theon joins the Greyjoys, and promptly sacks Winterfell. However, that is not the end. Theon is tricked by Ramsay Bolton and this vile man takes Winterfell. I believe while he took the women and children captive, the men were killed...save for Theon, of course.

Theon is held captive by Ramsay Bolton, and is tortured quite brutally. Theon goes through a lot in this time. His appearance had changed drastically: black hair turned white and brittle, he becomes skin and bones, and loses a few fingers and toes. Theon is no longer Theon. He became Reek. The new Reek.

Then, Jeyne Poole (or Sansa; I hate you D&D) arrives, under the guise that she is Arya Stark and she is to wed Ramsay Bolton. Jeyne begged Theon to help her, but he is in no position of power. He is a completely broken man. Time flies by. Jeyne is in absolute misery but with the help of Mance and some spearwives, Theon is able to escape Winterfell with Jeyne during a winter storm. Currently, in the books, Theon is set to be executed by Stannis Baratheon, who is currently holding him captive.

Theon Greyjoy may be a fuckup, but to me he is such an amazing character. He holds much conflict, from being a hostage/ward to Prince to prisoner. Theon Greyjoy may have done a lot of shit, but he is also a survivor. Everything he has been put through, he somehow lives to see another day. Despite holding negative feelings to Lord Stark and everyone around, claiming he owed no one anything (fair enough), he loved Robb. When Theon had found out he was murdered at the Red Wedding, you know what he thought?

I should have been with him. Where was I? I should have died with him.

Theon is far from perfect, but that is what makes him great. He has come so far, and I hope his journey does not end any time soon.

9. Suki - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Zuko may have the best redemption arc (or does he? See above.), but Suki holds a special place in my heart.

We first meet Suki season one, on Kyoshi Island. She is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, and effectively puts Sokka in his place. However, when Sokka requests a few lessons, Suki is happy to help...as long as he followed the guidelines.

Suki is a certified badass. Although a non-bender, Suki has incredible skill and event went against Azula. However, Suki and the others surrendered (so that Appa would not be captured), leading to her imprisonment at Boiling Rock. Eventually, Sokka and Zuko free her (with the help of Mai). After this, Suki joined the Gaang in ceasing the 100 Year War.

Suki is strong but like many other characters in this list, she has heart. She is an effective leader and fighter, offering her help whenever she can. Too bad she was never mentioned in The Legend of Korra. Suki is underrated and she deserves more love and respect.

10. Max Mayfield - Stranger Things

We first meet Max in season 2 as the new girl in Hawkins. She seems like your average girl but she quickly gets tied into the party after Lucas begs her to show her what has happened with him and the rest of the party. However, there’s a lot more to Max.

Max moved to Hawkins with her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother. It’s easy to see that Max and Billy, her stepbrother, do not get along. Billy is outright mean to her, lashing out at practically every chance he gets. Max fights back, however...especially when he threatens her friends.

In season 3, we finally get to see Max and El bond. (Thank God we didn’t have to put up with the “jealousy” tidbit. I would have--) El believes that Mike is lying and Max is like, “Well yeah. Come on let’s go to the mall!” and the girls have a blast together. I was so happy to see the two bond and have fun. I was so happy that El was spending time with someone other than Mike. I was so happy the girls were having fun by themselves. Honestly, the best part of season 3 was them becoming friends.

I love Max because she is confident and is not afraid to speak her mind. She’s funny and in many ways, we are alike. (Especially with our attitudes on boys and relationships.) However, Max is also vulnerable. We see this with her stepbrother, especially in season 3 I think. Their relationship was drastically different in season 3 and while many didn’t like it (myself included)...I also thought about Max. She’s a young girl and no matter how much bad blood was in between them, it will be traumatizing to see a transformation like this to someone you know quite well. It would be scary.

Anyway, I love Max.

Honorable mentions: Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Anna Marie (Rogue), Sam Nishimura, Malia Tate, all of House Martell, Dustin Henderson...

Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Tell me, do I have a certain type of character that I’m attracted to? Also, I’m not sure who has all done this, so if you haven’t it: who are your top 10 favorite characters? Let me know!

#mads makes a text post #about #bpdanakins #tomb raider #marvel #charmed #asoiaf #game of thrones #teen wolf #Malcolm in the middle #atla #stranger things #lara croft #wanda maximoff #phoebe halliwell #Catelyn stark #erik lehnsherr #kira yukimura #lois wilkerson #theon greyjoy #suki #max mayfield

[francescasportfolio]

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009) REVIEW - CHAPTER 5 + FINAL THOUGHTS

CHAPTER 5

The finale of our story commences, opening to Shoshanna with ‘Cat People’ by David Bowie playing over her, looking solemnly onto a Nazi embellished street. Tarintino isn’t afraid to jump out of context in places of his film design such as in the music he uses, he chose ‘Cat People’, a song that feels as if it should be playing over an 80s sports montage, to show Shoshanna getting ready to burn down a building filled with Nazis. It should feel out of place, tacky even, yet it works seamlessly because the song is filled with determination and drive and in some ways Shoshanna is gearing up to fight. Moreover, Tarintino sanctifies colour in his set and costume design by letting bold, primary colours hold great meaning in relation to a character, in Shoshanna’s example, she wears scarlet red which signifies her fiery sense of revenge.

We cut back to Shoshanna and Marcel’s set up to the Night of the Nation’s Pride premiere, being whisked through the details smoothly and tying up the loose ends of their plan. From now on, the audience’s only anticipation lies in seeing the scheme commence. 

Back at the cinema, Landa makes his way over to Von Hammersmark, who is now flaunting her leg cast, surrounded by her ‘Italian’ guests. After a friendly, rather charming, reunion with Von Hammersmark, Landa queries her on her leg. He catches her out a fews times, hurtling questions about the detail of her breakage until he asks her what caused such an injury, to which she replies her foolish mountain climbing cover. Landa laughs hysterically, having to go as far as to take a few steps back and regather himself. His joy in this notion is uncomfortable to watch, since the audience knows that he isn’t laughing at her misery--but that a mountain-climbing-story was the best lie she could conjure regarding her bullet wounded leg. A small insincere apology later, Landa asks after Von Hammersmark’s acquaintances. She explains they do not speak a word of German, but are in fact Italian. Landa rattles them once more as he unloads quick paced sentences, speaking perfect Italian. A southern filled ‘Grazi’ is returned by Aldo, and a stereotype ridden introduction is given by Donowitz and Omar. Their attempt at being Italian is comical but it seems they have fooled him. Landa urges Aldo and Bridget to have one last glass of champagne with him, before requesting to speak to Bridget alone. 

This scene is entirely quiet, and Tarintino employs the eery silence once again, Landa asking Von Hammersmark to see her foot. We know that Landa knows. Camera angles in this scene feel vaguely reminiscent of a comic book, crooked upward shots of a smiling Landa match the slightly ‘off’ feeling of the exchange--especially for Von Hammersmark. The silence is also effective in giving us somewhat of a jump-scare from Landa as he pounces on Von Hammersmark, strangling her to death and showing, overtly, the Colonel’s murderous capabilities. Aldo is captured upon Landa’s command and his ticking bomb is handed to Landa. The plan hasn’t entirely failed, yet an important detail has been weaved.

Aldo and Utivich are taken to the Louisianne tavern to make a deal with Landa, if Landa lets their plan go ahead, he requires some ‘terms of his conditional surrender’. This is where Hans becomes such a unique anti-hero, in the first chapter he tells LaPedite that he takes pride in his title of the Jew Hunter but now in our finale, he calls it a ‘nickname that stuck’. Landa is a grey character, he does not work for one side or the other, which consequently makes him all the more powerful, manipulating the sides as pleases his needs and sets him up to be an even more terrifying of a character.

Whilst Aldo and Utivich sit with Landa, Donowitz and Omar continue on with Operation Kino, a few laughs injected by their Italian facades. Meanwhile, Marcel heads behind the screen with a pack of cigarettes, barring the exit doors of the cinema along the way. 

Landa feathers himself a nest as to ensure he is not prosecuted for his evils whilst being a Nazi, it will be written that he was a double agent for the OSS. However, this is where we see Landa’s usual power over a situation diminish slightly. Landa had placed Aldo’s bomb in Hitler’s opera box, without Aldo agreeing to make the deal with Landa, he would have found himself at a loss. If Aldo hadn’t believed that Omar and Donowitz were alive, Landa may have found himself in a compromised position, although he asserts himself as dominant in the situation, at this point he actually needs the mercy of Aldo and the Basterds. 

The REVENGE OF THE GIANT FACE scheme of Shoshanna’s seems to heading towards its climax, until we see Fredrick Zoller outside the door of her projection room. He is adamant on helping her, to which she refutes aggressively. Zoller’s true nature erupts into the forefront of his personality, forcing his way into Shoshanna’s room. He believes that she owes him after he managed to get the premiere to be at her cinema. Tarintino takes his own approach to the ‘Nice Guy’ cliche, a guy who has a sweet but somewhat annoying demeanour, he projects his dream girl fantasy onto a woman who is obviously uninterested, but of course that only means she is playing hard to get. He doesn’t listen to her, and in Zoller’s case, will do whatever he can with his powers in being a Nazi War Hero to hold her attention. The consequences of this dynamic arrive morbidly, as Shoshanna shoots Fredrick in the back but as to pronounce his wolf-like nature, she goes to see if he is alive, and is rewarded with a shower of bullets by the half dead Zoller. Her plan will succeed, but she won’t live to see it through.

Luckily for the audience, we will. The room roars with cheers as Zoller shouts, ‘Who wants to send a message to Germany?’ the scene switches as a large picture of Shoshanna appears. ‘This is the face of Jewish vengeance’. The room fills with flames and deathly screams, our Jewish basterds burst into Hitler’s opera box, machine guns in hand, mowing down the embodiment of the Nazi regime. The climax is drowning in violence, but it doesn’t feel like ghoulish over-kill, it makes you squirm but with a sense of satisfaction. However, it doesn’t have such a sense of it, as say Django:Unchained (2013) would have, as it follows Django and his endeavours closely, all his degradation feels accounted for. Whereas in Inglorious Basterds, the horror that they feel is on a mass scale, felt by all the Basterds and isn’t explored in greater detail, as it is in Django. However, Donowitz and Omar’s dynamite explodes and the cinema is decimated.

 The main climax of our film is over but in the traditional Tarintino spirit, arguably, the comeuppance we have been waiting for is still to come. Although Hitler is the obvious villain of our story, the last scene where a more intimate gory act takes place is far more of an achievement. Upon crossing onto american lines, Landa is taken prisoner as part of the deal. Aldo makes a point about his charming SS uniform, he may have gotten away with being prosecuted for his part on the German side, however, he must never forget the atrocities he committed. The last scenes of our final chapter show the carving of a Swastika into the head of the SS Colonel, the piece de resistance to our Nazi ridden bloodbath.

FINAL THOUGHTS 

Inglorious Basterds is a war movie, but feels more equated to that of a Jewish fantasy. It is almost easier to believe that the war was ended in such a satisfied way, with bold characters and neatly wrapped ends. However, the movie also poses the question that maybe for Shoshanna, her victory was pyrrhic. Her being shot in the process of her victory, dying amongst the flames of her own creation. 

#inglorious basterds

[tellywoodtrash]

Weekends are for watching truly trashy TV...

... (as opposed to irony-watching semi-trash) so this week I decided to forego my newest addiction Divya Drishti to binge the new AltBalaji show BOSS: Baap of Special Services.

[crowd yelling: “... But TT you’re always going on about not caring for KSG! You’re adamant about it and battle anon wank on the topic! How could you possibly......?????”]

Well kids, all I can say is don’t try to put me in a box. For all my highfalutin media snobbery, there’s also that side of me which has watched KRK’s Deshdrohi multiple times. (Only to discover that one of my college-mates was an extra in the songs. True story, mummy kasam.) I honest-to-god have a favt. movie featuring Sonu Nigam as an "actor". No, not the cult classic Jaani Dushman, but the equally noteworthy Love In Nepal. Which I have also seen multiple times, because the amount of cheap kicks I get from Sonu's ridiculous hamming is indescribable. Anyway, I’m trash for the professional-couple-with-opposing-personalities trope (especially in the field of law enforcement), and was majorly missing B99 (HOW LONG TILL THE NEXT SEASON GODDAMNIT?????)/Krishna Arjun (WHY WON’T YOU JUST PUT IT UP ALREADY, HOTSTAR?????????) so I decided to scratch the itch with this. (Also this blasted weather has brought an influx of mutant mosquitoes into my house, so watching this was also an attempt to keep my mind off those literal itches. I'm not an NRI anymore, but my body hasn't gotten the memo yet and continues to overreact to every bug bite.)

Plot:

It was pretty much what I expected from the trailer; a middling crime/mystery series with occasional moments of the mildest intrigue. It has a ‘case of the episode’ format, with each resolution sorta feeding into the larger mystery driving the plot. The smaller cases are completely unremarkable; always a murder (I used to think Shimla was a chill place with relatively low crime rates? Apparently not; in this show's universe the murdering is so bad, a whole special task force has to be formed - with like, national-level shooting champions and imported super-cops from other states.) The bigger mystery is the only compelling part of the show, keeping me invested to watch till the end. I wouldn't say it had a completely satisfying wrap-up (a too-tidily ghusaaya hua culprit and motive in the end; not to mention loose ends that just went nowhere. For eg. they introduce - never show - a character that the lead has been obsessing about for months now and goes to great lengths to track down, only to be casually told that he died a few months ago. And like...... nothing. We just move on, zero frustration.) but at least it brought like 2.67% complexity to the main lead beyond “Satyromanic Sherlock”.

A more appropriate name for the show would have been BOSH: Baap of Sexual Harassment, coz KSG's character spends most of his screentime leering at the nearest adult woman and propositioning her with the most unimaginatively sexist innuendo. Said woman (other than our stern female lead, of course) is so bowled over that she’s immediately willing to get it on with him on closest stable surface that can support the weight of 2 people. Each episode has on an average of 2-3 utterly tacky and tasteless sex scenes which I promptly forwarded the fuck through. Everyone knows I'm a tharki of the first order, so you can guess just how distasteful they were to get ME to do that. (Does KSG have some kinda clause in his non primetime-TV contracts that he must be given scenes to paw at a woman in the most unattractive manner?) The reaction to all this nonsense is always smirky admiration from the other men, and disgust from female lead. Except for when he puts the moves on her in later eps; then she reacts with coy exasperation. I cannot (yet somehow also can - because we truly do live in the darkest timeline) believe something like this got made and released in the #MeToo era? Forget #MeToo, the leads more than once wake up with the people in bed next to them murdered, and it has like zero legal repercussions beyond a withering glare, so THAT's the kinda universe we're operating in.

Cast:

KSG‘s made 'charming haraami with/without heart of gold’ his go-to role over the years now, so this is right in his wheelhouse. I've seen him give a waaaay more compelling performance in QH so eh... Can't say I was too impressed with him here. This was just Law Enforcement Armaan. An errant man-child doing whatever the fuck he wants and getting by in life thanks to conventional attractiveness. His facial hair situation is also very distracting; the continuity lapses rivaling Iqra Aziz's hair in SC2.

I haven't watched Sagarika Ghatge in anything other than Chak De, so I'm genuinely wondering: is she capable of anything other than ‘sullen girl who's constantly making an annoyed/perplexed face’? Her face occasionally relaxes into a wry smirk, but other than that, she could be Captain Holt's Desi Spirit Daughter. I couldn't quite tell if it's the stereotypical role of ‘female cop who has to be a strict stickler to be taken seriously in a male-dominated profession’, or if she just doesn't have the range. Maybe it's both? It’s probably both.

Gaurav Gera shows up as a sidekick to KSG - some kinda "hacker" who regularly comes to school the police's cyber-crime head - because she's a woman, how could she possibly be the authority on tech stuff? Anything that keeps him from making more of those dumb "shopkeeper" vids is a good thing in my book, I guess. Sagarika's character has two sidekicks - who contribute nothing to the investigation part, they just serve as muscle who chase the fleeing suspects and haul them into the police van. Ayaz Khan toh I suspect just took the role to get to hang out with best bro KSG in Shimla for a few days, coz his character is an undistinctive personality-less blob. The sidekick cop who's not Ayaz (aforementioned shooting champion) looked super familiar; it took me like 3 episodes to realize it's the dude who plays Komolika's deranged brother in KZK these days. The insta clips of him constantly attacking one Sharma sister or another is where I knew him from. He plays his character with some bright-eyed earnestness and is mostly tolerable, if completely forgettable.

Minor bright spot(s): Mishal Raheja as a grey character! Now there's the charming haraami I'd want to watch a whole show about! Also Daljiet Kaur in a tiny but important role; kind of a chilling AU version of Anjali from IPK, if she didn't have Arnav in her life to balance out her constantly-teteering-on-the-brink waala mental instability.

Overall Impression:

Lol, I can't recommend it or anything, but if you miss watching the OG 1990s/2000s-era episodes of CID, but with a 400% more cringeyass sexual situations straight out of soft porn, I guess you can go for it? Pretty sure it's no more a waste of time than the newest Bhai movie that's released on Prime.

#boss: baap of special services #tt reviews

[lefandomimagines]

promise | boh rhap!roger taylor x reader

Pairing: Bohemian Rhapsody!Roger Taylor x Reader

Word Count: 2037

Request:  Could you please do an imagine about being in a relationship with Roger Taylor? You love each other so much but you always fight really intensely too? The whole band gets involved because of how intense you guys are?

Warnings: N/A

A/N: First imagine back after a huge break so pls be kind lmao i’m still getting back into the swing of things. Hope you enjoy, please feel free to spam me with Bohemian Rhapsody requests, I wanna write so many more imagines for all the members so hit me up with any ideas you have! ( and feel free to send any non-boh rhap requests too )

To say that you were ‘a little pissed off’ would be to say that Freddie’s fashion sense is ‘only a little unique’. It was no shock to anyone that once again, Roger Taylor was the cause of your anger. Your relationship had always been a strange one; there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the two of you were in love as anyone could be, but your fights were notorious for being more explosive than a nuclear bomb. Having matching personalities made the two of you as close as anyone could be, but matching personalities also came along with matching tempers. Brian, John and Freddie were no strangers to your arguments either. Sometimes they were caused by something as simple as Roger not tidying up after himself, or Roger getting irritated by how long you took to get ready. But other times they could be fuelled by something much worse. On this particular occasion, it had been one of the more extreme reasons. It was pretty well known that Roger was awfully popular with the female fans, he had been getting mounds of female attention even since the days of Smile. You had learnt to ignore it and brush it off because at the end of the day, you were the one he would be coming home to. However, sometimes it did put a strain on your relationship particularly due to the fact that Roger seemed to really enjoy the attention and never really learned where to draw the line with them for your sakes.

This time, a group of girls had immediately flocked Roger the second he stepped off stage after the show; that was nothing new to you, but what really stung was how Roger just cast you away and completely ignored you when you tried to congratulate him on the show in favour of the girls surrounding him. Of course you understood that the band had to be thankful for their fans and communicate with them, but that made it hurt no less when he acted as if you didn’t even exist. You took in a sharp intake of breath, biting down on your bottom lip to stop the tears building up in your eyes from spilling over. Grabbing your handbag, you quickly rushed away backstage, flashing your pass to the security guard as you zoomed past, just wanting to get somewhere alone. The tears in your eyes threatening to spill over eventually did as you flopped down on the sofa in the band’s dressing room, bringing your knees up to your body as you sat. In your head, you knew that it was silly to get upset over it because you knew that Roger truly did love you, but all of the doubts and horrible thoughts that had been building up across the time of your relationship all came flooding back together. Being the girlfriend of the Roger Taylor had its perks and obvious downfalls, there were a lot of jealous fans and tabloids just wanting an easy story that often said a lot of horrible things about you which often came flooding back at times like these.Your thoughts were interrupted as the door burst open with Brian and John stumbling into the room. The grins on their faces soon faded away as they spotted the look on your face, and they instantly came rushing over. Brian sat down on the coffee table in front of you, and John beside you on the sofa. “Y/N what happened?” John stumbled out, his words laced with concern.

You eventually managed to compose yourself and explain what had happened to John and Brian and you were met with the usual look of annoyance and lack of shock on their faces.

“He never learns does he?” Brian spoke solemnly, placing a comforting hand on your knee.

John sighed loudly, pulling you into a hug “I’m sure he didn’t mean for you to be hurt, he just doesn’t think sometimes.”

“I know, it just sucks when I see him surrounded by all of these gorgeous women I can never compete with. What if he changes his mind about me one day and goes for someone prettier?” You spoke sadly, resting your head on John’s shoulder.

“Y/N, Roger would have to be absolutely idiotic to ever swap someone as utterly incredible as you for one of those idiot gold diggers only in it for a shag.” Brian said with an endearing tone.

You went to reply when the dressing room door burst open once again, revealing Freddie along with the man in question, Roger.

“What the hell is going on here?” Roger questioned with a slightly raised tone.

“Just attempting to cheer your girlfriend up after you acted like a total prat...once again.” Brian shot back immediately.

“I think I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself thank you very much.” Roger snapped “What the bloody hell have I even done now anyway? I was just talking to some fans”

You stood up as Roger spoke, crossing your arms over your chest as you did so. “See Roger, it’s never just talking though is it? You completely shoved me to the side and acted like I was something you had just scraped off of the bottom of your shoe out there. It was embarrassing!” You yelled back, your hands balling into fists in your fit of anger.

“You’re not the only bloody person in the world you know? I do have a life outside of our relationship. Why do you overreact about everything?” By this point, both of you were on the verge of screaming and Freddie, John and Brian had long since snuck out of the room to avoid getting caught up in the crossfire.

“I’m not asking for everything to revolve around me twenty four seven Roger! All I want is for you to actually give me a shred of attention sometimes out there in front of those bimbos who only care about you because you’re hot and famous. How would you feel if I completely ignored you in favour of a group of guys that you thought were a hundred times better looking than you. I just want to feel good enough for you for once!” You shouted, with hot tears now running down your cheeks.

“Y/N I-” Roger’s tone softened as he went to speak; but you simply raised your hand, cutting him off before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind you.

After the argument, you returned to the home that you and Roger shared, spending your evening on the sofa in a bit of a sulk. It was about ten o’clock the next morning when you woke up after falling asleep on the sofa that night. You were rather unceremoniously woken up by Freddie kicking your door down, shouting for you to get your ‘sulky arse’ off of the sofa and into something pretty. It was moments like this that made you question why you had given the three other members of the band a key to your home.

“If it’s anything to do with Roger, I’m not going Fred.” You spoke in a deadpan tone with zero emotion on your face.

“No no, I want to take you somewhere.” Freddie replied flippantly before rather ungracefully dragging you off of the sofa and upstairs to your bedroom.

“Where on Earth could you possibly need to take me in such a hurry at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning?” You questioned with a raised brow, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Don’t spoil the fun with too many questions darling, just trust me and go along with it.” He replied with a mischievous grin, tossing an outfit at you.

“Trust you and go along with it? That’s usually the beginning of the end for my wellbeing when you say that Fred.” You called out from the bathroom as you changed into the jeans and shirt Freddie had picked out for you, grinning as you heard him chuckle at your remark.

Once you had gotten ready, Freddie had proceeded to toss you into his limousine, forcing a blindfold onto your face the second the driver took off. You eventually came to a stop after what honestly felt like an age, and Freddie attempted to gracefully guide you out of the car and into some building ( emphasis on attempted ).

“This scenario is the beginning of literally every serial killer movie ever made.” You chuckled, holding your arms out in front of you cautiously “If you murder me, I will come back and haunt you forever.”

You heard Freddie laugh quietly as he came to a sudden halt “Now stay exactly where you are.”

You could somewhat make out a few sounds as you heard Freddie’s footsteps move away from you, but you were still none the wiser as to where on Earth he had brought you.

“Freddie I-” You went to question your friends intentions when you were cut off by the sudden beginning of a piano sequence. You recognised the song in an instant, how could you not? An acoustic version of ‘I’m in love with my car’. You couldn’t help but let a soft giggle escape your lips, removing your blindfold as you heard Roger begin to sing. The view you were met with was simply breathtaking, Freddie had taken you to the bar where you had first met Roger but the room was covered in the most stunning little fairy lights and rose petals and a projection of all of your favourite photographs of you and Roger played behind the four of them. A few tears began to fill up in your eyes, threatening to spill over as Roger sang his utterly ridiculous yet brilliant song that he knew you loved so much. Roger’s eyes never once left yours as he sang every word, his notorious cheeky grin on his lips. As the song ended, Roger stepped down off the small stage, making his way over to you.

“Y/N, I acted like a total arse yesterday and there’s no excuse for it. Sometimes I’m an idiot and I lose sight of things, but there is never a single doubt in my mind that you are the most incredible, beautiful, talented and kind hearted woman I’ve ever met and that I want to spend every moment of my life with you. None of those girls that come to our shows and throw themselves at me will ever match up to you, not in a million years. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but don’t you dare ever doubt yourself again even for a second. I don’t give a shit what idiotic reporters or gold-digging fans say about you, nothing will ever change my mind about you. You make me a better man and I wouldn’t trade you for the world.” Roger spoke softly, a look of complete adoration in his eyes. He took a deep breath before taking hold of your left hand, fiddling around with something in his back pocket with his other hand. Your eyes widened, your jaw dropping slightly as he pulled out a velvety red box.

“Rog. Wha-” You sputtered out as he opened the box

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to commit to marrying me yet.” He chuckled “It’s a promise ring, Bri told me about them. Its a promise of my commitment to you and a promise to one day when you’re ready, swap it out for an proper ring.” He finished with a nervous sort of smile on his lips.

A genuinely nervous Roger was something you had never really seen in your years of dating, it knocked you utterly speechless.

“This is the part where you say yes and get to the snogging.” Freddie called out causing laughter from both John and Brian.

“Roger Meddows Taylor. You are utterly insane.” You laughed, totally shell shocked “Of course I accept.”

A look of relief quickly washed over Roger’s face, a huge grin pulling on his lips as he slid the delicate gold ring onto your finger and Freddie, John and Brian burst into cheers.

“I love you to the ends of the Earth and back (Y/F/N)”

#roger taylor imagine #bohemian rhapsody imagine #roger taylor x reader #ben hardy imagine #boh rhap imagine #freddie mercury imagine #john deacon imagine #brian may imagine #bohemian rhapsody #queen #lefandomimagines

[smushy-panda]

Black Friday was a bust and we shouldn’t ignore it

So I’ve LOVED starkid for so many years and have fallen in love with their many create visions and ideas, so when I heard they were making a sequel I was skeptical. 

The guy who didn’t like musicals was so incredibly good because ONE it held the classic starkid charm where they didn’t take themselves too seriously while also having such good subtlety in their story and writing that you feel for these characters. That scene between Paul and Emma where they’re stuck in Hidgen’s basement and talk about they’re lives and what they wanted and didn’t want from it is such a good example that it should be taught in school. And TWO they veered away from that usual wacky side of themselves (B@tman, HP, Trail to Oregon) and pushed for a little more serious tone (Twisted, Firebringer) and was successful in balancing both of these factors.

The point of a sequel is to further establish the world that the story takes place in and how the characters (and audience) could further learn from it. This means that they would have to tackle these things while also continuing the subtlety, tone and characters that starkid is known for. The reason their last sequel, A Very Potter Sequel, was so successful was because the world they were working off of was already fully constructed by JKR and they used that as a crutch to focus on the story and characters instead of trying to keep those things in while also explaining why all of these things are happening. So this is where they failed to reach expectation because they had SO much plot and reasoning to cram in for world building that they didn’t have time to develop much of their characters.

Like really what were these characters? I was totally down in the first twenty or so minutes when we finally got the year long answer! Like wholly shit its Paul and Emma! They’re alive and happy and we get to dive further deep into Emma and her sister’s past! This started off good because we were reminded of our love for these characters that got the perfect development in TGWDLM and was leading us down a path of learning more of them and the people they connect with, which lead us to Tom. His character is so interesting and I was expecting him to get that sweet sweet character development and backstory we usually get for main characters (especially characters played specifically by Dylan) and his first solo proved for that to be the case until we are ripped away from Emma and Paul all together and put into the introduction of the first stereotype and flat character. They have done some stereotypes in the past but at least they had some purpose to the plot but Lex’s boss or Mr. Krabs 2.0 is so heavy that its painful. So we lead into the scene were we really meet the Lex and her motivations and relationships. I liked her dynamic with her (very sweet, like holy shit get me one of him) boyfriend, or maybe I was too distracted by Robert’s pretty face to notice anything bad but OMG I almost forgot I was watching a starkid musical because their song starts with “MY MOM’S A BITCH” LIKE WHERES THE SUBTLETY IN THAT??? The song is one of many that falls flat but is saved by Roberts angelic voice and Kendall’s fun dancing. 

Okay this is were it starts to become one note and stays there literally the rest of the musical, the scene in the line outside the toy store is boring and introduces stereotype number 2 with Loren’s power hunger rich lady and leads through another song which starts to weird trend of stopping the story DEAD in its tracks to establish something that wont be important in the end. Every song in TGWDLM either had a purpose and/or was a BOP (therefore it got a pass) but many of the music in this show didn’t do either of these. Anyway it moves on to the next song were I audibly cheered because I thought FINALLY a classic starkid song that people will sing at conventions for years to come with Dylan belting “ITS MINE, ITS MINE” and honestly it is one of the best from the musical and I loved how extra feral Jeff was the whole time.

Ethan was the one character I felt got the best character because he got the starkid special. They’ve always been masters at establishing personalities in the most basic of conversations in their shows and that probably why Mr. Krabs and rich lady irritated me so much because their writing felt lazy. Remember how the original MacNamara was so charming because he had that weird personality of loving romance despite being the classic military character? Anyway Ethan’s death was the most impactfull for me and that’s all I gotta say about it.

UGHHHHHH Okay so I’ve got to talk about this dumb ass villain. Joey is so fucking good at play villains it’s unbelievable but what heightens the impact of it is the reasoning and this guy’s reasoning gets so mixed up in the cramming of the plot that I can’t even remember.

THE WAIST. THE GIANT WAIST THAT IS THE WONDERFUL CURT MEGA

I get MacNamara’s point in the story but they completely erased the likable personality that I previously mentioned for the sake of plot which is irritating because I know they are capable to keeping a consistent character whose sole purpose is forwarding plot. He leads the final boring song of act 1 but sadly not the last one of the musical.

3 minutes of that fucking highschool santa song. I like the joke of a bad Christmas movie for teens but damn that dragged. 

Tom’s story of trying to earn the love of his son while actually longing for forgiveness is such a good story and I do think they do it really well with the time that they give it but god nurse girl annoys me. JUST TO CLARIFY I LOVE HER VOICE IT GOES INCREDIBLY WELL WITH DYLAN'S. But Dylan going on a heartrenching speech of how he blames himself for the death of the love of his life and the mother of the son whom he thinks hates him to her going wOw rEmeMBer us In HigHscHoOl was so painful to watch. I did like their song despite the lack of chemistry until they started going at it after they expressed his PTSD and her murdering someone (who yes totally deserved it). Okay but the joke when they went back to the santa hightschool movie was the best joke of the show it was just too good. 

The next time we see them they’re acting like the rest of the “infected” and like??? when did that shift happen?? 

God I feel so bad for Curt in that fucking suit. Okay but like is Joey wiggly or not? Is he just a follower and if he is why is he in the Black and White? But that use of the christmas ordiments and the hadestown lights was so cool and clever I really liked it. 

I really liked that Friday is Black for Me song but now I can skip to the dumb part...

Super powers????? What????? How does MacNamara know Lex? When was that established and he not only know’s of Lex and her “powers” but also Hannah and her abilities as well which were never shown or hinted at other than Webby her imaginary friend which was also pointless. 

He says there is a Warrior of Light trapped in a deep sleep? Then she imediently goes to Tom which means MacNamara also knew of Tom and implies that Tom has powers as well???

Finally after listening to more pretty Dylan singing we go to another tensionless cult scene which ended up being the climax surprising me because again it was all one note. The scene was just so boring that when nurse girl shot Loren I had to recap because I could not remember how she got away from the people who dragged her there. But like seriously the lack of tension was crazy, Lex LITERALLY had the last doll not only in her hands but next to fire that of which she was threatening everyone with and Loren just strait up pushes Tom away walks up to Lex and takes it from her. Yeah the joke was funny but logically why didn’t Lex light it up right after she got out of Tom’s grasp???

So yeah after the climax when Joey’s character who was set up as the main villain pulling all of the strings never showed up and left Loren’s flat character take the fall the falling action was everyone huddling together like a family even though the last time Hannah saw nurse girl and Tom they were actively hunting her with a needle to kill and sacrifice her to their god and I don’t think Lex had ever met nurse girl but its fine because they burned the mall down even though the rest of the country was already taken over by the dolls and they were forced into WWIII because??? The Russains?? Had a portal too??? And I get that the actors showing up in their original character’s clothes adds to the mystery that they’re trying to set up at the end but I don’t think its good to purposely add questions to a list that is already piling up pretty high. 

Emma and Paul bickering at the beginning was the best part, then they are completely forgotten with Tom and nurse girl’s relationship, joey’s villain character, Ethan all together (like we didn’t even get a scene with Lex reacting to his death), and Hannah’s imaginary friend all for the sake of a cool visual at the end.

Again I adore starkid and their voices shine through but every show is iconic in its own way but the only memorable moments were the call backs to the original which I don’t think should count

These are my opinions and honestly I would like some feedback, I understand that people enjoyed it and I’m glad they did, I just need someone to explain to me why.

#black friday #starkid #tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #starkids #twisted #firebringer #loren lopez #jeff blim #dylan saunders #joey richter #maria rose faith #the trail to oregon #musical #musicals #broadway #Jaime lyn beatty #corey davis #starkid musicals #disapointed #like really? #could have gone better #a very potter musical #a very potter sequel #robert manion #professor hidgens #nick lang #im gay for these people #fandom #musical fandom

[pocket-luv101]

I thought it would be funny to write Kuro and Hyde meeting their daughter’s date for the first time.

“Hyde scared him that much? I almost feel bad for that poor boy.” Mahiru laughed softly when Licht finished telling her about the dinner they shared with Lucy’s new boyfriend. While her friend had returned to Austria, they would often talk to each other over the phone to keep in contact. From where she sat in the living room, Mahiru glanced to Kuro who was making tea in the kitchen.

She smiled to herself and said, “Kuro is much more easygoing than Hyde. I wonder how he’ll act when Machi’s date comes. Tonight, her school is having a dance. I hope everything goes well for her. She must be both excited and nervous because this is her first date. I felt that way with Kuro. If their relationship turns out as happy as ours, she has a lot of great memories ahead of her.”

Mahiru continued to talk with her friend until Machi leaned out of her room and waved to her. “Mama, can you help me with my hair?”

“I’ll be right there, Sweetie! I have to go, Licht, but I’ll call you later and tell you how it goes.” Mahiru promised and ended the call. She placed her phone in her pocket and walked to Kuro. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek fondly. “Machi’s date will be here soon. If we’re not done before he arrives, make small talk with the boy.”

“What do kids talk about these days? I feel so old right now. Can’t deal. Hopefully, her date likes vintage games or else it’s just going to be an awkward silence.” Kuro groaned and lifted his tea cup. He only stared at himself in the water. “Time passed quickly, didn’t it? It feels like she was learning how to walk yesterday. Machi is going on her first date now.”

“We raised her well so we don’t need to worry about anything.” Mahiru said confidently. She patted his shoulder reassuringly before she left his side to help Machi. He knew that Mahiru was right so he pushed his worries aside. Kuro brought the tea into the living so he could enjoy it with Mahiru later. When he set the tray down, he heard a knock.

He opened the door and the teenager on the other side greeted him politely. “Hello, Mr. Shirota. I’m here to pick up Machi.”

“She’s still getting ready but you can sit down and wait for her. I think she’ll be finished soon.” Kuro stepped aside and gestured to the living room. He sat down on the couch and watched the boy in the corner of his eyes. He thought of the first time he met Mahiru’s uncle formally and he remembered how nervous he was. “Machi told me you two are schoolmates. Are you in any clubs or sports?”

“I run in track.” He answered and Kuro nodded.

“At your age, I liked video games more than sports. Well, I still feel that way.” He tried to keep their conversation light and casual. “Machi would play fighting games with me when she was little. She’s a strong person like her mother. I should tell you—”

“Is this the part where you threaten me? I already know what you’re going to say so you don’t need to give me that stupid speech.” The boy interrupted him and Kuro’s brows drew together. A smug smile appeared on the kid’s face. It was obvious that he felt proud of himself for the retort. Kuro merely leaned back against the couch and he looked thoughtful for a moment.

He raised his voice only enough for his family down the hall to hear him. Kuro spoke in his usual lazy drawl as he asked: “Machi, is your tournament this Saturday or next Saturday?”

“It’s next Saturday.” She answered him. “I marked it on the calendar already.”

“I wanted to double check.” He said nonchalantly. Kuro tilted a cold, assessing glare towards her date. “Remember, if your opponent is taller than you, you should aim for their throat. Even if it’s a soft punch, they’ll be disorientated and you can hit other vital areas.”

“But, Papa, judo is more defensive throws. I would get disqualified if I did that!” Machi corrected him and Kuro grinned to himself.

The warmth in his eyes turned cold when he faced the teenager. He calmly told him: “Machi is a sweet but, like her mother, you can’t call her weak or naive. If you try anything, she’s perfectly capable of dealing with you herself. Whatever’s left, I’ll take care of afterwards. But we don’t need to worry about that if you treat her right. That’s your intention already, right?”

“Yes, sir!” He said frantically and nodded.

“Also, make an effort to learn more about her if you’re serious about dating her. If you don’t know her hobbies, your relationship won’t last long.” Kuro said. He might not have made the best impression on Kuro but he wanted to let Machi make her own decisions. He would always support his daughter and comfort her whenever she was hurt.

At that moment, Machi and Mahiru came out of the room. Machi smiled when she saw her date. “Takashi! You look great in your suit.”

“You’re beautiful too.” He returned the compliment. “Should we head to prom?”

“Okay! Bye, Mama, Papa, I’ll be back by ten. If anything happens, I’ll call you.” She promised and hugged them briefly. She waved to her parents before she left.

Once the door closed, Mahiru joined Kuro on the couch. She sat next to him and he handed her a cup of tea. She hummed pleasantly as she took a sip. Mahiru cuddled against his side and she glanced up at him. “So, you talked with the boy. What did you think of him? It can’t be good if you brought up Machi’s judo tournament. Machi said he was a nice boy but I can’t help worrying.”

“He’s a little cocky but he seems like a regular teenage jock. Machi can take him. Our daughter is strong and we’re here for her.” He shrugged and she giggled at his answer. “I would rather she finds someone sweet like you, Mahiru. She’s smart so she’ll make the right choice.”

“At least you didn’t try to scare him away like your brother did.”

“Hyde called earlier to complain about Lucy’s new boyfriend. As a father, I can relate to why he did it. He just wanted to protect his little girl.”

The dinner was a little tense because Hyde continued to glare at his guest across the table. His daughter was oblivious as she excitedly told her parent about her day. “They put up the cast for our recital, The Nutcracker, today! I was chosen to be the lead, Clara. Kota has a smaller role but he’s more interested in being an actor than a dancer.”

“I can’t wait to see you dance.” Hyde’s expression softened whenever he spoke with his family. “I knew you would be a brilliant dancer since you were five. You would dance and twirl whenever your mom played a song for you. We still have pictures and videos of you dancing.”

“Dad, you promised no baby pictures!” Lucy blushed and quickly stopped her father. She was grateful for her mother who pulled Hyde’s ear and twisted it mercilessly. Even though her dad could be embarrassing at times, she loved him.

Gil walked into the room carrying a large box. “I bought desert like you ordered.”

“My pie and ice cream! I’ll help you plate them and carry them out.” Lucy said sweetly and jumped to her feet. Honestly, she wanted the chance to sneak an extra large slice of pie for herself. She took one of the boxes from Gil and skipped to the kitchen.

“I’ll go help them. Behave yourself, Hedgehog.” Licht ordered before she followed her daughter to the kitchen. “If you don’t, you can’t have desert.”

“Don’t you trust me, Lichtan? What do you think I’ll do? Stab him with my fork?” Hyde laughed but it didn’t reach his eyes. He twirled his fork between his fingers and then stabbed his food. “I might be an overprotective demon but I won’t hurt the kid. That would make my angels upset. I can’t do that.”

Licht recognized the mischievous glint in his eyes but she only sighed. She left the two alone to help the two in the kitchen. Tension quickly filled the room once they were gone.

“So, you want to be an actor?” Hyde asked slowly once Licht and Lucy were too far to hear them. “It’s hard to break into the industry so you have to work hard and be ambitious. I actually worked as an assistant for a few celebrities when I was younger. It was… interesting. I met my wife through work. I knew a lot of celebrities but my Angel of Music will always be the brightest star I know.”

“Do you still keep in contact with those actors? I would love to speak with them.” The young boy asked excitedly but Hyde’s eyes narrowed. He was far too familiar with how people used networking to forward their careers. He didn’t think it was evil or wrong but he didn’t want the boy to date Lucy for her family name alone. It was rare to find someone like Licht who genuinely worked hard and didn’t rely on others.

Hyde couldn’t be certain of the teenager’s intention so he chose his next words carefully. “I know some people in the industry so maybe I can help you. Do you have a criminal record?”

“No, Sir!” He thought that it was an ordinary interview question. Hyde had to note that the boy was suddenly became animated. It was the most he talked since the dinner began. “Thank you so much for the opportunity. My parents said that I need connections to get big roles in movies.”

“That’s one way, I guess. Letting your hard work and talent speak for itself is another though.” Hyde said but he recognized the impatient look in his eyes. He decided to change the subject.  

“About your record, I can’t take your word alone. They’ll likely conduct a background check. But you don’t have to worry about it too much. If you’re smart like me, you’ll know ways around the police. That’s my little secret though, so you shouldn’t expect me to give you advice.” The boy couldn’t respond immediately because he thought he saw Hyde’s now brown eyes flash blood red briefly.  

“May I ask about the celebrities you worked for? Do I know them?” He asked.

“The celebrities I worked for are all dead now.” His voice was cold and detached when he answered him. “A car crash took one and an unfortunate fall killed another. All tragic accidents, the papers said. I always wonder if that’s true. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make a murder look like an accident. Well, it’s impossible to know what really happened because they’re all five feet underground.”

He shrugged and then changed the subject. “But that’s neither here nor there. This is about you and your dream to become an actor. It’s okay to reach for the stars but there’s no shortcut you can take. My little angel isn’t a tool you can use to forward your career. If the only thing you’re interested in is Lucy’s name, you’ll get nowhere in this world. I’ll make sure of it.”

Hyde twirled his fork around his finger again. This time, he let it fly towards the boy. He missed him but he threw it with enough force that the dull fork stabbed through the drywall. With a fake smile, Hyde stood and said: “Oh, how clumsy of me! I dropped my fork. I hope that didn’t scare you. Don’t worry, if I was trying to hit you, I would’ve.”

“Oh, really?” Hyde stiffened slightly when he heard Licht’s voice behind him. He slowly turned around and he gave her an apologetic smile. She was holding two plates of deserts in her hands but her glare told him she wanted to spill the food on him. Licht didn’t turn her anger against him though. She kicked the table and sent it flying.

“How dare you try to play with an angel’s heart? Lucy deserves the world, not your halfhearted ass. Get out of my house and never talk to Lucy again!” She yelled and stabbed her finger towards the boy. No matter how protective Hyde could become, Licht would always be more so.

In the next room, Lucy heard a loud crash and breaking dishes. She looked from the door to Gil. Then she laughed and leaned against the kitchen island. “Well, there goes another one. My parents are so dramatic, Uncle Gil!”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone soon.” Gil cut another slice of pie and slid it onto her plate.

RIP anyone who hurts their little girl.

#servamp #kuromahi #lawlicht #greed pair #sloth pair #mahiru shirota #servamp kuro #licht jekylland todoroki #servamp hyde #fanfiction #fem mahiru #fem licht

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 1X18 - The Stable Boy

I’m very interested to see my reaction to this episode this time! On my first watch, I didn’t like it (At least the past portion), but with time and more insight into Regina’s character, that just might change!

It’s not because of you, Reggie! i love you!

But what was my deal then, and how has it changed?

Find out alongside me under the cut!

Press Release Emma continues her exhaustive search for evidence that will prove Mary Margaret’s innocence in the murder of David’s wife, Kathryn. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was and before evil blackened her soul, Regina must choose between betraying her mother, Cora, and marrying for true love, or betrothing royalty and living a regal - but loveless - life; and the event that caused the Evil Queen to loathe Snow White is revealed. General Thoughts Past It’s weird. I know Cora is an amazing villain, and it may be the fault of time, but I sometimes forget just how menacing and evil she was. So seeing the evil she’s capable of show itself again with such intensity was like when you touch someone else after getting a good dose of static shock going through you. Just as with Regina’s villainy up to this point, Cora’s is overt and strong. Even when she’s praising Regina, it’s a backhanded compliment (“You’ve finally done something right”). But oddly enough, it’s when the abuse is less over the top that it’s at its worst, and by that, I mean accepting Leopold’s proposal on Regina’s behalf and getting Snow to divulge Regina’s secret. How Cora’s lunges at insecurities and just makes the bold yet quiet moves to get everyone to do what she wants is terrifying. I don’t have a lot to weigh in on the plot, but I do think that watching it on the second go did a lot more for me to highlight Cora’s abuse and make me realize the quality of the flashback. See, for me, I always felt that Daniel was the main thing for Regina’s revenge about Snow, and I felt on the first go that that was a pretty lackluster approach for such a cool villain because I found Daniel boring (I still do, and I swear that I tried to like him). However, it’s occurred to me recently that this isn’t so much as the main point, but the final straw after a long line of Cora’s abuse. Cora’s abuse is what drives Regina’s character and with this in mind, I went into my rewatch of this episode and found it much more compelling. I mean, all you have to do is look about to see the impact Cora had on me.

Also, as I said before, I don’t like Daniel. I find his character boring and bereft of chemistry with all who he interacted with despite his decent dialogue. Given that a lot of (Not fully, but still a fair amount) Regina’s backstory is dependent on their interactions, it sucks, but I just wasn’t feeling like there was much of a character to connect to.

Finally, I wanted to take this moment to drop a theory I’ve held for a while about this episode. I feel that Regina has a secondary purpose for going after Snow. Now, of course, she blames Snow for Daniel’s death, but that’s lead her to be mislabeled as overly petty. However, I think that that blame has something behind it. Regina doesn’t have magic at this point, and her beloved was taken from her. She has a lot of anger, and no place to responsibly place it. Of course, it belongs with Cora, but Cora just killed her boyfriend and has been magically binding her for quite some time. What chance does Regina have up against someone like that? But Snow? Snow’s just a little kid. Snow’s vulnerable and trusting. Snow was the one to tell the secret. And suddenly, for as wretched as it is, you see how the cogs turn. Present I loved August’s advice to Emma here. Sometimes, I find that skill helpful when I’m writing fanfiction, and the way it fits into the murder mystery was interesting. Their rapport, alongside August’s mystery is a large driving force behind the plot as Emma looks for the way to connect the crime to Regina. They also did a really good job establishing Sidney and then exposing him with that flower pot. For a while, one can forget that it’s there, but once you see it, you know what’s going to happen. Still, the journey to using the plot device was an engaging one. As for the rest of the plot, I cover more of it in “Arcs,” but I found that it was well placed and dramatic. Mary Margaret’s conversation with the DA was especially helpful in reinforcing after last week’s “breather” episode just how bad things are and how important it is that Emma solves this case and fast. Insights -I love watching Rumple and Regina negotiate. Theirs is such an engaging push-and-pull relationship and even in the case of foregone conclusions like the one the audience goes in knowing here, the exact what and how are never what you expect it to be. Because of their power, influence, and shadier dispositions, there’s always something up their sleeves and seeing them poke and prod in search of those secrets is just the best. Also, I love that clash of tones. Regina’s harsh words clash brilliantly with Rumple’s more flowery language. -Hair and makeup really did a wonderful job on the younger Henry Sr.! -”She’s getting a little old for fun.” “Stop coddling her.” I like the implication that Cora’s abuse of Regina started out smaller than it is today and that Henry Sr. was allowed to have a bigger influence on Regina’s development during her childhood. -”I’m not criticising you. I’m helping you.” Holy shit. That is such an abuser line. If it wasn’t coming out of Cora, I’d almost call it heavy handed, but since it s Cora, it’s such a good moment of character establishment. -There’s this great frame where Henry Sr. is walking towards Cora with a face that screams “I’mma kill you if you harm a hair on our daughter!” Even though Henry Sr. was definitely afraid of and overpowered by Cora, it’s clear that he was always on Regina’s side. -The segues on this show between the past and present crack me the fuck up! -In regards to young Snow...HOW DOES THIS SHOW CAST PEOPLE SO PERFECTLY?! -Thank you, Gold for acknowledging the skeleton key! -Gold just has the best expressions during the Q&A with the DA. Every look he gives MM just says “you’re lucky your daughter is breaking this curse.” -Mary Margaret, that’s not true. After Kathryn hurt you, it was your denial of David that kept you two apart. Not saying you were wrong for that you definitely weren’t - but facts are facts. -Regina looks so cute in that blue dress! I’m pretty sure anyone on OUaT can pull off a blue dress! -I love how Henry Sr. reflects both Regina and the audience’s reaction to this horrifying proposal. -So is Daniel just the Mills’ family’s stable boy or both theirs and Snow’s family’s stable boy? -Regina unknowingly gave Snow and Charming the perfect lyrics to their big show-stopping musical number about how they’d overthrow her! XD -I love Regina’s suit in the warrant scene. Red and black - despite her rocking blue as well - are totally her colors! -That whole sequence of Cora trapping Regina and Daniel in the stable reminded me of The Haunted Mansion! -Snow looks so cute in her flower girl dress! -So, the camera doesn’t show Regina’s face as she’s telling Snow how Daniel ran away, but you can just hear the pain behind the monotone in her voice solely because of how different it is from the rest of her lines. Regina’s lines usually host such passion and ferocity, but here, she’s bereft of it. Arcs Kathryn Nolan Case - So, we sort of come to an ending here. Now all that’s left to find out is the “who-dunnit,” so to speak. Personally, I found the case itself boring as well as the conversations about the proceedings. That said, in a way, I’m glad we had it. I’ve seen fics without it happening and they leave David and Mary Margaret with so little to do. Besides, we got some really good character moments because of it, mostly those that go through Emma and I feel comfortable saying that this doesn’t have to do with the fact that Emma is my favorite character because for everyone else (Barring Rumple and Regina who also had amazing interactions), the events of this arc for everyone else become completely irrelevant going forward. Emma and her interactions (Barring those of the other awake people’s) are the only moments that retain prevalence for their characters in the future That’s not a problem: The character moments still stand out - I still adore everything with Ruby and the scene with MM and David in the jail cell was powerful - but it needs to be accounted for. The Mystery of August Booth - We finally get those first glimpses of Pinocchio. It reminded me a lot of Michael’s symptoms in Season 3 of Jane the Virgin. They’re so small that you forget about them with the plot, but as they happen, they make you wonder just what it is. Why throw in a splint? ...I guess we should say a splinter! XD Favorite Dynamic Snow and Cora. I know these two only had one scene together, but damn, it was a good one! When Cora talks to Snow, she’s so warm and very much like a grandmother in the way she speaks, and you can see through Snow’s expressions just how much that paired with what she’s saying is preying on her still present grief over her mother. It’s like that study about the bullfrogs when the water gradually increases. Snow’s about to hurt her friend, and she doesn’t even recognize that she’s being played because of Cora’s delicate manner of approaching things. Writer Adam and Eddy did a really great job here! They have a way of writing very iconic lines, and  “Love is the most powerful magic of all” has proved itself lasting - both in verbal and song form! XD In addition, A&E know how to make a villain sympathetic while not forgetting that they’re evil and following through on that. I’ve seen a lot of bad writing of villains (And some of it comes from OUaT too) where they just throw a sob story on a villain and then just flip a switch from villain to hero, but Regina still retains her villainy  even as we’re learning about her tragedies, and that makes her feel more alive! Rating 9/10. I love all of the character development we get here. The introduction of Cora gives us that taste of all that’s to come and she’s fucking petrifying, even with the knowledge that she dies! And seeing Regina’s awful childhood really sticks where this resentment of Snow and Mary Margaret is coming from and it makes it glorious! Additionally, the present had a great story too and delivered a cool sort-of ending to the Kathryn Nolan case while giving Emma and August an interesting conflict to work with. I took off a point for Daniel just because of his impact on the story that I actually got compared to what I felt that I needed.  ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thanks to @watchingfairytales for putting this project together and to everyone who read! I’ll see you next time when we...RETURN! ...These puns don’t get all that subtle. Season Tally (157/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (50/70) Liz Tigelaar (17/20)* David Goodman (33/50) Jane Espenson (36/60) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (29/40) Daniel Thomsen (8/10)* Vladimir Kvetko (9/10* (* = Their work for the season is complete)

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairyt #ouat 1x17 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #aniti-daniel #basically every character in this episode is discussed