#and that's all without even touching the portrayal of cops but that would be a whole other post.

[olreid]

you know when shows have that self-satisfied air of like. "we're progressive! this is what being progressive looks like!" but it just ends up making the biases that make it into the story all the more jarring precisely because the explicit goal was to be inclusive?

anyway miss fisher's murder mysteries is like, well sure it's the 1920s but miss fisher has a modern-day woman's tolerance for being gay or a communist or getting abortions and none of the other characters care to challenge her on that so we don't have to let period-accurate social issues ruin our good vibes :)

but then the episodes will literally be like. episode about angry and violent foreign anarchists murdering one of their own for not being angry and violent enough. episode about a bitter, violent anti-zionist doing murders on innocent, pious zionists. episode about a gay person who didn't end up being guilty of the crime in question but still ends up nobly turning himself in to the police to serve time under sodomy laws. episode I JUST WATCHED where the murder victim was intersex and the titular miss fisher and her partner take a special trip to the morgue just to gawk at how weird and wacky the victim's body was. and it's like. interesting. this is progressive? this feels #wholesome to you? and of course it DOES feel like that to many people even despite the above because all the main characters are white and well-meaning and like each other a lot.

#and that's all without even touching the portrayal of cops but that would be a whole other post. #regrettably this program has juuust enough stuff i like in it to keep me watching but its truly like. #51% good 49% bad. THATS SO MUCH BAD. im like jesus christ on the freaking cross rn #miss fisher's murder mysteries

[hoxooster]

Payday Q&A thing! M, T, X.

M is for MASKS: favourite mask/s?

I've got a few. I gotta give some love to two masks that I made:

Full Metal Doge and 80's Cowboy. The former is actually the first mask, material, pattern, and colors that I got when I downloaded PD2 on my da's computer. I'm known by this mask, and even though I haven't worn it in a long while (I've got a personal, 'wear as many of the masks as you can' challenge that I've been working on), I still love it dearly. As for 80's Cowboy, I just really liked how it came out when I first made it--it's probably one of my best masks, design-wise.

As for untampered with masks, I love these ones:

And, for a lil' bit of fun, these are my favorite PD:TH masks:

T is for TASER: most surprising moment/thing that happened in-game?

Hm. Well, I can think of a couple things. For PD:TH, a lot of 'em are just things dealing with my buddy, Wolfee. Like, him finally agreeing to accept my friend request (after much begging on my part), that time he found out that you can get stuck inside the police transport trucks on Green Bridge (and he stayed in there so I would get stuck and would have to fight my way out, the cheeky fucker)...

... how I earned my Steam username by impressing him (Diamond, 145, me and him with bots. Went loud 'cause the code didn't work. Him and the bots went into custody. I had to survive an assault wave, then dom 3 cops to get them back. He complimented me, and thus my Steam username was created and cemented.), and a bunch of other shit that I could spend hours talking about.

For PD2, there was the time that the GO Bank vault was just open--didn't know that that was a possibility until it happened to me...

... the time Wolfee showed that he cared about me enough to threaten one of our friends with bodily harm if I was downed...

... the multiple times I messed with Emma with the artifacts on Shadow Raid (she mains Chains and had never gotten his mask in a drop, then I got one after torturing her XD)...

... and some other things here 'n there that I love to talk about as part of my 'Old Man Stories' while in-call with people. I've made a lot of fond memories in this game, and I look forward to making a lot more, ya know?

Honestly, the most surprising thing is that you made Breakin' Feds a comfort heist for me, Red. Jeezum Crow, I hate it here.

X is for XENODIAGNOSIS: would you want Bain's disease to be curable and why/not?

No, because his death needed to happen. Simon Viklund wanted to leave OVERKILL, so he left to pursue other things and hangout with his best friend, and I'm happy for him.

As a Payday fan, this is devastating. Simon defined what Payday is--and I'm not joking. His portrayal of Bain guides players from a place of camaraderie and respect that no other contractor has ever even touched, and probably never will. His Cloaker dialogue is filled with memes and jokes at the expense of the fanbase, but, ya know, sometimes we all need to be taken down a few pegs whenever we get too cocky in-game. And his music? Jesus, his music gives both Paydays a feel that cannot be replicated--we've seen the examples that have been put forward by others, and they just don't compare. Now, I'm not sayin' that those songs ain't great, but they obviously just don't feel the same. Simon was the Heart and Soul of Payday, and his loss is felt deeply by those that know and hear the difference. It actually makes me very worried about PD3, 'cause it's just not gonna feel right without him there. But, it is what it is.

As a Payday player, I'm glad that it was handled in-game, so people wouldn't be left questioning just what in the hell happened to Bain. I hate that shit when that happens in TV shows--like, when characters disappear or get replaced by different actors without an explanation. Anyway, the decisions made on how to go about it were... strange, to put it lightly, but at least something was done. And, even though I hate bodyswapping narratives, I'm not peeved by Bain's ending. It was an alright send off, for what they could do on short notice in a sinking ship. Closure's a luxury that not all games have, and I'm glad that we got it with Payday's most important character.

And, as a decent person, I'm glad that they just killed off Bain in general. I dunno everything that went on behind the scenes at OVERKILL while Bo was imploding everything, but I can make some educated guesses. It wasn't good. For anyone. There's a lot of hurt there that's difficult to come back from, and, honestly, it's probably best if the OVERKILL team and Simon (and especially Ulf) don't work with each other again. Plus, it's probably just easier, logistically.

So, as much as I will miss Simon defining Payday, and Bain in his entirety, I'm glad that his disease wasn't presented in-game as curable and that his character was given a proper send off. He's more than earned his retirement and I hope that he enjoys laying mad pipe in the Oval Office.

#ask hoxooster a question #PAYDAY 2 #PD2 #PAYDAY 3 #PD3 #Bain #Player Experience #fan experience #screenshot #masks #long post warning

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Color of Night (Rush, 1994)

Two things I learned about this movie's reception:

Reviews at the time of release were not kind, and awards it received include a Worst Picture Razzie and a Worst Actor award for Bruce Willis at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.

A less dubious honour earned by the movie is the #1 ranking on a Maxim Magazine list of the best sex scenes of all time.

If I can try to address the first point, I imagine in an era where tacky erotic thrillers were in abundant supply in cinemas, it might have been easy to dismiss the movie's level of exaggeration as unintentional or miscalculated. I'm approaching this movie in 2023 as part of an erotic thriller retrospective on the Criterion Channel (this is the first one I went to, although a few of the other movies I'd seen before), but also with knowledge of and ready access to the giallo movies which this movie seems to echo, so that level of exaggeration reads to me more readily as conscious influence. Had this been released a decade earlier, when Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill, with its Americanized giallo stylings, was fresher in the collective memory, would it have been better received?

As for the second point, I don't know if this is the "best" sex scene I've seen in a non-pornographic movie, but it might be the "most", transporting from a pool to a bed through elaborate choreography and the magic of editing. The heroine is so cartoonish a sexpot, dramatically dropping her clothes at the earliest opportunity and later cooking with nothing on but an apron, that little of what transpires in the movie plays with any real sexual tension or eroticism, although I should disclose that as a straight man I did not find the sight of Jane March in the nude to be entirely unpleasant. But this portrayal can also be chalked up to narrative developments, which are sold by the cheerful illogic of the movie. Without spoiling too much (although a close enough look at certain characters' faces will reveal many of the movie's mysteries), like its inspirations, this does not present a terribly sensitive portrayal of mental illness, positing that it can be resolved by the power of good dick. (Alas, the version of the Criterion Channel is not the international cut, which I understand shows Bruce's Willie.)

All of these references to inspirations would be for moot were the movie not engagingly executed, but Richard Rush cranks up the style to match the story's daffiness, shooting this in DePalmaVision, with split diopters, aggressive rack focus, reflections and refractions, fracturing the images into the weird collective headspace in which it resides. We even get some of the De Palma touches in the characters, with Ruben Blades playing a cantankerous cop in the mold of Dennis Franz with the added character trait of being Hispanic (this isn't a Dennis Franz character, what are you talking about bro, check out all the Spanish he's dropping mid-sentence). Add to that a stalk and slash sequence in the form of a car chase, fun supporting roles by Lesley Ann Warren, Brad Dourif, Lance Henriksen and Kevin J. O'Connor, some gruesome kills and a climax involving a nailgun and thunderbolts and lightning, and I had a blast with this. As for Willis, he brings a lot of Marky Mark in The Happening energy, in which a normally very masculine presence is left stranded and confused in a movie totally at odds with his usual strengths. But Willis is a much more sympathetic (and better) actor than Wahlberg, and I think he acquits himself well enough here. Worst Actor of 1994? Fuck off.

#film #movie review #color of night #richard rush

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Performance Portfolio: Sylvester Stallone and Rocky

The story of 1977’s Best Picture winner, Rocky, was a rags-to-riches story both in-universe, and out, especially where it’s star was concerned.

Rocky tells the story of Rocky Balboa, a down-on-his-luck prize-fighter who ends up lucking out with the chance of a lifetime: fight the heavyweight champion of the world.  In a classic underdog story, Rocky follows the boxer as he seizes his chance to gain self-respect, fighting for a better life and a chance to prove that he’s got what it takes to stand in the ring with the best.

And behind the scenes, Rocky was the story of a down-on-his-luck actor, who wrote a screenplay in three and a half days, submitted it to be made into a motion picture, and refused to back down from insisting upon playing the lead role, in the smartest decision of his entire career.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Sylvester Stallone’s biggest Hollywood role, and biggest step of his entire career, came in the film Rocky, directed by John G. Avildsen.  

Rocky saw Stallone as the lead, and the most iconic character he’s ever played up until this point.  As Rocky Balboa, Stallone perfected an honest grittiness, a genuine lovable underdog that audiences could recognize flaws in, but instantly choose to root for.  To quote Roger Ebert’s review of the film:

“His name is Sylvester Stallone, and, yes, in 1976 he did remind me of the young Marlon Brando. How many actors have come and gone and been forgotten who were supposed to be the “new Brando,” while Brando endured? And yet in “Rocky” he provides shivers of recognition reaching back to “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He’s tough, he’s tender, he talks in a growl, and hides behind cruelty and is a champion at heart. “I coulda been a contender,” Brando says in “On the Waterfront.” This movie takes up from there.”

Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character could easily have been played as a stereotype: a dumb brute with a heart of gold who got lucky.  However, Stallone brings to the role a level of emotional intelligence, and a broader character than simply a fighter.  He is disillusioned, best displayed during conversations with his trainer, Micky Goldsmith.  He is a man in love, he is frustrated by the direction his life has taken, and when he has an opportunity to get out, he is afraid.  He is awkward, embarrassed by his circumstances but not by his personality.  He is good to almost everyone he meets, and yet we meet him as reluctant muscle for a loan shark.  He’s tough, yes, but there is an incredible gentleness underneath.

Although this is the first role that Stallone would come to be known for, it’s interesting that Rocky Balboa stands mostly alone, among the many gritty, brutal action-heroes that Stallone would go on to portray.  This is no John Rambo, Marion Cobretti or John Spartan.  There is no ‘killer instinct’ or brutality to this character, ironic for the trade he’s in.

While the other characters reached a point, whether in pop culture or in the script themselves, as being boiled down to their ‘job’, or role in the script (cops, soldiers, action-heroes), Rocky Balboa stands as a person, a character.  One of the most beloved characters in film history, in fact.  For a man who would go on to be known for mostly playing hardened action-men, Stallone’s first big break comes in a remarkably soft character, a fighter with a heart of gold who is incredibly, heartbreakingly human.

Part of this lies in Stallone’s skill in creating a character who, thanks to both screenplay and performance, appears to have been existing in this world before the movie began, and will continue to exist after.  Rocky has already been around for a while, evidenced by the numerous relationships and tics in his character: his religion, his pets (two turtles and a dog), his rubber ball…he’s a fully realized character, complete with history, he has a past…but not much of a future.

Stallone perfectly embodies that: the lived-in qualities of Rocky’s life and the hopelessness of the situation.  His performance lays the character bare for the audience, so they can see everything about him and feel for him.  It is in this performance that the film hinges: in a world full of sports movies, the only thing that can keep an audience invested in the final inevitable victory is the character who earns it.  Within a few short scenes, Stallone’s screenplay and performance convey to the audience instantly, without saying it outright, that this character needs the victory coming to him.

And the thing is, it’s not even a victory.

While we’ll cover more of the actual story and climax of the film itself in a later article, it’s important to note for Rocky’s character, and Stallone’s portrayal of him, that ‘victory’ in Rocky’s case doesn’t mean winning the fight.  It means earning self-respect, something that you slowly see Rocky gain as the film progresses.  This is what he earns.

And thanks to Stallone’s heartfelt performance, we as an audience want him to earn it.  We feel for him, and we want him to win, to pull himself out.  Stallone perfectly embodies the sympathetic, rough-around-the-edges underdog type character that he had previously touched on, creating in his performance an iconic film character that the audience feels with and grows with.  His performance accomplishes exactly what it’s supposed to: making the audience care for, and believe in, a character who has never existed.

And people believed in him so much that Rocky has become a real person, to the point that his native city still has a statue of him.  Stallone’s legacy is most easily seen in Rocky, as this character, a character that, to many people, he will always be.  It’s the role that made him a star, a breakout, a juggernaut, long before Rambo, the giant success necessary to launch him onto the career ahead.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  If you have something you’d like to add or say, don’t forget that the comment box is always open!  I hope to see you all in the next article.

#1976 #70s #Performance Portfolio #Sylvester Stallone #Rocky #Rocky 1976

[veilchenjaeger]

Can you please/ tell us your/ list of least/ favourite/ jobs for Song/ Lan to have

(in fanfic - u said it in some tags and it intrigued me - I didn’t know if the hexameter thing was serious so here is dactylic hexameter)

First of all, I cannot believe you wrote this in dactylic hexameter, I am so impressed. The hexameter thing is indeed a joke (maybe I should mark it as one?), but you get a medal for the effort. I can't not give you the list now, anon.

I am going to put this under a read more, for the following reason: I know how much random people on the internet disliking your headcanons/writing choices can fuck with your head, so if you write MDZS fic and don't feel 100% confident about your Song Lan choices, you can skip this. Disclaimer that 1) I am a random person on the internet 2) I do not own this character and have no idea how MXTX thinks about him, so my interpretation isn't any more or less subjective than anyone else's 3) I have some pretty unpopular opinions when it comes to dear Zichen. Every read (or reinterpretation!) of a character is equally valid, you are entitled to disagree with others, and I have read fics with all of these Song Lan jobs that I enjoyed immensely.

Anyways, the list. I'm going to try to explain why I dislike these, and say what I might like about them. Those are in no particular order, and they're all things I've seen multiple times.

Cop. This one's a bit of a mixed bag already - Song Lan wants to help others and make the world a better place, and I think that he has a bit of a... rigid idea of justice, and he does prosecute criminals (well, one specific nine-fingered criminal) in canon, so I can see him join the police for idealistic reasons. And I would love to read a fic with cop Song Lan that explores his sense of justice! Maybe a Songxue one! And I have read fics where Song Lan is a detective, and that I can see! Generally tho, I don't really like it for the following reasons: First of all, ACAB. (Though how much of an indicator of general bastard-ness joining the police is kind of varies by setting.) But Song Lan, in canon, is someone who actively disagrees with the system and tries to change it. He leaves his temple for no reason other than that he agrees with a pretty boy that the very system the great sects/clans operate on is fucked up. There's no other character who does this without being pushed out of the system in some way or already not fitting into it, except for maybe Mianmian, and Song Lan's goal is to create an alternative system. And I like to see a bit of that aspect of his character in my Modern AU Song Lans, so I don't vibe with him having an inherently system-conforming job that in many countries has, uh, the kind of connotations it has.

Soldier. This is just the same thing as above, just that the system-conforming part is even heftier here and it's way harder to re-frame joining the military as helping people if you're already not very conservative. Unless he got drafted, I can't see Song Lan as a military guy at all, sorry.

Security guard. This one's less about political attitudes and more about this being a job that potentially requires you to have a lot of body contact with random people, and Modern AU Song Lan does not have a sword at his disposal that could help him keep his distance. I do think that he would choose his job regardless of his touch aversion if it's something he believes in - being a rogue cultivator is probably not very comfortable compared to living in a temple when you're mysophobic! - but there isn't really much to believe in here that imo would outweigh the touch aversion. Also, I don't really like portrayals of Song Lan that cast him as The Muscle (And Not The Brains), and I feel like this is kinda the same trope. That being said, Song Lan Mall Cop feat. Xue Yang, the guy who keeps breaking shop displays for fun, is an AU I kind of want now. Context is key.

Lawyer. Another mixed bag! I am very here for human rights lawyer Song Lan, or for him advocating for justice for individual people! This is an excellent Song Lan job that hits a lot of buttons for me! But I see a lot of corporate lawyer Song Lans, and I just don't think that he would sell his soul to capitalism like that. I also don't think Xiao Xingchen would be attracted to a corporate lawyer.

Anything gym-related. This is just the mysophobia point again. I am vaguely grossed out by gyms, and I am not mysophobic. But he would probably make a decent instructor, and he's canonically an excellent swordsman, so I can kind of see him in a coach role. (Suggestion: yoga teacher Song Lan! Or, like, guy who does tai chi lessons for elderly people in a park Song Lan. Here's a nice Songxiao meet cute.)

Anything that makes him more than moderately wealthy. This is more of a general pet peeve related to the fact that I really vibe with the whole Yi City crew not being part of this rich, important elite sphere the rest of the characters move in. Also, Song Lan was raised by monks, so I like somewhat ascetic vibes for him.

Architect. This wouldn't even make the list, because I don't really have anything against it. He might do well in this line of work, but it's also not something I'd associate with his character traits. So, neutral Song Lan job. Only that he is an architect in every second fic I see, to the point where it's almost part of his fanon, and I am completely baffled by that. Why? Does he have the kind of face that many people look at and think, "Ah, yes. He designs buildings"? Maybe he does. Maybe the traits people generally associate with architects are "kind of boring" and "resting bitchface". But I am baffled!!!

So, that's the list! Let me end this post by telling you about the funniest Xue Yang job I've seen so far: there's that one fic where he works at Lush and is really weird about it. Delightful.

#[epistulae ad atticum] #/i mean it when i say i talk a lot #the untamed #song lan

[spikemuth-post]

My Lost Piers  Fic

I recently dug up the first story I wrote about Piers. I sent it to a friend back when I was still trying to gauge and understand all the characters and thank goodness she kept it

—-

The sound of the T.V. was buried underneath your laughter as you reached over to grab some pizza off the table. You were celebrating your new flat with the only 2 people who were free to help you move in today. Hop was on the floor in front of you, his Cinderace chowing down with him and Marnie was beside him. Her Morpeko was waddling about, playing with the litter of Yampers that your Boltund had. "That is something else." You managed to say, looking away from Marnie. Her smirk didn't go away and she was persistent in wanting to make eye contact with you. You resisted for a bit. " What makes you think that I like your brother?" "That is the most unconvincing denial I have ever heard," Hop snorted as he lowered pizza into his mouth. "You might as well have said 'I don't think Piers is hot! Who said that! Definitely not me!" Hop mocked your voice so convincingly that your Boltund wandered over to see what was going on. You gave the pooch a scratch behind the ears, red in the face at the portrayal. "You like him, don't you-" "No!" Your defense made them both start snickering and Hop looked over by the pizza box. All of your phones were beside one another and so you didn't notice that he grabbed yours and not his. He began to fiddle with it as Marnie laughed at you. "Well, answer my question. Why would you think that?" "Well, to be honest, I didn't." She admitted coyly, "I asked if you liked him because I know for a fact that he thinks you're cute. I was just trying to maybe give you both a little push." "H-He does?" "Yeah, that's good." Hop mumbled to himself as he typed. Neither of you noticed. "Well, would you consider going on a date with him if he asked? Or asking him on a date?" "T-That does sound nice... but what if he doesn't like me like that? Thinking I'm cute and actually liking me are two different things-" "Hey check this out," Hop snickered, holding up your phone so you could see the screen. Marnie wasn't facing it, so she hopped off the couch and leaned over it on your side so you could both get a better look. Your mouth fell open and Marnie read it out loud. " 'Hello there, sexy. Your body is a temple and I want to uncover ALL it's hidden treasures. Maybe meet me at my new flat tonight after dark?'. You didn't have to put both tonight and after dark, Hop. They mean the same thing-" "DO NOT SEND THAT!" You and Hop jumped to your feet and he backed up from you a little bit. As he backed up he squeezed the phone unconsciously, not knowing he was touching the screen. "Relax, Mate. I'd never send it. You're my best friend. Do you really think I would... do...that...oh no." Hop glanced at the message to delete it, horrified to see the word 'sent'. You reached out for your phone and felt a tidal wave of emotions seeing Hop's face. "uh-" "Hop... Tell me why you're looking at it like that." “Uhhhh... Okay... But You can't be mad at me-" "HOP!" "I’ll do damage control," Marnie grumbled, grabbing her phone and going to call Piers. Anger poured out of your mouth and Marnie couldn't help but smile. Upon getting Piers's voicemail her smile dropped. "...I think his phone is off... Good news, I think that means he hasn't seen it." "WE CAN ADDRESS THAT AFTER WE KILL HOP!" "As much as murder would spice up our evening... Our priority should be getting ahold of my brother and letting him know what happened."

—

Obstagoon continues to whine for his trainer's attention, getting a pat on the head every so often. Piers was too focused, staring at the options before him and trying to determine the best move for such an intense and cutthroat strategy game. “...A3-“ “Aw man, you sunk my battleship.” Raihan complained. Burying his face in his hands, he put the peg in his ship. Piers just rolled his eyes. “I wonder what’s taking Leon so long to get here. The movie starts in 20 minutes.” “Yeah, we need to leave soon,” Piers mumbled, taking his phone out to check the time. He didn’t remember the battery died until he looked at it, angrily tossing it back in his pocket. “Text him, see where he is.” “Yeah, give me a minute... G7-“ “Nope-“ “OH COME ON!” As Raihan fumed, Leon entered his apartment, looking oddly determined. The reason being was a call he got from his brother to delete a text from you by any means necessary. His friends didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. “Finally! Come on, we have to get going.” “Uh, yeah, sorry I’m late... Hey, Piers, can I borrow your phone?” “It’s dead, Sorry.” Piers just shrugged but Leon seemed nervous, making Raihan offer his phone. Leon took it with a ‘thank you’ not wanting to decline and be suspicious. This was going to be harder than he thought. ----

They settled into their seats, Raihan’s eyes glued to the soda advertisement. The theatre had only 2 or 3 other people in it, all of them sitting rows above the trainers. Leon was focused on Piers’s phone, which was in the rocker’s back pocket. Leon bought a phone charger and a reserve battery, ready to get his plan into action. He sat beside Piers and the theatre darkened. Raihan seemed so invested already but Piers was leaning on his armrest. The bored rocker’s hip was slightly up as he leaned on his left leg. He wasn’t leaning all the way back in his chair either. Leon could see his phone peeking out of his back pocket.  “Ugh, how long are the logos?” Piers complained to Raihan. As he turned to him, Leon began to slowly reach for the phone. The two were having a small conversation so Leon thought he had plenty of time to grab it. Unfortunately, Piers rolled his eyes at what Raihan said and sat back in his chair. He sat on Leon’s open hand and both men just froze for about solid minute as the opening scene of the movie rolled on. Piers opened his mouth but shut it just as fast, unable to articulate his thoughts. “...Uh... Can I have my hand back?” “Why is it on my ass in the first place?” The moment Piers shifted to release him Leon pulled his hand away. While embarrassed, he was still victorious, hiding Piers’s phone from the rocker’s view.  “Everything alright, mate?” “Yeah, yeah... I thought there was gunk on your seat. I was just um picking it off before you sat down.” “Uh huh,” Piers didn’t feel like picking that apart, ready to sleep through this flick. “Well, next time you want to cop a feel, at least give me a warning.” “Sorry, Piers!” Leon grinned. The moment Piers looked away, he plugged the phone in. Any minute now. All it had to do was power on.

--

When the movie picked up, Leon completely forgot about the phone. He was so invested in the story that he didn’t notice it power on. Piers was asleep on his hand. Raihan was on his phone, texting Nessa about how terrible this movie was.  He looked over to Piers, seeing the Rocker drooling slightly. He couldn’t pass this opportunity up, taking a picture of the sleeping Piers and then sending it to him immediately. “He’ll enjoy this pic when he wakes up.” Raihan snickered. Leon heard him but didn’t understand until Piers’s phone began to ring on his lap. The sound of the hard rock ringtone made Piers wake. He turned to Leon, confused to see his phone on his lap. Leon panicked and silenced the phone.  “... Oh, It’s back on.” “Uh, yeah... I charged it for you!”  “Oh that’s nice...” The groggy Piers looked at the screen. He saw a cut off text, a notification about a picture message and a missed call from Marnie. That was the only thing he really cared about, perking up to see the bright red ‘Missed call’. “Hey, I’m going to step out for a bit, I need to call Marnie back.” He reached for his phone and Leon took in a harsh breath. He gripped the phone tight, making Piers raise a brow.  “Uh, it’s not polite to call in the middle of a movie.” “...I know? That’s why I said ‘step out’. Look, I have to call Marnie back. What if she needs me?” “I-I’m sure it’s nothing-” “Leon, this isn’t funny-” “Can you two keep it down?” A woman 2 rows ahead said suddenly, looking back at the men in disgust. “I’m trying to watch the movie-” “Spoiler alert, Rosco dies.” Piers snapped. A couple of people in the theatre groaned. Even Raihan seemed to be incredibly distraught by the news. “Give me the phone.” “No!” “Leon!” “I’m telling the manager.” The woman complained, getting up to leave the theatre. Piers just couldn’t let her leave without one last jab. “Go ahead, sweetheart, I’ve been kicked out of nicer places.” “Yeah, he got thrown out of the Hero’s bath in Circhester for throwing a bath bomb in there,” Raihan commented. That didn’t get the reaction out of Piers that he wanted and he finally started to look into what the hell was going on next to him. “You guys okay?” “Give me my phone!” “uh, um- BATTLE ME FOR IT!” “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” “Alright! Theatre battle!” Raihan seemed pumped at the idea. Even a few of the moviegoers were interested. The Ex Champion and the Ex Dark Gym leader. Even the manager, who just arrived with an angry patron in tow was oddly invested.

---

“Leon hasn’t answered at all!” You panicked. Marnie was of great support and Hop locked himself in your bathroom to protect himself. “I am so nervous. What if he failed? Oh, Piers will never talk to me again!” “I mean... I think the worst-case scenario is that he shows up at your house thinking you’ll sleep with him... Which I also think you might want-” “Marnie!” “I’m still convinced you like him... Maybe we shouldn’t have outsourced the problem to Leon.” Hop opened the bathroom door for a second but when you whipped your head in his direction he closed it again. “I was just going to say that they went to the movies! Maybe we could go and see what’s happening!” “That’s not a bad idea.” Marnie chimed in, “It would be better to explain it in person.”

--

There was a large crowd outside of the theatre when you all arrived. You exchanged a confused glance around before working through the crowd. In the center was Leon and Piers, each down to their last pokemon. Leon was biting his lip, at a type disadvantage. It looked like Piers was going to win this. Raihan seemed amazed, acting as the referee. When you Hop and Marnie showed up, Leon seemed to glow, gesturing to Marnie immediately. “Look, Piers, Marnie is here! Just ask her yourself!” “Marnie?” Piers turned around to look. Marnie gave a shy wave. Next to her, he saw you and he hoped that his heated cheeks weren’t visible. While he was distracted Leon took the phone out, deleting the latest Message Piers had received. He cheered to himself. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, um, nothing.” Marnie had to quickly think of something. Since the message was now deleted, it seemed counterproductive to bring it up. “I... wanted to know if the movie was good.” “Oh, no it’s garbage-” “Here’s your phone!” Leon called back his Rillaboom, handing Piers his phone. The sudden surrender made the crowd upset but Piers honestly was just confused. He had his own pokemon return, eyeing Leon suspiciously. “S-Sorry about that!” “... The fuck is going on?” “Hop! Buddy! Why don’t we go get something to eat? “ Leon suggested, putting his arm around his brother. Everything was moving so fast that Piers had no idea what to say. Raihan huffed but ultimately didn’t care. He strode over to Piers, putting his arm around him and poking at Piers’s phone screen.  “Anyway, I sent you a pic of you asleep,” Raihan teased, “It should be your most recent message.” Hearing that made Leon freeze. Piers checked his messages from Raihan, shaking his head slowly. “Nah, mate, I’ve got nothing from you.” “What! Ugh, I’ll resend it.” “... Oh, Y/n, you texted me. Sorry I missed it.” He opened it before you could say anything and Hop saw that as the perfect opportunity to ‘nope’ out of there. Leon followed fast. Marnie didn’t want any part of this either, looking off to the side. You were speechless as Piers read the text, staring at it for a while. Over his shoulder, Raihan looked it over, his jaw dropping open once he finished. He pursed his lips and walked away, not wanting to get involved either. You tried to turn around and leave but the moment your back was to Piers it was over. He put his arm around your waist, pulling you to his side as you both walked off. He even cleared his throat cutely. “Piers-” “I think you and I need to talk about a couple things, love.”

#Piers #Sword and shield #swsh #pokemon #imagine #imagines #headcanon #headcannon #scenario #scenarios #x reader #fic #Piers pokemon

[tv-geeks]

The 25 Biggest TV Shows that Defined the 2010′s

Described as the golden age of television, the 2010’s redefined what we saw on our silver screens. With many of its programmes being compared to the work of the film industry, television changed before our very eyes these past ten years. We said goodbye to our favourite politicians, fell in and out of love with an after school club that sang show tunes, and crowned the king of the seven kingdoms. The 2010’s has an abundance of programming for us to watch, so making this list was quite the difficult task. In order to be considered for this list, the majority of the show’s seasons would have had to be aired from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2019. And, each show has been ranked based on its impact on television/its audiences, as well as the quality being taken into account (but not being considered quite as much as the former). So, before we move into another ten years of the ever-changing landscape of the small screen, let’s take a look at the best shows we watched. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS (26 - 40)

26. Top Boy 27. How To Get Away With Murder 28. Keeping Up With The Kardashians 29. One Day At A Time 30. Rick and Morty 31. Jane the Virgin 32. New Girl 33. Broad City 34. Crazy Ex Girlfriend 35. Master of None 36. Bob’s Burgers 37. You 38. Insecure 39. Bojack Horseman 40. The Simpsons

25) This Is Us, NBC (2016 - present)

Renewed until 2022, ‘This Is Us’ was the simultaneously heart wrenching and heartwarming drama that changed the game for television this decade. From its phenomenal cast performances to the well thought-out story arcs for each character, the family drama was one of the most significant programmes of the 2010’s. What made the Emmy award winning programme so special this decade was its ability to give each character a personality that felt real. We didn’t like these characters because they were interesting, we fell in love with them because they represented the realities of life. From Kate’s (Chrissy Metz) depiction of heavy insecurities from being overweight to Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) struggle of being a single mother, ‘This Is Us’ is a show about real people, non-fabricated.

24) On My Block, Netflix (2018 - present)

A surprise hit for the streaming platform, ‘On My Block’ was the most-binged show on Netflix during its premiere year. For both seasons that the show has been released, ‘On My Block’ has been an internet sensation, having its audiences watching the show as quickly as possible to avoid spoilers. The youth drama captivated audiences with its relatability, comedy, and the fact that it doesn’t shy away from reality when it touches on gun violence and life for kids in rough neighborhoods.

The show definitely had its impact for the past two years, and it also deserves more. For a show with minimal advertisement to capture the hearts of so many worldwide - and to even best the streaming network’s veteran programming - is a feat that is worth celebrating. ‘On My Block’ is a show that celebrates the underdog in life. It puts young, poor people of colour at the forefront and allows them to tell their own stories - be it dramatic or comedic.

23) Killing Eve, BBC America (2018 - present)

A show that really made a name for itself was the international hit ‘Killing Eve’. The drama starring Jodie Comer from ‘My Mad Fat Diary (2013 - 2015)’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy (2005 - present)’ star Sandra Oh took the world by storm with its intense and teasingly romantic performances. Oh and Comer became one of the greatest pairings this decade with their love-hate relationship in ‘Killing Eve’. The leads both equally balance each other out with their ability to be both comedic and dramatic whilst teasing both a romance and a constant desire to detonate the other, which is a quality not many can possess. The BBC programme succeeded in a crowded market of dramatic content by ensuring that it was impossible for one woman to have carried the show, as even though Comer has the task of portraying multiple personalities throughout each episode, Oh is just as striking with her nervous, intelligent and chaotic portrayal of the vulnerable and fervid Eve Polastri.

22) Big Little Lies, HBO (2017 - present)

With an all-star cast like this, it would’ve been a real shame had this show disappointed. Luckily, there’s a reason these A-listers joined the show as ‘Big Little Lies’ had us on the edge of our seats each week. Dealing with the influx of made for bingeing TV programmes being released in one set, the cable show had a lot to fight against, as it required fans to stay on board each week whilst retaining the ins and outs of the crime drama. ‘Big Littles Lies’ succeeded in the attention-span battle as each episode was carefully curated so that we wouldn’t forget the important details. Moments were revisited whilst every scene changed the story somehow without adding too much that we got confused. 

From the phenomenal cast to the striking writing and directing, the HBO drama is a defining show of the 2010’s as it was one of the few shows that made it almost impossible to log online without reading spoilers. Although it may not have the same hype as another fellow HBO programme, it still held its own and had us writing theories and listening to podcasts to keep us going until the next episode.

21) Brooklyn Nine Nine, NBC (2013 - present)

After being cancelled by FOX in 2018, the show was resurrected by the Gods at NBC and given two extra seasons to last until 2020 (for now!). The irony in this show is that it didn’t make much noise until its cancellation, where the silent fanbase made their voices heard. Although the reaction of fans isn’t quite the reason it got renewed, this still proved to be a pinnacle moment for television in the 2010s. Many shows lose their network, but not many make as much a spectacle as ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ did, leading it to becoming one of the most talked about shows of 2018. And there’s a reason for that. The cop sitcom may have its problems, but what it does successfully is give us a reason to root for every character they have (including Hitchcock and Scully!). A constant trope in comedy television is that there tends to be a few characters that are outright awful - at least to the more than casual viewer. But with the now NBC comedy, each one is lovable and has gone on their individually engaging journey throughout the years. Rootable characters are the root to every TV show that touches its viewers’ hearts, and ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ does that with every single on-screen persona.

20) American Crime Story, FX (2016 - present)

When it comes to biopics, television hardly gets noted as having some great renditions, but ‘American Crime Story’ is changing that. The debut season that detailed the OJ Simpson trial is probably one of the best seasons of modern television as it cleverly and accurately dictated the trial from the murder up until the verdict, giving viewers as close a look as possible to the reality of the crime. Sarah Paulson gave us a phenomenal performance as Marcia Clark whilst Cuba Gooding Jr. delivered OJ better than anybody imaginable.

The second season was also on par with its predecessor as ‘Glee (2009 - 2015)’ alum Darren Criss lead the show to another year of critical acclaim as Andrew Cunanan in ‘The Assasination of Gianni Versace’. Much like the first season, this one was an award show favourite, and on top of that, solidified Criss as a seasoned actor in the business.

19) When They See Us, Netflix (2019)

Created by Ava DuVernay, the Netflix mini-series focusing on a significant part of the drastic life of The Exonerated Five’s lives. Each of the six episodes carefully detailed their story, ensuring each movement and word connoted the struggle faced by Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana. What lands this show on the list isn’t the critical praise or accolades, but the detail oriented work on display throughout the series. ‘When They See Us’ did what many shows have deterred from over the years, and that was telling a real story with no boundaries. What makes a biopic successful is when it encourages its audience to research the original story after watching it. And after being viewed by over 23 million people less than a month within its release, we saw conversations take place about the Exonerated Five. We went back to watch the original documentary, found out more about the evils of Linda Fairstein, and conversations about the initial arrests grew and grew. ‘When They See Us’ was a phenomenon that created relevant conversations and truly defined this decade.

18) The Good Place, NBC (2016 - 2020)

In 2016, the creator of ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine (2013 - present)’ and ‘Parks and Recreation (2009 - 2015)’ took on a more challenging project as he created ‘The Good Place’; a comedy that tackles the meaning of life and how important we are to each other and the universe. The US comedy has become a staple in comedy as it challenged its conventions whilst keeping up the light-hearted nature we all anticipate. What made the show so special is that it gave us an abundance of extremely imperfect characters and relished in it. From the narcissism to their careless nature, it’s surprising that the season one finale plot twist even took us by surprise, but somehow it did, and that’s because beyond the fact that these people were mostly terrible, they were, above all else, lovable. Throughout the series we learned to love them for their bad sides, and saw that beyond what made them such horrific people, they were pretty decent. ‘The Good Place’ was a show that aimed to prove that humans are more than the good and bad things that they do, and although it has deteriorated in quality in the latter seasons, it still holds quite a large influence over this decade.

17) Veep, HBO (2012 - 2019)

One of the saddest losses of the 2010’s, ‘Veep’ was the excellent kind of programming that this decade will forever be remembered for. Beginning with a slow start, the Julia-Louis Dreyfus lead show stole our hearts with its wit and relevant comedy. ‘Veep’ took on what the world was focusing on - politics and feminism - and put it at the forefront of a primetime TV show. And to ensure we were watching, we received a stellar cast and perfect writing each episode. The political comedy is something that can be rewatched again and again, and never get old, which is why it’s such a shame we won’t be seeing it anymore. But maybe sometimes it’s better to bow out early.

16) Grey’s Anatomy, ABC (2005 - present)

If we’re going to discuss programmes with longevity, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ has to be on the list. The most successful programme from TV veteran Shonda Rhimes, the medical drama has been a powerful force in the industry. Launching the careers of the likes of Jesse Williams and Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ can be credited for getting a generation of young adults/teens into television drama. Some of the biggest fans of TV today found their love for the medium through Rhimes’ programme and have remained loyal ever since. Although the show isn’t quite at its peak anymore, it’s still holding strong, and it’s hard to find a television fan that hasn’t been captivated by the drama in the Seattle-based programme. The show has placed this high on the list as it’s had an immense influence on today’s TV (fans) and its longevity is unmatched.

15) Love Island, ITV2 (2015 - present)

Like many British reality shows, it took a year or two for ‘Love Island’ to finally make some noise, but when it did, it was most definitely heard. Making headlines in season two and becoming one of the most watched British shows just a year later, the romance-based reality competition forced viewers across the world to spend their summers with young singles searching for love and an Instagram following. On top of consisting of catty arguments, shocking twists and viral memes, ‘Love Island’ captured the hearts of reality TV fans worldwide for its relatable nature. Young people would tune in every summer to see people just like them search for love in a similar dating pool. On the surface we would be seen taking to Twitter to insist that certain women were being “mugged off” whilst her love interest was simply playing a game, but beyond that it became a starting point for conversations around misogyny, racism, sisterhood and mental gymnastics. From the beginning of the season, patterns would be noticed by audiences when the black contestants would typically be the last ones chosen - in the season five premiere, the final four singles left to be coupled up were all people of colour, three of which were black. The mistreatment of women like Samira Mighty and Yewande Biala would create discourse across the internet on misogynoir, and the constant talk of “tall, dark and handsome” would form interesting dialogue on what that really means. It may not seem like the most cleverly put together show, but everyday it made its worldwide viewers tune in as soon as they could to see the action as it poured out, so that we could interact with each other live. It’s rare for a reality show to be this well loved across the globe, as many competition programmes of the latter half of the decade were usually watched by the country it originally aired in, but the ITV2 show’s ability to create discourse and fanfare is what made it the powerful programme that it is (which was so big that even ‘Saturday Night Live (1975 - present)’ made a sketch about it). With the dating programme’s relatability, youth, easy-to-watch nature and its ability to create a conversation, it became a pinnacle of the 2010s that has had other networks attempting (and failing) to emulate it.

14) The Big Bang Theory, CBS (2007 - 2019)

With its wit, humour and unique take on life as a modern nerd, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ became a frontrunner in the comedy genre for the entire 2010s. Bowing out gracefully in the final year of the decade, the nerd-oriented comedy took the decade by storm, being one of CBS’ most viewed shows for the majority of its stay on the network. What captivated audiences was the simplistic comedy that was stylized as though it was intelligent. The show made basic science-related jokes that those fresh out of Biology class would understand, and thus make the joke somewhat relatable. And that’s not to bash the show for not having funny jokes, because it did, it just had a certain audience to appeal to. ‘The Big Bang Theory’ was never going to be funny in the same way that ‘Barry (2018 - present)’ is. The Jim Parsons-lead sitcom earned its play high on this list as the show was a huge international success. Existing for the entirety of the decade and only leaving because the lead lost interest before the fans did, it’s clear that this was a very beloved television programme, and when it comes to comedy in the 2010s, this will always be brought up.

13) Modern Family, ABC (2009 - 2020)

When it came to comedy in the 2010s, no true fan of the genre ended the decade without loving at least one episode of ‘Modern Family’. The family sitcom which has been followed by similar shows on the same network such as ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ and ‘Black-ish’, remained a dominant force in the genre for the former half of the 2010s. Tying the record for Most wins for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys with ‘Frasier’ (5 wins) from 2010 - 2014, it was a clear critical success and a definite frontrunner throughout the years. But beyond what the critics have said, fans have taken a liking to the show as it offered simplicity with humour. ‘Modern Family’ took an average concept of a dysfunctional but loving family, and detailed how their simple yet outrageous scenarios were relatable to both the audience and each other. Every time we tuned into an episode of the American sitcom, we were given a half an hour of fun, light entertainment that kept us entertained for the entire decade. For those that were in their teens, we related to Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland), who was always confused about her path in life and wasn’t always doing the right thing. For those that were seen as the sensible member of the family, we related to Alex Dunphy (Ariel Winter) who, although she appeared to have everything together, she never really did, and relied on her relationship with her sibling in order to feel superior but to also be vulnerable. Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) represented the underestimated yet striking individuals, Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) portrayed those with the incessant need to impress their parents, Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) was made for the hopeful parents always looking to do the right thing, whilst other kids could find themselves trying to findt their way in Luke Dunphy (Nolan Gould) or Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez). Everybody had their place in the family represented in ‘Modern Family’, so we found ourselves attached to see that play out every episode, with its charm, chaos and light-hearted nature. Also, Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) created a space for queer representation that both conformed and challenged the existing conventions, which especially for the beginning of the decade, was quite transformative.

12) Atlanta, FX (2016 - present)

A critical darling from its very first episode, ‘Atlanta’ gave us some of the 2010s most iconic episodes. From the jarring 'Teddy Perkins' episode to the innovatively shot 'B.A.N.' from the first season, this show was daring from its origins. The aforementioned season one episode proved to audiences that ‘Atlanta’ wasn’t an ordinary programme; the experimental production plays out as a talk-show, with some fake commercials being played between the story. With episodes like ‘Teddy Perkins’, the Donald Glover created show delivered one of the most unsettling projects this decade. The original airing on FX even aired with no ad breaks in between, forcing viewers to feel as eerie as intended. ‘Atlanta’ earned its place as one of the most defining shows of the decade as it proved to be daring without failure. Each episode told a story, and with its blend between comedy and drama, it really was a pinnacle programme from this era of blurred genres.

11) House of Cards, Netflix (2013 - 2018)

Netflix’s very first original TV show premiered back in 2013, and although a controversial programme today due to its male lead not knowing how consent works, we can’t deny the power that this show had throughout the years. Without the success of ‘House of Cards’ some of today’s biggest Netflix originals like 'Queer Eye', 'The Crown', 'Sex Education' and ‘Russian Doll’ may have ceased to exist. Due to the impact of the political drama, the streaming platform may not have had enough selling points to take on traditional broadcast television. ‘House of Cards’ may not be held to high regard anymore - with good reason - but it played its role in the golden age of television, and was one of the few significant shows that changed the way we watched television forever.

10) Orange Is The New Black, Netflix (2013 - 2019)

‘Orange Is The New Black’ was one of the few shows that changed TV viewership. Being one of Netflix’s first original programmes, it allowed the market to open up to the idea of binge-watching a programme, and giving traditional cable television a run for its money. But beyond changing how we watched television, the Jenji Kohan production changed what was on television. Prior to its controversial and damaging season four finale, the first three seasons of the show gave fans a welcoming set of episodes featuring strong, real and vulnerable female characters in serious situations and relationships. This continued on until the last season, however since the incident in the fourth season occurred, it took the show until its final installment to truly recover from its quality. But that doesn’t deter from the fact that this show had its impact, and found its way into people’s homes in ways that others couldn’t quite capture. ‘Orange Is The New Black’ created heart-wrenching stories tackling immigration, sexuality, rape, racism and more each episode. What made the show oddly superior to most of its peers is that although the lead was probably the most boring character on the show, the ensemble were so full of life and character that it more than made up for it. With characters such as Nicky Nichols (Natasha Lyonne), Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) and Taystee Jefferson (Danielle Brooks) grabbing fans’ hearts every time they appeared on screen, it made the prison-based dramady something special. We dealt with Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) and her annoying antics so that we could see if Nicky was ever going to find the love and peaceful life she deserved. We dealt with the lead of the show in hopes that her connection with Taystee would give her the justice she fought for throughout the entirety of the programme. ‘Orange Is The New Black’ was far from perfect, but it ushered in a generation of new and diverse programming that put women at the forefront. It got a lot wrong, but as its intention was to change the way we watched TV, it ensured we got what was missing.

9) American Horror Story, FX (2011 - present)

Creator Ryan Murphy was known for some less serious projects prior to this, and although they were successful, this is the project that transcended him into one of the biggest stars of the 2010s. ‘American Horror Story’ premiered to rave reviews from fans and critics alike, and throughout the years placed itself in the meme Hall of Fame with moments like Emma Roberts’ “surprise, bitch”. The show was able to make an almost non-existent genre in TV thrive and survive for almost ten seasons. Fans flocked to this show because it didn’t rely on jump scares to consider itself “horror”. ‘American Horror Story’ created characters who, with visuals combined with their literally insane character work, gave the show the fear factor even blockbuster films of the same genre were missing. Murphy and co. created a cast of characters that although were only ever with us for a season or so, gave us a reason to come back each time. The cast itself are also a flawless set of performers, but it’s the writing from each episode that’s allowed the show to become a pinnacle of television in the 2010s. Also, Sarah Paulson.

8) Rupaul’s Drag Race, VH1 (2009 - present)

Nothing redefined a whole genre of television quite like ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’. Ushering in a unique and fresh feel to the reality TV competition genre, Rupaul and his clan of drag queens delivered 10 seasons of the show this decade, as well as the four ‘All Stars’ seasons, and the international spin-offs. The show made its mark on the world with the help of the internet, as the viral memes such as Jasmine Masters’ “and I oop!” and Coco Montrese screaming “I’m not joking, b*tch!” were shared millions of times across the world wide web. We also got to see the queens have their lip sync battles impress fans around the globe; from Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna’s “Shut Up And Drive” to Brooke Lynn Hytes vs Yvie Oddly’s “Sorry Not Sorry”, the queens had fans gagging each week.

Drag has been seen as a fairly underground art form for many years, and throughout most of this show’s reign, the idea that it would remain this way was pretty consistent with its fanbase. However, within the latter years of the 2010’s, the queens of the werk-room transcended their talent into global fame, and have allowed drag to become the mainstream work of art it always deserved to be. Each season a talented and fiery bunch of drag queens strut into the werk room to be crowned ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’. And with its wit, unique storytelling and ability to become instantly viral, ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ easily became the best reality show of the 2010’s. The show became so popular that the previously underground medium has given queens success at the Primetime Emmys, and even launched one of its biggest stars - Shangela Laquifa Wadley - into the Oscar winning film ‘A Star Is Born’. The rise to the top was a tough one for the drag competition, as the masses were never clued into the idea of drag as a concept, let alone a show full of openly queer artists, yet through the years the show and its cast prevailed. What made the show so special was that queer audiences could not only see themselves and their stories portrayed on television, but they didn’t have to deal with tragic endings and disrespectful storylines in order to do so. Queer fans could enjoy the programme for its fun nature whilst still feeling represented. And although the racial diversity only picked up towards the later seasons, it is still one of the most diverse programmes on television. The programme isn’t perfect when it comes to diversity and inclusion as it still has to tackle its gender bias, treatment of the queens of colour themselves and the fact that the scene behind the camera is still very much mostly white. But, that’s not to say that it hasn’t made some progress.

7) Black Mirror, Netflix (2011 - present)

It was pretty hard to be a TV fan this decade without hearing of this show, let alone surrendering and watching at least one episode. The science fiction anthology series cleverly took on a varied set of themes and challenged its viewers to question their everyday thoughts and actions. From having a Prime Minister have sex with a pig, to Miley Cyrus’s dramatic portrayal of Ashley O and the iconic San Junipero episode, it’s difficult to not navigate this episode without being entertained by this show one way or another. Although the Netflix programme doesn’t have to focus on long-term storytelling, it does have to convince us to care enough for new characters and stories each episode. The anthology series has allowed many kinds of tales to be told, and has managed to build a dedicated audience each time it returns. From its excellent accolades to its incredible critique, ‘Black Mirror’ is a programme unlike any other, and is by far one of the greatest programmes to come out of the 2010s.

6) Glee, FOX (2009 - 2015)

Although criticized for its inconsistent writing and eventual fan service, ‘Glee’ was a show unlike any other, and remains impactful to this day. The FOX musical dramady did something beyond being a decent show, it paved the way for LGBT+ representation for years following it. If there’s one thing the 2010s should be remembered for, it’s the amount of openly queer characters on our screens (be it good or bad). When ‘Glee’ had one of its leads, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), come out in 2009 episode ‘Preggers’, an iconic moment of television immediately arose. Hummel may have made some questionable decisions since then, but the rest of the show followed suit with giving queer people somebody to see themselves in. Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) had one of the greatest coming out scenes in 2011, Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) dealt with being in an abusive relationship in 2012, Wade “Unique” Adams’ (Alex Newell) gender issues were explored in 2015, and Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) was given positive bisexual representation throughout the series. Although nobody’s story was ever perfect, the show opened the doors for more LGBT+ representation following it. Since its premiere, we’ve seen more (and somewhat better) queer representation in ‘One Day At A Time’, ‘Sense8’, 'The Bold Type', and creator Ryan Murphy's other programmes 'The New Normal' and 'Pose'. ‘Glee’ came at a time when queer youth needed representation more than ever, and it may not have been the best, but it was there, and it taught a generation of teens a whole lot about themselves, and for that, it ranks pretty high on this decade-end list. They also happen to have the most Hot 100 Entries of all time (soon to be topped by Drake, who is only one song behind), and received 18 Primetime Emmy nominations during the peak of the show in 2011, so some may have said it did quite well.

5) Parks and Recreation, NBC (2009 - 2015)

Beginning right at the end of the last decade and ending in the middle of this one, ‘Parks and Recreation’ definitely had a good shot at making an impact throughout the 2010s. And it managed to do exactly that. On top of being one of the few shows to have a worthy series finale, ‘Parks and Recreation’ was a programme that warmed our hearts every single episode and reminded us of a better life in an unfortunate political climate. Leslie Knope was a beacon of light in a dark world, ensuring that despite living what can be described as a simple life, she created something extraordinary. The Michael Schur original ranks so high as it has been a part of one of the most enjoyable kinds of comedies - the mockumentary - and did it extremely well. We’ve seen many shows make their mark amongst this genre, but ‘Parks and Recreation’ was able to do so without the help of a big Primetime Emmy push, and created a devoted fanbase. With the timeless memes and the rewatchable episodes, the citizens of Pawnee gave us some of the most enjoyable moments of the 2010s that will carry us into the 2020s just as well.

4) Fleabag, BBC One (2016 - 2019)

What appeared to be the quiet assassin of 2019 turned out to be one of the biggest shows of the 2010s. Phoebe Waller-Bridge released her one-woman show in 2013 in England and was soon picked up by BBC Three. Whilst the first season had its fair share of attention, it wasn’t until it returned for a second season in 2019 when Waller-Bridge truly left her mark. Viewers across the globe fell in love with the dark yet witty comedy as the show wasn’t afraid to show what figuring it all out was really about. It was dark, it was morally unhinged, it was funny, it was crass, it was flawed, it was simply real. Waller-Bridge captured complicated women in every episode, whilst remaining real and funny. This show - much like the very underrated ‘Chewing Gum’ - gave an honest, humorous voice to regular women just trying to figure life out as oddly and uncomfortable as possible.

3) Pose, FX (2018 - present)

The most vital LGBT+ inclusive show of the latter years of the decade, FX’s ‘Pose’ gave a platform to trans performers of colour with innovative and provocative storytelling. Although the show only arrived in late 2018, it’s earned a place on the list as it has helped push under-represented communities in the world of TV. With the likes of Billy Porter leading this show, the FX programme already had some celebrity prominence to keep it afloat, but beyond that it created stars out of its ensemble. The show has tackled the aids epidemic, life as a black queer person (most notably trans) and the origins of a lot of today’s queer culture. ‘Pose’ has set the tone for the next decade, and not only has become an important aspect of queer culture, but the television industry. As described by star Dominique Jackson in an interview with E!, "these things happened. You can't just sit in the comfort of your suburb and not realise that homelessness has occurred. Most of us who have lived in that time where the fear of contracting HIV and aids, the fear of wanting to work, the fear of walking the streets and not knowing if you're gonna get to your destination because someone is gonna kill you because of their thoughts about what you do in your bedroom, or how you express yourself. These things need to be seen. This is what 'Pose' does. It shows you everything about the juxtaposition between the rise of the Trump era, the literary scene, and the ballroom culture."

2) Stranger Things, Netflix (2016 - 2020)

One of Netflix’s biggest successes since its streaming origins in 2007, ‘Stranger Things’ was a quick fan favourite as soon as it debuted. Initially pitched as a mini-series, the 80’s-based programme became a word-of-mouth success so big that Netflix had no other option but to renew it again, and again, and again (in which 2020 will see its final chapter). What makes the success of this show so fascinating is that it was able to take a mostly child-oriented cast and create a project that attracted the masses beyond that age group. It would’ve been easy for ‘Stranger Things’ to become a Tumblr sensation for a year or two, being forgotten by most subscribers and its existence being remembered only by the GIF sets on inactive blogs, but it was much more than that. The Duffer Brothers allowed the show to reach into the hearts of multiple age groups by tugging on the heartstrings of loving parents with children, kids and teens longing for an adventurous life, and those with a reminiscent/romanticized vision of childhood in the 80’s. ‘Stranger Things’ became more than what was on the tin, and ensured that every viewer was giving a suspenseful and emotional first eight episodes that were so addictive many of forgave the show for its dismal sophomore year.

1) Game of Thrones, HBO (2011 - 2019)

Not only was this Emmy award winning series here for practically the entire decade, but it maintained its prominence for every single one of the years - even during its hiatus in 2018. Whether you loved the show or not, and no matter what your feelings regarding its final season are, there’s no denying that when it comes to the 2010s, ‘Game of Thrones’ will be the one show we will all reminisce on - for better or for worse. With the influx of streaming and on-demand services taking over, this HBO original will probably go down as the last show that we watch together. The programme was so popular that it practically forced its worldwide viewers to watch it beyond 1am on a Sunday night just to avoid seeing spoilers and to be able to talk about it freely the next morning. Even those that didn’t enjoy the show found it difficult to avoid spoilers, and for that, this show is definitely the show of the 2010s.

#television #game of thrones #stranger things #glee #pose fx #fleabag #parks and recreation #black mirror #rupaul's drag race #american horror story #american crime story #orange is the new black #house of cards #on my block #atlanta #modern family #the big bang theory #veep #grey's anatomy #love island #the good place #brooklyn nine nine #when they see us #big little lies #this is us #killing eve #2019 #best of 2019

[trailerparkflower]

Borderline personality disorder + Steve Harrington?...

So I was thinking about how Steve acts in relationships, researched dependency from the partner and then found a lot of info about BPD, wich made me think what many of the disorder symptoms are very fitting to Steve and explains some things in his behaviour. Lets starts, guys!

Promiscuity.

All his teen life Steve been slutting around probably too scared for serious relationships (because its better that way, no one will leave him if he leaves them first), all charming and needy and touch-starved, calming down his desire for attention and affection. 

Unstable relationships/idealization of the partner, lack of boundares.

Then he settled in the realationships with Nancy (who are brave and smart and oh, so stable), which turned out pretty much unhealthy from both of the sides, and Steve became so depended on his her to the point of breaking up his bounds with everyone else( including his probably childhood best friend Tommy) except her and planning all his life to revolve around Nancy.

Fear of abandoment, frantic efforts to avoid being alone.

He fears what Nancy will abandon him so much what he becomes even more clingy and needy, while she gains even more control in relationships and becomes a “top dog” (from Joe words). In ST1 we also see how insecure and  jealous Steve was to Jonathan, his dramatic reaction on John and Nacny hug, jumping in conclusions without any evidences. He even breaks Jonathan camera in the begining just out of his “insecurity” (again, based on Joe interview), fear what Nancy and Jonathan have better understanding of each other. In other words, he afraid what Nacny will leave him for someone else and he will stay alone again. Steve Harrington canonically has big abandoment issues, probably cased by neglecting parents.

Needing attention+validation

Idk if I even should comment it. We all know what King Steve persona was build for getting attention, admiration and validation from others, know how much time Steve spends on his looks and hair, how pleased he is when Tommy and Carol have all eyes on him. When he doesnt get compliments from Nancy, he pouts and praises himself on his own because he needs that.... “see, a ninja”; “make sure you wont forget this pretty face”, ect. You ask me, Steve has the biggest praise kink in all Hawkins.

Inability to regulate emotion, difficultes with anger controlling. Impulsivity.

Steve is one yelling bitch. He is a soft boy, but when he gets really upset and angry, he becomes mean and yelly and acts without thinking. He tears apart his own essay because Nancy couldnt help him with it, he pouts, storms of the rooms, screams at people. 

Getting upset easily + habit of blocking out intense painful emotions.

If you ask Steve how he doing, he probably will smile and say “peachy!”. Not because everything is really peachy, but because Steve prefers to ignore his own problems and things what makes him sad and pretend what everything is perfectly alright. He asks Nancy go to the movie and “pretend everything is normal for a few hours.”, says what his parents totally gave him hell for drinking beer but “who cares, screw them” and changes the theme. Tommy screams “run away, Stevie boy, like you always do!”, wich suggest us what Steve has a tendentions to avoid confrontations and stressful situations. He once again says Nancy go to the party and pretend to be normal teens in ST2 when she voices her concerns, and we see what ignoring problems and pretending is Steves constant coping mechanism for stress fear and sadness.

Distorted self-image.

Steves sense of self also seems to be instable and based on how people around him see him, like with Tommy he was a school bad boy, with Nancy he became a good guy, with Dustin he became a total soft dork as we see in ST3 trailer. He is unsure about his own goals, he doesnt knows who he is and who he wants to be, like wich job he prefers and what he likes to do in his life generally. Tending to base his own self on his relationships with other people, he gets complitely lost in the end of ST2 when Nancy is no longer with him.

Self-harm, self-desctuctive behaviour. Self damaging acts as drinking, drugs, vandalism.

Steve smokes, drinks, gets into the fights he cant win. Stands near Tommy when he writes about Nancy the slut and Jonathan the creep, runs away from cops. I would even say what his fight with Jonathan was quite maschostic, because Steve rilled him up and then barely protected himself and almost didnt resisted when Jonathan pushed him to the ground and started to punch non stop. Tbh for me it seemed like if Steve was so upset what he wanted some physical pain to blur his emotional one.

Dissociation, "zoning out"

Sometimes if you pay enough attention, you see Steve standing/sitting here with blank empty face. Usually it happens in stressful events, when he has some free time by himself. He also gets slow time to time, like hes habing hard time to concentrate. Cant be sure, but its does seems like zoning out. Im think there was even some parody video where people noticed what Steve sometimes gets blank faced and slow in the middle of the talk.

Paranoidal ideas, anixety, nervousness

Oh, this one is easy. You honestly wont find another ST character who is so full of anixety. He is fidgety, he hugs himself in a self-defense manner, he makes himself look smaller than he is, he constantly has the deer in the highlights look on his face, he cant think and act straight when he meets the Upside Down monster first time, so Jonathan even has to grab his hand and yank him to run. We also see how Steve is afraid of the goverment in the ST2, I would say its paranoidal behaviour-its seems like he does think what they are constantly being watched. Says what they will destroy their lives and families and changes the theme what Nancy wants to discuss.

In ST1 he is also ridiculously scared what his parents, dad especially, will find out what he drunk some beer, he gets so scared of this idea what he even calls Nancy and asks not to mention that to the cops, says what his parents will “Murder him”. 

In ST2 he is also pretty freaked out by Billy, in basketball scene when he is pushed down and Billy holds his hand you can see what Steve is trembling and looks like he is going to cry. Im not joking guys, just rewatch the scene....Poor guy just cant have a rest!

Presistent feelings of emptiness & guilt

“I'm sorry? What the hell am I sorry for?”

No matter is he guilty or not, if Steve having a conflict with someone, most of the times he will feel guilty and be sorry, as we see in the show. He wants to apologize to Jonathan for telling him means things, saying, “I just wanna be good, make things right”, buys him new camera (and giving it to Nancy, not presenting it to Jonathan himself.), cleans local theatre, he says sorry to Nancy, calls himself a jerk, a shitty boyfriend (wich is kinda downgrading himself), wanting to bring her roses and say how sorry he is again. Dustin also easily kind of guilt trips (”you promised to protect us”)  him to protect the party in the tonnels, while Steve clearly was against the whole thing, and feeling really unwell after getting his ass beaten by Billy.

Learning disability/scool problems. BPD can make it difficult for them to control the focus of their attention, to concentrate.

Steve plays it cool and pretends unbothered, but he actually tries hard to learn stuff. Even in ST1 we see in his room, what his table is covered by various homework papers. Its been shown what Steve having a hard time with study, what he is eager to be useful but not the smartest guy around, from his really chaotic essay and getting C-, to the Nazis comment. Its seems like he has some learning disability and doesnt even knows about it himself.

 Its also a known hinted fact what Steve doesnt have a good relationships with his parents, especially with strict father, he even calls him a “grade A asshole”. By their absence in the series, when we saw all the main character families, Steve remains all alone in big house, wich makes us think about how neglecting they are. The thing is, “people with BPD  have been found to be significantly more likely to having been abused by parents.”

During development, Joe Keery and the Duffers spoke about “what kind of family life [Steve] comes from and maybe this girl Nancy is quiet and listens in a way that other people haven't listened to him at this point.”-wich is pretty fitting to the portrayal of “neglecting, denying the validity of childnren thoughts and feelings parents”-that type of the bad parenting what BPD people mostly experenced.

“Parents were also reported to have failed to provide needed protection and to have neglected their child's physical care”, what gaves us the possible reason of Steves constant anixety and running away from the problems issues.

So, while we dont know can it be canon or not, I would say what there is high possibilities what Steve has BPD.

#steve harrington #BPD #character meta #stranger things #long post #harringrove

[constantlyirksome]

This Week Euphoria Walks the Line Between Reality and Fantasy (1x07 Review.)

The episode is named “The trials and tribulations of trying to pee while depressed,” which sounds funny until the reality behind it is revealed. Rue is almost catatonic during a depressive episode, so emotionally fatigued that she can’t even get up to pee. That’s the theme at the core of this episode, peeling back peoples perceptions of illness, romance, and sexuality.

I don’t suffer from bipolar, but a combination of depression and anxiety, and the portrayals by Zendaya of her lows and manic highs were spot on. Rue was largely bedbound, consuming copious amounts of television and avoiding looking after basic human activities like eating or hygiene. She doesn’t find joy in things that usually interest her as they start to become emotionally taxing. She starts watching Love Island marathons because reality TV doesn’t take a lot of energy to consume and can be quite comforting.

She tries to draw energy from her memories but finds it more and more difficult to remember what actually brings her joy. “Eventually all you think about is how life has always been this way, and will only continue to be this way….”

These scenes, for me at least, were some of the most relatable and comforting than I’ve seen on TV in a while. Zendaya approaches these topics with care not to overdo it, with a knowing humor that comes from being a Gen Z kid who knows her audience, because almost everything lands or has an impact. The scene where Rue experiences a bout of mania was brilliant, likening her heightened mental state to one of an overworked, paranoid detective, was genius. Detectives Bennett and Lexi Howard actually manage to piece together what happened with Jules, Nate, and Tyler. You have to wonder what Rue’s actual physical state was when you take away the magical realism and suspenders.

I think it’s important to separate Rue’s mental state from her relationship with Jules, both because it’s not fair to put that much pressure on someone, and because I don’t actually think they’re related. Rue may have tried to sober up but anything that happened after that was biological. No one could/should blame Jules, who has been put in a difficult position despite how much she genuinely loves Rue. It’s not fair to hold someone on a pedestal, just like it wouldn’t be fair to make someone feel like a burden or “boring”. (Jules said this last week but couldn’t possibly mean it.) In this was Euphoria sends an important message about looking after yourself, boundaries, and dependency. Hopefully Jules and Rue can find a middle ground where they can support and uplift one another without relying on each other for happiness and health.

Jule’s Journey leans more toward fantasy, as she heads into the city to escape the situation she’s found herself in, confiding and hanging out with some old friends. Her insight into why she has casual sex, to achieve new heights of femininity, and to then shatter that concept entirely, answered a big question as to her motives. And it humanized her, which is something the show needs to do more of. The reactions I’ve seen saying if she leaves Rue she’s heartless is an attitude that reflects the shows focus on Rue when Jules has motivations and feelings of her own. In maintaining this manic pixie dream girl thing the audience becomes more alienated towards a character that could be really important to the LGBT and trans communities. She’s not perfect, ghosting her best friend just to send her a guilty “I miss you” text was a dick move, but not nearly bad enough to vilify her.

Her final scenes, in the club (overlayed with scenes of Rue passing out from a kidney infection) admittedly confused me. Was Nate actually there? Who was she actually having sex with?

The other characters only got slivers of progress. This week’s flashback is for Cassey, and while we get a sad look at her history with her father it does little to add to her character and zero impact on her current problem, an unwanted pregnancy. Her and McKay deal with the issue with a lot of maturity actually. While Cassey dreams of starting a family, that maybe it’s what she’s “meant to do with her life,” but ultimately she was just daydreaming as McKay lays down some hard truths about what being unwed teen parents would be like. The storyline wasn’t given the time or emotional weight needed and was tossed aside again to deal with Rue and Jules.

Kat was given two scenes, one was a fight with Maddy and another was a cam session gone awry. Because Kat has had more screen time and a fuller narrative so even these had more of an impact. She’s starting to realize while her new persona and philosophy towards sex is liberating, it comes with some drawbacks. The creepy video chat she has could be foreshadowing to her final transformation in the season finale that I’m excited to see.

Lastly, the peoples champion Fezco. I’m always cautiously praising this guy because, despite the good he does, he’s still a drug dealer who deals to kids. His refusal to sell to Rue didn’t feel like a big enough step, but throughout the season he’s had enough conversations with Rue for us to realize he does actually give a shit. Last week they had a touching moment at the Halloween party, and this week he sat patiently and listened to Rue rambling while he tended to his sick grandma. He looks on at Rue like a wilful little sister; even their dialogue seems like sibling rivalry (“sit yo manic ass down and shut the fuck up,”) while he’s trying to protect her from the gnarly drug dealer he works under. There’s a peek into what his work life is like, the pressure to sell enough to make the higher ups happy. With only one episode left I would love to see a flashback episode for how he got to where he did.

His showdown with Nate was a triumph. After telling Rue that threatening Nate was crazy, Fez can’t help himself when the lanky son of a bitch wanders into his den spouting off. Fez rightly reminds Nate that he is actually a gangster and will end his sad existence. I don’t know how Euphoria has managed to make a character like Fez so popular or likable, but I hope we get more of him next episode and next season, and while I hope Nate gets what’s coming to him I hope it doesn’t come at Fezco’s expense. (But really Nate signed his own death warrant as soon as he called the cops, Fez’s bosses will NOT be happy.)

I honestly don’t know where Euphoria will take its finale as Rue and Jule’s relationship, as well as Nate’s shenanigans, come to a head, and so far it’s been pretty hit and miss with story progression/ending things, but I still have hope it will be satisfying.

#euphoria #euphoria hbo #zendaya coleman #rue bennett #hunter schafer #jules vaughn #fezco #kat #barbie ferreira #angus cloud

[ruwithmeguys]

I was asked recently: do you enjoy writing for ll as much as you do for Felicity? You write Felicity like you can hear her thoughts. But then you go and write ll’s character and you manage to keep her IN character without making her bitchy and without pulling her to bits. Do you like writing for her?

Beyond being hugely flattered – SO FLATTERED, MY GOODNESS – and mildly sceptical – I’ve never thought I was anything special in terms of writing ability but I do love keeping characters IN character whilst placing them in new situations – I can answer with complete confidence that, yes. I like writing for LL’s character.

I like knowing just how skewed her perception is. I enjoy writing that perception because in many ways, it’s incredibly indulgent. In reality, no one who wants to be loved and who wants a family should think like LL does. It’s a point of view that’s singular and therefore, interesting. But after writing for her, I truly don’t think the writers knew what to do with their creation, and she was a creation. Just because her name is LL doesn’t make her any less of a creation than Sara. Comic LL? Well, she’s married to a cop; ergo the name Lance. This cop is abusive. Her personality is also very different and she isn’t a lawyer. The writers tried very hard to make LL morally perfect but destroyed it when they realised she’d have to compromise said morals to love Oliver. So they gave her a set of standards that no one could reach and yet had her break them every time Oliver was mentioned. However instead of showing real guilt or shame or SOMETHING that would enable her some character progression, they replaced it wit superiority. It made her a selfish character who were supposed to believe is the opposite.

But you see, well written characters – characters with substance, who aren’t there for a plot purpose but as a defined personality on a show – can be selfless and still do selfish things. They can compromise their integrity and still be morally righteous. They can be good and yet see the virtue in violence.

I give thee Felicity Smoak.

Now KC did her own damage to LL in S1 – she was very determined to make her into something she wasn’t too fast because she clearly believed this show had been created to turn her into a mask wielding superhero who’s better than everyone. But the writers are the main problem – them and the exec’s at CW who threw an actress at the show because she had a contract with them. She was SO not right for the character, but they didn’t care. She’d starred in Supernatural so her name had merit.

(just a hypothetical: if Emily had been cast as LL, would she have possessed the skill to portray the character in a way that could make us like her? I think so, though the writers made this obscenely hard with their contradictory writing. Most would have a lot of difficulty. Still, I’m almost certain that if she HAD been, Oliver would have married the BC: a BC a foot shorter with pretty blue eyes… you know like in the comics *eye roll* Her COMIC BOOK fans ignore even the comic book details.)

ANYWAY!

It’s kind of fascinating really: I made sure to watch the episodes and ingest everything about the characters I write. I don’t always do this and it’s been a while so it’s time for a re-watch (any excuse really) but a few things became incredibly clear once I started. I have a few of Felicity’s habits: I talk to myself in tangents of weirdness and get flustered/blush super easily. I’m not a genius by any definition (mostly I'm a gigantic dumbass) but I wear glasses with my hair in a ponytail and I’m not generally the first person seen in a crowded room so to speak, plus I overthink/second guess everything I say. Like Oliver, I blame myself for everything and worry too much. I’m more solitary than most. I want to save everyone but have no idea how to. I love deeply.

I don’t love easily.

I’m not like Olicity. But when I write, I sort of become them. Or I attempt to. I feel my way through each scene and it becomes quite personal, which would explain the sentence breaks where I intermingle thought and movement with descriptions and speech.

Then I started writing for ll… now, I like to remain unbiased when I analyse a character. I don’t like ll. I don’t appreciate the way she was written in any season – I’m referring to E1 LL, E2 I’ll talk about later – nor did I enjoy KC’s horrific portrayal. It’s no secret, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be fair to her character.

I came up with three literary explanations of her character and this is one of them: the medium between the other two, from ll's point of view (please remember I am at work and therefore cannot write as well as I would like) -

She’s ordinary. Totally ordinary. A normal person who lives, works, eats, sleeps. We can empathise.

She’s part of a nuclear family and she knows her family loves her. She loves them. They’re not a perfect family but they are a good one.

She has an over exaggerated sense of how attractive and intelligent she is, exacerbated by how many people have told her that she’s smart and beautiful. She knows because she’s been told: she’s never questioned her looks or her intelligence and it’s the start of all the bad really. It was reinforced by becoming friends with the two richest kids in the city.

So she’s never had a reason to doubt herself. Not ever. There���s nothing in the world that ever could.

As for how this affects the story:

Through illogical and extremely unlikely circumstances – never explained for two reasons: it wasn’t important enough to the writers and they wrote themselves into many a corner with ll’s character as they tried to fit her into a universe that didn’t want to house their forced creation – she became good friends with Tommy Merlyn and Oliver Queen.

Oliver Queen makes her do the one thing she’s never done: doubt herself.

Surely she’s pretty enough for him to choose her. Smart enough. Good enough. Strong enough. Enough. She’s ENOUGH for him. They fit each other. He’s the Romeo to her Juliette. She’s aiming high and look, he’s right there: her partner along the way to the top. Her partner and her WAY. Her financer. Her ego boost. Her meal ticket. Her proof that she’s ENOUGH. Her proof that she’s relevant. That she’s BETTER-

THAN. HER. SISTER.

Because, gosh: LL’s world is dictated, her entire sense of self validated, by the existence of Sara Lance. I kid you not. I found this in the show… and it should make you feel sympathy for her. Should make you care. But she destroys our ability to give a crap because of how she handles everything with her sister.

Sara, who is daddy’s girl.

Sara who Oliver keeps leering over and not the older, better sister.

Sara who her mother sides with all the time.

Sara with the multitude of friends.

Sara with the better body.

Sara. Sara. Sara.

Why? Laurel does everything right: she follows the rules, does as she’s told, has become the role model. How does Sara keep BEATING her?

Is it… because Sara takes what she wants and gets away with it? She takes other people’s boyfriends - Laurel’s seen her do this (Arrow S1.5 comics) - she swindles her father for more allowance, her mother gives her free reign over the phone line… she’s selfish.

Well then, so shall LL be.

Suddenly Sara’s grounded-

And it WAS the right thing to do, Sara was too young and she didn’t want her heralded as a slut so soon. Ollie wouldn’t want anything to do with her anyway, but the way she throws herself at him is embarrassing, right?

-And the ‘Ollie Express’ is open season. He says yes. They have sex. Now she has him. She’s wanted by Ollie Queen and he’s settling down for HER. No one else and certainly not Sara. She’s beaten Sara and she’s assured a future for herself. His mother adores her. She fits in.

She can breathe freely again.

And Oliver, he’s so much more than people think: he’s sweet and kind- so what if he’s not that smart, she’s smart enough for the both of them. He’s reliable and honest. He makes her feels beautiful and wanted. All is right in the world. No matter what happens, she’ll always be the one who became Oliver’s first real girlfriend, because she’s special to him. She’s SPECIAL. She’s what he-

Except he’s having an affair behind her back.

With Sara.

Sara who she’d beaten.

Sara who isn’t as smart or as pretty or as EVERYTHING as LL.

Sara who’d gotten on a boat with her boyfriend.

She’s humiliated, but more than that… she’s confused. It’s nonsensical.

She’s everything. She’s perfect. She’s the ONE so… Oliver was happy. He was ready to move forwards with her. Why did he do this? Why does Sara keep beating her? She’s BETTER than Sara.

She’s better than all of them.

If they can't see that, see her... then why do they matter?

And then the realisation: she’s hard done to. She’s the scorned woman. She’s the one betrayed. She’s the one who’s grieving. She’s the one who deals with it in the best way. She’s the one who’ll walk out of this on top.

Oliver and Sara lost at sea? That’s nothing. NOTHING. She’s the one who got hurt and she never deserved it. They should have respected her. Should have loved her more. Ollie deserved to die at sea.

And so… an impetus is born: it generates into an unbreakable mind-set, separated from reality, one that we have to put up with until she dies. Literally.

Narcissism. It’s almost a disorder.

And it’s in the most impossible form: she sets a deliberately high standard for the world to attempt to reach and she gets to watch from up high as everyone tries to touch her seat. A standard that everyone must follow EXCEPT her. If anyone fails to meet it for whatever reason (and they always do), then they fail her expectations and therefore they fail her (this was admitted by KC herself, just fyi). They’re no longer good enough.

But she is though. She’s the ONLY one good enough. She loves her family, but she’s better than them. They’re all liars and stealers and selfish – Sara – betrayers – mom – neglecters – dad – cheaters and disappointments – Ollie – and unworthy – Tommy.

She doesn’t need them, not ever. How could she when she’s better? How could they ever meet her wavelength? How could they ever understand her mission, her heart, when they can’t meet her at the top?

But then her father, who can’t appreciate her because he isn’t capable of seeing her the way he should, makes her feel GUILT about her choice to be a DA.

Uh oh. Suddenly; she doesn’t sound righteous. She sounds like she’s becoming a lawyer for money-

NO. no, LL doesn’t do that, right? She’s better, so she can’t. She can’t fall beneath her FATHER’S set of standards because her own are so much better and she doesn’t have to meet her own because they’re for everyone else on the planet who are undeserving and have yet to face her justice. No one can outrun her justice, her standards.

Except herself.

But her father’s seen something in her, something twisted. The call of money and power and status and it’s a filthy thing isn’t it? Greed. Lust. Covetous.

She becomes the expert at coveting what others have, even as she judges them.

But she has to hide the filth: she’s better than her demons because she judges even them. Her father knows nothing. He doesn’t see her, so how could he? She’ll help him see her.

She joins CNRI to prove him wrong. She’s the pure one again whilst her father’s the alcoholic who can’t get over the daughter who left instead of adoring the daughter who stayed. The daughter who fights.

She sleeps with Tommy because she can, because she’s needy, because he’s Ollie’s best friend; the closest thing to the man she loves and hates and no one need ever know the notch she tied that night to her bed post.

Ollie did it with Sara after all. He could have had the bed post instead of just the notch. He died before he could realise that.

But it happens again and again for months and she has to admit, it’s thrilling aiming down. Obeying an urge for once and she needs the release: getting a job with CNRI immediately after law school instead of the requisite two years in a firm is impossible, but not for LL. Still, it’s tiring and it feels unrewarding, which is why she also needs the ego boost. She needs the validation, that it isn't all for nothing.

This way, she’s both fucking her past goodbye and giving it the finger.

She stops once she gets the job. Stepping stones, all of it. She doesn’t need Tommy, doesn’t need her father, doesn’t need law school anymore because she doesn’t obey the rules like everyone else HAS to.

When Oliver returns, she ignores him. He should have died: it was his punishment for forsaking their happiness.

He can’t touch her anymore; he can only watch from afar. She likes him watching. Likes him seeing exactly what he lost and can never have, what he destroyed.

Sara died because of him.

Her father became a drunk because of him.

Her mother left because of him.

She had to sleep with Tommy because of him.

All whilst he sunbathed on some island somewhere. And look, he doesn’t have to work to earn a living: he’s loaded. He doesn’t have to fight for anything, doesn’t have to strive or push like she does-

She’s envious. And she misses him. And if she misses him, he must miss her. They used to be so happy-

Wait… He suffered on the island?

He was punished?

If he suffered… does that mean he learned from his mistakes and that’s why he apologised?

He earned his stay on the island so maybe… he’s earned the right to forgiveness?

Suddenly he’s too tempting. She could have him again: he’s telling her she could. Oliver Queen, playboy billionaire, learned his lesson and wants her.

Of course he does.

She’s the best woman alive.

It’s the biggest ego boost of her life; a wave of chemicals that carries her away, that makes her kiss him. That scares her because she thought she was strong enough to not ant him again. EXCITEDLY because if he’s also the vigilante who went to HER for help-

But then… he reveals that he’s damaged and still a playboy and she has to retract once he fails her standards again.

A damaged man who won’t pursue her? Not her problem. She’s not interested. That man isn’t her Ollie. She'll check in again when he isn't quite so damaged.

Yet, even as Tommy worms into her, she keeps Oliver in mind.

It truly stuns her when he gives them his blessing. He… he was supposed to want her, to show reluctance.

Why does he look happy for them? She’s not.

He’s giving up the chance of them, and he’s SMILING?

How can he be? Doesn’t it torture him? She’s choosing his best friend over him, FEEL SOMETHING. FIGHT.

But he doesn't.

And he is changing, improving. Making waves - she’s taking notice.

So let him date lesser women, they won’t last and they DON’T.

HAH.

In the meantime, she’s fighting crime. The vigilante NEEDS her – he hasn’t asked anyone else for help: there’s only her. Tommy loves HER. Ollie loves her. Her father keeps butting in because he’s afraid for her safety and he’s realised just how prominent a figure she’s becoming, how important she is, but he’s too late to have a say in her life and he must watch her advance.

It all revolves around her now, as it should have before. She's the lead of her own story. They’re all realising how right she was, how they never should have put her second and not first. How they should have never made her feel less, and it’s ridiculous how she ever let them. They were all wrong.

She was made for greatness.

And then Ollie tells her everything she already knew about herself and it’s a king-size aphrodisiac: he thinks the same way she does. He knows she was always the best, always the ONE. He’s reached her level. And together they can soar above all others. They’re in love and will evolve and will lead the city into the future together. It's all slotting into place.

But he’s not her; he’s not righteous so she can ignore him when he gives her solid advice about staying out of the Glades. He’ll learn that she knows better, is better. That the world makes way for her and not the other way around-

Tommy dies.

It’s not because of the way she thinks. It's not because she was wrong. It’s NOT.

It was his choice, not hers. She doesn’t have to listen, but he should have. She never wanted him to come get her, she was waiting for Oliver.

And Oliver does come to her apartment: they reminisce. They’re together and that’s all that matters, so she starts planning. He’ll move in with her, there’ll be a marriage and move into the mansion-

Ollie leaves.

Again.

He left. He LEFT. HE-

No, she IS his ONE and ONLY. SHE IS. But the Hood and Malcolm ruined everything. It’s their fault Tommy died, that Ollie left. It wasn't because she was wrong or that she wasn't/isn't enough.

Their fault, not hers.

So why… does she feel guilty?

She knows really, but she pushes it back, away. Admitting to it would irrevocably damage her belief system.

And… she’s always right. And because she’s right, she leads a righteous charge against the hood, because it’s all his fault. Tommy died, ollie left, she’s feeling guilty and she keeps drinking- it’s all someone else’s fault!

Except it’s not.

It’s hers.

She'd been wrong.

Her world view crashes in on itself.

Nothing happened the way it was supposed to. She has no defence because she should have never needed one. That’s what being superior means.

Drugs and alcohol. How the mighty have fallen. No one can know… but even if they do, it doesn’t matter because she’s allowed to grieve like this. It’s grieving. Not shame. She's allowed to drink and change and be self-destructive. And everyone else doesn’t get it, they aren’t being fair.

Tommy dies.

Ollie left again.

She loses her job.

Her best friend gets a position as DA, well she’s not her best friend anymore: how dare she achieve greater. Johanna was supposed to help her, not step past her. Instead, LL is left behind and if her friend won't help her, then what good is she? She doesn’t need Johanna; she doesn’t need anyone.

She’s stronger. Better.

But then Sara comes back…

Sara died. It was her punishment. She’s not serving her punishment anymore. And she's come back, looking like she'd been on a six year pleasure cruise. That isn't fair at all. She’s unworthy. She ruined LL’s life. Her death was justice. How can the source of all her problems be alive…

And beautiful

Vibrant

Intelligent

Attractive to Oliver

Beloved by her father- her father who turned against her again in favour of Sara

Sara who went through the worst and resurfaced out untouched. Clean. As if SHE IS stronger, better. More.

How can I be like that?

She can’t.

Somewhere, deep down… she knows she can’t.

And she’s humbled by Sara who made her see how much she’d fallen… and for now, Sara can be the better of the two. She can pick up the slack and LL can watch, proud of her baby sister. She can give herself a break and compare others to her sister. Measure them by Sara’s measuring stick.

But it won’t be long at all until she’s BACK. Until she’s just as bright.

Until she’s better than Sara.

Until Sara needs her.

Until her father needs her.

Until Oliver needs her, because he stopped looking at her when she fell from on high.

She wants to return, to be part of that world.

But Sara is killed before she can become as beautiful. And it’s so clear that becoming as beautiful is impossible for LL. It too hard to digest that Sara is gone: Sara, the perfect fruition of a Lance daughter. The perfect her. The version of her that LL wished she'd been. So she’ll take on the mantle to honour Sara…

And in becoming Sara, she’s able to be more again. Be better again. Get back on that high saddle once more and she’s missed it up there. It feels right. It feels REALLY good. She’s been watching and learning… and her covetous nature had never died. She can’t be as bright as Sara.

So she’ll just become darker. A better Canary, never mind that canaries aren't dark.

She’ll wear Sara’s suit but she’ll be more. She’ll own it and make it her own, because this was always meant to be. It was never supposed to be Sara.

SHE is the justice you can’t run from.

This is the world she was made for. Oliver’s world. It was meant to be. So what if he’s angry at her presence: it’s because he cares about her, because he loves her. She'll fight him for a spot. He let Sara fight with him because he didn’t love her as much, but he loves LL too much. That’s why they aren’t together. Sometimes it’s just too painful to risk.

And it’s the best therapy. No more drugs. It’s addictive and it’s painful, but it’s better than anything else- in fact, it’s better than sex. Better than Oliver-

Oliver… Left?

With Felicity?

Because… he just wants her. HER. Out of everyone. He’s casting aside the hood… for another woman.

He and ll: they're supposed to fighting together, THAT’S how this works.

Then it’s just a phase. He’ll return and fight and realise he can’t live without the hood. He can’t without LL.

Except it’s not working, her fighting. She’s not changing the city so much as watching over it. She’s not moving forward. There’s a void.

There’s no more Sara.

She needs Sara. She needs Sara more than Ollie. The world made more sense with Sara. She might be the BC but Sara showed her the way. Her compass is gone. Her light is gone. And now LL is lost. If Sara’s back, she’ll feel better. There’ll no more void. No more emptiness. And maybe her life can WORK again.

And it’s okay, because she needs it. It’s okay to use Thea, because they’re friends and LL is loved by all. It's okay if disturbing the dead because, she wants it badly enough. It’s okay that Sara kills someone because it’s for the greater good: it’s for LL.

And with Sara alive somewhere, Oliver being with someone else doesn’t feel so bad. They’re soul mates after all, maybe one day…

And then he and Felicity break up and it’s PERFECT: no more Felicity in the basement, they don’t need her for him to stare at and Sara is alive. Oliver is TRAINING her. HE needs HER. Trusts her. LOVES her. WANTS HER.

So she suggests sex and-

He… is totally unreceptive. Isn’t… remotely interested… isn’t even remotely forward.

But… he’s in love with her and no longer tied down to Felicity. This should work. It’s been leading to this, right?

She has it all: she’s queen of the basement, Felicity is elsewhere and it doesn’t matter – so what if Thea isn’t talking to her, if Sara is out of the country. She and Oliver will fight crime together and maybe he’ll learn to love her again. Maybe he’ll-

Never. Love. Her. Not the way she loves him.

Because there’s just NOTHING there for him with her. He's alone even when he's with her and she knows what that's like.

Maybe he never could reach high enough to her again.

Maybe he knows he’ll never be good enough…

Or maybe... she’s just that conceited and Felicity… Felicity is just THAT wonderful,  that necessary to him because she is, isn’t she? She was there when LL wasn’t:

Felicity believed when LL didn’t

Felicity cared when LL didn’t

Felicity led him to places LL couldn’t

Felicity is, in many ways, stronger than LL and Sara combined and that truth stings

Felicity changed him without trying to

Felicity made him better… and ll can already see the cracks in him where Felicity’s absence has hurt him.

Without Felicity, Oliver will fall: LL's presence won't stop that.

Without Felicity, the city will crumble… because in the end, ll’s just a tiny pawn in a huge movement that she hasn’t contributed much to and she admits this finally to herself and to Oliver. The dirty truth.

It was all to feel alive, not to SAVE lives. It was all for her. But that doesn’t mean she’ll just let Oliver live without her because it’s thanks to her that he got on that boat: she helped create him! She’s responsible. She’s the ALBATROSS and she will never leave him. She changed his life forever: she left her indelible hand-print: SHE IS IMPORTANT DAMMIT.

The most important.

FLATLINE.

The end.

O_O

Yeah.

There's a less harsh explanation for LL:

She’s defensive due to the bad way she was treated after believing that her life was perfect, to her own detriment. She doesn’t have the kind of personality others can enjoy and rather than try to gain friends, she decides to simply be herself no matter how she comes across.

And there’s a much harsher explanation:

LL, at heart, isn’t a very nice person. She knows this so she builds an image that opposes the inner her. Addictions make her feel better about who and what she is, but they also help her to manage the stress of being, inside, the kind of person who doesn’t feel the empathy she should. There's an image to maintain so that no one knows the truth. Becoming a vigilante is more about how it feels to break rules and gain the kind of power only a mask can provide, than it is about helping people. In the end, she’s able to gain that vindictive pleasure of knowing that Oliver will never be without her. And every version of a canary has caused Oliver nothing but grief which is fine… because he broke her. Deep down, she just wants to be bad without being judged for it. Without facing consequences, which is why black siren fit the bill so much more than E1 LL ever did.

Again, this is just an opinion and a bit of fun when writing fanfic-

Anyway, Jessica's shutting up now because that’s enough out of me for one day. Back to work.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Shazam! (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: This is my spoiler review for Shazam! released the weekend after the movie’s initial release on April 5 so if you haven’t yet seen the movie, go and see it and then come back and read on.

Characters:

Billy Batson/Shazam:

So let’s start with our main character(s) and I will start with Asher Angel’s Billy Batson because I can’t really talk about Zachary Levi’s Shazam without first talking about the origin of how he came to be.

As I said in my non-spoiler review, I thought Asher Angel got off to a very rocky start. I am guessing “Holy Moley” is Billy’s catchphrase because both he and Shazam said it quite a lot in this movie. However when the first words you hear the movie’s hero say are “Holy moley! It’s the boys in blue!” you do question what kind of movie this is.

I did like his actions of tricking the cops into that shop and locking them in so he could try and find a woman with the surname Batson in their car...but I just how it was executed from the dialogue to that very childish waving played a little bit too kid-like than Billy or Shazam are supposed to be.

Although the fact he is a kid in the foster system was very tastefully handled and didn’t detour away from the hard-hitting reality of what growing up in the system is like.

Similar to the 2009 movie Hotel for Dogs starring Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin as brother and sister in the system and wanting to remain together no matter where they end up. Don Cheadle plays one of his better roles there as the social worker who like Andi Osho here is very realistic in saying “If you keep running away, eventually it will become impossible to place you”. Very well handled and I am impressed a movie this comedic and light goes there.

Now when Billy moves in with the foster family that houses the other kids of the Shazam! family, something about Asher’s performance really makes Billy fade away and the attention is focused on literally everyone else. I think the main problem for this movie will be Asher Angel because even in promotions it’s Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer doing the rounds.

I did like the growth of him accepting the foster family as his new family. He started off very cagey, was fixated on the idea he wasn’t going to stay there so didn’t want Darla to get attached which made her feel sad and how he didn’t join in with the family dinner tradition of “all hands in”.

But then when he finally tracked down his mother, which by the way I found interesting that Billy had gone I think from state to state or city to city yet somehow ended up in the same state or city as his mother all those years later, that realization that his mother is a waste of space and accepting that the foster family are his true family was touching.

This is, by a mile, my favourite performance of Zachary Levi’s. Shazam as a character in live-action was every bit as funny and child-like as I have seen him in animation.

That child-like wonder of discovering he had superpowers and learning how to deal with them was very good, the fact he appeared as an adult so could buy beer but still being a child not having a taste for it so swapped it out for candy and sugary drinks was very funny.

But then of course you have the line of “With great power comes great responsibility” which yes isn’t a Shazam or DC line but does come into effect as Shazam is using his lightning powers mainly to charge phones and put on a show, but when it comes to saving people he does go through that ordeal of not knowing what to do and simply succeeding by luck.

I thought the Shazam suit was very well realized despite what we have seen in promotions, I’m still not a fan of the cape and I like the comments about it in the movie. I think it’s either one of those things that works better in animation or the choice in design they went with for the movie just made it look like a bath towel but something didn’t translate well for me.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not believe Shazam was ever called Shazam in this movie. I mean yes there was that great line in the climax of the film when Billy’s foster siblings became the Shazam family and Shazam himself instructed them on how to become them but rather than saying Shazam originally they said “Billy!” and so he said “No not my name, the name that turns me into this guy” it was funny.

Obviously they can’t use the character’s original name of Captain Marvel because 1) There is a small independent movie that just passed $1 Billion at the box office with the same name and of course the name is literally the name of DC’s rival studio.

I had fun with the character and I genuinely look forward to seeing where this character goes next.

Dr. Sivana:

Mark Strong finally comes good as a supervillain and I could not be happier for him. I really like this actor, I think he is an incredible working actor just trying to have that one breakthrough role that grabs audience attention and I believe Dr. Sivana is that role.

I enjoyed the movie starting with his origin, because of course behind every great superhero is a great supervillain, and Mark Strong as Dr. Sivana is a fantastic supervillain.

His father being John Glover was a very nice surprise for me both as a Smallville fan and just a John Glover fan in general. Yes he played a kind of Frankenstein-esk villain in Batman and Robin but his turn as Lionel Luthor in Smallville and even Sylar’s father in Heroes were two great roles for the character. Also he is the voice of The Riddler in Batman: The Animated Series so he clearly has a lot of weight at DC.

When young Thad goes to Shazam’s lair and is tempted by the seven deadly sins before being banished by Shazam, I thought it was a great precursor for what is to come.

I loved how from being a child he dedicated his life to finding his way back to the lair to obtain the power and that took I think 44/45 years, if we’re talking “present day” when it’s clearly Christmas in April, was dedication and I loved how in this instance it wasn’t the villain created because of the hero.

Being empowered by the Seven Deadly Sins, who by the way the promotional trail kept really secret. I mean I didn’t know about the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man from the comics but obviously even atheists know about the seven deadly sins and portraying them in these rather creative demon styles was a lot of fun.

I also found it brilliant that he never released the seventh deadly sin Envy until he had no choice because if all seven left him he would simply be mortal and vulnerable, I thought at one point he was going to mutate into Envy because of how he was envious he wasn’t worthy of the power of Shazam yet a child was but I was wrong.

Dr. Sivana, as I said in my non-spoiler review, is the best supervillain portrayal since Heath Ledger’s Joker. This guy was dark, brutal and was not afraid to kill or threaten anybody - Man, woman, child, elderly, infant...anybody!

Mark Strong could have very easily gone down the Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor in Superman Returns route particularly when he had the foster siblings hostage at their house but he was still scary and threatening.

He never broke character either, there was never one moment where he was a goofy villain or let himself play to the goofiness of the hero. The best laugh he got was in the Deadpool-like scene where he and Shazam were in the air...very far away from each other and Sivana was threatening Shazam but Shazam couldn’t hear him yet he was still talking. Yet it was never played as Sivana being incompetent or goofy as he was still menacing.

Foster Family/Shazam! Family:

Alright so I am going to go through the foster kids in order of my favourites still but just to talk about them as a whole, I thought once again this was a great example of diversity within a comic-book movie. To play up the fact that a foster family can be made up of different ethnicities was another realistic touch in portraying how the foster system works.

Darla Dudley:

Darla was my favourite out of the kids and Faithe Herman is the breakout star of this movie. She was cute for a start, this girl was adorable, you could easily see why she was picked for fostering/adoption because she is that cute.

However, she is a great example of looks being deceiving because this girl may be cute but she is sassy and she knows how to work a room. From keeping the secret that Billy is Shazam to playing up the little sister angle. Her reaction when the other kids found out that Billy was Shazam was great because she was so giddy that she didn’t spill the secret it was just so adorable.

When she was gifted her superpowers and became an adult, I thought Meegan Good kept up Faithe Herman’s cuteness but plussed it into the vision of what Darla sees herself being as an adult. She had the same kind of look and had a side-ponytail curl rather than bunches, her power, because each kid was granted one of Shazam’s powers while he as Billy has all of them, was the Speed of Mercury and it was great to see a female speedster in the movies, because at the moment they’re all on the small screen and mainly on The Flash with the Flash Family.

I look forward to seeing how Darla progresses as a character and, to be honest, care about her more than Billy at this point.

Freddy Freeman:

Jack Dylan Grazer was basically as good here as he was as Ritchie in It but the difference is the genre because while in a horror setting it is all very intense and, as someone who isn’t a horror fan myself, I am always on the edge of my seat that there isn’t really time to convey a lighter performance, here Freddy was simply a comic-book geek and I found that very relatable.

I loved the fact that it was either every day or every other scene that Freddy had a different logo t-shirt from the Justice League members and the main heroes so far established in the DCEU, even Wonder Woman which I found to be very forward-thinking of the director to have a guy wear a Wonder Woman t-shirt.

The only thing I didn’t like about Freddy was the fact he became almost a user and exploiter when it came to Billy’s newfound powers and apparent celebrity status.

I get Freddy uses a crutch and gets bullied for it, but I don’t see why that means he automatically say “I know the superhero” without at least asking Billy if it was okay first.

To then make a fool of both him and Shazam while he’s putting on that lightning show was stupid and selfish both because it makes it hard for Shazam to present himself as a reliable superhero but also how exactly do you explain Freddy having such a relationship with Shazam that he feels confident in just calling him out like that.

My funniest moment from Freddy was in that, now overplayed, convenience store scene where you had those thugs come in and Freddy convince Shazam to stand up to them while he’s recording it and, after the discovery that his suit is at least bulletproof, Freddy saying “We need to try the head”...the fact Freddy is essentially directing a robbery is quite funny.

When Freddy became Adam Brody, admittedly I at first did not recognize him. I know Adam Brody TV guest appearances from over 10 years ago so I guess puberty hit or something but he both looked and sounded completely different.

Other Three:

The other three kids really blend into the background for me with maybe one or two moments to shine yet they never do.

Eugene had a funny introduction of being a gamer nerd who, when his dad tells him it’s night said “When did it become night?”. Again I can relate to that.

Pedro had an interesting line of dialogue when the kids came out of the strip club after Shazam teleports them all there and he says “It’s not really for me”, which is either just Pedro not being a meatheaded hetero and trying to be more mature but also could be a sign the character will be an LGBT character.

Mary, was bland as bran flakes. She had one interesting scene, surprisingly in the trailer, where Shazam saves her and she mentions something about college but that is never mentioned again.

Overall I do like this group of kids for what they represent, but I hope the sequel does develop them further and give them something more to do.

Worlds of DC:

Alright so because the Worlds of DC has seemingly been taken literal here, as I do not see Shazam! as a movie really fitting in with the likes of Wonder Woman or Aquaman and rather in it’s own world within the DC Movies. Having said  that, I am open for the movies going forward to prove me wrong.

Post-Credits Scenes:

This is where I get completely lost and had to do further research because the mid-credits scene saw a now depowered Dr. Sivana...so glad they didn’t kill him off...incarcerated. But then we have this weird caterpillar thing somehow talking to him through a voice box about conquering the seven realms.

It did lead to intruge for me, as I said was curious who the bug was and knew he had been in the movie at the start in the Rock of Eternity but then broke out later.

Apparently his name is Mister Mind and he is a Venusian worm with powerful mental abilities including mind control and hypnosis.

It’s a little bit of a hard-sell when the rest of the movie was so dark, particularly to have Dr. Sivana go from such a brilliant villain to possibly just a puppet, but we shall see.

The very end-credits scene is again a bit of a throwaway but it is Freddy and Shazam testing more of Shazam’s powers, this time seeing if he could control fish which Shazam says is a stupid and useless power but Freddy makes a brilliant in-universe joke to the fact Aquaman did that with style in his movie. Maybe alluding to the fact that this world is separate to the rest...I don’t know.

Overall I rate this movie a solid 8/10, I had a lot of fun with it, I thought Mark Strong and Faithe Herman were definitely my MVPs of the movie and I thought Zachary Levi did a great job at being him but also trying to level up as he was in a mainstream superhero movie.

So that’s my spoiler review of Shazam! What did you guys think? Share your comments and check out more DC Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.

#dc #dceu #worlds of dc #shazam #shazam! #billy batson #dr. sivana #marvel family #freddy freeman #darla dudley #pedro peña #eugene choi #mary marvel #seven deadly sins #mr. mind #mark strong #asher angel #zachary levi #jack dylan grazer #faithe herman

[doomonfilm]

Review : Richard Jewell (2019)

I was a sophomore in high school when the Olympics came to Atlanta, Georgia, and with the World Cup having just been in the United States two years prior, Americans were eager to put their best foot forward.  The world was changing rapidly at the time, and the 24 hour news cycle was just beginning to present itself, though we had yet to name it or identify how it would be so powerfully influential.  Then, in one fleeting moment, a random bomb changed all of that, and a man went from being a security guard to public enemy number one in the blink of an eye.  Clint Eastwood has always had an eye for humanity, especially when in the director’s chair, which piqued my interest when it was announced that he would be taking on the previously mentioned story in the form of his latest film, Richard Jewell. 

In 1986, a young Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) meets attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), and the two men form a bond that Jewell was unable to make with any of the other attorneys and partners that he worked for at the firm.  Ten years later, Jewell has landed a job as a security guard at Piedmont University, which finds him closer to his dream of a job in law enforcement.  After repeated reports of abuse of power, however, Dr. W Ray Cleere (Charles Green) is forced to fire Jewell, who transitions into a job as security for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.  Shortly after midnight on July 27, Jewell breaks up a group of drunk and unruly teens, but notices a suspicious package in the form of a backpack that was near the ruckus.  Jewell urges the officers on location to call in the package, and when the bomb inspector investigates, he discovers three extremely large pipe bombs.  Jewell and the authorities attempt to clear the area, but the bomb explodes, injuring or killing over one hundred people.  Jewell is initially seen as a hero, but after Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) coerces a tip out of FBI Agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm), she runs a story identifying Jewell as the primary suspect, causing worldwide attention to be cast upon Jewell and his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates).  With the help of Bryant, Richard Jewell attempts to fight attacks from the FBI and the news media, all in hopes of clearing his name.

Richard Jewell manages to provide a redemption portrayal for its titular subject without completely absolving him of base humanity or the capacity for wrongdoing.  Rather than presenting a case for specifically absolving Jewell of past accusations and completely clearing his name, the film reaches for the bigger goal of setting an example of how wrong things can go when those accused find themselves guilty until proven innocent.  It is flatly stated that Jewell could, in theory, fit the ‘false hero’ narrative, and due to being a Southern man with dreams of a role in law enforcement, his knowledge of guns, bombs and criminal personalities harm him more than help him.  Most of all, his weakness is his kind nature, and his defensive mechanism of trying to trust in the law becomes the dramatic tension that cause Bobi and Walter pain, which in turn forces Jewell to the breaking point of having to stand up for his innocence.

Interesting, as evenly as Clint Eastwood decides to posture his protagonist, he is unflinching in the manner that he positions the government and the media squarely as antagonist.  Be it the constant drone, presence and forceful nature of communication in the form of the media, or the calculated power bundled with sheer intimidation that the FBI utilizes, both parties (as entities) are looked at quite subjectively.  The characters of Scruggs and FBI Agent Shaw are not completely devoid of empathy, though Shaw does seem to be fighting his own battle over pride in his job and whether or not he will be viewed as competent, to the point that he blindly seeks the indictment of Jewell.  Watching Bates play Bobi on the verge of breakdown due to her lack of ability to protect Richard from this dual threat hits hard, hence her Golden Globe nomination.

Eastwood makes some interesting decisions as director that work well conceptually.  The visual flare, fancy camera moves and hectic editing that defines most biopics is set aside for measured camerawork, allowing the story to be the sensation rather than the way it is presented.  The choices of what is presented as stock footage, like Tom Brokaw or the Katie Couric interview, play like echoes of times when media was simpler and easier to trust, while the portrayal of Scruggs and the AJC staff, the horde of reporters, or even a recast Bryant Gumbel (Garon Grigsby) using ‘gotcha journalism’, play like personal indictments on these institutions and practices.  The muted, reserved way that the film qualifies as a period film is different than normal... period specific dress, haircuts, vehicles and the like are around, but the way that reflections on the era are used narratively, like the Michael Johnson scene, play much stronger.  The sensationalist hunger of the media and their search for the next big story is also referenced, with nods to TImothy McVey, OJ Simpson and Ted Kaczynski all popping up.  The film also manages to find ways to present humor, with most of it being found in the funny moments that manage to pop up in the extreme moments of life.

Paul Walter Hauser finds a curious rhythm that mostly involves him embodying the news media portrayal and public perception of Jewell, with brief but powerful outbursts of emotion that reveal fear in a shell-shocked man.  Kathy Bates embodies all of the motherly support that can be captured and displayed on film, with a handful of powerfully emotional moments of her own that resonate long after the film is done.  Sam Rockwell’s natural charm and offbeat nature work well in his portrayal of an anti-establishment attorney, with him showing an ability to focus force both vocally and with intense staredowns... Nina Arianda works well in tandem with Rockwell, providing a strong and supportive sense of guidance that pushes Rockwell’s character in the right direction.  Olivia Wilde finds a unique balance of her own as a comedicaly straight antagonist, posturing in extreme ways while bolstering the choices with a matter of fact nature, all the while keeping a touch of humanity in the chamber for the resolution-based moments.  Jon Hamm puts another notch on the ‘charming villain’ belt, somehow managing to be an intimidating good cop in comparison to Ian Gomez and his standard look and operation as an FBI agent.  Appearances by Niko Nicotera, Mike Pniewski, Dylan Kussman, Wayne Duvall, Garon Grigsby and Charles Green round out the film.

Clint Eastwood continues to rack up a strong directoral catalog, and Richard Jewell stands as evidence of this.  The potential director in me noticed a couple of mistakes that modern directors probably would have erased in the post, but these mistakes just further enforce the old school aesthetic that Eastwood uses.  With the film itself being an echo of a recently bygone era, all of this works to Eastwood’s benefit... this one won’t be cracking my top ten, but it is certainly worth seeing.

#ChiefDoomsday #DOOMonFILM #ClintEastwood #RichardJewell #PaulWalterHauser #KathyBates #SamRockwell #NinaArianda #OliviaWilde #JonHamm #IanGomez #NikoNicotera #MikePniewski #DylanKussman #WayneDuvall #GaronGrigsby #CharlesGreen

[recentanimenews]

Summer 2019 Anime, Ranked.

With the exception of Fire Force’s twelfth episode, we’ve wrapped up our coverage of the Summer 2019 season, which is just as well since we’re technically in the second week of Autumn.

Between Braverade, sesameacrylic and MagicalChurlSukui we watched and reviewed eleven shows in all (plus additional coverage from Oigakkosan, not detailed here), totaling 132 episodes, or approximately 53 hours. Without further math, here’s how we ranked those shows, and why.

11. HenSuki

RABUJOI Score: 7.00/10 MAL Score: 6.83/10

Pros: Novel premise, colorful pastel palette, likable characters, generally witty banter, risque ecchi situations that never cross hard lines of decency.

Cons: Uneven at best animation, silly central mystery that drags on too long, “twist” resolution feels like a cheat.

Verdict: An enjoyable, fluffy guilty pleasure. I try to watch one per season.

10. Lord El-Melloi II Case Files

RABUJOI Score: 7.77/10 MAL Score: 7.44/10

Pros: Built-in goodwill from Fate/Zero, always intriguing setup for cases, sumptuous setting, production, and mechanical design, stirring score, bonkers magical battles.

Cons: Excessive magical technobabble can be exhausting, conclusions to mysteries can feel contrived/arbitrary, non-Fate fanatics will end up hopelessly lost by most cameos or name-drops.

Verdict: A pale shadow of the classic upon which it’s based, but nonetheless a fun and moderately clever detective series.

9. Fire Force (Episodes 1-11 of 12)

RABUJOI Score: 7.82/10 MAL Score: 7.75/10

Pros: Gorgeously bizarre alternate-universe setting, elegant world-building, virtuoso action sequences, powerful orchestral soundtrack.

Cons: And MC who is dull and cliched within an inch of his life, Characters who go from evil-to-good (or vice versa) at the drop of a hat, a tedious central conspiracy, the potential for character bloat, frustratingly uneven gender balance, pathetic bouts of fanservice.

Verdict: A stylish show primarily about spontaneous human combustion might’ve weathered news of the horrific KyoAni arson attack, but isn’t quite good enough to watching following into the Fall.

7 (tie). How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift?

RABUJOI Score: 7.83/10 MAL Score: 7.68/10 Pros: A fresh, original premise to which it remains totally devoted, marvelous comic timing in the rapid-fire, self-deprecating, fourth-wall breaking dialogue, lovable and believable MC, decent animation, one hell of an earworm OP.

Cons: Ecchi elements and a superfluous Russian chick don’t add much, some parody bits are too on-the-nose, the show loses momentum in the final couple episodes.

Verdict: The show that inspired me to get off my skinny, underdeveloped backside and actually join a gym for the first time in my life!

7 (tie). Cop Craft

RABUJOI Score: 7.82/10 MAL Score: 6.94/10

Pros: Cool reverse-Isekai-lite premise, Range Murata character design, toe-tapping OP and lively soundtrack, entertaining buddy cop dynamic, engaging fights and chases.

Cons: Lame villains, some odd narrative choices, inconsistent/unfocused direction, disappointing animation, underutilized supporting cop cast, lots of loose ends.

Verdict: A show with some good parts to work with, mostly used badly. A wasted opportunity that’s not as good as our episodes ratings indicated.

6. DanMachi II

RABUJOI Score: 8.25/10 MAL Score: 7.45/10

Pros: Appealing, charismatic characters you love to root for, amusing romantic polygons, tremendous score, superb utilization of twelve episodes to tell a variety of engaging stories with a beginning, middle and oh-so-epic end, culminating in a quiet finale that doesn’t forget its core goddess-child dynamic.

Cons: Villains’ barks prove far worse than their bites, a couple slower episodes between mini-arcs don’t really distinguish themselves, and that huge Amazoness Phryne…what the hell?! 

Verdict: After the very lame Sword Oratoria spinoff DanMachi got a proper sequel, focused on the characters we cared about, full of emotion, excitement, and good old-fashioned fantasy ass-kickin’.

5. Fruits Basket 1st Season (Episodes 14-25)

RABUJOI Score: 8.50/10 MAL Score: 8.36/10

Pros: Impeccably-rendered characters and depictions of their various psychological issues, dark and poignant flashbacks, exquisitely cozy slice-of-life, a good balance of the mundane and the mystic, and hard-hitting cathartic scenes.

Cons: Some members of the Souma family are more interesting (and tolerable) than others, but even the less interesting ones get plenty of screen time, Tooru’s saintly selflessness can wear thin at times.

Verdict: A beautifully-crafted second half that rewarded patience by delivering some of the strongest and most moving episodes of the year.

4. Master Teaser Takagi-san 2

RABUJOI Score: 8.58/10 MAL Score: 8.40/10 Pros: Truly magnetic chemistry in the central pair, Deft use of subtle facial expressions and body language in the animation, superb performances by Takahashi Rie and Kaji Yuki.

Cons: Like the first season, the various teasing games can grow repetitive, as can Nishikata’s denseness and inability to see more than one or two moves ahead, the side stories involving side characters often felt like padding.

Verdict: Continues and refines the brilliantly simple teasing formula of the first season, while ever-so-gradually blurring of the line between teasing and flirting. A sweet and touching, slow-burn portrayal of young, awkward first love.

2 (tie). Vinland Saga (Episodes 1-12)

RABUJOI Score: 8.67/10 MAL Score: 8.57/10

Pros: Flawed but rootable MC whose character is more complex than it initially seems, his multi-layered antihero mentor, exemplary action and battle sequences, powerful score, compelling exploration of the hard old world, with enticing glimmers of a brighter new one.

Cons: That said mentor would keep a kid dedicated to murdering him around so long stretches credulity at times, those battle sequences sometimes feature individuals or groups doing superhuman things that detract from the otherwise naturalistic milieu.

Verdict: While not quite as big, loud, epic, or bonkers as Attack on Titan, or Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Vinland Saga is arguably Wit Studio’s most balanced and human series. Looking forward to the second half.

2 (tie). Astra Lost in Space

RABUJOI Score: 7.77/10 MAL Score: 7.44/10

Pros: Very well done futuristic world- and space-building, a large-ish main cast that you steadily come to know and love, the sense of family that arises from the crewmembers’ experiences together, an optimistic spirit of exploration that isn’t constantly beset by mortal peril, creative planets and lifeforms, thankfully subverted expectations for a Lerche-style bloodbath.

Cons: “Character gets a backstory” formula to some episodes felt repetitive at times, the crew almost faces too little mortal peril considering their circumstances, they similarly rely on a lot of luck, some major plotlines and twists could have been left out and still resulted in a pretty strong show.

Verdict: Maybe the season’s biggest surprise hit, the ambitious Astra calls to mind some of the best of live-action shades-of-gray sci-fi (Firefly, Battlestar, Expanse) while maintaining an old school optimistic, exploratory outlook. It set out to do and say a lot, and was mostly successful in doing so.

1. O Maidens in Your Savage Season

RABUJOI Score: 8.58/10 MAL Score: 8.40/10 Pros: Fearlessly tackles tough social topics on adolescence, sexuality, gender roles, upbringing, and abuse, ably juggles multiple, diverse love stories and triangles at once, pleasingly drawn and animated, and despite all its serious themes, doesn’t leave out the comedy.

Cons: What seemed to be an irreversible dive into an abyss that would tear the five girls apart, they work almost everything out almost too easily for a tidier ending than expected; while the show dips a toe in LGBTQ themes through Momo’s awakening, her’s is one of the least developed arcs despite being one of the most interesting.

Verdict: A rare-for-anime honest and unblinking exploration of the awkward, painful, and sometimes savage emotional journey to adulthood all kids must face (and not always at the same speed). By the numbers, the best show I watched this Summer, and the one I looked forward too most from week to week.

Summer 2019 Big Board:

By: rabujoistaff

#Anime #News #RABUJOI – An Anime Blog

[tootiefrootieroll]

Got some random thoughts on 13rw

Spoilers ahead, triggering words and topics discussed proceed with caution.

One, does anyone else feel that Clay has shown serious signs of schizophrenia or at the very least depression induced psychosis? And I know his parents have tried to get him help in the show, but I don't feel like it was enough?

In fact I don't think they did a very good job depicting how important seeking profession help can be crucial to a person's recovery. Tyler, Monty, Justin, or Alex never saw profession help.

I'm thinking about removing Tyler's name because he did make an effort to go see a school counselor. But I think, Clay did Tyler a disservice to him by not alerting his parents discreetly or not, he almost shot up an entire school, he was suicidal, and was raped.

The humanization of Bryce and Monty is a bunch of BS. period. What's really shitty is Bryce's arch was actually working, for me as a viewer. I had to continually say out loud, BRYCE IS A RAPIST. Now I think it's important to realize that the part of that story arch's purpose was making people realize Bryce and the people around him would only see him as that monster. But I mean, where is the fault in that? He is a grown ass man, he was very much so capable and aware of his actions, there's no "forgiving" or "redeeming" that. So despite the shitty writing on that part, it had a purpose that I think was important.

How Ani was okay with not judging Bryce by his worse actions, but scared of Clay after breaking into his house, makes no god damn sense.

Now that were onto Ani, fuck that shitty ass character. Let's just off the rails throw this show into that hands of a character that had no ties or business narrating a story that had nothing to do with her. She literally self-inserted herself into this narrative by being as nosey as possible, a liar, deceptive and down right careless about anyone around her. Her only purpose was to be the "inside scoop" on Bryce and his "walk to redemption". Literally a waste of time. And confusing as a viewer to adjust to a stranger telling this grand twist and turn crap season. Plus she didn't even bother to nosey her way around Hannah's tapes, give me a damn break.

I think they took way too much "inspiration" from maybe Big Little Lies with the way they went about narrating and portraying this season. And trust me you're viewers are not that dumb that they need to be lead around like a dog on a leash and thrown around about who did it. The fact that they had to change the person of interest of bryce's killer every god damn episode is ridiculous. It just looks like mediocre writing. Also the continued vague referral and dragging out of what happened on homecoming night was annoying, hence my referral to BLL.

Character to character, some of the writing was excellent. Tyler, Tony, Jessica, and Justin's characters were done some justice. Won't go into detail about each one, but things that stood out to me was Tyler confessing to Clay about his assault, that had be crying. Justin's whole struggle as a addict and the whole relationship with Clay. Tony confronting Bryce about how all of this was his fault, a good reminder as to why we are even in a third season in the first place. And Jessica trying to be more than just a victim, and being active in a change in the schools fostering of toxic masculinity and rape culture.

Character that were wronged or annoying: Monty, Zach, Alex.

Monty, do I really need to say. He is a rapist. He knew what he was doing, no amount of closeted frustrations can excuse his actions. Being closeted in a toxic household can do more to a person's mental health and demeanor than making them a fucking rapist. Ugh. Such a god damn disservice to the LGBTQ+ community. Like Netflix already threw that trope at us with Sex Ed. We get it. Thanks, it's a shitty trope. Stop it.

Zach has a few redeeming qualities here and there. But overall I think his "holy than thou", "I'm an innocent", arch was annoying. Honestly they didnt really use his character at to deserve all this hate from me, but really, any time he would show up would annoy me lol.

Alex was done wrong. He was still suicidal, he was on drugs, and kind of just thrown around. And I think the whole "break up with Jessica hurt me" trope was a weak plot device although I don't think it's unreal. I think it's important to realize how breakups can effect a Male's self esteem the same way its portrayed for females. Yet overall I think they still did him dirty. Also his dad is a cop, and can't pinpoint the mental health issues that Alex was portraying???

On that note, even though I think they made the parent's roles absolutely worthless I think they did it right and wrong. I think parents can be blind or just don't know the warning signs of a child in distress. I think the portrayal of parents not knowing what's happening in the lives of their child was correct. I think that the deceptiveness of teenagers was correct as well. So hand in hand I guess it makes sense that the parent didnt do a lot, but also I think just a display of bad parenting??? Hmm I'm a little on the fence but I think this story should of touched on the roles of parents, parenting their child(ren).

Taking a few days and reading around various opinions of this show (through tumblr) I do have to say I would like to revise my statement on characters. I believe that almost all the characters were pretty irredeemable to begin with. Not including Jessica and Tony.

Let's not forget, Tyler took people's pictures without consent, including a potentially sexually explicit situation and distributed them around. Justin let and protected his girlfriends rape. Clay's inability to see it any other way and his obsessive possession with girls is really disturbing. And all the character one way or another contributed to the suicide of a classmate.

That being said I don't think the characters mentioned above aren't worth redemption (not bryce or monty) but I think it's super hypocritical of the shows writing to dedicate an entire season of humanizing a terrible person(s) but throw away all the bad the rest of character have, and expect their audience to be okay with it???

Those are most of the thought I can put together. I wasn't really a fan of the book back when it was released but didn't mind the show, despite the triggering nature and down right ignoring licensed psychologists.

Ps. Shout out to Olivia Baker for calling out the Cops for jumping on this "poor rich white boy" murder, but lazing around when someone was raped, and another was raped and committed suicide.

Let me know what you guys thinks. Try and be respectful. Everyone has an opinion that matters for different reasons (unless you are defending Bryce and Monty then kindly fuck off).

Overall this season was a trainwreck, hypocritical at best, and down right not necessary.

#13rw #13rw season 3 #13rw3

[so-shiny-so-chrome]

Witness: Sillyboyblue

Creator name (AO3): sillyboyblue

Creator name (Tumblr): sillyb0yblue

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyboyblue/works?fandom_id=51060

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I was introduced to Mad Max by two friends of mine in early 2017: first I saw Mad Max, then The Road Warrior, Fury Road and Beyond Thunderdome. My favorite is the first one. Dystopia, iconic villains and homoerotic subtext? I'm sold.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: I'm going to be honest, I haven't posted anything related to Mad Max for almost two years, and I'm not very happy with my old writing, but I'm going to try to answer as many of these questions as possible, without putting myself down too much. Anyway, even though I may find most of my old works bad in many ways (plot, out-of-character characters...), I'm still proud of the writing style, though I wouldn't know how to define my own style. My work almost always revolves around relationships, mostly romantic, because shipping is an activity that brings me a lot of joy.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: The most fun to create: "Mad Max: Road Safety". It all began with a single prompt from my best friend, and I just couldn't stop writing about it. The most difficult: "Scream your heart out". It doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy writing it though (I can't write if it doesn't make me happy anyway)! This one was a request, so I put more pressure on myself than I would have if I was only writing it for me. The most popular/The most successful: I'm not sure what the difference is, but the one with the most hits, kudos and comments is "There is no need for words". My favorite: As I said earlier, in my eyes most of my works haven't aged well, but they all hold a special place in my heart, so I wouldn't be able to tell.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Hopeless and desperate, with a touch of unexpected softness. I just love reading (and writing) about characters being pushed to their limits until they break and being pulled back together.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: I just get an idea and write about it. I don't write a summary or an outline, I just write as fast as I can. I use my phone for every step, from first draft to posting. I usually write when I'm on the tram or on the bus, in the doctor's waiting room, at McDonald's or even in a shoe store in Amsterdam. My creativity peak spanned from December to March, so I didn't get to write on the beach, but I probably will! I've been going through a rough patch for almost 2 years, so I'm not sure how to get through it. But for less rough patches, I try looking at things from a different point of view. If I'm stuck on a sentence, I go back and turn it differently. If I'm stuck on what a character should say or do next, I make a list of all the possibilities. Or I take a break.

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I don't usually listen to music when I write. If the song has lyrics, it distracts me and prevents me from focusing on what I'm writing. I've tried listening to movie soundtracks, but it didn't really help either. Sometimes I can get the inspiration for a story from a song, but usually I don't listen to music while writing.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Writing in English. I started writing fanfiction in English mostly because I wanted my work to be accessible to more people, but also because I love working on my English!

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I only posted Mad Max fanfiction for 3 months, so I'm not sure that's long enough to see any kind of growth, but I was into Mad Max roleplay for over a year, so I got the opportunity to flesh out my original character, Orion (@organic-mechanic on Tumblr). I've learned that I have a hard time keeping the characters in-character, so I'm going to be more careful to avoid writing them out-of-character. 

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: The Toecutter is my favorite! He appears in more than half of my works but most of them are quite short so I didn't really get to actually work on my portrayal of him. Other characters that I love to portray are Bubba, Johnny, Wez and the Golden Youth. My understanding of these characters has grown so much more by reading other people's fanfiction than by writing my own!

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: No(t yet).

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?

A: Toecutter/Bubba/Johnny, and Wez/Golden Youth. I'm not quite sure what draws me to them though. Maybe for T/B/J, the complexity of their relationship with each other; the love/hate between Bubba and Johnny, the tension between Johnny and Toecutter, the bond between Toecutter and Bubba. And for W/GY, their backstory; the circumstances that brought them together, how they built their relationship, and what could have been if SOMEONE hadn't cut their lives short. And vice versa.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: Other people's fanfiction have changed how I look at the source material more than my own, by making me see characters in a new light, and my opinion of some of them has changed, for the best or for the worst.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: Most of my works were written as stand alone one shots, but I don't think they contradict each other.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Most of my works could work with the source material, but I allow myself to break canon in my more recent drafts, either to fix it or make it worse. I've also come up with many alternate universes, headcanons and crossovers with my best friend's help. 

Q: Share some headcanons,

A: Bubba was an ex-cop - Cundalini lives - Johnny cut off his foot and survived. 

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: I've said it before but it's true, I just get an idea and write about it. I just think "this character needs a sibling/cousin/lover", or "I like this actor, let's make them a new OC's faceclaim" and then I create them. None of my OCs have appeared in my works yet, but I'm working on it. My favorite is Orion Walker, an ex-firefighter turned medic for the Humungus' marauders.

Q: What are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: Mates by Najanaja (AO3) The Birth of Evil by J.C. Bruyere & The Birth of Humanity by J.C. Bruyere (users.jam21.net/sandrab) All of Vanfu's works (AO3) @crunkmouse Autotomy by Kalashnikorn (AO3) @main-force-patrol.

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.? 

A: I think one of the reasons why I stopped writing and can't get back to it yet is that I put too much pressure on myself. So my advice is: don't think too much and just do it.

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: What I haven't visited: All of the above. What I plan to visit: All of the above.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Orion's story - Bikie grandpas (Toecutter's gang lives) - Girl gang backstory (Toecutter's gang genderbend)

Thank you @sillyb0yblue

#mad max fandom #Mad Max Fandom Creator Spotlight #mad max fandom spotlight #mad max fanfic author spotlight #sillyboyblue

[momestuck]

Let’s read Hiveswap Friendsim... volume 18!

Imagine I edited the final shot of End of Evangelion here to put trolls on it. That’s more effort than I’m actually willing to put in. Imagining it is probably almost as good.

This chapter is fittingly called “Of Endings, Many”.

The opening narration is kind of pointed and sarcastic. It jokes about saying trite things like ‘the circle is complete’... and then goes elsewhere.

“You’ve got enough friends, now you need answers-” - and then it interrupts itself, realising it’s just the intro screen.

I wonder who writes the intro screens?

This time we have... another jadeblood, and also a final pair of purplebloods, the second troll pair.

Lanque

Lanque is written by the mysterious “V”, who previously managed to get us to lick a clown’s armpit and then wrote some interesting things about intertextuality. I have high hopes!

Content warning: Lanque’s story deals explicitly with sex with a man, in a situation of dubious consent on the player character’s part.

Lanque’s theme I’m sure I recognise from Homestuck proper, though I’d have to do some digging to see what it’s reprising. It’s called “yall know i just do the music right” - another James Roach piece.

It begins with us getting a call from Lynera. The narration somewhat uncharitably says “that nutty bitch is exactly the sort of destabilizing influence your life needs right now”. In a positive, not sarcastic way at least.

She wants to start making friends herself...

The narration is really in a hurry this time around. We reprise the party background from the last episode.

I appreciate the kind of breezy enthusiastic chaos in V’s writing.

We’re in a cape, bra and fishnets. A perfect outfit for the final chapter.

Wow the narration just isn’t giving a shit anymore. Final chapter striking hard.

We try to figure out whose hive we’re going to... and oh shit, it’s Ardata’s. First troll we ever met, as well. The party is described as a “frathouse rager” - which, Lynera acknowledges, is not her scene at all.

Is the narrator already drunk? Or is Ardata fucking with our head again?

Ardata declares that it’s a ‘kiiickback’ for all the ‘world’s fiiinest iiinfluencers’... and neither me nor Lynera is invited. Apparently she heard about it from someone called Lanque, who’s also not invited.

What is up with this narration? It’s coming across like a standup performance.

At that point, Ardata drops a... nsfw warning on us.

I didn’t actually realise this volume had an ‘accompanying mature content description’. I think what I’m gonna do is... obviously I’m gonna play the chapter, but I will put specific content warnings before sections of the post that have potentially triggering content, and if there are explicit images, I will pixellise out any explicit bits before I embed them in the post. spoiler alert: this ain’t exactly Ladykiller in a Bind there.

That’s a hell of a warning, huh. Especially given the previous armpit-licking chapter by ‘V’ was about at the absolute limit of sfw horny anyway. Fuck knows what they’re about to inflict on us now.

Also: James Roach’s track name is starting to make sense. Apparently he wants to distance himself from this episode, semi-ironically at any rate? God, what are we in for.

So, presumably the ‘oof, you’re too scared’ link takes us to an abrupt end to the chapter, we’ll check it later. Let’s go on in.

Quick soapbox: as much as I hate the kind of shallow analysis that throws around ‘problematic’ as a summary judgement of a work - nah actually, you can’t just disclaim shit under ‘challenging or controversial material’. By the same token that you can write whatever shit you want in a Homestuck computer game, critics - and random nerds on the internet, which is to say, the entire audience of this game - can discuss it however we find appropriate.

Nevertheless, you haven’t actually done anything worse than make me lick a clown’s armpit so far, and we can approach challenging themes in a way that says something meaningful and important, so let’s see what you have for us, V. To be honest I’m expecting some kind of portrayal of sexual violence given all the disclaimers, but who knows.

The party sounds like hell.

To Lynera, who remains glued to our arm, it’s ‘more than she was expecting’. But before we can leave, Lanque arrives.

I was wrong about what I thought was Lanque’s theme. Lanque’s theme is a slow, mournful saxophone piece. Maybe the music before was Lynera’s theme, and I just forgot how it went?

The narration mentions a ‘curious red stain’ on Lanque’s shirt. They’re obviously going for a whole ‘sexy vampire’ type thing with him. Maybe a Twilight parody, with Lynera in the Bella role? That would be a little dated, though.

I vaguely recall that it was said at some point that the jadebloods were all women. Which makes me suspect that Lanque is a trans guy, and this story is gonna touch on themes of transness and such. That could be something I completely confabulated, though. I’d check the wiki but no doubt it’s been updated by now, and I don’t want to spoil myself on this arc.

He seems to be in a flirty mood. Not sure how old either of these two are supposed to be.

Oh yeah. The knifemeter actually hasn’t shown up in this episode so far. He expresses surprise that Lynera has friends. Or at least, friend.

Eesh, this guy gonna be another Zebruh?

Lanque asks about us and we blather about being an alien, and also general disaster.

It’s really hard to get the sense that this is a loud party where we can barely hear each other over the noise, given both the narration and the soft jazz background.

He says something about not biting unless asked. So if it’s not already obvious... either a genuine rainbow drinker (hey, if Kanaya could do it at age 6 sweeps/13 years, no doubt he could at age... whatever age he is!), or someone who likes pretending to be one.

Anyway, our protag is apparently not overcome by friendship lust at this point, and tries to play wingman and put Lanque’s attention back onto Lynera. This... doesn’t go as well as expected.

(2.43 sweeps, that is - about 5.3 years)

Hmm, why would that be? This could be like, a transphobia thing? Do trolls have that? I’d say of course they fucking do, but apparently they don’t have homophobia, and their gender system... well who the hell knows how troll gender works, having all the signifiers of gender in the real world but none of the material consequences.

Anyway, Lanque calls Lynera a ‘nasty little bitch’. But then immediately says he’s not one to criticise.

So... maybe it’s not a trans thing? We’ll see. Lanque continues being a huge dick, suggesting that Lynera is interested in him because the ordeals are coming, and she wants to take the chance to fuck before they roll around.

Lynera is kind of... not surprisingly pretty hurt.

The narrator challenges Lanque on his rudeness without a choice.

Ah, the classic ‘she deserved it’ defence. Second only to the ‘it didn’t happen, but if it had, they would have deserved it anyway’ defence.

The protag demands to know why Lanque even invited Lynera if it was just to have such a huge go at her like that. Lanque’s explanation is... kind of unclear.

It’s not like she got much of a chance to defend herself there. So far my impression of Lanque is: this guy’s a huge cock. Or possibly a huge nook. Idk what the troll equivalent is.

The narrator decides to ‘Switzerland out of’ this conversation. They say this out loud, of course. Who needs an internal monologue, these days?

Lanque invites us to stay - we’re ‘much more interesting’ anyway. Eesh. I’m inclined to look for a ‘fuck right off where’s my pepper spray’ button, but that’s just me being a lesbian I guess. (Pepper spray is also illegal in the UK. I’m pretty sure.)

Yeah, you said it. He says he’s got ‘less time to waste than most’.

Bryn sees a meta joke about the narrative structure, Bryn clicks the screenshot button.

(Speak of the screenshot button, I had to rebind it to make it easier to paste the screenshots, you see in Ubuntu-- oh, you’re asleep?)

Anyway I kind of expected a choice around about now, but no, we barrel forwards, and end up dancing with Lanque. He takes our hand and leads us to another part of the house.

At that point, Elwurd shows up! I wonder how much of the cast is set to make an appearance in this chapter. If it’s all 35 trolls we’ve encountered so far, this is gonna be a long chapter!

Elwurd seems to be Lanque’s dealer. Not sure what drug she’s selling exactly. Apparently ‘you a drone?’ is the Alternian equivalent of ‘you a cop?’...

Anyway, Lanque buys the drug, and peer pressures us to take it. We’re like, nuh-uh.

We did not, we tell him, ask him to buy drugs for us.

I’m proud of you, protagonist. At the beginning of this story you’d have done anything to get a friend.

At that point, Diemen makes his reappearance. We really are going through the entire cast here, huh.

Yeah. That one’s just too obvious.

Anyway, undrugged, we get to dancing.

God, V, we get it, you want to fuck trolls. The narrator goes with it, though.

I find it kind of interesting how, like... our protagonist in the beginning and ending sketches is pretty much like, a marshmallow, indicating that they represent some kind of AFGNCAAP. But over time, little assumptions leak in. For example, we’re some kind of American nerd - our education system included a ‘high school’, and we had the option to learn Spanish there. We are relatively physically unfit. The wordplay suggests we know English.

Sometimes it’s deliberate - clearly someone made a choice to make it so that our protagonist has opinions about rap and knows a bit about professional wrestling, to suit the themes of the chapters. Those aren’t like, presumed traits assumed of the Homestuck audience, but things that kind of carve out a specific identity

So yeah... we’ve already had the whole ‘cheese person’ thing in Fozzer’s route, and here they’re straight up declaring the protag has pale skin. (Which doesn’t mean they’re white, necessarily, but they are apparently not Black, say.) I think that’s kind of a shame - a wasted opportunity.

Homestuck has already traded a lot on the ambiguity of its characters, which the fandom tends to read as implicitly white, except for like, a relatively small corner. This came to a head at points - most infamously the ‘CAUCASIAN’ controversy during the trickster mode phase, when Hussie ‘jokingly’ declared that his previously ambiguous characters (shaded pure #FFFFFF white, implying a ‘blank slate’) were ‘CAUCASIAN’ in bright flashing letters - at least while in trickster mode. After backlash, the panels were left as-is, but ‘CAUCASIAN’ was replaced with ‘PEACHY’.

Friendsim could have been an opportunity to improve the record a bit, especially as its narrative explicitly addresses many questions of societal oppression and occasionally makes explicit analogues to racism. But... they didn’t do that. Alas.

Anyway, moving on.

Apparently I’m very predictable because the very next panel addresses this exact line of thought.

I feel like this and the ‘not racist’ joke in the previous arc by ‘V’ are kind of... well I don’t know anything about ‘V’, and what they might be intending by these jokes. Here, it’s kind of parodying the whole thing in Homestuck rather explicitly... but whether it’s like, challenging it? There’s definitely a reading that’s like... pointed sarcasm, challenging the source material’s noncommital laziness.

Hey art interpretation is hard lol.

V’s writing is unusually striking, in a way I’m not quite sure how I feel about. I will think more about that once we’ve fully explored this chapter.

Things are getting pretty meta. He comments how we’re paper thin and he can see our blood. We’re like, ok, so you’re a vampire then?

This is the kind of thing! Writing that’s like... on the edge of like, telling a story and just directly talking to the reader, pushing us to engage with ambiguity and metaphor.

To release the tension a bit, the narrator does a ‘sexy dance’.

Anyway, we don’t get to find out what Lanque really thinks of our sexy dancing. Because at that point, Bronya shows up. Lanque decides it’s time to go.

...to a respiteblock, where else. So much for this being a friendsim and pointedly not a dating sim.

We are, it seems, safe. Lanque politely asks if we’d like to kiss. There’s another reminder that this is a very nsfw not for kids scene about to go down in this room right now.

So that’s apparently going to be our decision here. FUCK THE BOY/DO NOT FUCK THE BOY

...no, that’s not our choice. We’re kissing the boy no matter what. This is also portrayed in first person view, because consistency is important!

Apparently our blood tastes ‘sharp and dangerous - like a weapon’.

I feel like this is about to answer a whole fucking lot of fandom questions. At least as far as Hiveswap canon is concerned - arguably a separate entity to Homestuck canon, though obviously, like an expanded universe, designed to be read almost exclusively with intertextuality in mind. An elaboration, I guess.

There’s more like... hey check it out we’re going NSFW. Still nothing like a choice button yet.

One thing I find interesting is like... while this game is packed with lesbians of various stripes, and evidently many of the writers are gay or bi women, all the trolls who get really horny scenes have been boys. (Two of them written by ‘V’, admittedly). Mallek first with his shirtless scene, then much more recently Marvus, and now Lanque.

Also look at these guys. Pretty sure V has a type.

Anyway, the narrator makes the mistake of saying something vaguely derogatory about buckets.

Not sure like... what he finds derogatory there. Mentioning ‘buckets’ vs ‘pails’ (might be a distinction between reproductive and non-reproductive sex?), or saying that he doesn’t seem to have one? He says it’d be his first time.

With an alien, huh. *xenofucker fist bump*

Instead of a sex scene, we get a lore drop.

Once he gets shipped offworld, there will be no more ‘sneaking out of the caverns’. To Lanque, this effectively means his life will be over. This is his last chance to fuck!

A little overdramatic, dude!

Before we can get to it, Bronya interrupts.

So we get interrupted by Bronya. This is finally our choice point. Do we dob Lanque in, or do we fuck?

Regarding ‘problematic’, the main thing I’m seeing is like... Lanque is, at best, barely of age. Since he’s talking about getting shipped offworld soon, I’m guessing he’s close to troll adulthood. In terms of real-world narratives, this is taking on the general tone of ‘college story’ - complete with allusion to a frat party.

I think like... I’m going to read this whole visual novel, and write what I think about it. However, I can also totally understand why you would not want to read this kind of ‘first time’ story. So I’m going to leave that branch to a readmore at the end of the post. Above the cut, to give you all some kind of ending, and we’ll go down the ‘call his mum’ branch. Lol it’s not nearly as nsfw as they make it sound, there’s nothing that really need readmores, nevermind this lol.

Bronya busts the door open and tells him to get dressed immediately.

Lanque gets his mean streak back on, and goes in on Bronya now.

He does love the word ‘bitch’, does Lanque. He tells her she’s not actually his lusus (oh yeah, lusii... it’s been a while since we’ve seen one honestly. The last one was the goat.) She slaps him. He pretends like it was a sex thing.

This is not pretty. Bronya launches into a lecture on Lanque: sneaking out, being an ass to Lynera, and...

Yeah, maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t get further involved.

Apparently he’s not deterred by the fact that we literally called Bronya up to get out of fucking him, and adds us on Chittr before he leaves.

So that’s an ending. Sweet look, protagonist.

But it’s not the ending ending. We get a final screen.

Sure, I want to understand. Is this going to be some kind of direct artist-to-reader commentary on what they were trying to accomplish with that chapter?

The text box turns white, and the font changes. I bet this is Doc Scratch. So no, probably not that. In fact, this segues straight into the epilogue. I think there are different versions of the epilogue depending how you approach the final chapter, or else we were supposed to play the other branch before Lanque, so for the sake of putting the epilogue at the end, I’ll save it for a future post. (I’ve already written it up.)

Now, the other Lanque branches. First of all, refusing at the NSFW notice.

So they poke fun at the reader for like, not accepting the NSFW notice. Uh-huh. You know that Steam doesn’t automatically give a mature content warning if you’ve set up your account that way right? Which I guess is my own fault lol.

Anyway, doing this leads to like... a totally different arc, and a totally different canon. Huh, I genuinely expected they’d like just end the story there.

It’s a cozy party now, apparently.

This version of Lanque is... different.

For one thing, he’s got a flower crown. And instead of soft sexy jazz, we have a pretty piano piece. He says hi to Lynera and me.

Hmm. Not entirely un-hornified, then.

Lynera gushes wildly about us, recapping a whole bunch of plot.

It turns out, rather than taking drugs and having sex and other such risqué things, this party is a chill poetry reading.

So I realise this entire branch is just like, an extended joke at the reader. Look how un-edgy this is. We’re going to support our friends and read poetry.

In this one, instead of asking to kiss us, he asks to hold hands before we read poetry. And he says this is a poem about a past relationship, and it might be a bit raw.

We get Lanque’s poem, in full.

I was going to copy-paste the whole thing in, but it’s quite long, so let’s be uncool and respect copyright or whatever because my fingers were getting tired. It is quite good... addressing loss, and memory, and the lingering influence of a past relationship. It makes me wish I had ever developed the ability to appreciate and comment on poetry, because I feel like I just don’t have the vocabulary to comment on it, or what it might connect to, or anything else. The narration agrees: raw, emotional.

I imagine, though perhaps this is presumptuous, it is reflecting something quite real in the real life of ‘V’.

Lynera also gets the chance to read out a poem. She happens to have one on hand. It’s about Bronya, sure enough, and her loneliness and alienation.

Afterwards, she is self-deprecating.

This version of Lanque is kind and reassuring - the complete opposite of his persona in the sexy branch.

We leave with Lynera after hugging it out. Reading her poem, and being with other trolls in this way, seems to have really helped Lynera. There’s another pointed bit of defensiveness at potential critics.

Soapbox: This is the state of discourse, where the complex feelings we have in relation to fictional works must get flattened out into strict ‘rules’. A character can easily support lesbian and bi interpretations; it can be a relief to bi people and upsetting for lesbians when one of those possibilities is ruled out by having her express interest in a man (not that this, ultimately, rules out lesbian interpretations, since a person can of course be mistaken about their feelings).

To lesbians, it is perhaps likely more salient that many characters they identify with end up expressing attraction to men, and this can seem like yet another instance. To bi women, narratives about picking a ‘side’ are perhaps more likely to be salient, and it can be relief to have an explicitly bi character.

The only conclusion we can draw is that gender is a hellish system of punishment and exploitation, and we should seek to be kind to each other and also abolish it forthwith, write our own stories, and abolish the stranglehold that capital holds on all aspects of our lives including the symbolic media we use to understand the world.

All that said, this repetitive defensiveness about ‘problematic’ writing does kind of annoy me a bit, even if I can understand where it comes from. Let your work speak for itself.

Anyway, that’s enough huge essays (I say, falsely). Let’s finish out the branch.

“...right?”

This branch finishes out with a poke at the whole structure of the game so far - the good endings, bad endings, and so on. We’ve not made a friend, but we have made a stronger connecting with an existing one.

I’m not sure how seriously we should take that given the way ‘valid’ has become pretty much a joke word, if this is still an extended dig at the audience, but there we are.

That was a surprisingly long and rich branch for a first choice, which is kind of nice, actually.

If we click ‘no’ on ‘do you want to understand’...

We just get a game over screen with us sitting in our watchtower looking sad.

So now... it’s time for the nsfw section discussed above. Except... it’s a total fakeout.

First of all, we get an implication that it’s not his first time at all. Anyway, then we get to it. Which is to say, we get a fade to silly anime joke. God, this is like those old 4chan stories where they’d set you up for a sex scene and then rickroll you or something.

We get a ‘dorito faced anime boy’ joke I guess?

Afterwards...

Lol.

Anyway, in this branch, he doesn’t add us on chittr. Lol.

So yeah we die of shame. Welp.

God I can’t believe I thought this would actually go there. Of course it would be a joke at the audience.

Looking back, well, you know, reading the metaphors: he’s a predatory guy and lied through his teeth to get into our pants. Obviously it’s not his first time; obviously he’s not about to bugger off to space and never have sex again T_T, obviously the shit he said was just to get us to fuck; this isn’t just cheesy narrative tropes but within the fiction him playing the protagonist in order to get us to fuck. Complete with the whole attempt to drug us, and make it very unambiguously rape. (Which no doubt Elwurd knew). He got us to explicitly consent before we did anything, but also did enough shady shit so as to make that ‘consent’ kind of questionable when viewed later.

Viewed in that light... what I originally thought was just someone writing a horny fantasy about a hot dominating guy who’s totally into you~ is actually like... a pretty sharp piece of writing about shit pulled by men. There were plenty of warning signs - the ‘objectifying’ way he looks at you, the way he attempts to drug you, etc. I would like to imagine that IRL, rather than taking it as a piece of fiction, I wouldn’t be vulnerable to the same tactics. (Well, obviously I wouldn’t from a guy, at any rate). But it’s kind of a nicely written piece to make you feel stupid and taken advantage of afterwards like... why the fuck did you go along with this.

Though given that this kind of thing is something that people like... actually go through, I feel like they could have warned for it better than ‘challenging and controversial material’. Yes, that might have robbed it of some of its power; but it would also mean that it wouldn’t trigger people who have trauma over this exact kind of thing.

So.

“V”.

Honestly, my strongest feeling about “V” is one of respect. Both their stories have been a weird blend of cheeky, challenging and playful, with some very astute elements and an enormous amount of energy and intensity. They’re prepared to fuck with the reader in ways both silly (lick the troll’s armpit!) and rather more serious (this whole arc), they fuck around with canonicity and narrative structure in creative ways... I wonder what else they’ve written?

There remains only these two clown twins, and the epilogue.

Barzum and Baizli

To finish out the set, we have another pair. The Alternian text says ‘The Soleil Twins’, so I guess that’s their surname. The twins are written by Kieran Miranda, who previously wrote Azdaja, Stelsa and Charun.

The story begins with day nearing, and the protagonist friendless. They get the idea to like... head over to relax with Skylla, but before they can, they run into a house.

A very haunted looking house.

An easy choice for us to begin. ‘No fucking way’ naturally skips this arc, right?

Nope, back at the house. We get another choice: leave left or right. I picked left. I doubt it matters.

Yep, that kind of house. We can’t escape.

After a struggle, we reach the door.

Inside, we immediately pass out with a sense of nausea. Lovely. This can only go well. We hear something like bugs skittering away.

The mansion does at least seem to be explorable. Unfortunately, the door leads to a portrait gallery full of clowns, which is not the most welcome place to end up.

Someone tunes one of the portraits. It turns out to be a TV. Dramatic piano chords come in.

Oh hey it’s some friends.

Their shtick is that the one on the right finishes the one on the left’s sentences, the one on the left speaks in all lower case, and the one on the right speaks in all caps.

They want us to find them. They’re very bored you see, and want to play a game. This is, I understand, an allusion to the Saw series of horror movies, in which I gather a person places people in buildings full of sadistic traps, monitored by various cameras and a small puppet with spiral cheeks. So I guess that’s us now.

We get our first real choice.

I think the door is too obvious. If there’s not another exit, we’ll have to take the door anyway - though that’s likely a different branch, realistically speaking.

We discover a hidden door. Behind it is... a hole in the ground.

I guess we have instant-death options later than usual in this chapter. Our final thought is about the terrible loss of our Chittr profile.

Well, that’s fine. Let’s see what happens if we go straight into the house instead of wandering around.

Approaching the house immediately just skips the wandering around; the text is the same. It was a fake choice. Skipping forward, let’s see what happens if we take the obvious door, not the hidden one.

As we move down the hallway, the lights come on and the walls start bleeding. Lovely. Glorious sense of interior decoration. Tip top.

Beyond the door, we end up in another dark room. Maybe this one will be more of a true CYOA, with death options in every room.

But no. Not immediately, anyway. Ropes come out of the ground and tie us up. The two trolls who were watching us make themselves known.

Carnivalish music kicks in. We finally get a clear view of our captors.

Baizli right (allcaps), Barzum left (lowercase). I’ll try to remember that.

The twins say some predictably sinister stuff about removing our intestines (acid tubes, in trollspeak). The narrator grumbles about once again being reduced to the status of ‘torture muppet’.

When we express a desire to leave, Barzum and Baizli swap both demeanour and capitalisation rule. Now Baizli looks sad, and speaks in lowercase, while Barzum is pissed and speaks in caps.

These two twins, in the tradition of creepy twins, seem to share one mind. Which means they can hardly prank each other! They need someone else.

They rev up a chainsaw and suddenly... we’re back in the same room we started.

Looks like we’ve had another bit of time fuckery from The Powers That Be. Compare Fozzer. The loops kick in, faster and faster. Glued. Buried alive.

Having read the epilogue, all I’ll say is that it seems like someone is trying very hard to push us onto a timeline that ‘works’.

There’s a joke about time loop movies which I don’t get because I haven’t seen very many time loop movies.

After ‘20 or so’ loops, we decide we’ve had enough. But we get a choice of what to do about it.

Let’s try ‘Fuck this.’ first.

This turns out to mean attempting to intimidate the twins instead of begging them to release us.

While they’re baffled by this display, we make a break for an air vent. Surprisingly, we make good our escape. There’s a mention of all our jogging training with Stelsa, which happened in a non-canonical timeline - there was a whole thing about it! - but fair enough. Guess that’s another thing that persists between timelines. Or maybe the protag just thinks they went jogging with Stelsa in this timeline.

We find we’ve missed a bunch of texts from Skylla while we were out, and plan to head over there. But alas... the space loop is still in effect.

We end up back at the house. Unable to escape from the pocket dimension, the branch ends...

So let’s try the other option: ‘remember who you are’.

Come, try to remember...

And that is, of course... FRIENDSHIP. This time, we have something to say to the clowns (after ensuring we haven’t pissed ourselves).

Not killing us is apparently a novel idea for the twins. Or rather, they didn’t plan to kill us - just cut us up a bit, unaware that we wouldn’t heal right back up. The protag corrects the misconception.

So now we’re teaching the creepy clown kids the meaning of friendship. Novel!

The lights come up and they put on a little circus show for us. Apparently this building is not their hive.

They show us various other dangerous-looking circus tricks with the torture/circus equipment. Ah, says the narrator, so risking their lives is these kids’ hobby.

It turns out these kids hatched from the same egg. They tell us they do in fact share a mind entirely - one mind, two bodies.

And at last we end up chilling out and sharing stories.

With this friendship established, we sense a shift of some kind. We take this as a sign that the door might have finally opened.

Not only is the door open, but the ‘pocket dimension’ has dissipated too. The power of friendship! ...or fulfilling some secret design of whoever created the pocket dimension. Mmm.

How touching.

There’s a fakeout victory jingle, which turns out to have been a prank. They explain that... the creepy blood seeping walls and so on were their ‘chucklevoodoos’, but as for the time loop... Not them at all.

“Do you want to understand?” asks the prompt again. Time... for the epilogue.

#momestuck #lets read hiveswap friendsim #sex cw