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thetownwecallhome · 1 year

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TNBC Shower Thought-cloud #5: Sally the Ragdoll

((OOC:

So the sequel book to Nightmare Before Christmas All Hail the Pumpkin Queen, came out this last year and I just gotta make my stance clear now: if you like that book, cool.

I don't. Like, I really don't. To make a long story short, Shea Anshaw's take on Jack and Sally finally getting married ft the revelations that

Sally wasn't actually made by Dr. Finkelstein

Sally is a princess from another world

Sally wax poetic abt awesome girl-boss royalty ((like, human royalty, the kind that commits genocide and apartheid)) being legit and cool and how you shouldn't question it

This newest girl-bossification of Sally is positing the same question the TNBC-critical sphere has been asking for years: is Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas dependent and therefore can't be a good feminist character?

The hyperbole take on her being " her [Sally's] entire purpose is being supportive of Jack, who isn't supportive of her and who doesn't deserve her as a girlfriend "

This isn't a fringe opinion nor is it held only by people I dislike. Lindsay Ellis jokingly told Sally to "get her bachelor's degree" in one of her vids which I am very obviously not butthurt at all by as you can tell, while Hasani Walker made a webcomic where that functionally happens; Sally and Jack break up to work things out individually before they really try it out as a couple.

Just so we're clear, my disagreeing with these two and other creators is NOT meant to be war on people who don't ship SallyxJack, nor is it a roast on people who are critical of Sally/TNBC as a principle.

BUT, when it comes to Sally ((in the film, not the games or spin offs, the film)) being a doormat of a woman who's too good for her man...I disagree.

---First thing's first, My take on Sally is highly influenced by The Nightmare Before Christmas : The Film, the Art, and the Vision which my sister bought years ago. In that book, Carolyn Thompson said this -

While TNBC is the story of the time Jack did a thing and ruined it for everyone, it's Sally who embodies everything the filmmakers want the audience to feel about Jack.

Set up and seen before Jack is even on screen, Sally is a part of the world of Halloween, but also an outsider in it. This gives her the position to see Jack the way the audience does; Just like Sally, we are awed and enamored with Jack when he first pops up, then saddened and sympathetic for him once we realize his plight. Though she's absent from Jack's finding of Christmas Town, she IS there for the town meeting when we the audience (and her) are gushing over his gushing over Christmas. We sense along with Sally Jack's frustration with the town citizens, are saddened to see him pander to them, and can tell he’s not well when committing to his Xmas experiments. Most important of all, Sally recognizes Jack’s Xmas takeover as wrong and wants to stop it, even if she love him. Even without hearing him sing “I bet I could IMPROVE IT TOO” like we do, Sally knows Jack is wrong. Regardless of her care for Jack, visibly, she’s the only one who sees what’s happening with Santa is wrong. Sally tracks him down in order to help Jack, but she’s none the less Santa’s real ally. From everything we know about her, Sally, like the rest of Halloween Town, is not a mean monster and doesn’t like to spread misery ala Oogie Boogie, and she’s not too hopped up on enthusiasm to forget when she’s hurting people like Jack and the town very much are. Sally is the og critical stan. now join me for a tanget-

Interestingly, any other holiday film ((Year without a Santa Claus, Hocus Pocus, Hop)) would make the voice-of-reason audience-surrogate character a peppy human child who's interacting w the holiday characters, but in TNBC, the writers made the surrogate someone who's also a holiday character- Sally. Sally is kind of to TNBC what Nick Calloway is to The Great Gatsby. Yeah, that's a stretch-Nick is of course the narrator and author-stand in for his story where Sally isn't (although, a TNBC narrated by Sally sounds dope as hell, ngl), tho more importantly, while Nick learns along with the reader how cruel and fruitless the American dream Jay believed in actually was,

---Sally is a character who doesn’t have to learn anything. tanget- again

A lot of people have this opinion on Disney heroines like Belle or Ariel, that good characters, female or otherwise, don't necessarily have to learn anything. I could take or leave Belle and Ariel in as far as if they should learn a lesson in their movies. But in my eyes, that character will always be Sally. Sally is a character you wanna aspire to be like and who doesn’t need to learn the lesson of the story. And yes, Sally is also in-love with Jack. You can be extra cynicalsassy and use this to say "TNBC was made to make you feel like you could make out w Jack Skellington" (( I'd like to point out that Nick is all but canonically in love with Jay in GG)) but that's not the point. More importantly...how/why is that a bad thing that Sally is in love? TNBC doesn’t pass any bectal tests. If women always supporting other women is the only mark of feminism ever then I guess, but I mean, what’s wrong if a woman’s inspo and motivation is a man? What’s especially wrong if she’s self aware and tries to battle that man’s influence within the story. How is that "putting up with" or "enabling/excusing/thinking only of Jack". Sally...really doesn't do that...

---Sally has wants, but within the narrative of Nightmare she's just a bit taken back by needs. At the start of the movie what Sally wants, and the reason she says "I know how you feel" to Jack, is to be active.

“I don’t want to BE patient”

“I’m restless, I can’t help it!”

Sally wants to be anything but Finkelstein's cute assistant because SHE knows she's more than that. She wants to be a part of Halloween Town. What's keeping her back is her reluctance to be free, which she finally throws to the wind after seeing Jack's tower from afar, which is why she's so happy throwing herself out the window - that's her 'let it go' moment of actually taking action in her life. The man she loves is evidently doing it -why shouldn't she? Her actual 'need' is to escape from Dr. Finkelste and it’s really not an obstacle, if we're being honest. The balls are all in her court; Fink's at most an irritation to her. She literally came back to his lab just to be sewn up and smile in his face about poisoning him. She can, and does, so often easily escape because she’s NOT perturbed by him. Sally is, at this point in the film, totally in control of her wants and her needs. But then- the plot kicks in and she has her vision. It's then that her real need in the story, the need she recognizes, outweighs her wants, that need being: "omg I gotta stop this undead himbo from hurting himself and other people!" Sally’s #1 goal in the film is NOT to be Jack's gf, it’s just to save him from himself. Jack inspires her, makes her feel good, but she doesn’t let that stop her from seeing things for how they are ABOUT him. Her words in "Sally Song" never read to me as "notice me senpai I wish I was good ENOUGH" self-loathing. If anything her succumbing to “it’s never to become '' about Jack isn’t some “I love you even though you’ll NEVER luff MEEEEE” devotion, but forlorn frustration. “I think it’s not to be '' = Jack’s never gonna change”. It's Sally's lament about how she doesn't believe Jack will ever want her that way because she just knows what kind of person he is*. But that's not the only thing she sings about in this song. Sally has been apart from the crowd and wants to be a part of it, but any joy she’d have in her new independence is kinda sucked up by knowing Jack is gonna get him and possibly the rest of the town killed. She even wonders in her song if she wants to or ever can be really a part of Halloween Town when she clearly can’t do the hype-Jack-up song and dance like the rest of them. Jack evidently treats her like an equal part of the team, but 1) for Jack that's just another citizen he thinks doesn't understand him, and 2) it's participation in a project she knows she doesn't want to be a part of. Real monkey's paw there, Sally!

If there is anything close enough to a lesson for Sally in the film, arguably, it’d be not to underestimate Jack as unable to change. She’s not only validated by the end of the film, she gets to see Jack really bounce back and be the person she loved at the start- and then is taken aback that he not only does this but finally recognizes her affections, her efforts, and her as a person. final tangent:

((I think the make-or-break-you point with Nightmare is a question of whether or not you think Jack learned his lesson. While I think the filmmakers could have really handled that better, especially in “Poor Jack”, I think what they were going for in their own crunch of an ending is Jack falling in love with Sally is his redemption- he finally came around to seeing her and her way. The Film, the Art, and the Vision makes a point of how Sally is far more than Jack’s romantic interest. ))

Being Mr. Cynical again, you could handwave this as just a throw-in from the writers; "actually she IS REALLY important lookit all the things she do!" but I believe in that statement because they believe in that.

--Sally's MO is centered around Jack. Narratively, yes, she exists in compandum to him. But, within the actual story of the film, Jack isn't her soul purpose in life. The fact that she tries to stop him is proof enough of that.

The argument that Sally is too good and better than the relationship she's in falls apart because Jack and Sally aren't IN a relationship in the film. They hook up at the end -that's not the same as them being together or a couple. The logic of this take is, again, confusing Sally's wants with her needs, and also presuming Jack always loved her and just didn't realize until the end of the story, which is NOT the text of the actual film, that's fan speculation. (( I prefer Jack falling in love with Sally on the spot out of nowhere. It's such a Jack way of doing things...)) I think what convinces people that Sally is ��dependent” on Jack or only ever his side-kick is how expanded media treats her as character, as well as her relationship w Jack. In the 2000s, all that mattered for making spin off material of kid’s franchises is keeping the cast recognizable and that means undoing their development if the point of the story is that they change. It happened in every Land Before Time sequel where Cera and Littlefoot have to be the respective team-racist and team-leader, always, ever, all the time; it happened in the Finding Nemo comics set after the movie where writers still made Marlin overprotective of Nemo; it happened to Jack in Kingdom Hearts and Oogie’s Revenge. The writers may want to write an actual story, but it’s easier to just write what the characters are like in the original. SO, Jack HAS to be an oblivious, selfish manchild and can never learn and is also really despondent and prone to abandoning ppl he supposedly cares about. This sucks enough for Jack's character, but I think Sally suffered even worse than him. At that time, media and merch did treat Sally like she was JUST Jack’s love interest. Literally in Oogie’s Revenge's game pamphlet the only disc for her is “she’s sewn her way into Jack’s heart”, like she’s just his side piece and not the woman he ended his movie with who was also a really important character you followed within that movie. We can only repeat what we know from the film so oop!-Jewel’s MIA and Sally has to live with her sexist ex/boss who doesn't even like her.

---While we're here, I'm 100% sure Sally and Dr. Fink’s relationship is not familial. Some fictional mad scientists do love their creations like they were their children (see also: Mad Monster Party, 9, Frankenweenie for animated examples). Not Dr. Fink. While not exactly predatory ((because it's a fricken kids film, ew)) Dr Finkelstein is a sexist old man. He's problematic. Fink made Sally to be his sexy secretary. He's mad because her life doesn’t revolve around him the way he thinks a woman who works for him life should. In the end, he just decided to go and make a copy of himself since he knows now what he wants is to be told how awesome he is. I really don’t vibe some fic authors (and Shea Anshaw's) insistence that they be anything like ‘family’, hence why I made fun of it on this blog.

For all I disagree with between our headcanons, I much prefer Hasani Walker's take on Sally to Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. Hasani went in w good vibes; he made decent takes and criticisms; he made some good art; he did a sweet crossover between stop-motion properties, and MOST importantly, Hasani gave Sally a hat and a cool girl vest. Did Shea Anshaw do that? No!

It feels very at home and on-brand for TNBC that Sally was made from whole cloth as a ragdoll, but is still her own autonomous person by the rest of town and even the leader eventually. Reminds me a lot of the Oz books where the Scarecrow, Jack Pumpkinhead, and Gump are all just possessions but who are seen as people by the heroes, and even made official citizens by the heroes, which they are. What's more Halloweeny than a living-ragdoll-frankenstein woman being co-ruler of everything spoopy, or even just a citizen loved and respected as much as the rest of the town for her own attributes? If that's what you want, and it's what Hasani actually did for her, than give her that. Outside of her purpose within the story that I already mentioned earlier... what about Sally is sexist? So TNBC doesn't pass the bechdel test and Sally's main inspo happens to be her man. Not her soul purpose like in mother!, just her muse, her kin, her dearest friend. Secret of NIMH and Kubo and the Two Strings have female characters whose motives are their men and those characters don't even have first names. I kinda really hate the implication that a woman can't have a male character as a motive ever or else. As a feminist, I agree, women characters should be individuals and not props for the men. The problem to me isn't so much the insistence that a woman be there for support, it's writers crafting a story where certain characters fill more of a role or purpose in cunjunction to another, and when the writer happens to make said character a woman.

Also, since the whole point of LLTPQ was to give Sally her own agency and importance...how is it fair that she HAVE to be a royalty HERSELF in order to be her own person?

Is it because she was made to be a sexy nurse and that's somehow wrong or shameful even though the whole point is it's not her fault? Is it that people would accuse her of “leeching off" Jack just for being in a relationship with him? You know? The thing bad, sexist people do to women and sax workers irl if they have famous boos when they themselves aren't famous? If the only people complaining are those who think Sally is JUST Jack’s sidepiece, why validate those people? Wanting her to have agency within the movie and so giving her different choices as opposed to just INSTANTLY marrying Jack? That's a take I can vibe with because that is true to the nature of what Sally is, which is not just the Mad Scientist's beautiful assistant. By making Sally a "princess all along '', you imply that her even possibly starting from the bottom makes her beneath Jack and she has to rise to be his equal. Sally never had to do this in the original movie. Sally really was the smartest, most in tune person in town.

I talk a big game, of course, but even as my fav character I know I've done Sally wrong too. The "Mothball" comic is one of my biggest regrets from this blog. It's SO badly worded and I think it's a comic that REALLY needed a second opinion. Sally did nothing wrong in that comic, but both it and Jack made her feel like they were both in the wrong. Trying to give Jack and Sally a conflict as a couple was hard and I ended up rehashing some really harmful language, which I didn't want to do for either Sally or Jack. Don't like that comic. My first choice of retype, redraft.

final thoughts?

What people (me, Lindsay, Hasani, Shea, errybody) actually want of Sally is to have her own agency and 'character' apart from Jack. While narratively, yes, Sally functions as being there to endear Jack to the audience, my point is as a character within the narrative-Sally does have her own autonomy apart from him. She is massively independent of him. I know because that's who she is throughout the entire movie. I think it's because we all see she clearly does have her own interests/agency/character beyond that that we're all anxious to get more of that personally from her...which Disney won't do because they're Disney and certain characters can't come as their own especially when they fufilled another character's purpose in the og film.

Anna can't really do anything that isn't tied to Elsa because it's Elsa who's the reason any of Frozen happens at all.

Belle is always only the cheerleader of the Beast because his character arc is what drives the story.

Sally has to always be in toe of Jack because TNBC is Jack's story and she loves Jack.

But, we love Sally.

Give Sally her own limelight. Give her a limelight that isn't compltely making her a different character or demanding she be the same character as Jack.

Let Sally say #$%&

))

#sally the ragdoll #sally the nightmare before christmas #nightmare before christmas #the nightmare before christmas #tnbc analysis #sally skellington #long live the pumpkin queen

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turntechgodsmut · 3 months

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HOW CAN I CONTACT NICK PLEASEEE IM A 13 YR OLD SILLY GIRL WHO IS INFACT MENTALLY ILL IM ACTUALLY PERFECT FOR HIS STANDERDS PLEASEEE I NEED TO TALK TO HIM :3

For your own sake I’m hoping this is a joke

If it’s not, here! I’ll give you the full details on what to expect if you contact him! Because I met him when I was 14 and also a mentally ill silly girl!

Expect to be brutally raped. This is not gentle, you will be bleeding for days. He will slam your head against walls and choke you to the point you are gasping out for precious air, it’s not a sexy kind of choking. It’s the kind where it hurts as you struggle to breathe and suffocate slowly. It’s a near death experience on the regular. Speaking of near death experience! He will threaten you with knives, he held one to my throat. It’s an indescribable feeling, when you feel your stomach sink as you realize your life could end right there at the hands of another human. It makes your body react in ways you can’t control.

You will find yourself sobbing and crying, because he will make you feel insane and delusional for thinking anything is wrong with this relationship. You will beg him so many times to stop hurting you, to stop raping you, he will not stop. He may apologize after, but he will do it again.

If you’re like me you may even attempt suicide while dating him! Don’t expect him to visit you in the psychiatric hospital, he doesn’t care about you that way. But he will use your body again as soon as you’re out.

He is a parasite too. He thrives off of tons of people. Expect him to hurt your friends! He raped my friends too! We all hid our scars we received from him from each other, we were too ashamed despite all of us hurting because of him. You will feel intense guilt for being the reason he even knew them.

There is also the subject of family and loved ones! Years after this you may finally have the courage to tell them what you went through. They will feel shame and anger and guilt for having not seen the signs, for having not helped you. They will look at you for the rest of your life knowing how much you were hurt and they will hate themselves for letting it happen to you. You will always see it behind their eyes, it never goes away.

It never ever goes away. You won’t be able to maintain a normal relationship ever again. You can try, but every time someone touches you, you will struggle to not flinch, to not think they will hurt you too. Sex will never be enjoyable, your mind will always remember the ways you were hurt and violated. The way you gave someone so much trust to be intimate with you, and the way your trust was quickly broken.

And what about the rest of your life? Well! You will be so mentally fucked, you will cry for days on end about how you lost your childhood, lost your innocence to a fucking creep. To some fucking loser. If you’re like me you’ll be too depressed and traumatized to make anything out of yourself! You just become a shit college dropout addicted to drugs that help numb the pain.

Do not make the same mistakes I did. I thought I was so special and mature for having an older guy pay attention to me. Older guys who go after little girls do so because they are losers. No girls their age like them. They know how to utilize their power over you. I get wanting to fall into self destruction, I was the same. But please do not ever subject yourself to people like this. It isn’t worth it.

I only hold onto this url bc I don’t want “stans” of his taking it and glorifying him. He is a monster. Years later I still have nightmares about him. Even recollecting everything to answer this ask had me breaking down, but if I can tell the honest truth, in such a way that no child will ever have to go through what I went through, I will.

Please just do something better with your time. You are young, enjoy it while you are able to. Have fun, be silly, pick up creative hobbies. Live your life for YOURSELF not for some fucking man who will not give a shit about you later.

#sorry to word this so harshly but #I want this to scare you #bc I didn’t know the truth of how awful he was as a kid #and maybe if I had known what he was really like and the long term affects #maybe I would have been too scared to talk to him #ppl told me to stay away but never really told me why #maybe having something more definitive will work better than just a “stay away”

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every-character-ever-poll · 10 months

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DONATO PORPORA - Tokyo Ghoul

PROPAGANDA (UNDER THE CUT):

He's a dad, real sadistic and violent and he's god and king themed (he's a priest, his hunting limb is covered in crosses and he loves to crucify his opponents, he has a god complex, his Clown nickname is Crown,).

He is SO smart, like he should by all means have been disposed of already (he's a ghoul and in jail. they never last long) but he's so damn smart that he survived Cochlea (said jail) for 15 fucking years /all the while mentally tormenting the investigators that came to ask him questions/ (yeah he's Hannibal coded), like. Legendary, we stan. And there's the fact that he cares? So so much about his son? The way Amon's (his son) entire world view revolves around what he's lived with him and despite all that cannot help but love him? The way Donato knows how his son loves him, how he tries to get him to admit it to himself, all going "my beloved son" whenever they meet? The way, as Amon was falling injured and he thought about Donato, /we get a panel of Donato praying alone in his cell/?? Losing my mind. And he's somehow?? friends with Haise (an alter of the protagonist)? Donato has only been seen caring about 1 (one) person before that and hhhhhhhhh like he even apologizes to him. Legit mind-blowing moment, I haven't been the same since. And he tries to help him. He's the only one who truly realizes how terrible is what Haise is living (an amnesiac ghoul working as a ghoul investigator, with a special rule to treat him as human, unless…). Probably cause he's a professional liar himself and the way he probably wasn't that far when 240 (an alter of the protagonist) was losing his mind but. You know. And then we learn he's a clown (an extremely feared group of ghouls that are extremely powerful even by themselves and thrive on chaos)? Like, I already loved the Clowns, they're my favorite group, they're depressed misfit assholes they are SO great. Anyway yeah Souta (a Clown member and the antagonist) was like "hello want to kill my shitbag family?" and the Clowns went hell yeah buddy and all went ride or die for him, including mister self proclaimed "not sentimental" (Donato) Also the way Donato says that to Uta (a Clown) right after he flips out on Urie because his father took his son from him? The way it's mayhaps also linked to the way Urie treated Amon on Rushima? The absolute banger of a line: "Taste how it feels. How I feel. How cruel it is. Cruel to be one of those who only but watch over others" like nnngh I am biting through concrete He cares SO MUCH, despite himself! Just like his son!! They can't help it! And they try to take it back or play it off any way they can, but they can't they can't, it's too real for them, after all they stopped playing when Amon saw.. God… Like, at the end? When they fight? Donato doesn't do shit. We know what he's capable of. He could wipe the floor with Amon. He doesn't do shit. He scares him off a bit, and lets his son beat the shit out of his clones. It's the only way for him to keep him there away from the taxidermied owl where he could get injured. No, Donato's barely fighting. He sent a clone and let his son destroy it. Becsuse he can't bear to hurt his son. AND THEN. As I said, he tries to take it all back. "I'm a monster and I never cared." and now. Now finally after all that time, Amon is /honest/ and admits he loves him like. Ouch my heart. They can't both be honest. There's always gotta be one liar. That's so fucking tragic.. So beautiful…

Also he's super mega powerful like HELLO??? dude is double S, I mean /real/ double S, unlike?? Hinami? What's she doing there. (investigators rate ghouls on their strength, going from C (barely a threat) to double S) Anyway yeah.. God. He's so so powerful, he fights so efficiently and ruthlessly, his makes no superfluous movements to the point it surprised Urie with his Quinx senses, like he took out Higemaru before they could even register Donato was even there like hhhhh and he's so precise with kagune, too, on top of being quick? Plus he can detach his kagune to make traps? AND HE CAN CLONE HIMSELF like hotdamn. He can make multiple clones at once and good lord he can control another person's kagune /while/ making a bunch of clones of himself. ALL THAT WITHOUT CANNIBALIZING. HE'S SO GODDAMN COOL. (cannibalizing enables, if you don't lose your mind, to unlock a special state of ghouls where they have a, huh, monstersona basically. There's a secret triple S ranking but only 2 kakuja ghouls have gotten it, and I say it's cheating)

#poll #donato porpora #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul spoilers #has propaganda #image included #week one

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celticbotanart · 10 months

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*Squid Squidward wide awake meme* ALRIGHT, hear me out - I've been saying for a while how much Witcher 3 reminds me of the Brazilian countriside (more specific Minas Gerais). And ever since I had this madlad dream of a Brazilian Witcher except we called them Bruxeiros (the X here is pronounced like "SH" not like the American "X" - its kind of a meme here, kind of a "literal" PT-BR translation, it's complicated), and they fight Brazilian folklore badass stuff like Boitatá (fucking giant fire snake), Iaras (river mermaids) and un-curse women that became Mula Sem Cabeça (literally headless mules running around with fire coming out their necks). These are all some of our most well-known folklore for real, lol (HIGHLY recommend season 1 of Brazilian Netflix show Invisible City if you wanna see more! It's REALLY good!)

ANYWAY. I was in my kitchen making toast at midnight, when it occured to me. I had A VisionTM. Brazilian Witcher battle music would be like. Floral Fury.

youtube

For those unfamiliar, this specific Cuphead theme is 200% oldschool Brazilian samba - yeah the "weird straw-against-plastic-lid" sound is an actual instrument, it's called cuíca lol "Nah, but this is too happy and cheerful", you say. Alright, you are correct, maybe it doesn't fit to be a battle theme for the Bruxeiros. HOW ABOUT SEPULTURA, THEN

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SEPULTURA, THE BRAZILIAN METAL BAND, who performed this song as soundtrack for the BR movie "Lisbela e o Prisioneiro" (one of my fucking faves btw), and it the theme song for Frederico Evandro, a character who's ruthless hitman ("Matador").

BRO. IMAGINE. The peaceful and colorfully bucolic countryside of Minas Gerais and you are there fighting a Brazilian Werewolf (cause they are different from the European werewolf, we have several types btw), with THAT playing as battle theme.

Another good contender is Break of Reality's rendition of "As Bachianas n5" by Villa-Lobos (guy was a badass proeminend classical music composer who loved to mix in Brazilian folk elements with the classical music sttuff, pissing off a lot of purists in the process lol, good for him)

"As Bachianas n5" is probably Villas' most famous piece, it's originally a GORGEOUS aria, classically sung in Brazilian Portuguese.

SEVERAL people covered this song, including Sandy from sibling duo Sandy & Junior (they were EXTREMELY POPULAR with kids and teens back in the 90s/early 2000s); also people from all around the world covered it. You get it, it's pretty legit and famous AF.

THEN came Break of Reality a few years ago

with THIS badass cover:

youtube

LOOK.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSIONS OF THIS SONG. I STAN THIS COVER SO HIGH. I LOVE how it is sweet and emotional, but it brings a totally different, new, raw aspect to it that is so strangely fitting to this song (I can't explain, it just is). I can easily imagine this in the Bruxeiro!AU as battle music, even more cause a lot of the og Witcher 3 OST is full of slavic folk music that doesn't even reflect the Battling of Monsters thing - "...Steel For Humans" is like, a song sung by girls on wedding/harvest festivals, lol.

ON THAT NOTE, I think we could end this crazy ass post by including some of the folk / afro-Brazilian culture as well, which is only fair, and add this one, which I LOVE, "Caxangá / Escravos de Jó" by Milton Nascimento (my beloved <3) and folk singer Clementina de Jesus:

youtube

Milton is known to sing in high, ethereal vocalizations and extremely emotional lyrics. Guy is just A Fucking Legend fr. If there's a bard in my Bruxeiro!AU it's def Milton, I love his work so so so much! He's also known for mixing up influences from afro-brazilian culture, as you can see in here!

Stay tuned for more posts like this that can happen again at any moment or never again, lol

#music posts #Bruxeiro!AU #Youtube #witcher

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loveabledirtbag · 9 months

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1.03 - brigade

what a chill opening. we learn carmy owns a coat, AND a hat? not just a white shirt and black pants. that’s what we call character growth, gang.

it’s amazing how in episode one we see the back of mikey’s head, in episode three we hear him say “let it rip, buddy”, and when he is finally revealed later on in the season i had NO idea it was gonna be who it was (more on that later). and now every rewatch when i hear him talk, or we see the back of his head i go “how could i not realize who the actor was playing mikey before it was revealed?”

i had NO idea that was molly ringwald at al-anon for the longest time. but i saw her name in the credits and had to think hard about who it could be! it was honestly like, “well….the only character who even remotely looks kinda like her would be the woman who spoke at the al-anon meeting, but there’s no way….right???” and then i googled it. yeah. that’s molly ringwald! this show does cameos so well. joel mchale last episode, now molly ringwald. so good.

i think it’s really good writing that when carmy attends al-anon for the first time, molly ringwald (i’m sure her character has a name, but i don’t know what it is) talks about “keeping my side of the street clean”, and that inspires carmy to implement it in his own “life”, his life being the shop. however, he doesn’t have the skills, the practice, the knowledge or anything to know how to implement “keeping you side of the street clean”. so he does the best he can with what he has: kitchen systems. which to him means implementing a french brigade. i also love that in the long run doing that DOES actually help the shop, but at the end of this episode we’re kinda shown that it’s a totally shitshow flop.

“remove myself from any situation that is, or could become, toxic”…well, someone’s never worked in the service industry. and i think that’s probably the point? because to me that’s the bigger point being made in her speech, but carmy’s whole life right now is the restaurant, and the restaurant is a toxic situation, and carmy can’t remove himself from his whole life. so he chooses to focus on keeping his side of the street clean instead.

the hard cut to “remove myself from anything toxic” to what is, arguably, the most tense scene of the whole show until episode seven, is very well done. and so poignant. we go from “remove yourself from anything toxic” to jumping RIGHT INTO an extremely toxic situation: richie and sydney screaming at each other, a line out the door, people not doing their job right, the whole works.

also, i don’t want to anger any sydney stans. but i think it’s strange how many people i’ve seen saying that sydney is always perfect, and carmy is always an angry monster. because here is sydney just absolutely making the situation worse by meeting richie at his asshole level. he’s yelling at her, and she’s yelling right back. she’s actively NOT helping. in fact, carmy is the one trying to mediate, and trying to calm everyone down. i’m not trying to shit on sydney! i love sydney. but i’m pointing out that this show is very good at making everyone human. everyone is nuanced. everyone is at fault at one time or another and no one is perfect. im also not defending carmy for every instance. he makes mistakes. REPEATEDLY. but he doesn’t only make mistakes. here is a scene where carmy is trying to do it right, and sydney is at fault. obviously i haven’t even mentioned richie, but that’s because of course richie is at fault. it’s richie. the louder richie is is equal to how wrong he is in any given moment.

the man with the sysco hats orders 2 dogs with everything on them, and richie says “$5.25”…i mean, i know a dog isn’t the most expensive thing in the world, but damn. it’s not exactly a mystery why they were having money problems…i looked up a chicago style hot dog place near me and one dog is $6.25

oh damn, carmy at home, and he’s wearing a black t-shirt! so much character growth! we’re learning carmy owns other clothes!

i think it’s strange in the scene where we see carmy not able to sleep, and so he goes into the restaurant early. because manny, angel, and marcus are already there, but marcus asks “what are you doing here so early?”. that’s not necessarily the most weird thing in the world, bakers are usually the first in at a place, because dough and baking in general takes a lot of time. manny and angel could also be there early to wash dishes. typically dish washers work the hardest in a kitchen. but it is strange because this early into the shift how many dishes are there for them to do? if it’s only marcus getting his prep ready, i don’t think the shop needs to be paying for two dishwashers to wash the few dishes marcus would be making. keep in mind that the beef also only has two dishwashers when they are going through a wild and hectic dinner rush. i find it more believable that they’d need two dishwashers for a dinner rush (professional dishwashers are some of the most skilled dish cleaners you’ll ever meet. they’ll clean shit so fucking fast it’ll blow your mind) more than i believe they need two dishwashers right away in the morning when it’s just marcus prepping dough for sandwich bread. but that’s not even the weird part! marcus wonders why carmy is there early, but then sydney just happens to also be there. she’s just getting in, but she’s at the shop too and no one thinks its weird she’s there so early. and then just a few minutes later ebra is also there. if so many cooks are at the beef right away in the morning, why is it weird that carmy is there? we already know carmy is obsessed with the place and spends all his time there. and he’s also the one who is supposed to be directing everyone in their cooking, as well as helping with prep and cooking himself. so why is it strange that he’s there so early? i assume it is just the writers trying to let us the audience know that he couldn’t sleep?

i do love the sort of inspirational talk carmy and marcus have. where carmy is trying not to be triggered by thoughts of his past restaurant while looking at all the dishes he used to make, as he tells marcus stories, and as marcus is being inspired by them.

not that i’m the most knowledgeable person on cooking and kitchens, my time has been pretty limited, but TWELVE PEOPLE??? i’ve never heard of a dish that takes twelve people to make. by my best estimates with carmy explaining how to make the dish he only mentions maybe 6 people: the two chefs cooking down the plum wine. the person(s) cooking the plum consommé. which carmy says takes hours, so let’s just say it takes two shifts which means two chefs. the chef making the compressed plums. and then maybe a different chef who takes the consommé and makes it into the gelée. idk how you take six chefs and make that into twelve, but DAMN

carmy talks about these compressed plums cut into perfect squares, but there’s no square plums in the picture. which is so confusing to me. i’ve thought about this forever. i hate how much time this has taken up in my life. the plums are circular in the picture, but carmy says squares. why didn’t they write it differently? they had to have had the reference photo for the dish, right?

i like to think that the chef who cracked the plum gelée was luca from copenhagen. but as carmy tells the story we’re only getting flashbacks to his shop in new york, and we don’t have any evidence that luca worked with carmy in new york.

i’m glad that the show addressed being a woman in the kitchen. i know that being a woman in the service industry is getting better, BUT there’s still so much work and progress that needs to be made. obviously. and so we have two women in the beefs kitchen and one has learned how to be as tough as nails (tina) and the other has proved herself with talent, and is insistent that she doesn’t need any help with anything (syd).

it’s also poignant, because sydney is tiny and marcus is a giant with a golden retriever soul, and he just wants to help without even thinking of the fact that sydney is a woman. that’s obviously not an excuse, but i really believe marcus is just puppy-dogging his way forward and is just like “can i help? that thing is three feet above your head, but it’s at my eye line so i can grab it!” and sydney struggling with all her might is like “nah! i got it!” even though she clearly doesn’t got it.

the continuation of the tomato mystery!!! mikey was buying tiny little cans? even though the bigger cans are cheaper per ounce? whatta mysteryyyyyyyyyy????? (more on that later)

the short back and forth between carmy and ebra *chefs kiss*! again, ebra is criminally underused! even more so in season two (more on THAT later). but “english carmen!” “the more i understand about michael, the less i understand. rest in peace, young man” “who cares? we don’t use tomatoes anyway”. there’s nothing abundantly funny in the lines, but ebra’s delivery is just PERFECT

the conversation between carmy and sydney, specifically the conversation continually being interrupted, is just spot on. i don’t think i had a single meeting or important conversation with someone when i worked service industry that wasn’t continually interrupted by a million things. seriously, gang….management in service industry is just a fucking lot.

i think carmy’s idea makes a lot of sense, and also has some context to it. even in episode one carmy says he wants to start defining roles in the shop. i get sydney’s hesitancy because of her history in restaurants, and carmy does a bad job explaining his reasoning behind it. but if you’re dealing with a chaotic shit show, isn’t part of the answer introducing some order?

THAT BEING SAID: the moment sydney agrees to running the kitchen in this new system and carmy says let’s go is SO SHITTY. it might be one of the worst things carmy does in the whole show. reordering an entire restaurants workflow, when some of the staff have been there for DECADES, and putting the responsibility on the newest hire, and then telling her the moment she agrees that it’s gonna happen that instant and she’s going to be running the meeting where is being announced...it’s stupidity to the utmost extreme. i know carmy isn’t trying to be shitty, but FUCK dude. that is SHITTY.

“yo, carm the phone ringing” ….no shit marcus. it’s been ringing all morning, in carmy’s office. where carmy just came from. again, it’s probably a writers technique to show us that the phone ringing is something that we should have on our mind, because this shows sound design is very intentional, and it’s possible we could subconsciously think that the phone ringing is only meant to add to the chaotic sounds of the shop. but when thought of practically…carmy can probably hear the phone marcus.

once again, carmy talking about harnessing their gifts, organizing the special thing the whole team has. in my opinion he is coming from a place of respect, and love for these people (many of whom he has known for years) and wants to give them a chance that life has denied them because he knows they can rise to the occasion if given the chance. but i can also see where people could argue carmy is white-savioring, or “my fair lady”-ing, or some other toxic thing. but i do think carmy is going about this with the right intentions, and not as “i’m better than these peasants, they need my help”

what a weak pun by richie. escoffier/scoffi-gay. weak. i mean, yea, also homophobic and offensive. but what a crime to name puns. come on richie.

i wonder if it means anything that as richie makes the joke, the camera is on angel and he looks sort of annoyed and displeased at richie. we’re two seasons in without knowing much about angel, it could just be a camera cut to make the scene more interesting and dynamic, but for some reason angel is looking at richie and he doesn’t look happy

“i was in a brigade once” “what happened?” “many people died” GOD, EBRA! so funny! but also, fuck, that’s tragic dude! but then carmy’s “…o-okay, this is gonna be different”. is delivered so well. just the air of “i didn’t think i’d have to be telling people that a french cooking brigade would be different than a somalian army brigade…”

“like hierarchy!” “more like a regular chill-archy…” syd is so awkward, and this is one of those scenes where you close your eyes and groan because you wish she was anything but awkward. the writing, the acting. god, so good!

“i’m the sous, right? which means i just follow orders even if it leads to tension, and chaos and resentment and ultimately doesn’t work. but yeah, that’s what i do.” is SO GOOD. if any good person has ever been in a management position before, they KNOW that’s the eternal power struggle between owners and staff. and is also why i think the service industry desperately needs to unionize. because far, far, far too often managers have to voice something from ownership that fucks over the staff because part of their job is just to do as they are told, much like how staffs job is to follow orders from management. and it sucks! and if a good person is not careful, they follow orders and ignore their conscious and walk right off a cliff and suddenly they’re in a viral video talking to camera’s about how their staff deserve to work minimum wage without being allowed bathroom breaks for 12 hour shifts and how child labor laws are ruining this country, all because they’re just doing what the owners are saying and they forget that they’re in charge of actual human beings.

“chef de partie?” “yes” “…i accept!” GOD EBRA!!! i would die for ebra.

i love with the camerawork that from richies face we know something isn’t quite on the level with niko. we don’t know what (yet) but his face says “damnit niko, why are you calling? don’t mess this up for me and get me in trouble.” that’s added to by the subtle “i’ll hit him” from richie. he means “i’ll hit him back” as in “i’ll get back in touch with him and talk” but by cutting out the “back” it sounds a little more threatening: “i’ll hit him”, “i’ll punch him, because he’s gonna get me in trouble.”

also, it’s so beautiful and sad that carmy can’t see richie’s face. because he says that it felt like mikey was alive for a second. and richie looks like “i know exactly what you mean” but richie also looks like he’s saying “i can’t deal with that right now; because i’m barely holding on myself, so i can’t carry you too.” so richie says “no thanks” and carmy is just left to believe richie doesn’t care about him. just more assholery from richie. but we the audience know, oh, richie is broken.

i think the show does a decent job of showing anxiety and panic this season. BUT i think they go above and beyond in season two. the ringing and grabbing his heart is good, but season two really helps channel the anxiety

peep the crisp white sneakers on carmy’s feet as he walks into the church for al-anon. i know jeremy allen white is a sneaker boy, and i wonder if those shoes are just jeremy’s, or if they also wanted to give carmy some sick sneaks to go along with his denim love

quick peep at syd’s japanese knife. much like carmy’s japenese knives. i don’t know if anyone reading this knows about different countries knife philosophies and how their knives are designed to suit that philosophy (maybe philosophy is too strong a word…), but it’s interesting that carmy and sydney share a similar knife

ah, hiding in the walk-in because you need a moment to yourself to stop yourself from crying. i miss it and also don’t miss it. you know? maybe that’s ptsd? the scene is all the better because syd goes into the walk-in talking to the team with the most empty cadence a person can have. she’s saying what she’s supposed to be saying but she doesn’t believe a word of it herself. which also means the team doesn’t believe a word she says

ok. there’s very few good things to say about tina up to this point, which is probably why i haven’t talked about her much. but the fact that she clearly has so much beef with syd, but still she goes into shop-mom mode the moment sydney gets a cut. i just love it. every shop has a shop-mom and every shop needs a shop mom. tina is one of my favorite characters, of all time, and her journey is so well done this season.

and of course sydney doesn’t help anything by getting defensive and once again trying to prove how good and tough she is, instead of just accepting the care and help she needs.

and….of coooourse tina goes from trying to help sydney to then immediately turning the heat up on her stock and sabotaging her. because tina might be the shop mom, but sydney is annoying her, and trying to change everything, and so shop mom goes mama bear on her and fucks with her.

sloppiest “assumed” drug deal ever between richie and niko. like they’re looking around and trying not to get caught and somehow they miss that carmy is RIGHT THERE

here again with syd’s burnt stock, carmy is a little bit of an asshole. obviously we think he’s being more of an asshole than he is, because we know sydney is having a hard time being the sous in the shop with everyone against her, but carmy doesn’t. to carmy, he put the only highly skilled chef in charge while he left, and he gets back and no one is doing what they should AND sydney is (seemingly) making rookie mistakes which she should know better than to make. so he does get a little angry at her, and even from his prospective he could have been less intense, BUT from his view it’s like “how did you mess this up? this is cooking 101”.

again too, when sydney’s trying to explain that tina should be on onions, but tina’s on lemons and carmy just wants her to say “yes, chef” and do the onions…i have mixed feelings on. because, once again, we the audience know that carmy is being an asshole and not helping sydney’s already shitty day. but carmy doesn’t know about sydney’s shitty day (which is also his fault), and to his credit sydney trying to explain that she has tried to get tina to what she’s been told and tina isn’t listening sounds a lot more like whining than explaining. there are times and places, and right after being scolded for burning your stock is not the time to try and explain that the real problem is actually not you, but tina. is carmy ultimately way in the wrong? yeah! but he’s asking syd to say “yes” and in the moment she should have just said “yes”. your bosses makes mistakes, and when they’re telling you something, it’s not the best time to show that they’re wrong and you’re right. sometimes you just gotta say yes, and hate them in your head. and if they’re a good boss (like carmy is) you then go and talk to them when things are calmer. they have that moment later in the episode when things are calmer.

i’m not trying to say that people just have to put up with angry shit from their bosses…but in a moment of stress, ESPECIALLY when you’re in the service industry, sometimes you just gotta nod your head, take whatever they say, and curse them in your head. because in a heated and hectic moment in a shop, you’re not gonna convince them of the nuanced issues going on. that has to come later when things calm down and they have a clear head.

knowing that the hands that are prepping the food are actually syd’s and carmy’s hands (i know the actors have names, i’m sticking with syd and carmy) never ceases to amaze me. especially in the scene where syd preps the onions, because you can really tell she got skilled at it. with carmy they cut back and forth and so they can make us think he’s moving faster than he is, but they had a long shot of sydney just cutting, and she was zooming through. (the gif below is carmy because i was struggling to find a gif of syd cutting)

i always wanna know why the suqaar isn’t good? like, it’s so bad that sydney is near revolted. because ebra says it with such pride and confidence, carmy seems excited by it. but then when sydney tries it she’s so disgusted. was it actually that bad? or was sydney just in such a bad place that nothing could taste good?

those lowboys are SO gross. i have nothing else to say, really. just real bad.

it’s rather unprofessional that when “someone” took sydney’s onions she bursts out of the kitchen to the front of house, WHILE richie is hanging out and talking to a customer, to yell at him asking where her onions are. richie is working. obviously hanging out with customers might not seem much like working, but that’s front of house (FOH) shit right there. and to yell in front of a customer (which she and richie have been doing a lot in this episode) is just unprofessional from someone trained in the way of fine dining.

the small detail of syd having her overwhelmingly bad day, and when she goes into carmy’s office he’s just sitting there, and then the first thing he says is “we should be outsourcing bread”, which was 1) in her 30 page packet last episode, and 2) talked about just a few hours ago in the team meeting carmy skipped out on. it would be beyond frustrating. and we know that carmy is actually working, like, the guy stays late to hand scrub the floor, so he’s really working. but it just looks like he’s chilling while syd is running around, and that doesn’t help her boiling rage and panic.

the most painful thing is the world is sydney yelling at marcus about him offering to help her with something again, to the point that her hand is shaking and her eyes are bulging…and then he leaves and she dumps it all over herself. i’ve never been a woman in a male dominated workspace, but i have been someone who really wants to prove themself, and to then have it blow up in my face, especially if it LITERALLY blows up in my face like it does to syd, and the added shame of knowing you wasted a bunch of money (veal fat isn’t free), is stay-awake-at-night-reliving-that-moment kind of painful.

but, it’s also so sweet, and so relatable of marcus to come in after hearing the spill, to sydney standing there covered in her own mistake, and to wordlessly leave and come back with towels and help her. everyone in the world needs a marcus.

that first inkling of seeing HUGE payments to KBL electric! my brain was just like “oh shit, mikey was laundering HARD”

i love the scene where marcus tells syd that family dinner is ready, when syd walks out of frame we stay for just a moment on tina. tina cleaning her station. because to me i think it’s easy to assume, well, she obviously has to clean her station at some point while working, so it’s now. but after having a few back and forth moments with syd in the episode, where syd specifically asked her to clean up, i think it means something that tina is finally cleaning up. and knowing the arc she goes through in the next episode, i think this is like a seed being planted showing us that even tina is slowly being changed by the new system that carmy and syd are implementing in the beef.

i know that this is like the tiniest detail, that has also been talked about SO MUCH by people in the restaurant industry. but carmy drinking out of a plastic container hits to good every time i see it. i’m 29, i haven’t worked in food-food in like 8 years, and i still love using those containers as water glasses. THEY HOLD SO MUCH, plus you get them for free if you order pho from my favorite restaurant (and most restaurants where you’re ordering soup to go) so it’s like an added treat with my pho.

i do think it’s important that carmy can tell something is wrong with syd. only because he’s been so single minded for three whole episodes. missing cues from the people around him about the pain they’re in. i know there’s a lot of discourse on here about if the relationship between syd and carm is moving towards romantic, or showing the depths of a truly deep and trusting friendship/business partnership, either way i don’t care if the writing and performances are good. but it’s important to note that this is the first time carmy has looked outside of himself/the restaurant at someone else and noticed them for real. he went to find syd, and upon seeing her body language asked her what was wrong. obviously, most of what was wrong is because of him, but he still tried to make it better and showed that he’s the kind of boss who actually cares and is trying to create the best working environment for his staff as possible. he’s just human and struggles at doing it.

i’ve read a few people say it’s shitty that carmy admits to being harder on sydney than everyone else in the shop, but i really don’t think so. no one else has gone to school for cooking. no one else but syd can comprehend most of what carmy says or even understand his vision for the place. syd has been at the beef for a few days/weeks/maybe a month or so? and she’s now the number two over people who have been there for decades. so i don’t think it’s outrageous that carmy holds sydney to a higher standard. or is more upset when she sinks to richie’s level to yell at him, or when she isn’t able to properly make a stock. once again, i’m not trying to excuse carmy’s bad behavior, but my first day in a kitchen i was treated with baby gloves, but when i was a supervisor, and in charge of training people in, i would never hear the end if i messed up something simple. because i knew better, and carmy knows that sydney knows better.

i think it’s worth noting that sydney says “i think this place could be so different than the other places we’ve been at.” she says “we’ve been at”. not “i’ve been at.” she’s assuming, and assuming correctly, that carmy has also been in some terrible kitchens. and she’s assuming, and assuming correctly, that carmy is also really tired of it

i think it’s probably only really tv magic that we’re in episode three and sydney feels comfortable to tell carmy that she wants to partner with him in making the beef better, but that he also has to listen to her ideas. that’s a lot of trust in the emotional maturity and headspace of a boss that you haven’t really had any previous emotional connection with. like we haven’t really seen her and carmy connect or have a mutual understanding of the other. we haven’t seen him give syd a reason to think that he wants her to partner with him in improving the beef, or that he’s all that interested in listening to her ideas. HOWEVER this scene works because we know carmy so well already, and we know syd really well, and their chemistry sells it. so she basically says she wants to talk freely with her boss and be heard and listened to and instead of him shutting her down like 90% of bosses would do, he says “you’re absolutely right, and i agree.”

and for her leap of faith, we see carmy open up to her! carmy opened up! he’s trying to work through his gunk! it’s so good!

FUCK BRUNCH

ok. i love brunch. but i hated working brunch. it’s the worst shift in the world.

the scene where carmy comes out of the beef on a break, cigarette hanging from his lip, his hair a particular kind of wild, to listen to sugar’s voicemail…that is the vibe and look i have wanted to replicate from the moment i saw him, and i have no idea how to show the person who cuts my hair because the look is just “sweat and grease” and that’s a hard ask in a salon chair.

i like the flow of learning its michael’s birthday, with us returning to the beach with carmy. because it makes the fact that carmy heard mikey say “let it rip, dude” more powerful. carmy is thinking of mikey on his birthday, carmy’s been thinking of mikey all day, and it’s been nagging at him and weighing on him and everything he has said and done has been because today hurts worse than most other days have.

the question then becomes: timeline-wise, is carmy at the beach the same scene that started the show? we know that only a day has passed, did carmy wake up and go to the beach, and then after work go to the beach again? i’m sure someone with more attention to detail could tell me if the sun is in the same position in both scenes, or if the sun is on the opposite side of the sky in one from the other. but it mirrors the opening so much that it kinda feels like we opened on either the beginning of the day, or the end of the day, and now we’re closing on that same visit to the beach, to remind us of that trip and to put the day into a greater context with mikey’s birthday. if i had to bet, i would bet that both scenes happen at sunrise, because we have a shot of the shop while the dinner rush is happening and it’s dark outside. like past sunset dark. we know they close late, like 10/11pm late. which is far after sunset. so if carmy is walking outside while there is a sliver of light, it’s probably sunrise.

UFFDA, i love this episode. i feel like it slowed way down (except for that one scene during a lunch rush), and amped up both the emotional ante, and the comedy. the next episode to me is like a mid-season finale, because it wraps up some major themes and storylines and opens up some new ones, but we’ll talk more about that in episode four!

#the bear #the bear fx #the bear hulu #marcus the bear #sydney the bear #the bear tv #tina the bear #the bear review #the bear series #carmy the bear #richie the bear #liveblog #live-blogging #the bear episode three #carmy berzatto #carmen berzatto

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thealmightyemprex · 1 year

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Sci Fi Month Review 7 : Roger Cormans Fantastic Four

For this review…..We're looking at something special,the unreleased Fantastic Four movie

In this 1994 film Scientist Reed Richards(Alex Hyde-White ) and his companions Sue Storm (Rebecca Staab ),Johnny Storm (Jay Underwood ). and Ben Grimm(Michael Bailey Smith) take a space flight to study a comet,but things go wrong and the four find themselves changed with extraordinary powers and in the clutches of the mysterious figure named Doctor Doom (Joseph Culp )

So Marvel is huge now in mainstream American pop culture ……But that wasnt always the case.I'll just be honest people ,I am hesitant looking at pre Blade/X Men/Spider-Man live action Marvel adaptations cause they can be …Rough .I mean theres some gems ,I will always love The Incredible Hulk TV show starring Bill Bixby and even have a soft spot for the subsequent TV movies based on that show …..But then you have the 1990 Captain America movie ,Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD starring David Hasselhoff and of course,Howard the Duck .One that has always fascinated me is this film because in fandom circles for many years it was infamous for being the Marvel movie so bad ,they never released it (Which isnt the case truth is more complicated and capitalistic ,basically the film was a way to maintain rights ),a film you could only find as bootlegs at conventions,seen as a geeky oddity along the same lines as the Star Wars Holiday Special .Now you can find it on youtube (Which is how I watched it ) ,and having watched it……I think this film is kind of underrated and I am sad it did not get a proper release

So I gotta explain myself :As a kid some of my earliest comic memorie were reading the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run of Fantastic Four ,and my dad had the complete series of the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon ….So the Fantastic Four have a special place for me .From the pathos of the Things plight ( a man trapped in the body of a monster ),to the sci fi adventure,to the romance of Reed and Susan ,to the grand villainy of Doctor Doom(Heck a slew of great villains),to the feeling of family ,the Fantastic Four appealed to me .....And I am kind of grumpy that Fantastic Four lacks a great adaptation that captures the spirit .Now there is no shortage of Fantastic Four adaptations out there.....But most of them,at least for me,are kind of mid ,specifically the film adaptations have left a lot to be desired .The Tim Story duology has the humor and the four leads relatively right ,but drops the ball in that they dont DO much and completely misrepresent the villains ,and 2015's Fant4stic might be the worst comic book movie I have ever seen .However this film ,while not the definitive film version I crave and not really a great movie .....IS the BEST movie version of the Fantastic Four and a fairly decent super hero film I feel

Now there is a lot I could make fun of ,its very flawed,like keep in mind ....This was produced by Roger Corman ,they didnt have much of a budget ,so the visual effects are a bit cheesy and bad(The CG Human Torch looks like he is straight out of Reboot ) but I dunno I find them charming .The only lack of budget thing that bothered me is the dialogue of Doctor Doom.....In that they didnt either have the money to loop him or think to loop him(HAve him record his lines later ) which is a problem cause Doom is clanking about and is wearing a mask that muffles his speech......So I dont know what the main villain is SAYING sometimes (Credit to Joseph Culp who does project very well so I know 75% of his dialogue but that 25 % is annoying ).My main flaws are the romance elements ,from the creepy Reed falling for Susan who he knew as a child to Ben and ALicia being in love despite meeting ONCE(And even that scene is a bit creepy ).We also have a subplot that frustrates me as the film has two villains ,Doctor Doom of course.....But then you have the Jeweler.Now the Jeweler was supposed to be the Mole Man ,a guy who due to his physical appearence has cast aside society to live underground and was actually the fours first villain.....Till Marvel said "NO you have the rights to this select group of character,not the Mole Man " ,so he was reworked into the Jeweler ....And I think they should have cut him out.Now I like the idea of his subplot ,him falling for Alicia and trying to make her his queen ,inviting Ben who has now become the monstrus thing to joing his group and Ian Trigger actually gives a great performance ,being creepy but also having a sense of sadness (He reminds me of what Tim Burton tried to do with the Penguin in Batman Returns ) ,and while the name is changed,its a good adaptation of the Mole Man .........Pity he adds nothing to the film other then causing the accident that makes the four the four and kidnapping Alicia,things that Doctor Doom couldve easilly done .I mean it folks in the grand scheme of things,the Jewler is pointless,he never fights the Fantastic Four and he just kind of runs off before the third act .I like the performance and the plot idea,but it shouldve been reworked or cut

Thaaaatttt said.....I still like the movie.....BEcause of the Fantastic Four movies.....Its the bonly one to get that Fantastic Four feel to me:A fun lighthearted sci fi adventure and thats what I want from Fantastic Four .The Four feel in character,its accurrate to the source material andits the only one to get Doctor Doom right at ALL(Actually keeping that he is the King of Latveria and hinting at doombots ).Yes the film is low budget but it makes that budget work ,heck the comic accurate sewn spandex costumes for the Four are charming to me because in universe the costumes are made by Susan and they legit look like something she could make herself (An issue I have with a lot of superhero movie costumes ment to be handmade ).Doctor Doom looks like he stepped right out of the comics with the green cloak and tunic combo and metal mask /armor ,I love this look for Doom .The Thing looks pretty good too with an animatronic face that brings to mind the old Jack Kirby design and stunt man Carl Ciafalio gives a good physical performance (THoughI do find it amusing that the Thing is SMALLER then his human persona Ben Grimm,played by Michael Bailey Smith ) .No one in the main cast is bad ,alll these actors are giving it their alll .I have already discussed my soft spot for Ian Trigger as the Jewler, Rebecca Staab is a good Susan ,and Jay Underwood is a suitable Johnny .Michael Bailey Smith is a good Ben Grimm and he also does a decent job voicing the Thing and bringing the appropriate pathos (Though I do wish he had the Things signature Brooklyn accent ).Alex Hyde White might be my favorite Reed Ritchards really selling both the scientist and the leader aspect .Biggest props have to go Joseph Culp,who delivers a great performance despite being in a vfery uncomfortable costume with a mask that muffles his speech,and is able to project well ,make grand gestures (Inspired by real tyrants like Mussolini ) but also make him a fun eloquent villain who still has a sense of humor with a good hero villain dynamic with Reed .Also he is CONSTANTLY evil laughing ,and I dig it

I like this movie ,there is clearly a lot of heart in this movie .....Which makes me sad that the film was mistreated by those at the top.Its not a lost masterpiece ,but it is an highly entertaining B movie that pays tribute to its source material

@ariel-seagull-wings @filmcityworld1 @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @goodanswerfoxmonster @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

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viralvava · 8 months

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hehe.. richter and alucard >>>: )

hope you dont mind more asks!

i dont mind ^^ talking in any manner happens to be a favourite activity of mine

first of all, richter! richter is really cool. hes one of the characters who doesnt require too much digging and extrapolation to see the inherent depth in, and its good depth! im sure thats why hes so popular, aside from being in sotn. the way he really encapsulates the negative effects of the belmont legacy on its participants is incredibly interesting, as is the way that in taking the belmonts out of the cycle, it only got worse for everyone else. hes not one of my favourite belmonts, but there are no belmonts i dont like, so hes cool! also his va slaps both rondo and sotn-wise theyre good they fit him i like them. i hope he got to go home to annette with maria and they lived happily ever after :>

and of course, the man himself, alucard

the way i interpret alucard is probably kind of weird? for me hes a 1470s character first and foremost, despite obviously having more attached to him in sotn. im just really biased there tbh i love castlevania iii castlevania iii is my jam. but the most interesting phase of alucards character is, to me, in the sorrow duology. because the common consensus i see is that he kind of has some character development by then but the thing is just

hes kind of really shitty in sorrow? he went through negative character development. i probably sound like a madman but once you start to read into the scripts and the implications there... its a lot so i wont go into it, maybe some other day, but yeah. i like arikado, hes a hot garbage fire who resembles mathias more and more every day ^^ we stan a manipulative king who gets his ass kicked by dmitrii blinov of all people (my probably strange read on the sorrow duology is also why i prefer the meh ending of sotn; it makes more sense for what he does in the sorrow games if he never got that help from maria)

on the alucard side of things its also obvious why hes so popular! classic tragic hero, he struggles with his identity as half human and half monster, his self loathing is poignant and everpresent, and he continually attempts to stay true to his mother's wishes and oppose the cruelty of his father through whatever means necessary (until he gets to the point in the 2030s where the ends start justifying the means). alucard is very cool.

my takes on him are probably a little bit unusual though :p so ill say just incase that im definitely not trying to say that theyre the end all be all of canon and interpretations or anything! just having a little fun with it in the blending direction

#alucard castlevania

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lemoncandybats33 · 2 years

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Velma: Jinkies guys we got our first mystery! Partly inspired by all the new 'scooby doo' (you know the one without scooby doo :/) show.

It made me want to go back to one of my favorite shows and if I were to design them. In this au they'd solve mysteries for both humans and monster's (so we'd get to see the ghoul school kids back, and Dracula from Scooby Doo and the werewolf's curse). I think that would be a cool switch up. Shaggy Rodgers and Scooby Doo: Still the same iconic duo who run from monster's and search for food. He and Scooby met when they were kids over a sandwich and have been best friends ever sense. -Shaggy actually has a werewolf ancestor and they were the reason his family left the monster world. -It's also the reason he can eat so much. -Scooby is still the same, a good boy who can talk. He also tries to help Shaggy with his jobs that Shaggy uses to pay for all the food he eats. -Both love Scooby snacks. -Shaggy has one sister named Maggie but goes by Sugie. -Straight, and doesn't really know what to do in the terms of romance. Velma Dinkley: The brains of the group who rocks a dark academia look in my au with a skeleton hand hairpin. -Still as sarcastic as ever but more excited over mysteries and the unknown. -Bisexual in this au but isn't into romance. (before any one starts I've always seen Velma as Bi, and the jokes about her being to 'unfeminine' to be attracted to guys really turned me off. Especially when she had the most love interests in the movie's? Headcanon what you want but in this au she's Bi) - Met the gang in elementary after Shaggy snuck Scooby into the school and she, Daphne and Fred agree'd to help Shaggy find him (there first mystery). - The middle child of six, with four older brothers Hugo Dinkley, Cheeves Dinkley, Quentin Dinkley and Rufus Dinkley and one younger sister Madelyn Dinkley. Which made her a bit competitive. -Didn't believe in monster's until they showed up on her door step. -Hex Girl fan/stan -Will be getting both human and monster love interests. Daphne Blake: The unofficial body guard of the group and informant. A sweet if not a bit airheaded popular girl with an edgy side. -Actually knew Shaggy before the gang first met do to there parents (Shaggy's dad works for her dad). - Was known as damsel-Daphne, and Danger-prone-Daphne for a long time before she joined gymnastic's and martial arts to toughen up. -Attracts monster's. Doesn't know why. - Has four perfect older sister's (Daisy, Dawn, Delilah, Dorothy)which puts a lot of stress on her shoulder's, making Daphne the most rebellious. -Comes from a wealthy family but wants to make it on her own without there help. -Will definitely get tattoo's when she's older. -Straight ( I could never see her with a girl. Including Velma) Fred Jones: The kind if not airheaded leader of the group. A survivalist nut/specialist who could survive in the darkest wood's on wit's alone but don't ask him to use technology. Still loves traps and usually comes up with the plans to catch the bad guys. -Moved to Coolsville just before meeting the gang. -Is an only child but his whole family are survivalist nuts as well. -Used to listen to an old radio show about a noir detective which sparked his love for mysteries. -Gay (I can see it and I've never shipped Daphne and Fred. Again I don't care if you disagree but this is my au)

#my art #scooby doo #scooby doo au #velma #daphne #shaggy #fred #I'd call it scooby doo we got a new mystery #or scooby doo's monster mysteries

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gun--arm · 2 months

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just in terms of analysis of the dyne scene & all that jazz; i've seen a LOT of interpretations of the barret / dyne fight + ending and i feel mixed on them. while i love analysis and agree with a lot of it - there are things i both like / dislike about those analysis and i wanted to talk about.

obviously, im an og stan. i loved the original dyne segment. dyne is a mass murderer at this point, killing indiscriminately because he literally wants to watch the world burn. he's so angry from grief and vengeance that he's taken the whole 'dig two graves' to an extreme - digging multiple! in the original, when confronted by barret; he reveals his resentment for the world and everyone in it ( all of them deserving death ) and before the fight, upon learning marlene is alive - suggests he'll kill her to reunite her with her mother. this is basically the catalyst for barret and him to fight. dyne is a death seeker, we see here, but too afraid to kill himself ( possibly too depressed but also too furious to act on his own suicidal feelings ). after the battle with barret and essentially what is - his once close friend - granting his wish of death on him, dyne announces he could never be a father to marlene again before he kills himself. his whole 'my hands are too stained' are because he's murdered so many innocents, what kind of father could he be now?

now - i've seen a lot of people dunk on rebirth for their handling of dyne. and i am the first person to critique the remake universe. trust me, i diss that shit a lot ( lol ). however...i actually love the dyne content and here's why;

firstly, the insight of dyne being much more unhinged / hallucinating / losing his humanity shown here. with modern graphics, we can see the subtleties in facial expressions / body movements. the voice acting between barret & dyne is absolutely stellar.

we see dyne talking as if eleanor / marlene are with him; he's almost spitting at barret in resentment, but you can also hear that familiarity as if he's close to giving his friend a chance. then he sees cloud - and sees red.

i love his totally discriminate view of the shinra; he hates them all, no exception and WILL shoot on sight. i love that when dyne speaks, he comes off as genuinly unhinged / insane. this isn't someone who can be reasoned with - he has gone overboard ten-fold. of course, during the fight - he shows some snippets of humanity / reality - but he has to be challenged to get there.

now, i know one thing people hated in his fight, is the way his arm kind of mutates (?). he goes all tetsuo iron man or tetsuo re akira here ( lol ). when it happened in game, i was a big ol ?????????? because it feels random and weird BUT ALSO -

what if he's just fucked up from mako, or the life-stream? what if shinra did MORE than just destroy his town? we see the suggestion of mako making monsters so why is it a far reach for it to have effected him? personally, i quite liked the addition of this insane boss twist. i especially like barret's response; as if he's having a nightmare. he slaps his face to keep himself awake - he doesn't want to believe his friend is a monster. as my partner always quotes; 'it's a metaphor' lol.

as for the next part i've seen people critique - it's when dyne decides to go 'suicide by cop' rather than jump from the cliff edge himself. i've seen people say that this is like he's had his choice of suicide 'robbed' from him, it's as if he's not died with dignity but instead by shinra troop. personally, i do not see it this way.

dyne dies willingly - he protects barret and chooses to stand in the line of fire in the hopes of dying. he hasn't been able to take his own life, keeping in line with his fear ( especially so after hearing marlene is alive ) but he goes out as he wants to; he gets his wish of finally dying.

the main two things i do not like about this scene is - 1. him dying atop barret and proclaiming he bare the weight of his guilt. that's a lil too on the nose for me; they could have done this without the dialogue. 2. the immediate shift in tone after the fight with dio / palmer etc.

two things i especially loved about this entire scene;

dyne desperately wiping his hands on himself.

2.the way he SNATCHES marlene's pic from barret.

#(analysis.)#im just waffling |:#ffviirebirth spoilers

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someone1348 · 2 years

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Can I get foolish and sapnap?

Absolutely Kasey! :] @kasey-writes-stuff

Lee and Ler Foosh and Sappy for the win!

Lee!Foolish:

-He's so ticklish oh my gosh! Like a simple poke to his side causes him to jump 50 feet in the air! This man's nervous system works overtime to make him this ticklish!

-Big strong man being taken down by a few pokes, how adorable!

-His laughter is always high pitched and hiccupy and it's so adorable no matter where you tickle him, his worst spot or melt spot either way its the same just different volumes

-"AEHEHEYE!"

-He's got a habit of constantly repeating "It Tickles" when he's being tickled because that's all that's going on in his brain when it happens and it's so freaking cute!

-He's also gained a habit of covering his face when he's being tickled, it's a habit all of the boys are trying to get him to break we all want to see his beautiful smile! /p

-He can either ask or not, it depends on how intense the lee mood is and who he's talking to!

-His biceps are ticklish (Someone had to say it! They so are! /hj /lh /pos)

-He's also got ticklish ears, I feel it!

-Stan Foolish Honestly!

Ler!Foolish:

-STRONG, STRONG, STRONG, BIG MSCULES

-He will absolutely 1000% pull any lee into his lap/use his strength to his advantage! Whenever he gets the chance to and just tickle tickle tickle alll over there tickle spots!

-He loves a chase and is always up for a challenge, he will definitely push his Lee in the right direction just to make it more fun/better for them!

-He's never afraid of revenge if anything you should be the one running if you try to get him first and think that nothing will happen! /j /pos /lh

-He's a tickle monster for sure! He's practically a human shark already! He's going to pull out all of the stops to make it tickle the most for his Lee!

-He loves making Lee's blush and seeing their different reactions and trying new things

-He's a very fun ler! But can be ruthless without meaning to be at times, I suggest a code word for him for safety measures so it's fun for everyone!

Now time for SappyNap!!!

Lee!Sapnap:

-He's a nervous giggler!/giggler in general! He giggles a loot in a Lee mood, it's clear to tell when he's in one because of how much he giggles! Freaking Gigglenap over here! So adorable!

-He's a less of a fighter and more of a blocker when it comes to being tickled but he's a walking tickle spot too so hiding his spots doesn't really help, but hey that won't stop him from trying!

-He's got a ticklish chest! I just wanted to point it out! It's so cute!

-I feel like his ribs are pretty bad too considering the clip of Ler!Punz and Lee!Sapnap we got blessed with the other day!

-He won't admit it but when his Lee mood is really really bad his stomach becomes a lot more ticklish than it normally would be, hense why our sweetie pies got the giggles so often!

-Karl found that out himself, it was a great discovery that he immediately told everyone about in a group chat ^^

-He's so sassy and stubborn when he's Lee it's so fun

-He loves provoking others too that's a big one! He won't ever admit it! That he wants tickles!

-We Love Lee Sapnap/Sapnap in general just saying!

Ler!Sapnap:

-HE IS SO TEASEY OMG!

-And Fast like?! He won the Mr Beast tag video sooo if you start a chase with him be prepared to be found and tickled one way or the other!

-His teases vary from teasy tones, to baby talk and even wiggling fingers, they differ depending on the Lee and what they prefer!

-He absolutely 10000% laughs along with his Lee! The sound of their laughter is infectious to him and he adores it so much he can't help but giggle along too!

-He likes skittering his fingers along someone's tickle spots and going "Tickletickletickletickle"

-He's a sucker for tickle games like arms up or truth or tickle honestly anything that involves him getting to wreck someone he's in!

-Him and the others have a competition sometimes for who's the best ler and he plans to keep his crown!

-He gives certain looks at his Lee/Lee's when he's about to get them!

-He's a great tickle monster and plays the role perfectly!

-Honestly more of a Ler-Lean in my opinion but still so freaking adorable!!

-Stan Sapnap!!

---------------------------------------------------

These were so much fun I hope you all enjoyedd Goodnight everyone I am crashing! Sleep well my friends! Take care of yourself and have a great day! You truly deserve it!

-K :]

#k's headcannons #lee!foolish #ler!foolish #lee!sapnap #ler!sapnap

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evansbby · 4 months

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This is gonna be so long i am so sorry but i’ve been reading WG3 all throughout the day, at work, on the street and as i ate my lunch so its been all on my mind for HOURS now and i have to SCREAM about it somewhere 🤷‍♀️

First things first… Wanda, bestie, is currently in, what i’ve coincidently learned recently is called, the ✨dick sand✨ its where you lose touch of reality and friends and everything that actually matters and just fall for a guy like a fucking idiot falling into quick sand, so yeah we definitely hate this version of Wanda but i shan’t judge until Curtis like cheats on her or something, which he will, and she’s left a sobbing mess being dragged out of the ✨dick sand✨

Also… we still have yet to see her handle reader in this fragile state and if she keeps ditching her for Curtis while she’s this distraught… you must kill her off please and thank you 😌

I understand that its more convenient for the plot for reader to forget about what happened in the ride back home with Steve but like she remembered being fucked in front of everyone by Ari while being most high and drunk! I’ve never been drunk before so i dont know if the haze intensifies as the liquor runs through ones’ veins but like i just hated that for her because it could have saved her but like i said it is essential for the plot i guess so i’ll just shut up about it 🥲

I LOVE how it all started with Ari forcing himself on reader and ended it with Steve doing the same thing and how the difference in her reactions was stark, depending on the dickhead, her feelings towards each one and just like the actual way they did the forcing! And i cannot believe that i am team Ari now! Like you’re really about to convert so many of us to Ari stans after this because Steve is a fucking monster and also you should definitely kill him off as well please and thank you 😌

Thank you for giving us a fragile and submissive reader who got to actually speak up and say no for once before all hell broke loose.. well.. looser 😅 with poyt, Omega was seriously pushed to her most extreme edge before falling over and just saying enough and even the way she said it was more to herself than to Steve tbh so this was a lovely change and i am grateful for it so thank you bestie 💜

Fucking Sharon! I can’t believe you made her nice and sweet! That is so genius of you but like also diabolical 😈 it’s like you had an angst bingo card and you’re just FEROCIOUSLY going for the win 😂

The ball hitting reader was just *chef’s kiss* and its just perfect for me cause this was such a classic romcom moment and then having Ari scoop her up and take care of her is also another classic romcom move and i love you so much for it! God you’re so talented im gonna cry 😭

Speaking of the scoop, Ari felt fast for reader, huh? Did not think he would fold so damn fast! I mean i understand your assholes tend to have a heart hidden deep deep DEEP within them that ends up beating hard for your readers but i thought this one would take longer so i am definitely pleasantly surprised i must say 🤭

Now for The Beef… i think Kira has to do with it. That kind of hostility between boys almost always circles back to a girl they fought over or like a sister that got burned lol but like also let me congratulate you on your stunning talent to make me hate Steve Rogers’ guts and to make him the WORST human being ever when his image is that of a golden retriever. Kudos bestie you have done what no one has ever been able to do which is break us essentially but we love it 💋

I can’t wait to hear Steve’s backstory about when he was hospitalized for his anger issues btw i’m holding my breath for that one cause neglectful parents 🤝 angry and confused child is very relatable to me and representation matters 👍

“I broke up with her.” is like singlehandedly the most powerful phrase i’ve read in a fanfic in a long time because the timing, Ari saying it and the way he chose to say it are all just so incredibly and perfectly woven together to create the best plot twist EVER! Again with the genius and the talent and the you’re the goat shenanigans 🙂

I love the questions at the end cause its such a clever way to engage with your readers and honestly you are one of the best fanfic writers in this fandom at that! Your blog is honestly just the best place to hang out and just have the best of fun like we’re all just this insane group of besties who keep fighting over Ari’s 13 inch dick (when soft) and spewing hatred in the ugly and icky face of Andy Barfer lol

I’m so sorry this is long but i’ve made a promise to myself that i would read every review for this chapter since i never did it for any of the previous ones or ever for poyt cause i have the attentions span of a snail so i just took liberty and just talked my ass off to kinda compensate for all the reading imma be doing lol

Anyway, in case it aint obvious yet, loved the chapter to death. Love you to death. Forever grateful for all that you give us. You feed us so well, mother, we are so chubby and cute just like little Rosie 😘😘😘😘

Yep, Wanda is definitely in dick sand right now! I love that hahaha, it fits perfectly.

And it’s not uncommon for people to remember only bits and pieces when they were drunk. When the Ari stuff happened, she had just drank. When the Steve stuff happened later, she was fully gone lmao. Like when I’ve gone on nights out, there have been times where I remember the beginning of the night but then have no recollection of anything else until the very end. And other times I remember everything! So it all just depends.

Also I didn’t really think you guys would think Steve was a monster 🤔😂 Like, as you said, they BOTH forced themselves on her. But the one who stopped and apologised is the monster and not the one who clearly didn’t stop? That’s soooo interesting to me mwahahah, but I didn’t see this reaction coming from yall but it seems to be the popular one! Tbh they’re both fucking monsters bahahaha but it’s called wicked games for a reason! 🤭🤭 also I think reader’s reaction to Steve in his bedroom was BECAUSE of her past experiences with Ari!! It made her wiser to the fuckboyness of boys hehehe and wary too!

Also hahaha I am so happy you appreciate the questions at the end tbh i do the questions at the end bc i remember a lot of writers doing it on 1dff (the 1d fanfic site) back in like 2014 lol and even I did it when I wrote a fic there! It’s bc whenever I finish a fic im so frazzled bc I’ve taken in so much info so all I can do as a review is a keyboard smash so the questions are a good way for me to gather my thoughts so I thought it would be the same for you guys!

Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a wonderful review bestie! I love you sm 🩷🥹 Now let’s see if Ari truly lives up things bc he has a lot more people in his corner this time around hehehe

ANDNSJXJSJA CHUBBY AND CUTE ROSIE DIDNSKSK I FORGOT ABOUT HER 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

#rosecoloredboygirl #wg 3 spoiler #wg ask

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youranemicvampire · 2 years

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Thoughts on First Kill (2022) with spoilers

I’m having a First kill brain rot so i’m just gonna let this all out. Just my personal opinions :)

Well, the theme song is cute, but tbh i really don’t like the intro itself. I know it is supposed to be campy, but they could do better. I don’t know if it’s possible to change it next season, but i hope they do. And i don’t think the budget was the problem on that aspect.

Speaking of budget, it’s not their fault and as a non-scifi gal, it’s not a big deal to me. But again, i hope the cgi will get better next season especially the fighting choreography.

The poor quality flashbacks was maybe my another complaint coz you don’t have to have a big budget to give it a decent editing.

WOMEN. all of them.

I like how the men on here were either their brothers, dads and a gay best friend so there’s no room for shipping any man with Calliette. They’re lesbians, but we know these straight stans.

Variety was soooo wrong for calling this a tired take because it actually broke a lot stereotypes. An openly gay jock? Awkward vampire? Dark-skinned black woman lead who is being pinned on? Matriarchal family? Not to mention a lesbian show without those bury your gays trope and whatnots?

I usually like slow-burns, but they have soooo much chemistry that this worked. I smile like crazy even in those awkward interaction and eye contacts.

Tired of interracial sapphic couples that always include a white woman, but Jules is special. Sarah Catherine gave her justice and i can’t see anyone being casted for that role. As someone with anxiety, she nailed everything especially the posture and mannerisms. And it wasn’t over the top. +Jules is soooo cute and charming.

Cal reminds me of those intimidating girls in high school that is impossible not to have a crush on. I understand SC’s reaction on the chemistry read coz Imani has this intimidating stare that is sooo hot, strong and mysterious. If you can’t see Cal being down bad, look at her eyes. It’s very expressive.

I hate those takes that said we’re only hyping it for representation coz i genuinely enjoyed it. I’m a lesbian, but i think i’ve only consumed like 10-15 sapphic media and liked maybe 5-8 of them. That’s how picky i am.

The kissing and make-out scenes? Oh god. I’m serious when i say this is the best or one of the bests i’ve seen (straights included). It is so passionate and authentic. Idk where that “male gaze” came from. The person who said that was dumb i’m sorry.

The dialogue is another thing that needs improvement. The intent is there, just write it more natural

They really casted a rando for Noah Harrington lmao

If u hate Cal, i’ll just assume you’re a racist because she literally did nothing wrong. She’s down bad for Juliette. Her character is just different and her reaction to what went down is valid and natural, come on.

I want to point that the S*x dream at the start was so important? Because being a lesbian teenager who is sexually attracted to another woman is NORMAL! and it doesn’t make them a dirty predator.

The evil vampire twins are so exciting!

I hope the Burns will learn that not all vampires are monsters because of Theo.

Not exclusive to First kill, but excess blood from the Hospital should just be given to vampires idk. Or u know, period blood if they’re not picky. In that way, Humans and vampires can live together in harmony.

I love that Juliette’s parents were also forbidden lovers. idk it’s refreshing.

Idk if i want a musical episode, but i want Juliette to serenade cal. Then Imani on the soundtrack.

Yes to Elinor being bisexual. Make them all queer tbh!

That’s it for now. Just want to say to those who are hating, that no one is forcing you to watch, but to be an edgy hag that had to shit on the show in public (not on constructive way)? Sapphics are working so hard for this to be renewed and the diverse cast and crew put their hearts on it because it meant a lot to us, then you’re just gonna ruin it because you want to show how different you are? Come on.

#First kill #Calliette #sapphic #lesbian #wlw #gl #Juliette Fairmont #Calliope burns #Sarah Catherine Hook #Imani Lewis #pride month #gay

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thatoneacecryptid · 2 years

Text

My Favorite Things About Every Arc of The Adventure Zone (so far)

I recently finished TAZ Ethersea and really want to just talk about all of the lovely characters that the boys have given us. Feel free to add your own in whatever ways you see fit.

Fair warning, this may be long folks

! There are potentially spoilers for every arc ahead so read at your own risk gang !

Balance

Magnus: Magnus Burnsides’ whole journey throughout the campaign is wonderfully heartbreaking. Protector of a family he did not remember who also harbors a heartache for his second family that he lost. Travis was teased for having a bible of a backstory but I think in Magnus’ case it was entirely essential. So much of that background informed everything about Magnus and his constant protection of everyone (and every animal) around him makes so much sense narratively as well as mechanically and I think Travis did a phenomenal job.

Taako: Taako is a very deep character with a lot of complexity that you wouldn’t know based on everything about him and I do not want to downplay that at all, however, my favorite thing about Taako is simply the aesthetic and the vibes. A king, an icon. We love to see it.

Merle: My favorite thing about Merle is his capacity for love and goodness. He always choses the path of love and joy and its incredibly important. For goodness sakes he asked the BBEG if they were friends. A sweetheart.

Favorite NPC: Angus McDonald

My favorite section of this season in particular has to be Eleventh Hour, the aesthetics were great, the concept was super cool and we got so many cool moments out of it.

See You Later is my favorite track from the season followed by Purple Worm.

Balance is such a labor of love and you can feel it through every part of the story and it never loses any luster no matter how many times you relisten to it.

Amnesty

Aubrey: Aubrey Little is a badass and that is incredibly important but I think what I like most about her is that she screws up a lot. I don’t mean that I like that she’s a failure, what I mean is that she isn’t perfect. A lot of the time when playing games like these, there is a tendency (for some, certainly not all, we stan flawed characters in this house) to create do-gooder characters that have perfectly mastered their skills and perfectly save the day. Aubrey is not that. She makes mistakes all the time and recognizes that. The scene where she asks Janelle to take her magic away hits me every time because she thinks, and to a degree rightfully so, that she is a danger to those around her and she would rather give up her super cool magic fire powers than continue to do that. She continues to try and learn how her powers work and how to properly use them so it works out, but the moment was there. Aubrey Little has these incredible powers at her disposal but she is only human and I love her journey to pieces.

Duck: I relate to the tired vibes harder than I probably should for the age I am but that’s probably okay. A reluctant chosen one is an incredibly interesting idea that I am super proud of Justin for coming up with. Duck’s destiny scares the living crap out of him and his reaction, though strange in a narrative format, would most likely be how a regular person would react to being given a grand cosmic destiny where you have to actually fight evil monsters. Duck is amazing and I love him.

Ned: Ned is hilarious but also, his entire arc during the Shapeshifter hunt was incredible. The letters still make me cry to this day. Its always super fascinating when a character who appears to be (as much as you can in an RPG) comic relief at the beginning, get incredibly serious further down the line. Ned cared so much about his friends and I am so glad that Griffin gave Clint the opportunities to take over the narrative for a little while to give us those speeches.

Thacker: A goofy guy with some really weird snacks. Thacker was not Ned that is for sure but, he was a very nice inclusion. I always like explorer characters and Thacker is interesting, having explored somewhere dangerous, suffering the consequences but coming back with valuable information for the team.

Favorite NPC: Barclay

My favorite hunt is the Hunt for The Beast, it is the first one and there is so much else in the season to love but the aesthetics and vibes of this one were incredible. My favorite section of narration comes from the end of the third episode! “Which looks up at the sky, and then, with otherworldly malice, back down at the three of you...”

Amnesty’s and Graduation’s theme songs are tied for my favorites, they both make me smile so much.

The Amnesty Lodge themes are some of my favorite pieces of music ever. Never has any music ever made me feel as comforted as those two songs do.

This season’s vibe, setting, aesthetics, characters and inspirations are exactly my niche interest so, as much as I love all of the seasons of TAZ, Amnesty is by far my favorite.

Commitment

Nadia: We love a girl boss.

Kardala: I like the research that Justin did into creating the character, and in classic Justin fashion, made her the funniest character in the arc.

Remy: He’s such a little guy. Remy is a springy little spiderman-esque guy who just wants to save the day.

Favorite NPC: N/A

Commitment is not my favorite of the seasons but I do like what Clint did with it, the story was unique and interesting.

Dust

Errol: A werewolf who wanted to president? Are you kidding? I love this little guy! I really liked that Errol lived in town but didn’t necessarily fall in line with the werewolf pack there. Him, instead, having a street that he looks after and protects is such a nice image. That and his whole attitude and semi-awkward personality, Errol was very easily my favorite of the bunch (not that I didn’t love the others)

Augustus: Augustus was an excuse for Justin to be hilarious with a ridiculous voice and I loved it.

Gandy: Her enthusiasm for many of the situations that arose during the investigation was really nice.

Favorite NPC: The Banshee

I loved this one! I continue to hope that they go back to Dust and even though that is unlikely, I still really liked the ideas behind this mini arc. A western, taking place at night, where werewolves and vampires make appearances, along with a whodunnit mystery taking place all at the same time? Sign me up! (Once again, an arc very much within my niche)

Graduation

Fitzroy: A king, honestly. Fitzroy is hilarious and such an interesting concept for Griffin to play. The voice and the vibes are immaculate and I am so proud of this boy’s progress. Also, he’s ACE!!!

Firbolg: He’s so 🥺. That’s the best I can articulate my thoughts.

Argo: My boy! Argo is such a sweet little guy who, just like his fellow roomies, did not deserve any of the bad things that had happened to them. Argonaut Keene is an absolute sweetheart and I wish him the best post canon fics. His voice and aesthetic are great. Also, he’s the first PC rogue! My class (and favorite subclass)!

Favorite NPC: Althea Song

School campaign!!! These boys deserve the very best and I loved every second of their journey. The entire campaign I was either aww-ing at the sweetness of the moments or cheering on these boys’ hairbrained schemes.

Ethersea

Devo: Devo’s accent is wonderful and I also really like how concerned he was about taking care of Beck and Skittles as well as his speech about saving the animals for future children to see and learn about. That speech in general got me to tear up a little bit given the state of our real life world.

Amber: I love sharks and I do not wish to see any harm come to them, however, the blink shark hunter thing coming back from the prologues was very funny and a welcome inclusion. It brought us some really cool moments with said sharks and I appreciated that. I also really liked how strong she was in her own opinions. No one was going to make her move. Not to mention the vibe checks were always awesome.

Zoox: Zoox’s journey of self discovery was very cool. I love that our little Brinar ended up being something all their own.

Favorite NPC: Ol’ Joshy

What I think was most interesting about this season, beside the looming fear of anything being out there in the depths of the ocean, was that the boys made this world together. This was not something that one of them made for the purposes of the others playing in it. They played a separate game to make the world they would be playing in. It was intensely collaborative and I think that was really cool.

Cannot wait to see what’s next!

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