#certainly provided a wtf did i just watch moment

[ibrokeeverything]

I think I want to keep watching akiba maid sensou more out of morbid curiosity than anything else...

#that was a wild ride #i knew there would be some sort of twist because of the random censoring in the pv but dear lord #certainly provided a wtf did i just watch moment #it takes the cake for most insane show of the season so far for sure #im used to shows like madoka and school live and higurashi more or less dropping their cutesty tone when things get dark #where as this just leans into the camp and crazy with having someone simultaneously do a maid dance and kill a dozen girls #oh anime never change #akiba maid sensou #akiba maid war

[z-h-i-e]

55

Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Depending on where I am in my life, I feel like a different character dominates that phase. It's hard to say favorite, absolute favorite, though when pressed I tend to still default to Glorfindel for Tolkien fandom and Panthro for ThunderCats and call it a day. (Pokemon is easy, Rocketshipper for Life, they cannot be separated.)

With ThunderCats, I know that I latched onto Cheetara immediately. Cheetahs were my favorite animal, and there are many things about Cheetara I can relate to. But the more I watched, rewatched, obsessed over, and delved into ThunderCats, I found myself making the rounds to Tygra, and Alluro, and coming around to Panthro in the midst of it, so that by the time I was in college, I created my first website (Panthro's Pad). It was good times. The biggest thing that locked that in -- the ancient email RP for ThunderCats, and both Cheetara and Tygra were taken, but somehow Panthro was not (I also played Snarfer in that RP game - Snarfer, the Wesley Crusher of ThunderCats.)

Now that we're past the opening act, on to Tolkien.

I don't think reader or follower reactions have swayed me in a big picture way, but individuals certainly have given me unknown nudges. Art has swayed me -- if you want a thing to happen, especially in Bunniverse, send me some art. Mei, Siesta, SayAye, TICS, and others who provided visual nudges knew what my kryptonite is.

My introduction was The Hobbit; I liked Gollum (bet you didn't expect that!) and Thranduil. I also knew of Glorfindel prior to that, but did not actually find out 'who is that exactly?' until getting to Lord of the Rings. From the Bakshi film, I liked Elrond. From the Rankin & Bass (which -- spoiler -- I don't think I would have started to root in this fandom without that, the fact that the animation style of those films and ThunderCats are the same production company -- that made a big impact for me) I liked... the orcs! But also, Smaug. And, still Thranduil.

Do you know how fucking confused I was, sitting in the theatre, opening night, to watch PJ's Fellowship, and a white Legolas, not a green Legolas, appears on screen? That was my WTF? moment.

And then, enter Haldir.

That line, "The Dwarf breathes so loud..."?

That was my ringtone on my flip phone for a while.

Anyhow.

Back when Yahoo Groups were a thing, and riffing was a thing (riffing is writing little narratives with the authors interacting with their characters/muses), I proclaimed that my muses at that time consisted of Haldir, Glorfindel, Erestor, and Thranduil. Just about everything had one of them somewhere in the story.

Oh, and Celeborn, but that's just because I found Marton Csokas extremely attractive. That's right, while my contemporaries wanted to be princesses of Mirkwood, I was finding ways to be the homewrecker of Lothlorien.

I found that I slowly shifted from that line-up when I moved from apartment-land to house-ville. In the first month of moving, I was in two car accidents -- one terrible that totaled my car GLRFNDL, and one just frightening and involving a deer and mauling GLRFNDL the second not even a month after the first.

I went from being "the" author to being...lonely -- since you're anon and I can't know if you know this, in 2006 I had MCed the Tolkien Track of Dragon*Con. I had around 750 posted stories at that point, including a massive WIP about Gondolin at a time when one didn't find much about Gondolin, that was very read (random people encountering me and telling me they read it level; combined reads on that thing across multiple sites are at a seven digit figure, very much 'how is this my life?' headspace of people wanting things signed or sending me gifts (I have a collection of 70 purple stuffed bunnies from fans, and also, many people during those days would send me gift cards for cheesecake or in one instance, I was FEDEXed an actual cheesecake -- you haven't lived until you have to pick up a cheesecake and sign for it with your fandom name and prove you are your fandom name to the people at FEDEX).

But I had the accidents. I still have PTSD from the first one -- to this day, I can't drive a vehicle that is low to the ground. SUV, Truck - fine. This has been sad news for ERESTOR, a cozy station wagon I own, but can't drive anymore. And I was injured. My leg was so swollen that I couldn't wear pants for several weeks, and my knee had been slammed into the console so stairs were not a good option. I had a bruise the shape of the seat belt that stuck around many weeks (though, better than the alternative! always buckle up!). There were cuts in many places on top of my head. The most noticeable thing was the gash that ran from just beside my eye down my cheek all the way to my chin. I am very fortunate I had a doctor who was amazing in treating me that I don't have a scar that is seen. My neck and back have not been the same since; air travel since then has ceased because I don't know if I can sit through the flights.

My morale was low; I wasn't the super fun person I had been prior to the first accident. I couldn't sit and type things out for lengthy periods as I once had; I had to rely on voice chats or speech-to-text (which sucked a lot at that time). There were nights I got home from work and I just sat in the chair in the living room until I fell asleep because I was too tired to do anything else.

And most people in fandom didn't want to just sit in a call that was mostly silent, or talk about things other than fandom, or sit and watch a TV show with me so that I didn't feel alone.

But Britt did, and Jules did, and they kept me around these parts, and they got me sidetracked into something else.

OCs.

(Also, Jules and I RPed a massive all the Rivendell characters plus Ereinion thing, I don't know if we'll ever find everything we did, but what we did do was fun, and also, therapeutic. Britt introduced me to LOTRO, and I wouldn't have Eledu -- and OC Britt created and then slowly was gifted over to me --without the bad things that happened. I wouldn't have Bainith, Baynor, Fauneth, and so many other lovely characters to round out Middle-earth.)

This was also a darker period of writing. Rainbow in the Dark and Unforgivable were written at that time; Morgoth crept into my bunny hutch. Sauron was suddenly there, terrorizing my muses. Eventually, I needed a way to pull myself out of the self-imposed Void I was in.

And I remembered Fingon.

Near the end of the apartment-land time, I had been working through some stories (most notably Citius Altius Fortius) with Fingon. My own sibling family unit is four sibs -- the second one is the tallest one, very tall, very business, very fierce; third is a girl, and one who at 18 left the state for adventure elsewhere in the world. There were a lot of parallels, and I revisited what I had been doing, and started to write things reflective of my own experiences into things for that sibling group, but especially Fingon (I am the oldest). I went on a sort of 'what would Fingon do' quest. I remember just, driving places I'd never been before, on a Saturday, abruptly, no prior plan, or doing things like, wow, that a strange giant insect crawling around, guess I'll just scoop it up in my hands and take it back to nature (not a thing I'd have done before, that's for damned sure). But I wrote some of it into what I called The Private Reserve, posting it in places that were somewhat need to know, invite only to find. I started to think, I needed to stop being autobiographical and start twisting in fiction, so now, writings about Fingon are less obvious what is based on truths and what is made up, because then I felt I could put those stories out there. J helped with that, too -- making the art of Glorfindel, Erestor, and Fingon that made me decide that Erestor didn't have to choose - why not both?

Writing collaboratively also meant that Fingon's stories leaned further into fiction, and Gildor and Maedhros, characters I once personally did not like, got a second chance and now were no longer the secret villains, but beloved characters to write about.

Asfaloth. I've always enjoyed writing Asfaloth as more than a horse, as THE horse, as the secret identity of Nahar, and with the ability to talk (but unlike Huan, talking far more than three times).

Then -- pandemic. Isolation. Things happen in cycles. I had been once again in that strange place of running into people who I didn't really know telling me they'd read all my fics, going to regional conventions and getting white glove treatment, etc. And then -- there were no conventions, no gatherings, similar to my experiences after the car accidents.

This time, though, while everyone else was locked in at home, I was out. I ended up redeployed on a special project, running 3D printers, trying to develop a version of a print on demand mask that would be as effective as an N95 (we hoped for one; we managed four; we were shut down because there was a fear that legally someone might sue if they used one of them and still got covid -- they are flexible and comfortable and breathable and when I wore them I never got covid, as I was testing constantly, but I digress). I had to keep myself occupied, in scenarios where either I was out in a dystopic world all by myself or with one other person who was on the project. I kept papers in my car to prove it was okay for me to be outside. It was a different time.

The prior year, I'd written a choose your own adventure story about Finrod Felagund called Werewelves. It was written mostly while I was outside, as my mother-in-law stayed with us twice; once when her lease for an apartment she had lived in for 33 years wasn't renewed and again when her new apartment caught fire (on my birthday, and I was the one who went over and saved her and her cat - my other origin point for PTSD - fire is not my friend). And I thought a lot about that story, and suddenly, a character I used mainly as a footnote in stories about Galadriel or Fingon was very very present.

My current vehicle is FINROD. That's how present this muse has been.

And, because things do come full circle at times, Thranduil (not green anymore, I've finally accepted non-green Thranduil for some things) is all up in all the writing business, too, and he brought the wife, so Avisiel is around about.

So that is where I am currently at, as I sit beneath a banner for the House of the Golden Flower writing this. Who knows what will happen next?

...but I did have a dream about Maeglin last night...

Link back to the question list for those who want to ask more questions (and get these novel-length responses): https://at.tumblr.com/z-h-i-e/asks-are-always-open-drops-numbers-here-there/g7eyggcu5bc8

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 2)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. Now, I present my favourites! And really, they were ALL favourites. Mmm, headcanony goodness.

Oh, special shoutout to this unattributed one, which I suspect fell prey to someone submitting early, but as phrased, made me snort laugh: “one of my longest held headcanons is that ami“

SAME, FRIEND

Anyway, If your answer is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

—

Q: Senshi headcanon time! Intrigue me, humour me, crush me, FEED ME.

* Michiru actually did have a guardian cat, once. It was silvery grey with dark blue eyes. It did not speak, but it was always there to provide support and comfort in a life which had little of either. The first time Michiru had a strong vision, which left her cold and senseless on the floor of her room, it was the small warmth from her cat that brought her back to the world of color and light and solidity. The cat was a friend and confidante in those early days, when Michiru was unsure if this experience was real or the beginnings of schizophrenia. The fact that her mother could see the cat, and regularly make comments about the uncleanliness of such creatures, was proof of Michiru's new reality. So when the cat entered the fray to distract a youma, saving Michiru, but being killed in the process, it became one more thing that the Moon had given her, only to steal away. Michiru promised herself to never rely on another again, or to allow the Moon to have her heart again. And she had done fairly well at this. Haruka, for all her charms, was a plaything, and not something to sacrifice herself for. But pausing outside the Marine Cathedral, Michiru found herself looking into dark blue eyes, so different, but so similar, and knew that she would do anything and everything in her power to keep from having to watch them close, again. -- @incorrecttact  [YOU ARE ALSO KILLING THESE QUESTIONS. This hit me right in the kokoro, and I welcomed its sweet sweet pain.]

~~

*  Mako teaches Hotaru, Chibiusa, and the Amazon Quartet to cook and bake as a bonding activity. Hotaru LOVES making cakes and decorating them. Chibiusa likes cooking with noodles and even making her own; it doesn’t sound special, but the food she makes is DELICIOUS. Ves, the red one, finds cooking easy, but doesn’t like it and so never does outside of being coaxed into it. Jun, the green one, finds baking easy, but also doesn’t like sweet things, which limits her repertoire. Cere, the pink one, has no natural talent, but she very much WANTS to be good at it, so she turns out to be the best cook of her Senshi group. Palla takes to neither, but she is very enthusiastic about eating their experiments.  --  Jules  [I am an absolute slut for Mako and moments with the kids, and including the Quartet was a brilliant stroke.]

~~

*  A Serenity is not supposed to be reborn. They are born, they live, they die, and they are done. They are not like the Senshi, whose souls reincarnate, carefully bound to Serenity blood. They are not supposed to be reborn, so when Queen Serenity sees everything fail and decides to send their souls to the future, the Senshi are easy. Serenity is not. In desperation, Serenity does something she would have never considered in any other circumstance: she ties Serenity's soul to the Senshi. What was once a one way tie, has now become an equal bond, and so everything changes.  -- @madegeeky  [Ooo, this is some lovely twists on my own reincarnation headcanons, while still keeping the “this is a mistake” flavour. IT TASTES GOOD.]

~~

*  How about more Rei whistle antics? You headcanon Usagi would use the whistle for every mundane thing and Rei would come. Usagi would do this at 2 AM in the morning too and Rei would still be woken up and still come even in pajamas if she need be because Usagi had a spooky nightmare or "Rei-chan I fell off my bed and now my face hurts". Knowing Rei whistle antics can be funny for us and maybe aggravating for Rei at times because "Usagi you blew the whistle because you fell off the bed?" what if we can make it a pinch sad? Like what if Rei can tell what sort of peril Usagi is in by the way she blows the whistle in tone? Like when it's a sad somewhat weaker whistle, even if it's just a tiny subtle tone, Rei can IMMEDIATELLY tell "USAGI IS SAD AND NEEDS ME" and she will RUSH over in 5 seconds like in her Rei way, she might even have the mind to bring snacks, cocoa and plush to hug for the comfort.  --  Mrs. Duckling  [HOW ABOUT INDEED. I hadn’t thought about the different ways the whistle can be blown and what it might say, what a wonderful addition. THANK YOU FOR CATERING DIRECTLY TO ME AND MY NEEDS]

~~

*  PGSM!Sailor Mars - [REDACTED] Oh. Right. You're not there yet. Awkward... Anime!Minako is a huge fan of romance manga, but for all the wrong reasons. She tried drawing doujinshi of crack ships before realizing that A) she's not really a writer and B) she's REALLY not an artist. She plans on using some of her rich idol singer money to commission really bizarre romance stories. The sort that make you go WTF?! Of course, step one is "become a rich and famous idol"... Meanwhile, Rei also buys the romance manga that Minako gets into, (partially so she'll shut up about it) but mainly just analyzes them for mood and the characters, and gets frustrated when they inevitably devolve into nothing but sappy kissing and mooning over each other. She's trying to see why Minako gets so obsessed, but doesn't want to flat out admit that she doesn't get it and have to ask. -- Peter "Pigeons!" Svensson  [I had nothing but fun with this, fantastic. ps: THANK YOU FOR THE PIGEONS NOMINATION]

~~

* If these four* Senshi were to meet you, I think they'd each also be meeting some of their best qualities: Usagi is love, and that love is infectious as HELL. Much like a certain blogger who has amassed an international following on the strength of her love for her favourite media, wouldn't you say? Ami is very impressed by your office set-up! But when she sees you re-enter the room with a sprightly little black cat riding on your shoulder, she knows she has discovered a kindred spirit. Where can Rei-chan possibly begin? From your passionately informed and encyclopedic knowledge of their interactions ("She has RECEIPTS, Usagi!"), to your, let's call it tenacity ("She stirred that sugar for TWO HOURS, Usagi!!"), Rei finds so much to admire. And while no one could ever possibly love Rei as much as she loves herself, she magnanimously allows that you are a close second. As for Haruka, well! World Shaking? More like Toilet Breaking! You wrecked that shit and unleashed the sea. She can certainly relate *eyebrows, eyebrows* *would that i had time to write out blurbs for the others! but we're heading back into lockdown today, and i need to get to the post office to mail you a package. PRIORITIES! xo  -- @rasiqra-revulva​  [Okay look when I said “crush me” I didn’t mean WITH NICENESS. Also thank you for the huge laughs. *eyebrows, eyebrows*]

~~

*  Minako manages to write a tell-all book (anonymously, of course, and with names changed to protect the relevant,) about their first few years as Senshi in the lull between Stars and Shit Escalating Again. Even more astoundingly, she manages to get it optioned as a film and play Sailor Mars without blowing her cover! Rei seethes. Minako’s annoyed because she tried out for Usagi. Usagi’s just happy Minako’s successful. The film manages to pick up nominations come award season, and Michiru even arranges for the rest of the Senshi to attend. Minako loses to some film from a really overrated director that manages to out-award bait her reenactment of D-Point. She’s silently fuming through his acceptance speech when he’s Burning Mandala’d mid-sentence. And that’s how the Senshi discovered that Jadeite survived getting run over with planes, joined the entertainment industry after Beryl’s defeat, and had been using it to drain energy ever since! Sailor Mars’s speech about how he disgraces the passion of filmmakers everywhere and her comrade’s hard work goes viral. -- Regalli  [LOVED THE TWIST ENDING, also Rei basically stealing the awards show stage, as we all know she would]

~~

*  Not Senshi, but cats! One day, when Usagi is queen, she's going to decide to knight the cats. Luna thinks it's silly and figures Usagi is just acting on a whim, but Artemis has his chest puffed out and is glowing with pride. They're given tiny medals made by Endymion. -- RibbonFinale  [Oh I DID want this. I wanted this very much, THANK YOU.]

~~

*  Makoto can't culture bonsai trees. It's not a matter of ability, or scale — she can work with tiny tools with equal facility as large ones — but she can't bring herself to push the things down, to cut and twist and bind them to grow the way _she_ wants, not the way it wants to grow.   The tiny pine she bought to try it out, years ago, is in a pot in the corner of her apartment; it's just now grown taller than she is. -- Taperwolf  [I didn’t expect this one to hit me as hard as it did when I started reading. Love it, love it, love it.]

~~

*  You know those 'meetings Usagi doesn't know about'? the ones where the girls dive into the nitty gritty about being senshi, the ones where they decide who will take up being the Disguise Pen Decoy if Minako is killed? Usagi knows about them. it was one of those 'character A eavesdrops and hears character B talking about them' setups, but instead of hearing Ami call Usagi a ditz, she hears Ami saying 'I'm the weakest fighter, if Minako is assassinated and we need someone to be decoy it'd be easier to explain away my absence than Rei's or Mako's' In these meetings they speak very coldly about themselves, Ami is always first to call herself the weak one, Minako calls into attention her showboating, Mako will openly remind people she doesn't think things through on the battlefield, and Rei derides herself on her inability to keep her cool (heh) and they all come up with contingencies to cover for eachother to the minutest detail. Usagi only ever evesdrops on one of these meetings, but now she knows they happen. and she can't un-know.  -- Vega  [OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.]

~~

Manga Sailor Pluto has picked her nose 2,013,417 times. -- too ashamed to say  [WHY THE SHAME THIS IS CORRECT  AND NOW RIGHTFULLY CANON]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

#the giftening 2020 #THE GIFTENING 2020 admin stuff #THE GIFTENING 2020 bonus q

[raspberryjones]

At This Time...

Sitting here paralyzed for days, trying to figure out what more I can do. Quarantined, distracted from grading these final papers by the fires in my feed, knowing that donating to activist organizations and RT’ing, on top of crying, shaking and cursing, is not nearly enough. Plus, just about anything I say/do on the socials feels like a f*cking performance. All of it — except the anger and the stream of information that continues to reassert the utter disdain that this country’s White supremacy (not just Tr*mp, but the whole friggin’ establishment) has for Black and Brown people, here and throughout the world. The insidiousness. 

Even wallowing in my own exhaustion — jobless, hope on a tattered string, watching the powers that be f*ck the populace over in every way imaginable… All of it feels self-pitying, when I can recognize my privilege and be struck by the existential sorrow that, even before this week’s events, or the racial disparity of the pandemic’s victims, surrounds most Black American lives. When I hear my Black and Brown friends and colleagues express their own exhaustion, as so many have over the past five days, it has the weight not just of the moment, or a political term, but of history. Personal, familial, written in volumes, reaffirmed constantly — and running contrary to America’s dip-shit self-mythologizing. 

And yet... Despite this horror-show past, with white supremacy’s attempts to subjugate them for generations, Black America’s ability to move society forward has been beyond fucking remarkable. The creation of culture, the strength of moral character, the depth of communal compassion. It is no overstatement that the moral and creative compass of not just Black excellence but of the African-American community I’ve known, has been among primary lodestars of my life in this country. And while I do not expect all other folks to feel the same way I do, I most certainly judge those who feel contrary — or those who dismiss the notion that, if anyone’s ever made this hard land great in the past, it’s been Black Americans.    

And that in the struggle to understand the fullness of this account, you will find pretty much all contemporary crises. It’s incredible that, in 2020, a majority of people still don’t comprehend the connections between systemic white privilege and Black death in the headlines, between colonization culture and the overwhelming inequality rampant in American society, between the contemporary malaise of the Western imagination and the whitewashing of the media. For a person who does not simply work in/with culture founded on the Black experience, but gets their very lifeblood form it, this is a hard fucking pill to swallow. The big “YOU don’t get it!” 

So, when thinking about WTF else I can do, as a writer who deeply supports Black American communities in the struggle against white supremacy, I thought it worthwhile to reiterate some of this historical record’s personal and social importance. Having just spent a semester teaching NYU sophomores about how we got here — while re-reading classic texts by LeRoi Jones and Ralph Ellison and Isabel Wilkerson, Nikole Hannah Jones’s massive new one, and discussing the contemporary settings of these ideas with DeForrest Brown Jr. and Angel Bat Dawid — what I believe should be our collective mission is fresh and clear in my mind. 

This is where music comes in. It’s especially important that anyone who listens to contemporary music in the 21st century, also participates in reappraising these whitewashed texts, restoring Blackness back to the center of this culture. Not only to acknowledge the proper origins of the forms and ideas that are so important to it — and thus, acknowledge the people who developed these forms and ideas —  but act accordingly in times of crisis, requiring us to use our white privilege to support pro-Black and anti-colonialist positions in a way that could actually lead to structural change. To “see something, say something” when companies belligerently monetize the (Black) people’s culture and do not recompense the community, or when cops act like overseers that treat Black lives as wanton boys do flies.

Because… Here’s the thing: blues and jazz are the basis of all great new music of the last 100 years — paving the way for the post-modern Black electronic music (hip-hop, house and techno and electro) which is the core of pretty much all popular sounds of the 21st century. And the Black experience is the DNA of these musics — meaning, in the clearest terms, that we don’t get to have this music without the burden that preceded it. This is at the core of the accusation that “loving Black culture more than Black people.” You do NOT get to do one without the other, and still call it “love.” 

Unlike European art, that original Black music is not the product of some art-school- and conservatory-learned experiments. Or of commissions from a royal court. Or of direct updates on thousand-year folk forms. Oral traditional and molecular memory aside, Black American music’s past was almost completely — genocidally, is also a word — wiped away in the Middle Passage. So when it came to fruition in the years during and after Reconstruction, it did so as a personal Black expression of what to do and how to live in this new, foreign here-and-now, far from “home.” This music is, simultaneously, a lament and celebration, complaint and utopia, art and evidence, personal diary and modernist work. Nothing like that had been conceived before, and it was so revolutionary that almost no one’s been able to build a next-level to it since.

It was also the first musical art-form original to the United States. Now imagine: the engine of this art-form’s motivation was a desire to express oneself within a society that did not want to hear any of what you had to say. A society that, in many cases, did not regard you as fully human. And yet think of how Black music expresses the full spectrum of humane truths and emotions. Actually, fuck it, don’t read me telling you about it. Go listen to the Wesley Morris episode of the 1619 Project podcast, who does a far better job than I of narrating Black American music’s wonders. This is why remaining on the sidelines, or providing only cursory support to the uprising, does not sit well.    

It is crucial that people around the world know this history when they hear a variation of these musics being described as “global phenomena” or “universal,” or divided into “genres.” Such terms might seem neutral, or even complementary to its creators; but at their core, they move to dilute the role that the Black experience played in its birth. And distancing the music from the people who made it (and why), mitigates the music’s values. What was once specific becomes conditional — out goes the particularity of its expressions (feelings, words, citations), and in come market-democratizing generalities, like capitalization and trends, elements that tend to be elevated by whoever controls mass communication. This is how a local culture becomes a global genre, and how some people who make “techno” or “jazz” music in [insert European city here] can’t comprehend why “neutrality” towards George Floyd’s death is a betrayal of their creative work.

But... They will do as they will do. And, as I said before, we will judge them - because it is on these very decisions and proclamations that the intention of the art-work (a crucial aspect in the value of the art-work — its contemporary “aura” some might say), that artists and their audiences are judged. And when I mis-step, my Black friends and colleagues will also judge me, and the humility and self-reflection with which I handle this will say volumes about what my cultural intentions are. Because for the rest of us, there never has been nor will continue to be a disconnection between the culture we have sworn allegiance to, and the need to change society’s norms, to speak about the need for social justice, and to continually reassert that #BlackLivesMatter and #BrownLivesMatter. 

And that if you continue to engage with the words and ideas that I hope to continue putting out into the world, this is their starting point. That music — for all its glory and hope and joy and wrenching feeling and fuck-you energy and let’s-love energy and all that — is neither the beginning nor the end. It is one narrative of history’s arc. That chapters of this history are being written all the time, some quietly and some in push-notifications, and that what’s going on outside our windows at this moment, is a major scene of the permanent record. To be quiet is to be complicit. I choose not to be complicit. I hope that you make that choice as well.  

#blacklivesmatter #brown lives matter #how to be an ally #jazz #techno #House Music #black music #hip-hop #sister rosetta tharpe

[lovemesomesurveys]

[found at: dragonov]

What is your favorite dinosaur? I don’t have one. I’ve never been into dinosaurs. 

Would you rather live with wolves or tigers? Uhh. I don’t how welcoming either of those would be...

Have you ever forgotten what a certain kind of pain felt like? Yeah.

Do you prefer water from the tap or bottled water? I drink bottled water--don’t come for me.

Do you actually use any of the shampoo hotels provide? Nah. 

What do you remember the most about your childhood? Stuff like playing Barbies, playing with my cousins, watching cartoons, school... just being a kid. I really miss those days. :(

Do you feel as if someone has robbed something from you? Not a someone, but I feel like my health has robbed a lot from me.

Have you ever stared at the sky and wondered if it was all worth it? I’ve definitely had those kinds of thoughts.

Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or have mythical creatures be real? I mean, I don’t really want dinosaurs wandering around the earth now. 

What age did you get your first hair cut? Probably like a year or two old.

Do you have a favorite toy from childhood still? I still have my Barbies stored away. 

What are your thoughts on the end of the world? It’ll happen one day. It feels like that day may be soon. 

Which sports do you enjoy watching? None. I don’t enjoy sports.

Would you ever have a breed of dog that is considered aggressive? I’m not sure if they’d be a good fit for our family, personally.

Have you ever made bread? No.

Would your childhood self be disappointed? Most definitely.

Do you think in the future you'll have done yourself proud? It’s hard to imagine that...

Did you read The Great Gatsby before seeing the movie? Yep.

What do you feel about movies made from books? I enjoy a lot of them, but there are those that definitely miss the mark. 

Has anything ever fallen asleep on you? My doggos.

Do you have to use the bathroom? No, I’m good at the moment.

Is the above question too invasive? Ha, that’s nothing. I’ve done a lot of surveys, been asked about a lot of things.

What do you feel about surgeries? Do they worry you? Yes, I was always a nervous wreck beforehand and really scared.

Do you have a tumblr? Nope, what’s that? -____-

Would you rather have an open book shelf or one with doors? I like my open book shelf.

Do you need a large or small place to live comfortably? My family and I would certainly be more comfortable in a slightly bigger house. We’re currently 4 adults and a doggo in a 2-bedroom house. 

Would you ever consider moving to another country? I can’t see that ever happening.

Have you ever dropped everything and reevaluated? There are times looking back I really wish I had.

Do you play minecraft? if so, feelings about servers? Nope.

Do you long for easier times? It would be nice.

Do you believe that life gets easier or we just get stronger? I think it really depends on the person and their circumstances. It hasn’t felt easier to me and I feel weaker, so. 

Does it weird you out to think that humans are just more advanced animals? It is weird to think of us as animals.

Do you ever wonder why religion came about? Well, I believe in God so I believe He’s why it came out. The Bible are His Words and He chose people to write those words and spread His message.

Would you ever consider shaving your head? Not shave it, but I do get annoyed with my hair and I really don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything with it so sometimes I’m like I should just cut it super short.

Would you rather belong to a cult or a religion you feel is wrong? Uh, neither?

Have you ever considered murder? No...

Kill a man or a woman? Wtf.

Would you like to live in a realm where the zombie apocalypse is possible? Um, no thank you.

Are you afraid of any animals? Reason? I mean, encountering wild animals would be terrifying and I have this irrational fear of killer whales. 

Someone knocks on your door three times right now, do you answer? I certainly wouldn’t, but my dad is up getting ready for work so he would check to see who it was. I’d go to our security camera app on my phone and look. It’s 6:55AM, though, so I have no idea who would be knocking on our door at this time.

Do you read creepypastas? I haven’t read any myself, but there’s a few ASMR videos I’ve watched where the person reads some. 

Can you sleep afterwards? Yeah. I’m not affected like that from scary movies or stories. Like, I may get creeped out in the moment, but it’s not lasting. I enjoy them.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

[the-nysh]

AHHHH! Just got back from finally seeing Heroes Rising! 8D Oh man, that was definitely a big-screened flashy action movie to experience, with great class cohesion and teamwork, and especially with Deku and Kacchan as the stars. Going in, I already knew what was going to happen (couldn’t resist spoiling myself silly), but it still had me chuckling along to all the fun nods/refs to things and grinning like a huge idiot by the end of it. :D More details and extended impressions as follows:

It really gets me that nowadays we can just…waltz into a theater and watch subbed anime movie screenings (which was the version I saw) alongside other current films. :O That’s just amazing to me. Cause gosh, back in the day, that was either completely unheard of, or you had to drive 100miles to a fancy arthouse theater just to see dubbed releases of -only- Miyazaki movies (with month-long reserved/ordered tickets). This is so much preferable now (it’s a very good thing!), and I certainly hope this trend for more accessible anime content continues!

Anyway, saw the movie with family: sister (only watches the anime) and mom (never seen any bnha, but wanted to be included anyway~) At first we had the entire theater to ourselves at a 9:45pm showing, until like 5 min before, then several other groups came in. (So hhhh ;o; had to refrain from making any loud reactions/commentary otherwise.)  

Some of the best comments from my mom were how she kept leaning over to me and asking where the ‘guy with the wings’ (Hawks) was. X’D This is great and hilarious to me. He only showed up a few times to investigate the villains, figure out what’s wrong, and fly over with pending professional help to the island. So to my mom, it was a matter of ‘when will he come to save the kids!?’ Aha nice. His Japanese voice was deeper than expected, but I could still hear the Mumen Rider (opm) inflections from his voice actor. :D Definitely excited to see more of him formally animated in the series. Later, my mom also commented how the villain (Nine) was good-looking, buaha! (I mean hey, Shiggy was there too! 8D) I’d given her a crash-course on bnha lore before the movie, so it’s amusing to me how these were some of her unique takeaways. She also felt how after Deku told the kids ‘you can be a hero,’ that they already were cause they demonstrated that same bravery. :’)

For my sister, by the end she was like, ‘they should have just done fusion!’ Noting how Deku and Kacchan already went with the dbz looks, so heh why not. :P She noted how odd it was that Kacchan could use OfA immediately (when it took Deku several hours to…digest the hair before it could set in), so I had to clarify it was transferred by blood this time. She also wondered how Deku could gain even greater power with OfA after transferring it, and welp it’s mostly movie magic so whatever, but I could not resist flat-out saying, ‘BECAUSE THEY SOUL-BONDED~’ (And that’s as far as I was openly willing to push it with the bkdk agenda, guahaha.) Lingering convos included stuff about OfA mechanics (more odd inconsistencies with the vestiges somehow willing it back) and me mentioning Hori’s original idea to end the series with, all that good stuff. But most of all, to even have the movie tie back into the main (manga) storyline cleanly somehow, these types of explanations/solutions to things had to be done anyway, so it’s honestly another whatever/no big; it works as a self-contained flashy movie. (And honestly not as bad as some impressions made it seem; instead, how certain things wrapped up here felt negligible to me.)

As for ME, woohoo oh I definitely liked it and had a fun time! :D I didn’t know if I’d get the chance to see it in theaters (schedule conflicts) but ayyy I felt it was worth it! Immediately from the intro car-chase with Endeavor (yooo), it was all high-budget, quality action movie stuff. The two kids were endearing with active roles which I appreciated. I was also greatly impressed by how cohesive and responsible all the classmates were. You could just tell how closely they knew each other (and their quirks) and could work efficiently as a well-oiled unit when disaster strikes. Evacuating and providing for the islanders and coming up with elaborate battle plans, and all without any adult heroes present. :O Each had their moment to shine, with some very cool class combo moves too. Favs were Uraraka and Sero’s boulder throwing spam, and Kiri bodily shielding Todo from a hugeass high-beam laser like in Evangelion (YOOOOO?!?! that was cool!) Dark Shadow with wolverine claws was pretty sweet too.  

Of course, personal favs were the Kacchan (+Deku) moments. Deku was a good babey throughout but…but KACCHAN. ;A; Featuring the shades of Kacchan I love to see. :’D (Also Denki said a line like, ‘Kacchan of the Bakugous’ buahaha wtf!) When he’s silently observant (listening to Deku talk to the kid about their hero dreams, to the point his popsicle melts off ;o;), intensely serious (making it very clear to the kids he’s for real about efficiently working as a hero after they mess around/cry wolf with him), gruffly supportive (encouraging Deku in his own way to ‘make it his own’ asap :’3) and…he’s still got his signature short fuse temper of course (that explodes in comical ways, heh even my mom laughed at him) plus the awesome moments when he frees himself from a villain then promptly beats his ass. 8D But…I personally loved the smaller, but very telling, protective moments. Like when the girl signaled Deku was in trouble, Kacchan was immediately RIGHT THERE to blast Nine in the face (omgg), how he caught/saved the girl when she went flying (while Deku was on the attack instead), AND my fav: how when they were both fighting Nine, Deku got distracted worrying about the other classmates fighting elsewhere, but Kacchan kicked him out of the way from getting hurt by lasers (so ahhh!! he’s actively looking out for Deku and staying on top of things so they both keep their heads in the game. :’D) Just MANY good Kacchan moments to appreciate. <3

AND then the big bkdk handhold, OfA transfer, epic + emotional team up. (Ever since the first previews/impressions, I’m still stunned they actually did all that on the big screen!) At this point I was internally squealing and had the dumbest grin on my face but didn’t even care. 8’D I WAS READY! Nakamura’s animation was like…byuuujjgghh *brain turns off* Honestly it was hard to even SEE what was happening on screen besides huge swathes of molten heat and green electricity flying everywhere, totally and awesomely over the top. Ahaha definitely worth seeing again just for that! I got feels for the ‘it’s fine if it’s you’ line :’))), and in the aftermath, loved it when Deku’s first thought upon regaining consciousness was to ask All Might if Kacchan’s ok. (omggg heh, Deku pls! :’D)

Overall, the movie had a simple, straightforward storyline to follow, fantastic action and teamwork to enjoy, and plenty of tidbits and character moments for current fans to heartily eat up. No question about the Kacchan and bkdk service as well. Left me feeling very giddy as a fan and glad I was able to catch it in theaters. Now I can’t wait to see when gifsets of all those fun moments get made!

#bnha #heroes rising #bkdk #anime spoilers #commentary #long post #FINALLY ;A; i got to see it for myself in theaters #oh boy now that was fun and exciting (with lots of good expected kacchan + bkdk service for current fans)

[maevelin]

Hey Maevelin I've read a lot of your KC metas being KC fan and I think youre spot on with your authentic criticism. I like youre neutrality too and I wanted to ask you do think that KC was sort of random or in the beginning was it properly executed? Thank you

Hey back! 

You got me in a KC mood so this may end up long as per usual with me. Sorry in advance for my ramblings but here we go.

There is a difference between something coming out as random due to lack of quality writing when it comes to nuances and introductions and more so when it comes to handling the secondary characters and plot stories with care or lack of it and another thing all together of something coming out as random because it was unplanned.

One things that I am known for is my good memory. Back in S3 of TVD everyone thought that Klaroline was unplanned and later on the writers and especially JP tried to make it seem so especially when we were nearing the spin-off and afterwards when the KC fandom and the writers went in direct confrontation. As if either way that was meant to matter and the fans were meant to be grateful for and not criticize anything because the writers had done to the fandom a favor we didn’t deserve when it was the other way around. The spin-off’s creation owed a big part of its creation to Klaroline and the KC fandom the writers got advantage of over and over again while treating it with disrespect; a story that kept repeating itself for as long as TO lasted and even for the new show that was created out of it based on the media attention that KC kept providing and still provides occasionally with all the bait and switch JP is known for.

Getting back on KC though. One of the things JP hated was that she didn’t create it. She let it in Caroline Dries’ hands because she didn’t care and honestly she didn’t care much for the Originals either way. At least not in the way the fans did. This was why when the time came to create the spin-off you had only but a few Originals in. Kol was killed for no reason because somehow he was deemed too dark for the dark mature show. And to add insult to injury in the episode of his death they also had him referencing NOLA when they never meant to make him part of that show because what a crime for the fans to support something the writers don’t approve or want when everything are things THEY created in the first place (the nonsense and immaturity of it all makes my head spin). Rebekah was barely in the backdoor pilot and that as an afterthought. Finn, Esther, Mikael all dead. Stories retconned. The writers that got hired for that show did not belong to the genre (check gossip girl etc) and worse of it some of them that had no experience in writing shows hated Klaus’ character with a passion (and were hired for Klaus’ show). And all of the sudden a show about the Originals that was gained and built on the fans’ love for Klaus (born from Klaus, Joseph Morgan, the TVD Originals AND YES Klaroline too as JP had admitted in one of her interviews “KC gained Klaus his show”) became a show about a hated and rejected character like Hayley was and diapers that demanded the mythology and lore to be demolished and everything to become OOC.

Let us backtrack it a bit and connect all the pieces for anyone that is not too bored doing it and reading me speaking about it. Back in S3 of TVD Joseph Morgan who played Klaus loved Klaus and also let us face it loved having a job. He knew his character was gaining traction and he also knew the show and the writers in question and most of all the network he was working in. To exist in CW you need to be part of a popular ship. We can pretend as much as we like but we are talking about light entertainment and trash shows that thrive on media attention born from shipping. The most successful shows in the CW are those that have successful flagships. The characters that survive are those that are part of successful ships. Ships like Delena, Olicity and so on secure a show’s longevity and success.

Joseph Morgan back then knew that they would kill his character in the end. There was only one way for him to stay afloat in the universe and keep his job and the character standing. A ship. So he kept nagging and insisting for one. JP had humorously said so too back then. And granted I am a cynic but I will also give it to the guy that he also wanted, and for good reason, to give more layers to his character and expand his acting and make it more challenging and a love story could add more layers to his story, his characterization, etc. Nothing wrong with that. 

And then one day JP gets all excited (so to get him off her back? lol) and tells him YAY! We have a GREAT idea you won’t believe but you are going to love! We will give you the love interest you have been begging us (and annoying us) for. And there you go enter Klaroline. Which they added -admittedly- a bit bluntly/awkwardly but on the other hand there was the barest of hints in 3x09 with the camera zooming up and down Caroline as Klaus called her Tyler’s “Pretty little girlfriend”. Directing when it comes to intentions is always important in the CW shows. Of course for an audience like the one in TVD that expects everything to be spelled out even in the foreshadowing and given the exposition the TVD writers were known for anything unexpected comes out as WTF moment and given how much hated a character or a ship is or how much another character and another ship may be this results in rejection or adoration and certainly in ship wars.

So we got 3x11 and Klaroline. And it really was no surprise given the situation that the first thing Morgan did was get in twitter and start promoting KC as much as he could. Just moments after 3x11 aired.

Did KC start a bit randomly? Maybe. It is not as if I’d expect anything better or a more intricate writing from these characters.

Did it happen fast as a story? I don’t think so. Not in TVD given the fact that as a show it was built on Stefan and Elena that they start their epic love story in the pilot, share their first kiss in the very second episode of the show, declare their love in the speed of light and have their first sex scene in the tenth episode of the show.

How about Klaroline being unplanned though? Of course it was not planned in the way Stelena and Delena ever were. Let us get that out of the way. But what of Caroline’s ships?

Let me remember that after 3x11 aired just a few days later the promotional pictures for 3x14 came out. Which meant that by the time 3x11 had aired and before people got interested in Klaroline 3x14 was being filmed or was already filmed but for sure the scripts were already written for it. Scripts that had Klaus saying to Caroline that he fancied her and there was flirting and building up a ship. So you tell me how the writers didn’t plan Klaroline from the start. When 3x14 was meant to be the original pitch for the spin-off in the network. There was a certain hype in the internal promotion of that episode in the network. That was the first taste they gave the network and basically said watch this is what we can do. 3x14 is still considered one of the most important episodes of TVD (to which there had been a lot of preparation for) and one of the most successful and popular that was basically the untitled backdoor pilot for what the Originals were meant to be (as a collective for building a show on them) and what TVD was all about. From the way the Originals reunited, to their infamous shot in the stairs, to the intrigue, the warfare. Right down to the romance (Klaroline, Rebekah and Matt (which no one spoke of how unexpected that was btw) etc), the magic, Esther as the villain, Finn as the antagonist, the blood tree with the Viking names, with how the TVD triangle was presented, the dance, right down to the hints they had given for Damon and Kol but later took back. For such an important episode nothing is left to chance trust me. And episode they were planning before 3x11. Klaroline was a big part of that episode that was set in motion before 3x11 aired. So let us get the fake pretenses out of the way because I am tired of them. (Also let me point out here that for an episode that was meant to be one of the signature episodes of TVD we saw exactly what JP was all about…her racism was showing big time…Bonnie was suddenly missing in an episode where a witch like her should be in her gown in the front and center but you see the trademark episode of TVD was whitewashed down to the last moment of it. Shocking right?…said no one ever…)

Anyway do I believe that Klaroline as it ended up being was planned? No. I think they meant it as a fluke. Something to fill air time for when Trevino due to his contract would be gone. Since Forwood had being doing relatively well back then. You know KC was meant to serve as an obstacle no one would particularly bother with aside from it being a fleeting thing. And a way to give more attention to Klaus and the spotlight to the Originals too. I think it was meant to do its short circle and if the network would not be interested in the Originals for Klaus to die by the end of S3. Something that Joseph Morgan and Claire Holt were fighting against as they were the ones that fought for getting a show for the Originals. They fought for the spin off and we all saw what happened with it and especially with Claire. And who ended up signing first even before Joseph. Goes to show how much JP had the Originals’ best interest in mind (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

But plans and what not Klaroline took them by storm. They hadn’t expected such popularity. Something to rival even Delena. Something from secondary characters that did not want to bother that much with and something that JP didn’t create. If KC was her baby I assure you her treatment of it and of the fans would have been much better. Especially since later on she tried to copy paste it and replicate it but couldn’t make anything work.

So if I think Klaroline was well executed. Tricky question LOL...I am always defending Klaroline. Subjectively and objectively to a degree but that does not change that Klaroline was still part of a certain work that lacked certain things.

In the midst of chaos that TVD was I’d say yeah for the most part but that doesn’t say much.

Let me be honest here. Klaroline never reached the potential it could have had. i used to be bitter about it. And I felt that I was cheated out of something awesome but later on I realized it was just as awesome exactly because it was left unfinished in the way it did. Given the alternatives as we saw them later on. 

I think one of the reasons that Klaroline was saved -somewhat- quality wise (relatively) was because Klaus in TVD was straightforwardly the villain (no sugarcoating and bullshit to suddenly justify his crap in the expense of the plot and the other characters and even his own character) and both Klaus and Caroline were secondary characters. The focus thankfully was not on them. That meant that the usual crap Julie threw to the characters (especially female ones) and the ships she works with were not thrown in to Klaroline. There was not much screen time for JP to mess the ship up and most of the control for it was left in Caroline Dries’ hands. Of course the chemistry Joseph and Candice had was spectacular and that always helps but it was like catching lightning in a bottles. KC was more or less a ship that served its purpose as a characterization piece for both Klaus and Caroline when it came to them as a ship and their individual characters. Klaroline did not affect the plot that much -if at all- but did wonders for the character development of Klaus and Caroline. We saw more layers, depths, nuances and things that belonged to the particular vampire genre that were missing from the show in certain ways. Everything just clicked. And there were also controversial scenes given to them that they would never dare give to anyone else that added to the complicated web of everything that Klaroline was. It was raw and demanded a more intellectual approach to fill in the blanks. What I loved about Klaroline was that it was not brimming with exposition. Not everything had to be spelled out. Which is always good. More is less in many cases. Some may feel that less is undeveloped. And I’d agree up to a point that Klaroline’s development was cut in half because of reasons that had nothing to do with Klaroline and the writing to pander to those reasons lack consistence, respect and logic. Otherwise up to the point Klaroline was worked with I’d say that things were generally executed decently. Of course even back then JP kept KC for the sweeps and the promotion so the pace was jarring many times with KC being absent even for up to six months until the KC fandom was needed for the ratings and the media circulation. But I am also a believer that good things come to those that wait and quantity does not necessarily mean quality. Klaroline in the end had substance, something that TVD was known for lacking but I am also honest enough to admit that a lot of that when it came to Klaroline was created by the potential it had as a ship. What could have been and would have been ended up being the pillars that kept the KC fandom going and was better that what was in the end which is something that applied to everything TVD ever did. And by everything I mean...everything. Not a single thing excluded. 

So overall if I take a step back I think that Klaroline was the ship of dreams in the way that dreams made it float. Klaroline was all for the potential. Of what it was promised to be. Of what it could be, what it could have been. The kind of ship that in the hands of capable writers would have left history but in when it came to the TVD writers we unfortunately were left with wasted potential but even so it still held on to shreds of quality that many things from TVD were missing. Because in comparison I believe that despite the wasted potential Klaroline as it was was still far better than most of the things TVD ever worked with. And that speaks volumes. (I am not even including TO in because that’s just a joke at this point.)

Klaroline was built on interesting tropes and subverted certain tropes too. While Delena for example was based on the bad boy/antihero - good girl trope Klaroline was based on the enemies to lovers trope with one part of it being the villain and the other part being the kind of female character that didn’t regress but found agency in the ship something that was denied from every other female character TVD had. The fact that Klaroline also belonged to the golden writing age of TVD before the quality went to shit was a blessing in disguise as was the fact that they dropped the ship when they did.

I honestly believe that we dodged a bullet. As weird as it may sound. Given the mess TO proved to be, given what JP did with TVD once Kevin was completely out. I’d say that even though they cut Klaroline in mid development given what followed then we were particularly lucky. Better wounded and saved than completely and utterly destroyed in the core.

#Klaroline #anti julie plec #mymeta #anti TVD #I guess #Anonymous #anti the originals

[calliecat93]

RvB17 Episode 6 Review: Self-Fulfilling Odyssey

Welcome to the halfway point, everyone! And let me tell you, it has been one Hell of a journey so far. Fucked up memories, Donut getting shot ten times over, time cracking apart, Wash being outsmarted by The Triplets, it has been insanity so far! And now we have Wash having gotten Carolina during S5 and they are heading for Blood Gulch. So as we come to the end of the first half, what's going to happen next? Will Wash and Donut's plan be successful? Well, let us find out.  

Overview

Genkins is in the Everwhen, going through different memories to decide on where he should strike next. He settles on the end of S4/start of 5 where Donut got squashed by Sister in the Pelican. He goes into the memory just as Donut, also in the memory, prepares himself to be squashed. He's not happy about it. But what makes him even less happy? When 'Church' tosses a grenade at him, forcing him to back away just as the Pelican lands. Genkins is happy... well he's disappointed that he couldn't watch Donut get squashed, but hey he got his job done. Just one problem. You know how we see a cracking effect every time a paradox is provoked? Well... nothing happens. This leaves Genkins understandably confused.

At this point, Donut has realized that 'Church' is Genkins... just in time for another Pelican to land and squash him. Ouch. Sarge is happy, assuming that he got double the reinforcements, and gives a victory speech against the Blues... and Doc. All while he forces Simmons and Grif to provide background noise for it. It's just glorious. But the Pelican soon moves off off Donut. At first, Genkins is happy as the paradox effect finally goes off... that is, until he sees who it is inside the Pelican. Yep, it's Wash and Carolina. Genkins knows exactly what this means, but he can't do anything. Just as Wash previously suspected, everyone recognizes him, and they even recognize Carolina. Sister also exits her Pelican and is confuse don how she recognizes them all and vice versa. Oh and Sarge almost shoots her cause... you know, Grif Sibling and she's wearing another primary color, but Grif gets him to stop.

With everyone present (Tucker and Lopez aren't there) confused and asking questions, Wash encourages Donut to make them realize what's going on. Donut brings attention to how they all know each other despite never meeting, all as Genkins weakly tries to sway them away from listening. He fails, and Wash sasses him for good measure, as Donut continues while he consciously tries to make himself not spout any innuendos. He does have one tiny slip up, but otherwise? He pulls it off. He explains how they're in a dream. How they tried to save Wash and broke time as a result. How, despite not knowing Wash and Carolina at this point and Carolina not knowing them, they all recognize each other as though they've always known each other. Which begs the question, how can they know all of this yet not know all of this?

The result? As with Wash, everyone is snapped back to reality. Well... except for Doc. Why? We'll get to that. For now, everyone is understandably confused and feel sick by all of this. Well, Carolina doesn't. She instead has a near emotional breakdown, tearfully apologizing to Wash for all of her actions before. Wash stops her, explaining that he knows how she went through things that he never could have survived, and in the end, she will always be his friend. Carolina is shocked by this, especially since Wash says that he doesn't care about the injury anymore. But he does assure that he's fine. They're all going to be fine. Aww~

With the jig up, Genkins breaks his facade. Grif remembers how he ruined pizza, cause yeah Genkins WTF you monster?! But Genkins decides to mention that he did something to Huggins. He doesn't say that he killed her, just that he did something. That's enough to make Grif stop in his tracks as Genkins starts to try and have Shelia kill them all... but he's stopped by Caboose. You see, Caboose isn't very happy to see Church possessed and tells Genkins to get out of him. He also explains how whenever he sees or thinks of Church, it makes him sad. Grief is confusing, after all. But he wants to be happy now, so again he tells Genkins to leave. Genkins refuses. Caboose's response? To tackle Genkins into the ground and start beating the shit out of him. FUCK YES! Mind you Genkins jumps out, so Church is instead getting pounded and to emphasize that, we finally have Burnie back as Church. But hey, Caboose got a couple of hits on Genkins, so Hell Yes! Although Delta sees Alpha, which causes another paradox burst, so... yeah, that's bad.

So then... what now? Well as previously mentioned, neither Tucker nor Lopez is there. IIRC, Lopez is a head lying somewhere while Tucker is currently recovering from giving birth to Junior. Donut turns to Doc, who is clearly confused by what is going on. Donut, therefore, explains why this is, and we can now confirm that, as far as Donut is aware, Doc is dead. He was forced to kill him during the S16 fight. Well... that sucks. For now, Donut asks Doc to revive Tucker and Sister goes along with him, seemingly to snap Tucker back to normal... or to have a threesome. Who knows? Everyone else is still confused by what's happening, so Wash and Donut have to explain. But first, Grif is still concerned about what Genkins meant about Huggins and asks what the others think. Sarge almost voices how it sounded like she was killed, but Donut cuts him off. As such, Grif is left with only speculation about Huggins' fate and he's clearly unhappy about it.

Speaking of Huggins though.... to my surprise, we cut back to that oh so fateful scene of Genkins sending her into the Black Hole. Though clearly, they re-did the dialogue cause the delivery is different and I think there were some line changes. Nevertheless, we're again forced to watch Huggins get sucked in... but this time we actually follow along with her. Yes, everyone, she is NOT DEAD! HELL YES! MY DENIAL HAS FINALLY PAID OFF! Huggins realizes what's happening and sings to herself to keep from panicking as she reaches the end. Where does she end up? Well, we're given one final shot before the episode ends. We see Huggins as she is faced with what looks like a dying star. Well... that's not good... but hey, HUGGINS IS ALIVE BITCHES! YAY!!!

Review

Have I ever said that this season is fucking awesome? I have? Well too bad, I'm saying it again! THIS SEASON IS FUCKING AWESOME!

Everything about this episode was great. First off, it was funny as Hell. Sarge's speech and him making Simmons and Grif his backup music were amazing in so many ways. I mean just getting a Sarge speech again in and of itself is welcome, but the ridiculousness of the triumphant way he delivers it was just great. Really Sarge and Caboose have a lot of funny lines. Sarge's "I feel like I got Sarge'd" is where I lost it. And as bad as I felt for Donut having to get squashed... not gonna lie, I laughed at that and him mumbling about how he hates his life. Such a big mood. So yeah, a lot of funny stuff that I'm sure we'll be quoting nonstop for the next few years.

So with this episode, we have the majority of the cast back to normal. Which I think is for the best. If it went longer than this point, it would have started to get annoying and dragged out imo. Mind you, Tucker and Lopez still don't know since they weren't in the scene, but we still have essentially 98% of the group back. The moment was really played out well. Wash sassing Genkins as he realized that everything was crumbling apart was just SO pleasing. As was Caboose getting upset at Genkins possessing Church and beating the shit out of him. It didn't last long, but that asshole getting the beatdown that he deserves even for just a few seconds was amazing. Even though Caboose talking about how Churchs continuous deaths hurt him and how he had a hard time processing grief due to it... it's a great way to display his character development after S15... but God it hurt.

Speaking of hurt... Grif. Oh God. So... he doesn't know that Huggins 'died', but he now knows that Genkins did something. While we don't get to see a lot due to everything else, his 'what?' more than expressed how taken aback he is. Worst? He can only speculate about what happened. Something that he is very clearly unhappy about. When he finds out... God that is going to be a shitshow. Although... as we discovered, Huggins is alive! Yay! Although... she's likely still angry at Grif for agreeing to save Wash, to begin with, so... yeah they're gonna have to sort that out. But hey, Huggins is alive! And at some... dying star... yeah IDK what that's about. Guess we'll find out sooner or later.

And of course, there's Wash and Carolina. Oh, God... Wash and Carolina. I just feel horrible for them both. Carolina's so remorseful about her actions as she apologizes. I mean you can tell just form Jen Brown's performance that she is on the verge of tears if she isn't already outright crying. She had the best intentions at heart, but all she did was hurt Wash. We all knew that she wasn't going to react well when she remembered, and sure enough, she didn't. But on the upside, while he doesn't outright say that he forgives her, Wash makes it clear that he isn't going to hold a grudge and still views her as his friend. They're going to be okay. It's such an emotional moment and a poignant moment for these two. After everything last season, I was so happy to see this.

Last but certainly not least, let's talk Donut. I am so proud of him. He's stepped up so much, and this time with Wash's encouragement, he gets everyone to listen. Aside from a brief innuendo, Donut gave a badass speech and snapped everyone back to normal. He even finally got to swear again! And at the end, Wash says that Donut will explain everything, clearly trusting him to keep it up. It's so great to see Donut finally getting people to listen and proving just how much of an asset he truly is. Mind you IDT his development is quite done. He still needs to be able to act and get others to listen without Wash, but this is a really good moment that really lets his character shine. With this being the halfway mark, this was perfect.

Alright, six episodes down. Six more to go. So... what now? I honestly don't know. First is... whatever Sister is going to do to wake up Tucker and IDK how they're gonna wake up Lopez (unless he already knows, which tbf...). After that? I'm not sure. Maybe Genkins doubles down on his efforts, and he likely has to report it to Chrovos. Which with all of this, who knows how close to being free that she is now. And there's now Huggins and that dying star thing. But still, without the Time Gun, they can't go back and prevent the paradox, so I am honestly at a loss about what happens now. But hey, that just means that we have all the more to look forward to!

Final Thoughts

This episode was fantastic. The humor was hilarious, the emotions were emotional, the character development is shining through, and all in all, it brought the first half of the season to a satisfying conclusion. What happens now? No idea. All I know is that it's going to be insane, maybe even more insane than what we've already gotten. So I am greatly looking forward to whatever it has in store for us!

#rvb #rvb17 #rvb spoilers #rvb reviews #callie reviews

[jincherie]

warmth | namjoon

↠ written for the KreativeWritersNet au bingo! ↞

↽pairing: Namjoon x reader ↽genre: fluff, drabble, demigod!au, demigod!Namjoon, roommate!au ↽words: 3k ↽rating: sfw ↽notes: this ended up being so much cuter than I thought wtf

Even Cupid’s son needs a break every now and then, but Namjoon’s trip to the human world brings about more realisations than he intended.

↼posted; 07.01.2018

���Masterlist | Bingo Masterlist

Namjoon, for the most part, got along well with his father.

He was the infamous God of Love— Cupid, and maybe even Eros, as some people knew him— and he had a way of drawing people in. There weren’t many people to exist that disliked his father, although Namjoon was sure his mother had certainly come close at some point. Apparently there were many times when she was fed up with his shenanigans— she was only human after all, and understandably unaccustomed to sudden take-offs in the middle of the city for a romantic evening flying through the sky. Namjoon did admit that his father’s courting methods were perhaps a bit odd, but at the end of the day his mother still loved him, as did most other people he met. He had that air around him, that friendliness and amicability. He was likable. And Namjoon liked him.

But sometimes, he couldn’t agree with him.

The way his father worked, he acted as a catalyst. He set things in motion, prompted events and inspired action. A shot of his arrow could leave a human pining for another, could push them off the precipice and into the depths of love and admiration. He’d assured him many times that he didn’t just go shooting people willy nilly— each shot happened for a reason, each love inspired by the touch of his arrow predestined and planned before the human ever came to be by the fates— but still, something didn’t sit right with Namjoon.

The humans had free will for a reason, and he believed it was wrong to ‘make’ them love. To him, loving someone was big— it was something someone should have the right to choose for themselves. He’d argued with his father many times about it— “We shouldn’t be deciding for them who they fall in love with!”— but his father would always remain steadfast in his actions and beliefs— “We don’t choose, Joonie. Everything that happens in this world aligns with the plans the fates have for us.” – and at the end of the day, they would always reach a stalemate. Namjoon was a reasonable man, but it was wearing on him.

It was such an argument that he’d just come from, and frankly, he needed a break. It had gotten to the point that it was too vexing to train and study beneath his father when his beliefs differed so vastly. It frustrated him; he didn’t like being upset with his father but he couldn’t change how he felt. Ultimately, he’d decided he needed a break, and when he’d told his father he was leaving for the human world for a while to take some time for himself, he hadn’t stopped him.

Which led to where he now found himself, outside the door of some human, with a rumpled, creased flyer in his grasp. Roommate wanted, it read in faded ink, the number and address printed beneath in smaller font. He needed a place to stay while in the human world after all.

As he listened to the footsteps of his possible future roommate approach the door, he could only hope that he wouldn’t need to look any further for a place to stay, and that they were someone he would get along with.

x     x     x     x     x     x

His roommate was… frustrating.

When you’d opened the door a week ago and shot him the brightest smile he’d ever seen—your clear, pleasant eyes creasing happily and warmth seeping into his chest as a result— he’d thought that maybe, just maybe, this was going to be fine after all. He took the tour of the house, becoming more and more charmed every minute yet maintaining a polite emotional distance, and had signed the form agreeing to be your roommate without a second thought.

It hadn’t taken long for him to realise the mistake he’d made, however. He’d come home not even a day after moving his meagre belongings in to find you perched on the couch, popcorn in your lap, as a movie he knew all too well played across the tv screen.

“I didn’t take you for the type to enjoy Love Actually,” he remarked with raised brows, hanging his coat up and slipping his shoes off.

You turned from the film, eyes bright, and shot him a grin. “Oh, I adore it!” you gushed, slipping a piece of caramel popcorn into your mouth. Your cheeks were a peculiar shade of rose, whether from your happiness or the fluffiness of the movie you were watching, Namjoon didn’t know. “The way everything is linked together, all the love, the idea that things are meant to be…. I’m a hopeless romantic.”

You’d let out a sheepish chuckle, turning back to the movie, and Namjoon felt a peculiar sense of disappointment make itself known in him, edges tainted with frustration. He’d come to the human world to get away from the nonsense his father spouted, yet here he was… roommates with a girl who believed the very same things. He sighed, so softly you didn’t notice, enraptured in the romance before you as you were, and made his way to his room, closing the door gently behind him.

He’d already signed the form, and he didn’t intend on leaving, but he certainly wasn’t pleased with the situation he found himself in. He’d just have to bear with it, he supposed. You weren’t that bad after all, even if you were a romantic fool.

x     x     x     x     x   x     x

Bearing with it became a lot easier when Namjoon discovered your other tastes in reading and films.

It had been a cool summer evening when he’d knocked on your door. He was about to go get some groceries and felt inclined to ask if you needed anything. Even if your views didn’t exactly align with his, you were still polite to him, kind even, and he always prided himself on his manners and the way he carried himself.

“Come in,” your voice carried through the door, music reaching his ears softly but not clear enough for him to discern. He opened the door, handle cool against the heated skin of his palm— being a demigod, the offspring of an immortal and a mortal, meant his body ran hotter than most, always thrumming with the power running through his veins— and was surprised to see you reclined against the headboard with crossed legs, a very familiar book in your hands. You looked up as he entered and shot him a bright smile.

Namjoon forgot everything he’d initially come to say. “You’re reading Demian?” he queried, eyebrows raising slightly. You laughed, and his cheeks flushed as he realised how shocked he’d sounded.

“It would appear so,” your tone was teasing, eyes warm as you placed the book on the bed face down, turning your attention completely to him. He could feel his cheeks reddening further as you teased him, an heat unnatural even for him setting over his face. “You’ve read it?”

For a moment, he completely forgot why he’d even knocked on your door in the first place. He found himself leaning forward eagerly, a smile slipping onto his face.  He voiced his confirmation, a list of what piqued his favour most about the book tumbling easily from his tongue. You sat eagerly, listening and providing your own insight and analysis, and Namjoon found himself becoming more and more drawn into you with each word that passed your lips.

When he queried what other fiction had caught your eye, you referred him to the bookshelf behind him, and he was pleasantly surprised to see more titles he knew and enjoyed himself. Original intention in visiting pushed far from his mind, he lost himself in the depths of conversation with you, his mind being stimulated by conversation in a way it hadn’t ever before. You talked yourselves deep into the night, and when he finally retired to his own room, a pile of recommendations in his arms,

The longer he lived here with you, the more facets of your personality he discovered. With each day that passed he learnt a little more, and fell a little deeper into the anomaly that was you. The presence of heat over his cheekbones became a regularity, the smile that slipped on his face at the sight of you a constant. Your views no longer mattered so much to him— he was far too entangled in discovering every piece of you to be bothered by your idealistic notion of romance.

And it was this very ideal you held, your view of love that you placed on a pedestal so, that had gotten you into so many instances of hurt.

When he answered his phone that evening, he hadn’t expected it to be you, and he absolutely hadn’t expected you to invite him to the cinemas. Namjoon hadn’t met your friends, but he had a feeling that if he ever did he wouldn’t like them. It seemed like they did nothing but set you up on date after date, such a lack of thought and care present in choosing the candidates that each time you left the house prettied up and beaming as radiant as the sun for a date it was almost certain you would return heartbroken and alone. Whether they stood you up or just hadn’t clicked, in his time with you Namjoon was sure he had witnessed them all. Despite his initial resistance, the two of you had quickly but surely become friends, and Namjoon could safely say he wasn’t a fan of seeing his friends hurt by the actions of others.

So when he heard your voice over the phone, a slight waver present behind your cheery tone that hinted at much drearier emotions welling within you, he agreed without a second thought and before he knew it he was walking up to the entrance of the cinema several blocks away. He’d mulled on your situation a thousand times over, how you could still be so hopeful and optimistic, hold such faith in fate that it would bless you with love you were meant to feel some day, when all you’d been faced with was heartbreak and disappointment. He didn’t understand it; didn’t understand how you could simply let it go, shrug it off and keep on hoping. He didn’t understand how even with all of the evidence contrary to your view, nothing ever seemed to shake it.

When he found himself standing beside you, and you spun to face him with a blinding grin despite your watering eyes, he couldn’t understand how anyone could have ever stood you up. Dressed in a colour that made your eyes pop, your hair styled nicely and makeup enhancing all your best features, he was sure you were the ideal date, and although he’d never admit it the very sight of you had a peculiar warmth blooming in his chest, his heart skipping a beat. Oblivious to his inner monologue as you handed him the ticket that should have been for your date of the night, you’d looped your arm through his and grinned up at him, tugging him into the theatre. Even if he’d wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to resist you.

What was normally an occurrence that would result in you wallowing in your heartbreak, you’d turned into a lovely night out. Namjoon spent the night with you, happy to help lift your mood however he could, and along the way found he was enjoying himself more than he ever had with anyone before. Hushed whispers throughout the movie, soft chuckles as you made a joke that tickled his humour too much for him to stay quiet in the almost bare cinema, and greasy, indulgent dinner afterwards where you both talked to your hearts content about the things that interested you most. Namjoon didn’t think he would ever stop being fascinated by you.

He regarded you fondly, with the type of affection that snuck up on him and left him unawares until one night, as you enter the apartment after your later shift at the restaurant, his favourite dish in an airtight container under your arm, and shot him that beautiful smile he’d come to regard as a staple in his routine, it smacked him in the face. All of a sudden the thudding of his heart caught his ears, thoughts drawn to the heat in his cheeks and the sudden clammy nature of his palms, and he was drowning in the realisation that you were meaning something to him, something much more than he’d ever intended or even thought to conceive.  

He didn’t have time to ponder it— you were there, and you were serving up the meal you’d put aside just for him— because you knew, you knew it was his favourite— and you were grinning up at him with such unadulterated content and fondness for him, he couldn’t do anything but take the plate and the fork and offer you a blinding grin of his own in return. He brushed the thoughts swarming his mind aside, tried to calm his racing heart and maybe pretend that what he thought— didn’t want to think—was happening, wasn’t happening.

Because acknowledging it would throw everything he believed in to the ground.

He managed to last a month.

Each day he denied himself, denied the burning urge within him and the realisation that had prompted it, was a day that he spent growing weaker and weaker against you. Without fail, you drew him in, even when he tried his best to resist, to pull away, to pretend you hadn’t come to mean so much to him. Something about you called to him, reached deep into his soul and attached itself firmly to the centre of his being. He knew he couldn’t keep it up for much longer, knew he was playing a losing game and one day he would truly lose himself in you, but until then he did everything he could to resist.

And in the process, he didn’t notice he was drawing you in too.

The day you left for your first blind date in weeks, was the day he experienced a certain flavour of heartbreak on his own. Watching you leave through the front door, looking the very picture of perfect and eliciting such a strong yearning within him that he had to physically step back, he could hardly manage to bid you farewell. The smile you had offered him before leaving out the door had a different tone, a saddened tone, and he didn’t have time to wonder why before you were out of sight and the door closed before him, handle already growing cold in the absence of your touch.

So even the handle could miss your warmth, he pondered. He needed to face the emotions stirring within him, but to do so he needed to admit to himself what he’d realised one long month ago. And he couldn’t. He was scared.

For so long he’d felt the way he did about love, about how his father operated and the notion of fate. It was so firmly entrenched in who he was that at the prospect of acknowledging that might have been wrong and losing that part of him, he was terrified. Who would he be if he didn’t feel the way he did before? He’d changed, become a different person before he’d even had a chance to notice the transition, and he was clinging desperately to the last traces of who he used to be.

He was scared, because losing that part of him, letting it go… he’d be alone. What was he supposed to do with this new version of himself once he admitted his need, his love for you?

He didn’t get to ponder anymore, because there was a sudden noise at the door. A jingling of keys, a symphony of metal against metal so familiar to his ears, and suddenly the door was swinging open and the catalyst of his transformation stood before him once more. He opened his mouth, a query on the tip of his tongue, but you beat him to any response.

One step forward, two, three— he couldn’t take his eyes off you as you approached until you were right before him and lurching up, eyes fluttering closed at the feel of your soft petal lips against his and the passion behind them. His hands came to your waist, clutching you close, so close, and your own came to cup his face with such tenderness he felt his heart physically ache.

On the breath that filled his lungs as you parted was he intoxicating scent of you, and his eyes met yours as you pulled away, shooting him the smile that had won his heart so long ago. “Y-your date—” he managed to stutter, mind an incoherent mess but his heart thrumming and so alive within him he could hardly speak.

“I had a realisation,” you said, fingers tapping against his cheeks. “Why am I going out to find love, when I’ve already found it, and its waiting for me in my very own home?”

The smile that split his cheeks took you but surprise, but the kiss he planted upon your lips after surprised you even more so. He was warm, so, so warm, and you could feel the heat enveloping your own heart as he kissed you with all the fondness and love you’d ever yearned for.

Wrapped in the touch and feel of you, he realised that perhaps maybe it was ok to have been wrong all along. The way he was drawn to you, the way he had fallen so naturally in love with you, had happened before he’d even realised he’d slipped so far— and it couldn’t have been anything but fate.

But even so, as he entwined his fingers in yours and tugged you close, Namjoon was sure that even if fate hadn’t orchestrated your paths, he would choose to love you over, and over again.

#kreativewritersnet #kreativewritersnet bingo #kpoptrashtag #boy group writers net #namjoon x reader #rm x reader #rm drabble #rm scenario #namjoon drabble #namjoon scenario #namjoon au #demigod au #demigod!au #demigod namjoon #demigod!namjoon #demigod namjoon x reader #demigod!namjoon x reader #drabble #fluff #my work #rbuns #bts scenario #bts au #roommate!au #roommate au #its minor lol #this concludes my bingo card!!!

[akaluan]

One day, when he's either 1) VERY drunk or 2) In a suitably Bleak Mood, Erich actually tells Urahara about Tanya. About the Monster that no one else could see; about a soul that Erich SWEARS was a hollow wrapped in human skin, caring for nothing but itself. Urahara - may or may not understand. But he can provide a willing ear. He can comprehend the shape of Erich's fear.

Upon reflection, Erich might admit that one of the primary factors contributing to his utter fear/horror/disgust of Tanya was that she was just - human. Just genuinely, terrifyingly, human. He couldn’t blame it on hollows or spiritual degradation; she was HUMAN, and that terrified him.            

((Have a …. have a /thing/. Oh my god, I don’t know how this got so long, or where the fuck half of this came from. Holy fuck these characters are starting to escape my grip, wtf, why already…))

“Rerugen-san?” Kisuke asked, stepping cautiously onto the roof of the shoten and approaching where Rerugen was sitting. He stopped well out of reach, lips pinched into a thin line, and took in Rerugen’s appearance; the man was dressed more casually than Kisuke had ever seen him before: leaning back on one hand, legs stretched out in front of him, his dress shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, and his feet bare.

“Mmm?” Rerugen tilted his head slightly towards Kisuke, then looked away. “Urahara.” He took a drink from the glass in his other hand, then gestured vaguely towards the roof near him. “Sit, if you want.”

Kisuke took the last few steps and settled on the tiles, nose wrinkling at the harsh scent of the alcohol that his friend was drinking. A nearly empty bottle sat next to Rerugen’s hip, and Kisuke had the sinking suspicion that the man had started with a full bottle. It took a lot to intoxicate Rerugen properly, but three quarters of a bottle of high-proof alcohol would certainly do it.

“I’d offer you a drink,” Rerugen spoke again, pronouncing his words carefully, “but I only have the one glass.”

“That’s alright,” Kisuke said. His fingers /itched/ to take the glass from Rerugen to keep the man from drinking further, but there was a bleak /darkness/ in his eyes that held Kisuke back. So instead he gave the other a small smile and asked, “What brings you up here without inviting lil’ ol’ me?”

Rerugen snorted and drained the last of his glass, then sat up and grabbed the bottle. Hands trembling faintly, he poured out another few measures into his glass then slumped back into his previous position. The glass was held up towards the moon that sat large and full overhead, and Rerugen peered through the liquid, tilting the glass from side to side.

Kisuke watched the amber-toned shadows filter across Rerugen’s face, willing to wait out the silence. It was one of the first things he had learned when drinking with Rerugen; trying to rush the man gave him nothing, and trying to fill the silence with chatter earned him Rerugen’s ire.

(He’d rather not get another face-full of alcohol.)

“The first time I saw Degurechaff,” Rerugen spoke, voice barely carrying to Kisuke, “the first time I saw her, that little killing doll, she had blasted a grown man through a wall. They were trainees. Recruits. They were in the class /just below her/.” He sighed and took a drink, then bent his leg and rested his wrist on his knee, still swirling the alcohol in his glass. “The man was flat on the ground, stunned from being thrown through a wall and landing in the middle of the courtyard. And Degurechaff… she leapt from the hole after him, standing atop his body and shouting. Shouting about insubordination. About rules and military law…”

Kisuke fought not to stiffen. He’d looked up information about the Empire, trying to get a better idea of how Rerugen thought; military law had been part of that search.

(Insubordination was punishable by death. But for trainees to threaten each other with it?)

Rerugen laughed, low and bleak. “She wasn’t yet double digits in age. Didn’t even reach my waist. Couldn’t even carry the /fucking/ magic rifle she was issued. Screaming about splitting a skull open and carving the rules inside, knife held to strike.” He took another drink, head lolling slightly to the side to fix Kisuke with a blank gaze. “She fought me, when I stopped her. Told me it was her /duty/ to punish the man.”

“And was it?” Kisuke asked softly.

He shrugged and looked away again, back to the moon. “The others thought so. Told me she was just a little /enthusiastic/. That she hadn’t meant it. Just needed to prove herself over the men she was trying to train.” He drained his glass again and stared at it with a pensive frown. “Fucking blind idiots.”

Kisuke leaned forward, reaching out slowly to the bottle at Rerugen’s side. When the man made no complaints, he popped it open and poured a bit more into Rerugen’s glass, then set the bottle at /his/ side. If Rerugen wanted to keep drinking, then /Kisuke/ was going to be the one in control from now on. Already he doubted the man could even stand, much less walk, but clearly he /needed/ to talk about this. “How were they blind?”

“Thank you,” Rerugen said, sipping at his drink. He let his head fall back, closing his eyes and breathing out.

(He looked… unbearably /human/ like that, his neck bared and his poise shattered. Just a weary, tired man haunted by his past.)

(Kisuke resolved to never let the teens see Rerugen like this.)

“They praised her,” Rerugen said, not moving or opening his eyes. “She received the Silver Wings medal before she even reached ten years old, and from that point on… heh. She presented such a /perfect/ front. A little girl, the perfect soldier. Everyone loved her.”

“But not you,” Kisuke said with certainty.

Rerugen’s lips quirked into a wry smile. “No. But I said nothing. Who would believe me?” He gestured absently with his glass, but didn’t actually move to take a drink. “She was brilliant. Intelligent and strategic and the /perfect soldier/.” He scoffed, then whispered, “Perfect soldiers are nothing but /monsters/.”

Kisuke grimaced at Rerugen’s words, at the resigned despair contained within them. To be able to see, but to know that no one would believe…

(He knew how that felt. How bitterly it sat, watching from the sidelines and unable to do /anything/ to open people’s eyes.)

“I wanted to believe she /was/ a monster,” Rerugen admitted after a short silence. “A brainwashed child. A degenerate soul possessing a child’s body, out for revenge. A hollow in human form. /Anything/.”

“Was she?” Kisuke prompted, curious despite himself. Brainwashing a young child would have been easy enough, he supposed, but the other options weren’t something Kisuke had ever contemplated. /Did/ things like that happen?

“No.” Rerugen straightened up and took a drink, hand trembling enough that he spilled some on his undershirt. He growled in frustration, setting his glass down and rubbing futilely at the spots. “It was worse,” he grumbled, glancing over at Kisuke. “She was just /human/. Nothing more, nothing less. A tiny little psychopath, not even capable of sensing spirits or hollows. Just /human nature at its finest/. A monster just like all the rest of us.”

“You’re not a monster,” Kisuke insisted, leaning forward to snatch the nearly-empty glass out of Rerugen’s reach. If the man was sinking /that/ far into self-recrimination, he certainly didn’t need any more alcohol to help him along.

“I,” Rerugen said, “am /entirely/ monstrous.”

Kisuke sighed and stood up, reaching down to grip Rerugen’s arm in order to pull him up. Rerugen stumbled, swaying on his feet and slumping against Kisuke, face buried against Kisuke’s neck. Kisuke grimaced at both Rerugen’s weight and the way the man’s glasses dug into his skin, and reinforced himself a bit; Rerugen wasn’t particularly /light/ despite his thin frame, and he was resting almost all his weight on Kisuke at the moment. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He wasn’t going to touch on the topic of monsters, not with Rerugen in this state. Whatever the man had done to label himself a monster, now was not the time to further open old wounds.

Rerugen grumbled in faint protest as Kisuke moved. “Keep the teens away from me tomorrow,” he murmured. “Tell them… something. I don’t care. I can’t…”

“Shh. I’ll keep them distracted,” Urahara reassured, wrapping an arm around Rerugen’s waist and half-carrying, half-dragging the man towards the edge of the roof. “You just worry about dealing with your hangover.”

Rerugen laughed raggedly, one hand clenching tight in Urahara’s coat. “No reprieve for a poor, suffering soldier?”

“Not when the suffering is entirely the soldier’s fault,” he teased gently. Kisuke paused at the edge of the roof and considered how best to get the two of them down. The more expedient way, of course, was to just carry the man.

“I’ll remember that for next time,” Rerugen said, moving his head enough to stare blearily over the edge of the roof. “… Urahara, you better not—”

Before Rerugen could finish, Kisuke swept the man up and hopped down, landing as gently as he could.

“I am going to throw up on you,” Rerugen threatened half-heartedly.

“Do, and I’ll laugh at you tomorrow.” Kisuke said with a laugh, as he kept moving, not bothering to set the man down. It was just faster to carry Rerugen to the man’s room like this, and it wasn’t like Rerugen was /actually/ protesting or struggling.

“Why the fuck do I like you,” Rerugen growled, giving in and resting his head on Kisuke’s shoulder again. His eyes closed and his breathing started to even out, body relaxing further in Kisuke’s grip.

“Sometimes I wonder if you even do,” Kisuke murmured to himself, toeing open the door to Rerugen’s room and moving to the futon that was set out. He knelt and laid the man down, attempting to pry the man’s hand free of his coat, before giving up and just pulling it off and letting the man have it for the night. Something more to tease him about the next day, if it looked like Rerugen would allow it.

Rerugen situated in bed and on his side, Kisuke sat back on his heels and considered his options. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving the man alone, not after nearly a full bottle of /whatever/ that had been. Safer, then, to sit up and keep watch, just in case.

(Souls were resilient things, but even souls could die of alcohol.)

Rerugen’s bleak gaze wouldn’t leave his mind.

(’I am entirely monstrous.’)

Alcohol /and/ nightmare watch it was, then.

#replies #bleach #bleach/tanya #tanya the evil #hamelin-born #akaluan answers #my fic #drabbles #unedited

[thebestplltheories]

My TOP 10 episodes in all of television - spoiler free!

1. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 4, Episode 8 - Live. Live. Live

On the edge of my seat from start to end, this episode was extremely satisfying as we finally learnt what happened that night. One “what the actual fuck?” moment after the other, there is no better adjective to describe the story than ‘exciting’. Having just spent a season trying to prove that they are good people trying to move on from tangled murders, it was beyond juicy to see their lives unintentionally take a U-turn down Old Habits Road, even when their intentions were good. The writing needs to be commended in this episode not just for the witty and snappy dialogue, but for the actual intellect of the writers to think of stories of this caliber. The way the events unfolded that night were insanely satisfying and beyond my theory-brain’s ability to have ever imagined, yet, still managed to make me say “of course!” once revealed. Topped with EMMY-worthy acting from more than just the sensational lead Viola, the pure creativity and ingenuity of this episode left me feeling like these television writers could get away with murder.

2. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 4, Episode 9 - He’s Dead.

The perfect follow up to the perfect finale. This episode flowed from the previous so well that if we eliminated the “previously on”, the two episodes can stand alone as a mini movie revolving around one never-ending messed up night. The roller coaster doesn’t slow down, actually, it speeds up, which was a shock as I thought it was already going full speed. Seeing the characters fall deeper into the rabbit hole of their old habits, and then trying to dig themselves out, was entertainment at its best. Just because there were not as many “what the actual fuck?” moments as the previous episode, there were still plenty sighs of relief, grunts of anger, and throwing of the hands in the hair. The episode was very fast paced with lots of complicated stories occurring simultaneously, and successfully keeping up with them all felt like a reward in itself.

3. Pretty Little Liars: Season 7, Episode 20 - Til Death Do Us Part

Although this episode was generally not well received by most PLL veterans, I can only love this episode as it was essentially an on-screen adaptation of my written theories I made leading up to the episode. It was beyond satisfying to see that I had successfully theorised, almost to a tee, the series ending to a show that will forever be in my heart. The execution lacked, specifically in intensity and any sense of danger, however the overall story being told was very detailed and mostly clever - certainly free of plot holes, which was impressive given the convoluted state of the series at the time. The story was by no means flawless as the writers certainly missed easy opportunities to go out with a louder bang, however, after the difficult mental task of setting aside all the thoughts of what could have been, the episode can be perfectly summarised as satisfying and bittersweet. I think I will forever remember this day. June 27, 2017. It was an unforgettable experience.

4. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 2, Episode 9 - What Did We Do?

This episode elevated the show to a level I never knew it was reaching for. Other finales of this show had me screaming WTF out of pure disbelief and shock, however this finale had me screaming WTF out of disturbance - I was genuinely bothered, and made to feel uncomfortable, at the methods they used to get away with murder. This episode features one of the most iconic scenes of the entire series to date, which, if this episode had aired prior to the EMMYs, would have made Viola Davis the no-brainer winner (if she wasn’t at the time). As if the finale wasn’t gripping enough, it ended with a scene that was like a superfluous yet delicious cherry on top. The final scene redefined everything we thought we knew about two major characters and the episode overall was twisted and exciting to say the least.

5. Pretty Little Liars: Season 7, Episode 19 - Farewell, My Lovely.

The penultimate episode to the loveable series can be summarised with one word: satisfying. Unusual for this show, so much action and plot progression was perfectly fit into one episode. Further, the show finally reached my desirable ratio of mystery to romance: all mystery and no romance. An impressive amount of story was wrapped up, answering enough questions to begin the series finale without an immensely overwhelming amount of content to sort through. Whilst the answers themselves weren’t overly shocking, actually, some fan theories were more exciting than what the writers delivered, the story that was provided was undebatably logical and cohesive which made it tough to argue with. Unfortunately the writers missed a great opportunity to name-drop the show. “You’re not criminals. Not really.” Insert here: “You’re just a bunch of pretty little liars”. Whilst it would appear corny in that moment of first viewing, those feelings undoubtedly would pass with time and it would have been iconic in Pretty Little Liars history. Nonetheless, the penultimate episode served its purpose very well: it set up the series finale by answering questions that were not worth dwindling on for one more second.

6. The Fosters: Season 5, Episode 1 - Resist

Bone chilling. My goosebumps had goosebumps as I watch a mother race to find her daughter who is being held captive by a group of rapists - an action packed, nail biting story I would’ve never envisioned back at the show’s conception five years ago. Watching Callie value her friend’s lives more than her own, is upsetting but admirable, and the passion of the students protesting against the privatisation of their school that they are so proud of, is nothing short of beautiful. Leave it to The Fosters to make you feel what the characters feel, even when the character’s experiences are un-relatable. I for one, have never faced the problem of school privatisation, or, touch wood, rape. But the emotions are so raw and expertly crafted through the lens of the camera that it’s actually impossible to not feel for the characters.

7. The Fosters: Season 5, Episode 10 - Sanctuary

I’m not easy to crack, but this episode marked the first time I actually shed a tear or two of pure happiness at a television show. Trust The Fosters to pull on your heart strings. The episode deals with an immigrant who is wanted because her DACA status is pending, and the lengths that her friends go to to help her stay in the country she was raised in and calls home. It was somewhat surreal to reflect on what the show had now become: no longer is this show about a girl who wants to be adopted by a family. This is about a girl who constantly walks on fire for her friends and expects nothing in return. Police are involved, and stakes are higher than ever. The episode preached a message that isn’t said loud enough, and is one that any television-lover can watch regardless of their history (or non-existent history) with The Fosters. Whilst the juicy parts of the episode co-existed amongst a lot of romance filler which I do not care too much for, the story was so important to tell, and was told so damn well, that on this rare occasion, I was able to forgive and oversee the filler.

8. Riverdale: Season 1, Episode 12 - Anatomy of a Murder

Bombshell after bombshell, this episode surprised me not just in terms of the story’s reveals, but also the reveal that the writers want this to be a twisted thriller series. So much happened in a short time span yet it never felt overly condensed. It moved at an impressive pace that comfortably told the story in enough depth. This had everything a mystery show needs in its big important episodes: family drama, a death, alternative suspects gained or freed, the reveal of the true killer’s identity, impressive acting, another death, and a cliff hanger (literally, wink wink). It’s clear the writers gave this everything. All of this occurred in a visually stunning episode; beautiful and grand sets, vibrant and punchy colours, and powerful camera perspectives. This episode definitely could’ve proudly served as the season finale and actually, is my benchmark I use to compare all other Riverdale episodes, whereby this is what a ten out of ten looks like.

9. Supergirl: Season 2, Episode 22 - Nevertheless, She Persisted.

Excuse the cliche, but never judge a book by its cover. I never would’ve thought, ever, that a superhero show will make me feel more than just excitement at the action-packed dangerous story lines: this episode made me feel heartbreak, sorrow, shock, fear, disbelief and joy. Ruling out superhero shows because you’re not into fantasy and super-powers, is a silly move, since this episode proved yet again that Supergirl is grounded in reality, and the powers and super villains are just extra for the sake of fun. The emotions Kara goes through are human and relatable, and the emotions Supergirl goes through are still relatable, but you must dig to find the underlying meaning rather than take the red cape for face value. This episode flows so perfectly from the previous episode, Resist, that they could both pass as a two-hour movie. I struggled to decide which episode to place on this list however I ultimately decided to place this one because of its slightly higher stakes.

10. The Fosters: Season 4, Episode 1 - Potential Energy

Here The Fosters tackles the prominent issue of school shootings. It was captured in a way that sent chills down my spine, and I thanked God that I never experienced anything like that, and, honest to God, said a prayer that night that this madness stops. The brilliance of the episode is that it emphasised the shooter’s perspective too in a way that obviously didn’t justify the decision to bring a gun to school, but instead showed a range of variables that can lead someone to do this - therefore sparking conversations to potentially avoid such horror and danger. As with every single episode of The Fosters, it is simply a joy to watch Stef and Lena show their love for their kids and this episode in particular, when their lives are at risk, was heightened for the show and a damn joy to watch.

#top 10 TV episodes #top 10 #personal to me #I watch a lot more shows than listed here!!! #but these are the ones that are closest to me of the numerous episodes ive ever seen #this took a lot longer than i thought to put together #TV #television

[aion-rsa]

The Best TV Shows of 2020

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Some year, eh? 

We’re often poetic about TV around these parts. It’s no secret that we like to sing its praises as a powerful, restorative, and maybe sometimes therapeutic medium. But during a dangerous, confusing year, delving into the many ways that TV “kept us sane” or whatever feels reductive. 

What we can say, however, is this: TV was around this year. And that’s no small feat as not every other medium was so lucky. Concerts and other live performances were canceled. The movie-going experience was upended (perhaps permanently), and even curling up with a nice book at a coffee shop was no longer an option for much of the year. The TV production schedule may have been disrupted, but for the most part, the television machine chugged along, providing us with a diverse (and often overwhelming) number of truly excellent options to take in.

This year we want to honor the best of those TV shows – not for any particular reason other than that it’s fun to do and we’ve all earned some year-end distractions. We had our staff vote on their favorite series, polled you the reader as well, then crunched all the numbers in an intensely complicated propriety equation (not really) to determine our winners. 

Please enjoy our choices for the 25 Best TV Shows of 2020. 

25. How To with John Wilson

How To with John Wilson is the heir to Nathan For You’s throne, which seems obvious considering the series boasts Nathan Fielder as an executive producer, but the new HBO series shares much of the fiercely beloved former Comedy Central series’ DNA. While Nathan For You used helping businesses as a jumping off point to explore social interactions and the funny, insane things that people may say or do if you point a camera in their face, How To with John Wilson purports to explain how to perform simple tasks like making small talk or splitting a check, but mostly showcases how beautiful, ugly, life-affirming, and odd life in New York City can be. It’s a difficult show to explain, but it uses dry narration and quick documentary-style footage to create laugh out loud set-ups and punchlines, and digresses into some of the most poignant, and “WTF” moments found in a comedy series. You may not learn much, but you’ll laugh a lot. 

– Nick Harley

24. The Plot Against America

TV writing geniuses David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire, The Deuce) are masters of subtlety. Their many shows, several of which are among the best in TV history, know how to conquer small moments en route to a bigger, oft devastating picture. During these very unsubtle times then, how could they possibly adapt Philip Roth’s equally unsubtle book about creeping fascism in America, The Plot Against America? The answer, as it turns out, is with the same gentle touch and keen understanding of the human condition as they always employ.

Like Roth’s 2004 novel, The Plot Against America picks up in an alternate version of the American 1940s, where real life aviation hero and Nazi-sympathizing populist Charles Lindbergh is elected president. The show then follows the working class Jewish Levin family as they deal with the fallout. Simon and Burns’ subtle touch works uncommonly well here. The Plot Against America’s six episodes are in many ways about how gradually and imperceptibly things can get worse until one’s home is no longer recognizable. For obvious reasons, the series resonated this year but its ability to summon creeping dread would have played well just about any time. 

– Alec Bojalad

23. Lovecraft Country

A sprawling anthology with an overarching fable set in the depths of Jim Crow America in the 1950s, Lovecraft Country was an epic, political, sometimes gory, always ambitious sci-fi horror unlike anything else in 2020. Following the journey of Atticus (Jonathan Majors), Leti (Jurnee Smollett), and Atticus’s uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) on a mission to find Atticus’s missing father, the story combines real life racist horror with supernatural creatures inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.

Each episode is both a standalone story and part of the whole, playing with different subgenres. Ep 3 “Holy Ghost” is a classic haunted house tale with a historical twist against a backdrop of neighborhood racism, ep 5 “A Strange Case” is an extraordinary body horror which explores the female experience, 6 “Meet Me in Daegu” introduces a character from Korean folklore, while ep 8 “I Am” is a sprawling afrofuturist sci-fi. Created by Misha Green, exec produced by Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams, this is glossy cinematic stuff with a terrific ensemble cast. Talk about bang for your buck.

– Rosie Fletcher

22. His Dark Materials

If season one of this fantasy adaptation was carefully laying the tracks, then season two is hurtling along them, whooping out of the window as it goes. The new episodes started from the high-point of the season one finale and kept climbing. The difference is in tone – this time it’s warmer, keying more successfully into its characters’ emotional lives. It’s bolder too, demonstrating confidence by stepping away from the books to add scenes, humor and modern updates as required.

Season two, adapted from the second book in Philip Pullman’s original trilogy, sees Lyra and Will cross worlds and forge a bond. Will undertakes his own hero’s journey, one involving Spectres, a magical knife and the father he’d long thought dead. The real star though, is Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter, a devilishly complex character into whose head this show is satisfyingly determined to get. 

Season two is an episode short, thanks to COVID-19, but we should be grateful it made it here on time at all. The real delight is all the talent and effort that’s gone into telling such a weird story, one that only gets weirder from hereon in…

– Louisa Mellor

21. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Season 5 of She-Ra was the show at its absolute best. Every restriction seemed to be lifted and it just let loose with all the joy, deepness, and big queer energy it had ever wanted to display. Bless it for that because it allowed the show to go out on the highest of notes. We’d be here all day if we listed all the fantastic plots this season and how everyone got a chance to shine but no moment stands out more than Catra and Adora kissing. 

It’s a moment queer fans had hoped for and were shocked it actually happened. Seeing two leads in a legacy property get to be not only confirmed queer but also kiss is still a rare sight and we can only hope it signals great change in animation going forward.  We’re sad to see She-Ra go but glad it got to end so perfectly. 

– Shamus Kelley

20. Pen15 

During the 2011 “Middle School” episode of This American Life, host Ira Glass interviews producer Alex Blumberg, who presents a radical new approach to education in America: get rid of middle school. Children’s bodies and brains are just simply too volatile in their preteen years to meaningfully learn anything in the years between elementary school and high school. Give them a break, then pick up and try again in a couple years.

It’s hard not to think of that interview when watching Hulu’s wonderful middle school comedy Pen15. Lead characters Maya (Maya Erskine) and Anna (Anna Konkle) are very rarely seen learning something in class or poring over their homework. And why would they be? There are boys to obsess over, school plays to audition for, and moments that will scar them forever to experience. 

Rarely has there ever been a more frank, honest, and hilarious exploration of the middle school years than Pen15. Much was made during the show’s first season about the adult Konkle and Erskine’s ability to portray their younger selves. And in season 2, they blend in so seamlessly that the novelty of the casting choice might never even occur to the viewer. 

– Alec Bojalad

19. I Hate Suzie

The last time playwright Lucy Prebble wrote a TV series for Billie Piper, it was 2007’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl. London-set, glamorous, sexy and funny, that was a distinctly twentysomething story. Over a decade later, Prebble and Piper reunited to do something different in I Hate Suzie; still funny, but rawer, more experimental, and probing all the ways that a thirtysomething woman’s identity – wife, mother, and in this case, celebrity – can be defined by everything except herself. 

Piper plays popstar-turned actor Suzie, whose life explodes when hacked photos of her cheating on her husband leak online. Suzie goes through the stages of grief in eight riotous half-hour episodes that experiment with form and genre. There’s drama. There’s satire. There’s singing and dancing. There’s Dexter Fletcher doing coke off a bare arse, and a whole-episode wank that explores the societal construction of female desire. It is, in modern parlance, a lot, in the most exhilarating and enriching way. These two had better not leave it another 10 years until their next collaboration. We demand more. 

– Louisa Mellor 

18. Rick and Morty

Did you hear? This guy turns himself into a pickle…a PICKLE! It’s wild. Every subsequent year that Rick and Morty airs, it gets harder to separate the “meme” of Rick and Morty from the show itself. Suppose that’s just what happens when a fanbase proves itself to be…uh, energetic, and the Merchandising Industrial Complex kicks itself into overdrive to produce some truly offensively bad Big Dog-style shirts. 

Removed from the meta of it all, Rick and Morty still churned out some great episodes of television in 2020. The back half of the series’ two-part season 4 all aired this year and there were real gems included among them. Though it proved to be divisive, “Never Ricking Morty” was certainly among the most structurally ambitious installments the show has ever attempted. Then there was just the sublimely hilarious “The Vat of Acid Episode,” which was enough to earn the show a Best Animated Series Emmy. 

– Alec Bojalad

17. Dark

Dark is already notable for reaching levels of popularity in the United States not often enjoyed by subtitled fare, but it also was afforded the rare opportunity to end on its own terms with its third season in 2020. Audiences fell in love with the generational stories of the families living around the nuclear power plant in Winden, Germany, marveling at casting choices for characters in their older or younger forms whose resemblances were spot on.

The time travel plot tied viewers’ brains into knots, but the desire to see an end to the apocalypse was made even deeper by the strong chemistry between Dark’s own Adam and Eve: Jonas and Martha. As the true source of the alternate timelines and causal loops became known, everything about the show’s reality was called into question, but the ending left a lingering question mark to entice fans to speculate long after the show had ended. 

– Michael Ahr

16. The Untamed

While The Untamed technically premiered in 2019, the Chinese xianxia drama was one of the escapist stories that most defined a year we all wanted to get as far away from as possible. Bursting onto the transformative fandom scene to come in ninth on Tumblr’s list of the most-discussed live action TV shows of 2020, the foreign-language fantasy series tells the story of supernatural flautist Wei Wuixan (Xiao Zhan) from his humble beginnings as a teen cultivator-in-training to his controversial role as a demonic cultivator war hero to his time as a masked detective after he is mysteriously brought back to life in a stranger’s body 13 years after his gruesome death. 

But, like any good melodrama, The Untamed is really all about the relationships. This is a complex emotional story about siblings and sects, honor and morality. At the heart of the interpersonal narrative is the epic romance between Wei Wuixan and his stoic swordsman boyfriend Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo). The Untamed is adapted from an explicitly queer web novel, but China’s anti-LGBTQ censorship laws require the series tell its love story via lingering gazes, clasped wrists, and declarations of undying devotion. The result is no less queer, as these canonical soulmates sacrifice everything but their fervid commitment to protect the innocent for one another. 

– Kayti Burt

15. The Haunting of Bly Manor

In 2018, Netflix shrieked its way into the spooky season game with the breakout hit The Haunting of Hill House. The streamer then afforded creator Mike Flanagan the opportunity to American Horror Story-ize his work into an anthology of his own, thus The Haunting series was born. In typical second child fashion, The Haunting of Bly Manor had a world of expectations to live up to, which included its often-adapted source material, primarily the novella Turn of The Screw by Henry James (or Hank Jim as we like to call him) among two other works. Flanagan, who’s a heavyweight in the horror genre at this point, again eschewed a direct remake for a loose adaptation with Bly Manor, a slow burn, but ultimately a deeply personal and satisfying tale of ghosts, both of the faced and faceless variety, intertwined with Gothic romance.

The returning players from the previous season, Victoria Pedretti (Dani), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Peter Quint), Henry Thomas (Henry Wingrave), Carla Gugino (The Storyteller), and Kate Siegel (a surprise character in an excellent episode 8), bring back some of the winning chemistry from Hill House. However it’s the newcomers to the series, T’Nia Miller as Hannah Grose the housekeeper, Amelia Eve as Jamie the gardener, and Rahul Kohli as Owen the cook, whose standout performances ground Flanagan’s headier concepts, like the series’ mesmerizing fifth episode. It’s through these characters that Bly Manor poignantly articulates how love can be as much of a burden as it is a blessing. Not long after your Bly Manor binge is complete, Flora’s line, “You said it was a ghost story. It isn’t. It’s a love story,” will crystallize the throughline Flanagan was gunning for. And if that line isn’t a lasting memory of the limited series, perhaps it’s Owen’s lucious mustache, the best on TV in 2020, that will live on. 

– Chris Longo

14. Ted Lasso

In a relentlessly dark year, Ted Lasso was one of the few rays of sunshine that warmed our hearts. Its title character is so pleasant and optimistic, he makes Leslie Knope look like a curmudgeon by comparison. Folksy, thoughtful, and almost aggressively friendly, Jason Sudeikis’s Lasso is hired to lead a struggling English Premier League team in a move of sabotage, but ends up charming the pants off of the squad and proving the power of positivity. 

The character is practically impossible not to like, and in a time of so much anxiety and frustration, it’s refreshing to spend time with someone like Ted. The title coach isn’t the only reason to watch; the show features well-crafted characters with satisfying individual arcs, comforting, yet well-executed sports movie tropes, and funny fish out of water culture clash moments. Ted Lasso is a breezy, low-effort experience that makes you feel good. What more could you ask for in 2020? 

– Nick Harley

13. The Umbrella Academy

The first season of The Umbrella Academy was already a stellar achievement in adapting the gloriously weird Gerard Way/Gabriel Bá graphic novels, but season 2 took the show to another level in 2020. The varied reactions of the superpowered family to being stranded in 1960s Dallas were extremely enlightening and made the characters even more enjoyable with all of their quirks, flaws, and emotional depth.

Of particular interest was the manner in which Allison strove to lead a normal life with a husband that loved her despite the difficulties of being Black in the segregated South and her determination not to use her powers. Fan favorite character Ben also received a noble and inspiring arc that led to a completely new role for him in season 3. Although there are plenty of mysteries remaining, the unfolding backstory leaves us always wanting more of The Umbrella Academy. 

– Michael Ahr

12. The Great

“Russia must be saved, and I with it.” An occasionally true story from The Favourite co-screenwriter Tony McNamara, The Great is a satirical look at the rise of Russian monarch Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning, getting a chance to show off her comedic chops), from her arrival from Prussia as a naive teen bride to her time plotting the death of her husband, Emperor Peter III (Nicholas Hoult, seemingly having the time of his career). The Great is cutting, clever, and hilarious, but, like The Favourite before it, its true secret weapon lies in its moments of earnest emotion. 

The Hulu series revels in the often absurd nature of its subject matter, but not at the cost of ignoring the trauma and joys of its often gruesome world. The unpredictability of which kind of scene you will get next—absurd, deeply emotional, or both—creates a fantastic dramatic tension that sustains throughout the entire 10-episode first season, perhaps necessary in a story that, should it follow the broadest of historical strokes, the viewer knows will end in Catherine’s triumph. Huzzah! 

– Kayti Burt

11. Harley Quinn

This year, we found out the answer to a question that no one was really asking – “who would win: a big budget Birds of Prey DC spinoff movie starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, or one small Harley Quinn-focused animated series that was seemingly about to be left for dead on the ailing DC Universe streaming service?” Harley Quinn won, for everyone who cared to investigate, as the show leveled up in season 2 by having the balls to let Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel fall in love with her sardonic roommate Poison Ivy on screen and ditch any lingering feelings she had for the Joker, but for those not invested in the romance (they should go have a soup and rethink their priorities) there was so much else going on beyond deconstructing its central character.

Animated shows are typically seen as an immature, lesser form of entertainment than live-action series, but just imagining the creativity you’d need to come up with this many running jokes, in-jokes and meta jokes for the larger-than-life characters of Gotham is exhausting. There’s so much writing talent behind Harley Quinn that a third season wasn’t just expected, but demanded. And indeed, Harley Quinn will live on at HBO Max, but if it hadn’t happened, we’d do what the Doctor ordered and RIOT. 

– Kirsten Howard

10. BoJack Horseman

Through its superb six-season run, BoJack Horseman’s tonal brilliance came to be an expected fact of life. Early on, it was tempting to pull non-viewers aside, shake their shoulders, and yell in their face “No, you don’t get it! It’s an animated comedy about a horse that was a ‘90s sitcom, yes, but it’s also a searing exploration of depression, dysfunction, and the dismal nature of the human condition!” It’s to the show’s eternal credit that that stellar comedic/dramatic tightrope act became all but a given a few seasons in and the world adjusted to it thusly. But even with that level of familiarity and comfort, it’s jarring just how well the show pulls off that delicate formula in its final, and perhaps best season. 

BoJack Horseman season 6 premiered eight of its final 16 episodes in 2020’s first month and their dramatic resonance carried through the rest of the year. The story ends here as we always expected it might. BoJack’s past finally catches up to him, and when he becomes a pop culture pariah, he slowly begins to undo whatever progress he made throughout the series, culminating in a stunning penultimate episode where BoJack faces the infinite and meets up with all the figures in his life who died along the way. But it’s not until the show’s very end where the message comes into clear focus. BoJack has to start all over again, just like we all must from time to time. The difference this time is that the other people in his life are finally prepared to move on…possibly without him. “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if this night was the last time we ever talked to each other?” BoJack says to Diane as they look up at the Hollywood night sky. Wouldn’t it be funny indeed. 

– Alec Bojalad

9. Legends of Tomorrow

There is no superhero TV show that has strayed as far from its superheroic roots than Legends of Tomorrow. Despite the fact that its full official title is quick to point out that this is indeed DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, you’d be hard pressed to find a DC show less overtly concerned about its comic book roots, or even with any synergistic responsibilities it may have to the other DC shows in its orbit. Sure, Supergirl, Black Lightning, The Flash, and Stargirl are great, and they’re note perfect representations of what makes those characters special, but Legends does everything those other shows do, but with far less recognizable characters, with far more laughs, and an effortlessly perfect ensemble cast boasting chemistry for days.   

No matter how high the reality-altering stakes, it all seems less important than watching the friendships between this crew of superheroic time traveling misfits. Legends of Tomorrow is everything good and hopeful and pure (ok, well…maybe not pure, especially where Matt Ryan’s John Constantine is concerned) about superhero shows without any of the baggage, and often without the superheroics. Always hilarious and often surprisingly touching, there’s not a single superhero team on the big or small screen that you’d rather actually hang out with. You don’t have to love superhero TV to love Legends, you just have to love TV. 

– Mike Cecchini

8. Schitt’s Creek

People who love Schitt’s Creek LOVE Schitt’s Creek. It’s almost become cult-like in its following, so the arrival of the sixth and final season felt like an event and the end of a journey not just for fans of the show but the stars themselves. Season six isn’t the best season of Schitt’s – it leans into the schmaltz and sentiment heavily and throws realism to the wind in favor of the absurd but if you’ve come this far with the displaced Rose family and the sometimes odd but overall endearing residents of Schitt’s Creek, you won’t be disappointed. 

All the major players get their arc. Alexis and Ted’s separation is heartbreaking, Moira’s Crows movie premiere is a hilarious mess, some of the Jazzagals almost join a cult… the season is packed with ridiculous scenarios in between many more moments of genuine sweetness as it gently guides its characters to an end. The finale comes together with David’s wedding to Patrick – a perfectly idiosyncratic affair in the Schitt’s Creek town hall. It’s a moving send off to which we’re all invited. 

This is a show about family and community, created by a real family – father and son Eugene and Daniel Levy (sister Sarah plays Twyla) – that spawned a community of fans. This might be the end of Schitt’s Creek but we can always re-visit. 

– Rosie Fletcher

7. Devs

Alex Garland’s unsettling, yet visually gorgeous science-fiction parables are always thought-provoking, but FX’s Devs asks bigger questions than any of the writer/directors previous projects. Do we determine our own fates? Does the multiverse exist? Can computers predict our future? Devs isn’t just heady techno-philosophical musings, it spends its runtime being a pretty satisfying corporate thriller, with our protagonist Lily (Sonoya Mizuno) investigating the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend.

This is a somewhat scathing indictment on Silicon Valley culture, with a Google-esque tech company operating with unmatched power in the shadows. Featuring a moving dramatic performance from Nick Offerman and a star-making turn from Sonoya Mizuno, Devs is just as pretty, existentially threatening, and hard sci-fi as Garland’s beloved films Ex Machina and Annihilation. If you love thrillers, but are also interested in Quantum Theory, this was the limited series you’d been waiting for in 2020.

 – Nick Harley

6. The Mandalorian (READERS’ CHOICE)

Starting with its first season and extending into its improved second, The Mandalorian just works. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s creation about the galaxy’s most beloved bounty hunter dad is the kind of forward-thinking Star Wars project that works perfectly on a streaming platform. 

If you’re a massive Star Wars nerd, The Mandalorian continues to provide plenty of Easter eggs and callbacks for you, but the show excels at being both a fun reentry point for fans fatigued with the sequels and prequels, and a standalone adventure series for viewers who don’t have much knowledge of Star Wars at all, deftly creating a string of sidequests in a galaxy far, far away that put you firmly in the beautiful Lone Wolf and Cub-like tale of Mando and Grogu as they fly toward an unknown future.

As we recently learned, there will come a time in the next few years when we will be simply drowning in Star Wars TV series, as ten(!) of them are in development, but for now, we get to really savor the intricate worldbuilding going on in The Mandalorian.

This is the way. 

– Kirsten Howard

5. The Boys

The Boys was a breakout hit when it first landed on Amazon’s streaming service, but when the series returned, there was a bit of a backlash from fans of the show who were enraged that some of its new episodes would arrive weekly, unlike the binge-ready first season. Luckily, Season 2 had so many “what the fuck” moments in store that the griping soon quietened down, and the show eventually found its stride again after a slow start. Our diabolical, supe-fighting team led by a rather distracted Billy Butcher dealt with one bonkers revelation about Vought International after another this season, while the Supes themselves battled with their own humanity, and both groups often found common ground where they least expected it. 

It’s really hard to pick a favorite moment from Season 2, but if you’ve forgotten how out there it was, let us present a wild bouquet that includes “Homelander angrily wanking over the city in the form of his own demented Bat-Signal”, “The Seven filming a very (very) thinly-veiled Zack Snyder-esque superhero movie that had undergone a Joss Whedon rewrite”, “a massive-dicked supe-in-captivity called Love Sausage”, and “a timid child getting confidently pushed off the roof of a house by his own beaming father”. And that’s without bringing up the whole “immortal Nazi” stuff that occasionally propelled the narrative into Verhoeven-level satirical territory.

There were things that didnt work about Season 2, and we can argue about them forever, but there’s one thing that everyone can agree on: if Antony Starr doesn’t get two armfuls of awards for his performance as Homelander, a fucking travesty has occurred. 

– Kirsten Howard

4. I May Destroy You

On a night out while writing the second series of her acclaimed sitcom Chewing Gum, Michaela Coel was drugged and sexually assaulted by strangers. What she did with that experience – alchemizing it into a wise and fearless TV drama about trauma and survival – was extraordinary. 

I May Destroy You is an extraordinary series. In it, Coel plays Arabella, a young writer also drugged and raped on a night out, while under pressure from publishers to follow up her hit book debut. With long-ranging flashbacks, the story moves through the next year in Bella’s life. We see her draw power from her new identity as a survivor and (often clumsily) navigate close friendships and new sexual relationships. She strays from likeability, changing in response to what happened, and in a transcendent, experimental finale, teaches herself how to live.

Coel is a bewitching lead with excellent support from Weruche Opia and Paapa Essiedu as Bella’s friends Terry and Kwame. This is no dreary misery memoir. It’s surprising, confrontational, often funny and always buzzing with life – a frank and much needed course correction for telling this kind of story on screen.

 – Louisa Mellor

3. What We Do in the Shadows

Over the past decade of television, we’ve come to expect a lot out of our TV comedies. Since the Emmy Awards now categorize just about anything that��s 30 minutes long as comedy, the genre is now home to things like shockingly dramatic coming of age tales, intensely personal narratives, and experimental structures. This evolving of the half hour format is a welcome one. At the same time, however, sometimes you just want to laugh.

Enter What We Do in the Shadows. In its remarkable 10-episode second season, this FX adaptation of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s movie of the same name made a serious case for itself as the funniest show on television. And it did so in shockingly simple fashion. In season 2, the character list remains short: just Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) make up the show’s cast of characters for the most part (give or take a Mark Hamill or Nick Kroll). And that’s all they need. 

This year, the writers and performers all operate at the top of their game to make every possible plotline work and every character pairing sing. The comedic energy is top notch from the season’s opening “Resurrection” episode through midseason classics “Colin’s Promotion” and “On The Run” and all the way to the finale “Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires.”

– Alec Bojalad

2. Better Call Saul

The penultimate season of Better Call Saul was an absolutely brilliant run of episodes that perfectly set the stage for a climactic conclusion that looks to be every bit as heart-wrenching and explosive as the final season of parent series Breaking Bad. The show successfully introduced Lalo, perhaps the most charismatic and terrifying villain in Vince Gilligan’s Albuquerque, and merged the series’ seemingly disparate storylines by bringing fan-favorite Kim Wexler closer to the dangerous dealings of the cartel.  

It turns out that Jimmy becoming Saul wasn’t the tragedy that we should have been anticipating, it was Kim embracing the Saul way that we should have been worried about. The show’s strengths have always been its meticulous attention to details, fascination with processes, and humanistic view of exactly why someone like Jimmy McGill might break bad and become a dishonorable huckster like Saul Goodman. Those strengths only became more apparent in the thrilling, low-key heartbreaking fifth season.

 – Nick Harley

1. The Queen’s Gambit

Oftentimes when assessing the quality of TV shows, we talk about how “timely” they are. In fact, if you scroll back through this list, you will find at least a few instances of just such language. The appeal to Netflix’s stylish, thrilling limited series The Queen’s Gambit, however, is just how timeless it is. And in a year with plenty of timely TV shows, that distinction was enough to launch the show to the very top of our best-of list. 

Though we on the television side of Den of Geek are loath to call any rightful TV show an “x-hour movie,” there’s no denying that The Queen’s Gambit fits that mold. But this is not just any kind of filmic experience. It’s a throwback to a ‘70s and ‘80s style of simple, elemental storytelling that simply knows how to win over an audience. The beats of The Queen’s Gambit are predictable, but elegant and perfectly executed. Beth Harmon (the ethereal Anya Taylor-Joy) is a quiet, wide-eyed hero armed with one skill that can make the world care about her and in turn make her care about herself. 

So she uses that skill and assembles her tools – her King, Queen, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns, to embark on a classical bildungsroman journey of self-discovery and chess dominance. Like a deftly executed chess game itself, each of The Queen’s Gambit’s seven episodes acts like a move on a chess board. Some moments are triumphs, some are defeats, and some are sacrifices. But they all lead into one definitive, enormously satisfying checkmate. 

– Alec Bojalad

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Other shows receiving votes: Animaniacs, Ozark, High Fidelity, Star Trek: Picard, The Last Dance, Mrs. America, Solar Opposites, The Hollow, Killing Eve, Noughts + Crosses, Outlander, Star Trek: Discovery, Vida, Saved by the Bell, Lucifer, Gangs of London, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, World on Fire, Crash Landing on You, Infinity Train, Locke & Key, McDonalds & Dobbs, Into the Night, The Good Lord Bird, The Last Kingdom, DuckTales, Little Fires Everywhere, Normal People, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Pharmacist, Doctor Who, Away, Dublin Murders, Great Pretender, The Babysitters Club, Tiger King, The Crown, Ramy, The Shivering Truth, Perry Mason, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, The Undoing, Westworld, Doom Patrol, Stargirl, The Clone Wars, P-Valley, Bridgerton, Homeland, Stumptown, The Magicians, Bob’s Burgers, Primal, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Search Party, Roadkill, Raised by Wolves, The Flight Attendant, The Eric Andre Show, Defending Jacob, The Outsider, Julie and the Phantoms, Brave New World, Utopia, Carmen Sandiego, Brockmire, Somebody Feed Phil, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Dead to Me, The Gift, Ghosts, YOLO: Crystal Fantasy, The 100, The Spanish Princess, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Adult Material, Fargo, Deadwater Fell, The Flash, Archer, Weird But True, Evil, Motherland: Fort Salem, Baghdad Central

The post The Best TV Shows of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[jennaschererwrites]

Dirty Dancing: 10 Most WTF Moments from ABC's TV Remake - Rolling Stone

The original 1987 Dirty Dancing is a movie that worked against all odds. Eighties sensibility (and hairstyles and theme song) shoehorned into a Sixties nostalgia piece, a miniscule budget, a cast of unknowns, and a troubled production – not to mention a heroine named … Baby. And yet it positively crackled, thanks to Eleanor Bergstein's deeply personal script, crazy chemistry between leads Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, and the ethereal gyrations of the late, great Swayze.

Wayne Blair and Jessica Sharzer's remake attempts to be all things to all people, and ends up being nothing to anybody. The 2017 made-for-TV Dirty Dancing manages to be both a grim, workmanlike re-creation of the original – some scenes are rehashed shot for shot – and also a vast extrapolation that bloats the original's runtime by more than an hour. It's also a musical (but only sorta), a melodrama about the decay of marriages, and a clumsy (if well-meaning) treatise on issues ranging from feminism to institutionalized racism.

Buried among all this is the original story: about Frances "Baby" Houseman (a wildly miscast Abigail Breslin), a teen who goes on vacation with her family to a 1960s Borscht Belt resort and experiences a psychosexual awakening while also learning the Mambo. But those unfamiliar with the original material would be forgiven for not following that thread, given how many other ones Sharzer's rambling screenplay has attempted to weave in. Here are just a few of the moments that had us shouting "No!" at our TV screens while clutching our VHS copy of the original to our hearts.

1. The Framing Story Confusingly enough, the Catskills-set tale begins with a helicopter shot of…the Manhattan skyline? It's 1975 for some reason, and a bunch of hastily costumed extras are standing outside a Broadway theater that's showing a sold-out production of something called Dirty Dancing: The Musical. And if that wasn't "What the huh?" enough for you, Baby herself grabs an orchestra seat to watch, voiceover-ing to herself: "You never forget your first love. You carry it with you always." And if she'd added …like a watermelon we could almost forgive this nonsense. But she does not, and it's flashback time. Kellerman's! 1963!

2. The Dirty Dancing Isn't Dirty The moment when the original Dirty Dancing blows wide open is when buttoned-up Baby finds herself inside a packed, sweaty staff party where Kellerman's working classers are grinding against each other with impunity. In the remake, she encounters a largely empty room in which clean-cut choristers perform obviously choreographed dance moves with all the sexual charge of a church social. This is also our big intro to Johnny Castle, the bad-boy dance instructor who'll steal Baby's heart, played with put-upon exhaustion by Colt Prattes. This scene made us wonder if Kellerman's had fallen prey to some kind of Westworld scenario in which chiseled robots dutifully performed the motions of carefree pleasure without actually experiencing it. Has anybody checked for a mysterious maze behind the dance studio?

3. It's a Musical…Kinda? Blair and Sharzer seemed to have half-decided to make Dirty Dancing a musical without fully committing. The remake features most of the Sixties and Eighties tunes from the original soundtrack, but made some of them sung by the actors and others played as incidental music. Case in point: Johnny sings the Contours' "Do You Love Me" while gyrating at the party, but later dances mutely to a cover of Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes" playing over the action. Make up your mind, movie! The sung-through parts add nothing to the movie, other than proving that ABC can do a "musical event" just like Fox and NBC can.

4. Too Many Subplots Did we really need to know how Baby's sister, Lisa, got the ukulele she plays in the talent show? Or how Baby got her iconic white dress? So very clearly not. The remake provides no shortage of side stories, most notably the tale of Mrs. Houseman (Debra Messing) and her frustration with her distant husband (Bruce Greenwood). We're glad your working through some stuff, Marjorie, but it's a tangent that's given so much screen time that it threatens to engulf the main plot.

5. So Much for That Lift Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin has many virtues as an actor, but dancing ability is not one. A good chunk of Dirty Dancing is a Baby-gets-better-at-Mambo montage, and in the original it's fun to watch her go from awkward to smooth. In this one, she never improves – but everyone acts like she does. It hurts our hearts to watch Breslin and Prattes practice the most uncomfortable, splay-legged lifts in the history of dance in a pristine pond, pretending that anything graceful at all is happening. If nothing else, at least we get to stare at Johnny's abs, which are pretty much the only well-formed thing in this entire movie.

6. So Much for That Sex Scene Grey and Swayze famously hated working together, but their onscreen sparks were visible from space. The same can certainly not be said for Breslin and Prattes, who both look vaguely put out anytime they have to so much as smooch. The ook factor reaches its zenith in the iconic "Cry to Me" sex scene, which is cringingly restaged – from swirling dip to bare-chest caress – in a way that only emphasizes how little the actors seem to be comfortable making physical contact. We do indeed feel like cryin'.

7. Too Many Issues With its sex positivity, strong-willed heroine and frank discussion of abortion, Bergstein's original movie was a surprisingly feminist piece of cinema for its day. The remake attempts to bring that subtext to the fore, but in doing so undermines its own message. Baby 2.0 is reading The Feminine Mystique and dreaming of becoming a surgeon like her dad, sure; but Sharzer's script also takes icky glee in slut-shaming an older female character (Katey Sagal) and is generally more prudish than the source material. The remake also attempts to touch on racism and sexual assault, but does both so glancingly that it feels cheap.

8. The Autotuned Covers That this Dirty Dancing is tonally all over the map is no more obvious than in the millennialed-up versions of songs from the original soundtrack. We kinda feel like we're at the Kellerman's of old with straight-up covers like Lady Antebellum's "Hey Baby" and Seal's "Cry to Me." But watching Baby learn to dance to Greyson Chance's goopy electronic take on "Hungry Eyes," or seeing Johnny drive away to Calum Scott's over-produced "She's Like the Wind" (originally sung on the soundtrack by Swayze himself) take us right out of the story. We get that ABC wanted to chart on iTunes, but come on. No one's heart is bursting or breaking to this much autotuning.

9. We Are Not Having the Time of Our Lives And it has come to this: the Kellerman's talent show. Baby is sitting in her corner (reading The Bell Jar! Take it down a notch, Baby), missing Johnny. But does he coolly enter in the middle of a song like Swayze does? Oh no, my friends. "This is a summer I'll always remember," Mr. Kellerman declares from the stage. "A summer of family. A summer of friendship. A summer…" "…of LOVE!" Johnny declares, bursting into the room. Dude. For one thing, the Summer of Love isn't happening for another four years. In this version, "I've Had the Time of My Life" becomes a full-cast musical number, which Johnny prefaces by declaring, in case you were confused, "I had the time of my life with you this summer." And to our dismay, Baby still hasn't nailed that lift.

10. What the Hell Was That Ending? Just as we're all dozing off because this thing has already been on for almost three hours, we're back with future Baby in 1975, in the audience of that Broadway play that is confusingly also her life. Baby hangs around the theater afterwards to meet up with…Johnny! Who choreographed a musical, based on a book that Baby wrote about that one crazy summer at Kellerman's! (So much for her becoming a surgeon, we guess?) Into this awkwardness enters Baby's husband, who is not Johnny, and their child, and Johnny looks wistful, or maybe just confused as to how Dirty Dancing has managed to defy space-time and rip off La La Land. It's an unnecessary, annoying coda to an unnecessary, annoying movie. And just when you think it's over, Johnny says, "Hey. Keep on dancing." We would prefer not to.

#dirty dancing #dirty dancing remake #dirty dancing abc #jenna scherer #rolling stone #bad television #tv #tv recap #johnny castle #Jessica Sharzer #wayne blair #kellerman's #abigail breslin #frances houseman #colt prattes #debra messing

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… American Gods (S01E03) Head Full of Snow Airdate: May 14, 2017 @stzamericangods Ratings: 0.716 Million :: 0.28 18-49 Demo Share Score: 9.25/10

**********SPOILERS BELOW**********

It’s amusing to see all the ‘WTF?!’ comments and viewers delightfully claiming they have ‘no idea what’s going on’, but vacantly profess to love it anyway. It’s that type of attitude that gives episodes that aren’t quite up to par (see American God’s opener 'The Bone Orchard’) a pass with the masses, even when the following two episodes blow it away in substance and scrupulously crafted content… Each scene in both 'The Secret of Spoons’ & the currently reviewed 'Head Full of Snow’ not only yields the visual feast the first episode provided, it tacks on a rich backbone for the series to craft its wages of war on.

If the Gods we have come to meet in E1 & E2 are crafty, violent, or manipulative…even all consuming… then the Gods in E3 are grounded, compassionate, and gentle… A juxtaposition shown in spades in both The Jinn (Mousa Kraish) and Anubis, the Egyptian God of Death & Mummification (Chris Obi). Anubis’ introduction is calming and somber, even when he rips out Mrs. Fadil’s heart to weigh its virtues to decide her fate. Before that act he tastes her cooking to give her a final validation and also allows her to fix her clothing on her corpse, granting her dignity in her post-final moments. This is an amazing lens to view the inevitable and final act of death in, one I hope to see when the final spurt of DMT transmits my consciousness through the forbidden fractals of human eradication and takes me to wherever those doors of psychedelia have promised me a peaceful home in the endless and vast experience of infinity.

The Jinn’s scenes are literally spellbinding… A down on his luck salesman shackled to his current help by his relative, Salim (Omid Abtahi) selling trinkets of little value hops into a cab that will forever change his life… Guess there are advantages to not taking Uber after all. Salim exchanges stories with The Jinn… The audience is immediately keyed in as the The Jinn is wearing dark sunglasses at night in New York in the pouring rain. He drifts off at a stop after revealing he’d been driving the cab for 36-hours straight… Giving way for Salim to lean in close as the camera keeps a steady lock erupting in anticipation on his hand as he gently toggles The Jinn awake, exposing the literal fire in his eyes.

Upon this fiery revelation, Salim reveals he has an understanding of The Jinn’s existence and struggle through a story told by a relative from his home country. As The Jinn confesses his frustrations with his current job driving a taxi, Salim once again draws forward and this time advances in and caresses the same shoulder he once toggled to wake him… A gesture that’s met with a sultry return. If there was any question as to their brewing sexual chemistry, Salim hops out of the cab and tells The Jinn that he’s in Room 318 right as a beautiful woman hops in the backseat barking out directions. The camera immediately cuts to an titled, low angle, claustrophobic shot of Salim & The Jinn riding the elevator together to the 3rd floor, slowly holding steady, rattling the romantic suspense, until they carefully grab for each other’s hands. Can you tell I loved this scene? Oh yeah… But it’s the following scene that absolutely floors me and takes my growing appreciation and attachment to 'American Gods’ to burgeoning new heights.

“I wish you could see what I see,” Salim tenderly expresses his amazement as The Jinn exits the bathroom in just a towel. His rugged features are highlighted by the perfect lighting… His swelling, seasoned hyper-masculinity, hairy chest, thick beard, and actual fiery eyes contrast to Salim’s soft, more angular but still masculine features. The towel drops and I want to say that The Jinn’s most definitely is wearing a prosthetic cock… As a purist, and a lover of the *natural* human form, of both male and female… I do wish they would have used Mousa’s real nude body, all of it… Not just because I admire him, but because it gives boys and men (and females too, most definitely females) a false idea of what real male genitalia is like. Not that what Mousa is sporting here, a flaccid wonder, doesn’t exist in the world… And I did consider that they chose the prosthetic because it was a God and they wanted to really vitalize Jinn’s masculinity and godliness, even making his presence intimidating, complimenting the fire shooting from his eyes… But for the record, if that’s what Mousa is like flaccid then Salim must be a pro. It’s really my only complaint, a small (technically huge) one at that, to an otherwise perfect scene.

A passionate, gay Muslim sex scene… Yes. In 2017. The music, the drums, the fluidity of their motion, the close-ups, the juxtaposition of Mousa’s weathered, rugged body and Omid’s vibrant, smooth skin, the flesh colored sheets, the sudden transportation into the starry, sand soaked dessert as a backdrop, Mousa’s thrusting, transference of energy and fire into Omid’s body, moving from his bottom half where he is being entered towards his solar plexus… The fire escaping his mouth and lighting up his green eyes, eventually setting them ablaze… And back into reality where Omid lays vulnerably on his soft sheets, in complete awe, fading into darkness…. PHEEEEEEWWWW! Not since 2015, when Netflix’s Sense8 rocked the world with their polysexual orgy scene to Fatboy Slim & Macy Gray’s 'Demons’ have we seen a sex scene this intensely and shockingly erotic. The metaphors within 'American Gods’ literally slam you over the head with a hammer, but it works. The Jinn’s fiery nature certainly translates into the bedroom… And I don’t care what the rest of 2017 has in store for us… I’m calling this this 'The Best Sex Scene of The Year’.

Salim awakens by himself, but The Jinn’s clothes are left on the floor… In them are the keys to a taxi and a brand new identification card. Jinn’s may not grant wishes, but they certainly have a way of altering people’s lives right when they need it the most… As clearly the man in the identification card is neither The Jinn or Omid. Something tells me that won’t stop Omid from living out his new life to the fullest extent. What does that say about Americans? You tell me… What can I say, it’s a melting pot but all the ingredients seem to separate when boiled.

Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane) has an ironically intense and passionate scene with Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman) sharing a buzz-worthy kiss that proves that even the elderly are human and spark a bit of electricity now and again. Coincidentally, Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) meets the unseen third Zorya Sister, Zorya Polunochnaya (Erika Kaar), and is kissed innocently, but ambush style, as Zorya explains she has never kissed a man before… And yeah even Shadow is unable to pronounce her last name, good thing the three sisters share a first name and not a last. Unlike her other sisters, this Zorya is young & beautiful and watches the stars to make sure a beast stays trapped in the midst of space. She reaches out and grabs the moon and literally gives it to Shadow… How many time-worn lovers have promised that one? This Zorya can do it! And it brings good fortune to Shadow, who awakens to re-challenge Czernobog (Peter Stormare) in another game of checkers and wins both his life back and the strength of Czernobog & his trust hammer in the impending fight of the Gods.

Shadow and Mr Wednesday continue on their journey, strategically robbing a bank in the most inventive way possible, much to Shadow’s opposition. Though the more Shadow is introduced to this strange new world of Gods where anything is possible, roads are made of marshmallows, he himself can will it to snow, and Leprechauns named Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) that are close to 7 feet tall can lose his lucky coin and are plagued without with bad luck (even 'A Good Samaritan’, played by the legendary Scott Thompson is killed immediately upon giving him a lift), the more that Shadow becomes comfortable and sound in his surroundings. As the episode closes out and Sweeney digs at Laura Moon’s grave to retrieve his lucky coin, he reaches her final resting place and finds that the coin Shadow had flipped onto her gravesite and sank into the ground had penetrated the coffin leaving a coin size hole near the top… Slick cut editing shows Sweeney revealing an empty grave and Shadow opening his hotel to Laura Moon, who casually remarks… 'Hi, puppy.’ Yup. You’re watching 'American Gods’.

#American Gods #STARZ #american gods starz #Shadow Moon #Laura Moon #mr wednesday #Ricky Whittle #Emily Browning #pablo schreiber #Mad Sweeney #Ian McShane #Gillian Anderson #Media #cloris leachman #zorya vechernyaya #zorya polunochnaya #zorya utrennyaya #zorya sisters #Peter Stornare #czernobog #erika kaar #Omid Abtahi #Chris Obi #Anubis #mousa kraish #The Jinn #Scott Thompson #Kevin Cage #Spotlight Saga #spotlightsaga

[lovemesomesurveys]

5,000 question survey series--part thirty-one

2901. have you ever written a letter to: a friend: Nope. a lover: Nope. a celebrity: Yes. congress/house/reps: No. the president/leader of your country: Yes. 2902. Why are cigarette companies allowed to manufacture and sell cigarettes when they are so unhealthy and dangerous? They are getting rich on the deaths of the people you love who smoke. I don’t know, man. I do think it’s pretty messed up that it’s so easy to get cigarettes, but we now have to jump through hoops to get pain medications. People with chronic pain like me who seriously need it. With documented, legit reasons. Thankfully, I found a good pain specialist after my primary told me he no longer could prescribe. I had to go through a couple different ones, though. A family friend of ours; however, with diabetic neuropathy was told by his doctor that she “doesn’t believe in pain.” Wtf?? You are a doctor. It is scientifically proven that pain exists. We know this. Neurons shoot off signals and all that technical stuff. Something like diabetic neuropathy is known to cause pain, I mean it’s nerve damage. I couldn’t believe it. 2903. Do you chat with people in an elevator? No, unless they say something to me first. It’s always so awkward. 2904. What's your favorite Jack Nicholson movie? I don’t have one. 2905. Who should play the part of Superman? The guy who plays him now is fine. I’m blanking on his name at the moment...

2906. Do you like when your friends and your mate's friends hang out? I’m single. 2907. Doritos or Cheetos? I like both. I like the Nacho, Spicy Nacho, and Cool Ranch varieties of Doritos, and I like the Flamin’ Hot and Xtra Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 2910. Do you brush your teeth three times a day? No. 2911. Should I stop making questions with multiple parts and just count each actual question as a question? Do what ya want. 2912. What gives your ego a boost? Nothing. 2913. What knocks your ego down? I don’t have an ego. I have low self-esteem and feel pretty crappy about myself regarding both my looks and my just me as a person. 2914. Live and let live or live and let die? Live and let live. 2915. What do you think of Damien Hirst's art piece Mother and Child, which is half a cow in formaldehyde? Whaaaaat? That sounds very disturbing. 2916. Why is it that 70 percent of Americans do not want to go to war with Iraq and yet we are going to war with Iraq anyway? Congress decides that.

Is this democracy? They have to vote within congress. 2917. Imagine you have two choices of what life you can live: One: You are provided with meals, medicine, clothes and shelter. You are always with your family. You can lie in the sun and smoke, drink, play, cook, etc.. There will be certain rules you must follow such as no killing, no hurting others, no leaving the commune you were born in, no stealing, no tv, no newspapers and no books. OR Two: You are turned loose in the world with nothing. You start out cold and hungry. You may stay cold and hungry forever but you also have the opportunity to try and make a life for yourself. This will take a lot of hard work and there is no guarantee you will ever live comfortably. Which life do you choose? Why? The second one is reality for some. The first one sounds good, but no TV and no books? I’m assuming that means no internet, either. Haha that’s my main concern of course. Just kidding. I guess; though, if I lived in a society like that, I wouldn’t know any different. I wouldn’t know about internet or what I was missing if I never had it. To have everything else provided for me and I can be with my family and we’re safe... I’d have to go with that. 2918. Why is there no 'Mr. America' pageant? Hm. I don’t know.

Should there be? Sure.

What qualities would YOU look for in a Mr. America if such a contest were to exist (like miss america he would have to be a role model)? A role model, yes. A respectable, intelligent, kind-hearted, caring, etc. All that good stuff. 2919. If something offends you do you feel that it has no right to exist? I mean, no? 2920. Why do advertisers seem to believe that guys will buy any product that a hot girl in a bikini is sitting next too? They’ve said for a long time that sex sells. They do the same thing with men in advertisements geared towards women. It catches people’s attention, and I guess it works. 2921. What would you do if your mom had a fight with a male acquaintance, and you heard an answering machine message he left her cursing at her, calling her names and being very disrespectful? There wouldn’t be a whole lot I could do. I’d be upset that someone was being so rude and disrespectful to my mom. My mom wouldn’t ignore something like that. She could handle it on her own, and she would. She’s not the type of person to just let that go. 2922. What do you represent? I don’t know. 2923. What message does ___ send when given as a birthday present? flowers: It’s nice. Can be a friendly gesture or a romantic one.

slippers: I don’t know. If that’s what the person asked for... otherwise it would seem a little weird and awkward.

candles: That can be nice.

diamond necklace: That would be a really nice gift. Very generous. That would likely be from a significant other, and it would be pretty serious.

gift certificate: Some people think gift certificates are lazy or not so.. personal? I like gift cards, though. Some people ask for them specifically.

cash: I’ll gladly take that as well.

books: I would love getting books. 2924. Have you ever completed a paint by number? Yeah.

If yes of what?/ I don’t remember. 2925. How long has it been since you colored in a coloring book? Like a few weeks. I want to start again, I just haven’t felt up to it. 2926. What have you been caught doing? Uhh. 2927. Does temptation make you do what you love? It can make me give into eating a lot of food. Ha. 2928. Do you have an gadgets in the house that you don't know how to use? What? Probably. 2929. Do you read the instructions to things or skip them? I read them, but I sometimes just skim through. 2930. Will you ever reach your full potential? I don’t feel like I will. 2931. Who is your biggest fan? My mom. Even though I feel like a failure and a loser and a let down... 2932. Who do you take care of? I guess myself, although not very well I admit. There’s a lot more I could and should be doing. I’ve been slacking with a lot of things. Stopped caring about certain things. Not good. :/

Who takes care of you? My parents. In the financial sense and in every other way. My mom, especially. She helps me a lot with health related things. She’s my rock. 2933. Do you think that lawyers should only argue cases when they feel like the client is in the right? I’ve wondered about that. How some will fight for someone who they may feel is actually in the wrong, but they want that money.

If you were a lawyer would you argue cases when you felt like your client was completely wrong? I don’t know if I could. 2934. Is it sexy in here or is it just me? It’s not sexy in here. 2935. You are giving out your phone number to a HOTTIE by writing it on a napkin. Do you write a little note or draw a picture too? If yes, what? I wouldn’t be doing any of that. 2936. Can you fold paper into anything (a hat, a swan, a boat, etc)? What? I suck at origami. 2937. How can a girl get a guy-she-is-dating's mom to like her better? What’s with the hyphens? You don’t need those there. Anyway, I don’t know. I’m just myself, and it seems to work when I when I meet anyone’s parents. 2938. What is one theory about life or anything that you came up with that no one else has? *shrug* 2939. Do you like answering questions about:

your life? I don’t usually mind in surveys. I ramble and overshare a lot. It’s a good way for me to vent. I’m certainly not that open in “real life.” I don’t spend much time talking about myself at all.

your taste? In what?

tv? Sure. I suck at choosing favorite TV shows, though. I have a lot.

music? ^^^

art? I don’t mind it. I don’t have a lot to say about it, though.

politics? Noo.

life? Guess it depends.

religion? I don’t mind being asked about it.

issues? Depends on what issue. I try and avoid the really controversial ones.

sex? I don’t have anything to talk about with that subject.

loved ones? Sure.

favorites? I always fail at those questions cause I can’t choose a particular favorite most of the time.

objects? That’s vague.

math? Nooo.

philosophy? Depends. Some of it can be over my head and a little too deep.

hypothetical situations? Sure.

things that require lots of thought? Depends. 2940. The mortuary science department is having a bake sale. Does this strike you as funny? It would sound disturbing. 2941. What would you think of a new reality tv game show where real life criminals on death row competed in life threatening tasks for the prize of a reduced sentence? I wouldn’t approve of that.

Did you know that they are considering making this a show? Nope.

Would you watch it? No. This survey is pretty old, and I’ve never heard anything about it. I don’t see how they could do a show like that. You can’t put people in life threatening situations. 2942. What was the last song you looked up the words to? I don’t remember. 2943. What Saturday morning cartoons do you like? Is that even a thing anymore? I miss that as a kid. 2944. If anything's possible, then is it possible that nothing's possible? I suppose so. 2944. What does the T in T-Shirt really mean? Hmm. I don’t know, actually. 2945. Would you alter your routine if there was a sniper in your area? That would be scary. 2946. Is castration a good punishment for extreme or repeat sexual offenders? They just need to rot in prison. 2947. If you are a girl have you ever experienced penis envy? No.

If you are a guy would you still want to live if you had to be castrated? What’s with the cutting off penises talk? 2948. Imagine you are teaching a class of sixth graders. A the start of the year you tell them, "If you come away with class and have learned only ONE THING, I hope that you learned....(finish the sentence) To treat others with kindness. 2949. If you were being interviewed for a job in a clothing store how would you sell yourself to the prospective employers? I don’t know. I’d probably wear something from that store for one. Learn a bit about the store’s history prior to the interview, and share that knowledge. Let them know that I love the store and all that. 2950. How do you stop pop up ads? That’s what ad blockers are for.

2951. You are alone. You take a bus to the mall. The stop is right in the mall parking lot. You window-shop. You don't buy anything. You want to get back on the bus to go home when you realize you have lost all your money. You have no cell phone. All the payphones are jammed with gum. You can not get it out. How do you get the $1.50 you need to get on the bus and get home??? That would be horrible. When you say I’m alone, I’m guessing that doesn’t mean I’m alone at the mall, right? That would be scary. I’d be freaking out, but I guess I’d have to ask to use someone’s phone and call a ride.

2952. How long would it take you to organize your bedroom? I don’t know. I need to clean out my closet. 2953. Make up a nickname for your bedroom: Giraffe habitat, ha. I have a lot of giraffe stuffed animals and knickknacks. 2954. What comes after:

“I've got a love-a-lee bunch of coconuts (diddly dee) There they are a-standing in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head...”

I have no idea. 2955. Where ARE the wild things? Good question. Does the book ever say? I’ve never read it, and I’ve never seen the movie. 2956. You get a six cd changer for the car, only problem is that you know that once you put in six cd's you can NEVER take them out. Which 6 cd's do you put in? I’d have to make mixed CDs then. I don’t know what songs I’d choose, though. That’s why I love my Spotify playlists. I have a ton of songs. 2957. Let's play Jeapordy. (Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Dooooo-) I'll give some answers..you give the questions. Ready? Begin. The answer is: Purple

Yellow What is lemons?

Candle Pepsi Peace Lisa Cotton Flag 42 ^^ Those aren’t really questions.

2958. Pick a letter. F.

List some great words starting with that letter: Food, funnel cake, fruit, fun, family... 2959. Is eight days a week enough to show you care? What. 2960. Have you told your parents you love them today? It’s only been today for fifty-seven minutes. It’s after midnight, and they’re asleep. 2961. What is the difference between a number two pencil and any other kind of pencil? Others are dull or something? 2962. Have you ever cross-dressed? No. 2963. Are we living in a world without end? I don’t think so. 2964. What do you think of that couple that was just on the news who kidnapped a 16 year old girl for a week and forced her to be their sex slave? That is absolutely sick and horrible to say the very least. That poor girl. :( 2965. Wanna watch a movie about a cheerleading competition? So, Bring it On? I’ve watched that and movies like it. 2966. Are you singing in the rain? Nope. 2967. Should the sopranos actors have been allowed to march in the St Patrick's Day parade? I know nothing about that. 2968. Is oral sex. anal sex or regular sex more intimate? Sex is pretty intimate, I would say. 2969. Is it time to switch to Decaf? Neverrrrrr. 2970. Why is it that the truth hurts? Because sometimes it’s not something we want to hear or accept. Or It can be something negative and, well, hurtful. 2971. How do you feel about: ticketmaster? It’s a good site to get tickets? I don’t really feel any kind of way about it otherwise. I haven’t used it much.

scalpers? Sketchy. 2972. What are you guilty of? Eating too much junk food. 2973. Have you ever done any of the following in order to catch a buzz or get high? sniffed glue: No.

sniffed magic markers: No.

ate paste: No.

drank Nyquil, Robitussen or any other Over-the-counter drug: I’ve only had those for their intended use with the right dosage.

'huffed' (inhaled or sniffed) any kind of fabric softner, cooking spray or other household product: No.

whip-its: Nope. 2974. What gives you inner stregnth? I don’t know. I’m lacking that. 2975. ::eyes you suspiciously::Where have all the COOKIES gone? I ate ‘em all. 2976. What is a good gift for someone you don't like so that it SEEMS to be nice but really 'gets' them somehow? I wouldn’t do that. 2977. If you don't like the service at a restraunt would you skip the tip? They might get less of one, but I wouldn’t skip out on it. Unless it was THAT bad.

Why or why not? Because. 2978. Apples or peaches or pumpkin pie? None of those. 2979. What Race/nationality was Jesus? That’s debated a lot. 2980. What was one evening you'll never forget? Hm I don’t know. 2981. Name 13 ways to look at a blackbird: 2982. Trick or Treat? Treat, please. 2983. If you had money to burn, what 'toy' would you spend your money on (think monopoly game with real money, luxory boat, a train layout that takes up a house, etc.)? Hmm... 2984. Are you having trouble with aol 8.0? I haven’t used AOL in a long, long, long time.

Or if you don't have aol...have you ever been to a podiatrist? Well that’s a jump. No, I haven’t been to a podiatrist. 2985. If you could write your own ten commandments, what would they be? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2986. When people lose weight, where does it go? It burns off. 2987. Your mate/partner/wife or husband/longterm boy or girlfriend/etc. has SOMEHOW gotten his or her FAVORITE celebrity's attention. Your sweetie has always thought this celeb was so sexy and now the celeb kinda fancies your sweety as well(although the celeb is not interested enough to stick around for more than one night). Your sweetie wants to have a one night stand with the celeb. Knowing that this is your sweeties one and only chance to bang (or even hang out with) a celebrity (ESPECIALLY their FAVORITE celebrity) you would say: No. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be okay with me having sex with Alexander Skarsgard. Just because it’s a celebrity, they’re still people. Another person. Who isn’t me. That they’re having sex with. That’s cheating, my friend. 2988. Have you ever seen an Ed Wood film? I don’t know.

if yes, what one(s) and what did you think? I’m not familiar with that.

If no, aren't you curious to see a movie by the person known as the worst director of all time? Wow. 2989. What kind of bread do you like to eat (white, rye, potatoe, grain, whole wheat, etc)? Wheat bread. 2990. Are you emotionaly articulate? I pretty much suck at expressing myself emotionally. Or at all. 2991. Does everything happen for a reason? Yes. 2992. Do you take a piece of those you have loved and carry it around forever? Yes, absolutely.

If yes, than aren't they still with you even when you are gone? Yes. They will always have a spot in my heart. 2993. Is it true that the child is worth ten of the parent? I don’t know what that means. 2994. Can you think of a door that has closed in your life? Yes.

Can you think of a window that has opened? Yes. 2995. What does this mean to you: 'Necessity is the mother of invention'? If there is is a demand or need for something, that helps lead to the invention of it?

Do you believe that necessity is also the mother of: courage? I don’t know.

survival skills? Well, those are necessary.

independence? Uhhh. 2996. What helps you to get over a Major heartache? I’m not the one to ask about that. I don’t handle it well. 2997. Can you depend completely upon yourself? I don’t feel like I can.

have you ever tried? In some ways, maybe? I don’t know. 2998. How can you tell the difference between the end of one part of your life and the beautiful beginning of the next part? Maybe sometimes you can’t. 2999. Have you ever read an stories by Kate Chopin? No. If not, I suggest that you do. Maybe. 3000. Do you often make the best discoveries when you really weren't looking for anything (or anyone)? Sometimes.

#personal #text #survey #surveys #5000 question survey

[makingscipub]

What R we talking about? Pandemics and numbers

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought us many new words and phrases, words and phrases that are reshaping our lives, such as ‘social distancing’, furlough, WFH (working from home), which I always read as WTF, zoom meetings, PPE and so on. It has also brought with it lots of numbers and graphs and other mathematical and/or modelling phenomena.

Numbers have always been part of disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, especially numbers of cases and numbers of deaths, and the graphs plotting their ups and downs. More recently, there have also been mathematical models. So-called quantitative epidemiological modelling became a topic of discussion during the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in particular, when models decided which animals were to live or die.

Knowing your Rs from your elbows

However, this pandemic brought something else to public attention on top of numbers, graphs and models, namely a rather complex mathematical number which has now become the emblem of the disease and its management. That number doesn’t look like a number. It looks like a letter. It is R, called the R number, R rate, R level… – with other cryptic letters and numbers added, such as R0,Re, Rt, and so on.

I am not a scientist, but after talking with some, I have devised this ‘definition’ (all mistakes my own): The R number comes in two forms. The basic reproduction number R0 is the average number of people that a person with a virus would pass it on to, all other things being equal. This is a property of the virus and its host and it doesn’t change over time. It takes a larger value the more intrinsically contagious the virus is. The effective reproduction number, Re, or its value at a given time, Rt, depends upon various circumstances such as how many people are immune and how much social contact people have. What follows from that is that isolating people can have the same effect as vaccination.”

As you have all heard by now from the news: If the R value is one, each carrier of a disease passes the virus on to one other person, meaning the prevalence of the virus will stay at the same level. If the value of R falls below one, it will decrease.

Bringing down R has become the new ‘flattening the curve’. But how did politicians talk about this important topic?

A tale of two Rs

Boris Johnson

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced R prominently on 30 April. At one of the daily press conferences he said the following:

“And so to avoid that disaster our fifth and final test is that nothing as I say we do should lift the R or the reproduction rate of that disease back above one…And before I hand over to Patrick [Vallance] I am going to ask for a short explanatory clip about the one… And before we come to that clip, let me just emphasise that keeping the R down is going to be absolutely vital to our recovery, keeping the reproduction rate of the disease down, and we can only do it by our collective discipline and working together”. You can see the clip here, at about 9.15 minutes in – this is quite informative, but not spoken by the PM.

Angela Merkel

I noticed that people in Germany, in this case my 93 year-old father, started to talk about R about a month ago in the context social distancing. This happened especially after a speech by the Chancellor Angela Merkel in which she explained the significance of R in quite some detail and, most importantly, in a way that lay people can understand – good science policy communication in action. You can watch her explanation here. I don’t really want to repeat that. I just want to stress one thing that she made clear: little variations in R can have big effects, for good or for ill.

In an article about Merkel’s speech we read something that is becoming relevant now: “As societies begin to contemplate how to re-start their economies after weeks of shutdowns, epidemiologists have urged a multi-cycle strategy of ‘suppression and lift:’ a regimen of relaxing and tightening social distancing measures to fine-tune them, so that they are just right for a particular population at a particular time.”

That’s the stage the the UK government thinks we have reached about now, but we don’t hear about suppression and lift, we hear instead about ‘being alert’ and ‘common sense’ – but that would be another blog post/rant. (The Independent Sage Report, which has just been published, has more on suppression)

Back to Boris

On Sunday 10 May Boris Johnson gave an address to the nation which referenced R again. R became part of two, to put it charitably, ‘lay-friendly’ ‘explanations’, one a pseudo-equation, the other a pseudo-graph. Both were much lampooned on twitter the following day. They were a failure in science policy communication.

On Facebook, Gareth Roberts, a biology teacher, wrote the following: “Thought it would be fairly sensible to assess the ‘Boris does Science graph’ in the same way we would a GCSE or A-level student”, and the result is splendid. @trishgreenhalgh tweeted it out and it went a bit viral (Thanks to @GarethEnticott for helping me find out more about that image) Oh, and what’s Gareth’s overall assessment? “This work falls well below the standards required to meet your target grade. This is becoming a recurring theme of my feedback to you.”

R for dummies

When seeing and hearing Rs everywhere, I wondered whether there was something like R for dummies… and of course there is, but only about R as a computer language! However, not all is lost. I found two articles, one thread and one interactive game which might help. But there is certainly more out there!

An article in the BMJ (HT @RRITools) that sets out R very clearly, so that politicians can understand things better.

A short article in Wired explains R well, and all the caveats around it!

A more elaborate thread by epidemiologist Adam Kucharski goes into more detail.

And then there is this interactive ‘game’: “What Happens Next? COVID-19 Futures, Explained With Playable Simulations” 30 min play/read, by Marcel Salathé (epidemiologist) & Nicky Case (art/code) – have a go, play and LEARN!

The origins of R

Now, it turns out that Kucharski is the author of an aptly timed book entitled The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread – and Why They Stop, which came out at the beginning of this year. The blurb reads like this: “A deadly virus suddenly explodes into the population. A political movement gathers pace, and then quickly vanishes. An idea takes off like wildfire, changing our world forever. We live in a world that’s more interconnected than ever before. Our lives are shaped by outbreaks – of disease, of misinformation, even of violence – that appear, spread and fade away with bewildering speed.” That sums things up nicely!

I was looking at some media reporting about R when I found a review of Kucharki’s book by Steve Bleach in The Sunday Times, published on 16 February, that is, before R entered common consciousness! It starts like this:

“How many of us are going to contract coronavirus? The answer – or, at least, the best means we have of trying to calculate it – started taking shape as long ago as the 1950s, when a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wrote a paper on the control of mosquitoes. Hidden away in the appendix was a novel idea about disease transmission: if you modelled what would happen when a single infectious person arrived in a population, it might give you a way to predict how serious an outbreak would be.

Twenty years later, a mathematician called Klaus Dietz picked up on the idea. What if you established the average number of people that a new case would infect? Call it the reproduction number, or R. You could then calculate how fast the disease would spread, how many people would catch it and, if you could intervene in a way that reduces R, how effective measures to fight it might be.”

So that’s where R comes from I thought! It might just be a letter/number, but it is hugely important. As Bleach says: “Suddenly, the R number looks less like an academic device and more like a matter of life and death. Coronavirus rates somewhere between R1.5 and R3.5, on current estimates [that was February, 2020]. That sounds like a small range, but as Adam Kucharski’s book points out, it has huge consequences.” (highlighted by me)

The future of R and of us

For something that is a matter of life and death, the science communication around it needs to be flawless, or at least try to be. One ingredient in good science communication is ‘trust’. Angela Merkel explained R in a way which implied that she trusted people to be able to understand and then act upon complex information. She didn’t dumb down R; she was clear about it and its implications. And she communicate in a context where actions that could ‘lower R’ were made possible through intensive research, testing, tracing, transparency, good hospitals  etc etc. (This does not mean, however, that everybody trusted her, see here)

This was not the case for the UK government, where science communication was poor and the context was poor too. There was talk about people using their ‘common sense’, which might imply trusting people to do the right thing, while at the same time not providing them with the opportunities to use it – namely clear and non-contradictory information, sufficient PPE, safe infrastructure and so on.

Trust in science and government has to be built into people’s life; it can’t be talked into people’s lives. At the moment this is not happening here in the UK. In such a context even good science communication, including engagement and dialogue, can only achieve so much. Words matter, numbers matter, but worlds matter too. To build better worlds we need better politics, not only better science and better science communication. Only then can trust be achieved and science communication work.

In the pseudo-graph mentioned above, it is assumed that “R will remain below 1 despite it only dropping to 0.9 after six weeks of lockdown“. But as Gareth Roberts asked: “Do you think it is realistic to assume R won’t rise above 1 when we reopen schools, workplaces, bars, restaurants and shops?” As the Independent Sage Report points out (p. 22): “Any easing of restrictions needs to be accompanied by not only effective, targeted messages, but changes in the physical and social environment that enable the key behaviours to suppress transmission”.

Image: Flickr, David Goehring

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