#i think he’s very interesting and funny and there’s a lot of poignant stuff to unpack w him and harry

[even-disco-baby]

YOU — “What was it like when we were partners?”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He looks at you, taking a long drag from his cigarette. His eyes are hard. “You don’t remember at all?”

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Impossible: Failure] — You try to search through the mire of your mind, but come up with only the ghosts of vague and conflicting feelings— comfort and pain, gratitude and resentment, and above all, fear.

YOU — Fear of what?

CONCEPTUALIZATION — Of being seen. Seen and despised.

EMPATHY — He fears that, too. That one day, he’ll look at you and realize that it was all for nothing.

-1 MORALE

PRECINCT 41 — The night air is pleasantly cool, and even this late, you can hear plenty of signs of life in Jamrock. Dogs barking, laughter in the distance. It only makes your own silence more pronounced.

“I remember we were friends.”

“I remember we hated each other.”

“I remember you cramping my style.”

“I remember being a burden.”

“I don’t. I’m sorry.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He sighs. Smoke trails as he shakes his head. “It’s fine.”

DRAMA — It is decidedly *not* fine, sire.

JEAN VICQUEMARE — “You know what? It’s probably better that way. Don’t worry about the past. Your great big life is finally starting.” Every word drips with irony. He takes another puff of the cigarette. “Good for you.”

“You’re right. I won’t worry about it.”

“I swear I’m going to make the most of it. It’ll be different this time. I swear, Jean.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“You sound sarcastic.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — “Oh, do I? Sorry, let me try again.” He claps with mock politeness. “Congratulations on the amnesia. You must be thrilled.”

“Ha ha. Real funny.”

“Maybe I am. Fuck off.”

“No. I’m scared. It’s been really hard.”

“I’m sorry, okay? It’s not like I can undo it. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I’m sorry…”

(Say nothing)

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He lets out another breath, closing his eyes. “…Sorry. Look, just forget it, okay, Harry?” He tosses the butt of his cigarette dispassionately into the bushes and lights another. “Believe me, it’s not worth dredging up.”

DRAMA — What he means to say, sire, is that you don’t want to know how bad things got.

EMPATHY — Even he doesn’t like to reminisce. Not on the bad *or* the good. It would all swallow him up if he wasn’t careful. But he can’t forget, either, so he just carries it. And now he carries it alone.

INLAND EMPIRE — He was fooling himself if he ever thought that to live was to be anything but alone. We are all either leavers or those left behind.

HALF LIGHT — It’s not your fault that he started to look like a leaver. You had to be faster than him. You couldn’t let it happen again. Never again.

VOLITION — Derail this train of thought before it builds momentum. It won’t lead you anywhere helpful.

None of this is helpful. Fuck this. [Leave]

[Espirit de Corps — Formidable 13] Just how bad did things get?

CHECK SUCCESS

ESPIRIT DE CORPS — Apocalyptic. Screaming matches that devolved into agonized wails. Words that neither of you can ever take back. Nights spent talking you off of ledges only for you to turn and shove him toward the edge. Times he told you to go ahead and jump, only to then turn and cling to you in terror of a lifelong haunting. Pitiful attempts to revive the corpse of your friendship. Empty ideals of brotherhood clutched tightly to your chests. His orbit around you, both a curse and a reassurance.

SAVOIR FAIRE — You needed him to think you were cool again.

EMPATHY — He needed you to think he was worth trying for.

INLAND EMPIRE — You both discovered that you were sad, cruel animals, incapable of anything but lashing out at each other and licking your own self-inflicted wounds.

VOLITION — And so you changed, somewhat. You did what you had to do to survive and evolve. There is no use or sense in regretting it.

EMPATHY — But *he* refuses to change. He cannot bring himself to dig his heels back out of the dirt. This precinct will be his coffin. He has already decided.

RHETORIC — A memory stirs. A letter, written to you, but never meant for your eyes. You read it, anyway. He never forgave you. You never forgave him, either.

“Kid,

“I bet you think someday your life will begin. That it’s still out there somehow, a great big life just waiting to start. Well, it isn’t. This is all there is. This job is the only fight we are given. After this, we will be its veterans.

“There is nothing more in that beloved future of yours. We are all done there. Done and gone.”

VOLITION — But there is a future beyond ourselves. There is all of the rest of human history-to-be, and they are at our mercy. Find some mercy in yourself, Harry. You know there’s something beyond this job, this precinct.

No. Jean is right. This is my home, these people my half-brothers. I would be nothing without them. I don’t want to die alone.

No. He’s right. There is no future for me. I’m a dead man walking, and soon I’ll be gone. It doesn’t matter.

No. There is no mercy in me. I’m tired. I hope the world ends. I hope we can all be done.

You’re right. I changed a little. That means that I can keep changing. I can be a kinder animal.

You’re right, but I’m afraid. I don’t remember my life before the RCM. I don’t know what I would be if I left.

Isn’t there any way to change Jean, too? Is there a great big life waiting for him?

VOLITION — I… I don’t know. I’m sorry, Harry. I cannot answer for other people. His future is in his own hands.

PRECINCT 41 — Dogs howl in the distance. What a lonely sound.

#disco elysium #harry du bois #jean vicquemare #suicide tw #ok sorry this is not the one that i said was gonna be different it’s gonna be the NEXT next one #i had to get this one off my chest while i was still thinking abt jean #but um. yeah. lots of complicated feelings abt this guy #can’t say i Like him. since he’s a cop and all. and also just generally #i think he’s very interesting and funny and there’s a lot of poignant stuff to unpack w him and harry #but i dunno i just???? how do you even articulate this #the damage to their relationship is never gonna be undone no matter what #but especially not if harry stays a cop forever #and i think jean is never gonna quit even if harry goes #hell i think even kim is more likely to be convinced to leave and i’m not even optimistic abt HIM #‘’there is nothing more in that beloved future of yours. we are all done there. done and gone.’’ #that does not sound like a man who has any interest in changing… man i dunno. #acab and all that.

[melrosing]

I also think part of Jaime's allure (at least for me) is that he's so shockingly tender? he's a very hard man and he's mean and he's working the most unethical job a person could have but. but. he was the one who loved Tyrion unconditionally even after Tyrion lied about Joff. he named his horses even though he doesn't do that because it made his 10ish yr old squire happy. he stood vigil for days over Tywin's body but he stopped when tommen ran away. he's happy that Pia has found one of his men and that they're young and in love together.

and there's the other stuff too where yes he's misogynistic but how many other men in the whole series cared about violence against women enough to try and stop it. and that's not even a medieval thing, how many women today have stories where there was a whole room of men who did nothing? and jaime at least always tried to do something even if it didn't work.

also he's hot and a complete failure and funny so idk yknow there's a lot to like I guess

I mean yeah he certainly lives in a society, and is far from immune to misogynistic thoughts and words - which I honestly think is necessary, bc I find it frustrating when protagonists act like they’ve been to a gender studies seminar yet everyone around them exhibits period typical prejudice. Jaime has his failings, and I think there are times he could’ve acted and didn’t - perhaps more out of a lack of understanding rather than a lack of care.

but still I think it’s obvious that his actions on behalf of Brienne and Pia mean a lot to many female readers, bc it comes in a world of pretty relentless assaults and men who don’t look twice at them. Jaime is flawed but I think that makes it more gratifying that his eyes are still open to such things + the times he steps up etc. it even makes the failings more poignant knowing he’s capable of such.

anyway it’s interesting to me, cos it’s like no I don’t want him to be a straight up Knight in Shining Armour, or else god knows I could’ve picked a character who doesn’t start the series by defenestrating a child. but it’s the redeeming qualities contrasted w the failings that makes him feel like a more honest character to me that the KISA (that’s the abbreviation I’m going with) archetype who I think means nothing to most female readers bc it just feels false, like the wool being pulled over ur eyes

#ask #Brienne works better as a KISA because she doesn’t look anything like one

[panelshowsource]

thank you anon 🥹 i never take it for granted!

anon i don’t want to rub it in but it was SO good ㅜㅜ

i thought we were past shows about lockdown — and i don’t mean that in a shady way, i just figured that era of sets was over — but mulberry is strictly about the first through third lockdowns and his (failed) coping. (please forgive me if this next part doesn’t make sense—) have you ever been to the movies and even in a serious moment people laugh? for some reason that you just can’t deduce? maybe they’re embarrassed to be feeling touched or vulnerable in public or with their friends, so it’s an awkward chuckle or they mistakenly feel they need to clear the air? is that just me? i don’t think tim created too many of these touching, vulnerable moments, but there were a few raw lines about just how lonely and confusing the whole experience was between jokes, and i wonder how much the audience really absorbed the overall narrative and some of the more poignant admissions — because it was just so funny and his crowdwork was amazing. it was really so insight and interesting!

he subtly played with music, his props were few but so witty, he shouted and whispered, his poems were hilarious (and, actually, not as dirty as usual lol), he made friends, he hyped up jodie whittaker. it was a blast. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. he greeted everyone coming in and stayed afterward at the venue bar and chatted with everyone! i said, “thanks so much for visiting us, we love seeing you 🥹” and he went “no thank you for coming! 🥹” and i nodded and he nodded and i let him be. such a sweetheart! just like russell, you could just feel the pride radiating off of him living his dream in my city. that always means a lot to me 🥹

it’s been such a fun, insightful week between russell and tim! they both reminded me just how much substance can be found in a well-crafted standup routine; panel shows are pretty brainless, which is what i love about them and what makes them really necessary in my complex system of coping with this difficult world, but i loved seeing these silly people show me more ways to see the world, handle the world, connect with people, connect with myself. we all need to hear that stuff sometimes. very chuffed!!

#a

[madqueenalanna]

sorry (lie) to defend hate crimes md but. i think a lot of 2020s discourse misses the context within which the show originally operated. and this is NOT to say "well racist jokes were funny back then" cause that is NOT my point. my point is all the stuff that isn't the racist jokes

like, house md started airing one year before supernatural and bones, two other shows i'm deeply familiar with. supernatural is rife with casual homophobia, racism, misogyny, you name it. bones is so deeply entrenched in boot-sucking post-9/11 government that it's almost unwatchable these days. house... isn't very topical. he makes a lot of 80s references, or older. there are maybe two troop episodes? but let's be real we've been in the middle east so long that hardly dates it. and like, what does the show house md have to say beyond house's personal bad actions?

prisoners on death row deserve respect. homeless people deserve the same treatment as anyone else. mental health conditions like schizophrenia (presumed or otherwise) or munchausens don't disqualify people from actually being sick. being fat is sometimes a symptom instead of a cause, and people overlook genuine health concerns in favor of blaming obesity for everything. orthodox jewish beliefs deserve respect, while christian grifting should be mocked. there is significant, murky overlap between chronic pain and opioid addiction and there is no easy middle ground (the show itself muddles this point repeatedly, to be fair). autism is more akin to another language than anything else, and autistic people deserve to be met where they're at. abortion UP UNTIL BIRTH is acceptable, even desirable given circumstances. it is acceptable, even preferable, to repeatedly defraud insurance companies and bureaucracies if it's in the best interest of the patient. eating disorders are dangerous/fatal and should be treated as such

like, i get it. a lot of aspects of this show have not aged well, particularly the main sell of "edgy epic atheist" house, which WAS a very mid-00s type of character. and i'm as guilty as anyone as doing pepe silvia on this show to make it sound epic (like here) but i do genuinely believe i'm not wrong. even if you don't read house/wilson as romantic, and you don't need to, their relationship is so intense that it eclipses either of their various romantic entanglements. wilson went through 3 ex-wives and an ex-fiancee, house gave up on at least 3 significant relationships. house gave up his vicodin, his medical license, his entire life so that wilson didn't have to die alone. how can that not be poignant, even now? how can anyone deny the emotional impact of that? fuck your destiel, fuck your good omens. you didn't earn eight years of THIS

rambling as usual but i'm right. this show can be a really difficult watch at times for cringe reasons but it can also be so unusually astute that it takes the breath away. what other show, especially in 2005, was giving the circle speech from "lines in the sand"? that episode aired the same year as supernatural's racist truck or bones' "troops did friendly fire but iraq was still justified" penultimate ep. can i say house was a GOOD show? idk. but it raised a lot of interesting points and had a lot of against-the-grain compassion that i still find sorely lacking even now, 20 years later

#House #And what I really respect is that through Good Doctor. David Shore is still learning and growing #Like he fucked up on intersex supermodel and fucked up again (but lessser) on intersex basketball kid #So he tried AGAIN on trans people in GD and it's better! At least in the ep I saw I'm not caught up #It's not often you get a creator so openly willing to adjust their beliefs to the current era so. Thank you David #And I've said it before and will say it again. I think it matters that David Shore is Jewish cause the show just makes more sense #Than it would from a Christian context. Esp the orthodex ep and House vs God but even casually? #Life is worth preserving? Protect the existing pregnant woman over her fetus? That is NOT a Christian belief generally #I'm not Jewish so I don't want to speak too much BUT I'm deeply familiar w Christian-led media and it sucks worse. Sorry. Not

[sinkableruby]

owarimonogatari ge spoilers. rgu spoilers too i think

himemiya anthy and oshino ougi are both girls who exist for guys

and yeah i hear you thinking what, misogyny ?! toxic masculinity ?! thats not a big part of ougis arc and yeah it isnt and also other gender stuff BUT. the spirit is still there!! and i have to say it in that way first to do anthy's part justice

bc they Are both people who exist solely for others sake. their ability to define their own existences have been taken away from them. they have no agency! anthy obviously but also ougi has never had agency. ougi was created by araragi to do certain things he couldn't do himself, and this was literally the sole purpose of their existence. if ur in that situation what are you gonna do? not do it? and probably like, cease to exist bc the universe's internal coding is a total asshole? you don't have a choice, you just gotta accept the burden.

they're very silly and goofy and sinister and smiley about it of course but like. i'll say it now a lot of those smiles are not happy. i mean you look at the light novels oshino "ppl are so dumb i have to laugh at them but im crying when im laughing" ougi (edgelord ougi confirmed? LOL ok ok not really) oshino 'araragi theorizes her smile was poignant bc she knew how short her life would be' ougi like yeah ok. get a life, literally. lol (note this is also. for those who have read it. what ougi stay is about. and what my next big thing is going to be about. this is what the significance. anyway)

and anthy does the same thing! all this fucked up shit happens around her and To her and she just watches it all with the same smile like nothing's wrong. the parallels are insane you guys you cant make this shit up. anthy smiling like nothing is wrong during the duels before slowly realizing she doesn't want to be separated from utena is the same as ougi smiling while about to be erased forever even though she doesnt want to die. its parallels!!!!!! even where ougi's situation gets a little muddied with her being Literally araragi (even though she is still the part of him that he ejected and pushed all this work onto and still just exists for him at first so i wouldnt say this is a point against my analysis here), it still very much applies. and that part of 'being him' can loop back around and extend anthy if you want it to. she does whatever her fiancee wants her to, is molded to and reflects them. a reflection-- is that not, in a very big sense, what ougi is for araragi? you could even say that for anthy, the fiancee of the rose bride's attempted domination of her is a way to dominate the femininity within them, to quell and control it. (if this doesnt make sense my excuse is that i havent finished watching yet. but i think it does make sense, and a lot of it, actually)

theyve both got their Roles to play, and play them they do. anthy, the rose bride, and ougi, the culprit, the bad guy. i think about that 'bad guy' framing a lot too btw. when ougi is talking about her unfazed appearance when faced with Forever Death Via Black Hole, shes like 'don't you hate it when in mystery novels the bad guy is so calm in the face of their comeuppance? yeah that sucks so just letting you know im terrified 👍. gotta wonder what happens when your matter gets erased completely yk. like whats that gotta be like lol.' (not even exaggerating at all really) (also shes so funny she relates everything to mystery novels bc she loves them thats so sweet and real i love that :)) (and then she proceeded to say 'nah i think the culprit should kill themself instead' but i wont get into it)

theyve also both got those cute little interests come to think of it. anthy loves like animals and stuff and ougi loves their mysteries. are these two the Same Character (joking) (but really they should hang out)

theres a line in one of the short stories that summarizes it really well, describing ougi as 'a puppet who had come to life.' and yeah, basically. it's implied to be after the ougi dark resolution so there i have even more ✨textual evidence✨ but like fr. its an incredibly apt description for ougi. if yotsugi is a doll, then ougi is a puppet, who has gained agency (and thats the thing, rgu and monogatari are giving these agency-robbed characters agency, thats what ougi dark did, and im like p sure thats what rgu is going to do i havent finished it lol but i did get sorta spoiled on the ending so i think its gonna. in monogatari... its more rocky i feel. its not cut and dry, its not like whoops you have agency forever completely now. its like you Kinda have it. you Maybe Mostly have it. it's complicated i'm writing about it)... i wonder when yotsugi will get her agency, but part of me wonders if nisioisins plan is that she wont. because she's a doll, she's too stuck, she's fixed to what others need her for, she can't work by herself. she hasn't "come to life" yet like ougi has (being a corpse might do that to you)

anyway uhhhh i'm right good night

#really i think it makes quite a lot of sense #monogatari #owarimonogatari ge #rgu #but you know #maybe i posted nothing #(no i didnt i posted everything. bc its everything to me) #smash that subscribe button and let me know your thoughts in the comments down below #oshino ougi #himemiya anthy #ononoki yotsugi #ougiposting #this is also what i meant by that evil pixie nightmare girl post #for the record. if you even care. #analysis

[ram-de]

[read] extraordinaries

gosh it's been a long time since i put my random commentaries afetr i read a book. i read a lot but i haven't been putting it in words like these. i think it's a nice way to take a breather and appreciate the story for a bit. though i'm itching to read and jump to another one. alright. let's jump in.

the extraordinaries by t.j. klune is the second book i read of his! the first being the house by the cerulean sea. and i wept for that one. it's achingly sweet. and cute. and also hits hard a bit. i should reread it soon. now this one... this one features the main cast being highschoolers. and damn i didn't know I NEED IT SO BAD... LOOK... a lot of romances i read before features teenagers that acts way too mature and also quite high in steam (aka they can't keep it in their pants for 5 minutes) and i. it's not that it's bad. it's just... you know after a while of reading several books, i kind of tend to notice the pattern of like, the tropes, and like, the prose, and um. basically at some point it loses it charms and i ended up groaning, "not again..." or "i felt like i have read this storyline 32 times this month..." NOT THAT IT'S BAD OF COURSE... i eat it when i'm hungry. when i'm full i just need to take a breathe.

and man. NICK...!!! having the book centered around nick is so, so, good. a peek to his ever-flowing racing mind and how he's just, being him, as a whole. and this guy is a... a fanfic writer. and the love interest being his beta reader... I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS CRACKS ME UP... the dynamics is so good though i felt like they can feel a bit one-dimensional sometimes. i don't know why i'm criticizing. i don't know shit about stories 101 lmao. alright. nick is also very straightforward and cannot lie for good. the way he rambles about everything is adorable (i see u seth...) he puts his mind to it and pushes through everything. i love my delusional son akjsdgashda

THE HUMOR... very up to my alley.

"Nicky, no!" "Nicky, yes!"

AND THE CROWD (me) CHEERS... that sums the whole book actually. nicky got an idea, everybody told him no, and he did it anyway. sdhgfadskhaskjh. or this one passage. context being the dad is injured and was advised not to talk, and nick asked him how his day and glared at him. it's funny to me!!

and this one i have sorta expects from the author. it's how heartfelt the story can be at times. t.j. klune is poignant with his words. the story touches grief very delicately, how it impacts the whole family and their relations to another. there's this one part where nick have hard time breathing the moment his dad said he's gonna take his phone. his dad grounds him, distanced him from his friends, cutting of internet and all other things. but the one thing that was about to break him is the fact that he would have his phone taken away, due to the thoughts that if something happened (to his dad), then he wouldn't know. like how it happened with his mom. AND... :-( ... that's why it also hurts so bad when the two get caught arguing and his dad ended up telling nick why he is the way that he is.. :"""" I'M SO WEAK WITH FAMILY STORYLINES... they're always the one that made me teared up...

one thing i did not like is the blue-balling of important revelations that's like kinda obvious but they kept pushing it back. "oh, nick, don't you know? he's actually..." and suddenly the door opens. [plot ignored for several pages]. "i can't keep it anymore. i'm gonna tell you. actually..." and then suddenly a bomb exploded or something. LIKE... the fact that i'm writing it down means i'm annoyed by it lol since i don't actually notice these stuff usually. also i think the book kind of drags down by the end. i don't really hooked enough for shadow stars storyline. maybe another thing i didn't like is that it have real person shipping... though it's mentioned and implied a lot of how unhealthy that is lol, i can chalk it up to nick being a delulu y/n fanfic author.

it's been a while since i consumed any superhero-related media. i used to be into marvel movies but then they kinda... i don't know. lame. i watched ms. marvel and i liked it. i tried to watch she-hulk but i forgot it exists by the time episode 4? happened and i haven't finished it since. i also despised secret invasion's intro enough to never watch it. ever. i need to watch spiderverse....

why am i getting distracted. OKAY... the thing is. i loved the book. i enjoyed reading the book. i took my time reading it, and the character still lives in my head for now. and because this is a superhero-setting... i ignored any normal haircolor depiction in my head and instead put wacky colorful hairtones for every character anime style. nick? shiny silver (with a stupid ahoge). owen? fiery red (subversion, this is so good). gibby? deep purple. jazz? pink and yellow ombre. seth... black.., because subversion, uh... (he gets his colors from his ties and knots instead)

uh... what i want to say is it's lighthearted! it can be sweet and poignant at times. it's an enjoyable read. mr. t.j.klune good :) i'll put more thoughts if i remember

Edit 5 minutes later.

IT'S A SERIES??!?!?!??!? I thought that last part was the story being cheeky and a references to how superhero movies do post-credits scenes teasing future reveals. there's TWO MORE...!?!??!?!

#readingrams #the extraordinaries

[sarahtheconjurer]

@ghosttmachine tagged me in a get to know you meme thing (tyyy!!)! So. Here i am posting for oncce lez goooo

Last song:

Technical answer is post traumatic blues by corey taylor, bc ive been using the spotify dj thing and it keeps giving me metal that i o ly kinda like. The funner answer was rhe barbie movie ost since me and my friends literally just got back from it n my friend mariana had me play it in the car. Not rlly my thing was catchy (barbie movie was good btw! Posts abt it being like. Not the deepest critique of social issues and the like are correct but it was a fun time w a lot of heart + rlly great production value + honestly. Very funny. And i watched it w two of my best friends so :})

Currently reading:

For books:

When the Angels Left the Old Country

I haven't touched it in a hot sec, but its a queer, historical fantasy ya book based in jewish folklorex about an angel and a demon that leave europe, after a girl goes missing from the village they've set up shop in. It's very light and whimsical which is not my usual fare, but I'm enjoying it! Its very heartfelt and the two main leads have very good chemistry. And its always cool to see angel/demon lore outside the usual christian sphere.

For manga: steel ball run (part 7 of jojos bizarre adventure) its. A story about a cross continental horse race to find the body parts of jesus. Which is the most coherent way i can put it. Im rereading it w two of my friends rn and im enjoying it! It isnt my favorite part, but its up there, and features some of the best stuff in the series. This is. Also a story featuring a pair of ride or die protagonists with a very strong dynamic and chemistry (honestly, best 'set' of protags in the series) and so much comes from their bond. Its at the point in the series where it started getting a monthly release and it shows, w some rlly gorgeous art. Gyro and Diego are highlights artwise because the former doesnt have a stand he just. Has these steel balls he spins and throws around, so you get very dynamic shots of him just. Chucking them that the author uses in super creative ways to lead the eye and compose panels and the latter. Can turn himself and other things into dinosaurs. Have you ever seen a dinosaur ride a horse? Its fucking sick. It also has some interesting themes of american imperialism and christianity, of all things, which i think are done, well in some respects, esp given the authors track record. IT ALSO HAS SOME OF THE WORST STUFF IN THE SERIES THAT MAKES ME WANT TO KILL HIM W HAMMERS.

Currently watching:

Nothing in particular, but ive got a p big to watch list (Trigun, mob psycho, etc) and i just watched the barbie movie, like i said.

Current obsession:

Guess. Take a guess.

Jfc jojos bizarre adventure is holding me at gunpoint. Its not good its not bad (besides when it is) it its own tier of media. I forgot how much 15 year old me was obsessed w it and so i foolishly rewatched it thinking id be. Normal. I was wrong. God. I've never seen anything like it! It's so clearly a passion project from someone who's very eccentric and so it goes from absurd and stupid and comedic to circling right back to being very human and poignant. Like, it's about love! And familial trauma! And prevailing in the face of great tragedy! And also killing the president because jesus told you so! It's got a myriad of flaws from technical writing issues to genuinely tasteless/bigoted content, so its not some untouchable media, but ive been enjoying it a lot.

Part 5 and 8 are my favorites for very different reasons.

Part 5, Golden Wind, is abt a bunch of weird mobsters on a roadtrip through italy to kill their boss. It has a very charming supporting cast who are a sort of found family of societal rejects, brought together by this guy named Bruno who acts as a leader + mentor + sort of dad? To them. They're all surprisingly fleshed out characters, esp for this early on in the series, and their group dynamic, combined w some of the best fights in the entire show, really sell this part. The main character and main villain are. Not good. Sans a few aspects. Tho. Like i forget giorno is there half the time. (Giorno is my beloved stale cracker of a character but hes MY stale cracke, tho)

Part 8, Jojolion, is uh. Hm. It follows this amnesiac dude who wakes up in the dirt, as he tries to piece together the person he was. It's set in an au version of the town from part 4, w some characters being spins on old ones. Its the most recent part, and it shows. Its a lot better structured, paced, and developed compared to earlier parts. The mystery running through it has a lot of fun twists and turns, the themes are coherent, and the pace is slow, but not meandering. The supporting cast is fun (the lead's romantic interest is an actually decent jojo woman and they have a very cute relationship, and the family the main character is sort of adopted into are all fucking insane) but the real draw for me was the main character. Josuke (the second. Theres another josuke from an alternate universe in part 4, anyway) is probably my favorite jojo. I could go on about him, but compared to the others, he feels the most real? Theres this very grounded sense of frustration abt him as he tries and fails to piece together who he is, while everyone around him seems to have somethimg they need from him, or an idea of who he SHOULD be. He isnt a hero, he isnt even all that noble, hes just trying to find himself and if anyone out there loves him. He's blunt, one track minded, and is doing the jojo equivalent of spamming x to skip through all the dialogue bc hes not here for anyones shit beside his own. Jojolion somehow captures the feeling of being a weird, displaced pseudo adult trying to piece yourself together, while everything Keeps Fucking Happening. I love it so much. But by god does the ending suck hoooooly shit oh my god dude jesus christ. Fucking. I hate tohru i hate tohru i hate tohru fjcjendnxzlzm. Anyway jobin sweep

OTHER OBSESSIONS INCLUDE OCS AND DND.

Im currently running a csm tabletop n curse of strahd game, and am in a ravenloft game. They're all very different but i love them all.

Ravenloft game is a sort of sequel to the curse of strahd game i was in a while bsck

I play pageturn (kenku paladin) and coda (changeling flavored as fallen angel, bard). Ones a 13 year old w a kill drive going through a double crisis of faith while somehow being the heart of the group and the others a shapeshifting corrupted celestial, whos trying to find themself. we are currently exploring the fomain the latter was imprisoned in and have found the eye of vecna and. I am. Excited and concerned for what our wonderful dm has cooked up.

Chainsaw Man game is a high stakes office drama following the worst group of devil hunters youve ever seen. Its more episodic and light than my other games which is a nice change of pace, and i rlly like the energy our group brings to the table. I am always horrified and surprised by whatever new government supplied human rights violation they commit next! Every character is uniquely sad, while still maintaining the token csm dark comedy abt them. We are currently revisiting a mystery allll the way back from our first session and im stoked for some stuff i have planned.

Sippy Crew (curse of strahd game) is drawing to a close and ahh i could make a whole post abt how much these guys mean to me. Its been a joy dming for this group of freaks and watching as they come together not into a found family, but a group of distinctly doomed, but fiercely loyal individuals. They've had two pc deaths, even more close calls, and have lost so much, but they're pushing through like dandelions in concrete. Its genuinely the most emotionally invested ive been in a ttrpg, and am so excited, to see their journey come to a close, and will miss them dearly.

Both jojo and ttrrpgs have been a way to reconnect with friends i dont usually talk to as much, and strengthen the bonds of the friends that i do, which is why theyve hit so hard, haha.

anwyaY this turned out way longer than it needed to be bUt.

@turtleslothart @500sunstone you. Do this.

[alliluyevas]

3

What were your top five books of the year?

Oh, this is hard! I read a lot of really good books this year and also frankly the stuff I read in the last few months of 2021 versus the first months of 2022 run together so I had to look up and see what I actually read for the first time in 2022. This isn't in any particular order:

Joseph Smith and the Mormons: Noah van Sciver

This is a graphic novel that focuses on Joseph Smith's life and death and early Mormonism and I thought it was really successful! It was powerful and sympathetic but also historically accurate (with an extensive bibliography, lmfao). I thought it was really compelling in terms of both the art and inspiring feelings. This is a very cinematic story so the visual method worked very well.

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms: George RR Martin

I've been an ASOIAF fan for ten years and I never read these! For some reason I just didn't find the sound of them appealing. I kind of wish I'd read them earlier because they're great but it was also really nice to have entirely new (to me) content in this universe!

I Who Have Never Known Men: Jacqueline Harpman

Post-apocalyptic novella about a group of women who are as far as they know the last people left alive in the world narrated by the youngest among them, who starts the story as a child and ends it as the last surviving member of the group. Incredibly beautiful writing, lovely and heartrending meditation on what it means to be human and what it means to be alive.

Women Talking: Miriam Toews

This is about sexual violence in an isolated Mennonite community, focusing on the debate between women from two interconnected families over whether to leave the community or not, narrated by the childhood friend of one of the women who is selected to take notes because none of the women can read or write and he's also the only person they know with experience in the outside world. It's actually really interesting putting it after I Who Have Never Known Men because there's some thematic overlap even though the circumstances are wholly different. Incredibly powerful, really thought provoking, and very unique narrative voice. I'm excited for the upcoming film adaptation :)

The Lonely Polygamist: Brady Udall

This was written in the early 2000s but is set in the 1970s, so it's a really interesting overlap between the historical and the contemporary. Primarily narrated by the rather hapless and pathetic Mormon fundamentalist titular character, with some cross-narration from the youngest of his four wives and his preteen son. I was surprised both by how funny this book was and how poignant it is. It's this really chaotic, sometimes uncomfortable portrayal of a large polygamist family where everyone is rubbing up against each other and somehow still feels alone. Also I think at heart this is a story about grief and loss and mourning (the death of a young daughter years prior to the start of the story but still very much affecting her family, the wife's history of miscarriage and stillbirth, and other death later in the book that I don't want to give away) and it was portrayed very effectively.

[lesbianmarrow]

okay okay time to talk about legends of tomorrow 5.07 “mr parkers cul-de-sac.” i watched it twice bc i liked it so much. it has lots of thoughts on love and its consequences, and what you’re willing to do for love. all that mushy stuff hehe. 

fun to have damien darhk back as a guest star for this episode. i think he is always most sympathetic when the focus is on his love for his daughter, and this episode really leans into that. i like that we get him back for this episode now that we have seen this radical change and development in nora as she has been allowed to grow outside of her father’s influence and she has taken control of her life. like it’s definitely the most interesting time to bring him back. and i like that they bring him back not as a master manipulator villain but as a dad. because again that ended up being the most compelling aspect of his character when he was last on the show. they do of course showcase the villain aspect of him when he has his wizard battle with constantine and then again when he finds out the truth and attacks all the legends, and i think that works well too. good balance of silly and cruel. when he commits suicide at the end that did really get to me. and i like that even after he has made up with the legends sara still refuses to shake his hand bc hes still the man who killed her sister. that feels right for her. 

it’s been sort of running in the background this season but this storyline of nora taking control of her life and finding a sort of healing and catharsis in helping children is so excellent. it’s often shown as being kind of silly bc shes in this ridiculous costume granting children frivolous wishes but on a deeper level it is also so touching. i think it makes perfect sense for her to be confronted with her father again now, because part of what she is healing from is his negative influence on her, and yet there is still so much love between them. nora finally getting the courage to tell her dad that she isn’t the person he wanted her to be, but she is happy and thriving, is like the natural conclusion of her arc of personal reinvention. and then they talk it out and it all turns out well :) i mean damien ends up back in hell but that’s kind of where he belongs so it’s fine. 

despite being a lesbian i AM a big fan of the ray/nora romance and it was sweet to see how much they love each other in this episode. there is something sort of strange about how their relationship struggle in this episode sort of feels like a gay cliche even though theyre straight?? like how nora is hiding ray from her father bc he wouldn’t accept him, and how that little kid tells ray that you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you love. idk i thought it was kind of funny. often in these cw shows i get a bit annoyed at how characters will be so quick to propose marriage but in this case i think it makes sense with ray and nora. they already kind of were acting like a married couple and they just are so good together. their impromptu wedding was so cute. the ending of the episode hints that ray is gonna leave the team, which would be sad because i like him, but it makes sense that getting married would necessitate leaving the team.  

i wasn’t liking the mick/ally romance bc i am a believer in gay mick theory but i did enjoy the revelation that mick has a daughter now. it just feels like a fun and unique challenge for him to have to face. the scene where he is eating cake and zari criticizes him for running from the truth made me really feel for him. because he claims that he’s staying away because he would be a bad influence on his daughter, but really we know that he’s staying away because this kind of relationship is so new to him and he’s scared. even though mick is often a very silly character i think the more serious emotional stuff with him can be very impactful so i’m excited to see how this storyline goes. there’s also something sort of poignant about zari being the one to witness this family reunion and then urge mick to go be in his daughter’s life, since as we know zari 1.0 lost her family and changed history to bring them back. 

i’m noticing this motif of circles. i noticed it first in 5.05 when constantine gets lung cancer and we get the match cut of the hell lady messing with his soul token to the shot of him lying on the floor that has a circular design. and i thought that was just a one time thing but then in the next episode constantine has a circular rug that ray pulls aside to reveal a pentagram and i was thinking hmm. and then in this episode there’s all this talk of circles in the mr parker’s cul-de-sac theme song, about how circles represent eternity, so now i’m positive there’s something there. plus i remembered in 5.05 the young ghost versions of constantine and natalie we see are weaving on a circular loom. and then at the beginning of this episode the illustration of the loom of fate we see is sort of cylindrical or circular. it’s all connected!!!!!! since circles have this symbolic meaning of eternity or of the cycle of death and rebirth i think it makes a lot of sense for legends to use it as a motif. i will be on the lookout for circles in upcoming episodes!!!! 

ok that’s all for this post. i have more to say about sara & ava but i’ll save that for its own post. but yeah this episode was such a favorite of mine even though it was a lot of silly shenanigans i just really enjoyed all the love and mushiness. 

#legends of tomorrow #nora darhk #legends constantine #syl posts

[rangerdew]

blorbo post @spookfished

vector yugioh zexal: he was the blueprint

nasch/shark/kamishiro ryoga yugioh zexal: world’s most tormented 14 year old who wasnt actually 14 years old

revolver yugioh vrains: i just got uniquely obsessed with this guy and his arc for some reason it was actually very deep and complex more thematically poignant than rgu (JOKE THIS IS A JOKE) 

ai yugioh vrains: just thought a lot about him tbh. he knew it happened but it didnt matter enough to stop him. he turned himself into a brand rather than a person. this is why i think he and revolver have a really interesting thing going on because [redacted for length]

kristoph gavin: he was the blueprint

lavernius tucker: idk like they put something in this guy. i hope you know early on i had to justify having him on my top 3 chart because he was literally like mr misogyny and i was like sorry for putting feminism on pause for this dude but like the intrigue... he was so peripheral to the plot and yet it felt like there was so much stuff going on also hes funny 

agent washington: just the perfect character

glados: very important to me

[spammreviews]

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF HARLEY QUINN SEASON FOUR

I found the first two seasons of Harley Quinn to be very fun and occasionally poignant. Season Three had an underwhelming ending, in my opinion, but there were definetly many bright spots.

. However, to me, Season Four has felt a bit…how should I say, unpalletable? Here’s why, put into a nice list because why not.

Sin One: Too much violence, sex, and overall edginess.

This is easily the most bloody and horny season. That’s fine. There's nothing intrisically wrong about blood and horniness. I actually think it kind of works with some episodes, like with the Vegas episode. Vegas is a crazy place and Harley and Ivy on vacation. Fine. But it really started to get annoying after a while. One of the most edgy moments is at the end of Episode Four, the episode with the business conference on the moon, which is kind of horrific. It would be fine if this wasn’t, you know…a comedy, but ending an episode on a bunch of people horrifically dying left a very sour taste in my mouth. Then there’s episode six, the episode taking place after Nightwing's death, which is just a downright miserable string of blood and gore which isn’t funny. Also, what the hell was up with the Jon’s? This is a very progressive TV show, and then we have these weird homophobic stereotypes. Yeah, I get that the Jon's are fantastical non-human beings, but they so clearly molded them from stereotypes, it’s weird.

Also, this season’s incessant horniness gets a bit too much. The jokes about Dick’s ass were fairly funny in the first episode, but by episode six it was just annoying. His coffin having an ass on it just ticked me off.

Two: Too many characters, ideas and plot threads.

Here are all of the characters who appear in multiple episodes in this season: Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bane, Nora, Lex Luthor, King Shark, Joker’s Wife, Joker’s Son, Nightwing, Batgirl, Alfred, Gordon, Terra, LavaGirl or whatever her name is, the other one, Dr. Psycho, Clayface, Captain Cold, Shark King’s children, that Plant Guy, Damian Wayne, Talia-Al-Gul, the Jons, Superman, Mama Nacaroni, and Potato Harley Quinn. And I probably forgot a few. As you can see, I can not remember all of these characters names. There’s also all of the characters who just appear in one episode. The result of this is that there are a bagillion plot threads. We have the love triangle between Nora, Bane, and Captain Cold. We have Harley trying to be a member of the Batfamily. We have Poison Ivy’s business stuff. We have her mentoring The Natural Disasters. We have Joker becoming evil again. We have the investigation of Nightwing’s death. We have King Shark taking care of his children. Some of these plot threads are only a few episodes, but you see what I’m saying. A lot of them stop and then start again, and it’s very hard to keep up.

You might notice throughout this write-up that I have forgotten the names and details of many things. This is not from lack of interest. This is because I am human, and this has been a very convoluted season of TV with so many moving parts, and you don’t know what’s important or not. Also, there’s no breathing room, everything happens all at once, so you can’t soak anything in.

Three: To much “and then” story telling, and no consequences for the characters.

This is probably the biggest problem. In a good story, every event is a consequence of the last event, like dominoes falling. For example, Princess Leia is captured so she sends R2D2 and C3PO to find Obi Wan, so they end up stumbling onto Luke. Sometimes, the consequences of a character’s actions aren’t clear right away. John Mcclane takes off his shoes, and then he gets his feet cut up half an hour later. Thst is good and entertaining storytelling.

Nightwing’s death at the end of episode Five is maybe the worst example of this. It’s just so random. Then, we get stuff like Harley and Ivy time traveling, wich comes out of nowhere and then becomes a pivotal plot point.

We also get The Joker returning to evil because…he’s bored. Sure. And then, he shoots Batgirl. Because why not. That’s another problem. Bad things don’t happen to characters because of mistakes they make. They just happen.

Ivy messes up the plan to depose Lex not because of her own faults, but do to a random accident she had no control over. Then, she does succeed because of some character who I guess previously showed up, but who I don’t remember. In good stories, characters succeed because of skills they have, and they fail due to faults they have. In this season, we’ve had characters succeed and fail do to random luck. In episode eight, there's a scene where Harley and Ivy fall from way up in the air and then they’re fine because uhhh…they just are.

There’s also all of episode six, which is just random event after random event. The Jon’s turn into one giant Jon because why not and then they fight Ivy for reasons.

Sin Four: The clash between episodic and serialized storytelling.

This season doesn’t know if it wants to be a set of episodic stories where every plot is self contained or a serialized story where there’s one whole arc. Now, some shows succeed at mixing these two, just look at My Adventures With Superman. The first three seasons of Harley Quinn this fairly well. However, this season simply doesn’t, at least in my opinion.

This season feels like it keeps going back and forth between serialized and episodic. Episodes five and six build on each other, and then there is episode seven. The main plot of this episode is Haely and Ivy time traveling to the future, which is its own self contained adventure, and then there’s Batgirl’s subplot, which does lead into other episodes…sort of. Then, there’s episode eight, which also has two separate plots. The first is Nora protecting the Legion of Doom building from Lex. The first is important for the series wide arc, and then the Bane one seems to be all in vain.

Also, why does Bane need a character arc? He’s a silly parody character.

Lots of plot points went nowhere, like the Jons. They appear. They’re around for three episodes. Then they’re gone, and they have no real impact on the story. They do lead to issues between Ivy and The Natural Disasters, but then everything’s fine.

It doesn’t help that this show keeps randomly introducing plot threads. At first, it seems like this season will involve Harley and Nightwing learning to get along. Then, Nightwing dies at the end of episode five. That whole character arc they were setting up with him goes nowhere. Then, it seems like there’s gonna be a mystery about his murder. Well, we get a few episodes of that, and then it’s solved.

There’s also the whole Alfred thing. He seemed like such a fun character in episode two, and then Harley seemed kind of bummed out when he got arrested. But, then we see him briefly in episode four, and he’s fine.

I was kind of bored during the whole Ivy golf thing in episode nine because it felt like such a diversion. This season can’t decide what Ivy is doing in this season. She goes from wanting respect from her peers to wanting self gain to wanting to make things right with Harley to wanting to stop the world from ending. As such, we don’t stay with any of these long enough. None of the dynamics, plot threads, and conflicts get enough time for it to be explored.

This season just keeps on changing the dynamics, and the conflicts, and as such, it’s just extremely messy. It’s somehow more disjointed then an episodic story. At least in an episodic story, characters have fairly set dynamics which rarely change. This season plays willy nilly with everything about these characters.

Five: They keep highlighting how little the world makes sense.

I didn’t mind how nonsensical the world-building was in the first three season, because it was funny. However, one of the biggest conflicts of the first couple of episodes is all about Ivy and Harley struggling now that Harley’s a hero, and it just illustrates how little this makes sense. It becomes hard to ignore.

Six: Mean spiritedness

I think one of the reasons why I really disliked Episode Six, the episode after Nightwing dies, was because of how cruel it was, especially towards Batgirl. She goes through all of this emotional damage, and it’s just miserable. This is a very miserable episode.

Also, I get that Nightwing is a fictional character, but if you have such a beloved character in your show, and then you show him as a jerk, tease redemption, kill him off, and then make a bunch of butt jokes at his funeral scene, will then…it will rub people the wrong way. Yeah, he’s not real, who gives a crap, but like, lot’s of people really like Nightwing, it’s not pleasant to see him being treated like nothing but an ass.

Seven: Everything just makes no sense.

Okay, so in Episode Eight, we meet Potato Harley Quinn. She is just like Harley Quinn but overly committed to justice. Because, as we all know, potatoes are famous for their sense of justice.

Joker is evil, but not as evil as he was in Season One, because he was a huge misogynist in that season. Or maybe not. Also, is he still the mayor? Shouldn’t this be a big deal?

Also, the characters just don’t act like people. During the entire plot with Nora, Captain Cold, King Shark, and Lavagirl trapped in The League of Doom Headquarters, everyone kept acting so bizarrely I just grew detached from everything. Oh, and then it ended with Lavagirl blowing up the entire place which somehow didn’t kill all of them. This would be fine if the show was all silliness, but this show also occasionally dabbles in drama. However, this drama all fails because this show just doesn’t care about reality anymore.

I’m fine with plot holes, this series has always played fast and loose with reality, as I previously stated, but this season has simply been too much.

In conclusion, Season Four of Harley Quinn had some fun moments, but these seven main problems ruined the overall experience for me.

#harley quinn

[petnews2day]

Andrew Bird Lets The Inside Out On 'Inside Problems'

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/?p=50119

Andrew Bird Lets The Inside Out On 'Inside Problems'

Prolific might be an understatement when it comes to Andrew Bird‘s work across a myriad of mediums. In addition to his own work, the GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter is a renowned whistler, and was a member of Squirrel Nut Zippers for several years. Bird’s 1996 debut album, Music of Hair, was followed by about 16 solo records (some with/as Bowl of Fire), not to mention a variety of collabs. And let’s not forget the live albums (six), EP’s (10) and film and TV projects, including acting on the FX drama “Fargo.”

So it’s perhaps unsurprising that Bird has managed to follow up an album — the somewhat winkingly titled My Finest Work Yet — with a record that might be even finer. Inside Problems, released June 3, offers 11 often poignant, quietly passionate songs produced by Mike Viola (who has also worked with Mandy Moore, Panic! at The Disco and Jenny Lewis). Bird will support his LP on a tour that kicks off June 15 at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre.

Via phone from his L.A. home, Bird, a low-key and thoughtful native of Lake Forest, Illinois, talks about pandemic-inspired “inside” stuff (his brain, his home) and the resultant songs that populate his latest, and maybe, greatest work.

When did you start writing the songs that would become Inside Problems — before, or during the pandemic?  

Some of them started before that. There are always things that have been kind of simmering for five or six years that I just find the moment to organize. It was strange; I was wondering if just being in one place was going to affect my writing, because I always thought that traveling and performing informed my writing. Going from one place to another, just the act of leaving your home can give you perspective that kind of triggers things. And then being on stage, that sort of sense of a dialogue with an audience; I thought [that] was part of my process, too. But it turns out it wasn’t that essential, and I needed the songwriting process to sort of keep my sanity and sense of purpose.

Was there a song that ended up on Inside Problems that set the tone when you realized, OK, this is where this record is going? 

I think of “Underlands” as a sort of template for the album. But the one that I spent the most time on was “Faithless Ghost.” And that’s kind of an outlier. It started, I think, when my son — during the pandemic, we just all hung together — started being the DJ around the house. And he was playing a lot of John Cale. And Velvet Underground, but the John Cale, “Paris 1919,” particularly, that song was just on every day.

I was listening to lyrics about this ghost that is sort of a coy ghost, it doesn’t ever show up when you expect it to, doesn’t stick to appointments. And I thought I’d take that idea and kind of expand on it. I guess it’s the way you feel when you’re sort of chasing down things creatively too. But that one was a very specific melody that I’m trying to just point in the general direction of this idea about this coy ghost.

May I ask how old your son is? 

He’s 11. He was 9 I guess at the start of the pandemic.

That’s still a pretty interesting song choice for a kid to play, right? 

I mean, it’s kind of funny. He lives in our universe. So from an early age, I never understand when people would  say ‘Oh my kid listens to this horrible pop music and I can’t do anything about it.’ Like, why can you do anything about it? They’re living in your house.

Not like we’re militant about anything. He complains about going to birthday parties and having to listen to Post Malone or whatever. He’s like, ‘Why do they think kids like that music?’ Anyway, that’s a rant. But if I play one Nick Drake song, he starts  playing it all the time. And I don’t really listen to music that much. So he’s actually influencing me. And he’s actually becoming a pretty good guitarist.

There are so many beautiful references and lines in your lyrics. I was curious about “Lone Didion,” —  and I’m wondering if you read Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking about losing her husband and then daughter? 

Actually before I read it, I was talking to a friend who used to host at a restaurant where Joan Didion and her husband [John Gregory Dunne] used to come in as regulars, and they would get the same table and order the same thing. This is around 2003. Then she didn’t come in for like several weeks. And she came in one more time, alone. That story struck me and then I read the book.

You explore what you call the “threshold” of who we are in the moments “in between”? A liminal space might be one term.

I just want to acknowledge that internal world that we all have, that is usually not known to anyone else. It can either drive you insane, or it could be the best companion. If you can cultivate that internal world in the right way, you never have any good reason to be bored or lonely sometimes.

I just became more acutely aware of that during the pandemic, during insomnia…and it was like, Okay, I’m here, I’m stuck here. I can’t sleep for two hours. I can either spiral — as we tend to in the middle of the night — or I can try to put everyone to work, and pull out a melody and play it back in my head. While I was working on these songs, it really, really helped me get through that. Once I was done, those demons came roaring back.

I watched the Nexflix film The Bubble and enjoyed it. You were a composer on the movie; how did you get  on board? Did that work affect this record?   

I did that after the record was finished. I know Judd [Apatow] and he asked me to play a bunch of his Largo shows. They were doing once-a-month charity shows, and I would do those and hang out and I got the sense that he might have been kind of circling me and waiting for a project to offer up. [He did] I came in, in the final two months of the score work to work with Mike Andrews. Mike is his longtime composer and I was sort of artist-in-residence, I guess. It is a very complicated score because you have to score the movie within the movie. And I luckily didn’t have to deal with…

Dinosaurs?  

Yeah [laughs]. He’s very exacting and has very very strong ideas about music, Judd does. So, it was a long, long process. But it was good. I came at a good time: I was finished with the record; I needed a project. But you have to generate a tremendous amount of music to satiate Judd. So it was five or six weeks, just churning out many, many cues.

I know you had a song in Orange is the New Black and other visual projects. How often do you write a song that you feel is super cinematic? Or are there times when you’re watching something and you feel inspired to write? 

Writing a song for a movie is the ultimate challenge for me. Doing [an] instrumental score is cool, but writing a song with lyrics specifically for movies…. I’m thinking like Harold and Maude as the ultimate project that I hope would someday come along.

It’s just so challenging to try to do; to address what’s happening in the movie without leading the viewer and hitting it too close. I feel like I would be well suited to that because my lyrics, they can be a bit ambiguous sometimes. When I was writing “Underlands,” at first it was simply a melody. I was like, wow, this sounds like a film score scene. I was working with T-Bone Burnett at the time on [HBO crime drama] True Detective and I played it for him. He said, ‘that’s like the theme to a great ’70s movie.’

When I first came out of music school, that’s what I thought for sure wanted to do; film score work. But then I got a conversion van and a band, and hit the road and started playing rock clubs around the country. And that became the buddy road movie of my 20s.

I understand there’s an unusual guitar on Inside Problems, the one that starts out “Underlands”?  

My good friend Reuben Cox has the guitar shop Old Style in Silverlake. When I was working with Blake Mills on [Bird’s 2006 LP] Are You Serious, he was working with Blake. First we had these electric banjos that we were all collecting. And then they’re very weird, rare harmony, electric banjos. And then Reuben started putting rubber bridges on these strange old guitars. It’s not that radical to mute the instrument, but it’s like you commit to it.

Like permanent mute.  

Yeah, it’s hard to explain but what Blake was looking for… Well, guitars can chew up so much space because they resonate so much, sonically. So you take all that and then it creates these weird overtones too, if you distort it in the right way. It sounds otherworldly. I found when I started playing these guitars that it was kind of like pizzicato, but not quite.

It’s funny what started with Blake and me and during that time , you hear it a lot now. You hear it kind of affecting the music that’s being recorded. It was this particular Harmony guitar called the Caribbean, kind of art deco and very cool looking. It’s the thing I just reached for when we were recording; it just worked. From “Underlands” to “The Night Before Your Birthday,” it can go from this beautiful pizzicato to a Keith Richards rock ‘n’ roll thing.

The album closer, “Never Fall Apart,” seems to end things on a somewhat upbeat note.  

For “Never Fall Apart,” my old guitarist, Jeremy Ylvisaker, sent me an EP he had done and [it] goes into the sort of Kevin Shields, My Bloody Valentine territory. He had this melody in there, and I thought it was so beautiful. And the song was called “Never Fall Apart,” but it had no lyrics. I sat down, took the melody and over time it kind of evolved. I wrote that one fairly quickly, really inspired by that melody.

The last two songs on the album [“Stop n’ Shop,” “Never Fall Apart”] — from the title of my record, people are describing it as maybe not addressing all the upheaval that My Finest Work Yet was, but it really does have as many songs addressing what’s happening in the world. “Stop n’ Shop” is trying to understand what’s missing in our lives that so many people need guns or walls or trucks to kind of fill a void in their identity. And then “Never Fall Apart” tries to answer that question.

Would you always keep those two songs connected in a live set?  

I do like to keep things [together.] The sequencing of the live set is a huge part of my job. Not just what key, what tempo and the segues in between, but then the scenes and everything. It feels like half my job is sequencing. Whether people pick up on that or not, I don’t know, but it’s  important to me.

Bobby Z. On ‘Prince And The Revolution: Live’ & Why The Purple One Was Deeply Human

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#Birds News

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x8 thoughts

I am so lucky that the creators of Ted Lasso decided to make this entire show specifically for me. #blessed

If last week felt like a bit of breathing room (albeit tense, poignant, character-progressing breathing room) with distinct narrative lines, this week’s episode was a chaotic yet tightly-written swirl of pain and hope and sadness! No neat subject headers for this one, y’all. Just my brain and heart in the inadequate form of a bulleted list. It is the medium available to me at this time.

I am going to remember the moment when Ted calls Sharon and tells her his father killed himself for the rest of my life.

(I could say a bunch of stuff about his face and what he says and how he tries to hide his tears from Beard right after and how insanely much I adore this character and ahhhhhhhh but I’m just going to leave that scene there in our collective memories.)

Jamie. JAMIE. Higgins has given some great advice about love on this show, but his musings about his up-and-down relationship with his own father were not helpful in the context of Jamie’s dad, who is an abusive piece of shit. I really adore that all of the main AFC Richmond staff members are realistically a bit hit-or-miss with their advice and life philosophies (some are mostly miss this season, of course).

And I am completely in awe of the moment when Jamie punches his father. The way he just stands there after Beard kicks his dad out of the locker room. The way you can hear a pin drop. And Roy—Roy who is learning in so many areas of his life about his influence on people, learning that the things he needs aren’t necessarily the same as the things other people need—is the one to cross the room and hug him. Hold him, really, with the tenderness Ted used when he hugged Rebecca outside the gala in 1x4. God.

I’ve thought a lot about how s1 was about giving people a soft place to land. There’s always an angel there when you need one. There’s always an opportunity to be kind. If you look for someone, you find them. If you look for the good in someone, you find the good. And as everyone works through their individual journeys in s2, that can’t always be the case anymore. But there are still so many moments of angels on this show, and it’s not about chance and serendipity and fate [not that it was about that in s1] but about the effort it takes to become someone who can be there for someone else. Or who can be there for yourself. I’m so proud of Jamie for physically fighting back against his father. I’m so proud of Roy for being the one who recognized what Jamie needed.

I have every feeling in the world about how Ted is almost totally frozen both times (s1 and s2) he witnesses Jamie’s father abusing him. In s1, he was still there for Jamie after, and I have every reason to believe he’ll be there for Jamie after this incident as well, but that frozen stance HURTS. He’s in so deep with his pain about his own father that it’s like he physically cannot snap out of it to act in the moment. It seems entirely outside of his control, and it breaks my heart, because Ted wants so badly to be a good father, a good coach, a good friend, a good partner, a good patient. He’s there for people in all kinds of ways, even in his current less-than-capable state. He takes care of Sharon post-concussion and even gets her a new bike! During the disastrous match at Wembley his coaching is ineffectual and everything is chaos but he’s the last one standing on the pitch! But this really awful thing keeps happening to Jamie and Ted is just…frozen in the face of it. Like one of those nightmares where you’re running in place.

The frozen-in-place nightmare also kind of applies to the way the total separation between Ted and Rebecca feels, too. I have never for a moment doubted the writers’ intentions in setting these characters up as soulmates on parallel journeys, and I’m actually really digging (on a story level) how disconnected they are right now. It is IMPRESSIVE that their absence in each other’s lives feels like such a glaring loss, one we cannot forget even as there are so many other things happening onscreen. It is 100% not just shipper goggles making me process information about Ted while thinking about Rebecca and information about Rebecca while thinking about Ted. I know there are a lot of really angry and frustrated people in the fandom right now (both T/R shippers and T/R antis and non-shipping fans who don’t get why s2 is different from s1) and while I understand being frustrated by choices characters make, and frustrated by the feelings the show makes us feel that we just want to feel more of or less of, I continue to agree with pretty much every narrative choice happening right now.

Agreeing with the narrative like this?! This is such a unique experience for me as a viewer—to feel like I’m on a ride that is at once absolutely wild and incredibly sensible and well-crafted, and to feel simultaneously completely invested and anticipatory and speculative but also totally willing to trust where it goes. I long for Ted and Beard to really talk. I long for Ted and Rebecca to stop missing each other. I long for Roy to have a serious conversation with Ted about what’s happening with him. I long for Keeley to find a vocation, something that drives her beyond her projects. I long for so many things! But I wouldn’t long for them if this show was less good. If the show was less good, I wouldn’t have a wish list a mile long because I wouldn’t be so attuned to the details and potential lurking in every scene. THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SHOW, I CANNOT HANDLE IT, I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

(To that end, a great deal of the Ted Lasso tag and so many Twitter reactions reactions to the show feel super stressful right now and I am kind of just trying not to look?! I love this fandom so much because of the amazing conversations that happen and because of brilliant fic and because there are some awesome people I never would have encountered were it not for this show. That little bubble is wonderful and I’d stay in this fandom no matter what in order to keep experiencing those things. But fans’ catastrophic reactions to every little thing that happens, every little choice a character makes that isn’t the “perfect” choice? The takeaway that the writers—on this show of all shows—wake up in the morning ready for another day of torturing shippers rather than another day of writing a beautiful story they genuinely want to write? I do not enjoy those parts at all. I would like to opt out of those parts. I’m having such a magical experience watching this show and talking about this show and listening about this show and writing about this show with a variety of people who feel all kinds of ways. I truly wish I could somehow transfer the energy of this experience onto all the people who are hating it right now. I don’t mind at all that people are having vastly different reactions to this show and are sharing their honest feelings, including the really angry ones (I can appreciate something and disagree with it!), and I get that sometimes the language of fannish reactions is intentionally, ironically hyperbolic. But there feels like this very serious trend of people legitimately thinking writers on this show are targeting shippers and have lost respect for their characters, and I just feel like an alien from another planet when I see that stuff. I guess I just feel like people make art because they want their art to be visible to other people and to themselves, but that doesn’t typically involve specifically catering to or torturing a subset of that audience?)

I am more fascinated by Sharon Fieldstone than ever before. I have been running through every single action with her and Ted so many times. The confirmation that she’s living in club-provided housing (that could not look more different from Ted’s club-provided flat). Ted clearly noticing the many bottles. Sharon’s face while she tries to casually recycle them. (Sharon could legitimately have a more problematic relationship with alcohol than Ted does, and I find that extremely interesting and am very curious to find out what happens there.) Sharon leaving him voice notes while she’s concussed, probably because she’d been thinking about him shortly before the accident. The way Ted calls her and does all the funny voices and it’s not frustrating like all the times he uses his silliness and allusions to deflect during their prior conversations because this time, those behaviors are just a part of him showing care for another person. The way they stretch each other, and Ted is still wrong about the things he’s been wrong about, but they both grow all the same.

While it is pretty much impossible for me to imagine that this show would include an actual romantic relationship between Ted and Sharon (it would be beyond unethical even if they could write it well, and Sharon in particular is so professional and committed to her work, and it would erase so much of the powerful message about the importance of seeking therapy from a professional who is not your friend or partner, and I would totally hate it), watching this episode was the first moment I had this queasy little feeling that it’s possible that Ted could end up developing really complicated feelings about Sharon since, at this point, he’s been honest with her about things he’s hardly spoken about before and you can really form an attachment to people you feel safe with in a new way. (I mean, I’m sure Michelle knows what happened with Ted’s father, but I’m not even certain if Beard does.) He’s so broken right now, and Sharon is such a great person and so different from anyone else in his life (even though Rebecca is also different, and Beard is also different, and Roy is also different, and so on), that I could see things getting really fuzzy for him. I continue to have faith in the way the storylines on this show are handled. I’m just. Putting this here.

(In saying that, though, I also wanna make it really clear that I don’t just automatically assume anytime a new female character is introduced that they’re going to end up becoming a romantic complication. Like, Phoebe is allowed to have a teacher who is an attractive woman and AFC Richmond is allowed to have a sports psychologist who is an attractive woman and Keeley is allowed to talk to Jamie Tartt without it threatening what she has with Roy and all these people can exist as human beings without the introduction of romantic drama.)

Isaac gives every player one haircut per season, OH MY GOD. The JOY during the haircut scene. YES.

KEELEY AND REBECCA. Their text thread. The affirming video call right before Rebecca goes into the restaurant. The way Keeley sits all snuggled up against Rebecca in her office.

I was pretty thoroughly spoiled for the Sam and Rebecca plot through 2x8, and I was bracing for something far more problematic and tortured than what happens in this episode. The words I would use to describe their scenes: awkward, cute, cringy, and understandable. There are a million reasons why this relationship isn’t sustainable, but I felt completely understanding of both their choices here. This show has a lot of thesis statements, but I keep going back to the idea from 2x1 that there are people who enter your life to help you get to the next point, and I think it’s entirely possible that Sam and Rebecca will mutually be that for each other.

I find comparisons between Rupert and Rebecca super upsetting. There are absolutely meaningful things to say about the irony of ending up in a situation with an uncomfortable resemblance to certain taboo elements of an ex’s situation. But that ex is abusive and manipulative and cruel and Rebecca has exhibited NONE of those behaviors, and it makes me really sad to think that people feel that the writers on this show have betrayed Rebecca in giving her this storyline.

As always, I reserve the right to keep blathering about this show. I’ve had a headache for a couple of days, but my head is also so full of 2x8 thoughts that I couldn’t keep them in even if the circumstances for writing this were not ideal. I kind of hate that I’ve included frustrated fandom thoughts within the analysis of what I felt was an absolutely gorgeous, complicated, heartbreaking, near-perfect episode of television, but if ya can’t be a little dramatic on your own tumblr while you’re feeling raw and under the weather, where can ya?

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #meta by me #ted lasso 2x8 #a lesbian watches ted lasso #cw: suicide mention #cw: alcohol abuse mention

[ultrahpfan5blog]

No Time To Die - A strong departure for a fantastic Bond

So there is no secret to the fact that Craig's Bond tenure has had a mixed critical response. Casino Royale and Skyfall are considered in the top 5 Bond films of all time by many. Given that there are now 25 Bond films, that is an impressive achievement for any single Bond actor. Unfortunately they are also offset by the fact that Quantum of Solace and Spectre are largely considered disappointments. I think this is partly because of the incredible reception of their respective predecessors. I don't dislike either of them and I enjoy them for the most part, while recognizing their flaws but they are noticeably inferior to Casino Royale and Skyfall. So No Time to Die comes with pressure of sending Craig's Bond, who has been brilliant through the his movies' highs and lows, off on a strong note. Having watched the movie, I will say that it is a significant improvement over Spectre and definitely a strong end to Craig's Bond era, even if it may not hit the heights of Casino Royale and Skyfall. I would say its a lot closer in quality to the CR and Skyfall than it is to Spectre and QoS.

I don't want to reveal any spoilers for the film but so can't say much about the plot, but given its the longest Bond film by almost 20 mins, it doesn't feel like it. Its actually a film where you get consistently invested in the plot and the characters. There are lots of returning characters and there are some good new characters who add a lot to the movie. The film pays tribute to Bond movies of the past, like films like OHMSS as well as previous Craig era Bond films.

The action in the film is excellent. I would say in terms of action, it is second maybe only to Casino Royale. There is a visceral nature to it. There is a sequence set in Cuba that is particularly brilliant. The pre-credits scenes are again fantastic. The film has an opening that is basically straight out of a horror movie and is really brilliant. That is followed by an exceptional sequence in Italy which has been foreshadowed in the trailers. There are strong action scenes littered throughout the film.

Lea Seydoux returns as Madeleine as the only Bond girl to every make a reappearance. I have to admit that I was a little worried because I wasn't completely sold on the chemistry between Craig and Seydoux in Spectre and that romance kind of came out of nowhere. However, I think they are much better together in this movie. I think their scenes together are much better written and the actors feel like they are more comfortable in their character's relationship with one another. Its still not as strong as the chemistry shared with Eva Green but I feel that was lightning in a bottle type stuff which is impossible to replicate. Admittedly, there is a marked reference to Vesper, which while poignant and meaningful, does remind you of that chemistry. There is that musical cue from CR that briefly reappears in a beautiful moment. Overall, Seydoux is really good in the movie. Lashanna Lynch appears as the new 007. I am sure there will be outrage over her taking Bond's moniker but she is excellent in the role and the dynamic between her and Bond is really funny and there is the slow build up of respect between the two that is really well done. Naomie Harris is back as Moneypenny and she's strong as she has always been, although the last two films haven't given her enough to do given how she was introduced in Skyfall. One of the big highlights of the film for me was Ana De Armas in a delightful cameo during the Cuba scene. She is adorable and badass and looks amazing in the gown. You immediately want to see much more of her. She and Craig manage to replicate their fun chemistry from Knives Out during that section. Her role is quite brief but she leaves a major impact. If Amazon is interested in doing spinoffs of Bond, I would suggest to start with her character.

All the other returning cast members are terrific as well. Fiennes has a substantial role in the movie as his actions are very directly linked to the plot of the movie. He's excellent as always. Ben Whishaw is also terrific again as Q. He's been one of the big highlights of the Craig era Bond films. Again, he gets a fairly sizable role with him playing a pretty active role in climax. Rory Kinnear continues to be a welcome presence as Tanner. I'm glad he hasn't been ignored as new cast members have come in. Jeffrey Wright reappears as Felix Leiter and his presence is another highlight of the movie. Despite him having been missing from the past two films, this movie does a great job re-establishing the brotherhood between Bond and Felix and there is some great fun and emotional scenes between them.

Christoph Waltz returns as Blofeld in a brief role and he is effectively used in a pretty intense scene that evokes Hannibal Lecter. Billy Magnussen appears as a side villain who Bond has a grudge against. There is a henchmen with a robotic eye who appears throughout the film. What unfortunately drags the film down below Casino Royale and Skyfall levels is Rami Malek's Safin. He is not a strong villain for such a big movie. He has a phenomenal entry scene, but he is only present in the last act. Apart from an obsession with Madeleine and a creepy look, there is nothing really that distinguishes him from a garden variety terrorist. We don't really get to know what his ideology is and why he specifically wants to do what he does. Even Greene in QoS had a clear motive for power and control. Malek also seems a bit miscast because the role seems to be for someone who is older than he is. I guess it doesn't help that Malek generally looks young for his age. Its unfortunate because a really good villain would have made this film brilliant, but because of a lack of proper motivation besides global terror, he doesn't really hold up despite Malek's best efforts.

Daniel Craig is the glue that holds the movie together. He is absolutely outstanding here. I think this is the most relaxed he has been in the role and also the most vulnerable. It might just be his best performance out of all five films. He wears his age comfortably, not unwilling to let Bond be vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, but continuing to be an absolute badass. He also just seems to be having a lot of fun in the role. There is plenty of humor in the film and he gets a good chunk of it. He's excellent in the emotional and dramatic scenes which give the movie so much more weight towards the end of the movie. He really is the beating heart of the film. I really think they should take a sizable break from Bond after this film because Craig's shadow will be long and very difficult for a new actor without some distance. He's definitely my favorite Bond, having seen all 25 films because he has given Bond nuances and vulnerability that previous version just haven't. Its a great goodbye to him because he is phenomenal here.

Cary Fukunaga does a real strong job directing this film. Like I mentioned before, the film is never boring despite its long running time. The writing for the villain is what lets the film down but technically and performance wise, this film is terrific. It may not be the perfect send off for Craig's Bond but its an absolutely worthy send off. I'm looking forward to seeing it again to see if my opinions change a bit. For now, this is like an 8-8.5/10

#no time to die #daniel craig #cary fukunaga #james bond #007 #lashana lynch #rami malek #lyutsifer safin #jeffrey wright #felix leiter #billy magnussen #ana de armas #paloma #rory kinnear #tanner #naomie harris #eve moneypenny #ben whishaw #Q #M #ralph fiennes #gareth mallory #christoph waltz #ernst stavro blofeld #madeleine swann #lea seydoux

[lafayetteworld]

Robin 2021

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been actively posting on tumblr, mainly because I haven’t had time. That being said, the commentary I am about to make on the Robin 2021 series is not meant to offend anyone and while I am particularly critical, I also acknowledge that some people genuinely like it/prefer the direction its's going in. And that's fine. But I did want to break down why I feel the current series is just 'meh' to me at the moment and it’s not necessarily because Damian is potentially being shipped with a newly introduced character.

Please be aware, that there are lots of spoilers. 

So, to start off, I am a big fan of the older Batman and Robin (2009) series, where Damian had partnered up first with Dick and later Bruce (2011). I do no think they are flawless, certainly. I think, in particular, the Nobody plot - excluding of course the interactions between Batman!Dick and Robin! Damian which are gold - was very good. In just a handful of issues, I think we were offered a great insight into Damian's character and how layered he is. 

My first thoughts when I heard about Robin 2021, based on the announcement: Damian will follow his own path, for some reason he retains the Robin moniker which is weird but okay, it does seem like something he'd do I suppose. He will participate in mortal kombat-sort-of-tournament, which will showcase his abilities and in the process, 'he will seek his own destiny' (which I believe was a line used in the actual announcement). The reason he wants to win? Initially, it appeared to be only because he wanted to prove to be the world's best fighter -- which by the way, how is only a tournament of this level only coming up now? Anyways, ignored that. Not a big deal. The idea of watching Damian fight different opponents was appealing either way.

The art of those comics is perhaps nowhere as striking/appealing as Robin 2021 and there's certainly not as many elements to it, but there was just something about it. I stopped reading comics after, for reasons I can't recall but I do remember finding out that Damian was killed off sometime after. I was super heartbroken over it but luckily I found out about it right around the time DC decided to bring him so really I had to wait a short while to see the little shit being Robin again.

I am not as familiar with the arc on Alfred's death but I know Damian watched what was basically his grandfather figure die in front of his eyes. How it was addressed after was rather poorly and that's a discussion for another time, just as it is that hot mess of Gleason's Titans.

 My hopes may have been too high in thinking we will be offered the introspection we'd seen in Batman and Robin, or him deciding what type of vigilante he wants to be. Like who remembers Damian admitting 'sometimes I don't know who I am or what I want' or him saying he does not wish to be like Nobody. That was so poignant.  

First issue of Robin 2021 was a disappointment. I know that there's a lot of damage to the character that had to be addressed but why did he die from like the beginning? Why is it the first thing we see is the author's OC defeat him? I mean, we really didn't need that to find the tournament's rules. Anyway, I was so sold on the art that I could have overlooked all that, except then the art became inconsistent so.....

Do I think Flatline's design is awesome? Yep. Do I like that she is potentially a badass female fighter? Sure. Do I like her abilities? Somewhat? They haven't been explored that much. But to me, having an OC appear out of nowhere and kill the character I was hoping to watch mature/develop is a bit underwhelming. Then, we start getting references of how poetic it is that Damian may fall in love with the first girl that kills him. I thought it was funny at the beginning but subsequent issues only seem to point that actually, the author does want to use Flatline/romance in this journey of growth that Damian is undergoing. I mean, we really shouldn't be romanticizing that she killed him? The girl is serious about winning too. That she caught him off guard is actually rather awesome but I don't think it had to mean anything more than Damian meeting a potentially dangerous fighter and that he needs to be less reckless.

Damian is a pretty complex/difficult character with a lot to figure out. Why does he need a girlfriend? Why can't he have friends that helps him grow or mentor figures? Him and Rose have such a great dynamic, for example.

I see a lot of people saying 'well, he's a teenager boy so it's normal'. Yeah of course it is. But why can't it be the opposite? Damian isn't a normal teenager. Out there, may be teenagers who feel the same. They don’t care about this stuff. 

It is so frustrating, and underwhelming. Not because there's anything wrong with Damian having a crush. Not because there's necessarily anything wrong with Flatline. But because there's no need.

Why is it just because he's a teenager he has to have a romantic interest? If romance is introduced in a plot, surely it doesn't have to be just because 'he's a teenager'. And if he does, why does it have to be an OC that hasn't been explored very well? Flatline could be a seriously cool character without needing to be a romantic interest for Damian and vice versa, Damian has so much to figure out on his own. So for me it's not the shipping that’s an issue, it’s the reasoning and how it may perpetuate clichés when there’s other angles that could be explored. 

Also, why the hell is Alfred used to drive Flatline's likeability? If Alfred is Damian's guilt manifesting, then that's actually Damian thinking that?

'I like this one, Master Damian.'

Seriously. I really hope we end up finding out that was tied in with Flatline's ability or something. So, Williamson won't explore Damian's guilt over Alfred but he'll give us a panel where Alfred (or a manifestation of him) is basically giving his thumbs up for his OC. That doesn’t sit well with me. Not so early in the series, anyway. 

Why is this whole manga thing keep coming back? Yes, Damian reads manga. I loved this addition and I think it's great that Williamson actually brought it in. The fact that it was Flatline who found it seems cliché. And no, I don't think it's a parallel between the shojo manga characters and them two. I really hope that particular manga has a deeper meaning than that. The fact that we keep seeing the blood sprayed (or is it cuts? not sure) on it does seem to hint at that.

There were some good moments. Damian and Dick. Basically every single interaction between Damian and Ravager. The whole Damian and Conner could have been developed better, because it seemed rather sudden they had a heart to heart when Damian can be such a distrusting little shit. Damian reuniting with Goliath.

Why is it that we're five issues into this series and it's all over the place? I don't dislike it. The art is great, although there's so many inconsistencies. But it's been super hard to feel in any way about it other than just 'meh'.

Issue #6 was boring. I didn't mind Flatline and Damian analysing other fighters, it was interesting actually, but that it's still being framed as heading towards a romantic relationship is so.....well, eugh.

Overall, I just don't feel there's enough...substance? Damian does interact with a wide variety of characters and there are a lot of things going on - batfamily searching for him, Ra’s Al Ghul (which was funny yet so odd the way he was characterized), the whole tournament and magic island, so on.

Flatline is not the issue for me, but rather one part of why the series has not managed to appeal to me. I do feel there's a bit too much of her. Or rather, there's not enough of her as a character and too much of the whole 'they're teenagers so they'll have to end up having a crush on one another because he's a boy and she's a girl who literally stole his heart'. Like, I wouldn’t mind having Flatline or other fighters background explored, just to see the types of people they are and so on. 

I wish there'd more of Damian's inner thoughts too. If not that, then give us more fights. Not just snippets. It's a tournament. Let's see how badass they all are. Damian’s fight scenes in #6 were beautiful but brief. I hope the next issues will give us more of that.  As someone who does like Damian x OC fics, I can’t blame the author for wanting to hype their own OC, but I am also a great fan of friends to lovers, slow burns, friendships can be just as great as romantic relationships, of taking the time for mental/emotional growth. 

Anyways, if you've made it to the end of this commentary, I applaud you. Once again, if you do like the whole Damian x Flatline thing, that's cool. I don't, but I do understand to an extent why people find it appealing. And if you think the Robin 2021 series is amazing, then I am happy for you -- I wish I could be this enthusiastic about it.

P.S just saw the cover for issue #7 or is it #8 ? I think I may cry.

#damian wayne #flatlinedc #robin 2021 #spoilers #just an analysis of how I am finding this series so far #robin 2021 spoilers it's not a terrible series but not good either imo

[vickyvicarious]

do u have any atla fic recs? all time faves? can be shippy or not

Fun fact, I am incapable of holding back on reclists. In other words: brace yourself, anon. There’s a reason I put most of this behind a cut.

First off, these are almost all Zuko-centric, because I shamelessly play favorites. I’ll sort them by author rec, gen, shippy, and then by other characters because honestly the numbers break down well that way. Within those categories it’ll be more just as I think of it, so no special meaning to the order. I’m not always good about bookmarking even my faves, so some excellent stuff will no doubt be missing, especially since I haven’t read a lot of the more recent stuff yet/forgot some really old stuff, but this will definitely still give you plenty of fic to enjoy.

There’s a good number of FFN links on here so apologies to people who dislike it, but a lot of great stuff is still on there so give it a chance.

Author recs

Everything by @awesomeavocadolove​​  Such hits as Another Brother (Zuko adopted by Hakoda pre-S1), and currently has a Zukka soulmate fic I’ve been meaning to start reading, as well as Unchained Melody, one of my favorite Zukka fics ever. Always quality, you can’t go wrong.

Everything by KimberlyT.  I do not kid. She’s written a variety of ATLA fic ranging from Zutara/other romance to gen, seriously emotional to cracky cabbagebending. I think my favorite is probably Mismatched (S1 Zuko adopts a baby) but honestly just go read it all.

Everything by @emletish-fish​​. She has a very fun writing style and honestly her end-of-chapter notes on why she’s made the choices she has are fun minimetas worthwhile in their own right. Some of her top fics are the Stalking Zuko series (S3 suspicious Katara to Zutara) and The Worst Prisoner (the Gaang kidnaps Zuko in S1 and can’t get rid of him). I think there’s still a good amount of her fic that can only be found on FFN so check there too.

Everything by @botherkupo​​. Especially her Undying Fire series (healer!Zuko) but also just literally everything she writes, it is all so great. Tends toward Zutara but strong gen fics as well sometimes and a lot of fun. Check it all out!

Everything by @muffinlance​​. Loves to toy with her readers’ emotions in the best of ways. Tons of fantastic gen Zuko-centric AUs, I have adored every single fic I’ve ever read by her, can’t praise them enough. Very productive as well, her tumblr is a hub for the ATLA renaissance and her fics inspire lots of others. Has also organized a fanmade ATLA coloring book for charity so get that once it’s out. In the meantime read everything she’s written.

Everything by Haicrescendo. My favorite is What We’re Given (the series where Zuko finds more air bisons and raises them), but there’s a lot of good Zukka fic too. I tend to steer away from explicit works in this fandom unless it’s a smaller part of a much longer plot-centric fic, so there are a number I haven’t read, but I really like the Pokemon!AU Zukka.

Everything by @gaycinema. I really love the EK fight club series (Zuko fights in Rumbles/etc.) but all of it is a good read. Some Jetko, mostly a lot of introspective or emotional oneshots. Which isn’t really a great depiction of how good they tend to be, you’ll just have to read them and find out. You won’t regret it, trust me.

Everything by @captainkirkk. So far eight stellar fics, starting with kind Fire Lord Zuko and ranging to Floating Tea Shop!Zuko who doesn’t want to hunt the Avatar. I love her style and have laughed out loud at multiple of these. 

Gen Zuko fic

Bringing Out the Blue by maguena1. [unfinished, long] Definitely worth the read. The first ATLA fic I ever got really sucked into. The Blue Spirit never gets knocked out so Aang doesn’t know his true identity; he joins the Gaang on a recurring basis, while Zuko attempts to tell himself this is only for information on how to catch them, they definitely aren’t his friends.

It’s Impossible by Sandra Phillips. [abandoned, long] One of the earliest Avatar!Zuko fics (sort of) and a really interesting take on some spirit stuff.

Embers by Vathara. [complete, long] A landmark fic in the fandom, and for good reason. I didn’t love everything about this fic, but it is very well-written and an absorbing read certainly worth the praise. 

the art of description by incandescens. [oneshot, short] Five descriptions of Zuko and Toph’s field trip from various perspectives. Short, sweet, and funny.

Breaking Point by Kryal. [oneshot, short] Zuko isn’t banished but instead sent to serve in the Home Guard. I love Zuko loving his people, and alternate canon explorations, and this is exactly that.

The Alternative by Lunatique. [oneshot, short] The reason Zuko is so determined is because he fears what will happen if he isn’t the next Fire Lord. An idea I support in canon, to a degree, written well.

Hands and Knees by gigerisgod. [oneshot, short] Zuko reflects on the choices he’s made, and experiences he’s had, when joining the Gaang. A nice introspective fic.

Relative Misery by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Toph complains about her family and Zuko takes her on a field trip. Not a fic I take too seriously, but funny in a sad way.

Second Nature by lazyartisan. [possibly abandoned, long] An AU stemming from Zuko’s capture at the North Pole. Well-written and characterized, an old favorite that I actually find needing to reread to give you more detail, but I can promise it’s good.

Year One by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Lessons Zuko learns in his first year being Fire Lord. I really like explorations of Zuko’s journey as Fire Lord and this is a lovely little window into that.

Soft by PenPistola. [oneshot, short] Zuko and Toph bonding after the Ember Island Players. Short and sweet.

The New Phoenix King by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] Fire Lord Zuko is overthrown, and no one but him is bothered at all. In fact they help. Hilarious crack.

First Name Basis by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] There’s some popular posts going around Tumblr lately about Zuko not knowing the Gaang’s names, but this fic did it first back in 2008. As amusing as you’d expect.

Male Bonding by glamaphonic. [oneshot, short] The original ‘Zuko and Sokka bond and are also dumb idiot boys’ fic. Katara is permanently rolling her eyes.

it’s not the waking, it’s the rising by isamagicdragon, thegracious [ongoing, series, medium] Azulon tells Ozai to kill Azula instead of Zuko, which leads to heartwrenching fire sibs adventure. I haven’t caught up on the last chapter yet but god is it fantastic and also just a really interesting and new perspective on what could have happened.

Doe-Eyed by Anonymous. [complete, medium] Zuko is a baby, Azula is a loving big sister. More fire sibs and a great exploration on Azula’s POV of turning against Ozai.

kintsugi by discordiansamba. [ongoing, series, long] Zuko doesn’t have Iroh after being banished, and winds up hired as a guard to protect the frail Beifong daughter. Fantastic preseries Zuko+Toph found family fic.

Legacies by WildInkling. [ongoing, medium] Far in the future, a historian studies the journal of Fire Lord Zuko. Also, he was secretly a famous author but no one knows. A funny and poignant outsider POV.

#UndercoverZuko series by naggeluide. [complete, series, short] A completely cracky concept written straight enough to be actually quite touching in parts, but also just really funny. Zuko goes Undercover Boss on his ship pre-series.

Avatar Ficlets by JaggedCliffs. [series, oneshots, short] An ongoing series of disconnected oneshots, mostly post-canon and mostly Zuko-centric. Some a pretty fun, one is a great view on Zuko and lightningbending, all worth the read (and follow for when more come out).

The Blind Leading the Blue by BrusselsSprout. [ongoing, medium] An epic Zuko and Toph field trip set in S2. I love them and this.

half in the shadows, half burned in flames by r_astra. [oneshot, short] Iroh dies, Zuko gets caught on the Day of Black Sun, everything ends up all right but damn does it hurt getting there.

A Tale of Earth and Fire by chiiyo86. [complete, medium] Zuko and Toph are married for Politics in a FN Wins AU, and follows them slowly bonding as friends to beginning a revolution. They’re married but it’s not romantic, just some good friendship.

Eight Principles of Yong by psocoptera. [oneshot, short] An exploration of immediate post-show FN politics (sort of), calligraphy, and Zuko. Also has some lovely non-fighting firebending; I always love when people explore other uses of bending.

Healing Properties of Cinder Sage by Dawen. [oneshot, short] Zuko gets very sick in the Western Air Temple. Some good interaction when he’s new to the Gaang, and Toph+Zuko friendship.

We Ourselves Must Walk The Path by WinterSky101. [complete, medium] The Gaang agrees to make Zuko their prisoner in the WAT. Speaking of new-to-the-Gaang, tension, this fic has plenty of it, and also features some good Toph and Zuko.

Frozen by Aris Merquoni. [oneshot, medium] Zuko is captured in the NWT. Some politics, lots of angst, and eventually, healing. Also actually makes me somewhat like Hahn? Incredibly enough.

Reluctant Hero by PAW_07. [ongoing, long] Avatar!Zuko fic. I got to beta it way back when for a little while before I got too busy, and have always been a huge fan of this fic. Great concept, one of the best executions of it I’ve seen, and also one of the first. Definitely read this.

Morality Chain by Pureauthor. [abandoned, long] Azula and Zuko were always on each other’s side; how this changes canon. I love this concept and would happily read a lot more fics with it (please guys, I need more fire sibs).

A viper-lizard’s tales series by Yumi_Take. [ongoing, long] The world needs more of Zuko adopting pets and small children, and those are just facts. This only has one of the two, but it’s a EK baby! Jet plays a big role in this fic as well, a weird kind of uncle-ish to the baby/friend/murderer Zuko needs to watch closely and hold back kind of thing.

(life happens) wherever you are by howlikeagod. [ongoing, long] Katara doesn’t find Zuko and Iroh in the teashop, and canon takes a sharp left turn. Excellent Gaang fic.

The Best Path series by EudociaCovert. [series, ongoing, long] Zuko meets Jet in ‘Zuko Alone’ and winds up getting claimed as theirs by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Really really well-written, I got quite emotional over some scenes.

Shippy Zuko fic

Balm by Thyme In Her Eyes. [Maiko, oneshot, short] A sweet little fic about Mai’s thoughts on Zuko’s lightning scar.

The Black Games by Mrs. Pettyfer. [Zutara, complete, long] Hunger Games-esque AU. It’s the first in a series, and I lost interest after this one but I remember enjoying the fic and it was more personal preference rather than a drop in quality that had me leaving.

Lie To Me by Inkcharm. [Toko, oneshot, short] I’m not actually a fan of this pairing romatically (at least until years down the line), but this little fic of Toph and Zuko bonding through lying to one another is sweet. I choose to ignore the more shippy parts and enjoyed it.

Zutara? What the heck is that? by Ryxl. [Zutara, oneshot, short] Complete crack, have a good sense of humor and I think you will enjoy. Just the mental image of the Gaang finding a Zutara propaganda flyer had me chuckling.

The Three Chores series (1, 2, 3) by Fandomme. [Zutara, threeshot, short] Zuko and Katara slowly bond as he helps with chores. I will admit it’s been years and I barely remember this, but what I do recall is lovely and I always appreciate people lightening Katara’s load.

read the inscription by suzukiblu. [Zuko/Song, complete, series, medium] When Zuko is banished, he is left alone in the Earth Kingdom to fend for himself. Very touching, and I love Song in this.

Hooked by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] A classic ‘Jet didn’t see Iroh warming his tea’ fic. They’re almost all this premise but so many well-written and very long ones. 

Something To Hold Onto by Wildgoosery. [Jetko, complete, long] The EK fell and Li stayed to fight with the Freedom Fighters to protect the city during its foreign rule. Jet didn’t see the tea fic that goes very AU from canon.

Foxfire by Rahar_Moonfire. [Jetko, ongoing, long] Zuko loses his memories Jetko fic, but with heavy spirit influence and lovable EK OCs, both of which I adore and should be in far more fics.

Once Upon A Teashop by anaer. [Zukka, Jetko, ongoing, long] Cracky Ba Sing Se AU that gets gradually more and more serious. Jet hits on Zuko a lot and Sokka gets a job in the teashop to keep an eye on both of them. Endgame Zukka but heavy Jetko, and both pairings are handled pretty well, not a love triangle that makes me too mad, although as always bear in mind Jet’s messed up. 

Names by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] I feel like I’m forgetting some more excellent Amnesia!Zuko fics, but this is one I do know of. To be honest I don’t remember it super well because it may be mixed up with other Jetko/amnesia fics in my mind, but I think it was really good. I’ll have to reread myself.

Epistles by Lady_of_the_Flowers. [Zukka, ongoing, long] I love epistolary fic and I love Zuko and Sokka bonding earlier in canon. I will be honest I haven’t read this in a long time and been updating all the while, but the premise alone (Zuko and Sokka become messenger-hawk-pals in S1 and then fall in love) is fantastic. 

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought. [Zukka, ongoing, long] Zuko rebels earlier and actually is sent to the mines, until he is ‘rescued’ by the Water Tribe. Dark but getting lighter over time, and more reluctant-to-rule Zuko which always wrenches my heartstrings. I prefer super loyal and dutiful to his people Zuko but this trope always makes me feel things.

Crossovers

Fallen Drops of Fire by Chasmfiend. [Fullmetal Alchemist, ongoing] Young Azula and Zuko somehow appear in Amestris, and encounter Roy Mustang. I adore the fire sibs, and their relationship in this strange situation is the star of this fic for me, but it’s also fun seeing the FMA perspective of these two.

The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kryal. [Stargate SG-1, long, complete] The best crossover fic out there. Zuko and Toph get stranded on the other side of a Stargate. I don’t know anything about SG-1 but it didn’t matter, the fic was fantastic, they were badasses, it explored language and culture from an outside perspective, and it was just a ton of fun. Must-read.

Other character fic

Loyalty by Julia451. [oneshot, short] The ship captain didn’t misspeak when he called Iroh and Zuko “prisoners” in the start of S2. A lovely look at a nameless character, giving depth to a small moment and humanity to a FN soldier which I always love.

The Only One by HarlowR. [oneshot, short] An excellent exploration of Azula’s mindset regarding Zuko, her desperate need to be loved and jealousy of him matching his own. I think Azula was one of the greatest tragedies of the show, and this fic makes me feel it.

Blood by theAsh0. [oneshot, short] Katara-centric thinkpiece on bloodbending and healing. Dark but really interesting.

Touch and Go by Cadence. [oneshot, short] After Iroh’s struck by lightning, Toph doesn’t let Zuko drive them all away. A momentary alliance and the seeds of friendship. More Toph-focused but still heavy on the whole Gaang.

Shortcomings by Menamebephil. [oneshot, short] Iroh thoughts during his imprisonment, on the theme of mistakes. I love this man and don’t understand why I am so drawn to fic about him that makes me sad.

Watch And Review, Please by Becca Stareyes. [oneshot, short] The Ember Island Players receive some constructive criticism... sort of. Funny and quick.

Azula Redemption Trilogy (1, 2, 3) by Mistress of Sarcasm. [threeshot, short] Second person and deeply introspective, three short little fics delving into Azula’s head and bringing her closer to redemption.

Echoing Refrains by catie_writes_things. [oneshot, short] I really like nuanced explorations of the whole FN royal family. It’s perfectly fine to write Ozai as pure evil bastard, but exploring  what might have been or how he got there, or even as in this fic his talent for music being inherited by Zuko is really interesting too. Iroh-centric.

our curse by ohmygodwhy, and the last dragon by thesometimeswarrior. [twoshot, complete, short] Stay away if you don’t like to cry. In the first Zuko learns Ozai is executing Iroh, and isn’t able to stop it; the second is even worse because it’s Iroh’s POV. I put this in the other characters section because honestly I adore the second fic even more than the first, but they are both fantastically written and will hurt you a very great deal.

Finally, I’m not quite bold enough to put my own fic on a reclist, but just shameless enough to mention I’ve written a few Avatar fics I quite like if anyone feels the desire to check them out on my AO3. ;) But seriously give love to all the rest of these, they deserve it. (And as I said, there’s lots more excellent stuff, this fandom is so prolific and well-written!)

#atla #atla fic #fic rec #reclist #replies #anonymous #i'm haunted by the feeling i've forgotten a lot of stuff #but honestly i need to stop this is huge already #enjoy anon #Anonymous