#i’m rewatching not me and it’s fun to see all the details now that everything’s revealed

[neoflect]

sharing some of my disorganized jojo musical thoughts now that ive had a week to sit on it and ive rewatched it several times over. i intended to wait to publish something like this until a subtitled version was available, but im not seeing any indication that thats happening any time soon so for now youll have to deal with my loose interpretations from my extremely rudimentary and rusty japanese… so take what i have to say about the finer points of characterization with a grain of salt. gratuitous spoilers below obviously, both for the original source material and the changes made in the stage production

my feelings are OVERWHELMINGLY positive. of course there are things i can criticize or that i would have personally done differently but oh man… i have literally not thought about anything besides this fucking show for a week. im 100% confident in saying this is a better adaptation of the source material than the tv anime. sorry to the davidpro staff, i respect their hard work and their love for jojo and their dedication to what is by any metric a pretty difficult property to adapt off of the page, but i dont know if i can ever forgive them for leaving half of the first episode’s storyboard on the cutting room floor in order to fit a standard half-hour tv slot, especially considering that what they cut is some of the really crucial character-building stuff. happily those scenes are not only reproduced in the stage version, some of them are expanded upon!

with the quick disclaimer that i’ve only managed to get my hands on the final 4/14 performance with shotaro arisawa and yoshihisa higashiyama, from what i’ve seen the casting is perfect. i’m sure there’s a rip of the 4/13 performance somewhere (i’ve seen clips) but i haven’t been able to find one… every single performer knocks it out of the fucking park, the cast chemistry is incredible and even the minor characters are loaded with charisma. and mamoru miyano… my god… mamoru miyano i owe you an apology. i was not familiar with your game. of course hes been killing it for decades at this point but i had soured on him a little bit recently because i felt like he was overcast in everything and i just didnt connect with his dnt reinhard at all, so when the casting was initially announced back in august i was underwhelmed, and of course my standards for the dio role in particular were astronomically high… i’ll go more into detail later in the post because i have so so many things to say about dio’s characterization here but mamoru miyano’s performance is like, life-changing. i had impossible expectations and he exceeded them.

sorry if im gushing. i am a hater by nature. its unusual for me to be so thoroughly pleased with something. im not even a musical theater guy. these are strange new feelings for me.

just to balance things out i’ll talk about a couple of the things that didn’t really work for me: first of all, the music is just ok. my initial draft of this post called the music “bad” but three additional viewings later i have warmed up to some of the songs. i don’t know if this is a shortcoming by dove attia as the composer or if it’s just me, as i said i’m not a musical guy and a lot of the genre conventions of musical theatre are not really the things i look for in music that i enjoy, but like… even at their worst they are serviceable. nothing here is sonically unpleasant to me. high points are “resolve of the ripple” (zeppeli’s hamon training song, a jazzy swing number - it’s simply catchy and fun to listen to) and the closer “phantom blood” (a sweeping ballad that reprises the earlier “light and darkness”/”golden spirit” leitmotifs into an epic duet between jonathan and dio as they join hands and walk off into the darkness together… made me cry! i wont lie! on every single one of my numerous viewings this one got me misty eyed!)

wait i forgot this is supposed to be the part where i’m being critical. ok my most loathed song in the musical is “dio’s world”. sorry dio nation. it doesn’t really work for me. i think this might be a case of my standards/expectations being too impossibly high because it’s not even really the worst song in the whole thing. and of course miyano eats it up so it’s not really his fault. i just find it kind of underwhelming… i find the melody a little grating, it’s kind of just a generic rock number, it’s just missing a particular je ne sais quoi…. the essence of dio isn’t there… lyrically though i am obsessed with the premise of dio recruiting his minions by selling himself as a kind of social revolutionary who is upending and inverting the brutal hierarchy of post-industrial victorian society with zombie blood magic. you win some you lose some.

the second sticking point for me is the costumes. they’re perfectly serviceable… adequate… but i mean when it comes to jojo “serviceable” and “adequate” costume design obviously falls well below what’s expected, right? a lot of the outfits have kind of a boxy, almost flat-looking kind of unflattering fit on the actors, which if i wanted to be generous i could attribute to the challenge of bridging the gap between these frail slender musical theater twinks and the two-meter-tall 250lb roided-out beefcakes theyre meant to be embodying. (bearing this discrepancy in mind a lot of the insane martial arts stuff in the second act doesn’t really land with the oomph that it should, but i also understand logistically why this kind of casting is not practical, and all things considered i think shotaro arisawa does a really incredible job of embodying jonathan joestar even though he kind of looks like i could snap him in half over my knee like a twig. he’s very cute. so i’m not mad about it.) of course, again, logistically, i understand that in a stage musical production, where actors only have minutes to complete costume changes, some sacrifices have to be made to the creative vision in the name of practicality. nevertheless this is jojos bizarre adventure!! i want to see some fucking baubles!!!!!!

which is all to say that… after carefully considering it for some weeks… i still have extremely mixed feelings about dio’s grink ass feather bathrobe look. it’s not that i dont think its something he could wear (the concept of dio lounging around in his gothic vampire palace doing re-animator style body horror experiments on the local wildlife in this “officer i have no idea what happened to my husband”-ass nightgown is nothing short of hysterical to me) but then he wears it into combat and i felt a little disappointed… it has the same unflattering fit issue as the other outfits in the show, and it is just such an un-araki-like design… where are the gaudy color combinations? the bizarre geometric patterns? the tease of an exposed boob/thigh/midriff? erina gets a stage-original dress design that i have fewer issues with because the excessive pleats and ruffles have more of an araki-esque sensibility, but every time i look at dio’s robe it feels like there’s something missing.  i’m going to choose to be nice about it because it’s not at all a deal breaker and, again, mamoru miyano devours the look. it’s fine. it’s always fun to have a new dio outfit. if anything, the fact that the blu-rays are being marketed as “2024 cast version” gives me hope for the possibility of a future production with a new vision for the costume design. (although the fact that this was such a difficult production - with stunts and pyrotechnics and moving setpieces - that its entire first week was cancelled indicates to me that the prospects for a future production from a different company are impossibly slim. i guess there’s always hope?)

in terms of the writing and the changes that were made from the original narrative, honestly i don’t really have an issue with anything that was cut. sorry if there are any diehard stans of Poco’s Unnamed Sister out there who are steamed that their favorite minor late phantom blood character got the axe, i kind of understand how you feel because i’ve been malding over david pro cutting the Danny Lore for eleven years, but i think it was the right choice and the story flows so much better. the real juicy meat at the core of phantom blood as a narrative and the thing that brings it head and shoulders above so much of the rest of jjba is the character-driven drama - that deliciously pulpy victorian gothic family tragedy - and the relationship between jonathan and dio. the musical beefs up the character drama and slims down the action-driven second half by trimming out the extraneous battles. the only real downside i see to this is that the absence of tompetty and his prophecy makes zeppeli’s arc and death feel INSANELY abrupt, but tbf that’s not a deal breaker for me. sorry zeppeli. you were born to die.

okay. okay. i think 1500 words into the post is enough fucking around so let’s talk about the real reason why you and i both know we’re here

musical dio is SO fucking sad. he’s positively wretched, you guys. he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone and forced to eat cement when he was six. he cries even more than he does in the source material and even when he’s not crying he frequently delivers his lines as though he is moments away from bursting into tears. back when the musical first opened i was snooping on the reactions on jpn twitter and one commenter said they could see miyano’s tears and snot from the nosebleeds even without opera glasses, a remark i initially assumed was hyperbole but that i now think probably was not. araki’s dio is certainly tortured and a deeply pathetic crybaby beneath all the cruelty and posturing, but changes in the musical and miyano’s embodiment of the character bring this pathos to the fore. he is literally haunted: dario’s ghost lingers, a manifestation of all of dio’s traumas and insecurities that emerges from the recesses of his memory to taunt him with the reminder that he will always be his father’s son, all the way up until the very minute that jonathan breaks down the door to his vampire lair. i am OBSESSED with this - not only for the obvious reason that i delight in dio’s suffering personally but also because kong kuwata is a delight and he fucking kills it every time. also lends itself to a category 10 leitmotif moment at the top of the second act when dio emerges from the charred ruins of the joestar estate singing dario’s theme and calling out to jonathan - if i had to pinpoint this is probably the moment when this musical stuck for me as the Real Deal. they Get It.

the first solo number in the show is dio’s disney princess I Want song (amazingly, simply titled “dio”) where he weeps for his late mother and his wretched lot in life, and then - in a creative decision that made me clap my hands and hoot and holler at my screen in real life - there is a reprise of this number (delivered, naturally, through tears) when dio is almost arrested for murder and decides to become a vampire instead. so there’s this amazing hopeful uplifting inspirational orchestral music accompanying the onstage action of dio ruthlessly slaying jonathan’s dad and then getting pumped full of lead by a bunch of cops. it is brilliant. 10/10 no notes. it’s moments like this that i think really sell the “softening” of dio in the stage version for me, even though i am historically Not A Fan of fanworks that take a similar angle - like, yes, he is sad, but specifically he is narcissistically obsessed with the spectacle of his own suffering, he is boiling over with bitterness and rage for everyone around him who (by his own estimation) could never hope to have suffered as much as he has. this sensitivity and self-pity he wallows in are not expressions of a guilty conscience or a desire to change - they’re entirely the opposite - every cruel and monstrous deed dio commits is always justified to himself because he is simply the saddest little boy who has ever existed. he has been done wrong by the world and so there is no limit to the depravity he may reasonably respond with. i’ve seen several commenters describe this as a drastically different interpretation of the character from araki’s dio (and someone told me on twitter that mamoru miyano himself has also said this, but i cba to go digging for an actual source so take it with a grain of salt?), but i… dont think thats the case! dio’s obsession with his own weakness and his self-perception as the eternal underdog (as compared to jonathan) are certainly more exaggerated in miyano’s performance, but i don’t think this is an angle to the character that’s been manufactured out of whole cloth. the genre conventions of the stage musical force the melodrama up to eleven and dio’s incredibly repressed angst is the most rich vein to mine for that. hair-trigger sadist dio is still here, it’s the same guy, he’s still killing people mercilessly, you’re just getting to see him sing a big ballad about his feelings instead of confining those to an internal monologue.

if anything, the exaggeration of dio’s pathetic/cowardly/crybaby traits combined with his megalomaniacal aspirations and bottomless well of cruelty is just right. it’s perfect. fucking around, finding out, and then trying to weasel his way out of the consequences with crocodile tears just so you don’t see him drawing his knife to cut you clean open… yeah. thats the stuff. thats my one true blorbo. sad to say i will love him for ten thousand years.

i think that might be all i have to say… or at least all i feel like saying here… most likely ill come back and edit this post later. i certainly have some additional thoughts and some more esoteric/controversial takes but they’re not suited for a public blog. real ones will understand. im keeping my eyes peeled for somebody to translate this thing but to be frank i am kind of enjoying this little corner of fandom as it is right now: just the asians and the true hardcore phantom blood phreaks. i have not had this much fun in jojo fandom in almost a fucking decade. as soon as somebody publishes an english version my timelines going to get flooded with all the most deeply annoying “kono dio da” “speedwagon waifu” reddit guys and 15 year olds and my suffering will proceed. unfortunately this is my lot in life and i am doomed to be here forever because dio put a worm in my brain

#⚰️ #jjba tag for blacklisting purposes but i dont want this in the main tag

[bronx-bomber87]

Good evening fandom! Welcome to my inaugural mini review post. Holy hell I can’t believe we’re finally here. These probably won’t be as detailed as normal like I mentioned. Mini review is the goal. It’ll be initial thoughts and feelings. Which will be fun cause all the other seasons other than S5 I had ton of time to reflect on moments. These thoughts for S6 could change when I rewatch the season for review purposes this summer. The exciting thing is having those first reactions. That's what these will be.

So you're getting hot off the presses thoughts haha I just watched it couple hours ago. These are thoughts I had while it was happening. With some editing to make it readable ha Want my reactions be as authentic as possible with these. Why I avoid spoilers tbh. Be interested in seeing what everyone else’s are as well. The gif library was an absolute turd so I didn't get to use all the gifs that were made yet. So I made some. Anyways this so friggin exciting to delve into so let’s get started.

6x01 Strike Back

Tim got scruffier from the finale to now-and I’m here for it. Mm. Plus he's in Metro gear. Phew Lord. Something about scruffy Tim gets me going. Adore them riding together automatically after their battle. I truly love it. The little things I continually love with them. Also LOVING the Metro call sign. Yum If this going to be his call sign all season I am about it.

Oh my lord why is her sitting at his desk so squee worthy to me? It’s getting me all in my feels. I love that Lucy can just use his office as her own. So cute using it to steal it for some study time. I love this so very much. Then her asking if they can ride together so he can quiz her? Tim doesn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes.

Still amazes me we’re in the place with them. The Tim of old would’ve groaned and moaned about such a task. He jumps right on it for her. Ready to help her out. Even though he’s not sure how much it’s gonna do. Clearly very aware Primm is out to get her. That is common knowledge now.

Lucy is right when she says it sucks. That she has to battle this and face possible wild cards.. It isn’t fair when she's earned her spot more than most. Fought and clawed for everything she's done in this department. Definitely more than Nolan... Hey wouldn't be a review if I didn't pot shot Nolan would it? lol I love Tim finding a solution for them. Saying they can take out do the box calls all day. Widen her knowledge a bit on it. Sharpen her skills with odd calls.

I love her grateful smile when she says 'Thank you.' Loves this man. Damnit they’re so cute their banter coming out of his office is on point. Tim saying she learns best when she’s pissed off. I mean if that isn’t her rookie experience with him in a sentence. Lucy saying this feels like she is giving him permission to be an ass. Heh it kinda is no matter what Tim says.

You know he kinda loves being able to make her his boot again in some form. He is going to enjoy himself with this. There is no doubt about it. That's why he's doing that smile of his. Lucy calling him out knowing this man so well. Pointing her finger and all. God I love these idiots so much. Tim trying to tell her just his smile. Uh huh sure it is Tim.... Lucy following after him with a smile of her own. These dopes I've missed them so damn much.

I’m very much loving Tim has not really shaved in 6 weeks ha. The scruffy remains and I’m excited about it. Lucy is starting to question asking Tim to help her. We all know she learns best from that man sitting next to her though. I also always enjoy when she gets to drive. Another micro shift that has changed that I love so much. Her heart eyes when he says Angela’s cop brain is just booting up LOL Loves this goober of man.

Lucy absolutely losing it and going on a rant of epic proportions had me rolling. LOL Massive emotional downward spiral happening here. I’m dying as I watch Tim take it in. God Eric the master of expressions crushing it again. This was a huge one for her holy crap. Nuclear really. Well done Melissa getting all that in with one breath basically. By the time she’s done I’m cackling at Tim’s expression. LMAO Oh my god these two. God I’ve missed them so much it pained me.

Lucy knowing Tim's reply without even looking at him. Just epic married status at this point. Doesn’t even have to look at him or for Tim to say anything. It’s already there because of that crazy good connection they have. How deeply they know one another. It’s so good. Tim being the smart man he is says nothing. Lucy knowing he’s thinking it haha

Lucy coming to conclusion she will do crazy wild card during the day and the manual at night. She will sleep when it's over LOL Tim shaking his head. Knowing there is nothing he can say right now that'll make this better. Or to derail her crazy train of thought. This is like S1/S2 them with the added benefit of them being together now. It’s glorious.

Getting serious Plain Clothes Day vibes from this episode as well. Except this time Lucy light years away from who she was then. Confidently reciting what she’s going to do Tim nodding along. Tim wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t rock her boat a little though. Lucy getting in her head about the crime scene now. Tim isn’t wrong she did tick all the obvious boxes. That the point of today is looking for wild cards. That’s what he wants her to engage that brilliant brain of her's in. It's why he's here.

To zero in on the 'Out of the box thinking'. Poor Lucy spirals out not being able to decide if she wants his help or not. I ADORE Tim telling her it’s ok to not know the answer. Not shaming her in the least just needing her to make a call. God how far we’ve come. Tim pushes her because he knows that is when she learns best. Trying to add a little urgency to her decision making. Unfortunately it backfires. I kinda loved them calling each other by their ranks in this heated exchange.

Lucy is so flustered it’s giving me PCD vibe once again in the best way. The sprinklers turn on and Lucy panics. There’s the wild card….We watch as a bullet leaves this man’s body and enters the storm drain never to be seen again. Lucy being so very disappointed in herself. It’s reminiscent of the disappointment she showed in s1 but only now she's far more experienced. So it hurts much more now….Oh Lucy my heart. You poor thing. Couldn’t have gone more wrong if she tried.

I can’t believe they played clown music upon her entrance.... Beyond cruel but that's cops. Always taking shots when people mess up spectacularly. Tim trying not laugh.... Babe she is spiraling right now maybe don’t lol Poor thing I would be mortified too. I love how both Tim and Lucy smile when they see Wes and the wee one. My heart. She wants Wes's opinion and he just crushes her with logic. Ugh She needs a hug. Bad day for our girl.

Lucy continues to break my heart as they sit in front of the crime scene. She is on the verge of tears. Verge of a breakdown it feels like as well. Killing me softly. Saying she should skip the detectives exam. My girl. Tim doesn't want her to give up. I will say this fight I feel like I would be Tim. Trying to be so supportive it’s come off as agreeing with her she can’t do it. When really he was just trying to be supportive of whatever she wants.

Can't win for losing right now Timothy. She is in a bad way right now. Lucy has some weight to her argument though. if I was her in this moment I would feel the same way. If I’m in a bad headspace I need reassurances. So I can relate to both of them in this fight. It’s not a fun time for either of them. Tim is still learning that emotional depth he needs to have with her in these moments.

Being supportive has worked before so he's not sure why it's backfiring right now. They’re solid but always room to grow beauty of them. Lucy spots someone pull up to crime scene crying. She has them peel out with Tim not really understanding why. Lucy catching her digging through her trash. She ends up getting a confession. Phew Well done Luce.

Oooh this final scene. Oh my damn lord. This is some PRIMO productive angst holy hell. Eric and Melissa came out swinging with it. I knew they were going to have one more scene about it. I just didn't think it would be this explosive. I adore Tim picking up on how short she is with him. Grabbing her by the arm and confronting her. Growth continuous growth for them both continues to show. Love it. Look at Tim being the one to come at this. I’m so proud of him.

Throwing her words from 5x21 somewhat back at her. Saying this isn’t going to work if she isn’t honest with him. Then Lucy really lays into him. Now do I think he purposely undermined her? No I don’t. Not ever. That’s not in his DNA to do that to someone he loves. I was deeply hurt for him when she suggested this. You can see how hurt he is when she says as such. He’s getting emotional and it makes me as well. I just wanna hug him.

Tim as we know is a DEEPLY loyal person. Also one of my main relations to him as a character. To purposely hurt someone they love isn’t fathomable to a loyal person. It's unthinkable. You have to hurt them first. To undermine Lucy would be to hurt her so he would never. To be accused of such by your favorite person? That cut's so insanely deep for him. I haven’t seen him this hurt since the 'Tim Test' line from her in 4x08. I’m legit wounded for him. He is so upset she could think that of him.

Now Lucy might be onto something with the subconscious part. He could’ve done it not realizing what he was doing. Because love isn’t rational. Man is hardwired to protect her and want to keep her safe. So I could see this especially with her psych background. I think this is solid guess at what happened. Now was this the right time to lash out at him for Isabel stuff? I don’t know…

Felt like a low blow when he was already down for the count. She is throwing him daggers with her eyes most of this conversation. Feels like its more than just the UC right now but that's just my guess at this point. Let's not forget she was having UC doubts towards the end of last season.

Now do they need to have these fights and conversations? HELL YES. My god this subject needs to be discussed. Especially with how 5x20-5x21 were. Want to reiterate this is my first impression. I was literally writing this as I experienced their fight for first time. When I rewatch it this summer this could change. My POV could shift. But right now I see a man who only thought he had her back and was raked across the coals in this moment.

So for me right now in this moment I feel like Lucy had pent up frustrations and took it out on Tim. The protective side of me for him isn’t pleased with that tbh. Doesn't mean I love Lucy any less. I adore her so much. You all know that. But my gut leaned towards Tim in this fight. That may be bias idk but it’s how I felt when it was said and done. Tim was very very defensive when she brought up Isabel. Which hasn't happened in awhile. But his emotions were heightened and he was on the defensive before they'd reach the topic of her.

Lucy basically kicked him while he was down and he felt it. I'm not discounting her feelings at all. She is allowed to feel overwhelmed. Has every right to be. She is STRESSED and it is coming out in all kinds of ways. Ways that aren't like her. I think she stewed on this thought the ENTIRE shift and it came out in the worst way. Which also isn't like her. What she did had him defaulting back to old school Tim. Cutting off the conversation before more emotions were to be had or he said something he would regret.

Basically cut the fight off at the knees and walked away. Lucy’s face says it all when he walks away. She wasn’t expecting that. Shocked he just left her like that. Oh Lucy, you wounded him more than once and he retreated HARD. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened? God this is so good though everyone. This is the type of angst I'm all for. What a way to start the season off hot damn. Hurts so good angst to get us going. I could not be more excited for where we go this season. Feel free to comment on this. Love to chat with you all about this. All uncharted territory for us all. We're in for quite the ride.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Who are these friggin people? They’re insanely ruthless. Like Rosalind level ruthless in how they just dispose of people. Sending two their team out as a distraction to be blown up. Jesus. Then sniping their own guy. They’re smart but cold af. Then killing who I thought was the boss at the end. Shit. Consider me intrigued.

I liked the 6 weeks later. Makes sense need to do a time jump.

Celina being more afraid of Tim than Harper. LOL little does she know they’re basically the same person haha

Poor Aaron wants to be back in the game and can’t be. I agree with Grey he’s not ready even if he thinks he is.

God I love Nyla Harper. Took that mofo out like the complete bad ass she is. Came with repercussions which made me sad for her.

Angela being more excited to see burritos than her husband lmao I love this woman.

Feeling little potential flirty action for Aaron and his therapist.

#Caitlin's Mini Reviews #chenford #S6 #6x01 Strike Back #the rookie 6x01 #otp: doing my job #otp: unless it is #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #tim x lucy #lucy x tim #eric winter #melissa o’neil

[affixjoy]

Today I continued my Star Trek journey by rewatching Star Trek (2009) and boy howdy do I have some thoughts.

So first off, I saw this for the first time when I came out in 2009. It wasn’t my first experience with Star Trek, but it was probably my first with Kirk and Spock and that gang. I remember liking it a lot.

Now that I’ve watched all of TOS and a few of the movies with the original cast my feelings are a little more complicated.

Overall, fun movie! I imagine they had to have felt the weight of recasting and redoing such iconic characters, and in a lot of ways they succeeded. It certainly got younger people like me interested in the franchise!

💫 Spock: I do love this version of him. His “live long and prosper” to the VSA is perfectly bitchy and I’m obsessed with it.

💫BONES!! if you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that somehow Bones snuck up on me as my favorite character. I love his intro here, and I think Karl Urban gets the tone just right. This really is a buffet for the McKirkers out there, I can see how this led to 1000 academy era fics of them.

💫Kirk: oh Jim. Jimmy Jim Jim. Baby boy. What are you doing. How did being played by Chris Pine (who is incredibly hot) make you LESS attractive??

Obviously this Kirk suffers from some Kirk drift and the added trauma of losing his dad. He’s so much angrier, so much less sweet and nerdy. Rewatching this now I can see why I was so hesitant to like him in TOS because he’s a lot less lovable here.

💫 I get it’s an emergency and they had to for plot reasons, but almost all of Pike’s staffing choices make no sense. Sure, Spock as acting captain, I get that. But everyone else?? Imagine being one of the other people there who has been with starfleet for years and seeing him hand Kirk the role of first officer. The ship can’t be entirely cadets can it?? Imagine the group texts going around after like “thank god he didn’t die because I really need to bitch about this.”

💫 I love all three Uhuras (tos, aos, and snw) and I get why they made her Spock’s love interest here because they’ve got fun chemistry! They have a lot in common, they’re both hot and smart, I get it. But cmon guys, that man is a 6 on the Kinsey scale. You keep pairing him with women and it doesn’t work.

💫 I feel like they worked in lots of little references to classic trek, from plot stuff to smaller details like when Spock enters from the turbolift at the end in a very TMP way. I love that, it makes me feel like the people making the movie really care about the stories and the characters. When Spock Prime says good luck I felt all the weight of his relationship with his Jim and how it changed him. So lovely and touching.

And just how close they made Kirk and Spock stand, especially towards the end of the movie. They were always glued to each other in TOS and JJ must have known us Spirk shippers needed something to latch on to 😅

💫 There’s too much action in this movie for me. We didn’t need to see Scotty beamed into the water tank. The best sf stuff is always story based, I don’t need extravagant fights and cgi shit. I’m sure there are people who watch science fiction for the spectacle but I’m here for the ideas and the feelings.

💫 goddddd everything with Vulcan and losing Amanda. Rip all our hearts out why don’t you. Spock’s mom dying is just heartbreaking. I know they had to lose someone we knew to make the destruction of the planet more real to us as viewers but so crushing to see it.

💫 Old Spock 😭😭😭

He knows right away who Jim is and expects that Jim found him on purpose.

Old Spock just launched right in to the mind meld huh. To me this really says that he and his Jim are on very casual mind meld terms and he’s not fully understanding that this Jim is not his Jim.

Think about how fucking weird all this must be for old Spock. How heartbreakingly strange it would be so see a young version of your husband and send him to a young version of yourself. Meeting all your old friends young selves, years after you’ve lost them all.

And from here out it’s just miscellaneous thoughts I jotted down while watching that don’t fit great anywhere else:

⭐️I love when the redshirt is so excited to get the Romulans and Kirk gets this look like… that’s why you’re here? Dude the battle not the appeal here. A nice glimpse of how this Kirk is similar at heart to TOS Kirk.

⭐️Love you Sulu and your fencing skills

⭐️I love when they stop the lift for emotional reasons.

⭐️“Our destinies have changed” goddddd great speech Spock

⭐️Jim has the look of a man who is frequently escorted places by security

⭐️Spock wants to break Kirk so bad 😂

⭐️When Jim slaps Spock’s back and Spock has a look of “I think that just awakened something in me.”

⭐️Spock you’re calling him Jim already? You slut. (Delighted, affectionate)

Overall I think it’s a fun movie but it misses a lot of what’s at the heart of the classic Trek I love. They try to do everything too fast and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m excited to rewatch the next two and see how these versions of the characters change!

#spirk #star trek #james t kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #star trek 2009 #nyota uhura #not a bad movie! #but missing a lot of the vibes I love #I get why people love it and I get why people hate it. #mckirk

[tornrose24]

I’ve been rewatching The Ghost and Molly McGee and have concluded watching season 1. These are my thoughts and observations:

-I love how Scratch slowly warms up to Molly across the season and it is easier to catch when you watch the episodes in order. From going to a complete jerk, to valuing her friendship, to caring about how she views him, to not wanting to lose her.

-I also love how this show’s art style is like a storybook come to life in every shot.

-It makes even more sense as to why Scratch haunts Adia’s old home. Todd’s soul gravitated to the one place in Brighton that held happy memories for him, where life had yet to turn him into an anxious, fearful adult. It was a safe space for him, and he was mad when a family managed to move in and invade it. Especially Molly specifically moving into his personal room/the safest spot in the house for him.

-Molly and Scratch are BOTH horrible liars. It’s funny how similar they are in that detail, and it’s even funnier if they call each other out on it.

-Scratch is an absolute asshole to a lot of people and enjoys seeing them suffer during this season, but I think that partly stems from a ‘I was/am miserable so I like seeing others suffer.’

-I’d say Molly’s worst episode is the Snow Day episode (not listening to what everyone else wants to do) and Scratch’s worst episode is the Internship episode (taking advantage of an intern to do basic, unhelpful tasks and being a bigger asshole than usual).

-Molly nearly dies 4 times (the machine during ‘Friend off,’ was willing to catch hypothermia in order to have fun in the snow, was almost hit by the truck, and was nearly sliced in half by Jinx).

-Scratch, Mr. ‘So afraid of dying that I never lived a day’…. Gets trampled by animals, eats poison berries, gets hit by a tour bus, gets blended by the machine from ‘Friend off,’ and is sliced in half by Jinx among all the possible things that WOULD have killed him in this season if he hadn’t been a ghost at the time.

-In ‘Very Hungry Ghost’ Scratch doesn’t get to eat any of the food intended for the ghosts. Because he wasn’t fully a ghost, that feast was not meant to be eaten by him.

-I admit I have yet to catch Scratch’s ‘nervous habit of scratching his arm’ during these episodes.

-There’s a recurring theme of the adult characters regaining their passion for something they once loved in a few episodes.

-However I also appreciate showing very realistic struggles, like financial concerns and how you can’t magically restore your community and town to its glory days without some effort put into it.

-Libby’s mom can be seen as an early cameo during ‘The (Un)natural.’ Of course, she would be there for her daughter ^_^

-I’m not a huge fan of the Christmas episode (never rewatched it until now) but GOD do I love the pink sky they use against the Christmas decorations and snow.

-In Pete’s news article in ‘Twin Trouble’, it mentions that other city planners mysteriously disappeared. However, I don’t think the show EVER addressed that, because such a story fascinated me and made me wonder if there was more to Brighton than meets the eye.

-There was a wasted opportunity in not discussing who or WHAT The Chairman was. Was this mystery meant for season 3?

-Scratch mentioning that he is dead throughout the show hits differently now that we know its quite the opposite. So does seeing him having to do mandatory things for the ghost world that he technically shouldn’t NEED to be doing at that moment.

-So does his interactions with Geoff. Oh boy.

-Was Scratch specifically assigned to scare Brighton? What about the other ghosts from there, like the Tugbottom siblings? Howlin Harriet? Sonia? Why don’t we see them doing their job as much as Scratch has to?

-The sheer irony of Scratch believing that he didn’t have any fears in ‘Scaring is Caring’ only for fear to be the reason WHY he was a ghost to begin with. Once again, there’s a hell of a difference between ‘Scratch as a human being afraid of everything’ and ‘Scratch as a ghost being afraid of losing Molly and would do anything to save her.’

-No seriously, it gets to a point where Scratch risks his existence to save Molly in this season and in the next one-if he had been human, he would have been willing to die for her.

-‘All Night Plight’ is an episode I hadn’t rewatched until recently. And it hits a LOT differently this time around. Molly wanted to form a forever memory with Libby and Scratch by seeing that comet and she managed to win over Scratch who went above and beyond to ensure that was possible. While that memory is now somewhere hidden in Scratch’s mind as a living person, this episode likely was one of the events needed to push him into becoming someone who would take chances and embrace life upon coming back to life.

-Considering the number of times Molly almost dies, it would have been one thing if Scratch didn’t take it too well if he failed to save Molly. But if he learned that he was the one who had the chance to come back to life and not her? Yeah, that would have seriously wrecked his mental state.

-That moment when you realize that it was TWO souls hovering on the edge between life and death that changed everything in the Ghost World. Also I could be wrong, but I caught that Molly AND Scratch both have a brighter glow compared to most other ghosts in the Ghost World. Was this stealth foreshadowing, or just a coincidence?

-Scratch’s declaration that knowing Molly was the highlight of his afterlife. That moment when you realize Molly brought him joy after years of being miserable as both a ghost and as a human. This girl reached out to him and was able to get him to open up when no one else did. This girl who is showing him how to truly live once more. This girl who he openly declares to be his friend no matter what others will think.

-When I see Wraith!Molly hugging Libby and Scratch, I just wonder ‘WHY DOES MOLLY HAVE 3 ARMS?!’

-As good as this show is, a lot of folks who watch these Disney Channel shows are likely used to the more story-oriented shows. While the ‘slice of life’ style for TGAMM did pay off, the slow pace and length it took for the episodes to release likely worked against it and I could see why it didn’t attract more viewers at the time.

Stuff relating to Todd:

-Scratch possesses people a lot in this show, but especially in season 1. I’m reminded of someone who talked about the wraith theory on YouTube and he had this guess that Scratch might someday possess Todd and then realize something is different this time. I think that having Scratch use the possession trick so often was building up to that one moment in the last episode because it WAS a matter of time until he possessed Todd.

-As I said in a previous post, I caught Todd in the stands during The (Un)Natural, which was his ACTUAL debut episode. It was easy to miss the first time, but its a noticeable establishing character moment since he’s the only audience member who is visibly NOT happy despite that the team is winning.

-Molly stopping at Todd’s house during the song montage in the bandshell episode hits a lot differently now after the series finale. But then I laughed when she smacked him in the face with a flyer upon stopping by the house a second time in the same episode.

-We have confirmation that Scratch (as Todd) knew the mayor when they were kids and that is a tale I’m very curious about.

-I caught Todd in the audience during ‘Citizen McGee’ when the mayor bestows the honor of being mayor for a day to Molly. I admit a cynical side of me thinks that this is how he actually remembers her name in the last episode…. But at the same time he was so on auto-pilot during that time that he likely wouldn’t pay much attention or remember those events that well. (Plus, you can’t be expected to remember someone’s name once all the time). I refuse to believe that he remembered this event and that Scratch’s memories were what actually triggered the name.

-Todd’s actual lines are very limited (I don’t think he gets many in season 2 compared to this one). While Dana Snyder was voicing him, Snyder lowered his voice so much that it’s really hard to tell that he’s the one voicing Todd. I keep putting my ear to my computer to listen, but Todd barely sounds like Dana. I think they did this on purpose to avoid making it too obvious that Todd IS Scratch. (And that’s probably why he doesn’t talk as much in season 2…. Until the last episode of course).

-The Internship seems to double as foreshadowing, and not just because Todd appears or that his ‘junk’ held some very crucial clues. Molly believes that the pawnshop is where happy memories go to die while Weird Larry assures her that it’s where memories can be reborn into something new. So… is the pawnshop a metaphor for Scratch’s own depression causing his ‘death’ and how he’ll be resurrected into a happier person?

#the ghost and molly mcgee #the ghost and molly mcgee spoilers #i'll need a break before i rewatch all of season 2 #molly mcgee #scratch the ghost #todd mortenson

[dontbesoweirdkira]

¡Yandere! Paulie Lombardo

204. “Those bastards tainted you by touching you! Now I’ll have to erase their stench on your skin!”

169. “Only I can have you. I need you to stay with me. Forever! Without you I feel empty and lonely. “

A/N: Finally writing paulie. This is kind of like the situation that Sarah was in and the guys went to go deal with them because of it. I was rewatching the clips and remembered how upset he was about it. Thought a similar situation could happen to his darling since yandere paulie is just off his rockers..

Warnings: toxic themessss, references to being harmed, violence, Paulie trying not to flip his shit but failing

Requests: open 24/7

Masterlist

He knew he shouldn’t have been so foolish to let you go out alone. Paulie just couldn’t resist your adorable little puppy eyes and the softness of your voice pleading to go out to the store while he took care of business.

Truth be told he had such a huge soft spot for his darling Y/N. He just loves you so much and he hates saying no to you. It pains him to see you upset.

But now he’d much rather have you pouting in your shared bedroom all day than to have those sons of bitches touch you the way they did.

It was the Morello boys, they were waiting a block down from Paulie’s place in hopes that it’d be the gangster they’d catch off guard….not you.

But might as well have fun with such a pretty face like you. It’s not often that you’ll see a beauty such as yourself traveling alone in Lost Haven. The added plus is that they knew just how much this would kill Paulie to know his precious little princes was taken advantage of by his opposing mob.

Luckily for you Paulie just couldn’t rest knowing that you were out alone. Would if you left him? Or what if something happened to you….

He made the guys take a detour down by his side of town just to check on you and make sure everything was alright.

I won’t get into any details but it'd be a blessing that the guys got there when they did or it would’ve been worse than what it already was.

Immediately, Paulie got you into the back of the car and had Sam sit with you, covering you from the wrath he unleashed onto the young boys.

Paulie may be an old brute now but he definitely was still a brute. He’s never been so angry in his entire life, he doesn’t know exactly what took over him or even exactly what he did to all of them but let’s just say the term “biting the curb” is far too faint of a word to describe the kind of violence he did. He didn’t stop until their blood painted the block crimson.

You didn’t quite see what happened to them but you do remember the curses Paulie let out and the sickened faces on Tommy and Sam. Not even they thought Paulie could be so damn dangerous. Neither of them sure as hell are going to try to get in the way.

The other guys covered for Paulie so he could take you home and make sure you were okay.

The whole ride home he was completely silent, nothing escaped him outside of the deep pants from the brewing furry and adrenaline rush.

When you finally got into the apartment building Paulie grabbed your arm and pulled you all away up the stairs and through the hallways into his apartment.

Still he didn’t speak to you and at this point, tears swelled your eyes thinking he was upset with you and that it was your fault.

“Paulie…?”

“Not now sweetheart.” Paulie torted as he pulled you into the bathroom with him, starting up a warm bath.

“P-paulie…? I-I’m sor-“ he cut you off not even registering your cries.

“Those bastards tainted you by touching you! Now I’ll have to erase their stench on your skin!” He exclaimed as he started to pull your top off.

“Paulie please stop! I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean for that to happen….I promise I told them to leave me alone! I told them I was only yours! Paulie I p-promise!”

Taking a breath he started to calm down, softening his expression and grip on you.

“I’m so sorry Angel…no- no I’m not upset with you.”

Paulie pulled you into his chest and ran his course fingers through your hair.

“I could never be upset with you. Don’t apologize for what those damn bastards did to you. I’m upset with myself. I should have never left you alone.”

Paulie cupped your face into his hands, plating a gentle kiss into your forehead.

“ only I can have you. I need you to stay with me. Forever! Without you I feel empty and lonely. They nearly took my sunshine away from me and that just makes me so-“

Falling to his knees he pleaded to you..

“Please forgive me, Y/N.I’m so sorry please don’t leave me. I promise I’ll protect you. I won’t ever leave you alone again. O-or raise my voice to you. I'll even go behind Salieri and kill the entire family if it’ll prove to you that I can protect you..”

#paulie lombardo x reader #Yandere Paulie Lombardo #headcanon #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #mafia trilogy #mafia definitive edition #paulie lombardo #yandere mafia #sam trapani x reader #tommy angelo x reader #mafia imagines #mafia headcanon #mafia iii #mafia game #mafia 2 #yandere vito scaletta

[centralperkchenford]

Chenford prompt + getting stuck in an elevator and it causes Lucy to have a panic attack (post barrel of course and preferably post canon/together romantically)

Once again this one just came to me (along with the title). Anyway I hope you enjoy this anon! This one was fun & interesting to write.

Mention of small space; panic attacks nothing too bad but just wanted to make sure to mention it if that triggers anyone. Also mentions of Caleb and Lucy in the barrel.

This also inspired me to write a 4x17 rewrite because I just rewatched it and Lucy was so upset. How did they keep them together?? And he just apologized like that’s the thing to do. No. I mean yes. But then you comfort the person or ask what they need. 5x22 Tim didn’t even ask what Lucy needed he just knew.

Okay I’m done 😅😅

Chenford prompt + getting stuck in an elevator and it causes Lucy to have a panic attack (post barrel of course and preferably post canon/together romantically)

But the monsters turned out to be just trees When the sun came up you were looking at me

Lucy giggles as Tim backs her into the elevator at the ridiculously expensive restaurant that Tim somehow managed to get reservations at. It was at the top of a very high building, and the inside was so intricate and shiny. It made Lucy dizzy, Tim wanted to take her out to eat and surprised her with this. The food had been amazing but the company had been better. Lucy didn’t even look at all the details in the restaurant because she was looking at Tim the whole time.

And now they were going down 24 floors to get to the parking garage (which was an extra $15- Tim almost had a heart attack).

Tim has her backed against the back of the elevator his knee between her legs, they were the only ones on the elevator and Lucy leans in to kiss when the elevator comes to a halt, it shakes for a minute and then the lights flicker on and off. They stay off and Lucy is thankful she’s so close to Tim because she grips his shirt so tightly that she’s afraid it might rip.

“What the fuck?” Tim mutters. He pulls out his cell phone and turns the flashlight shining it around.

“Hold on babe.” He mumbles into her hair. “I’ll figure this out.” He steps away from her and she bites her tongue from whimpering and clenches her fists to keep from reaching for him. He presses a button but the elevator is still. Tim is muttering to himself in the corner. He’s trying the buttons again and again but to avail.

Lucy watches him her beating fast and hard. She didn’t like small spaces.. especially after Caleb when she was literally stuffed in a barrel to die. She tries to control the panic that is building up inside of her, tries to control her breathing.

You’re safe. It’s okay. Caleb is dead. It’s just an elevator. She chants to herself. In and out. In and out.

Lucy knows that this is different it’s an elevator and she’s with Tim who would figure out a way to get out.

Right?

She slumps to the ground her purse falling off her arm and spilling everywhere.

“Fuck.” She says and Tim turns around from where he’s messing with the buttons. He frowns when he sees her on the ground, mindlessly picking up her stuff.

“Luce?” He says and he bends down to help her. “Are you okay?”

She wants to say she’s okay to Tim, she wants to brush past her pounding heart and the sweat that is forming on her forehead. She wants to say she’s okay despite that fact that she has started to shake. But Tim is well Tim and he knows her better than anyone. He will see right through her lies. But Lucy is Lucy and she tries anyway.

“I’m fine.” She says trying to steady her voice. “I just dropped my bag.”

Tim gives her a dubious look and helps her put everything back into her purse and then helps her up.

“Lucy.” He says his voice firm. “What’s wrong?”

She shrugs and doesn’t say anything. Tim sighs and shines his phone onto the buttons. “You would think for a expensive restaurant that charges $30 for a salad they would update their elevators.”

Lucy let’s our a nervous giggle that has Tim spinning around to face her. “Lucy. What the hell is going on with you and don’t say nothing.” He warns and Lucy knows he’s using his firmest TO voice but she hears his concerned boyfriend voice and she knows she’s not going to be able to hide it much longer.

“I don’t like small spaces.” She admits looking away from him. “Ever since.. the barrel. I..”

The elevator jerks again and the lights flicker in for a few seconds and then they go out again. Lucy yelps in surprise and slumps down on the floor. Lucy can only see Tim’s face because of his phone flashlight and she sees the worries lines on his face.

“Baby.” He says gently and he lets the flashlight guide him to her. He gets down on his knees and lifts her chin up to look at him. “Breathe. Just breathe Luce. You got this.”

Lucy blinks back the tears in her eyes, and shakes her head. Her heart is pounding so fast now and she feels herself getting warm.. everywhere. The cold sweats were starting and she hated them the most. They made her want to crawl out of her skin.

“N-No. I need to—” She jerks away from Tim and puts her head between her legs and breathes. She feels Tim rubbing her back and it helps but she just needs to get out of here.

She has had two other panic attacks since Caleb, one was when she got stuck in a stairwell trying to get to her car. It was in a parking garage, and everyone was moving too fast and eventually she got pinned against a wall as all the walls in the small space started to close in on her. The second was in an elevator but it only got stuck for about 15 minutes. It wasn’t a horrible panic attack but it was enough to make the other people in the elevator concerned.

“What do you need baby?” Tim asks. Lucy takes a shuddering breath in and then out.

“I need to get out here.” She says weakly. “Doesn’t this god damn elevator have a help button?”

“It’s not working.” He says and he continues to rub her back. Lucy reaches a shaking hand into her purse to pull out her phone. No service. She assumes Tim’s phone says the same thing.

“I-I’m sure so-someone will realize it’s not w-orking.” She manages to get out and then adds: “Right?”

Tim hums and instead of answering her, he asks his own question. “How long have you been having panic attacks Luce?” He asks gently and it’s not accusatory or judgmental. She knows he just wants to help.

“I honestly have only had two and this one. So three but the first one was maybe two months after Caleb. I-I don’t know.” She admits and then she’s lifting her head to look at him.

“I’m fine I promise.” She says and even if she can’t see all of Tim’s face she knows he doesn’t believe her.

“Have you told anyone about these?” He asks and he’s trying his cell phone while simultaneously rubbing her back.

“No-no it’s embarrassing. I-I don’t like small spaces and I freak out. Why would I tell anyone that? Chris told me to—” She stops when she remembers she did tell someone about her panic attacks. She had told Chris when she walked up flights and flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator but it had been after the first elevator incident and she wasn’t going to take any risks. He had told she needed to stop thinking about Caleb he was in the ground. He had gotten over Rosalind. (As if being stuffed in a barrel was traumatic enough). He had said the only way to get over it was to move on. He never actually understood her trauma, he proved that when he hummed the song she sang while she was dying. Which had triggered her. And even after she has forgiven him he still dismissed it like it was nothing.

“Chris told you to what?” Tim says and she knows he has his eyebrows raised and a frown on his face.

“He told me to get over myself and not let Caleb in my head all the time. He said I was obsessed with—”

“That son of a bitch.” Tim growls. “He actually said that?”

She sighed. “Yes, but I mean I got over my fear right? I take elevators all the time now.”

Tim comes closer to her, putting his phone down so the flashlight was shining up.

“Lucy, you shouldn’t have to get over your trauma or your fears. You should work through it. It’s always going to be a part of you but you are a survivor, you survived. You fought and you got out of there. You are the strongest person I know, and not just because you survived but because you found strength afterwards to keep going. You never gave up.”

Lucy blinks back the tears in her eyes that she knows aren’t just from her panic attack. He always found the right words to say, he never diminished her trauma or her worries. He always asked how he could help.

“You saved me Tim. That day and every day after. You were my strength to keep going.”

It was true and even if they weren’t at the point they are now, the day Tim gave her back her right was the day she started living again. He saved her in ways he didn’t even know.

Lucy’s heart has stopped pounding and she feels the cold sweats start evaporate. She reaches up to cup Tim’s face with a still shaking hand. “I love you.” She whispers.

She doesn’t see him smile a watery smile but she does feel his lips press against hers as he pulls her in even closer. They are chest to chest now and she’s not surprised she instantly feels calm. She always does with Tim. He’s her safe place, her soft place to land when things get rough.

“I love you too Lucy.” He mumbles. “More than I can put into words.”

She buries her face into his chest, pulling on the suit jacket he insisted on wearing. He rubs her back his large hand on the opening in the back of her dress.

“Someone has to know the elevator’s not working right?” She asks him again her voice surprisingly calm. “I mean there were like what 10 people in that restaurant?”

“You would think.” He agrees and then picks up his phone to look at it.

“One bar. Hold on baby.” He dials the number on the help button while still holding Lucy close.

“Hello?” He says and the relief is palpable in his voice. “Yes we are stuck in an elevator on the 22nd floor.”

“I don’t know! The fucking help button doesn’t work, I just got service. We have been stuck for about thirty minutes.” Tim says and Lucy can tell he’s frustrated by whatever he’s being told.

“No, it’s just my girlfriend and myself.” He says and Lucy hears a man voice over the phone. But she can’t understand what he’s saying

“Okay thank you.” Tim hangs up the phone and he goes back to rubbing Lucy’s back.

“That was like pulling teeth. The bastard didn’t think we were stuck. Thought we stopped it on purpose.”

Lucy laughs a little to herself. She would rather walk down 24 flights of stairs before she got stuck in an elevator on purpose.

It’s a few minutes later and the lights flicker on and stay on and then they are moving again. Lucy blinks and she finds Tim looking right at her his blue eyes bright.

It’s a fast ride down and when it stops at the lobby, Lucy lets out a relived breath. They step out of the elevator to a man in a suit who looks stern but apologetic.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience. Sometimes they just need a jumpstart to keep moving.” He explains. Tim gives him a look but nods nonetheless and wraps his arms around Lucy and leads her out to the parking garage.

“Tim?” She says and she loves how secure she feels tucked in at his side.

“Hmmm.” He hums and he kisses the top of head for good measure to let her know he’s listening.

“I don’t think we are expensive restaurant people.” She admits. “I think we are more..comfort food?”

Tim huffs out a laugh but stops and pulls her close so they are chest to chest. “Oh I agree Luce. I’m sorry I just thought—”

“Hey!” She says firmly. She hates that he’s blaming himself over something he had no control over. “It’s not your fault Tim. It was a freak thing that happened.” She reaches up to kiss him and he falls into the kiss right away.

“Despite the elevator incident.” Lucy says as they start walking again. “I had a good time.”

“Yeah?” Tim asks shyly. They make it to his truck and she leans against the passenger pulling him by his jacket to her. They just stare at each other for a few minutes, before Tim is leaning down to kiss her on the lips.

“Chris is a bastard for treating you and your trauma that way.” He says pulling back. “You never should have felt you had to hide something because he didn’t understand it.”

Lucy nods because she he’s right. Chris always was comparing his trauma to hers. Lucy should have seen the red flag then and there.

“Let’s not talk about Chris, Caleb or Rosalind anymore okay?” Lucy says. “I want the rest of the night to be about you and me.”

Tim grins at her. “I can work with that.” He says. And he kisses her and everything that happened tonight.. the elevator, the panic attack and everything else faded from her memory. At the moment all she sees is Tim and she’s perfectly okay with that.

#chenford #chenford fanfic #the rookie #tim bradford #tim x lucy #lucy chen #anon answered #chenford fic

[daeyeol4you]

The Chay Rewatch Ep 9

Ep 1 & 2, Ep 3, Ep 4, Ep 5, Ep 6, Ep 7, Ep 8

Ep 9 - Kim is so whipped while somehow still being emotionally constipated

Time: 10:22 – 12:11 – songwriting boy

Kim’s Outfit: An olive-green jacket, a white shirt, and the return of the white pants

Why does no guitar in this show have a guitar strap?

Chay’s song breaks Kim’s writing block, Kim’s written tons of music before, but now Chay is becoming his muse, taking over the one outlet Kim allows himself

The emotional shutdown Kim forces himself through once he realizes how happy even the memory of Chay is making him. He can’t allow himself to be weak because any attachment to Chay is a weakness, but even that fails because immediately he’s back to smiling while he plays

Kim is so inspired to write even while he’s very clearing trying to cut Chay out of his brain, he’s trying to write his feelings out so he can go back to being cold, untouchable Kim

Korn really did screw up all of his sons emotionally – commitment issues to spare

Time: 29:46 – Macau Spotting

Macau scaring the absolute shit out of Pete, what a little shit

Macau’s Outfit: Another sweater vest with orange and blue stripes with tan pants and white shoes

Macau and Vegas definitely planned this, and Macau is so happy to be causing mischief

Wingman Macau you will always be famous

Macau going on and on about the sermon to tease Pete only to fall asleep immediately, what a mood

Time: 39:24 – 40:03 – the guitar pick!

Not me immediately trying to analyze all of the details of Chay’s room

There’s a bottle of milk on his desk – again I’m sorry I laughed this is a funny bit

The towers of CDs behind Chay speak to how Chay isn’t just into music because its fun, he’s put a lot of effort into appreciating music

The ukelele is cute

He has a jar of I think paper stars on his back shelf – I only mention this because there are a number of different meanings to lucky paper stars but the one I know best is that if you fold either 1,000 or 2,000 (depending on the tale) you can get a wish (you also can give the stars to someone you love) I also know some do it for luck – which Chay has interesting thoughts about luck as we know

Chay creating the guitar pick with his own two hands – my art kid Chay agenda is so real

Chay’s outfit: I’m 99% sure that Chay is wearing a Geto (from Jujutsu Kaisen) shirt. Chay anime fan confirmed

Geto is an antagonist from Jujutsu Kaisen, and I view him as a tragic figure who was once good but due to the evils of his job and the abuse he saw, turned evil. Later on, his body becomes a vessel for further evil

Chay’s friend is named Ohm! I so forgot about this bit I won’t lie

Chay really had been hoping it was Kim. He may have left the next step up to Kim, but he’s still so hopeful that Kim doesn’t leave him behind. He’s for sure getting impatient about it and is planning his next move on his target – sorry crush!

Chay ignoring Ohm draws up a lot of my ideas about how private Chay is about everything. He allows others to see just the surface of everything going on with him, but he tends to be very private about his thoughts and interests. Its not a lack of confidence. I just think he learned early on that sometimes speaking up about everything can be a burden (particularly in his relationship with Porsche) you have to work to get his more internal thoughts

And Chay chooses this! At any point he could put down the guitar pick and answer his friend’s invite, who probably knows something is up with Chay just not what. He’s very tunnel-visioned when he chooses a path, but he doesn’t feel the need to tell anyone else that

Chay doesn’t hide or lie about his emotions and thoughts usually. He just doesn’t always say them out loud. There’s a difference trust me

Time: 49:48 – 53:04 – Chay’s version of gift giving

Chay’s Outfit: a grey crewneck with white and blue paint splatters over a black shirt with the same pendant from the song scene

Kim’s outfit: a studded black leather jacket paired with a white shirt and blue jeans. His necklace this time is a blend of two different chain types (partly made of safety pins I think?) with his regular silver earrings and rings

Chay breaking into the rehearsal space – child I was just praising you for leaving the ball in Kim’s court, please stop waving red flags! You are such a concerning young man

Chay is so cute no wonder Kim is okay with the stalking, also who is this friend Chay keeps getting this info from (please just be stan twitter please that’d be so funny)

I love how this scene gets presented from behind the glass of the recording booth, the slow zoom-in on the two as the scene progresses

Kim’s calm responses to this are so dynamic when placed next to Chay’s which are full of excitement and nerves

Gosh the zoom-in when Chay presents the box – beautiful

“This is limited edition. You’ve got the only one piece in the world.” – how long do you think its been since Kim received a genuine, heartfelt gift like this?

Compare this gift to Kim and the guitar. Kim bought an incredibly expensive guitar for Chay, but it was to buy his way into the house. There was more manipulation than thought put into that gift

Whereas Chay made that pick himself adding even greater meaning to the gift. Chay isn’t trying to manipulate Kim, he’s genuinely just staying true to himself by confessing and giving Kim the pick as thanks. Chay’s always been upfront about his emotions and intentions with Kim which is very refreshing

of course Chay passed - he's very talented

“From now on I won’t have any excuse to see your face.” “Can I bother you one last time?” – that’s such a cute statement, plus it also goes to show that Chay gets that Kim is trying to cut him off and will accept it after he says his piece (Chay respects boundaries! I am ignoring his stalking for right now!)

I love Chay’s fidgeting here, very genuine and doesn’t feel forced

KIM’S FACE WHEN CHAY SAYS HE LIKES HIM! He knew but was not prepared for Chay to actually say it

Chay’s rambling about making an oath with himself – he is so good! He is so emotionally healthy & confident! (I am ignoring the red flags about his stalking right now!)

I know some people were disappointed about never getting a ‘real’ kiss, but I like this cheek kiss. Chay’s still young compared to Kim, and Kim holds a lot of power as his tutor as well as how many secrets he’s keeping from Chay. A kiss on the lips would have been marred by that and would have been uncomfortable when looked back on. This kiss works for them, it's sweet and it’s a foundation for the two of them to build on

During this scene, there’s this large empty space between Kim and Chay. Chay stays respectfully away until Kim breaks the divide and kisses him. It was always going to be up to Kim to choose what to do next

THE MUSIC!! THE HUGS!! – Kim is so not a hugger, but for Chay he lets it happen, twice! This is the same man we see bullying bodyguards and murdering people! The duality of man indeed

Shoutout to Tankhun for his open and honest defense of Porsche – truly a man who knows that open communication is necessary (unlike his brothers)

Overall Chay Rating (Chrating) – A

This ep definitely goes everywhere, but we get a good amount of KimChay development as well as a Macau appearance. I’m glad we got solo scenes from Kim & Chay before they saw each other as it laid the groundwork for the confession scene, very well plotted. Chay being so truthful to himself as well as Kim’s emotional breakthrough was very refreshing

#kprewatch2023 #kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #porchay kittisawat #porchay pichaya kittisawat #kim theerapanyakul #kimchay

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

how do you get so good at analysis? ;_; i'm really dumb and take things at surface value, which i've been fine with up until now but seeing you read umineko so deeply makes me kinda like.... jealous isn't the right word? that sounds too spiteful. it just makes me feel like i'm missing out on a more fun way to experience things. but it seems so daunting i don't even know how to start. to me it seems like picking out every detail and exaggerating it as far as possible but it's obviously more refined than that because you're able to keep things together thematically and make some good theories. do you have any advice for it?

Hi, anon!

Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re being jealous/spiteful with this ask. I also used to want to write analysis on things because they seem fun, and actually this is my first proper try at it! I think I’ve said it before but if I’m not careful I’ll binge everything on first watch/read and miss details. (This is why I rewatch Utena every other month). So yes, I know sometimes I’m grasping at straws but that’s because I’m actively squeezing everything I can out of a page/scene.

I think what sets this liveblog apart and the reason I can pick up threads/themes is that Umineko seems very upfront about what it wants to say.

「MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, EVERYONE WANTED A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW…!」

Utena is the same in that - even though people say it’s too symbolic - I think the fact that it bares its inner mechanisms for all to see is a huge kindness. If everything means something else, or represents both itself and a larger concept, then a show where everything is allegorical is actually discarding layers of obfuscation.

I think a good place to start to Notice Themes is at the very beginning.

The Golden Witch invites you to take things easy and accept them as they come, but The Revolutionary Witch tells you that - in any story - the first introductions matter the most.

Up until now, Umineko has drilled inside our heads again and again, repetition after repetition, that the Ushiromiya’s Western schtick is a product of Kinzo’s reverse weeb affectations. He started many of the “traditions” that seem so inescapable, he invented the name for the fucking chair he sits at the breakfast table and the order of the seats according to his own patriarchal standards.

His Western obsession is tied very obviously with his “black magic” obsession and he even gets angry when you don’t call them “grimoires” because part of the charm of magic is that it’s foreign and cool. He speaks of black magic when ranting about his urges to sexually abuse a dead Beatrice, all his children speak of Western things when recalling their own childhood and abuse.

The only exception to this is Kinzo’s Japanese sword - both a true object and a phallic symbol that doesn’t deny itself its origins - that he uses to spank Jessica’s naked butt.

I feel like, in Umineko, you just need to sit and listen to the characters and wonder at their motivations. But you also need to wonder about the choice of presentation.

For example, Kanon alone in the garden after he left the conversation, being dismissed by Gohda. All he says is “…even me” or something among those lines, very mysterious! But the way this is presented, the camera not caring about the Cousins + Adults but following an actor after he’s being kicked out of the stage? Unusual! Curious! Very interesting! The way the narrative describes it, (paraphrasing here) “you needed to get closer if you wanted to hear the words whispered to his heart”? Why would it be written like that? Who is the narrator speaking to?

So I think - to make an analysis close in methodology to what I’m doing - you need to question what’s onscreen, not in a “this isn’t real” way (it may not be real but that’s not the focus!), but in a “why is this being shown the way it is” way. This is a novel after all. Choices of words, choices of POV, what is described and what’s left unsaid!

Those are the tips from the Revolutionary Witch!

— Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

#anon ask #askbox #umineko #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #on the matter of meta analysis

[trekkie-polls]

About

Hello! This is a new blog. I’m still figuring out the details.

I’ve been a star trek fan my whole life - it started with getting in trouble in kindergarten for staying up to watch late night tos reruns, and I watched all of tos, ds9, and voy as they aired. I tried ent when it first aired and didn’t care for it. Later as part of a project to watch all episodes in in-world chronology, I did watch all of ent. Still didn’t care for it. But it is trek. I watch all new trek, and for the most part I love it (pauses to side-eye Picard season three), but don’t have the same knowledge base with it because I haven’t rewatched it as many times. I’ve seen all of the movies but I honestly just tend to forget them when I’m thinking about what’s happened in cannon. I think they live in a separate part of my brain? I haven’t read the books or comics yet but I do spend a lot of time on Memory Beta.

Right now I’m rewatching lower decks & tos and that’s what I have on my mind.

Anyway, this is all to say that I plan to be inclusive with all star trek media on this blog, but not everything will get equal attention. There are just some things I know more about or am more interested in.

In particular, there are a limited number of options in tumblr polls, and there is a lot of star trek media out there. I make sure to put “other in tags”, or combine titles in a choice, in cases where every item can’t have its own little box. Yes sometimes my personal opinions influence how I break that up, and that’s ok, because this is something I do in my free time for fun.

You are very welcome to submit polls & posts. If you do, and I repost them, I’ll credit you unless you prefer to stay anonymous. Btw - this is how you can get more content around your favorite series if you’re not seeing as much as you’d like.

Right now I don’t have any rules about submissions. It’s possible I won’t post something that’s clearly prejudiced, malicious etc… but I haven’t figured out exactly where I draw that line yet. I don’t plan to gatekeep what is and isn’t trek. I have personal opinions about what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy, but star trek belongs to everyone and it’s illogical to try to draw lines around what is “legitimate” trek for everyone.

I haven’t really figured out what to say about trigger warnings, spoilers, and nsfw. I don’t plan for this to be especially nsfw, but I do plan to cuss and touch on adult concepts sometimes (I mean how can we not talk about the many forehead vaginas). I also plan to add content/ trigger warnings that are obvious to me but I’m far from an expert about what the most important ones to include are. And finally spoilers are hard because most star trek media has been around forever and the fandom is here to talk about what happened in it, but some is brand new and it can be hard to stay completely caught up, and even the oldest series are new to someone. So I’m making an effort to consider triggering content, spoilers, and nsfw but can’t responsibly make promises on any of them.

And last but not least, I’m happy to block people who call me names. I’m here on my free time for fun.

Tldr:

This blog will be a mixture of:

Polls I make

Other star trek posts I find interesting

Polls & posts you submit

If I see a star trek poll I find interesting I may write the author and ask for permission to reblog here

This blog will not:

Gatekeep what is & isn’t star trek

Be completely impartial to my interest

Be completely sfw or spoiler free, or include all important trigger & content warnings

P.S. I’m in this for the tags. I absolutely love reading through everyone’s theories, favorites, stories, etc…. So if you want to tip this blog please do it by adding your star trek thoughts :)

#trekkie polls

[linusbenjamin]

Hey! I loooove your Lost edits so much. It’s my fave show of all time and I love seeing more activity in the tag, thank you ☺️

Your first watch of the show has coincided with my latest rewatch (I’ve just started s3, so I’m a tad behind you). But as someone watching it for the first time I just HAD to stop by and ask how you’re finding it so far and what your thoughts are? Tell me everything! No thought or detail is too small, I love talking about Lost so much 🥲

oh my god thank you so much!!! i just love it when lost fans come by here to say me they love seeing activity on the tag again and they say my gifs made them rewatch the show (i can't check tags cause ✨spoilers✨) it's shocking to see there are very few people who actually gif popular shows like lost, breaking bad etc. and i've even realized there are not any marvel fans anymore like it used to be, i don't know how i feel about this, but i'm glad to contribute 🥹

that's so great! <3 it's so great to see people are still rewatching it after 19 years because that's what this! show! deserves! i didn't know what it was about and after i read it, i said "a plane crashed on an island and some people survived? eh it's not that interesting and so cliche" and later my brother watched it and he was literally obsessed with it and he was very pissed off that i was constantly putting it off. so i started and the first two episodes were the most intense and chaotic episodes i've ever watched in any series 😬 so as i keep watching, i realized i love mystery series (which was sth i've noticed about myself) and i absolutely love science fiction and psychological series. it was so hard to keep so many character's name in mind at first and you know better than me, there are SO many details in such random places that i bet, most people didn't even notice in the first watching 😅 it's like, the smallest thing you saw in a random episode of s1 turns out to be something much bigger in a random episode of s3 etc. 😅 so since i can't see all of the easter eggs, i watch it with my brother mostly who has seen it 3 times and after finishing the eps he says "did you notice that" and then he goes "look there are numbers right there and there's hurley on the tv of the people jin went to kill" etc. 😅 but you know, this series is magnificent and full of surprises and it always ends with killer cliffhangers and now i'm on mid s3 and desmond started to keep saving charlie's ass, i've seen ben and his people, i feel like i'm really into the show and the scifi part of it 😅 i don't know how it will all fit together, you know, everytime roll credits, i'm like "i dunno what i've just watched and how it's gonna play out by the end but it's freaking exciting" 😅 i'm really glad that i'm watching lost at 22 because lost is mostly about life itself, good memories, regrets, personalities, sins and grace, there's always a moral of the story in the end. so, if i had watched it when i was little, i probably wouldn't understand a shit. but now i feel a little more mature and i've been through a few things so the character's stories are a bit more relatable now.

so what i'm most curious about is that, now i'm on mid s3 and i found out claire's father is WHO!!! (freaking out!!! not spoiling this cause there might be someone reading) can you say that i've seen the most of this show OR things has just started and i've seen nothing yet 😂 i can't make gifs a lot 'cause i'm currently busy with life and my thesis but giffing this show is fun, so if you have specific requests, i'm writing which episode i last watched in my pinned post, u can check it out from there ✨ i'm so glad you had to stop to ask me this, lost is going pretty mysterious and chaotic and i'm so thankful for that 😂

#lovely people #asked

[celiastjamesoscar]

GRACE GRACE GRACE IT'S ME AGAIN WITH HOT MILF TATTOO ARTIST NEWS! The studio I always go to HAS a hot milf artist!!! I can't believe I forgot about her, she even tattooed me once!! She's mostly doing fineline, which is why I didn't think about her because that's not my style. BUT I PLAN ON ADDING TO MY PATCHWORK LEG SLEEVE WITH SMALLER TATTOOS SOON SO MAYBE SHE WILL TATTOO ME!!!

I love that you have written down all of your weird dreams!!! That's hilarious. How often do you have these weird dreams?

How about a horror movie WITH Mel in it? Bed Rest! I haven't seen it yet but since Mel is in it, it is amazing!

Do you have an all time favorite horror movie?

Now onto reading your story!!!

HOW DO YOU FORGET ABOUT THE HOT MILF TATTOO ARTIST?!?! THIS IS SHAMEFUL

I really like fineline tattoos, but you should definitely get some for patchwork!!! Only if you want to, of course. I have no idea what style my tattoos are, they are just random ass ones 😭 I also get my 4th tattoo on the 6th, so this Friday and I cannot wait!!!!

I usually have weird dreams a couple times a week, just because I take melatonin to fall asleep. I was I could have dreams that were cool :(

I need to see Bed Rest!! I’ve heard it’s really good!

My all time favorite horror movie is probably Hereditary (basic answer, I know) but I watch it to fall asleep sometimes. However, my all time favorite piece of horror that cannot and will not be topped is ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ by Mike Flanagan. I rewatch that show ever October just to get into the spooky season, and I will forever recommend that show to people. It’s beautifully written, amazing scares that aren’t jump scares, hidden details that I am still picking up on as I am on hundredth rewatch, and I could talk about it forever if I don’t stop myself. One hidden clue that I picked up on during my second rewatch, is that each of the children (there are 5) represent the 5 stages of grief, and it’s one of my favorite hidden details in that show.

Another good one that I love so much is ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ by Mike Flanagan. Now, this show absolutely destroyed me. I’m not talking about crying over it for 2 hours after I finished it, I did that, but it destroyed me in way I will probably only watch it once. It was absolutely beautifully written, just like Hill House, but the ending destroyed me more than Hill House ever did. It’s not as good as Hill House, but oh my god, it is still so fucking good!!! Fun fact, I cried so hard watching this, I threw up 😼

I’m getting tattoos based off of those shows, I just loved them so much and they altered my brain chemistry. They are both limited series with only one season, so if you have netflix, I highly recommend watching both of them!!! Another good show is ‘Midnight Mass’ and you can probably guess who’s it by, Mike Flanagan. Honestly, just watch everything by him, he’s amazing

#bender chats #bender recommendations #haunting of hill house #haunting of bly manor #mike flanagan #I’m a Mike Flanagan fan girl

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

2023 Movie Journey #7: Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

ant-man and the wasp: quantumania. wow, these titles just keep getting longer, huh. pretty soon they’re going to be listing every character in the name.

i saw this one in the theater, and saved the following as a note while i was waiting for it to start:

omg, i wondered why they recast cassie in the third movie with an actress that's much more prominent, featured in everything from big little lies to detective pikachu. and then very helpfully, while i'm waiting here, one of their pre-movie features was a game with the actress who will be starring soon in are you there god, it's me margaret...and she is the same actress who originally played cassie!! i didn't know that. so now I wonder if she had a scheduling conflict, rather than just getting replaced. that would be better imo since the actress who took over the role is great but i liked the original too and i don’t like when an actress is dumped from the role she originated for reasons like ‘we need somebody more well-known now that the role is more important’

gosh, i have a lot to say about this one i think. i always intended to watch the ant-man movies because they seemed fun, but it was the release of this one that got me to finally, actually do so. by the time it was coming out and jonathan majors was going to be the new antagonist and i was a huge fan of his (all things that weren’t true a couple of years ago) i was really happy to be able to catch up on the others and then see this one in the theater. and it was a great time. spoilers ahead.

ETA: i wrote this whole review, and saw this movie twice in theaters, only days before the news broke about jonathan majors being arrested. i have big, complicated feelings now about what he’s accused of and the consequences he’s faced versus how so many white men have been treated when they face similar accusations; about how it changed my opinion of him and destroyed my desire to see him in creed iii; about how talented an actor i still think he is and how much it sucks that people can be both talented and behave in ways that horrify me when i don’t even know them; how he was the beating heart of lovecraft country and i’d never seen a black man in a TV drama get to be that before, especially when surrounded by such a scene-stealing, strong cast; and how i may never be able to watch that series again, the same way i doubt i’ll ever rewatch this movie. but i reviewed this movie not knowing any of that yet, so my thoughts about him were true for that moment, and i’m leaving them in like a time capsule for my own experience.

it was NOT what i was expecting, though, so that made the first part of the movie really hard for me to get through--i was probably at least a third of the way in before i started enjoying it. there was just a ton of worldbuilding and what felt like a huge genre shift, from the action-comedy (with a hint of scifi) of the first two to suddenly a lot of scifi-fantasy. i couldn’t help being reminded of star wars, and how much the details of the whole ‘alien world’ part of it bore me, when i just want to watch carrie fisher exist. here, i was thrilled to see michelle pfeiffer have a much bigger role, but i didn’t need it to be happening inside a world we didn’t previously know existed in the ant-man universe, one where even the ants that had originally been the point were absent during all that worldbuilding.

however, i felt like the setup did pay off enough in the end that i enjoyed it, and i don’t think it would bother me so much in a rewatch. part of what had me so off-balance in the beginning is that each movie occurs inside the larger mcu with a huge time gap between ant-man installments, so they expect you to know what happened offscreen (they include minimal descriptions, but it can still be confusing as a standalone viewer) and the offscreen happenings create real effects on the story you’re jumping into. for example, knowing that the snap happened at the end of the last movie (and even knowing vaguely what the snap was) didn’t stop me from wondering what cassie’s life was like while the others were gone. was she raised by her mom, or were all the adults in her life vanished? if so, what happened then? i know i could try to look that up with mcu research but i wish instead it had been more directly a part of the movie since she was a more central character this time--or that there had been an ant-man movie that fit between this one and ant-man and the wasp, somehow.

but anyway, this movie was very clearly setting up a new antagonist, which they did by further developing the backstory of michelle pfeiffer’s time in the quantum realm. once i got into it, i enjoyed it a ton, because it meant a ton of screentime where she was working opposite jonathan majors, and all of those scenes felt like gifts just for me--they’re both so unbelievably talented and they’re also actors who can do such great dramatic work, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around them being in this marvel movie with all its action and cgi and creatures.

the family dynamics in this one were also important, and we got great interactions between the two couples, but it really did feel quite different than the first two movies, and i think that’s why--the ultimate focus of the story was kang, the new villain, even when it came to how scott’s burglar talents would be called into action. his sudden existence drove the action. i feel like my opinion was backed up by the very end of the movie, too, when the movie flashed a closing card like the first two had. that was one of my favorite little parts of the sequel, when the closing card added a question mark because the snap had left scott stranded and we would have to wait to see if he returned. but whereas the other ones ended with ‘ant-man will return’...this one ended with ‘kang will return.’ 

and i can understand why, since scott was left feeling uneasy about kang’s death but otherwise his life--and therefore his story--was neatly tied up. even if they bring him back for other mcu appearances, there’s no part of this movie that requires a next ant-man installment. which further points to how much of this film was an extended setup for kang to move on to other mcu battles, even though i think they fit it all into scott and hope’s families and lives and overall development well enough. 

there is one question i found myself left with after seeing this, that may have been explained in the movie--it was such a long movie with so much happening, i might have just forgot that they addressed it. but scott was stranded in the quantum realm for years after the snap. even though he was stranded for less years than michelle pfeiffer, i wonder why he never discovered any hint of the other worlds she roamed through? was it just that his suit tech kept him in one layer of that space, and she had moved through so many of them, she ended up in a place he couldn’t get to? did he just stay put and try not to move for five years and thus wouldn’t have seen anything? another thing i could probably research but won’t, lol. 

overall, i don’t think the ant-man world was necessarily improved by being moved to space (even if they call it the quantum realm)--but for me personally, that was heavily outweighed by my enjoyment of michelle pfeiffer and jonathan majors getting to fill the spaces they were in like the talents they are, and the rest of the characters and cast being just as great as always. living so intensely in this world for a couple of days really left an impression on me, but it was a super fun impression and i’m glad i visited.

#ant man and the wasp: quantumania #2023 movie journey #michelle pfeiffer #jonathan majors

[aemiron-main]

actually fun fact: i recently rewatched s1 and remembered a lot of the thoughts i originally had when first seeing the season. and funnily enough i vividly remember being confused at Will's vanishing specifically because of the shadow at the door. like, there are obviously multiple weird things happening. but as a first time watcher with 0 further context this one even seemed out of place to me back then. i think i figured it was just really bad production (with the following 3 seasons and quality of the 1st season i don't think that's the case now obviously) because it'd be Such a BIG mistake to make when filming that multiple people would have to miss in the process.

we see the full silhouette of the Demogorgon clearly as Will bikes home. no features, just the silhouette. but it's shape stands out even more like this, and we see it's Massive. tall, way too long limbs, still sort of hunching/leaning. really creepy. then we also see it move behind the clothes line. whatever it is, it's threatening, moving slowly, definitely one of those huge deadly, looming predators that don't have to sprint to kill you. right?

and then it's shadow moves in front of the door window and it's just. too small? it's not even close to being as tall as the door. we Just saw the whole monster TWICE seconds prior. and now it literally looks like some random dude is standing outside? my thoughts years ago were in line of "wait is that even the thing?" because if we didn't know that there WAS a monster hunting him i'd just assume it's a family member coming home or a neighbor checking in on the commotion. that's at most a tallish man. not whatever the fuck was out on the road. and i really want to point out that it felt so jarring to see this small shadow that i was actively thrown off back then.

we analyse a lot of details here and sometimes i question if anyone in the ga would ever actually be able to pick up on any of this yk. but i wanted to point out how on the nose this one part actually is. it just doesn't fit the rest of the scene at all. it even stuck out to 16yr old me who admittedly wasn't even paying 100% attention

AHHHH YES ANON!!! Thank you for this because it’s really helpful to know what you thought of the scene initially since I wonder sometimes if I’m looking too far into things/seeing things that aren’t there, but this is reassuring!! And stuff like the shadow at the door seeming too small- EXACTLY!! I talked about it in another post, but the shadow is actually a similar height to Hopper and Henry/Vecna, whereas with the actual demogorgon that we see in s4, the top of Hopper’s head is only roughly up to its shoulder!!

Just!! All of this!! Everything you’ve said, anon!! Yes!!!!

#vanishing of Will byers #st asks

[inthiswhisper]

i decided to write out some of my prequel pilot thoughts to put them somewhere. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

just rewatched the pilot and i think it’s safe to say i liked it a lot more the second go around, which… honestly, i was scared i wouldn’t? everything went by so fast during the premiere that it was hard to hold onto details and moments. the nostalgia was also clouding my rational thinking. but watching it again now, the story and the characters felt much more fleshed out than i realized last night. even dean and spn aside, this feels like a show i might give a chance if i didn’t know of any of its origins. hopefully this feeling sticks beyond just the pilot.

i also rewatched it with my brother, who hadn’t seen it yet, and when we got to this part—

john: so, is breaking and entering a big part of hunting?

mary: who’s breaking?

—my brother immediately went “that’s so dean.” he also saw the sam in john and bobby in latika. we were doing this all throughout the episode. as characters, they do stand on their own — they are well defined — but they’re also their children in a lot of ways and pointing that out was half the fun.

i actually adore meg as mary and drake as john. drake helps make john a sympathetic character, which he should be while at this stage in his life, but i saw a seed or two planted of the kind of guy he’ll become, who has an obsession with finding an answer and letting himself get thrown into the deep end, no matter the cost. a kind of contrast to mary wanting out of hunting. mary was always an interesting character to me, so it’s nice to dig into the grief and guilt constantly plaguing her. it’s compelling, like the pilot and early seasons of spn. the brothers had similar traits / tendencies.

and then carlos and latika — all self-explanatory. i will never say no to more of them and i can’t wait to see the roles they play in the group. also where lata comes from, how sam saved her life. where carlos comes from, how he’s dealing with losing his family. how hunting will affect them. for now, i do appreciate the tiny gems of character insight.

and, of course, dean. don’t quite know what’s up with him yet, but i’m happy to see him again. :)

so, as a starter, it’s good. it’s fairly solid and i do feel invested in the mystery. the scooby gang vibe is prominent, it’s grounded in heart, i laughed out loud a few times, and the call to adventure was abundant. the monster wasn’t as thrilling, but i can live with that. other horror elements made up for it. the 70s vibes are exciting too! the tone, the visuals, the setting in new orleans. i wanna see way more. it was also filled with easter eggs and parallels without feeling like cheap nostalgia bait, a difficult balance for prequels / reboots to find.

all to say i have to agree with many of the reviews i’ve read — it felt like coming home. that remains to be seen for the rest of the season, but i’m glad even my lowest of expectations were exceeded.

#trust me when i say i was rooting for this but expectations were LOW #i’m glad i enjoyed it #also please keep anti nonsense off this post #this is a good faith review but #it’s only a pilot #and nuance in critical thinking exists #spnwin #supernatural #the winchesters #tfh #txt

[laeveteinn]

Though updates are slowing down, I had the chance to write up some meta on innocent (until proven guilty). I might add more at a future date! For now I have constructed a semi-coherent answer for the question “Why did you write an Albus-adopts-Tom AU?”

Part of the answer is, funnily enough, “because I specifically didn't want to write an Albus-adopts-Tom AU.”

So a year-and-some-months ago, I was making a list of candidates for "time-traveler X adopts Tom" AUs. This was a purely hypothetical list, as I had no real intention of reading, much less writing these stories. I put Albus on the list because he had some history with Tom that could potentially generate drama and plot.

"But I wouldn't write Albus adopting Tom," I said, blithely oblivious to my fate. "Because I personally don't find Albus interesting enough. He's a straightforward hero, who's happy with himself and his choices. That's a fun character type, but it's not my type when I'm looking for a longfic protagonist."

Around this time, I realized I didn't remember canon well, so I revisited various canon sources (rereading some of the books, rewatching some movies, looking at the wikis, etc.). This turned Dumbledore into one of my favorite characters, a plot twist that I had not seen coming. There were three main reasons why I suddenly became interested in him, after revisiting canon:

I felt a connection with the details of his backstory. When I first read Albus's backstory many years ago, it bored me; I skimmed the Rita Skeeter excerpts as fast as I could. But on a re-read, I found those same sections really entertaining (Did he really plagiarize his work on dragon blood? Inquiring readers want to know!). Many of the details also felt personally relatable, as Albus, Aberforth and co. remind me of people I know well in real life. (Innocent has some heavily autobiographical elements.)

Before my reread/rewatch, I had this fairly vague concept of Albus being a hero who I generally approved of. However, once I got down to brass tacks and paid closer attention to canon, I found I disagreed with a lot of specific things Albus did. When he was on the page, I regularly felt like screaming, “Oh, come on! Don’t do it, Albus, don’t even think about- he did it.”

This catapulted him to stardom in my head. While I enjoy reading about characters whose actions I agree with, my favorites tend to be the characters whose lives are defined by a series of what I’d consider catastrophic mistakes. These characters, perhaps because their thought processes feel unfamiliar to me, are the ones who capture my interest, long after the story’s over. I love antiheroes and villains who get into bad situations and then make everything worse- especially if they actually had good or at least recognizably sympathetic intentions, at some earlier point. And revisiting canon yanked Albus out of the “straightforward hero” category in my head and resorted him into the “morally dubious trainwreck at risk of breaking anything he touches” category. So yeah, I’m a fan now.

Thus, I had acquired a new favorite character, to place on the display case next to Voldemort. They’re quite a complementary pair. Nose issues all around.

“I can now see myself writing fics with Albus as a protagonist,” I said. “Grindeldore could be fun, or maybe Riddledore. I still wouldn’t write a big 'Albus-adopts-Tom’ fic, because I have no idea what the story would be, but I might read it if somebody else wrote it.”

(This was perhaps the fifth time I stated in no uncertain terms that I would never write an Albus-adopts-Tom fic, now with a simmering undercurrent of “I’m in danger.”)

And then I read Ouroboros by @metalomagnetic, in defiance of my usual “don’t read WIPs” rule. If you’re unfamiliar, Ouroboros is a magnificent epic of a fic, where Voldemort accidentally travels back in time, adopts his younger self, raises his younger self as a Dark-Lord-in-training, gives his younger self a bunch of new psychological issues, and then falls head-over-heels for him. Ouroboros speedily reorganized the fundaments of my life and the chemistry of my brain. And when I ran out of chapters, my immediate impulse was “I want more right now!” 

But the fic wasn’t done yet, and I had no interest in pressuring Metalo for updates or spoilers. Thus my brain (now barreling forward with real runaway-train energy) decided that it wanted the next best thing: the same story as Ouroboros, only different. So, in order to design an overly-detailed daydream to tide me over until the next update, I identified some of the core elements of Ouroboros that resonated so hard with me:

The time-travel Tom Riddle adoption premise, executed with one of the “elder statesmen” of the HP-verse. Someone who didn’t feel out of place in the 1930s as Harry would. Someone who was instead intimately familiar with the era and its main players. Someone who specifically knew young Tom Riddle, sometimes better than Tom knew himself.

The dramatic father-son dynamic, which was marked by love and humor but also a certain lack of familial kindness, especially from the father’s side of things.

The romantic dynamic between a young Dark wizard and his Dark Lord mentor, which shows up pretty late in the story and upturns the established father-son dynamic in unexpected ways.

And I realized with equal parts joy and horror that I now had a possible story, for that Albus-adopts-Tom AU that I was definitely never going to write. I could too easily envision parallels between Albus’s parenting style and that of Ouroboros’s Voldemort. Both those characters have an incredibly complex history with young Tom, plus a giant stack of other secrets eating away at them. They could both make Tom feel inferior just by existing near him. In both cases, I could see Tom trying to close the distance and crack the secret of their identity, only to be wrong over and over and over again.

“But,” I reasoned in a last-ditch attempt to get out of writing this, “who’s the love interest? Albus is a stretch. As a romantic lead in this setting, he doesn’t feel anything like Voldemort, despite various parallels in their parenting. And would it mean anything for Albus’s arc, if he fell for Tom? What would he even learn?”

Which is when I remembered one Gellert Grindelwald.

I might’ve gotten away with leaving this story unwritten, if not for Gellert. But the second I introduced him, the second I considered the magnitude of Albus’s freakout over his kid dating him of all people, this story became irresistible. While it takes Gellert a hot minute to show up on the page, his character was at the very heart of the story I wanted to tell from day 1. 

Tl;dr: I blame Gellert for everything.

#my fic #my meta

[kogavamp]

Table of Contents

•Intro!

•What happened?

•About Servamp

•New Management

•Activities

•Future plans/goals

•Conclusion!

All art used taken directly from the Servamp anime or official art by Strike Tanaka

Hello hello! My name is Koga, and I’m here today to inform everyone of the reopening of Servamp Amino! I will be going over many important things such as what happened in the last two years since Servamp Amino was privatized, what’s been going on post reopening, and plans for the future! Let’s get started!

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First things first! What happened? Well, I won’t be putting too much detail into it, but around two years ago the former Agent of The Servamp Amino decided it was in the best interest of the community to go on lockdown, not accepting any requests to join. She made this decision because of a reoccurring and rather problematic member that was banned on multiple accounts. However, the Servamp amino never reopened as the Agent wasn’t ready to accept new members yet. Over time, the amino died down due to the lack of new members and few people still came online. Now, roughly two years later, a new team of staff has been established to revive the amino!

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What is Servamp? Servamp is a Japanese Manga series by Strike Tanaka, with an anime adaption. Servamp is about a boy named Mahiru Shirota who picks up what he believes to be a stray cat, who he names Kuro, only to find out it is actually a vampire named Sleepy Ash. Mahiru and Kuro make a contract and become an Eve and Servamp pair–a master and servant vampire.

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As you were told previously, there is a new staff team in Servamp Amino! The former Agent has recently transferred leadership to (in my opinion)the best possible person for the job–Rushi! Rushi was a curator in the Servamp Amino back when it was locked, and has held onto their passion and love for the amino in the two years since. Along with Rushi, we have a team of very passionate individuals determined to make the Servamp Amino even better than before! Our staff team consists of our new Agent, our curators, our welcoming committee, and chat monitors!

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Now obviously for me to really make a convincing argument, I have to give you guys examples of what you can do in the Servamp Amino, and some past events that have been done!

Upcoming/Current Activities

•Icebreaker challenge

•Upcoming Halloween event

•Possible public rewatch of Servamp anime season 1

•Future staff recruitments

•Welcome committee recruitments

•Chat monitor recruitments

•Raffles

•7 Days of ___different categories for Art, Writing, and Edits)

•Character fanclubs

•A community playlist

•Variety of public chats to interact with fellow members

•Roleplays

Past events

•secret santas

•Detective halloween event

•writing contests, art contests, etc.

•DTIY’s

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And for our plans and goals for the future, we want to not only restore our community, but to make it even better! Our goal is to establish the bustling community that once was, and for that we need all the help we can get! We want to gather new members and boost the activity in our community with lots of fun events and chats for everyone to enjoy! We’re currently in the middle of updating the community and planning future events.

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That brings me to my conclusion! I sincerely hope I covered everything, but if you have questions you can absolutely ask in the comments and I will answer them! On behalf of the staff team and the members of the Servamp Amino, we would all be overjoyed to see new and active faces in the community! We’re small in numbers for now, but we all love Servamp Amino with all our hearts and will gladly welcome everyone into our community! So please, if you are a fan of Servamp or if you have even a slight interest, join us! You by no means need to be an expert. There are plenty of members that would be more than happy to give you pointers on the best place to watch the anime or read the manga. We’re both anime and manga friendly!

Eternal love,

Koga!

#servamp #anime #manga #anime and manga #amino #servamp amino #kuro #mahiru shirota #hyde #licht jekylland todoroki #lawless of greed #sleepy ash #the mother of wrath #the mother #servamp freya #servamp kuro #servamp hyde #servamp hugh #servamp tsubaki #servamp lily #servamp gluttony #izuna nobel #servamp sakuya #servamp misono #servamp mikuni #servamp jeje #servamp tsurugi #servamp touma