Tumgik
#the pilot episode. sorry but it doesn’t work that way
diasdelfuego · 1 day
Text
Tumblr media
For @iwtvfanevents' Rewind the Tape, I’m rewatching the first season and going over some old posts about it too. I hoped this liveblog would be shorter than the one for the first episode, but that did not happen. Better luck next time, I guess. 
Opening shot
Tumblr media
Mr. de Pointe du Lac covets the rare.
While the pilot opens with Daniel’s ad, which we soon after learn Daniel himself is watching on his TV, episode two opens with a glimpse of Marius’s painting that is, you realize after a second, shot from behind Daniel’s shoulder. You might think that the camera panning upwards follows the direction of his gaze.
Now, in HD and with headphones on, I do hear the groan! 
Tintoretto, born 1518, started working in the 1540s, died 1598.
In the chronicles, Armand is born ~1482 and turned ~1499; and Marius’ palazzo is attacked shortly after —let’s say within the year, I don’t remember the specifics. In the show, Armand has either spent 514 years as a vampire, meaning he was turned in 1508, or has lived 514 years in total, meaning that he was born in 1508 and was probably turned in his mid-twenties, so 1530s. Of course, I favor the first interpretation, because I’m me and I love to make things more complicated than they need to be but, in any case, it doesn’t sound like Marius would have actually been “a contemporary” of Tintoretto’s if Armand was kidnapped by the cult shortly after turned, so we could have another case of vampires being inaccurate about time, or a hint that the timeline has changed considerably. 
Ugly ass painting, by the way. 
But we get our first look at the Bechet. 
Tumblr media
Danny put on a nice little shirt and jacket for his dinner date! 
There’s no way that the groan isn’t plot-relevant. Lestat in chains? Akasha in the basement? Armand getting annoyed? Claudia’s ghost? Place your bets now! 
I love Armand, sorry, I mean, “Rashid” turning on the music from his little iPad —I totally didn’t realize he was doing it until I rewatched. 
Daniel, kill yourself. 
He knows he fumbled his bag and it’s not looking like he’ll get to hit. RIP to him. (/not serious)
“I serve a God. It is my honor to serve.”  “...having a hand in the divine plan.”   “He was my murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker…”  “...there was present a kind of worship on my part.”  “You alone, under the rising moon… can strike like the hand of God.” 
Normal show. 
Dinner date (part I) 
“Mr. de Pointe du Lac will join you at course seven.” “Seven? Wait, but how many courses are there? Fattening me up for the inevitable end?”
Tumblr media
Unfortunately I do find Daniel funny. That’s my worstie right there. 
I love how this whole scene is set up. 
Any table with this amount of candles immediately turns the meal into a date, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules. 
Duck foie gras terrine, pickled fruit, roasted apple bonbon.
“The liver of a duck or goose that has been carefully fattened is used to make the upscale culinary product known as foie gras. (...) Foie gras terrine is a dish made from force-fed duck or goose liver that has been chopped and mixed with fat.”
Oh, so they are making a little joke. LOL.
Danny looks on with concern as the employees —all wearing the same black latex gloves as “Rashid” and all wearing masks as well— wrap the other end of the table in saran wrap. 
Oysters. Pig’s foot. Different oysters. Is he being served champagne? The oysters are very funny to me. 
You missed at least three or four endangered species.
Loved what @feedingicetothedog said about this: “...what he chose to serve daniel, ultimately leading daniel to participate in predatory, unethical consumption alongside louis. (...) serving daniel these meals attempts to force a reluctant empathy (one that daniel rejects and instead voices his disgust).” 
Oooh, she looks so gorgeous in that black kaftan! 
I want to apologize for my outburst earlier. I can assure you, it will not happen again.
First time watching, and several times after, I was convinced this must be the following day. It took me a while to realize this is shortly after the ending of episode one —an hour later, maybe?— and so the “outburst” that Louis is referring to is that one (1) single tear. 
I LOVE YOU INSANE GIRL!
Tumblr media
(Also, very funny to revisit my original liveblog. I start by saying this episode didn’t work as well as the pilot, then still give it 4.5/5 stars again. And now it’s tied for my favorite one.)
Your memory is a monster; you forget—it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you—and summons them to your recall with will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you! ― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
But Daniel says “we” forget. Uh.
Tumblr media
“Ajoblanco. Bread, crushed almonds, garlic, olive oil, and salt, a garnish of green grapes, and AB negative, fresh from the farm. Bon appétit.” “Part of me wants to ask about the farm.” “Two vampires walk into a church. That's where we left off.” “Blissing out post-priesticide.”
The garlic has to be another joke, come on. 
And serving cold soup should count as torture. 
I remember noticing this before but I missed it this time, and @crazykuroneko’s liveblog brought me back to it: “two vampires walk into a church,” like it doesn’t matter that Louis was still human when he walked in, he was always going to end up here.
Anyway, Louis is so funny here. Daniel is so funny here. This whole sequence is delightful to me. I do find it interesting, characterization-wise, that Louis deflects from the question of the farm and Daniel lets him derail. Screenwriting-wise it makes sense that they’d save the details for later, but it’s still curious in-story.
Wedding night / First hunt
Are you hungry, Louis?
(Loved that @meastyeyes pointed out how important this question is, how it sets up a core conflict not just of the episode but of Louis’s character arc.)
We start with “apprenticeship,” on minute three, and then we’ll hear “taught,” “master,” “student,” “pupil,” “mentor,” through the whole episode. Welcome to Vampirism 101. 
Sam and Jacob in the flashback are great. Slapstick comedy isn't dead! Sam perfectly delivers Lestat’s tirade while snapping limbs like he’s doing chores, and Jacob’s physicality starting this scene and all the way to the coffin is simply excellent. 
Lestat is so annoying 😭 he needs to kill himself. 
Need to smoke a blunt with her so badly… 
Tumblr media
Had to pick the whole “Lestat’s blood was giggling inside me,” exchange as my favorite quote of the episode.
OK, face! 
Tumblr media
And the sound editing during Louis’s trip is crazy, actually, what the fuck. Have you guys heard it with headphones? It’s amazing. 
Lestat’s wine tasting speech is so annoying…
"Hunting is an art. You have the power to subdue anyone you want, but sometimes restraint is your most powerful weapon." "I was being hunted."
Lestat, kill yourself.
If Armand had been Louis’s maker he would have gotten him all the beefy hunks my princess wanted, not that goofy ass salesman.
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT. 
Rolin Jones needs to be tried at the Hague for the “baby bird” line. By the way. 
Also, mentioned in that post about Louis’s feeding habits I linked above, golden utensils are used in very fine dining because they leave the least metallic aftertaste on the food. Later on in the episode he will use a golden spoon for his “human meal” —but now I’m noticing that he also uses it for the blood. 
Tumblr media
Back to the flashback, my girl looks like a tiny kitty cat. 
We get this moment of mind communication before Louis has fed and before his first sunrise —and before Lestat explains they can’t read each other’s minds, of course. There’s no further elaboration on when the “wall” comes up, but I’ve always had the idea that it’s that first “death sleep” that completes the transformation. 
Back to what I was saying about Jacob’s physicality, now I’m paying attention to how he gets rid of the cape and slumps against the wall before jumping the salesman. Between out-of-his-mind stoned and predatory, I love it. 
I always laugh at the salesman briefly wondering whether he’s walked into a gay threesome or he’s about to get serial-killed. Well. 
You don’t bite the blood, you suck it.
Another line that should count as a war crime. 
Tumblr media
Jacob’s acting as Lestat is disposing of the body —and through everything that follows— is so, so, so good. 
“I-I gotta go home.” “This is your home now, Louis. Breathe.” “I... I gotta collect money from the cribs.” “I have all the money we need. Breathe.” “I have to go see Grace and Paul.”
God, what an actor. 
We’ve called this episode the “honeymoon era,” but first comes this wedding night and Louis acts every bit the shell-shocked bride. And we’re back to the question of meaningful consent from the “marriage” scene. 
In the list of moments that we can interpret as Louis adding a bit of color to his narration, in the pilot we have Lestat’s “hunting” scene and that first moment in the card room before Louis comes in, then Lestat standing on the balcony calling out to him; now we add Lestat’s “You’re gonna find that very difficult,” to the list. Sam is also doing great work through this whole sequence, I want Lestat dead. I remarked on his delivery of this line during my first watch, and I keep getting hung up on it. If this is Louis’s narration, he would have been more than entitled to paint Lestat as mocking or cruel, but here he comes off almost pitying. 
I love the burning effects. I remember someone —not sure if it was an actor, writer or crew member— said something about how they designed vampire burns to look different from human burns, and I think the result is solid. Makes me think more of coal than skin. 
I should have taught you that.
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT. 
Bridal carry! 
Tumblr media
And our first look at how Lestat has adapted Rue Royale for his vampiric life. You gotta love the set design. 
The laissez-faire attitude of the local police force…
For you, perhaps. 
The perfect setting for a vampire home. A vampire romance.
Someone brought up a sequence from the books, from Body Thief, I think, in which Lestat talks about falling for a given mortal and building them up in his mind and making up a whole narrative of what their love would be like; and you can certainly see that Lestat right now. 
"You've had a long life, Louis, and such an extraordinary one ahead. Have a rest." “She's coming up on 33.” “It's a lick and a promise in vampire years.”
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT.
It's okay. You can be on top.
They thought they were being sooo funny. I’m sure Anne thought she was being hilarious with the closet line too. 
Something I caught in my first liveblog: we don’t see Louis and Lestat kiss in this episode —still, their relationship doesn’t come off as “toned down” at all. 
Dinner date (part II)
Helluva bender.
Trying so hard not to quote every line of this episode, but I love Louis’s, “Death, rebirth, coming out, homicide…” —perfectly delivered.
Tumblr media
To satisfy your fixation…
GET HIM AGAIN!
And “To the shame of queer theorists everywhere,” still makes me laugh. 
Daniel needs to kill himself, but Louis is still bullshitting. The question remains, does he know he’s bullshitting? Has he convinced himself that he had anything resembling a free choice at his disposal? Does it help? 
Provocation. Is this the primary tool one walks away with after downloading your Internet class?
Ugly laughing. The version of this line that exists in my mind has Louis saying “your li’l Internet class,” and I’m always surprised when he doesn’t actually say that. 
Daniel doesn’t have anything to answer to that. Eat shit, old man. 
(Back to my old liveblog: I didn’t like Daniel’s annoying soundbite quips because, quoting myself, “the writers are using him to editorialize their own narrative a little bit too hard” but now I adore every insufferable one-liner stolen from Twitter precisely because the writers are so effectively using them to editorialize. I contain multitudes, I guess.)
Rabbit, three ways, and Vulpes rueppellii, or Ruppell's sand fox.
Not actually an endangered species, I looked it up. 
The puppet is so funny.
Tumblr media
Rather than point out how Louis’s declaration here plays off against the end of the episode, let me just link to @iwtvfanevents’ scene highlight. Performing as Lestat, all the more interesting now that we have seen the whole season and we know that the entirety of what we saw has been a performance. Masks upon masks upon masks. 
That's the purpose. Our book must be a warning as much as anything…. It was the right line of questioning.
Tumblr media
I’m always on this line. The first interview was a fluke, an accident. This interview is purposeful. There are things Louis is hoping to achieve here, and he needs Daniel for that. I know I wrote something like this before but who knows where that was, but I really think that, alongside all the other reasons why Louis could want Daniel, specifically, here, the fact that he’s presented as a no-bullshit, no-punches-pulled type of journalist speaks to a sort of authority, a credibility Louis is looking for. He doesn’t want a transcriber, he wants someone who will see even through his own lies. Maybe this whole sequence is a test, actually: if you can cut through the bullshit here, then you just might be the right guy to help me pick my memories apart. 
Anyway, this is all speculation, but one of the most interesting lines of the season, to me. 
Mind-reading lessons
Killin' folks ain't a second language.
Tumblr media
Obligatory mention that I can’t believe people think Lestat is talking about himself in “I have English consonants to thank for this astonishing jawline.” He’s literally ogling Louis right there. HOW WOULD LEARNING ENGLISH AT 150 YEARS OLD CHANGE THE SHAPE OF HIS JAWLINE. Pissing on the poor website. Anyway, moving on now. 
Wandering eyes. Kill yourself, Lestat. 
This is definitely within a few weeks of Louis’s turning. If we want to be generous with Lestat we might think it’s the following night, and he hasn’t had a real chance to mention the mind gift before now. If we want to be generous, that is. 
(That still means he’s ogling other people that soon after, so… I don’t even need to say it.)
Every human thought boils down to three things… "I want food," "I want sex," "I want to go home."
Still on this line.
Tumblr media
It's not cheating with a woman because I can't get pregnant.
Icon! 
Peel back on me, then, what am I thinking right now?
It’s not a light delivery, and he looks troubled as he looks at Lestat. I wish he told us (Daniel) more of how he felt about this whole matter. 
In my original liveblog I was moved by “lestat’s almost pained admission that they are now “at each other’s discretion”. such a quiet, subdued scene, and yet it presents the core conflict not just of the episode, but of the show: “a sacrifice is made when the dark gift is shared”.”
Later I added that “louis lost that, the miracle of having someone who understood his affection without him needing to pull his teeth trying to express it. at the center of him there's a sense of alienation from other people that he has never been able to overcome, and during those months, lestat was the one place where he belonged. with him louis was seen, but the moment he was turned, lestat could no longer see all of him. he still had to wear a dozen different faces, and now a new mask for the one person with whom he thought he wouldn't need it.” 
Here, in “Just like the meat,” Louis tries to appeal to their similarity with humans, and Lestat dismisses him. Next episode, he tries to appeal to their superiority over humans, and Lestat dismisses him again. Funny how that works. 
You're not one of them anymore, fledgling. You chase after phantoms of your former self. I'll break you of it.
Lestat, kill yourself.
Back to the past
We’ll miss Nora’s entrance with the Christmas tree.
Where is Z’s post about how Lestat is just sitting through these plays about abusive patriarchs and creepy old men going ho-ho-ho while at his side Louis is trying to make the entire opera house go up in flames. 
Mama du Lac looks so fancy. 
And she’s so startled when Louis answers to her (homophobic) thoughts. 
You seen my alligator, ma’am?
He’s so corny 😭 
Tumblr media
The costume department is not at all subtle, Louis and Grace are wearing almost the exact same shade of cream. And sorry to buy into Kalyne’s Grace propaganda, it’s true that she could have visited and it’s true that the family is happy to live off of Louis’s pocket while looking the other way, but you can’t tell me she doesn’t love her brother. It’s funny that she just takes on the new eyes with the one comment, but her “Better you,” comes off genuine.
Jacob’s acting in the scene with the racist attorney is so incredible. Thinking back about what Eric says about real actors shining in the subtle stuff, and this is a prime example. In the eyes and the way the smile gets more and more forced. No wonder they used this scene in that talkshow, alongside with Jacob’s narration in Dubai it’s some of his most incredible work of the season. And of course, the delivery of his monologue is impeccable. Like the church confessional, just a perfect arrangement of words. For sure one of the best scenes of the season. Such a satisfying moment. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
(Also: “I wasn't a man anymore. I was something else.” Only next episode do we get to “I am a vampire.”)
Louis looks gorgeous in this white suit covered in blood, and I love his gesturing both during the Dubai narration and during this flashback argument. 
“You are a library of confusion.”  “Some things you don’t get about America, Lestat.” 
But he was happy to pretend he understood when he was “courting” Louis. Which brings us back to mind-reading —he could understand what it was for Louis to endure constant humiliation and marginalization as long as he was literally seeing Louis’s thoughts and feelings, but he’s unwilling or unable to exert any actual effort once that shortcut is no longer available to him. 
A couple of parish priests go missing, people say, "Fine. Most likely kid-fiddlers."
I missed this one the first time around, very good bit. 
“Fledgling” twice in like 15 seconds. Kill yourself, Lestat.
Tumblr media
“Oh, you need to stop using that word right now, 'cause it's soundin' a little like "slave".” “Don't say it.” “Well, that's what it fuckin' sound like. It's what it feel like sometimes.”
What a change it is to go from Lewis the slaveholder to Louis. A lot has been written about this, like this post or this article; but on this rewatch I’m struck by the contrast with this scene from the book:
“[Vampires are] jealous of their secret and of their territory; and if you find one or more of them together it will be for safety only, and one will be the slave of the other, the way you are of me.’ ‘I’m not your slave,’ I said to him. But even as he spoke I realized I’d been his slave all along. ‘That’s how vampires increase...through slavery. How else?’ he asked.”
I do love the cursing and Lestat’s hair-flip. 
If disrespect was done to you…
@sygoflyy already said everything that needs to be said about that “if” here.
And I’ll say it for an eighth time, and no more…
Kill yourself, Lestat.
Tumblr media
First look at their couples’ coffins. Delightful. 
I’m still curious about whether that’s Gabrielle up there.
And I know it’s pointless to even engage with it but I think it’s crazy that people really saw this scene (and everything that preceded and followed it) and decided Louis is a materialistic gold digger. Be fucking for real. 
Time jump
That's a mighty tall ladder you're climbin', Mr. du Lac.
Kill yourself, Fenwick. 
No “sirs” after Louis becomes owner of the Azalea, I know that’s right. 
Also, who pointed out that Lestat did his hair like a “founding father”??? He looks ridiculous!!!
(And I really can’t stop seeing the body double.)
Tumblr media
We skip forward five years (very effectively, I must add!) and Louis changes from bridal whites to damnation reds. 
My club, my rules. I opened the doors to anyone with money to burn. I paid the staff better, paid the band better, all the while helping those who had been with me down the block to better themselves.
In just a minute we’ll see that in the modern day, Louis keeps himself convinced of his own morality —or tries to convince Daniel of it?— with pretty much the same arguments. 
Brick looks so good. Hi, wife! 
And it was a pointless point of pride that I paid back every cent I borrowed from Lestat.
Alliteration fans everywhere cheered! I find this so interesting! Pointless because Lestat had so much money it made no difference, pointless because it didn’t earn him Lestat’s respect, pointless because he would lose everything eventually? 
Tumblr media
Speaking of things lost, we’re back to the du Lac family home. Is Grace’s dress a sleeping gown? 
Still on my Grace apologia agenda. Yes, she’s resentful, but the affection is genuine. Their laughs after she says “I’m sure Mamaw would love to see you,” are so real and so bittersweet.
I’ll go back to the dinner date soon, but I love how this sequence plays out, Louis’s mouth literally watering, the growing fangs. Perfect moment of suspense. 
Tumblr media
Dinner date (part III)
I no longer kill. My last victim was in the year 2000.
Just like at the beginning of the episode, I find it interesting that Daniel asks a macro-question (“...is the pandemic the opening they've been waiting for?”) but ends up focusing on the more personal aspects of Louis’s story.
Obviously, it makes sense on a meta-narrative level to lay the foundations for a grander plot but not overwhelm the audience with it right now. And I really don’t want to get to that bigger arc. Queen of the Damned was a nonsensical book, and right now I fail to visualize a good adaptation of it. I mean, the writers have proved themselves with the first season, so I’m less wary than I was when I first watched this episode, but still… 
Anyway, back to the point, we get a very good glimpse of Louis’s reasoning, or what he’s pretending is his reasoning, who knows, to make peace with the existence he leads: 
What on earth would a meth-addicted son of a coal miner in West Virginia want with eternal life? Or the Arab youth whose family were wiped from existence by a Western drone?
Maybe because he has no counter-argument, maybe because he heard himself in that tape recording begging for immortality, Daniel instead aims at the soft spot he’s found, poking at Louis about his nephew.
Tumblr media
And here comes Damek. I don’t think I’d noticed how shiny his shirt was before the Blue-Ray rip. He really looks like he’s going clubbing. 
The slap to the vein. I’m just so obsessed with him. 
Go to Kite Beach. It's good. Kites.
Normal situation. 
Anyway. import and maintenance of food technologies is still my canon for Damek. 
Can’t help but notice that the meat Daniel is eating in this scene is pretty rare. 
And of course he looks disgusted, he has to. But I don’t believe him one bit. 
Back to the past (reprise)
“I ain't never gon' have a family of my own, am I? No sons, no daughters.” “I'm your family, Louis.”
I was gonna make a joke about how people suffering from baby fever get when smelling a baby’s head but it seemed in poor taste.
Tumblr media
I think someone pointed out that both Louis and Claudia, articulating the loss of their humanity, call back to traditional familiar structures: “Maybe I'd have a handsome husband by now. Or maybe he'd be plain but with a good disposition. That'd be fine, too. I'd be sweepin' floors, makin' dinners, nursin' babies.”
You can make your arguments to justify Lestat’s isolating tactics, sure, but the outright negging that follows??? I do love the line “a challenge every sunset,” I can’t lie, but I hope he blows up. Also, “as imperfectly perfect as you’ve become” is a word choice that gives me pause now that I’m thinking of Lestat saying “I put you on this Earth.” 
Gifts in lieu of apologies. (Earlier, no apologies either. Now I can’t remember who said it, but, “Well, what can I do to make it up to you?” was literally Lestat asking for a shortcut.)
Louis’s smile… Girl, he doesn’t deserve you!!!
He had a way about him, those first years, Lestat. Preternaturally charming, occasionally thoughtful. He was my murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker… All of those things at once. He didn't choose me to be his doormat. I knew he enjoyed it when I fought back, but there was present a kind of worship on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid.
So much to unpack here. “Preternaturally” charming, the vampire trick clearly implied, even though now they’re both vampires and there should be no such magical charm. Only “occasionally” thoughtful. “My murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker,” is one of the craziest lines to ever be put on the screen. There’s nothing I can add to the myriad of posts made about this line, but “fought back” is insane. Fought BACK? GIRL. Worship is crazy too. And “The earth beneath me always felt liquid,” always takes my breath away. 
And the opera… 
Hold up, here's the post I was talking about.
Tumblr media
“Horny goldfish” deserves a Nobel peace prize.
Lestat is playing his role too well 💀 and the way he looks at Louis when he finally sits down and you can actually see him realize that Louis is not happy to play his fucking servant, like… Louis's narration before this (“We did what we always did…”) tells us that they'd done this before, how could he not have foreseen this? 
Just as later during the “reconciliation” in episode six, Lestat’s show of vulnerability seems genuine enough, which doesn’t mean that the choice to show vulnerability isn’t calculated manipulation. Unfortunately, it works. 
I wonder at the fact that this seems to be the first time in six years Louis asks after other vampires.
I do love the “...articulating the difficult love we often had trouble expressing ourselves” line, it’s a gorgeous bit of writing. There was a post going around recently paralleling this line to the Antoinette affair, a parallel I found very compelling since I’ve always been of the idea that the affair more than merits paying attention to because of what it tells us about Lestat, about Louis, and about their relationship. 
The curtain fell like a guillotine.
I’m in love with him. 
Nursing my complicity.
In episode six: “Mindless accomplices.” 
Something from my original liveblog that I still think has some merit: “i get the impression that this episode was trying to tackle some of the events that surround the original [claudia’s turning sequence] and recontextualize them. instead of nearly killing little claudia, louis is so starved he is tempted to kill his sister’s baby; and instead of terrorizing two young sex workers, lestat insults and demeans the chorus singer before killing him slowly; but thematically the scenes felt very similar to the pages that surround claudia’s turning.” In retrospect, this is certainly a reversion of the scene with the two sex workers, since the whole “You are a killer, Louis,” sequence is a perfect replica of the movie scene, which is in turn adapted from that book moment —I don’t remember right now if I had ever watched the 1994 film before the show, but I did after the season finished airing. 
And I did mention in that first liveblog that I didn’t necessarily agree that they’re “hannibalifying” Lestat. This is not at all outside of the scope of how Lestat behaves in the books. And Hannibal is a Lestat rip-off anyway, so a fun little feedback loop we have there. 
Jacob Anderson is so gorgeous. What the fuck. 
Sorry, I still hate the “...for a third time and no more” bit. 
Everything Sam is doing in this last bit of the scene should count as a war crime. By the way. 
From my first liveblog: “reid’s delivery of the “you are a killer” rant was masterful, and i loved to see molloy genuinely affected by the story. also, the scene was beautiful! not just jacob’s perfect face, but the blood on white suits, the golden tint from the flames on their faces, both the voiceover and lestat’s exhortation.”
Still just as stunning a year and a half later.
Tumblr media
Dinner date (part IV)
My favorite scene of the whole episode. This is already long enough as it is, so let me redirect you to a separate post for my thoughts on Louis and Daniel sharing some ice-cream, and let’s wrap this up here. How considerate of me. 
Tumblr media
Final thoughts
This is such an uniquely paced episode, and it’s actually crazy how subdued and intimate it feels when it’s just as packed as the pilot. The ending still catches me unprepared every time.
I closed my original liveblog hoping that episode three would kick it up a notch, and it sure did! Now that I’m paying more attention to the way the episodes mesh together, I see why the pacing for the whole season works so well: the action-packed episodes five and seven are also separated by a somewhat slower episode, more interior and charged with tension; and Claudia’s entrance likewise marks a sharp turn and introduces a moment of bright bubbling energy between the two fairly gloomy halves of the season. Looking forward to seeing how they arrange season two. 
I just love what this episode does. We ended that first episode with Lestat’s promise that vampirism would give him power, and with power, freedom. 
This episode starts to show the caveats in that promise, the cracks in the foundation. 
As put in this fantastic post: 
the lie is that there is a process which can deliver someone from grief without having to face that grief, that there is a place you can go where suffering and violence can no longer reach you. as the season progresses we see the scale and scope of this lie; the deliverance that lestat promised reveals itself as a new configuration of the same problems which plagued louis in life only in more concentrated form. for example, louis says in the confessional that he sees his business as a kind of vampirism -- "i profit off the miseries of other men, and i do it easy;" but instead of escaping this dynamic by being turned he only encounters it in a more overt form wherein instead of making money off others' emotional suffering, he sustains his existence by inflicting physical suffering and death. his struggle to find alternatives to indiscriminately killing humans throughout the season shows just how completely he has failed to extricate himself from the moral quandary he tried to outrun by giving himself over to lestat.
They have laid all the ground for next episode’s conflict and the entire season’s arc. And by the end of the episode we know, or at the very least we suspect, that this core conflict that he was dealing with a century ago still follows his every step. 
I think it’s in this episode that we finally start to understand who Louis is. Of course, we got an idea of who he was in the pilot, but we were focused on past Louis, on the human Louis, a version of him that was meant to die by the end of the episode. This is the version of him that we’re actually dealing with, the person that we are watching Louis becoming in the past. 
We see him talking about treating his employees well while working in the sex industry, talking about why the underprivileged would choose vampirism, and then “feeding” from Damek. The clear connection between blood and sex that episode one first introduced and this episode remarked upon. Louis washing off the taste with a ritual performance of humanity that tries and fails to serve as penance for his continued parasitic relation to people he knows, even if he tries to play it off, he’s exploiting. He’s no longer starving himself but this is still a form of self-flagellation. The least harmful one, something that Armand would be amenable to enabling? But, of course, we don’t know about Armand yet. 
What we do know is that Louis hasn’t solved this core contradiction, just like he hasn’t gotten over his grief. We know he’s still performing. We suspect a lot of what he’s saying or doing might be bullshit! He’s fucking with Daniel and, by proxy, with us! He’s playing a character, he’s telling a story, and we should do well to remember that. But he opens up sometimes. He’s willing to put his heart on the table between them for Daniel to examine, and we’re wondering why. 
(Briefly back to Damek: in the pilot, Louis talked about coming to accept his sexuality (and arguably drew a parallel between his experience and Daniel’s) after a scene that clearly tied blood to sex and “intimacy”. That connection was only reinforced this episode, but it also told us Louis’s relationship with blood remains troubled, which leads us to wonder if his sexuality is similarly a point of conflict still. I think everything that can be said about this has been said already, so let me link to two great posts on the topic: this one, and this one.)
Anyway, what this episode does for our contemporary Louis, and what Jacob Anderson does for our contemporary Louis are just masterful. 
Another perfect piece of television. Ten stars. A hundred stars. 
Tumblr media
Someone give some kind of award to Daniel Hart right now.
23 notes · View notes
httpsserene · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
𝖍𝖙𝖙𝖕𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖊'𝖘 1𝖐 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖆𝖑
welcome to the table of contents for my one-thousand followers special !
i'm baffled at the amount of love and support from all of you; in under the two-months i've been writing on this blog, i've managed to have good enough writing to convince you guys to save my blog. i started writing f1 ff's with the sole purpose to provide more black!reader based content, and i never imagined that i'd have a thousand eyes reading my delusional scenarios lol. thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart :)
as promised, the special event is a continuation of the first upload of my f1 kinktober series. those of you who were desperate for a part-two of the corruption kink with charles leclerc / max verstappen / black!reader--here it is, in abundance. a five-part series (including the f1-ktober upload). merry christmas, loves xxx
if you would like to be added to this series' taglist, send me an ask or leave a reply.
all episodes uploaded at 12 PM EST on their release date.
posts tagged as # httpss :// 1k special.
all works can be found in my table of contents (m.list).
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬
𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: max and charles don’t mind receiving a five-second penalty for slipping past your boundaries. seeing a black and white flag doesn’t scare them in the slightest; not when you're performing so well under their guidance. 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: charles leclerc / max verstappen x fem!black!reader 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: multi-chaptered series.
view playlist? ↴
pilot: corruption kink w/ charles leclerc and max verstappen
innocent and virgin !reader has never touched herself before. she knows how to, in theory, but whenever she tries, she chickens out. her tried and true way of receiving pleasure is failing her. she thinks that maybe it's time to allow her relationship with her two respectful and experienced boyfriends, to reach the next step. and she'll find that they're very willing to teach her a few things.
episode two: 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 | handjobs | 12/9/23
slightly less innocent, virgin!reader has had her view of pleasure shifted. her libido has increased to insane levels after she finally allowed her boyfriends to fix her…dry spell. charles and max have no issues with helping her ride out her newfound sexual appetite, and figure that she may be ready to take the next step. or, more accurately, take the next hand.
soundtrack - gun • doja cat
episode three: 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲 | fingering | 12/11/23
tainted, virgin!reader is growing tired of grinding against her boyfriends. she’s never touched herself before—no toys, no fingers, no fondling—the friction from a pillow used to be enough. but, maybe having something inside of her isn’t as terrifying as she believed. charles’ pretty pianist fingers don’t look too scary, and they way he raves about how talented max’s daunting thicker fingers are; well, she could be convinced to see what all the fuss is about.
soundtrack - pressure • ari lennox
episode four: 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 | oral sex | 12/15/23
soiled, virgin!reader is well aware of her boyfriends’ desire to eat her alive, sorry, to eat her out. from the way they can’t resist drinking her wetness off their (or her own) fingers, to the way they can’t stop running their mouths about getting their mouths on you: they’ve made how desperate they are, very clear. for some reason, she can’t get past her mental block to allow them to feast between her legs, or to taste what’s between theirs. max figures she just needs a demonstration to quell her fears; charles is a more than willing participant.
soundtrack - super freaky girl • nicki minaj
finale: 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 | vaginal sex | 12/17/23
tonight, innocent and virgin!reader will be defiled, deflowered, tarnished—whichever word you prefer. from the moment she told them she was ready to lose her virginity, they’ve been carefully planning out a special night, for her. and shockingly, there’s not an ounce of fear, anxiety, or doubt in her mind—max and charles have gained her complete trust. they haven’t given her a single reason to believe that they wouldn’t treat her right. she couldn’t have asked for better men to take her virginity—if this is corruption, she’s delighted to experience it.
soundtrack - wet dreamz • j.cole
current taglist: @saintslewis @cherry2stems @lorarri @inloveallthetime @mindless-rock @biancathecool@barnestatic @my-ylenia @katekipshidze @darleneslane @lovingaphroditesworld @smoothopz @vetteltea @dreamingofautopia @jayswifee @megatrilss1885 @nanamilkbread @sophia12345678 @benstormy @userlandonorris@xxniallxxsworld @starfusionsworld@hangmandruigandmav @spicybagel14 @ggaslyp1 @idontgotopartiesanymore @woozarts @yourlilitha @smartstupyd @itsmiamalfoy @ineedafictionalman @everythingabby101 @valent1na-ferrari @vetteltea @dark-night-sky-99 @svinzlec @angelfreckless
Tumblr media
© httpsserene2023
897 notes · View notes
showtoonzfan · 3 months
Text
Okay so I saw S1E2 of HH “Video killed the radio Star” so here’s my thoughts on that, ⚠️SPOILERS⚠️
- So once again, the pacing is all over the place. In the span of 2 episodes we have to deal with introducing Adam and Lute, the main characters of the hotel, the three V’s and Sir Pen, and I don’t like how the three V’s are introduced in the second episode of season 1. Like…can we just let the characters we know breathe and get to know them before you introduce new ones?? Told you this was going to be like Helluva lol.
- So hell is freaking out that the extermination got moved to 6 months later, but Charlie of course isn’t the focus of this episode. It’s mainly the three V’s + Angel/Al/Sir Pen. It still bothers me that the reason behind redeeming sinners is not because Charlie is sick of Hell being a damnation but because she doesn’t want them to be exterminated. It’s such a drastic change from the pilot and the character motivation that it still throws me off sorry.
- So, I actually like Vox. I take back bitching about Christian Borle playing him because while his suave voice may not fit the twink design, he does a fantastic job either way as expected, making Vox an intimidating person. I had thought before that Vox was going to just be this dumb henchman, but I actually like how he’s the runner of things. He’d be so cool if he didn’t curse and talk like every other character in the show though.
- Good GOD Valentino. I already shared how I felt about him when the dialogue leaks came out, but I HATE how his character is just this idiot man baby who throws temper tantrums and legit needs to be “calmed down” by Vox because he’s such an idiot. Like…Velvette calls him a piss baby and Vox legit had to talk to him as if he was one, that’s how dumb this guy is. There’s a scene where Vox asks what they should do about the hotel and Val says “just put something inside, that’s how I get the bitches”- like…kill me. The fan interpretations were better. He was actually someone you didn’t want to mess with and had an intimidating voice, here he’s a whiny baby that you have to remind yourself is the same guy who forces himself on Angel. The Addict and comic version of this character is not the same as the one we have now. His voice is too high pitch, it sucks and his accent goes on and off constantly. Viv can’t write abusers for shit, she sees everything as a joke. Again, how are we supposed to take abuse seriously if this is how you portray your abuser. Crimson is more intimidating than this joke of a cockroach.
- Alastor has been gone for seven years, yeah that “Lilith is Rosie and Al is working for her”- allegation is 100% true like it perfectly lines up together since Lilith has also been gone for seven years. Only for Alastor, it makes no sense. Like…wdym he’s been gone for seven years. The pilot is canon and they state he’s been at the hotel for a week. Alastor was literally walking around town when Charlie was on the news. Do they mean that it’s been years since he’s done his radio show? Viv, when you retcon shit you need to specify. You’re just confusing everyone again.
- They need to explain why exactly it’s dangerous to make a deal with Alastor because all this vagueness isn’t helping the story. The whole reason Vox sends Sir Pen out to be a spy was to make sure Charlie didn’t make a deal with him, yet you literally have Vaggie making a deal with him like it was nothing in the last episode. I also fail to see why exactly Vox cares about Charlie making a deal with Alastor in the first place. Is it because he doesn’t want Al to have more power? Is it because he doesn’t want Charlie to have power? EXPLAIN.
- Yay more retconning and woobifying. So Angel Dust is a whiny wimpy bitch in this episode, he’s very out of character. When Sir Pen comes to the hotel, he’s extra pressed about that, when in the pilot he couldn’t even take Sir Pen seriously and was acting nonchalant towards him. Then when Charlie starts getting all giddy and complimenting Pen, Angel gets sad and jealous??? This is the second fucking episode of season 1. I thought the whole point about Angel and the hotel was that he didn’t trust Charlie nor take the redemption stuff seriously. Now apparently he wants her approval? And then when he finds Pen out, Pen insults him and that causes Angel to just fucking lunge at him and start punching. When did Angel get this goddamn sensitive. Why did the wimpy snake character who’s supposed to be a loser get under his skin THAT much? It’s even more jarring because the last episode Angel was literally saying he loves being exploited and in the pilot he’s presented as someone who could give less of a shit of what other people think, now a simple jab at him being a slut made him go off. Remember when Travis called him a slut in the pilot and Angel just laughed it off? What happened to that Angel lol.
- Vaggie has a line that flat out calls Angel a sexual harasser. And yet we’re supposed to feel bad for him and root for HuskerDust. Makes perfect sense Viv, fuck you. She has no idea what sexual harassment even is because she sees actual harassment as quirky funny jokes and paints it as genuine love. Pick a side. Is Angel an asshole who sexually harasses people or is he an uwu baby who deserves to be with Husk. Clearly Viv chose the second option.
- I liked Vox and Al’s song, tho I wish it was more singing instead of talking. Charlie’s song in the end was boring but at least it was short. I still don’t know how to feel about Pen being at the hotel tho. Like I get he’s a loser and not a big threat but him happily joining the hotel now is way too structurally fast. There’s a lot of things that feel like Viv changed at the last minute compared to the pilot and it shows. Pilot was better.
That’s it, not looking forward to the third one which is HuskerDust focused (female centric show my ass)
197 notes · View notes
nephilimeq · 6 months
Note
Hey, I was just wondering what age you thought Derek was in season one? Cause it’s a heavily debated and unknown piece of information. Me personally I always thought he was 19 in the pilot, and this was before I had read anything about the writers wanting him to be that age in the pilot. It was just the way he acted, to me, it doesn’t seem like a mid-20s man. Also stiles says the fire happened “ like ten years ago” but then a few episodes later Peter says he’s been in a coma for 6 years. So I was just curious what you thought. Also stiles saying that is always made out to be taken as it literally happened exactly ten years ago, and people always bring it up but they never talk about how long Peter said it had been.
Sorry if this is long I just enjoy your blog and your thoughts. I wanted to share mine while also hearing it from your perspective. Hope you have a wonderful day, you deserve it!
This is a very tricky subject to handle, because the writers made mistakes in their own timeline so they switched things around.
But in the very first episode Stiles says that Derek is only a few years older than them. I always figured that Derek was around 19 in Season 1, while Stiles was 16.
The reason why they messed everything up so horribly is because they hadn't actually created a timeline for all the events when they started writing, and to me, it made the show feel like a fan fiction writer who was just making it up as they went and then all the reviewers were saying, "Hey, you have a few continuity errors," and instead of trying to make it work, they just made something up and didn't really try to go back and adjust anything.
There's a scene that happens when Stiles is asking Peter and Cora about Derek's past (Season 3, Episode 8 "Visionary"), and he is trying to find out how old they are, and this train wreck section of dialogue occurs:
Stiles: Okay, if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? ...How old are you now? Peter: Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think. Stiles: Okay, that was frustratingly vague. How old are you? Cora: I'm seventeen. Stiles: See, that's an answer. That's how we answer people. Cora: Well, seventeen how you'd measure in years. Stiles: Alright, I'm just gonna drop it.
This dialogue made me so pissy when I heard it the first time because I knew that this was the writers' response to the viewers and fans. The fans are Stiles in this conversation, and the writers are Peter and Cora being purposely "frustratingly vague" in the hopes that we'll just "drop it", which a lot of us did because they wouldn't give us any straight answers.
They messed up and they know it.
In my head canon -- because it makes the most sense to me -- Derek is three years older than them. Canonically, Derek is actually only ten days older than me, as seen in this enhanced screencap right here (from Season 1, Episode 11, where Kate has him kidnapped and held up in chains):
Tumblr media
So according to this he would have been around 22, about to turn 23 in the first season...but here's something to take into consideration. This driver's license isn't for California -- it's for New York. I have a theory that he got a professional fake I.D. so that he could do more jobs (such as bartending) while he was out of state.
Now, when Stiles mentions the fire was "like, ten years ago," I genuinely think that he was just generalizing. Derek was sixteen when Kate took advantage of him raped him, which means that the fire happened when Stiles was around twelve/thirteen (as he has a canonically April 8th birthday, so it all depends on the months).
Regarding anything Peter might have said...please remember that it has been firmly established in the show that Peter is an unreliable narrator. Stiles openly admits that to Cora in the previously mentioned Season 3, Episode 8, "Visionary".
A lot of these issues are because of the lack of consistency from the writers.
I think the biggest problem was when they cast a younger Peter and totally threw the timelines off, trying to make him only a few years older than Derek -- which he wasn't. Peter is Derek's uncle, for crying out loud! The man would have been in his late twenties, early thirties when Derek was a teen, barely looking any different than he does in the show...and yet the writers and producers thought that making him look almost like a teenager was the right call.
I do think it was a last ditch attempt to try and make Derek waaay older than Stiles because they didn't like the shipping -- but they had already established too much of their timeline at that point and simply messed up and didn't have the guts to admit it.
Simply put, I genuinely think Derek was nineteen and turned twenty during season one.
Hope that answers your questions, anon!
133 notes · View notes
jod13whittaker · 2 years
Text
So: Stede Bonnet, Izzy Hands, the way OFMD treats the whiteness of each & how I’m kind of confused by the differences in it lmfao
A few points to start. A) I’m a person of color, specifically of West Indian origin & ancestry, specifically descended from South Asian indenture. B) I love all these characters & am in no way saying there is a “right” character to like or a “wrong” character to like, this is literally just my own issue with the show and I don’t expect other people to necessarily agree or view it the same way or care or whatever. C) I do think this show gets a lot right. I don’t even necessarily know if they get this “wrong,” I’m just struggling with it myself. D) I actually did not want to post about this & had been avoiding it, but this thing has been eating at me since I first watched the season 1 of the show & has been eating at me during subsequent rewatches, so I think I need to just hash it out for myself if for nobody else. E) I am not tagging this lmfaooo but I might as well tag it so I can find it at this point. I’ll put it in my pinned post anyway. F) this is long. Sorry.
Ok, so. Stede Bonnet. Took me a while to love the guy, but I love the guy. That said, I kind of feel a weird amount of dissonance over Stede because of something very specific the show is doing with Izzy Hands's whiteness. (Izzy enjoyers, please bear with me, I’m going somewhere with this I promise, this is a problem I’ve got with the worldbuilding, not with the enjoyment of the characters themselves.)
[Edit: the tl;Dr takeaway is that I think it's weird that the show is dancing around Stede's engagement in structural racism if they're willing to dive into Izzy.]
[edit 2: July 2022: Just to be clear, imo saying this character is racist or has a colonizer mindset says things about Ed's arc that are kind of shitty & horrific. I'm not saying that about either Izzy or Stede. They're white, that means something, but there's a nuance I'm hoping to get across in here & the companion Stede piece.
Also, per word of god, the anchor raising & mutiny scenes in ep 9 were not meant to show overt racism, but rather compare Izzy's & Stede's management styles. So I got that a bit wrong, I think.
And not for nothing but if you think that Stede is a "better" white guy than Izzy & Izzy is peak Bad White Man by comparison, I really want nothing to do with you. At all. If you're reblogging this to "prove" Stede is a better version of whiteness then you've missed the point entirely of what I'm saying. It would be weird & fucked up to make the rich landed gentry the "nice" white.]
[edit 3: October 9 2022: Having now watched the first 3 episodes of season 2, I think it’s even more clear that very little, if any, of the below was intentional. It seems like it was just messy writing in season 1 & that they’re trying to adjust in season 2. Updated comments here.]
Stede’s past is something that the show has deliberately decided to handwave, at least throughout season 1. The show has said that show!Stede isn’t the same as IRL Stede. And if the show had been Full Muppet Genre, that might have worked for me personally; if there were no real-world histories or conversations within the canon, then yeah. Have at it, everyone’s a muppet, real-world history doesn’t exist, I’m gonna watch these three or four couples/polycules be cute & this one gremlin be a shitstain & I’ll be happy about it.
But the show isn’t that (and it’s so much more fulfilling that it isn’t that). As early as the pilot episode, we don’t just see the British Navy as cardboard cutout bad guys with no concept of race or empire. We hear a British Naval officer refer to Black crewmembers of the Revenge as “slaves.” The crew are faking a dinner, and are clearly equal to each other as crewmembers, but the pilot episode introduces the fact that Stede’s merry little floating pride parade exists within the context of real history. We hear about it from Oluwande as well, when he has to explain to Stede that piracy isn’t a lark for most people, it’s something you’re driven into because you have no other option. And in “A Damned Man,” we get to see Stede & Black Pete captured & clubbed together with the other two white characters in that scene:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
[image id: top image is Stede Bonnet seated next to Black Pete, telling the indigenous leadership who’ve captured them, “We’re not colonizers.” bottom image is Stede pointing to two British officers while saying, “They are.” Screenshots from s01ep02 “A Damned Man.”]
At the same time, Oluwande is free to move around, gets a nice mixed drink, and the indigenous people offer him an opportunity to leave the Revenge & stay with them. Very early on, the viewer is introduced to these ideas: interpersonal racism exists, systemic racism exists, colonization exists, white people move through the world differently than the rest of us, and importantly, solidarity exists.
We see further evidence of this in “The Best Revenge Is Dressing Well.” The scenes on the party boat were incredibly difficult to watch because it’s clear almost instantaneously that the white French aristocrats view Ed as a party trick, long before poor Ed recognizes it. They’re interested in how violent and beastly they perceive him to be, while he’s just trying to fit in and enjoy the fine things he’s dreamt about since childhood. What’s interesting to me is that it also seems to take Stede (posing as a phrenologist, jfc lol there was nothing subtle about this episode) a little while to recognize it, and it only really happens late in the game, after Ed is attacked during the dinner. Even before all that, though, there’s racism in the form of the French officer who calls Ed “your kind” and a “donkey.” Certainly Stede’s aware of Ed’s anger, but he moves back to teaching Ed about cutlery pretty quickly and looks at Ed’s discomfort through a lens of class (pirates vs the upper class) while not quite looking at it from a racial perspective also. It seems clear the moment the officer calls Ed an animal that Ed is looking at it through a lens of race, at least to me, so Stede not doing the same felt starkly different.
So the show establishes here that Ed is clearly treated differently from white characters, and in this episode & multiple others, establishes that not only are the other characters of color treated differently due to their race, but that there’s generally solidarity amongst them. This plays really interestingly with Ed’s frustration that people think he’s some ultraviolent caricature (nb: while the caricatures are themselves not racialized, I think there's still subtext there bc the actor playing Blackbeard is not white, & bc they toy with the concept more in Dressing Well), when in reality he has one knife and one gun just like everyone else; that’s not just Blackbeard saying he’s annoyed and bored, that’s a man of color expressing frustration that the largely white naval and merchant forces look at him and see death personified. To Stede, it’s his boyfriend who is as sensitive as he is, expressing the dream to be seen as soft, and as fine, and as vulnerable, and as deserving of careful handling. So when you look at Stede, he’s connecting to Ed on a personal level and seeing how things hurt him--but the show doesn’t have him perceiving the racial aspect as much, possibly because if they did that, they’d have to explore his past more deeply.
When you look at Izzy, they’re doing something extremely interesting with him. Izzy is also not looking at things through a racial lens, but the difference between him and Stede is that the other characters do look at the things he does through that lens in more than just a joking fashion. The writers are acutely aware of this and they are very, very deliberate in the way they craft Izzy’s arc as a result. I’ve written previously about how there’s a public Izzy and a private Izzy, and over the course of the season the private Izzy loses himself entirely (and I would’ve dug further, except Con called himself a wh0re on Twitter and I completely bluescreened after seeing that tweet ANYWAY).
There are a few things to note about the private/public versions of Izzy & the way the writers handle his whiteness. First, the writing takes pains to let us, the viewers, know that privately Izzy respects Ed for being his intellectual superior; he explicitly states that he was honored to work for Ed as Ed is a brilliant sailor, and his reaction to Ed’s initial plan in “Discomfort In a Married State” is one of disbelief that he’d ever doubted his captain’s brains. He nearly leaves the ship the next morning, stating that he’d been wrong to shout all those things at Ed. That the show spends that much time telling the audience that Izzy looks up to Ed not for having a smoking beard and red eyes (like Black Pete fantasizes), but for being smart is noteworthy, as is the fact that the show spends time showing Izzy as remorseful for the way he’d acted. Secondly, in “The Art of the Fuckery,” the writing also lets us in on the fact that the private version of Izzy has no problem with Ed not being able to kill. He’s sympathetic. He would be happy to kill Stede for Ed, and it comes off like an offer from someone whose love language is acts of service.
Publicly? Izzy harangues Ed in front of Fang and Ivan, telling Ed that he must kill Stede. This bit’s important, because even though Ivan and Fang are backing Izzy up regarding the need to kill Stede (and in Fang’s case, is pretty torn up about Ed having told him to send his doggy to a different heaven than where he’d end up 😭), these are two men of color watching a white man telling their captain, another man of color, that he needs to be more violent.
Tumblr media
[image id: Izzy staring at Ed (off camera) as Ivan holds a crying Fang behind him, after the three of them have tried to convince Ed that he needs to kill Stede. Screenshot from “The Art of the Fuckery.”]
Fang had previously expressed that he thought Izzy wouldn’t care that he hated having his beard pulled, and the two of them do seem to like the more open and caring version of Ed that comes with being on board the Revenge. So it’s kind of no surprise to me that in episode 10, even though we see the two standing behind Izzy at the captain’s table, we also see them in the 100% men of color mutiny where they nearly throw Izzy overboard. They have borne some of Izzy’s bullying in the past (although the writers have been careful to also show Izzy as respecting them as pirates to some degree, as much as he respects anyone not named Edward Teach--he pulls Fang’s beard and tells him nobody pays him to think, but they’re still his go-to guys, he has a bit of fun with Fang when bullying the British officer in “A Damned Man,” they actively back him up in “The Art of the Fuckery” and are able to be like “idk boss, I don’t think this murder is happening” with him earlier in the episode, there’s something between these three that’s different from how Izzy treats even the white crew of the Revenge etc.). They have seen him talk sternly to Ed, a superior, but do not see the very next scene where Izzy privately tells Ed, “I’ll happily end it.”
They are viewing Izzy as a white man doing white man things, whereas Izzy? Izzy is clearly viewing himself as a pirate surrounded by other pirates, unaware and completely ignorant of his own whiteness, thinking incorrectly that he has to protect Ed’s tough image as a pirate without considering what it looks like for a white man to constantly portray a man of color this way. This isn’t an excuse for his actions in any way; I think it’s one of the tensions at the core of his interactions with the world around him, similar to how he has no clue how to engage with the open, joyful queerness on board the Revenge, because he’s got no clue that that sort of joyfulness was even an option.
When Izzy breaks that final time, it’s noteworthy what precedes it. He’s spent  quite some time hanging by a thread, for instance when he’s trying to convince the crew that everything’s fine with Ed. The little pep talk he gives on the deck about how Ed’s still under the weather but will be joining them soon is demonstrative; O’Neill is too good of an actor for the portrayal in that scene to be accidental. Izzy is very clearly lying, terrified, and panicking while trying to convince the crew that everything is fine. Recall that his first vocalized fear on the show was that he (and other pirates under Ed’s command) might die. He still fears it, as much as he fears the state Ed is in.
It’s heavily implied that Izzy climbs into the pillow fort and takes Ed’s orders,  because he goes and fetches Lucius to transcribe Ed’s song and surely Ed wasn’t dressing in his leathers just for Izzy’s sake. He steams quietly during the song recital but doesn’t say a damn thing until someone else starts calling Ed “Ed,” but even that isn’t his true breaking point. His breaking point is when Ed asks why they even need to be pirates when everyone’s so damn talented; Izzy, from what we have seen so far, is talented only at one thing, and that’s piracy. He’s a terrible leader, he loses battles of wit, he loses a duel to the more clever Stede. Izzy can’t fathom a future where he’s anything but a pirate, and specifically he ties his ability to survive to Ed’s brains. So he cracks, and tries to convince Ed that he needs to be Blackbeard, in the most cruel way possible.
This is a racially charged moment because of who Ed is and because of everything we’ve seen with Ed. The French party boat where he gets attention by talking about stabbing people, the frustration he voiced over others seeing him and immediately becoming afraid, the Dutch merchants in Fuckery proving his point. White people consistently see a man of color and consider him to be a brute. They draw him as a demon in storybooks.
No matter what Izzy sees, person to person, no matter the fact that Izzy’s in it for Ed’s intellect and hero-worships him as the better sailor, better leader, smarter man, no matter how scared Izzy is that if Ed stops being a pirate then he’ll die, the onscreen image we have is a white man telling a brown man he needs to be a violent stereotype ripped from a colonizer’s book on pirates. That’s also the image Ed himself gets: Izzy’s now a white man he might have trusted at one point, who’s telling him to stop feeling things and start killing. That he’s not good enough for fine things, and that he’s just the caricature in the storybook.
The writers have crafted this carefully though. They could have made Izzy just some one-note racist, but instead they took the time to tell the audience, “Hey, this guy? He has a nuanced view of Ed Teach. He comprehends that Ed cares about Stede in some way, he just also thinks that Stede is messing with Ed’s already depressed mind. And on top of all that, he has no idea what’s happening around him and we’re going to explore how that fear interacts with his unchecked and unexamined whiteness.” Even the caricatures Stede & Izzy show Ed are different, with Izzy's having only one gun and knife. Izzy clearly enjoys Ed being violent towards him, but notably in his first interaction with fellow white MF Stede Bonnet, he’s. Well. A little bit turned on by Stede’s violence towards him, as well, because Izzy’s not picky (you may think he’s scared, but given the metaphors around stabbing on this show, I’m pretty sure he’s not just scared):
Tumblr media
[image id: Izzy Hands going from angry to fear-boner when Stede Bonnet (offscreen) presses a knife into his face. Gif from “A Damned Man.”]
It’s like the writers are saying, through the way they worked his arc, “He’s doing some things that looks bit racist--when the rules of piracy stop working for him, he panics, falls back to the rules of the colonizer & runs to the British Navy, as one example--but there’s a complexity to this character and room for growth.” (And to be fair: Stede also runs back to the comforts of colonialism when he panics in ep 9. It's not a unique reaction to Izzy.) This means if the writers wanted to, they could write it so Izzy learns something about race at some point. (Maybe he still needs to leave Ed behind to do it, I’m not saying it has to be on the Revenge, because quite frankly as much as I ship steddyhands realistically Ed has every right to end this relationship). He could grow, because the writers have done some groundwork both to discuss his whiteness and how that impacts his interactions with those around him, and to give him motivations and thought processes that are about his own capabilities and class as well as make it exceedingly clear that a lot of the drama in s1 comes from basic, fundamental misunderstandings between him and others. There are a ton of paths for Izzy, in part because the writers have decided to really explore what his whiteness means and aren’t shying away from poking at it while also taking steps to make him fundamentally a guy capable of apologizing to, caring for, and sympathizing with at least the person he’s hurt the most, if not eventually other people like Fang and Ivan.
That said, one possible path to take is that Izzy continues to be ignorant, and doesn’t learn anything. And that’s where my problem lies, because that story?  On its own could be very interesting, but in Our Flag Means Death, it would exist alongside whatever the hell they’re doing with Stede Bonnet.
Again, we’ve seen that Stede engages in some racist thought processes and actions himself. The scene where he thinks indigenous people are cannibals, his potential inability to view the French’s treatment of Ed through anything but a lens of class (this was frankly infuriating to me, I’ve watched this episode multiple times and I still don’t know if he gets it), and, honestly, the stuff we see in episodes 4 & 10 both when we see him in Barbados. There’s really no way around the fact that this guy made money off slavery. Mary refers to him renouncing all claims to his family’s wealth in the finale, she lives outside of town in a complex with a large main house and secondary buildings, Stede himself mentions selling off multiple acres to fund the building of the Revenge early on in the season. He calls himself “landed gentry.” There is literally. No way. That he’s anything but a guy who’s made money off slavery.
And the show chooses to dance around that. You must, actually, in order to make him palatable in any way. He leaves Mary & his kids in good financial standing (meaning they now have colonized land & “wealth,” which in 1717 Barbados means...). He and Mary buck against the norms of gender and sexuality, but nothing really else. He never seems to seriously think about race except in jokey scenes; in the most serious scenes around his life, it’s just sort of not a consideration for him.
And because the writers have crafted Izzy’s “hey this dude’s white and will act white and be shitty about it, but we are deliberately leaving room for him to stop being shitty about it--either so he can stop being shitty, or so that it is that much more tragic when he doesn’t” arc so carefully, Stede kind of. Stands out? To me? As not being nearly as careful? And it’s weird because I do actually like what they’re doing with Izzy so far. But because they have done it, it introduces the concept of a white guy who is ignorant of whiteness, and in a weird roundabout way Stede becomes that guy who meets a person of color, treats them as a social equal, but can’t quite take that relationship and expand his understanding to a broader societal view. 
For me, the writers’ refusal to engage with the character background they’ve given him (which is really not that different from his IRL background) accidentally turns him into the Colorblind White Person Who’s Dating A Person of Color, which, having been that person of color, that’s exhausting. His claim that he’s not a colonizer in the 2nd episode is never really dealt with--like, I’m supposed to think that he grows over time (and he does in a lot of other ways, which makes this choice even weirder), but by the 10th episode his choice to leave his family with his wealth is framed as a gift to them. His wealth is colonizer wealth. Even if he didn’t own slaves (which, this is fine tbh, we don't need to have him own people), the land is stolen land, the money would’ve come from exploitation. It feels awkward to me, especially because they’ve shown they can do a “look at this bastard white mf” storyline that has the potential to be redemptive, and that is also complicated by expectations of masculinity & sexuality, with Izzy.
I don’t know. I am struggling to frame this in a different way, but as of right now I’m willing to see where s2 goes (please let there be a s2) and willing to  keep handwaving things. But the more I think about where Izzy’s story could go, specifically turning him into even more of an antagonist & exploring his ignorance of his own whiteness and how other characters perceive him and his interactions with them very differently than how he would perceive it, I can’t help but wonder how Stede would look standing next to all of that, given what they did or did not do in s1.
Edit: I expanded a bit more on what I see as Stede’s arc wrt whiteness in s1 & why I’m a bit unsure about its future here.
1K notes · View notes
o6sessed · 19 days
Text
Hazbin hotel: episode one review
Tumblr media
Things I liked:
KeeKee is a nice addition to the cast. It’s the key to the hotel and it also serves as a pet to the magne family. I noticed that it didn’t interact with anyone besides Charly and Sir pentious, which might be a hint to the sinners that will go eventually to "Heaven".
"Adam" is supposed to be a villain but honestly he’s the character I enjoy the most when he’s on screen. The song Hell is forever was also great, I applaud his voice actor.
Things I disliked:
The introduction story. I didn’t like how Lucifer was made to be the misunderstood guy. Vivzie either writes sad poor misunderstood uwu boy, or horny gay. Or both. Your characters need to have some variety, not copy pasted from one another and the only difference being that one is obsessed with horses and the other with ducks, and also being less horny.
I don’t get that mysterious vibe from Alastor. I don’t feel like he’s in full control, I don’t see that "this shit is fun" vibes. It feels like he’s forced to be here, like he isn’t here for entrainment anymore. I liked him because he was so mysterious, we didn’t really know what he wanted, we couldn’t even see an ounce of anger in him because he didn’t need to show it, his presence alone was enough of a warning. Now Angel just makes a suggestion about the two of them and Al is immediately annoyed. It sucks that such good potential was wasted.
Charly is annoying as hell. She’s just too nice. Like I know it’s the premise of her character but now she doesn’t look nice, she looks stupid. Like "Adam" is disrespectful towards her for the whole meeting and she doesn’t even mutter something mean. If it was pilot Charly, she wouldn’t wait until he kicked her out of the office to correct his behaviour towards her. And I know Katy and an Angel aren’t the same things, but she didn’t even look angry before he started singing, just uncomfortable. That’s a shame.
I still don’t know if the pilot is canon or not. If it is, then there’s a lot that isn’t adding up, if it isn’t, the characters haven’t improved at all. Heard somewhere that it’s only half canon, sorry but it can’t work that way, it’s like me saying a test for a vaccine was half correct. So if someone dies you can’t blame me but if someone else is cured congrats to me ?
Tumblr media
33 notes · View notes
peterman-spideyparker · 4 months
Text
Cheesy Hash (Michael Kinsella x fem!Reader)
Author’s Note: So this is probably not great and I apologize in advance. I've only watched the pilot episode of Kin because it's the only one that's been available where I am without having to buy another streaming service our buy by the episode, but I'm obsessed with the gifs and clips I've seen and the fics I've read I just had to write this idea when I had it. It's definitely a fluffier and lighter fic for him, but, he deserves it! Enjoy! :)
Summary: Things are new and exciting with Michael, but at the same time, they feel established and comforting, and nothing is more established and comforting than waking up with Michael on a Saturday and him making you breakfast.
Warnings: Fluff (kissing and tooth-rotting sweetness), angst (Michael's trauma and family baggage), implied smut, a sprinkle of swears
Other Characters: None
Word Count: 990
Tumblr media
The pins and needles that begin to prick at your hand is the thing to stir you from your sleep. The gentle trace of warm, calloused fingertips running up and down your arm help pull you from your sleep entirely as you slowly open your eyes to the bright light starting to stream in through the blinds. 
“I didn’t mean ta wake ya, love,” Michael rasps softly, trying to preserve the quiet of the peaceful early morning—something you know he doesn’t get to enjoy often, if at all. 
“Y’didn’t,” you hum as you open your eyes and look up at him and his gorgeous honey hazel orbs sparkling down at you. “Hand fell asleep.”
“Ah,” he tuts with a soft smile before he leans down to press a kiss into your neck, slowly dragging his lips to your shoulder and collarbone before slotting his lips over yours. You hum into his lips, chuckling softly as his beard tickles at your face. 
“Good morning, (Y/N),” he murmurs against your lips. 
“Good morning, Michael.”
He softly runs his hand up and down your arm in adoration. “What d’ya want fer breakfast, pet?”
“Mm, I get breakfast, too?”
He smirks and pulls you closer to him in bed. “Course ya do. I have no intention of lettin’ ya leave all weekend.”
“Ooh, scandalous, Mikey.“
Michael smiles and kisses you once more. “What d’ya have a hankering fer, princess?”
“Surprise me.”
“Alright. But you stay here. It’s a surprise, after all.”
“‘Kay,” you grin. Michael leans forward for one final kiss, twisting you back into the mattress and kissing you deeply, making you giggle into the embrace. 
“Stay,” he murmurs against your mouth before pressing a final kiss into your lips before he rolls away. You get a very lovely view of his butt as he looks for his discarded boxers on the floor, shimmying them on just enough for them to stay on his hips. “Roll yer tongue back in’ta yer mouth,” he chuckles. 
“Sorry, Mikey,” you hum. “Just enjoying one of the lovely views of Ireland.”
He just chuckles some more and shakes his head as he walks out of the bathroom. “Yer a menace.”
You watch him leave, wondering how the stars aligned where you could be with this amazing man, so kind and gentle despite all the hardships, the heartaches he’s gone through  and demons he battles night and day. The way that he never tries to burden you with the darkness that weighs on him over and over, the way that when he finally cracks and breaks down, how he weeps when it all becomes too much, how he can turn into a towering, dominant figure when he needs to work through frustrations with intense passion. . .
You’re pulled from your thoughts when you hear a clatter from the kitchen. 
“Mikey?” you call. “You alright?” You don’t hear him respond, and he sounds like he’s fine in the kitchen, but you can’t help your mind from wandering. “Michael?”
You know he told you to wait, but you can’t help yourself. With a sigh—and against your better judgment, knowing you should stick to what he requested— you slide out from under the covers and find Michael’s discarded sweater on the ground. Sliding it on, you’re immediately wrapped in Michael’s smell, as if he's wrapping you in his signature warm, tender hug. Slowly shuffling down the stairs, you turn into the kitchen and find Michael happily working at the stove, shuffling something in his pan before flipping it with a flick of his wrist.
Mm, so sexy.
With a smile, you shuffle over to him, not so quiet where you scare him, but not as loud as an elephant shuffling about. You can tell by how Michael stands at the stove that he hears you, slightly adjusting his posture, readily accepting your arms that slink around his waist.
"What're you doin', pet?" Michael says in amused surprise as he looks over his shoulder while you rest your cheek on his bare back. "I told ya to stay in bed."
"I missed you. And you took all the warmth with you,” you hum. “Whatcha cookin’?”
“Don’t laugh, okay?” he says with a chuckle of his own. “I really don’t have much and need to run to the market. But I had some eggs, cilantro, Parmesan, and potatoes. ‘M goin’ for a cheesy hash and eggs sort of somethin'.”
“Sounds delicious.” You press a kiss right between his shoulder blades. “Reminds me—I need to go grocery shopping, too. We can make a little date of it.”
“I like that idea.”
“Maybe I can convince you to get a beer that isn’t so shitty.”
“Yer an American—you don’t know anything about good beer,” he laughs, turning around from the pan with the cooking shredded potatoes to kiss you and sit you down on the island. “Now sit and behave.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Well, yer eggs and hash will burn, and we won’t do the fun little activity I had in mind after we eat.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“You really meant all weekend.”
“‘Course I did. ‘M a man of m’word.” Turning around, he has two plates of fried cheesy hash brown circles with two sunny side up eggs on top, extending one of them toward you. “Fer you.”
“Mm, why thank you,” you say with a big smile as you take the plate. “This looks delicious. It smells delicious.”
“T'ank ya,” he says with a kiss, twisting around to get you a fork. You each cut off a bite with your forks, clinking them together before you take your bites. “Damn, I’m a fuckin’ good cook.”
You giggle as you pull him as close to you and the kitchen island that you can, leaning forward to kiss his shoulder. “Yes you are. Good at a few other things, too.”
“And ya say I only have one t'ing on my mind.”
Tumblr media
Permanent Taglist: @majesticavenger​ @steampowerednightvaler​ @themusingsofmany @just-the-hiddles​ @toozmanykids​ @dangertoozmanykids101 @clints-worldavengers @theburningbookshop​ @itwasthereaminuteago​ @peter1ismybrother@hellskitchens-whore​​ @dpaccione​ @catnip987​
42 notes · View notes
ladykailitha · 1 year
Text
The Places We Hide Part 1
I know, I know. I have soooo many WIPs that I’m working on. But this one just hit and wouldn’t let go.
It’s based on a quote from one of my favorite TV shows “In Plain Sight” in the pilot episode: “We all live in hiding. In one way or another, each of us conceals pieces of ourselves from the rest of the world. Some people hide because their lives depend on it, others because they don't like being seen. And then there are the special cases, the ones who hide because... because... because they just want someone to care enough to look for them.” -Mary Shannon
Which feels like such a Steve quote.
*
Eddie finished his beer and was about to get up and get another one. He figured since he was up, he’d ask Steve if he wanted another, too. He looked around at the crowd of people that was piled up in front of the large screen TV, but didn’t see him.
Eddie shrugged. He figured he had gone to the bathroom or something. So he got up and grabbed another beer from the fridge. But when he came back Steve still hadn’t returned. He set the can down and wandered off, looking for the missing boy.
He came back to the front room and frowned. “Hey, anyone seen Steve?”
Dustin barely even glanced up. “He does that sometimes. He’ll be back.”
“Excuse me?” Eddie asked, his eyes wide and his head tilted forward.
Robin looked up at him. “It’s just something he does. He gets a little overwhelmed, so he goes to cool off.”
“Yeah,” Will said. “He’s asked us not to check up on him and to trust that he’ll come back.”
Eddie’s eyebrows went up. “And you lot believed that shit?”
Everyone was looking at each in confusion.
“Yeah,” Dustin said. “Why wouldn’t we?”
Eddie threw his head back. “Never mind.”
They all just shrugged their shoulders and went back to the movie.
Eddie threw his arms in the air and went to the one place he hadn’t looked yet. The pool. He got the viewing room or whatever the hell it was a sighed in relief. Steve was out there smoking a cigarette.
The skies darkened as storm rolled in. Eddie sat down on the couch and set his elbows on his knees, watching Steve smoke. He wasn’t sure if should go out there. Maybe the party was right. Just let him unwind and Steve would come back to them.
But as he watched, the skies opened up and began poring down rain. Eddie figured Steve would at least come into where Eddie was to get out of the torrential downpour. And thought he was right when Steve stood up.
But he was wrong. Oh god, was he wrong.
Steve tilted his head all the way back, letting the rain hit his face. His arms were slack at his waist, cigarette no longer burning in his right hand. Eddie wasn’t sure how long he stood there watching this boy fall apart, but he had to do something.
He grabbed his leather jacket and held it over his head. He opened the door to the pool. “Steve!” he called, but it was drowned out by the rolling thunder.
“Fuck!”
He dashed out to where Steve was standing and pulled the jacket over both of them.
“What the hell, man?” he asked.
Steve slowly lowered his head. “Go back inside. You’re going to get soaked.”
Eddie’s eyebrows went up. “A bit pot calling the kettle black don’t you think?”
Steve blinked and Eddie could almost see the lights come back on behind his eyes.
Steve looked around in shock as if he finally noticed he was standing in the pissing pouring rain with Eddie’s jacket over his head.
“Shit!” he cried, grabbing Eddie’s arm and hauling them both inside. Once they were back inside that weird little room that was both enclosed but outside Steve came to stop.
“Sorry, Eds,” Steve said. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do.” Eddie started shaking out his jacket, trying to dry it out.
Steve’s eyes snapped to him and then he bowed his head. “It’s fine. It doesn’t happen that often.”
Eddie licked his lips. “And how often is ‘not that often’?”
Steve sighed. “Most of the time people aren’t around for them, but two or three times a month?”
“So almost once a week?” Eddie asked, anxiety coloring tone.
Steve blushed. “I mean, I guess. I don’t really think it about if I’m honest.”
“Steve...” Eddie began. “You spend so much time taking care of everyone else, who takes care of you?”
Steve furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you come out here all by yourself,” Eddie said waving his arm around them, “and black out. You tell everyone to leave you alone. And I’m willing to bet that they tried to be there for you but you somehow convinced them that you were fine, when you clearly aren’t.”
“I am,” Steve protested. “I am fine. I just get overwhelmed sometimes and I take a break. What’s so wrong with that?”
Eddie let out a frustrated moan and dug his fingers into his eye. “Because if it was just that you would have come in when it started raining.”
“I was just enjoying the rain for a bit,” Steve argued.
“Dude!” Eddie growled, trying to rein in his temper. “I literally saw you come back to life. You were completely gone. You had checked out. Blank. Do you understand?”
Steve threw his arms in the air. “So what if I was? What does it matter?”
Eddie closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He grabbed Steve by the arms and shuffled them both over to the couch. He sat them down. “It matters because you could have gotten hurt. What if you had walked into the pool in that state or got struck by lightning?”
Steve looked down at his lap. “Oh.”
Eddie started running his hands up and down Steve’s arms. “I’m really worried about you, sweetheart.”
Steve looked up into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“I know,” Eddie murmured. “So answer my question: who takes care of you?”
“I–” Steve almost said he had Robin. But that wasn’t quite true. They looked out for each other, sure. But he still hid things from her. Things like this. “No one.”
Eddie pursed his lips. “My uncle Wayne has this theory about the people that hide. Some hide because they don’t want to be found, but there are some that hide because they hope that someone will care enough to come looking.”
Steve smiled. “I like that.”
Eddie grinned. “I figured you would, sweetheart. Because that’s why you’re hiding, isn’t it?”
Steve nodded. “My parents are never home, and when they are, it’s always yelling and disappointment. So when they’re gone I fill the house with people as much as I can.”
“But sometimes the noise is too much,” Eddie reasoned.
“Yeah,” Steve admitted. “It’s stupid. I invited them over I want them here, but my ears start ringing and everything seems turned all the way up.”
Eddie nodded. “So I guess my question is: do you want me to come find you when this happens?”
Steve looked away, blush staining his cheeks. Eddie cupped his cheek and gently turned him to face him.
“Do you, sweetheart?”
Steve inhaled sharply. “Yes. I don’t know why it’s you. But yes. I want you to come find me.”
Eddie pressed their foreheads together. “Then let me know when this happens, even when it’s when no one is around. I’ll come find you.”
Steve nodded. “I will I promise.”
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
394 notes · View notes
rockanroller · 3 months
Note
it just two episodes so I’m not really too harsh. Animation looks really good, but man no wonder this took 4-5 years they had 4 animation studios working on it plus bentos joint company princess bento that’s operates Australia. So you got bento+SH+toon city and princess bento yeah their budget got fucked
the writing drag this show and it’s so confusing. there’s 6 fucking minutes of exposition dump and lore in the first episode. This is not welcoming to newcomers, especially adult animation you never exposition the shit out the audience with a bedtime story unless you’re target demographic are kids. Character spend so much sitting on couches and talking about nothing. Adam and Valentino are the absolute worse characters but I think Valentino is more egregious since he was hyped so much and he was the biggest letdown and he’s voice is awful I’m sorry to VA.
So what is Charlie’s goal again? Is to fix overpopulation by redeeming demons and sending them to heaven? Give demons a second chance? Or make her mom proud, and empower demons through song? All of the above? Why send demons to heaven when her mom was all about rising above heaven? She is kinda annoying, I hate how stupidly naive and childish she is but I guess that her flaw and her development will be that she has to grow up, but I don’t want to do the writers job where you’re given nothing and have to fill in the blanks.
So Angel moved out but he still works for Valentino, but the show is making it seem like he quit and is hiding out in the hotel but is gonna return to Valentino soon? Why is so easy for Angel to leave and ignore Valentino? Oh wait I forgot it’s because Valentino is a fucking idiot, literally just Stella 2.0. I just hate everything that come out of Angels mouth I forgot how annoying being sexual doesn’t mean witty or confident and just because he’s a porn star doesn’t mean he has to always sexual harass men, and it’s not even the good flirty, it’s bad flirty, but I know they’re gonna go hard on his musical scenes.
I miss pilot Vaggie she still supported Charlie but was also very cautious and a bit controlling but it made her more interesting and flawed and set up dynamics her instead of just being supportive gf aka Millie 2.0. Husk was barely in the episodes, nifty and that cat thing are just there to be cute.
Vox and Vel are really entertaining but they put up with Valentino when be’s the dumbest and least incompetent out the trio and Vox hates being around him. He’s duet with alastor is really fun and kinda wish he had a show on these two than Charlie.
The music is alright not something I’d listen to on Spotify but it’s alright. Overall it was ok, there’s just no charm to it
yeah i agree with most of these points.
animation- shifts a lot between good and bad for me and i think that's mostly due to the over-designed characters, there have been problems keeping them on-model ever since the pilot, but like you say about it being hot-potatoed between 4-5 studios juggling it, it'd be no surprise the budget got fucked, and to me the studio juggling also checks out with how varied the animation is.
writing- agree, i only ever saw the hazbin pilot and occasionally learned tidbits of lore from the critical community and i was still sitting there clueless, i can only imagine what it's like for newcomers who don't even know a *little* of the lore/history.
Charlie's goal- "Why send demons to heaven when her mom was all about rising above heaven" is such a great point. Charlie's goals and motives were so confusing to me bc i didn't really see a connection. i guess you could say this is Charlie's way of continuing her mom's goal of "protecting our people" even tho Lilith seemed to be against Heaven while Charlie is trying to work with Heaven--but as i said previously Charlie also doesn't really seem to "like" her people, as we see her repeatedly show disgust or awkwardly try to laugh off her discomfort and only shows an endearing adoration when they're showing specific change/potential. It seems like she's just extremely naively optimistic, but bc of her aversion it comes off kinda disingenuous or fake nice? she legit seems to act more like a disillusioned church-goer who thinks they're helping you than a kind princess of hell who loves her subjects despite their "depravity" ig? and like you said maybe that'll be part of her character arc, but it def feels weird so far.
Angel & Valentino- yeah the entire dynamic with them is just weird. they're supposed to be a pimp and his prostitute, but why is Val texting/voicemailing Angel like a mopey ex? Val is allegedly supposed to be this big abusive threat but he's just kind of there, and Vox just calms him down really easily? and showing the affect his verbal abuse has on Angel felt so sudden/forced in (yeah those of us "familiar" w/their dynamic know it's there--this is considering the media as a new watcher, that's stuff you're supposed to write into a show for new audiences.) i'm back-and-forth on Angel's hypersexuality/sexual harassments of other male characters bc it's true some victims can act as he does, and it makes him more believable as an asshole in hell moreso than the others, but i also don't trust Viv to handle the complicated subject of abuse with grace / respect knowing her history, and i'm already worried after she had him say his body was "made for exploiting"
Pilot Vaggie- again with the disclaimer i barely remember the pilot; in the first 2 eps Vaggie was weird. idk how to feel about it. i know you said she seemed like 100% supportive Millie 2.0--but to me i couldn't get a full grip on their dynamic. it felt like it kind of swayed back and forth between full support and skeptical support but it all went by so fast i can't make a clear distinction, so you may be right.
The VVVs- agreed that Vox and Vel were entertaining. Val was just kinda there and seemed like neither Vox or Vel wanted anything to do with him, what do they get out of Val being there? does he bring them money or power or anything?? Vox and Vel are stronger characters on their own w/o Val having to be there imo.
Music- i honestly have like...no real opinion of the music. it didn't "wow" me, but it didn't necessarily make me cringe either. it just kinda was there and was fine. i honestly might've like...unintentionally mentally checked-out for some of them. i think Vox & Al's was *probably* the best--and i say that loosely bc, again, everything went by so fast--but it also had me kind of tilting my head like why does Al even care about dishing out "the tea" about this guy?
i *guess* making your big debut "i'm back" speech after being gone for 7 years right when someone is shit-talking you is a good power move, but it just felt oddly petty or "beneath" someone like Alastor to me--i think it would've made more sense if there was a bit in the song where Alastor took some callers on the radio who asked him what he thought about Vox and *then* he makes some casual remark about how little he means to him. idk, just my impression.
ty for sharing your two cents!
26 notes · View notes
shitpostingkats · 6 months
Text
Yu-Gi-Oh Review Roundup: Arc-V!
Favorite main character: Shay Obsidian
Raidraptors slap. Every era of this show has one archetype that makes the twelve year old inside my brain start cheering in adoration, and this time, it’s raidraptors. What can I say. I like birds.
Shay himself also does a whole lot to sell the coolness factor of his mechanical falcons. The blunt, to-the-point, selfassuredness he carries himself with is almost intimidatingly edgelord, but some great voice acting work by Matt Shipman keeps him on the humaner side of anime emos. (Also, if you didn’t know, Matt Shipman, also voice of Reki in SK8 the Infinity, and if you hadn’t made the connection between season one Shay and breakup arc era Reki, I’m sorry that is in your brain now.) 
His design is the wonderful kind of harmonizing amazingly well with his monsters without being overbearing. With all the old fighter plane influence of the raidraptors, it makes perfect sense for Shay to sport his trademark leather trenchcoat that comes complete with the asymmetrical zipper and wide collar of an aviator's jacket. I particularly love the red scarf being the unofficial uniform of the XYZ rebellion, and it going completely unremarked on in the story. It’s clever to see how it’s worked into everyone’s outfit without it being pointed out to the viewer; it’s like an easter egg hunt. On Shay, he wears it in mimicry of a silk flight scarf, another visual nod to WWII pilots. 
And in Shay’s case, it makes perfect sense he would need the outfit of a pilot, because asides from Yuya, he is the one who most routinely rides around on the backs of his monsters. I never get tired of Shay flying onto the scene on a 3,000 pound eagle shaped warmachine, completely nonchalantly. Why is he the only one taking advantage of having his monsters around outside of duels. Let everyone have terrifying monstrosities as their main form of transportation.
Favorite antagonist: Sora Perse
The candy munching warcrime gremlin of all time. While it’s a little weird that Arc-V out the gate started exploring the ramifications of being a card game child soldier, Sora’s arc as he grapples with it is the emotional core of season 1, and it genuinely gets pulled off pretty well. Also, he plays fluffals.
Fluffals is the pitch perfect archetype for Sora. I’ve said before how much I love in yugioh when the cards someone plays tells you more about their character, how I go off the wall when their archetype is a mirror of their personhood. Fluffals is also just great on its own. Perfect yugioh design. Cutesy cuddly monsters that are actually filled with KNIVES and SAWS like they are being dissected by a deranged weird little child. Then the double meaning of fluffals being innocent and adorable, but secretly hiding a darker side, just like Sora. He is constantly switching back and forth between frighteningly competent and “oh my god he’s just a kid”. 
On of my favorite moments in the show is when he and Zuzu reunite and she says farewell by doing the fusion summon salute, only for Sora to jokingly correct her posture. Their friendship is so wholesome okay. Deep down, this kid is genuinely hurt and doesn’t know how to make friends, so he’s reaching out with the only way he knows how, by taking the role of teacher but that's only a facade to get to hang out, and that line is where we first hear them acknowledge it to each other, grins on their faces, happy to still be teacher and student, but also, friends. 
This is in the same stretch of episodes as Sora casually stowing away on a helicopter by jumping fifteen feet into the air and grabbing the wheel well.
Favorite side character: Yugo
I guess they just put a special sauce in the Arc-V blue haired bois.
Why do I list Yugo as a side character? Surely, by virtue of being an au version of the main character, he should be counted with equal narrative status?
Nope! He shows up maybe a dozen times, usually randomly, to yell and crash his motorcycle into things. Then disappears again. I love him.
Yugo has, unlike the other two blue haired bois, this endearing puppy quality that makes every conversation he’s in feel playful and exuberant. And that lends itself well to the few dynamics he does find himself in, whether it’s bouncing off Yuri’s smirky villainy, or having genuinely a more emotionally intelligent discussion with Zuzu about what going on than Yuya ever manages to have with her in the whole series. And while I would have loved to get more time between him and Rin, it’s clear from just a few minutes with him how deeply he cares about her. Winning him the coveted medal of “#1 straight relationship in yugioh I would 100% believe in”. They’re just really sweet. And I would storm the Konami headquarters to get them the happy ending they deserved.
Favorite duel: Shay vs. Sora
They’re my favorites for a reason. 
Shay v. Sora is peak, not only for both characters, but the entire show. It’s certainly in my list of Top 5 Yugioh Duels Ever. Everything about this duel is pure character expression. Shay’s cold and unemotive dueling crashes right up against the peppy dueltaining that Sora has spent the past few weeks learning. At first, Sora doesn’t even seem to take the duel seriously, countering audience expectations that this duel is going to be important. Because we know at this point, that something is up with Sora. That he knows more than he is letting on and this Shay guy is someone who can seriously engage with him about the larger mystery, unlike everyone else who is still in the dark on the dimensional wars.
Then Sora’s slow burn of the facade melting away. All that theatricality can equally double as a dang good yugioh villain performance. The way the duel slides from using its standard duel cinematography to more of a Marik Ishtar unhinged closeup. There is more dramatic tension in the increasing ferocity that Sora chews on his lollipop with than a full fledged horror movie.
On Shay’s side of the duel, we get dramatic monologues of backstory, finally filling in our understanding of the larger plot, delivered by a seriously shaken refugee who is finally able to traumadump about what he and his friends had to live through. It’s chillingly intense, especially contrasted by Sora’s increasing villainous theatricality. While Sora cartwheels and flips around the crumbling city like an acrobat, Shay’s got a utilitarian body language as he dodges debris. He’s not here to put on a show. He is here to survive and get revenge.
And the conclusion. By gods. There’s something haunting about seeing Sora, who has up to this point been laughing and gloating, crack. Not at the thought of being hurt. But at the thought of losing. Of being second best. He screams as Shay walks away, no longer violent and dramatic, but just a broken kid, terrified of receiving a bad grade.
Gods. Good duel.
Favorite arc: Arc league championship
Shay v Sora may be the highlight, but it’s not the only banger duel from that arc. And there’s also a great variety of good duels. From character duels like Julia v. Zuzu, or plot important duels like Sora v Yuto, to just plain fun duels, like Gong v Grizzlepike. And once the finals get going, it’s basically a nonstop duel fest, cutting between a half dozen parties finding eachother and splitting off again, while some duel and others just try to sit down and figure out what on earth is going on. Which shouldn’t work, but it does. 
Listen, if battle city worked the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time, it’ll be good the fifth time. Trust us. We did the math. Now go out and duel in [interesting environment] and wager [this tournament’s gimmick item] on duels until you have [arbitrary number]. 
And hey! The formula works once again! This isn’t sarcasm, I genuinely think this is a great way to make tournament arcs interesting. The citywide split of four biomes allows for some cool backdrops, and every duel being able to happen basically simultaneously means we can simply cut between whatever's most interesting at the moment, instead of having to see every duel start to finish. 
Also, Moonshadow gets introduced in this tournament, and he is the unsung mvp of the entire series.
Greatest strengths of the series: Polish
The Arc League Championship also stands out to me because I was startled by the quality of its episode-to-episode writing. Plot information is slowly revealed on a regular basis, instead of thirty episodes of Shenanigans that’s interrupted by a lore dump. There’s genuine mystery, and intrigue, as we try to figure out what is up with these mystery xyz summoners and Declan’s master plan. And it’s not just scenario writing that’s received a massive punch-up! Dialogue is flowing better than ever, and effects animation is legible and looks awesome, instead of hyper-compressed pixels. Heck, Yuya has a really good looking 3D model, and his eyes aren’t covered by a helmet, and his jacket realistically flutters with his movement!
This may not sound like that big a deal, but the very premise of Arc-V gives us such a clear point of comparison for “How It Started” versus “How It’s Going”. It warmed my little 5Ds adoring heart to see turbo duels back, and rendered in such believable and genuinely excellent modeling. (Though points off for making Jack’s duel runner drive sideways. You guys know it can’t do that.) Aside from a few minor nitpicks, almost everything that made previous shows awesome is lovingly given a fresh coat of paint, from summoning to landscapes. 
And the writing is also pretty good on the au versions of prior characters! I particularly love Actually Not Problematic Celebrity Jack Atlas, the fun writing challenge of taking a character whose story is so deeply rooted in his setting, then trying to figure out what he’d look like without those factors. Happily Married Crow Hogan. Rebellion Leader Alexis Rhodes. Genuinely Lost His Family And Turned Murderhobo About It Kite Tenjo. There’s something so fun about seeing the paths certain characters could have taken, if only their environments had been different. And it’s a far more challenging premise to convincingly pull off than I see it get credit for. On so many levels, yugioh shows, on a purely technical level, have just gotten better as time goes on, and I absolutely adore seeing what each new series manages to perfect.
Weakest points: Scope
Unfortunately, Arc-V just has a lot to juggle. The devotion to quartets means the math spins out of control. incredibly quickly. Four versions of the protagonist, four versions of the female lead, four story arcs in four separate worlds. A handful of cameo appearances for each dimension, but also two to three original characters as well, bloats the main cast to nearly three times that of any previous show. Four different types of playstyles to write, and for characters that use blends of all four, duels four times as complicated in a single turn. Let’s never forget that this is the era that gave us the infamous D/D/D spreadsheet.
Individual moments stand out as excellent, but there simply isn’t enough time for any of them to really shine. All of the characters I’ve stated as loving, Shay, Sora, Yugo, I love in spite of the fact that their stories never really go anywhere. Shay and Yugos’ primary motivations are to find and reunite with their bracelet girls. And they don’t. Sora? After a wonderful bleed from “no morals allowed” to “one moral allowed”, after struggling for almost a season and a half to rationalize his child soldier upbringing, the camera just stops looking at him. And that’s one of the most complete stories Arc-V manages to tell. Even Yuya, our protagonist, ends the series having not confronted anything about his father, or his blatant mental health issues, both things that he is literally introduced with being shockingly core to his character. Very few plotlines are resolved in a satisfying way, if they’re resolved at all.
In the end, I can’t help but feel that Arc-V wrote more ambitious checks than its writing budget could cash. 
Most yugioh moment:
The entire episode where they break out of prison by hosting a talent show. Specifically, the cheer in Yuya’s voice when he says “Good night, FACILITY! <3”
24 notes · View notes
rose926 · 2 years
Text
To be honest, I never post on Tumblr, but I just wanted to talk a little bit about this Helluva Boss show.
I recently watched all the episodes and read a lot of the episodes’ comments, and holy crap, the people in the comments are either blind, refuse to be up-front, or care for lousy shows. I read comments stating bullshit like “I love this new Striker villain” or “Blitzo’s backstory keeps getting more interesting. Just like this show” or “I’m so glad Stolas stood up to his wife. He’s the best character.” After reading a bunch of these flat admirations with no real substance, I'm curious if me and the comment section just watched the same video. To me, the show felt very lacking and unprofessional. I couldn't wrap my head around where all of this praise was exactly coming from. 
Overall, I do not understand what this show is trying to truly be. The pilot made it seem like a workplace comedy, yet the latest season two episode had the impression of a childish drama. It appears that Vivziepop isn’t aware that there is a way you can make characters interesting or empathetic, without transforming (given the appearance of the pilot) a sitcom into a fanfiction film and adding misinterpreted character trauma and abuse. Or rather she just doesn't have the creativity or skill to undertake another “realistic” way for the audience to relate to her characters. 
Another example of this victimizing route of pity, is in Hazbin Hotel’s “Addict” music video. In the video, Vivziepop anticipates the viewers to feel curious about Angel Dust's past and feel empathy for him. According to the music video, Angel gets sexually raped by his boss during his occupation as a stripper, and he suffered some mental breakdown of sorts. This certain “trauma tool” of earning character compassion that Vivziepop uses is extremely nonsensical, ineffective, and amateurish. I firmly didn’t give a shit about one thing that was happening in the music video, considering it felt so juvenile. In fact, I recall turning my phone off halfway through. 
In general, the mature concepts of Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel are flung around without any real thought behind them, other than to make it appear as an adult animated show and intend for character depth. Sorry, but swearing, sex, abuse, substance abuse, and gore, doesn’t automatically makes a supposed adult show HEARTILY for adults. You want to appeal to adults? Well then, I would start by trying not to partially exploit and mishandle mature concepts. This is not all my own nitpick, but the one I recognize others may have when watching. I can definitely see how certain people may get offended by the show in the regard of maltreatment to said concepts. Not everyone, just particular fully-fledged people.
Regardless, I think Vivziepop taking the turn she did in the latest Helluva Boss episode is bad for the show’s continuation. I doubt she had deeply thought ahead about where to take this show before introducing attempted story complexity with season two’s episode. If that is the case, Helluva Boss will become farther wonkier than it is thus far. I’m no genius, but I’m sure one would need to be absolutely positive where you want to take your story, characters, and plot during elaborate story fabrication. If not, then your entire narrative will get hopelessly lost and lose sense. Knowing Viv’s writing, I don’t think she has the ability to brainstorm both previously and profoundly, and logically connect the dots within the episodes.
In my opinion, I think Helluva Boss should be manifested as an erratic, doltish, (yet charismatic) comedy sitcom. The show takes place in literal hell. If I was in charge, I would make the world enticing by its vast oddity, and ludicrous hellfire anguish. When people think of hell, they think of torture. Where even is the hellish part of Vivziepop’s version of hell?
Of course, Vivziepop can take the show wherever she desires, but that’s how I think it would work best and be the most interesting. 
Similar to what I aforementioned, my belief is that Vivziepop is heading into things that she does not fully understand how to handle with her poor script writing. As the show progresses, more people may realize that she isn’t capable of running a thorough tv show. I mean, the first three episodes were convoluted as fuck so early. Therefore, it isn’t a big surprise that she was a pretty incompetent showrunner far before the latest episode. What I’m trying to say, is that she was always incompetent. It will probably just become more evident over time to some of the people who aren’t currently grasping it. 
Don’t get me wrong, there are things in Helluva Boss that are done right, and hell, the idea had great potential. However, the things that the show is rather successful in doing, is overshadowed solely by the writing and inconsistency. No offense to Viv, but I am 16, and I believe I could write just as good of a script (if not better) for at least half of the episodes that are out. 
Maybe some people genuinely are interested in the show, despite if they see the frailties, and that is fine. Although, the amount of mollycoddling this show (that is clearly far from perfect) gets is absurd. It is not an opinion that this show is not very well done, it is a fact. The fans need to stop overindulging Helluva Boss and start giving it some honest pros and cons, otherwise Viv will not be able to recognize and fix what it is that’s broken. That’s the only way this show may get better; straightforward criticism. If the fans that see the faults keep on spoon feeding their umpteen kindnesses on a show that doesn’t require it in its ongoing state, it’s incredibly plausible Helluva Boss will grow a poor reputation, even beyond its fanbase. 
258 notes · View notes
cutepastelstarsalior · 2 months
Text
Hazbin hotel review part 2
Episode 5
Ok, before I start the episode I want to say, when these episode first came out I saw the YouTuber Sarcastic Chorus made a video about episode 5-6. And he brings up a lot of good points. From the fast paced, to the telling us info rather then showing, to Charlie’s apparent Daddy Issues, the issues about Alastor’s appearance in show wise vs audience wise.
I know Hazbin only had 8 episodes and it only has 1 season. Idk if they will have a season 2, but the way this show is handling storylines and time lines is really bad. Like in episode 3, the story of Sir Pen (snake guy) being a spy for the Vees. That could have been so interesting! But because of time, that “plot” was immediately revealed and rushed. Sir Pen being a spy has no impact on the show. Not to the characters or to the story. Sure they had that “I’m sorry song” and Angel distrusting Pen for a bit, but besides that?? That whole plot could have been removed and the writer could have Pen be actually wanting to be redeemed. Pen not trusting the others is fine, but it also doesn’t matter??? Story wise. We can’t tell if everyone actually hates him because of the reveal or because they just assholes.
Eghhh, haven’t even seen the episode and I’m already rambling. Ok, let’s go.
“He (Lucifer) led the extermination happen to beginning in the first place) no?????? Charlie what the heck are you talking about???? All Lucifer did was fall in love with Lillian and gave Eve the apple. HEAVEN was the once that decided to kill sinners??
“That’s it, Almost there” SIR, SIR, DONT DO THAT. God my heart just skip a beat….😳🫣
God the way the characters with shouldpad look from behind….little twig arms coming out of nowhere..
Circus music yippie!!!!
“Hey bitch” IF X WAS WRITTEN BY VIZIEPOP. Like who father actually called their daughter/kid a bitch; like casually. Like yeah my dad called me a bitch when he’s angry at me? But never casually???
“Take that depression” ok, that got a little laugh out of me.
Lucifer is tiny….call that transmac swag.
Why is Alastor immediately starts to fight Lucifer??? Like Alastor, that like you’re freaking GOD of hell???? You literally king????
Vaggie and Charlie are girlfriends?????? You they do NOT act like it. :/ kind of wish it was a slow burn romance? I feel like that would work so much better.
Lucifer called Vaggie, Maggie. That like so much better then her actual name???? Wish it was her real name 😫😔
Alastor think of Charlie as his daughter. Yeah that’s total bullahit. They literally never interact with each other outside the pilot?? Sure as hell don’t do much for the hotel, again, outside the pilot…
“Someone also on a leash” and the whole husk on a leash thing? I don’t care. I literally DONT care. ~oooohh scary alastor and a glowing leash ooohhh~ 😒🙄
“He’s defending the hotel. He’s doing it for me.” No the fuck he’s not????? He literally said he’s doing it to show why people shouldn’t mess with the radio demon.
I don’t care about Mizzy. She’s kind of boring.
Ejemsnwiwnsejwndjsissnw Jeremy and his sing voice…I love you ���️
Love the song, but just like YouTuber Sarcastic Chorus said in his video, this song and Charlie and her dad reconnect, it doesn’t feel earned. This is literally episode 5. Where TOLD Charlie has daddy issues, but never shown. Why don’t Lucifer not reconnect sooner? It seem like nothing was physically stopping him? Was it because of his depression? Was it Lilith? There too many things happen and not enough time or character grown or developed to have THIS big moment. It feels rushed.
Score 1-5, I give it a 2.
Episode 6
6 episodes and this is the first time Charlie and Vaggie kiss. Yay/sarcasm.
CHERRY AUSTRALIAN NOW?????
I still don’t know how to feel about Lucifer being still Abel to contact/portal to heaven. I feel like she shouldn’t have that ability.
Why. Are angels cursing??? Is this allowed??? I feel like that shouldn’t….
THATS SAINT PETER???????
Tumblr media
Emily is a Seraphim. God I love Seraphim <3 they are SO cool. Also wow is this girl literally like Charlie…
Peter is a twink/j
Tumblr media
HES MINE NOW. YOINK. my oc now. Gonna make him a French human ballerina + ice skater who has a model boyfriend. <3.
Tumblr media
Her name is vagina…..why the hell would you keep that name Vaggie. Ehhh gross.
V being an angel, it really surprising. But she getting her eye and wings IMMEDIATELY after sparing a child????? It’s stupid. Like, head that Lute person is cruel but to immediately cut her eye and wings off and leave her in hell???? Aren’t you guys like, scare of heaven. Don’t you think leaving an angel in hell could like, I don’t know, backfire???? V could have betrayed you and immediately go to Lucifer or something. She could have gotten kidnapped and tourter for information???
Also V having Ichor blood <3
Why does Adam know who Angel Dust is? Didn’t Charlie mentioned him during their meeting before? I forgot if she did…
Oh my god this episode is SO long…
“It thought you were better than that” BOOO TOMATO 🍅🍅🍅🍅 BOOOO YOU DID NOT YOU LITERALLY CALLED ANGEL A LOSER 2 episodes ago??? Literally had a song about being at the bottom together????
Again. Weird that Adam and angels can curse. Weird how the Seraphim aren’t stopping it. Aren’t they more powerful than Adam???
😬😬😬 Niffty being drunk scene. I got major Infantilization vibes. It’s bad when people on TikTok say this scene is like Angel and Husk are Niffty’s dads or older brothers. Like yeah, people can be lightweights or cry when drunk, but the way this is handled??? Idk. Some people on TikTok also said Niffty age regression, and hmmm. I don’t think age regression can be influenced by alcohol..
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY DONT KNOW WHAT GETS PEOPLE INTO HEAVEN?? HELLO THE 10 COMMANDMENTS?????
Sarah knows about the extermination. Others angels and non-sinners don’t. Emily is to keep the peace. Sara didn’t want Emily to keep asking questions or she can call like Lucifer…..Then why did Emily have the same ideas and views and Charlie before meeting her? How does she know about sinners?? What made her have these thoughts??
Score 1-5. I give it a 2,5.
Episode 7
Vaggie calls the hotel her home. Cute.
Charlie angry at Vaggies secret of being a angel. They known each other for 3 years. Charlie tells Vaggie everything Idk why, but it felt like Charlie is putting her own needs before Vaggies? Like yeah she’s knows know that vaggie is an angel and part of the extermination but she never killed anyone? Idk I feel like Charlie isn’t looking at Vaggies POV?
Rose is ok. I like the way she’s talks! She definitely one of those character that makes the episode more better/entertaining.
If the pilot is canon to the story then CHARLIE WHY THE HELL DID YOU MAKE A DEAL?? YOU KNOW THAT YOU SHOULDNT HAVE?? DIDNT YOU ASK ALSTOR TO HELP IN THE PILOT??? HIM TELLING YOU INFO FALLS UNDER THE HELPING CATEGORY???
Rosie saying Charlie has moxie….i guess? Idk I don’t really see it.
Oh god alastor and Rosie saying Charlie is like their daughter….that Rosie is Lilith theory might be true…
“I had faith in her” or whatever the quote was, bullshit. Alastor join because he wanted to watch Charlie fail/was bored. Oh, yeah he totally beloved her and he totally wanted to use her power or whatever. 🙄
The vaggie and Camille scene was fine. Kind of weird that Camille is so chill about Vaggie being an angel and training/fighting with her, even though she literally killed an angel to protect her daughters. Didn’t like the song, I literally muted it.
Husk, Angel, Nifty, and Sir Pent fortify the hotel. That caught me off guard:
Score 1-4, I give it a 2.5.
Episode 8
Last episode baby!!!!!
Christ.
Sir pen dies. :/ bummer
Alastor and Adam fight!!! ADAM WAS WEARING A MASK?????
Vaggie I don’t think you sparing Lute is good. Like she gonna kill you. Vaggie kill her.
The fight scenes are ok.
Adam died, thank god.
Then rebuilding the hotel is ok? I don’t know what to think of it? The Vees being happy about this is??? Why???? Also for Alastor, him trying to find a back door on his deal. I guess he was hoping if he killed Adam, then he could be free from being a sinner??
Nifty killing Adam, neat.
Also Pen getting redemption and being an angel now! Good for him.
Wait, wait WHY is Lilith in Heaven???
For this ending. It’s VERY rushed, plot wise. It’s just one battle and BAM everything is ok. Kind of. Will they get a season 2? I hope not. This first season is rough, mediocre.
Score 1-5. I give it a 4
12 notes · View notes
Note
Hello! My nice ask week ask for you is: I’m very intrigued to read your Growing Up Strand Style fic in which TK has a little sister. How did you come up with the idea for bringing such an important original character into the mix and how easy was it to work here into the dynamic between Owen, Gwyn and TK? The father-son relationship between Owen and TK is clearly a very important part of the story too – are there any scenes between them you’re especially proud of?
Hi!!! 🥰🥰
I love this question so much 😊 It’s a culmination of a lot of things- (some projecting: the parents split when the kid is seven and one parent gets a new partner but it’s hard because new partner is cool- I can relate lol)
This idea started because I love Owen and Gwyn as parents- I would never say they’re perfect but they love their kid so much and they try (also sorry if this is coherent I’m so tired lol) And when I started writing this fic there was not as much fics where Owen was a flawed but loving parent which I believe that he is- and I felt like they were the happiest family before their world was ripped apart by tragedy, and from there it was surprisingly easy (there’s about six chapters of happy family bliss before 9/11 happens and three of them were written after the episode where TK more or less says “I want to be a dad because of how much I love my dad”
Also TK is so sweet and caring and protective watching him in the show I thought he is someone who would have loved having a younger sibling and would have wanted to be the best brother ever- and because I feel like as much as his parents tried there was a lot of time where TK felt lost and alone and I wanted to give him someone to go through his childhood with (it doesn’t change anything that happens in his life canon wise- but I’ve done this before with shows where there are some characters it’s just like- they need a brother or sister- (another rant for a different time; why are there so many only children in media lol) And I kept getting ideas and loved thinking of how Gwyn and Owen would be with a daughter-
That is the biggest part of it though- I love Owen and TK’s relationship so goddamn much (I also have a series I started before th is one of TK as a teenager- that one’s broken into a few different stories)
Like I did not expect to love this show so much but from the moment Owen broke the door down to save his kid in the pilot I was struck- like they’re just so supportive and protective of each other and I just loved their bond so much-
Oh that is a dangerous question there are so many Owen and TK scenes I’ve written I want to talk about-
Chapter 7- TK wakes up the first night after his dad has come home after 9/11 and momentarily is worried he’s gone again before he finds him in the living room
Chapter 8- Owen finds out that TK put his sister to bed by himself because he heard their parents fighting and didn’t want to interrupt
Chapter 14- Sophie gets hurt and TK is worried that Gwyn will be mad at him but Owen tells TK it’s Owen’s fault not TK’s
Chapter 18- TK mentions that he knows his dad doesn’t like Enzo and asks Owen if it makes him mad when they do stuff with Enzo and if Owen doesn’t want TK around Enzo as much
Chapter 27- when TK comes out to Owen
When Owen takes care of TK when he’s sick or hurt (there are so many injury chapters; not just for TK for both kids)
And chapter 44- when TK tell Owen they can’t talk about sex because TK is gay and Owen’s not so he finds another way to handle it-
(Also I promise Gwyn is there too- there are chapters where Owen is just in it briefly like some where I try to make sure everyone is worked in)
Thank you so much for the ask!!’ 🥰 you’re such an amazing writer and the subjects of our fics do overlap I’m very excited to hear what you think of it 🫶♥️♥️
6 notes · View notes
jarofrebukepodcast · 1 year
Text
S1E1 - Pilot (OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT)
We are working on getting our official transcripts uploaded and links added to each episode. We'll be starting by posting them here on Tumblr!
Episode 1: Pilot
Intro:
The following audio recording is classified documentation for case (static) with The Enclosure, unauthorized access to this information will lead to immediate intervention. Progress further if proper clearance has been given.
(Music)
Jared:
Dr. Daman has suggested that I start an audio journal of some kind. Something outside of my therapy sessions to help me track my progress or whatever. Considering I don’t have much of anything that’s mine anymore, she suggested that this might actually be a good way to reclaim some of my individuality? Maybe talking about what I do know of myself might help me remember more...
So, I guess I’ll just start with what I know:
My name is Dr. Jared Hel. I’m a field researcher for The Enclosure, I specialize in studying the particularly dangerous creatures around here. For some reason, no matter their effect on others, nothing is permanent on me. Gods, the amount of times I’ve died this last year is probably more than I should ever care to admit… I guess it’s a blessing in disguise, though. It’s job security, for one thing: a scientist who can’t die no matter how dangerous the entity he’s studying? I think I’m set.
Sure, I may bounce back from death with a few more scars, but they’re relatively healed up and I’m rarely ever in much pain when I wake up.
Though, to be fair, if The Enclosure just left these creatures alone, I’m sure this wouldn’t even be an issue in the first place, but nooo. They just gotta meddle.
I started working at The Enclosure… what, two years ago? Though I’ve really only been on the field for less than a year. Apparently I worked at a different research site for some other organization before that, but I don’t really remember anything from before two years ago. I supposedly transferred here to research a particularly dangerous subject, the one that… well, the one that killed my team and me I guess.
The most frustrating thing is the lack of remembering. I don’t remember any of their names, their faces, nothing. I had to relearn absolutely everything and no matter what I relearn, I never remember. It’s so infuriating knowing that there’s a whole childhood and more that I have yet to recollect anything from. I feel so… left out of reminiscent conversations, y’know?
Well, of course you know, I’m practically talking to myself here.
All I know of myself before the incident is what was on my work file. Top-of-my-class graduate from IU, but I don’t remember a damn thing about my time there… Apparently there’s a lot of fields ‘round there, though I guess that’s not too different from the towns around here. Born and raised in those corn fields, according to my records. No documented family to speak of, but from what other folks in the labs have shared about their families, maybe I’m not missing out on too much.
When I asked about getting in touch with folks from the other facility I worked at, they didn’t seem to think it would be too helpful. Hell, how would they even know who to put me in touch with? Wasn’t like they would have documented my friends or anything.
So, again: nothing. 
Story of my damn life.
And of course there’s Todd. Oh, I’m sorry, Dr. Todd Carmen. He’s currently head of operations at The Enclosure… he’s- I’ll say he’s a character. Not as unique as he thinks he is, but certainly not boring. But just because something isn’t boring doesn’t mean that it’s entertaining.
He has a fashion sense that I would have never personally considered wearing, but… hmm. That shade of orange with his pale complexion? Simply bold choices, in my opinion.
But I’m sure he’ll get himself sorted out someday.
Besides all that though, I guess it’s not too bad. Job security, with benefits. Apparently a lot of jobs don’t offer health insurance, though with our line of work it’s kinda necessary to keep us alive. 
(sigh) What else do I know?
The Enclosure is an organization based out in the middle of absolute nowhere that researches the various anomalies, but really only bothers with the particularly dangerous ones. Like, really dangerous ones. I mean, Bigfoot, Mothman, that sorta stuff they really leave to their own devices for the most part. Sure, they hurt and even, I guess, sometimes kill people, but not a lot of people. And enough people already know about those things to not really hide them away now.
Wichton is like two hours from any other town, it's guised as a farming town. Well, no, it is a farming town, but The Enclosure has taken it as its guise. Most of the facilities are underground, deep underground. They paid off all the townsfolk back when they were building to not ask questions, and considering they built it during a massive economic depression, no one asked questions. The townsfolk took the money. But there’s still some circulating rumors about us to this day, of course. As long as we keep the particularly dangerous creepy-crawlies underground with us, they’ve got no reason to worry too much.
Sure, sometimes things sneak out and make weird noises in the fields at night… but country folk are superstitious folk, and if nothing else it’s what these people have known all their lives. Suspicious lights, weird noises, and mutated deer don’t even phase these people.
The Enclosure picks its battles when it decides what to tackle, that’s for damn sure. Not like they’re an international brand or anything, they only have the resources to stick to these neck of the woods… and with all the anomalies in these parts, not really surprised they settled here. Been here for nearly 100 years and have very little idea why it’s such a supernaturally-charged area. Some say it might be the fact that folks are so superstitious that it basically invites the energy here, but others think there’s a reason.
But, it ain’t my department to figure that out.
The hardest part of the job is getting things into the facility, but sometimes the hot shots up top decide to just have us study those things from afar since taking them out of their established location seems impossible. So many ladies in gray and white dresses all over the place, we can’t exactly make a support group for them here or anything. Not when they’re out haunting dunes or lakes or crying by the side of the road or whatever. Not really hurting anyone all that much, so they’ve mostly just been left alone. We keep tabs, but we also don’t always interfere.
Oh, and being the sacrificial lamb is a bit annoying, but I bounce back quickly enough. Death has gotten less disorienting over time, but no less annoying.
(pause, then sigh) 
What did I do today?
Well, I had a shorter day, shiftwise. So I went in at like 6am? Then got out at around 1ish. I was supposed to leave closer to noon, but I ended up having to stop by Dr. Rahal’s office for a bit because of my headaches. They’ve been getting worse and we don’t really know why. At least they come and go in waves, so I get some peace at times. It’s always nice to see Dr. Rahal, though. He’s been the nicest to me since I started at this place, from what I can remember at least. He’s one of The Enclosure physicians who I’ve been seeing from anything to work-related injuries that aren’t too severe to these headaches. I swear, I’ve never met a guy in my life who can smile so genuinely and be so sincerely happy over just about anything. It’d honestly be annoying if it weren’t so sincere and if he weren’t also so genuinely nice. 
He’s really trying to help with these headaches, but medicine doesn’t really ever help and the medical scans showed nothing that would indicate any issue. Not that they let me see the medical scans… I guess I wouldn’t understand them anyways even if they did let me. Dr. Rahal thinks it’s stress so that takes us back to therapy with Dr. Daman.
Had a session after work, which was when she suggested I really start this up. She suggested it before, but I kind of dismissed the idea until today. She made a very good point.
What’s the harm in doing it? I mean it can’t make the headaches worse. And even if it doesn’t help me remember or anything, maybe getting things off my chest can help in some way. 
Therapy was… uneventful. Not like much happens in a week- just the usual work stuff, mostly. Though I have started going out after work a bit more often, even if it’s just to a local shop or to get a bite to eat. Dr. Daman suggested a few months back that I socialize a bit more and it’s been kinda nice. Weird, but nice. I've mostly stuck to myself outside of work, honestly. Well, besides those community events that you're basically ostracized if you don't attend- or you get bombard you with those calls of "where were you last night? We were so worried about you. Are you okay?" even though you don't remember giving them your number. 
I like to go to a restaurant in town called The Royal Cow. They make the best in-house ice cream. They built it to look like one of those red farm houses which matches most of the buildings in town, but their mint chocolate-chip ice cream is basically the best ice cream I’ve ever had. They also make really really good sugar-cream pie, get it when it’s still fresh, still a little warm. Melts in the mouth. I mean, it basically cures any hankering for a sweet tooth.
So, that’s what I ordered. A fresh slice of sugar-cream pie. That was my dessert. They do also have some pretty good not-sweet foods. Their lunch menu’s alright, but their breakfast food’s really where it’s at and they do that ‘breakfast all day’ thing so I got their breakfast platter. It’s just really really good food.
On my way home I bumped into Darius, he's the son of some local farmers in town. His dads have an apple orchard on top of everything else. The Enclosure actually keeps tabs on their farm because no matter WHAT his dad, John, plants, apples always grow. I mean- no matter what John plants - he could plant pumpkin seeds in the fall - but no, apple trees are going to spring up and I’ll be damned if those aren’t the best apples. I mean sometimes crabapples grow instead, he can’t really control what kind of apples grow, but John has found a way to make crabapples into really good apple pies and ciders and stuff. I heard they make good jams and jellies, but he perfected a crabapple pie. He said it’s “just a lotta love”, but I think there’s with those apple trees.
But again, not my department to figure it out.
Darius and I made small talk. The weather, mostly. So mostly just complaining about how it wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so humid or if we just had a nice breeze, but that the shade does help. 
(sigh)
He always makes excuses to talk to me- I mean, I’m not complaining, but that does seem to be a thing around town is everyone makes excuses to talk to everybody. Like the one time that Holly stopped me in the middle of the road to chat when we were passing each other. It’s a community norm I guess, but Darius always wants to talk. Again I’m not complaining, he’s a really nice conversational partner. We can chat about just about anything with certain obvious restrictions.
He knows I work at the The Enclosure, but folks in town seem to think it’s some hoity-toity but shady government job. I don’t think we’re really tied to the government, per se, but whatever lie they’ve told the town is just what I stick with. Whether or not they believe that is entirely another story. He knows I’m a scientist, but he thinks I’m more of an environmental natural scientist instead of a supernatural scientist… I guess whether or not he believes that is an entirely other story, too. 
But we don’t really talk about work much, on my end I don’t bring it up. While he does talk about working on the family farm from time to time, especially because they expect him to take over, he tries to find other things to talk about. He’s gone back to school recently. They recently in town set up a sort of trade school, I guess, where if anyone’s considered a master in town, they can teach classes to teach other people whatever skills they have to share. Seems Darius is taking a bit of a home-ec class, I guess. Sewing and cooking and things like that. He said that he’s great with his hands in the field, but he really wants to round out his hand skills. 
He then awkwardly chuckled after that, but I don’t understand why. I mean, it’s completely respectable to want to be able to stitch up your own clothes or actually have a nice dinner besides the reheated leftovers left on your doorstep or know what to do when your microwave catches fire… honestly, I don’t know what all they teach in those classes.
I’d never even heard of something like a home-ec class until Darius told me about it. I wonder if I ever took one… if I wasn’t so busy with work I would actually look into taking classes. I like to learn and Darius even said he’d be more than happy to help me with anything if I needed it which is nice. 
But I’m a really fast learner. I actually get bored a lot because of it. I don’t see why anyone would need five months or years of training or educating. No, I can see why- I also just know I'm the anomaly. When I forgot everything and had to relearn how to read, I was at a 10th grade reading level, by what, just a few weeks?. Then I was at college-level again in a matter of a month. But even though I was relearning stuff quick, I never remembered anything. I never remembered books I’ve read before the incident. I never remembered learning how to read the first time. I just was quickly relearning how to read. I don’t even know if you’d consider remembering how to read. 
I mean, I’m never remembering anything. I don’t even remember the creature that I was working with in the incident, and no one will tell me anything because they said they want me to remember organically or something like that. They said they feared something like a… trauma whiplash? I really don’t understand it and it just pisses me off more than anything, but Dr. Daman won’t budge.
No one will let me look over any files of the incident or files on the other lab techs who died. They slapped this key around my neck and said “Here, to keep your brain in check. Oh, you literally remember nothing? Whelp, tough luck. See this therapist and see what happens-”
(groan)
They said if it weren’t for my weird powers then the incident would have killed me too. They said they don’t know why I have the ability to rebound from death like it nearly never happened, but they sure are willing to use my ability for work.
Right, the key. Uhm-
When I woke up, the first thing the doctors did was have me wear it around my neck on some sort of sturdy red cord. I’ve never taken the thing off in years… You would think that it may have faded a bit or that the cord would have worn, but no. Cord is still sturdy and key is just as shiny as the day they gave it to me, which isn’t that shiny. It was a bit tarnished already, but hasn’t gotten any more tarnished. It’s supposed to help keep my brain in check after the effects of the incident. Dr. Daman says that if I take it off, I risk unlearning absolutely everything that I’ve learned in the last two years… I don’t know why the key is supposed to be the thing that does this, but this is the only time death has ever made me lose everything, so I figured what’s the harm in wearing it. Not like it hurts to wear it or anything…
Darius has asked me about it before, though. Not when we first met or anything, but after multiple times of running into each other he finally asked. I get asked about it a lot, but I just say it’s a familial trinket and they tend to just leave it be.
But Darius had asked after we’d shared a few drinks at a local bar and, even though I have a bit of a high tolerance for alcohol and I never stay drunk long, he seemed to ask at just the right moment for me to open up a bit more, I guess. I said it’s a comfort item… which I guess isn’t exactly the whole truth- I actually honestly hate this thing. A constant reminder of all the things I’ve forgotten, but I guess there’s slight comfort in knowing that, because of this key, everything I’ve relearned will stick. 
They say it’s important to understand all that you DON’T know, but I know all too well that I’ve got at least 20 years of things that I don’t remember. But hey, with this key, I guess I can rebuild that. 
I must have seemed uncomfortable about this question or he was satisfied with that answer because Darius let it go after that, but I catch him staring at it sometimes. He’s asked what I know about Skeleton Keys, and all things considered: I didn’t know much. At least, didn’t remember.
He told me that his dads both told him about the powers keys hold, not just to lock things but even more importantly to unlock them. That a skeleton key could lock or unlock any door to a given building, no matter what other keys people had. Commonly used by cleaners and inn owners and stuff like that. He really seems fixated on the idea and I guess the symbolism is striking with my current… situation considered....
Whatever. The less he knows the better- it would be nice to talk to someone outside of The Enclosure about more personal stuff from time to time, but I can’t go around spilling secrets.
(Pause)
… right, my day. Lunch, talked with Darius. Uh-
After about 15 minutes of 'alright, I should get going’'s, taking a few steps apart, starting up talks about other topics and repeating the process, I finally started home. On my way home I drove past some cornfields and various other pastures. The Enclosure gave me a house near the edge of town, because after a year of rigorous ‘relearning’, I didn't want to live in their communal housing anymore. It's not too far from Darius's family orchard and farm, which is nice. Nicest farm in the area, in my opinion. There's no real rivalry between the farmers, at least nothing too intense, but something about those trees in the distance out of my window is really relaxing.
All the cattle I passed on my way home had moved to face the same direction near the fences and stared into the distance, mindlessly grazing- that and the clouds rolling in were very strong indicators that there was gonna be a heck of a storm tonight. I didn't listen to the weather announcement this morning, but the sky's only gotten darker now so I'm ready to sleep like the dead tonight.
But, when I was pulling into the driveway, I saw something rustling in the bushes by my front door. I thought maybe it was a squirrel or rabbit or something, but then two tiny hands parted the leaves and I saw one of those black-eyed children just… sitting there. Staring at me. I normally only see them at night, I guess it was waiting for me to come home to loiter on the doorstep or something- I don't know. When I got out of my car, I was surprised when it actually climbed out of the bush and just rigidly stared at me with those lifeless black eyes. I got my stuff out of my car and made my way to the door, but it was kinda standing in the way? So I just slid on by it with a muttered apology and slipped inside before it could start whispering requests for entrance.
Never making that mistake again. No matter how much I want to let them in, my house got all sorts of messed up last time and I got a heck of a scolding at work when they found out. I don’t shoo them away, but I don’t let them in anymore.
It was really weird. They normally come knocking or waiting by the sides of the road at night, I had never seen one in the middle of the afternoon.
Once I got settled in I pulled out a book, a crossword book, I was gifted at the last community bonfire. I blow through those things really fast, but I really like them, so Christine gave me like five of them. All different, claimed that she found the most difficult ones she could which was really sweet. She even wrote little notes on the inside cover of each of them, so I’ve ended up keeping them when I'm done just so I can reread her notes when I need a little pick-me-up. Whether a crossword book or a little box of treats, she always writes uplifting notes and anecdotes inside any gifts she gives anyone, all signed in the most beautiful cursive:
With love, Christine Torres.
She really mothers everyone in town, at least that’s what I’ve noticed.
This one is a real toughie, which I like. That's mostly what I've been up to since I got home. I decided that I'd take a break and get to doing, well, this. Dr. Daman was adamant about me giving it a shot, so here we are.
Me, myself, and I…
(Phone dinging)
Ope. Sorry, hold on. Work email.
(Mumbling) Who am I even apologizing to?
(Pause)
Well now, wait a minute- A new lab partner? Dr. Gia Castillo… why the hell did they give me a new lab partner? I guess I'm meeting her in the morning…
I hate it when Todd pulls this. But I guess I've got no say in the matter. The usual.
(Sigh)
But I hate sudden change. I'm tired, I'm reheating some food Mrs. Wethington gave me and going to bed. I can hear the thunder starting to get louder and that kid outside tapping on my door, so I guess I should try and get some sleep.
Guess I'll… talk to you later?
(Pause) This is actually kinda nice. Saying whatever I want without worries. (Strained chuckle that trails off)
I'm already dreading tomorrow.
Dr. Jared Hel, signing off, I guess.
(Recorder clicks and music trails in with sounds of thunder)
Credits:
"Jar of Rebuke" is written and produced by Casper Oliver, who is also the voice of Dr. Jared Hell.
The intro is read by Vanessa Rosengrant, and credits are read by Ashlee Craft who has created the podcast’s official graphics.
Music was created by TheMenniss (spelled M-E-N-N-I-S-S), who you can find and support on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Twitch.
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and anywhere else you get your podcast fix for more “Jar of Rebuke”, and also to get updates on upcoming official merch for our show.
Support projects by this crew on Patreon to further other queer-lead projects and get neat perks. All donations are appreciated and will grant further clearance to special “Jar of Rebuke” content.
Thesperience Productions Patreon.
29 notes · View notes
emoelrics · 5 months
Text
Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 7 Rewatch
Tumblr media
Tumblr media
we have an ominous phone call with gendo and some unknown individual. elusive as always gendo.
Tumblr media
i love the daily routine between shinji and misato that grows as they continue to live with each other. misato is always a complete disaster in the morning in contrast with her serious and focused personality that she displays at work. in the episode, misato starts off her morning a disheveled mess and cracks open a cold beer. classic. what a way to start your morning! and also oops turns out she slept through breakfast. sorry about that!
yet she shows up to school elegant and refined, a total babe. all the horny teenage boys practically have nosebleeds with how excited they are. kensuke and toji are practically drooling with how obsessed they are with misato. they tell shinji he is so lucky to live with her. i'm sure they have this image of misato in their head, the put together misato that she shows the world.
but shinji knows the real misato. the one she doesn’t show the outside world. he knows what she’s like under that airhead and cheerful facade. she’s a slob, she’s immature, irresponsible, and ridiculous. however, he still enjoys living with her despite her shortcomings. that’s a true bond right there. that’s truly caring and loving somebody. i know gendo wanted to bring human instrumentality so people would be free from the AT fields that separate them. but loving somebody despite the walls that separate you is truly beautiful. to break down somebody's walls and get into the core of shows how much you genuinely love someone. you are willing to put in the effort of getting to know them. you're willing to be patient and to slowly peel back all the layers of who they are.
Tumblr media
i like this segment where shinji stares at the eva and wonders what the hell is the mechanical, grotesque robot that he pilots. the cockpit feels like blood. and you know shinji that’s because the essence of your mother is in the robot. essentially the robot is basically a womb and the LCL is amniotic fluid. yeah. crazy stuff shinji! good thing the adults are keeping you away from that information. but it's still so utterly terrifying that shinji was forced to pilot this robot with absolutely no knowledge of what it is, where it came from, and how it came to be. he's left in the dark about so much despite how important he is to NERV.
Tumblr media
the contrast between shinji questioning the eva and the adults coldly talking about business is excellent. shinji is just a child caught in the elaborate world of adults. adults lie. adults withhold information. adults can be awful and here shinji is completely helpless and at their whims.
Tumblr media
we start with a classic shinji and misato routine. the fun and perky music. shinji eating toast just like always and pen pen eating his fish. then the vibe completely changes. it’s dark and serious. misato has to attend to some business for work. no longer than ditzy facade. she has to get down to business. the way that misato can change her persona is incredible. she is extremely multi-faceted and highly emotionally intelligent. i think a lot of people reduce misato's character to a bimbo who loves beer and erm does some questionable things. but her character is so much more complex than people give her credit for.
Tumblr media
we have ritsuko and misato on a business trip. ritsuko asks a bunch of hard-hitting questions and isn’t taken seriously. a glimpse of the sexism that women face in the science field. when the scientist says “like a woman in hysterics,” in response to the robots NERV deploys, it always pisses me off. women are often said they can’t be rational because you know they experience hormonal changes once a month but this doesn’t mean they can’t think critically. women are able to withstand a lot. they can go through all this pain and emotional changes and still be tough and capable.
in this segment, you can also get a glimpse of gendo’s plan in this bit. with this “you’re saying that science and human heart will tame the beast.” i think a lot of times in this anime the strength of the human heart is diminished. it’s seen as fickle and weak. but the human heart can withstand so many things - heartbreak and grief. and yet these feelings make it more resilient. the strength of the human heart and genuine love is what allowed shinji to stop the third impact. the power of the human heart.
Tumblr media
love this female rage moment!
Tumblr media
just as this arrogant man touts his own creation, things go awry. the so called perfect robot goes berserk just like unit 1. and who’s left to help them solve this crisis? yeah. misato. girlboss! who’s hysterical now.
Tumblr media
here comes shinji and misato. but now the cheerful dynamics of home are no more, misato and shinji are in business mood. there’s no goofiness. there’s no light-heartedness. this is misato’s captain persona. the one most of the world sees. she’s firm, straightforward, and precise. she extremely calmly puts herself in danger with shinji pointing out how crazy her plan is. and it’s really nice to see how shinji looks out for her. i really like that about misato. she’s resourceful and creative, always coming up with brilliant solutions in a crisis.
Tumblr media
even after all that heroism on misato’s part, we return to our typical morning with misato returning to her usual chaotic and sloppy self. shinji groans as he heads to school, utterly disgusted with how misato presents herself.
toji and kensuke fangirl over how lucky shinji is to live with misato once again. and shinji puts his foot down. living with misato is no idyllic walk in the park. she’s a walking disaster and a complete slob who can’t even cook for herself. why would the two of them want to live with her?
Tumblr media
i love the note that we end this episode on. shinji as we know is not so well versed in human connection despite how perceptive he is. so kensuke plainly points it out to him. the misato shinji sees on a day to day basis is the real misato. the masks she dons left to the wayside and the only thing left is authentic self. that’s family. that’s love. someone seeing you for who you truly are.
7 notes · View notes
Text
CBS Ghosts - Pilot - Haunting is Hard Part 1
Warning - Spoilers may appear.
Tumblr media
I always love seeing the light/dark changing as scenes change. It's just an awesome gif. I like good transitions like this.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Okay, the most hilarious part of this right here is that A) WHO gets in the shower before making sure the water is warm?  and B) that Isaac was totally watching him get in the shower.
Given that Isaac (and Alberta) mention this later on, I imagine this is how Sam makes the "No one in our room rule" and uses Pete as a guard for it in WHC.
Side note - how did they decide this was the moment? ALSO, did they do a dress rehearsal? I feel like they should have.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I really love the way Isaac goes - Alright, time to haunt and everyone has different responses - 
Alberta: Okay
Pete: Have Fun
Trevor: shaking one out
Hetty and Flower: Stare intensely at Trevor.
It's interesting that we don't see Thor or Sass although Thor is about to go first. Actually, Sass could be EASILY missed in this scene.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
THERE ARE STAIRS IN THE BATHROOM - HOW THE F did NO ONE CATCH THIS????????
I know, I know it's the pilot, and they probably didn't care, but like ... stairs in the bathroom...
Anyway, It’s so freaking nutty to catch that during Giffing.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Pausing Here to say - I love that Isaac is CLEARLY the leader here.  This man literally tells Thor when to do his thing and THOR LISTENS.  Even though Thor is Older than Isaac.
Also, as seen in this scene - Thor struggles ALOT with his power, and Jay has no issue dismissing it when the light doesn’t appear to work well. This is part of the reason (at least for me) that it's clear Thor doesn't use his power that much. I wonder if using the power more (like Trevor/Alberta) would get him to be less impacted by it.
It’s very interesting the way they actually went in ORDER of how the powers came up.  Thor was first, then Alberta, Isaac, and finally Trevor.  Interesting.  Anyway, I know we're not there yet.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is still so cute - Isaac is clearly in charge of this haunting even though he’s not the A) Oldest, B) the one who came up with the idea and/or C) actually in charge of these misfits. It's just 'cause he wants to be 'the captain' he was in life.
But it’s nice - even given the next second, which I’ll get to in a minute, they LISTEN to him.  I like it.  It shows A) that he’s either earned the respect or he just commands the respect of being a leader or B) that he’s so respected even without the ‘leader’ tag that they obey him.  It’s like with Hetty in Dinner Party - she’s not the oldest but she commands respect and people give it to her.
LMAO - ALBERTA, THIS IS NOT THE TIME.
I do LOVE that she emphasizes the ability she has to counter his decisions - it fits well with what I’ve seen with regards to she was probably the one to suggest that his power stinks and counters him in Episode 3.  It’s not a surprise given this scene that she doesn’t just do what he says.  
HOWEVER, did they not DISCUSS what order they were going in?  Now is NOT the time.  Although it is hilarious.  
Sorry, Alberta, Trevor’s power is really the topper - as Hetty says in the last scene. There's a reason you're second, not the finale.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Okay this is hilarious - Isaac is literally RUNNING AROUND JAY and trying to avoid getting walked through when he could’ve just ran ahead of Jay before he even walked passed Thor.  
Hey look - there's Sass!
I’m cackling at Isaac’s run while Jay’s like “Huh, what’s that?”
Couple of things here - A) I LOVE the way they got around Alberta’s power as being ghostly - they had a few options, including that they could blame it on the house being older and creaking, but THIS IS BETTER - the timing works brilliantly and you can see Alberta and Pete being WTF in that gif.
But B) I love that Sam is such a dork.  She is so excited for this and it honestly pretty cute.  She continues to up the love for the mansion, despite the ghosts' best efforts.
Two ghosts down into the failed haunting with two more to go!
See Part 2 soon.
Thanks for reading :). Feel free to Chat :)
12 notes · View notes