#vehicular manslaughter with spirit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cchapsticck · 1 year

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Hi lovely person! I feel weird sending prompts to writers, I never know if they’re too specific or too vague, or not up the ally of the writer. So no offence taken if these don’t float your boat.

I don’t think there are enough fics that see Eddie wind up in jail, for weeks, while things get sorted out, months if it can’t be waived away, and years if it all goes wrong. I also love the idea of him ending up in Pennhurst. These were grotesque killings, and even if he didn’t plead insanity, could a court potentially commit someone based on the acts committed? Or under enough pressure would Eddie start babbling about floating cheerleaders and psychic serial killers…

There you go, if nothing else it’s nice to talk about ‘what ifs…’!

I have been obsessed with this prompt since you sent it to me, and were it not for the sheer number of naps I took over the last week I'm pretty sure I would have had this posted days after you sent it. I think I went a little off the rails again from the spirit of the prompt but, here it is:

So. Felony Murder is when, quote, when someone is killed in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime, and so when Raymond Munson Jr. kills a man by way of vehicular manslaughter in the commission of grand theft auto, he receives a trial by a jury of his peers and receives 25 to life. He learns this particular way of the legal system in these united states at age 12.

And you know.

After everything, the thing that did it was a gram of weed in his glove box.

So that’s. Coming down the pike for him too. Probably.

Good ol’ dad. Teaching all kinds of lessons even after all these years.

But uh. You talk enough about levitating corpses and spontaneously broken bones when there’s a dead cheerleader in your living room and everyone’s ready to believe you’re a pawn of the Devil himself so like yeah yeah yeah whatever the more level headed people start thinking something’s fuckin’ scrambled about you even when its all true.

But it sounds like it sounds.

So uh. He doesn’t get bail once he comes to, handcuffed to a hospital bed, but he gets transferred to Pennhurst for protective custody while someone tries to scrape up a public defender who could even be bothered, or the government fabricates evidence to keep their hands clean, or wait on someone to tell him he’s been arraigned or what the fuck ever. No one’s really keen to tell him what the fuck is going on.

Figures.

So he’s in police custody in a room with a door that locks from the outside and a new and different hospital bracelet and an ankle monitor that screams when he crosses his threshold unless the orderly is outside the door holding the key turned but he’s not cuffed to anything and the psychiatric doctors come twice a week and ask him about his mood and if he’s still seeing things or seen things before and it always feels like they’re looking for a specific answer.

But he’s apparently not a danger to himself even if everyone’s fuckin’ sure he’s nuts so they let him have books from the day room - nothing good - paper and the shittiest pens imaginable because he might not be a danger to himself but they still don’t want him stabbing anything or anyone else. So he tries drawing, but all he ever used to draw was demons and monsters and swords and shields and maybe that’s gonna hurt more than help and it sure fuckin’ hurts to think too hard about when he’s seen it all in real life now. And he used to write songs and stories and he’s just not feeling terribly fuckin’ inspired but he starts writing anyway.

Or he tries. Anyway.

Because if fiction’s off the table, even if it's non-fiction, what’s he got? Like what does he have to say? Sorry Wayne? I fucked it up for you again? I’ll probably never repay you. Hey Harrington? What the fuck was that, right? How are the bat wounds? What was with all that eye contact? Hey Dad? Been a minute. Thanks for all that car shit I guess it came through in a pinch. How’s that prison food? Guess I’m about to find out for myself.

Like.

Fuck.

So he tries and it doesn't come easy.

We weren’t friends but. Neither are most of the people I saved the world with and I guess and that’s probably kind of fucked up but I feel like you and I still have something to talk about. Or maybe I just still have something to say to you. I probably have a lot you deserve to hear. But you won’t. Sorry. I thought it was funny that you remembered me. I made it sound like we had some love connection standing around in the gym for the middle school talent show, it wasn't that. Like I think I wanted you to feel bad that you didn't remember it but honestly you just said good luck to me after I said it to you. Literally 4 words. So that was shitty of me. Add it to the list. But it kinda feels like the me you remembered and the me that was gonna sell you ketamine were entirely different people. They might be now. And it was middle school, right? I'm sure you heard all those "Munson went to jail" rumors. Back when they shaved my head after my dad locked up and there was a whole bunch of talk about how those things had to be related. Y'know? 14 year old bullshit. (If you're asking - there were lice at the home, wasn't living with my uncle yet, its a long story. I kind of wish I could have told you. I think you would have let me. I think you would have listened. I think you might have thought it was kind of funny. Its kind of a funny story.) Maybe this is too personal, we weren't close, it was like we just met, but I think I remembered you because you seemed like the kind of girl I was supposed to like. Pretty. Cheerleader. Popular. You know the type. You were the type. Fuck. Sounds like I'm blaming you. I'm not. Promise. Not your fault. Knew it then. Knew it for a long time. Just kinda hoped something could shake it out of me, I guess. Shit would have been a lot easier. I think I didn't so much think you were going to be mean and scary but more what I was gonna try to make you into was scary. I don't know if that makes sense. You were nice though. For real. Not in that bullshit way a lot of kids treat the weird kid. Y'know, that 'be nice to the weird kid until he does something weird you can laugh at' nice to the weird kid. False sense of security to ridicule nice to the weird kid. Got a lot of experience with those kinds of nice. I think I was kind of a jackass. That afternoon. I got pretty used to selling weed to jocks that'll be civil long enough to hand me a 20 before going back to taking a swing at me for looking at their girl wrong or whatever reason they decide they want to take a swing at me for on any particular day. So, I guess I expected one thing and got another and I got you being clearly freaked out and. I think I told myself it was good girl's first drug deal and I figured who cares, doesn't matter to me if you're nervous because I gotta pay my plug back but you uh. Stayed spooked. And I decided I didn't care. I'd put on my clown shoes because you'd pay up, not because I really. Cared if you felt any better. A sale's a sale. And if I'm going to keep being honest? I was kind of just talking shit when I said you should come to The Hideout, like I figured no fuckin' way, a place like that would eat a pretty church girl alive. But you. Didn't seem to hate the idea. Which was surprising. I was learning a lot about uh. Preconceived notions of people. That week. Jocks proving me wrong all over. You didn't ask me to turn it down or change the Iron Maiden in the van when I drove you to Wayne's. Kinda thought you would. Kind of turned it up to be an ass about it. I think I kept it loud so I wouldn't have you notice that you never stopped being that same flavor of scared. I think I need to apologize to you? I fucked up. A lot of shit happened that no one's gonna believe me about, about myself or about you and it all kind of boils down to: I fucked up. And I'm sorry. I don't think I could have changed anything, with what I knew then and what I know now. But I could have given more of a shit, at least. - EAM

Anyway he’s pretty sure it's all incriminating so he ends up eating a couple pieces of paper scribbled on with ball point blue pen, stuffs it whole into his mouth and waits for it to turn to mush and chokes it down. He's pretty sure, a few hours later, its not what's got him feeling sick to his stomach but he'll tell himself it is.

#prompts #dreamwatch #eddie munson #eddie munson fic #stranger things fic

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gravedirtandbriarthorns · 11 months

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I think my absolute favorite Phish Moment when I actually had the opportunity to play him was the job/session where he worked with a bunch of mages (keep in mind Phish does not like magic or magicians, and regularly refers to anything magical as "weird wiggler shit") to help solve some murders and his only contributions were:

1. Driving at one point while the actual driver tried to murder a spirit of man in the shape of a car a la Christine with an assault canon

2. Played face to get an NPC on board with our plan, which involved taking off his shirt in the middle of a bar

3. Making a phone call to a guy we'd met to get contact information for another NPC we needed to talk to while the mages were busy deciding whether it would be better to use a spirit or a spell to locate her.

4. Being very salty the group kept correctly his theory about the culprit being "a ghost car" when it was in fact a spirit taking the shape of a car that was destroyed ten years prior to cover up a vehicular manslaughter, and

5. Playing matrix games for three days while the mages worked out a ritual to bind and banish the murderous ghost car

#a v close 2nd is the time phish got paid (ish because we both turned down the money) to help keep some black star anarchists out of jail #after the cops set up a sting at a local anti-metahuman rally #that involved breaking into and defacing a govt host

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corvidcrybaby · 1 year

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EXTREME METAL SUBGENRE AESTHETICS FOR NEWBIES

death metal: rusted meat hooks and spent shell casings. mortuary fumes and dried bloodstains on barbed wire. blood gushing from broken noses and shattered teeth. hordes of zombies pounding at the doors and windows. necromancers cackling over occult rituals as their flesh melts from the bone. black metal: corpses frozen standing up in an arctic wasteland. whispering spirits of dead travelers beckoning humans to their doom. violent blizzards smothering mountain cabins. distant wails of damned souls in catacombs dripping with fetid water. hissing breath behind your ear, only to find nothing when you turn to look. hooded figures chanting in rasping, rattling tongues about an occult sigil, summoning creatures of untold fathoms. grindcore: burnt tire rubber and vehicular manslaughter. screams of wrongfully imprisoned asylum inmates, locked away for political dissidence. torn vocal chords. squatters' dens in abandoned industrial infrastructure. biohazard needles left in piles of junk in abandoned factories. warehouses with roofs caved in. the stench of pollutant smog and toxic waste belched into public water supply. resistance even in death.

#metalposting #metal #extreme metal #should i do more of these

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trashbins-stuff · 1 year

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freesmart incorrect quote bc they're my favorites <3 (maybe ooc)

ice cube: *standing at the top of the stairs* What are y'all doing at the bottom of the staircase? match: I accidentally fell down. book: RUBY PUSHED ME down the stairs because I refuse to pay THEIR part of our rent! bubble: match bet me fifty bucks that I couldn't reach the bottom of the stairs faster than she did falling down it, so I slide down the banister to get my money. pencil: I don't know how I got here. One moment, I was sleeping in my bed, three floors up, and then suddenly I was waking up here, just in time to get crushed by bubble.

book: I typed "bitch" into my GPS and guess what? I'm in your driveway. match: book: Vroom vroom, come out already.

bubble: How would you like your pancakes? match: Plain. pencil: With sprinkles! book: Chocolate chips. ruby: Potatoes. *match, pencil, and book look at ruby* ruby: What? They're good.

pencil: She's the girl of my dreams! ruby: You say every girl is the girl of your dreams. pencil: I have a lot of dreams.

bubble: I’m so excited! book: We’re gonna have the best costumes, get the most candy... bubble: And have the biggest stomach aches ever! book: Yeah!

ice cube: Hey, can we stay in your dorm tonight? book: Why? ice cube: pencil fiddled with an ouija board and cursed ours. bubble: ruby doesn't know how to banish spirits, so it just throw salt at them and yell "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A HOTEL TO YOU?!"

ruby: There's nothing to do.... ice cube: You can wash the dishes you promised to wash about a week ago. ruby: *pulls out her phone* Nevermind.

match: Dearly Beloved, we are here today to remember ice cube, taken from us in the prime of life; when she was crushed by a runaway semi, driven by the Incredible Hulk. ice cube: Aww, you knew my favorite cause of death.

book: ruby... ruby: Oh no, 'ruby' in B flat. ruby: You're disappointed.

bubble: I really like Eminem. book: I prefer skittles. ruby: She's talking about the rapper. book: Why would they eat the wrapper?

match: I’m telling you, my alliance is competent. ice cube, rushing in: match! ruby tried to make pasta in the coffee pot and now it's broken!

match, skipping rocks on a lake with pencil: It’s such a beautiful evening. pencil: Yeah, it is. pencil: *whispering* Take that you fucking lake.

ice cube: *dies* pencil: Timer starts now! When is he coming back? I say two months! ruby: Bullshit. One month. bubble: Nah, half a month. book, sobbing: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ICE CUBE JUST DIED! match, scratching chin in thought: One week

pencil: Get in, loser, we’re committing vehicular manslaughter!

ruby: What the fuck. ruby: ESPN is showing 2003 national jump rope championship. ruby: Who the hell watches jump rope competiti- ooh bouncy.

pencil: I never tell people off the bat that I'm gay. I wait. I wait until they say some homophobic shit and then I laugh and am like "you know I'm gay right?" and watch the look of terror on their face. book: book: I like you.

ice cube: Though I admit I don’t know much about you, I am feeling pretty confident in my assessment that you are probably some sort of sick deadly fuck. ruby: Who told you my secret?

ice cube: You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon. ice cube: It's me.

ruby: Vegetable oil is made from vegetables, coconut oil is made from coconuts, so BABY OIL- match: CAN'T WE JUST HAVE A NICE ALLIANCE DINNER FOR ONCE?!

bubble, about ice cube: They're covered in blood again. Why is it they're always covered in blood? ruby: Well, it looks like it's her own blood this time.

ruby, when book walks in: Oh, hey, I'm just making pizza. ruby: *accidentally smacks pencil in the face with the baking sheet*

book: So, ruby and ice cube is no longer allowed to take the trash out at night. pencil: Why? book: Because I've caught them trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row. ruby, arms crossed and pouting: You'll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your ass.

#freesmart #incorrect quotes #btw i headcanon match and bubble uses she/they #ruby uses they/it/she and ice cube uses she/he/they #pencil and book still uses she/her

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musicarenagh · 10 days

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Power and Protest: Will Lisil's “Elon Musk” In the riotous revelry of chords that is Will Lisil's "Elon Musk," there lies a pandemonium not just of sound but also spirit—a frenzied scream into the void where innocence is imprisoned and power rampantly, ruthlessly rides. Picture this: electric shockwaves ripping through velvet skies, each strum and beat a strike against societal iron bars. https://open.spotify.com/track/2ki3TOvKFVX7rxSAgHz00Y As the punk rock foundation clashes with buzzes of electronic insurgence and pop-punk snarls, sung entirely in Brazilian Portuguese—ah! A language here transforms into more than tongue and teeth; it becomes a vehicular manslaughter on silence imposed by inequity. Enhanced by both vitriolic male shrieks and haunting female vocals weaving through choral echoes—an auditory ensemble pieced together like Frankenstein’s monster, yet far lovelier to behold. [caption id="attachment_55690" align="alignnone" width="1365"] Power and Protest: Will Lisil's “Elon Musk”[/caption] Imagine, though truly sensing might serve you better—the stir of rebellion pulsing under your skin as if ants march within veins; Lisil’s song “Elon ninho de musgo” – Elon nest mossed over with time, yet never forgetful of its first fiery ember spark. This melody protests imprisonment wrongfully sentenced upon innocent souls; it critiques power misuse as one would decry fire burning holy groves. https://youtu.be/ayve7e5m8eQ This experimental forge—where raw aesthetic meets modern electronica amidst an orchestrated chaos—not only tears down previous genre definitions but sprouts something resiliently wild from their compostable carcass. Thus forged is an immersive experience so potent that listeners find themselves stripped bare but bedecked anew in understanding born from musical uprising. To let "Elon Musk" echo within your ear canals is to ingest venom spat at venal structures—to be turnover leaf shaping through turbulent winds seeking justice's fervent bloom. Will Lisil has thus morphed protest into anthem, crafting crescendos vigorously alive with possibilities reshaping what music—and through it us—can dare become amidst storms conspiring suffocations sterner than stone walls could ever hope encompass. Follow Will Lisil on Twitter.

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thecreaturecodex · 2 years

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Pumpkinhead

Image © David Hartman, accessed at his ArtStation here

[Commissioned by @mr-w-rambles. Pumpkinhead is not a movie I’ve seen, but after doing this research now I want to. It appears to me to be a path not taken in the history of the slasher subgenre of horror movies. By the late 80s, when Pumpkinhead came out, most slasher movies were basically just violent comedies, which expanded to be much of the horror landscape by the 1990s. Pumpkinhead, on the other hand, takes slasher movie staples like the unstoppable killer, the extended stalking sequences, the “deserving” teen victims and the Final Girl and plays them all straight while delving into their subtext. These teen victims are arguably more deserving of death than the usual--vehicular manslaughter is way worse than smoking weed and premarital sex--but the movie’s main point is to stress how self-destructive revenge is. Plus, the monster costume is cool. Although I do wish it looked less like a xenomorph...]

Pumpkinhead CR 11 LE Fey This creature resembles a large humanoid, painfully gaunt, with projecting bones growing from its shoulders and ankles. It walks on its toes, and its hands and feet are large and tipped with claws. Its head is swollen and elongated, like a rotting gourd, and it has blank eyes and sharp canine teeth. The thing has a long tail, ending in a barbed blade.

A pumpkinhead is a fey spirit of vengeance, called from the First World in order to exact bloody retribution for wrongdoings. Unlike many other extraplanar creatures, a pumpkinhead wants to be called to the Material Plane, for it enjoys its violent work. A pumpkinhead seeds the Material Plane with corpse shells, deformed and shrunken mummies that are buried in pumpkin patches, moors and the convergent points of ley lines. A pumpkinhead can be called to inhabit one of its shells by as little as a few drops of blood, a few magic words and genuine hatred in a mortal heart. A pumpkinhead may be called to avenge any crime or slight, but a murder or accidental death is the most common.

Although the mortal decides the crime to be avenged, the pumpkinhead determines who is to pay for it with death, a choice that often includes extensive collateral damage. It can magically sense the locations of its targets of ire, and will stalk them across continents if it has to. A pumpkinhead enjoys inflicting drawn out and sadistic tortures rather than simply a quick death, and often uses the corpses of its victims as props to intimidate its next targets. Although their natural weapons are deadly enough, pumpkinheads enjoy using improvised weapons, up to and including beating one victim with another.

The pumpkinhead is linked to the creature who summoned it—every time the pumpkinhead kills, the summoner receives a supernatural echo of the victim’s agony. A pumpkinhead’s link to its summoner runs two ways. If the summoner is killed, the pumpkinhead is sent back to the First World, and the summoner’s body becomes a new corpse shell for a future pumpkinhead to inhabit. If a pumpkinhead succeeds in killing all of its targets, it breaks the link to its summoner and becomes a free agent. They still act as murderous vigilantes in this case, but their attacks are less focused and more random, and they have lost a powerful weakness.

A pumpkinhead is large for a Medium-sized creature, about seven feet tall and three hundred pounds.

Pumpkinhead CR 11 XP 12,800 LE Medium fey (extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +19 Aura frightful presence (60 ft., Will DC 21) Defense AC 25, touch 14, flat-footed 21 (+4 Dex, +11 natural) hp 142 (15d6+90) Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +12 DR 10/cold iron and magic; SR 21 Defensive Abilities legendary resistance, negative energy affinity; Immune charm and compulsion effects Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee bite +16 (1d8+9), 2 claws +16 (1d6+9 plus grab), sting +16 (1d8+9) Special Attacks body strike, targets of ire Statistics Str 28, Dex 19, Con 22, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 19 Base Atk +7; CMB +16 (+18 sunder, +20 grapple); CMD 30 (32 vs. sunder) Feats Catch Off Guard, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Nimble Moves, Power Attack, Stealthy Skills Acrobatics +20, Climb +25, Escape Artist +24, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (geography) +5, Perception +19, Sense Motive +19, Stealth +24, Survival +19 Languages Aklo, Common, Sylvan SQ caster link, corpse shell Ecology Environment any land (First World) Organization solitary Treasure none Special Abilities Body Strike (Ex) A pumpkinhead may use a grabbed foe as an improvised melee weapon without penalty. It deals 2d6 points of damage with an attack made with a Medium creature, plus its Strength bonus, and deals this damage to both the creature struck and the creature used as a weapon. Caster Link (Su) When a pumpkinhead is called from the First World, it does so with a particular wrong to revenge, chosen by the summoner. The summoner determines the wrongdoing, but the pumpkinhead determines how many individuals will be its targets of ire. Every time it kills one of its targets of ire, the summoner suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks for 1 minute. A successful DC 21 Will save reduces the duration to 1 round. This is a pain effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. A pumpkinhead’s life is tied to the creature that summoned it. Whenever that creature takes damage, the pumpkinhead suffers the pain effect as above. If the summoner is slain while the pumpkinhead still lives, the pumpkinhead is banished back to the First World, its previous corpse shell is destroyed, and the body of the summoner transforms into a new corpse shell. Corpse Shell (Ex) A pumpkinhead can only enter the Material Plane by possessing a corpse specially treated for it. On the Material Plane, a pumpkinhead gains negative energy affinity, but a pumpkinhead fought in the First World does not have this defensive ability. If a pumpkinhead is sent back to its home plane (such as through banishment or dismissal), the corpse shell remains behind and can be used again if not destroyed. Legendary Resistance (Su) Once per day when a pumpkinhead fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Targets of Ire (Su) When a pumpkinhead is summoned, it may select a number of targets of ire up to its Hit Dice. The pumpkinhead can detect their presence as per a locate creature spell with an infinite range (as long as the target remains on the same plane), and this effect is not blocked by running water.

#pumpkinhead #horror movies #pathfinder 1e #commissions #fey #bogey #xenomorph

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shivcodedkendall · 2 years

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Succession Scenes as Taylor Swift Songs

(determined by my sister and me, in no particular order, from various eras)

"Look What You Made Me Do"

Logan at the end of S3. Look, I know you may think this is more appropriate for Kendall or Tom when they commit their own respective betrayals, but I would argue that neither of them truly possesses the Boss Bitch energy that it takes to pull this song off. That's all Logan Roy, baby! Evidence:

The world moves on, another day another drama, drama

But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma

And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure

Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours

"Cruel Summer"

Roman and Gerri's forbidden romance in Italy!!! It's too perfect!

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it Bad, bad boy Shiny toy with a price You know that I bought it

So cut the headlights, summer's a knife I'm always waiting for you just to cut to the bone Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know

"this is me trying"

S2 Kendall visiting the family of the waiter, it fits too well lmaoo.

I have a lot of regrets about that

Pulled the car off the road to the lookout

Could've followed my fears all the way down

And maybe I don't quite know what to say

But I'm here in your doorway

"The Man"

as an ironic ode to S3 Shiv during her girl boss fail era hehe. you already know this shit is on her workout playlist.

If I was out ﬂashing my dollars I'd be a bitch, not a baller They paint me out to be bad So it's okay that I'm mad

"Shake it Off"

Kendall after failing to kill his dad for the umpteenth time and that minor instance of vehicular manslaughter....you just gotta shake, shake, shake it off Kenny! Also, I feel like it just speaks to Kendall's spirit in general...can you not see Kendall singing this part alone in his apartment:

Hey, hey, hey! Just think while you've been gettin' down and out about the liars And the dirty, dirty cheats of the world {logan roy ahem} You could've been gettin' down To this sick beat!

"Bad Blood"

Tom betraying Shiv in S3, bc not only is perfect for Shiv's shocked reaction but its also perfect in expressing Tom's thoughts leading up to the betrayal in question- "you thought I wouldn't bite back, Shiv?"

Did you think we'd be fine? Still got scars on my back from your knife So don't think it's in the past These kind of wounds they last and they last Now did you think it all through?

Bonus:

"Champagne Problems"

Obvi for Connor's Proposal to Willa, but since she said "Fuck it!" it doesn't totally work lol.

You told your family for a reason You couldn't keep it in Your sister splashed out on the bottle Now no one's celebrating

#hbo succession #succession #sorry if someone's already done smth like this but i needed to give my silly little take #taylor swift #swifty nation and succ nation finally overlapping #me talking #kendall roy #shiv roy #roman roy

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marsoid · 4 years

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helix is ur regular everyday guy: dead with his spirit trapped in a car. he enjoys long drives on the beach, and a little vehicular manslaughter on occasion just as much as the rest of us. also believes kids these days spend too much time on their phones. etc.

the smartest thing ive ever done is go full self-indulgence with this story and make the demon car a nova. it’s just self care, folks

[ twitter/insta: @marsoids | patreon.com/marsoid | Ride or Die info ]

#art #my art #ROD #ocs #helix #hellbent #i have a nova if that wasnt.. clear by my obsession w them

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deithe · 3 years

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all right now u too let's hear it: were u a lego kid, a dinosaur kid, a car kid, a dolphin kid, a horse kid, or other. answer carefully i am taking notes 🖊🤓🖖

lego!!!! or any of my brothers toys I could steal and make use of in my incredibly detailed fake world that I partially modled off my mother's love of soap operas. i really liked not following the instructions to build anything and instead just creating whatever i felt like at that moment. i was also a big "potions" kid. just mixing shit into a bowl and then freezing it for my dad to find a few hours later. and i was a big horse kid bc my neighbors (at the time) had horses and my favorite movie as a kid was Spirit. the neighbors eventually left the country bc one of their kids committed vehicular manslaughter and they fled, but my love for horse movies and tv shows stayed. also a big mermaid kid bc i loved the ocean and that tv show h20 just add water.

#ask #kit 🧡👀

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chasingshhadows · 5 years

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RNM S01: A Progressive Review

I want to talk about diversity, representation, social issues, and the way Roswell New Mexico succeeds and fails in that particular department. It’s 2019 and we no longer live in a world where it’s acceptable to ignore the societal implications of the media we consume. That said, it’s also 2019, and Roswell is doing some things that place it far ahead of its peers in media in ways that make it an absolute pleasure to watch. Like honestly, I’m fucking thrilled with this show ok.

I’ve read and skimmed a lot of discussion about the ways in which RNM has failed to be this perfect paragon of progressive representation, and I’ve read/skimmed far less discussion – by both fans and TPTB – about the ways in which the show is trying to be better than its forebears.

However, there seems to be a wide divide between people recognizing the former and people recognizing the latter, and I very much believe it’s irresponsible to try to focus on either one without at least acknowledging the other. So I’m going to talk about those failures and successes, and I’m gonna zig-zag that line so that if you want to read about how I feel about one of those things, you’re gonna have to at least skim the other.

[read more]

I tried to be as concise as possible, but even so, this is rather long, mostly because I didn’t want to make several posts about this. I want to say what I have to say on the topic and then get back to the story because that’s really why I’m here.

Also to note: I understand – and I hope we all understand – that we are in the first season of this show. This means that they should have plenty of time to follow through on or fix many of the issues I will point out, but that also leaves room for them to torpedo many of the positives I’ll discuss. Just – please know that I know we’re only one season in, and anything could happen.

On lived race

This show does a fabulous job exploring how race intersects with these characters’ lives and how it plays an active role in shaping not only who they are, but how their story lines play out. With Liz & Arturo, their race – and immigration status – are openly discussed on screen and inform their decisions and how they present themselves to others, as well as how they are received by their town. This is, in fact, a major aspect of the first season arc/plot as a whole, not just as it pertains to Arturo & Liz (and Rosa), but as it pertains to all the characters, so it’s worth emphasizing.

With Maria, we see her discuss her race as a factor in her isolation from her hometown, as well as seeing how she owns it in the face of racist customers. With Kyle, we see his compassion as a fellow child of immigrants in treating Arturo off the books, and with his mother, we see her perspective on that situation based on her own experiences as a Hispanic immigrant. And with Mimi, we see, tho tangentially, how the intersection of her race and gender and the stereotyping around those have had a negative impact on her healthcare. Even what little we saw of Arizona was washed in her experiences as a Native woman, and her (rightful) disdain for white people.

On the other side of that coin, we have white characters, namely the three alien siblings, whose White Privilege plays an active role in their actions and how they conduct themselves. I know some people have frustrations that these three main characters were all cast as white, but I’ll be honest, after having seen 1.06 (Smells Like Teen Spirit), I would not have bought that any of these characters were a POC. Can you imagine a Black or Hispanic teen being thoughtless enough to frame a WOC – who also happens to be the daughter of a known undocumented immigrant – for the drug-induced vehicular manslaughter of two white girls and not expect the entire town to then turn on that family? Even as a teen, no POC would be race-blind enough to not have had that forethought. It would not be believable, without an immense amount of heavy lifting in the backstory, for a POC to have framed Rosa instead of either of the white women, to have made the decision to put her in the driver’s seat over the other two.

And in this way, the show also does an amazing job in showcasing how good, liberal white people can still be thoughtless where it concerns race. Especially at 17. The White Privilege of the alien siblings, and their lack of awareness of it, serves as a major negative driver of the show’s plot and is the root cause of much of the conflict throughout the first season. That’s real, that’s believable, and that’s important to show.

This, all of this, is vital in portraying accurate, true-to-life representations of how marginalized racial communities interact with each other and white populations, and also gives those communities characters they can point to that not only look like them, but also share their experiences – experiences which are unique to POC and also give white viewers a clearer picture of what it’s truly like to live in this country as a person of color.

On meaningful racial representation

I feel rather let down that the show didn’t follow through on Alex’s heritage in any of the meaningful ways that they did with the other POC on the show (see previous section). All of those characters had clear and explicit aspects of their narrative which centered their race as an part of their story – again, rightfully, as that is how it’s lived IRL. We got to see them express and experience their race as more than just the color of their skin. We didn’t get that with Alex. (or with Noah, but he’s a whole other story)

It’s particularly disappointing considering that Alex is the only POC on the show who passes (that we know of, ofc). Many people will be upset at my bringing this up, but it’s true and we should be talking about it. His ability to pass – the ability for anyone to look at him and not know immediately that he is of Native descent – does not in any way negate his POC identity. Not even remotely. Not a little bit, not at all. All it means is that as a POC, Alex has the ability to be spared from certain microaggressions experienced by others in his community. Not all, not even most, but some. But it also means that he is subject to microaggressions that others in his community will never experience – such as someone making disparaging comments about Natives as tho there aren’t any in the room, or by people assuming he’s “basically white” bc he looks white and erasing his heritage entirely. Those are experiences unique to his race that other Natives who don’t “pass” would never experience.

Roswell didn’t follow through on that this season. We saw no indication, other than the casting of his brother as a Native actor (which I was very pleased about, mind you), that Alex Manes is not as white as he appears. Portraying and giving accurate representation to POCs who pass is just as important as giving it to POCs who don’t.

On consent

WOW this show does a marvelous job at portraying how people should approach getting active and explicit consent from those around them. Active consent is so deeply ingrained in the foundation of this show that its absence is used as an indicator to the audience that something is very very wrong - and on more than one occasion. In order to pull that off, the show has had to set an abundantly clear standard for the type of consent that these characters should expect from each other when things are not horribly wrong, and that standard is appropriately high.

Max and Liz are the obvious duo with which this is explored. From the first, when Liz wants to kiss Max outside of the cave, he stops her because he’s concerned that her judgement may be impaired or impacted by the effects of his powers. He refuses to take advantage of that state, making a direct call to the behavior women wish we could expect from men when our own judgement may be impaired. This continues later when she asks to be left alone and he just immediately backs down and away, not pushing or persuading. He treats her word as law, as he should. We see even in his past, as a teenage white boy in 2008, that he consistently asked for Liz’s consent to even be in her presence.

We see it between Michael and Alex in very different but still very present ways. A lot of Michael and Alex’s communication is silent and, as such, so are their consent check-ins. Before their first kiss, you see Michael checking in with Alex, watching Alex’s body language as he approaches and making sure Alex is receptive before he goes for the kiss – and Alex is, clearly. Michael asks what Alex wants and Alex says that doesn’t matter while stepping toward Michael. Michael stops and looks at Alex and Alex continues to move closer, looking back and forth from Michael’s eyes to his lips. This type of silent communication and consent checks continues throughout the rest of the season, from the scene at the drive-in to the teenage scenes and on.

We also see clear attempts at getting explicit consent between Liz & Kyle, between Cam & Max, and even when Michael was guarding Maria at the gala (I can go get Liz if you want me to leave) and later when he approaches her following the events of 1.13.

This has honestly been so fucking cool to see like this, on a CW show especially, to see how easy and essential it is to get that consent in all situations. It’s an important representation that we don’t see laid out clearly enough in media today and I’m so fucking proud of Roswell for doing it so effectively.

On disability & erasure

This show started to do something that was really incredible in portraying one of the main characters as an amputee. We see his crutch, we see the way he moves with it, we see how he struggles with it, and we see how he is determined to life his life as an amputee, and not just despite it.

There was certainly plenty of room to improve in even that regard - specifically where it concerns coaching on exactly how a recent amputee might move their body and center their weight and whatnot, even, or maybe especially, if that person were trying to hide their struggle. But it’s clear that the show was trying to represent a type of character we don’t get to see often.

But then Alex loses the crutch. Rather suddenly and very cold turkey. This is not an accurate representation of how someone with a recent loss of limb would experience their recovery, no matter how much that person may want to hide it. Recovery takes time, it takes practice, and it includes bad days. We didn’t see any of that.

It's particularly frustrating considering the show gave themselves the perfect opportunity to do this transition far better and didn't take advantage of it. There was a six-week time jump between episodes 8 & 9. Had we seen Alex try to go without his crutch when he confronted Liz in ep 7, and then have to return to using it after the long day out, and again in episode 8 with his father - wouldn't it have been so amazing to see him collapse in his chair after Jesse leaves and rub his leg because he's been ignoring the pain all day in an attempt to intimidate his father? And then we could see him moving more independently after that six-week jump.

The show dropped the ball there, in my opinion. In a big way. That beautiful representation was given and then promptly taken away. And then the show set itself up perfectly to explore how the invisibility of disability can be experienced, and has not followed through on that at all. Quite literally the last indication at all that we get of Alex's amputation is Michael commenting on his having lost the crutch in episode 9.

One of the harsh truths of disability is that no matter how much one might try to ignore and hide that aspect of who they are, it will always be there and it will make itself known. It might be invisible to others, but Alex will experience it anyway, will be affected by it anyway. He may be able to do anything that anyone else can do, but he’s gonna have to work ten times harder at it. We should have gotten to see that.

This same problem of erasing disability happens with Michael’s hand in the last episode. Michael’s scars, what they prevented him from doing, how they affected his work - all of that was so important to see, and then he gets the unconsensual healing power of magic and suddenly he gets his happy place back. And as happy as I was as a Michael!Stan to see him find that, this sends a bad message, that people with disabilities just need to be “fixed” to be happy. And as I mentioned above and in other posts, it is wildly apparent that Max healing Michael’s hand without his consent is meant to be an indicator that Max is Very Not Okay and is a prelude to him literally going so mad with power that he kills himself to resurrect Rosa. That noted, from a representation standpoint, I wish another mechanism had been used to show that.

On unapologetic politicism

Roswell makes it absolutely clear where it stands on the political spectrum and who this show is for. This show exists in the post-2016 election, post-#MeToo era and it embraces that culture and does not shy away from being political, on everything from race, sexuality and misogyny to immigration status, gun control, and even research science. It uses context and even hero dialogue to make the audience aware of what is right and what is wrong on these topics, and it does so without ambiguity or nuance.

It (appropriately) paints ICE as the enemy of good, hardworking people in literally the first scene of the show. Liz starts ranting about being stopped because she’s Latina and I just did a little dance inside because Yaassss, these are my people. And the show doesn’t let up there - the shadow of ICE hangs over Arturo’s - and by extension, Liz’s - head the entire season in a way that makes the audience uncomfortable and angry on his behalf.

The show consistently, from multiple characters both in law enforcement and not, refers to undocumented immigrants, the homeless, and prostitutes as “the most vulnerable members” of society, and not as a scourge or a menace to that society. These are good, worthy people deserving of protection and justice. The show paints anyone who views differently as firmly In The Wrong, from the disgusting Wyatt Long to the self-righteous Sheriff Valenti.

The dialogue calls out everything from subtle racism in police descriptions to building a wall to #AllLivesMatter to fake news to the terrifying ease of buying a gun to homophobia to the president himself - it does not hold back and it does not leave room for excuses or sympathy on the part of the more conservative characters.

Most of the dialogue on the show that wasn’t explicitly Alien-centric feels very organic in the ways that it makes offhand quips about immigration and racism and sexism and everything in between - that’s the way I and my friends speak and converse. That stuff just filters into our conversations about really anything because it’s always at the forefront of our minds. We call those things out when we see them and talk about idiots like they’re not sitting right in front of us (“I think that’s Hank speak for ‘he wasn’t white.’”) There aren’t a lot of shows that nail that so perfectly and the only one that’s coming to mind at the moment is Dear White People, which was the first I saw to pull this off so well.

This is media that doesn’t try to paint a picture of “there are good people on both sides.” This media isn’t playing middle ground, or trying to please everyone. It’s making a statement in these choices and it doesn’t shy away from pissing off toxic people - this media isn’t for them. Most popular successful media (*cough* MCU *cough*) achieves that status by very carefully toeing the line between left and right, by using subtext to attract progressive viewers while keeping the explicit storyline clean and moderate. Roswell doesn’t do that - its progressivism is explicit and unmissable, as it should be. And that makes it, truly, an absolute joy to watch.

On Maria’s arc

Maria DeLuca did not start this season as an extension of Michael’s - or anyone’s - storyline, and I’m incredibly frustrated that, narratively, that’s how she ended it. That’s easily my biggest disappointment regarding the season as a whole, exaggerated by the fact that Maria is a black woman and because of that, her storyline carries more weight than many of the others. This post does a good job of discussing why POC rep matters more, and while it focuses on race-bending (which this show has also done with Maria, in a positive way), I think it still makes the point that Any POC Rep will just always hit harder, good or bad.

When that Rep is good, it’s fantastic. When it’s bad, it’s terrible.

And for most of this season, it was hitting very very good well. Maria throughout most of the season was this fierce, beautiful firecracker of personality and suppressed issues. She had a history and a deep well of issues both pre- and post- the loss of one of her closest friends, followed by the physical separation from her other two best friends. She’s got an amazing relationship with a mother who is slowly losing grip and slipping away from her. Those things, how they shaped her, and how they expressed themselves made her relatable, tangible, and easy to love.

That was actually one of my favorite parts about her hooking up with Michael, that these were main characters seeking comfort and distraction in one another, rather than just with throwaway characters. Maria is her own person with her own story that we had already seen explored as an independent arc from any of the other main characters

However, that arc never quite got the same attention as Kyle’s or Alex’s and certainly not as much as Liz or the Pod Squad. A lot of that likely has to do with her ignorance of the alien presence in the town (which appears to be coming to a close, but I won’t speculate on that) and that makes sense, narratively. As she couldn’t be actively involved in pushing the alien mystery plot forward, there was only so much the show could do with her, and I think they did take advantage of what little wiggle room they had there.

That said, given that she’s the only black woman on the main cast, it’s very disappointing that she rounds out the season by being drugged, possessed, and either talking about, pushing away, or engaging with Michael. My own perspective on this show may revolve around Michael, but that doesn’t mean I think our black woman should share that fate narratively.

And I’ll note that characterization-wise, I understood the ways Maria’s thoughts and actions could become consumed and fixated on a love interest. Oh, holy wow, have I Been There. But allowing that - and essentially, only that, narratively for Maria at the end of the season, as the only MC black woman on the show - is a disservice to her character and the community she represents. Which is not to say that I take issue with how Michael and Maria come together at the end, either from a narrative or a character development standpoint; what I take issue with is that that is all we get of her in the later episodes. Maria deserved more, and so did we.

On fighting for WOC

One of my favorite things about this show is how the characters on this show again and again come to bat for the two main WOC, despite that both of them are portrayed as absolutely capable of fighting for themselves. Both Liz Ortecho and Maria DeLuca are shown to be strong, multifaceted, beautiful (neither because of nor in spite of their race - just beautiful, end of story), desirable, and worth fighting for - and unapologetically and undeniably women of color.

Our “main hero” Max makes it absolutely clear that he will Throw Down for Liz Ortecho. He risks his own life and the lives of his siblings to save her, and nearly torpedos those relationships entirely on her behalf. He loves her absolutely, flaws and all. And he acknowledges those flaws - he doesn’t put her on a pedestal or pretend she’s perfect - she doesn’t need to be for him to love and respect her.

We see Alex and Michael and Liz all show up for Maria at different points in the story, fighting on her behalf, defending her, and making the statement that Maria is precious and should be protected. More than that, through Michael’s eyes, we stand in awe of Maria DeLuca - she is a standout, she is impressive, she is powerful, and she is her own savior, every time. And through all of that, she is beautiful and desirable and absolutely worthy of being the center of attention.

These storylines and characterizations are unfortunately still incredibly rare for women of color in modern media. Women of color rarely get to be these fully fleshed out characters with their own backstory and own motivations, and even more rarely do we get to see them be viewed by others as special and valued. Roswell isn’t sidelining its WOC or centering their storylines around white men (my comments above re Maria’s last couple episodes notwithstanding). And that’s amazing and should be celebrated.

On aesthetics

No matter how important something is to the plot or how in-character it would be, the sociological aesthetics of media are still relevant. Plot-wise, the roundabout Wyatt leading to Maria leading to Noah was an interesting mechanism, and it makes sense, character-wise for Cam and then Isobel to suspect Maria’s involvement. And it makes sense, character-wise, for Liz to then defend Maria against those suspicions.

But - aesthetics matter. And watching a scene in which two white blonde women accuse a WOC of horrible crimes at another WOC is immensely uncomfortable and very tone-deaf. That wasn’t fun or engaging to watch, I don’t feel drawn into the mystery of it all in that moment, I feel pretty grossed out, actually. Because this show has set a standard for itself of being better than that, and in that scene, it failed its own test.

On bisexual representation

This one I’ve already talked about at length and having finished out the season, my feelings haven’t changed. This show does a damn fine job showing us a bisexual character living out his life, his pain, and his unhealthy but entirely relatable coping mechanisms. They don’t try to portray him as perfect because he’s not and he shouldn’t have to be for us to respect and love him.

On bi-baiting

I’ll admit to being disappointed that Isobel’s feelings for Rosa turned out to be artificial and driven by the man living her in mind. It took the whole situation from amazing bi rep to aggressively heterosexual. Not only was our queer woman not actually queer, but all of those feelings and attraction toward another woman were actually driven by a really toxic man that was actively violating Isobel to pursue that attraction.

Once again, the show started to give us something really fucking amazing - two bisexual main characters - and then appeared to take that away. We’ve been given no indication that Isobel’s attraction to Rosa was anything more than Noah in her head or that she herself is anything other than Very Straight.

This doesn’t diminish the amazing bi representation they’ve given us with Michael, but that amazing representation does not excuse or erase our having been baited into falling for another bisexual character only to find out it was all very likely a sham. While there are certainly not enough bisexual men in media, there is also not enough queer women at all. So dangling that in front of the audience before yanking it away is frustrating.

On respecting survivors

*Content Warning: sexual assault*

So I’m going to talk as a survivor for a moment and explain how Holy Shit Muther Fucking Important it was to see another survivor being told that other people’s feelings and needs didn’t matter. What She needed mattered. I was sobbing through that scene because no one has ever told me that. No one ever told me that what I needed trumped other people’s comfort or anger or needs.

But Isobel got to hear that. She got to hear that her brothers’ needs Did Not Matter (and that, particularly, hits hard for me). The only thing that mattered was whatever She needed to get through this, to feel better, and to heal. She got to hear that taking care of herself was the most important thing, that she was allowed to be selfish and think of herself. She didn’t have to put others first, or make sure everyone got what they wanted. What they wanted is nothing compared to what she needs. I needed to hear that just as much as Isobel did.

The show did not shy away in facing just how violently violated Isobel was by her husband - body and mind. It doesn’t brush off what he did as just another evil act by an evil man - this was invasion of Isobel in every possible way by someone she loved and trusted.

And it doesn’t try to artificially portray her as too strong to care, or too weak to handle it. She’s strong, but she’s affected. She’s shattered inside, and she’s handling it. A lot of us know what that’s like in ways people that haven’t experienced it never could. And as someone who finds therapy in being understood, in seeing my experiences in media, this scene was everything I needed.

On villainizing POC

This one has sparked a lot of valid discourse. Media has a really ugly history of telling society who is good and who is bad based on casting choices and always always always making the villains the POC, particularly MOC. It’s unconscious bias leading to more unconscious bias, teaching viewers that we shouldn’t trust POC bc they’re always the bad guy.

It’s a problem and every additional casting choice like this contributes to that problem. No show or movie is immune to it simply because they had a good reason, or even because they wanted to give a POC a job. Studios can give POC jobs by writing roles for them from the beginning, rather than slotting them into damaging stereotypes.

While I do acknowledge that it is unfair and in many ways problematic to deny an actor a role simply because of their race, aesthetics matter. There has to be some forethought in the casting choices regarding the message that choice will send. If the desire is to have more POC characters, then write more POC characters.

And that’s another way in which Roswell doesn’t really succeed with Noah. While there’s at least mention of Noah’s race on the show, he falls into the same category as Alex in that we never see his race expressed or lived. They cast a South Asian actor to play a raceblind role, which means they cast a POC actor to play a white role. POC characters have different stories than white characters - Roswell dropped the ball on giving us that with Noah.

Roswell does a lot right where it concerns race on this show, and it is refreshing that our POC villain is far from the only POC on the show. That said, I was taught something in college that I will never forget: oppression is a moving sidewalk. In order to work against it, you cannot stand still (i.e. casting POC on both sides). You must actively walk the other direction in order to affect change.

Like with the issue of Isobel’s baited bisexuality, giving us amazing representation in one hand doesn’t change that you’re using the other to flick our ear.

On centering queer stories

*hugs myself in delight* This is a big one and is probably the aspect that Roswell gets the most right. Both in impact, screen time, and even in literal scene-splitting, Roswell again and again makes it clear that Michael & Alex’s love story is just as vital and central to this story as Max & Liz’s. They intercut their scenes at numerous points, and characters even within the show compare how similarly their stories have played out. The two relationships experience major milestones on the same day on more than one occasion.

Michael and Alex’s relationship has depth. It has conflict, it has history, it has heartbreak. There is tension and pain and softness and love. It has laughter and safe spaces; it has big gestures and powerful words. These two men who crash together and fly apart but whose whole beings seem to orient toward the other and who, at the end of the day, are willing to let themselves be destroyed for their love.

This queer love story playing out on season 1 of Roswell has more foundation, development, chemistry, and payoff than some of the most romanticised straight couples in media history. It’s been a week since the finale and I’m still just utterly in awe at what we’ve been given here. Roswell is absolutely succeeding in giving us thorough, relatable, meaningful queer representation with Michael and Alex. They are not holding back or sidelining or tokenizing. And they are following through on narrative promises instead of just baiting or relying on subtext. And that’s…. so fucking insanely satisfying to finally get to see.

Ultimately, I’m far more happy with how the show treats its underrepresented identities and modern social issues than I am critical. Most of the content on this show is akin to looking in a mirror and seeing my own worldview reflected back. I am a queer progressive woman and a survivor, so many of these issues are personal for me.

But I’m also white, and my disabilities are not physical. As such, I am not and should not be the authority on some of these issues. I am more than open to feedback from those who feel I was either too harsh, or not harsh enough, where it concerns those issues.

But for now, this is essentially Chasing’s Progressive Review of Roswell New Mexico, Season 1. And now I’m gonna go roll around in meta and fanfic and gifsets for the next several months cuz I sure as hell ain’t done talking about this show.

#roswell new mexico #malex #echo #michael guerin #alex manes #max evans #lix ortecho #maria deluca #noah bracken #isobel evans #kyle valenti #candy #rnm #i just have a lot of feelings #rnm meta #chasing's progressive review of rnm season 1

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