#. and abby (as the model for the character) was great

[varricscrossbowbianca]

tlou season two will probably be just as tragic as the game. i gotta say, the actress of abby from the games seems super cool and all. when i played part 2 though it was hell to play as abby and i never got to sympathize with her in any way 😭

[hatosaur]

i realized that i hadn't said anything here so this is a bit belated but i'm super unhappy with the casting choices of tlou hbo, and just the general direction it's going toward.

in abby's case, it's been well-pointed out at this point her body type is a narrative device, a catalyst for showing just how her dedication and obsession with tracking joel down and killing him. i don't doubt that kaitlyn dever will be working out for this role but i can only imagine she'll end with a sort of lean muscular physique that will hardly illustrate the point of the body type, rather than one that takes fat into consideration. dever is far too small to achieve it, and what's more is, i think it's super unethical to bank on someone working out in order to fit a role. the announcement of the casting came about a month after the trailer for that new kristen stewart movie, the one where she falls for a bodybuilder, came out. there are fully actresses who lift and bodybuilder and have similar body types, and yet their choice leaves us wanting.

dina's case feels a lot more sacrilegious. isabel merced isn't jewish, nor has any of dina's defining features. granted, i'm well-aware that neither cascina caradonna, her face model, nor shannon woodward, her voice actor, are jewish, but i feel like this is what made the casting choice matter all the more. dina's a character whose heritage matters to her character, and there was such a clear chance to have her be portrayed by a jewish actor.

like a lot of people, i think that they chose the more palatable route, considering the massive backlash against both abby's body type and dina's more prominent features, which is both incredibly sad to see but also infuriating. particularly with the issue of neil druckmann's batting for jewish rep under the veil of his allegiance with israel. i obviously can't speak for the feelings of jewish fans but i imagine to pull the rug out from underneath us on a character that he has said is a connection to his jewish like this would be like spit in the face.

the whole thing has just made me disinterested with season 2 of tlou hbo. there are already issues with the games' representation of people of color, and seeing as i could tell there was a small (i cannot stress how miniscule) attempt to "fix it, i'd held out hope prior to this but...no.

IN ALL HONESTY, i'd already been content to not engage with s2. i was skeptical enough from the get-go when it was announced, but truth be told, too many red flags are cropping up. obviously, there's the zionist stuff that i think, right now especially, literally everyone can do without (though i'm sure neil and craig are rubbing their hands together over how the people NEED a great "both sides are bad, completely and totally biased view of the conflict in palestine" story), but even to like pirate is a no-go for me.

all of this to say, since i've already gotten some people asking, you shouldn't expect me to draw or indulge in any of the content from it.

[jyrinestories08]

My only rant about the fnaf movie is the stupid vanessa plot twist

I don’t care if you think “but it’s interesting” NO IT’S NOT INTERESTING

THIS MOVIE FELT LIKE VANESSA IS TAKING OVER MIKE’S PART AND STORY

MIKE SHOULD BE THE ONE WHO FACES WILLIAM, YES THERE ARE SOME SCENE WHERE HE IS FIGHTING HIM BUT VANESSA SOMEHOW TAKES THE SCENE AND MAKE IT HER OWN

I JUST HATE THIS, I HATE THE “VANESSA IS WILLIAM’S DAUGHTER” BECAUSE IT’S SO STUPID INCLUDING THE “IS VANESSA AN AFTON” THEORY BEFORE THIS BECAUSE VANESSA IN THE GAMES DOESN’T NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE PREVIOUS GAMES AND HELP WANTED AND SECURITY BREACH DOESN’T NEED CONNECTION ALSO

“But what about glitchtrap🥺👉👈”

Glitchtrap is not william afton, yes he has the same look but he has a different model and different abilities to springbonnie. And don’t you dare search glitchtrap’s characteristics on google because ALL OF THOSE ARE FAKE, GLITCHTRAP IS A GLITCHY-VIRUS-MIMIC, HE’S NOT A RANDOM CHARACTER WHO IS NOT CANON IN THE FNAF GAMES HE IS JUST A DIFFERENT CHARACTER WITH NO RELATION TO SPRINGTRAP BECAUSE THAT JERK IS DEAD, WE DON’T NEED TO BRING BACK AFTON BECAUSE IF THEY BRING BACK AFTON THEN THE HELP WANTED TO SECURITY BREACH WILL LOOK LIKE HOLLYWOOD SEQUEL BAITING ON HORROR MOVIES WHEN SOME OF THE VILLAINS ARE ALREADY DEAD

AND MIKE BEING WILLIAM’S SON IN THE MOVIE WOULD’VE BEEN SO MUCH MORE BETTER BECAUSE THEY HAVE A STRONG DYNAMIC IN THE GAMES, THE RIVALRY IS INTERESTING AND IT REALY SHOWS THAT MICHAEL IS NOT THE PROBLEM, IT’S WILLIAM. Yes he did killed his brother but it was confirmed that the reason his dynamic with the crying child and yes he did accidentally killed him but it shows that mike has so much regret about his brothers death and then finds out that the animatronics are deadly

But this movie, william somehow knows mike’s name and mike’s brother even though he doesn’t even know him, how the heck did he decided to kidnap a young boy who he doesn’t even know. What the heck is this writing

This movie has so much build up of mike’s connection with William but decided to pick vanessa as the child that it makes william a total nobody to mike, i hate the vanessa plot twist, i hate it that mike is so sidelined by vanessa, i hate this plot twist, i hate it

“Oh but it’s just an AU so it’s not connected to the games”

I hate this stupid excuse because there are some changes that I am fascinated about, it’s the one that Abby is not William’s daughter even though in the games she’s elizabeth afton but it’s interesting to make her not related to william because she got more care about her father in the games and books and she wasn’t get that much mention on fnaf4, well yes it’s just one mention but it made feeling not important before sister location so in this movie we can see how she interacts with her “not really father” but gets more care about her brother mike and that great and that’s the thing that works as an alternative universe to the games but with mike and garret(movie version of the crying child), who has more story and character in the games and William’s story but not being related to him in the movie, it’s just so frustratingly bad because the crying child’s connection with William is so interesting but this movie doesn’t address on why did William kidnap him and killed him in the first place when he doesn’t even know him

And if you people are saying that I am talking trash about Scott cawthon and the blumhouse team, no, I don’t hate them, i respect them, i don’t want to waste a movie who has so much delayed controversies and the good practical effects of the animatronics, and i love the cast’s so much.

I love josh hutcherson as mike

I love elizabeth lail as vanessa

And I of course , i am super loving matthew lillard’s performance as William afton because i really do miss him as stu macher

And I love Scott’s work on the movie but I just don’t know why did he decided a character who is supposed to warn mike about the pizzeria because she had nightmares about it when she was young but somehow makes the child of a killer who has more that just one child

It doesn’t makes vanessa feeling like she was going to be the main character even though she isn’t, it would’ve been better if Vanessa in the movie was a child apprentice of william other than a stupid daughter, because in the games vanessa was just manipulated/controlled by glitchtrap and that could’ve been more better if William was just manipulating vanessa when she was young

And my theory is that I don’t think Vanessa in this movie is related to william because she seems like a child from a different family and then william somehow decided to kidnap and raise her as an apprentice

I’ll make a backstory fanfic of how william became the villain or how does vanessa became an apprentice soon I guess if I can

So yeah that’s my rant and theory about the movie, and don’t put a “oh but for me” because I am so annoyed by those because it made people acting like the original source doesn’t exist or they just ignore everything for no reason, it’s like a toxic friend who understands their victim friend even though they just rolled their eyes and thinking that they understand

But I hope people will understand this because I wanna move on my hatred about the twist when I’m writing this essay but I hope I am now a changed person already after that trauma I had with the twist

See you soon :)

[hottakememes]

"This new 'virtual' community allows women to think of themselves in new ways and, for a moment, outside of household relations where their role and position was subordinate to that of men. The supplemental form of identity provided by the metaphor of the city allows women to develop a sense of themselves in solidarity with a new transhistorical community of women who have shown great qualities and who have done worthy things. This solidarity with an alternative community of virtue offers women a deeper sense of their true capacities and more meaningful models of fulfillment. So Christine adopts the metaphor of the city from Augustine to motivate and encourage women who suffer from the same feelings of despondency as the character Christine at the start of The Book of the City of Ladies [1405]. Since women are invited to identify with this new community, they can find the support and inspiration needed to counteract further misogynist arguments in wider cultural venues—arguments that had undermined their confidence and sense of worth. In addition, and this is a crucial distinction, whereas entry into Augustine's city is in the hands of divine judgment, Christine the author places responsibility for the continued growth and maintenance of her community in the hands of women themselves. Members of the City of Ladies will remain unknown to one another unless women themselves do the work of keeping alive their reputations. In other words, their ultimate destiny as a community lies neither in divine intervention, nor in fate, but rather in the continued acts of virtue and the continued efforts of mutual recognition and remembrance. [...] The building of the City of Ladies is presented to us as an ongoing enterprise—one that can be sustained and strengthened through constant additional acts of virtue and solidarity on women’s part. Christine depicts her city not simply as a community but more specifically as a fortress—one that provides, all at once, deterrence against future attacks, security, healing, and consolation [...]"

(from Sophie Bourgault and Rebecca Kingston, Introduction to The Book of the City of Ladies and Other Writings (Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2018), xxiii–xxiv)

*quote by Gerwig in image taken from Abby Aguirre, "Barbiemania! Margot Robbie Opens Up About the Movie Everyone's Waiting For," Vogue, May 2023, online.

cf. Lady Reason to the character Christine: "But, to return to the creation of the body, woman was made by the Divine Craftsman. And where was she created? In the Earthly Paradise. And from what? Was it a vile material? On the contrary! It was from the noblest material ever created, the body of man, that God made woman." (Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, I.9)

[cffabioblog]

Turning Red Characters visits The Prado Del Rey Studios...

Image ref. (© RTVE AND Google)

Sketchs...

Note: Reference to Prado Del Rey:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prado_de… With Ocation of the premiere of the film, Mei and her friends (Miriam, Abby, Priya and Tyler),visits the most great Animation and Televisión Studios, The Production Centre of Radio, Film, Animation And Televisión, Sigle CPdRCATV) in Prado Del Rey, comunne of Vitacura. Here,in a sketches series, here, at the one of the doors to the Famous "Studio 1, Dir. Narciso IbáñezSerrador",  view yes comes an a famous character or TV Star for disturb.

2.- In front of 4K/8K Mobile Unit, how a panda form. 3.- Miriam advents to Mei for the precense of her mother (Ming, very angry) at inside of The Famous Studio 1. 4.- They in front a famous Maple of the old TV Cadanian Animated Series Carl Squared ofCarl2, front of the entrace of the Studios, or building of Prado Del Rey. The image scaaanp

Various TV Cameras Are Model SONY/PIXAR CC5Plus 8K

Copyrights Prado Del rey© Corporación De Radio Televisión Española, RTVE. All Rights Reserved. Turning Red Characters© Pixar / Domee Shi. All Rights Reserved.

[sarah-sandwich]

aaa i've been dying waiting for lemon boy to be complete so i can read it all at once and i just spent the last day binging it and im!!!!!! there arent even enough words to convey how much i loved it!!!!!! how do you write them so amazingly every time??? (i think i might be going back and re-reading all your other fics this week so like hm expect other asks like this)

also! abbie and morgan!!!!!! theyre my absolute favorites i love them both so much i would go to war for them howwwwww do you write them so welllllll???? i never even looked twice at their characters before finding your works but dude you make them such unforgettable people that i kahsksvsmsvsks dunno how to act anymore

i aspire to one day write so well to invoke the same emotions im feeling rn in other people, youre lowkey my role model (and also my fav blog that im following on here i like every single post you reblog such great taste mmm chefs kiss) <333

This is the sweetest most validating thing I'm 😭😭😭😭😭

I hope you don't mind I had to sit on it for a couple days bc every time I opened it I was overrun by the warmest of fuzzies and needed to go walk them off lmao

I just !!!!! Thank you so much! This is everything 💖🤧

Abbie is so special to me <333 The first time I had to write her I was like,,,,,,and who the hell is this? I just needed Harley to have a sister and didn't really care much beyond wanting them to have a solid but playful relationship. Then I started actually writing her and just 😍 I can't write a Harley fic without her now lmao I feel like she grows a little bigger, a little better defined with every fic I write.

Thank you again! This made my week!

[mi6021miakillackey]

Character Design - what can be said?

As I have my own personal interest in character design and potential desire to work within this field, I want to look deeper into this area of animation/ pre production aspect of film, game and thing making.

I have had some thought on what character designs, concepts and representations convey to a wider audience and how it can be used to shift a perception of a gender, race, culture etc of real people outside of media. One of these I wanted to look upon in this final project was the designs of female characters in juxtaposition to male characters - why there seems to be less range with designs of girls and women than there is with men and boys - for example how small the margin is for what is "acceptable" or "desirable" of a feminine concept of a character, with majority of them having a slim figure and a "pretty face".

The elements that make them seem to fit a very niche, westernised view of what a woman should look, talk, move and behave like - and we have a lot of characters, old and new that support this.

A good example would be Daphne and Velma from the children's television cartoon Scooby Doo - we have Velma, an intelligent, rigid character whose design has embodied her whit as well as a lack of concern with male attention by making her look "less attractive' by giving her freckles, squared man-like glasses, a frumpy sweater that conceals her less defined figure and no makeup.

Then Daphne who we know to have a romantic interest in Fred, a handsome dimwit. Her design is polar opposite to that of Velma's, she is slim and curvaceous, she wears heels and adorns makeup, a stylish vibrant head of curled locks and feminine aspects to her outfit like a headband and classy scarf. This is a deliberate choice of designs and representation for these two women - but also ingrains into viewers what a woman who is smart and self focused looks like, compared to what a woman who is more self centred and concerned with looks and romantic interest looks like.

Then we have a figure like Jessica Rabbit from the movie Who Framed Rodger Rabbit - all of the characters express their disbelief towards her marriage with Rodger, a significantly "less attractive" character than Jessica, depicted as a sultry, sensual woman much like that of Marilyn Monroe - the picture of sexual desire and lust - a teeny waist, long toned legs and small heeled feet, plump red lips, big prominent breasts, low and seductive "bedroom eyes", and a head of luxurious curled red hair. she is an icon of sex within everything she does, and knows it "I'm just drawn that way"

But why is the focus mostly pinned upon the woman figure to uphold these impossible body and beauty standards as well as how they should behind and present themselves?

In the gaming world - the same patten is presented.

Lara Croft has always been another sex symbol used for male satisfaction in the games - with her wildly inappropriate outfits for the life and environments she is placed in and her strangely unscarred skin on a swimsuit model body - it would make sense for her to be more clothed and covered in action and to have a muscular, perhaps less "feminine" body type indicating her great strength.

A character from a much more recent game, 2020, would be Abby Anderson from the game The Last Of Us part 2 - a strong, deeply complex character who while beautiful and feminine in her own way (as all women are) is designed to suit her environment and willingness to survive in the harsh reality in which there is no escape to. This design was rejected and criticised by a lot of fans and players of the game upon release and to this day nearly four years on - majority of these rejections came from male players who found her design "disgusting" and some going as far to call it an abomination.

But here we have two very strong female characters in all aspects of themselves and yet their designs couldn't be more different.

I have looked at a few studies done on this matter that I will be including in my dissertation to support my question and argument, but I want to use this to question if I fall into this category also, am I representing women in a diverse progressive way? what can I change about my approach to designs if not? does there need to be a change? why is it important to show a variety of forms and details within characters?

I decided to do a little sketch of a concept of Cordelia - thinking of more range with body proportions and colour palettes that could work. I will stick with my previous design of her however I think because I like how she looks and her shape/clothing is easier for me to keep consistent I would say.

but I like exploring more designs and coming up with a wider range of ideas for characters. representing different body types and styles really matters to me personally.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "RaynorCosplayBuildUp" on YouTube

This is intense we're going to have a good time they're figuring out that their friends are mutating they might be the spy stuff they get sick and small and is very weird. And it's his doing and having a great time but they're trying to do stuff Brian is a bumb but they have to do stuff for him. This is our son's character and yeah the face mask is not the right one and it's a face mask of his other guy it plays opposite him and for some reason he didn't like the face mask my son loves the face mask and he knows what it means and he changed it no so there's a lot of stuff going on and this is one of them there is a huge response to this activity huge they are making cosplay and they're making the real thing and intensely and BG has been called to each island and he's going back and forth and they're kind of working together and not fighting as much as possible and they're getting ready they have to fight there or they'll be taken over it is a huge effort it is becoming a massive effort globally and his design is everywhere and it's BG and he's requesting people pay him a stipend not too much but they want to pay him enough so he can make stuff otherwise it's foolish so they're doing it and they're asking for prototypes pronto and he's making tons of them it's going on now and it's a huge effort and we have a son to thank for and daughter she does a lot of the work and distorted one just like you see in Queen of blaze and calls out to him sometimes. And he's okay but I'll tell you it's been a lot and he is saying I'm here and I'm okay and I will be it is not that hard and she's tagged along and it wasn't he says I'm trying to make a big deal out of it so we get our troops going nothing else so he says nothing has to get going it's a shark he's going to get some other stuff ready but we need to help here and we need to help them she's being bothered a lot and pastored there's a war on now and he says it's going to be a little rough but I'm going to be here always and I know what happened and you did the right thing sweet for a long time for you to say that again. She says publicly and I guess I did say it differently but what else can we do it's just squeezing your hands and saying it's really my fault but you did a great job and taking the reins and I can't and so have a good time before I get there that's fun I've got all sorts of fun programs I'm going to get going like Barbie and that's terrific and you have to because you always button into mine although they're both out programs and I appreciate it I'm not going to get done so smiling but you're a jerk yeah I'm a man Barbie get Barbie you got to get Barbie Rolls-Royce and we're doing that and she's smiling cuz she gets it and really a Paris Hilton had a one of those cars that's a opposite of Rolls-Royce is a Bentley and I have to get that going too because of Paris Hilton who Barbie was modeled after and we're moving out on that and right now we're going to start to get that going we also have some other questions for Hera, what do you think about all these girls calling and she said that she knows what to do and it's Abby and that's what he said and so he's trying to get this out and so we're going to put it out but she's kind of struggling because they're all doing that and he says that she's going to like it a lot better and she's starting to get that

Frank Castle Hardcastle

I just hear what you're saying and I will get it pretty soon no I'm getting it this is much better and you're right I can see it a lot better than you but boy what a reaction and the cosplay is awesome the parade the Comic-Con and then the side show Statue is intense people want to see you that characters they want to know about it and they want to know when you are right or if you are or when you will be it's intense I'm going to start going on it and I know when it is kind of it's out there quite a ways but they start making the character up and copying it and big people show up and they say it's you and they get injured and it's threatening you and it goes on all over the place finally they say he has to get bigger and it's kind of coinciding with the oxygen and they start saying it's us and we know who it is so we're going to start running this now and you said that's amazing and really cool and I like it too and really you have to inch up on me in a year you only be a foot bigger at one inch of the month so I get that too he is putting a plug in there damn it

Hera

We have a huge number of things to say but when is laughter and you figured it out and she's not supposed to let you know and she didn't you say and we didn't either thinking about it for some reason and it's one of these girls it's the one who's hanging out with the trumps and she is a trumpster and she's like the youngest and she's big huge and the father of 6'3 and you're going wait a minute and all of a sudden he's saying it wasn't me and it looks like it is him but my son doesn't necessarily want to be huge and it's Mac and he's having to do it and her son doesn't care cuz he has to heal and we get that too

Olympus

[matan4il]

I just realized that the mirrored scenes of the camp talk and content ultra dad mode vs the distracted Chris secret conversation both happen with someone from Bucks past coming back. The first being Abby the ladder Connor with a weird request.

It's probably nothing and not meant to mean anything but I find it comical that even when unintended Buddie has a pattern

Also sort of wild that when a perceived love came back, Buck was at peak happiness if you will. That time frame was my favorite for Buddie. He just addressed her with hurt and confused regard IMHO. Even if he was unaware of it at the time he was happy to walk back to his new family.

This time years later, therapy under his belt, and having successfully left a relationship. He is more unhappy then ever and it's because also just IMHO the Buddie relationship never fully righted to their pre Anna model but also didn't continue to the natural dating it would have had Anna not come along. Although without Anna we may never had got an Eddie gay panic attack storyline.

Hi Nonnie! Thank you for this lovely ask! ^u^

I think the interesting thing about unintentional parallels in writing is that they arise from something in the subconscious mind of writers being at work. Meaning that if you have a certain notion about a character/relationship, even if you don't think up a specific parallel intentionally, in order to express the notion, you'll find yourself revisiting similar themes, even similar words and phrases. And that's gonna give rise to parallels that might not be intended, but are still meaningful, precisely because they reveal something about the character/relationship. That's why we all go so mad over parallels, don't we? 'Coz we intuitively feel the repetition points to significance.

Which is to say, yes! There is meaning here as well. Both characters from Buck's past come back to shake him up and make him question where he is in life, what he has and what he wants. In one case, the conversation about Christopher's camp in 318 plays out to demonstrate what Buck has in his life even before he gets to the point of questioning it, but we as viewers can correctly read it 'coz we've seen Abby on the train and we know she's about to run into him. In contrast, in 604 he runs into Connor before Eddie notices his silence in regards to Chris, so Buck being uncharacteristically absent as Christopher's co-parent points to him already questioning some major things about his life.

I personally think that Buddie did go back to how things were before Ana, maybe even closer (see my 601 meta on why I think the kitchen scene there shows that), but I do think the closer they get, the harder it is not to be together. It's like I said in this ask reply, an 'almost' can ache so much more than 'nothing'. The closer they get without acknowledging that their feelings aren't strictly platonic, the harder it's going to get for them. Which I think is a very similar notion to what you were saying? They're caught in the "in between" and there's no harder place to be in, you become more aware of what you miss the closer you are to your destination, being able to sense its proximity, but not being close enough yet to see or touch it. Which is exactly what makes Buck aware enough that he said in 403 already that he's fine, he just wants to be finer. He was on his way, both our boys are on their way, they just took a small detour in the shape of Ana and Taylor (*insert infamous reference to Buddie's talk about construction on Sunset in 408 here*), and sometimes detours are needed when the journey is a complex, challenging one...

I hope you have a great day, lovely! And here is my ask tag! xoxox

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Chicken Little

“Chicken Little” is nostalgic to me, but even I have to admit how tone-deaf it can be at times.

Chicken Little rings the town bell and sends everyone into a panic. When the town confronts him about the mass hysteria he just caused, he says it’s because the sky is falling. While he’s explaining, an acorn falls on his head and the town thinks he misinterpreted the situation. He becomes an outcast and is determined to win everyone back, especially his own father.

Back in elementary school, this was one of my favorite movies to watch during indoor recess. I thought the characters were hilarious, the story was endearing, and the sci-fi visuals were fun. After rewatching it as an adult, I have mixed feelings. While it was fun to go down a nostalgia trip, this movie is more flawed than I realized. For starters, the characters are not that great. Abby thinks she’s the voice of reason, but regurgitates things she read in magazines. She keeps telling Chicken Little to have an open discussion with his father, but doesn’t ever explain what they should talk about. She doesn’t suggest what the underlying problem might be and how to tackle it. Runt has this weird obsession with speaking only in lines from songs and if you don’t know these songs, it just feels jarring. Fish weirdly turns the trio into a group of four, but doesn’t add much to the group dynamic. He’s inserted for comedy, but only for the smallest of children. You could’ve seriously taken the entire character out and the movie would’ve still worked. I think the worst character had to be Buck, Chicken Little’s father. When I was a kid, I felt bad for him because he was under a lot of stress and he had lost his wife. As an adult, I see him as the horrible parent that he truly is. His love is shown time and time again to be conditional. If Chicken Little is winning baseball games, he’s giving him all the affection in the world. When Chicken Little is warning the town about an alien invasion, he doesn’t take his own son’s side. He doesn’t stand up for his own son. He doesn’t try to get the town to empathize. He doesn’t check to see if his son’s doing okay mentally. He tries to distance himself from his own son to save his own tail. I honestly felt bad for Chicken Little. He’s constantly suffering from the town’s gaslighting and bullying and his father is just moping around feeling sorry for ever having a son like him. The story suffers because the characters have the wrong goals and are earnestly pushing the wrong messages. Also, I felt like the entire second act abruptly ended to just start the third act. When they find Kirby, the baby alien, I thought there would be a few scenes of the gang trying to learn about it, where it came from, what it wants, and how to get what it wants. Instead, they kind of just figure it out with a few lines of dialogue during the start of the invasion. Finally, the visuals. They do not hold up. Plain and simple. There are a ton of reused assets and character models. The fur looks uncanny. There were a ton of animation mistakes all over the place. The movie just looks gross today. Oh, and I thought I’d mention this, but the abundance of licensed music didn’t really bother me. Paired with the dated look of the film, it truly feels like a time capsule of the early 2000′s. Still, there were laughs to be had with this film and it’s something that was special to me as a child. There’s a lot of great voice talent and it’s not grating to watch. I don’t really recommend it in this day and age, but it’s definitely worth a rewatch to see how much you and the world have changed.

★★★

Rewatched on November 4th, 2022

[cactusspatz]

Sorting 9-1-1

I thought I'd try my hand at sorting our beloved disaster first responders! For those unfamiliar, you can read about the @sortinghatchats system or take their quiz here. JKR may be transphobic trash but the SHC system is still a great character analysis tool.

Overview (characters presented in alphabetical order because I said so):

Athena Grant - Gryffindor primary/Hufflepuff secondary Bobby Nash - Hufflepuff primary/Hufflepuff secondary Evan 'Buck' Buckley - Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary Chimney Han - Slytherin primary (Hufflepuff model)/Hufflepuff secondary Eddie Diaz - Burned Slytherin/Burned secondary (probably Gryffindor) Hen Wilson - Ravenclaw primary/Ravenclaw secondary Maddie Buckley - Slytherin primary/Slytherin secondary May Grant - Ravenclaw primary/Gryffindor secondary

More analysis under the read more!

Athena Grant - Gryffindor primary/Hufflepuff secondary

Athena is classic Gryffindor, strongly guided by her own internal moral compass. Generally, that's in line with her job as law enforcement, but she has repeatedly broken the rules in pursuit of her own concept of justice. (which is tbh not a great look in a cop in this day and age but I digress) When she has a crisis about going back to work after nearly dying on the job, the key issue is that she doubts her instincts, which is the kind of thing that a Gryffindor would find the most unsettling of any primary.

Her Hufflepuff secondary shines through not only in her blunt honesty, her stubborn and hardworking approach to her job (anyone remember how she traced the gun in Athena Begins? Yeah, like that), but she's a strong community builder - primarily with her family at first, then she joins forces with matching Puff secondary Bobby and they form the anchor point for the 118 found family. She works alone but always with a strong sense of her network of connections, favors, support, and family.

Bobby Nash - Hufflepuff primary/Hufflepuff secondary

Bobby burns hard after causing his family's deaths (and 145 others), but he also unburns fairly quickly when given a new community in the 118 and Athena. I mean, he literally turns away from his suicide plans because he discovers his blood can save countless babies? And can’t stop himself from cooking family dinners even while planning said suicide? This man cannot stop himself from re-attaching to a community - or rather, after choosing to continue in the firefighting community after burning, he cannot stop himself from further unburning and forming connections to the people under his care. Strong Hufflepuff/dad energy.

Bobby's almost textbook Hufflepuff secondary: kind, hardworking, reliable, serving a community. He gives advice, he cooks for everyone, he and fellow Puff secondary Athena host big parties, etc. In S1, he struggles with keeping his past a secret, primarily because he's keenly aware of the unfairness of asking for trust while not fully offering the same, and ultimately tells the truth despite the risks.

Buck - Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary

Ah, the classic protagonist sorting. He looks like a glory hound Gryffindor primary at first meeting, but quickly reveals his deep, driving need for a family/community to belong to. Once he finds that family, he almost blows up his entire life trying to hang onto it, making some very ill-advised and desperate choices. He's immensely compassionate towards anyone in need, loyal (sometimes to the point of blindness, as seen with Abby), and forgives easily as soon as he can see why the other person was driven to hurt him. He might actually be what @wisteria-lodge calls an 'Exploded' primary (though I'm less familiar with the use of that terminology), which in Buck comes out as being self-sacrificing to the point of acting like he's expendable.

Honest, brave, impulsive to the point of recklessness, charges into danger and confronts his problems head-on: definitely a Gryffindor secondary. Buck is also very earnestly inspiring, notably with Abby and Red.

Chimney Han - Slytherin primary (Hufflepuff model)/Hufflepuff secondary

Chimney is a Slytherin primary. I know, I was surprised too! He's a very friendly Slytherin, but when we meet him in his Begins episode, he's struggling. He has a small circle in the Lees but is still deeply wounded by his mother's death and his father's abandonment. He's ambitious, but trying to express that in a way that will impress his businessman father by attempting to start a business (badly); he shifts his ambition to being a hero, to that feeling of being useful and valued for it. (this may be some Hufflepuff modeling around his inner circle, since the Lees seem very Hufflepuff to me, especially Kevin.) When Kevin dies, Chimney feels responsible and distances himself from the Lees; he retreats to his Hufflepuff model, returning to the community (however toxic) of the firehouse with a 'where else am I going to go' shrug. His circle stays pretty small, reconnecting to the Lees and expanding to the current 118 team plus Maddie and Jee-Yun and Albert. He's gone through some rough times and fears losing his hard-won people, and because of that, he reacts very badly when he feels that Buck has betrayed him but not sharing Maddie's location after she runs away.

Chimney is a Hufflepuff secondary. He gets multiple hard-working training montages in his Begins ep; his solution to the culdesac fire in Broken is 'call a friend from my network of people that my hard work has built into a community'; he's the kind of person who watches a video for ten hours and drives cross-country on a hunch to search for Maddie. His apartment is absolutely drowning in food when he has his rebar accident, brought by his community, who trust and rely on him. He's quick on his feet but it stems from his experience and study - Hen's the one who will try a field thoracotomy, while he's horrified at the idea. He's mostly a fairly honest person, but when he lies - to the girl in the bar in his flashback ep, to Tatiana about his daring firefighter adventures, to Maddie during lockdown - it's coming from a Hufflepuff place of believing the lie: 'yes, I could be that guy, so it's not really lying'.

Eddie Diaz - Burned Slytherin/Burned secondary (probably Gryffindor)

Oof, poor Eddie. He's a mess. Eddie is a Slytherin primary who's burned so hard he kicked himself out of his own inner circle. His self-worth is in the gutter. Everything he does is for Christopher. His inner circle was his family, I think, but he's been deeply wounded by his parents telling him he's dragging Chris down, by them repeatedly trying to take Chris away, by Shannon's abandonment of them and double rejection of Eddie specifically, by his own perceived abandonment of Shannon and Chris when he enlists. He struggles with trusting people, and even more with trusting himself. He's starting to unburn by making the 118 his new inner circle - in S3 he's furious over what he sees as Buck's betrayal and abandonment during the lawsuit, for example, and explicitly calls them the family he chose - but he still prioritizes Chris above all and especially above over his own ambitions and desires, as we see with Shannon and Ana and in 5x10.

He looks a bit like a Hufflepuff, with his choices in jobs and his desire for camaraderie, but I think that's a combination of modeling and a side-effect of kicking himself out of his own circle: his lack of self-regard makes him resemble the martyrdom of an exploded Hufflepuff. However, his motivation for joining the army and then the LAFD don't feel driven by that burned Puff 'I want to care about everyone but I can't', but more from practicality and taking care of his family. He clearly has a big heart and cares about his work, but whenever there's a conflict between that and Chris, he choses Chris without guilt. A lot of his strongest moments of empathy come from seeing Chris in the person he's trying to rescue, versus Buck's bleeding heart over every person in need or pain that he meets. Hufflepuff Buck says "I love kids", and Slytherin Eddie says "I love *this* one."

Eddie's secondary is also definitely burned. He doesn't really seem to take joy or pride in any particular method or approach, and he speaks about not feeling happy in his therapy sessions. He's exhausted. @inmyriadbits suggested that Eddie favors a Ravenclaw model: he does best in situations that he's trained for or experienced with, namely dangerous ones (look how terrifyingly calm he is in the ambulance with an escaped convict), and worst in situations where his Gryffindor honesty is called for but it conflicts with his Chris First motivation, like breaking up with Ana. But he's also a skilled improviser (Spiderman moment!) and a hard worker (three jobs!), and great when being honest is what's *good* for Chris (like telling Buck not to get himself killed because he might be Chris's legal guardian if Eddie dies; note that Eddie wasn't honest with Buck about that until he felt it was endangered, because in his mind being honest doesn't usually go well for him). He's whatever he needs to be.

I suspect he was a Gryffindor secondary who burned early in his life, given how emotionally repressed he is and how that seems to stem from his parents. He explicitly believes that Chris should stay honest and emotionally open, *unlike him*, and his main complaint about Buck's reckless Gryffindor secondary is not that it's the wrong way -- unlike Bobby and Hen's clear disdain for Buck never planning anything -- but that he's not considering the people he leaves behind when he risks himself. (Both Eddie's anger during the lawsuit and his 4x14 speech about Buck not being expendable come from a very Slytherin-Gryffindor place of 'sure, charging is fine but not at the expense of your people'.) He has a panic attack not about any of his many traumas, but at the realization that he's living a lie with Ana and their relationship, playing at being a family when she's clearly not even in his inner circle.

Eddie's also not without his own charge-y moments in extremity: rescuing everyone after the helicopter crash in Afghanistan by literally and repeatedly charging out into gunfire; his Spiderman moment in 2x14; cutting his line in 3x16. He also chooses jobs which allow him to charge, in the Army and the LAFD.

Hen Wilson - Ravenclaw primary/Ravenclaw secondary

Hen was difficult to sort, probably because she has a Ravenclaw primary that resembles a Hufflepuff: she clearly values community and people and her motivation and job choices are crafted towards helping them, but ultimately it's not in the instinctual way that Hufflepuffs Buck and Chim do. This is not a bad thing - in fact, for a paramedic and someone who wants to be a surgeon, it's an incredibly valuable thing to be able to have a little distance, to be able to triage and decide for the greater good - but she struggles with how to align her chosen values with her path in life. She decided on this system after her gunshot injury as a teenager, but we see her struggle to find her way, redirect, and reshape her purpose around that core motivation multiple times on her arc in the show.

Hen is a Ravenclaw secondary. A builder and not an improvisor, she becomes extremely knowledgeable at any task she devotes herself to, from pharmaceuticals to paramedic and firefighter training to medical school. Her Eureka moment for deciding to be a paramedic is her delight at "I just knew exactly what to do and I did it" when saving her life coach, bringing her primary and secondary into harmony. She's maybe got a Hufflepuff secondary model as well - her identity as a black lesbian means she has to work harder and be more persistent than anyone else in the room to win her place - but she's not a community builder like Athena or Chimney.

Maddie Buckley - Slytherin primary/Slytherin secondary

(Ooh, this really makes me want some Maddie & Eddie action in 5B, because who better to give Maddie some advice about feeling like you've failed your child and run away but coming back and working hard to be a good parent than fellow Slytherin Eddie? But I digress.)

Maddie is a big-hearted Slytherin primary like Eddie, choosing nursing and then 911 dispatch as careers, but ultimately her personal loyalties rule her life. When she's struggling with PPD, she leaves her job in favor of her family, and then when she feels like she's hurting them, she leaves her family. (I don't think she's fully burned, since she promised Buck to return, but she's definitely a little crispy.) With Doug, he manipulates this devotion by isolating her, with the intention of being her whole emotional world - but Maddie manages to escape thanks to the lifeline of Buck and his postcards. When she is forced to kill Doug in self-defense, the part that she struggles with the most is that she killed someone she used to love, which feels to me like a very Slytherin crisis point.

Maddie is also a Slytherin secondary. She adapts to her situation and environment, improvises well in stressful situations, and uses her skills at manipulation and persuasion to keep people calm and save lives at her job. She spends a lot of time in her neutral state with people she trusts like Buck and Chimney, which comes out as comfortable teasing and blunt honesty, but she's also a skilled actress. That helped her survive Doug during her marriage and her kidnapping, but also led her into that terrible arc where she tried to help Tara with abusive husband by pretending to be her friend. And of course we all remember how she easily and shamelessly conned her way into Buck's shower, right?

*laughs* Wow, I was not expecting this sorting for Maddie, but it's a nice example of how this classic villain/trickster sorting can show up in completely different and heroic ways.

May Grant - Ravenclaw primary/Gryffindor secondary

May's still pretty baby and thus hard to pin down so I wasn't going to sort her at first, but it didn't seem fair to sort all the other first responders and not her. I'm guessing Ravenclaw primary for her - like Hen, May starts out trying to figure out what she wants in the world, what her values are. She values truth and seeks it out in her own way: bluntly telling Athena that she and Michael need to stop pretending their marriage is fine, writing her college essay even though it might hurt her mother, seeking out firsthand experience as a first responder and wanting to figure it out herself, agreeing to meet Laila and listen to her apology.

I picked Gryffindor as May's secondary because she values honesty and speaks her mind bluntly. The bullying that led to her suicide attempt damaged her confidence badly, but she still charges when she gets her feet under her. (Honestly, her secondary may have exacerbated the bullying - I imagine a Gryffindor would struggle in a toxic high school social environment, unwilling to compromise their integrity in favor of fitting in.) She's surprisingly prone to inspiring speeches - most memorably when she is helping Vicky (the woman with the car accident neck injury in 3x02), but also when she gets the suicide call in S5. She inspires an army of neighbors to save the boy on the respirator during the blackout. Awww, I'm so proud, she's gonna grow up so powerful - just like her mom but in her own way.

I had a few thoughts on other characters - Taylor Kelly is a Ravenclaw/Slytherin for sure; I think Albert is an immature Gryffindor/Slytherin; Harry is a Slytherin primary based on his attitude during the earthquake and accusing Athena of putting her job before family after his kidnapping - but I decided eight characters was plenty. Let me know what you think!

[agentnico]

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) Review

This new film warns of the dangers of tech consumption yet it appears on a streaming service that’s entire business model is based upon screen addiction with their endless binge worthy content. As they say the irony is most definitely present!

Plot: A quirky, dysfunctional family's road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity's unlikeliest last hope.

A new animated film produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller who are yet to make a miss, having made a career out of taking familiar formulas and turning them upside down on their heads, whether it be 21 Jump Street that took the idea of the original TV show and gave it more energy and modernistic humour, to The Lego Movie that took the excuse of squeezing more money out of a popular children’s brand and actually made a well made movie and then there is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which basically went and created its own animation style inspired by graphic novels. These guys have a very original voice in Hollywood and they prove it time and time again. Their new Netflix animated venture The Mitchells vs. The Machines is no exception. 

I watched this film with my girlfriend and the most recent animated feature we watched together was Soul, which was one of my favourite films last year for its emotional heft and good hearted message, and I am not at all sorry to embarrass her and report that my girlfriend balled her eyes out at that movie. Well wouldn’t you know the same thing happened here with The Mitchells vs The Machines. And honestly it caught me off guard, as this movie is really funny and has that fast paced high-energy load of constant jokes being thrown at you right from the get-go similarly to The Lego Movie that when the dramatic scenes do strike they surprise you and so one moment I’m chuckling away and the next I’m staring at my girlfriend who’s eyes have turned into Niagara Falls. Would have taken me nothing to get a canoe and go down that stream whacking her cheeks with my paddles! However her tears were well founded as behind the comedy and the central plot revolving around this alien invasion is a tale about a father and his daughter and them reconnecting and it reminded my girlfriend of her with her dad but even in itself this is a plot point that many audiences can connect with and this element is handled super well in the film. Also helps that the voice actors for these two characters - Danny McBride and Abbi Jacobson - share great chemistry, or do I call it VOCAL chemistry?... Is that a thing? Can I say that? Do I make sense or am I a fool? The likelihood is the latter, but I digress. Nevertheless with this emotional thread I bet Disney is gutted they didn’t acquire the rights to this movie as it would have fit perfectly in their Pixar catalogue. 

Typical to other Phil Lord and Chris Miller produced animated projects, the animation in this film looks super unique. The blend of CGI with 2D motion drawings scribbled over many shots make it look as if the lead character Katie, a tech-heavy arts college student is literally doodling on each frame, just like with filters and captions that appear on our phone screens in real life. Overall the film is directed really well and the comedic timing is spot on with so many highlight sequences, whether its the goofy short films that Katie makes from documenting her family’s disastrous road trip that includes traffic jam road rage and a seven hour mule tour gone wrong where we unfortunately lose the unsung hero that is Prancer to the canyon, to then the weirdly intense scene where the classic childrens toys Furbies are turned into monsters that act like gremlins, or Olivia Colman’s villainous Siri-type phone AI passive-aggressively being furious and cranky in her evil robot lair that looks like it was designed by Pink Floyd or Daft Punk. There’s so much attention to detail packed into this film and a lot of it is just random additions that are added for the sake of fun, and the entire thing reminded me of the new co-op video game that me and my girlfriend have been playing recently called It Takes Two��(which I highly recommend!!) which to be honest shares a lot in common with the spirit of this film. It’s all so CONNECTED!! Honestly the only reason I referenced It Takes Two is cause me and my girlfriend have been enjoying it immensely and I needed to find a pointless excuse to share some non-paid unnecessary advertising for this game.

The Mitchells vs The Machines is an exciting and hilarious family adventure that has something for everyone, and to be honest is a welcome treat for our current pandemic times. I loike it a lot, it’s noice! 

Overall score: 8/10

[lizbethborden]

“A League of Their Own is one of the first American-made shows… where the women just look like women with a normal range of bodies and facial features” so true. i was watching this with a friend, also a lesbian, and during the group scene we were like why is everyone being so hot rn 👀 ? and then we realized it was because they all had bodies like women we date irl and women who would actually play baseball and not models in costumes lol. like yeah they’re still beautiful hollywood actresses but it’s great casting. also the acting really elevated the show because on the whole i felt like it was kind of basic and with the swearing and gayness taken out, it could’ve been a regular nbc/fox network show instead of a ‘prestige’ streaming show? like i agree with you about the editing, it was kinda messy at times and the dialogue was sometimes juvenile but maybe that’s mean lol. i still had a good gay time though.

I agree sm! Re: dialogue, style etc: I think that tonally the show is a bit mixed up. It has moments where it tries to get Generic Sitcom Humor across and it falls flat because although there’s funny moments imo it’s really not a comedy, and tbh that very modern style of awkward humor doesn’t jive with the period setting. It also doesn’t work side by side with the very serious cinematography/editing that’s done with some of the shows big scenes, e.g. the big games. I think that’s part of why it feels like a generic NBC show vs. a “prestige” show—that humor is common absolutely everywhere now and it’s dollar store stuff.

Re the acting: honestly Chanté Adams needs awards for this show tbh like… the layers of subtlety and sensitivity… I’m going to be honest and say the only person I feel falls a little flat is Abbi Jacobson, but that could be my mental hangover from knowing her from Broad City. I do also think Carson suffers a bit from Relatable Character Syndrome in that she lacks in defining qualities because we’re supposed to identify with her.

[spaceorphan18]

Dawson's Diatribe

It's hard to know where to even start with this. But, those of you who've been around forever, know that I'm incapable of not expressing my feelings on whatever media I've so recently consumed.

And it's been an interesting endeavor going back to a show that was must see TV when I was the same age as the characters. I did remember a lot about myself and how I felt as a kid. And how those feelings change as an adult. I recognized myself very much in those characters, which is probably why the show resonated with me so much then, for better or for worse.

But more than that is understanding better how story telling works. And being able to understand why a thing probably happened - even if it was frustrating. Anyway...

Season 1:

Has a different tone than any of the other seasons. It's simpler, and feels far older than its setting of the late 90s. It almost has an earlier 90s feel to it - perhaps probably because creator Kevin Williamson was drawing on his own time as a teen.

I understand Dawson a lot - in that I was a kid who loved to live in a little fantasy land, especially when dealing with real people and their flaws. However -- I've never noticed just how terrible Dawson is at the beginning. His pushing to 'possess' Jen as this perfect love object is really kind of grossed and has aged really badly.

I related to Joey a LOT as a kid - as a girl who didn't fit in to what was acceptable for being a girl at the time. Plus, I think that kind of unrequited love Joey feels (or thinks she feels) is very universal.

However - Joey has a LOT of anger that she never really deals with.

Jen is a character whom I didn't understand at ALL as a kid. But now I feel bad for her. She's a really sweet person who has been through a lot of crap, and the show is going to consistently villainize her for it.

It's unfortunate that so much space is spent with Joey and Jen competing over Dawson. He's really not worth it, despite the show repeatedly trying to tell us that he is, and both girls could really use some good friends.

Then there's Pacey... who spends the first half of the season in a very bad story line that has to do with an affair with a teacher. It was hard to watch then, it's even cringier now -- especially when you see that they're trying to make this a love story you want to root for.

Joey and Pacey have some great witty banter in Season 1, and you can tell that the actors have a ton of chemistry - more so than Joey ever has with Dawson.

Season 2:

Was much better than I expected it to be - though, and I feel this with all of the remaining seasons, there are times when the 22 episode model feels too long and that they're biding their time to get to where they want to go.

Here's where I go off about Joey and Dawson, and how their love story does not work for me. The two of them are wrapped up in these idealized and romanticized versions of each other, and they can never really accept each other for the flawed people that they are. It's understandable in high school - and the show seems to get that, but the problem is that the show keeps trying to tell us this relationship is the epitome of all relationships when in fact the both of them are stunted -- never able to move forward because of this "soul mate bond" that they share. It's incredibly dysfunctional, and while it's more or less fine in Season 2, it becomes more and more tedious as the years go by.

Meanwhile, Jen goes on a huge downward spiral -- as you'd expect the 'bad girl' would. It does go on a bit too long - and Abby Morgan grates on my ever last nerve, but I do feel much sadder for Jen then I used to. While I'm glad she comes out better - it's unfortunate that the character keeps getting penalized for not being a pure girl like Joey.

Pacey becomes the romantic, lovable loser Pacey that we all learn to love. When I was younger - I really loved Pacey and Andie's relationship. I don't necessarily have any problems with it here - but I just have a hard time with Andie in general. And more so that the actress (I guess in an attempt to seem much younger than she is?) is incredibly irritating.

I'm a little conflicted about Andie's (and her mom's) mental health story. It's nice that they tried to present the story of mental health issues, but I think more research should have been done. It's ill-defined, and after this season, they either make jokes about it or kind of ignore anyone's mental health all together.

And then there's Jack... who was a huge deal at the time. I can't even explain how big of a deal it was to have a gay teen come out the way he did. I wish, though, and I kinda feel this way about Jack in general, that there had been better writing all around it. Granted - I'm sure they were limited by what they could do. But Jack being gay feels out of nowhere, and his coming out to his dad is so incredibly melodramatic.

There's also a lot of time spent on Jack and Joey - both as a couple, then Jack as Joey's friend and it... ultimately goes nowhere. Jack and Joey end up spending nearly zero time together in future seasons, and more so, Jack ends up feeling like a completely different character.

Season 3

IS STILL THE BEST SEASON

Creator Kevin Williamson left the show after Season 2, and it does show - the writing isn't as sharp or as verbose as it once was. but that's not necessarily the worst thing. One thing this season has for it that pretty much all the other ones lack -- is the fact that most of the characters are in a good place a majority of the time. There's still teen angst about everywhere, but there's a hopeful optimism in it that doesn't really show up anywhere else in the show.

That doesn't mean there aren't some not great things here. I mean - what the fuck was Eve? We'll never know, and it's okay.

Oh, and they completely throw Andie under the bus to break up the Andie/Pacey story line. It's a bit harsh, and despite me not being a huge fan of the character, feels like a bit much to prop up another story (even if I like that other story.)

Jen has a season long fling with a freshman named Henry. He's kinda creepy, and you can tell he was cast because he sorta looks like Leo Dicaprio's drugged out little brother. It's not great - but also not the worst thing the show does, or puts Jen through.

Jack meets another gay dude - and has the first m/m kiss on prime time tv. Go Jack.

However, all of Jack's romantic life stories are always so awkward and somewhat clumsily handled.

But the pillar of this season (and the show) is the slow burn enemies to love story that is Pacey and Joey. It's a thing of beauty. It's a lot of emotion and love and the most any two people on this show (outside of maybe Jen and her grandmother) actually care for each other. It will always be my favorite thing on the show and, in some ways, the only thing that's truly watchable because it's the only thing that feels (to me) fully satisfying to watch.

Dawson is the actual villain in the story - which is kind of weird. But the last fourth of the season is the love triangle stuff ramped up, and man, Dawson is played as the villain. Crazy crying memes aside - I think one of the problems going forward is that they never really come back from that.

Season 4

I think 2/3rds of this season is pretty solid work, and then it just takes a nosedive at the end.

The Pacey/Joey love story is great until its not. I kind of hate everything about how they handle Joey having sex for the first time (though it's better than the original plan of them breaking up because she was saving herself for Dawson - gross). It's clear that they were always pushing for a Dawson/Joey endgame, but it really underminded the fact that Pacey and Joey grew together in a very organic way, that they really loved and supported each other, and looked like they enjoyed each other in big and subtle ways.

The show spends so much time telling us that Dawson and Joey have this epic 'thing' of a relationship. But you don't see it that much, and I feel like you don't really buy it after Season 2 was pretty clear that they don't work with each other. So the fact that the season ends with them making out again is just... bleh.

Meanwhile... Dawson has a crisis of faith about filmmaking, and it's not that bad of a story. Nor is the story about him meeting an old filmmaker or dating Pacey's sister (whom we never see after this season again). In fact - this might be the most tolerable he is throughout the whole show.

Jen goes on a mini spiral after Andie leaves the show, but then gets therapy, and it's nice.

Jack... dives into gay culture and gets a boyfriend.

I noticed two things around this time. 1. there's always some asshole douchebag that we have to endure every season. 2. no one's relationship is allowed to last longer than a year. I mean, I get its a teen drama - but still, it's like everyone on the show is incapable of having a functioning relationship. Even the adults! Oy.

Season 5

Back in Season 3, the very ending had Pacey and Joey sailing off to the sunset. Up until that time, everyone lived in the present. After that, as much as they tried to move on and forward in Season 4, the rest of the series is plagued with living in the past. Season 5 (and 6) are tedious. Because the show has no direction. They aren't sure what to do with the characters, and when they're not trapsing off in some terrible individual stories, they're forced to relive the same arguments they've been having since the early seasons. Which makes it feel incredibly stale.

The beginning of the season isn't /that/ bad, but it is pretty boring. But the second half descends into mindless dribble as the writing seems to struggle with moving the characters in any kind of interesting direction. The other issue is that you can tell that there's probably network involvement in places, that the writers just don't know what to do, and that the actors seem apathetic to everything they're doing. There's no real emotion in anything that happens in season 5, and the show is spinning its wheels at its best.

This is where the show seems to be stuck on Dawson and Joey but never wants to do anything about it. Like Ross and Rachel from Friends - they're trotted out at the beginning and the ends of seasons, and for a few episodes during sweeps week to ramble on the same lines they've said before to each other, but nothing ever progresses cause the show doesn't want them to progress. Because if it did... ?? I don't know why they were afraid to actually go there but they refused to actual let Dawson and Joey fully grow as people by letting go of their idealized versions of each other.

They kind of forget that Pacey and Joey were a thing at one time (which I can go on a for a long time about) but at least the two of them aren't subjected to be the tortured star cross lovers that Dawson and Joey are meant to be. And at least when Pacey and Joey have a rare scene together - there's a comfortableness there that's just lacking in any other of Joey's pairings.

Jen and Dawson try again for around two - which... I don't think is a bad thing? Dawson finally loses his virginity (which is not made a big deal at all) but it's like the show doesn't really care all that much about the couple, and there's no emotion for when they end things. It's so weird.

Oh - and Dawson's dad dies at the beginning of the season. Which is played out a bit, but you can feel how the full purpose of killing of a major character on the show is done so that Dawson can have a reason to be back from LA. It just feels awkward, and starts the season off with a dark cloud over it.

Chad Michael Murray is around for the entire season - which almost feels like a network mandate because he's a terrible person and yet he still ends up dating both Joey and Jen. I can see why this dude is going to star in his own teen show some day. But eesh, he's the worst.

Joey gets a roommate named Audrey. I used to hate Audrey. I don't hate her as much - Busy Phillips is fine. Audrey dates Pacey, which is fine, but not nearly as satisfying as either Joey or Andie.

Oh, and speaking of Pacey - he spends the entire season working as a chef and living on a boat. And this is the better of his post-high school storylines.

Oh, and Jack joins a frat and is the most annoyingly douchebag guy on the show. I hate it.

Oh, oh, and Joey tries to date her teacher for a hot second. Because apparently they just had to do that story line again...

Season 6

Season 6 is a step up from Season 5, but not by much. It helps that the second half, when they know they're coming to an end, they're able to wrap up in a decent way. But... one of the issues I have with these last two seasons is that not only do we waste a lot of time on story lines that ultimately don't let the characters grow nothing feels satisfying. The characters don't act like emotional beings. Things happen to them and then... nothing. No one really reacts and the characters stay put in the same spot.

Joey and Dawson finally sleep together! (Aacckk - If I start talking about women and sex on this show my ranting will not stop) And then nothing happens and it's terrible. :P

Dawson spends most of his time away from the main cast shooting a movie. The director he's working for is kind of hilarious. But his relationship with one of the actresses is kind of bland and boring.

Joey spends a majority of the season trying to date Luke Perry wannabe Eddie and babysitting her teacher's daughter (which is at least better than Joey almost hooking up with her prof so...) But Eddie. god. I just can't with the dude.

We get the return of Joey and Pacey for a hot second! It's a shame they want the girl picks herself ending for it to last, but they at least get some nice moments.

I'm not against Joey picking herself, and most of the time I appreciate the narrative, but my god after everything that's happened on the show it almost feels disingenuous to the fans not to have her end up with someone (which is why the finale happened the way it did)

Jen gets to date the dude from supernatural, while Jack tries to date a teacher. My god why? Why are they trying this again?? Thank god it doesn't last, and Jack gets a bf for a little while? At least he's not as much of a douche this season.

Jack and Pacey move in with a British woman named Emma. There's a spark of entertainment with that.

And Pacey becomes a stock broker -- in a story line that's ripped right out of Wolf of Wall Street. And another time where I'm just like... why? Why is this happening on my screen. Oy.

Series Finale:

The last few episodes of Season 6 kind of function as a wrap up of Season 6 and the college years -- and it's kind of a nice homage the beginning of the show, and the most the show has been interesting in ages.

The series finale jumps ahead five years, and while I really do like it -- I almost wish we had more time to really wrap up these characters, because the jump kind of makes it a clean slate. Ah well.

The finale does two nice things that I think feels missing from the previous two seasons -- the fact that the show takes place in Capeside, and lets the characters all interact with each other.

Spoiler alert - Jen dies. Now, okay, it is frustrating on a level that the 'bad girl' always gets punished. And I hear that, and agree. But at the same time - this was Michelle Williams's request. And I think, despite the reason for her death is a little silly, they did really well with the actual execution of it - especially her last moments when Gran sees her pass.

I would have liked to see Jen as a mother, though. I think it would have fit her character really nicely, though.

Jen is very soft and sweet here at the end, and it's unfortunate that the show never really lets her be happy, because she is a good character. It always feels like wasted potential when it comes to Jen.

Jack, meanwhile, is now teaching back in Capeside - which is great! And in a relationship with Pacey's brother Doug - which is... okay. It's fine. But I feel like you can tell the two actors feel awkward about having to play this gay romance and it somewhat shows.

Joey's an editor in NYC and Pacey's a chef in Capeside, and the two of them end up together -- which... just makes more sense. It does. Whatever.

And Dawson is working on the TV show of his life. There are a few clunky moments -- where people tell him just because he's a writer he gets to rewrite his life his own way (eesh) and a weird dream sequence where he and Joey get married (it's so weird) but ultimately - I'm happy the trio end up happy and at peace with each other. And finally able to move forward with their lives.

And... that's it. I have a lot more thoughts, but I think I'm tapped out for tonight. It's been an interesting experience, but I doubt I'll be angling for a rewatch any time soon.

Season 3, however, will forever remain one of my favorite love stories of all time.

[thepermanentrainpress]

THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH EDEN SUMMER GILMORE

The film scene in the Lower Mainland has never been brighter. Rising talent, including Burnaby’s own Eden Summer Gilmore, have begun to make a name for themselves, with a multitude of key roles over the past five years. Gilmore is currently starring as Sofia Bianchi in Global’s Family Law, a drama that follows “a group of flawed family members who reluctantly work together at their father’s law firm in downtown Vancouver.” Her on-screen mother is Jewel Staite, who as recovering alcoholic and lawyer Abigail, must find a way to balance (and repair!) her own career and family life. 

Growing up, who were some artists you looked up to? What specific films, series or characters did you watch and feel inspired by?

Growing up I was really inspired by artists such as Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, Amy Adams, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. They are all such strong women that really showed me at a young age I can do and be whatever I set my mind to. I was (and still am) obsessed with the Harry Potter series. I remember growing up and watching Hermione, Emma Watson’s character, and feeling inspired to be me. She never let what anyone said dictate her and always stood up for herself. I also loved the film, Enchanted with Amy Adams. I actually used to call it “princess in the hole” since Amy Adams' character comes up from a sewer grate. She also really inspired me to be myself and to see all her talents in this film was so much fun to watch and definitely inspiring. Enchanted brought together all my favourite elements of Disney Princesses, musicals, singing, dancing, fantasy, it was my favourite growing up and I can’t wait for the sequel.

As I got older and started watching the tv show Friends - Jennifer Aniston really showed me the power I have as a woman. Also, Gilmore Girls and the relationship with Lorelei and Rory was fascinating to watch. One of my favourite shows! And of course Reese Witherspoon, she is also a huge inspiration. She has portrayed such amazing strong women in her films that I find awe-inspiring. Her production company Hello Sunshine is also a huge inspiration to me and a platform for female led productions.

Were your family and friends supportive of your decision to pursue a career in the arts?

Yes, they were very supportive. My mom actually works in the industry behind the camera and she was the one who thought I might enjoy acting, which I very much did. My parents and my grandparents were the ones who always would drive me to my auditions or take me to set. I am very grateful to have my family's support. My friends are also very supportive. I am very lucky and grateful to have friends that I can share these milestones with.

A defining role in your young career was starring in It’s Christmas, Eve opposite LeAnn Rimes. What did you take away from working on that project, and with LeAnn?

That was such an amazing project to do. LeAnn is so incredibly kind, I loved getting to work with her. Since this was my first lead role and I was on set almost every day, what I really took away was observing the actions of others, cast and crew on set & behind the scenes. I learnt so much about professionalism, kindness, tone and how to set healthy boundaries for yourself. Kindness can go such a long way and a positive attitude can really change the tone of a set.

LeAnn taught me so much about spreading kindness and acting professional on a set. She really is such a role model and created such a positive energy on the set. Same with Tyler Hynes (who played Liam, my dad in the show) I learnt a lot from him too, he is so lovely.

You star as Sofia Bianchi in Global’s Family Law. What have you enjoyed about portraying Sofia so far, and do you have similarities with her?

I love playing Sofia, she is awesome. There are so many things I enjoy about portraying her. We are both teenagers so there is a lot I can relate to her with. She has made me feel not alone in some of the experiences we both have gone through. I am sure many teenagers watching the show will be able to relate to her as well, I am really grateful to be able to tell her story. She is very witty and smart so it’s really fun portraying that side of her too! Her short jabs to her mom are really fun to play with. She also has a really vulnerable side to her that we see more of throughout the series. It’s really fun exploring those deep emotions and opening her up throughout the series. We definitely have similarities. As mentioned we are both teenagers so I can relate a lot to the emotions she is feeling. We both are very caring people (though Sofia doesn’t show it as often) and we both aren’t afraid to stand up for ourselves or the people we love.

Tell me about your time on-set, and working with your on-screen family – Jewel Staite (Abigail), Luke Camilleri (Frank) and Brenden Sunderland (Nico)? What are a couple of your favourite memories?

I love my on-screen family, they are all so amazing! Working with them is so great and they are all kind and generous. I love sharing scenes with them. We talked a lot about food on set, favourite desserts or recipes. Jewel and Genelle [Williams] would often buy Honey Donuts whenever we were shooting in Deep Cove which is so incredibly nice of them. Honey’s Donuts were a favourite on set. Brendon was always telling us interesting facts or stories (much like Nico’s character), he’s really sweet. I learnt so much from Luke and Jewel about acting and the industry. I really enjoy our talks in the greenroom and on set. I am really grateful to be able to work alongside them, they are both incredibly lovely! Jewel and I also tend to have a lot in common fashion wise and interests in general.

What is it like working and interacting with legendary actors like Victor Garber and Lauren Holly?

Amazing! Victor and Lauren are both so incredibly kind. I was already huge fans of them before getting on the show so getting to work with them really is a dream come true. Lauren is so kind, funny, and so talented. I have learnt so much from her on set. Same with Victor, I have learnt so much from him too. They bring such a positive and warm energy to set. I am grateful to work with them. It’s still surreal to me that they are my tv grandparents.

A large part of Sofia’s storyline is her fractured relationship with her mother. Did you and Jewel talk about your characters ahead of time, and how their relationship will evolve during the course of Season 1?

Yes, definitely. We would sometimes rehearse lines or talk about the scene between takes. Or sometimes when getting a new script we would talk about Abby and Sofia’s relationship that episode. Lots of it just came on the day when we would film the scene. Playing off of each other or seeing what other layers we could bring in.

You handmade friendship bracelets as a Season 1 wrap gift, which is so sweet and creative! How’d you come up with the idea?

Yes! I already made bracelets in my free time, while watching a show or just as something to do. It was a little hobby of mine. I love having little mementos to remember events and thought the bracelets would be a great idea to remember season 1! Something we could all share and remember how special and fun filming season 1 was. I think they were a great hit with everyone.

Family Law is very much a family drama, but also has crime and comedy mixed in. For those who haven’t yet tuned in, how would you pitch the show to potential viewers?

I would pitch it as a dramedy that follows the story of Abigail Bianchi, a recovering alcoholic and lawyer slowly trying to put her life and family back together while also helping other families do the same. She’s forced to work with her estranged father and two half siblings she has never met while at the same time trying to patch things up with her husband and kids. The dysfunctional family at the law office is always helping other dysfunctional families and learning things along the way. Each character is so real and rooted with so much truth. Each person watching will be able to find themselves in the characters and the stories being told. You will laugh, you will cry, and learn that in the end we are all human.

Congratulations on the Season 2 renewal! You wrapped the second season in late August, while the first season has just premiered! Was it exciting to return to set, knowing you’d have an opportunity to further Sofia’s development?

Thank you so much! Yes, it was very exciting! I had gotten to know Sofia so much in season 1 that in season 2 I just got to dig so much deeper! I got to explore other sides of her and show the audience more of who Sofia is and her relationships.

You can also be seen as young Nancy Drew in the CW’s Nancy Drew. To play such an iconic character, what has that meant to you?

It meant a lot to me. I grew up reading the Nancy Drew books. Nancy Drew was another role model to me growing up, there was always a deep connection I had with her. So to be able to bring that to the screen means so much. I find myself so much in Nancy’s character and am really grateful to be able to be a part of her story. It also meant a lot to me because I know other young girls who look up to Nancy’s character and I hope they learn from her that they are powerful and can do whatever they set their mind to. I am really grateful that I was able to play Young Nancy Drew and it will forever hold such a special place in my heart.

You’ve also gotten to work with an older Nancy, lead actor Kennedy McMann. How special has it been to have her support and guidance?

Yes, she is amazing. It’s been so special to have her support and guidance. She is a large role model to me as well. She always looked out for me on set and I am really grateful for that. I learnt so much from her as well. She is a phenomenal actor so to work alongside her has been truly a blessing and she is so incredibly kind!

You’ve worked on numerous projects, including web series and independent short films (many being female-led). What do you enjoy about being a part of the vibrant B.C. film industry?

Yes! I love being a part of the B.C. film industry and working a lot on independent shorts because there is just so much joy, passion, and creativity. It’s amazing working with people who have a passion for storytelling, it’s therapeutic in a way and gives the storyteller an opportunity to tell their story their way. Working with such passionate people also allows my creative energy to flow and allows me to let so much go. I am also really grateful to have worked on so many female-led projects. Especially being young in the industry working with so many females has taught me about the power I have as a woman. But also it’s so important that female writers, directors, etc. are getting opportunities and their stories told.

How has it inspired you to pursue writing and directing in the future, and have you been able to shadow/ask questions on these projects?

It really inspired me. It showed me that I really can do whatever I set my mind to. It also showed me how much writing/directing our own stories can inspire so many other people. I was definitely able to ask questions on these projects and it’s inspiring to watch their passions come to life. 

The Directors/Writers/Storytellers on these independent projects, such as Andy Alvarez, Veronica Kurz, Meeshelle Neal, Leah Beaudry, Annette Reilly and Heather Perluzzo really taught me a lot and they welcomed my questions and curiosity. I honestly can’t wait to write and direct my own independent short in the very near future

Is there a dream role or character you would like to play in the future? If not character, are there any specific film/TV genres or franchises you would like to be in?

I would love to do a comedy or horror film. I really love those genres and haven’t explored them on screen as much. I would also love to do a period piece. The 70s or 80s would be awesome. I love exploring pop culture and trends of different time periods.

For other young actors like yourself, do you have any advice for how to be confident in front of the camera? What (or who) has helped you prepare for roles and work on your lines?

Totally. My main advice would be to have fun and trust yourself. Whenever we do anything our main goal should be joy. Of course preparing and such is important but joy should be our number one goal. Once we are working out of a place of fun, truth, and joy when we get to the camera we can trust ourselves and have that confidence. That also comes with working on mindset and mindfulness in our everyday lives. And also remember to be yourself! My acting coach and mentor Beatrice King really helped me prepare for roles. She taught me to make sure I am working from a place of joy and continues to inspire me. I also train year round by attending acting classes and private coaching, which I think is definitely an asset in growing your craft and confidence.

You also have a passion for music! How did this interest come about, and how long have you been singing and playing the guitar?

Singing really was always a part of my life but I formally started taking lessons about 4 years ago. I love singing, it’s such a beautiful form of expression. When I am having trouble expressing something through words I can turn to a song to help me release. I started playing the guitar during quarantine. I had played the ukulele for a few years and wanted to try something new and ended up loving it.

You performed “You and Me and Christmas” with LeAnn (Rimes) in your holiday film. You even joined LeAnn for a live performance that December! Tell us about that experience, what do you remember from that concert?

It was amazing. It was my first time singing live at a concert. The movie means so much to me so getting to share that experience with LeAnn on stage was wonderful. I remember being quite nervous, but LeAnn gave me some advice before going on stage. Singing live on the stage was truly magical, I will never forget the adrenaline and pure joy it was. I am really grateful to have that experience, especially with LeAnn.

As a poetry writer, are you writing your own music? If so, what can you share about your lyrics and what has inspired you?

I do love writing poetry, it’s such a beautiful form of expression. I have dabbled in songwriting but never have gone too deep into it. It’s definitely something I want to explore further.

We know Queen is your favourite band, but who are some other artists we can find on your playlist?

Yes! I love Queen, I grew up listening to a lot of 80s music so I think that’s one of the reasons I love Queen. I mean - Freddie Mercury is pretty awesome. On my playlist you will find artists such as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and other 70s or 80s artists such as Abba, Billy Joel, Elton John, etc.

Your family has a wonderful pup, Finn, adopted from Fur Angels. What are some activities you enjoy doing with him? How would you encourage people to ‘adopt not shop’?

Finn loves swimming so often in the summer I love taking him to lakes to swim or in winter when it snows I love throwing snowballs for him. Like most dogs he loves belly rubs, walks or playing fetch. I always encourage people to look into adopting. There are lots of dogs who need forever homes and love. Lots of dogs in shelters who don’t get adopted sadly don’t end up making it. Finn is a rescue pup and I am really happy we were able to be his forever home.

What are some of your favourite places to visit or eat at in Vancouver?

Some favourite places to eat in Vancouver (which has been mostly take-out this past year and a half) are Agra Tandoori, Ragazzi Pizza, Neverland Tea Salon, Big Star Sandwich, or Casa Gelato! Highly recommend those places. I love to visit Lynn Valley for a nice hike. Downtown Vancouver is always fun. I also love Deep Cove and Granville Island.

Our signature question – if you could be any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?

Love this question! If I could be any ice cream flavour it would be Raspberry Cheesecake. It’s one of my fav ice creams. It’s sweet with a tiny bit of tartness and combines the richness and softness of cream cheese, the sweetness of a raspberry, the nutty flavour and gritty texture of graham crackers to make a lovely combination that is both complicated, intriguing and delicious at the same time.

Thank you to Eden for taking the time to answer our questions about your projects and passions! Be sure to follow Eden on Twitter and Instagram for updates on her life and blossoming career! 

Family Law airs Fridays at 9 PM on Global TV. 

Photo credit (header and sixth image) to: Noah Asanias Special thanks to: M Public Relations

[skribbz]

i know im sending u tons of these but ELLIE

Oh boy here we go

First impression

I actually didn’t know anything about TLoU before I played it except for it being a zombie game. Since zombies have always been a super special interest for me, I had to play it. So actually playing it was like being smacked in the face with emotions. 

But I didn’t even know about the existence of Ellie, so my first time seeing her was when Joel meets her. I thought she seemed cool, but a little abrasive. She did make me laugh though. 

Impression now

Oh god where do I even start. 

I’m not even exaggerating when I say Ellie helped me become who I am today. I related to her in so many ways. Not just in the way she's so nerdy, but also in how she treats others. She was just a kid who was let down by the world around her, yet she still wants to do what she thinks is best for everyone. She's sentimental, holding onto keepsakes from the people she's lost. She can have a bad attitude sometimes, but is just a complete sweetheart. She goes through so much, and even when Joel gives her the option to just go back home, she decides to keep going. 

Ellie came into my life when I needed a role model. The way she had gone through so much, but didn't let it break her soul, the way she always found a way to "endure and survive", meant so much to me at the time, and even now. She also helped me accept the fact that I wasn't straight. Seeing a character who I already admired so much, kissing another girl made me just break down crying. 

When they said that Ellie was going to be the main character of the second game, I cried again. I think the second game just really expands on the reasons I loved her in the first one. She still tries to do what she thinks is best. It's not always the right thing, and sometimes it's very much the wrong thing. But she has so much guilt over Joel, yet still loves him so much she's willing to do whatever it takes to give him the justice she thinks she deserves, even if she knows it's not at all what he would want her to do. (There's so much more to her thoughts and actions in the sequel of course, but I feel like this is one of the most important ones.) It's just like the first game where she's willing to go to any ends to do what she thinks is right, no matter how much it may hurt her in the process. 

I think in the end she has realized that her life means more than just being the cure. Her life matters just because she’s alive, is loved, and loves others, and that message means a lot to me, and I’m sure to many others, too. 

I think Ellie is such a wonderful character, and one of the most well written characters I've ever seen in any media. She really changed my life, and because of that she is my favorite character ever. 

Favorite moment

HOW am I supposed to choose just one. 

Does the entire winter section count? It shows much she loves Joel, and how strong she has become by that point, and how determined she is to survive. She sees just how truly awful some people in the world can be, and despite it she still wants to do whatever she can for the cure.

It’s our first look into what would become a major theme of the second game. While David’s town is an enemy to Joel and Ellie, and we as players hate them, they were doing what they thought was best to survive. Cannibalism isn’t right by our standards, but that’s because we haven’t been pushed to that point. But would we be willing to turn to it if we were pushed that far? Is it more acceptable to kill innocent people to feed a whole community that’s depending on you, or is it more acceptable to just let all of those innocent lives that are depending on you die?

I think we can all agree on one thing though. David is a piece of shit and deserved to be chopped up into teeny pieces. 

Idea for a story

I have many ideas. But I'll go with where I think her story can go from here, AKA my TLoU3 idea. 

The story starts 12 or so years later. Putting JJ around 13. Dina, Ellie and Abby 32-33. Lev around 25. Tommy and Maria probably late 50s-early 60s

Ellie is back in Jackson. She works her ass off doing whatever manual labor she can because all she wants to do is just work herself into exhaustion. She's dealt with her trauma and she’s in a better place mentally now. Now her reasons for shutting everything out is that she’s too scared to try and really reconnect. She wants companionship but is afraid of the pain of losing it all again.

The exception is when she has JJ. He is still the light of her life. She takes him hunting and camping and plays video games with him and they geek out over comics. She has taught him to draw. She wants to teach him guitar like she promised, but hasn’t been able to yet. 

The only time she sets foot outside of Jackson is with JJ.

Dina is of course doing something that uses her skills. Maybe the lead electrician at the dam. They've kept JJ very innocent. Obviously he knows of the infected, and has seen his moms kill them before, but he doesn’t know just how bad it really is, he’s never seen another human die.

Her and Ellie are amicable. They are happy to be co parenting jj but there's nothing between them (for now). 

Maria holds a lot of guilt. Over sending Joel and Tommy out that day, over not giving Ellie and Dina help in Seattle, which got Jesse killed, over letting Tommy get as bad as he did after Seattle. She blames herself for the way Ellie is. She tries to spend time with Ellie, but Ellie is very elusive when she wants to be. She adores JJ though. That's her little great nephew. His auntie is the leader of the whole town and he uses that to his advantage every chance he gets. And she lets him.

Tommy has a little guilt. He doesn’t know Abby is alive, Ellie only ever told him she “finished things” and didn’t talk to him much after that. But he sees how she is a complete mess and lost her fingers. He knows that guitar was special for Ellie, plus any kind of disability is a huge disadvantage in their world. Dina doesn’t let JJ near him. JJ doesn't understand why and no one will tell him

Tommy and Maria never worked out their differences and have stayed separated, partly because of their guilt toward what happened with Ellie. They cared about her like she was their own and they both let her down

Jackson is now huge. They’ve made contact with other settlements, and have trade routes. But Maria is getting older and the town is getting too much for her to run on her own. Tommy is getting up there in age as well, and despite his injuries he still does patrols. But alone. He’s not actively trying to get killed, but he isn’t always as careful as he knows he should be. 

Story starts out and you're playing as Tommy on patrol. He gets ambushed by a small group of people. And lo and behold Abby (and Lev) is there. Tommy is shocked when he finds out who it is, and he asks if she came to finish the job she started. She says no they tracked him since he left the town and were waiting to get him alone because she has news for him. The fireflies have rebuilt stronger than ever and now they’re back out for the cure and are coming for Ellie, because she is the only known source, but also as a form of revenge for what Joel did all those years ago, destroying what the Fireflies once were. They were able to get there first because they only brought a few people and set out before the main squad. Tommy asks why he should believe her, and she says that Ellie saved her life years ago and it's the least she could do to pay her back. (just like. Assume that there was enough info stored with the fireflies that Abby could work out who Ellie is). To keep Tommy from attacking or following him, they knock him out and untie him then leave. 

Control switches back to Ellie who is doing her chores around town. You get to nail fences, chop wood, and carry hay bales. Fun. Later that night, as Ellie is getting home, standing on her porch, Tommy rolls up and confronts Ellie about Abby being alive. They get into a huge fight and Ellie tells Tommy that he fucked up her life. It's his fault she lost Dina. His fault she only gets to see jj when Dina allows it, his fault Jesse was killed. And its his fucking fault Joel died.

He storms off. But then Ellie notices J standing on the street coming to stay the night. She had forgotten this was her night with him. He’d been told his whole life that moms had a peaceful break up, and that dad and grandpa Joel died being heroes, but now he’s upset about what he's heard so he runs back home to Dina. 

That night Ellie is woken up by fighting in Jackson. She runs out to try and find what's going on. All she can get is that fireflies are attacking. She eventually finds out that some travelers shot Maria and a fight broke out. Ellie fights through the town to Maria. She's injured with a gunshot in the arm, but alive still and kicking some ass. She tells Ellie that fireflies came asking for her, and would leave peacefully in return. She told them no and they shot her. Maria says she’ll be okay and tells Ellie to go find JJ and get him to safety. 

She fights through to the other side of town. Because of the commotion, infected have broken in so there’s humans and infected running around killing. She gets to Jesse's house and JJ is hysterical, Dina is holding him down and he's like screaming and crying. His grandpa fought off a firefly who was trying to get in their home and was shot and killed. It hits Ellie that this is all her fault. People are dying because of her again. Anyway she tells dina and robin that they need to leave. Dina says she's not going anywhere without Ellie. Ellie wants to stay and fight, but JJ is more important right now. So the 4 of them sneak out and near the gates they meet up with Tommy. He’s helping get people out and sending them to one of the patrol lookouts that is secure and can fit everyone. 

Ellie sends Dina, Robin and JJ off. Ellie gives JJ Joel's revolver and tells him to keep mom and grandma safe for her. She goes back to Tommy and the two get back to Maria. When they are very close to her, an infected ambushes them and Tommy gets bit. They get to Maria who is losing blood fast and doesn't look well. After a lot of arguing from Ellie, the pair decide to stay. They tell Ellie they’re old now. Maria wont last long with her wounds, and tommy has no chance of surviving his. They apologize to Ellie for the way things turned out and how much she has meant to them all these years. They give her all their ammo except for one bullet in each of their guns, because that's all they need now. Ellie begs them to come along, and she’ll figure something out for them. But they eventually convince her to go. Ellie leaves crying, and Maria and Tommy maybe get a cute moment before cutting back to Ellie. 

Ellie makes it back to where the survivors are and is depressed that there's way less than she was expecting. JJ has cried himself to sleep and Dina notices Ellie is acting strange and pulls her away to ask her. Ellie tells her what happened and Dina holds her while she cries. It's the first time anyone has really been physically affectionate with her in a long time so Ellie clings to her as she lets it all out

The last survivors decide that Jackson isn’t safe. It's too damaged, filled with infected, and no one can figure out what the fireflies were doing. Ellie can't bring herself to say anything about it. 

The next morning, everyone wakes up and is discussing what to do. JJ is still inconsolable. Ellie decides to take him away from the group to get some fresh air. She tells him to hold on to Joel's revolver. They chat and JJ asks what happened to auntie Maria and Tommy. She decides to be honest with him. She expects him to cry, but is shocked to see him become angry instead. He basically swears revenge for them and for his grandfather. This of course stirs up a lot of very negative thoughts in Ellie, but she decides to let him grieve in his own way for now. 

That’s everything I have written out in detail for now. But the main idea would be Ellie becoming a leader to the few remaining survivors as they make contact with the other settlements that Jackson is allied with. She would take responsibility for all of these lives. They would be her reason for fighting now. 

Over the course of the game, Abby would come back and her and Ellie would be forced to team up. There’s no more animosity between the two though, they’re both over it and don’t want to go back down that road. Over the course of the story they would come to understand each other’s actions. They wouldn’t become friends, but they can at least rely on each other. 

JJ would find out that Abby is the person responsible for Joel and Jesse’s death, and she came from the group that killed his grandfather, Tommy and Maria. He’d go into a rage and try to attack her and Ellie would have to hold him back. He wants to know why Ellie is defending the person who hurt everyone they loved. Ellie would have to finally tell him the whole story, and try to keep him from giving into his anger and sadness like she did in the second game. She won’t let her son become like her. She wants him to stay her innocent baby boy, but she knows that’s just not possible in their world. 

Other stuff that I have yet to flesh out:

More about Dina’s backstory. Or at least her last name. 

Lev being a big brother to JJ.

Dina and Ellie falling in love all over again as Dina sees Ellie doing so much for the rest of the community. It’s gonna be emotional.

Ellie teaching JJ how to play guitar, and tearfully singing Future Days to him.

Unpopular opinion

I’m not sure of what people’s opinions on her are. I know most people love her and anyone who doesn’t isn’t entitled to an opinion. 

I guess one is I’m not a fan of her farm hairstyle. Her Seattle look was just so cute. Why did you do that to your head, girl. 

Favorite relationship

Dina of course.

I feel like Dina represented what Ellie could have if she wasn’t stuck in the past. Joel represented her violent past, and her traumas. Dina represented her future, her home, her family. Ellie was so stuck in the past, that she couldn’t see the future standing literally right in front of her. 

It’s a great representation of how she holds onto the people she loves, but also how PTSD works. The past keeps coming back to haunt her. 

Favorite headcanon

I hc her as autistic! I kinda feel bad because everyone else hcs her as having ADHD. But I’m autistic so I say she is too *sunglass emoji*. 

Why I think she’s autistic: 

Obviously her special interests would be space and dinosaurs, and the way she talks about them reminds me of how I get when people let me infodump about my SIs.

The way she plays with her fingers looks hella like stimming to me. In fact, that’s one of my stims!

Her interest in art and music.

Her interest in general nerdy stuff like comics and video games. 

She collects cards, and collecting is a big autistic trait.

The way she’s sort of untidy and cluttered, yet labels all of her boxes of shit. The ordered mess is such an autistic thing.