#Dovetail Doll

[unliikelylovers]

saw the barbie movie today (good movie) opened twitter (huge mistake) was confronted with a thinkpiece about how the barbie movie queerbaited and then a tweet about queerbaiting celebrities with pedro pascal as the first example and i just want to know what the fuck people mean when they say queerbaiting. like. ok first of all if you thought the barbie movie produced by mattel was going to be a radical piece of queer art that’s on you. that wasn’t, like, any part of the marketing! that was just you! 

second of all the whole idea that individual people can “queerbait” is so fucking stupid. to the extent that “queerbaiting” is a useful term (which i am less and less convinced of) it’s useful to describe a marketing technique. the classic queerbait of the 00s-10s tv shows, you know, starring two white guys the fans push together like they’re making their dolls kiss (did i mention i saw the barbie movie today). and like, the problem with queerbaiting is that it’s done out of cynicism. that it’s done by production companies who want gay fans tuning in, who want gay dollars, but who have no interest in telling real gay stories, which would mean risking their straight audiences. that’s the problem with queerbaiting. so what is the logic behind saying that, like, kit connor is “queerbaiting” by being an eighteen-year-old actor playing a bisexual teenager on a tv show that is like crafted in a lab to be Good Wholesome Queer Representation? it just doesn’t compute! even if you buy into the narrative that gay roles must or should be played by gay actors (i don’t) the idea that you are owed a queer celebrity’s public, explicit coming out or else they’re “queerbaiting” is completely fucking ass-backwards. being closeted as a public figure is not in itself a betrayal of queer causes. it’s actually not advancing the cause of queer liberation to push an eighteen-year-old actor at the very beginning of his career out of the closet, but thanks for playing

third of all in re pedro pascal i’m going to go under a readmore because i’m a fan of him but this post is too long and no one cares 

people are really fucking obtuse about pedro pascal specifically and it drives me nuts. like okay let’s break this down, because there’s layers to this

let me just make it absolutely clear that i don’t think it’s good or productive to expect queer actors (or any public figures) to have public, explicit coming-out moments. i think it’s a lot more complicated than that, but the bottom line is, public figures are entitled to their private lives, and if they’re not hurting the lgbtq community, i think it’s crass and counterproductive to hound them about their sexuality. i also think that the expectation of, like, an interview where someone says the words “i’m gay” dovetails with the idea that assuming someone’s sexuality is unilaterally bad and homophobic, and i disagree. i don’t think it’s helpful to the lgbtq community to assume that all public figures are straight until they explicitly tell us they’re not. 

so pedro pascal is famous for shows like the mandalorian, the last of us, and narcos. among the people who would call him a queerbaiter, the thing we love about him is when he plays a Manly Man with a secret soft side. he gets typecast as a reluctant father figure who would die for his misfit adopted child and i eat it up every time. my point being: he isn’t playing specifically gay roles! again, even if you accept the premise that gay roles should go to out gay actors, that’s not what pedro pascal’s career looks like. (and i would argue that roles like joel and mando are specifically relying on a kind of straight(-passing) masculinity but we don’t need to get into that)

so, in what sense is he queerbaiting? what’s the logic here? because he’s not building a career on gay roles. he’s not cultivating or marketing a public persona that relies on assumed queerness. he posts about pride, he talks about his support for lgbtq political causes, and he loves his trans sister. that’s it. that’s all. if he were, for instance, married to a woman, all this would amount to is him being a very sweet and welcome lgbtq ally. 

but, of course, he’s not. he’s a famous actor without any real rumors of relationships with women (except sarah paulson, lmao). he doesn’t talk a lot about his private life. and -- what i think is the reason for him being included in this “queerbaiting celebrities” tweet -- is that recently there’s been a couple semi-viral tweets of people screenshotting that he was following male models and onlyfans creators on instagram, and commenting on their posts. 

this idea that he’s “queerbaiting” is just plain old gossip magazine outing, repackaged in terms that make people think this is a righteous queer-liberatory crusade. no, it’s not. it’s crass, it’s gross, and it’s homophobic.

you can do the math on pedro pascal. you can come to the conclusion that he’s pretty much definitely gay, i certainly have. but he’s entitled to a private life. he’s hurting no one by being closeted. and the point is that accusations that individual people are “queerbaiting” are more often than not carrying water for homophobes, and we don’t have to live like this

[cerebrobullet]

Sharpe's Rifles Daily Book Report:

ok dipping back into auditory hell

lmao sharpe just at dinner while people argue over him in spanish and he's just there like 🫥

IM FUCKMDMSN he asks sharpe to explain his background and this mf actually starts with "well i was born-" baby, that's such a himbo thing to do

i do like the extra background info on how england and france have similar legends to the santiago banner, sets it up a bit more to be less of a "ohhh this silly spaniard" vibe. but also wow i've heard enough about christian/catholic myths u know. not cornwell's fault, certainly, just not a plot element that i personally care much about. borderline dislike it, even.

book says "a surly voice" for pat and the narrator interpreted that as "high pitched nasally voice"

heheheh pat and sharpe bickering but slowly being nice to each other hehehe *smashes them together like dolls* NOW KISS

god tho i miss teresa. i miss sharpe's awesome cool future wife teaching him how to chill out and be a better leader. i miss him making 🥺 eyes at her all the time. he's just so instantly malewife about her in the tv show and i love that.

ok he is being cute by being all 🥺 at the girl of the week tho. hhhfhhf oooohhhh whenever he's rejected and immediately dovetails into thinking about how unworthy he is of anything. also something about framing this scene with the girl on the stairs and sharpe sitting below her, looking up at her 🤔 interesting. I want to draw this just because looking down on a beat up, tired, sad lil baby sharpe as he makes puppy eyes back at a lady sounds like just a Neat Image.

ANYWAY should be done tomorrow and then will hunt for a reasonably priced version of the most recent audiobook recordings !!

[littlethingwithfeathers]

Thank you, btw (way too late), for all your answers on the other asks! It was so interesting. 💖

New asks - 🤷 🌏 please?

What thing that your fandom loves do you just not “get”?

Hmm... so as a fandom hermit I generally bounce off a lot of the social aspects of fandoms. Like I think I'm just too introverted to really get a lot of the more extroverted stuff. Like people will say "There's discourse/drama over XYZ!!!" and I'm like... okay first off, how? We're all in the sandbox playing with our dolls. WTF is there to have discourse about? And why are you participating? If someone made you mad, take your shit and walk away. Go be somewhere else. If it's making you feel bad... go somewhere that makes you happy. But then again... my happy place in fandom, like in real life, is by myself playing with little Rubix cubes with character names on them in my head.

Similarly, being in a Discord for fandom sounds like hell to me and I absolutely just cannot do it. I'm actually currently trying to parse why that is exactly because it's not just fandom stuff. I have a weird anxiety-related aversion to being social online with people I don't know in real life... like in chatrooms and stuff. Tumblr and asks and stuff are fine. But I feel super anxious in chats with people I don't know and usually just lurk and eventually leave. I think it's a lack of visual social cues and tone of voice? I dunno. It's not for me and I'm not really driven to figure out how to fix it. I'm not social enough for that kind of thing. Again... a quiet room with my character Rubix cubes and maybe I'll fart out a fic to throw at a passerby like a frisbee. Another thing I just don't get is fanfic where there's no sex. Like... I definitely recognize that it's a HUGE swathe of fanfic and that it's super valid and I do not have a problem with it at all, but I also have absolutely zero desire to read it usually. I definitely have almost zero desire to write it. I think with only a couple of exceptions, all the fic I've written that isn't explicit was written for challenges or submissions with specific rating requirements. The few exceptions were all in series that were explicit broadly. But like... I cerebrally get why people love that kind of fic. Not everyone wants to read the sexy times. But that is definitely why I like to read fanfic.

What is your dream AU?

So this actually dovetails with the other question because I don't really do AUs. I dunno... it's not my thing really. Sometimes I enjoy them if they're really well written and compelling, but I usually just find myself thinking "I wish this was just fiction. I feel like l'm just reading a book with some archetypes." Very very VERY rarely I'll read something that's an ABO AU or D/s AU and even then it's usually still in-universe just with those world mechanics tacked on. I tend to both read and write either Fix-its, alternate canon, or canon-compliant stuff where I can burrow down in between what's already there and mine for gold. Again... as with the non-explicit fanfic, I have mad respect for the genre. It's just not really my thing. My husband loves Coffee and Bookshop AUs though. It's adorable.

Thank you for the asks, lovely! Despite being a hermit, I always like hearing from you. Mwah!

[friedesgreatscythe]

while i do think there's def validity to the ghost bride doll idea, the western (specifically victorian gothic) influence of RE8's monsters is just as present with possible japanese inspiration, IMO. it's similar to how fatal frame 4 combined western psychological "care" with japanese culture, predominately the spiritual ways to exorcise or cleanse illnesses (see: sakuya having what i imagine to be some kind of excited catatonia that is treated with a kaguya ritual dance, as well as extreme isolation and one-on-one care in the hospice). note that in fatal frame 4, a doll was also heavily significant to two characters as a way of connecting them (to the point where the doll not only attained spiritual sentience, but corruption/malice due to that same connection).

that being said, lady d's appearance alone is a blatant yokai reference, specifically the taka onna--the tall woman. she exists in fatal frame 5 as well (and also has a jaunty little hat!). taka onna feed off of desire, so it doesn't really surprise me that they'd combine that idea with a vampire, specifically a female vampire.

if you'd like to read more about the aforementioned doll brides and ghost marriage, this site has information on that and on the presence of death in japanese culture in general. also consider the possibility that the doll was inspired by another yokai, the hinnagami.

Hinnagami come with a catch: if a new request is not made as soon as a wish is granted, the hinnagami will demand, “What is next?” As soon as that request is fulfilled, the hinnagami demands another, and another, and another. This pattern never ends. Because their creation comes out of human greed and desire, hinnagami cling to their creators obsessively and never leave their sides.

tired of links yet? well sorry because here's another one: mourning dolls, made to look like a deceased child, were popular during the victorian era.

Families would often display the effigies of their lost infant during their wake and then lay the dolls on their grave, following their burial.  However, in rare circumstances, the family would take the doll home with them following the burial, leaving the mourning doll to rest in the infant's crib, changing it, and caring for it as one might an actual child. 

RE8's victorian horror aesthetic is obvious, but i think it goes beyond just how it looks and feels and enters into conceptual themes. it's like bloodborne: a combination of western horror, japanese folklore and culture, and the way concepts of defilement and blessing are treated in both (see: catholicism's almost vampiric fixation on blood and flesh as a means of transubstantiation and absolution, and shinto beliefs of defilement, corruption, impurity). however, without having looked much into the creative process of RE8, i can't say for certain these ideas are deliberate, yet going off what i studied for my major in college (bachelor's in english lit and japanese studies baybeee), i'd say these could very easily work as inspirations--especially since victorian gothic traditions and japanese folklore dovetail quite nicely when it comes to the sublime horror of death and life.

👻 monster symbolism anon here. That course sounds so cool!

That makes sense that they’re more homages. Like I didn’t entirely think the zombies represented anything but also sometimes coding or symbolism happens anyways. Sooo I figured that whether intentional or not, the zombies still end up representing the same fears they usually do.

But the bosses not having symbolism do make sense. I didn’t think there were any but horror is so steeped in it I thought I just must be missing it.

But the homage thing makes so much more sense considering Evelyn’s final form at the end of re7 is literally the final form of the demon in evil dead 2. It wasn’t even a subtle homage. I love that game because it’s basically an evil dead game. How did I forget that fact 😭

But as for eight I should replay that and look into the symbolism. My brain stops at classic horror archetypes.

We got Frankenstein, we got basically a ghost lady and a creepy doll, werewolves, the creature from the black lagoon, and a witch. Personally I like big lady Dracula and the three daughters, because technically speaking the three vampire ladies/the weird sisters, are never listed as his brides in the Dracula story. They’re just kinda there. And some people do actually think they’re his daughters or sisters. And then she gets to turn into a dragon because she lives in a castle and also Dracula kinda means son of the devil but also it can mean son of the dragon so really it all comes together. And then that’s where my brain stops.

Should have found a way to work a mummy and the phantom of the opera in there Capcom.

so i actually want to tag @friedesgreatscythe in this just because she knows a ton of japanese horror folklore, and the monsters in RE8 aren't just classic monsters.

the whole thing with the beneviento house probably was inspired by the history of japanese ghost marriages -- especially considering, you know. the doll is a bride.

i don't know a whole lot about it, but i do know that it is a thing LMAO to the best of my knowledge (and i could be wrong), this became a thing around the WW2 era when a lot of promised men went off to war and died. the marriage was still expected to happen to honor the promise to the family, but a doll would stand in for the bride in order to marry the deceased.

again, i'm not a super expert on this, and i really don't know RE8 well enough to go through a whole rundown of it in context, but. there's stuff at play in RE8 that goes way beyond classic monsters.

[dreaming-starclimber]

I decided I needed another Balan Wonderworld OC so here she is! She’s a cloth doll who is a tailor and her hair doubles as thread! It’s curled cutely on two thread spools and it never runs out because magic!

[lookwhatilost]

eating disorders are, unfortunately, a cornerstone of internet culture.

when women i know in person speak to me about tumblr, they first thing they usually share is how bad the platform was for their eating disorder. a bad relationship with food and thinness is a trait that i’ve observed almost all Very Online women share. i’m a broken record at this point, but i feel like there remain unanswered questions to the impact that being online so often has on our perception of our physical bodies. i suspect that these questions are not only difficult to articulate, but impossible-seeming to answer because we haven’t figured out how to conceptualize the internet quite yet.

when this website was in its heyday, i was struck by the accusation that it uniquely encouraged EDs, that its pro-ana communities were somehow singularly terrible. from my perspective, these were some of the oldest digital communities there were, and tumblr was just a new platform for them. why was it worse on here than on livejournal or xanga or invite-only forums? i’m still not sure it was. i will say this though: this is the first place i remember where eating disorders were explicitly sexualized. that’s not to say that it was a totally asexual project in other places online. there were always predatory men who have fetishes for very thin women. users with display names like flatchested-something-something-something would follow you around livejournal when you were just a kid. there’s the famous story of bonypink. it’s horrifying stuff. but paraphilia and communities around it have always existed online. thinspiration would often be of sickly-thin models and female celebrities; photoshopped images of kate moss were a staple, but they were ethereal, otherworldly. they weren’t sexual. these women were paragons of discipline. they had transcended the physical body. it was very much women speaking to other women about their own desire for… control? more than perfect, pure. i would characterize it, at least in my own experience, as quasi-religious.

there was also the occasional impulse to infantilize yourself. but again, it was distinctly non-sexual. in fact, i would go as far to say as the infantilization that took place on these boards were counter-signaling sexuality. the affinity for anime, for particular childish, girly video games, for dolls, for cutesy stationery, all of these things were supposed to say: i am virginal. i am a little girl and sex is not on my radar.

and then tumblr came along. if you spent any time in tumblr’s eating disorder communities, then you know it also dovetailed with the “living dolls” trend, pastel goth mood boards, trans-masculine identity, and, most saliently of all, the nymphet subculture. the whole nymphet thing that was on here isn’t just worthy of its own post, but possibly an entire book. how do i describe it in a nutshell? if you’re familiar at all with podcaster dasha nekrasova, she seems to be someone who’s still in her “tumblr nymphet” phase. it was an aesthetic movement that revolved around ethereality, thinness, pastels, lana del rey. but as the name suggests, it was also undeniably sexual.

it was a sexualization of a certain feminine ideal: a young, angelic, sickly-thin, barely pubescent girl. free of acne and breasts with a perfect thigh gap. i don’t think it’s entirely alarmist to say it had a strong pedophilic undertone – i mean, it’s in the name, which is cribbed from nabokov’s lolita. this is an attitude that’s persistent online, and i think even more harmful than the straightforwardly pornographic. it reinforces the idea that men are only interested in girls. not just girls, but thigh-gap-ribcage-showing girls. that, as the tiktok meme and ladytron song goes, they only want you when you’re 17, when you’re 21, you’re no fun. the terrifying thing is that there’s a kernel of truth in this. a well-adjusted man might bristle at the idea of dating a teenager or a woman who’s play-acting as one. but that’s a well-adjusted man. as a woman, you’re woefully aware of the premium placed on youth. real youth. like, ages 15-21 youth.

obviously we all age, though, so these lines of thought are doomed to depress us.

[treasureswordsgirl55]

I’m Here for You

Character: James Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst. Depression. Fears. Nightmares. Fluff. Comfort.

Inspired by: Against All Odds - Phil Collins

Author’s Note: Hello again! I hope you're doing good out there!

Can I tell you something about me?

I usually write when I’m in a depression mode.

Like now… I don’t feel so good and my thoughts don’t help me to over it. So… I imagined about Bucky comfort Reader and… This is the final result.

I hope if someone are through to some similar situation (about depression or is having a bad day…) This fic and others makes you smile like this made me smile (and cry) when I was writing it.

Depression Sucks… So… Thanks you again for your likes, comments and reblogs. 😘

Ps: If you want, or you need, to talk, (I'm not Bucky) but I’m Here. XOXO 💋

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I hear the door open and i wipe my tears quickly, but not enough to hear his footsteps stop, indicating that he has seen me.

- What’s wrong, doll? - I move my hands in front of my body trying to deny my state but the words that should accompany my movements don’t leave my lips and the worried image of bucky becomes blurred in my eyes

Hell, if in front of someone i couldn’t allow myself to look weak, it was his. I was the strong one of both, rather, i pretended to be the strong of two of us.

- It’s just a moment.

- Don’t say those things, because you know I don’t believe you.

- I’m fine, Bucky. you shouldn’t worry - I try to get up but he approaches the edge of the bed where I am sitting and kneels in front of me, I looked away towards the window but I feel his fingers take my chin and turn me in his direction. Once our eyes meet, the urge to cry becomes more present and all i need is for him to wrap me in his arms and make me forget the world for a few seconds - Bucky …

His name sounds on my lips cut by a sob and i feel a tear fall down my cheek, which he hastens to dry with his thumb, without asking the cause, much less judging my state.

- It’s okay not to be okay, doll. You taught me that - I want to hold back another sob but this comes out as if i’m drowning in a glass of water that i know I won’t be able to get out of - Breathe and look at me.

I listen to him breathe slowly and follow his directions, while i focus on his breaths and the way mine dovetail with them.

- You want to tell me what is happening?

i remain silent while I meditate on how to speak of the fear and fatigue that weighs on my shoulders, of the fear of expressing something that I know will not do good to many but that pity me more every day, that sometimes i feel unhappy and other days, i simply I do not recognize myself.

I gasp for the words but they don’t come out. I shake my head as I take his free hand in mine like a life preserver and drop my head against his.

- Hey, hey. take your time. I’m here. I will not leave…

I want to back away but I don’t can’t. I want to tell him that this is just a bad time and that it will pass. that tomorrow I will be fine and that i will carry on. I want to give you silly excuses about sensitivity at a certain female monthly time, or maybe that i saw something horrible on the street and it stayed in my mind all day.

But today I can’t. Not with him here.

- If you want I won’t ask. I’ll just be here, by your side until you feel good enough for your eyes to shine again - I feel his hand caress my cheek and that soft touch makes a shiver run through my body. this type of intimacy is new for both of us, to the point that we had never been so close to each other, we both refused to get so close knowing that perhaps something would not let us separate later - I’m here for you, doll. In the same way that you are there for me. listening to my complaints, my concerns and the nightmares that haunt me every night. Let me be your comfort.

Those words are what break what little resistance i have left. I feel like that barrier that took me so long to lift collapses, and the only sound that comes out of it is the tears falling down my cheeks.

- Can you hug me?

He doesn’t doubt it for a second. He rises enough to wrap his arms around me and pull me against his body, holding my weight like a little girl. There are no words between us, over time we had learned that silence was a great ally and in all that, the only thing I can hear is how the slow beating of his heart calms my altered mind. I feel the slight pressure of his arms around me and how the heat of his body seems to infuse me with courage and energy.

- I don’t like to see you like that, doll. Did you think about maybe talking about it with someone?

- What are you talking about?

- Don’t you want to talk about this with Dr. Raynor?

I give him a bitter laugh and Bucky pulls away suddenly.

- Are you telling me to go to Raynor? Of everything I expected you to tell me, that was the last thing that would have occurred to me.

He frowns as he sits on his lap so he is level with me. At this moment, we are both sitting on the floor of the room as if it were the most comfortable place in the world.

- Maybe you need it and you don’t know it.

- No … I need to talk to someone about the things that i can’t talk about with my family. How I feel and I know that if …- The anguish leaves me speechless again and the accelerated beating of my heart makes me get closer to his chest - I want that, but not with someone who is going to analyze the meaning of every word I say.

- That’s what you have me for, darling. If I speak to you more than to Raynor, do not doubt for a second that I will do the same for you. Talk to me, doll - I feel that he rests his head on mine and wraps his arms with more force around me, as one of his hands glides smoothly up my arm.

- I don’t want to overwhelm you with everything that happens to me. You have enough with your things.

- You will never do it. You are special to me, doll. And it will always be an honor for me to be your handkerchief or your pillow for you to cry. Whenever you need me, you just have to knock on my door.

- You’re two blocks away from here, Bucky - I murmured against his chest and I felt the vibration as he began to laugh.

- And yet when I need to see you and talk to you about my nightmares, I don’t hesitate to come here.

- The difference is that nobody will want to mess with you in the middle of the night.

- If that is what worries you, call me and you will have me here. Anytime and whenever. Never hesitate to call me when you need it. - He pulls me back enough so that he can see those blue eyes that so calmly transmitted and he will understand that what he was saying was real and sincere - I don’t want the same thing to happen with me happened to my favorite girl.

- Even if I call you at 3 in the morning or maybe in the middle of a fight? - I ask ignoring the last comment from him, because I wasn’t in condition to deal with the butterflies that flutter through my stomach when he is around or whenever he speaks.

- Anytime you want, doll. For you I will always be available.

I smile as I walk over and kiss him on the cheek. He pulled me away enough to notice in the darkness of the room, that his cheeks are colored and he lowers his gaze to the floor, still without removing his arms from around my body.

- Thanks Bucky. You are a great man.

- Just for you, doll. Just for you.

[power-chords]

For reference,

#forgottenninetiesbands which I have shamelessly attached myself to like a barnacle:

The Afghan Whigs*, Primitive Radio Gods*, School of Fish*, VAST*, Dovetail Joint, Sloan, Alabama 3*, Fastball*, Fountains of Wayne, Harvey Danger, Owsley, Dada, Poe, Supergrass, Too Much Joy, Toadies, Cast, Sugar, Archers of Loaf, Urge Overkill, Hybrid, The Goo Goo Dolls, Fuzzbubble, UNKLE, Tripping Daisy, Lo Fidelity Allstars, The Grays, Kara's Flowers, Muzzle, The Age of Electric, Plexi, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Swervedriver, Cracker, Eve 6, Kula Shaker, Our Lady Peace, The Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Sponge

*I probably qualify for a doctorate here

#forgottenninetiesbands with which I am thoroughly familiar but I have SOME shame about it:

Collective Soul, Filter, Tonic, Vertical Horizon (shut up! shut up!!!!), Matchbox Twenty, Live, Fuel, Sugar Ray, Lit

I only know the hits, pending a deep dive:

Gin Blossoms, The Refreshments, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Dishwalla, Better Than Ezra, the rest of Semisonic after Great Divide, and Jesus Christ I suppose I really do have to investigate Smash Mouth, don't I

[butchcassidy]

dovetailed my rewatch of s1 Russian doll into the new season and im wallowing don’t mind me

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2020 - Best TV Show

It was prime time for TV in 2020, with many more free hours to fill. I managed to get through a lot of my backlog in fact, finally getting around to watching shows like The Strain. It’s a show about a deadly disease that tears society apart because a lot of arrogant people think they are exempt from quarantining. The disease turns people into vampires, so it’s technically escapism. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show: 

#10. The Plot Against America (Miniseries) - HBO

It’s not TV, it’s not HBO, it’s real life. The Wire-creator David Simon’s penchant for illustrating the human fallout of institutional failures made him a perfect collaborator for HBO’s Plot Against America, an adaptation of Phillip Roth’s alternate-history novel. Following a Jewish family in New Jersey navigating the increasingly-fascist America of a hypothetical Charles Lindbergh administration, the show is a terrifying warning of what happens when hatred and conspiracy theories are allowed to accumulate political force. Notably, while the book ends with history back on the right track, the closing moments here are left ambiguous. The show was a limited series, but in many ways, The Plot Against America is ongoing.

#9. Mrs. America (Miniseries) - FX

Its interests are married to The Plot Against America, but Mrs. America traces the country’s rising extremism from a more historically accurate perspective. The miniseries centers on political activists in the 1970s on opposing sides of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, but its dialogue isn’t a strict dichotomy. The episodic format is expertly utilized to build out intersectional ideas from the likes of Rose Byrne’s Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba’s Shirley Crisholm, and Margo Martindale’s Bella Abzug, detailing the difficulties in building a diverse coalition, and the dangers of a single-minded one. Drawing parallels to current debates, its compelling centerpiece is how conservative Phylis Shafley (Cate Blanchett) successfully defeats the Amendment; voting against your own self-interests, Mrs. America says, is as American as apple pie.

#8. The Outsider (Miniseries) - HBO

Societal collapse comes from within in the two shows mentioned above, but the threat in HBO’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 2018 novel is decidedly an “other.” King clearly had his mind on modern manipulations of truth when crafting the ingenious premise: a man is arrested for the murder of two young boys due to irrefutable DNA evidence, only to provide an air-tight alibi for the crime. To match King’s procedural prose, HBO brought on The Night Of’s David Price, who layers the original work with meticulous mysteries. The Outsider has all the pulpy jolts expected of the author, but the show’s true horror lies in its overbearing grief, best brought to life by Ben Mendelsohn’s Detective Anderson. To say more would be to spoil its secrets; you’ll want to be on the inside.

#7. Perry Mason (Season 1) - HBO

Just like the famous fictional attorney, HBO can’t seem to lose, with Perry Mason marking its third entry on this list. The reimagining of the long running court drama actually takes place before the character’s illustrious law career; here he’s a down-on-his-luck private eye caught up in a scandalous child kidnapping case. The result’s a gangbusters production of old-fashioned moody noir: political corruption, femme fatales, and a more morally-complicated Mason, as played by The Americans’ Matthew Rhys. The lavish period details and character-actor cast, including Shea Whigham, John Lithgow, and Tatiana Maslany, will help draw viewers in, but, I’ll confess, I was already hooked by the season’s chilling opening moments.

#6. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Season 1) - NBC

Dour seasons have dominated this list thus far, but Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist sings a different tune. It’s a lovably oddball premise: an accident during an MRI causes a young woman, played by Jane Levy, to hear other people’s thoughts in the form of popular music. It’s all karaoke, but, emphasized by the presence of Skylar Astin, a worthy inheritor to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s musical-comedy crown. The tracklist, workplace antics, and love-triangle drama all exist in a comfortingly familiar network TV realm, but the show takes additional steps for inclusion with stories highlighting Zoey’s genderfluid neighbor (Alex Newell) and an American Sign Language performance of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.” During a year in need of shuffling off stress, there was no better time to queue up Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

#5. What We Do in The Shadows (Season 2) - FX

FX’s expansion of the mockumentary feature film of the same name lit up some of the darker corners of its universe in the show’s second season, transforming mundane-seeming material into something completely, uniquely batty. Each creature of Shadows took their turn in the spotlight this season, from a middle-management promotion gifting energy-vampire Colin Robinson unlimited supernatural power, to undead Nadja befriending a doll possessed by her own ghost, to Matt Berry’s Lazlo forging a small-town persona as a bartender/volleyball coach to escape a vengeful Mark Hamill. As always, it was the sympathetic Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), a Van Helsing descendent desperate to become a vampire, who gave the show its emotional stakes, and the vampires within a different kind altogether.

#4. Stargirl (Season 1) - DC Universe

Shadows was lit, but few things burned brighter this year than Stargirl (perhaps too brightly for the flamed-out DC Universe). The superhero drama is one of several that will outlive its original streaming service - fitting, given its obsession with legacy. Based on a character created by DC Comics stalwart Geoff Johns after the tragic loss of his sister, the show finds a young girl taking on the mantle of a fallen hero after moving to a town run in secret by supervillains. With sprightly fight choreography and an unabashed embrace of its comic book lore, Stargirl outshines the overabundance of small-screen superheroes out there. Its highlight is the bright performance of lead Brec Bassinger; put simply, she’s a star, girl.

#3. BoJack Horseman (Season 6b) - Netflix

Throughout its run, BoJack Horseman garnered acclaim for routinely delivering unexpected pathos, and the final season kept it on that track until the end. ...Get it, because horses run on tracks? The unexpected porter of television’s legacy of antiheroes ended in much the same vein as its sister shows - with consequences finally catching up with its protagonist. No amount of fanciful animal puns could soften that painful catharsis, as the show finally trampled its tricky web of abuse through bittersweet means. The series closed out with an especially thoughtful scene, the kind viewers who looked past the wonky pilot years ago were regularly blessed with; to the very end, BoJack, you were a gift, horse.

#2. Better Call Saul (Season 5) - AMC

As good as Bad ever was and better than ever before, the fifth season of AMC’s spin-off completely upended the world of its eponymous lawyer while bringing Vince Gilligan’s universe one step away from full-circle. Saul Goodman found himself in way over his head, and viewers found themselves way on the edge of their seats, as his first foray into “criminal” lawyering swiftly dovetailed with an escalating drug war. Despite the emotional distress of watching fan-favorite character Kim Wexler placed in perilous situations, there are no objections to be had with the drama’s continued masterful storytelling. Ramping up the slow-burn storytelling, season five saw Kim and Saul’s relationship develop in rich and unexpected ways, while still keeping their final fates unresolved. Fans are thus waiting with bated breath for the show’s final call next year. 

#1. The Great (Season 1) - Hulu

Who could be the best but The Great? There was a minor television controversy this year over Netflix marketing The Crown as a historical drama despite its fictional interpretation of events; The Great has no such pretentions. An asterix adorns every title card of the show, letting viewers know that its take on Catherine the Great’s coup against Emperor Peter III of Russia is only “an occasionally true story.” The show indeed is not great for education, but it’s the most entertaining television of the year, locking stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult in a battle of wits and a fight for the country’s soul under the watch of The Favourite co-writer Tony McNamara. The uproarious comedy slyly collates leadership based in cruelty with leadership based in goodwill in the background of its quite bawdy escapades, a subtle bit of relevant political maneuvering that lets it successfully claim the crown this year.

NEXT UP: THE 2020 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

[lesbianelizabethcole]

I am this close to not buying any new dolls or other products directly from the company and only buying used items....

Literally have not bought directly from the company since I was a kid, highly recommend it ✌️ at the very least I’d say Do Not buy this new doll or her collection. There’s zero reason to support this. She’s not even an original doll.

This kind of actually dovetails nicely with another thing Ive been thinking about with this fandom recently which is that...it’s a little unsettling to me how focused on Buying AG fandom is. Like obviously I GET it especially since many people in the fandom are collectors, but I promise you don’t actually need to buy things to enjoy American Girl, you don’t need to buy things because they’re The New Release, you don’t need to own stuff just because you like how it looks. Idk I just think we could all stand to reframe ourselves as fans rather than just as consumers. That’s just my 2 cents though!

[just-here-for-the-moment]

Hullo lovely!

A prompt for a prompt.

Lord only knows why I'm a sucker for all the cheesy goodness right now. Must be the lack of human contact lol.

Setting: Sneaking away from a party or social occasion, more specifically Santi's engagement.

Relationship Tropes: Friends to Lovers

Character: Frankie "Catfish" Morales

Secondary Character: F!Reader Y/Lady Luck "Lucky"/N

Plot line: Lucky is far more comfortable in combat fatigues than all dolled up in cocktail dress. Fish has always held a soft spot for the TF Medic. Two Idiots in Love.

Complications: Santi's Abuela loves to meddle

Dialogue prompt: One of the Miller boys -"Hot damn Morales, is that Lucky?!",

"Fish, I swear on all that is holy, if you say a word about this damn dress..."

Spicy rating: as spicy as you like ;)

Spicy Acts: Tender/Soft, hickeys, slight hair pulling. Primal Frankie if you squint real hard.

tweak, ignore and/or change whatever you see fit!

OK this was too much fun! And it dovetailed nicely with @wildemaven's Frankie ask, so I have combined them into ONE GIANT 9k-word SUPERFIC and I hope y'all like it!!! I am finishing edits now, AND @wildemaven has agreed to work on one of her fabulous moodboards too becuase she is a sweetheart and so talented in that arena!!! FRANKIE IS IMMINENT!! GET FRESH UNDIES READY, PEOPLE!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! :D

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: Scare Package

One should never judge a book by its cover, but first impressions can make or break a film, particularly an indie horror effort. Scare Package came out swinging with clever artwork by Marc Schoenbach that all at once plays on '80s nostalgia, is indicative of the plot, incorporates all of the anthology's segments, and pays homage to the House poster. It's the first of many cleverly meta and well-executed aspects of the film, making it the most satisfying horror anthology since V/H/S.

Writer-director Emily Hagins (Coin Heist) is tasked with setting the absurd and self-aware tone with the first segment, and does she ever with the appropriately titled "Cold Open." It centers on Mike (Jon Michael Simpson), an unsung character that sets horror movie plots in motion with menial tasks - from selling a haunted house to cursing a doll - who aspires to be a fully fleshed-out role.

It elegantly dovetails right into the wraparound, "Rad Chad's Horror Emporium," directed by Aaron B. Koontz (The Pale Door) and written by Koontz and frequent collaborator Cameron Burns, who together produced Scare Package. Set at a niche video store, horror aficionado proprietor Chad (Jeremy King), new employee Hawn (Hawn Tran), and overzealous employee Sam (Byron Brown) watch tapes and trade stories.

"One Time in The Woods," written and directed by Chris McInroy, plays like an uproarious, splatstick descendant of Street Trash that also throws in a ridiculous head explosion in the vein of Deadly Friend. Actor Noah Segan (Knives Out) makes his directorial debut with "M.I.S.T.E.R.," in which he also stars. The script, penned by Segan and Frank Garcia-Hejl, pokes fun at the folly of men's rights activists before transforming into a creature feature.

"Girls' Night Out Of Body" is categorized as "post-modern feminist slasher body horror" on the video store shelf, which sets it up to be something more than the end result. But writer-director sisters Courtney and Hillary Andujar put their background in production design to good use; their design coupled with the colorful, Italian giallo-inspired lighting make it a visual highlight.

"The Night He Came Back Again! Part IV: The Final Kill," directed by Anthony Cousins and written by Cousins and John Karsko, finds would-be victims trying increasingly extreme methods to kill a perennial slasher for good. Actor Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie) makes his directorial debut with the Edgar Wright-inspired "So Much to Do," which he also wrote. In it, the victim of an occult possession (Toni Trucks, SEAL Team) quite literally fights back against her possessor, all in the name of avoiding spoilers.

Most anthology wraparounds do little more than serve their purpose to connect segments, but Koontz and Burns crafted a rare one that is just as enjoyable as, if not better than, the shorts. It culminates in a Cabin in the Woods-esque deconstruction of genre conventions featuring horror host Joe Bob Briggs in a hilarious role as himself, former WWE wrestler Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes as a merciless slasher, and genre darling Chase Williamson (John Dies at the End) as the prototypical stoner.

Beyond all the fun Easter eggs - from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Aliens to the most brazenly absurd Friday the 13th reference ever committed to film - each segment cleverly twists genre conventions, so even the less entertaining offerings subvert expectations. The filmmakers each bring a unique style, but they're unified by a synthesizer score by Alex Cuervo (who releases electronic music under the name Espectrostatic). Tate Steinsiek (Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, Dragged Across Concrete) serves as special effects makeup supervisor for most segments.

Scare Package premiered on Shudder in June and is now available on Blu-ray via RLJE Films. For the first time, the physical release includes the entire episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. As comforting as it is to see Briggs host classic genre films, there's a particular electricity when he debuts something new, and the Scare Package episode finds him in top form.

If Briggs' analysis isn't enough, Koontz and Burns provide an audio commentary. Although flippantly advertised as "Creators commentary on the film, commenting on other films that have better commentary tracks," it's a fairly straightforward chat in which they share anecdotes, fun facts, and praise for each segment.

The disc also includes a deleted segment, "Locker Room Z," directed by executive producer Mali Elfman, which takes down diet culture, creepy dudes, and zombies; a faux ad for Rad Chad's video store, which carries over the film's meta humor; an alternate ending, dubbed "original not-as-good ending," which indeed isn’t as strong as the final version but would not have been disappointing; and a blooper reel.

Scare Package is available now on Blu-ray and DVD via RLJE FIlms.

[foxingpeculiar]

Okay. More Magnus Archives processing. Spoilers through early season 3 to follow.

Specifically, I just listened to 87: Uncanny Valley and I feel I need to take a moment because that felt like the single most significant episode to the overall plot this far.

For the first time there’s a clear sense that these entities are actually trying to accomplish something specific. It even has a name. “The Unknowing.” Which, as Jon notes, sounds like a ritual. The nature of it is pretty vague, but something Gertrude says on the tape gives a clue: she commented that the Lightless Flame might want “a pride of place in the world Orsinov hopes to bring about,” which, frankly sounds a bit apocalyptic.

Orsinov is not a name I know. I don’t know Jude Perry either, but the description sounds like the woman Agnes was talking to in the cafe in Burning Desire, and Gertrude says that she lost Agnes, so that tracks.

The calliope music has me for a loop though. Like the woman with the organ in the attic (Strange Music) also had plastic dolls that moved, which are basically the same thing as mannequins, which seems to connect to The Stranger (since Gertrude associates The Stranger with the mannequins from this episode), but like... what does it mean? It does dovetail nicely with the circus imagery on the mannequin in Drawing a Blank, but that doesn’t illuminate much other than an already obvious connection.

The bit about skin makes me think of Sarah Baldwin sloughing her arm off in the hospital (Skintight). That suggests she was also associated with The Stranger, but doesn’t explain much about her interaction with whatever was in the hospital that night, or what happened to her after The Angler Fish.

Gertrude also mentions something about what could be another entity associated with The Lightless Flame—it sounds like she says The Devestation. She might just be using that word normally though, it’s hard to tell from context.

What I can’t figure out is who’s helping Jon, or rather why. Cos my first instinct is Elias. Even though I don’t exactly read him as trying to be “helpful” in an objective sense, his conversation with Daisy in Eyewitnesses makes it clear that he’s invested in keeping Jon bound up in all this. Plus he’d have easy access to the files AND is the most likely to know which ones to send to accomplish a particular goal. But what that goal might be is yet unclear.

I don’t think I’ve poured over an ongoing piece of media this much since Lost was originally on. I’m quite enjoying it though and (frankly, unlike Lost) it actually seems to reward close scrutiny. At least so far.

[caedmonfaith]

Hi Caedmon! I've been a reader of yours for awhile, and I was wondering if you have any advice on writing smut? I am of age, I'm just looking to broaden my writing horizons.

I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask, really, since I doubt my own abilities as a smut writer constantly. But I’ll do my best for you - and I’m honored you asked me.

My first, best advice is to write what *you* find sexy. For example, I’m a fan of dirty talk during sex, so it tends to feature in nearly all of my smutty stories. If you like your sex to be tender and romantic, write it that way. If you like it hard and fast with a sweet afterglow, write it the way you like it. On the flip side: If you *don’t* find something sexy, don’t include it! Lets say you’re not a fan of oral sex. If you don’t like it personally, chances are good that you’ll have a hard time writing your character(s) loving it - at least convincingly. Believe it or not (and you may not believe me, based on my smut), there are things I don’t like during sex. It would be a struggle for me to write Rose or the Doctor or A/C or anyone enjoying blood play, for example. It doesn’t appeal to me, so I don’t know how to put myself in their shoes. It can be done, and we *should* step outside of our comfort zones as writers, but I’d recommend sticking to what you know and love if you’re just starting out. Or what you *think* you’d love. More on that in a minute.

My next advice is to read as much smut as you can, by as many authors as you can. Get a solid feel for what you like and don’t like. If you really, really like something, a sentence or turn of phrase, copy/paste it into a document to paraphrase and use later. DON’T PLAGARIZE, please, but if you like the idea of describing an orgasm as a match being lit to every cell of the body (one of my lines), copy it, save it, then write it your own way. There are only so many ways to describe sex, and they’ve all been done a thousand million times. Find your favorites and change the wording. Eventually, writing your own will come more easily.

For me, personally, nothing takes me out of a sex scene faster than something being blatantly unrealistic/impossible. I remember noping out of a fic once when the author described bathtub sex in a highly unrealistic way and then said “I have no idea if this would work, but I wrote it anyway.” Nope! I try really hard to make sure all of my smut is actually possible. The realism is what makes smut hot, to me. If you’re of age and comfortable doing so, you might even browse an adult site. Porn is notoriously unrealistic in some ways but it *does* give a good general idea of positioning, feasibility, etc. I’ve also considered getting a couple of those wooden artists dolls to pose to make sure I am describing positions and whatnot correctly. I haven’t ever done it, but I’ve considered it.

Lastly (and this dovetails into the first one), write your fantasies. This is especially important if you’re young or relatively inexperienced. There are scenes that I’ve written that I’ve never actually experienced - but I’ve daydreamed about them. It’s perfectly fine to write something you’ve only ever dreamed about. I encourage you to explore your own personal desires using your characters. I think it’s healthy.

That’s all I can think of right now, and probably more than you bargained for. Sorry, I got long winded! I hope this helps in some way, and you’re 100% free to message me anytime if you want to talk more. I love talking about writing! And again, from the bottom of my heart, I’m so honored that you asked me. Thank you.

Also, the formatting/spacing of this post looks weird to me, but I’m on mobile. Sorry if it’s weird for you, too!

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

Aries

We know these have been trying times and put a strain on all our social interactions, but you still have your oldest friend with you. So far your pet rock has never left you, never spoken ill about you, never posted demeaning stories about you…. Maybe they’re dead and you just never noticed for the last 12 years. What kind of friend ARE you?!

Taurus

We know that you’ve been maintaining your questionable health through a steady diet of Ho-Ho’s and beer! That Ho-Ho filling is primarily lard and sugar, so-o-o… you might want to reconsider that as your breakfast of choice. Claiming beer is just ‘liquid bread with natural antibacterial properties’ isn’t fooling anybody. 

Gemini

People like you because you are bisexual. --ok, wait.. Is it BI - sexual or SEMI - sexual? (Semi?) You know, like.. bI-weekly or SEMI-weekly? (OH! Uhh… I think it’s BI-Sexual.) What, so, they have sex every other week, then? (Right. Because SEMI-Sexual would be twice a week.) Well.. Screw this! I wanna be Semi-Sexual now! Hey, Gemini? You’re missing out on some choice sex!

Cancer

Quit looking on the bright side so much; all that squinting will give you wrinkles. And nobody wants to hear you whistling that damned song anymore. You want to impress someone? Learn how to whistle while INHALING! And then, while exhaling and humming a different note at the same time. And before you ask, yes - those are BOTH legit skills you can learn how to do.

Leo

Dovetailing on that, remember the old expression, "if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you"? Once you’re a parent you learn how to do exactly that and not flinch. Looking into the soulless eyes of your children as you try to explain what they’ve done wrong and how to fix it will teach you this valuable skill. Maybe don’t have red-headed kids anymore, hmm?

Virgo

Wear your best school clothes on Wednesday. It’s date night, and you KNOW how much your partner loves to see you wearing those janitor’s jumpsuit, right? Just remember which chemicals you’re allowed to mix together and which ones you're NOT. You want to have another date night later, right?

Libra 

Ok, job placement time again. Since we know you’re accident prone, and accidents often lead to new and exciting discoveries, we’re suggesting that you become an “experimental epicurean”. Come up with new and different ways to prepare meats and vegetables! And, if possible, shrink it down to an Easy-Bake Oven size. Since, you know… tiny portions are still in this year.

Scorpio 

If you think someone is screwing you, you’re probably right. Go through your list of acquaintances and see if you can guess who has the ability and motive to make a voodoo doll of you, but still not have pins to put in it. They’re likely using a cordless drill and metal screws - which is annoying since you should be using masonry screws for maximum effect. Trust us, you’ll know the difference when they switch over.

Sagittarius 

You have found ways to successfully smoke in the shower, and it all starts with a new lighter! Dipping the cigarette into liquid latex, then adding a miniature warning flare at the end to act as an integrated ‘match’ is great! We don’t know where you’ll be able to market this, but that’s not our area of expertise anyway. 

Capricorn 

Two words: Blunt Trauma. That’s why your favorite roller coaster is shut down. After that guy, what was his name? Fla-vor-Flav, or Flamino, or Flambas? Whatever.. That long-haired romance-novel pretty boy got hit in the snoz by a goose on a roller-coaster. How the goose was allowed on the roller-coaster is beyond us, though.

Aquarius 

You will be mistaken for a celebrity you detest. Even worse, it’ll be from when they let themselves go for a roll in a college film project. So, congratulations - you’re sorta famous, now. Don’t you feel special?

Pisces 

You’ve earned that special gift hidden on the top shelf in the closet. People might have been hoarding hand sanitizer or toilet paper, but you planned farther in advance and now you get to savour those sweet-sweet Girl Scout Thin Mints? That is, unless your pet ferret found its way up there and gnawed through the packaging before you got to it.