#I have a few other favorites from earlier seasons but you just can’t compare separate casts

[dr-reids-fidget-toy]

Also im excited for season 7 when the thing with Gideon happens bc I sooo want Zari, either of her, to have another plotline that’s not about romance. Zari Tomaz is my favorite character from the s6 cast, and Zari Tarazi is pretty fucking awesome too, but it’s been a few episodes without either of her doing things unrelated to romance and im bored

Edit: yknow what that might’ve been Astra that was Gideons mom. She’s the one with magic after all

[nomattertheoceans]

GIF REQUEST MEME: Favorite season from The 100 - Season four

I love season four for a lot of reasons!! I think it’s the best season of the show and it should have been their last (despite my love for most of s5 ^^) I’m gonna ramble a lot but I don’t want it to take over the gifset so I’ll put it under a cut

Season four is the time of hard, impossible choices for everybody. The bomb at Farm Station, the List, the Nightblood tests, opening the bunker, the anti-radiation medicine…. Everybody is put through the ringer during this season and honestly, this is what I’m here for.

First great point for me personally: They can’t stop the radiations. When season 3 ended with the reveal of the radiations coming, I was legit disappointed with the show, I didn’t want them to spend the season “turning off” radiations miraculously, you know. So when ep 2 of the season aired and the first thing Raven said was “there’s no magic button to stop this” I WAS SO HAPPY!! It immediately got me much more hyped for the rest of the season because I was invested in “riding out 5 years of hell” much more than “let’s find a magic button”. So the season hooked me then ^^

The season is really good at re-using previous themes and twist them in just the right way

Clarke, who was so angry at the council for killing her dad, finds herself in the council’s position, and starts to understand that making such hard decisions is never easy. Making the list for instance, is so different from what she had to do before. The genocide of Mt Weather was an act of despair in the middle of a war, but making the list is a process, she has to truly chose who is “worth” more, which is what the council did when they sent the 100 to the Ground. She choses to hide the truth from everybody despite it going against what she wanted at the start of the show. It’s a really cool change for her character.

The Arkers and Grounders take the decision to test the Nightblood against Luna, the Rock Line thief, and Emori’s will. An obvious reminder of s2 but that I appreciate. I liked the Mt Weather story because of this: the mountain men were the antagonists but they also were the same as the rest of the show, they were doing whatever they had to do to survive, whatever it took, no matter how cruel it could be. We see in this season that when faced with the same decision, our protagonists reach the same result: sacrificing other people’s bodily autonomy to survive is worth it to them. It’s a really interesting theme to bring back because it muddies the waters of who’s right and wrong, and it highlights that in the end, there is no black and white answer.

This season gives us my personal favorite version of Clarke: she’s the closest she’ll get to a true antagonist (only comparable to s5 but s5 is a little bit of a mess so I still prefer her in s4). She has one conviction: saving her people. And to get it, she is ready to lie, to cheat, to kill, whatever it takes. It is interesting because I always saw Clarke in that light. She always believes that she has the right idea and she will do what it takes to get what she thinks is best. That’s where she is interesting to me (I’m not interested in her being an innocent victim forced to take decisions, that’s not how I see her at all and I find her a little dull in that interpretation haha but that’s for another post). Clarke stealing the bunker is a cruel act, but man, it’s incredibly smart. At that moment she knows she’s condeming many people (some of whom very close to her) to death, but she believes deep inside her that it’s the right thing to do so she’s willing to do it. And i really prefer her in those ruthless moments.

Octavia’s arc this season isn’t my favorite, but she is at her best during the last few episodes for me. The creation of Wonkru is one of my favorite scenes of the entire show, even though I saw it coming a mile away lmao (1200 spaces, 12 clans, it was easy to see where they were going!). I love the scene, I love the place it comes from (Octavia channeling Lincoln’s convictions was brilliant). I might not agree with her decisions (skaikru definitely deserved more spots than the other clans), but it makes perfect sense for her character to make this decision. The scene of her talking to Skaikru and telling them they’re no different from the others, and they have to choose or they all die, is also one of my favorites. Octavia received no mercy on the Ark, she had a terribly tragic childhood because of those people who are now begging her for their lives, and she doesn’t budge. The Ark, and the Ground, forced her to be that way, and she doesn’t back away. It’s also all a brilliant introduction to what Wonkru and Octavia will become in s5 (but again, that’s for another post lmao)

I love that we get the introduction of Spacekru because I love their little found family and the scene where they reach the Ring is so good!

Murphy’s speech to Clarke makes me tear up everytime I see it (it really was one of the strongest moments of acting of the entire show, Richard Harmon is amazing in it). Emori also blows me away in the previous episode, the way she’s shown to be ruthless, and cunning, and also how well she reads people. She knew they would come to test someone, and she did everything she had to for that someone to not be her. I love her ^^

I like the plot of the second dawn bunker well enough! (although I will never change my mind that Cadogan was a dumbass for putting it where it is instead of IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST WHERE THERE’S NO RISK OF BUILDINGS FALLING ON IT LIKE WHAT LITERALLY HAPPENED IN S5 OKAY anyway…..), it’s far from perfect but I like that it explains the people coming to greet Becca in s3, and I like that we expand a little on the origins of the Grounders culture (even though I wanted more about this). It’s kind of an “easy” solution, but at the same time it’s not. It was established early in the season before being abandoned, and even once it’s found, it’s not at all a perfect and easy solution. They have to fight for it, decide who lives there, it’s a pretty interesting development. What I mean is that it’s not discovered one episode before the end and it doesn’t solve everything. If anything, it creates more conflict. Which I appreciate alot.

ALSO ALSO Echo is a badass general in this season and I love it. She goes from being a spy in earlier seasons, to full-on commanding armies and being a strategic mastermind and I love it! She’s also ruthless and cunning and I lvoe that for her. It’s also such a good season for her and Bellamy!!! I lvoe all of it ^^

This season also has one of my favorite underrated quotes!!!! I’m gonna use a gif here cause I’m not at the limit yet lmao

“It’s unity day.” GODDDD it’s so good. It’s simple, but it conveys so much information and I love it:

Unity Day: the stations coming together to survive -> we’re virtually in the same situation here.

It’s a happy occasion, a day of survival and hope, just like the hope Octavia gave all the clans with her decisions

But it’s also a day of death and loss. She’s giving Kane a choice: join Wonkru with 100 members, or die in the flames.

It reminds us of the history of the Arkers, and I love when world-building does this thing where both characters are shown to have such a close cultural background that three little words are enough to convey such a strong message. It’s a detail but I love it and I wanted to ramble for a little bit ^^

Clarke’s sacrifice: This is when it gets to “meh” points for the seasons for me. Clarke deciding to stay behind to save Spacekru was a good moment. Yes, I know that if she hadn’t climbed the tower they all would have died anyway, but still. It’s a great moment for her character. She has hurt those people time and time again during this season, she was ready to let them die more than once, and I think she regrets it (although again, I like to see the extremes she’s willing to reach in this season). In that moment, she doesn’t decide that it’s too late to survive so she might as well give up. She knows she’s going to die, and she gives her last moments to save the lives of the people she hurt in the past. And I really love this. That is….. Until Clarke is revealed to not have died. I truly believe that she had reached the ending of her arc in the show, and it would have been a great ending to her character. But that’s also because I believe the show should have ended in s4 lmao. If it had ended, then maybe they could have left her death ambiguois, by showing her reaching the safety of the lab, but not showing her again afterwards. That way, we had no way of being sure she survived, but it was left ambiguous enough to make us decide her fate outselves.

The perfect ending: I didn’t choose the last gif randomly. That scene of Raven and Bellamy looking down on the Earth was in my opinion the perfect shot to end the show. At that point in time, we are left in a place that is very similar to where the show started: the Earth is destroyed by radiations, some people are waiting it out in space, some people are waiting it out on the ground. it mirrors the premise of the show (although in a much smaller scale), but this time, we’re left with hope of what might come in the future. Those two groups know (or hope) that they will reunite, especially with Octavia and Bellamy, the relationship at the core of the show, being separated. If the show ends here, we have come full circle from the pilot episode, and we can imagine how those two groups will reunite in the future. I find that ending the best possible for the show, so even though there’s so much I like about season 5, I wish the show had stopped at that moment, at that shot of Raven and Bellamy looking down on the Earth.

That got reaaaaally long, so…. sorry about that xD If you’ve reached this far, feel free to tell me what you think of this season (or the others haha) or send me asks, or request for other gifsets!!!

[welcometomy20s]

February 7, 2021

This is Part two of the introduction of Nijisanji. I have written for an audience who has just gotten to know vtubers through hololive and wants to explore more. This part cover all of Nijisanji members who has debuted in the year 2019.

2019 Part 1 (Jan-Apr)

Warabeda Meiji - Another eleven year old, but likes FF14 and K-On! So frequently described as an 11 year old third season. But she is genuinely cute! And a really good singer, so much so that her K-On cover gets banned for being too close!

Gundou Mirei - Actually a teacher, but definitely a ditzy and lazy one, that is incredibly sexual to an uncomfortable degree, you know, a fan favorite, including of mine. Watch her 3D streams and you will be amazed. Has a ship with Shoichi as mentioned before, even though she’s a self-professed bisexual. It’s odd but, you know, it works!

Yuzuki Roa - Kind of innocent devil like Towa, but more like a kid than an older sister. Really like Belmond. Was friends with Chitose, a retired member, and got a costume based on her a bit, and maybe is retiring herself, considering she hasn't uploaded for quite a few months now. Well, whatever. She’s cute and innocent.  

Onomachi Haruka - Another of the rare, truly seiso people in the team, but can go wild if the vibe goes that way. Lost and found a llama in minecraft once.

Seto Miyako - Kind of a quiet girl who might be psychopathic... you know the type. Her true tendencies pop up during gaming. Also tweets a lot... make sense.

Kataribe Tsumugu - Basically retired, but her concept was so shocking that it took Naruse Naru’s return of old design to push her into the bottom of the list.

Otogibara Era - She’s a Cinderella if she has gone completely out the window. People routinely separate the original Cinderella side as Era, and her true side as Gibara.

God, how do I describe her. Gibara is just great. Her adult comments are something to behold, let’s say she gels with Tamaki very well. She returns to monke often, and does other types of screams too... seriously look at her gacha stream and witness Gibara in her full glory. Also incredibly lazy and definitely cannot live by herself.

But as you have guessed it, she is an incredible singer. (It might be the case that incredible singing is associated with madness) Had knockout hit with her 3D stream, trending number one on twitter and 30,000 US dollars in superchats!

Lize Helesta - Queen of Shizuoka, I mean Heleste kingdom. Usually behaves like an empress, but as with most royalty has a real competitive spirit, so she knows how to badmouth when she needs to. So, she’s a really stingy person as well... not really fitting for a royalty, but you do know some people that act like that.

She’s a strange person. Look at asphalt or a handstand in order to sleep. Friends with Ange, who was a childhood friend, even with an age difference. Also does radio stuff with Lulu as well. Reveres Mito, wonder why. Again, incredible 3D debut.

Ange Katrina - Nice low-middle voice with a smooth upper body, and surprisingly small but that got fixed as 3D started. Think she’s cute, but blushes when people agree. Just a cool gal who I enjoy very much... her streams, I mean.

Inui Toko - She’s a cerberus, and now works at a cafe. A little bit out there, but definitely a tsukkomi. Usually does little gaming outside Minecraft, so mostly talks and sings. A unique laugh and loves Ensemble Stars. Hangs out with red and blue people, like Lize, Ange, Roa, Ayame, Suisei and so on. Actually is boing boing, Ange felt betrayed.

And as mentioned above, a great singer, and can play many instruments as well!

Saegusa Akina - High tension singer, who is quite sickly and is terrible with girls. But he got better as time went on and the ship with his gen mate Manami started to sail. Actually he hangs around with many girls... maybe it’s just Manami?

Arizona Manami - Ito Life’s daughter... so you know what she looks like. Calls herself the queen of sensitivity, and yes she does very suggestive streams... but she’s pretty innocent and childish... so she’s kind of like Melody in a way. Has a very fond-looking relationship with Akina as mentioned above.

Suzuhara Lulu - Just your typical art student. She’s a rich girl, so she knows very little about the outside world. Definitely has stamina of a thousand horses, famously played 11 hours of Dark Souls, then straight onto 10 hours of Ring Fit, and never got phased. Seriously, she never gets phased. She rode the freaking snake without a problem! Apparently really beautiful in real life, really has large expressions.

There’s a rumor going around that she’s actually some kind of an eldritch god... and I don’t know where that comes from at all. Look at her, she’s such a sweet gal, look at her dancing and singing... she’s a true idol, that’s what she is... (don’t hurt me.)

Yukishiro Mahiro - First-year high-schooler. Good variety of content. Her personality is of a rude kouhai. One viewer described her as a bad-tempered chihuahua. Really likes Kanae, which is okay, I guess. There’s not much more than that.

2019 Part 2 (May-Aug)

Ex Albio - A hero from a different world. Originally portrayed as a rude snarky figure, much like Kazuma without charm or luck but with perseverance. Got his fame through his noob Minecraft experience, as with Minecraft servers, they are ripe with collab opportunities, so he started to collab especially with Ars Almal, which he thinks as a mentor... and so they both talk in high register. Eventually became a couple.

Has a thing where he questions something and immediately denies it, which is quite funny. Eventually got a dark alter version due to the imagination tournament I talked about earlier, which brings the fact that he can’t fight until tragedy occurs.

Levi Elipha - Actually only six years old, and apparently dense, like physically dense. Great singer and good physique, does some English songs as well.

Nui Sociere - A 25-year old witch, but more like a NEET with an addiction to horse racing. Very much like Megumi in terms of magic abilities, but capable of melee.

Kind of sounds like Doraemon when she screams... usually plays JRPG... and well, just look at her. Damn... well, least you have something to look forward to.

Hayama Marin - Hayame is Hayame. She’s just a little kid with a pure mind. Yeah.

Hayato Kagami - CEO of a toy company, so called that. Polite and diligent, but like a CEO of a toy company, completely becomes a boy when getting a bit excited.

Actually is a great singer, maybe a trained singer as well. As a good example of rich getting richer, fans have a tendency to throw red superchat, a typical stream might hit 10K USD, even though there’s nothing particular going on.

Yorumi Rena - Idol magician, but no actual proof of her magic abilities. Plays APEX a lot. Very much an outgoing person with lots of collab from everyone. Hakase calls her mama. Sleep promptly at midnight, except when ARK was involved.

Also makes 8-bit art proficiently, does all her loading screen. A bit of a lewd mind.

Hakase Fuyuki - HIgh school girl who likes to experiment, but it’s obvious none of it ever works. Tries to ship Yorumi and Kagami, and calls him papa. Just absolutely in her own world and everyone is just privy to it... also incredibly bad at gaming.

Mayuzumi Kai - A white hacker. Very cool, but has a thing for comedy, almost to the level of Joe Riikichi, but laughs very little himself. Make sense, since he lost his parents at an early age and lived in the system, therefore is a night streamer. Very good with kids as a result, and very kind and polite as well.

Ars Almal - A mage who specializes in lightning. Started out by apologizing, gets bullied for her round face, usually by Shiina. Cute voice with toxic words with a knack for pranks and taunts. Actually is quite boing boing. Good at Minecraft construction, but get rough and dirty under the wheel, as in Mario Kart. Became a kitsune, and then immediately got compared to Fubuki... much like Fubuki in a sense.

Aiba Uiha - Another idol who is a bit out there, has a tendency to be clingy. Also has a large physique... kind of a denatured Lulu is what I’m getting at. Sisters with Ara Chae, incredibly bad eyesight, apparently. I can see that, actually.

Eli Conifer - A flower fairy and maid with a unique phrasing. Likes to immerse herself in games, very knowledgeable, especially with teas, and also handy at housework, and superb at drawing and singing. Ryushen and Rion think she’s a badass, and they might not be entirely wrong on that aspect, actually.

Kokoro Amaiya - Dragonborn, I think. But there’s no dragon anymore. Has that mumble-speak that people really don’t like. She’s very much kid-like in a sense, uh, so get put into the loli category much like her fellow peer. Incredibly weak.

Ratna Petit - Adventurer with an independent streak. Does games and ASMR, tries to be grown up during collabs, but retreats into a kid in solo streams. Got the infamous random deletion of the account that Kiara famously got.

Nijisanji ID Gen 1

Taka Radjiman - Another CEO, this time a food CEO. Usually streams games, but much like other CEOs here, a pretty good singer as well. Obviously a good cook as well.

ZEA Cornelia - She’s an automata. ZEA is short for Z-type Executive Automation. Likes to sing, and sung many songs including La Vien en Rose by IZONE! I really like her, her streams are bit odd and ZEA can carry a stream like no another.

Hana Macchia - A design student, much like Lulu. Likes drawing as you expect, also like gaming as well. Does some barista stuff as well, a kind of the ambassador of Nijisanji ID, since her father is American and her mother is Japanese, and she lives in Indonesia.

Papa Macchia appears on stream from time to time, and apparently was the progenitor of Hana’s gaming prestige as he played Doom and Half-Life. She’s on the cute side of things, but blushes when she gets called that. Also cries in horror, but screams in excitement... just overall a well-rounded in strangeness. I really like her.

2019 Part 3 (Sep-Dec)

Sukoya Kana - Incredibly smart, but also has an otaku and perverted side. Likes acting, as you might have guessed and bad at housework. Has a quiet voice, but gets savage when a game is involved. Pretty good at english as well. Does a radio show as well.

Oh, yeah, likes to throw up. It’s a thing. Also plays drums. She’s pretty cool.

Shellin Burgundy - Before Kanata did her PPT intro, Shellin was the first one. Professes himself to be a detective, but little lightheaded for that. Good narration voice, though, which means he’s a good singer as well. I kind of like him. He’s good.

Hayase Sou - An outdoorsy girl who likes cosplay and road biking. Kind of talks like she’s middle age, but she acts pretty young. And of course she likes shotas.

Fumi - It took over a year for her to debut. She’s a hikikomori gundam otaku and a goddess. A bit airheaded and pretty bad at gaming, and since she is 67, gets called grandma infrequently. She’s fun to watch. Has a ship with Nagao.

Hoshikawa Sara - Half Japanese and half English. Definitely a cool and tough, ready to take whatever sex jokes and insults you throw at her. Hangs out with Mahiro a lot, or with male members like Yumeoi, Ebio, Shellion or Kanda. Has a wide voice range, with a wide personality as well. There’s a sense of healing to her, honestly.

Obviously gets fangirled by many, including Matsuri, whose frequently red superchats her much to her confusion and relative embarrassment.

Yamagami Karuta - She’s a tengou in training, since she is filled with desires, mostly to connect with people. This is real, apparently. Has a ship with a staff member...

Matsukai Mao - Smartest devil... no, she’s an airhead like the rest of them. Apparently she can spit out crude oil... which is pretty useless. Definitely an unlucky, miserable person who needs to be protected at all times, and she relishes that like the devil she is.

Hangs around with Luis a lot in real life, apparently. Also plays APEX and stuff.

Emma August - Demon Lord that was thrown in an uprising, living with Morinaka Kazaki, and got a new house in February of last year. An alcoholic and a masochist, who gets berated by Kazaki of all people. Definitely not a loli, that’s for sure.

Luis Cammy - An expert thief, which excites Shellin very much. Seen as the leader of the gen, but found out to be much of a kid as the gen mates, especially around Shellin. They are a couple now, apparently. Oh yeah, she did an Outlast stream with a cat outfit and invited Shellin because she was scared? Now there's a loli version of her... yikes.

Fuwa Minato - A host, but a teetotaler, because of health problems... yet drinks Monster energy like it’s no business. A bit out there, as Nijisanji people are. A bit of a trickster, a bad boy if you will... right there with being good at games as well. He’s pretty cool.

Shirayuki Tomoe - When I first saw her, she felt like one of those people in mahjong tournaments. Well, she’s a queen of the night, so night-time streamer, although she has daytime streams as well. Strong drinker. Talks about SM, but also effortlessly friendly and a lovely person. I think she’s attractive, but I can see why people call her cute. She hates bugs, loves cute things, odd thoughts... feels like an aunt to me.

Very bad at reading kanji, not that she’s good at anything else. Likes to practice, hence preserved her way in the Mario Kart tournament. Does talk and ASMR streams with a third of her viewers being women. Likes Mirei, makes sense. Oh, she’s a nudist.

And don’t forget the relationship between Kana and her. Purported to be the most real of the ships of any vtubers. I believe it’s called Crossick. I don’t know too much.

Gwelu Os Gar - Presenter for the elf kingdom, hired as a presenter, since Nijisanji got so big and there’s only so many Kakeru around. Unfortunately seen as boring, and transitioned into kind of a Maimoto character.

Already married, I don’t know why that’s significant but there you go. Oh, and an actual dad! That is pretty significant. Although Setsuna also has a child, and had to retire to take care of the little baby. Teaches math to others, so that’s cool.

Mashiro - Recent high school graduate. He’s a boy. Yes, he has heels and boobs, but he’s a boy. And yes, he is a bit out there, stealing candies from the office.

Naraka - Another oni, and a loli-baba. Obviously a fan of the fellow oni, Mikoto... which has a queen kid relationship. And yes, her chest is smaller than Mashiro... sad.

Kurusu Natsume - 19-year old college student who likes music and sheep. Very smart and very normal. Has an ASMR test stream, which was pretty fun.

Nijisanji ID 2nd Gen

Rai Galliel - An interdimensional policeman. Likes cheese, but hate porridge due to only eating one for four months. Likes baking, pretty cool personality, if a bit straight edge.

Amicia Michella - A freelance illustrator, so the drawing is superb. Like sleep but also sports. Also penguins. Likes to play horror games pretty calmly. Raises two dogs, well one of them passed away late last year. Sang a 10cm cover?

Miyu Ottavia - A business student, and likes otters and is optimistic. Mostly plays RPG and online multiplayers. Tries to be cool, but look at her! She’s very cute.

Riksa Dhirendra - A 24-year-old freelancer and works as an editor and translator. Looks mean, but is actually a very decent gut. He is pretty competitive. Plays RPG.

[deadmomjokes]

For me, part of being asexual means that I get really, REALLY grouchy about a lot of romance in media. Rather, the obsession with romance, sex, and sexuality in media. I am that person that will roll my eyes and turn off a movie if it looks like it’s turning into some steamy nonsense, and I will never willingly sit through a romcom even if you paid me. Sex scenes? I’m out. Passionate kissing? Peace, I’m going to the kitchen, want anything? Call me back when the actual story gets back on. Ridiculous ‘ooh they have such SEXUAL TENSION and chemistry, let’s see how close we can get to making them kiss and just have them breathe heavily in each others faces to get our audience all bothered’? I will end you all. I HATE when books or movies or shows throw in a romantic or sexy subplot just for the lols, at least what I perceive as the lols. Basically, a romance has to be really super duper well-crafted for me to get behind it and not be just utterly enraged or completely turned off from the story.

(Also please note that when I use the term romance in this context, I’m using it as a catch all for ship-based storylines that, due to our culture’s obsession with sex, usually include or hinge on sex or kissy scenes.)

That being said. When a romance is done well, and I mean really well, I absolutely 100% lose my mind. I feel that mess in my soul.

So with that introduction, allow me to lay out a few of my favorite (and, in some instances, most maddeningly painful) romances/canon ships in media.

(read more because I went off. like I said, I feel this way too deeply when it’s done well.)

Winry Rockbell and Edward Elric in FMA:B. Slow burn, mutual pining, mutual cluelessness, what’s not to love? So soft and tender and funny all at the same time, and the mad respect Ed has for Winry is absolutely delightful. She does her own thing, and he’s totally supportive, just as she is of him. And a happily ever after??? UGH, I can’t, it’s perfect. The most straightforward and least convoluted of my whole list, and it’s comparatively easy to breeze through. FMA:B is great anyhow, so do yourself a favor and go watch it.

Audrey Parker/ Nathan Wuornos in Haven (with major caveats). Caveats first: they went overboard with the sexy stuff in my opinion. It got too smutty for me, but my tolerance for that stuff is super low, and it did still air on TV, so evidently it wasn’t as bad for the target audience as it was for my sex-in-media-repulsed self. I also find the final seasons to get a bit stale and repetitive in terms of them trying to advance the love story narrative (all the plot points for it got addressed in earlier episodes/seasons, so why are we going over it again??). They also have a bit of an issue in some episodes with dragging out conflicts because the characters just won’t talk to each other like adults. But overall, taken as a whole, it hits hard. Again, we have a slow burn, mutual pining dynamic that starts as a genuine platonic friendship, and transforms into a dimension and time defying chosen soulmates love story for the ages. The things they would do to save each other, even if it means they can never be together, just so they have the joy of knowing that their beloved is okay. The tiny ways they take care of each other- Audrey testing Nathan’s coffee to see if it’s too hot, Nathan slowing down so he doesn’t out-pace her, it’s just adorable.

Faramir and Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings BOOKS. This is an interesting one because it happens really quickly and between two minor characters. But Tolkien did this really interesting thing where he established these two characters separately, and then brought them together and played off what we knew about each of them in context of everything else that had happened with the main story, and suddenly it has, as one of my professors would say, “the illusion of depth.” Faramir absolutely falls head over heels for Eowyn but won’t act until she can deal with her own crap and be emotionally available. Eowyn realizes that she was hung up on ideals, illusions, and false dichotomies. Faramir has been through a lot and is looking for peace. Eowyn is looking for who she really is when she realizes she has more than two choices in life. They find healing together, and in the process, find what they were looking for in each other. And all that happens in the space of, like, 4 pages. I LOVE IT.

Sam Carter and Jack O’Neill in Stargate SG1. This one will hurt you to no end. You will hate life. But gosh dang if they aren’t perfect. This is the slowest burn and most mutual pining of all slow burn mutual pining ships to ever grace media. I’m talking 8 seasons of these two sharing feelings but being unable to express it for one reason or another. What are those reasons, you ask? Jack is her superior and respects her too much to put her in that position. No fraternization on the team. Sam has career aspirations, he won’t ruin her life. He’s got his own issues to work through and knows he isn’t emotionally available. Sam is clueless for a while, then when she realizes she has feelings for him but it couldn’t be because of their work dynamic and because he’s still dealing with his own crap, she tries to move on but keeps coming back to the unspoken fact that she still loves him. To the point that she breaks off her own engagement to a great guy because she realizes she was only trying to move on-- and wasn’t successful. They are clearly in deep for each other, and yet they keep making excuses why they can’t say it.

In the whole series, they never officially get together, and I HATE THAT. There are multiple alternate realities and timelines where they are together, and happy, but in the main timeline, they can’t get over themselves, and it hurts so bad because they’re so perfect. Jack knows she’s the smartest person in the room, and he supports her and defends her and listens to and defers to her. He respects her first as an expert, then as a colleague, and then as a woman whom he deeply loves even though he can’t find it in him to love himself. She appreciates his experience and leadership, and trusts him implicitly. She knows she’s got more book smarts, but relies on his judgement and ability to remain calm under pressure. She also knows she can be real with him, and he knows that when she calls him on his BS he better listen. She is his conscience, and he is her backbone. And in between episodes where they’re clearly pining for each other, and even during, they’re really great friends and a great team. I could seriously write an essay on why this ship is both perfect and intensely frustrating, but then again, you could just watch a great and classic series and see what I mean for yourself. (Then you’d also get to meet the perfection that is Teal’c, and watch Daniel Jackson’s transition from Milo Thatch in Space to sassy beefcake demigod who still loves archaeology.)

Beren and Luthien, Tolkien part 2, electric boogaloo. A love so powerful it transcends death, fate, hell and heaven all at once. It’s kind of wild and not what you’d expect if you’ve only read LotR (or only seen the movies), because it’s more a classic fairy tale than anything, but hot dang if it isn’t still one of the most powerful, moving, deeply impactful love stories in all of writing. It’s even a “love at first sight” narrative and I STILL fall hard for it. This story legit moves me to tears every dang time I read it, or even think about it too hard.

It starts as a simple “forbidden love” story, but these two loved each other so much that they defied one of the most powerful kings in all the world at that time (who was also Luthien’s dad, oopsies), defied Satan himself and marched into Hell just for the chance to be together, and then changed the very way the world works forever just so they could stay together and not be parted. Luthien is a total BEAST, while never giving up her gentle, loving, and tender nature. For the love of this man, she defies her father’s wishes and breaks herself out of her own dang tower to go rescue her prince instead of the other way round, she sends Sauron (yeah, he’s here too!) scurrying with his tail between his legs, wrecks his house, and frees all his slaves and prisoners just to try and get to Beren, drags his butt out of heck part 1, then willingly walks into literal, actual Hell with him and proceeds to enchant Satan and all the demons within. Then she gets her bf outta there after he loses his hand, and goes back to face her father unafraid. Basically, Beren undertakes a literally impossible task just for the chance to be with Luthien, but Luthien is the one that makes it happen because she loves him too much to sit around knowing he’s going to die. She’s willing to die with him rather than live without him, but more willing to dare death to come at her and get some because ain’t no way she’s losing him.

Then, at the last, when all should have been their happily ever after, everything goes wrong and she loses her beloved, and instead of mourning forever, she yeets off her mortal coil out of pure “Oh no you didn’t, not after all we went through” just to go stand before the God of Fate and the Dead and plead with him to change the rules of the universe itself just so that she can be with Beren. And he does it, because their love is so strong. Just for them, all of existence is rewritten so that they might never be parted.

And if you don’t think that’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard, consider also: these two crazy kids were so wonderful that the Goodest Boy in all the world, a functionally immortal and super-intelligent dog sent from heaven itself by a literal god, willingly turned on all his masters and spontaneously learned intelligent speech just so he could help them out and be their Good Boy til the bitter end, thus (in Tolkien’s mythos) starting the whole “man’s best friend” thing with dogs. So yeah. And, uh, Tolkien based it on him and his wife, to the point of ripping their first meeting frame-for-frame from real life. It’s too much y’all.

Anyhow, this post is way, way too long, but I was just feeling the need to get that out there. Maybe I’ll have more in the future, but for now, this is what was on my mind. Particularly the last two.

[bearpillowmonster]

Static Shock Retrospective

I was watching Young Justice: Season 2 (Invasion) when I decided I wanted to watch this, I always liked Shock but never got into the lore of it, and I love his powers. I've seen gifs of the show and thought it looked interesting but never really got around to it, I just haven't been in the mood. Then I saw a video on YouTube called "Jimmy no!" not knowing that it was from Static Shock and oh boy...it got dark, I wasn't expecting it to go that deep, that kind of thing wouldn't get aired today but it made me interested in it again.

I started the first episode and Virgil's personality made it for me, mix that with Richie, played by Jason Marsden (aka Max Goof and Kovu) and you have a very nice protag duo. I instantly knew that I was going to finish it when I saw him using a blanket like Dr. Strange's cape or a homing device because of his static cling. Yes I started it because it's dark, but the series isn't always dark, just parts of it, like the first episode has to do with gangs, another with racism, then one where a kid gets trapped in a vault and is losing oxygen?? I mean is my memory hazy and cartoons were just like this and aren't now?

They call the people who were in the accident from his origin "Bang Babies" which sounds like a play on Baby Boomers, Virgil is pretty quippy like that. With this, I'm not a big fan of all the baddies coming from the same incident as our hero, especially when we don't see them all there in that episode, you might as well say that the whole town was infected.

Does it withstand the test of time? Well yeah, as I mentioned, there are things we probably wouldn't see in today's television but the topics are quite relevant as well as the humor. The visual style is pretty nice, the language they use isn't as "cringy early 2000's crap" as I thought, the only sign of age is formats, they'll talk about VCRs and have CDs hanging from the ceiling. The actual content is ahead of it's time with almost public service announcement type episodes that are extremely relevant today, for example, one episode they go to Africa and they show that "Black people can be superheroes too." and Virgil says about how in America he's a black kid, but in Africa he's just a regular kid and asks Ritchie if that's what it's like for him all the time. They talk about culture, sometimes it'll teach a lesson that way and it's so wholehearted that it just fits, it's really nice and surprising to see. 

They have sections at the end of the show where they'll have an artist draw a specific character, it's different every time, I have a knack for that and for some reason I remember it?? Maybe I accidentally caught it one day or I'm confusing it for something else because I'm pretty sure I never saw the actual show but it's only after some episodes from what I can see. I think I remember Avatar doing something similar, I guess great shows think alike. 

Here’s a link if interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PPMgBU_GmU

Virgil's mother is gone, they make that apparent pretty much from the get-go so no spoilage here but I like the way they make his sister pick up where she left off. Like there's a running occurrence where she'll make a meal for the family and Virgil will make fun of it and say something like "Runny...just the way I like them..." about his eggs, it's like she's doing this stuff to fill the gap and failing but she's making the effort and that's all that counts, for as much or little as we see her, this is a nice little additive to her overall character. As for his mother though, I like that they go all in and make that a running theme, sometimes having full episodes commemorating her.

There are some special guests too. I won't say any more on that though, I'll let it be a surprise if you decide to watch it because the crossover episodes are hands down some of the best I've seen and another reason I started this series.

I got about halfway through the series and I was like "Oh yeah, what about Frida?" She appears in the very first episode and she seems like a main character, then Daisy enters the scene a little later but Frida's kind of been pushed back to the background, used only when the plot finds her convenient, so we don't really get a whole lot of character from her. I guess that's representative to the series as a whole because what I got was a lot different than what I expected from those first few episodes.

In season 3, they change up the intro, it kind of fits the times, the original one sounded kind of 90's, the second one sounds very early 2000s, I suppose it fits the flow. We still get the original theme during Static's bigger moments, but they do that for all the seasons. What's funny to me is that if you read the Wikipedia page, it says they wanted something fast paced with "DMX-type vocals", ha! As if. I will say that some of the OST overall has a few really good tracks, but unfortunately I haven't found a way to find them on their own, separated from the show. I know most of them only last a short time but other DC shows still have the OST released despite being fairly short or only being in a specific episode. That's not the only thing that changes, he has a second design, which I personally have become accustomed to the white shirt over black but it is what it is, his costume was literally just street clothes in Young Justice and I was surprisingly okay with that so whatever suit is fine. The second one is meant to show that he's growing and it definitely seems that way with the sleeker design and more black added but what I really like about it is that he takes the jacket off sometimes and the Static shirt is just a sleeveless black shirt, it just adds more variety in my opinion. Daisy's overall design changed too for whatever reason and Frida's changed a tiny bit, her's is a little harder to notice.  

For some reason in the middle of the season, in the episode "Consequences" and "Trouble Squared", he changes back to his old suit (I mean he could have just had the old suit lying around and decided to use it for old times sake) but it seems like that episode was made before S3 started or something else because Daisy has her old design as well. It also shows that he has a FULL white mask, not just the eye mask, like a part that goes over his head, I'm not sure if that's supposed to be where his hood is or what but he takes it out of his backpack separated from his hoodie. It might've been just a miscolor though. He has electric as his power (obviously) but they use it in pretty creative ways, the most outlandish and kind of dumb one though is that they basically have him use Photoshop. 

You can also argue that he makes the computer a touch screen.

Now Season 4's first episode is really pretty cool, reminds me of something out of Ben 10 but without spoiling it, there's a part in an earlier season where Static asks where a certain character is and they respond by alluding to a DC reference, however we see that character again in the season 4 opener so the timeline doesn't fit, there are a few other inconsistencies but that's the one I'll mention.

Season 4 also seems to have a return for a lot of different characters almost like a sequel to those episodes. Those are hit or miss, some do well while others don't. It's easily my least favorite of the seasons. It's not bad or anything, it has some really good episodes but the good to bad episode ratio is just more than the other seasons, I must have been spoiled by the consistent number of good episodes.

This may be the realest animated tv series I've ever seen and it's about SUPERHEROES! The way they manage that is unbelievable. I hope we see more of this character, somewhere, anywhere because he’s been given the backseat in pretty much everything, even the comics, he’s been absent from those for quite a while, I feel like now is an excellent time to bring him back, I mean look at the current position we’re in.

The last retrospective I did was American Dragon, there are a few things that I can compare between the two endings but does this one seem definitive? Well in a way, yes, it seems like a very good last episode but doesn’t end everything off in such a way that there wouldn’t be room for one more season. I have a feeling they knew it was the last episode given the way they sort of built it up here and there. The cancellation, however, was caused by the lack of toy sales, not lack of views, however I can’t say I’ve really seen any merchandise from the show.

Seems like there were some dinky Subway toys and a GBA game...

[foxofthedesert]

RedQueen & Mythology Part 2

Hey, @loudestdork​, guess what?  Here I am again, this time at 4 am, because your fucking glorious manip has me obsessing over this brilliant little universe where Regina and Ruby are Hades and Persephone.  I don’t know whether I should love you or hate you for fueling this hopeless addiction.   

While I decide about that, you can read the latest installment.  I can’t promise any more but holy shit there are so many ideas to play with.  Hope you enjoy it you absolutely magnificent enabler! 

Also, please forgive the song insert at the end.  It has long been an earworm and this was the perfect ficlet, IMHO anyway, to use it in.  The song is “Listen To The Wind” by James Horner (one of my most favorite film composers and I was utterly devastated when he passed) for the Terrence Malick film The New World.  The whole score is incredible, but this one in addition to “An Apparition in the Fields...” are the standouts for me.  I’ll post the URL to the referenced song after the ficlet.  Give it a listen if you are a James Horner fan or a connoisseur of film scores in general.  

“Would you please stop?  Your needless fretting is tying my stomach into knots.”

Clutching the sheets to her bare chest, Ruby observes her spouse’s restless pacing as anxiety crawls up her spine.  She hates this time of year – a twist of fate she could never have predicted when she was a maiden free to roam the Earth at her leisure.

Before she was married there were no seasons.  The land was healthy and green year around.  Birds and butterflies and wolves, her very favorite animal, flocked to her side, forgetting their natural impulses in the presence of Ceres Eugenia’s progeny.  Ruby always had an affinity for animals and had always felt as if she were a part of their various cycles.  When younglings were born she rejoiced in song and danced in celebration, and when they perished she mourned as if having lost a member of her family.

Common sense should therefore dictate that she prefer spring over autumn if only to spare herself the grief of watching the whole world die year after year in endless repetition.  And yet nothing could be further from the truth.  Already a thousand years have passed since she struck the eternal bargain with Jovia Zelena to bind her to Dīs. A thousand years she has observed the flora and fauna endure the frigid snows and gales of winter.  A thousand years she has buried her four-legged friends in the frosty loam and held vigil over millions upon millions of trees and flowers and insects alike as they struggled, often fruitlessly, against the remorseless cold intent upon feeding the insatiable engine of death.  She has cried enough tears in that millennium to replenish both the Mediterranean and Aegean were they to succumb to a terminal drought and still she would rather endure another rather than spend the coming six months away from her beloved.

Speaking of Regina, as she stops abruptly and swirls around, Ruby can’t help but notice that her sheen toga clings wonderfully to her curves and that the part in the garment has separated to reveal nearly the whole length of a shapely leg her lips long to taste. Eyes blazing, hands on her hips, raven hair spilling over her shoulders, Regina cuts such an impressive and irresistibly handsome figure that Ruby can hardly keep herself from drooling.  And how very embarrassing that would be!

Not for the first time, she silently contemplates how anyone with functioning vision and a shred of reason could choose Venus as the fairest of them all. Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow; surely Ruby’s closest childhood friend possessed all of those physical virtues and more, yet even Venus Mater Caelesti – known to those who lover her as Nix Alba (or in the common tongue Snow White) – failed to compare with the banished goddess that all with breath either feared or loathed.

In the vaulted halls of Olympos they derisively referred to the ruler of the Underworld as Regina a Malo, the Evil Queen.  But to Ruby she will forever be Regina in Corde Meo, the Queen of My Heart.

Survival for half the year without the sovereign owner of her love and devotion is a torture so unbearable that the Deam Optimus Maximus is no doubt thrilled that her faux attempt at leniency was failing so spectacularly.  Were it not for the unyielding support of her mother and Snow, she cannot imagine how she would even function.

True Love, as it turns out, is not only a source of unimaginable happiness but also of indescribable misery.

“Needless fretting?” Regina says, responding to Ruby’s request in a less than accommodating tone.  “In less than a fortnight you will leave me once again to the mercy of my imaginations.  I can do nothing else but fret when you are not by my side!  Beyond the borders of Dīs I cannot protect you, cannot watch over you, cannot...”

“Hover like a mother hen over her chicks?” Ruby supplies, interrupting in an attempt to forestall her wife’s spiraling descent lest she succumb to one of her abyssal depressions.

There is scarcely anything to be done when the darkness has taken hold of Regina in earnest.  In such instances, Ruby does what she can to provide whatever comfort her ailing partner will accept.  Usually space and time are required for Regina to wrestle off the impossibly heavy blanket of sadness that has engulfed her.  But sometimes she lets Ruby sing to her until the fog lifts or hold her hand while they go for a walk through the Fields of Gladness or the Blessed Groves. When the despair becomes too much, Regina will curl into Ruby’s body while they lie abed and it is all she can do during those evenings to keep from empathetically sobbing as her beloved trembles miserably in her arms.

Thankfully Ruby has discovered through trial and error that humor is a method of dispelling Regina’s souring moods that is effective more often than not.

“I resent that comparison,” Regina says, brows furrowed in objection.  Ruby breathes a sigh of relief, though, when her shoulders relax into a more neutral posture. “For your information I am nothing like your disgustingly virtuous mother, and I’ll thank you not to imply such again any time in the near future.”

“Aww.  Don’t be cross, love. I meant no disrespect,” Ruby says, then invitingly pats the empty space beside her.  “Now, be a good girl and come back to bed.”

One sable eyebrow quirks up as Regina eyes Ruby with a small grain of incredulity.  “’A good girl’?  Do you address Zelena with such remarkable insouciance when you deliver your annual report?”

Said report is part of the deal with the chief goddess Ruby acquiesced to so that she could have six months of the year with Regina instead of the originally intended three.  Her first destination each spring is Mytikas, the summit of Mount Olympus upon which the great temple of the gods was erected eons before she was even born. There she is to give account of Regina’s activities, however benign, as assurance that Zelena’s grasp on power remains uncontested.  It is a distasteful duty that Ruby executes with all of the precision she can muster, especially since it always makes her feel dirty, as if she is being employed against her will as a spy in her own wife’s domain.

“Of course not, silly,” she replies, smiling at how cute Regina is when acting absolutely ridiculous.  “I try to keep interactions with your sister to a minimum, and when I report to her I make sure to maintain the proper formality she most certainly does not deserve.  Now stop beating around the bush and come to bed.  As you said, I have a fortnight left with you and I do not intend on wasting even one minute.”

When Regina remains mulishly still, Ruby switches to a tried and tactic: batting her eyelashes and pouting shamelessly.  To her delight, Regina caves within seconds and responds with an affectionate if not exasperated roll of her eyes.

Once they are settled back in together, Ruby’s back nestled flush with Regina’s front, they both heave sighs of contented pleasure.  An easy, familiar silence reigns over them for a space that Ruby does not care to account for.  Not when the only thing she needs and desires is right here in this room holding her just right, nuzzling into her cheek and neck in between pressing patient kisses against the skin of her shoulder and arm.

This is her home, Regina is her home, and there is no other place where she feels more safe and loved and cherished in all the universe, which has garnered a fair few questions as to her sanity when she has admitted as such to her friends and loved ones in the planes above Dīs.  Some of them have been so bold as to declare to her face that she is insane.

“If that’s true,” she told one such acquaintance, “then sanity is not for me. Better to be deranged and blissfully happy than a sensible busybody like you who will never experience real love or understand how it feels to be desired for your heart instead of your tits!”

That particular individual has not spoken to Ruby since, not that it is a big loss. Drizella always was and always will be a vacuous hussy.

“What am I to do when you’re gone?”

Regina’s plaintive whisper shatters the silence as if she had screamed.  Ruby’s heart lurches from a pang of acute melancholy. She already knows the answer to that question, and has since it was first asked a thousand years earlier.  

While Ruby cries herself to sleep upon her plush bed in the Aventine Temple, Regina will be working herself ragged by micromanaging every last operational detail of the entire realm. She will spend countless hours draped in thick furs brooding upon her throne while being buffeted by cutting winds that sweep through corridors and hallways of the palace – for while above the spring breeds balmy, gentle breezes, in the Underworld the atmosphere turns ever more frigid and capricious and violent in tune with the temperament of its ruler.  Against all logic she will refuse nourishment far too frequently and eat meager portions only when necessary, forego rest until she is too haggard and weary to perform even basic functions, harshly dismiss all attempts to lighten her load until the majority of the staff is too frightened to even approach her, and generally wear herself down until all that is left is an exhausted husk that Ruby will have to revitalize all over again come the fall.

She hates that her beloved will segregate herself to such a degree, but there is little she can do to prevent it.  The Laws of Olympus cannot be broken, not even by those who decree them. However, that does not mean they cannot be bent.  She may be forbidden to physically see and touch Regina during her time on the surface, but the laws Zelena established dictating their separation make no mention of the metaphysical.  

Although eternal beings such as themselves do not require sleep, it is a luxury that provides many physical, emotional, and mental benefits.  For them, though, something unique occurs when they are asleep at the same time. Somnus himself had taught her that they are what mortals refer to as Soul Mates.  They are, he had told her, two halves of one whole and because of that no force known to heaven or earth could keep them completely isolated from one another.  Space and time are irrelevant to them when they can bridge any distance to be reunited in their dreams.  Unfortunately learning how to control this ability was quite complex and required many secretive lessons over the centuries for Ruby to even summon the most simple of dreamscapes for herself.

Thankfully this past summer she had at last managed to recreate the broader forest in which she and Regina first met.  And tonight she was going to draw them both there as indisputable proof that there was a place beyond prying eyes they could always be together.  

“Close your eyes.”

“I bet your pardon?” Regina replies, and when she attempts to prop herself up by an elbow, Ruby latches on to her arm to keep her close.

“For once do what I say without being difficult, would you please? I need you to hold me and close your eyes.”

For a long moment Regina does not comply, and though it starts to appear like she never will, Ruby continues waiting all the same.  She is very good at that – waiting on Regina.  In her experience, doing so never goes without reward. The woman may be more intractable and ornery than the hound that guards the gates of her dominion, but she is worth the expense of every single second of patience expended and every last ounce of effort exhausted on her behalf.

As if determined to prove her correct, Regina eventually settles back down and snakes an arms beneath the covers to wind over Ruby’s waist.  A cool hand then settles in the valley of her breasts, fingers splayed wide over her heart, and Ruby shivers more in response to the welcome touch than to the algid temperature of her wife’s flesh.

“Alright then,” Ruby says, wiggling further into the embrace, “are your eyes closed?”  Regina hums confirmation into the shell of Ruby’s ear. “Now, just relax, breathe, and listen...”  

And when all is still and quiet once more she begins to sing:

“Time is a river that flows endlessly and A life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream.

Shadows dance behind the firelight, 

And all the spirits of the night remind us: We are not alone.

Tomorrow, a sun soon rising, And yesterday is there beside us,

And it's never far away. If you listen to the wind you can hear me again.

Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song

High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves.

Listen to the wind, there's no end to my

Love is forever a circle unbroken.

The seasons keep changing; it always remains. Spring will melt the snows of winter and the summer gives us days of light 

So long till autumn makes them fade.

Remember the sound of laughter. We ran together through the meadows;

Still we thought our hearts could break.

If you listen to the wind, you can hear me again.

Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song

High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves.

Listen to the wind and I'll send you my love. Listen to the wind where the sky meets the land.

I'm not really gone I've been here all along

High up in the trees in the sound of the leaves.

Listen to the wind there's no end to my...

Time is a river that flows to the sea

And a life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream.”

As the song draws to an end, there is no sound or movement from Regina save from her steady breathing, by which Ruby can tell she is fast asleep. With a soft, peaceful smile, she shutters her eyelids closed and inhales deeply.  

By the time she has fully exhaled, she is already kissing Regina in their meadow.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

You mentioned before that Jason is Selina’s favorite bat child. Why is that and where do the others fall on the spectrum of being likable to Selina?

g o d thank you for this opportunity to revisit something that I didn’t get to do before my old blog got deleted.

(this is... not going to answer the second question, fyi. it might not even strictly answer the first one. but.)

the new Robin likes her. 

the new Robin, who looks so much like the old one that it nearly gave Selina a heart attack the first time she saw him. same mop of black hair, same scrap of a mask, same green pixie boots and bare legs that the night air had bedecked with goose bumps. little Dickie hasn’t looked like that in years, of course; she’s watched him grow up, practically a man now, in his own mind at least. she’s heard he’s in a new city, using a new name, leaving all this Robin stuff behind.

so who is this?

a new ward, the Bat says, and that’s all she’s going to get by way of explanation. it’s all she needs. the man wears hope poorly, like it doesn’t fit right and he’s ashamed of owning it in the first place, but she always notices when he does. he’s excited about this, wants so badly for it to work. he’s lonely; this isn’t news.

the new kid, whoever he is, he’s already taken a shine to her. whenever she bumps into the Dynamic Duo he seems genuinely happy to see her, calls her “ma’am” and “miss” and even “Miss Catwoman.” unfailingly polite, no matter the circumstances - “evening, ma’am” as he crashes through a skylight hot on her trail, “it’s cold tonight, isn’t it, miss?” as they huddle under the same gargoyle to keep out of the rain, “heya, Miss Catwoman” when she finds herself handcuffed in the Batmobile in the least fun way. 

she pokes around, biding her time, grabbing snippets of information where she can. Jason Todd, straight out of Crime Alley, acting like he was raised right when he most certainly wasn’t. it makes sense, doesn’t it? she knows kids like him, grew up around kids like him, was a kid like him growing up in Alleytown. scrappy, struggling, smart in a way that only leads to trouble.

she can see it, even from a distance, the conflict brewing across the months and years. no matter how happy he is to play the part and wear the mask, Jason is different than Dick and Bruce. no rich parents or cheerful circus folks to shelter this one; he has his own ideas about how the world is and what will work. he won’t be content to chase down the superstitious, cowardly lot, not forever. he wants change, something more permanent than sending people off to prisons that never seem to hold for more than a few months.  

it’s not his fault, but the boy has disaster looming over him. Selina’s not sure Bruce can see it, is even less sure he’d understand it. there are nights she checks in on her girls, the women working the dark street corners, and finds Jason is already there, swapping stories with the teenage prostitutes. he doesn’t look so much like Dick anymore; puberty has hit him hard and made him taller, wider, a brick shithouse of a boy compared to his acrobatic big brother. he still greets her with a cheery hey, Miss Kyle. just keeping an eye on things.

Bruce let him in on that little secret, and he’s been insufferable about it ever since. she isn’t mad, can’t be mad, when she knows he’s made a habit of this. keeping an eye on things means keeping an eye on men, making sure the girls are safe and getting paid fairly, distracting any of Gotham’s finest if they come knocking. she wonders if the Bat knows he’s here, how much Jason tells him, how accountable they are to each other. she knows so little about their interior lives, exactly enough to be worried.

and wouldn’t you know it - now he’s dead.

he’s dead, and Bruce is a mess, and Selina can’t figure out what happened, he was just alive, didn’t she just see him, he didn’t deserve this, just a boy, a good kid, a good kid no matter what anyone says. wasn’t he just telling her about his essay for his English class, about the symbolism of seasons in A Separate Peace? he was so excited about that paper; did he ever get to hand it in? before he died, before the Joker killed him, the Joker who’s been in and out of Arkham more times than anyone can count, the Joker who shot Batgirl earlier that very year, the Joker who sort of proves the point, doesn’t he? maybe Jason was right, maybe the Bat’s not doing enough.

but he keeps going like he always does; within a year there’s yet another Robin, and then another Batgirl, and a Spoiler too. must be crowded in the Batcave. 

all of Gotham’s getting smaller, it seems. there’s a new name, a new mask, a Red Hood. she hears snippets and whispers about him, something something, duffel bag full of heads, etc. the Bat’s already hunting him down, but Selina’s got her own sources, her own back alleys of information. he’s rough, this Red Hood, but she’s heard his ideas somewhere before. he’s not trying to topple Gotham’s drug trade, only control, keep it away from kids and schools. and the working girls say he’s never anything but courteous when they cross his path.

Selina finds him in exactly the kind of safe house Bruce would have taught him to set up, with the exception of the wall full of guns. mask discarded, face beaten bloody. whoever he was fighting tonight, they won. she doesn’t ask if it was the Bat or Nightwing or one of the new sidekicks; she doesn’t say anything at all until he does.

hey, Selina, he says, like he’s been expecting her all this time, and she wonders if she should have tried to track him down sooner. 

what happened to Miss Kyle? she asks, and he grins (split lip and a missing tooth; if Bruce did this she’s going to skin him). 

sorry, my bad. heya, Miss Kyle. he moves an inch, clutches at his ribs, hisses through the pain. how’ve you been?

they’re not allies, exactly. she’s not aiding and abetting anything; she’s not taking sides but when the chips are down she is, nominally, on Bruce’s. but she checks in on him sometimes, and never flinches when she comes home and finds him groaning on her couch. 

sorry, Selina, this was closer-

I understand, Jason. don’t touch any of my leftovers in the fridge, but the pantry is up for grabs. don’t get blood on my linens. try to be gone by morning.

I was never here.

and then somehow, impossible, he’s on speaking terms with the family again. more or less. usually. except when he does something, or Bruce does something, or they both do, and they’re too stubborn to do anything about it but start a fight and do some things they’ll both regret. she’s in too deep at this point to pretend that she’s not invested - ten years? eighty? hard to say, the way they blur, she sometimes wonders how accurately she’s remembering her own implausible life, but she’s certain that she loves Bruce. loves him but doesn’t have to like every part of him, lets him know exactly what she thinks about him feuding with his own children.

Jason still shows up on her couch sometimes. and she still hears about him from time to time, from a new wave of girls. Holly couldn’t stop talking about him the other day, said he helped her out when a prospective client turned mean and then walked her home, even split some Chinese takeout. Selina tries to thank him for it later and he shrugs it off, says he’s always happy to do Batman’s job for him. 

Selina doesn’t play favorites. she tries to keep to the edges of the latest Bat-nonsense, has enough of her own problems to be dealing with. but the old Robin likes her, and she likes him back. he needs a little more than all the others. 

[packhuntcr]

♒ - cooking/food headcanon asked by @thehearsc

Attempt #2 because tumblr ate more than half the first one, about which I’m super salty.

So, you totally only asked for one but...

I have lots of thoughts on this subject, okay?

Thought #1: Watery mac and cheese? Ten thousand percent the responsibility of one (1) Jacob Seed. But it’s not incompetence. Think about it. The boys grew up poor. Mac and cheese was cheap, plentiful, filling. They ate an asston of that boxed mac and cheese crap. And, being the oldest, Jacob was the one to make it. So, eliminating incompetence as a reason... it was absolutely an unsubtle protest to Joseph asking him to go. True, it’s a rare time even Joseph can make that great ginger sasquatch do something he doesn’t want to do. But just because he wasn’t forced doesn’t mean he had any kind of desire to share oxygen in the same vicinity as Nick Rye or any other idiot. And vexation loves company every inch as much as misery. So, that tupperware of sloppy noodles and processed cheese-product gets dropped onto the table, staring Joseph dead in the eye with a ‘I’m only here because of you and you bet your skinny ass I ain’t happy about it’ expression. I’m pretty sure it was a culinary ‘fuck you’ to Hot for Preacher and every other soul at that barbecue. 

Thought #2: Going back to jacob’s familiarity with cheap, crappy food. Jacob grew up in a house that lived paycheck-to-paycheck in the best of times. As he got older and the number of mouths to feed increased, it became paycheck-to-it-might-be-awhile-before-the-next-paycheck. Throw in there their mother’s progression to a breathing ghost that can’t be assed to rouse to the cries of her children, and it wasn’t Mrs. Seed cooking. It was Jacob.

And not well.

Especially earlier on, before John came along, Jacob had a talent for both burning and undercooking the same item of foodstuff. It got better with practice, but there was precious little to work with. Fresh produce or meat was rare. The boys always ate like preppers: canned, items from that sad clearance shelf in the grocery, things that were cheap, filling, shelf stable. And when the pantry went empty, it was the eldest son out scraping together enough to fill his brother’s empty bellies. Jacob begged. He borrowed, he stole, he hoarded what he could from other sources. Some evenings after school saw Jacob waiting for the food pantry in a line that stretched around the corner, the tips of his ears burning bright as his red hair. But sating hunger, feeding his brothers was more important than his pride. Seasonings were expensive, intimidating to a boy who had to teach himself to turn on the stove to warm the contents of  a steel can. More so, they did nothing to quiet the hunger and thus, were ruled unnecessary. Though he loved both his brothers, John was easily the favorite. John had no memory of their mother’s cooking, knew no other source of nutrition. So the baby happily ate whatever mess Jacob could pull together where Joseph had to force down a mess of oatmeal, peaches in heavy syrup, and vienna sausage. Which doesn't sound awful... Until you consider it was totally mixed together in one pot. But they were fed, went to bed with stomachs that didn’t growl most nights. It was enough.

Thought #3: If you think of it, school lunches were probably the only reliable source of food Jacob knew. They didn’t even last that long, but they were reliable up until that point. And there’s Jacob, at lunch knowing he’s got brothers at home without it. Knowing that the meal that evening or over the weekend isn’t guaranteed. So Jacob’s going to hoard food. He’ll never eat a full portion, not even of school’s sad PB&J. The boy grows up on half-portions, just enough to get by that he might have something to take back to share, to tuck away for thinner times. Dude’s thin most of his life. 6′4″ and gangling, but on such a broad frame. Jacob Seed wasn’t made to be slim. Look at the size of his hands, the breadth of his shoulders. 

The first time Jacob finishes a meal without being hungry, he’s 18 and in the army. 18 fucking years old before he goes to bed with a full belly. Because, up until that point, he’s been too poor, been setting food aside, been trying to feed two more on enough for one. By the time he’s made it through Basic, most of his hope of finding his brothers again is beat out of him. He’s also in a place where food is plentiful, pushed upon him. He’s got a bit of money for the first time in his life and exists in a system that wants him healthy and strong. And lord does that boy fill out. Jacob, in his twenties, is a mountain of a man. Towering, that broad frame finally filled out with the physical labor to ensure it’s all muscle. Then that third tour happens. Miller happens. And Jacob never wants to be that hungry again. So the hoarding resumes. And it never stops. Not when he’s homeless. Not when his brothers find him again.

I guarantee you there are caches of food throughout the county. Jacob is a beast about waste. Take enough, take what you need, store the rest. By the time we see him in Hope, dude’s had a reliable source of nutrition for 8-10 years at minimum. But he’s still thin; his hands look massive compared to his body, disproportionately so. He hasn’t rebuilt that muscle that he lost. Because rebuilding and maintaining that frame is excessive. He doesn’t need it and he’d rather set that food aside for later when things won’t be so easy. You bet your ass he has nightmares about those first few years if he survives the Collapse. Jacob's the one going "no, fuck you we need food for ten years, not seven" and living in terror of blight and nuclear winter.

Thought #4: Pork. I see many within this fandom expressing Jacob’s refusal to eat pork, his inability to stand the smell of cooking bacon. And I totally get it. I mean, there’s a reason people are referred to as long pig. And, of course, the incident with Miller is a hugely traumatic moment. It's a moment that left mental scars every bit as prolific as the physical ones. But, for me and my Jacob, this fails to take into account his pragmatism, the overwhelming practicality of the man. Think about it: henrefers to people as ‘meat’. He actually went so far as to overcome taboo and kill his friend in the desert and consume him in order to survive. 

And pork’s cheap. It’s prolific. It’s an easy choice when feeding the hundreds of the project. It cans easily in many forms. Jacob’s not going to turn it down. He’s known hunger. He’s known starvation. And he’s not going to waste a thing. Jacob Seed would eat your fucking puppy before going hungry. He’d eat you. Hell, the only ones he wouldn’t eat are John and Joseph. Even that is only because, without them, he doesn’t much want to survive. So yeah, Jacob will eat pork. Jacob will eat just about anything you lay before him. He’s probably the only Seed to not turn green at the notion of the Testy Festy. It’s just meat.

What will get him though, is scent. See, when he and Miller got separated int he ambush, they weren’t completely without supplies. Each had only what they carried. A camel-back of water each, the contents of their packs and pockets. There’s a bit in the way of snacking there. Enough for a day or two. But Miller, ever a vain man, Miller had a can of body spray in his pack, guard against the desert sun and BDUs. And he used it. Prolifically. One small comfort in a pit of misery, who’d blame the man? Jacob. That’s who. Jacob would swear Miller went through that entire can in a matter of days. Out in the middle of BFE and the man reeked like an Axe cloud in an under-ventilated middle school locker room. It was pervasive, irritating Jacob’s sensitive nose. So much so that he’d swear he could taste it in the meat pulled from a spit over a small fire. But he ate it.

That’s the trigger for Jacob- strong smells. We all know more than half of men’s soaps, deodorants, and sprays smell the same. And dude cannot stand it. It feeds into his grimy state. Who’d want to bathe regularly with that memory in a bottle right there? Given the years, the severity of the trauma, it’s spread. Any strong, chemically manufactured scent will remind Jacob. He thinks John fucking reeks with all that hair product, cologne, fine soaps and detergents. 

[ghostflowerdreams]

Review: Netflix’s Black Summer

Black Summer is an American web television zombie apocalypse drama series, created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams. The first season, consisting of 8 episodes, was released on Netflix on April 11, 2019.

Set in the dark, early days of a zombie apocalypse, Rose is separated from her daughter and embarks upon a harrowing journey to find her. Thrust alongside a small group of American refugees, these complete strangers must find the strength they need to fight their way back to loved ones. But in order for Rose and the others to brave this hostile new world, they will need to make brutal decisions to contend with zombies – and each other. 

Oh, boy! Anything with zombies automatically peaks my interest so of course when Netflix announced Black Summer I kept an eye out for it. First things first, this post will have some SPOILERS. I want to explain what I didn’t like, what they could’ve done better and I can’t do that without revealing a little bit of it.

What I did like...

The cast was diverse, which was fantastic to see. We get a black man, three Mexicans, a deaf Syrian refugee, a Korean woman and two white characters. They weren’t just throw in to fill a quota, but they actually felt believable in their roles. 

Kyungson (goes with the name “Sun” instead because everyone was struggling to say her name) is desperate to find her mother. She only speaks Korean, but she does an excellent job in emoting emphatically to get her points across. However, that’s not to say she doesn’t know any English at all. She actually understands it well enough and knows a few words, even knows how to sing in it. 

I didn’t have any English subtitles on, which made it feel immersive and realistic for me. I felt like I was a part of the group, not knowing what she was talking about but having a good idea of what she might be saying. We also experience this in a similar-but-different manner with Ryan, a deaf character.

Now, the type of zombies we get in this isn’t the slow and stupid variety. They’re actually fast-running and tenacious in their pursuit. They’re also smart enough to climb and duck under opened garage doors in search of survivors. However, they don’t seem to be smart enough to know how to opened doors (but I suppose they can figured it out if given the time to do so). As always, the virus is spread by being in contact with an infected fluids via bite or blood. And if a person dies (for whatever reason), they come back as a zombie instantaneously.

Headshots are instant kills, but for some reason it’s not done that often. I don’t understand why the characters are all so surprised and panic when they realize that body shots do nothing to stop them. It just seems like a lot of waste of bullets. This makes me wonder if the universe this take place in not have zombie fiction? 

I get that not all survivors will be skilled with guns. As it’s very difficult to get headshots on moving targets, but how can you miss when they’re a few feet away and heading straight for you? Or why hasn’t anyone attempted to slow them down by shooting out the legs and than the head? I know I can be nitpicky, but I excused this aspect because it was only the beginning of the apocalypse. The characters haven’t had enough time or experience to become harden survivors yet. 

And then there’s Lance. He’s stupidly lucky. Everything about him makes me go nuts and want to scream at the screen like...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! OMG, HOW? WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? He’s basically the kind of guy who somehow manages to survive despite the dumb decisions he makes. Which, now that I think about it, is kinda funny because he’s what most people typically think of to be the first ones to go in the apocalypse. 

Maybe I’m nickpicking again, but what I didn’t like was in episode 5, titled “Diner” because I found all the characters to be acting very stupid. William and Sun were trapped in an abandoned diner with three other survivors from the truck (the same one that was tailing them in order to steal their gas, and eventually ran them off the road). Their first plan was to get someone to stay inside to keep the TWO zombies distracted while the others go out to kill them. However, that plan failed as they underestimated how difficult it would be to take them down. Did they not aim for the head? Or was it because their weapons were useless in causing any damage? I’m not sure...

Then Phil (one of the survivors from the truck) came up with the idea to sacrificed someone in the group to feed the zombies. While the zombies would be busy eating them, the rest would run away. He picked Sun purely because she couldn’t speak English, showing his racism. William is against the idea and Sun notices that the leader of the pack has a cut on his arm. She lets William know and he wonders out loud if Phil is infected. The group starts acting hysterically. The other two truck survivors make their decision by rounding on their leader and they all throw him outside.

The entire time I was watching that episode I was like WTF! Can’t you guys use your brain??? Why even resort to throwing another person out there? They would’ve been another potential zombie to deal with. Plus, who in their right mind even trust a dude who’s quick to make a plan that involves sacrificing another person? I was surprise to see that his companions didn’t even pause to think about it. If Sun wasn’t there, it could’ve easily been one of them instead.

What especially annoyed me about the episode was that they didn’t even try to use their brains. To me it was obvious of what they could’ve done next, but they just gave up after their first plan failed. They were dealing with TWO zombies and they could’ve easily out smart the damn zombies by baiting them inside the restaurant and trapping them in it. They just need to make sure to get all the food and water first. Once they did, lure the zombies to the front entrance and trap them in the little entrance way. Then go out the back way and you’re free. 

Or they can try to kill them again, but this time do it in a different way. Sure, it’ll be a bit more work and tricky to do, but it wouldn’t be impossible. They would need someone to distract the other zombie and lure the other one to the front. Then unitize the entrance way of the diner to get one inside and carefully secure and hold the door open. Just enough for the zombie to stick their head in and stab them with the big kitchen knife or another sharp object. Then repeat the process or keep the other trapped instead. 

This episode could’ve been done better by being less annoying stupid. The other episodes didn’t bothered me as much as this one did (especially if you ignored Lance, because his character is suppose to represent that kind of people). Sometimes the other characters are a bit dumb too (like why didn’t you check if you’re really alone in the house or why didn’t you freaking close and lock the damn doors behind you), but that’s normal as not everyone is such a zombie or survivalist nerd as I am.

Black Summer isn’t THAT great compare to other zombie shows, but there were some moments that stood out. Such as showing how dangerous and messed up humans can be. I remember a particular scene in which the characters were traveling by foot. They saw a car parked with a mother and her young daughter inside it. Rose was going to approach them to see if they needed help, but the mother lifted up her gun in a silent warning to leave them alone. The group understood and moved on.

Later on, in another episode they were in a different location but noticed the same car from earlier. They couldn’t see inside of it, but they needed to pass it in order to leave the area. So they cautiously walked closer, but the car starts up and as it slowly drives off they were able to see inside of it. 

It’s occupants were three burly man and a young girl. Rose turns paled, wondering out loud where is the mother, as the young girl was the same one from before. That scene was executed very well. It was terribly sad and horrible. It basically implied that the mother was killed either for her car (because finding one with gas was extremely valuable) or that they knew she wouldn’t let them abuse her daughter as long as she was alive.

In the end, would I recommend this? Hmmm, I guess? It’s not exactly that good, but it’s not that terrible either. It’s definitely something you can watch to kill boredom for a short while. Or just watch it for the characters like Christine Lee’s Kyungsun. I wouldn’t be surprise if she becomes a fan favorite. She’s certainly my favorite out of the entire bunch. 

Honestly, other shows do a much better job at this. Go watch Netflix’s KINGDOM. It’s a South Korean historical period drama with zombies. It’s very GOOD.

[b-b-b-billdenbrough]

can i be close to you? // stenbrough

“Alright so if you’re looking for prompts, mmmmmmconsider stenbrough like cuddling and maybe talking about the events in the sewer and what happened while Stan was separated from the group (sorry I’m on anon I’m shy)”

i’m sorry this took rlly long i just kept getting busy and having whack ass depression days but !!! i finished it last night!!! here u go !!! <3 <3 <3 read it on ao3 here <3  pairing : stenbrough wordcount : 2,150 tw : self harm scars  reblogs appreciated v much

Three years, five months, and twelve days. It had been three years, five months, and twelve days since the loser’s club defeated Pennywise. Stanley Uris remembered that. It wasn’t as much that he wanted to, but he couldn’t forget that day, despite his efforts in forgetting any of it happened.

At first, it felt unreal. Acceptance to such a concept wasn’t something Stan would do. For one It didn’t make sense, and that was enough for the losers to think that Stan thought. But he was terrified of It, and admitting that would mean he thought It was real, and he would never do either of those. Admitting his fear, to him, meant admitting defeat at the first sign of danger he faced. Waking up every morning, he felt a brutal reminder of that damn clown and the lady with the flute. The ring of scars around his face were an unavoidable reminder of his own past, and all the feelings never shared from that summer.

Pulling a sweater over his head, he felt the fabric against the scars surrounding his face, giving his the gentle reminder of being abandoned by his friends. While slipping his arms into the sleeves, fabric brushed against scars reminding him of the isolation he felt in the time after. No matter how good of a mood Stanley Uris woke up in, the good feeling couldn’t seem to stick with him after that.

On that particular day, however, Derry High School had been on February break, and Stan been able to hang out with the losers the entire time, having gone five days since he had last seen any of them. He missed being around all of them as a group, and as individual friends who he loves. He missed hearing Mike talk about the farm, and his dog, whenever Stan prompted and felt like he needed something to cheer him up like seeing one of him best friends light up like Mike would. Mike had the ability to make himself someone’s home.

He already felt himself missing studying with Ben in the library, bringing snacks for them to share, and having each other’s studying routines and schedule memorized for so long neither of them need to think about what the other is going to work on. Their bond was one that he couldn’t describe as anything but clean. They didn’t mess around when together, and they never fought about anything.

He missed letting himself goof around at lunch with Beverly, seeing that was the only time during the day he knew for certain he would see her, making Stan’s mind try a little harder to have fun during the half hour they got to see each other. She could always get him to have a little more fun, care a little less when they were together.

He missed Eddie’s worry about Stan. It wasn’t as often, as Stan tried not to let his friends know enough to feel worry for him, but there was a level of comfort knowing someone cares enough to worry about the little things in your life. He would never tell Eddie how parental the action felt, because Eddie wouldn’t like it, but the comfort in the actions warmed Stan’s heart.

Missing Richie Tozier wasn’t something Stan would say out loud, but he missed the jokes his best friend made, along with the voices Stan always rolled his eyes and laughed at. Their understanding of each other like no other friendship he had with anyone, and they both noticed their understanding of each other, while being so different. And last, but most clearly not least, Stan missed Bill.

He missed the smaller things between them, like sharing his sandwich with Bill, who never learned how to make a good lunch or shop for groceries after his parent’s shut themselves away. Stan missed helping Bill study French and getting to hear him speak the language without any faults or signs of a stutter, or hiding out in the library during their study hall period and trying to help Bill understand chemistry, which he was truly horrible at. Alongside that, he missed the comfort Bill brought. The warmth that came along with his presence, and the kisses they shared, but never labeled, sneaking around their friends, along with the whole world. Standing a little too close, holding hands for a little too long, Stan was feeling himself miss everything about Bill, more so than his other friends.

Missing all his friends didn’t do Stan any good. He had avoided long periods of alone time after the encounter with Pennywise. The time he spent separated from his friends would only make him think, and remember hid trauma, making more little scars along his arms when he couldn’t deal with it all at once. Luckily for Stan, however, despite his own feelings consuming him, had planned to stay over at Bill’s house for the night a few weeks ago.

Entering Bill’s house without knocking was considered the norm for the losers, as Bill’s parents didn’t care what happened in their house, and Bill always considered them welcome in his house. Stan remembered Bill saying that his house wasn’t a home without the loser’s keeping him company, only the memory of a family to keep him company.

There was a draft in the living room, the lights and curtains not allowing any light inside. He couldn’t tell if Sharon and Zach were home, but he knew if they were, it wouldn’t matter. Stepping up the stairs to Bill’s room, he could hear a record playing faintly. He recognized it to be by The Smiths, “There is a Light and it Never Goes Out”. The song was one of Bill’s favorites, and he and the rest of their friends all pitched in to buy the album it was on on vinyl for him during Christmas season. With a light knock, Stan opened the door, smiling when he saw Bill at his desk, typing away at some story he’d thought of on his typewriter. The noises of the typewriter, and the music playing absentmindedly in the back reminded Stan of how lonely and quiet Bill’s life was when he wasn’t with his friends, which Stan could fully understand.

“Just g-gimme a s-s-second, I’m a-almost done this p-paragraph.” Bill typed the rest of what he thought as Stan moved to sit on his bed, laying down after hearing Bill type more and more. The song ended, going on to Some Girls are Bigger Than Others, the last song of the album Bill loved. Stan knew Bill had probably been writing since last night, forgetting about sleep and staying up, only moving out of his spot to change the album or play it again. The sound of Bill typing stopped, Bill sighing as he stood up, feeling his body move for the first time in a while. He smiled over at Stan, blowing some of his hair away from his face. Stan moved closer to the wall for Bill to lay down with him, which he happily did, laying shoulder-to-shoulder with Stan. “I-I missed you, I f-feel like i-i-its been a long time.” Bill turned to look at Stan, finding Stan’s eyes already on him. They both smiled at each other, finding it natural for them to be so close. Hesitating for a second, Bill leaned over to kiss Stan slowly, missing the feeling of their lips connecting after having been away from him for too long. The feeling wasn’t new to either of them, but it still felt the same as the first time. After a second Bill pulled away, a soft smile resting on his face. Stan found Bill’s smile to be one of the most stunning things he’d seen, making a smile evident on his face as well. Both of the boys moods were in a better place than they had been at the start of the day, or even compared to when Stan walked in, just by a simple action like a kiss. And as much as Stan wished it could, he knew the mood shift from earlier couldn’t last him all day, even with Bill around him.

Stan enjoyed hanging out with Bill like they did. Bill and him would talk, lying close together, and he was content with it for the most part. The comfortable small talk filled their ears as well as filled the loneliness they had both been plagued with all throughout their time away from their friends. The sweater he wore continuously scratched against his arms, making him cringe at the feeling against his scars. Stan didn’t notice his constant movement, which vastly differed from how he normalls was.

“S-Stan, are yuh-you okay? You seem k-kind of t-tense.” Bill’s tone was gentle, and his movement to hold Stan’s hand was as well. Stan pulled his hand away from Bill’s too quickly, making his own eyes widen in shock of what he had done. It was such a simple gesture on Bill’s part, they have held hands an eternity of times, but all Stan could think was he knows he knows he knows until he managed to process what Bill asked him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay, I’m fine.” His voice came out weak, like he’d exhausted himself and wanted to rest again.

“B-b-bullshit. What’s b-bugging you?” Bill reached over again, trying to see Stan as he’d turned away. “I know y-you miss the losers, b-b-but we’ll s-see everyone tomorrow, r-remember? We’ve only g-got one m-more day awuh-wuh-way from them.” Stan felt his own chest starting to rise and fall with less ease, feeling weight on it inside him. He thought it might be the weight of everything he had been hiding from everyone, crushing him with the guilt and shame he felt.

“What about next time?” Speaking felt even heavier, but he knew he couldn’t stay silent forever, and he couldn’t keep this burden on his lungs any longer. “What about the next time I can’t see you guys, or the next time you leave me alone? Remember Neibolt? That fucking clown? What if there’s no fucking next time.” His chest felt heavier with every word, but his brain cleared up more he spoke. “You don’t know the shit that happened to me, Bill. You remember the lady with the flute? The one who ate my face? Do you know how scared I was that I was going to die? That the last memory I would have would be of some demon eating me in a fucking sewer all alone? I’ve never been so damn scared of being alone.” Stan didn’t notice the tears streaming down his face until they started to land on his neck.

Stan hadn’t seen Bill look so heartbroken since that year, when his own brother went missing. He felt that maybe he snapped, he’d talked too much, he should’ve put it all in the past when it happened and not have to worry about it three years later while trying to have a good day. Bill tried to reach to hold Stan’s hand again, which Stan lightly accepted, barely grasping onto him, internalizing his fear even farther without realizing it.

“I d-didn’t w-want to p-push you to t-talk right after It h-h-happened. We were a-a-all n-nervous you didn’t want to t-t-talk about it, and wanted to w-wait on you to b-b-be ready.” Stan couldn’t feel the words instantly calming all his nerves and magically solving his issues, he felt comfort in them nonetheless. “I cuh-cuh-care about you, so muh-muh-much, I d-didn’t know it was that h-h-horrible.” Bill looked at Stan’s hands, the hands he was holding, seeing scars peeking out from his sleeves. Bill couldn’t bring himself to saying anything, feeling Stan’s tiredness radiating off of him. “H-Hey, I love you, okay?” Bill tried to remind him, smiling gently at Stan as to meet him where he is. Stan can only offer a weak smile back, more for Bill’s sake than his own.

“Can we just… I’m so damn tired.” Stan already is pulling himself under Bill’s comforter when he started talking, gently pulling Bill’s hands over to make sure he knew that he wanted to stay close anc cuddle up to him. Bill followed along, pulling the blankets over him, turning to face Stanley’s back and wrap his arms around him. Stan sighed to himself as Bill did so, holding his hands as they spooned. All the pressure previously trying to collapse Stan’s chest had left him, feeling like he could breathe for the first time in years. It wasn’t a full breath, somewhat shallow and hard to keep in his lungs, he didn’t feel the burden he’d been hiding for so long plaguing him anymore. With Bill close by to keep him feeling secured, he felt less of a reminder that It happened, and told himself for the first time that you made it.

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 2x05 Human Trials

This episode is the highlight of the first half of the season. I felt that way the first time, when I was relieved that out main characters weren’t all roaming around separately, but finally found themselves in one place, and I still feel that way. This was the episode of many reunions – some heartfelt, some rather awful and chilling. It also introduced one of the season’s main villains (the closest thing to the main villain, in fact, and the episode ends with what’s arguably the big shocking moment of the first half of season 2.

This write-up is a bit longer because I also talk openly about how I saw Clarke’s love life and romantic feelings at this point in the show (both on my first watch, and now – I haven’t changed my opinion, just become more sure of it), which people may or may not disagree with, but I haven’t so far seen any good arguments against my opinion.

Rating: 9/10

The first big reunion in the episode was the long-awaited one between Clarke and her mom. The two had spoken on the radio in season 1, but they hadn’t seen each other in person since the Pilot, and since 1x09, Clarke thought Abby was dead, while Abby hasn’t been sure if Clarke was alive.

Clarke again did that same thing she did in the season premiere, when she asked, twice, “Where are Finn and Bellamy?” – constantly mentioning those two together and putting them on the same level of personal importance to her, as opposed to the rest of the  season 1 finale, and that will get explicitly confirmed in 2x09 when Clarke, after Finn’s death, objects to Bellamy’s plan of infiltrating Mount Weather, telling him “I can’t lose you, too”. It’s no surprise that people at the time, like the author of the “Toni watches” funny photo recap (ETA: link edited - thanks, @freakles-you-twit for the new link to the new site where these photo recaps have moved) thought Clarke had two love interests at the time. Because those hints are pretty easy to notice, ya all. Though they’re maybe even more obvious when you’re binging the show as I did.

And in the same vein, Clarke’s reunions with her other friends: a normal hug and greeting with Raven, and then the famous huge, emotional hug with Bellamy, where Clarke literally runs and jumps into his arms, set to a musical score showing what a big moment that is. Followed by a normal, understated hug with Octavia. Clarke would later become more emotionally closed off – after mercy-killing Finn, being told that “Love is weakness” and half-believing it, after Mount Weather – but at this point, she was still spontaneous and direct and showing her feelings freely most of the time. Much more so than Bellamy was at this point or in season 1. (It always confuses me when people claim they saw more evidence of Bellamy’s feelings for Clarke than vice versa during seasons 1-4. Especially since Clarke was the one to initiate most of the developments between them early on, made all the first steps towards partnership, trust, support, friendship in season 1, and initiated most of their hugs and other physically intimate touches in the first 2 seasons.) Bellamy was obviously surprised by the hug more than anyone, and just stood there for a second, before hugging her back strongly. The staging and the musical score is showing it in no uncertain terms that this relationship is special and important, and Raven and Octavia both seem to be aware of it – going by the way that Raven tells Clarke it’s OK to go and meet Bellamy, and the way Octavia says “I thought I’d never see this”.

The impression I got from watching seasons 1-2 even the first time was that Clarke had romantic feelings for both Finn and Bellamy in the second half of season 1 and first half of season 2. But Finn was her past – he was (probably) her first love, she had been very much in love with him in 1x05 and was ready for and expecting a committed relationship in the way that she hasn’t been since with anyone – even though I don’t think that was a very deep love (as Clarke herself pointed out, “I hardly know him”) – but the kind of intense infatuation you feel when you’re 17 and in love for the first time (and had spent a year before locked up and with no human contact, before meeting someone who was giving all of their attention to you and you went through a few intense things together). But then she suffered a massive emotional blow, she learned about his girlfriend and his lies, she got really hurt, withdrew, and wasn’t able to trust him in the same way or see him the same way. The feelings were still there, but she kept rejecting him, and I don’t think she was going to give him another chance (maybe she thought she would be able eventually, just not any time soon) even if he hadn’t turned murderous and deranged in season 2. But it was also noticeable that her pining for him was pretty intense in episodes 1x05-1x07, and then subsided as soon as she and Bellamy got closer. She wasn’t ready to get into another relationship (and maybe even less so with a guy who had slept with a bunch of other girls in the camp, and wasn’t explicitly showing any romantic interest for her?), and she wasn’t ready to yet deal with what her feelings for Bellamy were or what their relationship could be (and neither was he – he was still not ready to be fully emotionally open to anyone other than his sister), but I thought that, where Finn was her past, Bellamy was her future, and those feelings were clearly developing slowly. (Or not so slowly – it’s only been about a month since the Pilot, at this point. But slowly compared to the majority of relationships on this show, which tend to follow the TV rule of people being “in love forever” after knowing each other anything from a few hours to a few days.) I was sure about that at the time, and everything on the show since has only confirmed those opinions.

I’m ready for a bunch of people to tell me I’m wrong; but seriously, if I’m to believe that the writers, directors, actors etc. meant for Finn to be Clarke’s only love interest at this point and for Bellamy to be her platonic friend or whatever (which I don’t believe, but let’s pretend for a second), they sure were going about it in a very weird way, with these constant comparisons and parallels and the way they portray Bellamy/Clarke. And if she was supposed to love Finn more than Bellamy, they sure did not get that across – she constantly showed the same amount of care and concern for both, and she obviously trusted Bellamy more (which Finn noticed and was jealous of) and seemed to enjoy his company better most of the time, ever since they got closer in 1x08. For instance, if they had meant to show that Finn was much more important to her than Bellamy, they could have had her ask about Finn immediately, not only after hugging Bellamy and Octavia.

Then there’s the scene by the fire later on in the episode. Bellamy basically tells Clarke that he has no hard feelings about Clarke closing the dropship door and leaving him and Finn to probably die, in order to save the other Delinquents, because he understands it was a tough but necessary decision (“Had to be done”) and then talks to her about Finn, telling her about his change, his PTSD (well, not in those words, people on this show don’t seem to know what PTSD is) and his concern about what could happen. (These couple of times in season 2 when Bellamy starts talking to Clarke about Finn’s mental state and problems, are, I believe, the only times in all of 5 seasons that the two of them discussed one of their love interests. They usually avoid these conversations altogether. Which would be pretty weird if they were actually “platonic BFFs”. I talk to my BFFs about our love lives, confide in them – doesn’t everyone? And even here, it’s Bellamy initiating the conversation and talking to Clarke about Finn, rather than vice versa.) Bellamy is clearly feeling guilty for anything that might happen to Finn, because he left him with a gun and just Murphy to accompany him, in spite of realizing how concerning Finn’s state of mind was – which does a lot to explain Bellamy’s later actions regarding Finn in 2x08. Clarke’s response is to try to calm Bellamy’s mind, reassuring him that he had no other choice (“I’m sure that had to be done, too.”)

Moving on to other subjects:

This is, unfortunately, the episode where Abby starts getting a bit hypocritical and where she started sliding down my list of favorite characters, after being really high on it in season 1 and the first 4 episodes. (But I never stopped liking her. Don’t expect me to hop on the Abby-hate wagon.) Her protectiveness of Clarke and determination to save her had been motivating her, and I was rooting for her when she was breaking rules to try to save her daughter and the other kids, but here she starts showing annoying double standards when she decides not to do the same for Finn and Murphy. Being more concerned about your child than other people’s kids is human and understandable, but still annoying.

And she gets worse when she slaps Raven for allowing Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia to secretly take weapons and get away to go on a mission to save Finn and Murphy – i.e. the exact same thing that Abby did a few days earlier when she helped Bellamy, Finn, Murphy, Monroe and Sterling go on a mission to find Clarke and the other 47 Delinquents (for which she got physically punished herself). It’s almost like Abby, her daughter Clarke and her pseudo-daughter (and Clarke’s friend) Raven have this weird triangle where Clarke is, at this point, still holding grudges against her mother, Abby treats Raven badly as a proxy for Clarke and is unfair to her, and Raven often is unfair to Clarke and blames her for a bunch of things throughout the show. Abby also starts showing the tendency to treat Clarke as a child, which is something she does a few more times in season 2, and I get that it’s protectiveness of one’s child and all, but is also kind of hypocritical after sending her to the ground with a bunch of other teenagers (and at least one preteen) to survive on their own. It’s a part of the overall annoying tendency of the Ark adults in season 2 to ignore the fact that the Delinquents had far more experience with the Grounders and everything going on the ground than they did after just landing there. Raven has a great line as a response to Abby calling Clarke “just a kid” – “She stopped being a kid the moment you sent her to the ground to die”. (Which is a bit unfair to Abby, as she did it to save Clarke from getting executed on her 18th birthday, but still, good point.)

Meanwhile, Bellamy shows again that he’s no longer unhealthily over-protective of Octavia the way he was in early season 1, and that he instead treats her as someone capable and equal, more than Octavia was expecting. She started giving a full speech about how she was capable of going with him and Clarke on the mission (mostly to save Lincoln), before realizing he was letting her come with them anyway.

There are many points during season 2 where I couldn’t decide if Kane was the most reasonable person around, or incredibly naïve, because he kept expecting everybody else to be as reasonable and just expect the solutions he offered because they made sense under the assumption *everyone* would act reasonable, ignoring everyone’s mistrust of each other, the hatred, prejudice and all. This is one of these episodes. Going to see the Grounder Commander uninvited, for a peace talk, seems really naïve, but then, he was aware that the Grounder prisoner taking him may turn him over instead to be killed, but was willing to take that risk, because it would get him to his destination either way, and he dismissed his guards in order to take the risk alone. So, it was more of his courage and willingness to be self-sacrificial, which he shows in 2x06, too. However, some things he goes on to do in season 3 make me lean towards “really naïve”.

One of the big notable things in this episode is the introduction of Cage Wallace, or, I used to call him, “Creepiest Creep Who Ever Creeped”. I have to give kudos to the actor, Johnny Whitworth, and to the makeup department, for making this character such a perfect embodiment of every possible creepy aristocrat/slaver/evil privileged white dude stereotype. Sometimes a character or a culture/group of people based on stereotypes/archetypes works – the Mountain Men were very effective villains for that reason. (Other times, they don’t. Like the ridiculous portrayal of Grounders, but that’s a rant for some other time. Probably in one of my next write-ups.) Also, he and Dante really do look like father and son. They really do look like each other. And Dante is also creepy, but in a more subtle, grandfatherly way.

The fact that Reapers are created by Mountain Men was already strongly indicated in 2x03, but here we got to see the whole terrible process, and happening to a character we know and care about, Lincoln, which makes it all the more effective, with Cage hooking Lincoln on the drug ‘red’, using Pavlov’s dog-type conditioning, and finally arranging a to-the-death fight between Lincoln and another Reaper-in-making, over the drug, to check the success of the experiment.

Cage’s line “The first dose is the worst” is going to get a great follow-up in the season 2 finale (the most satisfying death scene on the show, IMO).

And this episode completes the evil trio of Mount Weather, as he see Dante, Cage and Dr. Tsing together for the first time, find out that Cage is the Chief of Security and Dante’s son, and see all the 3 of them talking about their plans for the 47. Tsing, the typical Evil Scientist character, had conducted “the first successful human trial” by using Jasper’s blood to save Maya (after using some really effective emotional manipulation to make him agree), with Dante’s blessing, after Maya got ill due to an “accidental” breach, obviously engineered by Cage. Cage’s line “Our people come first” touches on one of the main themes of the show, since it’s how so many people justify their actions, though no one else’s actions were as messed up as the Mountain Men’s. I’ll say it again and again: no one else on The 100 was anywhere near the level of evil of Mount Weather as a society. The whole, keeping people in cages and draining them would have been enough to make it so, but the Reaper thing is a whole new level of horrific and awful.

Monty actually says the line: “What would Clarke do?” in this episode. I just wanted to mention that.

And the episode ends with what’s arguably the most shocking moment of the first half of season 2, Finn’s mass murder in the Grounder village. I guess you could argue that Finn’s death at Clarke’s hands was the biggest moment of the first half of the season, but his death was hardly a surprise at that point. His fate was pretty much sealed with his actions in this episode. I think that the next few episodes did a terrible job of following it up, for the most part, and the way the show dealt with Finn’s storyline is by far my least favorite thing about season 2. But it was very well done and effective in this episode. You always could see something horrible coming up, with the rising tension, Finn’s increasingly deranged behavior, Murphy unsuccessfully trying to be the voice of reason (who would have expected that?), and you were terrified and just hoping it wouldn’t be too bad, or that Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia would get there before it got too bad. And then it went as badly, or worse, than you could imagine – and Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia only arrived after the fact to see the aftermath of the massacre.

What a difference between Clarke’s reunion with Bellamy earlier, and her reunion with Finn in the worst possible circumstances. The fact that Finn walks towards her and greets her with “I found you!” (rather than the opposite), as if he has just performed a heroic act and saved her, while she’s stepping away from him, horrified at what he has done, shows just how out of it Finn is at this point. I might have felt really bad for him (which I think the show was trying to do), rather than just for the people he killed, if the show had followed this up in the next 3 episodes by consistently showing that Finn had PTSD, rather than… whatever the heck the show was doing. But more about that when I do my write-ups of 2x06 and 2x08 (I’ve already rewatched up to 2x10).

Timeline: I don’t know for sure, but with the rapid turn of events, the first 5 episodes seem to have taken up just a few days – at most, a week.

Body count:

18 unarmed people at the ‘daycare’ Grounder village, including Artigas, a guy Octavia kind of knew from her interactions with Indra’s group, who was a teenage warrior in training, others were civilians, mostly elderly people, children;

 a Grounder/potential Reaper who lost the fight with Lincoln.

[secretlyviola]

Wake Up, Girls!: the Black Sheep of Idol Anime and International Perceptions of the Japanese Idol Industry

Wake Up, Girls! as an anime is probably one of the best and most accurate representations of the real life Japanese idol industry that I've seen thus far. So much so that after completing it, while keeping the crude humor of the show in mind, I struggled with how it wasn't more popular both domestically in Japan and overseas where I live or why word wasn't spread about it more widely. Now, granting & considering the fact that the structure of the show is confusing (1 movie, a TV anime series, 2 more movies, and then the most recent 2nd season which concluded this past winter) I can understand why it has low viewership and interactions compared to other idol-related shows like the various Love Live! and Idolm@ster series that seem to be booming or at least doing better both domestically and overseas. With that in mind, I wished to do a bit more exploring into possible reasons other than these that would address some of its setbacks and at the same time encourage people to give the series a fair chance.

What's Missing?

The thing that I'm noticing most about the deficit in Wake Up Girls' (WUG's) interest mostly has to do with its promotional material.

To start, WUG does not have a mobile game like it's competitors; or rather it did and now will again after some time. The first game unfortunately failed due to possible competition from Love Live! and similar rhythm and gacha games releasing the same same year. The girls' characters do have a feature on a console game called Miracle Girls Festa which shares an engine with the Hatsune Miku Project Diva series. However, a new game involving WUG has not seen a release since then,(other than appearances in other games) which in the rat-race of mobile idol gacha games has put them at a stark disadvantage of the discovery and interaction of their characters. This is, however, on the horizon to change in the fall with the release of their newest mobile game. I'm not able to talk much on this as a data point simply because it isn't released and doesn't really have any gameplay other than a few promo videos.

The Show

Because of the gaming fallout, character discovery and building is almost solely reliant on watching the show. This can be both good and bad. Good, because the group's content is more centralized, but it can severely lack when it comes to more individualized interaction and selecting the all-too-well-known oshimen or "best girl"

The anime itself--as mentioned earlier--is very convoluted in its setup and crude in its initial delivery. If you miss the first movie and just start watching the first season, you can definitely watch the series, but details are a lot more well-rounded when you do watch it.

There are also two separate movies in between the most recent season that are helpful to watch, but that Crunchyroll does not have available for streaming as of writing this, which makes it a bit more complicated to watch without more details.

A general thing to keep in mind while watching is the amount of crude humor that develops throughout the movie and the first three episodes. Without giving too much away to the actual plot, there are themes of sexual exploitation that are present in the beginning of the show. I do see why this may turn some people off to the series since it persists for a majority of the beginning watch time, but I have a firm belief that it is worth pushing through and some parts of it even are good representations of how idols can be exploited in the industry. (It's not all just smiles and friendship!)

"But, why should I watch this?"

If you enjoy Asian idols of any form, I strongly believe it's worth your time. 

Or rather, I could just leave it at that but I know that lack of substance can make people hesitant to try something. So, here's a quick review from 1st movie to most recent season:

The first movie, Shichinin No Idol (Seven Idols, 七人のアイドル) covers the formation of the group through the small Sendai-based agency Green Leaves who sets off to make money by creating an idol group to rival popular powerhouse I-1 Club. (it's essentially this universe's equivalent to AKB48 and it's sister groups) The movie follows the recruiting of Yoshino Nanase, (Member Image Color: Light Blue) a former child model and the group's appointed leader, Miyu Okamoto, (Member Image Color: Orange) a local cafe maid, Minami Katayama, (Member Image Color: Yellow) a joyful and energetic girl who's recruited after winning a folk singing competition, Kaya Kikuma, (Member Image Color: Green) who quit her part-time job at a ramen shop, Nanami Hisami, (Member Image Color: Purple) who aspires to be a stage actress, Airi Hayashida, (Member Image Color: Navy) a timid girl who auditions for the group at the encouragement of her friend and the final member of the group, Mayu Shimada, (Member Image Color: Red) who happens to be a former I-1 Club core member or "center" in the idol world.

The following first tv-aired season covers the girls' activities after debut, inevitably leading to their participation in a high-profile idol competition though their national promotion and with help from a famous producer who wrote songs for I-1. The issues with Mayu's former association with I-1 Club complicate this, as the rivaling group is the host for the idol festival and a large amount of fans are present. How they overcome all of this really emphasizes the level of tribulation that real life idols go through in the industry to get discovered and recognized.

The next movies in between the 1st & 2nd season, Seishun no Kage (青春の影) and BEYOND THE BOTTOM follow a similar plot as the first season, except the girls are challenged with debut under a major agency and the complications that come with that, having to start over from zero, being a one-hit-wonder and do everything that comes with struggling after success, reflecting on the point that sometimes you have to look back to move forward.

The second tv-aired season has the girls moving into the same house and taking on more independent activities to boost the group's overall popularity for their national tour. The show takes a new art and staffing direction than the previous iteration and while doing this, in my humble opinion, retains what's good while cutting a lot of the crude humor that was, at times, unnecessary and honestly almost makes the amount of time building up to the season more worth it.

.~*~.

So is it all worth it? That's up for you to decide. I would personally put it on my top 10 essential anime to watch. While I can't really say it's my favorite, I definitely think that it should be taken for more than it's face value of just another idol anime with fan service. Overall, I can say that I'm glad I invested my time in this series and hope that others may do the same.

Epilogue: "So is there more than that?"

So I can say now that this blog post was actually in progress over a pretty long period of time, written on & off over a period of 7 months. In that time, a lot of things have happened, including the expansion of Wake Up, Girls' sister group, Run Girls, Run (RGR), the announcement of the upcoming mobile game, and--unfortunately--the announcement of the disbandment of the real-life counterpart of WUG, the singing seiyuu unit. (By the same name of course)

To speak briefly on them, the girls share the first name with their animated counterparts and have had group activities outside of the anime including singing for anime openings and endings. They perform both these songs and songs from the show at their concerts. The members each have their own activities outside of the group which includes voice work in other popular Japanese mobile games such as Fate: Grand Order, Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls, and Tokyo 7th Sisters. This disbandment is set to occur in March of 2019, so if you're going to be in Japan before or around that time, I'd recommend going to see them before time's up. Their live performances are definitely one of their strong points. If you can't make it before, then my point in this post still stands and I still firmly believe watching the show is something worthwhile even if it only changes peoples' perspectives a little.

[impossiblemonster]

My thoughts on the end of Teen Wolf

Well there you have it. Teen Wolf is finished it’s run forever. And while I’d like to say it finished on a high note, really, I’m feeling like it finished more like a college student cramming for their finals.

I started watching Teen Wolf just before Season 2 premiered. I literally binge-watched Season 1 in the span of a couple of nights and was addicted to the characters. I saw Sterek before I even knew it was a thing. I found Season 1 and 2 to be pretty well-written. I even enjoyed Season 3 despite a lot of criticism of Jeff Davis for killing off Boyd, Erica and Allison.

My problems with the show’s writing started in season 4 and honestly, I just stayed disappointed. The one show I used to watch while it aired, became something I streamed a few episodes at a time later on. It just didn’t do it for me anymore.

A lot of people were upset by the deaths we saw in season three; Boyd, Erica and Allison were tough pills to swallow. In my opinion, Boyd’s and Allison’s deaths at least furthered the plot and offered tremendous opportunities for character growth in the surviving members of the pack. Erica’s death was pointless, disappointing, and didn’t honor her character at all, but I suppose acted as realistic motivation to fight the alpha pack. By season four, we’d lost a ton of characters; Boyd, Erica, Jackson, Cora, Allison, Issac, Ethan, Aiden and Danny were all gone (and later, Derek just dropped off the face of the earth too). And Jeff Davis was scrambling for new material. I get it, actors and actresses grow out of parts and you have to find a way to write them out. Sometimes characters need to head in a certain direction. But 9 (10) characters?! From here on out, the writing was a complete disaster in my opinion. New characters were hastily introduced, while familiar characters wouldn’t appear for several episodes at a time. Relationships were developed out of nowhere and ended for no reason- versus the slow and steady developments of seasons past. Gaping plot holes were left. And the story lines were uninspiring and poorly constructed Overall the show felt distinctively and progressively sloppy from seasons 4-6.

This is where fandom did Teen Wolf a favor. Because the fandom was so large, a lot of people were jumping on board, even when the writing had taken a steep nose dive in terms of quality. In their own way (minus maybe Liam) each new character introduced seemed forced, almost as though they were bargain brands of various archetypes. From my perspective, newer members of the fandom grew attached to some of these characters, and were therefore more forgiving when it came to poor writing and characterization compared with seasons past.

Being a fan from earlier on in the show, I couldn’t help but feel like come season four, the writers simply didn’t bother to build on relationships from previous seasons, and this got to a point where the characters on the show began to exhibit the same apathy towards their fellow characters that the writers clearly had for them as a whole. To me, the characters just didn’t seem invested anymore, and this can be seen in the various clumsily strung together hook ups and break ups, friendships and shared experiences that were not fully explored or reflected upon later in the series. One can almost start watching in season four and see the show as something entirely new and different. Let me explain each of those points.

Full disclosure, I will always ship Sterek. There was a lot of unexplored potential there, and some of the best fics I’ve read in the fandom, feature this pairing as the central relationship. I think what was so captivating about it, was there was always a sense of what could have been happening off screen, and what many fans wanted to see on screen, but I digress, Davis never wanted to make this canon, but in order to keep fans, kept stringing many of us along with just enough to keep us wondering. But as the series progressed it seemed like Davis began to deliberately under-write the relationship, and in turn used this under-writing, to make half-assed relationships in its stead.

If I squinted hard enough, Malia and Stiles made sense having the shared experience of spending time in Eichen House. I don’t buy the whole kiss and make-up thing that happened at the end of the season after their fight. And then suddenly they… weren’t a thing anymore. And there was no awkward transition from relationship to friends as there would have been any other time. And don’t even get me started on Malia and Scott.

Lydia and Parrish should have happened, and yet the clear sexual tension and innuendo suddenly dropped off and went nowhere. So what was the point in the first place? Clearly this was a direction someone in the writer’s room wanted to go, but the powers that be (I’m looking at you Jeff) ended it in order to force Lydia and Stiles together by the series end.

I’m sorry to all you Stydia shippers out there, but I will never buy them as any more than really close friends. To me, it was clear when Stiles grew out of the puppy love/infatuation stage of his relationship with Lydia. They matured together and seemed to get to a place where they loved each other as friends and had their own separate relationships. Bringing them together felt clumsy and unbelievable– especially since their other existing relationships/budding relationships just seemed to dissolve without reason.

In terms of friendships, I’ve always found the response to loss shockingly cavalier. Just one example of this was when Stiles accidentally killed Donovan. He was totally shaken by this and there is no doubt it changed his character– and yet there are very few mentions about what he did while inhabited by the Nogitsune, and his actions and friendships continue on almost as though that period in his life never occurred, versus a disproportionate amount of angst over Donovan’s death. Next, very rarely do any of the characters grieve the loss of Erica, Boyd or Allison, and nobody ever seems to mention Isaac, Jackson, Danny, Derek, the twins anyone who isn’t around much anymore, in any detail. Yet these characters were important in previous seasons.

Finally there are the shared events and experiences the characters have gone through together. When in previous seasons this was drawn on to a degree, one of the weaknesses of post-season three Teen Wolf (I’d even give it season four) is that this past isn’t drawn on seemingly at all (or in all of the wrong ways) to bolster character growth OR drive the plot. It’s like nothing in the past mattered, and that has really weakened the characters in the show, and has ultimately led to what I consider a failure on the writer’s end.

Sure, the show brought back some fan favorites at the end, but everything seemed slapped together and contrived. There was closure, and yet it felt… artificial.

The good news is, as bittersweet as the series ending forever is, I’m kind of stoked. I have a million ideas buzzing around in my head in terms of fic ideas (including a total rewrite of things post season 3) and I know I can’t be the only writer who is relieved that they no longer have to worry about screwing up canon. Anything I’m working on now, I’m finishing, and I hope there are many other creators in the same boat that will see this fandom continue to thrive long after the show.

[coloringmysensescherryred]

2017

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before? I went to Japan, graduated college, started teaching English in South Korea, and dated a Korean guy - a year full of traveling and adventures! 

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Last year I had two resolutions - eat better so I didn’t feel like I was gonna shit myself so often, and to stop looking for love and let it find me. TBH I followed them both - shoutout to Korea for helping me with them! Korea’s food is just much better on my internal pipes in terms of health, and the boyfriend thing kinda just happened. I’m more proud of myself for ending it when I wasn’t happy but I wasn’t forcing any sort of relationship, it happened organically; so I’m pleased that I stuck to my guns.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope! Most of my friends aren’t even married yet! (Not that you can’t have a baby without being married but ya know.)

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thank god.  

5. What countries did you visit? Japan and Korea! 

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017? I would like to have more confidence to straight-up tell people when they are doing things that make me mad or irritate me or that I don’t like. That is my new years resolution this year. 

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 23rd - the day I got my email saying I got into Fulbright! and June 7th - the day I left for Korea for a full year. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Fucking picking up my entire life and moving to Korea on my own. Like I have so many friends here in my program, but I was basically coming alone because I knew that I would be separate from them when we went to our placements after six weeks. 

9. What was your biggest failure? I don’t know, I felt like I succeeded in all the ways that mattered? I guess my biggest “failure” was confessing my feelings to my crush and him having to let me down because he had just gotten out of a serious relationship and wasn’t ready (altho I think he did like me tbh). So all things considered, that is a pretty good track record for an important year. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope! 

11. What was the best thing you bought? Netflix?? I had had it for like six months before Korea buutttt it has been a fucking lifesaver for me abroad. It’s a way to hear English from native mouths when I live in a homestay and don’t get to speak English with native speakers that often. It’s also great to do on traveling (like on trains and buses). Bless up to a great monthly investment. 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? BURG, aka @officialff7remake. Homeboy was there for me when I was freaking out about MP or thesis or boys and just to pal around and drink with. The tightest of homies and I can’t thank him enough. <3 

13. Whose behavior made you appalled? I guess my Korean ex, Huijae? He literally had never dated ANYONE before me, Korean or otherwise, and he while he meant well, he had no emotional intelligence and really did things that bugged me and patronized me and was trying to be manipulative? and I didn’t need that shit? So I got out of that relationship after holding back my own feelings for too long and I’m so much happier and I don’t really talk to him anymore (he has texted a few times after we broke up to ask if he could come visit my host family because he “missed them” *eye roll* but i haven’t let him and he goes off to military service in like two weeks so I think i’m in the clear). 

14. Where did most of your money go? FOOD. I literally just buy food in Korea. Oh, and train tickets to go to Seoul or wherever. 

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? IT by Stephen King. I was fucking so hyped about it and luckily its release date in Korea was the same as in America so I saw it the night it came out! Also, obvi Fulbright and teaching in Korea. :) 

16. What song will always remind you of 2017? 빨간맛 by Red Velvet and DNA by BTS! Two songs that I have heard OVER AND OVER in korea and I still love them. 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? I’m a. happier (or about the same - I was done with first sem and my thesis and had gone to Japan so I was probs p happy back then too), b. thinner! (I have lost like 10 or 12 lbs in Korea - wasn’t trying to but the food is just less fattening I think, and I walk more and go to an aerobics class like 3 or 4 times a week!), and c. richer! I’m not rich rich by any means but I have more money from fulbright than I was making as a waitress. :) 

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Idk - I did really what I wanted second sem of school, like hanging with MP and drinking and having spontaneous fun, and saw all the people I wanted to before I left for Korea, but I guess I wish I had done more solo trips in Korea? I want to do more before second sem starts too, and I want to visit my friends in their respective cities more because I didn’t get to do that so much in the fall because of my stupid fucking ex always coming to my town and taking up every literal weekend. I wish I was joking about that but it was bad. 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Spend less time napping! I like naps but then I feel like i miss out on things, as well as have trouble falling asleep at decent times on school nights. Also, I wish I had spent less time being miserable about my relationship and ended it earlier. I gotta put myself the fuck first this year. 

20. How did you spend Christmas? I spent an early Christmas on the 23rd with 6 Fulbright friends in Gwangju, and ended up getting drunk and dancing at the airbnb with all the other tenants for the night! It was really fun. I then spent actual Christmas eve and day at a hotel with my host fam and close family friends, just seeing the ocean (in the freezing cold) and eating seafood stew. I was glad to be with them but I missed home SO fucking much during that time. I did Skype my fam on Christmas eve morning so I saw them a little! 

21. Did you fall in love in 2017? I don't know if I can call it love, but I had a serious crush that was more than just infatuation with a guy in my last sem of college. I didn’t know what I wanted because I was leaving America and he was still a sophomore but I just knew that I could see us together, and it didn’t work out but I still have hope for the future. And with my Korean ex, it wasn’t love at all but I did like him so there’s that? 

22. What was your favorite TV program? In terms of things that I watched in 2017 that I really liked? Breaking Bad, Dark, Stranger Things season 2, and Rupaul’s Drag Race!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? My ex? Yeah, it’s petty, but whenever I talk about him or see his picture I get mad. I guess that only half counts on this bc I didn’t know him this time last year? But I don’t hate anyone else. 

24. What was the best book you read? It by Stephen King. That thing is a fucking masterpiece. 

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Sam Smith, biiiiitch. His newest album is all amazing and I slept on him for too long! Like I knew he was good but this new album is amazing.

26. What did you want and get? I wanted Fulbright and I got it! 

27. What did you want and not get? I wanted to be with aforementioned crush but it was bad timing. Win some, lose some, live & learn. 

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I CAN’T CHOOSE

29. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Going through second sem of senior year knowing I had a job after graduation? 

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017? it has changed a little since coming to Korea in order to try and not stand out so much? I have switched to more solid color tops rather than lots of prints, and I dress more demurely? Like less cleavage showing because that’s how koreans do (not that I am against it, but I’m just tryna fit in). 

31. What kept you sane? Sydney, my best friend in the entire world. (This was my answer from last year and the year before that and the year before that AND THE YEAR BEFORE THAT but it still holds true) also everyone in the sv discord chat still AND natalie of course of course

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? All the drag queens from Drag Race but especially Trixie & Katya? Ummm also BTS but what is new. ;) 

33. What political issue stirred you the most? everything trump and his administration do and the net neutrality repeal. :( 

34. Who did you miss? I miss my dogs and my mom and my sister and Brian and Cannon and grammy and my MP friends. <3 Being in Korea away from them has been really hard sometimes.  35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017. If you really want something, strive for it. Keep your expectations low, but believe in yourself and what you are capable of shining through and getting you what you really want. <3 

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. “don’t you get lost in nostalgia, no” - Lost in Nostalgia, The Maine

“take me with you / cause even on your own, you are not alone” - Portugal, Walk the Moon

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior March 6, 2020 – ONWARD, THE WAY BACK, EMMA and MUCH More!

Thankfully, February ended pretty well as The Invisible Man fell just shy of my abridged $30 million opening prediction, but still, $29 million is pretty damn good, and the movie’s “B+” CinemaScore makes me think that it will do pretty well going into March even with another Blumhouse genre film opening next week. Oh, yeah, and A Quiet Place Part 2. Anyway, next week is next week. Let’s get to this week…

March kicks off with ONWARD, the latest animated movie from Disney’s Pixar Animation division, which his coming off its 10th Oscar in the Animated Feature category last month, as it launches its 23rd movie over the course of 25 years. It’s pretty amazing how far Pixar has come since it was launched with John Lasseter’s Toy Story way back in 1995, the company having amassed $6 billion in North America alone and $14.4 billion worldwide.

Onward is the new movie from Monsters University director Dan Scanlon, a fantasy involving two elf brothers, voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, who go on a quest to find magic that will help them bring back their dead father. The movie also features the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Tracey Ullman, Lena Waithe, Octavia Spencer, Ali Wong and Mel Rodriguez.

This is Pixar’s first original movie since Coco in 2017, but it’s also the first movie released by the studio outside of the profitable summer and holiday box office seasons. It’s certainly a departure, but this will also be the third time where there are two Pixar movies in the same year. The last time this happened was in 2015 when the summer release Inside Out was another $350 million hit but it led to the November release of The Good Dinosaur, which to date is still Pixar’s lowest grosser even compared to 1998’s A Bug’s Life.  Good Dinosaur opened with just $39 million over the normally-lucrative Thanksgiving weekend and only grossed $123 million domestic. The March release might make some wonder if Onward isn’t one of Pixar’s stronger offerings. (Pete Docter’s Soulis getting the studio’s higher profile summer release, but that’s what comes when you turn original movies like Up and Inside Out into blockbuster hits without the benefits of being a sequel.)

Having big stars like Pratt and Holland providing the main voices might normally help, especially in terms of getting publicity for the movie, although Holland just provided his voice for Fox’s animated Spies in Disguise with an equally big star like Will Smith and that only grossed $66 million after opening last Christmas.

A last-minute boost for Onward might come from the fact that it’s preceded by a brand new “The Simpsons” short, another benefit from the massive purchase of Fox and its properties by Disney last year. That and the Pixar brand should drive business opening weekend, which should be good for roughly $50 million even with stronger family films like Call of the Wild and Sonic the Hedgehog, which will step aside to give Onward the required berth. I’m not sure Onwardwill achieve the $200 million benchmark of other non-Pixar sequels but it should be good for around $160 to 170 million with a bump from schools having spring break in March. (I’m not going to start presuming that the current corona scare might impact moviegoing, at least not just yet, although it’s something that needs to be kept in mind.)

Having not seen Onward yet, I don’t have that much more to say, but I have good news, and it’s that I’ve been invited to see Disney’s Mulan, so a.) I’ll have a review for you, and b.) I’ll hopefully have more insightful thoughts on that movie’s box office since I’ll have seen it.

The other wide release this weekend is the second team-up between Ben Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor, following their 2016 hit The Accountant. Unlike that thriller, THE WAY BACK (Warner Bros.) is more of an inspirational drama about a man trying to overcome addiction to find redemption.  Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a former high school basketball star struck down by alcoholism, who is given another chance to coach his old high school basketball team. The drama comes from whether he can overcome his demons to find redemption. It wouldn’t be a particularly inspirational movie if he doesn’t.

Oddly,The Way Back is a far more common type of March release than Onward but it is also Affleck’s second attempt at a comeback, having recovered from the bombs of the mid-00s to find favor as a director with the Oscar Best Picture winner Argo, which followed a decent-sized hit with 2010’s The Town. Unfortunately, Affleck’s 2016 movie Live By Night bombed really badly, countering the success he had as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Supermanand in 2016’s The Accountant, which grossed $86.3 million. The fact that Justice League made $100 million less than Batman v Superman got Affleck replaced by Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, due out next year, so Affleck definitely has something to prove with this movie.

Besides reuniting Affleck and O’Connor, The Way Back also has a chance to draw in older males by being set in the world of basketball, as we’ve seen movies like Coach Carter, starring Samuel L. Jackson, open big with $24.8 million over the MLK Jr. weekend in 2005. On the other hand, Disney opened the basketball drama Glory Road, starring Josh Lucas, on the same weekend and that opened with half that amount. O’Connor is no stranger to inspirational feel-good sports movies having directed Disney’s Miracle about the 1980 US hockey team, which ended up grossing $64 million after a $19 million opening in 2004. Obviously, these are all movies that are nearly 15 years old, and it’s harder to find more recent sports hits unless you look to the world of faith-based dramas, and maybe Warner Bros. hopes that crowd will be out for this story of redemption.

I wish I had more confidence in this film, although I generally have never been a very big Affleck fan, and I’m not sure if this is the kind of movie that will entice older males in the same way as The Accountant (which I didn’t like, mind you). I’d like to think that the movie can do somewhere in the range of Thunder Road’s $13 million opening, but I have a feeling that this will end up closer to $10 to 11 million this weekend and will have to rely on word-of-mouth if it wants to maintain business through a month with a lot of strong offerings to come.

Mini-Review: On paper, The Way Back would seem like a very obvious movie, both for Ben Affleck and also for director Gavin O’Connor, who has dealt with inspirational sports movies and those seeking redemption. (Warrior is still one of my favorite films he’s made to date.)

We meet Affleck’s Jack Cunningham as he’s still on a low after splitting from his wife (Janina Gavankar) with a beer can always in hand, although we won’t find out what happened until much later. Out of the blue, Jack is called by the pastor of Bishop Hayes Catholic high school where Jack was the big star destined for greatness decades earlier. Even though he hasn’t touched a ball since then, Jack takes on the challenge of trying to turn things around for the worst team in the league. At the same time, he tries to help a few individual players and not get on the bad side of the chaplin with his constant swearing.

This is a great vehicle for Affleck and O’Connor, working from a script by Brad Ingelsby, whose screenplay for last year’s American Woman was another nice surprise. Affleck really has never been better in a role that allows him to pull from his own addiction and marital issues to create a fully-rounded character. The way O’Connor shoots the basketball games and the progress of the team keeps things exciting.

The only significant problem with the movie is that the first 2/3rds of it seems like two separate movies, one involving Jack trying to bring Bishop Hayes back from being the worst team in the league and the other being Jack’s alcohol problems. The two sides of the movie rarely intersect for a good chunk of the movie.

The real surprises come in the film’s last act where we think everything is going great and can’t imagine things could get bad again for Jack… and of course, they do. I won’t say about how and what happens, but when you’ve spent the whole movie watching him do something so inspiring, it’s a little deflating to be brought back down to reality.

Sure, The Way Back may be predictable (to a point) but it’s a damn good version of the movie that you’re expecting, offering a big-time tug on the heart strings. Rating: 8/10

Hitting theaters nationwide this weekend – roughly 1,500 theaters -- is the new Jane Austen adaptation EMMA. (Focus Features), starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy. The movie has done pretty well platforming, but it will be a tougher sell as it expands into regions outside major cities, so the per-theater average will fall quite a lot since last weekend. I think it should be good for $2 to 3 million which will allow it to place in the top 10 but we’ll have to see how it fares before expecting much more of an expansion.

Also, Sony Pictures Classics is planning to expand Michael Winterbottom’s Greed, starring Steve Coogan, into a nationwide release, but who knows if that’s 400 theaters, 500 theaters or more? (UPDATE: Theater count is confirmed at 596 so I’m sticking with my earlier prediction of $1.2 million.) I’m not sure they should go very wide with a $7,124 per-theater average this past weekend (worse than Searchlight’s Wendy), so I don’t think it will make enough to crack the top 10 this weekend even with a fairly low entry point.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Onward (Disney-Pixar) - $51 million N/A

2. The Invisible Man (Universal) - $16.3 million -44%

3. The Way Back (Warner Bros.) - $10.5 million N/A

4. Sonic the Hedgehog  (Paramount) - $8.5 million

5. The Call of the Wild (20thCentury) - $6.8 million

6. Emma. (Focus Features) - $3 million +71% (up .8 million)*

7. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (FUNimation) - $2.7 million

8. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $2.4 million

9. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey  (Warner Bros) - $2.3 million

10. The Impractical Jokers Movie (TruTV) - $1.6 million -55%

-- Greed (Sony Pictures Classics) - $1.2 million

*UPDATE: Keeping most of my predictions the same except that I’m giving a little bump to Focus’ Emma, since it should act as decent counter-programming to the other new movies.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

The big festival kicking off in New York this week is the annual “Rendezvous with French Cinema” up at Film at Lincoln Center, which runs from this Thursday through March 15. It kicks off on Thursday with Hirokazu Kore-eda’s first French language film The Truth as the opener with stars Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke introducing the film at 6:30pm after doing a separate conversation earlier (only standby available for the conversation and early screening but tickets available for the 9:15pm screening sans introduction). I’ll probably write more about this next week when it gets its limited release, but the two actors play a couple who come to France to spend time with her actress mother Fabienne (played by the amazing Catherine Deneuve) who is publishing her contentious memoirs. The other movie I’ve seen which I liked a little more is Quentin Dupieux’s quirky Deerskin, starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist), which also opens theatrically this month. I wasn’t able to catch Alice Winocour’s Proxima, starring Eva Green and Matt Dillon, but hopefully that will be one of the films that finds distribution, as many of the “Rendezvous” offerings, this festival might be the only time to see them.  Other returning filmmakers include Cédric Klapisch, Bruno Dumont, as well as Christophe Honoré’s On a Magical Night with Cannes winner Chiara Mastoianni in attendance, plus more. Click on the link above for the full rundown.

LIMITED RELEASES

This is a pretty decent for limited release, so if you’re in New York or L.A. and have already seen some of the expanding movies or aren’t interested in the new wide releases, you have a LOT of other options… and that’s even before we get to the repertory stuff below. There are just way too many limited releases coming out the next couple weekends.

I’m gonna do something a little different this week. Instead of picking just one “Featured Movie,” I’m gonna go with a “Featured Theater” since two decent movies are opening at New York’s Film Forum this coming week. (Plus it begins a new Hitchcock series, which you can read about in the repertory section below.)

We’ll begin with SORRY WE MISSED YOU (Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber) – opening at Film Forum Weds. and in L.A. at the Landmark Nuart on Friday. It’s the new film from director Ken Loach, who has an amazing filmography of British “kitchen sink” dramas but also great historical films like The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Loach’s last film I, Daniel Blake was in my top 5 a few years back and Sorry I Missed You is very much a follow-up, once again dealing with Brits struggling with the system to make a living. In this case, it’s Kris Hitchen’s Ricky Turner and his wife Abbie (Debbie Honeywood) as he signs on for a “zero-hour” job delivering packages, a system that requires working longer hours. Meanwhile, Abbie is working just as hard as a home care worker. As they struggle to make a living, their teenage son is skipping school and getting into trouble.

Although as a freelance writer, I could definitely relate to the idea of having to work extra-hard in order to earn enough money to survive, especially in the jobs I was doing getting paid by piece which was never helpful in making ends meet. Seeing how the package delivery industry in northern England is used to take advantage of individuals is partially what keeps things interesting.  Like The Way Back, you sort of expect things to get bad for Ricky, especially in regards to his son, but there’s a certain point where you think he’s gonna crash his van cause he’s so exhausted. It doesn’t happen but what happens next is almost worse than that. Either way, it’s another decent movie from Loach (and regular writer Paul Laverty), maybe not as good as I, Daniel Blake but still worthwhile.

From China comes THE WILD GOOSE LAKE (Film Movement), the new film from Daio Yinan (Black Coal, Thin Ice), which is quite a different film for Mr. Yinan, starring Hu Ge as mob leader Zhou Zenong, who gets into a feud with another local gang leader, ends up killing a police officer in the ensuing mayhem and ends up hiding out in the area of Wuhan known as Wild Goose Lake, becoming entangled with Gwei Lun-Mei’s Liu. This is another interesting take on the crime noir genre from Zenong, one that maybe gets a little more artsy-fartsy than Black Coal but one that also veers further into genre territory, particularly with some of the violence and bloodshed involved. It offers further proof that Yinan is a true master of cinematic storytelling since it’s so unlike the many other Chinese crime films that have come from both Hong Kong and the mainland. This one is quite the film, although I still recommend seeking out Black Coal if you ever have the chance. This one will open at the Film Forum on Friday. (While you’re going to the Film Forum, check out Corneliu Porumbiou’s crime-thriller The Whistlers, which I watched over the weekend, and it’s quite different from many other Romanian films I’ve seen, not only because it’s under 2 hours.)

Next up is THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY (Sony Pictures Classics), Giuseppe Capotondi’s adaptation of Charles Willeford’s book, starring Claes Bang from The Square and The Girl in the Spider’s Web as art critic James Figueras, who is giving lectures in Italy when he meets Elizabeth Debicki’s Berenice. It’s a meeting that turns into a fast relationship that has them both in bed, and when James is called to the mansion of a rich Italian art lover named Cassidy (played by Mick Jagger), he brings Berenice along with him. Once there, James learns that Cassidy has become the benefactor for reclusive artist Jerome Debney, played by Donald Sutherland, whose entire body of work was destroyed in a fire. Cassidy has gotten James an exclusive interview with Debney with the condition that he gets one of Debney’s in-demand paintings out of the deal. I’m not really a fine art fanatic nor have I read Willeford’s book, but I found this to be an interesting dramatic thriller in the vein of The Talented Mr. Ripley as you watch this cat-and-mouse game being played between the characters. Sutherland is pretty awesome as Debney, who flirts with Berenice while playing mind games with James, and the way these dynamics play out is what makes this film better than other art-driven films. As you watch this movie, you’ll probably realize that Claes Bang really should be playing a James Bond villain and then Mick Jagger appears on screen with him and you REALLY think that Jagger should have played a Bond villain anytime in the last few decades as he’s great at playing devious. This is another great release from Sony Classics in a year where they seem to be turning things around from the last couple years. So far, besides this, I’ve also liked Greed, The Traitor and The Climb, which will be released later this month.

Having been delayed from its intended December release due to many controversies, George (The Adjustment Bureau) Nolfi’s THE BANKER (Apple+) will finally hit select theaters for a few weeks before launching on Apple+ on March 20. It stars Anthony Mackie as Bernard Garrett, a young genius growing up black pre-Civil Rights and dealing with the Jim Crow racism in his hometown of Texas, so he moves to Los Angeles and becomes heavily involved in the real estate business. Eventually, he finds a partner in Samuel L. Jackson’s Joe Morris, a club owner with money and a good amount of real estate experience himself. Slowly, they begin buying up buildings in downtown L.A. using the ambitious white Max Steiner (Nicholas Hoult) as their frontman, while letting affluent black people in to build a community and Bernard decides it’s time to buy the bank in his old Texas hometown. That’s where things start going wrong, but I won’t get too deep into the story. This is a decent film from Nolfi with particularly strong performances from Mackie and Jackson, as well as Nia Long as Garrett’s wife. It’s very reminiscent of Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman with a similar level of humor despite being about a serious subject. It does hit a bit of a lull when the story moves back to Texas and the trio’s dealings with the banks, and it gets a little bogged down in all the numbers, but it does end up delivering a decent true-life story that will be of interest.

Kelly Reichardt’s latest period piece is FIRST COW (A24), set in the Pacific Northwest during the time of the Gold Rush as a cook (John Magaro) encounters a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) in the Oregon Territory and the two of them hatch a money-making scheme to sell biscuits using stolen milk from a local landowner’s prized cow. Although I have not really been a fan of Reichardt’s work, even her historic film Meek’s Cutoff, I think with this movie she really finds her footing with two great actors/characters and a story that’s fairly intriguing in its own right. I wasn’t too crazy with how the film ended (foreshadowed by the film’s opening framing device) but it’s one of Reichardt’s few films where I didn’t get bored or lose interest, so that’s certainly sayin’ something. What’s even more impressive is that two local theaters (BAM, MOMI) held repertory series in conjunction with the release of First Cow and apparently, other cities are doing the same.

From Brazil comes BACURAU (Kino Lorber), Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’s odd genre film that’s based around a small village in the Brazilian equivalent of the Outback, a remote place whose matriarch Carmelita has just passed away at the age of 94. There are forces at work trying to drive the villagers out of their homes, including putting a dam to cut off their water supply, but things get stranger when a nearby farmer and his family end up dead, which leads to a twist that takes the film directly into genre territory. I don’t want to say too much about what happens but it involves Udo Kier and a lot of weapons… Bacurau opens at the IFC Center downtown and Film at Lincoln Center uptown (with QnAs at the latter, which is also holding a “Mapping Bacurau” series starting March 13.)

Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ SWALLOW (IFC Films) stars Haley Bennett as a newly-pregnant housewife married to her perfect husband Richie (Austin Stowell, who recently appeared in Fantasy Island), but as she tries to please him and his parents, she starts developing a dangerous habit in the form of a disorder called pica that has her compulsively swallowing inedible objects. Okay, then. It will open at the IFC Center, the Laemmle Monica Film Center and as well as On Demand and digital. Bennett won an award for her acting at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, but I somehow missed it.

Next, we have a trio of films opening at New York’s Village East Cinema and a few other theaters both in New York and select cities:

I really wanted to like Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman’s Irish horror-comedy EXTRA ORDINARY (GDE) more, since the trailer really made it seem like something I might enjoy. In the movie, Maeve Higgins plays Rose, a smalltown driving instructor who has supernatural talents who is called upon by Barry Ward’s Martin Martin, whose daughter is being used by a former rock star (played by Will Forge) who needs a virgin to commit a Satanic pact to regain his fame. The movie just seemed rather silly and not nearly as funny as the trailer makes it seem, but maybe it would be better seing it with an audience.

Another movie that looks good (and I hope to watch soon) is Ricky Tollman’s directorial debut, the political thriller Run This Town (Oscilloscope), which stars Ben Platt (from Pitch Perfect), Mena Massoud, Nina Dobrev, Scott Speedman,  Jennifer Ehle and Damian Lewis, quite an impressive cast. Platt plays Bram, a young journalist who becomes entangled in a political scandal with his political aide friend Kamal (Massoud) after catching the latter’s city hall boss doing something bad that can help the former’s career.

Also opening this weekend at the Village East and other cities, Anna Akana stars in Emily Ting’s semi-autobiographical Go Back to China (Gravitas Ventures) playing a spoiled rich girl named Sasha Li, who is forced by her father to return to China after blowing through her trust fund. Once there, Sasha finds herself by reconnecting with her estranged family and getting into toy designing. I haven’t watched this yet but the trailer looks cute, and I might have to make an effort to watch this.

Sadly, I had to refrain mentioning Daniel Radcliffe’s previous movie released last week, but he stars in another one this weekend, Francis Annan’s Escape from Pretoria (Momentum) based on Tim Jenkins’ autobiography “Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison,” a thriller about the attempt by two political captives to break out of prison during apartheid South Africa. It also stars Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter and Nathan Page.

A few other films I haven’t had a chance to watch include William Nicholson’s Hope Gap (Roadside Attractions), starring Annette Bening and Bill Nighy with Bening playing Grace, a woman who learns her husband (Nighy) is leaving her after 29 years and how that break-up affects their grown son (Josh O’Connor).

Freida Pinto and Leslie Odom Jr. star in Takashi Doscher’s Only(Vertical Entertainment) in which a comet releases a deadly virus that attacks all the women in the world forcing the two of them into hiding in their apartment from the savages hunting the surviving women. That’s a pretty strange premise that sounds like the opposite of the comic book series “Y the Last Man.” If only there was enough time to watch half the movies opening this weekend.

I accidentally included D.W. Young’s doc The Booksellers (Greenwich) in last week’s column, but it actually opens at the Quad in New York and other cities this Friday. It takes a look behind the scenes at the world of rare books with appearances by Parker Posey, Fran Lebowitz and Gay Talese.

From Bollywood comes BAAGHI 3 (FIP), Ahmed Khan’s martial arts action movie, starring series regular Tiger Shroff (who is filming a Bollywood remake of Rambo!) and Ritesih Deshmukh as brothers Ronnie and Vikram, the latter being kidnapped and beaten while abroad for work and Ronnie seeking revenge. Shraddha Kapoor returns after starring in the first movie of this action series.

Other movies, mostly hitting On Demand (with limited theatrical) include Transference (Epic Pictures), which opens in L.A. on Friday and hits On Demand next Tuesday, Final Kill (Cinedigm), Beneath Us (Vital Pictures) and Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss (MarVista Entertainment).

STREAMING AND CABLE

Some big stuff hitting the streaming…um… streams this weekend, including director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg’s latest collaboration, the action-thriller SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL on Netflix. I have really enjoyed this duo’s collaborations in the past, including Patriots Day, Deepwater Horizon and Lone Survivor. (Mile 22 was a bit of a disappointment, considering how great those other three were.) This one has Wahlberg playing the title character Spenser, an ex-cop who teams with his roommate Hawk (Winston Duke from Usand Black Panther) to take down criminals responsible for killing two Boston police officers.

Equally exciting is the launch of Alex Garland’s new sci-fi series Devs, which will launch on FX on Hulu on Thursday. This is a really terrific premise from the director of Ex Machina and Annihilation with a fantastic cast that includes an amazing cast that includes Nick Offerman, Alison Pill, Jin Ha, Cailea Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson and more.

Also launching this week on Hulu is Nanette Burstein’s documentary Hillary (Hulu), which followed former Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton over the course of her 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The movie just premiered at Sundance in January to raves.

Steven Spielberg’s revival of his popular ‘80s anthology series Amazing Stories will debut on Apple TV+ this Friday with the first episode, “The Cellar.”

REPERTORY

Before we get to the regular repertory stuff, I want to mention that Satoshi Kon’s classic 2003 anime Tokyo Godfathers will get a nationwide theatrical release via Fathom Events with Monday night, March 9, being the original subtitled version while Weds. the 11th, there will be a dubbed version.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The big debut this week is the Metrograph Pictures release of the restored version of Fruit Chan’s 1997 classic Made in Hong Kong, which has never been released in the United States! Apparently it was also the first movie released in Hong Kong after it received independence in 1997. It’s an interesting crime tale that deals with the relationship between three young people, hoodlum August Moon, who collects debts for a local loan shark, his dim-witted friend Sylvester and Ping, an attractive but troubled young girl who begins a relationship with August. It also deals with the death of a young girl who seemingly jumped off a roof and the three of them trying to solve the case and get a few letters she left behind to those they were meant for.  If you can imagine a cross between River’s Edge, Me and Earl and the Dying Girland the recent Peanut Butter Falcon, all set in the gritty street crime culture of 1997 Hong Kong, then you can only begin to imagine what you’re in for, but it’s an amazing film and nothing you would ever see made or released in the U.S., so good on Metrograph for picking up the distribution rights and getting it out to the world.

On Sunday, Metrograph regular Alex Ross Perry will be showing Peter Hyams’ 1974 film Busting, but on Saturday, actor Chiara Mastroianni, who will be in town for “Rendezvous with French Cinema” (see above)  will show her “Dream Double Feature” of Dino Risi’s 1962 film Il Sorpasso and Charles Laughton’s psychological horror classic The Night of the Hunter (1955).

This weekend’s Late Nites at Metrograph is Fassbinder’s 1972 film The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant and apparently, the “Playtime: Family Matinees” has been replaced with “Metrograph Matinees” on Saturday and Sunday, which includes some less kid-friendly fare. For instance, this weekend, they’re showing Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend (1967), which I’m assuming isn’t for the kiddies.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Robocop 2, while next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the 1989 giallo Paganinni Horror, starring Donald Pleasance, and “Weird Wednesday” is the 1985 action film Sword of Heaven.

Over on the West Coast, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles will screen 1968’s Wild in the Streetsas it’s “Weird Wednesday.” Saturday’s “Kids Camp” is The Shaun the Sheep Movie and then Sunday is a Brunch screening of The Brady Brunch. Marc Bernarndin’s Monday “The Minority Report” screening is Joss Whedon’s 2005 film Serenity. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is Kathryn Bigelo’s Near Dark and then the “Weird Wednesday” is Bobcat Goldthwait’s 2011 dark comedy God Bless America

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds’ afternoon matinee is Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter (1973), while the Weds/Thursday night double feature is The Man Who Would Be King (1975) with Zulu Dawn  (1979). The “Freaky Fridays” matinee is Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Trooper (1997) and then we’re into the weekend with Friday/Saturday double features of Blake Edwards’ The Return of the Pink Panthe r(1975) and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1975), both starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau. The weekend’s “Kiddee Matinee” is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeand the Saturday midnight screening is Hal Ashby’s fantastic Harold and Maude. Sunday and Monday will continue the Blake Edwards love with 1965’s The Great Race with one of the greatest all-star casts of the decade. On Monday afternoon you can see the classic House Partyfrom 1990 and then Tuesday’s Grindhouse is David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1979) with Scalpel (1977).

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The big rep series beginning this week on Wednesday and running through March 19 is “The Women Behind Hitchcock,” mostly focusing on Hitchcock’s relationship with wife and editor Alma Reville and secretary Joan Harrison. The series includes Hitchcock classics like Rebecca  (1940) and The Lady Vanishes (1938), as well as Robert Siodmak’s 1944 film Phantom Lady (produced by Harrison) as well lots more. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is Jim Henson’s Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and Friday is a screening of Claude Lelouch’s Oscar-winning 1966 film A Man and a Woman with Lelouch in person. (That’s already sold out online but will have a standby line.)

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday offers an encore screening of the Russian film Come and Seeand then Friday begins “Noir City Hollywood: the 22ndAnnual Los Angeles Festival of Film Noir” with a double feature of The Beast Must Die (1952) with Gilda (1946) and then Saturday offers a TRIPLE FEATURE of Fritz Lang’s 1931 M, Joseph Losey’s 1951 remake M and El Vampiro Negro, the 1953 Spanish Language. That’s a LOT of “M”s. Saturday night in the Spielberg Theater, “Joe Dante’s 16mm Spotlight” will screen Brian De Palma’s 1968 film Murder À La Mod. Sunday offers two Film Noir double features, two from Robert Siodmak: The Devil Strikes at Night (1957) and Fly-by-Night (1942) and then the Korean noir The Housemaid (1960) with My Name is Julia Ross (1945). Meanwhile, the AERO will mainly be doing the West Coast version of “Canada Now 2020,” and then on Monday, David Mamet will be on hand to show his film House of Gamesas part of “Noir City: Hollywood.”

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Horace B. Jenkins’ 1982 film Cane River continues through the weekend, as does Pandora and the Flying Dutchman and Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Barreto’s Donna Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976) plays Saturday night and then again a couple times next week.

MOMA  (NYC):

Lots of new series this week including Modern Matinees: CicelyTyson, which will focus on the Tony, Emmy, honorary Oscar and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree and her body of work with matinee screenings on Weds through Thursdays. It kicks off Weds with 1954’s Carib Gold, followed on Thursday by Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Friday’s screening of Rob Cohen’s 2012 movie Alex Cross. The latter might seem like a strange movie to screen at MOMA, but this week also begins In Character: Daniel Craig, which will cover the roughly two decade career of the British actor best known for playing James Bond. The latter begins on Tuesday night with a screening of his Bond debut, 2006’s Casino Royale, but then it will take a week off and be back next Weds for a repeat. SThe latter is delayed for a retrospective on Israeli journalist Efratia Gitai and her filmmaking son Amos Gitai’s work called “In Times Like These.”The weekend series includes 2009’s Carmel, 1986’s Esther, 1989’s Berlin-Jerusalem and 2002’s Kedma, as well as a staged reading of his mother’s letters.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES (NYC):

A new series begins Thursday called “1995: The Year the Internet Broke” with a mix of sci-fi films like Hackers, the anime Ghost in the Shell, Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, Virtuosity and more. It looks like a pretty solid series, while the more obscure Dusan Makavjev, Cinema Unbound through Sunday. Next Tuesday begins “The Cinema of Gender Transgression” begins with Neil Jordan’s 2005 film Breakfast on Pluto.

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Williamsburg will show the Julia Roberts Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich and then the Friday night midnight offerings are Dan Bush’s newish The Dark Redand Ben Wheatley’s underrated 2012 movie Sightseers. Saturday morning screening is Joseph Mankiewicz’s All About Eve from 1950 but your other option is the ubiquitous Nicolas Cage in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas. Monday night is a special screening of Anna Rose Holmer’s 2016 film The Fits as part of “Women’s Month.” (Next Tuesday night screening of Cage’s Gone in 60 Secondsis already sold out unfortunately.)

Over in Prospect Park, the Saturday brunch offering is Agnieszka Holland’s 1993 adaptation of The Secret Garden and then on Tuesday night is a screening of Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) as part of “Woman’s Month.”

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See it Big! Outer Space” continues this weekend with screenings of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity on Friday and Sunday and Star Trek: The Motion Picture on Saturday, plus 2001: A Space Odyssey screens on Saturday afternoon, per usual.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Kelly Reichardt Selects: First Cow In Context ends on Wednesday with Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Luis Buñuel takes a couple more weekends off, while Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s is showing James McTeigue’s 2005 adaptation of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta. Late Night Favorites: Winter 2020 will show Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

The Cage run continues with Paul Schrader’s 2016 movie Dog Eat Dog, co-starring Willem Dafoe,on Weds and 2011’s Drive Angry Thursday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Uh oh, this Friday’s midnight is…the 2019 disaster Cats!

Next week is a busy one with four new wide release ranging from Sony’s Bloodshot, starring Vin Diesel as the Valiant Comics hero, to Blumhouse’s The Hunt, the faith-based Lionsgate film I Still Believe and David Batista’s family comedy My Spy (STXfilms).

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

[shirasade]

Italian Institute con write-up, part 5

Between ourselves, @rebelqueenss and I covered all things Dom & Matt on Saturday, July 15. I’ll try not to read into things but only post what I saw and heard to the best of my recollection.

Full disclosure: I’m focusing on Sherdario / Jalec, since that’s what I pay attention to .*g*

Saturday: Sherdario Meet & Greet

We were a bit disappointed when the Matt & Dom panel was cancelled because the con war running so late. But luckily the day ended with the m&g, the absolute highlight. We were maybe 20 people, and only a translator sat between me and Matt, with Dom on his other side​.

Matt came in first and asked us how we were doing, and mostly @rebelqueenss and I did a bit of chit chat about Milano, how long he was staying (he had to leave Monday bc of work, and his plan for the evening was to eat fish, which made all the Italians go “but why, Milano isn’t the right place for that!”). Then the translator started translating some of what had been said but was interrupted when Dom came in.

He made a beeline for Matt and tried to sit down on his lap, making him squirm and laugh (very fondly) before basically grabbing him and depositing him on the chair next to him (so there was only the second translator between Dom and @rebelqueenss - which meant we had a front row seat to every little thing). Dom then said that the set-up was too formal (a square U of chairs), like an AA meeting, so everyone pulled their chairs into a circle, causing Dom to laugh and say to Matt that *this* was even more like an AA meeting. (Like I said, both @rebelqueenss and I were in the perfect position to hear these little asides between the two of them. They shared laughs and nudges and inside jokes the entire time and just generally looked very comfortable with each other. Dom was also looking at Matt almost the entire time, while Matt was staring straight ahead and visibly trying to keep a straight face.)

The first question was about both Dom and Alberto having said multiple times that Matt goes a little crazy after midnight. Matt protested loudly and asked for the Italian for “liar”, while Dom grinned and teased him, and in the end Matt explained that there’s this point when you work nights when everyone goes a bit weird. And he made a slightly manic-looking face, and Dom exclaimed, “This! That’s the face you always make!” And when the translator tried to translate he tried to get Matt to make the face again, but Matt said the translator should do it.

Then someone asked what their favorite thing about each other is. At first they joked “nothing, I have no idea!”, “maybe eating?” (which I assume refers to Matt cooking for Dom), but then Matt said it was Dom’s loyalty, and for Dom it’s Matt’s knowledge. Matt pretended to be offended and said “but that’s not a personality trait!” Dom explained that Matt’s knowledge helped him feel safe and helped him deal with things. It was all very sincere and Matt blushed and thanked him.

I think the next question was “Magnus or Jace”, and both @rebelqueenss and I immediately went “Jace” (because we have no chill *g*), so Matt was like “Oh, should the fans answer?” and Dom said that no, Matt should. Matt made a face and started very diplomatically, “You can’t compare that, it’s two different kind of love.” Dom started making exaggerated puppy eyes at him, and Matt laughed and yelled, “Yes, okay, of course it’s Jace!” much to everyone’s amusement. And during the translation Dom added, mostly to Matt, “That’s probably not a popular choice.”

Someone asked about their favourite rune, and Matt said healing. Dom side-eyed him and said that he thought it’d be the parabatai rune, and Matt apologized. Then they counted down from 3, but they still said healing (Matt) and parabatai (Dom), so they tried again but both switched, so it took them 3 tries to get to both saying parabatai. And they grinned and bumped fists, very pleased with each other. Dom said, “This is the most we ever touch!”

A girl then reminded him of all the times he’d said that he practiced kissing with Matt, and they looked at each other and Dom said “One day it’ll happen!” and then someone interjected that they’d both said that Dom already kissed Matt this morning and that he also kissed Alan, and Dom was like “Oh yeah, of course!” Matt went, “You kissed Alan?! You seem to be kissing everyone today!”

Someone said that they seemed to get more and more weapons each season, and which piece of equipment was the most uncomfortable. They joked that in season 3 they’d have to carry a whole armory, but then they both agreed that it was definitely Alec’s bow. Matt explained that it was very easy to hurt your wrist with the string because Alec doesn’t have an armguard, making it bleed and leading to having to hold the bow very awkwardly. And the quiver is also quite uncomfortable, not just for him, but when they’re fighting back-to-back. He and Dom turned in their seats and pushed their backs together to show how it would hit Dom.

As for Dom, at first they both stated that all of his weapons were fine, and Dom looked very proud and said that they were made especially for him, but then Matt reminded him of the battle axes. “Which they keep having to re-make because <em>someone</em> keeps breaking them!” Dom laughed and admitted that he had indeed broken many of the axes during the parabatai training scene in 2x11, but that the worst thing had actually been that every time he had to block Matt, he’d hit his knuckles. They had to do the scene about 40 times, and Matt said that Dom really toughed it out, only letting on that he was in pain in the last few takes. Dom replied, “Yeah, but I wanted to cry! I just didn’t want to look weak in front of you.”

Then @rebelqueenss asked what their favourite thing about the parabatai bond is and whether we would get more scenes like training or comforting each other. Matt answered that they both agree that it’s one of their favourite things about the show and that it gives them so much to work with because of the history they share. Dom then repeated what he’d said in other interviews about going back to the Greek myth of soulmates, that people originally had two heads and four legs and arms but only one soul, so when they got split in two, the separated souls would always try to find each other and be drawn to each other. And that that’s how he sees the parabatai relationship.

Matt added that he would love to explore this more, but that unfortunately this season their plotlines continue to diverge more, Alec being the Head of the Institute and Jace’s being more with Clary, Sebastian and Valentine. Dom interjected that they did have “that scene”, but that they weren’t together in it. Matt warned him about spoilers, but Dom just said that he saw it, and that Matt’s acting made him cry.

Because they hadn’t answered the entire question and I remembered that they had mentioned fighting back-to-back, I then asked if there would be more parabatai fighting. Matt at first misunderstood me to mean training and said no, but Dom realized I meant “fighting side by side, right?” And that there was this “scene in the alley with the arrows and the things and stuff” - he was gesticulating, and Matt was laughing because it didn’t make sense to anyone but him. (I’m assuming he was talking about the scene he also mentioned at Comic Con, where they have to look at special effect dragons.) While the translator did her thing I told them that I really loved the fight scene in the pilot, and they both said that that had been really cool and one of their favourite things to shoot.

I might get the order of the questions mixed up, but someone asked about Parabatai Lost and the scene at the end, and Matt immediately said that it was a very heavy scene, but really, Dom carried the entire thing, since he was basically playing dead the entire time (he made a really funny “dead” face at that). And how he often gets complimented, “you guys did so good in that scene, really amazing!” and answers “thank you, thank you”, when really it was all Dom. He couldn’t emphasize that enough, it was really lovely.

Dom was blushing and said that it was such an emotional scene, losing the person you love the most, your soulmate, and that it wouldn’t have worked with someone he didn’t trust and feel as comfortable with as Matt. Matt looked very touched and thanked him.

There was a question about Alec’s bitchiness having lessened, and Matt said something along the lines that Alec had reasons to be “let’s call it bitchy” (making a slightly pained face while Dom smirked) in season 1 but that he’d grown and become more comfortable with himself.

Someone else asked whether they’d ever taken/stolen anything from the set. Matt immediately leaned down to cover Dom’s shoes, going, “What? No! We’d never steal shoes from set!” And Dom also leaned down to put his hands over his Jace boots, so they were sitting twisted together, protesting their innocence, that Dom most certainly didn’t have Jace’s jacket in his room either (which he’d admitted to at the panel earlier). Matt then said that they really couldn’t be blamed, because their wardrobe is so nice. And someone injected that it could be “borrowing” instead of stealing, and Dom said, “exactly, now that we’ve got season 3!”

Neither one of them has ever stolen a weapon, though, but Matt said that Dom has one at home that they’ve given him, and Dom added that it had been made for him to to practice with.

When someone reminded Dom that he’s said that he’d like to take Matt home with him, he said, “Oh yeah, I take him home all the time.” Matt’s response: “We go home together, sure.” Dom adding, “But he’s not property of the set, so it doesn’t count.”

My favourite was the question about creating a new rune, which Matt misunderstood and thought the guy had said “rule”, but Dom interrupted and said that if he was going to answer that he was only allowed two rules, “because you ramble.” So Matt’s rules were, “One, do whatever the hell you want, and two, no hands in faces!” Dom started laughing and explained that Matt doesn’t like people touching his face because he’s afraid to get sick. And he immediately began pawing at Matt’s face, making him laugh and flinch. When he finally managed to palm his cheek, Dom asked, “What, don’t you like my hands?” or something like that, and Matt replied, “Well, I don’t know where those hands have been!” During the translation it was very important to him that they translated “whatever THE HELL you want”, so I’m assuming that was a The 100 reference.

Then they answered the new rune question, first normally - Dom with flying, he’d like them to have wings, and Matt with something else that I can’t remember, but then Dom said “a make Clary disappear rune!” and Matt grinned and immediately played along and they egged each other on:

Matt: “A send Clary to the moon rune! A rewrite the book rune!”

Dom: “A never meet Clary rune!”

Matt: “A send Jace and Alec to an island rune!”

Dom: “Where they can…” *makes fistbump motion* (He then asked the translator to maybe not translate the fistbump part of his answer. Just in case there way any doubt what he meant. *g*)

Matt only grinned and added as last thing something like “A no problems rune!” or “A parabatai being happy rune!”

At the end @rebelqueenss asked for a selfie, and Matt asked if they were allowed to do that and was told that it was okay if it was the whole group. So they stood behind all of us with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and Dom had to get on his tiptoes in order to be tall enough. (Sadly I haven’t managed to get a hold of the photo as of yet.)

Then they left and we pretty much floated out of the room. The entire M&G had such a lovely relaxed atmosphere, with even the more loaded questions being asked in good faith with no hidden agenda. You could tell Matt especially was letting his guard down a little in comparison to earlier in the day. Dom was slightly tipsy, but he didn’t bring a beer and was very focused on Matt the whole time. Altogether the whole thing was a Sherdario dream come true (and not bad on the Jalec/parabatai front either)! *g*

How anyone can doubt that they are real friends I don’t know. They tease each other a lot, but that’s just how some friendships work.