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lilmissbacon · 4 years ago

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Frozen 3 concept

I'mma start off with explaining that I'm not the biggest fan of Frozen and I'm definitely not a fan of Elsa's character in general.

But as much as I love the songs and outfits of the second movie, the inconsistencies and how it never explains how sh🤬 works in the world with magic and such are just infuriating. As well as why the spirit that connects them controls ice which is just a variation of water. And how the Frozen franchise just loves to make Elsa more special within every installment.

I am so very tired of it. So I came up with a way that it could all be fixed and make sense if they make a third movie.

Also to note that Anna and Elsa are supposed to be two halves of the fifth spirit but that's VERY briefly touched in movie (quote: well actually a bridge has two sides and mother had two daughters) and Disney themselves take Elsa as the fifth spirit alone so that's stupid.

Why Elsa specifically controls ice

We all know how we're frustrated with the fact that Elsa is supposed to connect all the elements when she only controls ice.

But let's think about it from another prospective. The first movie is based about the seasons. It's a seasonal theme rather than an elemental theme like in its sequel. So why not bring that back?

The enchanted forest cannot be the ONLY place that has mystical spirits. What if there were three other forests with their own fifth spirits and each fifth spirit represented a season?

And each seasonal spirit's magic is a mix of two elements.

Elsa/Winter: Ice = water + air

Spring: Plants = water + earth

Summer: Lava = earth + fire

Fall: Lightning/Storms = air + fire

This still fits in with the fact that the fifth spirit can play back moments in time as well. Each spirit has their own Ahtohallan. Elsa's is made of ice because it's just frozen water and the water is was plays back those moments in time.

Spring's would be like an island made of plants, fungi and marsh. Plants have water running within them so they can take the form of moments in time like Elsa's ice statues.

Summer's would be a volcano with a river flowing through it. Lava and water can mix to create lava rocks. When doing so the memories within that water would be imbedded into the rocks they form and therefore be able to play moments in time as rock statues.

Autumn's would basically be a fog bank with almost ghostly figures making up the memories since fog is a mist, aka: water. Kinda like the scene where Elsa fights the wind spirit and their powers mix for a moment.

Where the others come from

For this, I decided to look around other lands within that side of the world that has legends of spirits. I decided upon:

Spring = Scotland

Summer = Arabia

Fall/Autumn = Japan

I chose for Arabia to be summer, of course , because it's a desert country so it very hot. Japan is autumn because it's culture and everything just always reminded be of the beauty of fall. And Scotland is spring because that's what was left and when I think of Scotland, I think of it's green forests and plants.

Nothing too deep.

Personalities

You think I'd make Summer hotheaded and spring, giddy and bouncy, right?

No, because you see, as I've stated in another post of mine; Why Frozen Doesn't Work In The Big Four, I explained how Elsa's personality reconciles more with summer. The opposite season of her own.

Elsa is kinda quiet, gentle, diplomatic, practical, worries silently and is angelically innocent (even though she doesn't deserve to be).

All are traits relating to summer. So if her personality is opposed to her season, then it'd be the same for the other fifth spirits.

Spring would be a leader, confident, energetic, true to a cause, dependable, easily irritated and stubborn.

Summer would be reserved, well mannered, a good listener, natural poise and pessimistic.

And autumn would be energetic, tender-hearted, optimistic, friendly and overly talkative.

How the spirits work

I fully believe that the spirits have no physical form but rather inhabit certain things. Basically possession but the spirits don't have control over themselves once they choose a vessel and depending on the solidarity of what their element is, determines what kind of vessel they need.

The wind spirit is said to be a playful spirit and would want to make its own choices. Being an element you can't hold, it doesn't really need a host.

Water is liquid and needs something to be it's host but doesn't necessarily need something alive. Therefore it can inhabit a small animal or it inhabits its own element, hence a water horse.

Fire isn't a solid or liquid but it's not necessarily a gas either. Fire always needs to burn on something in order to burn. Therefore it cannot just make out it's own body like water but it doesn't need a large vessel. Hence, a little salamander.

Earth is the most solid of them all so it would need multiple hosts in order to sustain itself. That's why there are multiple earth giants and not just one like the other spirits.

I believe the spirits don't have control over their actions once they choose a host because all the spirits (besides wind) seem to not know what's even going on most of the time. And that would explain why the spirits didn't get rid of the dam themselves, because their vessels didn't know that was the problem.

I also believe that they need a host to begin with because they are actually susceptible to death. As it has been confirmed that Elsa is NOT immortal and there wouldn't have been a legend of a fifth spirit if people hadn't seen one before.

It would also explain how the spirits drove the citizens out of Arendelle without physically being there; they managed to leave their hosts for a time in order to do so. Along with what the light that Elsa was following at Ahtohallan, was. The fifth spirit was able to sustain itself by staying in its birth place and activated the memory of Elsa's mom singing, to bring Elsa there and when Elsa's dress transforms is when the spirit possesses her.

Why does the fifth spirit need to be human? Because humans are more durable. The fifth spirit doesn't control anything completely solid like rock so it doesn't need multiple vessels but it also controls more than a single element, therefore is too much to figure out/control for just any animal.

That's why it chose a very young child to give it's powers to rather than the person who actually did the deed of saving their enemy. It needs to be someone who will have the time to learn and control their powers by adulthood.

(Despite Elsa not truly being worthy and being a horrible sister, she was already chosen at birth and she at least gets the job done. At everyone else's expense but still.)

Plot

How would the seasonal spirits meet? Why would they leave their homes for this? What brings them together?

The four sided snowflake represents the elements connected to the winter spirit. Every season would have their own version of this. But there are also four seasons just like there are four elements.

So, could there be a fifth spirit for the fifth spirits? A fifth spirit to connect the seasons and if so, what is it? What's their power?

I believe, much like the winter spirit called to Elsa, the ultimate fifth spirit will call all the seasonal spirit's to come together at a single location. Anna would come with Elsa as well, of course, and during their journey, they'd all eventually meet each other along the way.

Eventually Anna would start to feel a little neglected when Elsa keeps talking to / about the other people who also have magic. Anna doesn't wish for magic, but she wishes for Elsa to finally see herself and Anna as equals (because Elsa clearly wouldn't after finding others like herself, let's be real). So Anna goes off to have her own sort of "Show Yourself" moment and is the one to find the location they've been looking for which is where she becomes their fifth spirit; the Aurora Borealis.

It was in one of the original scripts for the first movie that Anna was gonna have the power to control the Aurora Borealis, but then the creators decided that took away from Elsa's agency for self isolation due to her powers.

It's true that Anna having been able to accomplish what she did without powers is one of her best attributes but Anna becoming the light spirit is really the only way she's gonna get any appreciation within the fan base or the disney community. Plus Anna's done all the work to begin with so she deserves it.

With the other spirits being seasonal & elemental, it would only make sense for the one to connect them all would be light.

But all the spirits also have an opposite to balance them out:

Fire | Water

Earth | Air

Winter | Summer

Spring | Autumn

So maybe the reason they were all being called there is because Light's opposite is Darkness and it's plotting to take them all out. They are in charge of keeping balance and darkness wants to create chaos. But you also need darkness for balance, so maybe someone else will be with them through the journey and become the vessel for darkness in order to control it. Because, again, spirits have no control once they have a host.

This could be a possible redemption arc for Hans. We could learn about what he's been through and what truly drove him to be the bad guy because from what we know of his brothers, they were really bad. I think he just really lost a nerve due to unintentional (or intentional) abuse and was trying to prove to his family that he was better than they believed. People who suffer from abuse can be irrational like that.

I think it would be a phenomenal thing for him to overcome his inner darkness while also taking control of the literal spirit of darkness.

Metaphorical-wise it's beautiful.

Art/Designs

I edited the other seasons + Anna off of concept art for Elsa's white dress while Hans is kinda my own creation but I still used his concept art for a base. Everything after that are purely original.

Location they are led to ⬇️

Let me know what you all think 👍

#frozen #frozen 2 #disney #fifth spirit #concept #elsa #anna #frozen 3

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myfriendsarerealidiots · 4 years ago

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Comparing Adaptations

‘Kay so I went on one of my whims again and did something stupid. Couple weeks or so ago, I wasn’t really in the mood to watch anime so I opened up Netflix and watched a Cdrama that I wanted to watch for a while now.

That Cdrama was ‘The Untamed’ which, prior to me watching it and doing said whim, I thought was just your typical historic Cdrama. Oh boy I was wrong. As I was watching it, I was thinking to myself, “This show’s really selling itself off as BL.” Which, I found out after finishing it was because it is BL. Hah...and that was just the start of it.

As I was doing my ‘Post-show research,’ I found out that it was based of a novel, called ‘Mo Dao Zu Shi’or as translated by the people on the internet as ‘Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.’ Said novel had 2 more adaptations along with ‘The Untamed’ which were a manhua and a donghua. So me being me, I decided to watch the donghua adaptation and read both the og novel and manhua.

So how I went through this was...

The Untamed (2019)

The Donghua aka Anime I guess

The Manhua which I read while having class (such a responsible student aren’t I)

The original novel

All hail this person who has too much free time on her hands.

Anyways, as it says on the tin, I’ll be comparing the 4 adaptations/versions of the story and see what changes between them as well as the pros and cons. (Wow I sound so professional)

Some background of myself just to avoid confusion

I am not a mega hardcore Fujoshi. I don’t really enjoy reading smut, nor am I old enough to do so bear that in mind

I have 7 years worth of Chinese lessons under my belt which means I barely understand a thing and that I can get some of the jokes like how Wei Ying’s sword is called ‘Sui Bien’ and it’s funnier to hear in Chinese. In other words, compared to like actual Chinese people who live in China, I pretty much have the knowledge of a 10 year old.

The versions of the Manhua and Novel that I read were translated in English so somethings might have been lost in translation.

I have a bit of a goldfish brain so forgive me if I wrote something wrong or forgot the name of a certain character, most likely I will look it up to correct it but if I don’t...well sorry.

I am writing my opinions on each version as I finish them, so if they don’t link up to the original that’s the reasoning behind it.

All of these are my opinions and thoughts on the story. You are not entitled to follow them if you disagree. I personally believe that everyone has a voice of their own and they should use it. (Even though I don’t half of the time.)

Slight Spoiler Warning

I will be breaking down some of the scenes and characters for my comparisons so please keep that in mind.

The Untamed (2019)

As this was my first exposure to the story, I didn’t know what to expect. I loved everything about it except for the fact that literally half of the show was spent in the past, building context for what was happening in the present.

The characters were lovable and all had distict personalities, especially Wei Ying and Lan Zhan which I guess makes sense since they’re the main characters (their actors are also cute and have good chemistry.) Speaking of characters, Yanli has a more forward role in the story here compared to the other versions. The way certain characters were introduced was different too. Since it’s live action, it’s also harder to show things like extreme blushing and such so it makes Lan Zhan look very stoic and way more unexpressive here than in the other versions.

The soundtrack is nice to listen to, especially with the 2 mains singing the theme song together it’s so cute and gives it another meaning in itself. Although, I do wonder how that poor bamboo flute Wei Ying made in like 2 mins plays decent sounding music. Chen Qing(is this the name of it?), the flute he uses after his trip to the Burial Grounds has the same sound quality as that bamboo flute which is just, “how???”

They took out most of the extreme BL!!! I feel like that is the biggest difference between this version and all the rest. I know they did that to appeal to more people but it does remove some of the context to things. That doesn’t mean the moments that were kept in weren’t cute though. It did make the pair look more plantonic than romantic.

As for the story itself, as a story on its own, it’s nice, as an adaptation that’s where the line gets blurry but it leans more towards the good side. They did indeed change some things, made them work better with the medium than if they didn’t.

An example I can place is the mask. Where the other versions used white make up with oddly placed red circles around the eyes, this one used a mask instead. I agree with the choice they made, seeing as they removed the fact that Mo Xuanyu was homosexual and so the make up wouldn’t make sense. It also looks nicer than what I imagined what could’ve happened with they kept with the make up. They do make a reference to this in the show when Jin Ling and Wei Ying have a conversation in Carp Tower. “You’ve seen my face right?” “How do I know? Your face is always caked in make up or covered by that mask.”

Another issue I had which I’ll touch on later was the first episode—I had no idea what was going on for those 40 minutes of screentime.

Donghua

As of writing this post, season 3 of this has yet to come out.

My first reaction to this was “Man, the animation’s pretty, and they made Wei Ying look scarier.” Watching stuff at 12 in the morning isn’t the best thing but that’s what I do.

Anywho, this version made Wei Ying really attracted to going down the path of ‘evil’ compared to the other versions. I don’t really understand why they made this change...but they did so we have to deal with that. And his eyes glow red!! It makes him look scary and cool at the same time. I love it!!

The transitions between certain events were a bit weird to say the least. For example, at the end of episode 2/3 Wei Ying gets forcibly dragged into the Cloud Recesses and the episode ends there. By the next episode, we’re 16/23/13 however many years in the past. This makes it really confusing for someone who hasn’t watched or read any other version of the story. It definitely made me confused and I already finished one.

While ‘The Untamed’ told us everything in one long flashback, the donghua broke it up into small chunks placed whenever information was needed. I don’t think that was a good idea, but then I also think it was a better decision than what they did for the Cdrama. As I watched this adaptation, I found myself confused from time to time because what happened in the prior episode didn’t always match what happened in the current episode like I mentioned earlier.

As for the artstyle, personally, I think some of the characters look similar minus the hair. However, I do like the little ways they made Lan Zhan express his feelings towards Wei Ying.

Speaking of which, when I first saw them together in this version in the forest near the Goddess Temple, I had to do a bit of a double take because of the height difference which wasn’t so evident in ‘The Untamed’. I soon found out that Lan Zhan was taller than Wei Ying before and after he gets reincarnated(?) Prior, it was just a small gap of 2cm which later turned to 6cm after possessing Mo Xuanyu.

I didn’t notice their height gaps while watching ‘The Untamed’ because Wei Ying’s actor, Xiao Zhan, is taller than Lan Zhan’s actor, Wang Yi Bo by about 2 inches which is like 5 cm? and so they had to do some weird thing with platforms to make Xiao Zhan look shorter in comparison.

Soundtrack wise, I personally think that ‘The Untamed’ was better in that sense. Where it had an amazing souding flute, this one had minor earrape in a nutshell.

This version made itself, in my eyes look more like a historical fighting anime as opposed to the BL vibes I was getting from ‘The Untamed’ and the other versions. They added a lot of action scenes and made the mystery more interesting for me. Along with this, the overall look and feel of this made it seem like it came from a completely different source material.

Manhua

Small FYI, as of writing this post the Manhua is at 147 Chapters.

(I should’ve kept up the trend and got a screenshot from that scene in the Manhua but I didn’t so here we are with gay rabbits.)

As your local internet friend who reads more manga than normal books nowadays, I enjoyed reading the manhua and finished it in a couple days.

Compared to the first 2 versions here, these last 2 are both things that you have to read to get through, albeit one has pictures and one doesn’t.

While normally, one would read silently, I like listening to music while I do. And seeing as the OST of ‘The Untamed’ sounds really nice, I listened to it while reading both the manhua and novel when I could.

This one brought out the BL elements that were missing from the first 2. They gave Wei Ying and Lan Zhan a lot of kissing or just straight up affectionate scenes which I think ties in with the general theming of the original novel more.

As this one is probably the closest of the adaptations to the original, it’s the least confusing to read, although that might’ve been influenced by my experiencing the story for the third time at this point. I say that, however, there were many story elements that weren’t present in either one prior to this.

Examples this can be seen with their collecting of body parts that belonged to the former Nie Sect Leader. In ‘The Untamed’ they find the sword spirit which guides them through the rest of the story. In the Donghua adaptation, they get the arm, but also get the head of the the Jin with the hundred holes curse which was an original addition. Here, they get the arm from Mo Manor, find the other one then find the torso and so on before finding the head in Jin GuangYao’s possession.

The flashbacks in this version were also executed really well, in my opinion, as it doesn’t feel super confusing while reading it and it gives just enough information to help the events unfold. It also gives us a chance to see how much of an ass(sorry) Wei Ying was when he was the Yiling Patriach from his own perspective as well as give us a moment of WangXian in the middle of all that chaos.

Novel

Here’s a picture of gay rabbits for everyone.

At this point, I was switching between the novel and the Manhua to read whichever one I wanted at any given time which might have blurred my sense of what belonged in each one so I’ll try my best to make sure.

Since this one is the original source material, it was clear from the get go that this will be the one with the least confusing version of events and the most amount of detail.

I was surprised on how close the manhua and ‘The Untamed’ was to the novel. Although, the former condensed the mystery to fit within the timeframe while the latter hasn’t finished just yet.

Personally, I like this author, and will probably read more of her works further down the line. Even though the version I read was in english, I still could feel the meaning behind certain aspects which I think shows her skill as an author.

The novel clearly shows the mischief that goes through Wei Ying’s head and their gradual (I say gradual but I think Lan Zhan just snapped) change of attitudes towards each other.

Arc One- Mo Manor

Past here I’ll break down the first arc of each one because I think all of them did it in relatively different ways. Be warned for spoilers if you haven’t watched or read all of them.

The Untamed (2019)

Out of all of these versions, this one definitely had me scratching my head in confusion the most even after watching it a second time once I finished the entire show.

As the only version that had the curse issued at the start as a moving factor of the story as well as the Yin Iron which was specifically made for this version, it didn’t explain enough at the start.

There were many things I could say were wrong about this beginning, from starting at a flashback to not properly introducing us to our characters but the biggest problem in my mind was the lack of explanation at the present.

Like I mentioned, starting at a flashback is a terrible idea as it gives the viewer high expectations only for it to be crushed the second it ends. Here, it shows a small portion of the battle at the Nightless City without much context then it quickly changes to 16 years later with a seemingly random group of people.

Another issue is the amount of useless characters who were introduced. In the other versions, there were only 2 Lan disciples who were given names and were introduced properly while here there were more than I want to count. Add to that the one telling stories about the YiLing Patriarch and the weird guy walking around with a flag, and you got yourself total confusion.

Donghua

This one was slightly less confusing to watch. As it starts with a clip of Wei Ying commanding corpses which matches the overall feel of the donghua. The rumors that he died stretched over the time skip and we meet this version of Mo Xuanyu who is caked with make up, whether or not he was a cut-sleeve (gay) in this version, I forgot.

It fully explains the curse and instead of having a couple of Lan disciples just standing there watching, we get to focus on the 2 important ones, Lan Sizhui and Lan JiYing. It gives us a slightly deeper insight into Wei Ying’s mind, as he states ‘you got the wrong one,’ just after being reincarnated, indicating that he isn’t as vicious as painted by the first few minutes of the show. Like the other versions, they also show how he considers the cons of using his demonic abilities and that Sizhui would probably tell on him to Lan Zhan, meaning that Sizhui was a keen, observant young man.

Manhua and the Novel

As for the introductions, these two were very similar. Both have the rumors of the Yiling Patriarch across the screen as we get further down the story and meet our main character.

It gets the details from the Donghua adaptation and mixes it with more information to create a more detailed account of what was happening, also making this Wei Ying seem smarter compared to his counterparts in other versions. He also hesitates more on showing his abilities, knowing that he’s going to be caught if he does.

Final Thoughts

As of writing this, I’m only halfway through the novel but it covers the portion until where the manhua is currently at. I would finish reading it before posting this but it would take too long and probably make this post even longer than it currently is, which isn’t such a good idea. If I had much more patience and effort I would really like to break down each arc and their differences from one another but I can’t be bothered right now. (Sorry)

I can safely say that in terms of adaptations, ‘The Untamed’ is relatively close to the novel, albeit a very condensed version. As flashback filled as it is, it wasn’t very confusing to watch past the first two episodes.

The Donghua adaptation takes several liberties, going more of an action oriented route instead of the calmer more, I wouldn’t say love but character oriented novel.

The manhua is definitely the closest to the novel, so if you really don’t want to read a lot of words, and I mean a lot of words, then go ahead and read it.

What else do I have to say...if you’re new to the story, welcome, if you’re a veteran who’s been here longer than me, sorry for taking up space on your feed. And congrats for making it to the end.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #manhua #donghua #cdrama #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wei ying #lan zhan #fujoshi #comparisons #mdzs #wangxian #yiling patriarch #yiling lao zu #hanguang jun

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Josie and The Pussycats is the Spinoff Riverdale Deserves

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This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers.

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 15

“Our story is about three young women bursting with talent.”

When last we saw Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), she was in New York City trying to make her dreams come true on the ill-fated (and gone-too-soon) Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene. Often when characters are spun-off and their subsequent shows fail, they vanish into the pop culture ether — The Ropers from Three’s Company being the textbook case of this phenomenon. But not so for Josie. This latest episode debuts a new iteration of the character, one who has achieved her dreams but still finds herself wanting more. It is a decidedly more mature take on the previously underwritten character, and one that allows Murray’s considerable acting and musical abilities to shine.

In short, it is the Josie that fans have always wanted to see.

But what good is the character without the backing of her Pussycats? Drummer Melody Valentine (Asha Bromfield) and multi-instrumentalist Valerie Brown (Hayley Law) have been estranged from Josie since she blew off the Pussycats for a solo career when they were in high school. Seven years later and the wounds are still raw, even though Melody has since become a renowned author with movie rights optioned by Tyler Perry, and Valerie is a talented artist and actress.

When Josie returns to Riverdale to take stock following the sudden death of her father, she finds herself coming to terms with her past. More than that though, she has found her voice in every sense of the word. She dismisses Mr. Lodge, the show’s big bad in a hilarious kiss off that sums up many viewers’ opinions on the often irksome character. Better still, the episode allows her to get meta to discuss how Riverdale often sidelined the Josie character in her previous iteration on the series. “I didn’t have much to say in old times,” she plaintively declares, commenting on the problem that Riverdale had with diversity in its early seasons. She then accurately dismisses Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead not as old friends but as acquaintances. It’s a bold and surprising scene that takes responsibility for past sins that the series committed, further illustrating that it is aware that it can do better and has been attempting to do so.

After a steamy reunion with old flame Sweet Pea (Jordan Connor), Josie begins the work of reaching out to Valerie and Melody. It is here that the episode goes from great to an all-timer. The chemistry that Murray, Bromfield and Law possess is lightning in a bottle. As old injustices are aired and attempts to repair wounded hearts and egos are undertaken, these actresses embody the old friends they portray fully. But this backdoor pilot, fortunately, has zero interest in having its women of color tear each other down. The characters candidly discuss their shared past, and begin to repair the rift that will — if The Pussycats goes to series — lead them to becoming the global superstars they are destined to be.

Josie, Melody and Valerie are icons. They know it, and the world will soon follow.

Inspired by her renewed friendship with her once and future bandmates, Josie decides to do a concert with the Pussycats that will raise money to help reincorporate the town of Riverdale. It is a performance that highlights each of the women’s musical strengths, even if Josie does steal the spotlight for an emotional rendition of Nina Simone’s “Stars.” Despite being cut short when Toni goes into labor, the concert is enough of a success for The Pussycats to agree to go on the road together — playing in towns where Josie’s late father wanted his ashes scattered. The women consider themselves to be equals now, thus the “Josie and” is jettisoned from the band name. This still being Riverdale, a friend of Josie’s dad appears moments before she leaves town to tell her that her father may have been murdered in New Orleans, and that voodoo might be involved.

With this incredible/ridiculous plot development thrown at us, the full image of what The Pussycats will be as a series comes into view: A mixture of Fame and 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo that celebrates these characters and their comic/cartoon legacy in an unexpected way. (As an Archie comics historian even I was taken off guard by the last-minute introduction of the potential show’s mystery angle, and my mind reels at the possibilities).

Hopefully sooner rather than later a series order for The Pussycats will be announced. There is so much potential here to tell exciting, fun, music-packed stories featuring strong women of color that it feels like a surefire hit. “The Return of the Pussycats” is not only the best episode of Riverdale this season, but a perfect pilot episode. There desperately needs to be lots more long tails and ears for hats in our future, for these are the Pussycats we’ve been waiting for.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Riverdale Rundown

While nothing has been officially announced as of yet, it feels ridiculous for The CW to not do a full series of The Pussycats, yes? This logo appearing at the end of the episode instead of the usual Riverdale bumper bodes well for things to come. Fingers crossed…

My guess is that this episode didn’t have Alexandra and Josie cross paths due to their Katy Keene past, which had the characters begin as enemies who were slowly forming a friendship before that series was cancelled. By not having them interact, the writers didn’t have to figure out where their relationship currently is — making this a narrative thread that The Pussycats could potentially pull on down the line.

The character of Alan M. briefly appears as Melody’s love interest, which indeed he is in the comics and fondly remembered 2001 movie.

Speaking of the Josie and the Pussycats movie, that film’s ever-growing cult continues to delight me. Thanks to multiverses, there’s no reason why that version of these characters and the ones of The Pussycats can’t co-exist in the same pop culture landscape.

Let’s give a special shoutout to Robin Givens, who not only reprises her role as Sierra McCoy here but also did a terrific job directing this installment.

Melody narrates this episode a la Jughead, except that her writing is bright and full of hope, a sharp and intentional contrast to her brooding counterpoint.

If you didn’t cheer when Josie and the Pussycats took the stage to their cartoon theme song, you are dead inside.

“Entertainment Tomorrow” enters the Riverdale fake product lexicon in this episode (which also includes the returning chestnut “Vanity Flair”).

Toni gives birth to a boy, Anthony.

Expect to see more about the franchising of Pop’s in upcoming restaurants, and Tabitha’s speech about the importance of the Chok’lit Shoppe being a black-owned restaurant in a time when Riverdale had no other such establishments was one of the most powerful scenes this series has ever done.

It’s worth noting that a franchise for real-life Archie restaurants did exist in the early 1970s. However the idea never really took off, and pictures of the three diners that were opened have never surfaced online.

What the hell was up with the Old Navy product placement in this episode, which felt like it was ripped from the Josie and the Pussycats movie, minus the irony.

Kevin’s dancing during the Little Shop of Horrors musical number was, unsurprisingly, everything.

Melody’s book being named Summer Storm is a sly reference to actress Asha Bromfield having a newly released novel called Hurricane Summer that was released in May.

Josie uses the alias Ms. Newmar to check into hotels. Julie Newmar famously portrayed Catwoman on the Batman TV series, which not only plays into Josie’s feline motif, but also is yet another of the show’s near-constant DC Comics references of late.

Mr. Lodge being called a “little bitch” was so unbelievably pleasing to watch. Josie is just SO OVER Riverdale’s bullshit.

In a nice character moment, Cheryl immediately leaps into action to help deliver ex-lover Toni’s baby.

Dr. Curdle Jr. being a Josie and the Pussycats superfan is comedic brilliance (as is the fact that nobody trusts him enough to have him anywhere near Toni’s delivery.

The post Josie and The Pussycats is the Spinoff Riverdale Deserves appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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dandyvespa · 5 years ago

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Hello everyone

Since the Produce series is now in shambles, I still continue to be survival show trash and would like some other mutuals to join my crackhead addiction. If you haven’t heard of Youth with You, it is the Chinese version of Produce that uses similar formatting. The judges of the latest season—which this time has girls competing to form a 9-member girl group—include Ella Chen, Jony J, Cai Xukun, and Lisa of Blackpink. Not only are the mentors astounding, but the participants are incredibly talented starting out that nearly all of them deserve to debut. In fact i would say it rivals with or dare I say is better than the original Produce series. In addition to this the show invites girls of different styles, weights, backgrounds, and androgynous looks making the show a lot more diverse and fleshed out from the typical female idol look. If you guys haven’t started it and are interested in something a bit more fresh to quell the pain of losing the Korean Produce series, I would highly recommend watching it. For those who are all caught up, please let us fangirl together over these competitors. Down below are my current top 9 and brief reasoning for each.

NOTE: It was very hard to pick a top 9 and honestly i would still rearrange this later on because it’s still too early in the game. I have way too many favorites for this season T.T. That being said I have no particular order for these gals.

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1. Xiaotang Zhao

The girl is hilarious so don’t let her resting bitch face fool you. She is so friendly and easygoing and I love her don’t-give-fuck attitude and because of that she’s so real and open to her thoughts regardless of backlash. She’s odd, but there is no doubt that she is talented. She’s been dancing since childhood and her skill shows on stage. Not to mention she is pretty good at rapping.

2. Yan Yu

Another “cold” looking person. But listen I would risk it all for her. She is beautiful, her body is goals, she is actually a goofabll off stage, is really caring of her teammates, loves her family despite teasing them occasionally, and her vocals are P O W E R F U L. She has the most stunning expressions and the way she stares into your soul when she gets into stage character? *dies* Plus she has proven to adapt to any concept, be it serving that cold girl crush look or a more delicate cute style. I hope people begin to realize that later on in the season.

3. Babymonster An Qi

This right here. This little pepper? She is fiery. She has incredible dance skills and charisma on stage. She is goofy and loves to eat a lot and nothing warms me more than seeing trainees/idols just eat well disregarding strict diets placed on them. She is also great at getting her teammates to familiarize and better their dance moves and has great leadership quality in that field. She is well prepared and knows what she wants and goes for it, and with that I know she will debut.

4. Frhanm Shangguan

Ohohoho Frhanm Shangguan is indeed the W H O L E fucking package. Miss most competent girl of Youth with You Season 3. I still watch her audition clip religiously to this day. The girl can not only sing, rap, dance, and possess a stage like no other, but she redefines the idea of how female idols should look. She loves herself, from her weight to her hair to her overall confidence. She screams positivity, acceptance, and big sister energy. She believes all girls can do anything they put their mind too and she is such a hard worker and motivator for all girls in the season. I’m straight up calling it out right now that if she doesn’t get to the final lineup—preferably as the team leader— I’m going to yeet myself out the window. I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of what this girl is capable of and I cannot wait to see her adapt to whatever is thrown at her.

5. Shaking (Xie Keying)

Here is one of your rappers y’all. This girl is such a ball of fun energy and charisma. It amazes me she is considered one of the rookie rappers of the season. Her ability to ride the beat and change her vocal tone is great. Plus her expressions on stage are killer. She really shined in the rap group battle and rightfully so. She is so funny and knows how to get along and make other participants laugh. She also has some really good vocal skills and I can’t wait for her to showcase them more. And I also must agree with Cai and Ella. They were right in giving her an A , especially over Lil Jeta 🙄.

6. Xin Liu

Another girl who redefines how a female idol should look! I love her androgynous look and I think it’s hilarious how vain she is when it comes to makeup. That aside I need to point out how her and others with this similar boyish look had the option of wearing shorts or a skirt and I’m glad she addressed it as it is part of her identity and makes her comfortable. This girl happens to be the theme song stage center and rightfully so! She can sing, rap, and is a killer dancer with popping her main forte. She exudes coolness and I know she will go far with her stage presence and hardworking attitude.

7. Kiki Xu

Gah what a cutie. Another skilled dancer who definitely proved that when she battled with An and Frhanm in the auditions. I thought it was funny when she struggled with trying to look cool for the dance group battles but then absolutely killed it with this girl crush look that made me think “oh my god STEP ON ME”. Whew but like really she is a great performer, but I really wanna see more of her vocal skills. Good luck to Kiki and I hope she can show more sides of herself through the season!

8. Snow Kong

See this queen? She is trying to learn to be more confident in herself and has shown how much she really adores the stage through her hardwork and tears. It’s been a while since she performed but she wishes to start new and give it her all. This girl is fun, loving, and has powerful vocals and rap skills. Plus her dancing is amazing. Just everything about her screams well-rounded idol material. She is a lovely visual and also gives me Sakura vibes. And don’t mess with her hair it will attack you the way she whips it like a maniac on stage. I also love her dynamic with others, especially Xiaotang and Esther Yu lol. Here’s hoping she will develop and astound us more through the later episodes.

9. NINEONE

Nineone is, to me, a dark horse like Yu Yan. She is a professional rapper so naturally her rap skills are the best this season. She knows how to take charge and level with teammates. She is another type of person who has clear cut goals and gets them done. Funnily enough she also has this childish and shy side to her that may come off uncharactertic to her considering her swag and charisma on stage, but I think it is so real and fresh. The final lineup would need another strong rapper that know what she is doing, and after seeing her audition I think she also has some fantastic vocal skills that I’d love to see branch out later on if possible.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Zoe Wang, Sharon Wang, JU Chen, Yvonne Wang, Yu Zhang, Diamond, Lingzi, Jue Chen, K Lu, Duan Xiaowei, Flora Dai, Meddhi Fu, and omg literally too many all of these girls are too talented it would be easier to narrow it down to people I don’t want/don’t see debuting....

But I won’t pour that hot piping tea out just yet ☕️

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If y’all feel the same or just want to talk about the show hit me up because I need more people to rant/freak out with over these queens.

#youth with you #Qing chun yǒu nǐ #survival show #idol producer #produce #yu yan #nineone #babymonster an qi #snow kong #zhao xiaotang #kiki xu #frhanm shangguan #xie keyin #xin liu #zoe wang #meddhi fu #jue chen #diamond

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wits-writing · 4 years ago

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Ultraman Z Ep. 14: “Four-Dimensional Capriccio” (TV Review)

(Original Air Date: September 25, 2020, Director: Kiyotaka Taguchi, Writer: Kota Fukihara)

While STORAGE celebrate the advancements made with King Joe and the retirement of Sevenger, things start getting twisted about their headquarters. The culprit behind the space/time bending coming from Shinya Kaburagi, still possessed by Celebro, releasing the extradimensional monster Bullton against them.

[Full Review Under the Cut]

This episode centering the four-dimensional alien Bullton was a major point in its favor from the start. The monster had a brief role way back in episode one as the being that separated Zett from Zero but seeing it in action more directly is a blast. During my recent marathon of the original 1966 Ultraman series; Bullton’s debut, “Passport to Infinity”, was easily among my favorites from that show. (For anyone curious the official Ultraman YouTube channel, at time of writing, has also made that classic available with captions after this episode of Ultraman Z aired.) Its design as a living MC Escher painting reflected in its power to fold space/time in on themselves, using radio antennae and eggbeater looking extensions to more actively deal with anyone who tries to stop it. Bullton’s fun in a way that demands creative execution when bringing it into play.

The more general chaos Bullton causes during STORAGE’s celebration once released by Celebro leads to a litany of comedic beats that keep the episode’s tone breezy. Starting in minor ways like making most of the STORAGE staff float off the ground as they watch Bako do card tricks. Bako’s nonplussed reaction to the situation as everyone else flails about being an exemplary moment from the senior engineer. He gets a lot of fun moments in the episode, like when the engineering staff think he’ll spoil their party when he unexpectedly comes back early from his vacation, but instead he shows off a giant tuna he caught and offers it as the party’s main course. His chill vibes shine this episode between how he handles Bullton’s arrival and responding to questions about his fishing ability and magic tricks as “just something I picked up.”

Meanwhile, Juggler goes off in monster in monster form to talk to Celebro about interrupting their party. A strong scene between the former and current villains. Juggler lets Celebro know that he’s been aware of him for a while, even saying he’s “rooting for him” to get Celebro to back off of his “little pranks” this once. Though Celebro relishes the fact he executed his scheme at the perfect time. The joy he takes in that is the first distinct personality the show’s given to Celebro, who has otherwise seemed like a dispassionate figure only concerned with his experiments. The best visual gag in the episode comes when the confrontation between Juggler and Celebro ends on the alien parasite using Bullton’s power to teleport Juggler into a bathroom, exactly where Hebikura always excuses himself to disappear and be Juggler. Him reacting with a shrug and deciding he may as well take a leak while he’s there topping it off.

STORAGE’s confrontation with Bullton isn’t all antics and shenanigans, as Haruki and Yoko’s internal dilemmas get spotlighted throughout this episode in mostly small ways that get externalized as the episode goes along. While everyone at STORAGE is celebrating the success and prestige King Joe has brought them, Yoko confides in Haruki that the implications of a weapon like Joe brings with it and how it might not belong in anyone’s hands, even the “right” ones. It’s an especially stark contrast to how Yuka, being the one we see kicking off the party, celebrates “having her genius recognized” by the world at large requesting access to their giant robot technology. When they figure out the way Bullton alters the environment is connected to their subconscious desires, Yuka tells Yoko the 4D-space loop she’s caught in comes from her deep down not wanting to use Joe at all. Her having issues with King Joe as a weapon are minor in the scheme of this episode, but it’s a good thread that I hope to see more of in the future.

Meanwhile, Haruki’s thread builds on his guilt from the last couple episodes. His story in this episode seems more in line with the comedic antics going on with everyone else when Bullton first gets released. The fourth dimensional being’s powers sending him through a minor time loop. He keeps getting sent back to right before his first bite of the tuna Bako brought to the party, since he wanted to keep eating it. A nice gag in an episode full of them making what happens next have an even stronger impact. When Yoko’s able to tell Haruki to focus on what he really wants to get out of the time loop, he ends up sent back in time and face to face with Masaru Natsukawa, his father.

The deliberate contrast between the tone of this moment and the rest of the episode hit especially hard during my first viewing, since otherwise this episode continues the comedic streak of last week’s clip show. Brought back to the man he idealized growing up, he gets the impossible opportunity to have a man-to-man, heart-to-heart discussion about what he’s gone through. Keeping it vague by framing it as questions about Masaru’s job as a firefighter, Haruki gets the advice he needs to carry on doing his job without hesitation. His dad tells him about “his justice”, that you can only work to help those within your reach. Reaching everyone will never be possible, so you should never forget about those shortcomings and carry them with you as determination to always do more. The conversation’s capped off with Haruki asking Masaru for a handshake before he leaves, a flash of recognition appearing on his dad’s face as he realizes who he’s been talking to as a final touching note on the episode’s crowning moment.

When the episode gets back to the havoc caused by Bullton once it moves into the city and the actual fight against it begins, the comedic tone comes back among some gorgeous shots of widespread destruction. What else can be expected when the 4D-alien’s powers let it stay mostly still and bend space to deflects its opponents’ attacks right back at them. Though when it’s not teleporting, it does hop and roll around in a fantastically goofy manner. Haruki starts the fight against Bullton by fighting fire with fire, using Gamma Futures own dimensional abilities in a rapid back and forth. Though that apparently even match ends up with Bullton sinking Ultraman Z neck deep in the ground before rolling back and forth over the Ultra’s face. Switching over to the direct, physical abilities of Beta Smash ends up being what it takes to defeat the twisting indirect nature of Bullton as Ultraman Z manages to toss the alien into the air where it explodes.

Though the explosion leaves a lingering effect in the sky above the city, signaling that Bullton’s defeat may have had a greater purpose in Celebro’s plan. Ending the episode on an ominous note.

Between the fourth-dimensional antics that make up most of the episode and the look into deeper themes and character pathos, “Four-Dimensional Capriccio” makes a great addition to the greater arc of Ultraman Z. Outside of the central meat of the episode are some changes to the opening and closing credits’ music. The opening follows recent Ultraman tradition where the second half of a season changes over to the second verse of the song’s full version. The new ending theme, “Promise for the Future”, is an excellent high energy number sung by Tasuku Hatanaka, the voice of Ultraman Z.

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Things are set to escalate quickly next time on Ultraman Z as Geed makes another return and Zett attains a new powerful form.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

#Ultraman Z #Ultraman #Wit's Writing #TV Review #tokusatsu #Haruki Natsukawa #Kiyotaka Taguchi #Kota Fukihara #Tsuburaya Productions #toku #tsupro

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pierrotdameron · 5 years ago

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Dafne Keen does not much look like Lyra Belacqua, at least not as Philip Pullman describes her in His Dark Materials. In Northern Lights, the first book of the trilogy, she is “like a half-wild cat”, with dirty fingernails, green eyes and grubby blond-ish hair. Keen, who is half British, half Spanish and lives in Madrid, is darker and is already the master of an intense glare, as anyone who saw her alongside Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine swansong Logan will know. When we meet, in a London hotel, she has the self-possessed cool of a total pro, even at 14. But there are plenty of Lyra-esque flourishes that make it obvious why she got the part.

She was almost 12 when she finished filming Logan. She had heard about the BBC/HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials, then in its early stages, and sent in an audition tape. But she didn’t hear back. “I thought, never mind, I’ll just carry on with my life,” she says. “Which is when I got stung by the jellyfish.”

The production team had finally replied, asking her to make another tape. Keen was on holiday in Puerto Rico. “I thought, right, I’m going to have a chilled-out swim and then I’m going to get ready. I suddenly felt this thing on my face and then it started stinging and then it expanded all over my face. I ran to my mum and I went, ‘Mum! Is it really red?’ My mum went, ‘No it’s fine.’ And then she went, ‘Oh no, it’s not fine.’” Her face was red and swollen but she had to do the tape. “So my audition is with a jelly-face,” she smiles.

The next step was to meet Ruth Wilson, who plays Mrs Coulter, one of the best evil characters in children’s literature. “I was sitting in the waiting room with 20 other girls,” Keen remembers. “I was thinking, oh god, they’re all blond. I don’t physically look like this character, and these girls all do. I went in, shook hands with Ruth, and five minutes later, she looked at me and said, ‘You know, you have the same eyebrows as me.’” Fans of the books will know that this is a big thumbs up. Days later, she began rehearsals, with Wilson and puppets. In Pullman’s books, people have daemons, an animal manifestation of their “inner self”, which lives alongside them. Because the daemons on screen are CGI, the actors shot their scenes with puppets to make their interactions as authentic as possible.

When Philip Pullman writes, he isn’t trying to bring down the church, he’s bringing down the system

Naturally, Keen is practised at describing what her own daemon would be, were this world to have daemons in it. “Mine is quite easy to figure out, because it’s what everyone called me on set. Everyone calls me Monkey.” In the books, daemons change form until their human reaches adulthood, when they settle as one fixed animal. Keen particularly liked hers as a pine marten.

We meet the morning after the world premiere of His Dark Materials, which was the first time Keen had watched it. “Everybody had seen it apart from me! I’m really busy filming season two, so I had no time to watch it. I had Philip Pullman right next to me, and I was like, oh god! But I think he liked it.” Did he offer his approval? “His wife came up to me and was really lovely and was saying I was the perfect Lyra. I was really happy to hear that.”

Keen had not read the trilogy before she auditioned. “Now I’m a massive, massive fan. As soon as I read the books, I knew this was a good message to the world, and it’s important that we have stories about young girls, because there aren’t many,” she says. At the premiere, Jack Thorne, who wrote the screenplay, likened Lyra to Greta Thunberg. Though she does not know it, the future of the world rests on Lyra’s shoulders, and she has to fight tooth and nail to defeat the forces that wish to suppress free will and independent thought. Keen approves of the Thunberg comparison. “I am genuinely in awe of that girl.”

There have been various adaptations of His Dark Materials over the years: a Radio 4 series, a play at the National Theatre and the 2007 Hollywood attempt, The Golden Compass, with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. It was supposed to be a trilogy, but only the first was made – and Pullman’s theme of an abusive authoritarian religious body was watered down almost beyond recognition. The television series seems more comfortable with its source material, and its Magisterium, the governing body of the Church, is portrayed as a fascist regime.

In 2007, the Catholic League called for a boycott of The Golden Compass, despite the religious references being excised, and the Vatican also denounced the film and Pullman’s writing. Keen had seen it – was she aware that this new version might be controversial, given the backlash the movie attracted? “I thought that was sad, but I understand why they had to do it,” she reasons, diplomatically, of the decision to soften the book’s themes. “But I think people are reading too much into it. When Philip writes about the Magisterium, he’s not bringing down the church, he’s bringing down the system.”

Keen was born and raised in Spain and is bilingual. Her mother María is Spanish, and as well as being her acting coach is also an actor, as is Keen’s father Will. He has a part in His Dark Materials, as Father MacPhail, part of the Magisterium faithful. “He is terrifying,” says Keen. “He always plays bad people. I don’t know why because he’s so nice. I genuinely think it’s because he’s bald and has green eyes.” She practically grew up in a theatre rehearsal room, because of her parents, but she thought she would be a biologist, like David Attenborough. “Then I found out you have to study biology, and to do that you have to study maths, and I went, mmm no, I’m not doing that. I hate maths so much, you can’t even imagine.”

A friend of her mother’s was making a short film, and needed a child for it, so Keen gave acting a go. She loved it. She did a series in Spain, The Refugees, alongside her father. (“He was playing my evil father, yes. Always got to give it the psychopathic twist.”) She picked up an agent, who put her forward for Logan, and she got down to an audition with Jackman. “In the waiting room, once again, there was this perfect LA beautiful blond girl. I was just, like, a small, scrappy Latin girl. I always think it’s not going to work out for me, and then it went really great.” She auditioned with Jackman, then asked if she could try again, only this time she said she’d like to improvise the scene. She was 11. “My heart was beating big time,” she says. “I thought, I’m just going to dive in and ask them, and they loved it, so I was lucky.”

Jackman remembers the audition well. “[Director] Jim Mangold looked at a lot of actresses for Laura. When he told me about Daf, I was hopeful, but when we tested together, I was blown away,” he says over email. “She was every inch Laura. When Jim asked her if there was anything more she wanted to show us, she said, ‘Can I improvise?’ That’s the actor that got the part and who you see on screen.”

“Hugh is the nicest human being,” she grins. “I used to call him the human jukebox because he was always singing. Lin does the same thing.” Lin is Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Lee Scoresby in His Dark Materials. He got Keen tickets to see his smash-hit musical, Hamilton. “Two VIP Lin-Manuel Miranda guest tickets. I felt like such a diva.” On set, she would find herself singing the songs from it, but was too shy to sing when he was there. When Miranda had finished shooting, they all went for a meal to see him off. The bartender recognised him, and put My Shot on the stereo. “Me and Lewin [Lloyd, who plays Roger] were like, we’re not throwing away our shot, we’re singing this song.” They all joined in. “I’ve got videos of me and Lin singing it.”

Right now, Keen is preparing to go back to Wales to film season two, which loosely adapts The Subtle Knife, the second book in the trilogy. The third season, which will take on the astonishingly ambitious The Amber Spyglass, may take a little longer to pull together. Still, she is happy to live as Lyra for a while yet. She has taken plenty of her away from the experience already. “She taught me to speak up. Be bold, be brave, be yourself. Don’t follow rules, because rules can be useful, but they can be very stupid and pointless,” she says – sounding very much like her Lyra herself.

#His Dark Materials #Dafne Keen #the part about her dad sjskjskj

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at-the-exd-of-everythixg · 4 years ago

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💍 +][Pascal and Rhys][

@blind-mutant

send me 💍 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

where they get married

I'm,,,,very soft at Pascal shyly suggesting his old church because fuck it, he wants to make new memories. Better ones where he can look at the building he grew up in and...be happy.

when they get married ( ie what time of day, what month and season etc. )

Mid May! Rhys calls it his early birthday present and welp...he isn't wrong. They get married in the late afternoon since it's a good time for Rhys and Pascal's powers.

what traditions they include ( do they get married under a chuppah and crush a glass, garter toss, ‘something borrowed, something blue,’ etc. )

They don't have any traditions since the boys want something for them! Something new!

what their wedding cake looks like

Funfetti flavour since these boys absolutely just picked one at random and both of them are delighted by a cake that has FUN in it.

….who smashes cake into whose face

Rhys absolutely does but Pascal moves out of the way and smashes it into Rhys's. Full bastard mode.

who proposed to who first

I definitely think Pascal whips out something incredibly sweet, like getting the dogs to have little messages attached to their collars in braille and then having Korra with the marriage one on or Pascal having romantic night of loving Rhys and then proposing after weaving a prophecy he worked on for a few days.

,,,,or Rhys sleep deprives Pascal to surprise purpose him but mostly I think its Pascal who does it.

who walks down the aisle and who waits at the altar ( or neither )

100% I'm using this to toss in the very unlikely chance that Pascal sees his sister again so!! Cassandra walks Pascal down the aisle because "I might as well be your dad with the shitty decisions you always take". Pascal is offended but fair.

what their wedding dresses / suits / other look like

Rhys absolutely gets a beautiful outfit like this and honestly it could be black or a dress pants but I loved the stars and the big star on the chest on it while Pascal plays up the holy look and looks like he's walked out of heaven to hit that marriage up.

what their wedding colour scheme is and what sort of decor they have

O hh I like the idea of them having them a woody theme? Nice gold and black against wood and they absolutely play up the sun and moon theme.

what flowers are in the bouquet ( if applicable. bonus: what do the flowers mean? )

They have begonias, morning glories and red sunflowers since I definitely imagine they would have sunset themed flowers!

what their vows are ( eg poetry, traditional, improvised etc. )

Rhys ends up giving a sweet speech about how things are worth going through and suffering to be here with someone you love. That Pascal is special to him and worth more than anyone he's ever met and he would go through anything to be with him (but absolutely gives a more...possessive version of those vows later that night to Pascal).

Pascal talks about how he had always assumed that people would be happy before him. He would live a life devoted to too many and alone from the one person who understood him. But things are better with Rhys and Pascal wants to be by his side, devoted to him and him alone. That Rhys was something Pascal could never dream of predicting (that gets a groan out of everyone).

if anyone’s late to the wedding

Cassandra is and that's because she got wrapped up in one of her visions of Rhys and Pascal,,,Does Rhys want to know???

who’s in the bridal parties / groomsmen / other

Rhys gets his own dog and there's a small fight about Korra but they agree to share while Pascal gets Cassandra and some of his work friends. Zuko gets a special matching outfit as usual while Korra gets little dress herself.

what their bridal party / groomsmen / other are wearing

Cassandra demands a dress where her eyes can be fully out while the boys MELT over their kids all dressed up for their parents wedding.

who gives speeches at the reception ( bonus: what do they say? recount a sweet memory or two between them? tell an embarrassing story? )

Some of Pascal's co-workers give talks of seeing Rhys and Pascal with the dogs and then Cassandra just whams everyone by talking about how Rhys and Pascal could be pirates, vampires, humans or magic; the men before her are the first to marry and the first to tie their fates together for good (Rhys is S O smug at his other universe self that he got there first,,,,but a witch you say 👀👀)

who catches the bouquet( s )

Korra funs after it and the boys love her for it.

what their wedding photos are like ( are they sweet, with the couple holding hands or kissing or ~gazing into each others eyes~? are they silly, with a snapshot of the ‘cake-smash’ moment? or are they artistic, with one of them facing the sunset or holding their bouquets? )

So many of Rhys emotionally rolling his eyes at Pascal telling an awful joke and a lot more of them kissing and holding each other's hand while beaming so happily. A rather good one of Rhys whispering something to Pascal while Pascal chugs out smoke too.

what sort of food they have at the reception

Honestly Pascal wants anything that's got taste so they get homemade burgers and chips along with salads because Pacsal demands that Rhys eats healthy even on his wedding.

who cries first during the ceremony

Rhys does and Pascal cries emotionally because he refuses to do that gross hitching nosies.

how wild their reception gets ( who dances the best, who gets drunk first, etc. )

I don't think it would since Pascal burns though alcohol quicker and Rhys doesn't want to forget a single moment of this night outside of being gently tipsy. But Cassandra challenges Pascal to a dance off and oh god they're both awful its exactly like B99 of Amy vs her brother.

what their rings are like

200% Rhys will have a sun ring and Pascal a moon ring they both agreed to go all in with the celestial theme or not at all.

what sort of favours they have ( heart shaped sparklers, mini champagne bottles, personalised candy etc. )

They get personalised collars for the pets (and Cass gives one that's human sized??? Cappie whose meant to wear- oh.) And some special Japanese style bath house tickets! (Pascal sweats when he releases that it's a bath,,,,that Rhys can go naked in,,with him,,,,oh god).

where they go for their honeymoon

Probably to that Japanese bath house!! Rhys is a gremlin who needs to take FULL advantage of two weeks with a giant bath, man who can not into alter reality with predictions but,,,his corny husband who sweats when he sees thay Rhys packed the crop and lingerie.

something memorable that happens during the party / ceremony ( do they run out of ice and someone goes to get it in full formal wear on foot, does anyone fall asleep in the middle of the party, etc. )

Pascal slow dances with Korra and everyone gets into an argument about the best breed of dog. Cassandra also tells Rhys that he's been murdered by Pascal in a universe but haha what are the chances of that happening....unless??? (Pacsal reassures Rhys thay she isn't lying and that it's a joke that...he and Cass used to do a lot to people in the cult)

who officiates the ceremony

Cassandra does since she technically has some form of legal power as a cult leader and used in the Dragonfly Corporation for years now.

what song their first dance is to

My funny valentine

who gives who away as they walk down the aisle

Cassandra gives Pascal away and Korra gives Rhys!

#ask #blind-mutant #he speaks of holy fates (pascal)#headcanon #wedding meme #god Pascal would be doomed at a bath house with sexy Rhys completely full raccoon at having a husband ALL to himself #he won't be able to sit for ages sksksks #and i absolutely was not gonna pass up on Cassandra because we needed a babysitter somehow and also Pascal deserves it

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mischiefiswritten · 5 years ago

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10 Questions Tag!

Shout out to @awrenthatwrites for keeping me so well-supplied with tag games! I’ve loved having them waiting for me when I get back to my blog.

1. How did you come up with your WIP’s title?

The Calm Before actually went without a title for quite some time, including the entirety of its first iteration (which is quite different from the current version). That was pretty unusual for me because I’m one of those writers that needs things to be named, even just with stand-ins, before I can proceed with it.

And honestly... I can not claim any kind of cleverness when it comes to TCB’s title. With the prevalence of the Stormbringer in the story’s plot, the phrase “the calm before the storm” just popped very quickly into my mind. I chopped off the end of the phrase et voila! A working title. I don’t know if it’s going to stay, but I’ve loved it for what it is.

The story for Here There Be Monsters is much the same. But that one’s staying.

2. Do you title your chapters? If so, what’s your favorite?

Typically I have not, but recently I’ve felt like I wanted to. I don’t think it’s right for TCB, but it does fit nicely into HTBM.

Since HTBM is episodic in structure, I get to title each “episode” as well as its chapters. Potentially, I could even get to title “seasons” or story arcs, if the project continues long enough. This project is still really new, so it’s only got one episode title at the moment:

“A Lost Little Wisp”

3. What’s a recent line you really like?

I have to admit I actually really like the whole opening scene to HTBM. Here’s a tiny bit that I’m proud of...

This takes place during Gael’s desperate and foolish maneuver to escape her pursuers. Essentially a high speed ship chase.

It was not until the ship was tipping nose first into the maelstrom that Gael realized the man in the public house had been lying. The Maw seized the ship like a demonic spirit, threatening to rip the wheel from her hands, or simply her arms from her body. Now it was the dark thing hiding at the bottom of the sea that chanted, “Give it up, give it up.” It wasn’t just hungry; it was possessive. Everything and everyone on its surface belonged to it. There was nothing it would not take for its own in the end.

Something primeval was calling from the murk and the foam. Its voice, sonorous and terrible, slid through Gael’s very blood. It slithered along the planks beneath her feet, caressing everything in its way with oily, formless tentacles.

4. Are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

There are so many good ones! But I feel like no one is more quotable than Tolkien and Lewis. These quotes aren’t so much about the craft, but they do speak to me about the art, passion, and joy of storytelling.

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” (CS Lewis)

“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.” (JRR Tolkien)

5. Do you have an idea for a cover design for your story?

I don’t! I find this sort of thing so difficult, whether its book covers or faceclaims or castings.

6. What sort of AU can you imagine your story being?

Do you mean, if there could be one AU that would fit best with my characters what would it be? Or what kind of AU trope is my novel? <-- This was Talya’s question, and I have to repeat it! I’m also going to answer the same way.

If I were picking an AU to see my story written as, I think a The Greatest Showman AU would be a fun one for the Here There Be Monsters cast! That iconic scene when Philip and Anne see each other for the first time would be perfect for the primary protagonists.

And if my novel was going to be an AU trope, it’d probably be a Friends-type setup where they all live in the same building and are overly involved in each other’s lives.

7. Which OC would be the most angry with you as the writer?

Are any of them likely to be very happy with me?

8. If you had to tell the story from a different POV, which character would you choose?

This is tough because I gravitate toward 3rd person limited omniscient POV. In TCB I have four proper POV characters (Rys, Hale, Aldrich, and Neja), which I feel like adequately cover all the angles I want covered for that story. If I could add one, however, I think Vidri’s perspective would be a fun one!

In HTBM I don’t use POV characters, but rather choose whose thoughts/knowledge gets shared at any given time. If I were to pick a POV character for the story (beyond the obvious) I would probably go for the Collector. It seems right up his alley to be relating this story!

9. What would be your OC’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

Wow, this is unexpectedly difficult to answer! I’ve got nothing for the characters, but I do have a theme song chosen for HTBM! “Deep Water” by American Authors

10. What’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

My goal for TCB is to complete the project in a way I can feel proud of. In a way this is related to my goal for HTBM (and its very existence) because I’ve never completed a novel. I don’t know that HTBM will ever properly end or what that will look like, but my hope in starting it is that it will teach me to write without fear. One of my biggest hurtles as a writer has been that I’m so often paralyzed by perfectionism, pulled in a hundred directions because I don’t want to make a misstep. HTBM is designed for me to simply write without the fear or expectations that go with a project like TCB that I’ve become so invested in over the years. It’s an exercise in letting go.

Thanks again for the tag! I’m going to tag @pen-of-roses, @coffeescribles, @writing-for-the-stars-and-moon, @inscrutable-shadow, and @thewrittenpost if you want to!

#10 questions tag #tag game for writers #writeblr #writing #mischiefiswritten #tcb #htbm

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strawberryybird · 5 years ago

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Me sees the character songs post, immediately wants to know what character songs you have for the characters and why.

ok so. welcome to the rabbit hole that is my music taste and what is my no.1 most frequently done activity.. plastering emotions i have for fictional characters all over my music taste. I restricted myself to ¾ songs for each character & then to Edie, Hubert, Dorothea, Lysithea & Byleth because otherwise we’d be here all day (and those are the Primary Daydream Candidates rn)

under a rm because as im sure we’ve all seen.. i just don’t fucking stop.. also i got weirdly deep about some of these topics. i don’t know how to tag it. tread careful?

Here are some songs.. welcome to my (notoriously bad) music taste. alsoi go in Very heavy handed about it all. i make only a few apologies:

Edelgard:Everybody wants to rule the word - tears for fears. (ucan go with Lorde’s cover but i prefer the original bc im like that.) i meanit’s pretty heavy handed but it’s such an Edelgard song it !!!! fuels my ficwriting. if it’s not so very Edelgard’s relationship with twsitd then idk whatto tell you. plus it’s an iconic song

Medicine - daughter. (daughter is My Favourite Band. Ever. I cannot articulate how much ilove their (and ex:re’s) music!!) anway. this is a hegegard song & i don’ttake constructive criticism. I’ll reiterate this better in other descriptions,but please don’t take my inclusion of a song about such a topic as adevaluation of it in any way, that’s not my intention. The reason I go so feralfor Hegegard is because im no stranger to watching someone you care about hurt themselvesin a way you can’t stop, and that’s what the AM ending evokes in me. Hence: asong I love that one can read the same story in. And then the lyrics ‘You couldstill be / What you want to / What you said you were / When I met you” just !! parallelsEdge of Dawn’s lyrics about regret & overall I’m very feral about this.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper - blue oystercult. this is PRIME Edelgard telling freshly-awokenbyleth she’s been waging war for 5 years. also !!!! “Seasonsdon’t fear the reaper / Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain, we can be likethey are” >>> “The Edge of Dawn (Seasons ofWarfare) (フレスベルグの少女～風花雪月～,lit. Girl of Hresvelg ~Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon~)” .. the link is tenuous but coincidence?? is it, fuck.

Seneca - Novo Amor. this is another one of those songs that could mean something different to everyone. very easy to project onto, is novo amor. I like the story of being prepared to run and break ties at any given moment, but ending up - emotionally or physically - in the same place one always was. apart from the glaring tie of how Edelgard returned to garreg mach, this song is a lot of me trying to repatriate Edelgard’s lack of emotional arc in the game by saying . well. this song.

You can call me Al - paul simon. am i projecting edeleth thoughts onto my favourite song? it’s morelikely than you think!!! but also i like the chorus and all the exasperating ‘call me el’jokes i can make.. i may be half writing a fic based on this song.

Dorothea:Agnes - glass animals. so i have significant emotions about edelthea at the best of times !! and this song !!! really bloody hits it home !! yes I knowit’s got a really heavy and real subject matter and I’m not trying to devalueit or minimise it.. but the story - about watching someone close to you hurtthemselves/get hurt, and doing so in ways you can’t stop them from - is adamn real one. And a Lot of why I love Dorothea’s character in the gamebecause she’s the one who can’t stop her friends from getting hurt – through exposureto warfare .. or stopping Edelgard becomingthe monster at the end of the story. Even though she’s one of the healers onthe beagle’s team. And I feel that.

Ex’s and Oh’s – Elle King. So you know that one spn fanvid featuringthis song about all of dean winchester’s relationships? That, but for my flirting Queen Dorothea Arnault. (and I have the dumbest most fun little headcanon thatonce Dorothea and Sylvain derailed a lgbt+ society meeting whilst Edie wastrying to go over the budget by blasting this song and dancing on the table.The idea makes me laugh)

Hold My Girl – George Ezra. The whole thing about wanting just that onemoment to cherish the people you love for one moment more before you have goout face the world? If that’s not the timeskip’d Dorothea Arnault Aesthetic, Idon’t know what is.

(Call Me Out – sea girls. On a much lighter note, this song is fueling the later half of mydrafts of road trip au. And it’s literally because of that one verse. im gayshut up.)

Hubert:Red Right Hand – nick cave and the bad seeds. Is it on the nose? Is itheavy handed? Oh u fuckin bet but that won’t stop me!!! A) it’s a good song. ItIs. B) I like narrative songs. C) Any ‘red right hand’ symbolism in Anycharacter has me love them immediately and also plonk this song in the middleof any playlist about them. sure, the artic monkeys version might be a bit more on hubert’s brand.. but my mileage varies about it lmao

I had fortress by bear’s den earmarked for Hubie, as I think it’s easilyread about boundaries and a one sided intense relationship & that’s! Hubiebaybee! But I can’t possibly cover unhealthy relationships without shoving thealbum Hospice by The Antlers into every which way of it. It’s by no meansdirectly translatable to Edelgard and hubert’s relationship and it’s arguable ifI should even mention it in the same sentence as a bloody fictional character… that beingsaid, I’ve been having emotions about:Shiva – the antlers. This song specifically reads to me to be a really goodarticulation of my own thoughts about Hubert’s perspective of Edie getting experimentedon. heavy but damn. I like that. I just see a lot of what their teen years togethermust have been like in Shiva.

Time – Pink Floyd. Ok so.. it’s like Hubert in parallel bc I think thissong is a lot about searching for a purpose/reason or a quote unquote bloodyred path in life. And I may have been listening to it when I watched Hubert/DorotheaA support & now it’s just permanently associated with it bc it complementedit so well. And I like it. So . it stays. It’s very much a beagles song to meas well.

Lysithea:The Beautiful Dream – George Ezra. Ok so I read this Edelysithea ficwith this on repeat bc the title reminded me of it, and then I stuck it onrepeat because it worked too well and now.. im crying.. and i like the inflection of Lysithea’s bitterness over the titular lyric. (but also, it remains one of my steadfast edeleth songs.. sorry lys)

Secrets (Cellar Door) – Radical Face. Another Edelgard&/Lysitheasong!! I really like their relationship ok. And given the song itself can beread straight or an allegory for whatever you particularly want, but the storyis just too on the nose for me not to mention it here.(also general advocation of listening to the whole of radical face’s musicbecause I’ve loved it for years now & the work is beautiful.) (also it’swonderful for fe awakening projection. Or ur own.)

Oh Children – nick cave and the bad seeds. there’s a million different interpretations of this song, but to try nail a few onto Lysithea.. there’s the harry potter use of making/finding a light in the depths of tragedy & i love that for Lys. there’s the whole ‘the kids aren’t alright’ theme and it’s various depths. and i like narrative lyrics to plaster my large fictional-character-caused-emotions onto, so make of this one what you will.

Marianne (and Lysithea too if you like)Bad Blood – Radical Face. Ok so. This is one of my favourite songs in bloodyexistence, and it’s so loaded with meaning & it has a metric tonne of it. Icould wax lyrical about how much I love Radical Face’s work. I don’t want myinclusion of this song (specifically this one) to in any way devalue it. Butmusic is ofc incredibly subjective, and so is my reading of a lot of threehouses – in case it’s not bloody obvious by now. There’s a Lot of stories onecould take from Marianne’s character (and none of them are More Valid^tm thanany other), and I do see a very personal story in her – as I do in this song. Hgghhghive just spent 10 minutes trying to find an impersonal way to talk about twovery personal and relative stories, which naturally doesn’t work. That, and theway I read her story is Real Fucking Dicey for tumblr.com. so if this song is about accepting rejection because of parts of yourself so deep they’re in your blood, i think.. y’all can see.. where my neurodivergent gay self is going with this..

Byleth:Something to Believe In – Tom Walker. Yeah. You’re bloody welcome. If this isn’ta completely on the nose Byleth song, I’ll eat Dorothea’s hat.

Don’t Let the Man – Fatboy Slim. ~ And the sign said green-hairedpartially possessed emotionally void mercenaries need not apply for aprofessorship at the country’s most prestigious academic centre… ~

Emigrate - Novo Amor. this just fucking Got Me in the ‘actively choosing crimson flower’ feelings. im an emotional wreak but its aight. the lyrics just matched up too well for me to let it go !!!

Alps - Novo Amor. this hit me in the ‘i miss the gremlin child sothis’ feelings one day and now it’s permanently stuck that way.

Make Them Gold – chvrches. (this is very much associated with awakening’sfuture past kids and also the Carmilla series in my mind But!!) I love a story about‘if we’re all falling, we’re going down together’ and the magical power of teamwork, and how it brings out the best in people.. & that’s what this song& Byleth kinda bloody stand for ya know??

woooh.. oh my god . i need another cup of tea.

#ask #birb says what //#fe meta #that tag's just for kicks and so i can find this again #oh my god i just don't shut up sometimes #but oh my god that was fun #easiest way to get me into a mouse trap or something is to tell me to make a character playlist i s2g #anyway. thank you for the ask!!!#apologies for the brick wall of text!!!#hope someone out there found at least one part of this they liked that'd be rad #but like. i do this shit for ME lmao #kalinary

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hypexion · 5 years ago

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Still behind on all this “Arrowverse“ stuff (I hear they did Crisis) but I’m crawling closer to the present with the wild ride that is Legends of Tomorrow Season Four.

So season four continues to ramp up the wackiness, but I think it ultimately manages to not go overboard with it. What helps is that it’s also turning up the background darkness, with the general Legends fun balancing out the dose of grimness John Constantine brings to the show. It’s a tricky balancing act, which probably comes out in favour of the wackiness simply because the wackiness is more overt. The Fairy Godmother is memorable, less so her attempts to get her charge to commit mass-murder. The idea of Heyworld is absurd, yet it’s a man’s attempt to connect with his estranged son. And Nate is saved via The Power of Song, because he let a demon possessing his best friend murder him to save the world. Ultimately, the darkness is... darkened by its proximity to the less serious stuff.

Season four’s primary problem for the Legends is the Fugitives, magical creatures let out when the world was saved last time, because the Legends can’t not screw up. There’s a nice blend of just doing the monster, and subverting the more popular ones into something darker. Plus, there’s actually a pretty decent range of creatures, pulling from various sources across the world. It’s a fun premise, and is ultimately wired into Neron’s evil plan in the final episodes (unlike a certain other time travel themed show I could mention). Season five will be going back to historical figures, but it’s nice to have a change of pace.

On topic of Neron, he’s probably the most menacing of Legend of Tomorrow’s villains. Unlike his predecessors, Neron is not funny. Oh, there are certainly darkly comedic situations involving or caused by Neron, but he’s never the main focus of it. Other magical creatures bring inherent absurdity to their episodes, but Neron simply Does Not. Additionally, Ray’s possession by Neron, to me, feels like a better version of Supergirl’s Reign plotline. The key difference to this is awareness. Ray knows that Neron is trying to take over his body, and has to experience the attempts by the demon to kill his friends. Sure, it’s used for comedy in some places, but it could have easily been a lot darker. Plus, the plotline is pretty concise, with the main Ray versus Neron bit taking place over just one episode. Being possessed thus seems like a bit deal, rather than a slightly pressing medical condition.

Other new characters are varying levels of good, although things look to be getting a little crowded by the end. Various perspectives on monsters are provided by Constantine, Charlie and Mona, and also Hank, I suppose. Honestly Mona is a lot less annoying that I was lead to believe, and that’s even factoring in the fact she used ship names in-show. But it’s also hard to deny that you can see exactly where the special effects budget didn’t go whenever she transforms.

There’s also more of the classic Legends relationship hijinks, featuring actual progression. Maybe the temporary Sara/Ava breakup is a little sudden, but it leads to a pretty good deep dive into their relationship and issues, set on the backdrop of the Ikea from Hell, which somehow just works. There’s also the not quite new but close enough Ray/Nora relationship, which I guess makes sense. Nora has positive feelings towards the one person who said she didn’t have to be evil, and Ray is just a big ball of love. I’d ship it! Then there’s the bonus relationship that sort of appeared from nowhere: Nate/Zari. Really I’d have less of an issue with this if it wasn’t dragged out for basically the whole second half of the season, especially since the whole will they/won’t they dynamic quickly starts to moving towards “they will“, and at a faster rate than the actual relationship. And then Zari gets time-whammied and replaced by Behrad, which is an interesting development but kind of a weird choice in context.

On the topic of the Zari/Behrad swap, I’m kind of interested in what the new timeline looks like. You can’t just do a find-and-replace on Zari, since a lot of her arc stuff and scenes only work because of her tragic backstory. And a few are going to be affected by replacing a woman with a man, because wow this show is into weird love magic sometimes.

One last thing to mention is the crossover, or rather the lack of one. From my perspective of watching Legends of Tomorrow as mostly its own thing, that’s great. No confusion occurs, unlike last time where an episode begins with Martin Stein dying, which is terrible. Plus, it led to Puppets of Tomorrow, which was clearly worth skipping to characters swapping costumes. And all the other wacky alternate timelines. Honestly this show is so Dumb but it’s in a really endearing way. And it’s a spinoff of Arrow, a show that tries to be serious.

I guess this is the part where the conclusion goes, and the conclusion is that you should watch Legends of Tomorrow. Some people say you should skip Season One, but then you’ll miss out on like a few good episodes. And context for better episodes down the line. Plus honestly it’s probably better put together than Supergirl’s third season so what have you really got to lose? Ultimately, something being the worst season of a best show is still pretty good. And that’s the Legends way.

#legends of tomorrow #legends of tomorrow season 4

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wigwurq · 5 years ago

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WIG REVIEW: STRANGER THINGS 3

Stranger Things season 3 is here!!!!! Bust out your 80s nostalgia and demogorgon attitude because I fully don’t remember where we left off but Netflix kind of reminded me in a very extended recap that was definitely too long? Whatever, let’s just discuss the wigs! (AND MUCH MORE).

As with last season (and any season of TV I review) I will be adding each episode to this post and then changing my wig verdict as the season progresses.

CHAPTER ONE: SUZIE DO YOU COPY?

We begin with two tweens making out and YUCK I really don’t want to live through this! I share this opinion with Sheriff Hopper who has to live through these make out sessions that are scored by 80s soft rock music. Even more insulting: THESE HAIRCUTS. I don’t know at what point these kids are gonna outgrow their bowlcuts but the answer seems to be a resounding: NEVER. Also Elle’s hair has finally grown out! TO THIS?!?!?! What overprocessed curly nightmare is this?! I feel like they were going for a Jennifer Grey situation but if that’s the case, I’ll be needing like 110% more hairspray and like 200% more dancing ability, please.

Anyway, the real news in town is: THERE’S A MALL NOW! It’s called Starcourt which is the most 80s sounding name ever and it is home to SCOOPS AHOY ice cream shoppe where Steve and Uma Thurman/Ethan Hawke’s daughter works. This whole storyline is incredibly Fast Times at Ridgemont High themed but Steve’s hair is still very wonderful. Also he can get all the tweens into the movie theater which is showing Day of the Dead and I get it Stranger Things: YOU ARE MAKING ALL THE 80S MALL REFERENCES.

Also: Dustin is back from camp! It was a science camp called Camp KNOW where and I am definitely gonna see some assholes in this shirt this summer. Anyway, this storyline was all about Dustin forcing his friends into helping him with a radio tower to talk to his possibly fake girlfriend named Suzie and truly: meh.

Meanwhile: WINONA’S SEASON 3 WIG! I’ve gotta say, this season is the best season of wig for Winona. Sure, it is still very much a mess (as is she after the untimely death of her boyfriend Rudy Reuttiger!) but it’s the best wig she’s had so far so MAZEL!

Elsewhere, the most boring teen couple in America (aka Nancy and Will’s brother whose name I won’t learn) are working at the local newspaper and Nancy’s whole job seems to be fetching hamburgers for an entire room of #MeToo examples. Her hair is business chick 80s which is to say: on brand but I could use about 90% more Working Girl, please.

And now let’s get to the only storyline I truly cared about: Nancy’s mom Karen Wheeler (aka Carla Buono). Every season, her wig brings the drama and glamour I crave in an 80s-based TV show. The arc of her wig story is truly the story of America - from 70s disco queen to bored early 80s housewife to the wig we see today - 80s mall glamour queen. AND I AM HERE FOR IT. She and the other ladies of the Hawkins Town Pool are unfortunately here for the worst character on this show: BILLY.

UGH BILLY. I will give this show major props for having his entrance to the same music playing when Phoebe Cates gets out of the pool in Fast Times (second Fast Times reference in this episode tho) but it’s a gender reversal I can definitely get behind. HOWEVER BILLY IS THE WORST. Within 2 seconds of his entrance, he fat shames a tweenager and also HAS THE WORST WIG.

Nothing has changed much from last season on this wig front. It is still very much a curly dried out MESS which is very much trying to reference Rob Lowe in St. Elmo’s Fire yet this bish has yet to wail on a saxophone or talk about granny panties so truly: no redeeming qualities here.

This does not dissuade Carla Buono from falling under the spell of Billy’s terrible wig. To be fair, her husband is a constantly napping Reagan supporter of indeterminate middle age. Anyway, the episode ends with her getting 80s GLAMOUROUS for a latenight rendezvous with Billy at a fleabag hotel. Billy, however, is run off the road by falling/exploding rats (?) and then dragged into a dirty warehouse full of said exploding rats which truly is the fate I wanted for him and his bad rattail so: COSIGN.

CHAPTER TWO: MALL RATS

We begin with Billy in the rat-infested warehouse being very much alive, so already: I’M ANGRY WITH THIS EPISODE. However, Billy and his awful wig have definitely been through the ringer and he’s about to high-tail it out of there when he comes face to face with: HIMSELF?!?! I don’t know what sort of US crossover this is supposed to be...can we get Jordan Peele on the horn about this? Anyway, he drives out of there in his now somehow completely fine car that didn’t work about 5 minutes ago and then stops at the most bizarrely situated telephone booth literally in the middle of nowhere. I thought this might be a Bill & Ted crossover but nope: he just tries to call 911 before all the electricity bails on that plan.

In other telephone news, Mike has been shook to his core by Sheriff Hopper and tells Elle that he can’t see her and makes up some lies about his grandma. Queen on the scene/his mom Karen and her GLAMOROUS PERFECTION WIG are somehow listening in (KAREN!!!!) and she’s concerned about grandma now too. Everyone back at the pool is concerned about Billy/”Billy” (not sure if he’s the real thing or a mole person version or a possessed alien version - probably the latter) and he is straight up RUDE to Karen so definitely: EFF YOU BILLY ALWAYS. There are also a bunch of shots of the back of his nightmare wig that gave me the shivers. Oh, and he fully kidnaps the other lifeguard as a human sacrifice to a demogorgon blob so definitely: EFF YOU BILLY x100000.

This episode also introduced MAYOR CARY ELWES! This is very good casting and this whole storyline seems like an homage to Jaws so: OK! Also Sheriff Hopper asked Winona’s season 3 wig (which is still good!) on a date/nondate which she definitely didn’t attend because she had far more important lessons to learn about magnets and that’s probably the best reason to stand up a dude ever.

Elsewhere, boring couple is investigating some weird rat/fertilizer situation at an old lady’s house and basically I didn’t pay attention to this part because it was boring and it involved exploding rats so: hard pass. Nancy’s hair looked fine. Jonathan’s hair is a mess. The end.

The rest of the episode was devoted to the only kind of rats I like: MALL RATS! Over at Scoops Ahoy, my favorite bromance between Steve and Dustin was rekindled and truly it is a beautiful thing.

However, Maya Hawke and her language skills (which are romance based, not Russian but whatever!) come into play to translate the Soviet message Dustin intercepted. They somehow translate it (SURE?) and also Maya’s hair is about as 80s as John Travolta’s 70s costumes were in 50s-set Grease. This hair is pure 2019 and you do you Stranger Things. THE DEMOGORGON’S IN THE DETAILS ALWAYS.

Meanwhile, Mike is BUMMED about having to lie to Elle so he brings Lucas and Will along with him to the mall to...buy something for Elle to erase the lie he told her? The whole time Will kept asking when they could leave and play D&D and the whole time I wanted these boys to not have bowl cuts anymore.

In the most important storyline, Elle teamed up with Max to have a LADIES DAY AT THE MALL AND I WAS HERE FOR IT! Max does not seem like the kind of chick who is into fashion or commercialism but her overriding guidance of finding yourself through consumerism and forsaking any sad feelings about boys is just good TV. Retail therapy is great!

And I’m sorry but there is absolutely no better cinema than an 80s makeover montage to effing MATERIAL GIRL. YES PLEASE.

Elle also used her powers to prank some asshole chicks at the Orange Julius and this whole part of the show felt very Girls Just Want To Have Fun (the movie but I guess also the song) so VERY YES PLEASE.

THEY EVEN TOOK EFFING GLAMOUR SHOTS. CAN YOU EVEN?! THIS IS EVERYTHING! I don’t know who funded this amazing afternoon at the mall since Max’s parents seem like pretty absentee wrong-side-of-the-tracks types and clearly this whole mall fiasco goes against everything Sheriff Hopper stands for but whatever logic: YAY MALL!

In the end, Elle calls out Mike on his lie and DUMPS HIS ASS! GIRL POWER! MALL POWER! ICE CREAM POWER 4EVER!

CHAPTER THREE: THE CASE OF THE MISSING LIFEGUARD

My favorite bromance, Dustin and Steve, are on the hunt for Russians in the mall! This whole plot is ridiculous and wonderful. They think they’re really onto something here (and maybe they are?) and just need to find some guy with blonde hair and a duffle bag (like all Russians!) When they find someone who fits that description, he turns out to be a FABULOUS aerobics instructor and I like what everyone has done here with the gay or European? trope.

Meanwhile, Hopper comes home from being stood up with bottle of Chianti and general sense of hopelessness when everything takes a turn for the GREAT because Elle isn’t making out with Mike - she’s found a great galpal and they’re having a sleepover. Halleluj all over the place! Elle deserves a great galpal and Max is pretty awesome and can ALMOST land an ollie so I say amen. Winona’s season 3 wig (still great!) shows up and explains about magnets and then they go back to the lab and find an actual Russian (not an aerobics instructor!) but then he hightails it out of there with no other explanation other than the fact that he might be the Terminator and/or just a motorcycle enthusiast.

Anyway, Elle and Max have the best sleepover EVER by using Elle’s sensory deprivation skills to spy on the boys and truly this is the What Men Want crossover no one wanted but sure! (PS the answer is Doritos belches and farts UGH BOYS).

Beyond that, what Will wants is to just play D&D IN THIS GODDAMNED ELEGANT CAPE, OK?! Mike and Lucas go along with it for a bit, but they are just too girl crazy to concentrate on being a nerd for long. Mike yells at Will, “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” which is interesting phraseology since the internet really wants Will to be gay and only time will tell but honey: the cape eleganza story you’re serving is pretty fabulous, just sayin! (THE DEMOGORGON’S IN THE DETAILS ALWAYS).

Anyway, after some fun sensory deprivation visions of the guys doing stupid stuff, Elle and Max decide to invent a whole spin-the-bottle inspired game to see what other dudes in Hawkins are up to and dammit if the bottle didn’t land on my wig nemesis BILLY. Elle sees that he’s up to some pretty effed up nonsense involving kidnapping that other lifeguard so they decide to investigate IN THE RAIN.

The rest of the episode is mainly devoted to fabulous 80s raincoat fashion and I WAS HERE FOR IT. Beyond these great raincoat lewks, most of the rest of the cast also rocked some fab 80s raincoats (excepting Will who got soaked destroying his childhood fort and Steve who OF COURSE was wearing a members only jacket but jokes on him bc that rain totally dented his ‘do).

Anyway, Elle and Max go over to the missing lifeguard’s house and OF COURSE her dad is the #1 asshole that boring couple works with (oh also they did more boring investigating which resulted in an old lady eating fertilizer. Meh). But shocker: BILLY AND HIS AWFUL WIG WERE THERE TOO.

LOOK AT THE SIDE OF THIS DAMN WIG. Truly, this wig IS the demogorgon of this season.

Anyway, double shocker: THE LIFEGUARD ALSO WAS THERE! Or I guess a possessed version of her since this plotline is getting less US and more Invasion of the Body Snatchers (no need to return my call anymore, Jordan Peele). Also possession or not, this chick’s side pony and wispy bangs are the true terrors (second only to Billy’s wig).

Also can we talk about Billy’s mustache for a second? IT IS SO DISGUSTING. That’s all I have to say. I don’t want to look at it any further. Also look at how dried out this wig is and this whole episode involves torrential rain. I DEMAND MORE WIG HUMIDITY DAMMIT.

Anyway, Max and Elle (smartly) hightail it out of there right before Billy and the lifeguard attack her parents for further demogorgon possessions and we get one last terrifying view of Billy’s wig. HORRIFYING.

CHAPTER FOUR: THE SAUNA TEST

So I’m really liking the whole Elle and Max vibe going along here. I also like that they weren’t dissuaded by the whole Billy being a possessed demogorgon thing to spoil their sleepover. IT CONTINUES! And not only that, Max is literally introducing WONDER WOMAN TO ELLE. I could watch an entire episode of this also because both of their hair isn’t too offensive and they’ve both discovered scrunchies. Mazel! But of course, the guys call in a code red and they have to hightail it over there to fix everything. Ain’t it always the way, ladies?

I would like to take a moment to talk about bowl cuts. So far, I have just lumped both Will and Mike’s bowl cuts into “awful” territory as all bowl cuts are awful. However, this episode gets a lot of shots of the back of Will’s head (because the back of his neck is always sensing those goddamned demogorgons). Anyway, it became very clear in this episode just how terrible this wig is as opposed to Mike’s terrible bowl cut actual hair. I consulted the internet, and apparently the kid who plays Will CUT HIS HAIR (which he was contractually obligated NOT to do) days before shooting began and the wigmaster had to scramble and make a wig literally out of the childhood cut hair of one of her assistants. READ IT ALL HERE. Despite her hustle, this wig sucks in the way that all man wigs suck: the back taper is just all off!! And with all those closeups of Will’s neck it is VERY DISTRACTING!! Billy officially is not the only one with a terrible man wig this season. But his is still the worst!

It did hide a bit under this sweet NIAGARA FALLS hat this episode. And his oily bohunk body was hidden under this sweatshirt which was a dead giveaway to all the kids that SOMETHING WAS AMISS HERE since Billy can barely keep a shirt on at school let alone the pool. Since Will knows that demogorgons (specifically the mind flayer?) like it CHILL, everyone was all: THIS DUDE IS STRAIGHT UP POSSESSED. Great work, kids! Also honestly, this whole lewk was giving me Weekend At Bernies realness and I was here for it (since it implies that Billy is dead which I would like very much please).

Meanwhile, Hopper’s anger management issues get PEAK BLOODY when he just beats the shit out of Cary Elwes (who is technically kind of his boss?) in demanding answers about that Terminator/motorcycle enthusiast who beat the shit out of HIM last episode. Oh, and just an FYI: Winona’s season 3 wig was along for the ride and was still looking great! I cannot say the same for Cary Elwes’s face!

Over at Scoops Ahoy, Steve and his superior wigless mane are doing some serious air duct work with the help of Lucas’s precocious sister. This whole plotline begs the question: do any of the parents of Hawkins ever know where their kids are?

Meanwhile, boring couple is on the rocks after having a really boring fight about whether it’s worse to be a woman or poor and they called it a draw I guess? Anyway, I haven’t spent much time talking about Nancy’s hair which is starting to look a little lumpy honestly and the article I read (link above) told me the bizarre fun fact that most of this hair is real and permed (duh) but that part of the undercarriage is remnants from Winona’s season 1 wig which is obviously why it looks so shitty. The more you know!

Anyway, after being fired by the #metoo boss (who is now also demogorgon possessed) for wanting to investigate why that old lady with the fertilizer eating rats is now also eating fertilizer, she turned to her mom - the one and only queen of Hawkins glamour - KAREN WHEELER. LOOK AT THIS GODDAMNED PERFECT LEWK. Mama Karen ended up giving her a very great motivational pep talk that legit made me cry (SERIOUSLY) about how she had to keep fighting and get the world out about this effed up fertilizer situation. She also delivered a sick burn about her constantly napping husband. I LOVE YOU KAREN.

Back at the town pool, all the kids concocted a Home Alone-style booby trap to get Billy into the sauna, crank up the heat, and prove that there is a heat-hating demogorgon inside him. It kind of worked except they also almost died during the battle royale between Billy’s inner demon (literal this time) and Elle.

Also I know that I demanded wig humidity last time but this is NOT WHAT I MEANT OMG THIS WIG IS A GHOSTMARE. Anyway, Elle saved the day (duh) for now by throwing Billy through a brick wall like he was the Kool-Aid man but seems like he’s forming a demogorgon army of possessed mole people so seems like it’s gonna be one crazy summer, you guys!

CHAPTER FIVE: THE FLAYER

Straight off the bat: this was a weird episode because it included neither my least favorite wigwearer, Billy, nor (SOB) my favorite wig wearer, KAREN WHEELER. So we were left with a bunch of other randos, mainly Soviets. We begin with Winona’s season 3 wig (looking a little rough around the edges in this episode, I am sad to report) and Hopper, fresh off the info he beat out of Mayor Cary Elwes, high tailing it to some farm owned by The Terminator dude. Under his bed, they find a bunker with these two dudes in it. Good morning!

Terminator dude, obvs shows up fairly immediately and lots of yelling, guns, and machismo ensue. In the end, the Terminator is briefly subdued by a fallen bookshelf and Winona’s season 3 wig, Hopper, and one of the rando Soviets escape but not without car troubles because: of course?

After Hopper’s truck explodes, they are all forced to walk through the woods while Winona’s season 3 wig hilariously tries to ask the non-English-speaking Soviet dude about magnets. It’s all pretty silly stuff but I’m here for Winona’s season 3 wig to get some comedic scenes instead of long suffering Christmas light crying scenes.

Anyway, they find a 7-11 where a lot of product placement and caffeine takes place, as well as Hooper yelling a lot for no reason which is essentially his entire character this season. Get some anger management classes, dude! Also the rando Soviet gets a slushie so between that and Billy’s icee last episode: WHAT A TIME FOR FLAVORED ICE WATER!

My absolute favorite part of the episode came next when Hooper commandeered a sweet convertible from this yuppie asshole. I’m not sure how often police commandeer vehicles in real life but I love it when they do it in movies because it’s always taking a car from some pompous idiot who clearly doesn’t deserve to drive (see: Speed, So I Married An Axe Murderer, etc). You can’t get more pompous or idiotic than this yuppie (named Todd, of course?!) with both a popped Polo shirt AND a blazer with zhuzhed sleeves AND white pants. THE NERVE OF THIS GUY FOR EVEN EXISTING! PLEASE TAKE HIS CAR! OMG HIS LICENSE PLATE IS TDFTHR! EVERYTHING IS JUSTIFIED!

Then Hopper, Winona’s season 3 wig, and the rando Soviet drive directly to Murray’s compound in Illinois. I’m bummed we have to suffer through Murray and his existence again since I’ll never forgive him for the gross pull-out couch jokes he made about #boringcouple’s sex romp at his house but here we are. He DOES speak Russian so let’s just get through this translation. Oh and obviously the Terminator dude questioned the 7-11 clerk so he’s probably on his way to Murray’s house now, hopefully to kill him so I don’t have to suffer through any more of his gross sex jokes.

Meanwhile, the Scoops Ahoy spy crew are still locked in that elevator they took way into the bedrock of earth/logic but somehow manage to escape when some (more!) rando Soviets come to unlock some deliveries. Then they discover the whole Soviet plan to reopen the Upside Down while also not being noticed by one single Soviet (great security, dudes!) except for this one Soviet who Steve beats up (GO STEVE!) I’d also like to say that Steve’s superior wigless mane is truly wonderful in this episode. The lights from the underground labs really bring out his summer highlights and it’s truly a thing of beauty. Uma Thurman’s daughter continues to have a 2019 beach wave blunt instagram cut not welcome in this 80s narrative please but otherwise she’s fine.

Over with #boringcouple, they got back together I guess? Remember at the end of season 1 when we were all deeply offended that Nancy was still with Steve and NOT Will’s brother (I refuse to believe he has an actual name). How things have changed! If Steve ever took back Nancy, I would be personally DEEPLY OFFENDED so I guess it’s fine she’s just still a #boringcouple but it’s still boring you guys. Even more boring: the actors are a couple in real life and have been for years! I just found this out this week and found it DEEPLY BORING.

Anyway, #boringcouple teams up with the tween gang to solve this whole fertilizer eating mystery and Nancy totally mommed it up when she put her shitty perm back in a banana clip and told all the kids to buckle up so she could drive her parents’ wood-paneled station wagon and honestly this section felt very Adventures in Babysitting so I’ll allow it. Also Will’s bro’s hair always looks like it was cut by a weed wacker and I’m not sure if this is a comment on his socioeconomic plight but truly Winona’s season 3 wig should get her kids better haircuts please. If her wig can improve so can theirs. In any case, at the missing lifeguard’s house, they vaguely put together some blood-related clues and then decide to visit the fertilizer eating grandma in the hospital.

Only fertilizer eating grandma ain’t there, hunties! Also please return all those flowers to their vase, please. Instead, #boringcouple apologized to each other for their boring fight in an elevator and then had to fight two possessed #metoo bros from the newspaper (which was very satisfying) while Elle and Mike basically starred in an M&Ms commercial in the waiting room. I honestly was hoping that #boringcouple would get possessed too but they ended up being ok (SIGH) and the back of Will’s bowl cut wig sensed danger so I guess Elle is just gonna have to fix everything in the next episode or 3.

CHAPTER SIX: E PLURIBUS UNUM

We begin, UGH, with #boringcouple who are still battling with (part of?) the mind flayer in the hospital and Nancy gets very Sigourney Weaver in Alien and I thought she was about to get flayed but sadly Elle saved her ass. Back at Hooper’s bunker, the whole gang is still basically relying Elle for both protection and sensory deprivation recon. Nancy gels her hair up for some reason (I hope she used DEP!) and Will keeps getting the tingles on the back of his terrible bowl cut wig. Max and Mike have a battle royale about who cares about Elle more and whether women can make their own decisions about their own telepathic powers which Nancy rightfully weighs in on (you go gurl?) But honestly, no one was protecting Elle from the real catastrophe here: WEARING CRISS CROSS SUSPENDERS THE WHOLE GODDAMNED EPISODE. Suspenders are fine and I’m glad Elle has found fashion, but maybe the kids can elect one of them as Elle’s suspenders advocate to avoid this in the future?

Meanwhile, Terminator dude still hasn’t caught up with Murray (sadly) and everyone in his bunker is still very much alive, at least until they die of lung cancer (ZING!) Anyway, Murray does a lot of Russian translation, rando Soviet dude throws a diva fit about slurpee flavors, Hopper continues his reign of anger management/alcoholism problems, and Winona’s season 3 wig is honestly not looking great. They do somehow figure out what the Russians are doing under Starcourt (they even make diagrams and use a lot of Burger King product placement to reenact nuclear scanarios!) And Hopper calls a secure line to demand backup back in Hawkins. Okay?

Back in Hawkins, Bloody Bloody Cary Elwes seems to have recovered from Hopper’s beating pretty nicely (as long as he keeps those shades on) and is very much invested in the 4th of July county fair he is PRODUCING (he even made signs crediting himself!) The Terminator dude demands answers about Hooper but no matter: JUST ENJOY THIS FAIR RIDE!

Speaking of people getting face beatings, Steve is getting absolutely SAVAGED by the Soviets. It was honestly very heartbreaking because he has somehow become the male MVP of this show, partially to do with his hair god status (EVEN WITH A BLOODY FACE HIS HAIR LOOKS SO GREAT!) but also because he’s become a really sweet guy and I just want him to catch a damn break! (Tho please continue to be broken up with Nancy - dear god!)

We shouldn’t be too worried about him getting back together with Nancy, though, because if it wasn’t clear from the moment Uma Thurman’s daughter was introduced: THESE TWO ARE OBVS GETTING TOGETHER. Her hair is still a very 2019 distraction but she’s def an upgrade from Nancy. However, after taking some weird Soviet truth serum (probably just LSD, right?) she admits that she harbored a crush on him way back in the 10th grade and also totally undermines her cool outsider status by admitting that all losers want to be popular (I DON’T KNOW IF ALL LOSERS STAND BY THIS GURL I HOPE THIS IS JUST THE LSD TALKING!) This whole section gives a lot of Some Kind of Wonderful realness and honestly that is a lesser John Hughes work so I’m not sure I can give any of this a passing grade. However, Dustin and my new favorite sass machine, Erica save the day with a nuclear cow prod! GREAT WORK KIDS! ALSO YOUR PARENTS DEFINITELY DON’T CARE WHERE YOU ARE! Speaking of parents, yet again the glamour of KAREN WHEELER did not grace itself in this episode and we were all worse for it.

Back at Hopper’s cabin, Elle decides to go nuclear with her sensory deprivation recon and we all have to welcome BILLY (UGH BILLY) and his terrible wig back. Anyway, he pushes her further into the recesses of his memory/all logic on an astral plane that can only be described as the place where Michelle Pfeiffer was in the Ant-Man sequel (IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT HOW VERY DARE YOU). So we get a lot of terrible childhood flashbacks which try to show Billy’s abusive tendencies to be learned from his horrible upbringing and truly: DO NOT MAKE ME FEEL BAD ABOUT BILLY.

JUST LOOK AT THIS IDIOT. NO THANK YOU PLEASE. Despite the humidity of his entire body, his wig remains a dried out hellscape that I would love to never see again for the rest of my days. Also he almost traps Elle in the astral plane they’re on JUST LIKE MICHELLE PFEIFFER IN THAT ANT-MAN MOVIE) but she escapes into the arms of Mike (fine sure) and then Billy explains that he and and his army of mole people have been waiting for Elle this whole time and: REALLY? That seems very specific but you do you, mole people. Oh also all those mole people (grandma fertilizer included!) all file into the rat warehouse and shapeshift into a disgusting mind flayer/demogorgon/blob nightmare. YAY!

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE BITE

Welcome to the Fun Fair (a Mayor Cary Elwes production!) Somehow he recovered from his terrible face beating to show some FACE at this thing. The whole town is there and ready for some 4th of July FUN that will definitely not be ruined by Russians or demogorgons.

Most importantly, this episode gave us the triumphant return of KAREN WHEELER! HER HAIR LOOKS AMAZING! She is bringing full out bouffant glamour to the Fun Fair and damn if she didn’t have this lewk done at Dolly Parton’s salon in Steel Magnolias. IT IS THAT GOOD. Clearly employing the “higher the hair the closer to god” theory - and not just hair-wise actually because this bish bribed some carnie to stop the ferris wheel at its highest point so that she and her family (at least the part of her family whose whereabouts she knows about) can enjoy some FIREWORKS. KAREN YOU MINX I LOVE YOU! HOW ARE YOU STILL MARRIED TO THIS DUDE IN GOLF PANTS?!

The top of the ferris wheel is also a perfect place to see the incoming demogorgon!! The back of Will’s bowl cut is getting the tingles too. And before Elle can fully explain her trip into Billy’s beach memories, the mind flayer is THERE, y’all, busting through the roof of Hopper’s cabin like it’s straight out of a 50s b-movie. I would like to note that for ONCE Winona’s house isn’t about to get trashed so mazel! #Boringcouple armed themselves with guns and axes but obvs they prove completely useless and the flayer is about to steal Elle away when they make a human chain and are victorious...FOR NOW.

Meanwhile, Dustin and Erica are dealing with a very drugged up Steve and Uma Thurman’s daughter and decide to lay low in a showing of (WHAT ELSE?): Back to the Future! They actually show so much of this movie that I’m assuming the entire wig budget went straight to Robert Zemeckis.

Over in the TDFTHER convertible, Winona’s season 3 wig is looking a damn MESS as is all the side projection of them getting back to Indiana. There’s a lot of bickering between Winona’s season 3 wig and Hopper and finally my beloathed Murray has to meet his gross sex talk quota for the season and tells both of them to just have sex already and then he and the Soviet dude laugh a lot and OMG GET ME OUT OF THIS CONVERTIBLE.

#Boringcouple and the kids smash into a supermarket to get Elle some medical help for the leg that the flayer effed up. I’m not sure why a hospital wasn’t an option but it’s probably so there could be more 80s product placement like Mr. T cereal and a whole actual conversation about New Coke. Nancy’s hair is still VERY depped up. Max seems to have the most medical training from skateboard injuries and fixes Elle up pretty well while the dudes prove completely useless other than finding a treasure trove of fireworks. I guess most importantly, Elle was reunited with her ain’ true love: EGGOS. They hightail it out of there with a ton of fireworks that they definitely won’t (lol jk) use later. Oh and Elle’s blood kind of comes alive and Billy and his shitty wig come back to sniff her out. Gross.

Speaking of gross, Steve and Uma’s daughter left the very confusing (for them) screening of Back to the Future to go stare at the Starcourt ceiling to the point of barfing (which I honestly did not need to see TWICE or at all!) The barf did get the LSD out of their systems so now it’s time for truth talk and LURVE TALK! I really have to hand it to Steve for being completely face beaten and bloody and covered in barf and still having enough swagger to admit to Uma’s daughter that he has feelings for her (despite her 2019 hair) and just when I thought this show was so predictable, Uma’s daughter comes out as a LESBIAN!! What? Okay! To his credit, Steve pivots pretty easily to ally/friend and truly: HE IS THE BEST AND WE DO NOT DESERVE HIM. ALSO PLEASE GET HELP ON YOUR FACE WOUNDS AND YOUR HAIR STILL LOOKS GREAT.

NOR DO WE DESERVE THIS MUCH GLAMOUR TWICE IN ONE EPISODE. Karen Wheeler may look great but damn if she knows where her (or Winona’s season 3 wig’s) kids are. But let’s just enjoy this space ship ride! Also a rando carnie calls Hopper “Magnum” and: sick burn. Also there is a woman dressed up as Uncle Sam at the fun fair and between this drag king realness, Uma’s daughter, that one Jazzercise instructor, and (maybe/probably) Will, I’m so ready to throw a Hawkins Pride Parade. Karen is already wearing rainbow stripes!

Elsewhere at the fun fair, Alexei is having the time of his damn life winning a Woody Woodpecker with the support of 10000 children. Sadly, his joy is cut short when the Terminator dude kills him in cold blood. HARSH. Also Murray chooses to blame himself for not guarding him like he was supposed to and instead buying a corn dog. I AGREE, MURRAY: THIS IS YOUR FAULT PLEASE LEAVE. Then Hopper has a whole sequence with the Terminator dude (and some other rando Soviet baddies) in the funhouse which is the second time this season which felt like a weird homage to US and I guess I need to get Jordan Peele on the horn again about this. Anyway, Hopper gets ANOTHER face beating and so does Cary Elwes from Winona’s (also beat) season 3 wig.

Back at the mall, Steve and company are trying to just slip out with the rest of the movie crowd from Back to the Future but the Soviets are totally onto them and it looks like they’re about to be killed when (AGAIN) Elle saves the day by throwing a Chrysler LeBaron on them. GREAT WORK! Unfortunately, Elle is also receiving a threatening phonecall from a mini demogorgon and the call is coming from: INSIDE HER LEG.

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE BATTLE OF STARCOURT

So this demogorgon situation with Elle’s leg is pretty severe so Will’s brother (again name NOT NECESSARY) prepares for mall surgery based on stuff found at the Panda Express and literally gave her a wooden spoon to bite on as if this was happening during the Revolutionary War. The demogorgon leg removal is not working so as always, Elle just DID IT HERSELF because she may be the only capable person in this mall/town.

Hopper and Winona’s season 3 wig (not looking great) and (UGH) Murray show up and everyone compares notes on how to fix this whole mindflayer situation. Most importantly, Erica outsasses Murray and wins. Steve (rightly) gets the keys to the TDFTHER convertible to take him, Uma’s daughter, Dustin and Erica (now known as Scoops Troop) to Dustin’s radio tower. The rest of the tweens plus #boringcouple (now known as The Griswold Family because sure) are getting sent to Murray’s bunker and can’t they maybe stop and get Elle some medical attention on the way? No matter: they’re not going anywhere because Billy, possessed or not, still knows way too much about cars and stole their damn ignition cable. DAMMIT BILLY.

Steve is driving the Scoops Troop up a damn hill to the radio tower while listening to Jackie Wilson’s Higher and Higher which I’m sure is a Ghostbusters 2 reference and also Uma’s daughter looks exactly like her in the convertible driving part of Kill Bill and honestly all of these pop cultural references are getting tiring. Anyway, from the top of the radio tower, they can see the demogorgon closing in on the mall and Steve and Uma’s daughter hightail it back there.

At the mall, Elle is having some trouble moving that LeBaron to get the ignition cable - she can’t even move a damn coke can. WHAT GIVES? This does beg the question: since she has literally done all the heavy lifting this season, could she maybe call in a favor from her telepathic sister in Chicago? Why did this show even introduce that character - just to check off “punks” on their 80s pop culture list (note: DEFINITELY) But seriously, it’s like when Marvel makes a stand-alone superhero movie after an Avengers movie. SOMEONE GET THAT PUNK CHICK ON THE HORN!!! Anyway, Will gets some back of bowl cut tingles and the damn demogorgon smashes through the roof. Elle, Mike, and Max make a run for it through the gap, where the demogorgon confuses a mannequin wearing Elle’s same clothing and truly: the gap would NEVER sell this graphic eleganza! Did Esprit just not want to be involved in this whole mess because that is where she would have bought that. The rest of the tense gap scene plays out basically exactly like the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. Meanwhile, #boringcouple is doing boring auto work while Billy just endlessly stalls in his evilmobile but is about to hit them when MVP hair god Steve saves the day and everyone piles into the station wagon. YAY!

Elsewhere, the Terminator dude has made it to the Soviet subbasement where Hooper, Winona’s season 3 wig and (UGH) Murray are now in Soviet apparel. Winona’s season 3 wig (looking great hidden under that hat) and Hopper have a nice talk and make plans for a legit date which definitely won’t be derailed by a demogorgon (lol jk jk). Murray manages to infiltrate the room where all the wires control the nuclear weapon the Soviets are using to open up the Upside Down and why wasn’t this room better guarded? Oh well. Much like sucking at guarding Soviets and not buying corndogs, Murray sucks at remembering important numbers which are the combination for the nuclear keys.

Of course the code is some nerdy equation that requires Dustin to ask fellow nerd (and girlfriend Suzie who exists!) for help. But not before Suzie demands that Dustin sing....The Neverending Story theme song. This is peak 80s cultural reference and we can all go home now. Also it is mainly an excuse for Galen Matarazzo to sing and sure: he and this chick sound great! Now please get those damn keys!

Elle, Max and Mike are confronted with (unfortunately still alive) Billy who beats the shit out of all of them and takes Elle. She’s about to get flayed when Lucas and Will throw all those damn fireworks on the demogorgon. Sure! Elle uses Billy’s memories to reason with him. This show definitely wants us to root for Billy all of a sudden because he turns on the demogorgon but I REFUSE TO LIKE BILLY WITH THAT DRIED OUT WIG IN THIS SWEATY MALL.

Back in the subbasement, Winona’s season 3 wig and Hopper are ready to end this but the Terminator dude shows up. They duke it out very close to a nuclear warhead while Winona’s season 3 wig turns into MacGuyver and uses a belt to try to disarm both keys and bless her. Hopper throws the Terminator into nuclear generator thingie. Byeeeeee. Then Hopper looks back at Winona’s season 3 wig for long enough to definitely make it back into the safe glass room where she is but instead just gives a really long nod, signalling her to disarm the nuclear whatever thing and he definitely (absolutely does not) die.

However, all my hopes and dreams for Billy’s death finally came true! YAY FOR ME AND MY HATRED OF HIS TERRIBLE WIG AND HIS CHARACTER WHICH HAD NO REDEEMING QUALITIES NO MATTER HOW MANY BEACH FLASHBACKS TRIED TO PROVE OTHERWISE. I will say that his exit is VERY METAL so in some ways, this was the only appropriate death for his Metallica and Tank loving character. FINE. Two seconds after he and the demogorgon die, the feds show up with Paul Reiser! I am honestly very mad at this show for not blasting Pat Benatar’s Little Too Late during this entire sequence. OH WELL. Outside the mall Winona’s season 3 wig and Will’s terrible bowl cut wig are reunited in a bad wig hug. Then Winona’s season 3 wig catches sight of Elle and gives her a look that says: I am definitely adopting you.

Three months later, a fake Inside Edition show gets us up to date on the burning of the mall, government coverups, and comeuppance of terrible mayor Cary Elwes. Also Uma’s daughter (now with 80s appropriate updo!) and Steve are trying to get jobs at the video store! Uma’s daughter and her love of Billy Wilder movies make her a shoe-in for the job but Steve's taste in the Ewok Star Wars movie and the 5 minutes he saw of Back To the Future whilst on LSD don’t make him the best candidate. Also he trips over a Phoebe Cates cut-out and truly Phoebe Cates: thank you for your service in being name-checked constantly this season. In the end, Steve’s awesome hair gets him the job. Maybe?

Meanwhile, Winona’s season 3 wig is moving just like she said she was going to this whole season and no one believed her. Also she put her wig back in a ponytail and: good move it looks ok! Elle still doesn’t have her powers back but eh? She does get a heart-tugging letter from beyond the grave (he’s totally still alive) and all the kids/tweens/#boringcouple sob that they are being separated. It isn’t clear where Winona’s season 3 wig is going or how she could have sold her shitty house in the town that fake Inside Edition show called haunted. And yes, separating her now 3 PTSD kids from their only support group is also shitty but what has this goddamned town ever done for Winona and any of her seasons’ wigs other than stealing her children and killing her love interests and trashing that shitty house at least twice?! I SAY GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE (they will fully be back next season).

After collectively sobbing all their faces off, the tweens of Hawkins are left only with the ELEGANZA OF KAREN WHEELER and whatever healthy dinner she’s preparing with the help of some white wine. YOU KIDS ARE STILL LUCKY WHO NEEDS FRIENDS WHEN YOU HAVE KAREN WHEELER! Oh and back in Russia, Hopper is like 110% definitely still alive. See y’all next season!

FINAL VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ (YOU KNOW IT WAS BILLY’S FAULT)

#wigwurq #doesntwurq #strangerthings #hawkins #UGHBILLY #80sMALLWIGS #KARENWHEELER #EXPLODINGRATS #EXPLODINGRATTAILS #retailtherapy #glamourshots #girlsjustwanttohavefun #mallpower #raincoatfashions #wighumidity

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linklethehistorian · 6 years ago

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W.I.P. Week — Day 2 (February 25): A WIP Containing Your OTP

Since I actually have two main OTPs — and yes, I know the term doesn’t make sense when there’s more than one, but they’re both equal to me so that’s just the way it has to be — rather than just one, I was really hoping to get one of each up today, but in digging through all of my sketches/W.I.P.s., both old and new, I came to the realization that I actually don’t have any OdaZai ones that were of any recognizable substance yet, and only two that were ChuuArt related.

After I’d finished, I was trying to decide on which one to upload for today’s theme; ultimately, though, I found that impossible and instead ended up deciding that I would just upload the first one whole, and then include a portion of the second one.

So these are two ChuuArt related works — the first one tentatively titled “Already Gone” after the song by Kelly Clarkson (although the cover that inspired it was by Sleeping At Last), and the second yet untitled.

Bonus Question: Who Is Your Favorite OTP and why?

As I’ve said, I currently have two that I view about equally — OdaZai (mostly just platonically) and ChuuArt — which are both from the series of Bungou Stray Dogs. I plan to write bigger articles in the future about my feelings on these two pairings and why I think they’re wonderful, but for now I’ll try to sum it up best I can here in as brief a manner as possible.

Please bear in mind that this will contain spoilers for Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era/Season 2′s Ep. 13-16/the BEAST AU Light Novel and the Fifteen Light Novel, respectively. If you are not up to date on these, please do not read any further into this section of the post. Thank you.

OdaZai (Oda “Odasaku” Sakunosuke x Dazai Osamu)

Honestly, I think for anyone who knows the series at all, this is pretty self-explanatory, but there are just so many reasons to ship these two — especially platonically as I do. Odasaku was clearly the only person in Dazai’s life who truly understood him and saw him for who he really was inside — a lost and crying child who desperately wanted to find a reason to live and be happy, but who had known nothing but suffering, loss, mistreatment and misery his entire life; he was the only one who treated him like a human being and spoke completely honestly about his feelings as though there was no hierarchy gap between them without any ulterior motives whatsoever. Odasaku radiated the perfect light that Dazai needed and inspired him to seek that path and become a better person even after his own death.

Dazai lived only for him; it has been canonically shown that Dazai not only thinks of him all the time and dearly misses him — not only dresses very similarly to him, carries around the few precious possessions of Oda’s he has left and emulates him in every way he can — but also in alternate universe was willing to rewrite the entire world just so Odasaku could live, be happy, and become a writer.

The two very simply, plainly, genuinely, mutually love each other, and they are nothing but good for each other in every way.

ChuuArt (Chuuya Nakahara x Arthur Rimbaud/Randou)

Now, since this is a rare pair (as in, I’ve never met or even heard of ANYONE who truly ships them at all in any way yet and so I created their ship name myself), I’m sure this one will require some manner of explanation.

I was actually just explaining this to a friend of mine the other day, but the long and short of it is that, although it’s true that we never (to my knowledge) really saw them get to bond much in the incomplete version of the Fifteen light novel, I wholly believe that if they had gotten the chance and/or circumstances had been even just a little different than they were, Chuuya and Arthur/Randou would have really become close and that they would have been extremely good for each other; Arahabaki’s fiery presence within Chuuya may indeed have been enough to warm Arthur’s eternally freezing form and given him someone he could depend on who truly understood and cared about him, without the fear of betrayal, and likewise, Chuuya would have someone who could have given him a reason to live, who understood him and his origins better than any other person in the world and would remind him that he is valuable as his own person and far more than just a safety device to a mass energy of unbridled, uncontrollable power.

As it is, it was extremely evident that Arthur/Randou was an extremely loyal person towards the people he loved, even if those people mistreated him and/or turned completely against him, and he would go to the ends of the Earth to save them, even if it meant risking or even sacrificing his own life. He also was shown to have been fascinated by Arahabaki’s mere existence and all but implied that when they met, Arahabaki’s fire burned him in a way that he could never be the same again; it was very obvious that, regardless of what some of the reasons may be, he continually sought him after that point and had a desperate desire to find and (for better or worse, in some manner) keep him. Furthermore, he was the only person who truly was implied to have thought of Chuuya as a pre-existing real person rather than a false personality and, in spite of himself, was remorseful that he had to tried to harm Chuuya for the sake of his old traitorous friend, Paul Verlaine, and very clearly wanted him to live.

As for Chuuya, it’s very obvious that he does care sincerely about Arthur to this day, even if only because their last interaction gave him something to live for; after all, he wears and protects Arthur’s only remaining possession — his hat — with his life and visits his grave often.

(Not to mention the fact that RL! Chuuya basically adored RL! Arthur and saw him as a hero of sorts, having been noted to even try to dress in exactly the same way as Arthur did at times and translate his works into Japanese.)

There’s honestly just too much to unpack right here and now, so I’ll continue this explanation another time.

TL;DR: They’re just really, really good for each other in spite of everything and it’s so, so sad that the only person who could honestly give Chuuya the support, understanding and closure he needs instead ended up dying at his hands.

Do not repost my artwork anywhere without my explicit permission or claim it as your own. See F.A.Q.s for details.

All of my other entries for W.I.P. Week:

Day 1 (February 24): Your Oldest W.I.P.

Day 3 (February 26): Your Canonverse or Your AU W.I.P.

Day 4 (February 27): Your Most Popular W.I.P.

Day 5 (February 28): Your Favorite W.I.P.

Day 6 (March 1): Your Previously Unpublished W.I.P.

Day 7 (March 2): Any W.I.P.

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reptileshrine · 6 years ago

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Top 25 Albums of 2018

As usual, compiling my top albums of the year has been a compelling, exhausting experience, having taken me an actual month of consternation, tweaking, writing, re-tweaking, deleting, and shifting. Too. Much. Good. Music. Even though every year is pretty hard I have to say that, despite my Number 1, which cemented itself relatively quickly and didn’t move despite the competition, choosing a short-list and ranking just a few of the phenomenal albums from this year was more of an impossible task than usual. But here it is, finally. With actual words, albeit the same few adjectives cycled over enough times to amply demonstrate my dwindling vocabulary and ability to use it. Spoiler alert; There is no Mopok, no Spectral Wound, no Andeis, no Panphage, no Sargeist, no Atra Mors, no Forest of Stars, no Paara, no Angantyr, no Moenen Of Xezbeth, among many many others. They could all have been there at some point, but at the time of committing this to the web, they are not. What this list is, is a rank of the albums which I have obsessed over the most, have affected me the deepest, have been turned up loudest on my stereo, and that I feel have pushed black metal into some interesting, transcendent or subversive directions. Behold! My favourite albums of 2018. 25. Make a Change Kill Yourself – IV Cursed Records This is a true masterclass in DSBM. Inspired composition and wretched, grey pall of an atmosphere, that still harbours a sense of hope, albeit an uneasy, precarious one which could drop into a pit of darkness any moment. The wait for new material from this project was well rewarded. (also worth noting how great the Angantyr album was too, but it’s not in my list).

IV by Make a Change... Kill Yourself

24. Majestic Mass - Savage Empire of Death Self-Released / Caligari Cool raggedy stuff that sounds like it’s about to come apart at the seams. I love the cooly melodic garagey rock n roll swagger slung underneath the fuzz. GREAT organ flourishes too. One of my most played albums of the year by far.

Savage Empire of Death by Majestic Mass

23. Everything by Harpag Karnik Erancnoir – Wintermonarchie / Frostfallen / Erancnoir Etheraldine – Shapes of Emerald / Euphony of Heralds / An Eyrie for Serenity Forelunar - Wine and the Limerent Self-Released These three projects offer different rays of light from the prism of Iranian Harpag Karnik. Each is a separate vision of atmospheric post-black metal; Erancnoir the most desolate, Etheraldine the most lush, and Forelunar for conveying deep emotions. Most of these releases are eps featuring two long 10+ minute tracks, which give ample time for the music to soak into you, set a scene and extrapolate their vocative and enchanting motifs.

Frostfallen by Erancnoir

An Eyrie for Serenity by Etheraldine

Wine and the Limerent by Forelunar

22. Enscelados - The Unbeknownst Tyrant Self-Released This mysterious band consists of two un-named international members (though one may possibly be based in Iran, as Harpag Karnik mixed them). They released two pieces in 2018, both one track, with this, the second release, expanding on the intent of the first. The twenty-minute piece uncoils a mobius strip of cosmically fluctuating trance, with a hypnotic beat and swaying riff that locks in for pretty much the full length, save for a small eddy of ambience. A singular vision that is immensely effective.

The Unbeknownst Tyrant by Enscelados

21. Schrat – Alptraumgänger Folter Records Primo old-school. Blistering pace and savage aggression offset by symphonic elements. Smells like 1995, and probably another one that should lead me back to Emperor. I hear some Sons of Northern Darkness in this one too. A+ artwork on this one as well. Love a good moonlit ritual in the forest.

Alptraumgänger by SCHRAT

20. Akitsa – Credo Profound Lore One of my favourite bands that hasn’t released an album that I completely love has just managed to do so (Ash Pool split not withstanding). This has the rawness, the aggression, the wildness and chaos, and the ferocious rocking riffs that have appeared sporadically across all their previous albums, but Credo has all those best bits channelled into a whole album.

Credo by AKITSA

19. Craft – White Noise and Black Metal Season of Mist The stunning return of an old band to a new form. The raging nihilism and wild chaos of previous releases was smoothed right down to a clear sheen for an album almost ironically called White Noise. But it is a surface sheen. Below it lies the same seething violence as before, made arguably more intense by the constraints of the cleanliness. Every song is packing dangerously sharp riffs, delivered with a psychotically dead-eyed precision and coolness that makes for an intimidating experience.

White Noise and Black Metal by Craft

18. Vilkacis – Beyond the Mortal Gate Psychic Violence Feral, raw atmospheric, melodic primal black metal with a spiritual theme, from the visionary M. Rekevics. A torrent of euphoric anguish that feels like a cathartic expulsion of squalid bitterness. Comparisons can be made to related USBM bands Fell Voices and Ash Borer for their strung-out electrically charged atmospheres, while simultaneously channelling the more abrupt aggression of Vrasubatlat bands.

Beyond the Mortal Gate by VILKACIS

17. Knokkelklang - Jeg Begraver Terratur Possessions Elevated blackened trance with a liquid ambient outro. The tone and layers of sheet noise riffs verge on DSBM, but there is a buoyancy to the rhythm and a cosmically searching direction that keeps this album cerebral.

Jeg Begraver by Knokkelklang

16. Urfaust – The Constellatory Practice Ván Records Otherworldly transcendental occult music, from these masters of a form of atmospherics which has always dwelt in a liminal space between doom, BM, and the greyed industrial rock of post-70’s UK; it is highly atmospheric, but of a form well outside the more popular Burzum riff-styled post-metal inspired atmoblack. My favourite release of theirs since Drei Rituale Jenseits des Kosmos.

The Constellatory Practice by Urfaust

15. Selvans – Faunalia AvantGarde Music My expectations were high for this, given Lupercalia was one of my favourite albums of 2015. Three years later, Selvans surpass that achievement with this gothically toned, medieval opus that has outshone the similarly ambitious Forest of Stars album for me, in the grand blackened-classical-concept album stakes. Faunalia is grandiose, but never overblown, trip through a stunningly complex yet coherent tapestry, woven with acoustic folk instruments, woodwind, strings, layers of vocals plus primal pagan black metal aggression to bind it together.

Faunalia by Selvans

14. Thy Dying Light – Forgotten By Time Death Kvlt Productions My introduction to Death Kvlt and the work of Azrael and Hrafn’s many bands. Forgotten by Time is a compilation of previous releases but makes for a cohesive album in its own right, mixing several styles of raw old-school black metal, and a dungeon black ambience to arresting effect. It starts off in spitefully violent fashion, and compels to the end.

Forgotten By Time by Thy Dying Light

13. Délétère - De Horae Leprae Sepulchral Productions This Québécois band, whose line-up features Atheos from the infamous Foretresse and Monarque, tells the conceptual story of a leper destined to become a Plague prophet of Centipèdes. It does so through raw, melodic, orthodox black metal in a style which flashes glimpses of Csejthe, Horna, and of course Fortresse. The opening series of gothic organ riffs is obliterated by a thundercrack of guitar which ushers in over an hour of epic rush. The speed and density of the drums and riffing could potentially be very claustrophobic, but each track finds space to expand and develop into passages of rage, elation, hysteria, heroism, and fevered mania. So yes, the concept works, and in Atrum Lilium might just offer my favourite song of the year.

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12. Acathexis - Acathexis Fallen Empire / Entropic Recordings A fitting end to a stellar run of albums this year from Fallen Empire, whose shuttering will leave a black hole that is unlikely to be filled in the same way. December’s swansong releases gave us the immense Death Fortress (somehow not in this list), Lubbert Das (waaaait for it), the dissonant Guðveiki and Serpent Column, and this; Acathexis. An album by a band curated by Fallen Empire itself, who played Déhà’s demos to Jacob Buczarski (Mare Cognitum), and then to vocalist Dany Tee (Downfall of Nur). A supergroup was born, and a stunning album of emotionally arresting, nuanced, inspired atmospheric black metal has been created. The guitar composition is sublime, drawing from every corner of the black metal spectrum, underpinned, pushed and pulled by Jacob’s excellent drum work; the instrumentals given life, death, elation and despair through the incredible range of vocal performances from Dany Tee.

Acathexis by Acathexis

11. Adaestuo - Krew Za Krew World Terror Committee The band comprises three members; Hekte Zaren providing vocals, multi-instrumentalists P.E. Packain / Vainaja (of Horna, Saturnian Mist, Neutron Hammer, Sargeist) and VJS (also Sargeist, Nightbringer, Kult ov Azazel) – their credentials are cosmic, and that is spretty much where they keep the tone of this album. The majority of it is ritual dark ambient and drone, spiked with three explosive black metal tracks. More than just a black metal album, this is alternate devotional, ritual offering and violent ordained execution.

Krew Za Krew by Adaestuo

10. Alkymist – Spellcraft Ceremony Self-Released/Vinyl-Compvlsion Ritualistic occult atmospheric black metal is the sub-sub-sub genre of bm that I am drawn to, though even then there are different versions of it. In his Alkymist guise, Noctis, aka Adrien Bloß, draws on sinuous repetition and the flickering shadows of candlelight to convey the ceremonial ambience while summoning the night terrors.

Spellcraft Ceremony by Alkymist (CAN)

9. Wayfarer – World’s Blood Profound Lore This album is deep, and seems to have been a bit of a sleeper hit. Took me several listens to fully appreciate the scope and detail of the landscape portrayed across the five tracks. An evocative, moody ride under huge thunderheads brewing over ominously desolate plains. Indeed, one track is even titled On Horseback They Carried Thunder. There is an atmosphere pregnant with danger, pressure building in the air of scratchy guitar melodies as lightning forms in the clouds of bass-lines, both instruments occasionally striking out with lightning flourishes. The whole album is underpinned and accentuated by a parched drum sound that often mimics the galloping of hooves and swirling eddies of dust. The blackened silhouette of a lone rider against muted browns sets an accurate tone for the sound of the album, which absolutely succeeds in expressing the scale and history of the wild Western US.

World's Blood by WAYFARER

8. Kriegsmaschine – Apocalypticists No Solace Everyone talks about the drumming, and yes Darkside has unparalleled visionary technique, but it is what the guitars are doing at the same time that brings out the full effect of them. They remind me of Joy Division with their combination of industrialised urban paranoia, existential dread and hostility, set to rhythmic piston percussion, droning trance guitars, and a raw vocal performance. Both strings and skins complementing each other in a minimal/maximal relationship which results in one of the most captivating and unique experiences in black metal.

Apocalypticists by Kriegsmaschine

7. Everything released by the ПРАВА Коллектив Fallen Empire Records, Amor Fati Productions, and Underground Soundscapes That’s the Prava Kollektiv, currently consisting of four projects: Arkhtinn, Mahr, Voidsphere, and HWWAUOCH with five releases between them in 2018. A group of musicians from somewhere in the world, possibly Russia judging by the Cyrillic they write their name in, and fallen Empire describing them as being “from the North”, but then again, possibly not, since Arkhtinn’s full album is titled in Japanese. Over five years after Arkhtinn’s first demo, they have done well to remain unmasked. Mysterious background aside, the music offers its own open interpretations. Arkhtinn have been putting out two-track demos with one fizzing, burning raw cosmic emission backed with a skein of dark ambient. On their album, they went for the double buzz and gave us two ferocious celestial slices of galactic trance. And where they look up, Mahr’s Antelux album tore it all down, using a similar template of pulsing starfire, grounding it in an earthier, more aggressive, primal, chaotic fashion. Voidsphere made their second offering of To Await | To Expect; two elevated tracks of disintegrating cosmic blackness, channeling all the blackened reverberating energies they could summon from the infinite void, and HWWAUOCH did their full-cap moniker justice by tearing out an Icelandic-style album of howling dissonance.

最初の災害 by Arkhtinn

Antelux by Mahr

To Await | To Expect by Voidsphere

HWWAUOCH by HWWAUOCH

6. Everything released by Haraesis Noviomagi A label that houses one of the most progressive, creative and consistent collectives of musicians operating in the black metal sphere, revolving around O, who runs the label and threads all bands together. He put out six releases this year, featuring each band from their roster plus a guest, and all releases are boundary pushing, third-eye opening mutations of the cosmic black metal order: De Ontkoppeling – De Ontkoppeling The only non-metal album from the collective, but still pitch-black in substance, delivering subterranean bass noise, squalid dark ambient feedback and disintegrating electronics.

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Solar Temple – Fertile Descent M. and O. put out their second release as Solar Temple, and it was another blackened helix of coruscating trance.

Fertile Descent by SOLAR TEMPLE

Iskandr – Euprosopon O’s solo project, deals with more rural, pagan themes, influenced by early Enslaved with lyrics addressing his homelands and geopsychology of living through particular environments. Possibly the most traditional sounding black metal of all HN releases, it is also the most radical departure from the core locked-groove hypnotics the rest of the bands channel.

Euprosopon by ISKANDR

Fluisteraars / Turia Split – De Oord Fluisteraars is O, A, and B, and this release is another milestone in their catalogue. Building from a subtle post-black beginning, it soon mutates into the most sublime, elegant, and euphoric astral-black. This stratospheric track is backed with the dank fetid claustrophobia of Turia (a three piece of O., J. and T). A gnarly, gut-churning contrast.

De Oord by FLUISTERAARS & TURIA

Vilkacis / Turia Split - Untitled The one was a co-release with Psychic Violence, borrowing Mike Rekevics’ Vilkacis from their roster to lay down two tracks which manage to best everything on his full album. Throw this into the tub when Final March Into Flame peaks. And again, Turia are on point, this time with an exotic dirge, as faintly eastern melodies judder out of the overblown amps and bind the clattering drum disintegration together.

VILKACIS / TURIA SPLIT by VILKACIS

Lubbert Das – De Plagen And finally, to Lubbert Das, comprised of O. J. and R. Shimmering sheets of guitars bend with a woozy unease, eerie melodies stalk the foreground, and drums switch from pounding to sparse punky rhythms. This cataclysmically raw, primeval darkened churn may almost be the perfect distillation of all other bands from this collective.

De Plagen by Lubbert Das

5. Candelabrum – Portals https://youtu.be/NZZIUD-CSrQ Black Cilice side-project that is as lo-fi as the main band, but less caustic. Mournful melodies are buried beneath a miasma of ritualisic occult noise. Here starts a theme for my favoured sound of 2018. One which has always fermented in the dankest corners of black metal, but bloomed in the most virulent manner throughout last year.

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4. Pa Vesh En – Church of Bones Iron Bonehead Productions So, the bloom spreads. Pa Vesh En put out a couple of releases this year, peaking with the sepulchral aural torture of Church of Bones. A pestilent miasma of putrid organ drone, petrified, mournful shrieks, ghastly voice and haunted melodies. It drags atmosphere out the air, grinds it through the earth to suffocate in the airless underground, mummifying this spectral black metal in a cloak of oppressive dirt.

Pa Vesh En - Church of Bones by Iron Bonehead Productions

3. VOËMMR - Sombr Moebrd Signal Rex Blood-curdling, ritualistic old-school crypt-dwelling misfit music of a macabre magick. The lugubrious, sickly swirl of organ a nightmarish carousel ride, spinning into giddiness. That sound of that thing is right up there, leading the dance of the raw drum pulse, waltzing a deliriously contorted path through the candlelight. This album is a constant shimmer of heady reverie, but twisted as fuck, and all the more sinister for the calculated way in which it spools out its gnashing chaos.

Sombr Moebrd by VOËMMR

2. Degredo - Noite dos Tempos Signal Rex The deepest, most far-reaching, umbral, otherworldly, conjuration of the year, and one which I cannot really describe any better than whoever writes the blurbs for the Signal Rex releases. They nail those descriptions every time, but I will try in my own words to describe this rawest of shamanist occult from the collective which I think is currently pushing black metal to its furthest limits; the Aldebraan Circle. Corrupting black metal’s traditional chaotic fury into a subducted trench of lightless trance, Degredo crystalise the primitive momentum of the genre into paranoid fractal patterns of static blackness, and slowly the throbbing sepulchral hypnagogia of this album falls upon the listener. Once the drum beat builds up the world stand still, and the walls move in. The riffs bear resemblance to the slow-motion dirge of SunnO))), but this album stands far out on its own, way down a disorienting hall of mirrors, and out of reach of most listeners. Paralysis. Claustrophobia. Tunnel vision. Darkness. Then clarity, elevation and revelation through staring into this black flame.

A Noite dos Tempos by Degredo

1. Över - Facing Transcendence AvantGarde Music Out of the darkness and into the light. A light of sorts. Overall, one of the less oppressive albums in my list, but certainly the most overwhelming. Mr Þórir Nyss has graced us with several albums from several projects this year, from ethereal post-black atmospherics to unruly, disturbing disharmonic noise. With Över, he and Malduchryst incorporate these elements, along with overt rock, squealing lead solos, doomy lurching, and passages of pure savage black metal to emotionally stupefying effect. The composition of this album is stunning, each track developing in a way which transcends genre limitations and defies your expectations. Take the watery introduction of Will that bleeds into a slow dirgy distorted riff. It picks up into hammering drums, juxtaposed by a twinkling keyboard motif. It slowly builds more intensity into each passage, introduces a lowing operatic clean vocal and the riffing intensifies until it peaks with (one of several) anthemic riffs. The euphoric surge of Över is Transcendence and how the astral elegance of that track is dismembered by a guttural riff and degraded into boiling noise. The liquid ambient riff of following track Owner and Slave that bursts into furious slashing riff and vicious snarl vocal, its proclamation of self-immolation and the subsequent life-loosening drift into harmonic solo and all-consuming climax. Just some of the many moments in this album that kept me coming back to it with obsessive regularity.

Facing Transcendence by Över

#albums of 2018 #albums of the year #2018

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