#are you there god? it's me margaret spoilers

[tilseptemberends]

I have so many thoughts about the new Time Quangle ep/live show so spoilers if you haven't watched it yet

I knew it! I knew Barry and Sophie would be cute! Now I've never written fanfic for Dimension 20 but I might have to now so I can immerse myself in a world where Barry adopts Ylfa and dates Sophie in New York City because that little family would be so freaking chaotic and wholesome

But also Gorgug being completely cut off from the Bad Kids hurt me 😭

The Hangvan being at like 3 HP the whole time? Hilarious.

But also Kug! Kugrash! Omg 🥹💕

Margaret referring to Rowan as Sophie's mom absolutely sent me

Glad we got to hear from Gilear, I love that pathetic elf man.

And the partial return of the "are you my dad?" bit with Gorgug and Rowan 😆😆😆

I have alot of feelings but God I love all these characters so much 💕

[emberwritesinsight]

I just got back from seeing the movie adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (NO idea how it took this long to get one, the book is like 50 years old) and I spent most of the movie just grinning at the screen. Margaret is so endearing and I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the girl who plays her, but she did a great job and they cast her well. I don’t think Margaret’s parents get this much focus in the book, but you know what? I like it. Their relationship with each other and with Margaret is very sweet. Grandma Simon is also a highlight, the life expectancy line took me out.

The tug-of-war going on between both of Margaret’s sets of grandparents is painful. I do appreciate how they don’t present it as a “both sides are equally wrong” situation. Both sides are being pushy and not really asking Margaret what she wants, but they are not the same. Grandma Simon is pretty enthusiastic about the prospect of Margaret being Jewish, perhaps overly enthusiastic at times, but they also just like each other and she would obviously love Margaret regardless. The maternal grandparents, on the other hand, disowned their daughter just for marrying a Jewish guy, and the main reason they have the gall to show their faces in her house again is because they’re trying to convert Margaret to Christianity. It fucking hurts, dude. In a good way.

All of Margaret’s friends and classmates are also great, they really got the Vibes of... well, everyone, but special mention goes to Nancy Wheeler and Phillip Leeroy, who both suck in distinctly middle-schooler ways (well, they’re technically still in elementary, but they’re sixth graders, and sixth grade will always be middle school territory to me) and were portrayed perfectly. HUGE props to Nancy Wheeler’s actress for getting through that “practice kissing” scene with a straight face, I imagine it took a lot of takes. Also, she managed to make me feel legitimately sorry for Nancy when she starts crying (I could never really fully hate her because she’s Literally Twelve but she had been getting on my nerves with her... everything). Even though Nancy’s primary role in the story is to confidently spew bullshit that makes Margaret feel insecure, she is also, again, Literally Twelve and that comes through very clearly.

Whatever Moose and Margaret have going on is understated but cute. I hope they have fun hanging out after Margaret gets back from summer camp.

All in all, great movie, absolutely recommend. I loved it.

[mazeyphaedra]

was rewatching fabian’s baron moment on account of it being the most delicious piece of pvp in my recent memory and ally beardsley’s growth as a player just shone through so brightly and with such clarity. after dusting off their shock they immediately asked about the nemesis ward, had enough knowledge about fellow pcs stocked to remember adaine’s ac with such like frustrated confidence and certainty, suggested to siobhan to dimension door out of adaine’s room, like. they came into this making a character with 4 dex. and now the dice deity offered to roll a check to sense if adaine was in danger. making decisions, asking questions, getting invested in the story, trying so hard with the tools they have to save characters from danger; ally beardsley is an incredible d&d player.

[distraughtlesbian]

i (DESERVEDLY‼️) heckle pb for a lot of their narrative choices but even all these years later this plot twist………masters in cuntology double major in slaysian studies and slutistical analysis minor in motherlogical studies graduated with honours from the university of servington. sorry. they chewed. i love the way it feels to be a hater but they can have their flowers just this 1 time

[undead-knick-knack]

There's no middle grade book about growing up for robots is there??

[iamaverysadbanana]

Sad Banana's First Impressions: Poor Things

Spoilers under the cut:

Once you get past the absolutely stunning cinematography, gorgeous costuming, and brilliant acting (particularly Emma Stone as main heroine Bella Baxter), what you find is one of the most fascinating stories about female sexuality to date. As a neurodivergent bisexual assigned female at birth, I grew up being, well, kinda squeamish when it came to matters of sex. I didn't know that kids like me could identify as being queer, and any effort to fit in only led to further embarrassment. Neither the books I read, nor the television shows and films I watched, had any characters who weren't presumed heterosexual and cisgender. The closest thing I got to major autism representation was Cynthia Lord's Rules, and guess what? The story is about the neurotypical sister of an autistic boy. Over and over again, I was told this by society: your autism is a problem that must be hidden. Your fat female body is disgusting and must conform to a thin standard. You are a girl and will always be seen as such so don't bother deviating. And men are your only options if you want to be happy.

Of course, today those marginalized voices can no longer be silent. The Owl House's main pairing being that of two girls, Turning Red and Are You There God It's Me Margaret depicting and discussing female puberty and menstruation, Loop having a nonverbal autistic girl as the main character, and the rise of the body positivity movement by the likes of Jameela Jamil et al., would have been unthinkable when I was in grade school. And yet, when I think of that scared and friendless ten year old, I wish I could tell her about all these wonderful things.

In a way, I can see myself in Bella Baxter. For almost two and a half hours, we watch this character navigate a world where she has no autonomy, her body is policed and criticized, and her attempts at self-actualization ridiculed. In the end, she comes to embrace her sexuality, which in turn empowers her.

Also the movie implies that Bella is in a threesome with her scientist husband and her socialist French girlfriend by the time the credits roll. We have no choice but to stan.

[adamarks]

And episode 6 is the romantic one????

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

Are you there, God? It's me, your best friend!

ASRIEL DREEMURR

[missmarveledsblog]

Odd one out ( logan howlett x reader)

summary : logan's adjusting to new life , new friends only thing he can't put his finger on is wade's friend Y/n , he knows she hiding something and he right but he is so wrong too

warnings : fluffy , goofy , no major deadpool and wolverine spoilers , violence , wade wilson , grumpy logan , grammatical errors (sorry in advance )

Adjusting  to a whole new world , universe where everything was the same but different .  Knowing someone and yet learning to know them all over again , like he was re familiarizing himself with ghosts from his past in one place and creating a new future in another. Adjusting to the one fucker who had him here in the first place was hard too , wade wilson was a strange one , hard to tell where the smart sarcastic ball of undiagnosed ADHD  started and ended . yet he had this wonderful and strange group of people around him , they all stuck out and fit in somehow , not that he would admit it out loud ever . (“ i knew it he loves me!” wade wink to the reader) .  but the dickward (“ harsh” the merc gasped.)  well he grew on him.  He wasn’t too bad not all the time those few seconds of silence truly when logan howlett  actually would consider him a friend then his mouth started it usually nonsensical rambles and well he changed his mind again . 

The friends he didn’t mind being around the lot they all had their own quirks , their own little nicknames or insults for wade and they all took logan in no matter what even when wade explain their whole adventure even the dark past that followed logan around even to this day . one friend he couldn’t get a read on , one for some reason stood out more than the others was Y/N  or as wade tended to call her princess sparkle maybe it had to do with the midnight black glitter case she had her laptop in . the other made sense in a way all either mutants or coming from some sort of background, but well Y/N was different . apparently, when she was a kid she used to drink her apple juice while sitting in the corner of the notorious sister margarets helping mercs of all kinds find their targets for a fee of course . Her bond with wade was helping him locate some chick or atleast logan was sure it was giving francis was the name but in that whole thing she was the one that helped wade find them all using that laptop ln the black sparkle case . Giving she was youngster of the group and just well ordinary no powers the others we’re protective but something about her well logan couldn’t put his finger on it and it was driving him nuts what was her secret .  

“ you know if you keep staring at her peanut well your going to give off a certain i got candy and white van sort of vibe” logan could feel wade once again too close giving the asshole breathe was in his ear . 

“ it’s not like that , she hiding something i mean she not so social , closed off a little and well she barely talks about herself” logan scoffed yet his eyes never once left her form . 

“ ok baby girl you probably know this phrase given you're so old you were there when they invented it but pot meet kettle”  the merc gestured between the two . “ he is butt nuts into her it’s so obvious right?” he looked to the reader . 

“ who are tal… nevermind i am not into her i don’t trust here plus she too young for me” he rationalized . 

“ she’s an old soul i mean not american civil war old but get what i’m throwing down” wade winked .

 “ hey i’m heading out i wanna grab books and coffee before the shop closes” she called rushing out before anyone could offer to walk with her. Logan didn’t even say anything just followed after.

“ he totally wants her right” wades looking at you reader. 

“ wade who you taking to?” 

“ the… nevermind hey did i ever tell you  about my future prince , king god of thunder buddy thor” he asked heading toward his friend . 

………

She hated it , lying to her friends not telling them she wasn’t as smart as they thought she was or how the sight of wades new roommate topless made her brain not function therefore caused her life to be now in danger. She been looking into her past , more so the men who had left her with no childhood nor a family resulting her sneaking into a seedy bar and helping hitmen and vigilantes find their targets .  she wanted to make sure they weren’t still doing it and when she began to see multiple account of money she could use to well give back to the world well she got herself caught. She wanted to tell wade but she didn’t want to bother him too much it wasn’t even a year after his whole TVA  incident and well saving the world so she decided she could handle it alone which that wasn’t the lie , she totally could it was just dealing with it in silence. Plus giving the said hot roommate hatred for her , she didn’t want to give that man any more ammo against her. It was a mystery to why he hated her so much , at first she thought maybe he knew a version of her in his universe that done him dirty but he was quite easily able to tell her she wasn’t anything thing to him , he didn’t know her there which was only good part of that place. Thankfully she grew up the way she did or else it would of hurt a lot more than it did , ok it still stung but she got used to it . she love their group like a family so instead of being interrogated or scared away by logan she avoided him kept her space from the man , ignore how he looked like he was going to rip her apart and not in the 50 shades of gray more like national geographic lions and a giselle sort of way . 

She was so lost in her thought she didn’t notice logan following her or the group of agent sprawled out ready to pounce. Scanning the shelves for the next read she felt the metal barrel pushing at her side . 

“Act natural or else” the voice smiled so she did she couldn’t cause a scene or react too many civilians and a lot of them were children.

She shrugged and let the man follow at her side as she stood at the counter pulling out the metal reusable cup . 

“ the regular you know three pumps of caramel” she winked . “ oh this is my cousin franny” she smiled as the man looked at her before smiling to the barista . 

“ oh free book today with each coffee so enjoy”  the barista smiled handing her the scalding cup but she bit her tongue and kept walking “ somebody call wade” she whispered back at the staff. 

Logan stood grinning , he  had his moment of being right seeing her all smiles with a clearly shady prick , he was about to confront her for his big gotcha moment only he stalled when he heard them as if they were saying it to him . 

“ in position we got her , subject will be brought back to containment “ that threw him off well that was til she walked out with the man throwing the coffee she had  in his face and a gun he didn’t notice before falling to the ground as she told the civilians to get somewhere safe. First time in his life or a decade he stood shocked at scene before him . agent clearly not the good guys with this octopus looking things on their tactical gear rushing towards her.  One man went to grab her only for him to fall to the ground convulsing and yet  logan couldn’t see the taser she clearly had to off used .  his jaw dropped as her skin began to glow almost a whitish blue all over her body and what looked like sparks floating around her. Not once did she looked scared or even phased  at the situation , she took them on one by one almost like a dance in her movement as she sent them to the ground . when they did get a hit on her like the mere touch sent them to the ground convulsing . he honestly stood conflicted he knew he was way off but also who the hell was this girl really . he wanted to help but she didn’t need it even when they ganged up on her she  held her own . when last man  fell she returned back to normal  skin back to color , the sparks disappeared like a mist and she leaned over slightly panting . 

“ call the authorities tell them to get shield here or fbi” she stood only for one to sneak out and hit her head hard sending her to the ground unconscious . thats when he snapped into action how dare that man touch her like that , what a cheap shot too  logan knocked man out ignoring the lady who yelled she called the cops and he brought her back to wades. 

The moment he walked into the apartment with her in his arms out cold the room went silent .  he growled at  shatterstar and colossus making them instantly move from the couch as he placed her gently on it.  Vanessa ran to check her over as logan explained what  happened . 

“ she was fucking glowing like a night light or some shit …. You don’t look surprised so you already knew , why did no one tell me ” he looked to see not one of them looked shocked to know she was a mutant. they all nodded giving him a sympathetic smile.

“ why do you think i call her princess sparkles , the coffee place rang” wade called heading to his room before returning . “ you saving her ass like a knight in tight yellow spandex , i knew you liked her kitten” he winked as he placed the adventure time comforter over her sleeping form .

[lunadook]

I just hyperfixated for four days and played through all the routes in Mice Tea and wanna put my thoughts somewhere so under the fold (spoilers for literally everything obvs)

Ok so like, I don't play VNs and I don't generally play like, pornographic games? But this one was different for me for some reason? and I'm so glad it was.

There's basically something for everyone in terms of how the stories play out, how the kinks play out (and the accessibility features to cut out those scenes if you don't want them, or if you want prior content warnings about what's about to happen) and that's something I think there really needs to be more of in general? I didn't end up using either accessibility option because I had a general idea of what was going to show up and was OK not knowing when or what exactly but it was always nice to know they were there

Oh my god the body positivity in like, every route I feel like? It's maybe a little weaker in some compared to others but Margaret gets to have people be like "actually being curvy and a bit chubby is like, hot" and that's doing something for me and my personal identification with my body and it's just something I didn't expect but like it's welcomed? thank you game <3

If you must know my fav routes (assuming full routes, no bad ends or alt ends) it's Sylvia, then Gavin or Felicia like basically matched, then Julie; Sorry to all Julie fans

The sylvia full end in particular gets me IDK it's just like I love maggie and I love sylvia and they're so good together and like also MINK?????????? oh my god I just remembered I have the fucking HOTS for Maggie Mink hhhhhhhhhhhhh god MORE FURRY STUFF NEEDS TO INCLUDE HOT MUSTELOIDA WOMEN if your furry porn game doesn't have a musteloida character I am personally going to be mildly sad

oh and felicia is a darling but we all already knew that right like I could just say the same stuff everyone else has said but like she's just good and I love how everything happens to her regardless of ending (and Portia is hilarious)

oh also cat Margaret is also just like super good we love her

Also like IDK it's just like wow this game hot women (and the straight guy I guess) a 💜 i love all the hot women (gavin also counts as a hot woman)

basically:

[thecrenellations]

"How many souls on this earth call you Francis?"

In 60 years of the Lymond Chronicles, I'd bet that many others have compiled this exact thing, but here is a list of who calls Lymond by his first name! Marthe draws our attention to the question near the end of Pawn in Frankincense, but it's clear throughout the series how deliberately Dunnett chooses what to call the characters in narration and dialogue - the choice can reflect who Francis Crawford (for example) is to others as well as to himself, at any moment. I love it, and Meaningful Naming is a feature of most of my favorite stories.

Characters are listed with the book in which they first call him Francis in dialogue. Italics indicate they call him that when he isn't present. If they directly Francis him later, they’ve been added to the list for that book, too.

I've also noted to whom he's just Francis in the narration - it's always someone who thinks of him like that, and it always makes me feel a lot.

If you notice something I left out, or if you know where to find similar analysis, let me know! Let us all be scholars of Francis.

Lists below! Plus some thoughts and quantitative stuff. (many, many spoilers)

The Game of Kings

Sybilla Semple (see, I have to decide what to call all of these characters, too!)

Margaret Lennox

Christian Stewart (to Sybilla, and I'm sure she called him Francis in their childhood)

Richard Crawford 

Francis in narration from the POV of: Richard

Queens’ Play

Tom Erskine

Jenny Fleming

Margaret Erskine

Martine

Oonagh O’Dwyer

Phelim O’LiamRoe

George Douglas

Francis in narration from the POV of: Richard, Margaret Erskine

The Disorderly Knights

Will Scott

Kate Somerville 

Graham Reid Malett

Adam Blacklock

Janet Beaton

Jerott Blyth (I'm also sure Jerott called him Francis in the old days, but he doesn't return to it until the scene with Evangelista Donati at Midculter)

Francis in narration from the POV of: Richard, Tom, Kate, Sybilla

Pawn in Frankincense

Jerott Blyth

Dame de Doubtance 

Marthe

Francis in narration from the POV of: Jerott

The Ringed Castle

Alec Guthrie

the Abbess/Sybilla's sister

Francis in narration from the POV of: Richard

Checkmate

Philippa Somerville

Marguerite de St. Andre

Catherine d’Albon (to Philippa)

Nicholas Applegarth (also to Philippa)

Danny Hislop

Fergie Hoddim

Piero Strozzi

Francis in narration from the POV of: Jerott, Philippa, Richard, Sybilla, Adam

Observations

Aaaaah!

Richard's monopoly on the narration Francises in the first two books kills me, I love it. The first, of course, is "God, Francis had screamed."

As a reader, I started calling him Francis, sometimes, somewhere in the middle of Queen's Play and stopped overthinking it by the beginning of the next book.

I didn't count, but I'd bet that Jerott says and thinks it the most. He's there more than probable runners-up Gabriel (shut up, Gabriel) and Richard (ily Richard) are, and Philippa goes on her own ... journey before thinking of him that way and allowing herself to think of him that way.

Adam is unique for making the list in his first book, specifically not calling Lymond Francis in The Ringed Castle, and then putting himself back on the list through address and narration in Checkmate. But that's The Ringed Castle for you 😬. And their entire relationship - there's a chapter or so in which Adam's narration calls him de Sevigny.

Who even calls him Francis in RC? Just Alec, Richard, and Margaret, I think. ("Do you call her Slata or Baba?" Thank you, Philippa.)

I would teach myself tarocco and play for at least a few hours to learn when Will started calling him Francis. Also the Erskines! They're all so genuinely close in the years after Game of Kings.

Notable Absences

Güzel - well, that feels meaningful. They were together for years. If she did, we didn't see, and I would also believe that she didn't.

Archie - will he ever? Who can say. Either way, he's the best. Also, see here.

Mariotta - I bet she does, after the first book, we just haven't been there.

Fergie, probably?

Piero Strozzi - Francesco? My petit François? I don't remember any Francises, though!

Ivan (and others?) - I'm not counting Frangike, either

Robin Stewart - I mean, I'm sure he would have if he'd known his boyfriend's real name before ... all of that went down.

Diccon Chancellor - probably not? I'd also put this down to the Ringed Castle state of mind. As meaningful as their friendship was, it makes sense for the book to continue to distance the reader, at the very least, in that way.

Does Francis call himself Francis?

No.

He doesn't, really! He's never that from his own point of view, but we do see him sign a few letters with his first name. These are to:

Kate (Pawn in Frankincense)

Catherine d'Albon (Checkmate)

Philippa (Checkmate)

All of this is not to say that “Francis” represents who he truly is; it certainly shows intimacy and usually vulnerability, but I feel that Lymond and Francis Crawford can be just as definitive when deployed, and that Lymond has a certain neutrality. There's also something really interesting that happens when the characters are stripped of names and become just "he" or "she," from their own perspective or others.

And then we get things like "Mistress Philippa's decorative husband," which really deserve their own list.

"How many souls on this earth call you Francis? Three? Or perhaps four?"

18 of the 25 Francis-ers on my list are living at the end of the series, and when Marthe, who is not one of them, asks that question at the end of PiF, it's 12 (out of 18 total).

18 out of 25 is a 72% survival rate! Great!

2 of the 18 are pretty awful (Margaret Lennox and the Abbess)

4 of the 18 live in France, which he's currently exiled from

1 of the 18 lives in Ireland, but I think they should still hang out!

2 of the 18 may be departing for Malta, apparently

7 of the 18 are people he probably sees or keeps in touch with regularly, 9 if I count Janet Beaton and Margaret Erskine, because I like them and they're not very far away.

As much as I wish that many of the others hadn't died, I think he's doing pretty well.

[incorrectallpersonaquotes]

OKAY, SO WE FINALLY BEAT PERSONA 5 TACTICA AND THE REPAINT YOUR HEART DLC, FULL SPOILER REVIEW AHEAD

- First of all, I think the game is very good. I rate it 9/10, because although there are some stuff I don’t like, the good stuff is SO good that it makes up for it perfectly. It is a great game, and I don’t regret at all buying the Deluxe Edition on release.

- The gameplay is VERY good, no doubt one of the greatest points in the game. As a fan of tactical RPG fan, it’s a system that is very different than the usual “your character’s turn, move these squares, do your action, proceed”. The fact that you freely move the characters makes for a very peculiar experience, and it makes for a very fun gameplay, with cool puzzles that, although I recognized may be annoying for some people, were very fun to me. Very cool!

- However, I think the gameplay lacked more Persona/SMT elements. For example, the lack of a system based on elemental weaknesses was something I didn’t like. Because of that, I spent 90% of the game’s battle with a party composed of Joker, Panther and Queen, without feeling any need to alternate between different characters. Sure, there’s this mechanic that the characters have better status if you let them rest, só it’s valid to alternate the party, but that was literally the only reason, the aspect of changing characters because of their strong or weak points was kinda lost. Also, no Social Links aside from the Quests and the Talk menu, that provide some fun scenes, but doesn’t replace the social aspect of the Persona games.

- That said, the Quests and Talk scenes were REALLY cool, it provided us with some awesome interactions between characters and did a wonderful job at including the newcomers Erina and Toshiro. Things like Yusuke wanting to see Legionnaires fall from the sky, Haru blowing up everything to let off steam, Erina trying to summon a Persona and being a worthy rival of Ryuji in the aspect of yelling at inappropriate times… it was all very cool. Also, the Quests were amazing in gameplay if you like puzzles. I don’t like it, but I had lots of fun with it.

- The game is kinda short, and it felt like a waste to have only two Kingdoms with a strong historical theme (the French Revolution and the Meiji Revolution), the other two Kingdoms felt kinda bland. I think it would have been nice to insert at least one or two other Kingdoms with strong revolution sceneries.

- The story itself is very cool. Erina is amazing since the start, but Toshiro is a character that really grows on you. He starts off being very annoying, but since the main story is all about his development, you end up liking him more, and the transition from “adult pain in the ass” to “honest man trying to do the right thing” is very nice, and his background is amazing.

- There’s a specific scene where you, as Joker, can pick someone on the Phantom Thieves you’d want to marry, and that includes Ryuji and Yusuke as well. I really loved that scene because, although Ryuji and Yusuke scenes are more inclined to comedy, in no moment it goes like “whaaaaat, you want to marry Ryuji, that’s weird man, no homo”, quite the opposite, in both Ryuji and Yusuke options the act of them marrying Joker is seen as totally normal, without making fun of it, and well, it’s not just the boys’ options that tend to comedy, if you pick Makoto the scene is also hilarious. Sure, it could have been better, but we’re talking about Atlus, every baby step is a reason to rejoice in that way. Who knows, maybe in Persona 6 we’ll FINALLY have a MLM romance option.

- LAVENZA IS BETTER THAN EVER, it’s her best version of all times, she radiates 1000000% of that Elizabeth and Margaret chaotic energy and I FUCKING SCREAMED WHEN VELVET ROOM TURNED INTO A FUCKING TRAIN OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO FUCKING AWESOME HELL YEAH

- Salmael is the generic god final boss, normal to every Persona game. But one thing I didn’t like is how it’s not directly based on any entity like Nyx, Izanami or Yaldabaoth. Sure, you can argue that it’s based on Samael, but it doesn’t make any sense, since it’s only in the name, nothing in Salmael’s motivations have anything to do with Samael. Aside from that, well, can’t say much about it, just the regular “god-that-looks-for-excuses-to-fuck-up-humanity-while-trying-to-justify-saying-they’re-actually-saving-it” that we have on every Persona game.

- I think the game is kinda easy. Sure, it’s a good thing for those who want to enjoy the story, but I beat the game on Medium and had literally no difficult whatsoever aside from some Quests (and in those cases, the difficulty is more related to solving a puzzle than facing actually difficult enemies). The damage input is mostly small, the AI is not really smart and you have access to very strong skills early on. Dunno how that would go if I tried on Hard, but Medium felt more like Easy to me. And I don’t mean that as “I’m too good for this game, it’s so easy for my standards”, but I really think the game difficulty is not that high, which can be good for some and disappointing for others.

Now about Repaint Your Heart, the DLC:

- CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ADDED SPLATOON TO THE PERSONA + FIRE EMBLEM MIX, THAT’S SO CREATIVE, SOUNDS REALLY DUMB AT FIRST BUT WORKED SO WELL

- The story itself is not that bad, but not that good either. Guernica is cool, Luca is cute, but their story wasn’t that touching for me, I couldn’t empathize with them properly.

- Still, the DLC was cool not only because of the Splatoon mechanics, but also because of Akechi and Kasumi interactions. If you play it knowing what is happening at that time (it’s before Sae’s calling card, so Akechi is already part of the Phantom Thieves, is in the middle of the plot to betray them and assassinate Joker, and Joker is fully aware of that), it’s awesome because you can clearly see the moments when Akechi’s figurative mask fells off, and you have many dialogue options made to provoke him.

- Don’t have much to say about Kasumi, she’s cute and nice as always. Also, THAT SCENE OF HER LEGIT WILLING TO PICK UP TRASH WITH LUCA, HOLY SHIT

- I want to turn Jerri into fried chicken, but her motivations seem kinda dumb, I mean, she’s a servant of Salmael, who wants to “save” mankind erasing all will of conflicts, then she brainwashes Guernica to kill all of manking using conflict? Makes no sense at all unless she was rebelling against him, and that’s clearly not the case.

Well… it was quite an experience. I loved it.

[paranormaltheatrekid]

tell me what it's about first! i've been meaning to get into it but i haven't had the time yet

ohh cool! I’ll try to remain spoiler free for you. I’d describe pulp musicals as a sci fi radio style musical series. It’s written and narrated by Matt Dahan, who’s amazing oh my god. The first episode, the great moon hoax, follows twins Samuel Stratford (James Tolbert) and Rose Stratford (Mariah Rose Faith). Samuel works for the New York sun newspaper. Samuel and Rose, along with their editor Benjamin (Curt Mega) print a fake article about an astronomer called Sir John Herschel (Curt Mega but British). They also meet Margaret Cavendish ( Natalie Llerena) a woman with a mysterious past and a connection to the moon. The music is absolutely amazing. It makes me insane.

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: The First Omen

As anyone who's been hanging around philosophers for a long enough amount of time, it's hard to say anything categorical and true. Try to find a way to define chair that contains all chairs and exclude all non-chairs, to quote the most famous example. So, when I say that I don't really like horror sequels or prequels, it seems like I put out a call for the universe to humble me. If all my humble pie gets served in the form of movies like The First Omen, though, I will certainly not complain. Also beware that some spoiler talk is inevitable in describing why this movie kicks so much ass, so if you want the short version: Absolutely SPECTACULAR visuals and genuine creeping dread makes this movie so damn good it's almost stupid. Watch it first chance you get!

The First Omen follows the story of Margaret, a young American women well on the way to become a nun when she moves to Italy and finds herself smack-dab in an evil conspiracy to bring about the Antichrist by ways of profane human husbandry. The conspiracy is centered around, or at least Margaret believes it to be centered around, a troubled teen girl in the care of her convent, but as the sheer scope of the conspiracy becomes clear to her, Margaret realizes the real locus of the conspiracy is much closer to home.

The twist that this is less of a The Omen as it is a Rosemary's Baby take is perhaps not the single most shocking one to people who's seen their share of twist-laden media, but honestly, I respect it. The twist isn't a shocking swerve as much as it is a confirmation of an idea that has been incepted in your brain and has been brewing for about two acts at this point. It's all in the visuals, how Margaret finds herself in these immaculate artful shots, that in addition to being cool as hell, also tells us she's living under tightly managed control. Then there's the more obvious symbolism, like her waking up after a rare night of libations in a composition that evokes a spider's web where she is caught in the middle, or her kneeling in prayer surrounded by candles that appear to float in the air. It looks gorgeous, and really helps with the oppressive atmosphere.

Another twist I really enjoyed was the movie's take on what a satanic conspiracy would look like. In most of these Satanic Panic-type stories, these cults are made up whole cloth of a category of person I don't really believe to exist. It's just a big ask to presuppose there exists large, organized groups of people who believe in Christianity, or at least the largely apocryphal mythology around modern Western Christianity, but deciding to throw their lot behind God's Comparable But Fundamentally Lesser opponent, Satan, often for ill explained reasons. That seems nonsenical to me, not only because almost all the aesthetics of this quote-unquote satanism is just Catholicism But Spooky (i.e Catholicism,) but because it seems like such a hard sell. Why, after all, accept that mainstream ideas about God and Satan when there's so many spicy heresies and strains of theological thought that one could easily adopt into it instead. Gnosticism alone could fuel a generation of fun new religious horror, but I guess that's too spicy for Hollywood.

The First Omen solves this quite elegantly by making the very spicy but ultimately true observation that a satanic conspiracy would be most likely to arise from the already religious, and perhaps even from the Catholic Church itself. As such, this conspiracy is chock-full of creepy nuns and shady priests, but in the way these things often are creepy or shady in real life, instead of the "profaning of the holy" business that's usually the draw. It's not so much that they worship Satan as they are scared as shit of the rising secularism in society and wants to bring about the ultimate wrestling heel to scare people back into the arms of the church. Would it work like that? Perhaps, or perhaps these are theological accelerationists seeking to push the matter of Judgement Day a skootch, who am I to say. Either way, their goals of bringing about the son of the devil has not been going too well, as getting a woman born of demonic cuckoldry pregnant with the devil's spawn to give birth on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year is already difficult enough, and these robe-wearing fuckos, being good, proper, God-Fearing satanist conspirators, needs the child to be male. Can't have a Girl antichrist running around after all. It's not proper.

Putting aside the dark hilarity of this incredibly elaborate conspiracy being stymied by gender roles for god knows how long, it's also quietly brilliant to me how this take on the Satanic Conspiracy also ties in so well with the topic of pregnancy and agency that the movie has set its mind to. Margaret isn't important to the conspiracy outside of her capability of giving birth, to the degree that the reason she makes it out with the antichrist's fraternal twin sister after the birth is because the conspirators don't care enough to confirm the kill when leaving her for dead in a burning building, allowing a last-minute rescue by Margaret's support network. It sets up a quite compelling case for a sequel in my mind, if nothing else because I deeply desire to know what implications there being two living beings technically qualifying for the position of Antichrist.

Ultimately, I believe The First Omen to be the best kind of prequel. It is much more concerned with telling a good story than with justifying every little story beat with the metatext of the original, and as such expands the setting universe in interesting ways. Granted, there is the nod to the gruesome opening scene of the original in an early scare, and name-dropping Margaret's son with the original's soundtrack does happen as is mandated by tradition, but those were the only nods to the original I caught personally. I do feel a slight tremble of trepidation when hoping for a sequel though, as The First Omen feels very lightning in a bottle, and it might be tricky following up on it without devolving into fanservice and/or nonsense. I suppose we will just have to see.

[daily-coloring]

Best of 2023 - Movies

Seems like I did run into more than one almost perfect movie this year, but the number one, definitely one of the most brilliant film I ever watched. And no, it's not the new Basic Instinct but I can see a little bit of resemblance.

01. Anatomy of a Fall - Dir: Justine Triet - 2023 - "Marriage, the film suggests, is like a mosaic. One or two highly coloured tiles might catch the eye but they can’t, on their own, show the whole picture. The reports we get of Sandra and Samuel’s life together (there is only one flashback in the film; most of what we learn comes from the evidence presented in the court) suggest a relationship that gets chillier and spikier by the minute. But then the prosecution’s case relies on cherrypicking the trauma and the deep-seated unhappiness in the marriage, and foregrounding the character traits in Sandra that might make her capable of murder. A choice of other, sunnier moments, as Sandra reasonably points out, would paint an entirely different picture of her relationship with her husband." - The Guardian

02. Saltburn - Dir: Emerald Fennell - 2023

03. Aftersun - Dir: Charlotte Wells - 2022

04. Past Lives - Dir: Celine Song - 2023 = "Towards the end of Celine Song’s Past Lives, two old friends wait for a cab in front of a bright blue garage door. In the two minutes it takes for a car to arrive, both everything, and nothing happens. Writer and director Song is perhaps more attuned to rhythm of dialogue than most: like Nora Moon (Greta Lee), the protagonist of this feature debut, she made her name as a playwright. But Song is also sharply aware of the power of the unsaid, of what can be articulated through pauses and gestures. As the film swells to its emotional climax, not a word is spoken." - British Film Institute

05. Tár - Dir: Todd Field - 2022

06. Leave the World Behind - Dir: Sam Esmail - 2023

07. Bros - Dir: Nicholas Stoller - 2022

08. Rurangi - Dir: Max Currie - 2020 - "Director Max Currie lets the bleak landscape and the conflicted characters tell the story, and the plot resolution, when it comes, is incomplete but full of hope. There are some terrific lines of dialogue: Jem tells Caz: “you’re like the same, but you’re not”, and he adds: “ gender-it’s complicated; you were never exactly girly”. In a sickbed reconciliation, father Gerald tells Caz:” It’s not my world… I want you here”. Anahera has the final word on this: “ most people are just idiots about other people’s sexuality. You just do you”." - Scene Magazine

09. Spoiler Alert - Dir: Michael Showalter - 2022

10. Saint Maud - Dir: Rose Glass - 2019

11. The Innocents - Dir: Eskil Vogt - 2021

12. Lamb - Dir: Valdimar Jóhannsson - 2021

13. The Whale - Dir: Darren Aronofsky - 2022

14. Athena - Dir: Romain Gavras - 2022

15. Possessor - Dir: Brandon Cronenberg - 2020 - "It’s all very compelling, well-acted and presented, although there’s a chilliness and a clinical edge that is very Cronenberg-ian, but might keep audiences at arm’s length. Ditto the violence. Stabbings, shootings, pokerings (use your imagination) — it’s all here, bar exploding heads. A strong stomach is required. If you don’t have one, just use someone else’s." - Empire

16. What's Love Got To Do With It - Dir: Shekhar Kapur - 2022

17. Nuovo Olimpo - Dir: Ferzan Özpetek - 2023

18. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret - Dir: Kelly Fremon Craig - 2023

19. Joy Ride - Dir: Adele Lim - 2023

20. Earthquake Bird - Dir: Wash Westmoreland - 2019

21. Cruella - Dir: Craig Gillespie - 2021

22. The Daughter - Dir: Simon Stone - 2015

23. Nope - Dir: Jordan Peele - 2022

24. Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool - Dir: Paul McGuigan - 2017

25. Don't Worry Darling - Dir: Olivia Wilde - 2022

26. A Hero - Dir: Asghar Farhadi - 2021

27. You Hurt My Feelings - Dir: Nicole Holofcener - 2023

28. Anaïs in Love - Dir: Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet - 2021 - "The pleasures of Anaïs in Love largely derive from the nuanced performances by Demoustier and Bruni Tedeschi. The latter, for once, is not required to be tearful or neurotic, and the growing attraction between her and Anaïs is convincingly handled – even if one could quibble at a couple of cliché moments, such as the two women’s encounter under an apple tree (in which Anaïs gives Émilie an apple) and the nowadays seemingly obligatory sea-shore setting for the lesbian love scene. The excellent Demoustier sustains the entire film, indeed named after her. Her choice was not accidental: Bourgeois-Tacquet had already cast her as the lead in her 2018 short Pauline asservie. (Both the short and Anaïs in Love were shown at Cannes in 2021 – quite an accolade.) Ebullient and ‘cute’ especially when seducing Daniel or Émilie, Demoustier is equally believable as an aggrieved daughter when she finds out that her mother’s lethal illness has returned. Her irrepressible energy and artless beauty underline her precise rendition of a modern young woman bent on following her own desire, straight or queer – at times to the point of insensitivity. Indeed, it’s hard to think of another actress who could have made Anais’s exasperating unreliability, egocentricity and excessive volubility forgivable, let alone endearing, as they are evidently supposed to be. Fans of Eric Rohmer may be reminded of some of the young heroines in his ‘Comedies and Proverbs’ (1980–1990) and ‘Tales of the Four Seasons’ (1990 – 1998) series, a filmic heritage also suggested by the literary references and cultured dialogue. This is marivaudage with an intellectual bent – Anaïs and Émilie share a love of Duras’s 1964 novel The Ravishing of Lol Stein – and a feminist twist: “I don’t want to meet interesting people,” Anaïs says, “I want to be interesting.” Thanks in large part to Demoustier, she is." - British Film Institute

29. Flora + Son - Dir: John Carney - 2023

30. Explanation of Everything - Dir: Gábor Reisz - 2023

[inabarbi3world]

this is my live reaction to 6x10 (ish)

*SPOILERS*

i really thought the siblings’ dad was gonna die… i was hella scared

THE FACT THAT BUCK IS LIKE “sometimes things happen out of our control and we can’t prepare for it”

HOLY FUCKING SHIT ALBERT BROUGHT BACK THEIR FUCKING PRENTNENSNSNTNNRNRNRNFN WHAT THE FUCK OMG IM SO SCARED OMG

wait, D…? what’s going on there…?

the father wanted to see them… okay… i’m a bit skeptical… they’re all together… “jee yun deserves a grandfather” no. not if he’s gonna treat her like he treated chim

oh I WAS S O CONFUSED BUT NOW I SEE WHAT THEYRE DOING OKAY GO ATHENA AND MAY!!! SLAYYYYYY

o tamara… what’s her role gonna be i wonder…

“exclusive” uh huh

100,000 DOLLARS???????????? HELLO?????????

ok. “harm reduction” k. no b it lowkey this is such an interesting storyline i really like bobby’s resolve here but i also get what athena’s trying to say but bobby is gonna bobby

“it’s not right it’s missing something” SECRET INGREUDIENTS??? COCOA POWDER???? that’s so… slay

yeah bobby is not gonna let it go… OH SHIT THE FUCKING GAP OMG IM SO INVESTED BRO OMG

omg he was a shitty father… people can change but chim is allowed to be skeptical tf

OMG A PREGNANT LESBIAN HELP MEEEE WHATS GOING ONNNN THE SCREAMING I- GIRL JUST BREATHE OMG-

i… WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK HELLO? i’m……… they better not die.

woah wait they actually have that shit omg that’s fucking amazing and genuinely so useful

THE BABY WAS FUCKING EJECTED???????????????????? HOLY FUCKING SHIT OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG OH MYGOGOODODODODODODDOODDODODODODODODODODODODODODODODDODODODODODODO WHATTHEINTHEHELLLLOJMYKYOGOFODOSTHRFUCKINTBABBAYWHONTHEEHSHBACK??????????OH NAH WHAT IN THE FUCK I… there better not be another lightning strike or something cause something about this feels so icky idk… jesus christ that scene was so nerve wracking omg

lol margaret girl… pls. o shit. GREAT???? what? okay…? nah one of them or both of them are dying or something i refuse to believe they’re just “nice” now oh also can chim’s dad shut the fuck up? thanks idc that he was raised that way just be quiet and keep your opinion to yourself and NOW THEYRE ALL ARGUING GREAT.

aww hi jee yun you sweet baby

WHATS D DOING? IM SO CONFUSED

WHAT THE FUCK, UM OKAY?????????????? WHAT IS GOING ON??????? omg. ok. talking to his dad ig

omg can we stop with this whole bullshit about forgiving chim’s dad???? why can’t he decide to do that in his own time???????? this episode is very interesting

OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT HWRE WE FUCJING GO HWRE WE FUCKING GO BUCK HEYTING FUCKING HHURT HOKY SHIT HOLY SHIT IM SO FUCJING SCARED I WANNA SEE EVERYONE’S REACTION

this whole ep has dealt with fatherhood/family and idk what it means but also bobby’s storyline and i’m really liking it bUT

i’m so fuCKING TERRIFIED IK THEYRE NOT GONNA KILL HIM OFF BUT JUST KNOWING HOW FUCKING BAD IT WILL BE TERRFIES ME, WHAT SONG ARE THEY GONNA PLAY? OH MY FUCKING GOD HOMY FUCKINGDHIT BUCKKKKKKKKKKK OH MY GOD OH NO EDDIE OH MY HEN OH NO HLOHNYMGGODOITSHAOOEBINGITHAOOENEDOMYGODEDDIRIMMEDIETALRYWENTTOESRDSITBUCK OMG EDDIE OMG GHIS IS SO FUCKING TERRIFYING BUCKKKKKK

…

the zoom in on the hat? y’all joking? omg fuck y’all see y’all next week.