#as much as i’d love to be her controversially young wife

[the-underworld-aes]

Thoughts on Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

I did watch it once before like early 2020, but I also just moved and I was so preoccupied that I couldn't pay attention to the movie at all (I think I was looking at job hunting sites?) so I finally sat down and watched it the other night.

I liked it! I really did! I know movies that take place in older Hollywood are usually big ego stroking events for industry folks but like.... I really like the 1960′s setting so shoot me I guess.

Problems I had with the movie:

THE FEET! I’m big into Quentin Tarantino movies and I’m kinda numb to the feet scenes now, but I just wanna know why SHARON TATE had dirty feet when she was wearing boots and took them off in the movie theater?? Why you assuming Sharon Tate walked around with dirty feet all the time, Quentin?? Weird little freak I will usurp you one day...

The Bruce Lee scene. Eeeehhh yeah I see why it kind of had some controversy when the film came out. Obviously I never knew the guy so idk if he was Like That when chilling on set or not, but he did come off as a pretentious douche that gets his butt kicked in by the made up OC for the story, so like, that sucks. The other scenes where he shows up like, showing Sharon martial arts moves were nice tho, but they were small.

Leonardo DiCaprio. This is mostly a joke, tbh. I can’t stand this guy and his fear of women over 25. And I wanna throw a brick at his car lmaooo

The Ending. Not really much of a problem but I can’t help but feel weird about it? Like the made up OC’s for the movie actually beat the Manson Family and Sharon Tate and all surviving? I can’t say much cause apparently Sharon’s surviving family loved the movie so I guess to some it’s probably cathartic thinking of someone you loved living a happy life in some alt timeline. It didnt ruin it for me though, like I said I mostly just felt weird.

Things I liked about the movie:

Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. I liked their dynamic a lot. Even though I have issues with Leo DiCaprio, I was able to look past that and see the character more (I guess that’s supposed to be the goal for an actor anyways right?). Rick being an aging star thats being faced with his career kinda flat lining actually made me feel bad for the guy, like that part when he couldn't remember his lines kinda hurt, and he when he started relating too much to that book he was reading and started crying in front of the little girl, while kinda funny was also pretty sad. As for Cliff, I got no beef with Brad Pitt (as far as I know), so I was able to wholly enjoy him, while Rick is crying all the time, Cliff’s just chilling, trying to get any crumbs that are thrown his way. Also damn do stuntmen usually not live so good? I figured their paychecks gotta be FAT but he looked like he was scraping by....idk I guess that’s something I gotta research myself. The parts with the hippie chick (Pussycat??) were kinda ehhh....since it’s implied she’s under the age of 18, but at least he turned her down after she failed to present I.D. So it could have been worse :/ As for the dead wife part, idk looks like they had a bad relationship so I don’t think he’s THAT scary for probably being the reason. We love a dude with a shady past.

Their friendship. That line “more than a brother, less than a wife” was REALLLYY good. That’s all I gotta say about that. We love friendships written like that. :) Didn't like the part were it implied after Rick got married he needed to drop Cliff, but after all that in the ending, looks like he’s not gonna let go of him anytime soon lol.

Not showing too much of Roman Polanski. Issues with Leo aside, while I would throw a brick at the mans car, it’s nowhere near as bad as the stuff I’d do if that little POS was in the same vicinity as me. I know how you treated your wife, you monster. I know how you were with young girls, ROMAN! So, yeah the less of him the better.

The weird storytelling. I liked how the narrative would be like, normal movie setup, but then cut to someone narrating something about the events going on, or go into the movies/shows that were being filmed.... I don’t know movie terms that much am I explaining this okay? Anyways, storytelling was cool.

BRANDY!!!! PUPPY!!! PUPPYYYY!!! GOOD GIRL!!! BABY TIME!!! PUPPYDOG CITY PUPPY DOG TOWN I WANNA GO I WANNA GOOOO!!! GOODEST GIRL!!! That is all.

The music/radio ads, faux movie posters. Idk I just like 60′s music, and have a big ole soft spot of old advertising. Really did a good job emulating the old movie posters back then with them being painted like that. Really can tell QT was a spaghetti western fanatic.

The portrayal of the Manson Family. Weird gross freaks. Living in filth and all. Despite how weird I feel about the ending, it was cathartic seeing them getting them getting dropped. I have no respect for these people and wish it happened IRL.

Also what was this part?? No issues with it, it was just awkward, I think it was supposed to be anyways. It was funny honestly, he looked like his soul was imploding ajdksk.

Bonus: Boy it sure was surreal hearing Al Pacino say my name in the beginning of the movie. I’m sure if I was one of em Pacino Girlies I woulda went nuts, but it was just like “HUH?? WHATTAYA WANT GRANDPA???”

Alright, that’s all :3

[everything-laito]

LAITO ANALYSES MASTERPOST (now in post form!)

REVAMPED ANALYSES MASTERPOST (UNDER THE CUT)

Tried organizing them the best I could!!! I’ll update them as best as I can live! They’re not really in order by date anymore, sorry about that!

If the links don’t work, let me know!

For further clarification, these are my personal thoughts and analysis on the game and extrapolating ideas from the canon and applying them to certain situations, unless if it is explicitly stated or implied in canon (which I usually state).

Also content warnings for rape and abuse for most heavy asks and analyses I’d say––just a general Laito trigger warning

Like my analyses/want to support me? Here’s my tip jar! (Ko-Fi!) <3

MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS POSTS

Para Selene [shorter one] [longer one]

Why DL is more effective not being an R18 game

Laito quotes that stuck out to me [part 1]

The importance of Hilde’s character

HDB vs MB Laito + My Opinions

Laito vs Shin VERSUS III CD

Hypersexuality and Laito

Laito and Cordelia analysis saga [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Do-S Kyuuketsu CD

The Fall of Yui Komori: A Partial Analysis of Laito’s HDB Route [a comment after that I will add to the analysis later]

Laito vs Subaru VERSUS I CD

What Laito means by “falling”

ASKS

Reacts and What Ifs

Laito with someone who’s stronger than him (mentally/physically)

If Laito had a sister physically identical to Cordelia

If Laito were to meet someone who went through the same things as him [1] [2]

If a bride tried to find weaknesses in Laito in order to kill him

If a bride had an absurdist sense of humor and resilient to humiliation

Laito and asexual characters [1] [2]

If Richter was Laito’s father

If Laito got kidnapped

Sexually liberated bride

What might make Laito sad/concerned for someone, could he possibly fall in love, and how he would react to a girl that’s not a virgin

How would Laito react to a bride that’s like him?

If a bride was physically identical to Cordelia

Laito and runaway pregnant wife?

If Laito found out he had a son

If Yui told Laito she was pregnant

Laito getting Yui pregnant? [1] [2]

If Laito was human, how would he have turned out instead?

If Laito and Yui met while they were both children?

What if Yui was older?

Would Laito do anything with a younger bride?

Laito in a Zombie Apocalypse?

Could Laito get away with what he does in real life?

Laito Bonk [1] [2]

If Laito’s flirting is stressing someone out

If a bride weaponized his fear of bugs

If Laito had a daughter

Laito in a healthy family?

Would Laito go back to his HDB self after his DF Brute Ending

If a woman reached out to Laito and saw past his facade

Would Laito be faithful to his wife?

Would Laito try to become a better person?

How does Laito react seeing Yui getting close with the other brothers?

Laito Internally/Personality

Laito’s true personality under his facade

Thoughts that Laito has when he’s acting perverted

Breaking point in Laito’s personality

Laito and touch

Does Laito hate himself?

Does Laito have any aspirations or goals?

Laito’s MBTI

Is Laito an introvert or extrovert?

What pisses Laito off?

Can Laito feel real love?

Laito’s insecurities

Laito being smart

How to get to the emotional core of Laito

Canon/Game Related Laito Questions

Why did Laito get fluffier in MB+

DF/MB+ Laito + closure

Is MB+ Laito ooc?

MB manga vs MB game

Comments on the brothers not showing up as much in Laito’s route

Drunk Laito

Laito and Jealousy

Laito’s nightmares

Laito “controversy” + how to analysis

Are Laito and Cordelia similar?

Laito’s women clothing collection

Yui’s calls in Maniac 3

Laito’s strength

My thoughts on Yui

Spelling Laito as “Raito”

Did Cordelia kick Laito out of the bedroom like he did with Hilde?

Did Cordelia order Laito to be tortured? (yes)

Laito’s hobbies

Can Laito control fire?

Has Yui changed in MB+?

What did Yui do differently?

Could Yui escape from the mansion?

Why does Karl choose young brides?

What was Laito like as a child?

Is there any affection between him and Yui in the games?

Laito believing in God?

Does Laito speak french?

Maniac 07 explanation

Why did Cordelia sexually abuse Laito?

Vampire ages

Misc Questions (or sub categories)

Astrology asks [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Laito and Friends [1] [2] [3; more of hcs tho]

BPD asks [1] [2] [3] [4]

The fun duck asks

The fucking shit asks

Smaller analysis on Laito and his family members [The BIG brother analysis] [Family perception of Laito] [Reiji and Laito] [Triplet’s relationship] [How does he love his brothers?] [would he cry over his brothers’ death?]

Headcanons [1] [2] (headcanon tag)

Diaboys and their never ending sadism + comments on Yui’s relationship with them​ + how their emotional states evolved

Science of comfort characters

The fuq does Karl look like [1] [2]

What I meant by Yui’s sexuality being ripped from her

Laito and macarons

QED Analysis!

SUBMITTED ANALYSES

Comments on the Laito and touch question

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Opinions on Molly Weasley????

You know, I actually don’t think I’m too far out in left field for her. Well, I might be strange in that we tend to see very polarized opinions on Molly: either she’s the greatest mother who ever mothered and the Weasleys are a perfect family or she’s an overbearing manipulative matriarch who’s secretly poisoning Harry with love potions into marrying her daughter.

Sort of like Ron, I wouldn’t say Molly’s a saint, but she’s also not one of the truly nasty characters (she’s not eating babies or feeding Harry love potions or anything). That said, she is far from the warm, generous, matriarch JKR presented her as.

First, she is overbearing . There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just how her and Arthur’s dynamic works, but at the same time if Arthur ever did have a spine it’s been completely conditioned out of him. It’s also very telling that Ron marries the overbearing equivalent of his mother in Hermione Granger. I suspect Ron’s spine has also completely disappeared by the time we hit that delightful epilogue from canon. 

As for the Weasleys, JKR sets them up to be the perfect family we can possibly (realistically) imagine. It’s huge, they all love each other and are fiercely loyal (except for Percy, the swine, we’ll get into this), they give Harry a sweater, it’s the family he wants so desperately that he marries the only available and socially acceptable option: Ginny (I could go on a rant about this for days, but guys, Harry shows way more interest in men than in women and I think 90% or Ginny’s attraction to him is that she’s a Weasley). 

That said the Weasleys, and Molly herself, have major issues. 

One, the money. I think JKR makes them poor to give contrast to the Malfoys. The Weasleys are nobly impoverished, they’re a wizarding family but understand more important things than money. The snobby Malfoys on the other hand have peacocks in their yard because rich people are inherently evil.  

That said, most of this is because Arthur and Molly completely mismanage finances. There’s nothing wrong with having seven children, but the Weasleys clearly cannot afford to have seven children. More, we see them spend money instantly when they have it. Ron is left without a wand for a year but the second Arthur wins the lottery, rather than save the money, WE’RE GOING TO EGYPT. Even the year before, money that might have gone towards emergency situations such as: my son’s wand broke is used to take Molly, Arthur, and Ginny to Egypt. They buy tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. The Weasleys don’t have that kind of money and then they go and are extremely bitter that Lucius Malfoy does have that kind of money. Yes, I’m sure the Malfoys were always wealthier than the Weasleys, but at the same time the Weasleys are the type to buy iphones for their kids when they’re on food stamps.

I’m getting a little distracted though, back to Molly.

I’d say Molly is far more traditional than JKR ever intended for her to be. She’s progressive enough that she supports muggleborns (they should get to go to Hogwarts and be very appreciative) but she also doesn’t think they should get too far ahead of themselves (we’ll get into this). She’s a raging misogynist (we’ll get into this). She is extremely judgmental and can flip on you at the drop of a hat with the barest of evidence. She never really does anything about Harry’s situation despite having very good evidence of its realities. And despite her family’s extreme poverty, even when all the kids are in boarding school, we don’t see her try to take up a job or even take up some etsy equivalent where she can enchant shit and sell it. There’s nothing wrong with staying home to raise the kids, but at the same time, I think for Molly it’s because “this is what the wife does”. 

Right, well, that actually was a lot.

Let’s start with Harry. Molly is witness to seven years of Harry’s childhood abuse and seems to take no action regarding it. Now, Fred and George are dubious sources, so them telling Molly that “hey Harry’s house had bars on his window” might not be taken seriously. Harry also is generally very private and embarrassed about his home life. That said, there are many many signs, and while Hermione practically lives at the Burrow ever since third or fourth year Harry has to spend every single summer with the Dursleys even before Voldemort’s return.

Granted, I have gone over that I don’t think child protection or even a good understanding of abuse exists in the Wizarding World. I think to wizards you’re stuck with the family you’ve got, and if your pureblood grandfather is raping you then it sucks to be you. That said, the Weasleys are such a central part of Harry’s life that I would expected them to do *something*. Instead it’s like Harry’s situation is... vaguely acknowledged but mostly ignored. 

Now, the Weasleys don’t have the money for an eighth kid (though Harry’s so absurdly wealthy he could help lighten the load were he to live with them) so I don’t hold this too much against them but... I would hope that a truly good family would have noticed Harry’s situation and tried to do something about it.

Right, the judgement part. The Weasley family’s unofficial disowning of Percy was horrible. This is going to be controversial, but Percy actually made some excellent points. Dumbledore and Harry’s story about Voldemort’s resurrection does sound nuts, the guy’s been dead ten years, he isn’t Jesus. More, it comes from Harry Potter who is young, traumatized, and has generally been erratic throughout the time Percy’s known him. And parts of what he says aren’t wrong. Why do the Weasley’s worship Dumbledore and listen to everything this man says? Dumbledore does do things like recruit child soldiers from the boarding school he runs. Dumbledore’s a shady guy. 

Mostly though, while Percy not believing Harry and Dumbledore is bad, I always got the feeling that a lot of the resentment and disowning was that Percy dared to do better than his father. Percy rises through the ranks quickly in the ministry, he’s extremely competent, where his father has been stuck in the same dead end joke of a job for years. Arthur even accuses Percy of having his position because Fudge is spying on Arthur. Which... no, Arthur, no. And the family just loathes him for it. They loathe him and it’s terrible. 

And I’m sure Dumbledore meanwhile is just dying that they’ve forced Percy out when Percy was in the perfect position to be a spy in the Ministry. I can just picture him drinking with Snape after Molly’s told him, tears in her eyes, that Percy is cut off because he betrayed the family, wondering what kind of morons are in the Order. 

Beyond Percy there’s what Molly does to Hermione in 4th year. And good god, this is also where the misogyny comes in. Rita Skeeter writes that Hermione, a fourteen-year-old girl, is a harlot and Molly not only a) believes it but b) becomes extremely judgmental of Hermione and essentially calls her a jezebel to her face. Molly, what the hell? Hermione’s life has been ruined by the tabloids for something that didn’t happen, and even if it did is nothing she should be slandered for, and Molly’s going “THAT WHORE”.

This is after Skeeter had slandered Arthur just that summer over the Quidditch World Cup incident and Molly hadn’t believed any of it for a second. So, either Hermione’s being a girl or her being an uppity muggleborn or both somehow makes this believable...

Molly’s very similar with Fleur. She doesn’t approve and I always got the feeling it was in part because Fleur is not the traditional sort of woman she’d want Bill to marry (Fleur is a working woman at Gringotts and more is elegant refined beauty rather than a girl next door who’d make a great housewife) but also because Fleur’s foreign. Bill should marry a nice, English, woman and instead he ends up with this French quarter-veela. 

Had Harry done anything to offend Molly, or even if Dumbledore had simply gone “You know what, Harry’s awful, we hate him”, then I would expect he too would have been completely cut off and thrown back into the gutter where he belongs.

So, Molly sucks and is not nearly as progressive as JKR intended, but is she feeding Harry love potions to marry Ginny and make the family wealthy? No.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Hi! You often give alot of insight into anons like this and your my fave CM blog so that's why I'm here! So I'm finishing up the last seasons (and lord it is hard to get through) and they just introduced Max and I cannot stand her. She was just so rude and it felt like she had 2 different personalities the entire time she was on screen. And I worried that this meant I was like hating women because I don't like other female characters like Maeve, JJ, Hailey, and Seaver. But then I started thinking and I honestly think it's cause these Characters are women poorly written by men. But then I wondered how they created likeable Characters like Emily, Kristy, Blake, Tara, and Penelope (leaving out others like Savannah because they're under developed in my opinion) I don't know what's the difference in the writing for these Characters or of there isn't any at all and I'm just being hateful in a way. What are your thoughts?

Ah, I think about this a lot. Thank you for thinking I’m interesting enough to answer this, also!

I think you’ve really hit the nail on the head with the writers doing a poor job at most of their female characters. However, I think it’s possible (and very common in this fandom) for people to dislike any character Spencer showed an interest in, which is also problematic and rooted in internalized misogyny. To me, it all comes down to why you dislike the characters.

(A LOT More Below - Bit of a Rant)

The first step I took when reflecting to see if this was my problem was rewatching and seeing which female characters I loved. Along with the ones you listed, I also found a number of side characters I greatly enjoyed, including Lila, Austin, Dr. Linda Kamura (from Amplification, the anthrax episode), Einstein, Megan Kane, and a few other random case characters. So, right off the bat I found multiple characters who Spencer showed an affinity for. I also greatly enjoyed Cat’s character, although I found her to be underdeveloped in canon (Fanon has done a good job, IMO) and often contradictory in her character design.

If you didn’t like any of these women, and your reason is related purely to Spencer’s reactions to them, chances are you might be suffering from a bit of jealousy rather than improper character design - not that you need to like them all (or the ones that I like), but because they are all very different. You should, theoretically, find something to enjoy about at least one of them.

But the CM Writers have a TERRIBLE habit of writing women that are easy to hate.

There’s a bunch of controversy I see over Haley Hotchner, but the truth is that they wrote her to be hated. That was her sole purpose. Her character’s decisions were poorly thought out and she was shown to be malicious 80% of the time. This was intentional. She was written to personify the trope of the nagging housewife. If you dislike her, you have done nothing but follow the narrative.

That being said, you should also criticize why they wrote her this way. Because it didn’t make any sense. She married a prosecutor - a dangerous, time consuming job. She had Jack when she knew he was with the BAU. Why did she randomly change her tune? Why did she suddenly demand he gives up on his dreams that she was fully aware of for years? I’d argue they wrote it like this to further the narrative of “the wife who traps you with a child to force you to do what she wants” which is garbage writing. I wish people could look at the potential she had if they hadn’t written her like... that.

Maeve, I find, is problematic on multiple aspects and I’ve talked about it before. Her narrative was poorly thought out because as soon as they pitched the idea of a long-term love interest for Spencer, everyone (most notably Gubler) rejected it. They didn’t think it was necessary for his character, who already had a lot going on with the ignored plot lines of his drug addiction and mother.

There were multiple problems associated with her character that were never addressed. The fact she essentially just took advantage of a patient because she was bored, she seemed to “correct” his interests and show annoyance when he disagreed with her, she lied about having a fiance, she was shown to be considering breaking up with him... there’s a lot.

Her character is poorly written. It had a lot of potential, but they just kind of stopped caring once they decided to kill her off. She had more faults shown on screen than redeeming qualities. For many, they liked her because they see there was a potential that we’ll never see (fair). But for people like me, we interpret it as a idealized fantasy of what could have (but probably wouldn’t have) been, which is not healthy for Spencer.

JJ is an interesting character because you can feel the constant struggle between AJ Cook and the writers. They really sabotaged JJ at every step of the way. I’ll be honest and say that I think there are some reasons to hate JJ, but they aren’t the reasons I see most often. Almost all of the JJ hate I see is surrounding the idea that JJ is an evil, manipulative, jealous bitch. But.. she’s not. Even in Truth or Dare, when she pulls that asshole move that was wildly OOC for JJ (in my opinion), she isn’t shown to be jealous or cruel about it.

I think she’s the most likely target for people who’s hatred is driven from jealousy or disliking conventionally attractive women and assuming them to be bitchy by nature of looking “beautiful.” I think Lila Archer* also falls into this category.

But as I said, JJ was also written with a lot of flaws. I think it’s fair if you don’t like her character or the way she treats Spencer, but I also hope that you similarly criticize the whole team in the same way, and don’t just pity Spencer because he is smol uwu babie who needs protection.

(* Yet another reminder that I ask everyone to not message me about J Depp or Amber Heard. Reactive Abuse is an extreme trigger for me and I will block you if you try to get me to talk about it)

Seaver got a lot of hate based off one line of dialogue. I think it was a bad line. If they had left it out, there would be essentially no reason in my mind to dislike Seaver. I used to dislike her a lot, but the more I rewatch the show, the less she bothers me. She was just a young student who wanted to learn about her father/herself. She was MASSIVELY underdeveloped because they kicked her off just as quickly as they invited her in.

NO character was developed that quickly. Her scenes were a bit cringey and the plotlines were bad, and her character was mediocre. I don’t think she deserves the hate she gets. She is a lukewarm character.

I hate everything Max’s character represents. She was introduced to show that Spencer could be trained to be “normal” and it’s anti-autistic bullshit. She had no personality besides “I hate my low-brow job as a teacher and couldn’t be fucked to change it until a man told me I was smart.” She was cracking high-school-clique jokes while her family was about to be murdered. She immediately abandoned said family to make out with her boyfriend who just admitted to enjoying kissing the woman who tried to murder her family.

Her character makes absolutely zero sense. I do not understand how she is so liked. I really don’t (other than the fact that RLC is absolutely wonderful).

If they had left her character out, I think we would have been better off for it. We could have seen Spencer wrestle with defining himself by the women in his life and learning to love himself (without just replacing those women with... another... woman...)

That being said, those who cling to Max for hope of a happy ending for Spencer... I felt that. Fanon and fanfic can solve all character deficiencies. I believe in you.

So, yeah. I’d say if you’re worried about why you dislike women characters, you’re probably on the right path. I’d just reflect on why you dislike the characters you do and whether they are written as misogynistic stereotypes. It makes complete sense to reject characters written for the purpose of making you hate them, but we should all pour one out for the brilliant actresses that had characters with so much potential if not for men ruining it.

[mzannthropy]

Underrated Agatha Christie

Ordeal by Innocence

A man convicted of murder of his mother swears he’s innocent. A couple of years later, a scientist who was away on expedition realises he could have provided an alibi. It’s too late for the convicted man as he died in prison. But if he did not commit the murder, who did? One from the dysfunctional family category, and these are adopted kids. (For the love of all the gods, ignore the Sarah Phelps adaptation.)

Endless Night

My personal favourite. Michael, our narrator, dreams of buying the property called Gypsy’s Acre, to live there with the girl he loves. His dream comes true when he marries Ellie, a wealthy heiress, and they buy the house and start their life together. However, sinister things start happening and Michael and Ellie learn it does not do to meddle with Gypsy’s Acre... Feels like a gothic novel--until it isn’t! (Miss Marple has nothing to do with this story. That adaptation was wrong.)

Crooked House

Another dysfunctional family one. The patriarch, Aristide Leonides, dies and everyone could have done it. The chief suspect is his widow, decades younger than him. Sophia Leonides, granddaughter of the victim, asks her boyfriend Charles to help with investigation. She tells him of the ruthlessness and the unscrupulousness of the family members. Considered a controversial one because of who the murderer is. (The 2017 film was okay but could have been better.)

Destination Unknown

The heroine of this book is a bit different from other Agatha’s heroines. Hilary decides to end her life as she has nothing to live for. Before she does so, she’s asked to go on a mission to look for a lost scientist--and gets entangled in an international conspiracy. 

Death Comes As The End

Set in Ancient Egypt. Imhotep, a rich landowner, brings home a beautiful young wife, enraging his whole family. Everyone hates her--and then she’s found murdered. And she’s not the only victim... A very interesting experiment by our queen of crime.

The Mysterious Mr Quin

Short story collection starring Harley Quin (not to be confused by the DC comic character!). Mr Quin is truly mysterious, so much so that we know nothing about him. He turns up just at the right moment... and then vanishes. The POV we have for these stories is Mr Satterthwaite, the socialite, who also appeared on Three Act Tragedy, a Poirot mystery. I’d love to see an adaptation, like episodic miniseries, but I don’t know if it’d be possible, due to the name being the same as the DC character.

Parker Pyne Investigates

Also a short story collection. Mr Parker Pyne is not exactly an investigator. His advertisement in the paper goes like: “Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne." Half the stories take place in England, half on his travels. 

The Man In The Brown Suit

Anne, a young woman who recently lost her father, longs for adventure. She gets it--with a vengeance! A voyage aboard a luxury ship, a mysterious stranger, lost diamonds and a murder. Also introduces Colonel Race, who then appears in other novels, sometimes alongside Poirot.

Towards Zero

A bunch of people gather for a party. Murder happens. There’s one Agatha’s favourite devices--a love triangle (she’s the only one that can do them well). Features Superintendent Battle, who is another recurring character.

That’s my list of lesser known Agatha Christie works. I hope you’ll check some of them out!

[hamtigers]

When I found out about Milgram it's inevitable that I got into it, since I love Deco*27's music so much. However as a fair warning, the entire project deals with extremely heavy themes since every character is a killer in some way or another. So if you are uncomfortable with content involving themes such as abuse, suicide, death, stalking, violence, abortion, and animal death, please do not look into this project or read any further.

I'd add a read more but I still don't know how from mobile lmao.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on each prisoner so far

Haurka: I am choosing to agree with the theory that he had some sort of learning disability and that he lashed out in jealousy because people didn't understand him or his needs. I also currently prefer the twin brother theory over the younger self theory, because if he was so miserable at the time why would his past self look so happy? While I don't believe mental disabilities excuse someone from being held responsible for their actions, I do believe that he was too young at the time and not given the right tools and help to learn to cope. Instead he falsely learned lashing out was the only way to be taken seriously. He shows extreme remorse for how he behaved and seems to be triggered by anything that reminds him of his past (his dislike of young children and animals in particular). I want to forgive him so that he can get the help he desperately needs.

Yuno: Abortions are not murder. It's extremely easy for me to forgive her. Especially since it's heavily implied that her clients refused to use protection even when asked. She probably didn't have a way to get access to birth control without bringing her controversial career in compensated dating to light, either.

Futa: honestly I got into Milgram so late that I haven't put much personal thought into Futa because quite honestly: I don't like him and I feel like he represents a huge part of what's wrong with cancel culture. He fancies himself a hero, thinking that he's fighting for what's right. It's pretty clear to me though that he's taking his so called 'villains' out of context and condemning them for things he doesn't have a full picture on. I think i'd be able to understand the story better if I could read the screen on his phone, but I do not know japanese and rely heavily on fan translations for content outside of the provided lyric translations. It's clear he didn't actually want anyone dead, since the monsters in his fantasies are just KOed... Up until the last one, where the literal blood on his hands shakes him out of the fantasy. I see a lot of people saying he bullied and doxxed someone until they committed suicide. I'm still glad he was voted unforgiven for this round though.

Mu: I don't... Fully understand Mu's story. I understand she was bullied and harassed by people who pretended to be her friend initially, which is something I can absolutely sympathize with. I also understand that she was just being used for her wealth rather than seen as a real friend. What I don't understand is why she targeted the specific girl she did for her 'escape'. The popular theory is that she had a crush on the girl, got outed as being not straight, and the entire school including her friends started relentlessly bullying her even physically for it. The other girl seems to just straight up avoid and ignore her, which is why I understand the point of being pressured nearly to suicide and exploding but I don't understand why she attacked the specific person she did. I think my opinion of her can go either way the more information we get.

Shidou: I'm following the harvested organs from his patients to try and save his lover theory. Honestly even with the vague imagery there's so little wiggle room for doubt in this one. I don't think he should be forgiven, but he also wants to die because he already saw his lover die which he is quoted as thinking to be a fate worse than death. For all the lives he's ruined, I almost want to say he deserves that torture... At least, that's how I'm dealing with the idea that he was already voted forgiven by the time I got here.

Mahiru: I!!! Hate!!! Her!!! Overly clingy and controlling of her lover who she stalked while trying to emulate romance novels to force into a relationship with her. Heavily implied to have driven him to suicide via emotional abuse and guilt tripping him back to her every time he tried to break up with her. I'm so glad she was already voted unforgiven by the time I got here. I actually had to take a break and step back after the weight of her song hit me because it reminded me of so many people I've had the misfortune of having in my life in the past.

Kazui: so far my first one that I have an original theory on instead of following one someone else came up with! I just posted my full thoughts on the video about an hour ago. But basically, I feel like his wife divorced him and wanted to stay friends but he wanted to get back together. It escalated until they had an argument that resulted in her falling or being pushed to her death. Seems to view himself as the protagonist in his own romantic tragedy. My opinion on him was swinging wildly until I came up with this theory and now I am leaning heavily towards unforgiven because it is the similar selfish pushiness as mahiru minus the manipulation.

Amane: most of her imagery flew over my head until I read some comments and theories. I support the 'grew up in a religious cult that literally tortured her if she didn't follow the rules' theory. I'm voting to forgive her because just like Haruka, I think she's too young to truly be held responsible, especially when it's currently unclear to me what actually happened. I think what she needs isn't punishment, but to be taken away from the cult and rehabilitated.

Mikoto: until we have more info I'm as confused as he is : )

Kotoko: seems to be pretty upfront about what's going on. I'm currently assuming that she fancies herself some kind of vigilante or holds a very strong personal grudge of some sort. Obv waiting for more info.

[nightswithkookmin]

Imo there is enough to support the possibility of a romantic relationship, but you are writing full on narratives with impossible specificity. You know what confirmation bias is but some young impressionable people dont yet . Forgive me but misleading with ' alt facts' can hurt someone even if you dont mean it. I think you are a good person not looking to hurt anyone. But the way you postulate without any evidence makes your actions a little but like those of a charlatan. Peace and kindness

All these kind words you spew...

It feels more like an advice than a question so I'm not sure how to respond to it...

Let me just say thank you? I never quite understood what the brouhaha was about with my posts but after talking to a few people, 'on the other side' lol and reading your Ask, I think I'm starting to get a better sense of what the problem is.

Something about young impressionable minds or people?

Let the council of elders know, those are not my audience please. I cater to a much more mature audience- at least so far. The people that I interact with and engage with on my posts on and off Tumblr are very mature and not impressionable at all.

They are People with brains who can tell an opinion from fact and can engage in deep complex controversial conversations without throwing up, shedding tears or cussing through to the heavens.

If there are 'impressionable people' reading my blogs- they do so at their own risk. If you know any such people or they run to you with my theories kindly point out to them it's just theory because that's what my opinions are.

I think the best thing you can do is to advice such people to grow up if they are going to sit at the adult table or not read my posts at all. I think you need to learn to hold the right people accountable for their actions.

The best I can do in this case- to hold myself accountable, is to put up a disclaimer on my posts to let people know what it is that they are reading- something I do quite often. But I will make conscious efforts to put up those disclaimers each time henceforth. Thank you.

That I write full on narratives with impossible specificity:

Is this Latin for, 'you write fiction get the fuck outta here?' Chilee.

I don't even know what you mean by this exactly so I may not be able to respond to it to your satisfaction. Bare with me.

So what if I write fiction? What is wrong with writing fiction? Do you hate fiction writers? I don't get what the hate is with these complaints honestly. Do you want me to put up a disclaimer stating my blogs are fiction? Would that help? I would glady do it.

If it helps you sleep at night think of my blogs as fiction- a rose by any other name. I've been keeping up with Shakespeare. Lol.

I don't think it's that deep. Listen, you gotta understand that just because we both 'ship' Jikook don't mean we are on the same team...

Most alt shippers I know and who read my posts and engage with it are not even Army to begin with, for your information. They could care less about these shipping politics of yours. Have you thought about that?

Some simply ship JK and JM and support them because they believe they are members of the LGBTQ plus community not because they are part of BTS.

There are different communities out there who are also into Jikook- for very different reasons. You gotta respect that.

To you, Jikook is just a ship within BTS that may or may not be real, but to some of us they have very much outgrown that description...

They are a brand of their own, a power couple and members of the LGBTQ plus community- Gay Icons extraordinaire. I think we take very different stock in Jikook. So stop trying to fit us all into one box.

It's disrespectful to try and control the way that people perceive their OTP and support them. Jikook don't just belong to Army Jokers, they belong to different communities outside Army. Are you aware of that?

And please don't confuse the intersect. I am an alt-shipper yes but I just so happen to be an Army too. But if I wasn't an Army, I'd still pretty much 'ship' and support Jikook- make no mistake. There are quite a few of us running around these streets, you know?

So you have every right to want to gatekeep your Army Jikook- but you have to do that without infringing on other rights of other 'Jikook communities.'

Throughout my blogs I have tried to shed light on what altshipping is because I thought it would help bridge the gap but clearly that hasn't worked. Sigh.

Misleading alt facts

Do you not know what it means or you are just being ironic?👀

Why is it ok for you to believe and proclaim that JK and BigHit lied about JK dating the Tattoo artist but it's not ok for me to believe JK is telling the truth when he says he didn't date her and that BigHit saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone- hence why they didn't press charges against the shop for breach of privacy like they had said they were going to do. Instead, they had asked the shop to keep calm till the scandal died down on it's own?

You start your piece off with the whole, 'there is enough evidence to support a romantic relationship' between JK and the tattoo shop lady- I assume.

For context, this Ask by this anon is in response to my recent post/ answer on the tattoo girl scandal where the topic of discussion was on BigHit, JK and the tattoo artist and not Jikook perse.

A statement that is in direct conflict with JK's statement, BigHit's and the lady in questions, all denying that there was a romantic relationship between her and Jungkook- and somehow I am misleading who- who now with my theory??? Chileee.

Do you see the problem here? Double standards- the hallmark of bigotry. Lmho. You are literally doing the very thing you are accusing me of. Making confident assertions and claiming you know more about JK and the Lady's relationship and even have 'enough evidence' contrary to BigHit, JK and the Tattoo artist's statements denying the rumors- at least when I theorize I admit I'm being delusional. What's your excuse? When you say charlatan are you referring to yourself? You must be. Lmho.

Now I'm confident in my comprehension skills and intelligent enough to know when you make an assertion like this- it is your opinion and you are just stating your opinion. If you are not then honey you'd be opening yourself up to some serious litigation... goodluck I guess. Lol.

You are allowed to form an opinion about a topic. There is nothing wrong with that. If to you, JK and this person dated that is fine. I am not going to cyber bully you, stalk you, throw slurs at you, harrass you, dox you, slid into people's Dms to spread hate and lies about you just because I don't agree with your opinion. And for the record, I don't agree with your opinion. Hehehehe.

I have stated my opinion on the matter. I said I think JK and this person did hang out, go on dates but that there was no romantic sexual relationship between them because I believe that would have had much serious consequences and effects on Jikooks dynamics no matter how much they tried to keep a cool facade. Whoever felt cheated on would have acted more insecure than usual post the incident- how does this make me a charlatan? Are you saying it's wrong it have an opinion? Chileee.

Now if you can produce 'evidence' of them having sex or even kissing, then I will gladly change my mind on the topic and not sweat it.

Jikook have done way worse questionable things in 7 good years and people still don't believe they are dating. Jk hangs out with a female friend a few times in less than a month and suddenly he is dating her? Lmho.

You don't need me to tell you people are more eager to accept a heterosexual relationship than wrap their heads around the fact that two male idols are gay and in a gay relationship with eachother. Don't you just love it when homophobia meets heteronormativity and stinks? I do. Lol.

I mean this is a fandom that thinks JK is 'too touchy' and doesn't respect his boundaries- they practically swear JK is cheating on Jimin with every member any time he hugs, kisses, wings at within the group. You think they will be 'objective' about JK hanging out with a girl? Even if it happened once?

You said something about confirmation bias.... I will not touch it. Lmho.

This is not the first time JK has gone on a date with a girl. This is not the first time he has 'dated a girl', he has hand girls on his laps or whatever- what is a back hug? I think people need to stop defining Jikook's lives by their own standards. If a backhug is intimate to you. Thats you. If you think a grown ass man cannot hang out with a female friend, that's equally you.

You think if he thought it was inappropriate and risky he would do it 'in public?' Get with Kpop Idol dating culture. Lmho.

Do you know the lengths they go through to keep their relationships a secret? Especially non celebrity girlfriends? Chen from EXO got married and where is his wife? They keep their flings tighter than Trump keeps his toupee on his head. Lol.

They hide them not out of shame but out of love and the need to protect their loved ones. These idols have family members who have their restaurants and businesses shut down because they want to keep their privacy.

You think JungKook's girlfriend would- on her own, issue a statement regarding a scandal that Jungkook's agency had specifically directed her and her shop to keep quiet about and lay low till it blew away on its own? And later, started liking couple posts about her and JK? If they were dating, certainly JK would have dumped her after that move. In my opinion.

You think JK would let his fandom drag the person he is in a relationship with to the extent she loses her Job- when in his Itaewon gay pub scandal BigHit referred to the issue as his private affair immediately it happened? They could have kept the same energy with her, no?

They handled his gay pub scandal much better, with much respect and consideration for his privacy- if he dated her sorry but she mustn't have meant much to him at all. And if I were her I would have dumped him for that shit and not stay liking couple posts about us. Damn- But do you.

Taehyung was in a scandal with a girl too- did you see her liking posts and shit and going out of her way to do the most? Did you see how BigHit handled that scandal?

Nothing wrong if JK is 'dating' her or had 'dated' her and whatever person he decides he wants to be in a relationship with I will support him- that's why I support Jikook.

But your opinion is equally valid my guy. Just don't call me a charlatan for mine. You believe they dated, I believe they didn't- and to your impressionable young minds, I hope you are not selling them anything contrary to BigHit and JK's statement. That would be very irresponsible of you. Lol.

What else did you say?

Oh postulating without evidence...

Next time I write a theory based on my observations about Jikook, remind me to break off a piece of my brain and attach it to it- I guess that way people would finally understand when I say things like 'I think' 'in my opinion' 'I feel' 'I believe' that these are just my thoughts and opinions and not facts.

Let me leave you with this:

Peace and kindness. Namaste.

Signed,

GOLDY.

[365days365movies]

February 24, 2021: Annie Hall (1977) (Part 1)

Well...Woody Allen.

I, uh...OK, look, I could get into the whole Woody Allen thing, but INSTEAD of me doing that, I’ll just say this: look into it. Because there is a LOT on this subject, and it’s controversial as HELL. At the end of the day, I’ll recommend this upcoming series on HBO, and just recommend that you look into it.

Because, uh...yeah, it’s not great. That’s all I’m gonna say, because I need to educate myself on it more as well. Instead, let’s talk for a few seconds about divorcing the art from the artist. But ONLY for a few seconds.

I understand why some of you might be surprised I’m doing this one. Because, again...Woody Allen. But, yeah, I always try to do my best to divorce the art from the artist. Because some people suck, but they still make nice things, or at the very least, things that should be open to interpretation and appreciation.

“Superfreak” is a classic song of 1981, and everybody’s heard at least some of it, but Rick James fuckin’ kidnapped two women and kept them in his basement, WHERE HE TORTURED THEM. Edgar Degas made beautiful paintings of ballet dancers, and was also A MASSIVE ANTI-SEMITE. And before he was (RIGHTFULLY AND JUSTIFIABLY) outed as a roofie-ing piece-o-shit...I grew up with - and genuinely enjoyed - this guy’s comedy.

And you can judge me for this, but...I still think his stand-up was and is genuinely funny, and I still appreciate the cultural impact that The Cosby Show had on society’s perception of African-American families, divorced from the stereotype of the ghetto. Fact of the matter is, works themselves deserve to be separated from the artist who made them. That’s my philosophy, and I’m sticking with it Entirely fine to disagree with me, by the way, I get it.

But in that spirit, I’m watching Annie Hall, despite its creators likely transgressions. After all, this is technically his magnum opus, and it’s a good look into the man himself. And so, with that in mind: Annie Hall! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) is talking directly to us about his outlook on life, and his view on the potential future. He tells half of a joke, then an amusing anecdote, and a bit more until telling us that he’s broke up with Annie, and he’s still thinking about it, trying to figure out exactly where things went wrong. He goes back to the beginning, which is punctuated with flashbacks.

He grew up in Brooklyn in World War II, and a young Alvy (Jonathan Munk) is with his mother (Joan Newman) at the doctor’s. He’s depressed after learning that the universe will one day end after a period of expansion, and is having his first real existential crisis. I had mine around the same age, actually, went I learned that the Earth will one day get swallowed by the sun. And THEN came the realization that I’d be dead by that point. AND THEN came the realization that I’d die one day, and that was a WHOLE NEW crisis to...anyway.

He grew up under the Coney Island rollercoaster according to him (although his analyst says that he exaggerates), and that’s what he blames for his “nervous personality. He’s also got an active imagination, often blurring fantasy and reality. His Dad ran the bumper cars on Coney Island (a place that I’ve never been, but desperately want to go).

He continues on talking about his former schoolmates, and not really that well. While in class, young Alvy kisses a...little girl...ahem. And then, when reprimanded by the teacher, current Alvy notes that he was always...like that...and he also says this to the little girl, and they talk about Freud’s latency period, and Alvy said he never...had...one...that’s uh...that’s fuckin’ SOMETHING, now isn’t it?

OK, well, shoving that forcefully aside as hard as I can, Alvy wonders aloud on where his classmates now, and one of them says this:

This also involves a little girl saying she’s “into leather,” which is...awkward as FUCK, but WE’RE GONNA MOVE THE FUCK ON. Alvy recounts his paranoia, and was so even after he became a famous comedian (which we say after a VERY good joke about qualifying for the army as a hostage). He speaks to a friend, Rob (Tony Roberts) about potential anti-Semitism from a person in a passersby meeting, then heads to meet Annie.

Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) arrives at a movie theater, late and in a bad mood. The two are late to their intended film, argue briefly, then head to another film that they’ve already seen, The Sorrow and the Pity. In line, they’re in front of a man loudly soliloquizing on film, much to Alvy’s annoyance.

Annie and Alvy continue to argue a bit, while Alvy openly berates the casual film critic. In the middle, he talks to the audience about it, only to be followed by the crtiic himself, who also acknowledges the audience! Huh! Anyway, he’s a professor at Columbia, and starts continuing his line speech, this time on the work of Marshall McLuhan, one of the most important early media theorists ever. And then, Alvy brings out Marshall McLuhan (Marshall McLuhan) to debate him on it, only for Alvy to turn to the audience and wish aloud that life could really be like this!

I’m beginning to understand why people like this film. It’s metacontextual before metacontextuality was really a thing in film. It’s a fourth-wall breaking movie in some fantastic ways. But will it still hold its muster after breaking the fourth wall’s become so commonplace? we’ll see, I guess.

After a showing of the film, the two return home, and Alvy tries to initiate sex. But Annie’s not really into it at the moment, and Alvy complains that they used to have sex all the time, and it’s been a while since. So, I guess that retroactively awkward scene at the school was meant to foreshadow Alvy’s high libido, that will probably cause some conflict in the film. Anyway, Annie notes that Alvy once went through something similar with Allison, his first wife. Who’s Allison? Flashback!

Allison Portchnik (Carol Kane) is a graduate student in political science, working for a campaign that Alvy’s about to perform for. He’s nervous, as he’s going on after another comedian. She comforts him by saying that she thought he was cute, and he does well. But we flash-forward to a night after they’re married, shortly after the death of JFK, which Alvy’s obsessing over, entertaining various conspiracy theories.

However, Allison rightly points out that his obsession is simply a way for him to avoid having sex with her, which mirrors the present-day situation him him and Annie. Flash forward TO Alvy and Annie, and there are just lobsters...everywhere, on the floor in their kitchen. After that commotion, they talk about Annie’s past romances.

And by talk about, I mean they LITERALLY WALK THROUGH her memories. And I gotta say...I fuckin’ love this method of storytelling. One of her previous boyfriends is an actor (John Glover), and his over-dramatic prose sickens Alvy. We see a second marriage of Alvy’s to New Yorker writer Robin (Janet Margolin), who’s dragged him to a stuffy high society party of intellectuals that he has no interest in going to. Same her, Alvy. I bet the caviar’s canned.

He tries to initiate sex with her - in the middle of the party, mind you - and she turns him down. later, when they get to it in their apartment, she’s unable to, uh...reach satisfaction. From there, we flash-forward after that marriage ends to a tennis match with Rob, where he meets one of his mutual friends: Annie Hall.

And for the record, Annie’s pretty obviously got a crush on him, and she’s adorable as fuck. Also, that outfit, real talk...that outfit rules. She offers to give Alvy a list, during which he’s quite worried about her driving, but the two still get along well enough. Annie’s an amateur photographer, during a time period where photography is considered a relatively new art form. The two go to her apartment, and share familial anecdotes and personal stories about themselves. And as they talk, we also see a set of subtitles on top of each of them that betray their inner feelings and thoughts.

I do genuinely like the stylings of the movie, goddamn. This conversation leads to Alvy asking her out on a date, although they end up scheduling it after Annie auditions at a nightclub as a singer. And while it doesn’t go great, Alvy tells her she was fantastic, and they share a kiss before they head to dinner. They head to her place afterwards, and we cut to later that night, post-coitus.

And then, we get a flash-forward back to the next day, where the two are at a bookstore, and Alvy speaks on his personal philosophy of life.

I'm obsessed with uh, with death, I think. Big - big subject with me, yeah. I have a very pessimistic view of life. You should know this about me if we're gonna go out. You know, I - I feel that life is - is divided up into the horrible and the miserable. Those are the two categories, you know. The - the horrible would be like, um, I don't know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don't know how they get through life. It's amazing to me. You know, and the miserable is everyone else. That's - that's - so - so - when you go through life - you should be thankful that you're miserable because you're very lucky to be miserable.

Iiiiinteresting.

Shortly into their relationship, they admit they’re in love (or “lurve”, as Alvy says). She moves in with Alvy, which he initially isn’t the biggest fan of, having been burned in two previous marriages And already, their relationship is showing a few bumps. Alvy’s also always trying to push her to take college classes, while she uses mariuana whenever they have sex, which Alvy doesn’t agree with.

But as they have sex one night, without the marijuana at Alvy’s urging, Annie’s mind wanders - LITERALLY.

This film...this film has a VERY unique style of visual storytelling, and I am HERE for it! Seriously, I genuinely love this method of storytelling and comedy, it’s extremely engaging to me.

Soon enough, Alvy gets an interview to write for a talk show host, which he ABSOLUTELY despises. But in doing so, he decides to go into stand-up for himself, and is actually quite successful at it! But before we get to that, we’re at the halfway point! See you in Part 2!

[princesssarisa]

Assorted thoughts on “Little Women”

 In no particular order.

*I’m glad I waited this long to read the original, unabridged novel. If I had read it as a teen or a preteen, I just might have followed countless girl readers’ example of having a crush on Laurie and being angry that Jo doesn’t marry him. Reading it now, I’m able to see him as the well-rounded, likable yet flawed character he is, not just as a girl’s prize, and realize that while he and Jo have a beautiful friendship, they wouldn’t have worked as a couple. The canon pairings of Jo/Friedrich and Amy/Laurie are the right ones.

*About the controversial issue of the characters’ ambitions... None of the young leads achieve their childhood dreams in the end; Alcott’s intended message was clearly  “We don’t always achieve our dreams, but life can still be happy in ways we never expected.” That’s all well and good. But apart from Meg’s gender-neutral dream of being rich, the characters’ “castles in the air” are all in defiance of their expected gender roles: Jo wants to be a famous author and Amy a famous artist, two fields normally reserved for men, while Laurie wants to be a composer instead of going into his grandfather’s business. And all three of their endings are distinctly more gender-conforming: Jo becomes a schoolmistress, Amy becomes a society lady, both become wives and mothers, and Laurie goes into business “like a man.” I think it’s fair for modern readers to be disappointed by that conformity, even while appreciating the realistic message about childhood dreams. Those feelings aren’t mutually exclusive. For modern audiences, I think the standard adaptational change of Jo publishing her own version of Little Women at the end (instead of 20 years later in the last sequel) is a good change.

*About Jo needing to control her temper... I understand why this annoys some feminists. So often women are expected to suppress all anger and never stand up for themselves. Maybe it is problematic that role model Marmee explicitly never shows her anger, but only purses her lips and leaves the room. But personally, I think it’s presented in a healthy, gender-neutral way. Jo’s anger isn’t a problem because it’s “unseemly” or “unfeminine,” but because it can lead her to do cruel things to others. The mistake that teaches her the lesson in “Jo Meets Appolyon,” letting Amy skate on the thin ice, isn’t a loud, aggressive act of rage, but a cold, silent act (or rather inaction) of spite. Besides “control your temper” doesn’t mean “never stand up for yourself.” The book has several examples of women calmly yet firmly calling out other people’s bad behavior (most often Laurie’s ^–^) and it’s portrayed as entirely right. And though it’s tempting to be annoyed by Mr. March putting his finger to his lips when he sees his wife starting to get angry, it’s also a nice subversion of gender stereotypes to see a marriage where the husband is gentler by nature than his wife and is a calming influence on her. Stereotypical couples are the other way around.

*As a person on the autism spectrum, I relate strongly to Beth. I fully embrace the headcanon that Beth herself is autistic and that Lizzie Alcott might have been diagnosed as such if she had lived today. So it hurts a little to see other readers call Beth “boring,” “annoying,” a “doormat” and “the worst of the sisters.” Although she is idealized because she was Alcott’s tribute to her dead little sister, she’s not the cardboard cutout of bland feminine virtue she’s so often been stereotyped as being. It’s clear from the start that Beth isn��t “normal,” either by our standards or by past ones. Her crippling shyness isn’t just “sweet Victorian modesty,” but portrayed as a real flaw that she struggles to overcome. She’s been homeschooled because as a child her social anxiety made regular school unbearable for her. She still plays with dolls, believes in Santa Claus and has imaginary friends at age 13. She has no desire to get married, or to have any kind of career, or ever to leave her parents’ house. And because of all this, she clearly has a low opinion of herself: hence she tells Jo that she was never meant to live long, because she would never have been anything but “stupid little Beth, trotting about at home.” But the narrative belies her words. In both of her illnesses, so many people rally around her and reveal how much they love her and how valuable her quiet kindness has been in their lives. Ultimately she dies in peace because she realizes her life hasn’t been worthless after all. With my own social struggles, my tendency to be “younger than my years,” and my own desire to have a quiet life close to my family instead of going out into the big, overwhelming world and doing big, overwhelming things, I find her storyline beautiful, because it gives me hope that my life is just as valuable as anyone else’s.

*I also relate to Jo, as so many readers do. The result is that I’m of two minds of the chapters “Calls” and “Consequences.” On the one hand, there’s no doubt that Jo is at fault in those chapters and does more-or-less deserves to lose the trip to Europe. She’s genuinely, purposefully rude to her aunts and to the other people they visit and she humiliates Amy and harms her social life – at the subsequent fair, the Chesters ban Amy from the art table because Jo insulted them. Plus the only reason why she has to join Amy in the calls in the first place is because she promised she would, so it’s hypocritical of her to whine about it. But on the other hand, I do empathize with Jo. With my own my social difficulties, I relate to her hating formal occasions where she has to dress up, mind her manners, make small talk about topics that don’t interest her with people she dislikes, and always be “agreeable” and “docile.” For Jo and for so many of us, it’s so hard to be that way, yet it’s the mold that all women were expected to stuff themselves into in the 19th century and to an extent still are today. Amy is lucky that she enjoys playing that social game and that it comes naturally to her. So it’s easy to sympathize with Jo’s envy when Amy is chosen to go to Europe, to feel as if Amy is rewarded for her social conformity while Jo is punished for failing to conform, and to feel as if the message is that all girls should conform like Amy. Fortunately, the book as a whole doesn’t send that message: even Amy achieves her ultimate happiness by letting herself be a bit more like Jo and call Laurie out on his laziness and apathy, when back in “Calls” she had argued that a lady should never show disapproval to a man.

*I don’t understand why some commentators think the chapter “On the Shelf” is so horribly sexist. Well, actually, I do. It’s tempting to find fault with John for being “jealous” that Meg is focusing more on their babies than on him and for “neglecting” Meg and spending carefree evenings out while she slaves away with the twins. And for Meg to be told by her mother that this is her own fault for “neglecting her duty to her husband” understandably rankles some feminists. But I honestly don’t think there’s any real problem. Meg genuinely neglects John and overtaxes herself by devoting every waking minute to the twins and letting neither John nor anyone else help her, because she’s afraid that otherwise she’ll be a bad mother. John isn’t jealous of the babies, he understandably feels ignored and useless. Nor (despite what some critics think) does he cheat on Meg, or want to. He just goes to a friend’s house rather than sit alone at home; Meg’s fear that his eye is roving to Mrs. Scott is just a product of her own stress. The resolution is arguably just the opposite of sexist: Meg finally lets John take an equal share of child-rearing duties, lets Hannah babysit often so they can both have time for themselves too, and steps out of her domestic sphere to share talks with John about politics, literature, etc. By the end of the chapter, their marriage is more egalitarian than ever.

*I’d like to read a fanfic where Jo meets Rodolfo from La Bohéme. I wouldn’t ship them, since they’re even more “too much alike” than Jo and Laurie are, but I’d like to see them meet. They’re both lively, passionate, temperamental ENFP writers, whose minds are full of “castles in the air” (they both use that exact phrase), yet whose lives both turn out differently than they had hoped, although Jo’s outcome is much happier. Both also adore a sweet, gentle, sickly young girl (Jo’s sister Beth/Rodolfo’s love interest Mimí) whose death they both regard as the end of their own youth. Furthermore, both of their authors modeled them after themselves. Jo is more down-to-earth than Rodolfo, though, and I’m not sure if they’d be friends or hate each other – Jo would definitely be indignant to learn how Rodolfo emotionally abused and broke up with Mimí because he couldn’t bear to watch her die, when she herself nursed Beth day and night through both of her illnesses and never left her side. But it would be an interesting meeting.

@fairychamber, @thatvermilionflycatcher

[overthefroggymoon]

When You Lie - Prologue

Warnings: Old Mage being sexist.

Summary: A short history of what is considered in the contemporary age to be among the most abominable spells a mage can place on another living being, The Vow of Sincerity

Word count: 846

According to the great mage Silgrimm I’s acclaimed book, The Mages Influence on the Conjunction of Spheres, the Vow of Sincerity is one of the highest honours that can be ‘bestowed’ upon a mage in all the continent. Despite the 10,000 page textbook being wildly abhorred and critiqued for it’s many inaccuracies by students from Oxenfurt to Aretuza, the novel is still held in high regard by the elder mages and so, any and all mages of respect, young and old, will have read it more than a handful of times in their long lives.

Under most understandings, a vow is a promise one person makes to abide by someone, something or somewhere. The Vow of Sincerity is not like this however. With the Vow of Sincerity instead being a promise to something, somewhere or someone that is made for a person. This person has no say in the matter, and this is where the controversy surrounding the vow emerges from.

The Vow of Sincerity was one of the many parts of this books which students found more than questionable. The vow was allegedly first used by Silgrimm toward his wife, the Honourable Megne, to ensure she would not (and could not) stray from their faithful marriage while he spent the majority of his days doing exactly that. The vow ensured that, while Megne was free to do as she pleased, she could not keep any information demanded of her from her husband, as well as this, she could not tell a soul of the vow – given that these were the terms enveloped in the vow when Silgrimm bestowed it on her.

The specifics of this stories ending and what happened to Megne and Silgrimm has unfortunately been lost to the history of the continent. The only thing we can know now for certain is Silgrimm claimed the vow was the crux of their marriage as it “ensured there was trust in the relationship”. Silgrimm claimed in his aforementioned book “the marriage has been the utmost fruitful, I believe due to the vow I placed on Megne. I believe my previous attempts with Gert and Harriet were failures due to their lack of commitment to me and our relationships. This proves my theory that marriage is a waste of time unless the vow is properly used, both Megne and I are much happier than either Gert or Harriet and I had ever been. With Megne, she smiles each time she sees me and I feel nothing but trustful in her that she is mine and mine alone in all she does”. How exactly Megne felt about the vow was never truly known as no one seemed to have asked her, and even if they had, the vow forbid her from discussing it with anything other than vagueness. And when several years later she left a diary entry reading “I lied” next to her, supposedly accidentally, poisoned body, the truth of the feelings of the one the vow had been placed on left this realm with her.

Because of the vow being claimed to be a high honour for the recipient, there have only been a handful of amateur attempts at placing the vow since Silgrimm and Megne, none of which have had anywhere near the same levels of success the mage and his bride appeared to have from the placing of the vow. In 1001, it was alleged a peasant farmer attempted to place it on a woman in a brothel he had taken a fancy to after learning of it from a class at Oxenfurt he crashed. Given his missing of vital ingredients and only simply knowing the mantra of the vow, it was not successful. Other enacts of the vow include 1289 when it was used on a goat in an attempt to ensure it would return to its magical owner each night before the sun had fallen completely and 650 when it was not yet seen as a ‘luxury’ and chaos weavers under apprenticeships were encouraged to try it on their classmates, and anyone else they came across. This did not end well.

Perhaps the most popular usage of the vow now is the use of the Vow of Sincerity on knights, lords, dukes and mages to stay loyal to their kingdoms before battles. Over the years, the vow has progressed and become something different to what it once was. Now, the vow is still used to keep people from hiding truths but it has also progressed to being capable of controlling the target physically. Placing these more extreme versions of the vow ensures any knight or duke deemed suspicious is unable to enact any modes of treason as well as ensuring those sent undercover to enemy lines do not reveal their truth, and that their quests are enacted fully. The specifics of how this vow effects its target once their missions have ended is a secret each kingdom keeps heavily guarded and under wraps, with most rulers insisting the vow is not in use due to its outdated and harmful nature.

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Unfortunately for us and our heroes, this final, more unforgiving version of the vow is the one which we will be encountering.

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My AO3, where new chapters will be uploaded/updated first. The whole story will follow Jaskier, Geralt and Yen as they travel the continent in preparation for a war between two kingdoms all while trying to figure out who this new knight, Kayleen, is and why she is all over Geralt. 

Despite that summary, the fic is very much a JaskierxOC slow burn story. 

Let me know any feedback you may have, I’d love to hear any of it!!

[darkhorse-javert]

Happy Birthday Pauline

Happy Birthday, many happy returns and mazel tov @paulinedorchester​

I made you a thing... Meta-fictiony based on your Andrew and Sam Headcanons. But it was your actual letters in your fic that gave it a physical form too. I hope you like it

Wierdly you have to right click and ‘View image’ for it to come up properly

Transcript:

“The Foyles of Hastings: An Appreciation

By Hannah James

 To most passers-by the whitewashed bungalow with honeysuckle climbing the walls and a driftwood boarded front door is a pretty but unassuming, though it carries some of the charm of the nearby Old Town. Yet it is here, that I find one of Hastings’ most famous living sons and adopted daughter, for whom 2008 is a Red-Letter Year.

The warmth and sparkle in Mr Andrew Foyle’s eyes belie his recent 90 birthday as he and his wife Samantha ‘Call me Sam, I was only ever Samantha to my family or when I was in trouble’ (89) welcome me into their comfortable sitting room.

Hastings born, bred and raised Andrew Foyle is best known for his screenwriting, and  novels. Sam, under her maiden name of Stewart, has been a regular contributor for this paper, the author of various historical biographical pieces, and screenwriter with her husband. However she is most commonly known for her memoir One Woman’s War, which itself celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year.

When I compliment them on the house they share a wry look and regale me with the story between them. “We moved somewhat under duress, the children pointed out that it was highly likely one of us would go topsy-turvey on some of those stairs one of those days.” Sam has an expression on her face which suggests she was not particularly willing to concede to this point. “Stewart stubbornness and Foyle tenacity, we’d have much better hope telling the sea to stop moving.”

“We knew they were right,... but it was a wrench to give the old place up.” The old place, as Andrew Foyle affectionately calls it, is 31 Steep Lane, in the Old Town, where he was raised and where the couple have spent much of their married life over the years. It was also on the very solid front steps than this enigmatic couple first met, in September 1940. Sam, then a driver in the MTC “Motorised Transport Corps”, arrived to collect DCS Christopher Foyle and Andrew answered the door.

Was it love at first sight? “Yes.” Andrew gives his wife a look of such fondness we should all be so lucky to receive. “I just took two years to actually realise what I was feeling.”

Sam meanwhile bursts out laughing at the question “Hardly!” She glances at Andrew “Oh you started out alright with ‘Hello’”

“Then I proceeded to open my mouth again, put both feet firmly in it and sink right up to my middle ala Doctor Gloucester…”

“Saying you didn’t expect a girl to be driving your father, especially ’such a pretty one.”

“You were - and are...Anyway you put me sharply back in my place I wished the floor would swallow me, especially when Dad appeared.”

Listening and watching them, it’s clear how these two have lasted so long together, mutual affection, respect and occasional teasing rolled together.

Discussing their meeting easily brings us onto the subject of the War itself, and in particular One Woman’s War, a title its author is mollified to now after ten years. Sam admits she is gratified by the reception it received, already becoming a key text in schools studying the War, noted for both its straightforwardness and it’s occasional humour.

“It’s good for the MTC to have recognition, even during the War we were seen as rather a poor cousin, they  kept trying to disband us or move us to the A.T.S.” [The better known  Auxiliary Territorial Service]

I ask her about the controversies over the books’ title and dedication, as well as her use of ‘girls’ in the text, which some have called biased

Her head comes up in spirited rejoinder “We were just girls, most of us. When I joined up I was 20 and still needed my father’s permission to do so, full majority was 21 in those days. Why they must make such a fuss over it?” She gets up and goes to one of the tables by the fireplace, bringing back a smartly framed photograph.  A young woman in khaki uniform, recognisable as Sam, stands with two men, one short, one tall, both in long coats and Trilby hats of the 1940s “That’s us:” she points to each one “Me, Mr Foyle and Paul Milner, Sargent Milner as he was then, he became an Inspector after the war. They were the ones I worked with day in day out, through those years. The war changed me ...they changed me, taught me such a lot, especially Christopher.” There’s a soft moment of silence fondness and reflection as she looks at the photo. “That’s why they get the dedication, and Andrew because he kept nudging until I started writing.” Then she smiles, “Goodness Paul looks young, this can’t have been taken very long after I was assigned to Hastings.”

Her own favourite of her biographical pieces? “Amelia Earhart, because that was the first I did, when I found I had the knack, and because of her pluck. Or maybe Andrée de Jongh [leader of the Comet escape line during the War]… she saved so many. She was brave and bold right in the Nazi’s faces, at the risk of her own life. And I’m not just saying that because I married an RAF officer.”

Where to start with Andrew Foyle’s wide ranging, nearly seventy year long, library of work?

He laughs when I mention this predicament “Well, what’s your favourite? We’ll start there and work around to the others.” I confess, shyly, that it is the 1958 film Twilight of Blue. The film is set post-war, a ‘character study’ of a RAF officer coming to retirement. Andrew nods slowly, his eyes soft with thought and memory. “That’s one that I most wanted to be excellent… to capture the ends, not just the rigmarole of ‘well done old chap, good job,  wonderful having you, excellent service, have a badge, enjoy your medals and your life’… but the thought pattern, the feelings there, loss, relief, confusion even. You have given most of your life to the service, your family has too, and now it is going to be your past. And where do you stand without it? How do you stand without it? Where do you go?...” The depth of feeling is clear in his voice “And I had to be good with it too, because there were a lot of chaps in that situation. I owed it to them to get it right. Especially to WingCo, Wing Commander Turner, it was for him, really. A tiny insignificant thank you for everything he did… If I’d got it wrong…” he shakes his head, “But I don’t think I did…”

He certainly didn’t if the reception of the film over the years is anything to go by. Twilight of Blue was a roaring success when it first came out, and while it isn’t one of the ‘Classic War Films’ of battles and victory, the very human story means it has aged well across the years.

Now noted  for the depth of its characters,  a fully remastered anniversary DVD came out on 15th September. Wryly Andrew informs me that it includes a commentary by himself “very strange to be watching it over again, recalling the writing of it, but also trying not to talk over my favourite bits.”  

We shift somewhat from anniversaries and retrospective to something more present. Aged 90 he might be, Andrew has still been busy, writing scripts and consulting on the BBC adaptation of The Replacements, his first published novel, back in 1946. Unusually, it focused on the RAF at the tail of the Battle of Britain, and the years after,. The focus, Andrew admits was based on his own experience, “I joined the fighting squadron in Hastings in late September 1940, just after the big turning point against the Luftwaffe, then I got sent off to Malta long after the great battle for survival the history books know. I was a right Tail-end Charlie.”

Technically this is the second adaptation of the book, the first was a 1948 BBC film. When I mention this, some of the good cheer disappears from Andrew’s face, replaced by a stony expression and narrowed eyes. “I had no hand in that debacle, and I utterly disown it. I only thank goodness it wasn’t taped, or if it was that the tape was lost. It wasn’t an adaptation, it was a travesty, practically an insult.” He simmers, but I note that Sam has a wry smile on her face and she interjects, “We didn’t have a television in those days, few people did. So we went two doors up to watch it.” She glances at Andrew with a fond smile ,“I remember that as it played your smile dropped and your eyes got narrower and narrower, you were practically spitting rivets for the twenty yards home.”

“I very nearly wrote a scathing letter to the BBC refusing them anymore adaptation rights ever again. But someone disabled the typewriter, jammed the keys, and overnight I just decided that I’d have to have a hand in the next one.” He shrugs easily “Didn’t have a clue how it was done mind you… “ The rest, reader, is screenwriting history.

“There were two tiny good points.” The anger is all gone as Andrew looks at his wife “You got to be a W.A.A.F at last.  And there were RAF crew as extras who could just do, they still had the knowledge, and a profusion of Spitfires.”  There’s a rueful look on his face, “We’ve been having some trouble with that now.” He straightens in the chair, and there is a flash of an officer there still, “Not that I forgive it the heinous transgressions. This one will stick to the book, and to everything that the book was drawn from.” •

The Replacements will begin  tomorrow on BBC1 at 9pm. Twilight of Blue: 50th Anniversary Edition is out now on DVD.

Pictures Credits:

Previous Page: MTC driver Sam Stewart DCS Christopher Foyle and Sargent Paul Milner of Hastings Constabulary 1940. © M.O.I. Above: Sam Stewart and Sqn Ldr Andrew Foyle together circa VE day 1945 © Anne Woods.”

[raquellmurillo]

After the heist I want Raquel to pack her bag and get some money as Lisbon and leave Sergio ...She should stay with her family in some paradise.Monica will also join her ... They both should focus on raising their children and casual dating with guys..And sometimes Rio , Helsinki uncle will visit them .

That’s actually such a cool idea! I love Sergio and Raquel, don’t get me wrong, but above all, I love consistency lol 

Why not? What if Raquel tells him that after her talk with Alicia, she has realised that because of her love for him, she has neglected her daughter and ruined her future. Because lets face it, if Raquel is on the run, her daughter is too. 

And, I know the show never really mentions this... but Sergio is like... a criminal. I know he’s meant to be the ‘good guy’ and all, but he also goes around hiring, what, the Serbian mafia? (Who are those people???) Has a lot of money, buys a shit ton of stuff on the dark web... If the police can’t track him, the mafia’s running that shit-show can. His wealth isn’t built on an empire of people to protect him.... what is one kid with a billions of euros with no protection, living as an outcast to a criminal organisation looking for easy money? Doesn’t that just sound like a target??? It’s easier to take one person down, than a well built up ‘empire’ of people lmao - okay, if he hid away etc. but not go around making purchases like them army trucks... because as soon as he starts his heist, the people who he purchases those things from are gonna tie the two ends together... If Alicia can track him, what is finding him to an organisation with more hackers than he has??? 

Back to the point, Raquel isn’t the ‘weakest link’, both her and her daughter are ‘weak points’. If Sergio ever pisses off any of the probs very dangerous people he is working with... the main targets are gonna be the people closest to him. Back in the day when he was a petty and poor criminal, well, didn’t really matter. Now, however, things have changed.

Raquel has given her life up to be on the run not only from the police, but like, a large proportion of the criminal world. She is never going to be safe, nor is her daughter. By association she has condemned her family to, well, to some probably not fun situations in the future.

But like.... ignoring all of that.

I totally get you; love is love, I do ship them, but who said their love story had to be conventional; say she came to visit him at the end of s2, told him that she would meet up with him here and there, she would come to live with him, but in 10 years time or so, when her daughter is grown up enough to take care of herself and her decisions won’t impact her. That money might’ve bought Sergio freedom, but the moment Raquel leaves her life for it, its gonna cause her problems, ones which money won’t be able to fix. She’ll never be able to let her daughter go to school without fearing that she might say something, be recognised. She’ll never be able to have the freedom Raquel had when she was young. Her childhood might be carefree playing on the beach, but purely through association she’ll always be on the run from the police, interpol, the other criminals out there who feel like getting a few billions for, basically free, having to take down a person, not an empire. I get financial security, like totally. But its not exactly too great if the price you’re paying for it is your personal security.

And look how much more fun s3&4 would’ve been if Raquel was still part of the police... darn that would’ve been so amazing her in terms of character development, as she’d really have to decide whose side she was on. (obvs with a different plot) - acting as a double agent type thing, to alongside Sergio, make sure no one was hurt etc. 

... she is safer not being with Sergio. If Sergio truly loved her, he wouldn’t be with her. I know, I know, that’s so controversial of me to say, but I’ve seen it been done in masterpiece style on screen. I had never seen a better ship been written even though I didn’t get a single kiss! Both of the characters acknowledged they loved each other but were in an environment in which them being together would end in defo at least one of their deaths. Their love for each other was greater than any sort of sexual desire; keeping one another safe was a priority, even if it required sacrificing (very unfortunately for the audience) the desire part. It can be done. 

Love can be either selfish or selfless; I think, from the way things have been written, Sergio is more Andres’ brother than one could’ve imagined. He loves her, but not enough to resist his temptation, to ruin her, destroy her life, risk her life and her families. It sounds hella dark, but when you think about it, it sorta is. Because it is wrapped up neatly and nicely and Sergio is all cute... because she loves him and goes after him, blindly. Because however much Alicia’s dialogue about Raquel’s taste of men was written to obvs make the audience disagree with her about Sergio’s case..... darn nobody is perfect, but come on. Denver lost his father in the last heist, Sergio’s brother was shot (ik he was dying, doesn’t that make it worse for Sergio tho? The last months with his brother in paradise, lost?) but there’s one hella completely different reaction. And then we have the scene in which Raquel tells him he is just trying to avenge Berlin; does vengeance have a higher value than love? Is the whole Berlin thing not enough for him to be like, “actually, putting people that I love at life threatening risk, really isn’t a great idea”...??? Rio will eventually be arrested, and tough luck, ya know. Why put the rest of his team’s life at risk? idkkkkk His true love for Raquel will be shown in lcdp7 when he plans a heist to avenge her? WHy for the love of god is she in the bank? 

Damn right, Raquel should pack her bags up and finally find a man who is not so willing to harm her. No one said love or the character had to be perfect; I’m a true believer that love requires sacrifices, and Raquel has sacrificed a lot for him... you’d think he’d have the decency to at least not go ahead with the heist ya know. Sergio might be a bit socially awkward, but he’s not fucking dumb. I hate how people seem to think that because he hasn’t had much experience in relationships, he won’t know what he is doing... firstly, when does anyone have any sort of idea of what they’re doing in a new relationship with a new person? It’s all new, and it’s always a learning process ya know. Secondly, Sergio has enough brain cells to lecture Andres about getting married to someone knowing he has very little time... he knows enough to acknowledge that what his brother is doing, isn’t exactly too fair on his wife - which is fair enough; ya know, ‘best three years of her life’ and then she drinks herself to death from the heartache in the year following that? Very hard situation, tbh. Andres is being fucking selfish, but darn, turns out there is something in these genetics...

disclaimer: I still love Serquel, but damn I love my analysis, (I am being very picky today lmao) and if they keep this writing up, they’re gonna keep pushing me to make such unconventional findings. Never before today did I think I’d come to a conclusion that Andres and Sergio are similar in terms of ‘love’... but darn, under the cute dialogues and all the rather radical decisions of the screenwriters point towards very dark threads. 

Saying that, if you’re gonna write something like that, have the balls to actually explore it. Don’t make Raquel the ‘love interest’; consequently follow the choices through and make Sergio the nut job who put her back into the bank. Maybe even write it as him idealising the idea of his love for her... maybe the trap in their relationship is as Alicia said, Raquel idealising these guys, but Sergio also idealising her. 

[texastheband]

Music Interview : Texas

Taken from Eye TV - January 2001

The Glaswegian band Texas have been enjoying such success of late, that it was only fair we had a chat with the lovely Sharleen Spiteri. She filled us in on the gossip, including her controversial thoughts on the boy bands in the industry today! EYE: Hi and welcome to the show. Now the new video with Elvis, why did you chose that? SS: Well I thought I probably looked more like Elvis than Debbie Harry, so I went for Elvis! My video director and I were having a drink after doing the In Demand video and he proclaimed I'd make a very good Elvis and the joke turned into reality. EYE: Tell us how you became Elvis then. SS: Six and half-hours in make up! There was a lot of run up to it, having my head cast and going to Shepperton Studios, then they had to test all the prosthetics on me. A lot of bold caps and Vaseline! EYE: Bigger chin as well?! SS: Yes! I'm glad you noticed that! EYE: Are you a fan of Elvis then? SS: Yeah, I love Elvis. I remember growing up with Elvis, I had really long hair when I was young and in the bath I'd put loads of shampoo in and put my hair in a big quiff. EYE: So what's the response been like to the single? SS: Unbelievable, it's doing really well, and the album is, so people are really into what we're doing right now. EYE: Do you think it's a risk releasing a Greatest Hits album when people will already have all your singles? SS: I really didn't know how it would be received, but people have been coming up to me saying I didn't realize you did that song and that song. There's twelve years of music been released, the band's been together for fifteen years. So there's a lot of stuff that people have forgotten. EYE: So you're going out on tour, what are the audiences like? SS: they're really, really varied. I can't pin-point what our audience is at all. It has changed throughout the years as we've been around for so long. There are still people there who were there in 1989. EYE: What do you think about the charts at the moment with the likes of Britney Spears and boy bands? SS: Everyone's freaking out about it, but at the end of the day those bands have got to be about because they make people like us look very good. EYE: Controversial! So you don't ever feel you have to change your music to fit in with new trends? SS: I would say that current music is very influential in what we do. We don't think we're fantastic and don't need to listen to anyone else. But the thing to remember with us is that we're songwriters, which makes us different to a lot of the bands out today. So that's what we first of all do. I could go off and write songs for all of these bands, I'm a musician and a songwriter. And that's what's important to me. The new sound's coming through and the different beats is very important to what I do, I'm very aware of it. EYE: You've had so many hits over the years, do you get blase about it now? SS: No, I've got to be honest with you, it gets harder and harder. You don't know if people are going to get bored of you. We've got people around us that are very honest about what we do, so it's good to have our friends and family. But as far as releasing albums goes, I deal with it worse now. I try and have a late night Saturday so I can sleep through Sunday and not have to hear the charts, then hopefully get woken up with a phone call of good news. EYE: Has anyone ever said that your records have touched them? SS: Yeah, a lot of people say things like that. It's funny when people say that our songs are like "their" songs when they met their husband or wife. You feel so much part of their lives, it's quite funny. EYE: What's coming up next for you? SS: The tour's going to start and I'm looking forward to that, jumping up and down on stage and having a bit of fun. EYE: Well good luck with the tour and thanks for talking to us today.

Text originally posted on texasindemand.com

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #450

Top Ten Characters with the Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

As I’m writing this, it’s officially Star Trek: Discovery day; the first episode of the new season is up on Netflix and ready to watch. Given how little time I manage to find for watching anything that I want to watch, I’m cautiously optimistic that I can get to see it this weekend, but we’ll see; my lovely wife might want to finally catch up with Star Trek: Picard first, which for some reason she never finished. Regardless, I’m excited, and I wanted to write about Star Trek again.

The new Star Trek series have been a bit of a roller coaster, because whilst they’ve both generally been very good, they’ve certainly had their odder and more controversial moments, and neither of them has consistently felt like classic Trek. If I had to be critical, I’d argue that there are plenty of darker adult-tinged sci-fi shows at the moment, including ones set in space, but not that many that follow the day-to-day travails of a starship crew, which as always been Trek’s raison d'être. However, both shows have succeeded in giving us some compelling stories and – especially in the case of Discovery – a fantastic cast of new characters to celebrate. Great characterisation has been the cornerstone of Trek since the beginning, and no doubt one of the reasons why it still resonates to this day, from the “Holy Trinity” of Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, through to the wonderful and insanely empathetic Saru in Discovery and Captain Sexpot Rios in Picard. The fact that we’re now in a new time period, with no established history to try to tie the narrative to, means Discovery 3 is in a great place to give us some great new stories.

Anyway, to celebrate all of this – the new season of Discovery and my overall love of Star Trek characters – I’ve decided to go back to the Next Generation well and talk about just that: characters. TNG famously hit its stride when it started focusing each story through the lens of the different characters on the show, so that we tended to get a “Worf episode” or a “Riker episode”; even the best eps, the biggest and most epic, really had a tendency to hone in on one or two characters specifically, such as the all-time classic “The Best of Both Worlds” really being about Picard and Riker, or “Yesterday’s Enterprise” being a much-belated Tasha Yar episode.

But which characters have the best episodes? That is, if you know an episode is focused on a particular character, how likely is it that it’s going to be a belter? Can you reasonably say one character was better served than another in terms of the quality of “their” episodes? Well, yes. Yes you can. That’s this list. That’s the whole thing.

So this list is basically which characters have the best episodes, or are more likely to. It’s not a list of my favourite characters, or even really a list of the best episodes overall; it’s just, well, who got to chew scenery the most on the bridge, basically. Now, I really feel like I should end this blurb with an appropriate Star Trek quote, but I must have used “Make it so” and “Engage” before, so I’m not sure what else to say.

May the Force be with you, I guess.

Picard: Yes, of course; he’s the star, he’s the stand-out actor of the bunch, he gets the best episodes. If it focuses on the captain, you can rest assured you’re in for a treat. Whether it’s an epic mythology-enhancing saga or – even better – a slower, sadder meditation on life, Picard’s episodes are engaging. Chortle. Also if there’s room for a classic Picard Monologue, all the better; I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about Patrick Stewart, but the guy can chew scenery. Key episodes: The Best of Both Worlds, The Drumhead, The Hidden Light

Worf: Worf’s complex backstory offers a lot of opportunities for great stories, with the caveat that pretty much all of them focus on Klingon history or the contrast between his heritage and his place in Starfleet. Issues of familial loyalty rub up against quasi-Shakespearean dynastic dramas, often with high adventure. You can assume a Worf ep is a good one, despite the fact that quite a few of them are also about Alexander. Key episodes: Sins of the Fathers, Redemption, Birthright

Data: everyone’s second-favourite emotionless nerd on Star Trek, Data’s eps are almost uniformly great, and often poke at what it means to be alive. There may be a bit of ground retrod as we examine the notion of humanity, or sentience, or emotion, but his episodes are always interesting, and often very funny, and Brent Spiner is a continuing delight. Key episodes: The Measure of a Man, The Offspring, Brothers

Q: is it cheating to include a recurring guest star? Maybe, but I don’t care. John de Lancy is just phenomenal as Q, one of the best Trek characters, and so good he became a My Little Pony. He’s arch, he’s hilarious, he can take the show into new directions; he raises questions of fate, or of the concept of divinity; and underneath it all there’s a malevolent streak, a genuine sense of danger exemplified in his first appearance. Pairs very well with Picard, naturally. I didn’t like the Robin Hood episode, though. Key episodes: Deja Q, Encounter at Farpoint, Q Who

Riker: he’s a Kirk-esque horn-dog ragamuffin with a heart of gold and a fist of steel, so there’s always a lot to love when William T. takes the helm (see what I did there?). Often issues of loyalty, or duty versus personal wishes, arise; he’s frequently putting his life on the Enterprise above his career. But he’s also a very moralistic character, so quite often he’ll be trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances. Key episodes: The Pegasus, Future Imperfect, Frame of Mind

Crusher: always a stand-out supporting character, Crusher has some great episodes focused on her too; usually quite a self-righteous sort who puts the immediate moral obligation above her own safety or duty to Starfleet, which raises lots of interesting, thorny questions. She’s a smart cookie, exemplified in the astounding Remember Me; her relationships with her son and with Picard are good to explore too. She also shagged a ghost, but let’s try to forget about that. Key episodes: Remember Me, Attached, Suspicions

Wesley: pigeonholed somewhat unfairly due to a few ropey first-season episodes, Wesley Crusher is actually an interesting character whose stand-out storylines offer a good deal of nuance and intrigue, as well as exciting hi-jinks, insights into the Federation, and – should you go that far – weird magic Jedi stuff. He gets a nice romance with Ashley Judd, we unpeel his relationship with Picard over multiple episodes, and the bloom comes off the rose in spectacular fashion when he gets to Starfleet Academy. Wil Wheaton was a good young actor and was sadly underserved by the show, but at least we get these eps. Key episodes: The Game, Final Mission, The First Duty

Pulaski: say whaaat? Yes, she’s only in the show for five minutes, but Doctor Pulaski gets a few crackers under her belt in that time. A bit like Crusher would later, she often excels when standing up to authority and presenting herself as a moral arbiter. Interestingly, she’s not always right, and it’s a fun dance to watch. She’s also been round the block a bit, adding facets to her relationships with other characters, particularly Riker. And, of course, she flirts with a bunch of polygons when Geordi and Data cock up the Holodeck. Key episodes: Elementary, Dear Data, Unnatural Selection, The Icarus Factor

Troi: sadly suffering in the face of a bunch of soppy romances and storylines involving her mother that are, shall we say, an acquired taste, Troi still gets some good stuff, mostly later in the series’ run. Taking her out of her comfort zone, making her a spy or an investigator, or giving her some proper dramatic meat, works wonders. Also once she was a cake. Key episodes: Face of the Enemy, Eye of the Beholder, Dark Page

LaForge: oh, Geordi. I love Georgi, but he kinda got done dirty a little bit. Always an interesting and dependable secondary character, unfortunately the bulk of his episodes as a primary character tend to revolve around him being a bit of a jerk or a bit of a creep. Obviously the most heinous sin is making a computer program based on a real person and then, well, trying to shag it, but he also has a tendency to be a dick to anyone new in Engineering. He’s even a bit of a dick to Scotty! I sometimes think the writers never quite had a handle on Geordi’s character; is he a young tech genius with poor social skills? Is he supposed to be arrogant? A wannabe lothario who’s just really unlucky? Anyway, like I say, I still love the guy to bits, and LeVar Burton is fantastic, but of all the main ensemble, his are the flakiest solo episodes. That said, the three listed here are all belters. Key episodes: The Next Phase, The Enemy, Relics

Anyway. There we are. I’ve still, as of going “to press”, not watched Discovery season 3, and my wife’s still not watched the end of season 1 of Picard. Any day now…!

[kdramarecommendations]

Thoughts on The World of the Married

Another drama down and of course it had to be the number one on the viewers' rating list. 

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

The World of the  Married features Dr. Ji Sun Woo who thought she had a perfect life, having her loving director/producer husband Lee Tae-Oh and their son Lee Joong-Young. Things start falling apart once she suspects her husband of having an affair with a younger woman which ended up being true. Da kyung, the mistress, gets pregnant with Tae-Oh's child with Lee Tae-Oh and Dr. Ji was the first one to discover it. The first half of the show was filled with revenge and making you feel angry at Tae-Oh for betrraying Dr. Ji. It makes you want to watch it more and get back at the husband for cheating and constatly lying at his own wife. However, the 2nd half of the show started to focus more on their son as he starts rebelling and having somewhat an identity crisis.

Also, omg if you have seen this scene (i believe it’s in episode 1 or 2), I was so angry at Sun-woo’s friends. Imagine having your friends know that your husband is cheating on you, I’d feel utterly betrayed. My goodness they were annoying af but they were able to sort their differences out eventually (aka more than halfway through the show lol).

Hands down, the first half was really good. Dr. Ji who plotted revenge by having an affair with Son Je-Hyuk to telling Da Kyung's parents and Tae-Oh that Da-Kyung is pregnant with Tae-Oh's baby gave me chills in my spine. Some might think she's spineless for doing that but if you're so angry at people betraying you, you would want to do everything to get back at them. She didn't want to lose her fight against her husband. I was really engrossed with the show but I found the 2nd half of the show disappointing.

The ratings of the 2nd half of the show was so high that the you know the storyline was written so well. However, I still felt that disappointment at the end because it still revolved around Joon-Young and not about Dr. Ji's potential love interest, Dr. Kim and basically Dr. Ji's happily ever after. I was expecting so much from those two because I wanted Dr. Ji to finally have a happy ending and to get back at Tae-Oh for cheating on her. But she was such a loving mom that her main focus was Joon-Young.

Look at that gem! He was so caring but honestly Dr. Ji was so heartless HAHAH. How can she not fall for this cutie??

I actually cried in this scene. Having to hold it together must be tough on Sun-Woo’s part. Being able to release what she truly felt was definitely heartbreaking. 

Joon-young's acting was superb. He made me want to throw my iPad once he started getting stubborn and so self-centered. However, i somewhat sympathize with his character because it was what he was going through as a young adult facing puberty with divorced parents. It must have been difficult for children with toxic divorced parents who just want to get hold of their kid. I commend Da-Kyung though for being able to separate Jenny from Tae-Oh's toxic ways. I know it's kind of controversial to separate a child from their parent but for safety reasons mentally and physically, you only want to think what is best for your kid.

Of course, we can’t forget about Da-Kyung. I found her annoying and really hated her character for being evil but as the story progressed, she just wanted to protect her marriage and save it before it turns out to be another Sun-Woo and Tae-Oh misery. But like what Hyun-Seo said, how sure was Da-kyung that Tae-Oh wouldn’t cheat again? At the end of the show, I felt bad mostly for Da-Kyung because if she didn’t end up as a mistress, her life would have been so much better. Although “love” works in mysterious ways, she deserved a lot better (if she wasn’t that evil).

I wished the writers were able to give time to show how Park In-Kyu, Hyun- Seo’s boyfriend, really died. If Tae-Oh didn’t push him, then who did? So many unanswered questions i was so sad.

Honestly, I wished there were more episodes to this show to explain how the characters affected by Tae-Oh were able to recover. I wanted Sun-woo to finally be with Dr. Kim Yoon-Ki, Da-Kyung being able to do what she was passionate about and such. But I guess we got to accept what the writers had planned.

Since it’s the number one kdrama right now, I recommend you to watch it. However, the thrill of the first half of the show will somewhat died down and a lot of unanswered questions. It’s still worth watching though.

[full-favor-of-a-god-blog]

[Doomstrange] 32 B.C. Roman AU

Imagine there is a 32 B.C. Roman AU in the Battleworld, similar to “1872” and “1602” from the comics.

 The following info is taken from the www.doomipedia.gov.bw/battleworld/realms/32-BC/ page and various other sources.

 TL;DR: Doom is the ruler of Roman Empire and Stephen is his chief priest “Vishantian Maximus”. They were known lovers and received many praises in the society in forms of literature, visual arts, performances. Even the imperial historians characterized Stephen as "the love of Victor's life", "his only true love", "his first love", "his last love", "moral compass in the iron fist". The term "Victor Stephanus" became the synonymous for "Undying love between soul mates". Instead of calling lovers "my dear", Romans call lovers "my Stephanus", in which case, it's not just a sign of affection, but also a praise for beauty and virtues in a lover. Stephanus was often depicted as an idealized symbol for supreme beauty and divine purity. Roman people at the time firmly believed the love between Victor and Stephanus was Platonic, but various folk tales many centuries after often suggest otherwise.  

Different classes of Roman society

Imperial (Victor became)

Patrian = ruling class (Stephen born into)

Plebeian = common people (Stephen became)

Slaves (Victor born into)

  Main Characters

 Victor Cynthius Augustus, a war slave decadent turned gladiator. He later won his glory, influence, and popularity in the war with Barbarians. Victor started his political career as the Roman Military Tribune. He is then elected as consul of the Roman Republic. After many years of struggle with the Senates, lead by Reedius and Antonius, Victor was voted the dictator perpetuus (Dictator for a life time). After joining forces with King Namor, they eliminated Reedius and turned Antonius into a mere figurehead. Victor became Imperator Doom. Senate honour him with the agnomen “Augustus". Finally he reformed Roman society from a republic into an empire. During his reign, Victor and his second in command Stephanus were loved by the Roman citizens like never before. Passing lex Stephania (Law of Stephanus), Victor and Stephanus' abolition of slavery made these people the royal subjects to Emperor Doom like the Roman citizens.

 Stephanus Eugenius Propheta Cordatus, aka St. Stephanus was one of the few Romans with four names, son of a patrician family and the adopted heir of former Vishantian Maximus (Chief priest) Iao. Stephanus was a chief preist in training who always show empathy and compassion to even social classes way below his own. He was famous at a very young age for his intelligence, and talent in both medicine and magi (magic). He later gave up his title, inheritance, and religious power merely to save innocent slaves. Stephanus lost everything, and since he is no longer the patrician class, he defaulted his birthright to pursuit the religious path. He was then elected as the Tribuni Plebis (Tribune of the people) for a record of ten consecutive years. Stephanus became the lover of Victor and his second-in-command. He was appointed Vishantian Maximus after Victor's coronation as Emperor Doom.

 Antonius Amandius Houarnus, adopted heir of former Tribuni Aerarii (Treasury of the State, $$$$) Houardius. Antonius is a famous supergenius inventor. Since his childhood, Antonius developed a close friendship with Stephanus and Reedius. Later the three were alternatively known as "Triumvirate Illuminati". Despite the fact Antonius hated and never trusted Victor, and was once the first senate to challenge Victor's consulship and Victor's intentions as consul, Victor respected Antonius, calling him "almost my only intellectual equal", "intellectually inferior only to Imperator Doom himself". Antonius was elected Magister equitum of the republic, for his genius weapon inventions and influential family background. He was the only high official maintained his office after Victor violently and miraculously eliminated Reedius and restructured the Senate. Antonius openly resented consul Victor and offended Victor with endless hostile actions, trying to bring Victor down as consul. Victor finally lost his patience and planned moves to stripe Magister equitum's power from its title. After wounded in the war, Antonius lost his interest in politics and started several genius infrastructural projects that were far beyond people's imagination at the time.  

 Reedius Richius is often referred to as "the smartest Roman once lived" by himself and his supportors. Obviously, such statements are discredited by Doomipedia.gov.bw as a false, criminal statement. Anyone who dares to make such statements within various Battleworld realms, should be prepared to face the wrath of God Emperor and will likely by prosecuted by Thor Corps. The information on this person from various source (including illegal ones) is limited, controversial and conflicting. He was born into a rich patrician family and was loved as a do-gooder among all social classes. A genius inventor, arguably even smarter than Victor. He became a successful politician at a very young age, and was a head of a secret senate inner circle rumored to be "Illuminati". Reedius was originally attracted to Victor's intelligence and heroic victories in the war, so he helped Victor's campaign to be elected as consul, despite Reedius' best friend Antonius' prejudicial accusations against the slave born hero. Victor helped give birth to Reedius' daughter Valeria, and became her godfather. Later on, however, the ongoing disagreements and struggles between Reedius and Victor intensified the conflict between the consul and the senate. Victor hated Reedius so much that it became openly known personal. Reedius went missing on a tour. Rumors have it that Victor murdered or sent someone to assassinate his political enemy. Victor orders to find Reedius dead or live, but Reedius just seemed to miraculously disappear. His wife Susanna Richius later married Victor and became the second Roman Empress.

 Oanda Eryca Augusta is the daughter of the uprising leader Erycules. In Vishantian Maximus Iao's prophecy, Oanda is a queen of chaos. She will either bring prosperity or doom to a dynasty. After her father's defeat to Victor, her mother Magda, a former Vestal Virgins, begged Iao to take care of Oanda. Iao took Oanda under his wings and engaged her to his adopted son Stephanus. Oanda's beauty most caused wars between neighbouring nations, and she was called the "modern day Helen of Troy". Other than her beauty, we don't know much about her youth, other than the fact that Stephanus was rumored to be madly in love with his bride-to-be. However, before the wedding ceremony, Victor forced Stephanus to give up his bride. Later the same year, Victor himself took Oanda as his wife. She received the name "Augusta" after Victor became Imperator Doom. Despite Oanda's striking beauty, Victor quickly grew weary of his wife. After decades of marriage, Oanda produced no heir. Victor's political enemies accuse Victor of being asexual, for Oanda was the most beautiful woman ever known to men. Like many politicians at the time, Victor was exerting a sexual magnetism that was attractive to both man and woman, which added tremendous political charisma. This accusation of asexuality hurted Victor's popularity as a charismatic leader, as it was seen as lack of manhood. Victor vehemently denied and forbid this accusation, but Oanda's silence did not help the situation. Victor later annulled his marriage with Oanda to marry Susanna. Oanda married Visus and mothered twin sons.  

   Before I get into the actual love story of Doomstrange in 32 BC, I'd like to mention that the plot of this story came from Sheriff Stephen's dream. He once revealed part of the plot to God Emperor Doom. However he carefully did not mention the name of the Roman emperor in his dream. Though he tried to skip the plots of Stephanus' romantic intimacy with his emperor, it's quite apparent to Doom (or any listener) that Stephanus was madly in love with the emperor and longed his love in return. Doom was omnipotent, not omniscient. He doesn't know who the emperor is in Stephen's dream.

 The next day, as Stephen reports to God Emperor Doom, Doom asks Stephen if he noticed any change in the many realms of the Battleworld. Stephen summons the all seeing eye and glance over the world realm by realm. He reports what he sees in each realm, until he suddenly falls dead silent, for he now sees a realm in 32 B.C. Rome, where his counterpart Stephanus is kissing the Roman Emperor. Sheriff Stephen sees the gorgeous face of the emperor, from his charismatic aura, he immediately learn the Emperor is Doom.

Basically Doom created this AU in the reflections of Stephen's dream.

 Stephen drowned in happiness, which is quickly replaced by bitterness. He grew very sad that Stephanus and Victor can live happily together as lovers, while he is but Doom's right hand.

 (TBD)