#can we talk about the cinematic excellence of this???

[cherylblossom]

“I don’t want to forget about you, or about us.”

[fionnaskyborn]

On a scale from one to ten, how based of me is it that I took the GGST survey for the second time just to put a BlazBlue character that appeared in exactly one novel and then never again in one of my three "additional character I would like to see the most in the future" spots?

[felassan]

Sylvia Feketekuty: "To celebrate DA day, I've made a bluesky account that I'll keep active for a few days to talk about my work on Inqusition or Veilguard! After a few days I'll lock the account, because I'm not a social media person. Happy to talk until then though. I want to say straight off: the reception to Emmrich, Manfred, the Mourn Watch, and the Grand Necropolis has been heartwarming for all of us who worked on those people and places. Thank you all very much!" [source, two]

Rest of post under cut due to length and spoilers. [Post Two, Post Three]

Sylvia Feketekuty: "In the meantime, I do want to talk about a couple of things I saw floating around regarding Emmrich: 1. Emmrich being 52 or 50. I think people got 50 from data mining a character file, but we can't do a ranges in those files. As in, I couldn't input 50-60, it had to be a whole number. I put down 50 as an early ballpark, then went more accurate in later audition scripts. 2. Fifty-two is a old number I threw into an early document before his art or character was totally final. (And which caused another developer a headache because they thought it was accurate, I never updated it. Sorry about that.) 3. "Wait, how old is Emmrich then?" Once I saw his final character art, I felt more mid to late 50s. MAYBE early 60s. But unless we specifically state a character's age in the game, it's all malleable. I honestly would just adjust it to your impressions unless stated otherwise. 4. I've also seen comments on how weird it is for Emmrich to act like there's an age-gap in the romance if your Rook is around his age. And you're right. 5. The reason is because Rook WAS younger when those scenes were written and worked on. I felt it'd be odd if I never addressed the May-December aspect, especially as it hooks into some of Emmrich's worries. 6. By the time that shifted, it was really too late to change without catastrophic repercussions to the excellent cinematics and music and other things that depend on line delivery and timing. 7. To be clear: you can feel how you want about the age gap coming up at all! But that's how the discrepancy came about. 8. "Is there a way to reconcile Emmrich acting like my Rook is way younger than him if they're not?" Great question! I have several suggestions: -Accept it's an error. (True, but unexciting) -Emmrich considers a gap of 3-5 years scandalous. (Funny, albeit a bit cartoonish.) -The Mourn Watch has perfected swapping out organs, and Emmrich is nervously hiding that he's way older than he looks out of vanity. (Untrue, but funny.)" [source thread]

User in reply to point 6. above: "I'm personally glad it was too late to change because their argument about it is genuinely my favorite scene in the entire game! 😭💕 It's such an important moment to me" / Sylvia: "Thanks! That one was one where I was all sweatily trying to balance things out, with tone, with pacing, etc. Really glad it came together for you. (Cine and the actors did heroic things there to get it feeling just so!)" [source]

More snippets:

Emmrich's favorite ice cream flavor? Rum raisin [source]

Lots of people on the dev team shared the vision of having a bunch of gothic weirdness in that pocket of Thedas [source] (Necropolis/Nevarra)

Sylvia "especially liked writing the Mourn Watch origin, it was fun to write a fellow nerd for Emmrich to chat with" [source]

Sylvia poured some personal worries and fears into writing Emmrich [source]

On Vorgoth and their nature: "I'm a little leery of saying anything, partly because I'm cowardly avoiding publicly defining anything more until/if I ever need to. And partly because I did want them to be a fresh unknown. Sorry!" [source] "I'm glad you like Vorgoth, but I'm afraid I don't have much for you that isn't in the game. I deliberately wrote them so as to leave room, if we ever revisited them, or for Vorgoth to remain mysterious, if we did not. I'm sorry if that's not a very satisfying answer!" [source] "I will say, it was fun to throw in a few lines about Vorgoth's art collection. Their passion for it is sincere and deep. (I wanted all the Watchers to have a little non-death related hobby or interest, because they can be so singularly focused.)" [source]

Dwarven Mourn Watcher is a rare origin combo for Rook so Sylvia wanted to call it out [source]

On the outcomes of Emmrich's quest: "I tried really hard to make the options equally viable, and more up to the player's interpretation or preferences of what it would mean for Emmrich in their view. It's been interesting seeing reactions to it, which hinge sometimes on various single lines pushing people one way or another!" [source]

"The Grand Necropolis is always eager and ready for a new member of the Mourn Watch to grace its ranks." [source]

User: "I loved Emmrich's view on death and what his personal quest ultimately went on to say about the nature of death itself, and how the beauty of mortality lies in its impermanence and unpredictability." / Sylvia: "I really wanted to dig into those themes, and everyone in cine and art and level design and editing and the whole team honed in exactly on the vibe. The floral stuff especially, I was so thrilled when I played through the Memorial Gardens' with the art and lighting in." [source]

User: "I experience thanatophobia and that first conversation w/ Emmrich was so affirming and helped me describe my own anxiety to others" / Sylvia: "Thanks, the thanatophobia was, as you may've guessed, a personal experience for me too. I'm glad it was something that helped a little." [source] "I suspect that phobia is way more common than people think, and part of the reason Emmrich talks about it was to express that sentiment out loud. I find it helps sometimes just to acknowledge it." [source]

What languages does Emmrich speak other than Trade? "I think he'd be familiar with Tevene, since there's surely many, many old texts about magic written in that language. Kind of like a doctor that knows latin through their work. I also named that MW alphabet "tomb-script", though I'm not sure if it has a spoken component or not since it never came up in-game. If it does, he'd be able to speak that for sure." [source, two]

User: "Playing as a Mourn Watch Rook has been an absolute delight!!!" / Sylvia: "Thank you so much, I really liked writing those branches of the dialogue. Since Emmrich's so focused on necromancy, it was fun having a Rook who could be both casual and knowledgeable about it." [source]

User: "In your opinion, what outcome do you prefer for a romanced Emmrich (lich/non lich)?" / Sylvia: "Interesting question! To be honest, I'm afraid to answer it properly in case anyone takes my answer to be a canonical one. I really wanted either path to feel equally interesting/correct for whatever you decide fits your Rook's relationship with Emmrich. (We're also in the strange waters of meta-reasoning. I GAVE Emmrich his fear of death-Sorry Emmrich!-which makes me feel a little culpable for that, even though he's entirely fictional. And that might prey on my mind when trying to decide. A very odd experience!)" [source, two]

What music genres would Emmrich be into? "Classical music is very much playing to type for Emmrich, but I feel it's also correct. He'd enjoy a nice concerto or an organ recital. Or, if he's feeling daring, a bold new Orlesian opera! But I don't think his tastes are too outré in that area. That said, I saw someone post something like "Leave Emmrich alone, let him attend the Depeche Mode concert" while listening to Depeche Mode's "Violator", for the first time, which made me laugh. (Great album. If he could get over the shock of synths, Emmrich might enjoy "Waiting for the Night".)" [source, two]

When writing Emmrich the devs wanted to try and hit the gothic romance vibe [source]

Does Emmrich mix his own fragrance/cologne? Does he ever vary it by the season? "I think Emmrich goes to some of the many perfumers that have set up shop in Nevarra City around the Necropolis, just because he trusts their judgement and expertise. I hadn't considered him varying it by season, but that's very fun! I certainly think he has more than one bottle of scent." [source]

User: "How does Lich Emmrich have sex?" / Sylvia: "I don't mind the question! But my answer's a bit boring: I generally stay at arm's length on the more explicit romance stuff, just because if it's not stated or shown in-game, I don't want to bring in a canonical answer that might affect what people imagined. My general preference for romantic scenes that get physical is to leave blank space somewhere, so players can imagine what happens next. It's not the ONLY way to do it, I think there's legitimate artistic reasons to go more explicit. But that's how I approached Emmrich (and before him Josephine.)" [source, two]

User: "The scene with the fade glow where he touches your hand haunts me in the best way" / Sylvia: "Aw thank you. Our animators and audio people made that scene way better than I could've hoped! They took such care with everything there. I want to say that little eye-peep from Rook was added in by one of them, which was the perfect touch." [source]

User on Emmrich: "i’m curious whether you think he’d prefer dogs or cats (or both, or neither)" / Sylvia: "I think he'd consider cats and dogs a little too noisy and messy for his tastes. Not like a nice, quiet plant or skeleton! (Weirdly, I actually had a scrap of banter going over this exact subject at one point. It got tightened down to the exchange with Harding about the pig he used to hug when he was a kid.)" [source, two]

Sylvia was trying to tease Nevarra with the Tevinter Nights story Down Among the Dead Men [source]. "It was really fun to tease the Necropolis, so to speak, in TN, and I'm grateful we got to actually let players through its gates at last." [source]

User: "if Rook chooses to save Manfred and keep Emmrich mortal, what would Emmrich wish to become of his body once he did pass on?" / Sylvia: "Good question. I think he'd want to remain active and useful in death. A guide for other Mourn Watchers, or posted as a mystic guide somewhere dangerous, or perhaps an oracle in the library." [source]

User: "when and how was it decided that Emmrich would be romanceable? I remember reading that he would not be a romance option." / Sylvia: "I'm not sure where that came from, because I pitched him and then shortly after that we decided the entire cast was romanceable. That was fairly early on in the development of Veilguard, as I recall it. (Could've been a crossed wire?)" [source]

Trick Weekes: "Sylvia wrote the fantastic Emmrich "the Vol-carnage" Volkarin and everything that happens in Nevarra while dealing with a lead writer whose attitudes about corpses and undead are... not dissimilar from Taash's." [source] / Sylvia: "I still remember when you gave the very accurate feedback "I think we need to give players whose Rooks aren't into corpses some roleplaying choices to express this" and I was all "Ohhh yeaaaaaah." (Thank u Trick, you were right)" [source] / Trick: "Specifically, being able to express this without locking themselves out of the content! (For non-Sylvia folks) Given my issues with corpses, Emmrich as a whole was SUPER Not For Me, so I gave one caveat and then said, "For the rest of my critique, I will be impersonating his target audience." [source]

Sylvia on the secret origins of Manfred: "After I pitched Emmrich, I started jotting down notes and thoughts on his plots, his quirks, all that kind of stuff. It was very early on Veilguard, anything was still possible. We were chatting in the writer's room about it one day, and I think we'd just seen some early concept art for Emmrich. And our lead writer Trick Weekes joked that Emmrich looked like a man who'd have a skeleton named Manfred. And I laughed and went "Yeah he does!" And then I thought about it. It's wild in retrospect, but that one comment spurred a train of thought that led to the core of Emmrich's arc. He may've ended up a very different character without it! tl;dr: I stole it from Trick." [source, two, three, four]

"I got to play with a pretty free palette when defining the way Emmrich and the necromancers view death and spirits. But I tried to keep it within the confines of existing lore. That's one reason why that scene where Emmrich talks about Manfred to Harding goes into "the eternal question" of whether a soul actually returns with the dead or not. Nevarra has distinct beliefs, but I thought it'd be interesting if its people argue over their interpretations of those beliefs." [source, two]

"the other writers also suggested a bit later on that the big choice dig more into Emmrich's philosophies. Initially, it was more personally focused on his fears, which made it 'relatable' but pettier. Without that correction, I think it would've been weaker, I totally needed the team push." [source]

"I have a few guides to graveyard symbology, and it's so packed with references and meaning." [source]

User: "Did any of your own fears & experiences, make it into the writing of Emmrich? If yes, is it information you’re comfortable sharing with us? If it’s too personal to give any details, that’s fine as well. Also, across the other games, who do you think Emmrich will get along with best?" / Sylvia: "some of his fears are absolutely personal. The reflexive-compulsive panic over death is something I'm very familiar with, and I wanted to explore that through him. Because I suspected it was not uncommon, and worth examining. The question of who he'd get along with from the other games is surprisingly tough! Because without asking the other writers about their characters, I wouldn't know for sure. So I can only really speak to Josephine with surety. That said: -I think Josephine would be polite, and grow to like him, but would never entirely be over the ostentatious necromancy. -I think Emmrich meeting Sera would be the funniest match." [source, two, three]

"Peter Cushing was also one of my go-tos as an example of what I wanted Emmrich to be." [source]

"(Huge shout out to all the animators and level designers making Manfred run, quite literally. Like 95% of his personality lives in his movement, I think they nailed it.)" [source]

On Emmrich: "I tried to put a lot of passion and sincerity in his love for the dead, and I admit the Necropolis was THE big place I wanted to see in Thedas myself ever since reading about it in a codex." [source]

User: "Thank you for letting him have that cemetery dream date!" / Sylvia: "Having the date in the cemetery was one of the first things I wanted when thinking about the romance." [source]

"Josephine was the first time I was entrusted with a new character and a new romance at once, and that'll always be special to me." [source]

User: "How much input did you have in Emmrich's appearance in the podcast?" / Sylvia: "In the podcast, none myself. I believe it was handled by a third party but reviewed by a few people at BW, I don't know too much past that. (We did provide a descriptor and character rules. Stuff like "Emmrich never swears" and "always says amongst" and broader, more thematically useful things.)" [source]

User on Emmrich: "Are you planning any other external-media stories for him?" / Sylvia: "Thanks very much, The Flame Eternal has a special place in my heart for being the first time Emmrich got to be center stage in a story. (And very flattering to hear about the cross stitch. That's so cool!) I can't speak to any external-media plans, I'm afraid. That's not an implied hint about anything existing or not, it's just literally outside what I'm allowed to chat about. It'd be fun to do something like that again though!" [source, two]

"I must give full credit to Nick Borraine, Emmrich's voice actor. He got the compassion and tenderness the character needed right away." [source]

"And glad him being closer to your age resonated, I really wanted someone older out on an adventure. No reason that has to stop at any age IMO." [source]

User: "do the mourn watcher/nevarra in general raise their pets after they die to keep them around? like a dog skeleton with a whisp in it?" / Sylvia: "To be honest I hadn't thought out this one, but it's a very good question. I'm not sure how common that would be, or even if it's permitted to have pets running around the family crypt. (I definitely thing people would WANT to do it.) You know, I think I'm going to have to leave this one in the vague quantum foam of the future. I think I'd want to not only double check existing lore, but answer that in-game (or in a book or etc.) if we ever need to. (Hope that's not too much of a cop out. Sometimes I like to leave questions I'm not sure about alone, because until it's in an official game or story, it doesn't quite count.)" [source, two, three]

User: "as someone who shares emmrich's anxiety about mortality, getting to spend time with him, and in the grand necropolis and with the mourn watch, was genuinely soothing" / Sylvia: "Thank you, I'm glad he was a comfort. It's a familiar fear for me too, and I'd hoped he would connect that way with people very much." [source]

On the giant ribcage 'ceiling' in the Necropolis: "sadly, even I don't know all the mysteries of the Necropolis. (Which is to say it's a very cool bit of art but has no stated origin yet. Could be a large dragon, a giant...or something weirder!)" [source]

On TN story Luck in the Gardens: "It was nice change up, writing in first person and with someone so rascally. I've got an enduring affection for the Lords after writing Hollix, the scamp." [source]

User: "I just love his genuine enthusiasm for everything he does. If the other party members had fan clubs Emmrich would be the president of each and I love that for him" / Sylvia: "Thank you! I really wanted him to embody a kind of expansiveness and generosity of spirit, to stand in contrast to the eeriness of his abilities." [source]

User: "What was your inspiration for Josie?" / Sylvia: "My girl! When I came on to Inquisition, there'd already been work done on setting up the spine of the main plot, and figuring out the overall cast. But one of the advisors was a little murkier. It just said "Diplomat" on the white board. We knew we wanted someone in that position, but not who. So in a game where you were out exploring, killing demons, etc., but also had a big organization to run? I immediately wanted to make a Diplomat firmly there for you. Somebody you could hand the keys to the entire Inquisition to while you were out, and know it'd be in good hands. I also thought it'd be fun to have someone from Antiva, since that area wasn't covered yet by anyone in the cast. And I needed her to be polished, smooth, but heartfelt, because of that aforementioned trust. And that was the core of Josephine! Her voice actor, Allegra, brought her to life with such lovely charm, and hearing those early sessions also helped me further hone her tone." [source, two, three, four]

"Our music supervisor Ron Dazo hit it out of the park with Emmrich's music IMO. And so glad you liked Hezenkoss! Just very fun to write as a character." [source]

User: "Did any specific watcher raise MW Rook?" / Sylvia: "Good question! I kind of left that one alone because I wasn't sure if I wanted to let Rook define that themselves, or leave it open, and also I'd have wanted a full conversation on it. In the end that was a little out of scope so I left it unsaid. Which is to say that it COULD be Vorgoth who helped raise your Rook. And that stands until/unless we give a definitive answer (or let you choose from a range of answers) one day." [source, two]

"It was such a pleasure for all of us to finally get to explore the Necropolis, I am very glad we got to throw open the gates." [source]

User: "I was wondering if there were any Mourn Watch details you wished you had more time to explore? I was so struck by some of the ethical implications in your stories" / Sylvia: "Geeze, now that's a question. I mention it with Emmrich, but there's some resentment over the power the Watchers hold as THE mortalitasi of the Grand Necropolis, between them and the other orders. There's something to that situation I liked. There's also questions of how they select people for the order. What their standards are, how closely they work with benign spirits. And how they cultivate those relationships. How deep does that go? I also mentioned in a codex "the lives and bodies of those who tamper with the undead of the Necropolis are forfeit unto the Mourn Watch." which is pretty chilling. What's that punishment like, exactly? And in general, writing about anything weird or unexplained in the Necropolis brought me much enjoyment, and it would be fun to dig around how the Mourn Watch deals with (or what they want out of) all these mysteries and entities." [source, two, three, four]

"Geeking out with Emmrich about spooky stuff was a delight to write." [source]

"I liked writing someone older this time, it was something different for me and rewarding in some unexpectedly different ways. (And thanks especially for the nice words on DAtDM - I was very excited to introduce people to the Mourn Watch there!)" [source]

"Ah, tomb-script. I named it but it was our concept artists who went developed it with the hexagon shape-language of the Mourn Watch, which I loved. Conceptually: I think it's used purely an occult or sacred language. Something for the graves, or books on magic, but not everyday things." [source]

"Some trans people kindly offered their help with some feedback on some of the romance lines and others, which absolutely made them much better." [source]

"Trick Weekes actually wrote a ton of the banter where Emmrich inquires into qunari artifacts and customs, and Taash talks about what it was like to grow up under a scholar. I really dig the dynamic they unearthed between the two there." [source]

[neroushalvaus]

No wait let me talk some more about Bridget Jones and how despite all of it's faults I think it's a positive movie for women in general and fat women in particular

So yeah, Renée Zellweger is not fat. While I think we should not forget that she was still body-shamed in media for the slight weight she put on for the movies, she was never fat or even "chubby". It is obviously a problem that in the first two movies she is constantly treated as fat when she never was. But even thought I do not like it, that is how it is. And in the Bridget Jones cinematic universe, Bridget Jones is seen as fat. As someone who is not desirable, who is embarrassing to date and who should constantly feel ridiculous for daring to exist in the world.

And you know, when you grow up fat, you learn that you need to compensate for the crime of being too big. Especially when you are seen as a woman. You need to be smart as a whip, and funny and entertaining to be around, and talented in so many ways, and you may never be clumsy because when a fat girl falls down, the first reaction is not "are you okay", it's laughter. And you may not have standards. If a guy likes you, consider yourself lucky. You can't be too loud or annoying because you already take up too much space. When it comes to looks, you must excel at femininity. You must wear make-up and have a beautiful face and lovely eyes and you have to wear clothes that compliment your body, that draw the attention to your breasts and hips. You must always be ready to be sexualized because that is the closest thing you can get to having your body accepted.

And then there is Bridget Jones. She drinks too much, she smokes too much, she talks too much and I love her with every fiber of my being. Look at how they dress her in the first two movies. Look how they style her hair. The clothes are often ill-fitting, the hair is messy and flat. When she goes to parties, she tries so hard to look good but never looks like a typical romcom lead. She is reaching towards femininity and falling face first into mud. She is crass and has a weird sense of humour and she always says the wrong thing in every situation.

But she is sincere. She is loved by her friends, she is desired by several men (and one woman) and she is allowed to have standards. The first movie's plotline with Daniel Cleaver is so good in this regard. Daniel sends Bridget sexual texts, sleeps with her, never says he loves her and then he cheats on her. Do we laugh at how silly Bridget was to get her hopes up when she thought this guy played by Hugh Grant could like her when he never said he did and obviously only wanted sex? No. We focus on how hurt Bridget is. And I love the scene where Bridget is with her friends and Mark Darcy when Cleaver comes to apologize. He comes through her door and seems surprised she's not alone, waiting for him. It is her birthday. Of course she is with her friends. Who you would know exist if you cared about her life at all, Daniel. And you know, then he apologizes and doesn't wait for Bridget's response, he just assumes she takes him back. Because how could she possibly do better? And after Daniel and Mark have their legendary fight for Bridget's affections and Bridget tells Mark to piss off, Daniel just assumes this means Bridget has chosen him. Because a woman like Bridget needs to have someone to make her feel less like a waste of space, right? Which makes it delicious when Bridget counters Daniel's pathetic little love confession "If I can't make it with you then I can't make it with anyone" with "That's not a good enough offer for me". She is still looking for something more extraordinary than that.

And she gets it!! I can not stress this enough! She is seen as a fat woman who isn't brilliantly smart, isn't polite or suave, is clumsy and crass and socially awkward, and can't cook anything but blue soup and marmalade and is a hot mess express in general, and the archetypical romantic hero, literal Mr Darcy falls in love with her just as she is. Bridget never needs to become smarter or less awkward or less clumsy, she is loved and treasured just as she is. That is why I have loved her for twenty years.

[erstwhilesparrow]

limited life fic recs

Not really more of theme to this one than "Hey, check out this good good writing!" Been meaning to do this one for. Um. A while. Did my best not to repeat authors. If you're on this and don't want to be, let me know and I'll remove yours!

Fics On AO3:

Sundown; astronomeridian - Nobody fucks on the page in this one but you know it's gonna happen. The various alliances of Limited Life settle down for the night and talk around or about having sex. Really incredible character voice the whole way through (made particularly impressive by the fact that Every Character Is In This).

Gallant; zornographic - Grian/Etho-centric Knight AU, in which Grian, badly injured and fleeing for his life, runs into Etho, a strange knight offering to help him, in order to pay back a favour Grian did for him long ago. Really gorgeous turns of phrase applied with perfect precision, and lovely glimpses of a much bigger world that is alive and specific, that the characters feel genuinely rooted in.

Close to Your Chest; foxgloveblue (cornflowerdye) - Canon divergence where Joel and Etho are the last two standing at the end of Limited Life. The visual details in this one make it downright cinematic -- you can see the wreckage of the Bread Bridge, the light falling on them both. Special commendation for the characterization here too: Joel and Etho both clearly know each other well enough that it give us access to both of them in fun and interesting ways.

everything anyone ever ignored; Sixteenthdays - AU where when you kill someone, you get some of their traits. Really really fun for (1) quick, sharp prose and (2) glimpses into each of the character's unique experiences with Being In Their Body. There's a relentlessness that matches the vibes of Limited Life itself really well.

the lamb & the knife; errorryx - Cleo tells Pearl they're going to summon a goddess of war, and Pearl thinks about summoning something for herself. It's good fun! Admittedly, my idea of 'good fun' is mild body horror and considerations of animal and human sacrifice, but also fun are Pearl and Cleo's usual contentious relationship, and Pearl's usual degree of getting herself into trouble.

tempering; farrondoc - Grian/Etho platonic kink around Etho being Grian's sword! Captures their characters really well in a very short space.

Cam-account Parenting; litbynosun - Bdubs and Scar have been mysteriously and abruptly turned into little kids. Cleo has to handle this while chat fervently discusses what's going on in the background. Banger fic, script format with some fun bonus touches, great character voices, excellent fandom commentary on the horrors of being a woman in MCYT spaces.

Poison; jabberwockysoda - Etho takes up smoking; he and Cleo argue about it. Vibes of "we know and dislike each other but there is an intimacy and comfort in the knowing and the disliking" -- a very particular, almost worn-down tone that is set immediately and then maintained the whole way through.

fulgurite; Thunderbirds_and_Lightning - The Bad Boys' deaths. One of my all-time favourite depictions of the Limlife timers and one of my favourite endings to a Limited Life fic too. Lots of wonderfully creative imagery that draws on popular fanon without directly copying it; very fun.

With Soul Intent; salemoleander (heartbeatsinreverse) - Canon divergence where everyone's clocks stop in the middle of the game. Hilarious. Pitch-perfect character voice. Every beat hits. salemoleander is also on Tumblr and has a few Tumblr-exclusive Limited Life ficlets that are awesome, but which I could not include on this list due to rules of my little game. Check 'em out!

the here and now; doctorletmebebrace - Joel wakes up at home, on Empires S2, after his final death. Jimmy's there, and they talk. Makes me really tender about them, for all that they spend most of it arguing. Full of grief and regret and so much love.

Fics On Tumblr:

(Note: In cases where a fic has been posted both on AO3 and on Tumblr, I've linked the version that's on AO3. These are the ones I couldn't find on there.)

[Knives and forks clink against the dinner plates]; wisepuma23 - Boogeyman Impulse tries to sit through a normal meal with the rest of TIES. Forever and always a big fan of the intermingling of domesticity and violence, and the visceral onomatopoeia makes this really fun background drumbeat to Impulse's narration.

["Do you have a clock yet?"]; dmwrites - Impulse gives Bdubs a clock, and Cleo makes an addition. It's sweet! It also makes me sad. Good thoughts re: Impulse's relationship to Bdubs over time, from both Cleo and Impulse's perspectives.

[What are you?]; the-amber-shadow - The Watchers hound Martyn for an answer to the question of what his symbol is going to be after he wins Limited Life. I think this one's fun both as a historical artifact (what did we as a fandom consider for symbols, and thus how did we interpret/emphasize different parts of Martyn's victory), and I'm a big fan of metafic. Martyn arguing with Watchers-as-audience is a great way to do it!

[Gem Cleo watches Scott leave]; jellieland - Gem in Cleo's body has a chat with Martyn, and Martyn tells her something about why he teamed with Scott this time around. jellieland is a fantastic writer whose fics are invariably fascinating, well-written, and insightful, and I do recommend you check them all out, but I had to pick this one because I read it and could almost physically feel something clicking into place in my head -- everything I have written about Martyn+Cleo since this has been influenced by this fic.

[Joel's gone soft on him]; zedif-y - Jimmy reflects on this new side of Joel he's started seeing this season, while petting Joel's hair. It's soft. It's nice. Joel gets to take a nice nap and cuddle with Jimmy and Jimmy gets to think about all the things he knows about Joel.

[Joel dies with blood in his mouth]; alittlebirb - Joel dies. He's furious about it, and then he's not. Love the wild, frenetic energy of this one trailing off into something quieter, something like resignation -- fantastically paced.

[Bigb watches Grian for a while]; theminecraftbee - Bigb watches Grian do something that definitely isn't mourning, and definitely doesn't understand it. You don't know what an agony it was to have to narrow this down to Just One Theminecraftbee Fic. But I'm sure you could've guessed that. The thing that gets me about this one is Bigb and Grian have such history and see such interesting facets of each other, and their team-up in Limlife is this resigned kind of "Okay. This is what we're doing now." The melancholy is excellent.

Mean Gills Quarantine Zone:

(I like Mean Gills. A lot. So I have a lot of fic recs focused on them. So that's why this section. This should all be AO3 fics?)

Stop; KieIsWrite - After the end of Limited Life, Martyn tries to reckon with the aftermath of his actions. There are corpses. Things get grim. Scott's ghost is there, maybe. This one's horror, so mind the tags, but the horror comes in slow and quiet, and very interesting things are happening with the blurring of bodies-as-death and bodies-as-erotic.

hold the night; solarcafe - Scott and Martyn cuddle. That's it, that's the whole fic. Sweet, charming fluff!

Hush hush; WhyB - After moving the beds down into their secret base, Scott gets a little comfort and Martyn gets a little absolution. The Scott and Martyn hurt/comfort fic of your dreams! Hits every beat perfectly, and really, this author just does good hurt/comfort in general for every fandom they're in. Check 'em out!

I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet; the_hypercube - Scott and Martyn have a tense conversation over breakfast, while the ghosts of the Third Life alliances haunt them (figuratively). I love the thread of uneasiness running through this whole thing, pulling tighter and tighter but never getting to a breaking point. I love all the little domestic gestures against the backdrop of [This Is A Death Game And Things Are Getting Bad].

Requiescat; enemyofrome - Martyn walks out of the end of Limited Life and finds Ren, building the ice boat course on Hermitcraft. Martyn's not entirely free of the Watchers, of Scott, of his time in the games, but he and Ren will work it out. This is in the quarantine zone because I have to confess a disproportionate amount of my adoration for this fic is because of the excellent codependent Mean Gills, but the rest of it is because it is tender and well-characterized and beautifully written.

ears pressed to the floor; GoodTimesWithScar - Scott catches Martyn sewing the Dogwarts banner for his red life skin. Wonderfully melancholy, even as Scott and Martyn fall into their usual banter. I like how lonely it feels, even when they're standing right in front of each other -- they've got separate histories to contend with.

the cut of your love; soapflowers - Selkie AU! Martyn has Scott's pelt locked in a chest in his basement, and this is Fine. Really really good at maintaining a tenuous balance where nothing drastic has happened, but they both keep flirting with the precipice. The tags on this include Implied/Referenced Kidnapping, Abuse, Non-Sexual Intimacy, and Gaslighting, and that is enticing to me, but I know it isn't to everyone, so mind the tags!

Call Me What You Like; orphan_account - A study of Scott's perspective on his relationship to Martyn, with some (a lot of) pining. Everyone's having a miserable time, except me; I'm pointing at this and going, "Ough!! A Mean Gills dynamic of all time in this one for sure!!" Delightful juxtaposition of physical closeness with emotional distance.

[amyriadfthings]

[Have the whole interview]

The Projectionist

With Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, It’s All About Chemistry

After “Fleabag” and “Normal People” made them romantic idols, the two actors forge their own tender bond in “All of Us Strangers.”

“Have you seen the sausage ad?” Andrew Scott asked me.

“No, no, we’re not going to talk about that,” Paul Mescal said.

It was a mid-November morning in Los Angeles, and I was having breakfast with two actors who have created some of the most indelible romantic leads of recent vintage: Scott, 47, played the “Hot Priest” on the second season of “Fleabag,” while the 27-year-old Mescal broke through — and broke hearts — as the conflicted jock Connell in Hulu’s “Normal People.”

Now, instead of aiming those love beams at women, they’ll point them at each other in the drama “All of Us Strangers,” due Dec. 22 in theaters. It’s like an Avengers-level team-up, if the Avengers recruited exclusively from the ranks of sad-eyed Irish heartthrobs who caused a sensation over the 2019-20 television season.

But before we could talk about their sexy, shattering new movie, Scott gently ribbed his co-star about an ad for an Irish sausage brand, Denny, that Mescal had starred in just out of drama school. (Though the rest of the world was introduced to Mescal in “Normal People,” Ireland already knew him from the ubiquitous sausage commercial.)

“Look, I needed that job in a massive way,” Mescal said. “That paid my rent for the rest of the year. But if I could take it back …”

“Ah, no, it’s lovely you have that!” Scott said. “I actually thought the character you created in the sausage ad was …”

“… career defining?” Mescal offered.

“It made me want a sausage!” Scott said a little too eagerly, causing both men to laugh. “Easy, folks, that’s too easy a joke,” Mescal said.

Scott and Mescal’s teasing, affectionate chemistry is put to excellent use in “All of Us Strangers,” directed by Andrew Haigh (“Weekend,” “45 Years”). Scott stars as Adam, a lonely writer who finds that his childhood home has become a mysterious portal that allows him to reconnect with his long-dead parents (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). At the same time as Adam grapples with this past made manifestly present, he navigates an uncertain but tantalizing future with his neighbor Harry (Mescal), with whom he develops an intense romantic bond.

Over breakfast, we discussed the movie, which recently took the top prize at the British Independent Film Awards in addition to wins for directing, writing and Mescal’s supporting performance. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

Andrew, you were attached to this movie first. How did you feel when Paul was cast?

SCOTT I was really thrilled because I was hoping that people would be able to see how cinematic and brilliant that role is.

MESCAL It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t be interested in it.

SCOTT Well, the character is such a vessel for love. To be able to play love, it’s something that you have to just know how to embody, and Paul is so excellent about being able to allow the audience in. When I heard he was interested, I was saying to Andrew, “Make that happen!”

MESCAL Even if I didn’t like the script or Andrew Haigh as much as I do, and I knew Andrew [Scott] was going to be doing the film, I still would have done the film.

SCOTT Would you?

MESCAL A hundred percent. And I know that probably sounds sycophantic, but when I was reading it and imagining you’d do it, I thought, “This is built for an actor of your caliber.” There’s lots of brilliant dramatic actors in the world, but what I think separates Andrew is his capacity to understand the dramatic requirements of a scene but also to play utterly against it. He finds humor in subject matter like this, which is really quite heavy, and if you can make an audience laugh, you’re halfway to making them cry.

This is a very tactile movie, too.

SCOTT There’s so much touching, whether that’s familial touching or a more sensual thing. People have talked an awful lot about the chemistry and the sex between our characters, but actually what I think is really radical and affecting about the relationship is how affectionate and tender they are with each other. It’s such a beautiful thing to play, isn’t it? Just real care.

MESCAL I find it healing to watch that kind of emotional intimacy. I remember being surprised when we watched it for the first time, because I didn’t remember being so close to your face when we were talking, how we were totally taking each other in. There’s a weird thing that I don’t think you can cheat: You know how when somebody you love is talking to you, and you look at their lips? It’s like, Jesus, I can’t remember doing that.

Andrew, you’ve said before that acting is a matter of revealing. What’s being revealed about you by taking on this role?

SCOTT I think an awful lot, if I’m honest. I’m happy to be able to say that to be emancipated from shame has been genuinely the biggest achievement of my life. For a long time, I have felt very comfortable with myself, but it doesn’t take much to go back there — something a taxi driver can say can still wound you. If he might say, “You’ve got a wife?” You could go, “No, I don’t,” or is that sort of a lie by omission? I think the challenge was to undo the work and go to that place where you feel frightened.

How were you able to emancipate yourself from shame?

SCOTT I genuinely think that acting helped me. When I was a kid, I started doing elocution lessons because I had a really bad lisp. “She sells seashells,” I had to say that 17 times a day. So they sent me to elocution, which was boring, but eventually it was speech and drama classes. I was so shy and terrified, but then someone would say, “Get up and do an improvisation,” and some part of me felt …

MESCAL … free?

SCOTT Free, and I loved it. And then I practiced it a little bit more and then started doing it as a job. When I was 18 or 19, I was playing gay parts but I wasn’t out. A lot of people within the industry were queer, so I was surrounded by them and then, bit by bit, started to feel confident. To make something like [“All of Us Strangers”], it moves me, because I never thought that I’d get a chance to expose myself so much in a film like this or for it to be in such a trusting environment with such brilliant colleagues.

And do you rush headlong into the chance to expose yourself like that?

SCOTT I do. It’s my responsibility. The further I go into acting, I think that’s all it is, actually.

In the first scene you share, Paul’s character is boldly trying to flirt his way into Andrew’s apartment. Paul, it’s a kick to see you play a man so assertive and sure of what he wants.

MESCAL I was just so giddy because I don’t think I’ve got many opportunities to play somebody like that. It reminded me of characters I would have played in drama school — a lot more front-footed, a little bit bolder. Part of it was surprising an audience that might associate me with more interior, back-footed characters that I’ve played.

SCOTT I remember so clearly you saying the line, “There’s vampires at my door.” That line could seem completely preposterous and it’s a hard sell, but it’s unique, right? I’m obsessed with writing that has a real autograph about it.

MESCAL ChatGPT wouldn’t come up with that.

SCOTT Exactly. And human beings have an extraordinary way of expressing themselves. I feel the same way when people talk about big acting.

MESCAL I love big acting.

SCOTT Some people do that kind of polite, nobody-will-notice-me acting, and sometimes it can be a little dull.

MESCAL You’re looking for an opportunity to play something truthfully, but also if that truth can be a bigger, more fractious choice, maybe that could be fun.

What’s the biggest acting you’ve ever done?

SCOTT Oh my God. Pick a card, any card. I did a play called “Present Laughter” by Noël Coward, about a guy who’s an over-the-top actor. It was kind of a farce, and I’m obsessed with farce.

MESCAL I am so jealous of people who can do farce, I don’t know where I would start.

SCOTT It’s all about timing the slam of the door, and there’s no greater feeling than when you’re talking to the other actor and you are waiting for the audience to stop laughing. You’d love it because it’s so physical as well.

MESCAL I’m just a bit scared of comedy because I didn’t do a lot of it in drama school. Don’t think [I’ve got] a particularly funny disposition.

SCOTT Are you out of your mind? I’m going to have a little think now.

MESCAL I’d love to do a rom-com.

SCOTT I think you’d be very good at playing some sort of neurotic.

MESCAL Really?

SCOTT Yeah. I love those kinds of characters that don’t have a sense of humor.

MESCAL No sense of humor. Great. I can do that, I can do that easily. [Laughs.]

With “Normal People” and “Fleabag,” where you played romantic leads, how did you handle the intensity of the audience imprinting on you?

MESCAL I remember the first couple of months of that happening, I was like, “Jesus, what can I do?” And the answer is actually nothing. There’s nothing you can do about it if somebody wants to imprint or project onto you.

SCOTT That was all during the pandemic, wasn’t it?

MESCAL Yeah, yeah.

Was it better or worse that you were in your house for most of it?

MESCAL Much, much better. Even doing junkets when “Normal People” came out, I was really glad to do it within the confines of my own home. I could put the laptop down and nobody knew where I was.

Andrew, you weren’t trapped at home when “Fleabag” came out. Could you tell something had changed in the way people perceived you?

SCOTT It already happened a little bit when I did “Sherlock” [playing Moriarty] because that really does have a fandom. There were like a thousand people that would come to set, it was absolutely insane.

MESCAL Jesus.

SCOTT So “Fleabag" was completely different in that sense. It didn’t have the same frenzy.

Maybe not as you were filming it, but there was definitely a passionate fandom once it was released.

SCOTT There was, but I really enjoyed that because I love the show. I’m so proud of it and I loved that part, so I liked that it really affected people so much.

MESCAL Still! I watch it once a year.

Paul, you even dressed as the hot priest for Halloween.

MESCAL I did. That went down a bit of a storm.

When you have a breakthrough project like those two series, and you’re seen differently in this business afterward, is it hard not to get swept up by all the offers that come your way?

MESCAL I know what I like. I don’t have the confidence in myself as an actor to do something that isn’t good. I don’t think I can pull the wool over people’s eyes with bells and whistles in terms of performance, and I’m actually glad I can’t do that.

SCOTT But is it weird when you are in L.A. now? I opened up my curtains this morning, and there you are.

MESCAL Yeah, my Gucci billboard.

SCOTT That’s insane.

MESCAL It is bananas. Yeah, I’m really proud of that, but I’m also acutely aware the only reason that’s happening is because people are enjoying the work that I’m doing. It can all disappear, like that.

Paul, you’re currently working on Ridley Scott’s sequel to “Gladiator.” I’m sure you’ve been pursued for a lot of blockbusters, so what made you choose this one?

MESCAL I love the first film and I think Ridley is an all-time great, so that was a no-brainer to me. I don’t really have a desire to make lots of big films in my life, but if this was the only big film I was ever to make, I would put my name into the mix anywhere for that. I’m having a great time doing it, but I also think there’s an obligation to understand that I don’t want an audience to get bored of me, or expect me to do the big indie film every year or two, because they’re really hard to get right.

Which is hard to get right, the big film or the indie?

MESCAL A film like “All of Us Strangers” or “Aftersun.” I’ve been incredibly lucky that those scripts came across my desk because there’s lots of other indies that are really well intentioned that don’t reach an audience. Also, it’s hard to go to the emotional well year after year with stuff like this, so I don’t want an audience to get bored of my choices or expect that I’m going to do that.

SCOTT Do you remember you got the “Gladiator” call when we were on the set of “All of Us Strangers”? You were so excited. I think I was even more excited, but you were so lit up about it. I think one of the fun things about being an actor that’s open to you is that you can do whatever you really want.

MESCAL That’s what makes you tick, to go from scenes like we get to play in “All of Us Strangers” to then doing stuff where you’re running around in an arena. If I was to boil down why I love this job, it’s that you get to go to work and pretend all day long but the thing that you would imagine as a child is actually actualized.

SCOTT Have there been any moments in “Gladiator” where you’re like, “This is amazing”?

MESCAL The first day was just bananas. There was camels and thousands of extras. Two close-ups on me. A close-up on the action. And you’re just like, “I’ve got to fake this till I make it.” Wild. Wild. Wild.

SCOTT Yeah, it’s playing. It really is. You’re required to play a part, you’re not required to work a part.

It’s heartening to hear you both describe acting as play or pretend. You talk about it in such joyful terms, but some of the other leading men I’ve spoken to will …

MESCAL … fetishize the pain.

SCOTT It embarrasses them.

MESCAL It’s important to say that “pretend” doesn’t make it any less emotional or difficult to do, but I think it actually gives you a greater range of possibility in a scene. That’s not to say there weren’t days on [“All of Us Strangers”] that felt like some sort of psychological torture.

SCOTT Absolutely.

MESCAL But the act of making it? It can’t be that, because then it just becomes about “How hard can I grip this table? How much pain can I put myself through in order to talk about it to the press?”

SCOTT I think of it sometimes like you invited somebody around for dinner and you said, “I could not find any organic chicken in the market, it was an absolute nightmare. Then I had to hoover the place from top to bottom.” And they’re just like, “Give me a glass of wine. I don’t want to hear about what you did, I’m just here for dinner.”

MESCAL Yeah, that’s spot on.

SCOTT What you need to do is have the generosity to get the chicken out.

MESCAL Organic or not.

Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and serves as The Projectionist, the awards season columnist for The Times. He is the author of “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.” More about Kyle Buchanan

A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 7, 2023, Section C, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Two Hearts Beating As One. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

[wizardsvslesbians]

It's time for another... Recommendation Masterpost (Winter 2024).

Anybody suggested Geoff Ryman's The Child Garden? It has The British Wizard Socialist Party, it has lesbians, it has revolution in the form of spitting out the pacifier of immortality, it has a genetically-engineered polar bear furry/weird little Phantom of the Opera figure who wants to defy expectations and become a singer & composer. No promises you'll love it (it was first published in 1989, for starters), but I think it'll give the two of you a lot to talk about.

Frankly this sounds amazing. I will at the very least crack it open.

This may not be mainline wizards vs lesbians (no lesbians (queer people are around (there's polyamory!)), although wizards are there (less one specific guy and more like... Themes. And people who can control earthquakes with their minds.)) But! The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is one I read recently which blew my mind in the quality of the prose and the nuance of the worldbuilding and how unflinching the author is towards having horrible and traumatic things happen to her characters without having it be gratuitous in the slightest. That + the pov and tone felt like such a breath of fresh air to me as opposed to a lot of other scifi-fantasy I've read recently. I feel like there's a good bit that could potentially be said about it and I would be fascinated to hear your takes (I am avoiding looking up reviews because I don't want to spoil myself for the sequels). Other interesting things about it: 2nd person done well and effectively. Distinct lack of europe or even the spectre of generic medieval European fantasy. Pretty accurate science to the point where I can tell what the in-world scientists are getting wrong and what's going on in modern terms (like, ohhhh she's testing for heavy metal contamination. They don't call it that but you can figure it out.) Generally very well delivered worldbuilding, sort of dystopian-post apocalyptic but with undeniable fantasy elements and I would not be surprised if the second book veers into sci-fi. That sort of fun genre non-conforming thing. And also again very well written. I don't think it's perfect though, there's been better character work. Newish listener, I've been very much enjoying the podcast despite not really listening to podcasts, came for the excellent Scholomance opinions, stayed for the interesting discussions of other books I've either read or heard about.

I think we will probably have to get to N.K. Jemisin in some form at some point, and why not here. Thanks for listening!

Have you thought about doing Babel, by R. F. Kuang? No lesbians to speak of but definitely wizards. Seems incredibly in yalls wheelhouse

R.F. Kuang's Poppy War books tend to appear in wizards vs lesbians / lesbian space atrocities / glove kink cinematic universe lists, so, yeah, probably only a matter of time. This looks like a cat squasher, though, which may be an obstacle.

this isn't so much a recommendation for the podcast as another adaptation recommendation - i previously recommended the 2019 carmilla film dir emily harris, but i'd also like to recommend the 2023 graphic novel duology carmilla by amy chu and soo lee - definitely read both volumes though because it's not complete otherwise. it manages probably one of the only ways i can actually see a 'happy ending' for the titular character that doesn't drastically rewrite her or the story's premise (though that definitely isn't the main draw - it's about the chinese and asian comunity in new york and san francisco and the aids crisis in the 90s). it is tied with the 2019 film for my favourite adaptation.

AND

finally got around to listening to your carmilla episode and wanted to recommend (not for an episode...unless haha) my favourite adaptation because it's not too well known, which is the 2019 film "carmilla" directed by emily harris. it focuses a LOT on laura's internal psychology and captures a lot of the atmosphere of the novella that i've not seen other adaptations do, despite not really trying to be a faithful adaptation plot-wise

Noted! As we've said it is very hard to get us to sit down and do movies for the podcast but that may be changing soon...

okay you know the scene in aristocrats where all the cats are partying on a piano and the piano is crashing through every floor of the house? what if the wizard is that party crashing through floors of reality and the lesbians are a new mom and her situationship? anyway i really enjoyed “the last hour between worlds” by melissa caruso

Hi Seiya! You make a compelling case, as always.

Well if your expanding most of your definitions of wizards and lesbians. I first started listening when i played we know the devil about a year ago and was scrolling through tumblr snapping up every bit of content around it, and in that episode you mentioned heaven will be mine. You could try to say like earth is being a big evil wizard in a vague way, and then theres Iapetus but hes like a personification of like, scientific chauvinism? Maybe not scientific but how his mech is described as something that divides and categorizes makes me think it and now im on a tangent I have the worst girls brainworms and id like this podcast contribute to the worms wriggling in my skull Id love to see what your analysis comes up with

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that we could have L back on to talk about HWBM - Alexis would just have to play it first.

got a book rec- The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy which pits our MC, a trans girl, and her fellow baby witches, all of whom are the scrungliest puppies, against the forces of (magic) environmental destruction. it reminded me VERY deeply of tortall (which i think the author was going for) and it was a fun, fast easy read

We've been looking for more trans stories. Tortall means nothing to me but probably something to Alexis, so that's a possible angle.

a final indulgence (and i think i’ve sent an ask about this before so please feel free to ignore if uninterested!): the neapolitan novels by elena ferrante are very dear to me but they’re almost wholly unwizleslike and so are not relevant to the show (though i would argue lila is a wizard and both leading women have a love and passion for each other that extends beyond friendship). have either of you read any of them and/or do you have thoughts?

We haven't. Italian litfic, huh? The guardian calls "my brilliant friend" the 11th best book since 2000, and who am I to say otherwise

i think metal from heaven has an audiobook now, if you guys wanna cover it

It's back on the list.

i've not read it, but i am VERY introgued by the tensorate quadrilogy of novellas by neon yang - the novellas have all been bound together as one medium size novel, so you might be okay with covering all four?

I seem to remember us bouncing off Neon Yang, but I'll stick in it the hopper.

short story recommendation: the witch sea by sarah diemer. it's a really interesting fairytale, and does qualify for wizlez i think

Thanks!

Just finished “Countess” by Suzan Palumbo which was a fantastic entry in the “the wizard is colonialism” sub sub genre. but in space. it’s a short one and i can’t decide if it should have been longer or if the novella length suited it better

Well, we do like it when things are short

i finally got around to finishing it and holy shit she ra and the princesses of power really lands like all of the lesbian space atrocities beats, i'm surprised you guys didn't cover it yet

We are aware of this. Usually we cover a cartoon every 25 episodes or so - not out of the question if we survive long enough

recommending Confessions of the Fox- it arguably has wizards in the same way that baru cormorant has wizards, & certainly lesbians although not the main character historical fiction about what if Jack Sheppard was transmasc and witnessing london in the midst of the enclosure of the commons & various social upheavals plus footnotes from a trans guy professor discovering the narrative as a lost manuscript in present day it would b really interesting to hear ur thoughts on this bcuz i think it is the worst written book that has nevertheless made me cry!! plus this is one of the early books contributing to the contemporary development of Trans Literature as a genre, sorta

Ah.. the worst written book that makes you cry is a genre unto itself, I think, and one we have historically enjoyed.

Thanks to everyone as always for sending in your recommendations! Even if we never get to them we still appreciate the thought and enjoy sharing your recs with other listeners.

[the-words-we-sung]

Thoughts and pictures - S3E2

Here we go for the rewatch of S3E2 (sorry in advance, it might get long ^^')

The new rules at Hillerska are pretty dumb and way too severe. And this phone policy is so stupid: how are these 2 horny boys supposed to survive? :p

So on one hand, online hate is about Simon not being good enough for Wilhelm, and on the other hand, it's about Wilhelm who should not have said anything in his speech because he's betraying the school. Though Wilhelm is not reading the online comments like Simon, and the attacks are less personal and vicious. Seeing Simon read through everything was so painful, I just wanted to go kick the ass of everyone who dared be a bully so this lil' muffin.

Gosh the third years are over the top: "three years here and we get nothing", just because they can't have a proper graduation and all the parties and stupid stuff they wanted to do before graduating? I guess that it's frustrating but compared to the real issues that are being raised about the school, it sounds very very superficial... August is way more reasonable than Vincent about it: the issue is not that they won't have a graduation (even if they don't have the party, they will still graduate high school) but that the school might close, thus sending them all to other schools before the end of the term. Vincent is an idiot.

"Why can't she call me?". Episode 2 and Wilhelm is already heartbroken because of his mother.

Farima doesn't believe Wilhelm about his initiation, look at her face! But it strikes me that her main concern if he did go through this awful initiation is that it would look bad for the Royal Court to keep him here, and not at all about his well being and how traumatizing it would have been!! The adults in this show are the worst... And nobody cares about Wilhelm (except Simon) 💔

"He's such an attention whore". Another ass that needs to be kicked!! How dare they talk about him like that?

Simon keeps being bullied and Wilhelm pressured: if they close the school, it'll be his fault. Why is everyone so mean and terrible to them?

The Felice interview makes me so mad!! And it reminds me of the interaction between August, Simon and Wilhelm back in season 1 when August tells them how nice it is that rowing bring students together, with no regard for their ethnicity, background, etc. Which made Simon super mad too. I love the switch from Felice in the office with her strained smile to her angrily throwing punches during gym class. Excellent cinematic!

Micke and Sara: I'm still so surprised to see him act so well.

This freaking blonde girl from the choir: I hate her 😡 She was the one slut shaming Felice in season 2. Now she's complaining about the point of training for a song if they're not sure they'll be performing. You're annoying and mean. I don't like you 😤

But Simon's face when Wilhelm joins the choir 💜💜

I love this little scene so much: they are just so cute and in love. Like you can feel how much they love each other: they're literally glued together, kissing and then just keeping their faces so so close to each other while talking. It just feels so true to life, when you love someone so much that you just want to stay as close as you can, just touching each other in any way you can, never letting go. Also I just love how Simon loves Wilhelm. How clingy he can be.

So the scene between Nils and August: we know that they were victims of this awful initiation but I'm realizing now that we don't know if they ended up being beaten up and made fun of because they got an erection? I've seen several posts of people discussing that August could be queer because he had a reaction to the porno (which I don't agree with, I don't think that it can be taken as an indicator of someone's sexual orientation). But we don't know if he had a reaction, do we? Or am I misunderstanding/missing something?

Wilhelm is so angry with August. Yeah his reaction in the library can be seen as a little over the top ("don't talk to him!") but I understand his anger. And okay, the way we go from the fight to both of them sitting silently in Boris' office is comedy gold :p I'm almost frustrated that the fight was so short though, I wanted Wilhelm to get some good punches in!! These mediation talks: I'm not sure how I feel about them. On one hand I get that the Court wants them to get along, but on the other, August did something truly awful and traumatizing to Wilhelm. So if he doesn't want to talk to him, to see him or to have anything to do with him anymore, well, it's his right! He shouldn't be forced to interact with him like that. Also I was a bit disappointed by Boris this season: he was so good during season 2 but I find him a bit underwhelming this season...

"I can be your revolution". Please can we get the song again in the last episode? The full version for a happy Wilmon who are a revolution together? Pretty please?

Simon giggling while reading the messages about his video is the cutest thing ever. And it's a tragedy that it was one of the only giggle we got from him this season 😫

Wilhelm is wearing a purple jumper when he listens to Simon's song. It's rare to see him wear purple, isn't it?

Linda still annoys me a bit this season. Like in this scene: no, don't ask your son, who's been betrayed so hard by his sister, to still care about her right now. He's angry at her, and rightfully so (I love love love that they let him be truly angry at her). She should understand that.

Rosh and Stella: yes please, I ship it! (Yeah I don't like Frederika so I'm all for a new potential love interest for Stella :p)

Also after 2 seasons where we regularly saw guys peeing outside, it's the girls' turn!! I don't know why but it made me laugh ^^

The conversation about their summer plans: this scene is so awkward!! And the tent scene that follows is just terrible 😭 Also hear me out: maybe unpopular opinion but I think Simon overreacted. Maybe from his point of view what Wilhelm is gonna do during summer is not working (because it's not the kind of job that him, Ayub and Rosh will have) but it's still working. Taking classes to become Prince/King is not gonna be a walk in the park, it's gonna be work for Wilhelm. It's terrible because I understand where Simon is coming from during their fight: telling Wilhelm that he never had to work to afford anything, that he's so incredibly privileged, it's so hard to be with someone who's from such a higher social status and be easily pissed off when they don't seem to realize it (what do you mean it sounds like I'm talking from experience.. 😅). Side eyeing Wilhelm hard with the shushing though. Don't talk to Simon like that >< (I would have stormed out if I had been Simon!) And yeah throwing the line about the settlement money was not nice (I've seen people being angry about it) but he's mad and got yelled at while he thought he was just trying to relate to and hang out with Simon's friends. So I understand throwing a mean comment there (I would have done the same 😣)

The "is it my fault?" breaks my heart. And so again: the crushing weight on Wilhelm's shoulders... His mother is unwell so he has to be strong, to be ready to take over, and on top of it, he has to keep it to himself.

Gosh season 3 is just things piling up on Wilhelm and Simon. Different things but still crushing them, slowly but surely...

[politemenacephd]

Question: So, if Miguel knows spider!reader in Arachnophilia, and spider!mig is mentioned in AFM, does reader know her own spider variant (personally or from Miguel/other spiders mentioning them) ??

I love both stories, and obvi the idea of Miguel & Reader being tied in several universes, but I was just curious on the idea of reader knowing.

oh im SO GLAD I get to talk about this THANK YOU SM cos its been on my mind for days!! I will use this chance to actually drop the dante fic cinematic universe timeline, which is: easing tensions - arachnophilia - a fortunate mistake - a fortunate mistake II There's certain things I gotta keep vague because I know how arachnophilia ends (and how it might tie into AFM II) and I don't want to spoil, but I'll talk about a bit because I'm rabid rn.

I wanna add for the sake of my lore on multiverse stuff, Miguel's who are turned into Spider-men are quite rare? I think this gets mentioned in AFM but Miguel's in general are rare, Spider Miguel's even more so. I took him saying Gabi's universe was the one where he was happy to heart, along with the fact we see zero variants of him in the society. That shit was always the most interesting thing to flesh out. I also don't know if I've ever talked about nena's multiverse story properly either, but its pretty tragic. She largely only exists in universes where Miguels' exist, and in all the ones where she comes into contact with him she dies. Our Miguel's universe is the only one where she doesn't, and Miguel blames this inititally on his canon but, as we know, canon isn't real, in reality it's because our Miguel was the only one with multi-verse experiences that humbled his apathy and violent tendencies. It's sort of like how meeting Miles put Peter B. on a better course, Peter's influence on Miguel is something no other Miguel had and it changed him in a way that made him capable of growing. Vig is the only other one we've met and it's obviously implied he was a poor partner who became a good dad after nena's death. Nena is like, universal collatoral damage, and it's only in the universe where she wasn't 'meant' to love him that she got to be loved. It's fucked up and she deserved better fr.

BUT I will say, to actually answer the question (sorry lol) the reader in arachnophilia is actually not a variant of the reader from AFM. I am sticking with the rule that AFM reader is never a spider, because its important later hehe.

BUT! But this makes Spider!Mig and readers relationship equally interesting to me anyway. I am a sucker for starcrossed lovers, excellent trope, and while it was meant to be a one-off I wanna use it to explore the idea of fully abandoning ones canon and exploring a relationship beyond the bounds of ones universe. I will be going more into Spider!Migs backstory for this, but I think the films never properly addressed the potential dangers/tragedy of love between people from different universes. I used it a bit with OG Miguel with my explanation for what happened with Gabi, E.g him trying to combine their universes, but this is especially spicy. So, again, actual question (I'm so sorry I swear this is all I think about, rip my PhD) as of AFM II reader also doesn't know about Miguel's variants beyond Vig, YET. Miguel is aware of Spider!Mig and reader as of AFM, and if you go back you can see a lot of his mindset in there, especially when he talks about not wanting kids because of his genetic mess and feeling like he's too dangerous.

Miguel as a character is great, I can't say that enough, he's harboring so much self loathing and unaddressed trauma that while he wants to do the right thing he imposes very strict rules that always end in hypocricy. In the same way I think he's awful to Miles because he see's Miles making the same mistake he did (e.g destroying the universe for a loved one) and a lot of his violence is like, imposed, he's awful to his variants because he knows he's fucked up his own moral compass and takes it out on them.

But yes Miguel knows where they are, he has not told reader though, but I do want to have them cross paths.

[yuukei-yikes]

It’s me back in the ask box again for another super important question:

What “cringe” fandoms would the mekadan have been into as kids. Like we know Marry was a black butler girlie but I need to know the rest. Who was deeply invested in the fnaf lore, who was cosplaying as homestuck trolls, who was shipping creepypastas. I am desperate for answers only you can provide.

EXCELENT question. i ADORE this question.

ayano is into homestuck. used to role play warrior cats. loves the marvel cinematic universe, and just any superhero comic book stuff in general. canonically into jojo.

kido's is BANDS. specifically bands considered emo back in 2013 or something. my chemical romance. blink 189. black veil brides. that was their shit. also im sorry but they were a superwholock. sorryyyyyy i also think they'd be into medical dramas like grey's anatomy and dr house LMAO

i dont think seto did or does fandoms. i think seto goes outside too much. he's the only one who has no idea what being in a fandom is like, also the least online definitely (I'll get to mary)

kano would be into youtubers/celebrities. he's so into celebrity gossip it's impossible to talk to him he knows of names youve never even heard of.

like u said mary is a black butler girlie but i guess she could like other mangas... i also think she'd watch medical dramas with kido. BUT she doesnt internet so she has no idea about any of it she just lore dumps everyone instead about any book she's reading. she finds out black butler is actually animated and forces everyone to sit down and watch it with her

momo was the one shipping creepypastas btw. i also think she's a sims girlie she's obsessed with its lore and loves making ocs in there and ends up obsessed with her own sims families (commissions haruka a bunch)

shintaro is into magical girls animes. like any of them. but i also think he'd like some popular cartoons like steven universe LOLLL he was probably furiously defending pearl online. also i think he used to make youtube poops and sparta remixes when he was like 14

haruka and takane are the fnaf lore guys especially haruka i seriously think he arrives to school one day after he stayed up all night watching fnaf lore videos and told takane all about it. they're the ones lining up for the movie rn. they also probably roleplayed undertale together in highschool. also i think takane likes analog horror which is horrible for haruka bc i think he hates horror but he's also weirdly fascinated by it so he's watching through his fingers anything takane puts on lol. they tend to share their fandoms especially in hs because haruka was furiously googling anything takane mentioned to have conversation topics with her

hiyori's obviously into idols. i think like kido she loves bands too but she's from the directioner bts stan vibes. and hibiya i LOVE to make jokes abt him being into whatever 12 year olds are into (fortnite, among us, fnaf) and seriously i do love that and i think gamer hibiya is possible with the power of him making the effort to learn to use his phone and the internet bc all his friends live far away and in the process learns abt all that. but before that he was like seto he has no idea what it feels like to be in a fandom and cannot understand hiyori's visions. he's still not SUPER online though

i loved this question. more questions like this i beg

[denimbex1986]

'“Have you seen the sausage ad?” Andrew Scott asked me.

“No, no, we’re not going to talk about that,” Paul Mescal said.

It was a mid-November morning in Los Angeles, and I was having breakfast with two actors who have created some of the most indelible romantic leads of recent vintage: Scott, 47, played the “Hot Priest” on the second season of “Fleabag,” while the 27-year-old Mescal broke through — and broke hearts — as the conflicted jock Connell in Hulu’s “Normal People.”

Now, instead of aiming those love beams at women, they’ll point them at each other in the drama “All of Us Strangers,” due Dec. 22 in theaters. It’s like an Avengers-level team-up, if the Avengers recruited exclusively from the ranks of sad-eyed Irish heartthrobs who caused a sensation over the 2019-20 television season.

But before we could talk about their sexy, shattering new movie, Scott gently ribbed his co-star about an ad for an Irish sausage brand, Denny, that Mescal had starred in just out of drama school. (Though the rest of the world was introduced to Mescal in “Normal People,” Ireland already knew him from the ubiquitous sausage commercial.)

“Look, I needed that job in a massive way,” Mescal said. “That paid my rent for the rest of the year. But if I could take it back …”

“Ah, no, it’s lovely you have that!” Scott said. “I actually thought the character you created in the sausage ad was …”

“… career defining?” Mescal offered.

“It made me want a sausage!” Scott said a little too eagerly, causing both men to laugh. “Easy, folks, that’s too easy a joke,” Mescal said.

Scott and Mescal’s teasing, affectionate chemistry is put to excellent use in “All of Us Strangers,” directed by Andrew Haigh (“Weekend,” “45 Years”). Scott stars as Adam, a lonely writer who finds that his childhood home has become a mysterious portal that allows him to reconnect with his long-dead parents (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). At the same time as Adam grapples with this past made manifestly present, he navigates an uncertain but tantalizing future with his neighbor Harry (Mescal), with whom he develops an intense romantic bond.

Over breakfast, we discussed the movie, which recently took the top prize at the British Independent Film Awards in addition to wins for directing, writing and Mescal’s supporting performance. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

Andrew, you were attached to this movie first. How did you feel when Paul was cast?

SCOTT I was really thrilled because I was hoping that people would be able to see how cinematic and brilliant that role is.

MESCAL It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t be interested in it.

SCOTT Well, the character is such a vessel for love. To be able to play love, it’s something that you have to just know how to embody, and Paul is so excellent about being able to allow the audience in. When I heard he was interested, I was saying to Andrew, “Make that happen!”

MESCAL Even if I didn’t like the script or Andrew Haigh as much as I do, and I knew Andrew [Scott] was going to be doing the film, I still would have done the film.

SCOTT Would you?

MESCAL A hundred percent. And I know that probably sounds sycophantic, but when I was reading it and imagining you’d do it, I thought, “This is built for an actor of your caliber.” There’s lots of brilliant dramatic actors in the world, but what I think separates Andrew is his capacity to understand the dramatic requirements of a scene but also to play utterly against it. He finds humor in subject matter like this, which is really quite heavy, and if you can make an audience laugh, you’re halfway to making them cry.

This is a very tactile movie, too.

SCOTT There’s so much touching, whether that’s familial touching or a more sensual thing. People have talked an awful lot about the chemistry and the sex between our characters, but actually what I think is really radical and affecting about the relationship is how affectionate and tender they are with each other. It’s such a beautiful thing to play, isn’t it? Just real care.

MESCAL I find it healing to watch that kind of emotional intimacy. I remember being surprised when we watched it for the first time, because I didn’t remember being so close to your face when we were talking, how we were totally taking each other in. There’s a weird thing that I don’t think you can cheat: You know how when somebody you love is talking to you, and you look at their lips? It’s like, Jesus, I can’t remember doing that.

Andrew, you’ve said before that acting is a matter of revealing. What’s being revealed about you by taking on this role?

SCOTT I think an awful lot, if I’m honest. I’m happy to be able to say that to be emancipated from shame has been genuinely the biggest achievement of my life. For a long time, I have felt very comfortable with myself, but it doesn’t take much to go back there — something a taxi driver can say can still wound you. If he might say, “You’ve got a wife?” You could go, “No, I don’t,” or is that sort of a lie by omission? I think the challenge was to undo the work and go to that place where you feel frightened.

How were you able to emancipate yourself from shame?

SCOTT I genuinely think that acting helped me. When I was a kid, I started doing elocution lessons because I had a really bad lisp. “She sells seashells,” I had to say that 17 times a day. So they sent me to elocution, which was boring, but eventually it was speech and drama classes. I was so shy and terrified, but then someone would say, “Get up and do an improvisation,” and some part of me felt …

MESCAL … free?

SCOTT Free, and I loved it. And then I practiced it a little bit more and then started doing it as a job. When I was 18 or 19, I was playing gay parts but I wasn’t out. A lot of people within the industry were queer, so I was surrounded by them and then, bit by bit, started to feel confident. To make something like [“All of Us Strangers”], it moves me, because I never thought that I’d get a chance to expose myself so much in a film like this or for it to be in such a trusting environment with such brilliant colleagues.

And do you rush headlong into the chance to expose yourself like that?

SCOTT I do. It’s my responsibility. The further I go into acting, I think that’s all it is, actually.

In the first scene you share, Paul’s character is boldly trying to flirt his way into Andrew’s apartment. Paul, it’s a kick to see you play a man so assertive and sure of what he wants.

MESCAL I was just so giddy because I don’t think I’ve got many opportunities to play somebody like that. It reminded me of characters I would have played in drama school — a lot more front-footed, a little bit bolder. Part of it was surprising an audience that might associate me with more interior, back-footed characters that I’ve played.

SCOTT I remember so clearly you saying the line, “There’s vampires at my door.” That line could seem completely preposterous and it’s a hard sell, but it’s unique, right? I’m obsessed with writing that has a real autograph about it.

MESCAL ChatGPT wouldn’t come up with that.

SCOTT Exactly. And human beings have an extraordinary way of expressing themselves. I feel the same way when people talk about big acting.

MESCAL I love big acting.

SCOTT Some people do that kind of polite, nobody-will-notice-me acting, and sometimes it can be a little dull.

MESCAL You’re looking for an opportunity to play something truthfully, but also if that truth can be a bigger, more fractious choice, maybe that could be fun.

What’s the biggest acting you’ve ever done?

SCOTT Oh my God. Pick a card, any card. I did a play called “Present Laughter” by Noël Coward, about a guy who’s an over-the-top actor. It was kind of a farce, and I’m obsessed with farce.

MESCAL I am so jealous of people who can do farce, I don’t know where I would start.

SCOTT It’s all about timing the slam of the door, and there’s no greater feeling than when you’re talking to the other actor and you are waiting for the audience to stop laughing. You’d love it because it’s so physical as well.

MESCAL I’m just a bit scared of comedy because I didn’t do a lot of it in drama school. Don’t think [I’ve got] a particularly funny disposition.

SCOTT Are you out of your mind? I’m going to have a little think now.

MESCAL I’d love to do a rom-com.

SCOTT I think you’d be very good at playing some sort of neurotic.

MESCAL Really?

SCOTT Yeah. I love those kinds of characters that don’t have a sense of humor.

MESCAL No sense of humor. Great. I can do that, I can do that easily. [Laughs.]

With “Normal People” and “Fleabag,” where you played romantic leads, how did you handle the intensity of the audience imprinting on you?

MESCAL I remember the first couple of months of that happening, I was like, “Jesus, what can I do?” And the answer is actually nothing. There’s nothing you can do about it if somebody wants to imprint or project onto you.

SCOTT That was all during the pandemic, wasn’t it?

MESCAL Yeah, yeah.

Was it better or worse that you were in your house for most of it?

MESCAL Much, much better. Even doing junkets when “Normal People” came out, I was really glad to do it within the confines of my own home. I could put the laptop down and nobody knew where I was.

Andrew, you weren’t trapped at home when “Fleabag” came out. Could you tell something had changed in the way people perceived you?

SCOTT It already happened a little bit when I did “Sherlock” [playing Moriarty] because that really does have a fandom. There were like a thousand people that would come to set, it was absolutely insane.

MESCAL Jesus.

SCOTT So “Fleabag" was completely different in that sense. It didn’t have the same frenzy.

Maybe not as you were filming it, but there was definitely a passionate fandom once it was released.

SCOTT There was, but I really enjoyed that because I love the show. I’m so proud of it and I loved that part, so I liked that it really affected people so much.

MESCAL Still! I watch it once a year.

Paul, you even dressed as the hot priest for Halloween.

MESCAL I did. That went down a bit of a storm.

When you have a breakthrough project like those two series, and you’re seen differently in this business afterward, is it hard not to get swept up by all the offers that come your way?

MESCAL I know what I like. I don’t have the confidence in myself as an actor to do something that isn’t good. I don’t think I can pull the wool over people’s eyes with bells and whistles in terms of performance, and I’m actually glad I can’t do that.

SCOTT But is it weird when you are in L.A. now? I opened up my curtains this morning, and there you are.

MESCAL Yeah, my Gucci billboard.

SCOTT That’s insane.

MESCAL It is bananas. Yeah, I’m really proud of that, but I’m also acutely aware the only reason that’s happening is because people are enjoying the work that I’m doing. It can all disappear, like that.

Paul, you’re currently working on Ridley Scott’s sequel to “Gladiator.” I’m sure you’ve been pursued for a lot of blockbusters, so what made you choose this one?

MESCAL I love the first film and I think Ridley is an all-time great, so that was a no-brainer to me. I don’t really have a desire to make lots of big films in my life, but if this was the only big film I was ever to make, I would put my name into the mix anywhere for that. I’m having a great time doing it, but I also think there’s an obligation to understand that I don’t want an audience to get bored of me, or expect me to do the big indie film every year or two, because they’re really hard to get right.

Which is hard to get right, the big film or the indie?

MESCAL A film like “All of Us Strangers” or “Aftersun.” I’ve been incredibly lucky that those scripts came across my desk because there’s lots of other indies that are really well intentioned that don’t reach an audience. Also, it’s hard to go to the emotional well year after year with stuff like this, so I don’t want an audience to get bored of my choices or expect that I’m going to do that.

SCOTT Do you remember you got the “Gladiator” call when we were on the set of “All of Us Strangers”? You were so excited. I think I was even more excited, but you were so lit up about it. I think one of the fun things about being an actor that’s open to you is that you can do whatever you really want.

MESCAL That’s what makes you tick, to go from scenes like we get to play in “All of Us Strangers” to then doing stuff where you’re running around in an arena. If I was to boil down why I love this job, it’s that you get to go to work and pretend all day long but the thing that you would imagine as a child is actually actualized.

SCOTT Have there been any moments in “Gladiator” where you’re like, “This is amazing”?

MESCAL The first day was just bananas. There was camels and thousands of extras. Two close-ups on me. A close-up on the action. And you’re just like, “I’ve got to fake this till I make it.” Wild. Wild. Wild.

SCOTT Yeah, it’s playing. It really is. You’re required to play a part, you’re not required to work a part.

It’s heartening to hear you both describe acting as play or pretend. You talk about it in such joyful terms, but some of the other leading men I’ve spoken to will …

MESCAL … fetishize the pain.

SCOTT It embarrasses them.

MESCAL It’s important to say that “pretend” doesn’t make it any less emotional or difficult to do, but I think it actually gives you a greater range of possibility in a scene. That’s not to say there weren’t days on [“All of Us Strangers”] that felt like some sort of psychological torture.

SCOTT Absolutely.

MESCAL But the act of making it? It can’t be that, because then it just becomes about “How hard can I grip this table? How much pain can I put myself through in order to talk about it to the press?”

SCOTT I think of it sometimes like you invited somebody around for dinner and you said, “I could not find any organic chicken in the market, it was an absolute nightmare. Then I had to hoover the place from top to bottom.” And they’re just like, “Give me a glass of wine. I don’t want to hear about what you did, I’m just here for dinner.”

MESCAL Yeah, that’s spot on.

SCOTT What you need to do is have the generosity to get the chicken out.

MESCAL Organic or not.'

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group L Round 3: #L5 vs #L6

#L5: Underground boxer loves vampire doctor (BL)

#L6: Three girls and their (not) girly talk

Details and poll under the cut!

#L5: Mignon

[Note on video: Lots of blood. Slight NSFW at the end. Turn on CC for English subs.]

Summary:

After losing his parents at a young age, Mignon lives as a mechanic by day and a cage fighter by night at an illegal arena. Living a life of exploitation and violence, the only person who gives him any attention is Oh Young-One, the resident doctor at the arena.

Despite accidentally discovering Young-One’s true identity, Mignon continues to love him, and it’s this pure kind of love that lets Young-One slowly open his heart. But when the hellish reality surrounding Mignon starts threatening the stability of Young-One’s life, can these two ever find happiness?

Propaganda:

Mignon is an independently-made BL aeni (Korean anime). There are only 12 episodes, and each is around 5 minutes long, except for the last one which is at around 8 minutes. Watching everything is like watching a short film, and not just because of the length, but also because of its quality.

The story is really short, so much so that we don’t get to see how Mignon and Young-One develop feelings for each other (It’s easy to guess why though). We’re thrusted right into the turning point of their relationship, with episode 1 ending with a shocking revelation that immediately propels you into the rest of the story. And by “shocking,” I don’t mean it was unexpected. It’s shocking in a way that its execution ingeniously builds up the tension before exploding right in your face. 

The plot is nothing new in the yaoi genre, but Mignon makes up for this by delivering each aspect to perfection. The colors are purposeful, setting the tone of each scene while also telling us the significance of the place—loud, vibrant colors for the noisy arena, calm whites in the clinic where Mignon finds solace in Young-One, drab blues and greys in Young-One’s apartment where he’s lived alone for years, etc. Seriously, the backgrounds look like stand-alone paintings.

And oh, don’t get me started on the scene direction/arrangement. Every episode is impactful and unforgettable despite being very short. Episode 10, especially, is a cinematic masterpiece. Lastly, the music. There’s a lot of 80s synth-pop vibes that just work so well for it.

Mignon is really the kind of show you can call “art.” It’s a passion project by one person, and it took them three years to complete. You can just see how much thought is put into it. It’s not rushed at all, unlike a lot of weekly anime nowadays that would sacrifice the quality on unimportant scenes. And just for that, I think it’s worth checking out. 

Trigger Warnings: Blood, Physical Abuse, Gambling

NSFW Warning: Tongue kissing and some explicit sex scenes. The parts are pixelated, but it doesn’t really leave much to the imagination.

#L6: Please tell me! Galko-chan (Oshiete! Galko-chan)

Summary:

At first glance, Galko, Otako, and Ojou are three high school girls who seem like they wouldn’t have anything to do with each other. Galko is a social butterfly with a reputation for being a party animal, even though she is actually innocent and good-hearted despite her appearance. Otako is a plain-looking girl with a sarcastic personality and a rabid love of manga. And Ojou is a wealthy young lady with excellent social graces, though she can be a bit absent-minded at times. Despite their differences, the three are best friends, and together they love to talk about various myths and ask candid questions about the female body.

Propaganda:

Galko-chan is a short anime about 3 girl-friends, each representing a trope (the gyaru, the nerd and the lady) being friends despite their differences.

The episode generally kicks off with a taboo question—nothing’s really deep, but it works as a way to just deconstruct prejudices. Girls of all types and non types are welcome, it’s heartwarming.

Trigger Warnings: Gender Identity/Sexuality Discrimination. Galko is a gyaru, and it’s implied how she’s seen as a “slut”. But deconstructing these tropes are what the anime is all about.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[just-1other-nerd]

I think we as a fandom don't talk enough about the fact that the added "Who's the traitor" drama in episode 3 was a nice change.

When the episode started and Percy got the prophecy and learned about the traitor part, you could see that bit was bothering him. Naturally, a friend betraying him isn't understandable for someone who's fatal flaw is loyalty and it was great to see Percy trying to wrap his mind around that concept. (Top performance from Walker in this scene)

I kinda disliked how they dealt with this in the book by brushing it off as "Prophecies often aren't what they seem and their cryptic nature just the way it is, better not to thing about it too much". It took the weight from that potential danger.

In they show they then proceeded to make Percy choose Annabeth even though their relationship is very cold at this point but she is in fact very competent. And as it later turns out, Percy calculated the prophecy into his decision because he never thought they'd get along, thus she can't be a friend who betrays him. This is a smart choice on Percy's account, even though he's eventually proven wrong because they become friends.

And then there's Grover. When Percy goes to him to tell him his decision, it is framed by cinematic tricks as if Percy suspects Grover to be the traitor which is smart from a filmmaking perspective because this way they make him suspicious to the viewer and he would make a great mislead. It also would make sense that Percy would think this way because Grover already betrayed him when he got him kicked out of school and this way he'll see it coming. But then of course this turns out not to be true as well, in fact Percy had fully trusted Grover, even so much that he thinks he's the one person who'll never betray him.

And that once again made sense for Percy's character since paranoia isn't in Mr Loyalty's blood, he can't be walking around suspicious of everyone so he makes the choices that make him feel secure.

I think that the resulting drama of this conflict was so good for multiple reasons. This way the characters have to overcome internal and external struggles to be able to work together as a team and that makes their teamwork feel more earned. Their relationships become stronger by overcoming that conflict: Percy knows more about Grover's and Annabeth's backstories now and can understand them better, Grover knows that his best friend doesn't blame him anymore and trusts him and his abitity to do the job and the thing that stood between Annabeth and Percy is out of the way now, Percy and Annabeth are truthful about the offers Medusa and Alecto proposed towards them and show where their loyalty lies. The drama was also engaging to watch even if you know who's the traitor. I asked myself questions like how will this effect them, will they be able to move on? Credit to the writers for those excellent character dynamics and dialogue bits and to the actors for those stellar performances.

The changes make it so that the prophecy directly influences Percy and his relationships in the series and I really liked that especially compared to the book where a Damocle's sword of betrayal was hanging over his head and he just acted like it was almost nothing.

[ploppythespaceship]

Well, I have seen Wicked! Part 1, anyway, which I do think the marketing could have made much clearer. And it greatly pleased my inner theater kid. It isn't perfect, but it is very good, and one of the better stage to screen adaptations I've seen.

If you have any interest in seeing this, I do think you owe it to yourself to see it on the big screen. The score is so grand that it deserves to be heard in full surround.

Full thoughts and mild spoilers under the cut. If you've seen the original musical and kept up at all with behind the scenes info, it won't be anything new.

What I Liked

First and foremost, the two characters that absolutely had to be cast right are cast right. Cynthia Erivo is inspired as Elphaba, capturing all the nuances of the character so expertly while also giving a powerhouse vocal performance. And Ariana Grande is a pitch perfect Glinda. We all knew she had the vocal chops, but her performance is stunning, as well.

Jonathan Bailey is also a great Fiyero. He doesn't quite match the vocal caliber of the two leads, but he's still a strong enough singer and is so effortlessly charming in the role that I don't really care. (Also, letting him flirt with all the men as well as the women? Inspired choice.)

The vocal performances are largely excellent. I was concerned when I heard the songs were recorded live, much like Les Mis, but this is done at a much higher quality. This is where it really helps to have seasoned broadway performers -- they know how to sing well live.

Some of the numbers also used the live singing in combination with the choreography to great effect. The stomping of the ensemble adds a great beat to the track that feels absent in the studio version.

There's also a good understanding of what works best on stage vs what works best on screen. The film takes advantage of its medium to do staging and shots that simply wouldn't be possible otherwise. The actors are also able to give a more subtle and nuanced performance, as compared to the stage where everything has to be bigger to reach the people in the nosebleeds. This works well for Elphaba in particular -- Cynthia is able to start her songs more quietly and really build up to the big endings. "The Wizard and I" is probably the best song in the film. My theater even clapped for that one.

The design work is also fantastic. All the sets were built practically, and that attention to detail really pays off. I've been hearing complaints that the film is ugly and doesn't have enough color? And I don't what the hell those people are talking about. Munchkinland, Shiz, and the Emerald City are all lively and vibrant. Overall, everything has a grand, cinematic feel.

Considering this is just an adaptation of act one, and is the length of the entirety of the stage show, I was somewhat concerned about pacing. I thought splitting it into two was just a cash grab, and the movie would be padded all to hell. But now seeing it, I can confidently say that's not the case. The movie flows very naturally, despite having more time built into scenes than the original. And it's hard to imagine the story continuing after a showstopper like "Defying Gravity," so splitting it was the right call.

What I Didn't Like

By far my biggest complaint is how a few of the songs were split up to allow for more dialogue in between. Some songs took it pretty well, like "Dancing Through Life" which has always been designed to have quieter moments throughout. But I'm sorry to say that "Defying Gravity" became a bit of a slog. The original song has such an excellent build, starting soft before building to an incredible climax. Meanwhile, the film keeps stopping between verses for new dialogue scenes, which do not keep the same energy at all. The movie version of the song is nearly TEN MINUTES longer -- that is ABSURD. The new score also isn't blended with the original song, and it's jarring whenever it cuts back and they start singing again. The end result is a song that doesn't flow well and drags pretty badly. And that's a shame, because this is the single most iconic song in the whole show and the one that really should have hit better than it did.

Also, a few scenes were just too damn dark. At multiple points I found myself squinting trying to see Elphaba's face -- in the movie theater! That's absolutely ridiculous.

Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth have an extended cameo, which was cute, but also way too long. It drew too much attention to itself and messed with the flow of "One Short Day." They could have just had them sing the few lines of the original song, and that would have been perfect.

Jeff Goldblum feels miscast as the Wizard -- like someone they got because he was a big name and not because he fit the part. Michelle Yeoh is a fairly weak singer, but makes up for it with the rest of her performance as Morrible. Goldblum, meanwhile, feels like he just wandered onto the set and they let him do whatever he wanted.

[writeblrcafe]

Digital interview with @pinespittinink

Catherine Hellens orders a chai latte and sits down in the corner of Writeblrcafé. She writes poetry and a book. Her favourite genres include fantasy, fiction, science-fiction and speculative fiction. We start chatting about her writing.

What got you into writing?

Being exposed to really excellent authors as a child and realizing that writing stories was something I could do! I was filling notebooks and tapping out on my mom’s computer from such an early age. I’ve always had ideas inside me, and as a kid inspiration came to me very easily and frequently.

What inspires you to write?

I get inspired by visuals, music, nature, and dreams, predominantly. Also, reading other excellent writers’ books encourages me to keep going.

Which are recurring themes in your writing?

Oh boy—themes are actually something I never set out to write specifically, but they do crop up in my works. The biggest and most common one is devotion—specifically, how much will you do for love. I’m a romantic at heart, and nearly all of my works have a love story or a variant of one at the heart. Questions of identity also arise from time to time. Who we are, who we’re perceived to be, who we become. But they are always unique to the characters and never intended to be messages.

How would you describe your writing style?

Romantic. Prosey. Lush, as overused as that word is now. I’ve had it described as vivid and cinematic; I like to paint pictures and I love love love details. Setting is incredibly important to me and one of the first things I think of when I begin writing or conceiving ideas, so it has a large feature.

How do you deal with writer's block?

I just have to trudge through it, really. Even if when I sit down to write, I only write a few hundred words or fewer, it’s still something, and eventually I’ll create the groove again. Going on walks and mulling everything over also helps a lot.

Do you have a wip? Tell us about it:

My current wip is a queer standalone adult speculative fiction novel called The Great Glavenisean Theater. It’s about a man named Morgan who comes to the City of Spires and ends up working at the titular theatre as a seamster, where there is an interdimensional portal in the belly of the stage that moves the shows through multiple planes during the performances. But there are weirder things going on in the theatre, and as Morgan investigates them, he begins to suspect the prima donna Ariel of the attempted sabotages of the portal, and suspects that maybe they aren’t like the rest of them. I’m currently doing minor edits on the first draft and will be looking for betas during the month of April!

Tell us more interesting stuff about you:

I live in New England with my queer platonic partner, whose writing I love more than anyone else’s in the universe. We have two stupid rag doll kitties named Eurydice and Napoleon, and I collect crystals and special editions of certain books I love. I have patience with temperamental printers and put up tapestries across ceilings, and I’ll be building a sofa soon when it arrives. I’m also a classically trained mezzo-soprano who misses singing in a choir and contents myself with my car instead. Also, I’m a Capricorn.

Thank you for the good talk and keep writing!

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[cococowboah]

A review of The Dead Don't Die, because fuck this movie.

I can't figure out why in the world this is labeled as a comedy when the only funny thing about it is how awful it is.

Just to preface if you personally liked this film that's perfectly fine. But I have more than many gripes about it and I'm gonna talk about them now.

First off who on earth greenlit this? I consider myself a fan of Adam Driver and Bill Murray but if this was the first movie I ever saw them in I'd never want to see them in anything else ever again.

It was painstakingly slow-paced and lingered on scenes like a toddler waiting for you to stop doing the dishes so you could watch them do a Fortnite default dance. It demands your full attention without ever making any effort to earn it. It held itself like an instant classic without understanding what makes a film a classic, or even remotely good, to begin with.

My number one gripe is the fourth wall breaking. Adam Driver's character (I say the names of the actors because I couldn't be bothered to remember these extremely unmemorable characters names) apparently knows he's in a movie the entire time, keeps saying "this is gonna end badly" only to finally reveal at the end that he knows how it ends because he's "read the script."

Fourth wall breaking can work perfectly fine, in a comedy, of which this is not.

I don't know what this is. I don't even think this movie knows what it is.

My second gripe is the immense amount of characters we're introduced to who never pay off in any which way. Their introductions aren't funny or memorable or important whatsoever. They feel like they are merely there to add time to the movie.

You can cut out about 50% of this entire movie and you won't be missing a single thing. None of the characters except for Adam and Bill's ever hold any weight. For whatever reason Tilda Swinton is a sword-wielding Scottish mortician alien, who again, holds absolutely no weight to the plot. You can cut her out entirely and it wouldn't change a single thing about this movie. You could cut out Selena Gomez as the "cute hipster" entirely and it wouldn't change a single thing about this movie. You could cut out Steve "I'm the racist one" Buschemi and it wouldn't change a single thing about this movie.

Nobody in this movie matters. Nobody in this movie holds any weight. The plot goes nowhere, the protagonists -if you can even call them that- die at the end, nobody lives happily ever after, and according to the hermit in the woods, we "were all already zombies anyway."

There was this brief completely thrown away scene where the zombies were all shown walking around with smart phones and I wanted to throw my TV out the window after seeing it. It was such a heavy fisted nothing-burger of a scene with the exclusive goal of telling the audience they're like zombies if they use smartphones. Is it a joke? Is it societal commentary? Is it a mind bogglingly stupid scene that serves no purpose? The answer is up to you.

I hated this movie so much it's ridiculous. The fact that excellent scripts get passed up day after day after day because they're written by nobodies with no network or connections, yet garbage like this gets funded and filmed, is an absolute cinematic crime.

The only way I can suggest watching this is to do it with a buddy or two who will take the piss out of it with you. My husband and I did so and the only laughs we had were in making fun of how awful this movie was.

Rant over. Goodnight.