#divorce arc at front and center

[targaryenchester]

Destiel Textposts, 2/? + Bonus, Dig at John Winchester A+ Parenting; coz I can

[deancasforcutie]

#peak romance (via @a-couple-of-dumbasses)

EVERY TOUCH EVER ☞ 185/?

15.8 Our Father Who Aren't in Heaven

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Triple Sec by TJ Alexander

4.5/5. Releases 6/4/24.

Vibes: healthy polyamory, front and center genderqueer rep (from a trans nonbinary author), slice of life in the best possible way, BOMB ASS COCKTAILS

Heath Index: 7.5/10.

Ambitious high-end bartender Mel Sorrento has been in a rut since her divorce. Enter the vivacious, brilliant Bebe... who happens to have spouse. Quiet, reserved Kade doesn't have a problem with Mel dating their wife, however--because Kade and Bebe are polyamorous. Mel's never considered the lifestyle, but her instant connection with Bebe makes her willing to give it a shot. But when her dynamic with Kade begins to shift into something entirely new, she must confront what she's actually looking for in a relationship, and how much this new opportunity for love really means to her.

UGH. YES. This is how you do a contemporary romance that, at the end of the day, is a slice of life character piece. Triple Sec is not about shocking you with plot twists and over the top dramatics (and that's not a critique--often, I'd say that I prefer plot twists and over the top dramatics). It's just fucking good writing with great character development and romance. It's also one of the more realistic contemporary romances I've read, which is honestly so refreshing. I truly believed that there were grown-ass adults figuring out their shit.

Quick Takes:

--One thing I love about a triad romance (and while this is the most realistic one I've read (I say having never been in a polycule or a triad more specifically), I do generally enjoy reading about the complexities of both figuring out a three-way relationship and developing the different "segments". While I've read some that begin with love triangle elements, that isn't the case here. Though they aren't without expected hiccups, Kade and Bebe have a very healthy approach to Bebe's beginning relationship with Mel (and later Kade starting things with Mel as well).

I feel like in less capable hands, the degree to which Bebe and Kade communicate and deal with jealousy would seem overly sanitized or boring. Like, they begin the relationship with Kade sitting in on Bebe asking Mel out and everything, just to reassure Mel that there isn't any cheating going on. But like... it's NEVER dull. It never feels expected, or like these people are perfect. (I mean, they aren't--Mel has some struggles and stumbles when beginning her journey into polyamory.)

--Part of what makes that work, I think, is the contrast in the relationships. Kade and Bebe have been together for almost a decade--they know what they're doing, and their lived-in love reverberates off the page, even though the book is entirely from Mel's third-person perspective. (Kade calling Bebe "love" constantly, despite seeming kind of frosty? Swoon.) Bebe and Mel have this immediate chemistry, full of fun and fire. And Kade and Mel sort of like... I felt an automatic sexual tension, but I also think that Mel was a bit too "new" to their dynamic to super sense it. This is probably not going to make sense to anyone but me, but I got this kind of like... Darcy and Lizzie vibe? Kade was never as prickly as Darcy, but I definitely felt like Mel was in that "WHAT. BUT THEY DON'T EVEN LIKE ME???" space.

All of it worked to me. I mean--I won't lie. I was a little partial to Mel and Kade's dynamic, because a) I like it to be a little difficult and b) Kade was my favorite but everything is great.

--Let us expand on Kade being my favorite. I really appreciate a "still waters run deep" character. Kade is that. They seem remote, but they have so much feeling and passion rumbling under the surface, and Alexander throws them into this situation with Mel that is sooooo tropey and fabulous and reading as the feelings spilled out of them was just pitch-perfect.

This does happen somewhat later, so you technically spend a lot more time with Bebe and Mel together on the page. However, Kade has a such presence, and they're constantly sort of like... looming in the background. And because of that, the slowly bubbling tension that Mel doesn't even fully register for a while is so HOT. I mean. Kade is also so hot. I was ABOUT them. Again--love Bebe and Mel, together and apart, but WHEW.

--This is completely an aside, but I do think the cocktail competition and the highlighting of the art of making a great cocktail was really cool. It made me both want to learn how to mix drinks (to the extent that I can) and try something new. These types of details make a contemporary romance way richer, and they're appreciated.

--I think it's really important to show books that are both incredibly romantic and sexy and approachable. Again, I've never been in a polyamorous or more generally non-monogamous relationship. I can't attest to have truly realistic this book is. But in general, I loved seeing a romance in which the relationship part started fairly early, showing negotiations, showing boundaries, showing rules. I mean, really, monogamous relationships should also be subject to rules and negotiations and boundaries. We should normalize this in romance. Things change. That HEA does kinda take work in some stories, and that is more reflective of real life.

Speaking of the HEA... I so appreciated that both Kade and Mel had been in very serious, very intense relationships in the past. Kade's openness and honesty about how their past partner did offer them things Bebe couldn't (and Mel can't either) was so refreshing. It's not that they necessarily need someone else to come in and take that space (though the rules do allow room for new partners--we don't see anything happen beyond the triad in this book). It's just a reality. No one person can give you everything, and that doesn't mean that every person needs to be with enough people to comprise "everything". If that's even possible. It's just something to accept, no matter what your relationship preferences.

I also loved that Kade was kind of like--yeah, this could end. How many things are really forever? But we love each other when we love each other and make each other happy and that's good. I mean, I think some people will categorize this book as one with an HFN versus an HEA--personally, I'd kinda disagree with that. But either way, I really loved seeing a romance that validated the idea that like... A relationship ending doesn't mean it wasn't VALUABLE.

The Sex:

HOT HOT HOT. Technically speaking, there are three full sex scenes in this novel. Every single one of those scenes went HARD. We have sex in a public space, we have LICK! IT! UP! (as in cum) the strap is indeed taken out and used to great effect. It's great. I loved it. I also liked and overall agree with Bebe's philosophy regarding sex and how people often tend to switch up their "out of bed" personalities compared to their "in bed" personalities.

(Also. Kade is a dirty talker. What can't they do?)

A super queer, super sexy, super bubbly contemporary romance with a heavy emphasis on character development and love story that really sold me on the "love" part. And on a personal note--I have a trans nonbinary person in my life who is much loved, and I so appreciate them having someone like TJ Alexander to see out there, creating art and leaving a mark.

Would highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[tobiasdrake]

Sonic the Hedgehog borrows from Dragon Ball a lot. It's an open secret. Everyone knows it. Even Frontiers could be argued to be Sonic's version of Namek, which gets harder to unsee when you notice Eggman's conspicuous saucer ships dotted around the landscape.

But do you know what strikes me as interesting?

The Chaos Emeralds are Sonic's version of Dragon Balls. In fact, they even shored up the number to seven, matching Dragon Ball, in the same game that they introduced Sonic turning into a Super Saiyan. Originally it was six Emeralds and no Super Sonic.

But the staying power of the Chaos Emeralds has far outshone the Dragon Balls. The titular Dragon Balls often end up being dialed down to a background MacGuffin. Characters will collect the Dragon Balls offscreen because they're too busy doing plot stuff to have a serious gathering arc.

Someone will just turn up going, "Yo, I got all the Dragon Balls. Let's resurrect everyone who died or whatever we're doing with them."

But the Chaos Emeralds have remained front and center for much of the franchise. Where the individual Emeralds got scattered to and how to bring them all back together comes up a lot in Sonic the Hedgehog, as does the lore and history behind them.

Why is that? Well. Here's the thing.

The decision to tie the Emeralds into Sonic's central themes and especially into Super Sonic makes them critical to the story.

Goku's Super Saiyan form is a power that he has, independent of the Dragon Balls. This works for the central themes of Dragon Ball, which are about hard work and self-improvement to overcome obstacles. Ultimately, Dragon Ball is the story of Goku, not the story of the Dragon Balls. So the gathering of the Dragon Balls often becomes a vestigial element.

Sonic's central themes are about the effects of industrialization on the ecological world. Eggman represents the cold, uncaring advance of "progress" turning forests into lumber yards and fields into factories. Like, the fact that his murder robots are being powered by innocent woodland creatures is pretty unsubtle about what's being said here. The Chaos Emeralds are much more firmly tied to that theme.

The Chaos Emeralds are presented as a natural resource. They're mysterious artifacts of ambiguous origin that produce immeasurable power. To Eggman, they exist to be exploited. They're something he can plug into his latest machine. He doesn't really care about the Emeralds, so much as he cares about what he can build with the Emeralds.

But the Chaos Emeralds aren't his. They're something raw and wild and majestic in their own right. They have no real origin because they don't need one. Nature doesn't stop to explain itself. Ultimately, Sonic's goal is typically not to get the Emeralds for himself, but to simply keep them away from Eggman's ever-expanding industrial engines.

Eggman wants to take these ancient, mysterious natural artifacts of immeasurable wonder and turn them into batteries. Sonic says, "No, you can't do that, I won't let you." This ties into the greater conflict, where Eggman wants to turn the whole world into a chain of factories, warehouses, and production lines, and Sonic won't let him.

Sonic is basically a more aggressive Lorax who isn't taking any of the Once-ler's shit.

By contrast, Super Sonic is the result of Sonic taking the Emeralds as they are and channeling their power in its raw, unmodified form. This is something Eggman would never do because, as mentioned above, he doesn't really care about the Emeralds themselves. But Sonic does. Sonic respects the unchecked power of nature. And he uses that power to wreck Eggman's stuff and free the enslaved woodland creatures within.

Dragon Ball was able to ultimately move on from the Dragon Balls because, at the end of the day, they're just a neat plot device that Goku can sometimes use, but they aren't really central to the story. The story is about Goku and his journey to expand his horizons.

But you can't really divorce Sonic the Hedgehog from the Chaos Emeralds. They are the ultimate manifestation of everything Sonic's story is about.

[curedigiqueen]

Fresh Precure is about community, and how community forms support systems beyond the family unit.

Many heel face turns focus on the characters growth. How they come to understand differently, and how they grow into a new person. Setsuna, once freed from Labyrinth actually changes her personality rather quickly, she doesn't spend much time struggling with everything all things considered. Now, I think Setsuna's arc is top tier: her denying her true wants because its different from what she's been told she wants all her life, wanting to be useful to her community but her community not serving her, finding people who care about her and give to Setsuna rather than only take, her guilt for taking the happiness away from others that people have been giving her. But ultimately, it's not so much about Setsuna's personal growth, so much as about how this community rehabilitates an abused girl.

Unlike many other seasons where her living situation would be a bit of an afterthought its front and center here. We get to see all the little things that the Momozono's do for Setsuna, all the little things they get for her.

It's why the toothbrush scene is so important. A toothbrush is such a little thing, but the Momozono's are going out of their way to remember she needs one, to get one for her. And they ask her what kind she wants. The Momozono's are giving her freedom, are allowing her to embrace her own decisions, rather than in Labyrinth where she was manipulated into doing what others wanted of her.

It's not just the Momozono's. It's Kaoru giving her a donut simply because she hadn't had one before. Lucky and Takeshi playing with Setsuna. Miyuki helping support Setsuna when she was feeling pressured to dance. Of course the whole town does this for everyone.

The Cures go and support a little girl in the hospital, both as themselves and as their cure selves. Kaoru looks after the girls and tries to get them to eat when they're overworking themselves. Miyuki helping the girls balance their lives. This is the first iteration where Cure's are truly celebrities rather than their occasional public appearance in Fresh and the public cheers them on accordingly, and even helps in more tangible ways (like offering an expensive training facility).

This is contrasted against Labyrinth who erases individuality in the name of the collective, but where the collective is suffering. Who has no art, no family, no socialization. Where no one offers help unless ordered to. Where everything is for Moebius. And so, the smallest acts of kindness (a donut) have far reaching effects. Because the people of Labyrinth believe they're doing right. That this is the best for everyone. They don't know what happiness is, so when faced against actual it for the first time, as well as actual community for the first time, it crumbles.

But even the individuals in Labyrinth aren't always heartless. Westar has even more of a sense of community than Eas. A desire to give back. However, is loyalty to Labyrinth is stronger. Westar takes Eas leaving personally. He's often cast aside, underestimated. Westar's a goofy sort of villain, but more than that he's a victim just like Eas and Soular. He thrives once he gets to leave. He thrives in a community that gives him the support he gives others.

I think it's no coincidence that this season has the first cure with divorced parents. We never see her father, but we know he's not completely absent from her life. She still has a close relationship with her brother. This nontraditional family dynamic I think sets the stage for Setsuna later on, who is welcomed into the Momozono family. She's family even without blood.

[filthy-reckless-rp]

♛ Spotted on the Upper East Side…

Name: Scottie Takeda Pronouns: He/Him Age: 25 years old Hometown: London, UK Occupation: Actor, currently starring on 'Friday Night Bites' Social Status: Insider Faceclaim: Darren Barnet

Who Is Scottie?

“You'd leave me dead if it'd set you apart, and I'm like, oh, goddamn, not another rockstar."

Will I wait for the screams of your adoring fans to quieten down before I continue? Then again, I might be waiting all day. You, Scottie Takeda, need no introduction. With parents like yours, we all should have known that you'd shine in front of the camera. You've always loved to be the center of attention, doing anything to stand under the spotlight. You've always been charming, intelligent and cut throat. You knew how to work a room before you knew how to talk. Making the right connections, dating (or at least being photographed with-) the right people and maintaining your follower count, takes up most of your time. Now that you're thriving on FNB, I hope I see more of you on the Upper East Side. XOXO ---Gossip Girl

A Little Extra

Scottie Takeda was born under a thousand flashing cameras, already a national treasure. When his parents were married, it was the biggest news story of the year (second only to their divorce). Scottie was destined for great things and boy, did he know it. With two iconic actors for parents, Scottie's career was pretty much mapped out before they were born. He took every opportunity he could, picking up small roles in his parents' movies, standing toe to with the best of them even then. Scottie loved acting first but once he found 'fame', everything changed. While Scottie had always been confident, cocky and shallow, being actively famous only nurtured the worst in him. Very few people will ever get to glimpse the good in Scottie. He doesn't want the expectations the real life 'hero' gets, you know? Of course, Scottie would never act badly in front of the camera. He'd never get caught throwing a tantrum on set. Scottie can be demanding, dramatic and kind of an asshole but never unprofessional. It's just important to Scottie that people know he's the star! Scottie is very good with his fans, making public appearances, interviews and getting photographed in all the right places. He's usually the one starting rumours about himself. Scottie stays on top of everything about his public image. After all, he learned from the best. After a three episode arc on 'Doctor Who' filmed back in the UK and a one season fantasy TV show 'flop' on Netflix, Scottie was cast on "Friday Night Bites". Since joining the cast, Scottie's career has taken off further. He knows his name is bringing a lot of attention. It's a good cast though, Scottie just needs to make sure that in a room of big egos, his is the biggest.

What Does Gossip Girl Have On Them?

People don't get to know things about Scottie that Scottie doesn't want them to know. Gossip Girl is just more press, right?

Connections

Laurel Xu - Laurel is Scottie's best, most beautiful, friend. No one gets Scottie like Laurel, and vice versa. Scottie's always dragging Laurel along to events, parties and most other places outside their comfort zone but they're always happy to do it, for Scottie.

Frankie Vives - co-star on 'Friday Night Bites' and biggest pain in Scottie's ass. Their vampire characters play opposite each other, tangled in all sorts of love triangles and tense situations. Scottie plays the 'hero' to Frankie's 'villain/anti-hero'.

Joy Greenaway - co-star on 'Friday Night Bites' and someone Scottie loves to work with. They even did a couple of gigs together when they were kids.

Gracie Watts, Ryan Star and Sienna Haven - co-stars on 'Friday Night Bites'. Gracie and Ryan are the younger cast members so Scottie tries to set a good(ish) example. Sienna is the 'new girl' that Scottie knows will bring them a lot of publicity if they cozy up to her.

Johnny Akana - Scottie's #1 idol when it comes to actors (don't tell their parents). Johnny was an absolute badass back in the day and Scottie can't wait to work with them this new season on FNB.

[signalwatch]

Neo-Noir Watch: The Last Seduction (1994)

Watched:  05/06/2023

Format:  Criterion

Viewing:  First

Director:  John Dahl

Well, at long last I got around to The Last Seduction (1994).  

I can see how well-meaning dopes would have cast Fiorentino in Jade on the heels of this movie, possibly trying to borrow some of the heat she brings to this film, but the two movies are worlds apart, and one is a 90's indie darling playing to a punchline, and the other is a shiny studio movie that feels like a hastily jotted-off airport-book thriller.  

The Last Seduction reads more like a Goodis novel or Jim Thompson book, with low-level crooks twisting and turning over each other and innocence is a commodity of dubious value.  Fiorentino plays a con who encourages her husband (Bill Pullman) to take part in a risky drug deal, earning a huge amount of cash.  After a bitter argument in which Pullman slaps Fiorentino, when he goes to shower, she takes the money and runs.  

Headed for Chicago, Fiorentino stops off in a small town in upstate New York, where her attorney advises her to lay-low while she runs a divorce through.  She picks up Peter Berg in a bar (who believes he's picking her up).  Berg has recently returned from Buffalo, where things didn't work out.  He's a bit bummed as he thought he was the guy who was going to get out of this one-horse town.  Now he's met someone from NYC who seems like his ticket out.

Fiorentino schemes.  A lot.  

This film was Fiorentino's big breakout and - looking at IMDB - her career peak as far as notices went.  She'd appear in films for another 15 years or so, before retiring from in front of the camera.  Berg would go on to be a highly successful producer and director, and I'd frankly forgotten he was a successful actor.

SPOILERS

It's certainly an interesting film and a great piece to study regarding "where were we in the 1990's vis-a-vis women in film?".  The movie requires a certain level of belief by the audience that Fiorentino's character isn't doing the things she's obviously doing because no one (read: women) could be capable of those things, and the audience expects that movies end with the two leads falling in love.  It's all unspoken, but it's there.  Otherwise, I'm not quite sure what we're looking at.  In any case, it's largely a movie about a very dumb guy who doesn't know he's dumb being led around by his nose by a very good looking, very mean woman (which, fair enough).  In this way, it's definitely a neo-noir - with the femme fatale pushed front and center.

That said, it felt sort of clunky watching the movie in 2023.  There's no subtlety or nuance.  There's no mystery of what Fiorentino is up to, so it's just watching Berg be a dope for 2 hours.  Which, honestly, I remember being a thing in the 1990's as being pushed to audiences so movies would work, but no specific examples leap to mind.  To highlight one character, we were fine with another character just falling all over themselves.  

But at no time do you think "well, maybe she is really falling for this guy" or "I bet he flips the script on her".  Instead, it's just watching our femme fatale go about her scheming, hoping things work out, and, indeed, it does.  The "twist" at the end is that Berg realizes how thoroughly he'd been set-up, but that's also something we see at every move.  It's more a list of "oh, yeah, I guess that did happen" than "ha HA!  Wow, what a twist!" at the end of the film.

This is not Body Heat.  By design.  We know Fiorentino is a sociopath from jump.  So...  I'm not sure, exactly, what her arc is other than "she does many things people do not expect".  Which is a story of sorts, but I'm not sure what the takeaway is other than not to be a small-town loser who gets big ideas?

I mean, the movie feels like a comedy in many ways, with that last scene the punchline.  But it's a long walk to get there.  I see Ebert in reviews referring to Fiorentino's performance as dry-humor, and that's right.  But I don't see anyone referring to the film as a dark comedy, which it mostly feels like it is.  To me.  But I don't know how else to read how dopey Peter Berg is in the film.

That said, released in the mid-90's, we hadn't seen many women's roles that would have allowed for this sort of thing since the post-WWII heyday of noir.  And we wouldn't have paired it with overt sexuality during that window, just the deeply implied sexual whiles of the femme fatale (see: any of the big name noir films from Double Indemnity to Out of the Past).  But we knew those women were trouble, but we weren't sure how.  This movie has no secrets or mysteries other than what happened in Buffalo, which, when told, is...  silly?  Unbuyable?

I largely liked the film, with some significant caveats.  It feels like it lifts the "ABC" scene from Glengarry Glenn Ross for it's opening, and the twist reveal of what happened in Buffalo from The Crying Game, both of which would have been on the minds of movie-goers two years after they came out, and then made it into homes via cable and VHS.  

The challenge of noir is that:  there's a lot of it, and it does a lot of the same thing.  So you're going to draw down comparison by existing.  And you're never created or being viewed in a vaccuum.

There's no question that Fiorentino is great.  She is.  And I'd argue that Peter Berg gives it his all.  Bill Nunn as the private eye is good, and Bill Pullman is Bill Pullman.  The movie leans into the "erotic" bit of "erotic thriller" with an eye less to sexiness and more to grinding, angry sex, but there's no question about the seductiveness of the proceedings. 

I know I'm picking at the movie but (a) welcome to this site, and I have bad news for you, and (b) I actually mostly liked the film.  I'm just surprised less that it has the reputation it got in 1994, but that it seems like this movie bubbles up a lot in conversation, that this movie is still as relevant now as then.  What I think is that it helped lay the groundwork for what you could do with women in film and television, and Fiorentino just surprised the hell out of everyone.  But I'm not sure it holds up as noir, thriller, mystery, etc... all that well.  I do think it holds up as a vantablack comedy of sorts, if you expect to never really laugh.  And that's a feature, not a bug.  

Apparently there's a Last Seduction II (which, technically, makes this film The Second to Last Seduction) which has none of the original cast and has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and now I am deadly curious.

https://ift.tt/du782Ve

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/oTnQ5F4

[lokilickedme]

New banner!  Temporary because obviously I can do better than that, but I was in a hurry and the mood struck me.

As some of you know, I’ve been busy lately.  Like, fell off the edge of the world busy.  Something about packing up one’s entire life and hauling it (along with two children and two cats) 1200 miles away from where you started has a tendency to force everything into a holding pattern while you focus on keeping everyone alive.  Arriving in the middle of a blizzard doesn’t help.  Having your housing fall through also doesn’t help.  But our temporary accommodations are serving well both in terms of having a place to live for a while *and* providing inspiration that’s been sadly lacking since the stress of the relocation took over all my available headspace, so here’s to refraining from complaining and getting my ass back on the wagon.  (No I haven’t become an alcoholic but don’t delude yourself for one second assuming I haven’t thought real good and damn hard about it)

Long story short, we’re here, we’re once again headed toward closing on a new house, we landed slightly off center of where we’d intended but as it turns out the detour put us in a better place, and though I’m still without my computer (WHERE IS IT?!?!?!) I do have a tablet with a very stripped down edition of my writing files.  So away we go.

Rancho de La Luna

This is new, for those of you who haven’t been paying attention :P  Inspired directly by the place we’re staying temporarily and featuring my personal favorite faceclaims as a team of capable but quarrelsome cowboys at a tourist ranch beleaguered by problems, including a new arrival with a penchant for fibbing about her skills.  Just for funsies, because why not.  I hope to update it pretty often for a little while, until I run out of steam or start to get bored or *gasp!* actually finish it.  Watch for potential unscheduled updates.

The Empty Arms Hotel

Gonna pick back up on this one again soon before I forget what the big deal is with the tenants.  Whipplefilter finally got to bang somebody besides the desk clerk so he’s a happy camper, but the Traveler isn’t sure he wants to do that again...yeah no he’s totally gonna do that again because like the woman at the front desk said, once that tall slurp of poisoned Kool Aid goes down on you there’s not a single thing in your sad sorry excuse for a life that will EVER measure up again.  The third floor resident got it in gallons.  Weirdness is still afoot, though...that storm has gone off the bejeezus scale and doesn’t appear to have plans other than eventually wiping the entire planet off the solar system’s map.  So - more degenerate sex while we wait for that, anyone?  Yes please.

The Money Shot

Will get back to this one later - and since Momoa is divorced now, you can probably safely assume meat’s back on the menu.  Ohhhh yeah.  Don’t expect an update anytime soon though, there’s other stuff I’d much rather be working on than this silly little vanity piece.  Even with Momoa fresh on the market.

The House Next Door

My favorite - this one will update again soon.  I’m not as frantic to get it done as I was when I was living the actual nightmare that inspired it, but now that that’s over and I can look at it with a clear head, I feel like it’s going to become less of a revenge piece and more of a sweet romance...because Thomas Dowd only *thinks* he’s not crazy about kids, and Carly’s children (particularly Connor) are getting a good solid grip on his heartstrings.  Also there’s Duncan.  God, I love Duncan.  Somebody’s gotta have a redemption arc and since Dowd and Carly are both victims of their circumstances, it’s gonna have to be Dunk.  Things are about to get fun up in this suburban romcom.

The Variant

Again, one that I love but don’t have the headspace for right now.  Once we’re settled good and proper and I have time to watch some Loki-centric stuff and fire up the remotivation thrusters, I’ll finish this one.  I do so love Variant 77.  And Tech Sevensix.  Seven’s personal Loki-love is about to become an angst generator so be ready for that - and do NOT underestimate President Loki’s lust for all things problematic.  Original Loki embarrassed the crap out of him the last time they crossed paths and that’s not going to go unavenged.  Ha!  Loki finally gets to be an avenger!  Wrong Loki and wrong team, but we take what we can get, right?

Shrine Of Your Lies

Yep, gonna finish this one.  The dreamy tone means it hits me when it hits me, so the next time it hits me I’ll hit you with it.  Promise.

Aingeal Ard

KING!!  I’m going to finish this one this year, sooner rather than later, just to have it off the roster and to clear the way for book 4 of The McClary Chronicles.  It would have happened last year, but...well, you know what happened.  And we’re almost done, so once King has his final say, this one wraps up.

Tales From Quarantine

Not sure if I feel like doing any more vignettes for this one.  We’ll see.  I think pandemic fatigue is a thing and I’m not sure all that many of us want to read about other people going through it.  I’m double vaccinated and extremely careful yet I’ve had covid twice, so...kinda had enough.

Sunflower

Tommy and Chloe will have their happy ending, you have my word.  Will it happen this year?  Yeah, I think so.  Hang in there.

The King of All The Rest

I’m going to be honest here, I’d forgotten about this one.  I’d love to get on it because I love me a good fun snarky Loki tale, but it’ll have to wait a bit.

Stop The World (And Melt With You)

This was meant to be my next “big” project, but it got waylaid by The House Next Door and now Rancho de La Luna.  I do plan to start it this year though - fun romps through the backstage side of the music industry are right up my alley and my characters are ready to go.  Stay tuned for a start date on this one once RdLL gets rolling.

Happy Merry Thankschristmas, Chief

This one obviously was intended for a pre-holiday release, but since I was on the road navigating blizzards and staying in motels during that particular timeframe, it sat in drafts unfinished and now all the holidays referenced in the title have passed.  There are two options I’m willing to consider on this followup ficlet to The Department - an off-season release as soon as it’s finished, or I can hang onto it until the holidays roll around again.  Feel free to offer an opinion if you got one.

In fact, opinions are welcomed on everything on this list - sometimes having someone say “I’d love to see this one update first” or whatever can give me just the motivation kick I need to get on it.  Don’t be shy.  I can’t guarantee it’ll work out that way (inspiration and motivation are tricky arbitrary monsters) but I can sure give it a try.

[shrinkthisviolet]

Beth Chapel, Amanda LaRusso, Joe West

Beth Chapel:

(Note that this is about DCTV Beth Chapel, because I haven’t read comics)

Beth Chapel is an absolute sweetheart and incredibly smart!! I love her so, so much!! Though...something I don’t see a lot of people talking about is how much she really needs therapy?? Like...Beth acts so much like an adult in s1, clearly so self-sufficient and seeming to take care of her parents more than they take care of her...and maybe it’s just me, but I wonder if they’ll ever address that??

I also think it’s a large part of why she latches on to Chuck. Yes, it’s about friendship, but even after she has the JSA...she really, really misses Chuck. Because Chuck was more than a friend for her...Chuck was someone who looked out for her and was there for her, and I really wonder if he was (at least in part) filling the parent-shaped hole in Beth’s heart. Because her parents clearly love her so much!! They do!! But...I can’t be the only one who thought they were on the verge of a divorce during s1, because they seldom talked to each other, and they were always busy, and Beth seemed so used to that...

Just...idk. Get this girl some therapy in s3 please...and let her and her parents have a real heart-to-heart about how maybe she felt forced to grow up too fast or rely on herself more than anyone else

Amanda LaRusso:

Amanda...oh boy. Okay. So...I’ve said something to the effect of her being one of the best characters on CK, and the moral center/level head, etc. When she says something, I’m on her side about it...usually.

I’ve made no secret about my gripes about s4, and Amanda’s characterization is definitely a major reason for that. Mostly because Amanda reminds me a lot of my own mom, and seeing how she acted in s4 really struck a nerve.

Like...okay. The show wanted to give Tory a redemption/regret arc. Totally fine with that, and it fits with her character - in s3, she regretted the school fight, so naturally in s4, she’d regret the home invasion (why tf she actually DID the home invasion is another thing but I’ve complained about Tory’s ooc writing before). And they wanted to tie it to Amanda. Okay, that could be an interesting angle.

However. The way they went about it is absolutely baffling. Amanda, at the start of s4, is fully intent on seeing Tory delivered justice. Which makes sense with who she is as a character and how she is as a mom. But then...she meets Kreese in a grocery store and Kreese is like “hey Tory has a bad home life, consider treating her better.” And then Amanda just...does??

Like?? What?? This is the man who tried to kill your husband, sent his kids after your daughter and her kids (who then broke Demetri’s arm and traumatized Sam), whom you slapped for doing that...but now suddenly he says “Tory has a bad home life”...and you believe him??

And it’s not even just that. Not only does Amanda believe him...she also immediately throws all negative feelings about Tory out the window. Because apparently a bad home life means all harm ever done is immediately negated. So much for the interesting internal struggle of “she has a bad home life but she still hurt my daughter.” Guess that was too much for the writers.

More to the point...this shouldn’t have been Kreese’s role. It should’ve been Robby’s. Robby is in a relationship with Tory, and he and Amanda are presumably on good terms (and they’ve had this talk before, about their pasts not defining them)!! The setup was there!! Have Robby appeal to Amanda on Tory’s behalf, have Tory scoff and try to put up a front...have Amanda be reluctant and still dislike Tory but agree to help her anyway...have her soften towards this girl who reminds her of herself.

But also...do not have her tell Sam that she needs to forgive Tory when Tory hasn’t even apologized. Absolutely not. Tbh, I would’ve liked to see this arc with Sam, with her having the inner conflict of “she has a bad home life but also she hurt me”...but if it has to be Amanda, she can’t force Sam to forgive Tory. Not her place.

Basically, I loved her in the first three seasons, and I’ll always write her with nuance...but wow did s4 tank my opinion of her (she isn’t the only one, to be fair)

Joe West:

...oh man could I go on a rant about Joe.

Let’s start with the most obvious grievance that everyone and their mother has been talking about: Armageddon!! The sheer audacity of this man to yell at Barry and Iris for (finally!! After years of letting him go!!) agreeing to let Thawne die (not kill him, btw. Let him die, as a result of his own actions)!! The audacity!! This is the same man who shot Harry within a second of meeting him, rightfully on guard because Harry could’ve been Thawne!!

Also let’s not forget that Joe’s lecture comes after Thawne tells Barry that he’ll continue trying to kill him if he gets free. Thawne is that arrogant, that he’s fully truthful about his intentions and still expecting Team Flash to do what he wants and let him go free...and they did it?? It’s baffling. Thanks, Joe. I hope you know that the entire bs s8 finale arc is your fault (including that godawful black suit...wtf was that)

But now let’s rewind. Because...I’ve been rewatching s1, and it strikes me just how much Joe is restrictive of his *checks notes* 25-year-old daughter?? Like...Iris is presumably an adult when she applies to the police academy...he shoots her down with a cold shoulder. A cold shoulder! Not a sit-down-and-let-me-explain-why, not anything...just a cold shoulder until Iris withdraws. Even on E2 this was the case!!

And then with everyone knowing Barry was the Flash except Iris?? Including Iris’s fiancé?? Come on now 💀 Come on, Joe. Your daughter is an adult!! Let her make her own decisions!! Let her in on things!!

(also...they couldn’t dissuade Iris from writing her blog...yet they still didn’t let her in on the Flash stuff?? Remember how she was literally kidnapped for her blog?? Barry, Joe, Eddie…did none of y’all think that maybe letting her in on Barry being the Flash would allow her to be more prepared to defend herself against threats?? Y’all could’ve given her the Flash alert early too!!)

I don’t even have an opinion on him per se, just frustration

send me a character (or multiple) and I’ll fill out the bingo!

[mc-critical]

You said in your previous reblog in the tags that you notice character parallels between Mihrimah and Mahidevran. Are you able to go more into depth on this?

Sure thing! The primary parallel between Mihrimah and Mahidevran is in their character arcs that are based more on the protection of what they know and love than strictly gaining power and using it for their own benefit.

First off, despite of their different circumstances, the environment and the people in it were placing expectations on Mihrimah and Mahidevran ever since their respective debuts- and the root of these expectations is pretty similar. Both of them have already gained certain position and power - Mahidevran as Süleiman's haseki and Mihrimah as a princess of the dynasty. Both were consistently motivated to protect (or protect through) their positions in their new predicaments by applying them both for themselves and for someone else's sake: Mahidevran has to behave as per her position not to cause trouble and to win SS's favors again, Mihrimah has to do that to "do what Hürrem can't", stand her ground when she's cornered the way her mother never could; Mahidevran has to act like a mother of a prince for the sake of Mustafa, Mihrimah has to use her power as SS's daughter for the sake of her brothers. Both of them have parts of their positions they apply openly in front of others to demonstrate superiority right from the start and another part they haven't grasped yet and/or didn't want to grasp early on, but they eventually do later on.

Their path to the adaption to the system is similar: what they initially wanted was to seek love (Mahi with SS, Mihri with Taşlicali and Bali Bey) and for a long while, they didn't give up on this desire, no matter what stood on the way of it. Every disappointment and heartbreak they faced in these stages of their lives hurt them severely and it wasn't easy to move on. At one point, both had to face that they weren't loved in the same way they once were or thought they were (by SS and Bali Bey respectively), so their only choice remained an inevitable one. Mahidevran and Mihrimah both had to grapple with what they knew they had to do, but were hesitant to. They had to accept the unchanging position they were in and play by the rules for the sake of a probable better future they believed in. (Mustafa to sit on the throne and Mahi to become Valide, Bayezid to sit on the throne and Mihri's brothers not to be potentially killed.) The more it all continued, the less optimistic and more cynical they became. The more engrained in it they became. They still ended up doing crueler stuff more out of necessity than them loving intrigue all that much, but the more this necessity arose, the more used to it they became.

They have similar supportive natures to others, because their lives became centered around that. Protecting others became a big part of their identities, coming to disregard what they lost or what they wanted for themselves. While both Mahidevran and Mihrimah know what they have to do, there have been not so few instances where they have openly and strongly protested against it (Mahidevran in E45 as a whole and her asking SS to free her; Mihrimah marrying Rüstem and then asking SS for a divorce), but then always "faced the "no's" and moved into the other stages of their lives. It's kind of an internal conflict for them and it drove both of their arcs and motivations forward. And their arcs and motivations are always personal and familial: they value the families they have or have created and seem to be capable of anything for them. They try to spare them from trouble (Mahidevran's advices to Mustafa and actions toward him in S03; Mihrimah helping Bayezid with money etc.), but also lean on them a lot. (Mahidevran with Mustafa throughout the show and Mihrimah with SS, Hürrem and Cihangir.) They try with all their might to offer help to their collective causes and they to be as involved as possible, even when that isn't provided to them. (Mustafa objecting to Mahi's interference in many matters and not allowing her to put her head in "state matters"; Hürrem hiding her schemes from Mihrimah and the rest of her children even in S04 and asked her whether she was sure she wanted to help in the Mustafa issue.)

Both of them can be very perceptive of what is going on around them (while Mihrimah moves more between perceptiveness and obliviousness for the sake of "doing what is best for her brothers' future", she still has it in her.) and do try to warn when possible problems could arise. (Mahi with Musti again, Valide and Ibro; Mihri with Hü about Selim and Bayezid.) They show they're aware of both the luck and misfortune of their positions. (Mahidevran's quote in E16 and Mihrimah's monologue in E99 while totally different in their context, show similar awareness, combined with notably strong yet bitter acceptance of what's happening.) They are aware of the toxicity of the system, no matter how much of it they've absorbed.

The culmination of their character arcs are the same: Mahidevran and Mihrimah do the cruelest deed in their lives (ordering Mehmet's death; stealing Mustafa's seal thus playing a part in his death.) when their will for protection reached its peak and the prospect of losing became stronger. Both of their decisions are sudden, yet expected, built up narratively for a lengthy period of time. (Hürrem's constant schemes against Mustafa, culminating in the assigning to Amasya; Hürrem and Rüstem convincing Mihrimah that he's the enemy and her own changing position on him and his actions.) They come to these decisions on their own, helped by ongoing events and conversations. They decide to act against someone they haven't directly acted against before by already seeing him solely as a threat that can bring no good. However, before they make the decisions they hear the perspective of the people they love and care about (Mustafa and Selim) and seeing how much the happenings have upset them is what motivated Mahidevran and Mihrimah even further to act the way they did. Both of them come to the same realization (though not so directly spelled out with Mihrimah): that they have no one but their family and can't rely on others or on the sole chance, respectively. Both use trust to do the deed: Mahidevran sends Illyas to gain Mehmet's trust, Mihrimah goes to Amasya with the pretext to make amends with Mustafa and of course he would obviously trust her. When it's all done, both regret it severely and call it a sin, but decide to repress or bottle up their regret inside- Mihrimah shows superiority, while Mahidevran responds with silence when it's brought up.

The hint of letting go of the toxic system is present in both Mahidevran and Mihrimah's arcs, while more strongly realized with Mahidevran. Both have been offered detachment of their environment - Mahidevran went to Bursa after Mustafa's demise, Mihrimah was offered a way out by Pedro. They go with it because it's something they also want deep down: Mihrimah didn't go with Pedro, but ultimately managed to get rid of Rüstem after Hürrem's death, their marriage being a part of the toxicity for her. Mihrimah no longer wanted to be a part at least of this. With SS taking all her wealth and "previous self" away and her own wish to leave justice in the hands of God, Mahidevran moved past her ire for Hürrem and let go of the toxic game of the sultanate she called out directly in front of "the decider of all their fates", a far cry from the former love or respect she had left for him. Both meet in their joint scene in E139 with Mahidevran having found her peace and refusing to accept Selim's offer to go back to the castle and Mihrimah being seemingly against everything Mahidevran told her, but eventually deciding to get out of the castle and retire, maybe leaving things to Safiye when the rest of the episode up to that point promised a fair amount of future involvement from her. Maybe she didn't want to fully deal with it any longer. Mahidevran and Mihrimah have experienced a lot and have come to terms with these experiences, but they manage to also get away from them, at least to an extent.

[terrainofheartfelt]

I see a lot of people’s problem with dair is lack of reciprocity but like wouldn’t be odd for Blair was going the mile the way dan was when he wasn’t going through a whole ass divorce and for the most part grew up in a stable home. My problem is that dan and Blair were actually getting to a place of reciprocity and then the writer ripped it all away

yeah I don't buy the lack of reciprocity because look at her!!! girl is glowing!!! (x)

Meester really did so much. Blair was clearly smitten.

I do think, that it can read that she's less invested because she was going through a LOT. Blair basically does not get a break for the entirety of the season, and what she goes through is heavy. What I said before, about her being the one in crisis - I think Dan senses that too, he's had a front row seat to the all the traumatic shit she undergoes since the fall. And we see, after the divorce, Blair trying to come back to herself (re: "OGB"), and do things that are for herself and not for anybody else.

(she also lowkey gets that chance in 4b, but on a less highstakes dramatic scale, during the Secret Friendship arc. She. Found. Her. Center. Is. All.)

But the enormity of that, of not being beholden to anyone else, Blair's never really had that before. She built her life around Serena and Nate, and then Chuck, and then Louis, and being with Dan is the first time she ever allows herself to make room for herself, and that's scary as hell. (and Dan, I think, who's been secretly and silently in love with her for so long is extremely conscious of not taking up too much space).

So, when chip wiskers falls into crisis again at the end of the season, it's easier for Blair to take up that old mantle of his savior than facing the unknown of being someone else. Being herself. Which, even from an exclusively Blair character analysis standpoint, makes her arc at the tail end of season 5 very upsetting.

[sillysunshinesstuff]

Ok so this is totally bullshit and totally disproven but indulge my rambling.

We know Sam was supposed to be the main protagonist. The show started with his perspective and the story starts after his tragedy. The first few seasons then follow that type of story telling. It's from Sam's perspective, his view of the story. (again, I know this changes with Dean becoming main protag but listen) So Supernatural is from Sam's perspective. It's his view on how their stories went down. Narratively, it had to be unreliable. He only gets a limited view of the story and characters around him. This means what we saw isn't necessarily the true story.

That's where Dean and Cas come in.

What if their very hetero friendship was only because that's how Sam viewed it? The story is put together through what he saw and was told, so perhaps he didn't see everything. Maybe Dean didn't tell him everything. Maybe this is why deancas scenes are always so fucking charged and nobody knows why. It's why such intense devotion happened with only very minimal interaction between the characters. Maybe there was more to the story that nobody told Sam about.

Think of the intense stare downs with absolutely no explanation. The big declarations of " I did it, all of it, for you" "I need you" and "I forgive you, of course I forgive you." "I love you." Romantically coded scenes but since Sam didn't explicitly see it, he views it as friendship because his dumb brother and best friend never showed him the more, the in-between. It's why all the bigger arcs later, the Cain/Colette/Cas arc, the Amara/Dean/Cas arc, the widower arc, the divorce arc, are all romantic but since Sam never saw more, it was never expressed as such to the audience.

Think of the mixtape. Why didn't we see Dean give it to Cas? Why do we only see Dean telling Cas it's a gift and you keep those? Perhaps it's something one of them mentioned to Sam, perhaps he saw Cas listening to it and filled in the blanks. Perhaps the deancas narrative is only half there because Sam was kept from most of it.

Or what about Tombstone and husband cowboy costumes? We learned Dean and Cas marathon movies together but never saw it because Sam never saw it happen. He only saw them interacting like dorks during the case. He only saw Dean's intense happiness at having Cas back.

In my opinion, Dean and Cas have been together for a long ass time. Probably off and on. That's why Dean's grief and feelings for Cas are always front and center because Sam can't make sense on why they're so much more intense than his own. It's why Dean has had no love interests (few exceptions?) but Sam doesn't really pay that fact any mind.

Now this all hinges on Sam being a bit naive and not connecting the dots. And you know what, it makes sense. Sam's fatal flaw the first few seasons was his selfishness. Went to college, left his family, left Dean, and just tried to erase it all. (Not selfish things in my opinion but the show does frame it as such) It's why narratively, he had to make the selfless sacrifice at the end of season 5. He's definitely grown from that flaw but maybe not in regards to Dean. Dean is his parent and children don't really pay attention to their parents. We love and care for them, but we assume they're gonna handle their own shit and we don't need to be part of that. Sam stays naive because it's not a big deal. Dean sticks with him and Cas is their best friend. Why does there need to be more to it than that? Why should he care?

So perhaps the confession scene was something Dean and Cas had always avoided. Love. I mean, they got divorced in the last season. Maybe they still weren't together, even after Dean forgave him and apologized himself. Maybe they both felt like it was too much to come back from and therefore didn't get back together. "You don't have to say it, I heard your prayer." They both thought they were done. That they were out of love and that was that. But Cas called bullshit and said he loved Dean. Had always loved Dean and always will. That was his moment of true happiness. Letting Dean know that after years of being together, he loved him. Through all the pain and suffering, he loved him and it wasn't over. Would never be over, not for him at least.

Maybe when Dean recounted this to Sam, it finally clicked as romantic. But he never thought to consider their past and how the confession was built up to. He probably just thought it was a random confession after years of unrequited love. Never considering that maybe the love was requited the entire time and acted upon. That maybe these two had been together all along but things always got in their way of being happy. That Chuck always threw something at them to keep them apart because they were the one part of his story he did not write. This was Sam's story. It was never supposed to be a love story.

Remember when Dean ran to the door after Lucifer/Cas phone call? Even though Lucifer only ever pretends to be romantic love interests? Requited love interests his target is/has been in a relationship with? It's because Dean was running to his love of many years.

In conclusion, Sam is a clueless unreliable narrator and Deancas has been together the whole time. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[retvenkos]

anyways i guess i'm a portwell stan now (enemies to lovers/best friends brother/make each other better trope & troy and gabriella parallels my beloved)

and i'm also exasperated at the writers at ricky's path this season. and the writers in general.

i just. want miss jenn and mr mazzara to get together this season and ej and gina to be happy, if that's too much to ask for.

AND WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE SO MANY LOVE TRIANGLES????

nobody wants it, they're not needed- all this season has been about romance, with a few crumbs of musical theatre, and it's not what i signed up for! i want more friendship moments between kourtney and seb, and i want more of the dorky improv games.

let the kids be kids.

the north high rivalry is getting unrealistically annoying. if anything, the theatre community is supportive of each other (i'm in a performing arts school, i should know lmbo)

ricky's parents' divorce plot was completely thrown out the window.

nobody wanted the redlyn angst.

why is carlos being kinda mean?

this whole has season has been a mess, and the only people carrying the show on their backs now is ej, gina, mr. mazzara and howie's rendition of "if i can't love her".

i'm so sorry for vomiting this all over you, i just felt this show is going downhill- kinda like glee.

dfghjdsfghjhgfdsdfghjhgfd,,, i haven't watched glee but i know enough about it to know that was a sick burn, cass. i love it.

and omg,,,,, do i have thoughts™. let's unpack them, shall we?

i agree that this season has been..... a lot™. it’s just a cluster of half-baked plot points that are strung together really losely. i feel like they should have scaled back on some of their ambitions.

namely, the north high rivalry is really bland and unnecessary. the only good things to come out of it is howie, the song around you, and the stunning location (i mean, art deco ogden high? count me in). you could take out the menkies entirely and so little would change to the overall story. i’d argue the story could have been even better without it because.... big shock..... we could focus on the characters.

because, truly, they’re trying to tackle too many things at once. whatever angst is happening with carlos and seb is the worst developed plot point we’ve had to suffer through. carlos says “does chip have any big scenes?” and it’s the catalyst for a fight? then we have them split for spring break and it’s just snippets of them fighting? literally, there’s zero reason for seb and carlos to fight - their dynamic is cute but it’s background chatter when you have whatever the hell is happening with ricky, nini, ej, and gina front and center. there was no reason to make then fight and it doesn’t add to their development, it isn’t well executed, and it isn’t particularly interesting. just let them be happy?

and i feel like that’s such a running theme for all of the side relationships? like you said - redlyn didn’t really need angst? i feel like the whole “career day” arc was well done and was compelling (but maybe that’s just because i had a friend who went through the same thing as red, so i’m sympathetic to it), but whatever went on with antoine and ashlyn was just.... really unnecessary? it didn’t add anything? maybe they’ll be revisiting the plot point, but as it stands right now, it was just really random to add in, and perhaps if i were more invested with north high, i would appreciate it more. but they’re.... so inconsequential.

and now we get to talk about one of my biggest gripes,,,,,,, ricky’s parents’ divorce. listen, i thought it was well developed in season one. it had importance. it affected ricky. it affected the plot. it raised the stakes. now it’s just underdeveloped. we’ve barely seen ricky’s homelife, given the sheer amount of plot points the show is juggling, and since ricky has mainly had negative scenes through the totality of the season, viewers aren’t really interested in seeing how the crumbs of his tumultuous homelife are affecting his behavior (which is kind of important, seeing as it accounts for the degradation of his character). 

ricky is going through a lot this season, and i feel like the main reason why people are so upset with him is because the writers leaned into his sad boi™ status. maybe it’s because the screentime is so divided and the stakes are higher, or because the writers really just got rid of all of ricky’s personality, but ricky has had two personality traits this season - sad clingy boi and bitter, passive aggressive boi. 

now, these personality appeared in season one - quite a lot, actually - but because it was framed  between light hearted moments and exploration of his conflicts, it was palatable and understandable. viewers understood why ricky was so desperately clinging onto the past and resisted change so much. we saw the tempest he was in! we had moments where friends like big red or even gina mentioned it. his reactions had merit because the viewer saw the buildup! 

this season, we have not had that. we see ricky’s dad trying to do his best with moving out, and with trying to move on, and we see ricky’s mom trying to do the same, and this is all strong for them, but when ricky can’t move on, and we see less of the struggle that ricky feels, we become disenchanted. ricky has stagnated, and we see everyone else moving on, and we do not focus on hat influences ricky to stop dead in his tracks. 

what’s worse is that the writers have ricky blow up so much more than last season, when we see less reasoning, and when he mentions how his parent’s divorce is a main reason for his angst, we really have no basis for that - except for what we saw in season 1. season 1 isn’t enough anymore, though, because ricky’s dad has moved on! so has ricky’s mom! 

i’m just scREAMING because ricky’s story is important and it was done well in season 1 and now the writers are losing ricky in the crossfire and pulling out the most degraded, negative traits of his character and running with them.

where is the ricky bowen i love and miss????

and lol, i’ve spoken so much about north high already, but i agree 10000% that it’s just getting out of hand. it’s just so not realistic. the rivalries aren’t like this,,,, someone please make it stop. they north high kids are also just so underdeveloped? the only exception is howie, and we didn’t even know he was a north high kid for half of the show,,,,,, (which, imo, should have been built up much better. kourtney said they never hung out with his friends, but we should have seen that so the mystery was more fulfilling. we should have also gotten hints he was in theatre - maybe kourtney hears him sing beauty and the beast, and she thinks it’s vvv cute, and she asks him he didn’t try out, and howie has to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a decent lie.) 

there’s so much poor or just underdeveloped writing in this season,,,, i’m crying.

even gina (my beloved) is the subject of poor writing because literally what happened between her and ricky? she was so emotionally involved she was about to leave, and then she suddenly decides to stay? and she suddenly just ignores ricky? girl worked through all of that off camera and while it’s not bad per se, it’s just lazy. they just underdeveloped that entire story.

the only one who has really shined this season is ej, and that’s just... really out of left field, but i’m not complaining.

and, i mean, i could talk about my earlier gripes with nini, but i see that they’re making narrative sense, now that the show has progressed a little further. i just wish she had stayed at yac longer, or we had seen more of her, there, so that when she says “she liked who she was [at yac],” we would have more basis for that. and i kinda wish we saw more of her sans boy drama, but i’m sure that’s coming.

and the love triangles,,,,, don’t get me started. rina didn’t have to be angsty or happen at all,,,, they could have just been friends and it would have had the same effect. don’t believe me? they’re friends and they lean on each other, but then nini comes into the picture and ricky just wants to be with nini all the time. he starts to really blow gina off and gina wonders if they were ever friends at all, or if she was just a cardboard cut out that ricky projected nini onto. the angst happens, gina realizes she has friends with carlos, she has that moment with ashlyn that gets fixed, then gina gets close to ej,,,,, literally no difference.

and lol, mr. mazzara. i think he and miss jenn are vvv cute together - definitely my favorite out of the miss jenn romances. i love a good slow burn, so i’m willing to wait for an eternity to have it. i just think they’re neat.

[yusuke-of-valla]

I’m 99% sure it’s just been us two talking about it after every RWBY ep. Long story short, All of Fortuna is related to someone in RWBY and/or P5, they’re an elite team in the Atlas Military, they end up double-crossing Ironwood and keeping secrets from everyone and end up helping the resistance later.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that

-Touma is Coco’s older brother, he was adopted by her family after the whole thing with his parents. His semblance is Gaia’s Whisper and basically he absorbs fire and can use that to attack or support his allies.

-Itsuki is P5!Ren’s older brother, and is front and center dealing with his parents divorce. His semblance is Aura Spheres and basically he can focus his aura to Attack (Thoron), Support (Strike a Pose), or Heal (Diarahan)

-Ellie is one of Jaune’s older sisters, and also very gay because all of the Arc sisters are WLW. Her semblance is Debilitating Arrows, so she basically can make a special arrow with her aura and reduce the Atk/Def/Spd of her enemies. The larger the radius the more aura it takes.

-Tsubasa is Ruby and Yang’s cousin, and I don’t know if we ever actually added this in the au but I vaguely remember talking about Ayaha having been the former Fall Maiden? Her semblance is Hit It! She can basically cause music to play at any time and it increases the power of any attacks done to the beat. Also it creates an arena around them that looks like the TMS battle arena.

-Kiria is Pyrrha’s older sister and helps Winter fight Ironwood. Her semblance is Destroyer’s Aura, depending on the pitch of her voice, she can create different elemental spells. Higher is Wind, Lower is Fire, Normal is Ice.

-Yashiro is RWBY!Ren’s older brother and also helps Winter fight Ironwood. I’m pretty sure we said Yashiro could have two semblances because of the Heterochromia so one semblance is Song of Flames, basically he sings and a huge fire blast will come up. His second one I don’t remember the name I came up with for but basically it’s a speed semblance like Harriet’s except it’s got fire around it.

-Mamori is Nora’s younger sister and yes she is still a baby with an axe. Her semblance is Shield of Love, basically the same thing as in TMS, she throws herself in front of attacks and creates Aura Shields to protect them both.

Yeah that sounds about right, though Ayaha being the Fall Maiden means she’s dead so idk if we want to keep that

[gibelwho]

Top 5: Best Films of 2019

2019 was another momentous year for me - spent the first half of the year living at my in-laws house while we waited to move into our forever home, then spending the back half of the year doing house projects as we slowly unpacked. We weren’t consistently heading to the cinema, but we’ve done a race to fit in many more films before the Oscars, which was held this past weekend and where Parasite made history as the first foreign language film to win Best Picture. This is my second year in a row publishing my thoughts on ranking the past year in cinema, so despite the many life changes, excited to keep the tradition going.

Gibelwho Productions Presents Best Films of 2019

5. Marriage Story

4. Parasite

3. Little Women

2 Jojo Rabbit

1917

Marriage Story (November 2019): The film, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, explores the unraveling of a marriage, where the two people are navigating their way through divorce and must forge some sort of ongoing relationship for the sake of their son. The story is an exploration of identity - being part of a couple, emerging as an individual, surviving as a parent, and balancing one’s career. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver shine in their performances, finding the truth in each scene, displaying the humanity of flawed people, and really going at it during their epic meltdown fight. The supporting cast is stellar as well, delivering moments of humor, ugliness, and empowerment - notably Laura Dern’s speech about society’s different expectations placed on mothers and fathers. Filmed on location in New York and Los Angeles, the story casts a devastating eye on how two people who have separated can still retain some love in the face of heartbreaking agony.

Parasite (October 2019): A film that starts off as a comical exploration of a poor family slowly infiltrating the house of a rich family in Seoul, then shifts halfway through to become a suspenseful thriller with sequences of violence. Co-writer and director Bong Joon-ho explores the nature of the upstairs / downstairs dynamic, not only having the story center on those in service of the rich family, but also with the production design of the two houses featured in the film. The rich family lives far above the main streets in a multi-level home, with stairs that lead up to a beautifully manicured garden; the poor family’s living quarters is in the lower section of town, they live below the streets, and must contend with the danger of flooding. Avoiding spoilers, a third set of staircases hold a secret that ultimately spells danger for both families. This film has made Oscar history and has opened more people up to the world of International cinema; as Joon-ho said so eloquently in one of his acceptance speeches: “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

Little Women (December 2019): Adapting a classic novel for the modern era, especially one that has been relatively recently brought to the silver screen, one must insist on bringing an original take - or why else bother. Writer and director Greta Gerwig not only took on that challenge, but elevated the material to a higher degree than has been achieved in previous adaptations. Splitting up the linear story into two timelines allowed a commentary on the past and present that gave more life to the characters and depth to their journeys. Having never read Little Women, I was enchanted by discovering these characters brought to life by a terrific ensemble, including Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Timothee Chalamet. Additionally, Gerwig pens an ambiguous ending that will satisfy book readers who felt betrayed by character turns that Louisa May Alcott felt pressured to deliver for publishers in 1868, but that didn’t feel true to her character’s spirit.

Jojo Rabbit (October 2019): Imagine writer and director Taika Waititi pitching his adapted screenplay to studio executives: a story that centers on a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany, who attends the Hitler Youth camp, and whose invisible friend is Adolf Hitler himself. Oh yes, and it will be a comedy, tragedy, hopeful, heartbreaking, hilarious, and shocking - dancing between the shades of tones and the audience will follow along with each beat. What makes this film succeed is the casting of Roman Griffin Davis, who despite his love for swastikas, steals the heart of the viewer with his earnest innocence and hilarious delivery, along with his interaction with his little friend Yorki (Archie Yates), his Hitler Youth leader (Sam Rockwell), and the Jewish girl he finds hidden in the upstairs bedroom (Thomasin McKenzie). Waititi is a genius filmmaker, who took all his Marvel Cinematic Universe clout and made a film about the dangers of youth growing up in the time of fascism, preaching an anti-hate message that the world needs to be reminded of in these nationalistic times.

1917 (December 2019): A film that centers on one technical conceit - that a full length feature film is constructed as one continuous shot - could fall under the weight of that enterprise, but 1917 delivers on all fronts - artistically, emotionally, and yes, technically. While the film is not actually one long shot, whole sequences are sustained for minutes on end, an environment more accustomed to theater actors than those working in film and one that brings a weight of reality to the character’s journey. Due to the story - two men must cross No Man’s Land to deliver an urgent message to a general that could save thousands of lives - the leads are constantly moving, through trenches, across the muddy no man’s land, through fields and streams, and finally the battlefield. The camera follows them through tight interior spaces and open fields, finding inventive ways to track their movements in the war zone. The two leads (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) deliver incredible performances as they slog through the countryside, encountering incredible British actors for short, yet powerful, scenes along the way. Co-writer and director Sam Mendes leads an incredible team that achieves cinematic glory and Roger Deakins proves for the second year in a row that he is producing the best work of his career. 1917 is not a traditional war film - through its formal choices, it endeavors to place the viewer directly inside the experience of soldiers in the First World War.

Honorable Mentions: 

Knives Out (November 2019): A classic whodunit that involves a twist of all twists - solving the mystery halfway through the film; what can the movie possibly spend the rest of the runtime on? This is the genius of writer and director Rian Johnson - he somehow manages to ratchet up the tension and reveal deeper twists and turns that subvert genre expectations. A stellar cast supports the murder mystery, led by Ana de Armas, a lighthearted Jamie Lee Curtis who is chewy the scenery, and a broad performance by Daniel Craig as the lead investigator. Chris Evans’ winter sweater became the breakout star of the film and the production design included an epic knives sculpture that plays a vital role in the climax of the film. 

Terminator: Dark Fate (November 2019): I am not a huge fan of the Terminator franchise - I’ve seen the first and second installments, but have skipped the rest of the sequels and never went for the television shows. I entered the viewing of this film with low expectations, and thus was pleasantly surprised by how feminist this film is. Linda Hamilton commands every moment of screen time, the enhanced human protector from the future was an incredible mix of strength and vulnerability, and even when Arnold enters the picture, he knows when to stand back when the women are in command. Yes, there is a totally ridiculous action sequence in a falling plane that defines reality and physics, but there are more moments of women communicating intelligently and emotionally and also women taking command and driving the action forward that fully impressed for what could have been a throwaway addition to the Terminator canon. 

Avengers Endgame (April 2019): With this film, the MCU has concluded its first major story arc, wrapping up a 10 years long buildup of the Avengers and affiliated heroes fighting the Mad Titan Thanos in an epic battle. Yes, the film does build up to a climactic final battle, but it takes it’s time getting there, choosing instead to focus on how the character’s we’ve grown to love over the past decade deal with the Snap that killed friends and family and left the world a broken place. The plot really gets moving when a time travel element is introduced and, in one of several lovely tributes to my beloved Star Trek, brings the viewer back through memorable moments in the MCU’s history, layering on meta commentary or radically changing the shape of the past. This film was a bold risk to focus on character over spectacle (at least for a while) and to craft a fitting tribute for the two titans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.

Apollo 11 (March 2019): The American space program of the 1960s has long held a fascination in our household and so we rushed out to see the documentary that promised new footage for the seminal event that landed a man on the moon. To our delight, the film revealed itself to be a cinematic achievement as well. Director Todd Douglas Miller chose not to narrate the film with an omniscient voice; rather, choosing to fill the audio landscape with diegetic sound from contemporary source material - journalists asking questions in a press conference, back and forth between the astronauts and NASA headquarters, and newscasters reporting the progress to the nation. Some of the shots included in this film, all archival footage and some newly released 70mm material, are so beautifully composed and complex shots; it's an astonishment that this thoughtful filmmaking was done to capture one of the nation’s greatest achievements and this documentary honors that effort on its 50th anniversary.

[powderseal]

my re-write of maria’s s2 arc

Brought to you by the principles of: “Maria was established as a thoughtful, caring, intuitive character what the fuck are you writing”; “Michael is in no shape to be in a relationship with anyone holy shit”; and “Liz is allowed to still care about people other than Max why is this happeninggggg”

Part One: Maria the friend

-Instead of the writers having Maria (and Liz) assuming that Alex is just a sad, pathetic gay boy who’s spent the last decade in unrequited pining for the only guy who ever showed interest in him in high school, so why have any conversations about it really, Maria (and Liz) treat Alex’s feelings with respect and don’t minimize the significance of Alex and Michael’s 10-year relationship. Instead, Maria’s conflict over whether to prioritize her friend’s feelings or her own inspires her to reflect on her friendships and how she defines herself by them. 

-It seems clear that Maria was the heart of their social group: Rosa, Liz, and Alex all seem to consider her their best friend. Maria has been shown to take that responsibility very seriously, especially with Rosa’s memory. Maria works through how she has placed herself in the “fun friend” role in her mind’s own narrative, specifically as how that relates to her being a Black woman, in conversations with her mom and Liz. This results in Maria strengthening her resolve to find ways to center and prioritize herself in her own life and in Liz realizing she needs to tell Maria the truth about Rosa.  

-In the aftermath of these revelations, Maria has an honest conversation with Alex about her conflicting feelings, how hopeful she felt about a relationship with Michael and how badly she feels about possibly hurting Alex, and how the alien/Rosa reveal has made her question Michael. Alex is allowed to express his hurt feelings about the dissolution of his and Michael’s relationship while still supporting Maria and advocating for Michael as a good person. Maria ultimately decides she owes it to herself to see what could grow between her and Michael, and since the way Alex talks about Michael makes it clear that he is still in love with him, she remains conscientious and considerate of Alex’s feelings and doesn’t involve him emotionally in her relationship or engage in PDA with Michael in front of him.  

Part Two: Maria the girlfriend

-Throughout the events of Part One, Michael has continued to show interest in Maria and insist that he and Alex are over. Once they start dating, Michael is super attentive and caring but very avoidant of opening up about himself and very concerned about losing Maria. The cracks we saw in their relationship in canon are there, exacerbated by the fact that Maria is actively trying to get to know Michael better and genuinely connect with him but he just wants to focus on her. It becomes clear to Maria that while Michael wants to be good for her, he is not in a good place for himself and the relationship isn’t necessarily what she thought it would be.  

-The tipping point comes when Alex is in a dangerous situation and the way Michael reacts and the way they look at each other after makes it very clear to Maria that Michael is still in love with Alex and things between them are far from over. She tries to confront Michael about his feelings, and he uses the excuse that he and Alex have just been working together to find out about Michael’s mom, which only makes things worse because Maria didn’t know about that and Michael has never turned to her or opened up to her about those issues. Maria is understandably angry at Michael for using her/their relationship as a distraction and avoidance technique for all of the problems in his life and for not being honest about his feelings for Alex. She ends their romantic relationship and asks for space before they can be friends again.  

Part Three: Maria the psychic

-In pain from the breakup with Michael, and feeling uncomfortable around Alex after things with Michael didn’t turn out to be ‘worth’ the pain it caused all of them, Maria turns to Isobel (as a fellow psychic) and Liz (as a scientist) and dives into an exploration of her powers and her family history. Maria recontextualizes her earlier resolution to center herself in her own life and divorces that goal from pursuing a relationship with Michael. Instead, she works with Isobel to strengthen her powers and with Liz to prevent side-effects. This leads to her heroic actions at the end of the season. Michael comes to visit her in the hospital and they start to rebuild a friendship.  

-In terms of what Maria actually discovers about her family history, I’m a little torn on what I’d prefer. The show offered us two explanations for her power, one about her grandmother being experimented on at Caulfield and one about her great-grandmother being an alien. I didn’t love either of those for different reasons but I think the first one makes more sense (and doesn’t result in Isobel and Maria being related) but I’m not crazy about the show evoking that particular cultural and historical trauma (especially since they went nowhere with it). I also like that Maria’s family, particularly the women, is a source of pride and strength and I’d hate to see that darkened. So maybe an alternate take on that would be that Maria’s family helped save/protect Isobel’s mom and were given powers, either as a gift or an accident from the close contact? But I’m open to other thoughts.