#his like title. but since it’s kind of the same name and /he/ calls Harvey ‘Harv’ sometimes it might not always be crystal clear :’-)

[ziracona]

Me watching the courtroom scene in The Long Halloween for the 8th time and realizing that I always assumed when Harv calls “Go!” to Harvey as Maroni throws acid on his face, he was trying to warn him to move out of the way, but there’s actually a 50% chance the “Go” was him kicking or trying to kick Harvey out of the pilot seat so he didn’t have to experience getting half his face burned off if Harv took the hit for him

[writtenbyjos]

Spellbound, A Ghostly Tale: Chapter 1

God, there is so much I would add just by re-reading over the first chapter vs. how far I've come with myself, this story and these characters. I promise more is coming ┊ ˚➶ ｡˚

But for now, here's the first chapter of Spellbound. My baby, my child. don't hold the applause! jk. there is no applause

CHAPTER 1: AND OLD PHOTO

"Fellas, I can't tell you how much this has helped me out," Dr. James Harvey said setting a large box down on his desk with a large thump. "I've been meaning to clean out my cabinet's for months now." He said cheerfully. "Ever since you boys got the word out, my office hasn't been vacant since!" He clapped his hands together cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," a tall, violet eyed apparition said with a wave of his hand, looking through a large book. "Boys look at 'dis one," he said with a large grin pointing to a picture of a girl with full lips, and dark eyes. "Jeannie Ann Hefner…" Stretch said, his eyes wide. The largest ghost howled at the top of his lungs. "Let me get a piece of that," he hollered.

"She looks like a hot dog kind o' gal to me," the middle one with large buck teeth mused dreamily. James stacked his arms on top of the box and gazed into space.

"Jeannie Ann Hefner," he laughed and shook his head. "We went on a date back in the summer of, what was it…'71?" He smiled.

"Bow-chika-bow-wow, Doc! 'Atta boy, 'atta boy!" Stretch whooped. "Tell me you got to 'da, whata the kids call it," he formed his hand into a bat and Stinkie threw a baseball at him. "Third base?" He and the other two cackled loudly. He swung and the baseball flew out the window making a glass shattering sound. Dr. Harvey blushed furiously and waved his hands.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that." he said. "She lost a bet…" he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly

Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso lost their heads, raging with laughter, Stinkie melting into a puddle of his own tears. Literally.

"'Dem fleshie dames ain't no good anyways, Doc. Too lively for my taste." He looked at his fingernails. "Don't waste ya time on 'em."

"Am I detecting some resentment, there Stretch?" James asked, his voice getting a little serious.

"What da hell is that supposed to mean? I ain't had the least bit of trouble with the ladies," he said, smirking. "Can't say the same for these bozos," He said, elbowing Fatso and punching Stinkie on the shoulder. Stinkie shrugged and smiled innocently.

"One dame get's too close to Stink ova here and she goes a' runnin' for da hills." Stretch laughed.

"For the hills! Screamin'!" Fatso said laughing loudly.

"Who me?" He said putting a finger to his mouth and one behind his back. "Them dames just didn't know a good belch or fart when they hear one," He said putting one finger in the air.

"Now Fatso," Stretch said patting is brother's head, "Fatso ova' 'ere will swallow his goddamn date whole," he laughed, while Stinky pointed and rolled over in the air. Stretch turned a few more pages before gasping and slamming his finger onto one of the pages titled, 'Senior Year Graduates'.

"Oh shit!" Stretch yelled. "I found da mothaload," he ran his finger through the many names, turning a few more pages and laughing at the dramatic pictures of the seniors.

"And look who we got 'ere…" He said holding up the book with a picture of Dr. Harvey in his senior school year. He saw the picture and rushed to get it from Stretch. "Nope, nuh uh." Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso gathered around the picture as James tried to retrieve it from below their tails.

"Oh come on, let us get a good look," Fatso said laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. You was one handsome devil der, Doc." Stretch laughed.

"Wait a minute." Stinkie scrunched up his face in confusion. "Doc, you don't got no red freckles!" Stinkie said.

"Thoze, a' pimples ya dipshit," Stretch banged his brother on the back of the head with one whack with the year book.

"Oh for the love of," James said throwing his hands in the air. "I need to get more boxes anyways," he said. While the ghostly trio snickered at his old, embarrassing high school and college photos, James surveyed the area and eyed the mysterious cubed in the corner of the room covered with cobwebs.

"Perhaps I could store patient files in here," He said wiping away the dust and webs. He opened the two large doors and waved away the mildew smell.

"Good lord," He said holding his nose. "So who's up for a little teamwork building activities?" James said rubbing his hands together.

"Damn!" He heard Stretch yell. "Where can I get my hands on a blossom blossom like that?" The ghosts laughed and high fived. James rolled his eyes and reached for a box on the top shelf. He stood on his tip toes and eventually lost his balance finding him self on the floor papers, books and pictures everywhere.

"And he sticks the landing!"

"Whoop, whoop, whoop!" They all sang in unison.

"Cabinet one, Doc, zero!" Stinkie cried out with fists in the all said in unison with their hands in the air.

"A little help?" James said from under the heap. The trio lifted him up from under and set him on the ground. James dusted himself off and bent down to collect the pictures scattered across the floor.

He lifted the box and blew a thick layer of dust off the top. The side read, 'Photographs' in a thin black hand.

"I wonder," He slowly lifted the top and pulled out a large, faded photo. He held it up and squinted, adjusting his glasses. It was brown, old and almost whitened, but he could make out three young men arm in arm smiling stupidly. James's eyes widened and he held the picture up to the three brothers that stood in front of him. In the photo, the largest of the three brothers resting his eight on one foot, was wearing a white button down with slacks and his hair was short but very disheveled. His eyes were large and happy, and his smile genuine.

"Whatcha lookin' at der, Doc?" Stinkie asked tilting his head. James was standing in an odd position examining a photo in awe. He didn't answer Stinkie.

"Amazing…" He said breathlessly. He examined the other two.

On the right was a thinner looking figure with spiky, light brown hair and light brown eyes. His figure was slumped over but his face was bright and young. The one in the middle though, was the most familiar. He had striking violet eyes, contrasting with jet black, messy hair. They seemed to sparkle, with years of mischief behind them almost daring the photographer to move closer. His smile was charming, cunning if you will. He was almost six feet high from the looks of the photograph and a nearby fire hydrant that looked like a measly mouse compared to his long figure.

"What the hell, Doc." Stretch spoke interrupting James's deep thought almost making him drop the picture. "You's givin' me da creeps…" he said eyeing him with a squint.

"Fellas…" James said. "Do you know who these young men are?" He asked. They all swopped over and squinted pushing each other out of the way here and there.

"Damn!" Stinkie exclaimed. "Who ah 'dose handsome devils?" He said.

"I don't know, but the one on the left looks like he could eat a horse." Fatso said. Stretch took the photo and looked more closely. His eyes widened as he realized who just was standing arm in arm and just where they were.

"Holy Mother Teresa. Boys," he said with an unreadable look plastered on his face. "Dis was us, when we was fleshies, air breathers, bone bags. Look der —" Stretch pointed. "It's Wipstaff for god's sake!"

"Move it, Stink," Fatso butt bumped Stinkie out of the way and snatched the picture form Stretch's hands. He took one look at the other "fatso" in the photo and looked at his brothers. "Holy shit, you're right." Fatso said. "I remember,"

"I'm as handsome as I remember," Stretch said smoothing his bald head.

"I'm as fat as I remember," Fatso said.

"Look what's done been written on da back," Stinkie said. Stretch cocked his head back and shook his head.

"'June 1st, 1893 — Joseph "Joey", Theodore "Theo" and Vincent "Vinnie…"

"Gosh," Stinkie said. "Fellas, it's slowly comin' back." He said. Stinkie ran his slim fingers across the faded cursive writing.

"Dat day was our Auntie Julia's wedding, see," Stinkie said to James, who was still completely bewildered.

"That crazy old hag, I'd never guessed she'd hitch the wagon in a million years!" Fatso said making them all laugh.

"Member how she used to make us shine all her damn silverware?" Stretch said. He shaped into a very disturbing version of what they had seen their Auntie Julia like. White bun, bright red lipstick and a corset. Stretch spoke in a high pitched tone. "Now boys," He said mockingly. "If I see one more spot on those spoons I'll throw myself out the kitchen window!" They all laughed and huddled together over this shared memory.

James had never seen them be so genuinely happy…Then again, he didn't even know they could remember their past life, let alone a memory so vivid.

"Fellas do you realize what this means?" James cried out his hands in the air.

"No more spoon shinin'?" Stinkie's head popped into vision.

"Uncle Fred threw himself out the kitchen window?" Fatso appeared next to Stinkie. Stretch shot up between them.

"Our Auntie Julia was a bitch?" Stretch asked shrugging.

James furrowed his brow and lowered his arms when he realized they didn't share the same excitement.

"It means," He said exasperated. "If we can get you to remember your past lives, maybe we can figure out why you have yet to cross over to the other side!" He said, smiling widely. "Your unfinished business!" He said hands on his hips. The trio just looked at each other in awe.

Now they really wished Doc hadn't found that old photo.

[introvertguide]

Pulp Fiction (1994); AFI #94

The most recent movie for review was the Quentin Tarantino crime thriller comedy (probably more things) Pulp Fiction (1994). It is a very complicated story that is told out of chronological order and focuses on scenes of meaningful character interaction. This confusion meant it lost out to movies with a more straight forward time line at the Oscars, since the move was nominated for seven awards but only took home one. The single win for best screenplay was well deserved and I still believe it is one of the most creatively written films of all time. I want to go over the plot to show what I mean, but let me do my standard due diligence:

SPOILER WARNING!!! I AM ABOUT TO GIVE THE BASIC DETAILS OF ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX STORY LINES IN MOVIE HISTORY!!! IT WILL NOT LIKELY SPOIL MUCH OF ANYTHING, BUT I AM STICKING THIS WARNING ON JUST IN CASE SOMEBODY FINDS SOMETHING!!!

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The film begins with what is pretty much a prologue but what turns out to be about the middle of the film chronologically. A couple is at a diner and they are talking about robbing banks. They only refer to each other as Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer). They discuss the best kind of places to rob and they decide that a diner would be a good change of pace. Impulsively, they pull out guns and hold up the diner and...title card with awesome spaghetti western music!

Two hitmen are talking about Europe as they go to do a job. Vincent Vega (Jon Travolta) talks about his adventures with Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) as they pull up at an Los Angeles apartment complex. The two discuss their boss Marsellus Wallace and how touchy he is about his wife. The boss has apparently sent them to get something from a bunch of guys. Jules and Vincent call on an apartment with 3 college age men and intimidate them into giving over a briefcase with something glowing inside. The case is what they came for, so the hitmen take it and kill two of the men at the apartment...

Flash to a new scene in which Vincent is going to get some drugs from his dealer (Eric Stoltz). Vincent is a heroine user despite cocaine being the popular drug. It turns out Vincent was asked by his boss to take out his wife...the one he is very protective of. He just needs to hang out with her so she is not bored and not get into trouble. To accomplish this, he shoots up some heroine and goes to meet the wife named Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman). They seem to get along and he drives her to a restaurant called Jack Rabbit Slims. The place is fantastic, all the waiters are dressed up like American movie icons and the booths are repurposed cars from the 50s (if this place actually existed, you can be sure I would search it out and go there at least once). The two bond over dinner and then volunteer for a twist dance contest.

Mia and Vincent go back to her house and Vincent goes to the restroom to talk himself out of trying to score with Mia. She is pretty cool, but not worth dying for. While he is away, Mia finds some heroine in the pocket of Vincent’s jacket and thinks it is cocaine. She snorts it and immediately starts to overdose. Vincent panics and decides to drive her to the dealer’s house. The dealer has a nurse kit that comes with a giant needle full of adrenaline which Vincent stabs her with. She wakes up and Vincent takes her back home and is glad that he will live another day...

We jump to a flashback of a young boy who is has lost his father in Vietnam. An officer is visiting that has a gift. Apparently, there is a family watch that belonged to the boys great grandfather and had been passed down through the generations. His father had it when he was captured and gave it to the officer before the father died in the POW camp. The officer escaped and found the boy to give him the watch...

A boxer named Butch (Bruce Willis) wakes up from a dream. He is the boy all grown up. He is about to throw a fight for Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), the same boss that everyone is afraid of. Butch does not throw the fight and accidently kills the other boxer. It turns out that he bet on himself and now he needs to get out of town before Marsellus Wallace catches him. He goes to a hotel where his rather dumb girlfriend is waiting for him. They go to bed and then are about to leave the next morning when it turns out that she forgot his watch. Butch freaks out and goes back to their old apartment to get the watch (note the very long take following Bruce Willis as he takes a back way to get to the apartment). Vincent is there waiting for him, but Vincent is in the bathroom and Butch is able to get a gun and kill Vincent as he is coming out of the bathroom. Things seem good so Butch drives off...

As Butch drives home, he sees Marsellus crossing the street in front of him so Butch hits the gas and runs down the boss but also hits an oncoming car. Both men are injured but Marsellus gains his senses and chases Butch into a shop where both are captured by a weird redneck with a shotgun. Butch and Marsellus are tied up in the basement of the shop and a man named Zed shows up. The shop owner has a gimp in a box (all leathered up and everything) and other fetish things downstairs. After a quick game to pick who goes first, they take Marcellus into another room to rape him. Butch manages to escape and is running away...but he decides can’t leave somebody to be assaulted like that. He grabs a weapon from the shop and kills the shop owner and frees Marsellus from Zed. Marsellus is not happy and says he will go “medieval” on Zed and allows Butch to leave town. Butch collects his girlfriend and leaves immediately...

Flash back in time (we know this because Vincent is alive) to right after Vincent and Jules shoot the guys with the case. Another guy in the other room jumps out and unloads six rounds at the two and misses every shot. The hitman kill that man, but Jules is shaken and decides to give up the business. They take a fourth gut with them in the car to go back to see Marsellus. On the drive over, Vincent accidently shoots the passenger while going over a pothole. The inside of the car is absolutely covered in blood and brains, so the two have to find a safe house. They go to the home of Jimmie (Quentin Tarantino) who will help them but says they have to get out in a couple of hours before his wife gets home. They call Marsellus, who sends over a cleaner named Wolf (Harvey Keitel). They are able to get everything cleaned up in time and leave with the car and the body. Jules and Vincent have to change out of their bloody clothes and decide to take a cab out to a diner for some food before seeing Wallace.

The two are at a familiar looking diner discussing whether their survival was a miracle and whether Jules should quit. Vincent goes off to the bathroom and, while he is gone, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny from the beginning declare it a robbery and it is evident that we have circled in time back around to the beginning. The couple hold up the diner, but, when they get to Jules, he takes Pumpkin hostage and devises a plan for everybody to leave. Jules allows the couple to leave alive with all the wallets, then the two hitmen follow quickly behind them before any police can show up.

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I put a spoiler warning at the top, but there is so much to this film that there is no way you could spoil everything. I find new things to enjoy about this movie each time that I watch it and the watch count has to be at least two dozen times at this point. This film is so rich with allusion and homage to movies of the past that you might never see everything. Tarantino is truly a lover of old films and he worked every reference he could into this film. This is truly like candy for a cinephile. 

I have, however, had a love hate relationship with this movie: I love this movie and I hate it when people tell me it is too violent. There was a lot of negative response to the films toxic masculinity, romancing crime culture, incredible amount of swearing, drug use, extreme gun violence, and very adult themes. There is a very famous interview between Quentin Tarantino and Jan Wahl in which she accuses him of using excessive violence and he tells her it is because it is a lot of fun to watch. His stylistically gory violence stems from exploitation films of the past and there is an established audience that enjoys it. He makes his movies for himself and this group of people.

Kind of like the comedy of Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin, you have to wade through a sea of swearing to find the comedic banter. The things that Jules and Vincent say to each other are some of the funniest stuff I have ever heard, but you really have to pay attention. Their attempts to express their feelings while maintaining their hard exterior persona is ridiculous. This is probably why many people enjoy the scenes with Vincent and Mia: there is a lot more courtesy which reduces the tirade of cursing.

The violence is very very over the top, but it is no where near the level of gore that Tarantino has become known for over the years. I must admit that he likes his torture scenes and this film is no exception. I would like to note how clever the torture scene with Butch and Marsellus is because they are both tied up and facing camera so only the audience can see the mischief that is being prepared behind them. 

The soundtrack for the film is well worth mentioning as it also pays homage to 50s, 60s, and 70s exploitations films. There is a lot of silence in the film with sudden bursts of fast paced music that help with transitions. Most famous is the intro music after diner prologue, a surf rock classic by Dick Dale and The Del Tones called Misirlou. It is pure speed guitar riff along the lines of Wipeout and transitions the scene perfectly. Take a listen for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIU0RMV_II8

Maybe the biggest thing about this film and Tarantino in general is the inspiration of the slick gangster dialogue. There had been a push for more melodramatic dialogue or the complete absence of much talking. Tarantino added in this slick, fast moving comedic dialogue that is said over extreme violence and adult situations. Marsellus Wallace talks about having some crack heads torture a man to death immediately after being raped in a basement. The hitmen talk about appropriate manners while cleaning out brains from the back of a car. Jules talks about the meaning of the bible during a robbery. Everything seems out of place in the real world but perfectly acceptable in Tarantino’s world. This is probably why I have no problem with the violence in the film.

So should this film be on the AFI top 100? Absolutely. It is an homage to film history while simultaneously introducing a sub genre that mixes current dialogue and exploitation touches to grindhouse action. It is fascinating and fun. Would I recommend this movie? If you are old enough. I can’t emphasize enough how fun I find this film, but I cannot deny that it is filled with adult situations like drug usage followed by driving, secret dungeon rape, and cold blooded murder with no consequences. If you can differentiate between Tarantino’s world and the real world, then this is great. If you can’t, then maybe try something else with slick dialogue like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

[scorlettimagines]

Spellbinding: A Harvey Kinkle Imagine

Request from Anon: can you please make a harvey kinkle imagine with a woman of color (kind of like Roz) who is Sabrina’s cousin and it ends in the cousin and Harvey ending up together?

So this is my first Harvey imagine! Again, if you actually think this is any good, please feel free to send me a request! Hope this is okay for you lovely, and enjoy x

You first saw him when he started walking Sabrina home. The boy with the chocolate brown eyes that matched his hair and a smile that reached them. You saw as he kissed your cousin goodbye, those eyes lit up by nothing but love, and you couldn’t help but grin. He had that look about him, gave you that feeling that he was nothing but a gentleman, devoted to keeping Sabrina happy and safe, blissfully unaware of the goings on behind the door of the Spellman Mortuary.

He was too perfect for a mortal, and Sabrina was lucky to have him.

You first heard his voice the night before Sabrina’s sixteenth birthday. You heard it float through the crack under the door, silky smooth, sweet, just like the chocolate in his eyes. You heard as he asked to come in, to finally meet her family.

“What about your cousin? You’re always talking about her. She sounds cool.”

You felt the blush rise to your cheeks. He wanted to meet you, an impossible task, not when he didn’t know the truth. Not when you only knew each other’s names, and not the secrets that friendships were built on. Why did you always have to want things you couldn’t have?

You first met him when he came to pick Sabrina up. Your cousin walked into your room in her mother’s wedding dress, twirling around as you two laughed like schoolgirls. She looked so beautiful, and you couldn’t believe that she had reached that age already. Time had flown by, and as much as you were proud of her, you were also scared for her, knowing she had doubts about what she would have to do that night.

If you had someone like Harvey Kinkle, you would have had those doubts too.

The doorbell rang, and you ran down the stairs to answer it, Sabrina adding the finishing touches to the way she looked. You opened it, nerves bubbling up inside your chest. There he stood, impossibly dapper in a miner’s outfit, eyes widening as he saw you, words resting on his tongue before he managed to get them out.

“I’m here for Sabrina. Harvey, I’m Harvey,” he extended his hand, and you took it, introducing yourself. His grip was firm, hands too soft to be those of a miner, a smudge of blue ink on his wrist. Sabrina had told you he was an artist, and you smiled, already imagining the masterpieces he could create.

“Oh, so you’re Y/N. Brina’s told me so much about you,” he stepped inside the house, looking around with intrigue, “So how come you don’t come to our school?”

But you never got the chance to answer, Sabrina walking down the stairs looking like an angel. Ironic, really, considering what she was, who she would be pledging her soul to later on. It turned out that that night was to be the beginning of everything.

When Sabrina told you that Harvey knew the truth, about witches and warlocks and everything else he had been sheltered from, that the relationship was over, the first thing you did was show up at his house. But you didn’t knock, didn’t let him know you were there. You slipped a note through the letterbox, a simple message scrawled onto it followed by a phone number.

You weren’t expecting anything of it, but it was worth a try.

That night, the phone rang. You were quick to answer it, heart thumping in your chest.

“Hello?” Breathing on the other end told you that he was trying to get his words out, nerves kicking in just as they had on that first night. Not to impress you though, not this time. Just trying to get his head around it all, around the fact that you were a witch and he was talking to you. “Harvey?”

“I got your note. Thanks, I guess,” he sounded sad, hesitant. Not surprising, really.

“So, do you? Have any questions?”

A short, sharp laugh greeted you. It didn’t match the voice you had heard all those nights ago, cutting into smoothness, breaking off little pieces of chocolate into jagged shapes.

“So many.”

One phone call soon became several. Harvey Kinkle began to loosen up around you as he began to understand more. Every week soon became every day. His laugh began to melt back into its rightful form, and you could picture that smile reaching his eyes as the conversation moved away from the supernatural to other things, to mortal things that you could only ever dream of being part of.

He was a good guy, that Harvey Kinkle, and even if he was mortal, he certainly had you under his spell.

Sabrina had started seeing Nicholas Scratch, and she knew all about your late night conversations with Harvey. You caught her once standing outside your bedroom door, a knowing grin on her face. If anyone deserved to have him as a friend, she believed that there was no-one better than the cousin she doted on.

Phone calls turned into actual meetings. Milkshakes and cheesecakes at Dr Cerberus’s, joined by Roz and Theo, and sometimes Sabrina if she wasn’t at the Academy. More than once, it was just you and Harvey, a slice of chocolate cheesecake shared. Two forks. Two spoons for the complimentary ice cream.

It was when you reached for the same utensil that your hands brushed for the first time, that flame licking up your skin, melting that chocolate in Harvey’s eyes. Neither of you moved, caught by a spell that neither of you were sure who had cast. It would have been believable if it had been you, you were the witch, after all. It would have been understandable if it was him, the spellbinding boy that he was.

“So-”

“So-,” Harvey’s hand covered yours in its entirety now, and his fingers slotted between yours. You looked at him, at the smile on his face, so similar to that one you had fallen for the first time you’d seen him. Silence for a moment, impenetrable, beautiful. Broken by a voice even more so.

“Do you want to go out some time? I mean, as more than-,” he gestured between the two of you with his other hand, “-this?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, not for the first time since meeting him on that night that now seemed a lifetime ago, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Harvey Kinkle, warlock in disguise (you truly believed that, having found no other reasonable explanation for his effect on you), leaned over the table and placed his lips on your cheek. It was a true demonstration of the gentleman title you had assigned to him early on, lips lingering on your skin ever so slightly, the ghost of them haunting you into the night.

It was a wonder, to be in love. You’d often heard it be called a curse, but you knew about curses, and love certainly was not one.

Especially when it involved Harvey Kinkle. Mortal. Warlock in disguise.

Spellbinding.

HARVEY KINKLE MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

[agentnico]

Netflix’s Hollywood (2020) Review

It may be set in the same day and age as Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but it’s nothing alike. This is a different kind of Hollywood...

Plot: In post-World War II Hollywood, aspiring actors and filmmakers will do almost anything to make their showbiz dreams come true.

The racism was indeed a serious issue back in the Golden era of Hollywood, with not just people of colour being mistreated and disregarded. Recently I’ve been re-watching Bruce Lee films and the guy is such a talent, yet it took him a long while to get properly recognised in Hollywood. Yes, he was helping out in stunt-work and was training actors to be able to perform certain fight sequences, but it took him a lot of time and work to become beloved and popular by himself that Hollywood studio Warner Bros. had no choice but to finally allow him to make his own picture with a decent budget, and that was 1973′s Enter the Dragon, which unfortunately was his final completed film before his untimely passing, but even so, after such a long fight against the discriminating and racist nature of the film industry, he actually managed to achieve his dream. No wonder that in 2004 Enter the Dragon was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance. Again, that’s why I was upset with how Quentin Tarantino presented Bruce Lee as a narcissistic a-hole in last year’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as its such mistreatment and disrespect to an icon that helped progress and shape Hollywood in a better direction. Now, Netflix’s new series, conveniently titled Hollywood, is also about the Golden Age of Hollywood where non-white people had no rights or proper opportunities to get themselves out there, due to the expectations of the audience and fear of the likes of the Ku Klux Klan bringing their terror regimes, and the series presents an alternate time-line where these group of individuals succeed in making a movie that at that time would have been impossible to make. So, is the series as good as its potential-filled premise?

The series is brought to us by Ryan Murphy who most will know from his work on TV shows Glee and American Horror Story, and whilst I myself am not that well acquainted with those, I have seen his last year’s Netflix show The Politician, which I enjoyed for its blend of the campy whimsy intertwined with the political reality of the United States, and am very much looking forward to its next season, whenever that may be. With Hollywood, Murphy tries to take the present and put in the past, by seeing how today’s inspirational movements would have worked back then. He brings his distinct slick, sensational style to the Golden Age of showbiz. Bawdy and transgressive, it starts with a flair and energy that’s hard to look away from, tremendously watchable from minute one. And there is a lot going on in these 7 episodes, one can even say too much. Here’s the thing, Hollywood, tries to correct, well, Hollywood, by rewriting the well-worn dream big story, but one starring people who weren’t allowed to be a part of it, and one where they win. It’s also about the idea of a ‘Dreamland’, where big-name stars had hookups arranged by fixers that conducted business out of a gas station front and secretly gay and bisexual actors and producers threw exclusive parties where they could be secrets no longer. Hollywood is shown for its ugliness - the homophobia, racism, and sexism that shut out marginalised talent for decades. Thus there are lots of characters and plot-lines in this series, and because of all the stuff going on, the entire thing does come of a bit all over-the-place. In fact, the show doesn’t really find it’s proper footing until episode four, where our characters finally come together to make this fictional film called Meg, and when this kicks off, then the show does arise to the occasion and becomes humongously enjoyable and interesting to watch.

There’s a lot to truly enjoy in this series. From the immaculate production design to some truly juicy pieces of dialogue, which is good, since the series is about making a movie and every movie should have juicy dialogue! Also, this thing is really well cast, with a mix of newcomers and stars that you might have seen in other films/shows previously. Whether its Jim Parsons like you’ve never seen him before, being impressively nasty and slimy as a Harvey Weinstein-type of that era, or Samara Weaving continuing her foray by dashing us on the screen with her glamour and talent (though I should point out she was heavily under-used), or Dylan McDermott bringing his usual cool voguish persona however also exemplifying some surprising emotional levels, or Jeremy Pope bringing dramatic gravitas to every scene that he is in, or Joe Mantello as a studio producer with more to him than meets the eye.....I can go on. There isn’t a weak link in the cast, everyone is bringing their A-game and some even deliver career-best performances! Because of the cast, you fall for these characters so much that you truly do want to see them all succeed, so when the final episode, appropriately titled Hollywood Ending, arrives, even though its overly glossy by being just too good to be true (and may even present this thing as a bit of a puff piece), typical to an actual Hollywood ending, it feels garnered.

Hollywood at times takes on a bit more than it can chew, and it can come off overly preachy, even for its own good, but there is a lot to enjoy in this thing. I would say, I was surprised by the amount of sex/nude scenes and would have preferred less, but that’s a personal gripe more than anything. That being said, I get why it was done, as it was made to be uncomfortable to underline the darker side of show business. Then again, for all of its attempts at being dark, Hollywood also lacks conflict. All the problems that the characters face are dealt with ease in a matter of minutes. For example, at the end of one of the episodes we are left at a cliffhanger when the entire Meg film-tape is burned by a bunch of stereotypically-evil lawyers. However, in the opening minutes of the following episode its revealed that someone secretly made another copy of that film-tape beforehand, so that little tiny problem comes and goes as if it was nothing. That goes for the show as a whole. There are a lot of barriers that our characters come across, but they jump over them with but a scratch if that and thus diminish any kind of threat, stake or element of urgency. That being said, I really enjoyed Hollywood, and though it is not perfect, it’s definitely the best thing Netflix has released so far this year!

Overall score: 7/10

[bigskydreaming]

This is a post about Boone aka Shrike.

I am making this post about Boone aka Shrike from Robin: Year One and later stories, solely so that reading this post on mobile will bring up “other posts like this” and show all the other posts I have made about Boone aka Shrike from Robin: Year One and other stories. LOL.

Because I’m back on my ‘people should make Boone aka Shrike and his archrivalry with Dick more of a thing’ bus.

Look, I will maintain until the day I die that Shrike has literally EVERYTHING needed to deliver on the same thematic elements people cite interest in JayDick and Sladin for....with the added bonus of....a Dick/Boone ship wouldn’t be incestuous or rely on a huge predatory age gap.

I mean, granted, it still won’t do anything for people who are into those ships purely BECAUSE of the incest or the huge predatory age gap, but I mean like, I work with what I can work with. Like I’m not even trying to change peoples’ minds there so much as just point out alternatives for anyone who just comes to those ships looking for the specific dynamic that personally I think is more real and evident with Dick and Boone than it ever will be with him and anyone else.

But really, the ONLY thing Boone needs to be serve the same narrative function is like...a higher profile, and more use of the character. I mean, some more infamy and slots in his win column wouldn’t hurt either, but you know. Whatever.

Anyway, point is, so Robin: Year One.

That was the story where Dick got hurt badly by Two-Face when he was still new to being Robin, and Bruce freaked out and fired him for the first time, also making the blunderhead move, in his freak out and new to being a parent thing, of saying it was Dick’s fault the judge had died, when Dick had literally just been trying to save Bruce’s life.

So Dick figures if he can’t be Robin, there’s no point to him being there, since Bruce doesn’t want or need a son (take that stories that act like Dick even at age 10 or 11 wasn’t already secretly hoping to be adopted). So Dick ran away and stayed on the streets where he took down Mr. Freeze all on his own, and in doing so drew the attention of something called The Vengeance Academy.

This was run by a guy named Shrike, who had some of his men snatch Dick off the streets after he caught their eye by taking on Mr. Freeze, and brought to the Vengeance Academy. It was a front for the League of Assassins, a place in Gotham where they trained kids as assassins and vetted their potential for being taken to the League itself for training.

Attendance was not elective, lol, it wasn’t like they asked Dick or any of these kids if they wanted to join, but most of them had nowhere else to go, so like Dick, they stayed and trained and went on missions Shrike assigned them as part of their training.

One of these other kids was named Boone, and he had something of a leadership role among the other kids, and was at times almost friendly with Dick and at other times saw him as a rival because of Dick’s own skills. And when they went out on missions, like, Dick stopped the other kids from killing some guards after they’d knocked them out, which pissed off Boone because it was Dick undermining his position as leader in the other kids’ eyes, especially when Shrike validated Dick’s decision when they returned to the Academy, by saying they should never kill people they aren’t getting paid to kill, as its a waste of their skills.

So like, point being, the two of them had HUGE potential for the kind of dynamic Dick and Jason are often characterized with, where they have mutual respect but are mutually vying for the approval of the same figures.

Anyway, after a few months (R:Y1 was vague on the timelines but was clear about the fact that Dick was at the VA for at least a few months, with captions like ‘weeks passed’ etc)....Dick eventually manages to sneak off long enough to sneak into the Batcave and leave a note for Bruce about the Vengeance Academy, what its up to, where to find it, etc. But Dick still goes back, rather than wait for Bruce himself, because he still doesn’t think Bruce wants him anymore.

Eventually, Shrike happens to get hired to take out Two-Face, and of course happens to assign Boone and Dick as the leads to conduct that assassination. They and the other boys break into Two-Face’s mansion, Dick’s literally holding a gun on Harvey and having flashbacks to Two-Face beating him almost to death and Bruce firing him in the aftermath and everything that’s happened since then....but at the last minute, Dick decides he won’t do it, throws the gun away instead, and as Two-Face’s guards all burst in, the boys all run.

But then back at Vengeance Academy, they of course all tell Shrike what happened, and Shrike just starts beating on Dick, shouting how ungrateful he is, etc, etc, what a waste of time and effort he’s turned out to be....and that’s when Bruce arrives, takes on Shrike’s men, etc. 

In the confusion, Shrike slips away, and then at some point, he and Dick end up facing across from each other on a rafter high up by the ceiling...where Shrike figures out that Dick is the one who alerted Batman and starts in on him again, but Dick defends himself....and that’s when Two-Face and his men burst in, having tracked them somehow, and in that ensuing commotion, someone shoots Shrike, he falls from the rafter and ends up impaled on some rebar on the floor or something like that.

Which is where Boone finds him, as he lays there dying, and Boone’s shown being considerably distressed, because he’d been there a lot longer than Dick and had been shown to be significantly attached to Shrike and viewing him as a father figure he was desperate to prove himself to, unlike Dick who was there because he felt he didn’t have a choice or anywhere else to go.

And of course Dick goes back with Bruce, who tells him how much he’s missed him and of course he wants him and is sorry for everything he said and did, they reconcile, Dick becomes Robin again, etc. The very last two pages of the mini end with Dick being introduced to Barbara for the first time by the Commissioner, when she’s on the roof with him while he’s talking with Batman and Robin....but also, Talia comes to survey the remains of Vengeance Academy, since it was League-affiliated...and takes Boone with her back to the League for further training.

Eventually, Boone grows up to take the name Shrike for himself, in honor of his former teacher, and he’s OBSESSED with avenging the original Shrike by killing Nightwing, who he knows is his former classmate, due to Robin then Nightwing’s style of fighting, and his penchant for using escrima sticks. 

(Interestingly, Dick only started using escrima sticks as his signature weapon in his first solo Nightwing title, with this stemming from Chuck Dixon’s writing him doing so....and Dixon also wrote R:Y1, which is where he then established that Vengeance Academy is where Dick first learned to use escrima sticks and gained a preference for them. So its always been kinda fascinating to me that Dick’s had his skills with those since literally his very first year as Robin....BUT then never used them as Robin, while Batman’s partner....but after becoming Nightwing and moving to Bludhaven, for whatever reason returned to using those particular weapons and making them his signature).

Anyway, point is, Boone calls Dick Freddy, because that was what he knew him as when they were kids....after he ran away, Dick started using the alias Freddy Lloyd. Lloyd was his mother’s maiden name, and I used to think Freddy was a reference to Alfred, but only recently realized that its actually Dick’s dad’s middle name.

So Shrike was brought back in the Nightwing solo title as a recurring enemy of Dick’s, with varying degrees of effectiveness. In later years, he was kinda made into a joke and not treated as much of a threat, but for awhile there, he was characterized as very much being a threat to Dick, and at a similar level skill wise, thanks to his own extensive League training. He captured Dick in their first encounter in Bludhaven, where he then tried to figure out Dick’s real identity by running his fingerprints and DNA (though Babs was able to intercept his attempt to run those through the system and replace the findings with a fake profile). He also even managed to defeat Dinah, though as much by trickery as straight out and out fighting...but still, Dinah’s one of THE top hand to hand combatants in the DC universe so, not exactly a small feat. He also faced off with Tim and Cass at one point, while they were Batgirl and Robin, and though he defeated Tim relatively easily (this was still fairly early in Tim’s career as Robin though), he ultimately lost to Cass. But again, who doesn’t lose to Cass, y’know?

So I mean, he definitely has skills and is a credible threat. Dick beat him after Dinah and Babs rescued him from Boone that first time, and Boone ended up in Bludhaven’s prison.....but then escaped and was later hired by Blockbuster as one of the assassins gunning for Dick. He and Dick had one more epic fight as one of the final elements of the Blockbuster arc, but by this time Dick was channeling so much rage when he went after Blockbuster at his mansion, where Shrike was lying in wait, that Dick pretty much just kicked Boone’s ass up and down the street and around the corner and left him chained up to a flagpole. 

Like, I’m pretty sure that fight is what’s made later writers deem him not as high caliber a fight or threat as he later was referenced as being, but that wasn’t really the point of that fight, lol. How handily Dick kicked his ass there was in context clearly meant to read as just how fucking enraged Dick was at this point, due to Blockbuster’s campaign against him, and how much Dick’s OWN threat level went through the roof when he allowed himself to use that degree of anger while fighting Boone, rather than repress it. It was very much a “you’re only in my league when I’m afraid to go full throttle, when I take the safeties off though its no contest” kinda thing.

But anyway, he didn’t get used much again pre-Flashpoint, and hasn’t made an appearance since, to my knowledge, but using pre-Flashpoint based settings or continuities....Boone’s very much a credible threat to Dick, has a ton of history with him, and a huge ax to grind with their last encounter having him vow that this wasn’t over between them. 

And like the thing is, its not just about getting revenge against Dick because he blames him for the original Shrike’s death. Like, its very much a rivalry that stems back to before the first Shrike died. Boone has pretty much always been shown to desperately want, need to be better than Dick, that’s what keeps him coming back and that’s what he really holds against Dick and always has...and its not just their skills, its that Dick’s a hero, that they ultimately came from the same place but Dick’s loved and revered for his skills and choices while Boone has nothing and no one, and insists its because Dick took away the only person Boone ever had....though the reality that both of them are probably perfectly aware of is that Shrike never actually gave a damn for any of the kids he trained, even if he showed favor to Dick and Boone in particular. But Shrike for a time made Boone feel special, made him feel like he had a place and a purpose, and its clear he’s never really found anything like that ever again....and really, he never had it at Vengeance Academy either, but he’s been able to romanticize it in his own mind and memories as being otherwise.

Whereas for Dick....this relationship always had so much more potential than anyone ever truly delved into, but the basic material and hints were always there. My read of them was always that for Dick, Boone kind of embodied the idea of being his own dark mirror....he was an example of what Dick could have been, if he’d embraced VA and Shrike the way Boone had, out of a lack of options, instead of returning with Bruce and giving him another chance, and Bruce taking another chance on Dick. 

In a lot of ways, R:Y1 - even though its events only happened because of shit Bruce never should have laid on Dick, driving him away in the first place....looked at through the eyes of a ten year old Dick Grayson who’d in the span of a couple years gone from losing his former circus home and parents, to juvie (Dixon wrote both R:Y1 and the Robin origin that had Dick go to juvie, so that was the specific context for all stories related to Shrike), to Wayne Manor, where he ultimately became Robin....and after not even a full year as Robin.....Dick then ended up on the streets and then spending months training at a facility for orphans and street kids to be made assassins....before ultimately returning to Wayne Manor, Bruce and being Robin.....

Like, its easy to see how to Dick, all of this probably looked almost like Bruce had saved him from worse circumstances and his own worse nature not once, but twice....even if the second time could have been avoided. The point is though, I don’t think Dick ever forgot his time there, his own desperate need for Shrike’s approval (and he did very much want it while he was there....he was hurting, he’d gotten used to having an adult who cared about him again, and with him feeling like Bruce had rejected him and in doing so taken away all the approval he’d given him previously, make no mistake, Dick very much DID desperately want an authority figure’s approval, and his rivalry with Boone WAS a two-way street. 

Dick perhaps wanted Boone’s friendship a little more than the other way around, I’d wager, given that Dick’s a more social, friendly person by nature, he wants to get along with people....but VA was a very definitively dog eat dog kind of place and Dick did not seem above reveling in the scraps of approval Shrike threw him at times like the mission he and Boone fought about, even though he knew how much it dug at Boone to see himself knocked down a peg by their teacher with the latter then praising Dick at the same time.

So my point being...I don’t think Dick’s ever forgotten his time at VA, or what he felt like while living there.....how close he came to shooting Two-Face in revenge for all that he blamed Two-Face for costing him....as well as remembering that for awhile, he and Boone very much were a kind of friends, even if they never were like say, he was with the Titans (who he’d yet to meet at this point in the timeline). Like, I’d characterize the two of them as one of those things where they probably wouldn’t have been friends under other circumstances, or even call themselves friends, but it was more they were the only ones who displayed having any kind of connection to each other, at a time and place in their lives where they didn’t really have anyone else.

So all of that added up, yeah, to me, Boone in Dick’s eyes is a kind of regret, and road not taken. He’s what Dick could have been if Dick didn’t have Bruce in his corner...if he, like Boone, hadn’t had anyone BUT Shrike. Dick likely can easily look at Boone and see what his life might have turned out like if he HAD shot Two-Face that night, because I don’t think Dick would ever believe there’s any way Bruce would have taken him back after that....meaning that he really WOULD have had nowhere else to go at that point...and thus easily could have ended up continuing at VA or even going to the League with Boone and Talia.

And because of all of that, my read on Dick’s attitude towards Boone was always that....its a blend of defensive antagonism and also some guilt and romanticized nostalgia. Dick’s defensive in response to Boone’s antagonism, because he isn’t to blame for Shrike’s death and knows it, just as he knows he’s not really worth mourning and didn’t care about either of them....but Dick’s ALSO defensive because every time Boone hurls an accusation at him about how Dick’s not any better than him - not skill wise, but as people - Dick, IMO, ABSOLUTELY AGREES AND BELIEVES THE SAME. The flip side of the coin that is seeing Boone as what he could have been....is that he himself then, is perhaps what BOONE could have been, if Boone had been the one to get the opportunities that Dick had. 

And THAT, I think, is the source of the weird almost guilt that Dick has occasionally had in regards to Boone...this belief that he isn’t innately any better than his one-time sorta friend, and that he’s not any innately more deserving of the opportunities he got via Bruce, and that Boone never was afforded. That with someone in his corner, rather than just seeking to exploit him, Boone could have been every bit the hero Dick grew up to be. That he really did have someone who loved and cared for him, in Bruce, while Boone only has his desperate, misguided belief that Shrike felt the same about him, because there was nobody else to even point to as a possibility for that. I think when Dick thinks of Boone, there’s always this kinda hazy ‘what if’ where he idly wonders what if he could have convinced Boone that Shrike’s death wasn’t his fault, or that Shrike didn’t care about them...and got Boone to come with him, or got Bruce to find Boone. What if he’d tried reaching out to Bruce about VA earlier, or not avoided him so long, and Bruce had been able to come earlier, when there was a chance that other boys besides just Dick could have been ‘saved’ from the life Shrike tried to convince them was the ONLY life path where they’d have any power or influence, where they’d ever matter, at all.

So...I just think there’s so so so so many possibilities with this largely untouched little corner of Dick’s history, and this one specific character it intersected with, and hardly has ever been followed up on. Boone and Dick have just soooooooo much potential to have the intense, emotionally charge love/hate kind of rivalry between a hero and villain or even just mercenary or antihero, that Dick’s so often characterized as having with Slade or Jason.....

But the thing is, here? There’s no need to invent or embellish antagonism between Dick and someone else, the way fandom’s largely made up the iconic antagonism between Dick and Jay. The antagonism is very much real, between Dick and Boone, very much understandable, and most importantly, very much MUTUAL. It exists on Dick’s part every bit as much as Boone’s....Dick was almost kinda gleeful about kicking Boone’s ass that first time in Bludhaven and coming out on top, in a way that he rarely is in his victories....because its very easy to see how these two could easily slip back into a familiar rivalry and desire to one-up each other, the way they had as desperate, emotionally neglected children. Dick has the potential to be PETTY with Boone in a way that people WANT to write him being with others where he’s just NOT and likely never would be, because Dick’s someone who’s aware of how others perceive him, and privileges he has that others don’t, and stuff like that....all of that plays into why Dick so often tries so hard and intently to be his best self with people even when he’d rather not be.

But with Boone, you can potentially throw all that out the window, due to the very precise nature of when and where in their lives that Boone and Dick had their short term but very emotionally impactful pseudo-friendship and early rivalry. Because even if Dick feels a little guilty for getting the life he did and that Boone didn’t - that’s not his FAULT, and he does know that too, just as he knows he’s not to blame for the things Boone resents him for.....and even if part of Dick probably feels a little sorry for Boone, he also knows that doesn’t mean that Boone hasn’t made his own choices and there comes a point where its put up or shut up time, and you can keep blaming anyone and everyone for your life or you can look around and acknowledge that here and now, nobody is holding a gun to Boone’s head and saying you have to kill people, you have to fight Dick for this and this reason....and so on that front, Dick can more willingly and without guilt push back against his own feelings of guilt and pity and let out his own pettiness and resentments for Boone having made him into this scapegoat.

All of which makes for a perfect storm of emotionally charged interactions any and every encounter between these two highly skilled individuals with equally extensive lifetimes of training under their belts....all against a backdrop of mingled resentment, nostalgia, and squandered potential brotherhood thanks to this bubble in time from both their childhoods where they were briefly friends, brothers in arms, rivals, and both everything the other had and everything the other never became or ever wanted to be.

With the cherry on top being that Boone is literally the ONLY LIVING PERSON IN THE WORLD....who has knowledge or awareness of the ten or eleven year old Dick Grayson was at one of the darkest periods of his life, where he believed himself completely alone and unloved and with NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE. Meaning that when Boone - and Boone alone - says he knows Dick in a way that nobody else does or ever could, even BRUCE, that he knows a side of Dick that nobody else will ever be privy to, that tiny sliver of Dick Grayson that stood over Two-Face’s trembling body with a gun and had the POTENTIAL to pull the trigger.....

He is absolutely and one hundred percent correct.

Like...you can’t TELL me that’s not good stuff.

Also, I’ve just always loved that trope where one person refers to someone by a name NOBODY else knows them as....with that name having meaning to the two of them alone.

Like to Boone....Dick is Freddy Lloyd. He knows that’s not Dick’s name, he always knew that, just like Boone probably isn’t his.....but the person Boone knew was named Freddy Lloyd, and that person was real, even if nobody else has ever truly known “Freddy” because that’s not who Dick has ever been to them, or who he’s been AROUND them. Boone might not know Dick’s actual real name and where to find him in the phone book, but he’s known from day one that Nightwing’s secret identity is Freddy Lloyd, like he knew instantly from seeing Nightwing fight with a pair of escrima sticks that the person under the mask was his old friend Freddy, and that Nightwing used to be the first Robin which means Robin was Freddy too. He lived with him for months, neither of them wearing masks, he would recognize him if they passed on the street.

(Although with this point, its why I’ve personally always been kind of dubious about the plot point of having Boone try so hard to figure out Dick’s real identity....like, honestly, that story point doesn’t really hold up. Boone SHOULD be able to identify Dick as easily as he identified Nightwing. Dick Grayson, ward and eventual adopted son of Bruce Wayne, has been a HIGHLY visible individual at various points in his life. 

I can easily believe that Bruce invested considerable effort in keeping Dick out of the public eye when Dick first came to live with him and was still adjusting and recovering - in fact, given that all of this is in context with the juvie origin, I’ve always headcanoned that Bruce probably spared no expense in covering up Dick’s time there as much as possible, so he wouldn’t be bombarded with additional stigma from people misconstruing that, and with more than enough evidence against the state for fucking up so badly with Dick there, he could have slapped any official evidence of Dick’s time there with so many gag orders nobody felt safe breathing a word about it.

All of which is to say, its very plausible to me that Dick wasn’t publicly recognizable by the time he ran away during Robin: Year One, and Bruce certainly wouldn’t have advertised that, and who knows what strings he had to pull or things he had to fake to keep CPS off his back until he found Dick, out of fear that otherwise, people would take Dick away once he did get him back. So I can imagine Freddy not being recognized by Shrike or Boone while he was with them. What I can’t imagine is Boone never turning on the TV or reading an article about Bruce Wayne and family in years after that, and ever once thinking to himself that Dick looks JUST like his old friend Freddy...and once you have that thought as a starting point, it SHOULD definitely be possible to dig a little deeper and find out stuff that confirms it, like the timelines of Dick coming to live with Bruce versus being mysteriously unavailable or out of sight anywhere, until just after the fall of Vengeance Academy, etc. But yeah. My point is, I maintain that Boone absolutely knows that Nightwing is Freddy is Dick and that particular plot point is dumb.)

Anyway, my point with that tangent is like....imagine Boone and Dick tangling at various points over the years, both equally determined and invested in coming out on top....with many of these encounters happening at times Dick is away from his family, like when he was living in Bludhaven....

But inevitably, they’re bound to clash in full view of the Batfamily, who bear witness for the first time to this unleashed side of Dick NONE of them have ever seen, never even imagined him acting like this, holding this....grudge against someone with a seemingly equivalent grudge and none of them can really account for why. Imagine their reactions to hearing Boone casually call Dick “Freddy” and like...this means something to Dick, he’s not surprised by it, but he’s not treating it like its some alias from a random undercover op, like, its like he IS Freddy, like its his own name, but at the same time...who the fuck is Freddy? They all want to know. Even Bruce might have trouble placing Boone or his connection to Dick at first, because there’s no reason he would have ever found out the alias Dick went by at the time, if Dick never felt a reason to tell him.

Imagine the truth of where and when and how Boone and Dick are connected slowly unfolding (to my recollection, in the comics I don’t think he ever even told Babs the full story, even after she and Dinah saved him from Boone....just a few terse references, from what I remember, and again....according to the same writer to write all of these various connected stories....Boone actually knew Dick BEFORE Babs even met him for the first time as either Dick Grayson OR Robin).

Its entirely possible the rest of the family doesn’t even know any of R:Y1 happened. Sure, I think they all know the basics of Two-Face beating Dick almost to death when he’d only been Robin a short time, but do they know that Bruce fired him then? That Dick ran away to live on the streets and then ended up being trained as an assassin for months by a League-affiliated supervillain? I’d doubt it, because who would tell them? I can’t imagine its a time or a part of his life Dick wants to volunteer to anyone, and Bruce probably still feels guilty so I doubt he’d ever volunteer that information. And Alfred I imagine would feel its not his place to be the one to drop that info on any of the others without Bruce or Dick’s say-so. 

Like sure, Bruce has files on all of that time, probably, but even with their hacking prowess, would even Babs or Tim have had time to hunt down and go through every single file Bruce has ever created....especially ones he might have tucked away for being particularly sensitive or private, and how do even the best hackers guarantee hunting down files they don’t even know they’re looking for? For that matter, it strikes me that as much as we tend to make a fanon trope out of Babs or Tim knowing everything about everyone because they can access any file, even hidden or locked ones...that IS intrusive and there’s plenty of old files about Bruce or Dick they probably never looked at because there’s a point where that’s none of their business, like if its not an official case they need info for, they should be asking directly, not snooping behind closed doors.

So....its entirely likely, the more I think about it, that all of this would be a family secret that would be an utter revelation to most of them in its entirety.

And you think there’s potential for resentment between Dick and Boone.....imagine throwing the family into it, and how Dick’s brothers and sister feel about this mercenary and assassin who claims to know more about their brother than they do, know him better than any of them ever have....and think, from a certain angle....oh fuck, he’s actually not entirely wrong?

Just.

More Boone. More Shrike. More Vengeance Academy.

THERE IS SO MUCH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL THERE, UGGGGGGGH.

Also also also: I present to you - in context of all of the above - the possibility of magical body or life swapping stories a la Freaky Friday??? Like....UMMM COULD YOU IMAGINE??!!!

[taminoamirfouad]

Vogue Hommes 2019: PRINCE OF MELANCHOLY

By Sophie Rosemont / Photographed by Paolo Roversi / Styled by Anastasia Barbieri  ‘Let’s get together when there’s time,’ he says. ‘I’ve finally taken a break and just been to a week of fashion shows, so I am less anxious than usual’. When you have known the young man since his first EP was released, in 2017, you know he’s not exaggerating. The apparent serenity scarcely hides the tension, the tension of forward-thinking perfectionists, whilst allowing their talent to mature and develop.

Dark eyes, a tall slender figure and jet-black hair, Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad was born in Antwerp of a Belgian mother and Egyptian father. He doesn’t only reflect his mixed origins through his physique. In his music, he calls to mind a form of romantic rock influenced by Nick Cave (even though his high-pitched voice is more suggestive of Jeff Buckley or Thom Yorke) and the melodies of the ancestral East. His grandfather was none other than Moharam Fouad, nicknamed ‘the sound of the Nile’, an extremely popular singer and actor in Egypt. He died when Tamino was a little boy, but he profoundly inspired him: ‘I love his music. And I could identify with what I was told about him. He was obsessed by his work and never stopped singing.’

The artistic tastes of Tamino, who was so named as a tribute to the prince in Mozart’s Magic Flute, date from when he was very young. At the age of eight, he dreamt up a play and asked his little brother to play the main character: ‘I had a specific idea of what I wanted, and when he didn’t acquiesce, I flew into a rage. I was a little dictator! It was then that my parents realized that I had a strong interest in the arts, the theater, etc.’ His mother was a music-lover and always playing the piano. She initiated her son, who, after taking several classical lessons, quickly broke away from the classics: ‘I didn’t have the patience to learn the pieces as I was expected to. I wanted to interpret them differently. I admire the discipline of classical musicians, but my idea was to create a story and embody it, expressing what I wanted to say. It’s an experience. A song you like that transports you, instantly, is instinctive. You don’t know where it comes from. I don’t want to think of that too much when I’m composing, otherwise the spontaneity gets lost, and the pressure rises.’   

After his secondary schooling, he headed to Amsterdam to attend the conservatory there, as it had a reputation for being open-minded. Alone in the Dutch city where he didn’t know a soul, he composed a number of songs in his room. Once they were shared on the Internet, the buzz was such that he went back to Belgium to devote himself to his career. He had offers to perform on stage, on the radio, was invited to appear on TV and given front-row seats at runway shows. No one could resist his young leading man looks straight out of The Arabian Nights. The title of his first album Amir, actually means ‘prince’ in Arabic. Radiohead’s eminent bass player, Colin Greenwood, stars on ‘Indigo Night’ and was one of Tamino’s earliest fans. ‘Habibi,’ with its twilit mood, was an instant hit that revealed his talent for soft velvet folk.

The twelve songs on Amir, recorded with an orchestra of Tunisian, Iraqi and Syrian musicians, speak as much of love as of solitude, sensuality and contemplation, rather like those of Leonard Cohen. ‘He’s the ultimate model, a high-flying poet,’ he sighs. ‘Even though he was a passionate person, he never tried to alter his destiny, he remained elegant whatever the occasion. And, at 80, he was still recording superb albums.’ Tamino also calls to mind Nick Cave, for the corrosive, contagious tenor of his style of rock, but not just that: ‘When he gets up in the morning and puts a suit on. Whether it’s to rehearse, go on stage or get a coffee, he is always impeccably dressed.’ Rather like Tamino, in a more urbane, more understated, style. Tamino’s favorite color is black, which is at the same time romantic, gothic, minimalist, and adaptable, which he likes. 

When you meet him on a cold Paris Fashion Week Saturday, he is trying clothes on at his compatriot Ann Demeulemeester’s, who also dresses Patti Smith and PJ Harvey. ‘With Ann, I understood that a garment could be the extension of who you are, that comfort didn’t exclude the singularity of a look. Today, my creativity varies according to what I’m wearing.’ For Tamino, music inspires fashion and vice versa. ‘A fabric, a cut, an attitude can bring a melody to life. The correspondence between the two seems obvious to me.’ That said, he is far from being obsessed about his appearance. At the moment, he spends his days on the road to promote Amir. Whereas he doesn’t compose when he’s on tour, he reads Dostoyevsky, and the Lebanese poet, Khalil Gibran, whom he quotes: ‘In depth of my soul there is/A wordless song -- a song that lives/In the seed of my heart’ (from ‘Song of the Soul’, 1912). Perhaps a way for Tamino to assert his need to be alone, which is vital to him when he is composing, providing a space for him to exercise his love of words. ‘Even if at first I think about the melodies and the orchestration,’ he says, ‘I can’t imagine that a song doesn’t convey a message, or at least a feeling, that it is empty.’ He hasn’t discarded his childhood dream of being an actor, but says that if he had to take a break from music for a film shoot, the role would really have to be worthwhile.

When asked for what his definition of elegance is, he answers immediately: ‘Being kind to others, respectful, while at the same time being sure of who you are. Recently, I met Yohji Yamamoto. He’s an example of this. He is kind to everyone, relaxed, yet never leaves anything to chance.’ The same chance, or destiny, mektoub in Arabic, that has cast its benign light on Tamino. VOGUE HOMMES

(article and pictures source (x))

[chillingadventuresinpurgatory]

Title: Double date with my ex

Ship: Sabrina Spellman + Nicholas Scratch (Nabrina)

_______________

When Rosalind suggested to Sabrina that they go on a double date together, the blonde didn't think twice and accepted her best friend's idea - even before asking Nick. She and Roz had quickly settled on a classic: movies and dinner. This way, everyone would be happy with the date choice, mortal or not.

''We don't do dates in the Dark World, less...double dates. I'm a bit confused. Care to explain it to me? You told me that in relationships, mortals are committed to one person, so what's the purpose of double dates?'' Nick asked, eyebrows pulled, not quite understanding the concept of double dates.

Sabrina chuckled from where she sat on her bed, pushing away her Herbalism book she was studying from. ''It's the same as a regular date, except we're two couples going together.''

Weeks ago, Nick had voiced his desires to be more involved into Sabrina's mortal life and learn more about mortal traditions - especially regarding love. He had been to Baxter High's Valentine's Day dance back in February and, surprisingly, had had a lot of fun. It was time to experience another mortal 'tradition'.

The young warlock rolled his eyes. ''I got that part. I meant, why? I thought you liked when we go on dates together, just the two of us...''

After attending the Academy of Unseen Arts, Sabrina started realizing and seeing all the wrongs in scary movies. All the spells, exorcism rituals or even the demons weren't as accurate as people thought. She was capable to see past it and enjoy the movie, unlike Nick who would constantly point out the wrongs throughout the movie and, although some would find it annoying, he made it quite hilarious. He was so mad and outrated on their first double feature date, Sabrina still laughs when she think about that night.

''I do, Nick,'' she assured him, crawling up top on the bed and joining the latter where he was laying.

She had told her aunts that Nick was there to help her study, she couldn't get too close to him and risk one of them - especially Zelda - to walk in and catch them not studying.

''But, it's a mortal thing...a best friend goal. Going on a double date with your best friend and your bae.''

He blinked. ''Pardon me. Your what?''

Sabrina shook her head, realizing that he probably didn't know mortal slang. ''Nevermind.''

''Mortals are weird...'' Nick declared. ''But, I'm willing to give this double date a try.'' He leaned and she craned her neck, meeting for a kiss.

.

Come the night of the double date, as she was getting ready, Sabrina realized something: not only she would have to go on a date with her boyfriend, but also her ex-boyfriend. She dropped her lipstick, causing a red smear of lipstick on her vanity table.

What did she get herself into?

Her sudden predicament didn't come from a possible regret. If there was one thing Sabrina was certain: she was over Harvey - romantically. Breaking up with her first love had been a difficult choice, but it was the right thing to do. And, although they weren't together anymore, she had never wanted to remove Harvey from her life. He was a good friend to her before they started dating and was hoping to have that again with him.

But, was going on a double date with Harvey a good idea? She didn't mind Roz and him dating, but was she ready for this? Or, was it too soon?

Before she could figure out responses to her questionings, the doorbell rang, signaling that Nick had arrived.

.

''You've been unusually fidgety since we left the your house, if everything okay?'' Nick asked as they were walking to the theater where Rosalind and Harvey should be meeting them.

Sabrina glanced up and flashed him a smile. ''Yeah, everything's okay.''

She knew that lying to Nick was wrong, yet she couldn't see herself telling him her doubts concerning the double date. He might get the wrong idea and think that he was the reason she didn't want to go, that she didn't want him to go out with she and her friends. Or, that she still had feelings for Harvey. That one was the farthest from the truth and sent a lump of guilt in her stomach.

He gave her an uncertain look, seeing through her lie, but didn't press, pulling her closer to his side, hands tangled together.

The October weather was kicking in, evenings getting chillier, and Greendale citizens were going all out for Halloween, putting out pumpkins on their porches along with spooky witches or other creatures of the night. While those decors were cute and classic, Sabrina always had a preference for scary decors like haunted houses and such. Even as a kid, her favorite houses to collect candies from were the one kids her age were terrified of.

Once they reached Dr. Cerberus's bookstore, Sabrina sighed and stopped in her tracks, unable to lie any longer. Honesty was key in a relationship, her aunt Hilda's voice reminded her. ''Nick.''

He glanced at the blonde half-witch, waiting expectantly.

''I-I'm not certain about this double date anymore...'' she admitted.

Nick furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why she had suddenly changed her mind. ''Why for? You sounded thrilled when you told me about it.''

''I was. But, I didn't realize until half an hour ago how weird the situation was. For me...and for you. For everyone.''

''Because of Farm Boy?''

''His name is Harvey,'' Sabrina corrected, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend, knowing fairly well that he was mistaking Harvey's name on purpose. ''And, kind of. But, I don't want you to think that I'm having regrets regarding Harvey or that I still have feelings for him because that's not the reason why I-''

''I'm not thinking that,'' Nick assured her. ''I trust you, Sabrina.''

The corner of Sabrina's lips turned up. She was so used to Harvey getting suspicious of Nick after she had entered the Academy that it was a reflex - and a mistake - to assume the same of Nick. Cert, he wasn't a fan of Harvey - he proved it whenever he was purposely mistaking his name -, but he didn't feel threatened by him in any ways.

''I think we're rushing things with this date. I like Roz's idea, but I don't think it's the right time, perhaps. I don't want to be so uncomfortable that I can't enjoy the movie, you know? The times we got dinner with them, Theo came along and I think it made me feel more at ease. I don't think I can handle Harvey sending glares at you all night.''

An amused chuckle left the dark haired one's lips. ''The second I waltzed into your life, he saw me as a menace. And, he was right, I mean...look at that charming smile.'' He flashed her a charming grin, making Sabrina bite back a smile. ''What he feared happened: I stole his girlfriend's heart. I'd be bitter at myself to.''

Sabrina gave him a warning look. ''I didn't engage into anything with you until I broke up with Harvey,'' she reminded him.

In the in Dark World, polygamous was common. Witches and warlocks didn't have any problems with seeing more than one person at the time. In the mortal world, it was called cheating.

''I think you're thinking too much into it. You said it yourself: it's just a date. You can sit beside Rosalind at the movies and eat extra popcorn so we can fake a stomach ache for dinner.''

A faux-shocked gasp left her lips. ''Nicholas Scratch, are you implying that we lie to my best friend and ditch them after the movie?'' she asked with an arch to her eyebrow.

He shrugged. ''You're the one that said it.''

She crossed her arms over the chest and gave him a look as he grinned amusedly.

Nick's face softened, back to seriousness. ''I don't care if we go to the double date or not. It's your choice.'' He reached out to gently caress her cheekbone, hoping to make her concerns go away. ''You know I'd never force you into doing something you don't want to? If you aren't ready for a double date with your friends, we can go home and watch scary movies together.''

She leaned into his touch but shook her head. She couldn't cancel at last minute because she realized something she should've had realized long before. ''I told Roz we'd come. So, we'll go. But, I might take you up on that offer. My aunts aren't home and Ambrose is out with Prudence...''

A smirk formed on his lips, humming, visualizing Sabrina's unspoken thoughts. ''Say no more, Spellman.''

.

''Finally, you're here!'' Roz exclaimed, seeing Sabrina and her beau coming their way.

She pulled the blonde into a rapid hug while Harvey straightened, seeing Nick.

''Nick.''

The latter nodded politely. ''Harry.''

''Harvey,'' the boy in the plaid shirt corrected, sounding slightly irritated.

Sabrina swatted Nick's chest and he smirked. ''Stop it...'' she whispered.

''The previews starts in less than five minutes, what took you two so long?'' Roz glanced between Sabrina and the warlock knowingly. ''Did you two-''

Nick didn't let her finish, saving Sabrina an awkward situation. ''We got stopped by Sabrina's aunt when passing in front of Dr. Cerberus's bookstore. Lovely woman, but she has a lot of conversation.''

''Yeah, you know how she is,'' Sabrina added, backing Nick's words.

Roz hummed. ''Well, let's get going. I saw a mass of people walking in the theater ten minutes ago. Hopefully there's some seats left for us all.''

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Feeling’s Mutual

Summary:  When Bucky Barnes agreed to join The Avengers he didn’t know what to expect.  There was kindness and support, more than he could have hoped for, and understanding.  There was also misunderstanding.  Dr Veronica Edwards is a hurdle Bucky can’t seem to get past.  Why she doesn’t like him, he has no clue but it’s obvious to him that she really doesn’t.  When routine testing on the new prosthetic arm puts him in Dr Edwards med-suite he finds himself angry at the lengths his new team will go to in order to keep him on a leash.  After that, Bucky decides that maybe he doesn’t like her much either.

Word Count:  4284

Warnings:  Self-loathing and a smattering of PTSD with some mild language thrown in.

A/N:  This is part one of my Muscle memory series..POV Bucky Barnes, first person.  Set between CA:CW and A:IW, with some of the later story mixed in.  I do what I want, okaaayyyy.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes.”

Dr Veronica Edwards’ smooth voice surprised me.  She was standing in for Dr Harvey while he was off sick with a stomach virus.  I wasn’t expecting to see any of the ladies here this morning, so I hadn’t bothered with anything more vigorous than a quick wash and a cursory brush of my teeth.  You know how you regret not doing something just when it’s too late?  Yeah, this was one of those.

Being dapper had been part of my persona, from back before Hydra, before trigger codes and before the war; a man should always make an effort when ladies are present.  I supposed that was all out the window now my reputation had changed and I wasn’t James Buchannan Barnes, ladies man, any more. I was Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier.

I winced as the shadow of a memory flickered in my minds eye like a film reel running too fast, showing snippets of the film in between its skips and jumps on the projector;  a murder here, a massacre there, they all flowed together in a tapestry that was as blurry as it was busy.  The reel skipped off completely and I refocused on her face.

Dr Edwards smiled warmly, moist-looking nude lips curling upward gently making the peachy complexion of her cheeks seem radiant and her green eyes sparkle with kindness.  I knew that was just her bed-side manner, so to speak, to be kind and considerate to all of the people she assisted, but honestly it made me feel a little uneasy.  In my extensive experience, niceness was either a weakness, a grave miscalculation or a form of manipulation, and I trusted none of it. But I was trying to change that with the help of Steve and the folks here at Avengers Central.

Striding further into the room, looking thoroughly classy in my black jersey sweatpants and crumpled white t-shirt, I squared my shoulders and tried to push the uneasy feeling aside. I regretted wearing the two-day-old clothes, but the Doc didn’t seem to care how scruffy I was.

Dr Edwards was always pleasant, courteous and respectful.  She was also confident and empowered, and it made me feel pretty vulnerable.  She knew who she was, and what she wanted.  That kind of strength was rare and it made me feel, uhhh, inadequate.

“Shirt off please.” She held eye contact for a moment longer than was comfortable.  “Take a seat when you’re ready.”  She gestured to the blue, leather-cushioned examination table to her right.

Hopping up, as instructed, I stripped my shirt off to reveal musculature that I was proud of (super-soldier serum aside - I’d worked hard to stay in shape), and the scarred juncture where my flesh ended and the arm began.  I bunched the shirt up at my side and shook out both arms, getting ready for the exam.

Dr Edwards, had conducted my monthly exam only three times in the past.  Each time she had neither been impressed nor distracted by my semi-naked glory.  Perhaps that’s part of the reason why she made me uneasy.  In the past, women had always thrown themselves at my feet, without my asking them, they’d been there flirting and giggling and vying for attention.

Not Veronica, she was in her own category, she didn’t even bite at the little flirtatious jibes I sometimes made towards the ladies on the team.  With the exception of Nat, Wanda, and Pepper, all of the female SHIELD agents and Stark Industries staff were either terrified of or swooned after me.  Well, me, Steve and Thor.  It was hard to compete with the two big blonde guys but Nat said I still had it.  Whatever it was.

Shame my sex drive wasn’t the same as it had been before, well, before hydra.

“How are you finding the latest modification?”  Dr Edwards said, holding her hand out casually asking for permission to examine the arm.

I lifted the tech arm, laying the wrist into her palm lightly.  I could feel so much more through the articulated metal casing than I could before, it almost felt like she was really touching my skin.  Her hands were cool, smooth and soft, and her fingers were delicate as she deftly turned the metal hand over in hers until our palms were touching.

“It’s fine.”  I said gruffly, the feel of her skin on the metal was distracting and oddly intimate.

“It’s taking you a while to get used to the enhanced tactile responses I take it?”

I’d worn a leather glove over the metal hand since Shuri had come up with this new upgrade.  It was like sensory overload, overwhelming me with intense feeling that my brain could hardly cope with.

I simply nodded, for want of a better response.  She was so intuitive.  I’d hardly spoken with her but it was like she could see right inside me and pick out the parts that she needed to know.  How could anyone defend against that?  Maybe she had a telepathic power.  Steve would know.  I decided I’d ask him later when we both hit the gym.

“It’s ok to be overwhelmed. I can turn the sensitivity down for you today if you’d prefer, or you can continue wearing the glove and just ease yourself in slowly?”

In truth, I didn’t really like to be tinkered with.  And I only went along with this monthly exam because Steve had made it mandatory in order to make everyone feel safer, and for my own good, apparently.  That’s what he’d said anyway.  I couldn’t argue with his reasoning really.  I had a past that was impossible to escape and a reputation for murder and brutality that went with it.

“I’ll just do it myself.” I’d succeeded on my own for so long, so I should be able to overcome a few issues with feeling things.

“No problem.” Veronica said, plugging a ribbon cable into the port just inside my metal armpit.  “Right then, show me your range of motion.  Start with fingers, then wrist, elbow, and shoulder.  I’m looking for improved flexibility in the rotator cuff from last time when we fixed the pinching at the shoulder.”

I wiggled all the parts she asked me to with no discomfort at all.  The tech felt the smoothest it had ever been, almost like it was a real arm but I would always see it as foreign, never think of it as mine.  It was something I wore, like shoes, necessary and functional.  I knew I’d feel off-balance without it, and fighting would be difficult.

With the arm Bucky Barnes was a fully functioning member of The Avengers.  Without it he was a pity case, or at least that’s how it felt.

“Step up to the testing machine, please Sergeant Barnes.”  She didn’t look up from her tablet, but she stepped confidently to the control panel with the ease of someone who had memorised the space and knew exactly what was where.

I had never seen that machine before.  It looked a little like a mini hydraulic crusher.  Eying it suspiciously, I slid off the exam bench and approached, shirt forgotten on the table.  The diagnostic cable was still plugged in under the arm and although I couldn’t feel the physical connection, I could feel the flow of power as data passed from the arm to the tablet in Dr Edwards’ hands.

“This is new.”  I licked my lips, slightly nervous.

New things made me uneasy. New things were variables, variables were risks, risks were dangerous.

“It’s a custom-made tensile strength machine, made just for you.”  She smiled brightly as if I should be flattered that they’d come up with a new way to scrutinize me.  “Only instead of testing the strength of the metal your arm is made from, it measures the crushing ability and the strength of your arm in a way we can compare easily with other things for example the tensile strength of structural steel is around five hundred mega pascals.  Human skin is around twenty mega pascals.  Vibranium, well, vibranium is significantly higher at fifty giga pascals but that doesn’t reflect the force you can apply with your arm, if you know what I mean.”

I didn’t.  Not really, but I wasn’t about to ask her to elaborate. She was smarter than most of the techs working at Stark Industries, I’d heard the iron-skin-suit call her brilliant but until now I’d never seen her as anything more than a junior tech.

“You made it?”  I asked with a frown.

“Helped design it yes.” She held my gaze almost as if she sensed my disapproval.

Trust a woman to come up with new ways to test and torture me.  As if I hadn’t had enough of that my whole super-soldier life.

“What do I have to do?”

Veronica ran through the protocols and procedures, and I got the feeling she dumbed it down a little when she described it as ‘weight training for your enhanced limb’.

Slotting the arm into the device, I patiently waited for her to check and double-check the alignment and safety measures.  The commands of pull and squeeze seemed simple enough to follow.

“Are you ready to start the test, Sergeant Barnes?”

I nodded with another frown. She was going to start thinking I hated her, and probably start calling me ‘him’ instead of just my military title. It wasn’t lost on me that Veronica was one of very few people who never called me by my preferred name ‘Bucky’, she was always so formal.

“Ok, and pull for me.”

I compressed the arm in a bicep curl, feeling the machine’s tension counteracting my efforts.  It was like pulling an oar through water to begin with.

“And again.”  She commanded.  “Keep repeating until you meet maximum resistance.”

“How will I know when that is?”  I curled again, feeling the weight against the arm increase.

“You and the machine will reach an impasse.  You won’t be able to pull any more.”

I mumbled a nondescript acknowledgement and continue to work the arm.  At first it was easy, I curled quickly but after a few minutes I found it much tougher.  The machine ramped up the difficulty quickly after my initial efforts and then I was grunting, sweating, and straining against the mechanism.

“Good.  Good!”  She praised and I felt a little hotter in the face with either a blush or sweat, it was hard to tell right then.  “Keep going, you’re doing great.”

After a few more curls the machine locked up and I couldn’t move it any further.  I strained and yanked at it, grinding the mechanism until the arm was locked up too.  I glanced at Veronica, panting and flustered from my exertion.  She disengaged the machine and, with a hiss, the hydraulics powered down.  She took notes quickly before setting up the next task.

With the arm still fixed in the device, I couldn’t move anywhere.  It was like that time that Steve caught me in some factory machinery and forced me to remember who I was.  I was eternally grateful to him for never giving up on me but the feeling of helplessness wasn’t something I enjoyed a replay of.

Sweating, and with regret, I wished I could reach my shirt to blot my face.  I hadn’t realised the exam was going to be so physical, and goddamn if I hadn’t been clenching just about every muscle in my whole body whilst fighting against the damn thing.  Even my crack felt sweaty.

“Is there anything I can get you before we start the next stage?”  Her voice was soft with concern.  It was unnerving how well she read me.  “Do you need to rest?”

“I’m good.”  I said, pride making a fool of me.

“Ok, well let me dry you off a bit.  The port is still connected and should be dry when open.”

I blushed hard at that. She was telling me that I was too sweaty.  Gross. I frowned, embarrassed, and shied away from her touch when she brought a wad of paper towels to my brow.  It had been the very thing I had wanted but not from her.

Her hands were still quite cool but she felt colder against my heated skin.  Too close, she leant over me to smooth the moisture from my body. Swiping the tissues over my face, neck, shoulders and chest, Dr Edwards watched me curiously.  She had to know she was tormenting me.  How could she not notice my flared nostrils and ragged breathing? This kind of physical contact wasn’t something I felt comfortable with.

Tense and scowling, I held my breath, tolerating the contact as much as I could.  She continued with her ministrations until she was satisfied with the dryness of my skin.  It had been too personal in contrast to the formality of her pervious interactions with me. Never more than polite yet professional conversation, zero contact outside of the examination room or combat training, limited off-duty interaction.  It made me feel confused and uneasy.  There was something about her that put me on edge, made me listless.

“The second part of the test is to gage the pressure you can generate with your hand.”  She said, creating space between us that I welcomed. “I’ll do come calibrations after that if needed and we can have a chat about your needs.”

“My needs?”

My heart thudded once, twice, three times before I got it under control.  Why did I have to talk about myself with her?  Dr Harvey was unassuming and easy to ignore.  I didn’t mind talking to him because… Why?  Because I didn’t feel…  Feel what?  Because he wasn’t… Wasn’t what?  Because she made me feel…  Oh for Christ sakes, WHAT?

She made me feel threatened, made me feel nervous.  Veronica made me feel like she didn’t really like me all that much.  The coldness she gave me when she was friendly with everyone else, first names, laughing, joking, and the ease of casual contact.

“Come again?”  I sought clarification.

Oh, Buck, why did you have to make it sound like that.  Like what? Like that?

The way she eyed me then, I didn’t know if it was hatred or something more predatory.

“I don’t follow.”

“Some people prefer to have prostheses that do what they tell them.  Unless you have a penchant for crushing instead of caressing.”

I’m sure my mouth was flapping in the non-existent breeze.  Agape and floundering, I had nothing to say.  Stuck in the idea that flirting and bitterness were one and the same thing to her, or maybe it was too subtle a difference for me to separate the two, I blushed crimson.  Then it struck me that maybe she was goading me about my past.  It was no secret that The Winter Soldier had crushed more than a few windpipes in his time.

“Fine.”  I said, swallowing dryly.  “I’m ready to carry on.”

“Very well.”  And just like that, her stone-faced stoicism was back, with polite professionalism draped over the top.  “Please let your hand relax and fall open.  Good.”

A device with five finger shaped recesses arranged around a silvery ball lowered and rested in the palm the metal hand.  I could feel the metal on metal contact creating a strange thrumming vibration through the arm.  It felt like when I had handled Steve’s shield; a tell-tale sign that vibranium had been used to make this device.

“I’m going to ask you to hold an object, and I would like you to use your muscle memory to create the pressure with your prosthesis.  The machine will respond, mimic the item and measure the results.  It sounds harder than it is.  Ready?”

I nodded, just wanting to get this over and done with.  The sooner this was over, the sooner we could have our ‘chat’ about my needs, and the sooner I could hit the gym with Steve. The punching bag was definitely going to get ruined today.

“An apple.”

The device in the not-my hand seemed to have the same resistance against my grip as would a firm green apple.  I held it, turning it in the not-my fingers.

“Good.  See, you got it.”

Dr Edwards’s praise was both frustrating and pleasant.  I didn’t like the feeling of wanting to please her, but at the same time it was nice to hear her soften towards me, even slightly.

“An egg.”

The machine adjusted slightly and I could feel the fragility of it against the prosthetic fingers.

“A feather.”

I pinched my thumb and forefinger, holding the imaginary feather in between.

“The hand of a loved one.”

Well, shit, if that didn’t throw me for six.  The way the machine moved around my hand gave me chills.  It slid between my fingers, and almost felt real for a second before I managed to distinguish the materials from real skin.  I hardly touched skin with the prosthetic anymore, except my own.

“A mouse.”

The machine wriggled against my palm.  I held it loosely in the cage of my fingers, just firm enough that it couldn’t escape.

“Excellent.”

The test carried on like that for several more minutes before Dr Edwards removed the mimicking device and switched to something that looked like a hand dynamometer.

“Ok Sergeant, I’m going to ask you to squeeze as hard as you can.  This will create a maximum pressure output for me to work with.  What I’m going to do afterwards is set some values into the prosthesis’ programming that will allow you to quickly achieve an exact pressure to accomplish a task.”

“Like what?  Break a bone?”  I scoffed, and before I even looked at her face I knew that was exactly what she had meant.

“Not just that.  But also how not to break a bone.”  She had the sense to look a little abashed.

Dr Edwards had read my file, of course she had, they all had.  She knew when she agreed to run these tests that she were going to be programming instant kills into me or programming me to stop just short.  My money was on the latter.

“And you couldn’t just tell me that this was what it was all about?  Nerfing me so I don’t lash out and kill someone.”  Irritation seethed up my spine and settled as heat in my face. “I get it, I really do.  But I’m a person, not a tool.  Would it kill ya to include me in decisions about, well, me?”

“James…”

“Don’t.”  I shut her down.  “Get the test finished.  I’m done after that.”

When she said my name, my heart almost stopped.  Gone was her formal, guarded façade.  In its place was concern and a look of such sadness that I just didn’t know what to do with myself.  How do you deal with a switch like that?  And fuck me if I wasn’t simultaneously happy as a school boy on the first day of the summer holidays and irritated enough to rip that damn machine apart and storm out of the med wing.  Steve was gonna get a tongue lashing from me before the day was done.

Her face was pale and remorseful as she started the machine off on its cycle.  I squeezed that damn thing as if I was squeezing the life out of the sonofabitch who turned me into a killing machine, squeezed like I was crushing all of the hatred I felt for myself, squeezed like my life depended on it. Who knew, maybe one day it would.

Dr Edwards sent the data to my prosthesis and closed me up.  She was silent but continued to search my face for something, hope maybe, I dunno.  She wasn’t going to find anything.  I was about ready to shut down and stay the fuck away from everyone and everything until I got a chance to have things out with Steve.

I got up to leave, scooping my crumpled white tee off the exam table as I went.

“Good day, Sergeant.”

I closed my eyes as her coldness returned.  Stood in the doorway shirtless and feeling used, I paused, not looking back.

“Dr Edwards.”  I nodded curtly, showing my face in profile only, before striding off in search of something to beat on.  She didn’t need to receive my frustration, she wasn’t the only person, or even the main person, to oversee everything ‘Bucky’.  Rogers and Stark, each had equal hands in this.

 “We didn’t think about it that way, Buck, I’m sorry.”  Steve said.

He held the Everlast bag still for me as I slogged into it.

“That’s the thing about being a weapon most of your life.”  I said smacking the bag hard enough to make the stuffing start to crumble out of the seams.  “Everyone sees you as inhuman, even yourself.”

“That’s not how I see you, man.  You’re my best friend.  I want what’s best for you.”

“And what’s best for me, Steve?  Programming? A kill-switch?  Cyanide implant?  You’re acting just like HYDRA.”

“Whoa!  No-one said kill switch or cyanide.”

I pummelled the bag until the seam split completely and the broken filling plumed out onto the floor. Stepping back, I saw Steve was genuinely upset.

“Sorry punk.  I didn’t really mean that.”  I held my hand out.  “I’m just pissed off.”

He tagged me and smiled dryly.  All was forgiven.

“I’ll get them to lay off on the hardcore controls.  To be honest I didn’t even see that mandate in the requisition forms so I’ll look at that again.  Just please tell me you didn’t terrorise Vee.  She’s one of the best we have and she’s cool.”

“Dr Edwards?”

“Yeah Veronica.  You didn’t scare her, did you?”

“Nah, I was angry but not that angry.”  Had I scared her though?  “I doubt she’d take much notice of anything I said anyway, she doesn’t like me…”

“Whatever, dude.”  He said dismissively.

“…And she’s not the sort to rely on the opinions of others to fashion her idea of her own self-worth.”

“Wow.”  Steve half laughed, blinking his shock away.  “You know her well.”

“We hardly speak. She’s always so formal.  With you it’s Steve this and Steve that, or Cap, yeah she calls you Cap.  And you’re like ‘oh Vee you have to see this movie’ or ‘Vee can you come explain this report to me’.”  I nattered like a bitchy college girl slating her BFF.  “With me it’s Sergeant Barnes, or just Sergeant.”

Steve laughed.  “Are you jealous, Buck?  Have you found a woman who you can’t charm?”

“Haven’t tried.  You know when you can tell that someone hates your guts?  Besides, my charming days are over.”  I waggled the metal arm.

“Some people are gonna find that hot.”  A sultry voice interrupted.  “Can you make it vibrate?”

Natasha flashed a flirtatiously shocked ‘oooh sir!’ face which had me busting out laughing and Steve groaning.

“Don’t worry Barnes. You’ve still got it.”  She licked her finger and touched her chest, making a ‘tsssss’ sound before she mouthed the word ‘hot’ and sauntered away to the locker room.

“She really knows how to play on my insecurities.”  I said deadpan, making Steve crack up.

By the time we both stopped laughing, I actually felt better.  The kind of camaraderie we shared was one of the things that kept me going, through all of this.  Nat was one of my closest friends and even though she loved to mess with me she also knew when not to push.  That stunt she had pulled, maybe an hour earlier, might not have gone down so well. Her timing was impeccable, unlike mine.

After cleaning up and winding down I met Steve back in the kitchen where he was making a protein smoothie.

“Want one?”

I nodded, sitting at the counter.  I wasn’t gonna turn down a free smoothie.  Life was full of little gifts, like food you didn’t have to make yourself and, apparently, people who wouldn’t drop a damn topic.

“Seriously though, you need to get over this thing where you automatically assume people don’t like you, man.  Maybe try to open up a little.  Have a little fun.”

“Yeah, ok, Marilyn Hickey. Sure, a little bit of good old Christian fun sounds like just the ticket.”  I slapped my thigh and winked.

“Fuck off, Buck!”  He blitzed the smoothie maker, trying to drown out my retort, no doubt.

“Ooooh!  You kiss your mother with that mouth?”  I said, chuckling.  “I miss Nick, where is he when you need him, huh?”

“Stop deflecting.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about, buddy.”

“Not what, who.”  He slid the smoothie-filled glass over to me. “Talk to her.”

“Drop it, Steve.  I don’t care if she doesn’t like me.  I’m getting along just fine without an extra person up in my business.”

I downed the thick pinkish goop in the glass, it didn’t taste half bad but it wasn’t a steak.

“And to be honest, all this extra stuff with the arm and the testing just makes it easier for me not to like her right back.”

The noise of a door closing loudly made me jump.  Steve was out of his seat and rushing out of the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with a grim look on his face.

“You’re an asshat.” He said picking up his glass and walking away.

It didn’t take much to put two and two together and figure out that Dr Edwards had overheard me talking about her, but did it really make a difference?  So what if we both didn’t like each other.

It is what it is.

[fairydust-stuff]

The Queen of the Feast of Feasts:  a Prudence Character Study

The Queen of the Feast of Feasts  a Prudence Character Study 

Prudence Blackwood is first introduced to us along with her fellow witch sisters Dorcus and Agatha confronting Sabrina in the woods and warning her a half breed like her is not welcomed at the Academy of unseeing arts, since Sabrina is half mortal. Then all three of them put a curse on her.  Later we learn all three sisters were adopted by Father Blackwood. They are known as the Weird Sisters and seem like their going to operate much like every other bully clique who hates the protagonist for being different. 

This gets subverted when Sabrina herself summons them to help get revenge for her friend Susie by messing with moral boys who hit her. They strike a bargain that Sabrina won’t join the Academy if they help her get revenge. Sabrina agrees to this but crosses her fingers behind her back (our heroine ladies and gentlemen). 

The three of them execute a plan that involves tricking the guys into hooking up with each other and blackmailing them. Then Prudence and her sisters scare them off and are also revealed to have done a spell to control the boys um anatomy. (Honestly the whole thing makes me uncomfortable especially when certain facts about the football players come to light later on, but that’s not what this essay is about) 

Prudence tells Sabrina “ You may be more suited to the academy then we first thought” showing she’s changed her mind. Prudence also reveals she knows Sabrina had no intention of keeping her promise but agreed to help anyway, because she enjoys tormenting moral boys. This reveals a lot about Prudence’s character she is crafty, cruel and bigoted but she can bend a bit when faced with what she sees as potential. 

We also learn that Prudence is very wise, since she points out that signing the book of the beast and making a contract with the devil is about giving up your freedom in exchange for power. Prudence  laughs in Sabrina’s face when the half witch suggests they shouldn’t have to give up anything for power and should have it all. This highlights her self awareness and hints that Prudence is far older than her appearance suggests. Which actress Tati Gabriella has confirmed stating that Prudence is really 75 years old.     

For the first season Prudence kind of fades into the background other than viciously hazing Sabrina with her sisters which links back to her cruelty.  Until episode seven titled the  Feast of Feasts. The Witches of the coven have a tradition where a witch is selected as a sacrifice to be killed and have her flesh consumed by the other members of the coven after they fast. Prudence is chosen and sees it as a great honor “ Prepare me a bath of buttermilk and bring me a plate of macaroons” she orders. 

Prudence goes about sweetening herself to be the best feast she possibly can. 

Sabrina who is chosen by the coven as her handmaiden tries to persuade her it's all nonsense as she baths her. “ You don’t really believe all that” Sabrina insists.  Prudence reveals she does, she wants to die to be honored by the Coven and to “reside in the Dark Lord's heart until the trumpets of the apocalypse sound” This shows us Prudence is a true believer who is truly devoted to the Church of Night. 

Sabrina bring Prudence to her school and she finds out Harvey is descended from witch Hunters then someone kills a familiar and Prudence thinking its Harvey has to be persuaded out of full retribution mode by Sabrina who informs her “ Harvey didn’t kill that  farmiar” to which Prudence gives the best line of the season  “ How is your faith in the mortal boy any different than my faith in the Dark Lord? Why is your faith more valid than mine?” this line once again highlights the fact that Prudence is an old soul who challenges Sabrina to actually think. 

Its revealed near the end of the episode Prudence is Blackwood’s biological daughter and was only chosen as feast queen so Blackwood’s wife could get her out of the way to protect the inheritance of her own children. This sets up Prudence’s character arch but for now it just spares her from being eaten though she still sits on the throne because she is Prudence and wants to feel special for one night. 

She has a slight role in the mines episode where she lets Sabrina kill and resurrect one of her sisters because both Agatha and Dorcus went behind her back and collapsed the mine to kill the Kinkle family. This suggests that Prudence does have a bit of a code despite her anti human stance, she feels there at least has to be justification for killing a mortal.  

In Season 2 Prudence  is openly acknowledged by Father Blackwood as his daughter. She’s also assigned as her baby brothers wet nurse and in chided in the first episode for letting him cry. However despite  her newfound responsibilities Prudence’s Father and her do not see eye to eye. When Prudence offers to run against Sabrina as head boy, Father Blackwood won’t allow it because he cannot conceive of a witch with a position of authority. Furthermore he will not allow Prudence to have his last name.  

This results in Prudence and the other weird sisters telepathically wireing the answers to Sabrina. While i’d rather have Prudence obtain the position for herself because Sabrina shouldn’t get everything she wants. It is at least the first act of defiance toward her Father from Prudence. 

During the play Prudence gives Sabrina advice “ lust is not a sin Sabrina” she informs her. Though the moment is more about Sabrina it does highlight Prudence’s views on sex which does make up her character. Prudence being raised within the Church of Night has always been very comfortable with her sexuality in Feasts of Feasts as queen she requested an orgy and teasingly invites Sabrina to join in. Prudence does not view lust as something to have hang ups about physical desire is something to be acted upon. Within the same episode she pursues Ambrose Sabrina’s cousin flirting with him. Her advances are returned and two of them enter a poly relationship. 

The valentines episode isn’t really a highlight except it reveals the fact Prudence and her sisters have the same dream and share a vision about how the Spellman’s will be the undoing of the Blackwood’s which Father Blackwood dismisses. I’m guessing this a macbeth reference but it does show that Father Blackwood dismisses Prudence’s concern for his safety. 

Later Prudence goes to Zelda blackmailing her into getting the anti pope to declare Prudence a Blackwood. Now whether or not Prudence wants the power that comes with the name or desires to be part of a family is unclear and i honestly think there’s evidence for both. On one hand Prudence does attempt to murder Father Blackwell later in the same episode and only relents when he declares her “ Prudence Blackwood” but on the other hand she does save her fathers life from Ambrose and when Father Black wood changes Prudence with protecting the acdemy and their family name while their off on his honey moon. 

Prudence takes this vow very seriously replying he can rely on her. 

The next episode we see Prudence honoring this promise she sets about breaking Ambrose who she see’s as a tradior to get him to confess to the murder of the anti pope, refuses to let Sabrina into the acedmy while calling her out for useing her and her sisters all year and saveing her life only for selfish reasons during the Feast of feasts. 

These acts reveals a repressed bitterness from Prudence and hint she sees both Sabrina and Ambrose of using her just to destroy her father which is why she’s so vindictive towards them. Much like trying to kill her Father, Prudences acts of violence seem to come from a place of great betrayal and a sense of her not being important to those she cares for.  Prudence is also high on the fact she appears to have finally gained the approval and affection of the only parent she’s ever known and intends to keep it that way. It's a response for some children who grow up in emotionally abusive household and Prudence has done so for at least 75 years. 

Then a life changing event happens to Prudence making her question evaluate her values. Witch hunters show up at the academy and despite the best efforts of her and her sisters fail to protect the other students. The Witch hunters due to their angel powers (just go with it) overpower the sisters and start killing other witch students as Prudence and her sisters watch in horror while awaiting their fiery pire. Then Sabrina the half breed swoops in last minute and demolishes the angel witch hunters (Gosh it is hard to say that with a straight face) and brings the dead students back to life after respecting herself displaying power beyond that of a regular witch and as aggravating as it is, it does further Prudence’s arch as she starts to question whether half witches and by extent morals are inferior.  

Prudence goes as far as to question Ambrose about Sabrina’s miracles. She also admits seeing Sabrina come back from the dead made her happy. When Ambrose admits he’s scared to die Prudence in a rare moment of tenderness resources Ambrose  there’s no need to be frightened since he’s an honorable man. “ Satan keep you” she tells him sincerely showing us Ambrose has been forgiven and that Prudence is finally being honest about the fact she likes Sabrina (For some reason). Here Prudence is clearly starting to question what she’s been taught.  

In the last two episodes of season two Prudence’s dynamic with her Father reaches its conclusion. When Father Blackwood decides to form his own denomination the Church of Judas. He creates a new set of rules and restrictions Prudence after looking them over states “ These new rules only apply to the witches and not the warlocks” Father Blackwood replies that “Witches should focus on more femmine magics of herbalism and fertility” Prudence asks if the rules also apply to her. Blackwood says as long as she gets the other witches to cooperate she’ll be exempt from the same rules. Offering Prudence special privileges along with the unspoken promise of his affections with a chaste kiss. 

While Prudence does take the bait she also helps Zelda convince Father Blackwood to spare a witch for trying to leave the Church of Judas persuading him i’ll only create a martyr and cause more rebellions in the future. This is usual  for Prudence who was previously fine with the torture and exacution of Ambrose showing a shift in her thinkng. Prudence watching her classmates killed in front of her while refusing to denounce their Dark Lord seems to  have caused her to develop more of an appreciation for the lives of the other coven members beyond those who she considered family. 

  Later  Prudence catches Zelda admitting she does not support the Church of Judas and the other witch warns Prudence her blood won’t protect her from Father Blackwood. Prudence not only dismisses this but retrieves her half baby sister and tells her Father about Zelda’s deception. Zelda takes Prudence hostage and demands that baby Letica be given back to her. Blackwood dismisses her claiming that since he has his full blooded daughter he doesn’t care if Zelda kills Prudence. Which supports Zelda’s claim that Prudences blood won’t protect her. After Zelda is locked up Prudence asks Blackwood “ Father, what are your plans for baby Letica?” as she now feels doubt about his intentions. Blackwood replies he intends to marry her daughter to her own brother Judas. 

Prudence is horrified and frees Zelda from her cell telling her to take her half sister and run. Zelda offers her the chance to join them but Prudence declares she can't leave her sisters or abandon the rest of the coven. Further conveying her found loyalty that of just the family unit.  

Prudence finds Agatha and Dorcus and convinces them to do a spell to end Father Blackwood. They are interrupted by Blackwood who demands Prudence attend him during an audience with the Dark lord. She silently observes as Blackwood expresses disgust at having to bow to Sabrina as queen of hell. Later he tells Prudence to pack. She inquires as to why they should run from the Dark Lord. Blackwood angrily snaps he “ Will never bow down to a spelman whore!”  When Prudence asks him what about the rest of the Coven. Blackwood reveals he poisoned them a communion. Prudence runs out ignoring Blackwoods warning she’ll never see the baby twins again. 

After a vow to kill Father Blackwood she runs to the church teleporting Dorcus and Agatha to the spellman house and telling the Spellman family “ Blackwood poisoned the entire coven!” Pudences sisters and some of the coven members are saved. The last shot of her shows Prudence beheading Father Blackwood which is not only a  literary representation of what she wants to do to him but also a symbolic rejection of him as a leader and Father. 

So what can we take from this? 

 Prudence’s core character trait is her Faith. It's shown that Prudence has faith in Blackwood despite how many times, he’s let her down, she has faith in her adopted sisters shown by how many times she relies on them, she even starts to have faith in Sabrina. 

My reading of Prudences arch is not one of rejecting Faith. Prudences questions are still rooted in religious doctrine even in her last scene with Blackwell “ why are you running from the Dark Lord?” to Prudence, there is no reason to run from the very figure she devoted her life to even if it means bowing to Sabrina this is the ultimate act of religious piety that makes sense for the girl who bathed in buttermilk to make herself a feast. For Prudence no sacrifice is too great.  

Prudence’s arch seems to one of learning to question the leaders of one’s Faith community and whether they have the best interests of those they claim to want to lead. 

The irony is Prudence is heavily implied to be taught the values of faith, family and community by Blackwood, values which he does not share. As show cased by how he uses both his family members and the coven witches and warlocks for his own personal gain and discarding them when it's convenient.  

It's not his rejection and endangerment of her that causes Prudence to move against him but the reveal of his plans of an incestus union between his own children. Even then there are hints she may of gone with him had he not poisoned the coven. Acting in the same vein as the witch hunters Prudence was told to protect the other students from. 

 It's worth noting Prudence is done with him after he proves a danger to the very coven he’s leading because she does value everything, Blackwood doesn’t and as a person of faith Prudence realizes everything about him is a shame.  So she rejects him. That is why Prudence with her morally ambiguous cunning, faith, self sacrifice, intelligence and value of family  is the true Queen of the Feast of  Feasts. 

[statusquoergo]

Credit where credit is due, Gabriel did a nice job directing this episode. He had more screen time that I’m used to from actors pulling double duty, and he seems to have handled the extra workload well.

That’s not to say the episode was flawless. Yeah, by Season 9 standards, it was pretty good overall, but I mean. Season 9 standards.

We start off at home with Louis and Sheila having a terse exchange over tea as I wonder, yet again, why they’re together at all if they’re always so goddamn pissy about everything. Louis bemoans his demotion as Sheila irritably directs him to drink his rooibos and asks him what the big deal is, being that he didn’t even want the job in the first place (true). Louis parries that he only said that because Donna offered it to him the same night he found out about Sheila’s pregnancy (true), but at any other time in his life, he would have taken it (false). On the contrary, you may remember this fairly unambiguous exchange from “Pecking Order” (s08e02) between Doctor Lipschitz and Louis: “As I recall, you accepted Harvey becoming managing partner after Jessica left.” “That’s when I realized I didn’t want to be managing partner.” I suppose I’ve never accused this show of internal consistency before, why bother starting now?

Louis then delightfully compares himself to a ball-less cat and laments that though “the job wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, [he] was getting really good at it,” and excuse me but what? Forget that disastrous hearing that summoned Faye to their doorstep, his most recent acts as managing partner include trying to bully Professor Gerard into letting him be the keynote speaker at Harvard’s Ethic Conference to talk up his failing firm, and going completely off the rails trying to fire the poor IT guy for failing to digitally break into the New York State Bar Association. Louis sucked at being managing partner.

Next up is a reminder that I need to be careful what I wish for as Donna and Harvey discuss his reflexive support of her impassioned but quite incorrect argument against Louis trying to fire Benjamin, and how much she didn’t appreciate it. Turns out it wasn’t so reflexive; he did it because she thought she would like it, which is its own magnificently flawed concept—thinking she’ll get mad at him for disagreeing with her doesn’t say much for his respect for her integrity—but then Donna realizes that he’s afraid she’s going to leave him if he doesn’t unconditionally support her, and you just know the writers thought they were being real clever with this. (Wait, isn’t one of Harvey’s defining character traits his ability to read people? “You read books, I read people” was actually one of the first things he said to Mike in the pilot… Gosh it’s been a long time.)

As I was saying about this show’s internal consistency, two things about this whole exchange: One, all through Season 7, Harvey had no trouble calling Paula out when she was being ridiculous and disagreeing with her about all kinds of shit. Two, as recently as “Everything Changes” (s09e01), Harvey cooed that “[he’s] finally where [he’s] supposed to be” when he’s with Donna, to which Donna replied “We both are,” and like, are they a match made in Heaven right out of the box or what? His trust in their relationship is wildly inconsistent. Unless he wants to forfeit his autonomy for some reason? I don’t know, it’s weird and I don’t like it.

I also take issue with Donna’s dismissive “Oh, my god. Of course. Harvey, I’m not gonna leave you.” This has been an issue for him since forever, as she well knows, but rather than ask him what’s wrong—is he really afraid she’ll leave him over something so small?—or point out that he needs to go to therapy (if she wants to be tactful, she could ask if he wants to “talk to someone” about this), she treats it as an endearing character quirk, and someone needs to save Harvey from all this shit yesterday.

The interruption to this…reconciliation isn’t quite as cringy as the can opener bit from the last episode, but I’ve gotta call it out for being just some truly lazy storytelling. Gretchen appears out of nowhere to tell them they “need to go see Louis,” on account of his demotion, and Donna’s deer-in-headlights response is “Oh, my god. We need to go to him right now.” Yeah, no shit, that’s what Gretchen just said, except this framing affords Harvey the opportunity to mount his noble high horse and declare: “No. You go to him. I need to go see Faye.” Which he does, dramatic music and all, declaring that “dammit, not everybody has to do everything by [her] book,” and I must point out that she demoted Louis for trying to fire the employee who he asked to perform an illegal activity that he failed to perform only because he was caught; in what book is that okay? He then asserts: “You want consequences, I’ll give you consequences,” which is delightfully reminiscent of that old classic, “I’ll give you something to cry about,” in that it makes absolutely no sense, and Harvey, you adorable impetuous dumbass, if your goal is to convince her to leave, I think you might be going about it in a little bit the wrong way.

Roll title crawl! (No seriously, that was all just the cold open.)

Anyway Donna does go to comfort Louis, already treating herself and Harvey as a unit when she assures him that “if [he] ever [needs her] or Harvey during any of this Faye bullshit,” they’re there for him, and dropping the much more interesting detail that she has a much older sister she doesn’t want to talk about who “turned every man she was ever with into an emotional doormat,” which I don’t have time to fic right now but I feel like might explain a lot. Then Alex and Samantha have an endearing little exchange wherein Samantha proposes doing something to help Louis and Alex clarifies that it has to be ethical, and it’s nice to know that at least a couple of people around here aren’t completely insane.

Speaking of things being insane, I won’t fault Gabriel for this because the direction itself is fine, but from a writing perspective, the narrative construct of this next scene is terrible. Harvey shows up at a meeting with Some Guy whose nondescript company is apparently, thanks to his board and the company’s lawyers, being taken over (by someone) against his wishes, and the only hint of context for any of this is that “the people” orchestrating this takeover are “related” to Faye. The obvious conclusion to this exchange is that Harvey is going to help this guy, who is apparently the CEO of this random organization, sue the company by acting as a shareholder rather than a C-level employee, and I still have no idea what the fuck is going on.

Back at the firm where I do kind of know what’s going on, Susan the Associate approaches Katrina with a problem she found in the VersaLife case Katrina’s working, and as soon as they gave her a name in the last episode, I know she was going to be important. More to the point, it looks like Katrina’s got herself an associate! (Remember when senior partners were required to hire their own associates? It was a whole big thing back in Season 1, I think.)

Next up, Louis is having lunch with an old friend, Saul the Judge, who informs him that some other judge is retiring or being fired or something, and offers him a judgeship, and there is so much wrong with this scene that I don’t even know where to begin.

Yes I do. Since when has Louis’s lifelong dream been to be a judge? This is literally the first time he’s ever expressed any interest in it, at all. And another thing, that is not how judicial selection works.

In New York State, judges, depending on the court, are either appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate, nominated by a commission and approved by the governor, chosen at a partisan nominating convention and elected by the voting public, or appointed by the mayor. Qualified individuals can apply to be considered, such as by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee, but there’s no one-and-done offer/acceptance transaction between someone currently on the bench and his lawyer pal, so either this guy is offering Louis a job that doesn’t exist or, more likely, the writers don’t know shit about the New York City legal system.

Moving on. Harvey shoves a recusal form in Faye’s face as he informs her that he “got” a case against her old firm, and he’s “taking it,” as though he didn’t go way out of his way to hunt it down in the first place. He then throws a stupidly juvenile hissy fit, claiming he’ll use whatever he fucking has to to “win,” and prove his system his better than hers, but he won’t have to cross any lines because she de-balled (second reference, just as charming as the first) the guys at her old firm so much that “they’re shaking in their boots” at the mere threat of lawsuit. This whole exchange is basically a showcase of Harvey acting like a spoiled child, and I know he’s a passionate guy but I gotta say, I’m getting tired of this whole act.

Back to that clusterfucking disaster of a judgeship offer, Louis fesses up to Sheila but admits that he doesn’t want to accept the drop in salary with a kid on the way, or leave his friends in the lurch, and she in turn fesses up that she asked Saul to make the offer in the first place because “being a judge has always been [his] dream.” (SINCE WHEN?) Louis is incensed until she tells him that it was basically Saul’s idea, but that if he doesn’t take it now, he’ll never get the change again, which… Why? Well, I guess they haven’t pointlessly manufactured any tension in awhile. Anyway, Louis promises to sleep on it.

Elsewhere, Samantha proposes committing conspiracy to get Faye out of their lives and Alex shuts that shit right away, and I’m actually really enjoying their dynamic right now. Susan asks Katrina what she should do about a smart, funny paralegal she clicks with; Katrina, having “seen that before,” recommends finding a new paralegal, and I’ve never had this question before but is Katrina anti-Machel for some reason? Doesn’t matter. Susan proposes reaching out to opposing counsel, who just so happens to be an old family friend, and Katrina wisely tells her not to, but somewhat less wisely starts and ends her rationale with “Because I know,” which I’m sure won’t motivate Susan to act in any sort of way.

Now, I’m no dream theorist, but luckily this show has all the subtlety of a Liberace action figure, so it’s not too difficult to figure out what Louis’s subconscious mind is trying to say: He wants to humiliate Faye (for demoting him and taking over his firm), he wants to bang Donna (and maybe also Alex), he thinks of Harvey as his peer but also his inferior (who he wants desperately to impress and probably also to fuck), and his confidence is mainly derived from the approval and admiration of others. Also he wants to have sex with basically everyone. Maybe not Gretchen. But everyone else.

Dr. Lipschitz, to whom Louis was evidently relaying the events of this dream, finds the whole thing quite amusing, but points out that if Louis takes the judgeship, he won’t have his friends around him anymore. Double-edged sword and all that.

Part II

[geek-gem]

Rampage 2 Monster Ideas Or Possibilities

Because this is something well I wanted to make a joke at first of how Davis would react in the situation I’ve thought of for a sequel to Rampage 2018. But over time I started to think more. Basically more details, and changes to my ideas. Spoilers from the 2018 film just in case.

Including I wanted to make this list of ideal monsters. Because the video games have a huge roster that a franchise can use for the games. Along with I wanted to write my own twist on them. Considering the direction the movie took with George, Ralph, and Lizzie. If your a fan of the games you might like these ideas. But give me your thoughts on these. Especially I intend to some how Ralph and Lizzie back. Because along with George are the main trio of the franchise.

This isn’t all for one movie. But again I’m just giving out ideas. In fact I decided to study and look into stuff. Mostly about wolves because I’ve thought more in depth about Ralph 2.0. Including looked up some stuff on Crocodiles, but mostly looked up stuff about wolves. Along with I looked on the Rampage wiki on some characters. Again give me your thoughts, this is all fan fiction. Especially it seems weird with the Ralph one.

1. Ralph or humorously called Ralph 2.0 by Harvey Russell. A 7 month old Grey Wolf taken in by the Wolf Watch UK. Named Ralph by a woman who works there after she found him as a pup laying next to his dead mother who was killed by poachers. Ever since then, even being a wild animal he’s looked towards the woman as sort of mother after his died.  

Actually considered a, “Sweetheart” despite his protective nature of the woman. Especially is rather good at protecting itself when aggressive or threatened. After being affected by the same pathogen some how that affected the other animals. Growing in size, and gaining certain abilities. But compared to the original Ralph in 2018, Ralph 2.0 while aggressive, seems to be less violent than the original. Mostly because of being taken care of by humans, and his relationship with the woman who rescued him. Especially he still retains his memories.

But growing in size and other symptoms have caused him to become scared, confused, and angry. Only listening to the woman who saved him, and eventually Davis as well. He’s in a weird way a giant dog. Yet he will become violent and attack who hurts the woman who nurtured him growing up.

Is able to fly like the original Ralph, and use the needles it grew on it’s back. 

Notes: Originally I wanted this new character this woman to be played by Karen Gillian, but decided Emilia Clarke. Especially I want a joke where Harvey calls her the, “Mother Of Wolves”. Including Ralph 2.0 has a relationship to this woman similar to Davis and George. But with the woman even calling Ralph that he’s kind of like her son. Along with this Ralph is supposedly the youngest of the trio. 

2. Lizzie or humorously called Lizzie 2.0 by Harvey Russell as well. Including actually named Lizzie by Davis. A 5 year old American Crocodile that resides in the San Diego Wild Life Sanctuary, that Davis saved as well. While she doesn’t mind Davis at all. She would rather be left alone. While the American Crocodile may not be as aggressive as other species, Lizzie can be aggressive if agitated.

Affected by the pathogen that made it’s way to the sanctuary, she gained similar abilities like the original Lizzie. She’s the biggest of the three, able to breathe underwater, and has the tusks and more teeth. Especially in a similar situation as Ralph 2.0, confused, and some what scared, but angry as well.

Yet still even growing bigger, she still retained that loner behavior. Even though she’ll follow Davis because he’s the only one she can trust. Later during the film while still aggressive, realizes that her help is needed offers to help the other two against a bigger threat. Especially it’s to protect Davis from harm or any monsters threating to hurt him. Including can get very violent as well.

Notes: There’s this theme for the movie while it sounds ridiculous. Considering the situations with Ralph 2.0 and Lizzie 2.0, especially Ralph 2.0. Davis tries to convince George even if they are different species, and they may not get along. But Davis tells him that Ralph and Lizzie are not like the other two he faced. Along with the fact they are in the same situation they were in 2018. With Davis asking George to see them as like a younger brother and sister or friends, that they are part of his troop, his family, to protect them like they were one of his own. Over the film George understands and risks his life for the other two. Following this, the other two especially Ralph do the same.

Including have a cute scene of George petting Ralph 2.0 or something.

3: V.E.R.N. considered an abomination. A monster that absorbs radiation. Originally a uncomplete monster that was mixed with bat DNA and other animals before Claire was killed by George. But it was mainly top secret and but kept close to the Rampage project. Yet it was stolen by some sort of company who’s name when shortened was titled SCUM. They tried to complete it. But realized there was a reason it was never completed. It was too out of control, It couldn’t be controlled. Especially what’s more shocking and twisted.

The surprise came from the fact during the process of discovering what was in the blood of the abomination. Some how Claire Wyden’s blood was in it. The reveal was possibly one of the parts of DNA was human blood, which was Claire herself. As if VERN could of been a clone. But later revealed Claire wanted to make the ultimate weapon she could sell. But the results were too unstable. Which was possibly the reason why Claire didn’t bother continuing with it. Because it would of proved disastrous, worse than what happened with Project Rampage. While Claire was pleased with how that project went. Vern was something else. 

Including the name V.E.R.N. meant “Violently Enraged Radioactive Nemesis”.

A angry and diabolical monster, a creature that’s very feral and seems to enjoy what it’s doing. It’s as VERN if she was a clone of Claire, this would of been her after she had been killed. Angry after everything that happened. Especially Vern actually being intelligent and understanding what humans can say. That human blood was used to make it more smarter, a terrible choice indeed. Learning of the original Claire’s death, realizing they were almost the same.

Vern is the embodiment of animalistic evil. If Claire was even more unleashed in her wrong doing, proud of her work, and willing to kill anyone to get in her way. It was almost like the original Claire came back from the dead but more worse, as a giant monster. Including with her size and power, she’s a challenge for any monster.

Notes: I kind of went too far with Vern. Because Vern didn’t have more personal info. Especially last year I thought of this idea of I would of liked it if Claire had become this Bat like creature like Vern. As if this final boss so she get her ass kicked by George. Honestly Claire’s fate was well deserved. Including I understand why they didn’t take the human turning into the monster direction.

But yeah I took the route that Vern is some how Claire 2.0. But as some sort of monstrous clone mixed with a lot of animal DNA. Including as a callback Vern is female in Total Destruction. I know Claire isn’t a very good villain, or whatever she was an asshole. I guess I wanted to make a more in depth monster.

I wanted to make the, “King Ghidorah” and I thought now, “Black Hat(From Villainous)” of Rampage. Even though Vern didn’t have like this huge role in the games. But I decided to add more depth to the character. You can be critical of me if you want.

4. Myukus, a one eyed alien monster. For many years has been kept at Area 51 for many decades ever since the 1950′s. Been kept asleep and experimented on. Now with his alien superiors returning to invade the Earth. He is released by them. Angered by the American government capturing him, and keeping his on Earth for many decades. He decides to take vengeance on Earth, by destroying everything he possibly can, while aiding the aliens who freed him.

Originally a monster created by the aliens to take over the Earth. But crashing down towards the Earth weakened him and put him into a coma. Including the American government made sure he couldn’t wake up. Which fueled Myukus with rage even more. Now free, he can do what he was made for again, now with his people.

Notes: I still feel I wanna do the aliens storyline first but I liked what I did with Vern. No wait Vern came first but you can do a trilogy with so many monsters and other shit man.

5: Cal, a giant squid, born in the Florida Keys in what was considered the safest reef in the world. Transformed by massive amounts of the pathogen on the Athena-1. At first he was a small squid now, but now he’s a massive and angry squid, able to take down boats, eat people, and doing much more damage. Literally a horror underwater come to life. 

Including to make it worse, he is able to breathe air for an hour. But still needing to breathe underwater. Making him a threat not to be messed with.

Notes: Yes I’m keeping the end with the squid canon because that was amazing.

6: Larry, a large rat. Including funny enough, the same rat Harvey got from Brett Wyden. Some how the rat got into contact with the pathogen, making it grow larger and more aggressive. Especially with more time, larger than the rat on the Athena-1.

But what’s rather strange about Larry, he has a huge fondness for Harvey. Honestly a good thing. After getting the rat back from the solider later. He took care of the rat as his own. Especially Larry is mainly a annoyance rather than dangerous. 

Yet he can still fight as he’s gotten bigger near George’s size.

Notes: It’s not Curtis but found out from Brad Peyton if there was a sequel, he’ll use that name. So I decided to do just that. :)

7: Ruby, a giant lobster, it’s strangely funny in a way. How does something like a lobster that’s very small, get so big? In a similar situation to Cal, tons of the pathogen got in the water, and she got a huge dose of it. Able to snap metal with her claws, and also pretty strong for a creature like her.

She’s a big nasty bugger that gets pissed real easily if angered. 

Notes: I weirdly wanna see a giant mutated lobster, it be amazing looking to me personally.

8: Boris, a giant rhino, originally a Africian Rhinoceros, again affected by the pathogen. Becoming very large and hostile. Yet after being captured by the government and Davis trying to help. He’s gotten less aggressive over time. But still he’ll get pissed if someone attacks him, and he’ll use his giant body and horns to kill any human or monster. Basically a giant batting ram.

Notes: Not much on Boris, I’ll have him more chill when shit is doesn’t need to be done.

I wrote a lot I apologize, but for anyone interested in ideas for a sequels. We can talk and I hope you enjoy reading this. Again and I’m sorry that I keep repeating this, I want a sequel to Rampage 2018, whatever direction they go with, I’ll probably be happy. But again these are ideas because they have a lot of material mainly monsters they can use. Along with the fact the Rampage games aren’t very lore based so they can do what they want or whatever. Just hope it’s an enjoyable movie like the first one too. 

[amandajoyce118]

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season One Easter Eggs And References

I so greatly enjoyed Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, and I’m really interested to see what they do in season two, which is almost done filming. I still maintain that this show is like if Riverdale and Supernatural had a baby. It’s definitely creepy and not for everyone, but I found it fascinating.

I’ve got Easter eggs galore, though I didn’t go through and explain who every comic book character is like I would normally do with a superhero show. And yes, the Netflix series is based on the 2014 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic, which in turn was named after another comic from decades earlier. Sabrina Spellman is an Archie Comics character, but it’s not clear if her show is set in the same universe as Riverdale or not.

There are spoilers here, but as usual, I’ve broken this list down episode by episode for those who want to read while they watch. Enjoy.

S1E01 “Chapter One: October Country”

Opening Credits

The opening credits feature the artwork of Robert Hack. Hack is the artist who actually illustrated The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic book. A lot of his art inspires the look of the show as well.

The Episode Title

October Country gets its name from a collection of stories by Ray Bradbury. They were all considered pretty dark, and the volume mostly reprinted stories included in a different anthology, only adding a few new pieces, king of like this show.

The Very 70s Aesthetic

The show kind of has a weird timewarp thing going on like sister series Riverdale. There’s a lot of cars, furniture, and even clothing that seem to be inspired by the 1970s. That’s likely because Sabrina made her comic book debut in the 70s. It’s a way to give an homage to the original books as well as the newer series the show adapts.

Cerberus Books

Cerberus was a three headed dog who guarded the gate to the underworld in Greek mythology. We’ll discuss him more in a later episode.

Dr. Saperstein

My guess is that someone on staff is a Parks and Rec fan. This is Jean-Ralphio’s surname, and his father, was, in fact, a doctor. Of course, it’s also the name of the doctor in Rosemary’s Baby, so… pick your reference.

Sabrina’s Thermos

You’ll notice some characters on Sabrina’s thermos. Those happen to be a musical group named The Archies. Yep, they’re Archie and the gang from Riverdale, which does make you wonder if the two shows are in the same universe or if one is the fictional version of the other or what.

Sabrina Makes Harvey Forget

She does it with a kiss here, but in the 90s television sitcom, she made him forget she was a witch a lot of times. This made me wonder if she might have to do it a few more times over the course of this series, or if the next time he finds out, it sticks.

Her Parents Were Flying To Italy

This is an awfully interesting destination. Why? Because what’s in Italy? That would be Rome and the Vatican, home of the Catholic Church, which is interesting in and of itself. It’s both a very romantic and a very religious destination for a witch and a mortal to be traveling to. It also happens to be where the first Sabrina The Teenage Witch movie was set, if I remember right.

The Weird Sisters

These three get their nickname from the trio of witches in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. There’s a lot of Shakespeare references throughout the show, but I think that’s really just because writers like their Shakespeare.

Salem

The show’s take on Salem is interesting. In the Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina comic, he was Sabrina’s familiar, but that’s not became he was a goblin. Instead, he was cursed by a witch in Salem to become a cat. He was a mortal man named Samuel who got her pregnant and, because he had nothing to offer her, he didn’t want her to have to marry him. She took offense, Satan ate their kid and she cursed him to become her familiar. When she died in the witch trials, Satan renamed him Salem as a nod to what happened.

The 90s sitcom had Salem as a warlock who was cursed to cat form by the witches council after committing a crime. It seems like Ambrose on house arrest is filling that role this time around.

S1E02 “Chapter Two: The Dark Baptism”

“...a movie star like cousin Montgomery.”

I like the idea that this is a nod to Elizabeth Montgomery, the star of the series Bewitched, which followed a witch named Samantha who married a mortal. Samantha’s evil cousin on the show? Her name was Sabrina.

A Riverdale Mention

So, Riverdale is likely just across the river from Greendale here since we hear the town named.

Black Narcissus

The name of the goat snagged for Sabrina’s baptism is also the name of a 1947 film. There’s actually a ton of classic movie references, posters, etc in the show, just like in Riverdale. I probably won’t point them all out because this would be a list of nothing but movie references.

S1E03 “Chapter Three: The Trial Of Sabrina Spellman

“Conserve water. Plug it up, plug it up…”

This is a sign on the bathroom door in the high school It’s a nod to the horror movie Carrie, which was based on a book by Stephen King. The movie also inspired a musical episode of Riverdale in season two.

Daniel Webster

The lawyer is named after a character in a pretty famous short story about a farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is then defended by a talented lawyer.

Archie’s Madhouse

Another comic from the Archie world of comics. One of its covers is on the wall in Harvey’s room. He’s clearly a fan of many different types of comics.

Ravens VS Bulldogs

We get another nod to the fact that Riverdale exists. About half way into the episode, there’s a kid putting up a flyer for a bowling match between the Baxter High Ravens and the Riverdale High Bulldogs.

Dr. Specter

I just thought it was funny that an eye doctor has this name. It’s not really an Easter egg, just cute.

Side note: Ambrose asks Luke if he’s a vampire. So, I’m going to go with witches aren’t the only supernatural beings the show will eventually introduce. Vampires, werewolves, there is no limit to what I expect now.

S1E04 “Chapter Four: Witch Academy”

Gehenna Station

“Gehenna” is an old biblical term that means hell-like. I kind of think it’s fitting that the school is disguised as an old train station as well since a lot of artists imagine purgatory as a train station. Hell-like purgatory seems like a good training ground for witches.

Nick Scratch

Old Scratch is a common slang, or at least it used to be, for the devil. Here, I think it’s just a nod to the fact that Nick’s a warlock. (Also, Nicholas Scratch was the name of a Marvel villain once upon a time, but that’s a whole different publisher.)

Valac

One of the names seen in a book is that of Valac. I think fans of The Conjuring franchise will recognize it as a demon there. Another movie reference in this episode? The “light as a feather, stiff as a board” chant used by the harrowed kids. That’s courtesy of The Craft.

S1E05 “Chapter Five: Dreams In A Witch House”

Batibat

Her makeup looks pretty reminiscent of The Witches (movie based on a Roald Dahl book), but that’s actually all I’ve got for this episode. Unless we count Sabrina using the children’s string game Jacob’s Ladder as her way to get the spiders’ webs going, but I think that’s just a result of that particular game being a prevalent one in the 90s, and thus, amongst the writers.

S1E06 “Chapter Six: An Exorcism In Greendale”

Harvey As Johnny Depp

Harvey with his headphones on in the #10 tee? That’s am almost exact remake of a shot of Johnny Depp in A Nightmare On Elm Street. (Side note: I kind of feel like this shot should have been in the previous episode, the one that actually focused on nightmares.)

Apophis

Apophys is a death metal group. Apophis is the name of an asteroid, but also a derivation of the name of an Egyptian ruler, as well as an Egyption entity of chaos. Apep was drawn as a giant serpent and was an enemy of “the light.”

The Exorcist Homage

Okay, this episode really just plays as a loving homage to The Exorcist. There are so many shots that echo frames from the film. I’m not going to even attempt to list them all.

The Witches That Came Before

Okay, Sabrina calls on the power of a whole lot of historical figures as she names “witches” during her exorcism. My personal favorites? The goddesses Artemis and Luna, the queen Anne Boleyn, and the mythical first wife of Adam, Lilith. She also calls on Morgan Le Fay of the famous Arthurian legend. She actually appeared in an old Archie comic involving time travel called Jughead’s Time Police. Yeah, even Archie comics got weird back in the day.

Afterlife With Archie

This is the more supernatural version of the Archie comic book universe. Luke actually has a copy of an issue in his hands while he’s in Cerberus. It’s funny because this comic book storyline was created by Sabrina trying to bring Jughead’s dog back to life… we’ll call that foreshadowing for a future episode.

S1E07 “Chapter Seven: Feast of Feasts”

Grandpa Kinkle

TV fans might recognize Grandpa Kinkle as Michael Hogan. He’s been all over genre shows for decades. Most recently though, and where Sabrina’s target audience will know him from, he played a hunter on Teen Wolf. There, he came from a long line of werewolf hunters. Here, he’s from a long line of witch hunters. Coincidence? I have a feeling it’s not.

Ben

Poor, tragic pizza delivery boy. Okay, so the most recent season of Riverdale also featured a character named Ben. Specifically, Ben Button. Ben Button was played by Moses Thiessen. Guess who this Ben is played by? That would also be Moses Thiessen. And, guess what else? They both (spoiler alert for Riverdale fans who haven’t watched yet) died in weird ways. What does this mean? I have no idea.

Side note: The only witches in the coven who don’t seem to partake in the feast are Sabrina, Zelda, Nick, and surprisingly, Prudence. (And Hilda and Ambrose, but they aren’t invited) There’s a part of me that wonders if that will be significant in season two.

S1E08 “Chapter Eight: The Burial”

1693

Above the entrance to the mine, we see that the Kinkle’s took over, or created, the South Line in 1693. I’ll admit, my first thought was, oh, that’s when the Sanderson sisters originally died in Hocus Pocus. It’s also the year that the Salem Witch Trials took place, providing a nod to the history the show pulls from. The Von Kunkles hunted down witches and stole their land while the trials were going on in Salem, which also indirectly led to the hanging of the original Greendale witches. Yikes.

American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares

A comic book published by Vertigo, this happens to land on Harvey’s bedside table. Another vampire reference, eh? I hope we see one eventually.

S1E09 “Chapter Nine: The Returned Man”

Dr. Phibes

He’s named for a Vincent Price character. If you don’t know who Vincent Price was, he was pretty much the face of horror in American cinema for a while. Do yourself a favor and look him up.

Pop Culture Nods

I have no idea why someone who claims to be as dark as Zelda chooses a song from The Sound of Music for the Church of Night’s choir. Your guess is as good as mine. Susie tries to shoplift Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I’ve never read it, but it’s certainly the type of novel Susie, or even a witch in Greendale would be interested in. It follows a poet who changes sex (male to female) and lives for hundreds of years.

S1E10 “Chapter 10: The Witching Hour”

Mr. Loomis

This is likely a nod to the Halloween franchise, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that it was also the last name of Sidney’s boyfriend in Scream, but that was a nod to Halloween in and of itself.

Riverdale

Again, a Riverdale nod. Harvey’s dad had the funeral home in Riverdale take care of Tommy instead of the Spellman’s. But is it in the Riverdale we know on TV? Who knows?

“Let Greendale cast a spell on you…”

This is the town motto on the sign at the edge of town. (I’d like to point out the sign is designed just like the one of CW’s Riverdale, so nice consistency in set design there.) It’s cute, but I’m also wondering how the town got this motto since everyone seems bent on rewriting the towns witchy history.

Cerberus

The owner of Cerberus books? His eyes flash yellow after getting a kiss from Hilda. I’d like to think he’s something canine to go with his name, and perhaps his store stands over an actual gate to hell. Whether he’s a real hellhound or a werewolf, or the show pays off on its vampire nods with him, remains to be seen.

Madame Satan

She reveals her real name. She also reveals she’s Lilith, first wife of Adam. I find it funny that Sabrina actually invoked her during the exorcism.

Comic Book Look

Sabrina gets her comic book accurate hair in the end here. You know, I don’t think she needed it, but it’s a nice nod that there’s been a transformation in her power level.

Bonus Motifs

These things showed up a lot, and I didn’t want to have to write about it every single time.

13

Pop culture has got 13 as being unlucky and associated with magic, so I like that the show embraced it. A witch’s pregnancy lasts 13 months, 13 minutes is just enough time for a soul to leave a body, and 13 hours is how long Sabrina has to wait to see if her resurrection spell worked.

Cain And Abel

These two brothers were the sons of Adam and Eve, for those who know their biblical stories. They represent jealousy and murder, etc. We’ve got Hilda with her Cain pit in the garden, but there’s actually a lot of more subtle references to them. Cain was a farmer (Hilda) and Abel was a shepherd (Zelda, leading the way), for example. There’s a lot of focus on sibling relationships considering the show’s main character is an only child. Harvey and Tommy, Hilda and Zelda, the Weird Sisters, etc.

Suspira

A lot of the set design (windows and ceilings, specifically) are nods to the horror film Suspira. I’ve never seen it, but it got a lot of notice from horror fans on social media, so I figured I should add that here.

Real Spells

According to interviews and set visits, the crew wanted the set to be authentic, so that had practicing witches cast protection spells on the set and used real symbols around the Spellman house. The Spellman house even has a German protection spell carved into the floor.

Jughead

Also according to set visits, one of the shelves in the Baxter High library has a shelf where you can see a crown and “Jughead was here” carved into it. I don’t think it’s actually visible while watching the show though.

So, what did you guys think about the show? Love it? Hate it? Did you spot more Easter eggs?

[onyxtruth]

Pusha T “The Story of Adidon” Lyrics Translated Into English

Dear Aubrey Drake Graham,

I’m not here to talk about my past life of drug dealing and your questionable record of having other people write your rap lyrics.  I just want to have a heart-to-heart talk with you about a subject called pride.  I recognize that you are a multi-millionaire, but even with all of your money & success, you still appear to be unhappy.  I wonder if this is because Bryan Christopher Williams (professionally known as Baby aka Birdman) is probably taking a much larger percentage of your earnings than you would care to admit.  Well, being that I inclined to believe that is the case due to numerous stories from various artists (past & present) on your current label having gone through the same struggles, let’s examine how this came to be shall we.

I’ve sensed for quite some time now that your music has been filled with strong emotions of anger & filled with lies.  I can pinpoint this frustration starting around the time you were featured on DJ Khaled’s song titled I’m On One.  Let’s talk about your father Dennis Graham and his fascination with posting pictures all over the social media app called Instagram flaunting his lifestyle with young women which is only possible due to him being your father.  You mentioned my fiancé Virginia Williams and the fact that I gave her an engagement ring as a sign that I want to marry her.  But yet, your father walked out of your life when you were 5 years old.  What kind of father does that?  I mean it so sad to think that marriage is something that your mother Sandi Graham never experienced.  You claim to be a winner Drake, yet even your own mother appears to stay losing.  How is that possible?  Yet every time I log into Instagram I see pictures of you parading your father around in his cheap looking suits as if Steve Harvey is his tailor despite he’s the man who left you at the age of 5.  Since you are biracial, I’m just going to assume that probably grew up thinking you weren’t black enough correct?  I mean, it’s rather apparent by your inability to grow an afro because your hair probably isn’t nappy enough like a non-mixed black person’s hair typically is.  But never mind that Drake, let’s talk about the woman you claim since you felt it apparent to mention my fiancé name in your recent song about me.

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[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Random SDV Headcanons 2: Electric Junimoo

I’ve been wanting to use that title pun since I wrote the first one of these, sorry not sorry Same story as before: Just a bunch of assorted Stardew Valley headcanons that I thought folks might like!

-Elliott is a fan of poetry, but has trouble writing it; he tends to get too caught up in just one or two over-flowery lines and can't seem to get full poems written out and flowing right. He's envious of Sam's skill with lyrics, and eventually decides to ask him for advice on that kind of writing. -Elliott moved into Pelican Town shortly after Leah did, and the two bonded almost immediately over their similar pursuits and their shared status as "the new guys." In the event they end up a couple, their mutual attraction develops pretty quickly... but it takes them a long time to act on those feelings because they both want to focus on their artistic dreams for the time being and because Leah's still getting over her bad breakup with Kel. -Pierre's "secret stash?" It's several cans of Joja Cola. He and Caroline have effectively banned the drink from the household (mainly because of the rivalry on his end and health concerns on hers), something which Abigail doesn't really mind herself because she's not the biggest fan of soda anyway, but Pierre is secretly crazy about the stuff. It is his great shame, and he knows his wife would be pretty upset if she found out that he's going back on what's partially his own rule. -The wizard M. Rasmodius' first name is Melvin. He doesn't like this name, believing it isn't nearly impressive or mystical enough, so he keeps it a close secret. He would prefer to be called "M. Rasmodius," but few people can remember his last name correctly and he doesn't like it when anyone tries to shorten it, so most people just call him “Wizard” or "The Wizard." -Speaking of which, the wizard, witch and player aren't the only ones in Pelican Town who use magic -- it's just that most people don't typically call up impressive, flashy spells the way Ras and the witch do. For example, the reason Clint is able to make gold tools that are stronger than iron and copper tools is because gold is excellent for holding enchantments, which more than make up for the physically weaker metal when he weaves the magic in right. The reason iridium is so great is because it's even better at holding magic, and a very hard metal to boot! Additionally, Harvey (and potentially whoever rescues you if you pass out in the mines) uses a bit of light magic to speed up the healing process when patching you up from a bad run-in with monsters.

[aion-rsa]

How Saving Private Ryan’s Best Picture Loss Changed the Oscars Forever

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Saving Private Ryan’s loss of the Best Picture Oscar in 1999 still hurts. It’s a sentiment shared by many, and not just because of the disappointment they experienced when Shakespeare in Love took home that night’s top prize. After all, there have been plenty of upsets before and since. Just ask Brokeback Mountain’s producers about Crash, or La La Land’s about Moonlight. If Orson Welles was still alive, the stories he’d surely have to tell about How Green is My Valley.

Yet when it comes to Steven Spielberg’s seminal World War II epic losing to an amusing (if somewhat lightweight) romantic comedy, never before had there been an upset so fundamentally unexpected that it changed the way awards were won; and never before had a generally celebrated studio hit with frontrunner status run into the political machinations of Harvey Weinstein. The Oscars would never be the same.

Released in July 1998, Saving Private Ryan opened during a peak of renewed interest in the generation of Americans who endured the Great Depression and then won World War II, transforming the U.S. into a superpower. Later in the same year as Saving Private Ryan, Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation would popularize the term used by its title to describe their sacrifice. But by the time that was published, Spielberg had already given the idea visual form for younger audiences.

With an intense commitment to realism and authenticity, the director’s use of shaky handheld photography and brutally unsentimental depictions of violence were shocking in 1998. The opening sequence, centered on the D-Day landing, especially evoked documentary filmmaking, creating horror so visceral it would soon change the way war movies were shot. In that specific moment, however, all this suffering made the sacrifice of the film’s heroes—eight American soldiers sent behind enemy lines to bring one paratrooper home—appear Herculean.

The film was a massive blockbuster hit, back when $482 million worldwide was considered massive and blockbusters could be about more than superheroes and space wizards. Going forward there was little doubt in most conventional Oscar watchers’ minds that Spielberg had his second Best Picture Oscar sewn up.

Come Oscar night though, Spielberg picked up the Best Director Oscar (his second after Schindler’s List) while John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love left audiences at home surprised by taking the top award, alongside its wins for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Score… the latter two also at Saving Private Ryan’s expense.

Unto itself Shakespeare in Love is a charming film, essentially a backstage dramedy with literary pedigree. Ostensibly a fictionalized origin story for how the Bard got the idea for Romeo and Juliet, the film inserts insider Hollywood humor into an Elizabethan setting while also offering a lush romance between old Will and his personal Juliet (or Twelfth Night’s Violet, depending on the scene). It can be a sweet movie, but until 1998, it was not the kind of film that won Best Picture. In fact, most of the biggest winners of the ‘90s had been widely popular studio blockbusters: Titanic dubiously beat L.A. Confidential the year before; Braveheart beat Sense and Sensibility in 1996; and the year prior to that saw Forrest Gump defeat the Quentin Tarantino trailblazer, Pulp Fiction.

That latter case of popularity beating indie credibility was perhaps the most important to 1999, since that year’s conventional, feel-good Tom Hanks vehicle not only beat out a critical darling, but it beat a film produced by Miramax Films, a then-speciality arm of Disney which was originally founded (and still run) as an indie distributor by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. You likely know the latter’s name.

Before Harvey Weinstein became the notoriously disgraced figure of our post-#MeToo era—which culminated with his sentence to 23 years in prison after being convicted on one count of sexual assault in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree—he reigned in Hollywood with impunity. And his throne room was the Oscar stage. Unlike other studios, Weinstein’s made the accruement of Oscars the centerpiece of its release strategy, building prestige and attention off award wins, and transforming that into belated box office dollars. The process redefined what an “Oscar Movie” looked like: they generally became smaller budgeted, less seen, and often greenlit with (if not written for) Academy voters’ preconceived tastes in mind.

Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan was the turning point that implemented this sea change.

When the Weinstein-produced comedy first screened for Academy voters in December 1998, the movie was met by a reportedly cool reception, signaling the film would have a small impact on the year’s Oscar race. However, as detailed by Rebecca Keegan and Nicole Sperling’s intricate reporting in Vanity Fair, Weinstein’s pioneering Oscar campaign for that movie would become his “bully masterpiece.”

Prior to Shakespeare in Love’s win, Oscar campaigns were generally a cordial, good old boys affair. There would be industry screenings for Academy voters and the guilds, of course, and promotions in trade newspapers that would provide “For Your Consideration” pullout ads. However, Weinstein more or less invented the relentless months-long Oscar campaign that ends in February, but can begin as early as September.

Previously, promoting a movie for a filmmaker or actor might include appearing on talk shows ahead of the week of release, and doing a weekend of junket interviews. But after Shakespeare in Love, if a film had Oscar prospects it became an almost weekly obligation of appearing at screenings, participating in countless Q&As, and glad-handing at parties with awards voters. In fact, Academy voters got in trouble in ’98 for attending Weinstein’s “Welcome to America” party at New York’s posh Elaine’s restaurant—it was in honor of British Shakespeare in Love director, John Madden.

“It all began with Harvey,” one publicist told Vanity Fair. “I don’t remember ever feeling pressure like that from other studios. He was like, ‘Can you do these radio call-ins all morning?’ He calls the clients directly and guilts them. He really is a beast.”

Former Miramax executive Mark Gill described it as the movie’s release as being only an opening salvo for the publicity requirements placed on actors at the studio. “That was just ‘Good morning,’” said Gill. “You’ve got three months of shaking hands and kissing babies in you.”

Back in 1999, there was of course some resistance to this style of aggressively brazen schmoozing. Chief among the skeptics was Spielberg, the director of Saving Private Ryan and a Hollywood legend who didn’t feel the need to essentially beg for trophies.

“I said [to Steven Spielberg], ‘Listen, this is what’s going on,’” recalled Terry Press, a marketer then working at Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures. “Steven said to me, ‘I do not want to get down in the mud with Harvey.’”

TCM host Ben Mankiewicz also recalled these events when Den of Geek spoke with him several years ago.

Said Mankiewicz, “Spielberg was urged to counter… and Spielberg being a normal, well-adjusted good person who believed in the process [said] ‘No, I’m not going to campaign for my movie. I’ll do promotions for my movie, but I’m not going to try and charm people and send them things so they vote for my movie.’”

Meanwhile Miramax started a whisper campaign saying everything good about Saving Private Ryan occurred within the first 15-20 minutes on the beaches of Normandy, and the rest was sentimental hokum. It worked. Spielberg did not campaign like it’s the Monday before election day, and Weinstein did.

Read more

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Saving Private Ryan: The Real History That Inspired the WW2 Movie

By David Crow

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How the Secret of Saving Private Ryan’s Power Lies in its Portrayal of the Enemy

By Mark Allison

While Weinstein is thankfully gone, the crude lessons learned by Shakespeare in Love’s win over Saving Private Ryan are not. Awards seasons generally begin in early September with the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival acting as unofficial clearinghouses for studios and distributors to showcase their most award-friendly wares. It then continues with each film being released between October and December, mounting months-long rollouts that never really end until Oscar night.

Coupled with corporate studio interests leaning evermore heavily on “four-quadrant” blockbusters that are built on franchises, this system has created an environment where Oscar movies are often little-seen limited releases, and mainstream populist films are more concerned with superpowers than prestige. While the actual type of movies nominated for Best Picture appear to be gradually changing—from more diversity among the winners like Moonlight and Parasite to even superhero movies like Black Panther and Joker now getting nods—the generally accepted wisdom that Oscar movies and popular movies are mutually exclusive remains intact.

In other words, the studios rarely make movies like Saving Private Ryan anymore, and what is making big money is not the type of film to end up on “Best of the Year” lists come December. But even when there are exceptions to the rule, and studios let auteurs make a Dunkirk or a 1917, the filmmakers will still be spending months in what Spielberg once called “the mud.”

“It ranks pretty low in the list of lousy things that Harvey Weinstein did, they’re terrible what Harvey Weinstein did,” Mankiewicz told us. “But it’s on the list.”

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