#i love the subtle touches in a lot of scenes if youre a thief!

[justatypicalwizard]

Late night frustration | Bakugo Katsuki

✦ Bnha characters have their quirks but they are all secret heroes living a doubble-life. Katsuki has a had crush on you but instead of asking you out on a date he's stuck listening to you fangirling over Red Riot. Out of frustration he decided to do something very stupid.

✦ Word count: 2,5k

✦ Warnings: none

Secret hero Dynamite on rampage once again [see video]

Stupid fucking media. They just don’t give a time of the day to check how it all happened. All they see are Mina’s boobs and Eiji’s smile. Bakugo grunted while scrolling through a bunch of shorts featuring yesterday's secret hero action. They all showed the two mentioned earlier in a glorifying light or his, not so subtle, bursting out of the convenience store, glass shattering behind him as he grabs the thief by the collar.

Apart from being a college student Bakugo lives a double-life as a secret hero. How did he get his powers? No one knows, including himself. The same with Mina, Kirishima and Denki. There were a bunch of other people who rolled out on the streets after sunset with masked faces but he didn’t know them all, he didn’t care. It's not like he ever even agreed to the idea, his friends convinced him that they should all use their powers to save the world. Honestly he just saw this as an opportunity to manifest his quirk, otherwise too destructive to play with. Over time he got fed up with what people talked about him, he’s not gonna lie, at some point such an amount of hate would touch anyone. Yet, he didn’t stop, didn’t hide behind a fake personality denying he even has any powers. He got out every second night and did what he’s done for years now.

A bag dropping near his face tore him out of his thoughts bubble. Looking up he spotted your smile as you sat down opposite of him, the well used wooden chair creaked under your ass. There was one more reason why he kept trying all the time. After every night action he waited with gritted teeth for your excited text sending him an awesome video of Dynamite that you just found and fell in love with. He wanted you to fangirl over Dynamite so he could drop by in the middle of the night, take his mask off and tell you that it’s him, he’s the secret hero that you’re in love with. But it never came. You never said a positive word about his alter ego, either being neutral or agreeing with some of the opinions on his brutality and carelessness.

Yet, how could you know better? You were not there last night with the shop owner, an old man too shocked to mumble anything into the microphone after onlookers and reporters flooded the crime scene. You didn’t hear him when he grabbed Bakugo by the sleeve just as he was about to run and thanked him. You didn’t know that the old man was grateful, claiming that the window was nothing, repairing it will cost less than what the thief was about to steal. Of course none of them heard that because Katsuki always gets those compliments off-scene. Noone ever listens to the actual victims, they have a forged history that will match their shitty profiles and online channels.

“Did you see yesterday’s action?” Quite close up actually, princess.

“Mhm.” He mumbled, opening a random book to quickly end the topic.

“There’s a lot of shots of Dynamite breaking that window. I mean, I get that he has a very destructive power but was it really necessary to catch the thief bursting through the glass? Maybe he could run up to him on the streets?” And what would it change? Then he’d blast a car standing on the roadside or a street lamp and they aren’t that cheap either! “Well, at least he got the criminal.” Oh finally, some scarce words of compliment. “But look at that, look, look.”

He nearly grabbed your hand as you started to wave it in front of his face. It was a short featuring Red Riot flexing as he ran to help Bakugo tackle down the thief. It was unnecessary as Bakugo’s explosive hand was already on the criminal's neck which paralysed the guy with fear. Yet, Eiji always wanted to help. He sincerely didn’t do it for attention, he just always wanted to make sure he did the best he could. How can he stand back and watch? It was him who handed the tief to the police. Bakugo already learned that they were not keen on being close to Dynamite so it was always Eiji talking to them. That’s how he stole the whole spotlight of the previous night, he jumped on the already disarmed thief, picked him up and handed him to the police. Simple as that. And yet it had you squeaking and scrolling through more phone-made shots from different angles, all painfully exposing Eiji’s flexing muscles in the scarce suit he wore.

“Red Riot is so hot. I can’t believe he lives somewhere there as a normal person.” Oh he actually lived very close by. Your Red Riot was just a few tables away, chewing on a pencil, sweating over a simple maths equation.

Bakugo was seriously in awe that people didn’t see that bulked form in Kirishima. It was obviously good that his cover never blew but apart from covering his face and hair during actions Kiri was nearly all on display. In the daytime he also didn’t bother covering too much, always wearing a hugging shirt that would show off his tremendous muscles. Guess the mass doesn’t really look for the heroes, they just admire them and later forget that they actually exist as said normal people.

“I would totally fuck Red Riot stupid.”

This was enough. Having someone you love, I mean have a crush on, whatever, talking about fucking a different guy in you very face was too much for Bakugo.

“You know what, I got a text from mom, I need to go.” The blonde stood up, pushing the chair from under his knees with such a force it nearly fell down. He looked at your surprised face as you mumbled a ‘okay’ and that you’d ‘do the assignment they were both due’.

As much as Bakugo wanted to spend time with you, he also couldn’t listen to what you said, a painful feeling aching in his chest.

Later that evening Bakugo found himself sitting on a roof, looking at the city below him. It wasn’t supposed to be a patrol night but he couldn’t sit at home, he had to do something, anything to take his mind off of the earlier talk. Eijiro didn’t even do anything bad but the blonde was furious with him. If he saw that dumb face he’d punch him, which of course he didn’t want to do so he distanced himself for the time being.

A cool breeze grazed his form, sneaking under his masked face. He certainly didn’t like the cold, it made him slower and weaker but autumn was taking over. He saw it in your coat, you picked a new one, a warmer one. You wrapped it around yourself tightly, hiding your chin into the large collar. Oh, you were there, again.

Bakugo leaned over the edge of the roof to see you better. It was past sunset, the yellow light of the street lamps giving your silhouette a golden hue. You were walking down a narrow lane in the middle of the park. You must be heading from some shop as your hands were wrapped around big paper bags.

If not his earlier outburst maybe he could have been next to you. Maybe he’d lie that he doesn’t have anything to do and he can go to the shop with you. You’d spend the evening fooling around in some shopping mall, maybe take out something to eat and he could pretend, just for a second, that you were his girlfriend. Later he’d walk you home and give you a goodbye hug because that’s what friends do. And he would keep you close just a split second longer, so that you don’t notice.

Nothing would come true if he keeps on ditching you for the sake of his own anger. So what if you’re fangirling over Red Riot? You’re not stupid enough to fall in love with the unreachable secret hero. Yet, Bakugo couldn’t shake off the creeping feeling that you could meet Eiji at some point, at a party with your mutual friends and talk to him. You could talk to him a lot, laughing at his shitty jokes, unconsciously brushing his biceps with your hand because of course you’d like him. The redhead is a funny, charming himbo that girls love. If Bakugo would sit down on the couch and watch your interaction for afar then he’s sure that Eiji would put down his hand on the counter behind you, narrowing the space between your bodies. He’d flirt with you jokingly just as he does best up to the point when you both sneak out of the party. Then he’d give you a night you’ll never forget because Bakugo knows damn well what girls say after spending an evening with Kirishima. Maybe Eiji would break it to you that he’s Red Riot and after that he’d never get rid of you. It’s a dream come true. For you. A nightmare for Katsuki.

He actually had to cough because the clench in his chest and the turn in his stomach became unbearable. He felt hurt, as if everything that he just imagined actually happened. As if you were already Eiji's girlfriend. He just wanted you so badly right now that he actually leapt down from the roof down onto the park lane, catching your attention with the small explosions.

Katsuki knew that who you saw approaching you right now was Dynamite. He saw the shock in your eyes as they focused on him but not fear. Good, because he was about to do something very stupid.

Bakugo closed the space between you with a few long strides. He grabbed the puffy collar of your coat and with his other hand slid up his mask, just enough to plant his lips onto yours. Katsuki was not innocent, not even a bit. If he was going to kiss you as Dynamite, so that you never know what actually happened, he was going to do it good.

Your lips were already parted, they never actually closed after seeing the secret hero cross your path. Bakugo used it to his advantage, slipping his tongue inside to taste you, grazing his teeth over your lower lip. He swore you moaned quietly but maybe he just imagined it getting way too horny. You were soft, no matter where he grabbed you. Unfortunately it was the coat, it secured you from his touch and he silently cursed it was late autumn and not summer.

Finally he let go of you and you stumbled a bit backwards. Before you could ask any questions he ran away, leaving you gaping behind him.

Bakugo could already imagine the sexual assault headlines after you tell everyone Dynamite kissed you out of nowhere. Or maybe you would first talk to him about it. Either way his hero name was already stained enough so that one more spot won’t change anything. But he did it, he kissed you, he felt it. Now he can play it over and over in his mind, fixating on your taste. Hope he never forgets. But he also felt guilty. He basically stole it away from you and that’s not how he wanted to have the first kiss with you.

Katsuki wandered the streets for some time before the emotions overflooded him and he found himself heading towards Mina’s crumpled up college flat. He just had to yell at someone, to someone. He’d throw it all on Eiji once more, complaining how his crush fangirls over Red Riot, the same as usual. Mina was well aware of the whole drama.

As quiet as possible he jumped up and up until he reached the  window of her unused room. It was open, as always, and he flew through it, landing on the floor, tearing his mask off.

“Racoon fucking eyes…” He was just about to start when he dropped his mask to the ground.

Instead of Mina he saw someone else, someone he really didn’t want to see now. It was you, standing in the middle of the room, picking something out of the same paper bag you carried earlier. Now that he saw it up close it had a print of a home supplies shop. You looked at him, eyes wide as ever, mouth gaping once again.

You were not stupid so of course he couldn’t make you think it was all a dream but he honestly didn’t have any better idea right now.

“Bakugo?” You asked, standing up and walking to him, your scrutinising eyes scanning his costume. “What the fuck? You’re Dynamite?”

Of course you were quick to connect the dots, who wouldn’t when he saw his best friend fly up the window with the, oh so well known, explosions.

“You’re, but, how? Why?” You looked like you didn’t know what to ask about.

“Okay, shut it, I’ll explain the whole damn hero thing…” The blonde also started to throw words at you with the speed of a machine gun.

“What? Hero? Why did you kiss me an hour ago?”

That’s not what he expected. You were more concerned with the kiss than with him being Dynamite? He didn’t know whether he liked it. It would be way easier to explain his secret hero life than what he did that said hour ago.

“I…” No words came out of his throat as he looked at you, at your face, tense and focused.

“Why did you kiss me Katsuki?”

“Because I’m in love with you okay, fuck it.”

“What?”

“I’m. In. Love. With. You.” He spat out every word. “And after hearing, once again, how you’d fuck Red fucking Riot today I had enough. It’s always Red Riot this and Red Riot that, but no one cares about the fact that it was me who caught the thief. Why don’t you just go and actually fuck Red Riot. Now that you know I’m Dynamite might as well just show you the way to his fucking apartment…”

Bakugo didn’t have the chance to end his rumble because he felt the familiar taste once again. You were pressing him up the windowsill, your small form no match for him. Your lips were planted against his. You broke the kiss before he had the time to react.

“Shut up about Red Riot. I was just joking. Why didn’t you tell me you liked me?”

“What?” It was his turn to ask stupid questions.

“I, uh damn, I also like you, crush you very much. I just didn’t think you liked me back, giving your shitty demeanour all the time.”

It would take him some time to explain the whole situation to you. It would also take some time for you to get used to him being a secret hero, though after you agreed to be his girlfriend you noticed he threw himself in crossfire less during his night actions. Who knows, maybe he’ll even gain a bit in the eye of the public soon. Now he doesn't really care for it any more as the only person he ever wanted to impress is already snuggled up beside him in bed, late in the night.

[crowsister-archive]

My favorite part of the current Fallen Hero: Retribution Alpha

Kyra Kithairon, ex-superhero, current thief with her internal thought process: Oh hey he’s got really fun paintings that’ll probably be worth a lot soon. If he pisses me off, I can steal them!

Herald, current superhero with his internal thought process: fjcjdnsndieneb this is really happening this beautiful haunted woman is in my living space we just had a date and wow she likes the art on my walls she likes my taste okay Danny, you can be smooth you’ve dated women before this is fine you’re fine

[belizedeservesbetter]

Hercules is Bursting At the Seams With Potential

or, It’s Roger Bart’s World and We’re Just Living In It

Short Version: Right now it’s good but not great HOWEVER with some work this could be really spectacular

Long Version:

The production of Hercules presented by Public Works did exactly what it was meant to do. It brought in crowds, put the entirety of the Public Works community (all 200 of them) onstage and showed producers this is a viable project worth pursuing, be it on Broadway, a Disney park/cruise ship or simply available for licensing. 

In all, I liked it. But I didn’t love it, which was a little disappointing to be honest, especially because Hercules is my all time favorite Disney movie. But it is easily (easily!) fixable and could be amazing if they put the work into it.

I’m gonna divide this review/commentary/whatever into three parts:

1. The Good

2. The Bad

3. What I Think They Should Do Moving Forward 

So here we go. And I guess I should say there’s going to be a bunch of spoilers here, but if you’re reading this I’m assuming you’ve seen/loved the movie so you already know the plot. 

1. The Good

Every moment of this show is filled with an extraordinary amount of heart. You can tell everyone involved with this production loves the source material and wants it to soar. You can tell the entire cast is having a blast and loves being there. The material itself is full of heart because that’s exactly how it was written. The leader of Public Works made a speech at the beginning saying how Hercules is about what it means to be a hero and she’s exactly right. That message is the beating heart of the show.

The length of the show was also pretty nice. My problem with a lot of these film adaptations, Disney ones especially, is that they take a relatively short film and fill it with filler songs/moments in order to fill a 2.5 hour show. Frozen suffered from this. It didn’t need to be that long. However, Hercules was only 90 minutes with no intermission! There was little to no filler! The story, while at times a bit clunky in the beginning, doesn’t take any scenic routes to fill time. This kept the plot moving at a mostly good pace and I was never bored or looking at the song list to see how much longer we had left. I could focus completely on the cast and show without feeling like it was dragging on forever.

And the cast was so good too. Krysta Rodriguez has always been a fav of mine and I was thrilled to see her playing this role. She was fun and spunky and was in great voice. If anything, she didn’t have too much to work with. 

Jelani Alladin was FANTASTIC. He was the perfect Hercules. If producers decide to move forward with this show and take it to Broadway, Alladin better stay. He was charming and fun and funny and sang the hell out of “Go the Distance.” But what really impressed me about him was the dramatic moments and how personal and impactful they felt. There’s this great moment when Hercules talks to Zeus and Hera after becoming the hero of Thebes where he breaks down and has his wonderful moment with Phil and that whole scene was so good. He really lets you see Hercules’ insecurities at that moment and the way he was able to be subtle but still project to an outdoor audience of over a thousand was remarkable.

James Monroe Iglehart was great as Phil, as was Jeff Hiller and Nelson Chimilio as Panic and Pain respectively. 

The costumes were really cool (with one glaring exception but we’ll get to that later). I especially enjoyed Hades/the gods costumes, because they looked enough like their movie counterparts while still being unique to the show. The way they did Hades’ makeup was super cool, like they pulled him right into the real world. Likewise, the Muses had some really cool costume changes throughout and they all looked amazing. 

One of the more impressive aspects of the show was the puppetry and special effects, which felt grounded in a more Greek theatre kind of style and I thought it worked very well. The puppetry of the monsters specifically was super cool. The Hydra looked fantastic, as well as the three Titans. This production of course wasn’t given a lot of money, but much like The Lightning Thief, they worked with it. They were in these cool pieces that different actors held and when they came together they looked great. They were bright and bold and drew on older theatre techniques which I liked a lot. The special effects, especially in the latter half, were also good. How they did the Underworld was simple but effective and made a wonderful stage picture, especially the moment when Hercules saves Meg from Hades. How they made his life string turn gold looked really cool as well. 

In terms of musical numbers, what worked best was the songs we all know and love. “Go the Distance” was simply staged, which made the emotion of the song far more effective. “Zero to Hero” was a blast and took all the best parts from the movie and put them on stage. “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)” was divine, just as I expected it to be. “A Star Is Born” was genuinely uplifting and joyous, since they brought out all 200 members of the cast and everyone was so happy to be there and it was the perfect way to end the show. 

There were 5 new songs, and while I wasn’t a fan of most of them, I really really liked “Bolts of Thunder” and thought it was a fun way to musicalize the big fight scenes with the Titans towards the end. The Muses also wore these incredible 90s girl group inspired jumpsuits that were spectacular. 

Speaking of 90s girl group Muses, there were two moments when they heavily channeled this vibe and I wish they did more of it. “Bolts of Thunder” with the jump suits and the reprise of “Gospel Truth” after “One Last Hope” where they wore these late 80s/early 90s workout video outfits. Those moments were artistically bold and really emphasized what worked in the original movie, but I’m gonna talk more about that later in part 3. 

Of course my favorite part of this production was Roger Bart. He stole the entire show. Whenever Hades is on stage he has the best lines and the funniest moments and he just has a way of making every line feel both biting and passive aggressive. He was absolutely incredible and the perfect choice for Hades. This production gave us more Hades than the original movie, but I wanted even more Hades. Bart has always been an actor near and dear to my heart (Young Frankenstein was my jam) and I was so glad to see him onstage again. 

2. The Bad

Unfortunately, a good portion of the show feels clunky, both stylistically and in content. The book was perfectly serviceable, taking a good portion of its lines from the films. But it felt too slow in the first half and too fast in the second, which was also when things got more interesting. For example, there’s a whole song about Hercules not feeling accepted at the Agora and there’s a long scene after that song but later on when Hercules defeats Hades, that takes literally 2 seconds. Likewise, the show over explains certain exposition points (and is not subtle in any way, shape or form) and doesn’t explain other things. Though really there isn’t much exposition at all, as this show assumes you’ve watched the movie dozens of times. 

That doesn’t always work well.

I went with a friend who hadn’t seen it in a while and afterwards he asked about what happened to Meg that made her sign her soul over to Hades. I knew because I’ve seen the movie so many times, but the show kind of brushes right over it. If you’ve never seen the movie before, which will definitely be the case with some people, it might be a little difficult to keep up with. 

Stylistically, this show was all over the place. 

In my opinion, Public Works presented three versions of Hercules:

1. The gospel version

2. The 90s nostalgia version

3. The Greek inspired version

I’m going to go more into this later, but these three versions would have worked if they could have seamlessly blended into each other. As of now, it’s incredibly jarring and distracting and would sometimes take me right out of the show.

For example! Hercules wore a traditional toga. Meg wore this

Yes this is Mal from Disney’s Descendants and yes Meg wore basically this but she had shorter hair and purple heel boots instead of gray. Hercules’ toga and this together looked almost absurd to be honest. 

And side note: Disney has been on a kick recently where they think pants equals feminism? Someone needs to tell Disney that women can wear dresses and still be feminist

Anyways

The choreography was pretty basic, but it’s hard to fault them this when the choreography is meant to be for a crowd of 200 people with ages varying from 5 - 80. There were a lot of step touch and wave moments. There was one really cool dance break in “Zero to Hero” that made me think about how cool some of these big production numbers could be if they got some good dancers in there. 

I wish the Muses were better. They were so low energy during “Gospel Truth,” which made the evening start off on a lower note than it should have. 

The pop culture references were really weird and out of place, mostly because of their specificity. The pop culture references in the movie are purposely vague and more “modern” references than pop culture, which makes the movie timeless. The pop culture references here might date the show in the future. There’s two that stood out specifically, one being when Hercules says “I know the Wobble!” before doing it, the other when Panic starts doing the Hercules Mulligan rap (you know the one) from Hamilton when Hades asks him if he knows Hercules. 

The rest of the new songs weren’t great either, and I’m gonna talk about each of them separately

“To Be Human” - This one definitely felt like a first draft of “Go the Distance.” Interestingly enough, I feel that an edited version of “Proud of Your Boy” from the Alladin musical (also written by Alan Menken) would have worked a lot better. 

“Uniquely Greek Town Square” - bad

“Forget About It” - I’m all for giving Meg more songs, but this was decent at best

“A Cool Day In Hell” - I desperately want Hades to have a solo, but not this. It was cheesy and felt out of place. Roger Bart sold the hell out of it, but of course he did cause he’s Roger Bart and incredible and amazing

“Uniquely Greek Tough Town” - not to be confused with “Uniquely Greek Town Square,” this song didn’t feel uniquely Greek at all and was, well, bad

“To Be Human (Reprise” - fine, I guess. Jelani Alladin made it good but the lyrics weren’t great. They rhymed “fail” with “frail.” 

3. What I Think They Should Do Moving Forward

Like I said before, this show has so much potential! I think it could be so good! This is my favorite Disney movie so I really want it to go to Broadway! If they do, there’s a couple things I think they could benefit from.

The best Disney Theatricals productions draw heavily from the culture/country the story takes place in. The Lion King, which draw heavily from Kenyan culture and reinvents the source material is the best example of this. I think drawing on Greek theatre conventions/styles would work well here, especially if Disney threw some of that good Disney money at it. I’d also like to see them lean into the Greek myth aspect of it a bit more. 

However, what also made the original Hercules movie so fun was its modern flair that felt both timeless and very 90s, which was fun. In this way I think the Muses and all the supernatural characters should draw more on this 90s flair while the mortals draw more on the Greek theatre conventions. I think with incorporating some Greek into the 90s and some 90s into the Greek, this could work really well. During “One Last Hope,” all the ensemble members wore those fun workout video outfits. I think it would have been fun if they wore togas still, but with sweatbands and leg warmers. Something like that to blend them together more. A theatrical beauty blender, if you will. 

In all honesty, I just want something bold and inspired. Give me something interesting! 

The show would also benefit from heavy edits to the newer songs and a good troupe of dancers, but that would of course happen in a possible commercial transfer. 

Lastly, as with just about anything, throw some Disney money at it! Make it shine! 

Normally I’d end this with a “Go see it!” or a “Don’t waste your time on it!” but this run is already sold out and lottery winners have been predetermined. So if you’ve won the lottery and are going, you’re in for a treat! The show is so fun and so enjoyable. I only critique it so heavily because I love the movie so much and have been wanting a musical adaptation for a while now. But I also know it’s Public Works and it’s free and it’s in the park and it’s fun and you can eat ice cream while watching it. If you didn’t win but live in NYC, give the lottery a go! I saw the lottery crowd waiting for winners to be drawn and it was incredibly crowded, so be aware of that. 

Or, if you didn’t win the lottery/don’t win standby lottery, go over to the Belvedere Castle and you can listen in on the show. You’re only seeing their backs, but I saw a bunch of people there watching/listening the whole time! 

[kiraziwrites]

Top 5 quotes/lines from (fan)fiction?

This sort of turned into a rec list by accident? I decided to restrict myself to fic (because otherwise we’d be here for weeks) and to not repeat any particular story/author/fandom more than once (because I could easily choose five lines from any of these), and also to pick non-JxB fics since I talk about the ones I love all the time here. I’m not sure these are even my top lines per se, but they are all ones that have taken up enduring residence in my head, maybe because I’ve read each of these stories several times over. So, in no particular order:

It was an exact fulfillment of expectation, with nothing left over or wanting explanation. A real and living instant, to hold to for ever afterward.

from Anamnesis by linman, an episodic look at the events of Memory from Simon’s POV. Even though Cordelia is my favorite character, I think Memory is Bujold’s best novel, and this is probably my favorite Vorkosigan fic. Simon/Alys, but also Simon/learning to have a full & well-rounded life and everybody in his vicinity applauding that fact. The character voices are note-perfect, the romance is sweet and subtle and fulfilling, and there’s some really lovely prose.

Nightingale has a lot of looks that he saves just for me. He always has. Some of my favorites include you unmannered clod, and focus, for the love of God, and again, please, but correctly this time. There are some other good ones, too, like the look that goes with his quiet, “that’s bloody well done,” or, my personal favorite, the look when he’s just asked me to explain an internet meme and already knows he’s going to regret it.

from Longevity by lightgetsin, a resonant, funny, and occasionally gutting story about family (found and otherwise) and grief and the uneven passage of time. Perfect first-person Peter voice (which is hard!) and a nice Peter/Nightingale romance with both comforting bedsharing AND heartfelt banging. (Lightgetsin also wrote A Temporary Inability to Go Either Up Or Down, one of the best Queen’s Thief fics out there—I’d share my favorite line but it’s such a spoiler—and of course a great deal of epic and famous Vorkosiverse slash.)

George sees it sometimes, the interiors of him, through the pinhole camera of Mycroft’s pupils, blown wide open and close, when they’re in their bed and telegraphing all sorts of secrets. He’s not cold: he’s a barely contained wildfire, the kind of dangerous that’s too cool to flare up and misstep.

&

George knows London not like the back of her hand, but the way people know their homes in the dark — by rote, reflexive, wary of intruders.

from The Least of All Possible Mistakes by rageprufrock. How can I count the ways I love this fic? I will never shut up about it (as is probably clear from the fact that I have not remotely shut up about it here even though I write in another fandom entirely and don’t give a fuck about BBC Sherlock.) I love it so much I had to pick two favorite quotes and that was after narrowing it down from approximately fifteen.

Jack’s face does something like a kite struggling to rise in a sluggish beach wind. It crumples in the centre, looking for a moment to be heading for a crash to break your heart. Then the wind fills it, snatches it taut and brilliant. 

from A Series of Optical Illusions by Fahye. I DON’T EVEN GO HERE (here being the Miss Fisher fandom, although y’all have convinced me to watch it next time I have room for a new series) but I will read just about anything Fahye writes and this is a wonderful Yuletide story that manages to be a casefic and a roaring twenties house party mystery and a marvelously adult love story all at once. Also, features possibly the hottest fingerbang I’ve ever read.

He was talking nonsense again, but this time she didn’t laugh at him, only cried and cried as if she would never leave off weeping, and she’d asked him to come, hadn’t she, much good that he had done her, and surely this was not all for those thirty-two little bits of ivory, but some old woes new wailed with them, and what more could do for her this moment but touch her lightly on her shoulder and let her turn towards him and into his arms.

from That a Lover have his Desire by nineveh_uk. There aren’t very many Wimsey fics to start with, and even fewer that manage to get Sayers’s very tricky style right. This Harriet/Peter collection of missing scenes/flashbacks from the end of Gaudy Night is one of the best.

[the-queen-and-her-soldier]

So I finally caught up on Choices

(at least the books I meant to catch up on)

and I HAVE OPINIONS

First off, current (or soon to be current) god-tier books, in no particular order:

- Desire & Decorum - The Heist: Monaco - The Elementalist - America’s Most Eligible (shh I know, I’m weak for the concept okay)

- First off, Annabelle Parsons is a TOP in all capital letters. You can deny it, you can fight me it, but my girl here has big giant top energy. (I mean, the jealous leg touch during the carriage ride with Hamid? She was born to top us.)

- All the LIs are pretty good, and I’m pleased that Annabelle got a good amount of attention (unlike Mr. Harper, who really got sold short) unlike in CERTAIN OTHER BOOKS THAT SHALL DEFINITELY BE NAMED

- The slow burn in all physical things? GOd, I live for that slow burn. It took us an entire book, sixteen chapters, to be able to kiss our LI on the mouth and I am so here for it. Finally we get the longing-glances-across-the-room, subtle-touches, short-stolen-moments romance we want and deserve (in fact, I’d actually love it if they held off on the sex scene until Book 3)

- i love u Annabelle

- I love that our choices actually have a bit of an effect on how our MC behaves. It does result in my MC being a weird mix of school nerd and occasional dumbass in everything else, but I actually find it terribly charming

- The feel and the atmosphere of the book and the world is smashing! It gives me that same glittery-eyed feeling that Harry Potter used to.

- Bless Shreya, our lady and saviour, our next in the line of bossy female LIs. Not a top top like Annabelle, but definitely a power bottom and I live for it.

- I thought Beckett was okay after his initial jerkitude, but by now I’ve really had enough of him. I get it, I get that he’s most likely the most popular LI and rakes in the most money, but the only way I’ll accept that many diamond scenes for him but no one else is if he turns out to have fucked up (aka is the traitor, though I very much doubt it’s on purpose) and disappears for the rest of Book 1

- Aster is adorable, and I’m glad we finally got some interaction with her, but I don’t feel a real connection between her and MC because how can I after a combined ten minutes of conversation? Step up your game, PB.

- We aren’t very far in yet, but man, this has the potential to become my new favourite book. The heist theme, the MC, our lovely lovely crew? Yes please!

- Our entire crew is just a bunch of lovable weirdos

- Eris is wonderfully ride-or-die, I will protect her with my life (and smooch her on occasion)

- but if Sonia is a proper LI I’m afraid Eris is gonna have to take a backseat because I can’t for the life of me resist the dynamic of MC, our master thief, being hunted relentlessly by Sonia, our former police officer with a personal grudge, while also really wanting to make out with each other. I hope to god PB does a good job on this and doesn’t rush, because I want MC and Sonia to have lots and lots of UST-charged chases and fights before Sonia corners MC in some abandoned warehouse and they end up screwing against a wall

- I chose Tilly as my driver and that means I currently have 3 (!!) female LIs and one male LI. That’s just...there’s so much choice now? I’m not interested in Tilly personally, but still, I have that choice??? That makes me so happy, especially after what’s happening with A Courtesan of Rome

- Did I mention that Sonia is gorgeous and really needs sleep and she looks kinda crazy when shocked or smiling and I love her????

- I know a lot of people were bored with this one and I totally get why, but I’m a sucker for this kind of setting and I’m really looking forward to Book 2

- granted, the biggest reason for that is Jen

- JEN

- JENNIFER ESPINOZA

- the one slow burn PB kinda sorta gave us in this book

- I really liked Mackenzie, she’s a great LI, but I had my heart set on our poor, over-worked producer since I got to kiss her in order to convince Piper to let me into the show

- However, as much as I love her, PB squandered a lot of potential with her. (The explanation of which I’m gonna have to add to a new post because it’s just a bit too long.)

- honourable mention for being the biggest disappointment of the games I’m currently playing

- was really looking forward to the setting and the story of revenge and seducing people before murdering them

- instead the game constantly wants me to shiver and swoon at dudes I have no interest in and pushes Sabina to the side

- and Sabina has yet to really catch my interest (I like her, but what little interaction we get is just...generic, so I hope this will change now that we know she’s the Legate’s wife.)

- I don’t like Xanthe either but at this point I’d take her as a LI, if only to get some action up in this joint

- MC’s family members also honestly leave me completely cold. I have no interest in them, I don’t care what happens to them, I do not want to spend precious game time in their shoes, I’m not interested in what happened back in Gaul, stop making me play as them!

[fangirlasplosian]

Hannibal Rewatch 1x01 “Aperitif”

Hello friends and fannibals.

For some time I’ve been considering doing a rewatch of the NBC Hannibal TV series, especially since I received the complete series on Blu Ray for my birthday six months ago. 

And so I decided I’ll also chronicle my thoughts as once again experience this  program. I do not have a computer that handles blu rays, so I will not be able to provide screencaps. These will not be liveblogs in that I’ll make a new post with every thought/observation. Just one post for each episode that will be my jotting down musings as I watch.

So, without further ado.

Are ya ready, kids? Aye, aye, agent! I can’t hear you! AYE, AYE, AGENT! Oooooohhhhhhh.....

Who lives in Baltimore and does psychiatry? Hannibal Lecter! Sexy and suave and pretentious is he! Hannibal Lecter! If implied cannibalism be something you wish The meat on your plate just may not be fish!

Hey Will, hey

Ah, the ol’ pendulum. Main, great blood stain removal

“This is my design.” HE SAID IT!!! x2 already!

Wait, we don’t get the iconic theme “tune”? Good thing I added one to this post. Haha! Larry Fishburne’s name appears while he’s on screen! I’m a sucker for that.

Rude Jack. Touching his glasses, asking about any mental/personality issues. But then, Jack can be an ass. ....a Jack Ass if you will.

“You make jumps you can’t explain.”

“No no, the evidence explains.”

I’ve been playing too much Ace Attorney lately to not find this funny. Jumps first, evidence later in those games!

He makes the dad leave the room, but I saw him drop the cat. Cat’s staying. Like to see dog boy here herd that cat.

AAAAAAAAAAAH It’s the crime scene triplets! Bev! Jimmy! Brian!

Can’t type. Eating dinner. I do that a lot when I Watch this show.... eat dinner...

Bev! You can’t just ask someone if they’re unstable! What is with the FBI?

Oh boy, here we here we go. Dog-thief Will. Do you ever bother looking for an owner? I know you didn’t. Hi, Winston!

I woke up in the middle of the night sweaty like that just a couple days ago. I know that feel, Will.

“USE THE LADIES’ ROOM!” Classic!

Listen to Alana. Alan Smart. Except for that whole sleeping with Hannibal thing later...that was pretty stupid.

Speaking of Hannibal...This isn’t called “The Will Graham Show!” Give me my Mads!

“He’s... He’s eating them.” THERE’S OUR CUE! And commercial break! Beautiful.

And we immediately come back to Franklyn. Oh my fuck.

I forgot we have dry-look Hannibal in this ep. Weird. And a little stubbly...

Shout out to FREDDIE!

And suddenly Hannibal and Will are talking about taste, and tasty thoughts and SUBTLE.

Jack Crawford, unintentional yenta.

Field Kabuki is what this show is all about, Will!

SWIGGITY SWAG IT’S THE STAG!

Breakfast date! Breakfast date! 

“I don’t find you that interesting.” How DARE you, Will! He made you cannibal breakfast and you hurt his feelings like that!? He also gift-wrapped a crime scene for you. And you’re his little mongoose. Will, you don’t know it, but you’re done. You can try and be tsundere, but it’s all over. 

Well, if you’re gonna be a cannibal, you might as well be courteous. Especially to other cannibals.

Hannibal: We have both had a hand in stopping her bleeding. She is our daughter now, Will. Later at the hospital; Will: Well, fuck, guess we have a daughter now.

Also, I love how much larger Mads’ hands are, much better to stop the bleeding in a slit throat.

And that’s the end of episode one! Time to pause and watch Chopped, then I’ll see if I feel like watching episode two before the night is out.

[voltageaddict]

Maid? (Group KBTBB)(Request)

This was from an anon way waaayy too long ago, dunno if they stil follow me but better late than never right? Tweaking it a little coz...I want to xDDD

Enjoy~

---------------------

Prompt: kbtbb wanting you to wear a maid's costume?

--------------------

“No. Absolutely. NOT.” “But _____________!!! Pleaaaasseeeeee!! I’ll!! I’ll even help you with cleaning for a week, no, a month!” “No! I don’t care what you offer me Baba, my answer is no and that is final.” You stalked into the main lounging space of the penthouse, arms crossed firmly over your chest as a desperate Baba trailed after you. Your frustration had caught the attention of the other bidders, already lounging in the room. 3 pairs of eyebrows shot up, amused the scene unfolding before them as well as curious to see what ridiculous proposal Baba had given you this time.

“Pleaaaaaseeeee!!! Just once! You can take it off straight away! No one even has to know!!” At this, you huffed a frustrated sigh before swivelling around on your heel to lock your eyes with the pleading man now in front of you. “Baba.” “Yeesss???” he chirped, eyes hopeful. “Read. My. Lips.” you seethed, “N. O. What does that spell?” his form visibly deflated as his head tilted to look at the floor. “No...” “Precisely.” After giving him a faint nod, you turned back around to join the bidders, somewhat exhausted from spending the past half an hour trying to make Baba understand that you were absolutely not open to the thought of prancing around in an unreasonably short and skimpy maids’ dress for his entertainment.

Ota was the first to react, chuckling, he walked over and slung his arm around his demotivated friend’s shoulders. By this point, the other 2 had gone back to their business, no longer interested in the trivial trouble the thief might have been causing. “Go on then Baba, what have you done this time to upset Koro?” “I was just-” “Yes?” Ota urged, a smirk playing on his lips. “I just wanted her to try on this maid outfit I bought for her but she just won’t do it! Otaaaa, tell heeerrr!!!” 

As he whined, Baba failed to notice the sudden tension that appeared in the room. Ota’s arm around him stiffened, the smirk on his face frozen. Soryu looked up from cleaning his gun, mouth open slightly as his eyes widened. Eisuke was suddenly a whole lot less interested in his book as he too, inhaled sharply, concentration leaving him. Even Mamoru, who had been asleep on a sofa the whole time, completely uninterested had seemed to stop breathing as heavily as before, not that anyone would be able to tell as he kept his eyes stiffly shut. You, however, had not seemed to notice as 3 pairs of eyes swivelled into your direction. It was only until Ota cleared his voice, having regained his posture that you looked up to see why silence had suddenly settled over you. “...What? W-Why are you all looking at me like that...?” “Well...You know Koro...” Ota started, beginning to edge eerily slowly towards you. “It wouldn’t hurt to try a new fashion style once in a while...” You sat up, suddenly alert. “Where are you going with this Ota...” you spoke, voice like steel as an eyebrow found its way to draw closer to your hairline. “N-Nothing! Nothing at all...I just thought it would be fun...you could even pretend it’s for halloween!” his voice was gradually getting higher and higher as he spoke. You, however, would not be fooled. Narrowing your eyes in his direction, you took a subtle look to the side, realising that Eisuke and Soryu too, had begun to edge closer towards you. Baba could be seen behind Ota’s shoulder, no longer as distraught as he was before, almost as if he had gained some allies. With Ota and Baba in front of you and Eisuke and Soryu on either side, you had nowhere to run. Or did you?

In one smooth movement, you jumped up onto the sofa cushion, settled one hand on the top edge of the back and hauled yourself over the piece of furniture, making a dash for your room. “Soryu! She’s making a run for it!” You were fast but you were nothing compared to Soryu. No sooner had your feet touched the ground were you whisked up into his arms, thrashing about in a desperate attempt to escape. “Soryu! Put me down! Put me down riGHT nOW or I sweAR!” but your threats were empty and he knew it. Letting an amused smirk play on his lips, he set you back onto the sofa before pinning down an arm and a leg as Eisuke grabbed the other. “I can’t believe this Soryu. I can’t believe that you would do this to me! Baba and Ota? Fine. Eisuke? Why am I not surprised. But you?” You had to admit, you felt the urge to applaud yourself at your acting as you watched his eyes begin to waver. Hopeful, you shot him the most pitiful look you could until- “Oh come on kid, just humour them for once.” At Mamoru’s unexpected words your mouth dropped open. “Even you Mamoru?! I can’t believe this. Is no-one here on my side??” Silence. “Ouch.” you spoke, words dripping with sarcasm. “Whatever. You can pin me down all you want but the answer is still no.” Your words were met immediately with whining and complaining and begging from the source of all your trouble and his partner in crime. You were just about to re-iterate how you would definitely not be agreeing to their request this time round when an idea popped into your head. Trying to suppress a devious grin, you feigned irritation. “FINE.” you announced, making all heads turn to you. “What?” “I said, fine.” Almost at once, Baba and Ota’s faces lit up, heck, you could almost see tails wagging behind them as they looked at you in delight. “Really?” “...Yes” “Really Really?!” “Yes! Really, ok?!” They began to celebrate, whoops and cheers filling the air until- “But I have once condition.” You spoke again. “A-A condition...” They asked, heads tilting to the side. “Yes.” “W-What is it...?” “You two,” you stated slowly, using your now freed arm to point to each of them in turn, “have to wear one with me.” They mouths dropped open almost immediately, protests already forming on their tongue but you silenced them before they could speak. “That. Is the only way you will get me to wear your stupid maid costume.” You crossed your arms, expression firm.

“...” “...” “...”

The three uninvolved bidders looked to their comrades in silence, unsure of how to react.

“...” “...” “Well played _______. Well played...” Ota smirked as he too, crossed his arms.  “But we accept! Ha! Bet you didn’t see that coming did you?!” Baba finished, almost triumphant as he stretched a finger out to point at you.  “Thought we’d back out didn’t you? What you seemed to have forgotten is that this beautiful face feels no shame and that anything will be worth seeing you in that made costume!” You hated to admit it but you were a little shocked at their willingness. However, you simply looked back at him, unfazed. “Fine.” Was the last thing you said before you rised from you seat. What they didn’t know however, was that you still had something up your sleeve.

“Ready?” “Ready!” “...Ready...” you let out a loud sigh in order to keep up the act. The three of you had entered three seperate rooms that faced each other with an area in the centre for the other three bidders to wait for you. “We’re coming out then! In 3...” “2...” “1.” You spoke, but instead of heading out straight away, you waited an extra few seconds until you were certain the other two had exited their rooms. The second you stepped out of the room you burst out laughing. Baba’s outfit was a cutesy style maid outfit, decorated with numerous bows and a poofy skirt that was greeted with knee-high stockings. His look was finished off with a large black ribbon that had been tied into a bow at the top of his head. Ota’s outfit however, was a bit more on the sexy side, like yours had been. His skirt was less poofy but ended much higher up his thighs. In contrast to Baba’s poofy white sleeves, Ota’s thin straps revealed much of is toned muscles. His tiny outfit seemed dwarfed by his large build and made you fear that your giggle fit would never cease. You didn’t know if it was the fact that seeing them in such outfits was so amusing, or if it was the disgusted and disturbed reactions the bidders had, or if it was the look on their faces as realisation dawned on them that you loved the most. While you stood there, snapping various pictures of them in their costumes, you waited for them to comment on the fact that you had left your own maid outfit hanging in the room, not even touched. “H-Hey! You tricked us!!” “Naughty Koro! How could you?! That’s not fair!” As soon as they came back to their senses, their protests began. You started laughing harder before making your way out of the room. “Yeah well, life isn’t fair.” letting out a final chuckle, you skipped out of the room, satisfied with the outcome of your scheming.

Bonus: All they could do was gape after you, shocked and in despair. “Eisukeeeee!! Do something!!” “Hey, I helped you out once, don’t expect me to get involved again.” Raising his hands in surrender as he walked out. “Sor-” but he too, had already left. “Wha- M-Mamo?” Mamoru looked into the pleading eyes of the two younger men, unable to take them seriously in their shameless get up. “Sorry guys, but you’ve got to admit. She got you good.” And with that, he also exited, chuckling as he went.

------------------

LMAO. Didn’t proof read, too lazy.

Stay Beautiful~

-Sakura~☆

[ewh111]

Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences: The 2020 Pandemic Version

Happy new year! So happy to finally arrive at 2021! All the best for a much better new year!!

What a year it was. Since March 12, I've spent 98% of my time within the confines of my condo. The good thing is that as a natural introvert, I have not yet gone stir crazy. I get plenty of social interaction via Zoom. And as a type-2 diabetic, I have been especially careful, staying at home, going out only for essential work or errands, like groceries. I'm grateful that my extended family connected more through the pandemic via weekly 90 minute Zoom family check-ins.

After just two months of work from home, I surpassed the longest time I hadn't been on a plane in over 15 years. (In 2019, I took 42 flights--15 of them international; in 2020, just eight, all prior to the first week of Feb.) As someone who typically travels a lot for work, it's strange to be so stationary. But I'm not complaining. Without the daily commute, travel, and regular schedule of evening and weekend events, I've quietly appreciated the ability to get more sleep, find time to exercise, and even lose some weight. As I reflect upon the past year, I choose to look at the silver-lining and see this period as a positive, massive macro re-balancing of my life.

When things do get back to some semblance of normalcy, the ones who will have the most difficulty adjusting will be these two girls, Freddy and Maxie, who have been so spoiled with attention over the past 10 months.

Now onto this year's favorite film experiences.

What a strange year for film. The last time I experienced a communal movie-going experience was at the Sundance Film Festival back in January. Since 2020 will be remembered as the year of an uber-significant election and home confinement, it seems appropriate to begin this year's conversation with these two themes: democracy and geography, aka places we couldn't travel to.

LESSONS IN DEMOCRACY

Boys State

One of most riveting experiences is my favorite film from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. This documentary follows four participants in the Texas edition of the week-long Boys State program. The filmmakers lucked out by selecting four boys whose journeys turned out to have fascinating dramatic arcs during the week. What unfolds is a totally engaging microcosm of the political dynamics in the rising generation of voters in America. Trailer: https://youtu.be/E1Kh_T5ZBIM

Hamilton

What a delightful escape from confinement and inability to see live theater by revisiting the stage musical phenomenon via the viewpoints of multi-cameras. It was a new way to appreciate the words, the music, the choreography, and staging of this remarkable work about Alexander Hamilton and his fellow founding fathers. Trailer: https://youtu.be/6s9sNvkjpI0

What the Constitution Means to Me

Missing live theater? Here's another gem to take in. Fast-paced, funny, deeply personal, and defiant, playwright Heidi Schreck plays herself in a mostly one-person show, revisiting her days as a teenager debating the meaning of the Constitution in dingy American Legion halls, linking her personal family history to our country's founding document. Trailer: https://youtu.be/P2zSRdVanDY

Crip Camp

Incredibly inspiring and engaging documentary about Camp Jened, a Catskills summer camp for teens with disabilities in the 1960s and 70s, which prepared many members to become leaders in the movement that eventually led to the passage of the ADA. An important piece of lesser known history and fight for social change and equity. Trailer: https://youtu.be/XRrIs22plz0

TRAVELING WITHOUT LEAVING THE COUCH

My Octopus Teacher (South Africa)

A truly meditative and surprisingly moving documentary. In a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa, a noted underwater photographer documents his, dare I say "friendship," with an octopus whom he visits every day over the course of a year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/b-lbIJHlmbE

76 Days (China)

New York-based filmmaker Hao Wu worked with two journalists in China who recorded harrowing, fly-on-the-wall footage inside four Wuhan hospitals at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, a clearly risky endeavor unsanctioned by the Chinese government. While this may seem unappealing to watch as we still struggle with the crisis, this apolitical, humanizing, compassionate, and ultimately uplifting film documents and honors the courageous doctors and nurses and their relationships with patients and family members grappling with the unfolding crisis over the course of the full 76 day lock-down in Wuhan. Trailer: https://youtu.be/x_f6-jhbsR4

Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan)

The highest ever grossing LGBTQ film in Taiwan, as well as its most popular domestic film in 2020, this is a sensitive, poignant, slow-burn story of coming out and first love in an all-boys Catholic school in a still socially-repressive Taiwan immediately after the lifting of martial law in 1987. Trailer: https://youtu.be/mzfVBg54BGw

A Sun (Taiwan, again)

Driven driving instructor father + marginalized night-club hairstylist mother + high achieving, golden child # 1 son + disowned black sheep younger son serving time in juvenile prison = unhappy family. This multiple winner of Taiwan's version of the Oscar, A Sun is an intricate, engaging, character-driven family drama full of disappointment, redemption-seeking, and tragic setbacks, but uplifting in the end. Trailer: https://youtu.be/LBogLcE2wNQ

Gunda (Norway)

An unusual viewing experience, I did not expect to be so drawn in and highly moved by this intimate, up-close and personal barnyard portrait. A totally mesmerizing and beautifully filmed, black and white, wordless and scoreless documentary (only ambient farm sounds with no humans in sight)--just a sow named Gunda and her piglets with interludes by a one-legged rooster and herd of cows. And yes, there's a subtle message. Trailer: https://youtu.be/05Gc2lANyTQ

The Painter and the Thief (Norway, again)

An intriguing and fascinating documentary about the strange and complicated story of a female Czech artist, whose two most important paintings are stolen from an Oslo art gallery in broad daylight, and the thief who turns out to be an addiction-addled male nurse who she unexpectedly befriends during the trial. Trailer: https://youtu.be/LKBiKDZSf_c

Mucho Mucho Amor (Puerto Rico)

The story of the iconic fortune-teller with millions of followers in the Spanish-speaking world: the bedazzled and caped, effervescently flamboyant, gender non-confirming, Puerto Rican television astrologer Walter Mercado. Disappearing from the airwaves without a trace in 2007 after decades of daily uplifting telecasts, no one knew what happened or where he had gone. Until these filmmakers tracked him down. Here, they tell his story in this loving portrait of the legend, in time to participate in an exhibition dedicated to his 50 year career at a Miami museum before his death last year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/XEJqiucxyrs

Welcome to Chechnya (Russia)

A gut-wrenching and chilling documentary about courageous activists who help LGBTQ individuals flee the repressive regime of Chechnya where violent, homophobic beatings and executions play out regularly and whose leader denies the existence of gay people in his republic. The doc plays like a menacing thriller with the filmmaker going to great lengths to protect the identities using elaborate digital facial disguises. Trailer: https://youtu.be/GlKkj_aHMXk

Tenet (Russia, the Amalfi Coast, Oslo, the future, and the past, among other places)

This is not an easy film to like. One of the most anticipated on my list of "must sees," but the pandemic delayed my viewing till its recent VOD release. Was it worth the wait? Well, it was almost incomprehensible for the first third. But it is here because I'm still thinking about it long after watching and is high on my list to rewatch. To enjoy on first viewing, you should stop trying to figure it out and just let it wash over you and enjoy the ride--it will eventually make (some) sense. Despite all its complexities, Christopher Nolan's ambitious concept boils down to a simple plot: rich Russian bad guy (Kenneth Branagh) wants to end the world and an unnamed secret agent-type guy known only as the Protagonist (John David Washington) tries to stop him. Oh, and there's reverse entropy. And inverted time. And yeah, there are spectacular scenes with time moving forward and backwards at the same time. Like its title, the film is one giant palindrome. Trailer: https://youtu.be/AZGcmvrTX9M

Apollo 11 (Space)

Watching this documentary is like witnessing Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin's mission unfold before your eyes live, in real time. Put together from previously unreleased, stunningly crisp, and beautiful archival footage and communications audio from NASA, this is a breathtaking experience that captures the awe of the achievement without talking heads or commentary. Trailer: https://youtu.be/tpLrp0SW8yg

HOW TO DEAL WITH DEATH

Soul

This time out, Pixar tackles existential questions, like what it means to be alive and what is the "before life" in this metaphysically jazzy and terrifically "soulful" film featuring a predominantly Black cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/xOsLIiBStEs

Dick Johnson is Dead

One would not expect a filmmaker's decision to document her father's descent into old age and dementia to be such an enjoyable and amusing ride. The result is a uniquely comic and bittersweet approach on how to handle his mortality, including envisioning and staging various ways he might accidentally hasten death. Her inspired choice to embrace the time left with her father in this way is endearing and touching without being sentimental. (And the director happens to be a college classmate: Kirsten Johnson, Brown '87.) Trailer: https://youtu.be/wfTmT6C5DnM

AND THREE MORE

Mank

David Fincher masterfully tells the tale of Herman Mankiewicz, the writer of Citizen Kane. Part social history, part examination of the underbelly of Hollywood's Golden Age, part homage to Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, the film is beautifully and evocatively shot in lush black and white with standout performances by Gary Oldman as Mank, Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies, and a screenplay by Fincher's late father, Jack. Trailer: https://youtu.be/aSfX-nrg-lI

David Byrne's American Utopia

An exhilarating and spirited concert film by Spike Lee who beautifully captures the exuberant grey-suited, bare-footed David Byrne and his similarly wardrobed bandmates on a minimalist stage--a perfect remedy for home-confined and connection-starved human beings during these unusual times. The Byrne-Lee pairing perfectly "makes sense" as you take in the penultimate number, a cover of Janelle Monáe’s "Hell You Talmbout." Trailer: https://youtu.be/lg4hcgtjDPc

Sound of Metal

A character study of self-discovery and emotional truths, Riz Ahmed gives a riveting performance as a heavy metal rock drummer who suddenly loses his hearing. The immersive experience is enhanced with the film's amazing sound design. Trailer: https://youtu.be/VFOrGkAvjAE

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (perhaps the film most representative of the craziness of 2020), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (great performances by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman), The Personal History of David Copperfield, Da 5 Bloods, The Way I See It, The Invisible Man, Trial of the Chicago 7, I Lost My Body, The Life Ahead, Wolfwalkers, The Bee Gees: How Do You Mend A Broken Heart. 

In the Queue

Minari, Nomadland, Bacurau, Small Axe, Beanpole, The Forty Year Old Version. 

2020: THE YEAR OF NON-STOP STREAMING

Honestly, given the lack of traditional theatrical releases, I did spend an inordinate amount of time streaming shows than I normally would. It has made me wonder about the challenges of narrative storytelling in the 90-120 minute format vs. the longer episodic format which is so much more conducive to storytelling and character development.

MY TOP 30-SOME FAVORITE PANDEMIC STREAMING EXPERIENCES 

In descending order of bingey-ness--is that a word?--i.e., inability to stop watching episode after episode. (And occasional commentary...)

Dark (Netflix)--I gave this German series a special shout-out last year (Twin Peaks + Stranger Things + The Wire + time travel), and season 3 finally arrived this summer. So good, I devoured it twice in one week. Complex, mind-bending, and addictively dense storytelling with time travel that makes sense (Tenet, take note) and super satisfying series finish. Ultimately unraveling the intertwined family tree of all the time-traveling characters will make your head spin for days. 

Money Heist (Netflix)--I needed something to replace my addictive need after Dark, and four seasons of this Spanish heist/thriller fit the bill perfectly. Plus, I think the series is rich in lessons on organizational behavior and leadership development/dynamics. Dissertation, anyone?

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)--Not a genre I typically find appealing (superheroes), but I loved the combination of family dysfunction, sibling rivalry, humor, and more time travel. After finishing the two seasons, I really missed the characters and can't wait for next season. And as a JFK assassination buff, I loved that season 2 took place in Dallas,1963.

The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)--Girl survives car crash in which mom dies, grows up to be charming woman who is addicted to alcohol and does chess.

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)--Girl survives car crash in which dad dies, grows up to be charming woman who is addicted to alcohol and serves first class. But not anything like The Queen's Gambit.

The Great* (Hulu)--Wickedly dark comedic period piece (Catherine the Great's 18th century Russia) with colorblind casting where scheming powerful people plot to get out of loveless marriage.

Bridgerton (Netflix)--A light romantic period piece (Regent era England) with colorblind casting where scheming powerful people and debutantes try to get into marriage and maybe find love.

Tiger King (Netflix)

The Crown (Netflix)

Sex Education (Netflix)

The Last Dance (Netflix)

Better Call Saul (Netflix)

Never Have I Ever (Netflix)--Best narrator ever!

Ozark (Netflix)

Watchmen (HBO Max)

Ugly Delicious 2 (Netflix)--David Chang is back with interesting take on food and culture. The classism of steak-eating?

Flavorful Origins (Netflix)

The Great British Baking Show Season 11 (Netflix)

Pen15 (Hulu)

Mrs. America (Hulu)

The Good Place (Netflix)

Ted Lasso (Apple TV)

Alex Rider (Prime)

Love, Victor (Hulu)

Giri/Haji (Netflix)

Ratched (Netflix)

The Undoing (HBO Max)

Lovecraft Country (HBO Max)

Zerozerozero (Prime)

Industry (HBO Max)

The Boys (Prime)

What We Do In the Shadows (Hulu)

We Are Who We Are (HBO Max)

Pose (Netflix)

Normal People (Hulu)

Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)

Middleditch & Schwartz (Netflix)

Schitts Creek (Netflix)--Don't be put off by this comic treasure being so low on the binge scale. The series gets better with each season, and I'm slowly watching it because I know the end is coming, and I don't want it to end.

[starmetal-tales]

A Sun From Another Era - Ch1

Genre(s): Drama, Action Rating: Teen Series: Exalted (Modern)  Description: In a world with the conveniences of every day life, four  strangers rediscover their circle. 

“Lianmin, table seven is ready!”

“Just a moment!”

The young woman smiled to the table she was standing at, picking at her skirt to give a small curtsy before heading towards the counter. An older man was on the other side, looking to be in his forties with a shaved head. He slid Lianmin a small tray with a hot coffee on it, while she handed him a paper with a new order on it in exchange.

Table seven was in the corner of the small indoor cafe known as Taehong Stop. Lianmin had been taken in by the real estate/fast food tycoons when she was young and had been treated as one of their own. They asked for only one thing in return: some help with their businesses. How could she disagree?

“Here you are,” Lianmin said, smiling brightly. Her head cocked slightly to the side, and her long ponytail bobbed in the opposite direction.

The man at the table looked away from his laptop to look her over, his piercing blue eyes looking her up and down in a way that was almost condescending if not for the smile that spread along his face. Wavy auburn locks came down just to the tips of his shoulders, barely touching the dark blue fabric of his three piece suit.

“Thank you, dear.” He reached out and took the coffee from its saucer after Lianmin placed it on the table. This seat was tucked into the very corner, normally for larger groups of people, but the man had no problem taking hold of it for himself. His laptop was tilted as close towards him as possible; not even Lianmin could peek over in a way that was subtle. “You look quite lovely in that uniform, it suits you. My name is Nerren. Business extraordinaire, eligible bachelor.”

Lianmin chuckled politely, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, it’s not really much of a uniform.” She explained. A bright pink v-neck with the words “Taehong Stop” stamped over the front twisted into a square, long white lines on top and around it giving the impression of a house. She wore a black skirt and leggings on her lower half with a pair of white sneakers.

For a moment, her brow creased, blemishing her perfect Retail Expression. Someone’s stealing something, came a voice in her head. It was one that had always been there but she could never quite explain. Some days it was silent, and others it ran like a river, impossible to turn off… but it was never wrong.

Giving a small bow to Nerren, she excused herself quickly and headed back to the counter. He had said something to her- she had seen his lips moving, but in place of the voice it was like being screamed at from underwater, utterly unintelligible. There were bigger problems to tend to.

The door to Taehong Stop pushed open, and a plain looking young man in a bright green turtleneck stepped in. His face was plump, large, thin-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, with a short brown braid behind him. With his slacks and loafers, he looked a lot more like someone’s middle aged dad than a young man.

Him? Lianmin thought to herself, but quickly shook those thoughts away. That man couldn’t hold up a food bank, let alone a crowded restaurant. He got into line, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Unable to help herself, she glanced over his shoulder before going back to her station.

The recipient of the texts was “Morrigan”, she noted, and from the bits of the conversation she was able to scan, his name was “Sad Dawn”. Most of the messages were about coffee and what she wanted, but her replies had been entirely sporadic.

Lianmin pulled him from her radar, looking over each patron and especially the entrance. A couple raised from their table after setting their tip, heading to the door and slipping out while chatting amongst themselves. They were innocent.

The person who came inside after they were gone, however, looked a lot more suspicious.

Whereas the earlier stranger looked soft, the man’s body was tight from exercise. A slightly oversized tanktop was on his body, the words “ROCK ON!” scribbled across it in red text, a black leather jacket open on top of it. His hair looked like it went down to his shoulder blades, but the jacket made it hard to see. Ripped blue jeans and heavy brown boots, everything about him screamed punk, except for one single detail. His ear was pierced, a golden sun decorating the lobe. Lianmin had seen it before at the mall. The second earring in the set was a crescent moon, she remembered, but there was no sign of it.

The dad-looking customer kept messing with his phone, not caring about the man who stood behind him. When it came to his turn, he hardly noticed.

“What can I get for you?”

Sad Dawn didn’t even look up at the question, looking at his phone with pursed lips. He put his phone back into his pocket.

“Sorry, I was hoping my sister would text me back. Could I get, uh…” He hesitated still. The man behind him let out an annoyed sigh.

“If you don’t know what you want then stand aside.” He spoke.

Sad Dawn spun around, his angry expression faltering slightly when he came face-to-face with the owner of that voice. There was a glower across his face, his eyes burning with an anger that almost made Sad Dawn falter.

“I-I know what I want!”

“Well then order!” The other man barked. “Ordering a cup of coffee isn’t too hard for you, is it?”

Sad Dawn grit his teeth, bunching a hand up into a fist. He wouldn’t hit him, it wasn’t in him, especially not when the aura that this delinquent gave off was so intimidating, radiating off of him like fire.

“What did you just say?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

Lianmin darted over towards the pair, pressing a hand on each of their chests to create some space between them. She looked from one man to the other. That voice hadn’t been talking about this stranger, somehow. He was just a troublemaker.

“Break it up, you two!” She shouted. Naturally they had started causing a scene, and her involvement was only pulling more people out of their conversations to watch the brawl that seemed inevitable. Across the room, Lianmin’s eyes met Nerren’s, who was learning over the table with a sly smile, hands folded under his chin. She broke his gaze as quickly as she had met it. “Just place your orders and get out, please.”

There was silence for a few moments before Sad Dawn muttered out an apology, turning around and going to the register. Crescent Lynx narrowed his eyes at her.

“You must have dates coming out of your eyes with all that charisma,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. The man was replying, but again, she couldn’t hear it, and even his lips were moving in slow motion.

Someone’s stealing, they’re here.

“Who?” Lianmin asked.

“Who what?”

It was her troublemaker that replied. She had spoken out loud without even realizing it.

“Uh, whoooo are you? I never got your name.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Crescent Lynx,” he replied, despite his confusion.

The doors to the cafe burst open. A group of four people rushed inside, their clothing nearly identical: a mask to cover their face and hair, a jacket, black sweatpants and sneakers. Three of them held a large knife in one hand, while their presumed leader tightly gripped a handgun. His other hand held onto a pillow case.

“Everyone, down!” The center thief shouted, sweeping his gun from one side of the room to the other before pointing it to the cashier. “Open the register!”

It was only a moment, but it felt like an eternity. Nerren shot up from his seat, Sad Dawn pushed away from the register, and Lianmin and Crescent Lynx broke apart. Everything fell away except for their bodies, until only them and the dark remained. Shining and fighting through the shadows came four symbols. On Crescent Lynx, an empty sun surrounded by glowing rays. Sad Dawn’s forehead radiated with a half-full sun. An empty sun shone from Lianmin. Finally, Nerren’s own sun was empty, with a dot within the center. They were complete strangers, but in that split second they were more familiar with each other than anyone else in their entire lives.

That moment of group resonance passed. When they came back, they were immediately greeted with the sound of shouting. The thieves’ leader spoke up again. “I said get down! You four too!”

They all turned to look at him, but Crescent Lynx was the first to act. Kicking at an empty table nearby, it rose up into the air. He spun around, pressing his boot into it and sending the furniture flying forward. Three bullets sunk into the polished surface as the man shot at it futilely. His group fell away from him, leaving the leader alone to take the brunt of the table’s might and fly back into the door.

Lianmin was behind one of them in the blink of an eye- she had moved even before Crescent Lynx had, but her newfound stealth left her undetectable to the human eye. Like a snake through the grass, she sprung up and grabbed the thief by the wrist and neck, pulling him backwards and twisting at the limb until he dropped his blade. Her leg pushed between the criminal’s and pulled back, forcing him to drop onto his knees before she slammed her fingers full-force down into the crook of his neck. He let out a harsh grunt, sliding down onto the floor as his limbs turned to jelly.

While the thieves to the right had been taken care of, the ones on the restaurant’s left were still active. Their legs shook, clearly scared for their lives but too committed to this plan to wimp out now. Both of them darted between tables, making a beeline for Sad Dawn, who had pressed himself up against the display case of baked goods that Taehong House offered.

Nerren let out a small chuckle. His hands slipped out from behind his back, a glowing purple orb hovering between them. One hand shot out, tossing the lilac sphere forward and hitting a female grunt square in the chest. She let out a shout as the orb exploded, the colored fragments twisting from light into solid black glass, swirling around her in a tornado. She screamed, the edges ripping through her layers and cutting deep into her skin. After a few seconds it finally subsided and she fell to the floor, eyes wide open and unresponsive.

“What the fuck?!” Crescent Lynx shouted, taken back by the display.

“Nerren!” Lianmin shouted, looking from the redhead to the unconscious woman. At least, she hoped that she was just unconscious. Those thoughts melted away when she heard a scream, looking up to see Sad Dawn cornered. “Sad Dawn!”

The pudgy brunette darted to the left to avoid a jab from the knife, and then to the right. He let out a moan of terror, and with inhuman reflexes jumped up into the air as the blade came for his midsection again. Sad Dawn landed on top of the display case, crouched over, astonished with himself. He had never been very athletic, and jumping nearly five feet in the air was unheard of. “What the…?”

He wasn’t given time to dwell on his new-found super powers. That knife was coming at him again, this time for his ankles. He sprung forward, grabbing their head and froggy leaping over his assailant, landing on his feet but losing balance and crashing onto his back. The thief flipped her knife around in her grip, holding it like a wooden stake and aiming to strike him in the heart. There was no sense in it now. Their robbery had already gone so horribly wrong, but maybe this could help satisfy the rage in her heart from seeing her comrades so quickly dispatched.

Looking side to side, Sad Dawn bit his lip in worry. There was nothing close by to fend off the oncoming attack, and fear spread from his core out to his limits. His heart pounded in his ears and his mouth dry. His hands groped around for something, anything to defend himself, but there was nothing to hold on to except for a single napkin--

But that was all he needed.

He slammed his hand on top of it and crumpled it into his grip, pulling it in front of him and ripping it to shreds, hands moving like those of a man possessed. He tore it into long strips, retying it until it stretched about a foot long. Despite its flimsy appearance it was strong like a rope, and before the knife was even in range of him he was wrapping the makeshift binding around her arm, tugging her forward and tossing her over his body with a kick to the stomach.

Lianmin and Crescent Lynx finally came out of their stupor from Nerren’s power, running to her side and grabbing hold of each arm.

“You’re okay, right?” Lianmin asked, watching Sad Dawn push himself up into a sitting position and adjust his glasses.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Man, that scared me half to death…” He worked himself to his feet, dusting off his clothes.

Right on time, the police pushed through the doors of the cafe, two young male officers at the ready, weapons drawn. “Freeze!” They said in unison, but their hardened expressions faltered when they looked upon the complete disaster area of a crime scene.

“Ash! Zaffre!” Lianmin got up and ran to the pair. Her ponytail had fallen out of place from the battle, strands messily sticking to her face and frizzing on the top of her head.

“Lianmin, what… happened?” Zaffre asked, looking over the area.

“Well, there was a robbery. Or at least, they tried one. But we all took care of it.” She answered.

He raised an eyebrow. “We…?” Zaffre looked at the four individuals, then towards the counter. The cashier who had pressed the emergency button had done that and took off. The miniscule number of patrons who were still in the shop had dropped to the floor and under tables when the conflict began, and looked shaken up. No words, but a small ounce of applause in thanks to their heroes. Thankfully, it seemed like they saw nothing.

Ash spoke up behind Zaffre, “I guess we should just cuff these guys and get out of here.”

“Actually.” A new voice came out, another officer entering the cafe. She sounded sweet and concise, long black hair falling straight down her back. A light brush of blush had been applied to her pale skin, and some purple lipstick as well. Around her neck was a choker, a small bell latched to the center of it. “I think we should go to the station. The four of you have much to discuss.”

[bubblline]

so i've recently gotten into haikyuu and your art is so amazing and i 100% ship kuroken because of it. like wow, you really capture their subtle feelings really well. i was wondering if you had any fic recs though? you've dragged me into this hell, please take responsibility.

just so you know THIS IS AMAZING AND I AM NOT SORRY ANON 

thank you so much for your kind words Q-Q, I often feel like my art is not enough? like not expressive enough, or just not nice to look at so that means a lot me

okay I’ve read TONS of excellent kuroken in my days and here are some of my favorites. Also be aware that most of these are longer because I love slowburn and you can’t just have that in 3k words but there are some shorter oneshots around too.

The links are under the cut because I have no chill and there are SO MANY

AND PLEASE READ ALL THE TAGS BEFORE DELVING IN

Let’s start with a Classic: How Kuroo found Kenma by @suggestivescribe.It’s a really funny and cute college-get-together-fic in which Kuroo suddenly realizes he’s been in love with Kenma FOREVER and chaos ensues. Oikawa is also Kuroo’s other best friend in this and idk about you but I love me some Oikuroo friendship. This fic is sort of a prequel to another of Scribe’s iwaoi fics, which is also amazing and Kuroo and Kenma do appear from time to time: Conquering the Great King (but be warned that fic has A LOT of smut)

The first multi-chapter story I read with them isSeasons of Love by @nimbus-cloudThis is set after the current events of canon, Kenma is a third year and Kuroo is off to college, they have to figure out how to deal with a long-distance relationship. It’s very well written and a very sweet discovery of what it means to grow up.(There’s a second part too!!)

And from here on out the fics I’m listing aren’t in any particular order

Chamomile and Carnivorous Plants by @ellessey-writes (M) 10k‘There was no great defining moment, no point in time Kenma can look to and say, That’s what did it. That’s when I fell for Kuroo. He just did somehow.And it’s the worst. For so many reasons.’–Kenma needs to admit a few things to himself, and to Kuroo.and the second part Come a little bit closer (E) 13k

this is seriously DELIGHTFUL I love Kenma coming to terms with his feelings and his futile attempts to not be in love

Dream  Catcher by @shions-heart​ (T) 16,9kTetsurou is an Akumu no Seishin, a Nightmare Spirit. His kind absorb the nightmares of humans, allowing them peaceful sleep. Although Tetsurou has existed for centuries, he’s never truly felt alive.Not until he comes across the first human to ever see him.

really really cool world-building, I also imagined this Kuroo a lot like Howl in his raven form. And I think it’s obvious that I love Sy with all the other fics in this rec…….. 

Thieves in the Night by skittidyne (M) 15,7k“Oh.” The man blinks a couple times, surprised, and looks around at the mess again. “…You live like this?” The amount of raw sympathy in his voice is, frankly, insulting. “Why are you in my bedroom in the middle of the night?”“Oh, I was going to rob you,” the man replies easily. He winces at the mess around him once more. “I, uh, kind of thought you were already hit, and I didn’t want to make things worse for you, y’know?”“Get out.”(( or: kenma gets visited by a stupidly considerate thief, who won’t stop visiting him )).

I’ve laughed so much while reading this it’s 1000% RIDICULOUS but at the same time very sweet and funny. Seeing Kuroo as a catburglar has to be one of the funniest images ever.

Being Human: Origins by @shions-heart (M) 41,7kKuroo Tetsurou is a witch’s apprentice living above The Black Cat, a magic supply store where he also works. When his master leaves him for an assignment in China, and his best friends Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime abandon him for a working vacation on the beach, Kuroo commits the taboo and summons a demon to help him in the shop and help drive back the loneliness that lingers in the shadows.

Only the demon he summons isn’t the type of demon he expects, and he finds himself stuck with it with no idea of how to return it to where it belongs.

I love this universe with its urban magic and Kuroo is just the sweetest in this? He just wants some peace to study?? but boy does he get more than he signed up for

An Ode by manzana (G) 1,7kkenma unironically loves kuroo’s laugh – gross and loud and embarrassing and all.

pure sweetness, I love reading Kenma’s POV and see how he just genuinely loves Kuroo

Step by Step by @dgalerab (M) 14,7kEveryone might think that Kenma is the one that is always following Kuroo, but it’s Kuroo that’s been trying to slip his life into Kenma’s since he can remember. He might get a little scared by the idea of going off to college without Kenma. Kenma handles it.

I love the hc that Kuroo just decided to be Kenma’s friend and then stuck with him, they balance each other so well and I think that comes out in this story

The Start of Something New by @shions-heart​ (T) 5kBefore Kuroo leaves for university, he realizes this may be his last chance to confess his feelings to his best friend, Kenma.Despite his resolve, actually getting the words out proves to be … difficult.

This was my birthday gift this year and I love it to bits, it’s very very cute and Kuroo my love is just so dense it’s glorious.

Common side effects by @notallballs (M) 38k (not complete)Kuroo Tetsurou is pushing thirty, recently single, and just moved back in with his mother. Struggling to reconnect with old friends, losing touch with his goals, Kuroo feels like his life is slipping backward, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

A chance encounter with an old friend might just be the sign he’s been waiting for, if he’s smart enough to make the most of it.

This story is slightly different from what I usually read because it starts off rather dark, Kuroo got dumped, hasn’t seen Kenma in ages and is generally in a bad place mentally but it’s so great to see him slowly pulling through all of that and rekindling his friendship with Kenma. Another bonus is Kuroo’s mom in this story, she’s AMAZING. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

How to Save a Life by @shions-heart (M) 18,4kKuroo Tetsurou’s parents are killed by vampires when he is eight years old. Twelve years later, consumed by rage and hatred for the vampire kind, the hunter still searches for the coven that killed them, vowing justice (or revenge).Kozume Kenma thinks he’d rather die than live as a vampire, but when the newly turned nineteen-year-old’s path crosses Kuroo’s, the hunter spares his life in exchange for his assistance in avenging the hunter’s parents’ death.Tension is a string pulled taut between them, and sooner or later something will snap.

Another thing written for me BUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH OKAY IT HAS VAMPIRES AND ENEMIES TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS. Kuroo is also a lot harsher and meaner than what we usually see of him but that only makes it so much more satifying to read when he finally wakes up.

Teach me the way home by @icespyders (T) 22kDon’t go far off, not even for a day, because —because — I don’t know how to say it: a day is longand I will be waiting for you, as in an empty stationwhen the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.Kuroo and Kenma grow up in transit.

This fic is ethereal, it definitely succeedes in conveying this sort of restlessness that trains have for me, it’s very episodic and I love that about it because it still manages to tell a coherent story and to be a sort of character study. I really really love it.

Best Friends by @mysecretfanmoments​ (E) 6,3kEvery evening they walk home together, Kuro smelling of salt and suntan lotion, Kenma’s hands sore from scooping ice cream all day, and it feels nice. Peaceful.He’s glad Kuro came, after all.((During the two weeks he spends manning his uncle’s ice cream booth on the coast, Kenma decides that maybe he likes his best friend back, after all))

Reading this fic feels a lot like hanging out outside in summer, just enjoying the warmth and comfort of the familiar. I can’t tell you how often I read this fic, dozen of times probably. It just captures their relationship really well I think, I also love the setting around the beach a lot

national hot dad alliance is now calling… by @dicaeopolis and @owlinaminor (T) 58,2kSawamura Daichi: What the fuck.

(Or, the captains’ squad interactions that definitely happen outside of canon, presented in Skype chat form.)This isn’t focused on krkn but it’s hilarious and it definitely made me cry too, it’s mainly in chat format but there are a couple of ‘novel style’ scenes as well, I would say this is also a bit of a character study, the authors managed to tell each of the captain’s stories with so much humor and wit but also seriousness when it was needed

Those are not all the kuroken fics I’ve read of course and I couldn’t list every single one i like but I have an ao3 where i save my bookmarks and add new ones when I stumble over anything good

[ramctheatheist]

5 Filmmaking Tropes of Mahendran

An edited version of this article has been published on Film Companion.

Name : J Mahendran Original name : Alexander Skills : Director, Screenwriter, Film critic Language : Tamil Active Since : 1966 Favourite Genre : Drama Biggest hits : Mullum Malarum (1978), Uthiripookkal (1979), Nenjathai Killathe (1980)

Like Francois Truffaut, Mahendran started out as a film critic. His reviews of Tamil films for magazines like Thuglak were scathing. He went on to write screenplays and dialogues for several hit films, starring Sivaji Ganesan and MG Ramachandran, before making his directorial debut with Mullum Malarum (A Thorn and a Flower, 1978). Mahendran took ample inspiration from literature for his screenplays. 10 out of the 12 films he directed have been adapted from literary works by Tamil writers. Being an avid fan of Satyajit Ray, his films portray villages, cities and characters as they are without romanticizing or passing judgements.

His Best Work

Uthiripookkal (Unstrung Flowers), 1979

Adapted from Sittrannai (Stepmother), written by Pudhumaipithan, Uthiripookkal is the story of Sundaravadivelu, a sadistic manager of a village school and his desire to marry his wife’s sister. The film lures you gently into the rhythms of village life before it unleashes drama, through the actions of Sundaravadivelu to attain his goal. It has one of the most understated yet haunting antagonists of Tamil cinema.

Poottadha Poottukkal (Locks that don’t lock), 1980

Adapted from the short story Uravugal (Relations) by writer Ponneelan, this film focuses on the fissures in a married couple’s relationship when they can’t have a child. The wife falls for a young man, who gives her attention and the drama that unfolds forms the rest of the story. It’s a subtle meditation on how the human mind works in relationships and how the invisible forces of societal expectations weigh down heavily on married men and women.

Mullum Malarum (A Thorn and a Flower), 1978

Mahendran began reading a novel by Umachandran, set it aside halfway through and wrote this film’s screenplay. It’s about a brother and a sister in a village, who’re orphans. The brother, Kaali, works as a winch operator at a power plant. His relationship with his supervisor is strained from the beginning and their skirmishes lead to him losing his left hand. This was one of the first films in which Rajinikanth, who had done negative roles until then, played the protagonist. Mullum Malarum, Johnny (1980) and Kai Kodukkum Kai (1984) are 3 Mahendran films that provide a glimpse of a Rajinikanth devoid of the larger-than-life image that he’s known for today.

Trivia: This film was later remade in Hindi as Pyaari Behna (1985) with Mithun Chakraborty playing Rajini’s role.

5 Filmmaking Tropes of Mahendran

Sharp storytelling

During his days as a critic, Mahendran slammed Tamil movies for being ‘talkies’ rather than cinema. He abhorred melodrama and the monologue. So the first thing that strikes you about his films is his precision with words and images. The words and their understated tone maintain the drama at a realistic pitch. A character might be bursting with anger but in a Mahendran film, all you’ll hear is a single line spoken calmly.

Take for instance, the scene in Uthiripookkal that introduces a couple. The husband is seated at home eating his lunch, while the wife stands nearby. He bites into a pebble while chewing and his face contorts. He glowers at his silent wife and says, “Can’t you be careful while cooking?” The entire bitterness of their relationship is packed into that single line and his contorted face.

Mysskin revealed in an interview with Baradwaj Rangan that he considers the opening shot of his film to be critical. The opening shot dictates the shots that follow. Likewise, Mahendran establishes his film’s theme visually within the first five minutes. The opening title sequences of Nenjathai Killathey (Don’t Pinch My Heart, 1980), show Suhasini jogging through city streets shrouded in mist. The film is about her running to and fro in relationships.

The opening shot of Metti (Toe Ring, 1982), shows two daughters waking up, admiring their mother’s toe ring as she walks towards them. The film is about their yearning to wear the toe ring and how it shackles their lives. In Mullum Malarum, Kaali’s resentment against authority is established within a single minute in this scene. He feels the same resentment later against his superior officer.

Nature & rhythms of life

When asked what kind of literature he liked, this was Mahendran’s reply. “It’s filled with limitless beauty, countless wonders and mysteries that man is yet to decode. It nourishes mankind and all living organisms. Nature is the best literature.” You’ll find his love of nature woven into the fabric of every film he made. In Poottadha Poottukkal, cats purr on a sleepless night as a couple mutely stare at each other. A barber in Johnny lives and sleeps amidst animals and plants. A popular song from Mullum Malarum has a man singing of the breeze that played on a pandan flower and washed over him, its scent creating the illusion of a woman.

Mahendran has a keen eye for observing life and capturing its details with precision. The lines his characters speak sound real. A village woman bargaining with a cloth seller in Uthiripookkal, remarks, “Give us a good price. Don’t try to cover your daughter’s wedding costs by selling us this saree!” A fight in Mullum Malarum that churns up dust, with mediators and silent onlookers takes place without the accompaniment of the typical “dishoom dishoom” of the 80s. And even if it’s an urban setting, he captures its spirit well in films like Nenjathai Killathey.

Ripple architecture

The supporting characters and songs in every Mahendran film echo its main theme. In Uthiripookkal, that explores a man’s sadism and lust, there’s a lunatic, who pesters people to read out a letter from his runaway wife. And an old woman sings a song, during an engagement, with the fond memory of her dead husband. In Poottadha Poottukkal, that plunges into the darker crevices of marriages, almost every other male character ogles at women, including an adopted child who’s a peeping tom. In Nenjathai Killathey, a story about finding love and companionship, he has a comic character in his 40s who’s still single.

Metti, a commentary on the institution of marriage, has a playful song, Kalyanam ennai mudikka (In order to marry me). A woman lays down her conditions for marriage like wanting the groom to play the nadaswaram and the marriage ceremony to take place on a moving train with foreigners chanting hymns! Johnny’s protagonist is a thief for whom stealing is an emotional burden and the release he finds in a singer’s voice is succinctly expressed in this song.

These characters and songs aren’t sprinkled to make the film more interesting. They’re deliberate choices that grow organically out of the film’s theme. He lays out these characters and songs in concentric circles echoing the film’s core, like ripples in water.

Submerged Symbols

On the surface, having Kaali as a winch operator in Mullum Malarum adds a touch of realism. But, looking closely at how Kaali’s relationship with his superior slides steadily downhill, you realise that perhaps the winch is a symbol. There’s a scene that shows Kaali playing uriyadi, the traditional game of hitting a moving target with a stick while people hurl water at him. In a way, that’s a visual summary of Kaali’s life. He grew up as an orphan fighting against the society and taking care of his sister all by himself. He bears a boiling resentment against people in power, since their position is always out of his reach, just like the moving target.

In the splendid climax of Uthiripookkal, it’s only the men of the village who gather and force the antagonist to drown himself in the river. There’s no woman to be seen. The villain is a demon who represents the filth in the hearts of all men and the climax is a call to destroy that demon, so that we can move on as a society and live a better life. Seen this way, Uthiripookkal is a much larger film than simply the tale of a solitary sadist and how he meets his end.

Likewise the toe ring in Metti and a poster in Nenjathai Killathey depicting children dressed up as a couple are symbols that make a bigger point. The good thing about Mahendran’s films is that you can enjoy them without really bothering about these symbols or what they signify. But, when you watch his films closely and look beneath the surface, you’re sure to relish them even more and inch closer to their underlying themes.

Silence

Mahendran loves to begin a scene in the middle of a conversation and linger on the characters during uncomfortable pauses. A classic example is a night panchayat scene from Uthiripookkal. The entire village is gathered to debate the villain’s atrocities. His wife weeps silently and we get closeups of a lot of faces. The only sound you hear is the unconsoled wail of a child in the background.

During an emotional moment in Metti, when a character’s mother dies, she’s seen sitting on the floor and sobbing in an empty space surrounded by flowers. That’s the emptiness left behind after her mother’s body has been carried away. Mani Ratnam, who later became known for such powerfully visual moments, can be seen as carrying forth the torch of silence from Mahendran’s hands.

Mahendran once remarked, “Ilaiyaraja wrote the dialogues for my silent scenes. He should be credited as my co-writer!” It’s exhilarating to study the musical themes that Ilaiyaraja develops for various characters and subplots in each film. In Uthiripookkal, for instance, there’s a theme for the antagonist’s desire for his sister-in-law, a theme for the innocence of his children and a theme for the unspoken desires of his wife. And there’s silence in his songs too. ‘Senorita I love you’ shows a couple play-acting as husband and wife. Later in the film, the girl ditches the guy for someone else. So there was never any love between them. Everything was make-believe, just like their silent mimes.

In conclusion

The great thing about watching Mahendran films is that a specific character, a specific line or a specific visual is bound to stick in your mind and not leave you. You can revisit his films at a later stage in your life and you’ll get new insights. It happens because his films don’t have a planned architecture to achieve an intended effect. They’re complex, organic growths that mirror real life and so each time you enter them, you’ll spot something new that’s sprouted under your feet.

“We must learn cinema from the people around us. It’s important to express naturalism with an aesthetic sense. One doesn’t need to rack one’s brains for aesthetics. If you look through the eyes of people around you, you can acquire an aesthetic sense naturally.” This is Mahendran’s cinema in a nutshell - real characters in their natural habitats, their natural behaviours, their emotions, their interactions, captured through an aesthetic lens that doesn’t judge.

[comicteaparty]

November 29th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on November 29th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Numb by Niina Eveliina Salmelin.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Numb by Niina Eveliina Salmelin~! (http://www.NiinaEveliina.com/numb/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

NiinaEveliina

Hi folks! I'm the author of Numb and actually managed to wake up and join in the chat. Looking forward for the discussion and trying to avoid spilling any spoilers (edited)

RebelVampire

glad to see you could make it~!

i think my favorite scene was perhaps the one in carl and the thief's...mind space for lack of a better phrase for it. i really enjoyed seeing the possession kind of presented as a physical dilemma of sorts and not something that just happened and carl was just gone. but i also liked the entire eeriness of it cause it really opened lots of question doors and set up that intense sense of yup, something definitely is wrong

mathtans

Hiyo, I'm here, though at a moment's notice I'll need to drop everything and help put the little one to bed. ^^ I also only managed to read to the end of Part 5 (so to the end of 2017).

Yeah, some good eerie scenes in general. Rebel, do you mean the bit where Carl was bricking up Carl behind the wall...?

Also, hello to author/artist.

RebelVampire

yes that scene

NiinaEveliina

Hello, glad you could make it!

Ohh the possession sequence was a real joy to do, with figuring out how to do the visuals for it.

mathtans

That was an interesting visual. As for me, three scenes kind of stand out, let's hope I remember these...

I liked the bit near the start when Carl was talking about Amy's imaginary friends. Partly because it made me think of my own daughter (still very wee, granted), and partly because something seemed to be happening in the background, some guy with a hood, and little things like that amuse me. Neat way to make possible exposition less boring.

Second scene that I thought was great, mostly for comedic value, was when Susan was leaving the hospital to have a smoke, and then her cigarette wasn't there - Levi had it. Because of Nikita. Nice sign of things being more than they seemed. Less violent than the vase too, subtle.

RebelVampire

in regards to the first scene i think the event that was going on in the bg was the woman getting possessed by the thief. or at least she looks very similar to the woman who later brings the thief to carl

mathtans

Rebel: Oh wow, good catch.

RebelVampire

i loved nikita's choice of trying to send susan a sign. cause that was hilarious and i wish wed seen what susan was thinking. did she think she was crazy? did she think levi was a weirdo? who knows

nikita is a great trickster though

i loved him freaking out those old ladies with their nasty gossip

NiinaEveliina

Yes, this is correct @RebelVampire. It's that kind of pretty vague hint that readers can spot on their second time. I love putting small things like that in stories

mathtans

I wonder if maybe Susan thought that she'd put the cigarette there, because who else could it have been, and then forgotten.

NiinaEveliina

That cigarette gave Susan hard time, for sure

mathtans

Oh YES, that scene with the ladies going off on that kid, and then just the image of them with their cups upended on them, that was great too.

I'd forgotten that one.

Here's the big one for me though. That scene with Susan at the bottom of the stairs, calling out to Carl. Where the blood underneath her kind of bled (literally?) into the shading of the stairs, and it was just red, and dialled the creepy factor up to 11 for me.

NiinaEveliina

I think it's safe for me to say my favourite part as well? Even though it's really hard to pick, it's gotta be the moment after Thief/Carls attack, where Levi and Nikita meet again. Nikita allows Levi to help him up. and there's a tiny bit of trust formed there, as they walk out the house together. (Also, a big part for me to love that moment was the fact that I was finally able to get Levi out of that hospital bed.)

mathtans

I'm not big on horror, but I'm not so bad with watching it, because usually I can mentally write off supernatural stuff as "not real". So I could appreciate the weird, eerie stuff up to that point, but it didn't make me flinch. But that bit with the stairs - and maybe it's because I kind of saw it coming during the confrontation - that was too real. Too much. Had to walk away from my binge for a few hours there. (I mean this in a good way.)

Niina: That was nice, yes. Levi was kind of at a crossroads there, and it's good that they were able to help each other out, even when Nikita brushed him off.

NiinaEveliina

Gossip grannies always manage to bring out a response out of people @mathtans This kind of stuff is really interesting to hear. I'm glad it was still a good kind of shock for you!

mathtans

Very effective use of colour, and maybe angles and such too.

NiinaEveliina

I'm big fan of horror, so I sometimes have to wonder when I do certain scenes: when it's too much. Hearing this kind of perspective is always good.

RebelVampire

yeah the color work whenever the basement became involved was really great. cause basements are creepy as is, so it was great to see them become as creepy as i expected. lthough i think what really dialed the creepiness up for me in that scene was susan calling out to carl that she thinks shes hurt. because at that point its such a no duh thing that susan's helplessnesss really sinks in. and nothing is more worrisome about the supernatural than the realization you cant do shit about it. Niina: I did enjoy that moment of bonding and understanding. Especially given that Nikita seems kind of stubborn and it was good to see him accept he needed help.

mathtans

One of those "okay, overloaded now" moments. Tough for me to say exactly why.

Rebel: Yeah, the calling out probably helped cement it too, now that you say that. In particular, that she thinks he might help. >.<

NiinaEveliina

I think what makes it horrific, is that Susan and Carl were so close, so there's no way she could have seen it coming. Just a 5 mins ago before thief arrived, Carl was just nagging and worrying about her.

mathtans

Since I don't read a lot of horror, I may not be your target audience either. It's tough for me to say what is or isn't too much there.

Funny thing too btw, I didn't really like Susan. Personal pet peeve about smoking, and she also seemed like something of a killjoy, or one who dishes things out but can't always take it when things turn back towards her novel.

But that death... damn, didn't deserve that. Felt bad.

RebelVampire

its okay math. im not the target audience either, though for the opposite reason. im so numb to it that things that should be scary im just like "seems like a normal tuesday to me." XD

mathtans

(Assuming it's a for sure death - I haven't gotten into the 2018 stuff yet. Maybe she's a ghost now.)

Oooh, title drop by Rebel.

RebelVampire

not even on purpose

missed opportunities

i will spoil it and say its a for sure death minus the ghost issue

which i wanna give props to that

so few stories actually kill someone off

to the point i lived in denial

and was like "nah susan is fine someone will get her help nobody ever dies"

NOPE

mathtans

There is that. Well, that's sad.

Should've died of cancer!

NiinaEveliina

I don't know (about the target audience thing), I find it really hard to put Numb in only horror category and see it more as a mixture of different genres. I'd like to think that all kind of readers will get something out of it. Of course, they have to be able to stomach those extreme scenes as well @mathtans hahaha!

mathtans

Yeah, it's not for sure horror. There's elements of fantasy too.

I'm bad for recognizing genres. Particularly with my own stuff.

RebelVampire

speaking of susan, though, i can see where shed be irritating. but man did carl's nagging about her book feel so relateable because writing is hard and somedays you just want to think nothing about book writing

QUESTION 2. Many of the supernatural events are driven by the appearance of the “thief.” Who or what do you think the thief is? Why is the thief continually transferring bodies? Additionally, what is the thief even running from so desperately? What does this have to do with all the voices, including Tim’s, that Carl hears when he becomes possessed? What do you think the thief’s end goal is? How do you think the thief was able to touch Nikita, and why did the thief seem so sure Nikita was going to hurt it? Also, how are Nikita and the thief connected, if at all? Lastly, do you think Carl will recover from the thief’s possession, or is he forever doomed?

chateaugrief

hello thursday book clubbers! Hi @NiinaEveliina I really enjoyed reading your comic! regarding 'extreme scenes' do you really think that the scenes from numb were extreme? what's everyones opinion on level of blood violence?

mathtans

Also, Levi's apartment and stuff for Susan issues. Though apparently she writes well, according to Nikita.

NiinaEveliina

@mathtans It's fun to see that perspective on Susan! To me her smoking was actually really important. In my childhood most of my family, friends and people around me were heavy smokers. Still they were the ones to tell me hardest "never you start ok" and I actually never have smoked a cig in my life, probably because of those smokey lungs were so much against it, ironically So there's something very nostalgic about her to me.

mathtans

I didn't have an issue with the blood. But it's not really a squick for me, and I wonder if watercolours mutes it a bit?

chateaugrief

I'd agree with mathtans that the abstraction of the art really created a bit of distance for me from the horror elements, muted it a bit perhaps?

mathtans

Niina: That's neat background info! Yeah, my family has some history of asthma and I have an allergy to smoke in particular. So I'm prejudiced against smokers. Nothing personal.

I'm not sure if it distanced me from the horror, just the violence.

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief I'd say the overall themes are pretty heavy and the obvious scenes like throwing Sue down the stairwell and Nikita getting knife'd. From the audience reactions, I'd say those would be the most 'gorey'. @mathtans yeah, all good :)

chateaugrief

good point, there was still major suspense

RebelVampire

id say the scenes in numb were still pretty extreme though, but thats in comparison to contemporary webcomics. and a good majority of "horror" webcomics are actually real mild in comparison. but thats just my opinion and based solely on my reading repitoire, and horror is hard to come by in webcomics in general unless you go looking for it.

mathtans

Regarding the latest question, not quite sure about thief's origins, assuming it's only one person - because I'm pretty sure Tim merged with the thief. Remember how Levi remembered that Tim had changed a bunch before he died? I think there's something to that.

RebelVampire

yeah, im 100% aboard the tim got possessed train

it is the most logical sense

NiinaEveliina

And I gotta say I'm happy that the visuals have been there to distance people from the violence. Because I never wanted Numb to be that kind of shock violence, in-your-face kind of mess. So it was my aim to find balance between the extreme nature of the violence but still keeping it, you know, tasteful.

chateaugrief

that's interesting, @RebelVampire because i've seen a lot of creators tag stuff with the tiniest bit of blood as mature, even in a non-violent context. I didn't think Numb was particularly gory, despite the scenes mentioned. The framing of the shots made them practically happen offscreen...which only heightened that suspense and atmosphere. Was very well done I thought

mathtans

Yeah, some of the framing was pretty well done. Like in the scenes where Carl has the knife.

chateaugrief

yes, those eyes staring out of the blacked out face!

mathtans

So Tim merged with the thief... is he a part of thief now then? Or did he kill himself to try and get away, and is now part of a band of ghosts trying to take thief down? I'm not clear whose side he's on.(edited)

NiinaEveliina

I better keep my mouth shut while the Thief talk, this is very interesting to follow

RebelVampire

nah i wouldnt say it was gory at all, but it was extreme in other ways which is why id still label it as extreme. becuase suspense can do a lot to make mild gore feel extreme. and more the issue with numb is it was realistic. because susan's death was something that could happen to anyone. so gory? definitely not. but extreme in the sense that it would unsettle ppl a lot and probably require a mature tag, yes probably. but again, specification this is compared to contemporary webcomics

if we start including other mediums its super duper mild

NiinaEveliina

@RebelVampire This is very true

mathtans

I mostly just read webcomics for this chat. I don't know what's mainstream.

chateaugrief

i'm such a newbie to webcomics that I probably take my expectations from other mediums. why I'm here, I want to learn.

RebelVampire

no time like the present to get started.

i feel like tim merged with the thief? like i kind of dont feel like you escape the thief once it possesses you

chateaugrief

so @NiinaEveliina how did you decide on the style of art that you chose?

RebelVampire

more likely i think levi mightve killed tim in self defense or something?

so tim is stuck forever

💩💩💩YY 💩💩💩

So I've only gotten to the point where Levi is in the hospital and he claims that there was someone there on the street. 9v9llll And I'm already quaking in mah boots. OH MAN... hides in non-existent sheets

mathtans

Maybe thief is a soul fleeing the grim reaper... except Nikita told Susan to move away from the voices after death, and she'd be fine. So maybe thief is the grim reaper, gone a bit off in the head?

RebelVampire

i kind of get the impression that the thief is an escapee, like the thief escaped a larger entity or escaped death itself. and now its on the run trying to avoid death

cause death sucks

who wants to be dead

nobody

thats who

💩💩💩YY 💩💩💩

This silly bean was not expecting this and now I'm not sure if I have the guts to continue. ; V ; slowly clicks next page

mathtans

Rebel: Oh, maybe. I hadn't considered that (the self defense). Fun fact, it occurred to me that Levi indirectly killed Susan. Because if he hadn't delayed her with his talk about Nikita, she would've left the house to look for Amy, rather than getting locked in by Carl.(edited)

chateaugrief

that was one of the funniest moments when Nikita says 'will you trust me if I tell you that dying is bad and you don't want to be dead'. (edited)

mathtans

Y'know who sucks? Thief. Death seems like the better alternative.

Cuz thief tries to be charming and stuff, then pushes your friends down a flight of stairs.

Going back to chateau's remark, yeah, watercolours is an interesting medium. I think we've only had one other webcomic here that uses them.

chateaugrief

i've seen a lot of webcomics that use digital media that's made to look like watercolor though. It's quite a beautiful look done well!

RebelVampire

man that moment with nikita telling susan about death really sticks to me now that i know susan be dead for real. cause the entire time i was like "this is strange advice for a character who isnt going to die."

and then the death was real

so now im like "great and depressing advice there nikita"

as another thief theory, i think the thief continually is transferring bodies to get rid of the voices of all the souls its kind of absorbed along its travels, but ironically the more it transfers the mroe souls it gathers

a tragic cycle

mathtans

That's a great theory. Snake eating it's own tail sort of thing.

chateaugrief

it did appear to absorb souls didn't it? I just realized that

incidentally, I found that listing the characters for every page was Super Useful for me as a new reader to keep everyone semi-straight in my head. Kudos

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief I decided the artstyle based on what I wanted to learn to do basically. I was terrible with watercolors/colors in general, and knew that if I used those in Numb, I'd HAD to learn them eventually Of course now they play such a big role in the comic, I cant even imagine numb without color anymore. Otherwise the cartoony/mangaish mishmash style was chosen because it allows me to really have fun with character expressions and go wild with them. I also take lot of inspiration from animation, and wanted to give a sense of movement to the characters with my best ability.

mathtans

Related to thief, I wonder what the deal is with the wheat field.

RebelVampire

the wheat field seems related to death in some way? cause it conveniently showed up when susan died

so maybe its the grim reaper?

chateaugrief

@NiinaEveliina thank you so much for choosing color. I have to thank every comic creator who goes the extra mile and uses color. It's hard, but it's so worth it! Really makes the story pop. How could those pages with the blood look half as good in black and white?

RebelVampire

or the bad grim reaper

chateaugrief

grain reaper

mathtans

You win the evening with that comment.

NiinaEveliina

hahaha

Superjustinbros

Hey there!

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief heck yea, color all the way!

Superjustinbros

Hope I'm not too late.

NiinaEveliina

Hi!

Superjustinbros

Hello!

chateaugrief

back on the character styles being a mix of manga and western, I thought that was a very interesting balance, I tend to prefer western style so that's what I saw...but now thinking about it I can see the influence of both. Interesting line to walk!

NiinaEveliina

tbh, all these thief, nikita's advice and the field theories are making my day

Superjustinbros

Manga/western mixes are perhaps one of my favorites so it's always good to see works that adapt to that style~

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief Theres a big blend probably because my childhood influences came from all directions, western, euro and japanese comic were all around from an really early age, so they have fused together in my style I think

chateaugrief

@NiinaEveliina any works that you consider to have particularly inspired you?

mathtans

Maybe when thief started out, they didn't possess people. Hence hanging around in forests as a disembodied voice. Maybe the people thing is more recent.

Maybe it's something Tim did.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Nikita is perhaps the most mysterious individual in the story. How do you think Nikita became a ghost (or whatever you think he is)? How long do you think he’s been that way? What might it have to do with what he told Susan after he found her injured? Why do you think Nikita has been avoiding Levi since the incident at Carl’s house? Is it fear or is Nikita just still mad about Levi’s dealings with everyone? In the comic, we also see some of Nikita’s life. What do you think happened to Nikita’s dad and mom given the medicine both seem to require? Who is Misha, and why did it cause Nikita’s mom to have a temporary meltdown? What do you think happened with Nikita’s relationship with Julia, whether in the past or in the current timeline?

thats an interesting thought that tim did something

maybe tim was the first

started the whole chain

chateaugrief

sounds plausible. I'm not to the part where we see nikita's backstory yet...at least I don't think I was

mathtans

Tim performed a ritual. Bad Tim.

chateaugrief

I was curious as to why Nikita just 'dropped Levi as a friend' after being friendly to him. I didn't understand why he did it. It felt like Nikita overreacted to whatever it was Levi said, and i couldnt' see why.

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief Donald Duck stories from the great Carl Barks and Don Rosa, Bone from Jeff Smith, Battle Angel Alita, Rumiko Takashi's work and Sandman are the first few comics that pop to my mind. The list is endless There's also huge influence from films on numb. Old italian horror films such as Suspiria and the beyond are great examples, especially for the trippy visuals.

mathtans

Here's one thing I wondered about Nikita and his interactions. When he threw the vase, it was like there wasn't a vase in the room. When he spilled the chess pieces, the guy thought he hadn't brought them. Can Nikita actually destroy our reality? Or are our brains that desperate to think of explanations for the stuff he does?

Levi has issues. Don't want them to rub off. ^^

chateaugrief

@NiinaEveliina ah .... some one's I've seen and some I haven't. I'll be sure to check them out

RebelVampire

i think its the latter, that our brains reject the supernatural so hard core we invent whatever seems the most logical to compensate.

cause susan especially seems that type

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief I swear the list changes every time I'm asked, there's just so many :D

RebelVampire

who will pick any reason that does not include the supernatural

mathtans

OH. Just thought of something. Carl could see Nikita. Tim could see things too, and possibly Amy. Maybe thief can only possess people who can see things like Nikita. Might be why he never tried for Susan.

The only way to protect yourself is not to believe.

RebelVampire

i suppose thats possible, although we have an immensely small sample size

and couldnt carl only see nikita after he was possessed?

mathtans

Carl gave Nikita an apple in an early scene.

But yeah, not necessarily enough people to draw conclusions.

RebelVampire

i dont remember this. i remember carl giving an apple to the lady that was possessed by the thief

mathtans

Oh, was it the lady? Maybe I got crossed up. It was the first time we saw Nikita, outside the hospital?

RebelVampire

http://www.NiinaEveliina.com/numb/comic/chapter-1-25-2/

mathtans

Ah, you're right, wires got crossed. We saw that apple later, and it was kind of rotten, so that makes sense too.

RebelVampire

on a side note, i enjoyed thief!carl punching nikita. cause the look on nikita's face was priceless. not that i cheer for his pain, but man was that a great expression because he didnt expect it at all

mathtans

True that.

I wonder if being in the proximity of death made him visible and corporeal to everyone. That's why Susan could see him.

RebelVampire

i think more likely the thief was special and susan was the one whose dyingness made her able to see him

since the topic of nikita and levi's relationship was brought up, i feel like nikita is just slow to trust and i feel like hes been a ghost long enough that hes not as used to having to tell ppl where hes going and such

chateaugrief

speaking of punching Nikita...he was a ghost right? do ghosts bleed? perhaps the punch made him non spectral?

punched straight out of the afterlife.

RebelVampire

i feel like it did make him non spectral

although im really curious about whether or not he couldve actually died again

mathtans

Maybe Nikita's having issues as a ghost, because he can't take his meds any more. Gets harder and harder to talk to people.

I feel like it might've been worse than death. Even after the wounds "healed", Nikita said it still hurt.

chateaugrief

only thing creepier than a ghost is a ghost obsessively swallowing adhd meds

NiinaEveliina

punched straight out of the afterlife... just to get stabbed. No wonder he's salty(edited)

mathtans

"One Punch Carl".

chateaugrief

Carl was the boss. I liked his character. Susan was a bit hard on him, seemed to see criticism from him at every turn, but I felt like it was genuine concern coming from him.

I could be confusing Susan with the other girl....

RebelVampire

i see both sides of the carl susan relationship. cause im sure his concern was genuine, but at the same time i also understand how concern eventually becomes nagging

ya know who really got the short end of the stick in all this story though?

amy

amy basically has little to no agency

and all this bad shit keeps happening

and everyone is lying to her

mathtans

I do shake my head at the one Carl scene. Where his daughter, who's already established as someone who maybe skips classes, talks about going into the woods. And Carl's like, "yeah, don't do that, okay go out to the bus now". Like, maybe watch her board the bus? What did you have to do that was so important?

RebelVampire

about whats going on

chateaugrief

yes that was the other girl! couldn't remember her name she had so little agency

mathtans

Yeah, Amy's imaginary friends even gave themselves up for her.

chateaugrief

poor girl, she was trying

mathtans

I'm really bad with names, usually. Not sure why I haven't tripped up yet. Maybe it's the reasonably sized cast?

Or the tags.

chateaugrief

I really liked the tags

but I only discovered they were there at about chapter 3

it really cleared up the characters a bit for me, but i'm kinda fuzzy on some of them

RebelVampire

math you havent even gotten to the sadder part with the imaginary friends XD

that broke my heart a bit for them

cause tbf they probably arent imaginary

mathtans

Oh noes. O.o

I wondered about that.

RebelVampire

but that is debateable tbf

i dont think theyre imaginary though

mathtans

Okay, we haven't had enough crazy theories yet. So, Nikita's dad is really also Tim's dad. They're half brothers. Boom!

RebelVampire

cuse if they are amy is super creative and has way better designed imaginary friends then i ever did

chateaugrief

......O.O.......

mathtans

tbf I think Amy is super creative. She was trying to do drawings and stuff. (Though she may be creative but not have art skill.)

chateaugrief

and she was very young, she was definitely trying. She's not dead yet is she? plenty of room for character development

mathtans

Also, she's adopted. Boom! shrugs

RebelVampire

amy definitely isnt dead

yet

QUESTION 4. Levi has his own mysteries and problems going on, past and present. What do you think happened between him, Susan, and Tim given certain flashbacks we’ve seen? What do you think Levi and Tim saw that day in the woods, and why were only Levi and Tim able to see it? Why did Levi lie to dream Susan about not seeing Tim sometimes in his dreams? In other words, what is Levi emotionally avoiding? Do you think that Levi will be able to get over what happened at Carl’s house? Also, do you believe that he will be able to help Amy? What about Kiwi who seems to have known Nikita and who is now Amy’s roommate? Finally, do you believe Levi is safe from the thief, or are the two destined to encounter each other again?

chateaugrief

Nyarlathotep

is the dad

mathtans

Levi and Tim seemed to see an opening, if memory serves?

Also, Levi seems to have trust issues. Like, he doesn't seem to think anyone will believe him. Including himself, maybe.

RebelVampire

i think levi is more afraid of being alone and ostracized

that is the impression i get from him

which is why he does what he must to fit in with the club

mathtans

Actually, Tim was always Levi's imaginary friend. Levi believed so hard that Susan could see Tim too.

Yeah, he doesn't want to be alone, I can see that.

RebelVampire

im still gonna go with the levi hurt tim in self defense when tim went psycho possessed. and that in turn tore the group apart cause nobody wanted to talk about what happened.

that would be an amazing twist for tim

mathtans

What if Levi actually was the first one possessed by thief. And it ended up going to Tim. And that's why Levi has abandonment issues.

I can't tell if I'm doing crazy theories or normal ones.

RebelVampire

i think that one still qualifies as crazy but i mean its not implausible

chateaugrief

I really don't have enough info to make theories.... these sound good. I could go with any of these

mathtans

Do we know much about Carl's wife?

RebelVampire

no but i assume dead

because youre not to the part but they send amy to an orphanage

because they cant get in contact with any other relatives

mathtans

Gotcha. Wondered if Levi knew her in some way. Not sure if it's connected.

RebelVampire

idk

tbh ive really been trying to figure out how carl knows them and what the nature of their relationship is

cause carl has like 10 to 20 years on them

mathtans

Yeah. School related? Carl's job?

RebelVampire

and im not sure if this is like one of those small town where everyone just knows everyone

mathtans

Anyway, you'll have to theorize without me. Time to put little one to bed.

chateaugrief

i wondered about that, Carl looks about 50, so were the levi/susan crowd about in their 20's or perhaps late teens?

RebelVampire

ok. thanks for coming, math~!

levi is apparently late 20s and susan early 30s

by their cast pages

NiinaEveliina

@mathtans thanks for joining the chat and giving numb a change despite not being such a horror fan!

chateaugrief

I may have been thrown off by the lack of visible employment by the levi/susans, though maybe I just missed that. I've got to learn to slow down when i read webcomics. There's such a temptation to go so fast!

NiinaEveliina

The ages are pretty vague, because I don't want to forget and then conflict myself later, but it wouldn't be much of a spoiler to give a little background on Carl and Susan (I think it's on their cast info pages as well so it's not a spoiler even) but Carl was a family friend to Susans parents, who were working a lot and going abroad, so Carl looked after Susan a lot, and is basically her father figure. Carl knows Levi and Tim through Susan, since those three were childhood pals.

chateaugrief

that makes sense, it makes sense of the character dynamics too.

RebelVampire

ok that does add more context and makes more sense. and also explains why carl keeps nagging susan like a dad

or kept

cause susans dead

and carl is close to dead

now im sad

chateaugrief

pretty unlucky family, perhaps a familial curse?

RebelVampire

i just hope amy is not next on this path of death and destruction

chateaugrief

now that susan's dead I'm going to have to adjust my feelings on who is the protagonist of the story. I would have said her over Levi, but I guess it's all up to Levi now.

NiinaEveliina

Being amy is suffering

chateaugrief

Speaking of protagonists and plots and stuff @NiinaEveliina do you have a completed plot/script for this comic or are you more freeform making it up in episodes as they come?

RebelVampire

i always felt levi was the protagonist, though susan was a main character for sure. but susan seemed to have a smidgen less agency than levi in terms of who the protagonist is.

NiinaEveliina

@chateaugrief Everything is on my head, as I'm dreadful at actually writing things down, but the whole story has a script/plot that I follow. But I'm open with it in a way that I know what will happen, but HOW it will happen is free to change if the story seems to drift more to other way. As I have done this comic further, I learn to know the characters more, so some actions I planned for them may not make sense anymore, or just that they would go about it differently. Those kind of things may change.

I have vague idea how many pages the story will need, but as I do chapters, I don't have set page number for them. (that's something I will start using on my next project after numb, but with Numb I'm gonna roll with the flow)

chateaugrief

I always wonder about the page numbering thing because of the strict expectations with print form comics on page counts and things, at least in American comics. It always sounded very hard to structure your story around pages that way

NiinaEveliina

Yeah, but I can see the perks in that too. Helps you to trim down the story and keep on track with things.

chateaugrief

that's something I really should ask, you use some very complicated page layouts, and I think they flow quite well. How do you plan your pages, do you begin with the panel structure and fit your story to the panels or what?

choosing panel structures has always been mysterious to me

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Niina Eveliina Salmelin, as well, for making Numb. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Niina Eveliina Salmelin’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://www.NiinaEveliina.com/numb/

Niina’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A3202ONF

Niina’s Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Speardog?asc=u

Niina’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NSalmelin

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about Pin Porter Girl Detective by Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, December 6th, from 5PM to 7PM PST for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: http://pinporterdetective.com/

[lovethefinalseason-blog]

PLL 7B, Ep 5: In the Eyes Abides the Heart

Welcome back! It’s been 2 weeks since the last new episode so let me remind you where we last left the liars.  Hanna found out that Pastor Ted, her mom’s ex-fiance, was the father of CeCe aka Charlotte aka Charles.  Pastor Ted also innocently let her know that Charlotte had a childhood friend by the name of Lucas, the genius gaming millionaire and former high school classmate letting Hanna stay in his apartment for free.  Spencer finds out from her dad that Mary Drake killed her twin sister, Ali’s mom Jessica, and tried to frame him for murder by burying the body in the Hastings backyard.  Aria finds out that Sydney is indeed working with AD and is given a choice - play the game and be tortured by AD or join AD and watch her friends be tortured but be safe herself. Hmm...tough choice, I don’t know let me see what would I do...I think I would get a good lawyer and GO TO THE FUCKING POLICE.  What else, what else...oh right..ALI IS PREGNANT WITH EMILY’S BABY.  

Tonight’s episode, we are reminded every commercial break, was directed by Spencer herself, Troian Bellisario - fitting because after this episode I am officially convinced that the “Spencer has an identical twin” theory is real.  This theory goes two ways - either there are two Spencers running around (the more likely theory) OR Spencer really did die of her gun shot wound to the heart and fake Spencer took her place (my preferred ending for how ridiculous it would be).  

At the start of the episode Emily and Ali are wondering what they should do about the baby.  Emily feels angry and violated, the most real feelings I’ve ever heard from any of the liars. 

Aria is hiding out behind a dumpster outside a restaurant holding her phone. When her facetime rings, a creepy face comes up that seriously looks like a Paige and Aria faceswap (from now on known as Paria).  Aria tells Paria that she won’t hurt her friends, and Paria laughs and says she will because Ezra is one document away from going to prison (I still don’t fully understand this, did I miss something here? Is it a document that says he hooked up with Aria in high school because ...we all know.  Or did he plagiarize something at some point? I think we aren’t supposed to know what’s in that, but sorry if I’m wrong about that and leading you astray.)

At the brew, Emily/Ali tell the others that they went to the clinic to get blood tests - It should be noticed here that a simple blood test won’t determine the paternity or maternity of your child, they probably had to do an amniocentesis and Ali should probably be resting now.   They talk about Lucas - Hanna doesnt believe he knows anything.  Emily suggests going through Lucas’ things (something I would’ve done the moment Lucas let me stay in his apartment, even before I found out he was connected to Charlotte).  They assume the loft is full of bugs, but they want to search discretely anyway.   They all leave Aria, who misses a facetime from AD.  

Spencer brings cupcakes to Marco and asks Marco about Archer Dunhill’s finger.  She’s wondering what happened (even though she knows).  He thinks Mary Drake is a possible suspect in Rollins’ death. He asks Spencer if she knew Mary was involved with Archer and she immediately said no.  She reminds him she didn’t know Archer was dead when she asked him to look for Mary.

Aria comes back to the loft to find Ezra is on the phone with Nicole’s dad.  Nicole’s parents want Ezra to go back to NY.  Ezra leaves to go run errands and Aria’s facetime rings again.  Creepy Paria is mad that Aria sent her to voicemail again.  Paria sounds just like really corny. I’m not even sure how Aria talks to her without laughing.  It seriously looks like Paige in a fun house mirror.   Aria asks what AD is getting out of this and she looks at Aria and says:

Literally, exactly like that.   Aria tells AD that Hanna and Spencer went looking for Mary Drake and found the place she hid for a few days as well as Charlotte’s father.  AD hangs up.  

Back at Rosewood High, Paige and Emily are talking about Ali’s baby. Paige doesn’t know it’s really Emily’s, she still thinks its Archer, a fact Emily doesn’t correct.  Ali calls and lets Emily know the clinic called - it’s definitely Emily’s baby but it’s not Archer’s sperm.  They don’t know who the father is....yet.  I do have a theory on this, but I’ll save it for later. 

When Spencer gets back to her place, she sees a pillow out of place and an empty wine glass.  At the door sits a wine bottle with a note inside.  It says “Need to talk please, Mary.”

Hanna and Emily are not so subtlely searching through Lucas’ apartment. Hanna asks her what she’s going to do about the baby.   Emily says whatever Ali wants to do, and then changes the subject to the boxes under Lucas’ desk.  It’s a box of comic books.  Hanna muses about how cute her and Caleb’s babies would be (they definitely would be) while they go through the box.  At the back they find a manila envelope and inside is a comic called “Arcturus” by Lucas and Charles.  Hanna and Emily later show Aria the comic.  It’s a comic about a kid geting bullied and his friend turns into a super hero to torture the friends who picked him - it includes a lot of psychological torture.  Aria suggests maybe Lucas is the father of Ali’s baby and Emily says no and takes the comic away.   I’d like to point out here that the one liar missing from this scene is Spencer who’s busy leaving a note in a wine bottle at her door for Mary Drake.  

In their next facetime call, Aria tells Paria about the weird comic book.  She asks if facetime is Lucas, and AD laughs and says would I tell you if I was?  Then says “you’re a good spy Aria, now lets see what kind of thief you are.”  Curious that Paria wants Aria to steal a comic book and the only liar not in the room when the comic book was shown was Spencer..hmmm???

Let’s return to the show - Emily is drunk at Spencer’s house (you can always count on Spencer to have plenty of wine).  Emily says she keeps thinking about the letter Mary wrote Spencer with all the pain and regret of giving up her child.  Emily doesn’t want to write a letter like that.  Spencer stares at the wine bottle with the note in it as she talks.  

A possibly drunk Emily goes to Ali’s house and tells her that she wants her to have the baby.  She wants a chance to raise the child. Ali, looking concerned and confused, says we don’t even know who the father is.  Emily says we know who the father isnt (but it could still be a psychopath though....)  Emily says she doesnt want AD to win, and Ali is like what? And Emily is like that’s not my only reason and she understands if Ali can’t but she wants her to promise to at least think about it.  Ali says she promises. 

Hanna comes back home and goes to get the comic but realizes it’s missing. She calls Spencer (odd choice) who thinks Lucas is watching them.  As she’s on the phone she notices a new note in the wine bottle.  In it is a key...now the real mystery begins.... How the hell did the key not drop to the bottom of that wine bottle???

At the brew,  Mona shows Hanna that their factory space is on a real estate site and Lucas must’ve put it there.  Hanna stares at it for a few minutes then suddenly remembering that Mona is a genius, she tells Mona that she has to show her something. 

It’s now night time and a sketchy Aria is walking through the halls of Rosewood High with a flashlight , stopping in front of locker 214.  She opens it (it’s empty) then places the envelope with the comic inside.  As she’s leaving she hears a noise in the school and runs back to the locker. When she opens it a black hoodie is now inside.  

Emily gets drinks with Paige at the Radley, and finally tells her what is going on with her and Ali's baby  Just like all of us watching, Paige can’t get over the fact that Alison is having Emily’s baby.  Paige thinks she should leave town because she doesnt know who she’ll be to Emily if she stays.  Emily tries to beg her to stay and Paige looks at her saying “this is the third time i’ve said goodbye to you, i’m never going to say it again.” They share a last kiss and Paige leaves. 

Hanna brings Mona to Ali’s and shows her Liar’s Lament.  Mona basically makes love to the game.  She says it runs on battery and when she tries to touch the game a knife comes out and she laughs.  She wishes she could’ve built something like this because it’s brilliant and beautiful.  She then takes a lot of pictures of it on her phone.  Something tells me AD won’t like this..but then again AD is too busy facetiming her new bff Aria. 

Spencer uses the key to go to a house I assume is Mary’s? There’s mail all over the floor when she walks in.  She uses her flashlight to scan instead of turning on any lights, as you do in Rosewood. 

When Aria gets back she sees a bag packed by the door and Ezra sitting on the couch.  Ezra tells her that everything is ok but he has to go talk to Nicole’s doctor….in NY becuase her parents asked him to come.  Aria is like..do you think her parents really don’t know how to talk to a doctor?  What happens when we are married? He says he’ll be back in two days and she says i don’t want you to come back, I want you to stay - you dont know what I’ve done for us.  Ezra says what Nicole went through was the worst thing in the world and when she came back everything was different and it’s not fair.  Kind of like that time that Aria was kidnapped and tortured in a dollhouse?  Then she got back and Ezra and her decided to break up. She asks him to stay again but he leaves anyway. 

Ali is sleeping on her couch when a figure hovers over her.  When she opens her eyes Paige is standing there saying “wake up the door was open you should watch that.”

Spencer sits alone on the couch in the creepy house when she hears a noise at the door.  A flashlight shines in her face and it’s Marco.  He followed her there.  Marco is on to them and says that Spencer seems like she’s the most guilty because she’s so connected to Mary Drake.  He asks her if Spencer knew that Archer was at the bar the same night that they were (last season when they made out at the Radley after Spencer broke up with Caleb) or at least his credit card was - flashback to that time Spencer accidentally pulled out Archer’s credit card to pay for their drinks and signed it with her own name.  Also when he asked that night what she was doing earlier she “jokingly” said “burying a body.” Oops. 

Don’t worry, Paige was not there to murder Ali. She is just there to say goodbye because she is leaving Rosewood. She tells Ali she doesnt want to make it any tougher but she wants to know if Ali loves Emily.  Ali says shes the last person she should ask about love.  Paige says you know Emily loves you but Ali shrugs it off saying she was a terrible person and sometimes she still is.  She doesnt want to tell the truth and Paige tells her to try.  Ali says “ i know how i feel when she looks at me, I’ve never felt that with anyone before. It’s like she sees who you really are. Maybe that’s the scariest part. You look at her, her eyes, and you want to be worth the effort. You want to be the person she sees.”  Paige is smiling bc she knows that Ali loves her. Then she gets up to leave, before she goes she says “Ali, you’re going to have a beautiful baby.”

In her ridiculous over the top Mona way, Mona has mapped out a blue print of the game, showing how it all works.  Mona says whoever made it can’t stop it now - when the game ends, the game dies. Hanna asks if Mona thinks Lucas is involved.  Mona says its not computers, it was “lovingly handmade”.  Hanna asks Mona to help her play the game and win because she’s the only person who isnt afraid of it. Mona says shes not afraid of it because she doesn’t have a game piece on it.   Mona says that someone who plays with people’s lives like this is an addict - something she knows because she once was one.  Hanna looks at her and says, yes but now you can finally beat them.

Ezra is waiting for his flight to NY at the airport.  Now I was just joking when I said the PLL team always takes the express jet to NY but I guess it’s true.  As he’s listening to the flight delay announcements, he turns and sees Spencer talking to someone in the airport.  She notices Ezra and says hello, calling him over. The guy she is with turns around and it’s WREN - with a shaved head!  She cheerily introduces Ezra to Wren as the guy who was “almost her brother in law a few times” and asks Ezra to join them for a drink, he declines and begins to walk away.  She runs to catch him and tells Ezra that Wren used to work at Radley when Charlotte was there so she’s trying to get information.  She asks Ezra if he would mind keeping it a secret that he saw her there.  Hmm...Spencer was just caught by Marco in Mary Drake’s house and now she’s cheerily at the airport with Wren?  Also she wants Ezra to not tell anyone he saw her?  Could this be.....the identical twin???

Emily finds Ali crying in the bathroom looking distraught. I really thought Ali was about to tell Emily she had a miscarriage but instead she tells her she’s going to keep the baby because she thought about “what it means and what it could mean.” They are going to do it...together. #emison

Ezra returns home from the airport to Aria.  It’s awkward but Aria apologizes for what she said earlier. There’s really no need to apologize here because Ezra is a pedophile and kind of an asshole but whatever Aria is working for AD now so.. Ezra says his flight wasn’t cancelled, he just didn’t get on it.  In her bag Aria’s phone is buzzing but she doesn’t asnwer.  

As real Spencer comes out of the shower she knocks over the wine bottle with a new note in it saying “you brought the police. I understand. Goodbye.”

In the last scene, AD is sitting at an Inspector Gadget style computer editing the facetime photo of Paria.  The voice says over and over again “I warned you, I warned you, I warned you.”  The image then holds up a file with Aria’s name on it and she laughs in such a ridiculous way I can’t help but laugh with at her. 

Overall, I’d say this episode was a little boring. No big reveals, no shocking conclusions - even revealing Wren in the airport was not that dramatic.  I do really believe that identical twin Spencer is A.  AD is still someone’s initials after all....Amelia Drake anyone?  And what about Wren? It would be really easy to switch hospital records and steal someone’s eggs if you had a doctor on your side.  So maybe Wren really did lust after Spencer all these years, then found the next best thing - her identical twin.  Is Wren the father of Emison’s baby?  And where does Melissa fall into all of this? Is she just going to disappear like Judy Winslow?   So many questions, but to be honest I’m not sure I trust I. Marlene King to give us all the answers. 

[moviestoshowmyson-blog]

Movies to Show My Son: The Bicycle Thief

Welcome to another installment of Movies to Show My Son. This is the blog series were I discuss movies I can't way to show my son in the future. I'll be covering my own personal experience with the movie, movie lessons and life lessons I hope he will learn, and lastly my concerns about showing said film. This week's film is The Bicycle Thief.

Personal Memories:

When I was growing up I never watched foreign films. It is not that I avoided them it is more so that I did not realize they existed. At that time I assumed everything was made at Hollywood and by Disney. As I grew older and wiser I realized that was not the case but still tended to stay away. The first time I ended up seeing a foreign film was around 2002 when I saw Yimou Zhang’s Hero in theaters. At the time I did not fully realize it would all be in subtitles but the sheer beauty of the production design and the breathtaking choreography of the battle sequences minimized that problem. Quickly I became immersed and the barrier of subtitles was broken.

Fast forward nearly a decade later I am starting to get into movie podcasts for the first time. One of the first was The Digigods hosted by LA Film critics Wade Major and Mark Kieser. A lot of cinephiles talk about Filmspotting as the podcast that opened a new world of movies to them. I too enjoy that podcast but it was Mark and especially Wade’s love of foreign films that opened my movie appetite. I do not remember the specifics but they began to speak of this movie called The Bicycle Thief and how much it was a must see. It was a common occurrence that after listening to their podcast my movies to watch list would grow exponentially. Many of those movies are still on there today unfortunately. There was something about the way they spoke of The Bicycle Thief that made it more than the typical recommendation. Their admiration for it made me want to seek it out immediately and that is exactly what I did.

Lucky for me it was streaming someplace at the time. If memory serves me this was when the Criterion films were still on Netflix. Now you're lucky to find five movies made prior to 1980. Watching it I was transfixed on the story that was in front of me. I never went to film school nor at that point have I read or watch much on the art of film making, but even with my naivety I could tell The Bicycle Thief was unlike other classic and foreign films I watched before. There was deep sense of realism that was in stark contrast to much of the classic Hollywood glamour I was used to seeing.

I had watched movies for nearly all my life but nothing quite like this before. Not that it was drastically different like it was filmed in reverse with talkative mimes portraying each human emotion. No, it was the subtle nature  of its style. How little moments were treated with so much importance. For example how a scene of a father and son eating dinner could be one of the most touching moments ever displayed on screen. Seeing that films could be made in this manner was like discovering there was another room in my house I was never aware of before. All I wanted to do was take some time to explore.

Age to Show:

With this being a foreign film he will need to be at an age when reading comprehension is easy for him. Yes there is the dubbed option, but watching the dubbed version of a serious foreign film should be criminal. It is fine if you are watching a cheesy martial arts movie from the 70’s, but anything of merit should be watched as originally intended.

So my thought is around ages 12 – 15. The life lessons that I will get to focus a great deal on the importance of empathy.  Kids younger than 12 are automatically tend to be very empathetic. A big reason why when you ask kids in grades K-3, "What do you want to be when they grow up?" the answers tend to be jobs in the service industry like firemen, cops, or teachers…or a professional athlete. That dream has no age limits. I am just now coming to grips with the fact that I’ll never achieve my goal to play in the NFL. It is hard giving up on a dream.

When you enter the preteen and teenage years that empathy reflex dissipates and is replaced with the reflex to over dramatize the smallest issues. Speaking as a former middle school teacher I can tell you kids that age are emotional mine fields waiting to explode. The amount of drama that can take place during a thirty minute lunch is insane. It’s like they are watching the series finale of This Is Us on repeat.

So as a parent I see it as my responsibility to provide perspective on the problems my son will be facing that age. A movie like The Bicycle Thief is a good reminder of what is really important in life. Even as an adult it is something I need to remind myself of as well.

Movie Lessons:

The Bicycle Thief is looked at as one of the greatest movies of all time. Film makers and critics alike have praised director Vittorio De Sica for his groundbreaking achievement in filmmaking and his uncanny ability to capture life in post-War Italy. Considering that there are plenty of film lessons to take away from this film no matter what your age or experience.

For me I am hoping my son learns a very important lesson. Great film making is a universal skill. I hope subtitles will not seem like a barrier to enjoyment, and he will see that after a few minutes you will forget that they are even there.

Outside of that The Bicycle Thief  shows how you can great a powerful performance from non-actors. As a kid I never really knew what a director did. Yes I knew names like Spielberg but what their job entailed I did not know. With The Bicycle Thief  my son can see the first responsibility of a great director is to get great performances from his or her actors no matter who they might be. With this film director Vittorio De Sic took two people who never acted before and used their rawness to his advantage. His style and directing are the story of this film even if you never see his face on screen.

Life Lessons:

On a very basic level a lesson can be learned just in the title. It is very possible to steal something and get away with it. That does not mean there are not consequences. This puts those consequences right in front of you. We have all those moments when we have been tempted to steal, especially when you are a kid and you want so much but have no money to pay for it. Yes there is that concern that you would get caught. A movie like this though can compound that concern so you are not only thinking about how your actions will affect you but also how they will affect others.

Roger Ebert once described movies as machines that generate empathy, and if that is the case The Bicycle Thief  is the Terminator of empathy. I hope my son sees with this the danger of judging others when you do not know their entire story. What you may see as just a bicycle  someone else sees as their livelihood.

There is that classic scenario where people are asked if it is okay for a father to steal food for their starving family. The Bicycle Thief embodies that quandary in full effect. You can take the experience of watching this film and use it as a companion to that philosophical discussion. Would you do something you know is wrong for a reason you know is right? After watching The Bicycle Thief that debate becomes much less abstract.

Concerns:

I am going to show my son a foreign film, from the 1950’s, about a guy walking around a city looking for a bike. What is there not to be concerned about? Outside of the obvious my other thought is if context will be needed to truly appreciate what this film is doing. Part of that context would be knowing how this film and its movement was born from the politics of the time and the events of World War II.

In addition I mentioned a big part of what drew me to the film was how different it was to the other classic films. As this series will show I do plan on showing my son other classic films but at the age of 12 or 15 would he notice those differences? I am not sure I would have at that age. Old things just seemed old to me. Hopefully by building up a quality movie experience prior to watching this he will appreciate it the same way I did.