#i recently rewatched it and really wanted to make an edit

[sunflower151]

I absolutely LOVED Metropolis ✨

[morgana-larkin]

Hey girl, would you be able to do a request with Melissa? So yk how in that one episode where Melissa has to go to court for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons? Would you be able to just do some fluff on how when Melissa is in court she needs a lawyer, but since she’s a teacher, she doesn’t have any money, but knows a guy who gets a lawyer for her, which is our reader fresh outta law school. Melissa would find them cute and want to ask her out, but eventually after Melissa is declared ‘not guilty’ she decides to ask them out as a thank you.

Ok, this is crazy because when you sent the prompt, it was the day after I rewatched that episode. I honestly thought this line was crazy and I like how Jacob was not even fazed when she said it lol. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I think I got 7 Melissa prompts and one Chessy prompt, so they’re coming!

Guilty Or Not Guilty

Warnings: sexual tension, fluff, reference to future smut

Words: 2k

“Ah, all dressed up for your big dip in the shark tank today?” Jacob asks Melissa.

“What? No. I gotta go to court later for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons.” Melissa says to Jacob.

“Wait so, you’re not gonna make a presentation?” Jacob says, completely ignoring the fact that she might have thrown a corn cob at someone.

*lunch time*

“Vinny, I need you to find me a lawyer for later today.” Melissa says to her cousin Vinny.

“What did you do this time?” He asks her.

“None your business. I just need a lawyer, can you get me one?” She asks him and he takes a second to reply.

“I know one, she recently graduated from law school and is looking for cases to do for a small price. I can pay this one for ya since you’re my favourite cousin.” He tells her.

“Alright, thanks Vinny. I’ll make your favourite dish as a thanks.” She says then hangs up.

Later that day…

You walk out of your car an hour before your client has to plead her case. You were told to meet her outside the courthouse, all you were told was that she’s a ginger and her name is Melissa Schemmenti.

You walk near the front entrance of the courthouse and you see a ginger woman standing around on her phone with her glasses perched on her nose. She looks stunning. ‘Not the time to check her out, gotta be professional, she’s your client after all.’ You think to yourself. You walk up to her and she doesn’t see you coming as she’s too focused on her phone.

“Hi, are you Melissa?” You say as you reach her and she flinches. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m your lawyer y/n y/l/n” You add.

She stares at you for a second before smiling and holding out her hand to shake and you shake her hand, it feels so soft.

“Hi, yes I’m Melissa.” She says. Melissa was surprised that her lawyer would look really cute, so much so that she forgot how to speak for a second, or that she was still holding your hand.

You look at her emerald green eyes, beautiful ginger locks and her bright smile. You then remember you’re still holding her hand so you let go and clear your throat.

“So I heard nothing about this case or why you’re here. Wanna tell me?” You ask her and you see a small blush on her cheeks.

“Well it’s for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons.” She says and you can’t help but giggle at that.

“For throwing a corn cob at someone?” You say, trying to hold back more laughter and she nods. “Well I must say, I did not expect that.” You tell her and she chuckles.

“Well I’m full of surprises.” She tells you with a shy smile.

You both then find a picnic table to sit at and you get to work. Melissa keeps checking you out as you work on her case. The way you’re so focused on writing down the information you need to prove her innocence, the way you bite your lip when you’re thinking. You look so adorable and she can’t help but think about asking you out.

“What?” You ask her as you notice her staring.

“Noth-nothing, just a bit nervous.” She says, covering up the fact that she was checking you out.

“Well you can be a bit nervous but I think you’re gonna win.” You tell her with a smile.

“You think so?” She asks and you nod, you then write something down and then speak up again.

“Ok, I think I have all I need to, it’s also time to go in.” You tell her and she nods.

You both walk into the courthouse and then the courtroom together and you take a seat in the audience until Melissa gets called.

“Melissa Schemmenti and Ben Simmons.” The judge calls, both you and Melissa stand up and walk where the two desks are. You and Melissa take a seat at the one on the left while Ben Simmons and his lawyer took the one on the right. “Melissa Schemmenti you are being charged with the throwing of… a corn cob at the head of Ben Simmons, guilty or not guilty?”

“Not guilty, your honour.” Melissa says confidently.

It took about 10 minutes and the fact there was no evidence that the judge ruled that Melissa was, in fact, not guilty. Melissa got excited that she won and without thinking, gave you a hug to which you were surprised by it but hugged her back after a second. The hug was nice, you won’t lie and you can feel her tits being pushed into yours and it made your mind go to places that you shouldn’t be thinking about right now. Melissa pulled away from you after a few seconds with a guilty expression on her face.

“Sorry, I um, I should have asked before I hugged you.” She tells you and you smile at her.

“It’s alright, you were excited, I get it. And to be honest, I liked the hug.” You tell her and you see a small blush on her cheeks.

You and Melissa walk out to the parking lot and it seems that she wants to walk with you to your car.

“I wanted to thank you, for taking my case on such short notice without any sort of information on what it’s about, and for winning too.” She tells you and you blush a bit.

“It’s not a problem Melissa, I enjoyed your case.” You tell her as you reach your car. You put your suitcase in your car and then you turn to look at her. “Well if anyone else says that you throw corn cobs at them then I might see you around.” You joke with her and she laughs.

“Or maybe I could see you around tonight, for dinner?” She asks and you tilt your head at her.

“Melissa, are you asking me on a date?” You ask her with a small smile.

“If I were, would that be a yes?” She cautiously asks and you nod. “Then yes, I’m asking you on a date.” She states proudly and you beam at her.

“Out of curiosity, what would you have said if I said no?” You ask her and she thinks for a second.

“That it would just be a thank you for winning the case.” She says and you chuckle. “Wanna give me your number so we can plan the date in better detail?” She adds on as she gets her phone out.

You exchange numbers and then you get in your car to go home to get ready for the date. She decided to have the date at her house as she claims she’s the best damn cook in all of south Philly, with the exception of a few family members. You get changed into a nice purple dress with black tights, do your makeup and then head off to the address she texted you.

“Wow, you look beautiful hon.” She tells you with a big smile as soon as she opens the door.

“So do you. Red and green seem to be made for you.” You tell her and she tilts her head at you. “You wore green today and it suited you, as well as this red dress.” You explain and she blushes.

“You were looking at my top today?” She questions and you nod. “Did you happen to notice that it was a low cut top too?” She questions further and you feel your cheeks heat up as you nervously nod again. “I didn’t know you had time to look at my top today when you were so busy looking at my tits.”She teases you and your cheeks are redder than her hair at this point. “You’re adorable when you blush like that.” She teases you further and you then clear your throat and look around her house, trying to avoid further embarrassment. She giggles at your attempt and then she spins you around to face her and kisses you. You kiss her back after the shock wears off and it was one of the best kisses of your life. She pulled away after a few seconds which was too short for you. She giggled when you tried to kiss her and she put her hand on your chest. “Believe me, I love kissing you too. But if we continue then I won’t want to stop and there’s food ready.” She tells you and you whine.

“You shouldn’t have kissed me then. That’s all I’ll be thinking about now.” You tell her with a pout. She leans in close to your ear.

“When you get a taste of my food then you’ll forget about it for a bit.” She leans back, winks at you and then walks to the kitchen with a smirk. You follow after her and she’s putting food on a plate for you.

“You know now that the case is over, I have one question.” You ask her and she looks at you confused.

“What’s the question?”

“Why did you throw a corn cob at him?” You ask her and she chuckles.

“I guess you saw through my lie then.” She states and you nod your head. “He was insulting Italians so of course I had to take action. I just threw at him whatever I was eating and it was a corn cob.” She explains and you start laughing.

“You’re really a wonder Melissa Schemmenti.” You tell her and she laughs as she hands a plate to you. You both walk over to the dining table and sit down to eat. You take a first bite and it’s like a flavour bomb exploded in your mouth and you let out a small moan. You look over to see Melissa smirking at you and you quirk an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Just wondering of all the other ways I can make you moan.” She says like it’s an obvious thing. You blush at her comment but then you want to tease her back.

“Maybe you’ll find out.” You tell her with a smile and she blushes and goes to take a bite of her own food.

You rub your foot up her leg and she begins coughing as she was taking a bite. She takes a sip of her water and then when she stops, you continue to rub your foot up her leg. She looks at you and you’re smirking at her.

“You’re not the only one who knows how to tease.” You tell her as you take a bite of food. She smiles at you before she gets up, walks over to you, puts her hand at the back of your head, leans forward and kisses you. She doesn’t pull back this time, instead she deepens the kiss by sliding her tongue in your mouth. She tastes you for the first time and she’s already wanting more. You stand up, while not breaking away from the kiss, and you put your hands on her waist. You pull back after a few more seconds and she whines. “We should continue our dinner before we do anything else.” You tell her. She looks at the food then looks at you with your kiss swollen lips.

“Dinner can wait.” She says then surges forward to kiss you again. She kisses you with so much force that you walk backwards until you hit the wall and she pins you against it. “Do you want to continue?” She asks you as she pulls back. “If we continue then I’ll want to go all the way.” She tells you, asking for consent.

“I don’t want to stop kissing you.” You tell her and she smiles. She then takes your hand and brings you to her bedroom.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

@imaginesmultifandoms

@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

@dvrkhcld

@lilfartbox1

@ricejucie

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

@og-kxsh-420

@sasheemo

Let me know if you want to be added!

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

Invisble String

luke hughes x actress!reader

note: short cute introduction to this au, get to know how long Y/n has been Luke's celeb crush and get to know Y/n

also in 2018 reader is 17 and Luke is 15 for reference so like do the math i can't do everything

2018

"Why do you even want to watch 'It' you hate clowns?" the eldest brother asked, holding a bowl of popcorn while he rounds the couch to were he previously sat.

"Jack asked for a scary movie so I suggested a scary movie." though he wasn't lying, both statements were true, it wasn't the real reason he suggested the movie. But like he would ever admit that to his brothers because he'd never hear the end of it if they knew. Little did he know they already did.

"He wants to watch it because Y/n L/n is in it." Jack mumbled, not looking up from his phone where he looked up the cast list, and he begins to laugh along when his older brother starts to.

"Not true."

"Too true."

"Shut up. Are we watching this or something else." Quinn says, being the mediator among the three.

All throughout the movie, while Luke was gawking at his dream girl, Jack and Quinn would make eye contact over his head silently laughing at their brothers face of awe whenever Y/n was on screen. When she walked slow-mo out of the store, the scenes at the quarry, Luke had the same face as the boys on the screen except he wasn't acting.

-

2020

73 Questions With Y/ L/n | Vogue

Y/n opens the door for the vogue camera man, after she just shut it on him.

"Hey! Y/n L/n! You excited for your 73 questions with vogue?" the interviewer asks enthusiastically.

"Yes, I am.. Does that count as your first question?"

While the man asks several questions, Y/n lead them into her living room.

"Who do you want to play you in a movie about your life?"

"Umm.. Sadie Sink. And I would like to play Sadie in the movie about her life."

"What is the knewest thing in here?"

After quickly looking around the girl grab a recent purchase of hers a stuffed octopus.

"I recently bought this stuffed animal. It's an octopus, because there's only one or else it would be octopi."

"Interesting, and what do you think is the coolest thing in this room?"

Setting down the octopus, Y/n walks towards her book case. Grabbing what looks to be a very old book.

"This is a vintage edition of Little Women the same one my mom read to me when I was 12 and the same one I reread in preparation for my role as Amy March."

While placing the book back on the shelf the man asks, "Without looking do you know what the last word of Little Women is?"

Jokingly Y/n pick the book up again and starts to open it, and the two chuckle, she then continues to answer the question. "No, um..I know, 'end'."

"End?"

"Yep. That counts as a question."

"It's actually 'this'"

"... 'This'?" the man nods before Y/n continues, "No, you're wrong it's end. Because all books end in 'the end' how could you not know that."

The interview continues into the girl kitchen, while she pours herself an iced tea.

"What is your favourite sport?"

"I don't really have a favourite sport, but I guess I'll say hockey. 'Cause y'know they're hot."

-

imessage

Rowdy

Did you see your girlfriend said hockey boys were hot?

Maybe you have a chance

Lukey

Shut up.

Luke rewatched that interview a couple to many times.

-

2023

Y/n_updates

liked by i_said_SpeakNow, LikeRibbonsInYourHair, and others

Y/n_updates: Y/n was at the New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers preseason game! she was with the Devils wags too! Just more proof that her and Luke Hughes are dating... What do you think?

view all comments

taytaySwft: they would be so cute!! i hope they're together ☺️

_spider_man: what's with the it girlies dating professional athletes right now?

jackhugheswife: damn he could do better than her

amyMarchstan: better than the gorgeous and successful woman she is?

harrie13: I miss her and Lucas 🙁

stranger_80: No him and Sadie!!!

anne_Cats: so she's got a thing for Lukes huh?

harrie13: lmao i didn't even realize that 😭😭

TaybrinaStan: she's doing for hockey what Taylor is doing for football.

note: yes i did only make her previously date Lucas McLaughlin for that one joke that's not even funny.. what about it?

[oliviasroses19]

Just thinking about how happy I am that we got a more complex, deeper friendship with show!polin. I did enjoy the book, don’t get me wrong. But at the start, book!polin was pretty one sided on Penelope’s part. We know she loves Colin literally from the first page, but Penelope was what feels like an afterthought for Colin. It’s only when he returns from his tour and spends more time with her that he starts seeing her as a friend. He said it himself, they were acquaintances, and only more recently does he consider them being friends. He went from liking her company to Colin “my wife” Bridgerton real quick (this form of Colin exists in both bridgerton universes, thank GOD). Their story feels more like acquaintances to lovers in my opinion.

What makes show!Polin so magical, and I’m sure is the true reason for the choke hold they have on us, is the fact that we got to see their history as childhood friends develop to best friends and then to lovers. We can see the love Pen has for Colin from the start, and while he hasn’t come to his senses yet, he clearly adores her in the beginning as well.

Then we have the letters. My dear, sweet, completely inappropriate letters (only in regard to the lack of propriety). Yet another contrast between show and book Polin. Their letters truly fortify their friendship to the viewer and add even more magic to their story. Penelope is eager to talk to the man she loves and she is elated that he wants to talk to her too. And Colin gets the space to be himself in these letters. Penelope has never once made him feel silly for his rambling about the places he’s visiting while his family doesn’t shy away from brushing him off or chastising him for talking about his travels. He knows that there is at least one person back home that is excited to hear from him. His heartache confusion over not hearing from her on his second tour only solidifies how dear her letters and friendship are to him. Penelope plays such a large part in his life, he spirals when he thinks he lost her friendship. “Is there something wrong, Pen? Between us, I mean” gets me every time 😭.

We see the yearning from Pen for two seasons, see her protect and love Colin in secret, and heartbreakingly see her give up hope that he will ever love her in that way. We also get to see Colin look for her at every social assembly, protect Pen multiple times, and when he FINALLY realizes his feelings aren’t completely platonic, we see his own yearning. This makes the entire journey all the more gratifying for the viewer.

I can’t believe it sometimes that we finally made it. We got our Polin endgame. It’s been a long few years but those years just made the reward all the more incredible. The boost of serotonin I get watching them finally end up together is truly unmatched and hasn’t diminished no matter the amount of rewatches/GIFs/fan edits I see.

It’s been 6 months and not a day has gone by that i haven’t thought about my babies finally getting their happily ever after. I cannot, will not, do not want to give up the choke hold these two have on me.

——————————————

This post ran away from me but are we really surprised? Thanks for letting me dump out the contents of my brain, y’all are real ones.

[otomiyaa]

Catching up (Tag Game)

Ive been a bit on and off and felt like making a tag game so here's one to catch up on each other's interests and hyperfixations! Answer the 10 questions and tag 5 people. No pressure ofc!

@fluffandgiggles @ppystkposts @crazy-as-a-jaybird @blobbirobbi @kusuguricafe + everyone who wants to join! **edit + everyone who received a notification from when I tried to tag 10+ people and the tumblr post broke 😂

❤️ Newest obsessions: Dungeon Meshi, probably has been clear.. and capybaras. Taylor Swift not very new but refueled obsession since seeing the eras tour concert!

🎥 Last 3 movies I watched and what I thought of them:

Inside Out 2 - CRYING SOBBING LOVING IT SO MUCH

The Parent Trap 1998 rewatch - Still golden fav, one of my guiltiest pleasures

Sous la Seine / Under Paris - Love a good shark movie but thought this was mediocre smh. the ending was cool tho hahaha

🎶 3 songs I discovered recently and love:

Peggy - FEMININE RAGE

Spencer Sutherland - Alive

HOYO-MIX - Interstellar Journey

💘 Newest fav ships: Falin x Marcille , Chilchuck x Senshi, and Laios x Kabru all from Dungeon Meshi!!!

📺 Currently watching: The Apothecary Diaries, Wind Breaker, House of the Dragon, Pokemon Johto Journeys (rewatch), FMA Brotherhood (rewatch), Mushoku Tensei S2 (might drop it)

📖 Currently reading: Dungeon Meshi manga, Define the Relationship manhwa, XXX Buddy manhwa (both manhwas on hold but I'll continue reading soon!)

🎮 Currently Playing: Fortnite, Minecraft, Genshin Impact (haven't played since Cyno story quest tho), Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (on hold), Yakuza 0, Zelda Skyward Sword, Hogwarts Legacy, note: I kinda dropped all mobile games but I'm really considering starting love & deepspace again hmmm.

😍 Currently looking forward to: New Fortnite update, Genshin Natlan update (even though I have to catch up on the previous ones lol), the new Deadpool movie, Blue Lock movie (seeing it this week!)

✅ Recently finished: Kaiju No. 8 (anime), other than that no books, manga, games or shows. All still in progress lol.

💌 Something to Share: I'm glad to see people are enjoying the x reader drabbles and I'm motivated to work on them faster when I can! Thanks everyone for your patience.. T-T

[technicolorfamiliar]

Der Student von Prag (The Student of Prague) Dir. Henrik Galeen 1926

So I'm going back and rewatching a handful of the titles from the initial 50+ film journey into Conrad Veidt's filmography. Some I'm revisiting because they made such an indelible impression on me the first time, others because I want to give them a second chance. The Student of Prague was among the first films on what wound up being a year-long deep dive into Connie's work and history. I loved it then, but even more so now.

I want to live inside this movie. Galeen and his crew made a hell of a picture, made all the more special by Conrad Veidt doing the literal most.

There is a bewitching quality to The Student of Prague, from Conrad Veidt's dual performances as both Balduin and his Double to the atmospheric cinematography and special effects. It's a dreamy film that really sets itself apart as a dark and lovely supernatural period piece.

Despite some very minor issues, over all it's genuinely pretty perfect. It's one of those films that, even with its faults, sweeps me effortlessly into the gothically Romantic world of the story.

Maybe the film could have benefited from tighter editing, cutting some of the longer sequences and unnecessary shots. But an argument could also be made that these longer scenes aid the spell the film is casting over its audience, the way Sciapinelli weaves his spell on the hilltop to draw Balduin and Margrit together.

The cinematography by Günther Krampf and Erich Nitzschmann is really something special. Shadow was a big motif and standard tool filmmakers used back then, especially those working in the Expressionist style, but for 'Student, maybe because of the early 19th century setting and the proximity of the natural world (both real and fabricated), the use of shadow here makes the film feel more like a fairy tale illustrated by Arthur Rackham than the Uncanny Art Deco of classic German Expressionism. The digital restoration really highlights how successfully they worked with value and contrast to create such a visually rich film.

And it fucken WIMDY. The use of wind throughout the film is really effective -- Sciapinelli's coat billowing out behind him on the hilltop, the rustling foliage behind Balduin after the duel, dead leaves blown into the Countess's bedroom, and the gales that follow Balduin through the city in the film's final act. Whether used on a studio set or in location shots, wind here feels not only atmospheric but also supernatural; it's Sciapinelli's invisible presence when he's not even in the shot.

Even the relatively minimalist score works. It's mostly piano supplemented occasionally by one or two other instruments, a flute or an accordion, and there are only a handful of repeated themes. Apparently the music that's in the most recent restoration was composed only a few years ago by Stephen Horne, so it's really anyone's guess what the original soundtrack by Willy Schmidt-Gentner was like. Regardless, the new music definitely feels appropriate not only to the period the film was made but also the overall Vibes.

On my first watch about a year ago, I was struck by the special effects used in this film. For the time it was made, the effects had to be incredibly impressive. The transitions where the Double appears and disappears in a ghostly fashion are fun, but there's an especially cool shot where he appears to walk through an iron gate, and a really great close up dolly shot towards the end of the film where the Double appears to float toward the back of the room. And I don't know if this was something they touched up in post-production or if the lighting on set was chef's kiss perfect, but Connie's eyes literally glow. There are shots where his eyes, especially as the Double, are like two beacons set in the shadows.

The other performances… they're fine. I mean, everyone who wasn't playing Balduin has to have known it wasn't their movie. Except for Werner Krauss as Sciapinelli who looks like if Alfred Molina was sent back to the 1920s and did as much cocaine as he could find. He's so creature coded that I genuinely don't know what to make of his performance. Everyone else, including Connie, is kind of doing a riff on realism to varying degrees of exaggeration but still relatively tame for the era (compare the acting in 'Student to The Hands of Orlac just two years earlier). But I guess Werner Krauss didn't get the memo, or because Sciapinelli is a supernatural character it's ok for him to be a little out there. He does some really delightfully creepy and borderline upsetting stuff especially in the scene when he makes the deal with Balduin. It's all very weirdly sexual and I hate it. Otherwise, there's unfortunately very little of note in the other performances. Elizza La Porta as the flower girl does the pathetic-cute thing well, but Agnes Esterhazy's Margrit is sadly pretty forgettable.

But the Balduin of it all. This is truly a groundbreaking role for Conrad Veidt at this time in his career. I feel like this film alone slingshot him into his meatier and more interesting roles in the late 1920s. Sure, Connie was doing some interesting and versatile stuff around this time (Ingmarsarvet and Carlos & Elisabeth come to mind), but this just hits different. Everything kind of lines up perfectly for him as this character, and the story is that unique Poe-inspired blend of the uncanny and capital R Romance that really suits him. Because of the nature of the story itself, Connie's free to play big when it works for the character, but also works in these incredibly vulnerable and subtle moments as well. I don't know if this is thanks to the director being hands-on with Connie or just letting him do his thing. Whatever the case, it works.

It's maybe worth mentioning Connie was 33 when they shot this. I don’t know how old Balduin's supposed to be, but he's probably at least ten years younger than Connie was at the time. And I buy it, I buy that Balduin is a young man, foolish and naïve in the way only someone that young could be. His youthfulness isn't just suggested in the character's decisions but also in his physicality. When we first meet Balduin, Connie's doing this sulky, pouty, petulant thing that I love for him. In the first act, he's clearly beloved by his fellow-students and by the flower girl, and he easily slips out of his misery about his money problems into a more lighthearted mood. He's moody one moment and playful the next, joining in a low-stakes fencing match for fun when just moments before he was brooding alone full Morrissey style in the garden. This initial lightness about the character sets him up for his eventual inevitable hard fall into shame and helplessness.

I'm afraid to admit it took me a whole 24 hours after watching this a second time to realize that Balduin is kind of a dick. But Connie's performance is so good and so empathetic that I didn't notice right away. He himself is stunningly, Byronically beautiful in this film. He's like a painting of a tragic, Romantic hero come to life, I can’t even handle it. And, my god, the yearning! It's palpable. In the wrong hands, I would probably hate this character. I haven't seen Wegener's or Walbrook's versions, but I can't imagine they're as charismatic as Connie is in the role.

But what I love even more than Connie as Balduin is him as the Double. I am FASCINATED by this performance and this character. I have SO MANY QUESTIONS. The way he consolidates his movements so that he practically glides through the frame, the way he keeps this performance distinct by slowing everything down and keeping a lot of the Double's anguish internal… it's so good.

I think we only see the Double four times before the last act of the film: first when he steps out of the mirror; much later outside the Countess's party; in the graveyard; and after he kills the Baron in the woods. Initially, when the reflection steps out of the mirror after Balduin signs Sciapinelli's contract, the Double seems pretty soulless. His dead-eyed, mask-like expression as he stalks out of the room makes it seem like he's just going to be a mindless puppet Sciapinelli can use to torment Balduin. And certainly in their first two encounters, Balduin's mirror image slinks out of the shadows as a reminder of his Faustian bargain but also as something of a stand in for his conscience. The first two times we see the Double out in the world are when Balduin is at his happiest, in his most romantic moments with Margrit, who is not only completely out of Balduin's league but also promised to someone else (even if that some one else is her cousin...). Nothing about the Double's presence in these scenes suggests that he's anything more than a phantom, a specter to haunt the protagonist from a distance.

But then, something changes. The Double isn't just a ghost that only Balduin can see; he's just as real as his counterpart, and his actions have consequences. Balduin promises Margrit's father, the Count, to spare her cousin-fiancée in a duel the Baron knows he cannot win -- Balduin is, after all, the best swordsman in Prague. They even say the fight is supposed to be with heavy sabers, which sound like they could really mess you up. But when dueling day arrives, Balduin is delayed by the wheels inexplicably coming off his carriage. He races through the countryside on foot in order to make his appointment, but it's too late. He stops dead in his tracks, frozen in fear, as the Double appears, approaching him slowly from the tree line. When the Double reaches him, Balduin sees the bloody sword and immediately recoils, fearing the worst. But what's most interesting about this scene is that, when the Double finally looks up, his expression is not that of a mindless zombie. When he looks up, the Double looks horrified. Realization slowly rises in his face, and he turns to Balduin with this look of abject horror and helplessness while Balduin cowers in fright. And as the Double turns to walk out of the clearing, he hangs is head in pained resignation and I AM OBSESSED. There are no intertitles in this sequence, but the anguished look he gives Balduin says, "Do you see now? This, and worse than this, is going to keep happening." Connie's performance in this scene suggests the Double may not be able to control his actions but he certainly has feelings about them. So does this mean the Double is in fact Balduin's soul? His goodness? His innocence? I NEED TO KNOW MORE.

The Double is also consistently dressed in the student costume Balduin wears at the beginning of the film. After Sciapinelli gives Balduin the money, Balduin buys a whole new wardrobe (honestly, who wouldn't?). But the mirror version of Balduin doesn't change to reflect Balduin as he is in the present; the Double wears the clothes of a student -- the cap, the velveteen jacket -- because he represents who Balduin was. He's the boy, the youth uncorrupted by excessive wealth and privilege, now made to do horrible things because Balduin so easily handed him over to Sciapinelli when they made their deal. UGH.

The final time Balduin sees his Double, his mirror self hounds him with measured steps, pushing him away from the fragile security of wealth and opulence back to his abandoned student flat. And the expression on the Double's face now is grimly accusatory, it's deeply solemn disappointment, it's a final judgment before an inevitable end. There's sorrow and resentment in the Double's eyes, but kept restrained and subtle, gradually building in wordless intensity until Balduin must finally face himself, literally, in order to end his torment, finding a pistol and shooting his mirror image and therefore killing himself.

Maybe a lot of the descriptors I use for Connie are hyperbole, but his work in this film is remarkable. Anyone interested in getting to know him as an actor, hell, anyone interested in film history period, absolutely should watch The Student of Prague at least once.

Final thoughts: For real, though, it would suck to not have a reflection. I recently had a whole conversation with my (straight, cis male) family members about this; not a one of them owns or even sees the need for a full length mirror. And maybe the big mirror in Balduin's student room came with the place when he moved in, but you get used to having something like that. I know it would drive me crazy not being able to check my whole outfit to make sure I don't look like a doofus before leaving the house.

[the-tech-turn]

I rewatched How to Train Your Dragon recently, and since you opened up drawing requests, I think Tech would have so much fun meeting and learning about dragons. He kind of reminds me of Fishlegs, but with Hiccup’s crazy ideas.

I finally got to this!

Okay so in this viking au I imagine tech finding toothless (or another dragon I just choose toothless here) in a forest. I think he'd have the same reaction as he did to the zillo beast.

I'm definitely gonna make a fully colored version of Tech's design and I really want to dive into this concept more because I absolutely believe Tech would love these creatures!

Before I do that I want to actually watch the Httyd movies because I...haven't seen them...ever.

Edit: I'm going to actually post the drawing properly instead of a picture of my tablet I just have no wifi rn lol)

Prompt Requests

Prompt Requests masterlist

[dearweirdme]

Hi Rain,

I've been watching BV 4 recently and wanted your insights on Tae and taekook in this season. Tae seemed really sad and disconnected to me and tk barely interacted or made efforts to hang out with each other.

While members chose group activities, Tae chose to explore the city alone. BV is a time for them to spend time together as a group and enjoy but i sensed a weird block from Tae's end. He was there physically but not really mentally there if that makes sense. Especially important since they started the season saying they hadn't met or spoken to each other in some time.

Jimin is an empath and hence we saw him really taking efforts including Tae in activities and taking care of him. Other members just let him be.

This season was late 2019, was this a period when Tae wasn't doing well? Did you get the feeling that he was disconnected from the group? Till when did this continue and was this observed in other content as well?

Similarly in context to Tk, do you agree that they do seem distant. And doesn't it give some credence or probability to the timeline or story of them having drifted apart as friends?

As a Tae biased army it does make me a bit sad seeing Tae in this season. Would really appreciate some insights on how you or older Army's perceived this.

Hi anon!

Edit after finishing rewatching all episodes: Aside from me being in a rewatch kinda vibe the last month or so, I could not for the life of me recall feeling the way you (anon) did about this BV series. It was some time ago that I watched this in full, and I started to wonder if my recollection about Tae was perhaps flawed. But after rewatching, I still don't see Tae disconnected and sad. I haven't once seen this sort of vibe "Jimin is an empath and hence we saw him really taking efforts including Tae in activities and taking care of him. Other members just let him be." I paid attention to Tae and Jk ofcourse, and while I agree this is a very low Tkky series, I do not feel that they were avoidant or awkward. I saw them together in the background of things. They looked at each other with smiles and love all throughout, they went to walk, sit, stand next to each other often. As a Tkkr, this is what I feel was still going on in 2019: I don't believe in the narrative that Tae and Jk grew apart. It makes no sense to me in a wider context and I feel there is plenty to point at that not being true. It's ofcourse possible they had rocky times and therefore had moment that they seemed off, but I don't think they were ever distant for as long as the general narrative would have people believe. I believe BH made an effort to make it seem like Tae and Jk weren't something special, but rather just bandmembers.. and not the closest ones for that sake. You'l find special interactions or outings with many pairs, but never Tae and Jk. they are mostly together with other members present. I believe that was a conscious choice, and probably a definite plan that was come up with when Bh realized Tae and Jk were a couple. When you don't believe Tae and Jk are together, tis is not something you consider to be possible. I think for outsiders, nothing weird will be found during this BV series. As Tkkrs however, we are missing the physical closeness we know Tae and Jk had (even during 2019). For example, this was them in august and october (before and after BV was fimed).

So what we know about Tae and Jk, does not fully come out during this BV.. and I think that was an editing choice, but also Tae and JK and the members knowing what the deal is and that they just can't be Taekook for a few days.

About Tae's mental health.. it's hard to say exactly when he was going through the worst period.. or if it perhaps was fluctuating in intensity. I don't think from this footage we can say that he was feeling down. It's not how I see it anyways. But, people with mental health problems very often know how to mask very well, so it is ofcourse a possibility that that's what he was doing. I think it likely that Jk's scandal effected them during this trip. Jk felt the need to appologize, and whether that was something hé felt he needed to do, or something that he was told to do.. it's obvious the issue was something they dealt with while in NZ. I think it would have bothered both Tae and JK.

Anyways.. it's interesting how different people can have such different views on the same footage 😂

Warning… this is long. Your ask prompted me to rewatch, and I did a little note-taking while watching the episodes. At this point I have only rewatched 5 episodes, I wanted to post this today because it’s loooooooong and I kinda said I would. I’m gonna watch the other episodes the next couple of days and edit this post when I have finished. This is going to be my opinion on footage that was taken while I wasn’t in fandom yet. So I’m unable to talk with the point of view of someone who went through this realtime. Feel absolutely free to comment or send asks with additions.

So, they spent 6 days in New Zealand right? What we got to see was only a couple of hours of their time there. Yoongi said that 80 percent of film is edited out.. that is no joke, that is actually true. On top of that, the stuff that is chosen to be in the released footage, is the exciting/interesting stuff... while we might see some clips of members just hanging around (because the message is supposed to be that they're relaxing.. while this is still work for them on a certain level... you can't actually relax when there's a film crew around).. they're not going to show boring stuff (or stuff we're not meant to see). Tae and Jk are pretty lowkey and aside from my believe in their relationship being hidden, I also think their moments are not deemed interesting enough at times. Their vibe is different from Jk and Jm's bolsterous interactions, it's different from Jm and Tae's cute supporting vibe. Jm is an extrovert, very clearly so... and extroversion is often deemed fun to watch. While Tae has been described as an extrovert at times... I also think he has a strong introverted tendency (and he turned out to be an infp while taking the test) so Tae and Jk together are just a lowkey couple. To add to this further, Jm is an empath, but so is Jk. Their differences in extroversion is why the way it's practiced is also different.

Now.. more specifically about BV4. For context.. Tae did seem to have mental issues during 2019/20... and during this BV Jk went through the tattoo artist 'scandal'. Mental health issues are a tricky thing... because we're not always able to tell from the outside what someone is going through on the inside. So take into consideration that we’re possibly not even able to understand the actual state of Tae’s mental health fully from the little bit of footage we’re given… same goes for any member really.

To start with the "not having seen each other debate that popps up a lot". I think this is blown up way out of proportion (probably thanks to Jkkrs pushing it as a debunk). I'm not really aware of what both of them were doing around this time. They had a month off, which isn't that long if you also go traveling. Anyways, it's possible they needed time apart.. I can imagine things being tough from time to time, so maybe this was intentional. Maybe they just had different plans... Tae traveled a lot with friends and family, and maybe Jk just wasn't into that? Maybe Jk's perception of time was off and it was less long than he thought since he'd seen Tae. Maybe it's a members and Tae situation. Maybe he's very aware of not being able to mention Tae as flippantly as he does other members. Maybe they were off atm (though it doesn't seem like it to me). All sorts of possibilities, but I doubt they weren't in contact at all. Being apart while knowing that in a bit you'll be spending plenty of time together again is pretty doable for most people. You'll never see Jk and Tae act like a couple in content for real, they know they can't do that on camera. BV, ITS, Run, Interviews... it's all work and they will always behave according to that.

In general I think there's nothing weird about their interactions, but rather that it feels something is missing. We know Jk and Tae are touchy and they hang off and on eacch other.. we don't get that here. On top of that.. when we do see them together it's mostly them with other members around, while other members do go of as pairs. It's almost as if Tae and Jk need chapperonnes 😂.

I'll get into the episode after the cut.. otherwise everyone will just be annoyed by how long this is.

Episode one is basically them travelling. It's rather uneventfull. A lot of sleeping and Tae wasn't feeling great for a bit. I'd say every Jk/Tae interaction was pretty normal. I don't feel Tae was off during this ep and we get Jk and Tae interactions a few times with them seeming completely normal to me.

Episode 2 starts with Tae and Jk in front seats of the campervan and then next to each other in the restaurant. Seems normal to me. We see some traveling, some shopping... Jk talking to sheep... Tae happily learning the Chicken Noodle soup dance. Tae and Jk together might not be the main focus, but they can be found close to each other often enough. Jk goes off on his own in the morning, when he gets that chunk of snow. I tend to think he wanted some time alone, since he didn't even wait for a camera to join him... Tae asking him if he's alright I interpret as him checking if Jk is mentally okay. People need space sometimes, that doesn't mean they have issues with the group they're with.. but rather that they need time to just be without having to consider other's feelings and wishes for a bit.

In episode 3 they start with a hike, and Tae does wander off a bit.. but I don’t feel it’s because he wants to be alone.. but rather to see where the path leads them. When Jk approaches the table where Tae, Hobi and Jin are eating he doesn’t hesitate to touch Tae’s back. There’s more driving and shopping. Jk takes Tae’s pic at a reststop. They eat, shop and drive again. Jk takes pics if Tae again and they laugh together like normal. Hobi, Tae, Jm and Jk practice the Chicken Noodle soup dance again. I feel Tae is participating enthusiastically in everything they do. He comes up with ideas, he laughs freely, he interacts with the others naturally. Tae and Jk keep bot being the main focus, yet they do continue to find each other all throughout. We see them standing close, touching, laughing, walking together. I feel there’s no avoidance or weirdness from their side.

Episode 4 kicks of at the accomodation they're staying at. When Yoongi prepares their food Tae gets Jm, Jin, and Jk to participate into a joke-ish skit thingy.. Jk smiles at Tae adoringly. After dinner we do get Tae taking a walk in the dark alone. At that point though, you see several members taking a moment for themselves. I don't feel Tae was particularly sad. Pensive maybe? I think it's too short a clip to tell. The next day has them shopping again, and we get headband Tae and Jk (my weakness 🥰). Tae and Jk do the Chicken noodle soup dance with Hobi at the lake, after which Tae and Jk review the footage closely together. They go hiking as a group and Tae and Jk are closeby nearly all throughout. Tae asks Jk to stop because he wants to take his picture. More hiking. The episode ends with a chaotic preparation of their camping site. Again, I don't feel that Tae is particularly sad or distancing himself. They all take moments of solitude, which is pretty normal to me during a group vacation.

I'm now at episode 5 and I have not yet felt that at one point Jm was the reason for Tae to partake in group dynamics, but rather I feel Tae was enjoying himself. He takes initiative, goes to help when he can, is funny inbetween, has no trouble taking on stuff like driving, interacts with all of them.

During their dinner preparations and meal at the campsite Tae was very much taking a backseat. It didn't seem like him having a hard time to me though, I tend to think he was just tired. Preparing dinner isn't his thing, so the camera wasn't on him much because of that too. Dinnertime is often Yoongi and Jin's time to shine. Tae leaves to go to sleep without announcing it, and yes I think he was done for the day. I don't think it has anything to do with Jk or the members, but they had a tiring day with hiking, Tae drove for hours, and anyone will get sleepy in front of a campfire. It is possible that he felt sad ofcourse, but I don't feel that particularly showed in this footage. Jk was the one to ask where Tae was, he also took a quick peak to watch him sleep. They wake up in the morning and Tae does seem a bit subdued to me... but in all honestly, so does everyone else. When they leave the hottubs we see Tae wearing one glove.. just like Jk. During the drive Tae seems fine and happily participates in the singing. Tae chooses to do the swing while he could've easily passed.. he was even the one to try and persuade Jm. Tae enjoys it so much that he himself asks to do the catapult as well. Whe don't really see Tae and Jk's reactions to each other's jumps. When deciding who goes shopping for groceries.. I could swear I see Tae and Jk share a glance (but that's also possibly just me). Tae and Jk go shopping for groceries with Namjoon and Yoongi, Tae once again wears one glove on his hands. All seems well and we later find out Jk bought Tae a jacket.

In episode 6 Episode when returning to the camp site, Tae immediately tells Jm about the jacket he got from Jk. Tae is helping out at the camp site quite a bit. Tae is the one who asks Jm to come horseriding the next day. He also super cutely asks to hold Namjoon when they sleep. The next day they go on the helicopter flight and Tae is so happy to land at the snow. Jk is making a snowman. Vmin are the cutest. Namjoon and Jk trying to sled are hilarious. After that Jm and Tae spend some time together horseriding/cycling, but at no point do I feel it’s Jm trying to involve Tae.. I rather feel Tae is enthusiastic just because of himself. There’s really little Jk and Tae interaction in this episode. Jk was basically with Hyungline the whole time, while Vmin had a lot of moments. Only in the story untold do we get a bit of Tkk interaction when Tae gives Jk sunscreen.

Episode 7 starts with members arriving at the last place of their stay. Tae isn’t feeling well (carsick). Jm and Tae end up rooming, and Jk ends up with Namjoon. We see Jk sitting with Tae while he’s lying at the couch in the background. We see Jm massaging Tae who’s still not feeling well. Tae does go and watch when Jk prepares the fish. After dinner they play uno and Tae and Jk are next to each other. They interact normally I’d say, though they are mostly busy with the game. Jk has no problem leaning into Tae to help him decide which cards to play. For some reason we suddenly see Jk in the other side of the table. Tae seems to be in good spirits to me. Jk very confidently states that he’s the one sharing a room with Tae, which isn’t the case. Jk returns to sit with Tae after the game. Tae has to wake everyone up and hangs over Jk’s sleeping body for a while. So many headbands 🥰. Tae again is the one to ask Jm to ride the cable ride together. Tae and Jk ride to the top separately, which is a bit odd to me since they were the last two to go up. Later in the car Tae easily mentions Jk’s snoring and goes to describe it. Tae is a bit late to lunch, but in the Story Untold we learn he told them to start eating because he would take a while. We get to the part where Tae wanders through the city alone while the others chose to go on group activities. I think it’s important to point out that this is the only time that has happened during this trip and that I feel he was pretty involved with the others the whole time. You can’t really say Tae went out on his own, because he’s with a camera man. He looks in good spirits to me, so possibly he just really wanted to enjoy the city while the others went for more action. Doing things alone when you’re on a group outing can be very important because having to be social constantly can be draining. In the Story Untold we learn that Tae has muscle ache (from horse riding), so possibly that’s why he wanted to go to the city instead of doing something active.

Episode 8 starts with where we left off in episode 7. Tae is walking around town, having a burger and icecream. Jk is at the new fishing spot with Yoongi and Jin. Tae is home first and is super funny (to me at least) by hiding from Namjoon, Hobi and Jm when they return. At this point Tae is very clear about not going with the other's because his butt hurt 😂. Tae helps Hobi and Jm with dinner preparations and joins in normally and happily imo. They do funny skits. Jk walks in when Jm and Tae do a scene... considers what he's seeing for a few seconds.. and decides it's nothing new 😂. Jk tries to but in wiht the cooking, which neither Tae and Jm want him to do and they send him away. Tae: "I got rid of the intruder" 😂. Later on Jk helps Tae get the rice.. again nothing weird about it. They have a very happy dinner after which they start to dance and sing. Tae and Jk are next to each other, though not physically close like we know them to be. To me they seem a normal, happy part of the group. Tae looks at Jk dancing with a huge smile on his face. We get an entertaining game of UNO during which Tae is proud to not finish last. Jk goes off to bed as soon as he's done. Tae stays to watch the others finish.

During their solo interviews both Tae and Jk express having had a great trip. Tae hopes fans won't have a problem with him having gained a bt of weight (which... hello, he looks amazing) and eating a lot. Jk actually apologizes for the tattoo artist 'scandal', but he emphasizes having been happy on the trip.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

Hi hello I watched all of carmilla in a weekend when I was 17 because a student teacher who in retrospect I had a bit of a crush on mentioned that she knew one of the actresses. also I am pretty invested in all your recent vampire stuff because I watched iwtv in 2 days last week because your edit intrigued me

oh hiiii 🫶 thank you for indulging me. thats so cool that you watched iwtv! did it live up to the expectation?

i also watched carmilla at 17! or like, 17-19. i found it when s2 had just started and followed it to the end. did something permanent to my brain but i think it was a good thing. on rewatch now im like, i was right to like this. like it's a solid show, it's good. it has its flaws obviously but it's well written, the emotional moments still get me, i can see why i liked it and i still like it now even when it's not anymore, you know, meeting every need that baby gay me didnt even know they had

what it doesnt reaallyy do though - i dont remember if i posted abt this or if i left it in my drafts but - is explore vampirism as a concept. their subject matter is more lesbianism than vampirism. which is great! thats what they wanted to do and they did it and it's very good. but reading interview with the vampire the book rn im realising how much potential vampires have to be metaphors for like so many things and i started wondering like 'wait, did carmilla just not really engage with it or did it all go over my head'. but it just didnt really engage with it all that much. which again is fine bc that wasnt what they were doing. im glad they were more about the lesbianism than the vampirism

but there's this interesting difference in framing, because in iwtv they keep calling armand 'ancient' right? and emphasising how old he is. and he's like 500? and i was like 'wait isnt carmilla like 400?'. she isnt, shes 340, but still, thats getting there, you know? and we know quite a lot about her history, but kind of just the Big Events. when she was turned, the events of the novella, coffin of blood, silas. thats sort of what we know. but none of the long lonely slog of history day to day you know? with armand i feel like we can really feel how much time everything takes. how every one of those years is made up of single days. with carmilla i dont feel that as much. i keep kind of thinking about daniel, when louis calls him a boy in the first episode, saying "im an old man, with all the triggers that come with it"

because carmilla might look 18 (or mid twenties at this point) but she has lived all that time. shes also seen her native land be claimed by like a succession of ruling powers, right? like armand. shes been buried alive, like louis. when lestat is born, shes already 80 years old, shes lived a whole human lifetime, and the entire adult part of it shes been a vampire. shes lived through 1680-1870 being a lure. i compared her to abigail hobbs in some tags on a post, i dont know if youre familiar with hannibal the tv show, but i do also kinda keep thinking about that comparison

if youre not familiar, in the first episode of hannibal the murderer of the week is this guy garrett jacob hobbs who kills and cannibalises girls who resemble his daughter. and later on it turns out she was made to be his lure. like they'd go places and he'd sent her to the victims to make friends and maybe get them back to their home or smth. not sure if they specified all the details. but that's what carmilla did for mother. and in s2 we hear from mattie that while every couple of decades carmilla had to lure victims for the fish god, she also seemed to just enjoy humans between those times, right? like the doctor, gets lonely, gets a new companion. but we've only sort of got mattie's mocking word for it ("dont eat him, hes a poet! or her, shes got such a wonderful voice. or that one, shes just too pretty to ruin"), we don't know exactly from carmilla's point of view what she was doing or why. if mattie's talking about stuff that happened after the blood coffin, 1950-now, then i think it's a fair assumption based on what carmilla says in the s1 sock puppet show that after she'd figured out what the real situation was and what her role in it was, when she'd started trying to save girls from being sacrificed, that she mightve been doing the same trying to save people from becoming mattie's victims. it's probably more likely that she was just trying to find excuses to stop mattie from sucking someone dry rather than actually having like an aesthetic based morality. but it might be a bit of both. im still trying to figure out what her philosophy actually is, like i dont know what existentialism actually means ghkfjghkj but i will

i also found it pretty striking in the movie when shes turning back into a vampire she says like "this was supposed to be done, you know? the blood lust, the self-loathing, the sleeping tied to a chair in my own bedroom". thats what defines her vampirism, wanting blood and hating yourself for it (the third part is a joke/reference to s1 but also i think meaningful for how she sees her relationship with laura when she IS a vampire. little bit of that 'she will reject me for my monstrousness' shining through). and thats what defines vampirism for lots of vampires across the genre obviously, but i dont know, it struck me. we dont get a lot from carmilla's pov, we know a fair amount about her, but the story is always told through laura. we get laura's diaries, but just snippets here and there from carmilla, what shes thinking, how shes feeling

and i love that shes a philosopher. i love that thats how she seems to try and find something to hold onto, in a world that kind of moves around her, having been murdered, kidnapped, turned and groomed to be a lure on the cusp of adulthood, never having been properly loved (the relationship with her father wasnt good she says in s3, and her mortal mother i dont think has ever been mentioned (like laura's)). the only good relationship she seems to have had for the better part of 3 centuries seems to have been mattie, and mattie seems to love being a vampire. i can imagine carmilla just sort of going along with anything mattie wants to do just because shes so desperate for that friendship. not like, against her will necessarily really. but more like, she hasnt even had the space to develop her own will, you know? and philosophy lets you do that. philosophy gives you frameworks to understand the world and to develop your own opinions on it. and by the 21st century she seems to have developed those opinions, she has a sense of her own values, but shes also still stuck in that same situation. shes jaded and cynical in the face of laura's optimism and strong moral code a lot of the time in s1 because she feels probably pretty powerless. like she does what she can to save some girls but at the end of the day shes scared of her mother and she has nowhere else to go really, right?

i like how she grapples with that over the course of the series, in tandem with laura grappling with her black and white morality. she sort of jumps ship from her mother to laura bc theyve fallen in love, but then laura still stuck in her hero thinking refuses to see her monstrous side. not literally bc i think the biological vampirism never seemed to be a problem for laura, but morally. the having murdered. carmilla needs laura to see that and love her while seeing it bc the last girl she loved rejected her for being a vampire.

but you see her kind of swing back and forth in s2. she softens first with laura but then they break up and she leans back hard into the sarcastic cynic defense mechanisms, leans hard into "im a monster, dont expect heroism from me". but thats like, it's sort of learned helplessness i think. it's powerlessness, resignation. bc morally shes not a monster. maybe she doesnt have as strong a drive to help other people as laura does and is a little more selfishly hedonistic in that she just wants to enjoy her/their life, but she doesnt hurt people for fun, she never has. she just sort of didnt have another option for a Really long time. so she pretends she doesnt care. "im a vampire, this is what i do, this is who i am". but clearly from the way she talks about it when she turns back into one, she doesnt enjoy it

and i like how she goes even further in s3, where she starts swinging even more to the heroic side, bc she sees hope. shes like "wow if we kill my mother, i'd be free". theres hope and she becomes like a lot more active. and shes like that at the start of the movie too, a lot happier, a lot more relaxed, and then vampirism is back and bam depression gfhgkjh like shes immediately more gloomy, ashamed of her past and her self, retreats into herself

sorry i just took this as an opportunity to dump all the carmilla thoughts floating in my head on you. you didnt ask fhkghgjh consider this an open invitation to you or anyone else to come talk to me about carmilla

[exhuastedpigeon]

the queer eddie foreshadowing was insane in this episode, like that line was as loud as bucks from s7 premiere. Also I really do hope these last 4 episodes have made Tommy fans realize what he is and is not and it's very very clear he is a love interest and won't be lasting much longer. they're basically made him ana or marisol. but will tommy fans see the light after everything they've done the last 6 months, probably not unfortunately.

I think they're certainly planting more queer Eddie seeds, but that episode for me was more about Eddie's relationship with Chris and his relationship with his own father. To me, that's what Eddie will likely be dealing with first - how his upbringing and his father (and likely mother) put him in a box and Eddie never fit into that box.

His talk with the dad felt like Eddie trying to help a dad avoid mistakes Eddie's dad made and Eddie feels like he's made (not the mistake of not talking to his kid because he's a cheerleader, but not living in the same place as his son and not being there for him when he should have been).

As for Tommy... listen he's a character on the show. He's been written very similarly to previous love interests who are no longer on the show. People who like the character and his relationship with Buck are welcome to enjoy it!

Fans of a ship or character are almost always going to expect more from it then the canon text gives them because being in fandom is a hobby. Fans spend hours and hours each week speculating and reading meta and rewatching scenes and episodes they like. Fans read and write fic and make edits. Fans are almost always going to be more invested in characters because of this.

The writers and actors don't do that. There's a reason that there are continuity issues on long running shows like this and it's that the writers forgot things about characters or stories because they happened 5, 6, 7, years ago. To us as fans they feel recent because we rewatch! We talk about it often!

I think it's important to remember what other fans like or don't like shouldn't bother you. The only time I have issues with fan behaviour is when people cross boundaries (like DMing actors and writers, spamming their comments with fandom stuff, etc), when there's bullying/harassment of reporters for writing stuff that doesn't match with what the fan wants, or when fans bully, harass, and threaten each other.

Who cares if Tommy's fans think he's going to be around long term? He's either going to be around for a while or he isn't. Based on patterns with previous love interests it doesn't seem like he'll be around long term, but we're only four episodes into the season.

Everyone take a breath. It's all fiction.

[kerryweaverlesbian]

Hey I read your Becky/Ambriel foc recently and was wondering how you go about writing the voices of characters who aren't in shows a lot. I feel Becky does have a distinct voice (which you nailed) but for Ambriel (and other characters you have written) did you just watch over her scenes or do you just go for it?

Like there's fandoms I've been in for 2 years and I wouldn't feel able to wrote the main characters' voices right.

Like ultimately when it comes to femslash (and all fic but especially femslash) it's better to write it bad than not at all but I would still appreciate knowing how you go about if that's okay to ask

I love talking about the writing process!! This got long and it's a big scattered mess of thoughts <3 it's hard to pin down a process because all of these thoughts and the actual writing of the piece happen concurrently so, chicken, egg, you know.

First of all, worrying about voice should really be an editing job, not a "writing the first draft" concern, in my opinion. Dean can sound like "good lord, why, is that my old chum Castiel? I do believe it is! Come, come, old chap, let us break burgers together and I shall tell thee of my frankly untenable week" and Cas can reply "bet" and you can put in square brackets [FIX THIS] and keep on trucking. I know this is hard to do. I too will pause on tricky sentences. Square brackets are my best friend. [Add Dean-ism] [insert joke] [reference that means "uh oh!]. But! To actually answer!

A particular character's voice is (unforch) something you can only fully develop through writing more of them and figuring out who they are to you. I used to be very stilted trying to figure out Cas’s voice, and then I wrote a lot of him and read a lot of other people's thoughts about him and thought about his actions in canon and now he's the easiest person for me to write!

What's more important than the surface level character-isms, is that they have depth and are consistent. Does the content of what they're saying make sense with the life they've led. Like, I don't think that my take on Meg really sounds all that much like canon Meg for example. But she is consistent within the fics I put her in, and shares enough snark with canon Meg that it works, AND she has motivations, reactions and ideas that are different to the other characters in the fic. It's like a cheat code, if two characters have different reactions to one event, that makes it come off like they have different voices.

Some other cheat codes: have one of them make a ton of references, and the other speak plainly (dean and sam core! but you can do that for most duos); have them make references to different things (tv vs classic literature, sci-fi vs fantasy); have one of them tell sillyjokes and the other tell dry jokes (destiel core...). Contrasts makes characters seem more separate.

For voice, I'll only rewatch if I don't remember how they said anything at all or if I remember they had a particularly distinctive way of speaking. If I needed to put Gabriel in a scene, I'd probably watch his episodes again. I've found if I do watch an episode to remind myself it can psyche me out of actually writing anything for them—Ava for example, I'm intimidating myself out of writing her at the moment lol.

For establishing a (deeper) character, you first need the basics:

Ambriel, helpfully, fits some basic tropes. Office worker. Apathetic. Angel in the vein of Castiel, Hannah and Anna (which is to say, autistic). I have a LOT of practice writing Castiel, and Ambriel is like Castiel didn't have his drive to help people or love of humanity. She is therefore: straightforward (angel), mildly bored (office worker) and her biggest want is for nothing to change for her (apathetic).

It's then how you build on the collection of tropes that makes them a Character. You figure out how to explain some of the above traits/situations they're in. What is her history? (She went to earth and didn't like it) Who is around her? (Kaisiel, whom she resists making a real connection with due to her apathy) Why is she apathetic? (It's repressed fear of punishment).

Something that really, really helps with unique characterisation for me is a little silly. Give them a niche interest. Something not mentioned in the source material at all, or is only briefly mentioned. Castiel is into the same sitcoms as me (and taxidermy). Ambriel is into data storage. Ava is into collecting small furniture.

And then go, why are they into this?

Castiel bc he loves to experience hunanity at a safe distance (and he likes to rummage).

Ambriel because it's within the scope of her job so is 'safe', which she takes pride in (and which I advanced from "pushing a button" because I thought that was stupid and bad world building 💙).

Ava wants to feel a sense of control in a world that is very much out of her control.

This not only gives you better insight into them as a character, it also makes them YOURS. that's not the cw's Ambriel, that's mine, she's into data storage, so it doesn't matter if she's off-model because no one will know, because she's mine.

As with Castiel's love of tv, you can also do this with canon interests, just hone in on specifically what it is and specifically why they like it. Dean doesn't like "music" he likes rock because it makes him feel powerful and affirms his masculinity and has a connection to his family being together. Charlie doesn't like "fantasy" she likes Lord Of The Rings and The Wizard of Oz because she values escapism and rooting for the little guy (these are also interests of Sam's!).

Plus - making it more niche and specific makes it SEEM like they have this rich inner life and history even if you don't bother to figure out why.

1) "Geraldine sighed and took the dog for a walk" vs

2) "Geraldine sighed, saved her game and took the dog for a walk" vs

3) "Geraldine sighed, saved her game of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon X, and took the dog for a walk."

Now!! Actually! 2 and 3 are where "voice" can come in. Is the POV character someone who doesn't care or know much about video games? Then 2 is the one for them. Does the POV character care a lot about being accurate, know Geraldine well enough to know what she's playing, and/or are knowledgeable about video games? Option 3! Or, bonus option 4, perhaps they're disdainful of video games/annoyed with Geraldine: "Geraldine sighed, saved her little game with the pretend animals, and finally took our very real and very whiny dog for a walk".

So!! We have a character. How do we make her distinct from the other characters in the fic? Build them concurrently!

Ambriel is apathetic about community THEREFORE Becky is desperate for it (and can't hold onto it). Becky is over-verbose, so Ambriel keeps it short (and is misunderstood as a result). Ambriel believes deep down that she doesn't matter, so Becky deep down believes that she (both herself and Ambriel) is special and important and deserves worship.

So. I think you were expecting this but. think about their motivations and then just start writing them and it'll work out.

okay I gotta go make dinner. does this help???? MWAH

[ctinalk]

Season two isn’t (fully) real, it’s a peaceful, fragile existence

The more I rewatch the show and read different theories, the more convinced I get that S2 is some sort of elaborate dream sequence or a distraction or memory alteration attempt (Neil’s chaotic angsty ineffable husbands fanfic?). But not all of it.

(This gets kind of rambly so if you want my true hook, scroll down to the Michael Sheen Staged gif.)

Let me make this perfectly clear on the outset: I don’t think all of it is a dream, and I certainly don’t think the final 15/kiss is or is going to be discounted (and not only because there would be literal riots in the street, because there absolutely would be, but also I’m putting trust in Neil and the team wholeheartedly). I think that could actually be the domino that brings them out of it. I read somewhere recently something along the lines of “something loved can never be truly forgotten” and I think that fits my theory perfectly. I’m also making no claims (yet) as to what I think is real and what I think is “enhanced”.

Also I apparently am either too far deep or cannot work the tumblr search function with any modicum of usefulness, so please link me to the posts I’m alluding to if you think it’s the right one. I will edit them in and sincerely apologize to the brilliant minds that exist outside the confines of the search function.

Now, On with the show:

You can be in charge of the biscuits

Maggie and Nina: Look, I get that recasts happen, they change the actor playing the character because of scheduling conflicts, etc. But to cast the actor/actress that is immediately recognizable from a prior interaction (whether with the characters or the audience) is not something you see. FFS Maggie DIED in S1, and Nina was pivotal (maybe too strong a word, but enough to be memorable surely) to the storyline. It’s like someone said “Hey, they’ll work, bring em in, no I don’t care that they were in S1. It’ll be a test of how well our facade is working. If they (A&C) notice, then the gig is up and we’ll know it.”

Also why in the world is the owner of a coffee shop offering Eccles cakes to calm down, when camomile tea is right there? (Resists the urge to go off on a tangent on how Eccles cakes were used to celebrate the “Eccles wakes” at the feast of St. Mary (yes that Mary) and how that ties into the second coming plot.) Do Eccles cakes count as biscuits? Ugh another thought for another day I suppose.

It has come to my attention during writing that Shax is the same actress as Madame Tracy. I have less of an affront to this knowledge since I’m 2 months deep and countless rewatches in and only just noticed. But I’m going to pop it in this header anyway. Are you really trying to tell me that a show that apparently has demon entrances happening precisely on the 6s really didn’t think these choices out very deliberately? (Edit 3: https://www.tumblr.com/noneorother/735823422626709504/the-secret-timeline-inside-of-good-omens-season-2 JFC why can I never find the blogs when I want to insert them? It was a breakdown about how all of the demon entrances happen at a 00:00 that ends in a 6.)

Yours very faithfully, Maggie

Text to mail disconnect: There’s been a theory pop up (at the time one writing this at least (edit 2: https://www.tumblr.com/azariah-z-fell/743434274903048192/it-is-extra-weird-because-it-is-on-the-record) that Maggie actually texted Aziraphale her request to talk, and it was magically translated into a physical form, and the spelling error (that so many people are shouting DEMON at) was just an autocorrect typo. But, surely Maggie would know he doesn’t text if she knew him for several years at least. We’ve never seen either of our boys text, only call. Seems like someone doesn’t know how phones work, but wanted to get the message received? See also: currency, below.

You ever think, what’s the point?

Numerous people have pointed out the same obvious background people. There are theories about the guy in the Hawaiian shirt being the second coming or something similar. I wonder if it’s some sort of play on a badly executed attempt to make Wickber Street seem “normal” in an alternate reality, an elaborate distraction, but they have to keep using the same character models because their imagination is just slightly better than Shadwells’ (Oh gfdi how did I miss Mrs. sandwich right there). I’m not saying we haven’t done a “oh oops silly me I forgot something” but that isn’t usually done in the middle of a sidewalk. When Aziraphale is initially talking to Jim with the blanket, there’s a guy just chugging his arms outside the window, not walking. Another one in E3 when Shax show up outside the shop, a guy in an orange sweatshirt passes in the background, then passes again, and not close enough in time/area to just be the continuation of the walk. Especially in the early episodes, there are veritable conveyer belts of people, straight lines, no trying to pass, etc. I’m trying to look at the background in S1 and while there are still tons of people, the background is… livelier. People passing, shoving past, actually going places.

“I’m looking at the statue of Gabriel.” “Oh, good job?”

Aziraphale basically learns fuck-all when he makes the trip to Edinburgh. Granted, I do believe most of that was to make the Bentley “our car”, but so many things are out of character. The no drink, the over-the-top “investigation” (as awkward as he is, Aziraphale knows how to act more normally than that with humans), the background on the drive up there…

All the others were taken (random collective thoughts)

Somehow ALL the businesses on the street are different from Season 1?

A normal person would have moved out of the rain instead of just lolling there letting raid splatter their glasses, yeah? (As a person with glasses I can confirm).

“We have all the hosts of hell searching for him” cue Crowley looking around like then why the fuck are there still demons around me?

The cross disappearing from the Gabriel statue between shots.

“I’m a bit out of miracles” and “that’s not how miracles work” from the guy who got written up for too many frivolous miracles.

I have here a sixpence and a farthing There’s always money in the banana stand

The lack of (accurate?) paid transactions seems like whoever is pulling the strings has no concept of earthly money and how it’s supposed to work, just that it exists. Crowley and Aziraphale talk bluntly about poverty and know that money is needed and used in current society (“Give her the money, Angel”, Rome, Globe Theatre, 1941 magic shop, etc.). Could be a “let’s not get lost in the trivialities” thing but it does strike me as odd. Caveat: Aziraphale forgiving the rent doesn’t quite fit, but cost of the record is obscenely low.

But this does give me hope about the 3rd 1941 flashback, because they were using money accurately there, which hopefully means the flashbacks and memories aren’t being altered, just “present day”.

We’re real people

One of the overarching themes in Season 2 (and S1 now I think of it) is “stop interfering in the lives of other people”. Maggie and Nina, Job, Elspeth, the entire dance party, Warlock, the book of prophecy. It would be a shame if someone were to make sure I failed to be messing about in their own lives.

I had brothers, you don’t scare me

Something happened just before Maggie told them to “Come in here and say that to my face.” Another demonic turn potential here, but also kind of like someone’s saying “FFS get on with the plot”.

The book of love has music in it

This post https://www.tumblr.com/noneorother/731977308306636800/all-the-music-you-didnt-hear-the-good-omens (finally, one I can find!) popped up, and there’s another one that purports to have noticed that there’s music lines missing from the opening sequence (edit 1: Found it!: https://www.tumblr.com/dadesu/726651737165938688/anyone-noticed-the-missing-half-bar-in-good-omens ). Possibly Clueing us in that there’s something that’s missing elsewhere (I mean obviously, that’s the whole point of this season, is it not?).

So where do we go from here?

As much as I’d love to say “Alright so the kiss breaks the spell whoever was put over them because of ✨the power of love✨, the ruse will be revealed, and they’re not talking because they don’t have to”

I don’t know, my thoughts are just the overarching patterns I’ve noticed over many, many rewatches and probably reading a few too many magic trick theories and/or fanfics. I don’t intentionally make my theory posts open-ended, but in the end that’s the fun of it. Nothing has to be mutually exclusive (yes I’m referencing my “Is Crowley already the new Supreme Archangel” post, I think I’m allowed that much). I’m happy to be proven wrong, and probably will be.

Lots of things are wrong right now

But I will leave you with one parting thought: Crowley knows. He knows there’s furniture missing. (That’s why he keeps just tossing things everywhere, because he know it doesn’t matter.)

And he. Does not. Care. For it.

How many theories that I myself hate can I dig into?

I’m a demon, I lied:

[technicolorfamiliar]

D O U B L E F E A T U R E !

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Dir. Robert Weine 1920 // Orlacs Hände (The Hands of Orlac) Dir. Robert Wiene 1924

I recently watched both, Caligari specifically because I was invited on a friend's podcast to talk about the film (I was totally normal about it and definitely didn't make color coded note cards about the making of the movie… I did, I did make color coded note cards). So I figured I would lump these two in one post to switch things up.

--- Even though we talked about the movie for an hour and change, the conversation we recorded for the pod easily could have gone longer. There's so much to unpack about The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Between its historical, cinematic, artistic, and cultural significance and legacy, but also the various players on and off camera, not to mention the film's genesis from concept to page to screen -- there's no shortage of rabbit holes to go down.

Something I wish I had brought up during the recording was the score: The score matters! These updated silent film scores really do affect the viewer experience, and they're so often hit or miss. Of course, the original score for Caligari has been lost to time, but I read that the premier of in New York had classical music (Prokofiev, Stravinsky, etc) played along to the screening; part of me thinks this would be fun to try to recreate. I have no memory of the music when I first saw the film in 2009, but when I rewatched Caligari about a year ago, early in my Conrad Veidt journey, I chose a version on Internet Archive (which is, as of late October, sadly still out of commission *cries in nerd*) and the updated score was almost entirely minimal strings, which created a suitably eerie effect. I couldn't find that exact version elsewhere, so I this time opted for the 2014 restoration that's on Kanopy. The 2014 score is… fine. It’s very busy, trying too hard to sound like a traditional movie soundtrack. There's another version with a really painfully bad guitar-heavy score that I couldn't sit through even 5 minutes of, and still another that's entirely synths. Apparently the new 4K UHD/Blu-Ray that was just released has two new options for the score -- hopefully at least one of them doesn't totally suck!

I noticed deep into my third time viewing the film that I hadn't reached for my phone once. These days, I'll occasionally pick it up and mindlessly scroll through social media while watching a movie. But I think Caligari and a few other silent films require closer attention since they're a purely visual medium. I found myself greedily devouring every frame of Caligari. No shot or scene feels wasted. Honestly, I feel like every movie should be 90 minutes long or less. Anything longer should be turned into a miniseries. But in all seriousness, Caligari is another film I want to physically walk into. It would be pretty easy to recreate these sets, life size in grayscale black and white. The more I think about this, the more I need it. So, so bad.

I also came away this time with a lot of questions, mostly about the main part of the narrative, the story Franzis is telling. But the framing device makes the questions pointless. If the main story is just Franzis's delusion, then the absurdity of the script is totally fine I guess? Except the script that Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer wrote didn't have Franzis as a patient at the asylum, they hated the framing story twist that was forced on their movie, so all those weird parts of the script and character choices that I'm overthinking and reading too much into are rendered meaningless. It's all in Franzis's head! The story and the characters in it don't matter! Or else are just part of his subconscious! Face palm. Eye roll.

Does the movie even work without the framing device? It would be interesting to show an edited version of the movie without the first and last scenes to someone who's never seen it. And if the twist ending was supposed to dumb down the anti-authoritarian message of the script, I don't know that it's successful. In the end, I still have empathy for Franzis. And we still have an ambiguous ending: Caligari/The Asylum Director looks at Mad Franzis and says, "I know just how to cure him," and there's a creepy iris wipe in on Werner Krauss's face that maybe leads us to think Franzis isn't as delusional as we think he is. So like… even if the whole Dr. Caligari with his sleepy twink in a box story is fake, whatever is happening at the asylum is probably just as messed up if not worse.

Speaking of the twink in a box, I love that Conrad Veidt's German Expressionism is totally different from Werner Krauss's German Expressionism. They both trained and performed with Max Reinhardt, so their foundations as theater actors in the 1910s and 1920s were likely similar. But, regardless or in spite of that shared experience, they are diametrically different human beings and that comes across in their performances in this movie. These two actors are like the textbook definition of "showing" your art vs. "being" your art. Krauss as Caligari is like "ooOOOoo look how ooky spooky and evil I am!", whereas Connie's performance as Cesare, even though it's hyper-stylized, is infused with something deeper, something primal that feels believable in the context of the film.

If Cesare has been asleep his whole life, waking only to be fed Chunky Campbell's Soup and commit murder at Caligari's bidding, then no wonder he reacts the way he does when sleeping Jane finally brings him out of his trance. When she freaks out, he freaks out too because he's had no opportunity to learn how to behave like a human or how to filter his primal emotions in a socially acceptable way. He hasn't lived his life except to be a madman's puppet. He reacts to Jane's panic on instinct and impulse, his desire and fear feel feral, like he's more creature or an animal than a human man. He may not actually want to hurt Jane, but he reacts violently because fight or flight is a basic human stress response! He runs away and eventually collapses because his body can't handle the sudden onslaught of stress and emotion he's never before experienced! And this internal, instinctual tendency to violence is subtly alluded to in the final scene when Asylum Cesare both caresses and slowly picks apart the flowers he's holding. Ahhhhh, I have so many FEELINGS.

And that said… Connie's performance here is wild, but it's real in a way that Werner Krauss's work could never be because Connie was a spiritual humanist who cared deeply for others and Krauss was an anti-semitic piece of shit who therefore could NEVER dig deep enough into his soul or into the collective unconscious the way Connie did to breathe life into his characters. So everything Krauss is doing here and in The Student of Prague is all surface, it's "showing" the audience his training and his actor toolbox rather than bringing a level of honesty and in-the-moment groundedness to these roles.

This is not to say Connie's intense commitment to his work couldn't be, uh, excessive. I really hope Lil Dagover was being serious when she said he would lurk around the studio in character when off camera. Can you imagine? You go up to the craft services table for a snack. Suddenly you feel like you're being watched. You look up and he's looming over you in the shadows, his unblinking glazed eyes boring into your soul. God, I hope this happened and I hope whoever it happened to peed themselves a little.

I also wish we had a behind the scenes photo of Connie in costume with the Cesare dummy. I can't believe someone actually had to make that prop. It'll haunt me forever. (The 1920 Cesare Dummy isn't real, the 1920 Cesare Dummy can't hurt me.)

Bottom line: It's an important film, I appreciate it for both its timelessness and timefullness. But it's not a movie I need to revisit often, regardless of how enchanting Connie's nostril acting may be.

---

The first time I watched The Hands of Orlac, I was floored by the visuals, the staging, and the heavy eroticism. Up until that point, I hadn't seen very many silent films, certainly few as visually striking. I think my initial impressions of this film were somewhat muted on a second watch, but that may just because I knew what to expect.

This time, I wasn't as swept up in the magic of silent era German Expressionist cinema, although stylistically I'm still absolutely 100% obsessed. Art direction wise, this is my favorite between the surviving Wiene-Veidt films (I haven't seen Furcht and I don’t plan to). Orlac is like the darker, sexier, more grown up sister to Caligari's mall goth teen. It's Vampira vs Lydia Deetz.

Orlac is just as much if not more of a cinematic feat than Caligari. The production design and art direction alone feels more mature and in itself tells more of a story.

Very early in the film, we're thrown into a very impressive, very realistic train crash. Opening the movie this way was a really interesting choice -- we don't get to meet the characters before the accident that starts Paul and Yvonne Orlac on their doomed and bizarre trajectory. There is a brief establishing scene of Yvonne reading a really horny letter from her husband, and one of pianist Paul at his final concert before returning home. Then there's a very long sequence of the aftermath of the train crash that almost kills Paul, and this scene brings a level of realism you don't really get in other films of this genre/done in this style. The set construction looks expensive; the mangled train cars piled up in heaps may have been fabricated in the studio, but because of the lighting in the night scene, the billowing smoke from passing locomotives and fires from the crash, it looks pretty damn real for 1924. It's extremely effective and harrowing, especially as Yvonne races to the site of the crash and climbs through the wreckage to try to find her husband. The chaos of the scene, made all the more disorienting by the movement of search lights and the haze of smoke and steam, feels true to life. People are running around, pulling bodies from the ruined train cars, carrying them away on stretchers. Survivors look around dazed, clutching their belongings in shock. It's such a well directed moment in the film, but maybe not the first thing people remember about it. And I think it's inclusion is important because it offsets how weird the movie's about to get.

And boy, does it get weird. However, the doctor does say Paul suffered a skull fracture, so it's not a huge stretch to think he also has some kind of brain injury. So I wonder if that has something to do with how the filmmakers chose to show Paul's intense fear and paranoia, as well as the movie's shift in tone and style after his accident. The nightmarishness of the film, from the exaggerated performances to the set design, feels like an extension of whatever might be going on in Paul's head as a result of his injury.

Regardless, I love the choices the art director made. The set, especially the Art Deco mausoleum the Orlacs have for a home, is so perfect. The huge, cavernous rooms are completely unnecessary, but they make the characters look and feel so helpless, like dolls in a doll house. The lines of the walls and the furnishings draw the eye through the frame with just as much intention as the painted sets of Caligari. Even places outside their house become symbolic and iconographic. The news stand is just a window cut out of a massive wall of loose sheets of newspaper that takes up the entire frame. The interior of Orlac Sr.'s house is like a old, drafty castle, looking more like the home of an evil, miserly king. The tavern where Paul is confronted by Nera feels dank and subterranean, just a lamp or two removed from literal catacombs. The outer world is fully a reflection of poor Paul Orlac's inner torment and despair and I AM LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

The new music composed by Paul Mercer is perfect, too. It's all skronky violins and cellos, ominous percussion and piano. It's just atmospheric enough, creating moments of soundscapes, echoing footsteps, aural suggestions of the oppressive cave-like rooms where the story unfolds. There aren't really any memorable themes like in the updated score for The Student of Prague, but that works for this movie. I would buy this soundtrack and actually listen to it on its own, it's that good.

Everyone in the ensemble is basically on the same page in terms of acting style, no one feels out of place or miscast. Connie of course steals the show, but Alexandra Sorina as Yvonne gives him a run for his money. She's a good match for him, delivering an appropriately desperate and hysterical (and deeply, deeply horny) performance as the touch-starved wife. Their scenes together are maybe some of the best on screen romantic moments of Connie's silent film work because these two are wildly hungry for each other. This movie is so funny, it tells you immediately how horny it is; in the first 30 seconds of the movie, Yvonne gets a letter from Paul that says, "I will feel your body beneath my hands," like they're telling you straight up this is going to Horn Town. And the way she grabs at him, presses her open mouth to him, hovers over him in his hospital bed, she is DTF anywhere any time. And no shame, no shade, good for her. This is a sex positive film, and we love to see it. But she's not just the sexy wife, she's also totally ride or die for Paul. She truly trusts him and believes his absolutely buck wild story about being blackmailed by a dead psycho killer. What a gal.

Then there's Paul, aka Eraserhead Baby… because when he wakes up from surgery covered in bandages, he looks like the Eraserhead Baby. Connie is doing some of his finest nostril acting in this role, I have to say. As always, I am fascinated by his physicality and the choices he's making with movement and gesture. When his bandages are finally removed, he reacts as though drugged, his movements slow as though underwater or in a dream. And when he confronts his surgeon after discovering the original owner of his newly transplanted hands, he holds them out and away from his body as if they were coated in something dirty or disgusting. As Paul's life and sanity unravel, his hands and fingers are in almost constant motion, curling, twitching, clutching; his body language becomes more creature-like, moving in a way that calls up Cesare the sleepwalker -- interestingly, the two characters both seemingly at the mercy of forces outside their control.

We don’t get to know what Paul was like before the accident, how much this traumatic event changed him. There's something this movie is trying to say about trauma and how it affects people. The doctor tells Paul, "Nature and a strong will can overcome anything." But if Paul sustained any kind of serious brain damage, who’s to say his personality wasn't affected, or that he wasn't fragile and suggestible to begin with? Either way, in the wake of the accident, Paul's vulnerability and circumstance makes him a perfect target for Nera's grift.

Even without being targeted by a sick weirdo con artist, it's no wonder Paul's really going through it. He tortures and punishes himself relentlessly for something that wasn't his fault! (Been there.) He puts on a recording of one of his old concerts and crumples in grief for having lost not only his livelihood but also his outlet for creative expression -- not being able to do what you used to creatively because of trauma is REAL. He's trapped in his misery. Even his handwriting is different, now a violent scrawl he imagines is due to the murderous acts his hands supposedly committed. He secretly retrieves the planted murder weapon in order to further convince himself he's somehow become evil, wielding it as through he committed the crimes of the dead man whose hands now belong to him. And the scenes where Yvonne comes to him, wanting to both devour and comfort him, he cannot bring himself to touch her. Clearly they love each other very much and their relationship was very physical, so the agony and yearning in his face when she embraces him is UGH IT'S SO GOOD. It's heartbreaking. There's a lot to unravel here about trauma, body dysmorphia, and intimacy that I'm interested to dig into during subsequent viewings.

Final thoughts: There's an annoying part of my brain that wants the movie to make sense, for the timeline to be clearer, for loose ends to be tied up. But I know that none of that really matters because this movie is better received as a dream or a nightmare. And by that logic, it doesn't have to make sense. The Expressionist beats are being hit particularly hard, but the surreal quality allows the filmmakers and cast to get away with it. For fans of Conrad Veidt, this is a must-watch, even before Caligari -- he gets more screen time in this film, gets to play with his silent film artist's palette, and gets to do pathos like he's the king of tragic, pathetic characters. He's gangly, glassy-eyed, and trembling like a small wet dog the whole time and it's superb. Despite not really getting a chance to know the Orlacs before they're thrown into their own personal hell of body horror and credit debt, they're both pretty sympathetic. From psychological commentary to the erotic visuals and tension, it's all very ahead of its time.

[stylinsoncity]

Sorry if this ask is a little long. I’m going to be a little cheesy here :’)

I am an extremely avid reader: I’ve read literary classics and trashy BookTok romances and dark political satire books and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING makes me as excited to read than when I see you updating on AO3. I used to tell myself that I was just new to the fandom and getting into reading fics about my favorite artists and THAT’s why I downloaded CAYA and SEL and The Wonderlands onto my Books app where I would just reread and reread and reread. I’ve memorized some of your words at this point. Like when you’re rewatching your favorite sitcom and you’re ready to recite the next line of dialogue hahaha

I just read the first chapter of The Thrill of It All and I DEVOURED it. I reread some sentences out loud, slowly, because they were written so beautifully, with such diligence and care. I realized that moments like that are why I liked reading so much in the first place. Even though it was only around 6000 words, I’m already so amazed by the characterization and the way you’ve set the romantic and moody vibe already in the chapter.

I’m writing this ask because I went through some of your Tumblr posts and I can tell that you’re putting a teeeeeny bit of pressure on yourself to finish your works in progress and to post the ABO fic and to edit CAYA for publishing and you’re also navigating the fandom’s recent loss and all I wanted to say is that I trust your ability to put out magic like you always do, whenever it happens. You probably hear this all the time, but you have a very wonderful gift for writing. Take whatever time you need to update/write fics. I’ll patiently reread your magna opera until then! I’ll obviously miss your writing if you’re not continuing after these next two fics but please know that your works had a profound impact on me. Thank you for sharing the little corners of your beautiful mind! <3

okay well you successfully made me tear up!!

i struggle so much responding to things when they make me have Emotions because it becomes difficult to concisely express how i feel and what the message means to me. and then i worry about being wordy and ultimately not explaining myself well.

your perceptiveness and attention to my headspace is genuinely appreciated. i definitely do put quite a bit of pressure on myself. i'm anxious and a perfectionist which is an exhausting combination for so many reasons. i feel like everyone here is pretty understanding and very many are familiar with how long it takes me to update and how scatterbrained i can be. and it honestly does help for ppl to pay attn to those things. somehow it makes me feel safer being a little bit of a mess.

i'm also kind of coming to terms with having anxiety and adhd and accepting that this is how i create and that's okay. so i try to be nicer to myself but every now and then, i do get into a place of like wishing i could do a bit better, work a bit faster, etc... so what you've said honestly does help more than i can express. i really mean that! thank you so much D':

and for the lovely comments on my work... also thank you!! i'm so happy you're enjoying the thrill of it all so far.. you also just named all of my favorite children lol so i'm even more moved by this message.. i still feel like i'm not fully conveying just how moved i am!! but genuinely thank you for your support and patience and love! ily!!

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Personally I don’t expect team rwby to solve all bigotry, but I’d like to see them make any sort of attempt to at least begin to change something? Even relatively small scale?

The SDC seemed like the perfect opportunity but nope,

And maybe don’t kill,of characters like sienna and have characters like Robyn hill who are actively trying to combat class inequality get competed into fighting Salem instead

Movies like nimona manage it I don’t see why rwby can’t

This is the last time I'll be answering an ask to do with these issues in RWBY. I don't feel that there's a satisfactory answer, and certainly not one that I can provide. I've mentioned something along those lines before, but I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're not the same anon and didn't see my posted answer.

I recently reblogged a post about these issues, but that doesn't mean my answer has changed. That post basically said there is no simple fix, and that means it isn't possible to do in RWBY, unless it was a fictional fix that wouldn't work in reality, which would be disrespectful.

I'm not sure what you expect four teenagers to be able to do, even small scale. They're good at fighting Grimm, but that doesn't mean anyone's going to pay attention to them about anything else.

Ruby's lucky at least some people listened to her broadcast about Salem, but that's connected with Grimm.

Weiss was the SDC heiress but ended up having that taken away before she could do anything good with it, and actually doing anything would have had to wait until her father was no longer in control.

Blake persuaded Menagerie's faunus to form a militia and help save Haven from Adam's corrupted White Fang, but that took a serendipitous attack on her parents and their house partly burning down. She can't command that militia to do anything else.

Yang would struggle to persuade anyone to do anything. The last time Remnant at large saw her was during the Vytal tournament broadcast, apparently breaking Mercury's leg unprovoked. The CCT is still down, so chances are most people have no idea she was set up. I dunno, maybe she could intimidate some sense into people?

I'm not sure when team RWBY would have had time to do anything while in Atlas. Ironwood kept them busy. Were they supposed to take down or reform the SDC with the one night off they had? If they'd tried they might well have found themselves arrested, the SDC and its Dust is rather important to the Atlas military. And then where would they be with their goal of getting the second Relic from the Atlas vault?

As for after things fell apart with Ironwood... As important as these issues are, avoiding arrest and doing their part to help get word out about Salem, or helping Mantle and then rescuing Oscar had priority.

It's not the reason they've done it, they just happened to fall in love, but I guess it could be argued that Blake and Yang's romance is some sort of proof that faunus and humans are equal.

After Salem is eventually somehow defeated, I can imagine at least Blake working with or even leading the reformed White Fang and campaigning for faunus rights. I'm sure the rest of her team would help her if there's anything they can do.

But survival against Salem has to come first. So a huntress like Robyn Hill doesn't really have any choice. There won't be any world to improve if Salem isn't stopped.

As for Sienna, take that up with Adam. I'd much rather she hadn't been killed off too, but there was no other way that was going to end between them.

That's the best I can do, anon. I'm well aware it's not a great answer. I can't provide one. I don't think there is one.

I haven't seen Nimona, I don't have a Netflix subscription. Maybe I'll watch it the next time I want to rewatch She-Ra. I've read the Nimona graphic novel years ago, but I don't remember bigotry being solved in there. Unless you meant an attempt being made? I need to reread it.

Edit: this got long and I forgot about a read more cut until now. Apologies!

[sikyecng]

Kataang au? Do tell me more pls 👁

omg hello anon again!!

recently i stumbled upon a kataang titanic AU fanfic called unforgettable feelings by futureairbender18 on ff.net (sadly it hasn't been updated since 2011) but the fic is really good so i've been wanting to draw them.

as i fell back into the kataang rabbithole, i've also been thinking about similar ships and parallels in other media. ppl have mentioned everlark, percabeth. i've also seen spirited away, howl's moving castle, and nutcracker fanart of kataang which are all brilliant.

don't @ me but kataang WALL-E/EVE??? wall-e/eve dancing together in space reminds me of kataang penguin sledding.

the kataang cloudbending scene in the fortuneteller reminds me a lot of hiccstrid's romantic flight (i'm surprised i haven't seen kataang/hiccstrid parallels yet lol). the way katara wakes aang up from his hundred years of slumber makes me think of sleeping beauty lol (one of my favourite movies).

upon rewatching the first two episodes of atla, seeing katara struggle with her identity as a waterbender while nobody else understood her until aang shows up and opens up her world reminds me a lot of beauty and the beast (watch the kataang beauty and the beast edit on youtube by kataang videos) and aladdin.

kataang growing old together but aang passing away early reminds me of the movie "up."

anyways i have a lot of ideas we shall see how many actually see the light of day.