#it's so much better without the dialogue and sound effects covering it

[reverie-starlight]

{one moment - m. atsumu}

this was supposed to be a little one off ramble post, but ofc I couldn’t just leave it at that. it needed its own fic.

gn!reader, no physical descriptions, FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF!!!!! head over heels, falling in love. I realized that I almost never write fics where the relationship isn’t already years in/established, so this was a nice change of pace. there’s not much dialogue in this one, it’s more descriptive. trying a new format as well.

whenever you thought back to the early stages of falling in love with atsumu, there was always one moment in particular that stood out as the moment you knew you were done for. the moment you realized that however your relationship with atsumu was meant to unfold- for better or for worse- you were absolutely screwed.

the two of you are sitting in the café at the halfway point between where he practices with the jackals and your university campus. the very same café where you happened to nurture your friendship into more for months before he finally asked you out.

you’re on a date, only your third or fourth officially as two people who are dating, and conversation is flowing. it always does with him, you’ve come to realize. he doesn’t let silence linger between topics, but he doesn’t force it away either. any lulls you come across feel… comfortable.

he feels comfortable- you like spending time with him, he’s good company. and he’s never boring, that’s for sure.

“so,” he starts before taking a sip of his coffee. “how were your classes today?”

you shrug your shoulders. “not that entertaining, I’m afraid. I’m sorry, I should’ve known better than to come unprepared,” you joke. “I guess I didn’t learn anything interesting enough today.”

normally when you meet after class, he asks you to teach him one thing you remember covering in your lectures. something he apparently used to do when his brother was enrolled in a business course, you recall.

he points a piece of croissant at you. “I’ll forgive ya this time, sweetheart, but you’re on thin ice.”

a smile creeps up on your lips at his use of the nickname, and he pretends not to notice, letting you pass it off as a reaction to his ‘threat’ instead. “how was practice?”

he beams with pride. “it was great, he speaks with such enthusiasm that it’s hard to focus on his words. you’re more interested in how he lights up talking about his passion than the actual specifics of his improved serves right now.

you hope he looks like that talking about you one day.

“I’m happy to hear it, ‘tsum,” you say sincerely when he’s done with his rambling.

conversation continues for a bit longer before it happens. you don’t even remember what was said leading up to this moment, but you hope you do one day so that you can repeat it and get the same reaction.

it’s just like a scene from a movie- he pauses to take in whatever you’ve just said before throwing his head back and laughing like you’ve never heard him laugh before.

the sunset peeks between the buildings outside and hits him through the café window at the perfect angle. the soft light that bathes him in such warmth, mixed with the sound of his laugh almost makes you believe he’s emitting it himself. his eyes are closed, his shoulders are shaking and he’s just glowing.

you actually need to stop and catch your breath while you watch him because he’s gorgeous. you’ve always known it, it’s a hard quality to miss, but now you feel it, too. the full effects of miya atsumu.

your heart beats out of your chest, your hands shake as you press them to your butterfly-filled stomach-

and then you realize that no matter how this… thing with atsumu progresses…

you’re absolutely screwed.

and just as he stops laughing, the light moves away from his face. you’re still not entirely sure it wasn’t just him glowing, but you’ll leave that investigation for another time.

he looks at you for a moment as he settles down and you do your best to hold his gaze without giving away your admiration.

eventually the sun positions itself in a way that makes you squint, so you busy yourself with sweeping up some of the table’s crumbs into your palm and transferring them to your empty plate.

atsumu’s eyes have yet to leave your face and it’s making you more nervous than you've ever needed to be around him.

the intimidating thought that he might be admiring you in the sun the way you had been doing to him moments ago runs through your mind.

this is the longest moment of silence you’ve ever had with him, and of course it’s still not awkward. it’s just… heavier. like you’ve both come to some sort of realization and don’t know how to approach it.

but of course, in typical atsumu fashion, he jumps headfirst into the deep end. he doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. an admirable quality.

if he weren’t already an established volleyball player, you think he’d make a fine olympic diver.

“do you…” you snap your head up when he starts to say something, but he stops and seems to think something over.

he tries again. “I know we’ve been datin’ for a little bit now…”

your heart flutters in your chest and the nerves you worked so hard to suppress come racing back into your system. despite everything, you nod to encourage him to keep going.

“do ya want to make it official? can we… would ya let me be yer boyfriend?” his voice wavers a bit and you learn that his accent grows a bit thicker when he’s nervous.

you freeze, needing to take in the fact that he’s nervous and seemingly over you.

and then you take in his words, realizing he’s waiting for a response. the ball is in your court.

despite sitting on a throne settled upon a pile of your stacked up fears of this ending poorly, you’d be a fool to mess it up. you’d be crazy to miss out on something wonderful because you’re busy focusing on the probable non-existent negative outcome.

so the only answer you could have possibly given him in that moment leaves your lips, accompanied with a bright smile as the pile is reduced to ashes. “yes, I would love that.”

you did learn something today, something more valuable than you could ever learn in one of your classes- how one moment can change everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m actually lowkey proud of this one!! it’s a bit different, but I think it’s cute :3

hope you enjoyed!!

tagging: @emmyrosee @dira333 @6okuto

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Hera's Heroes"

*whispers* Is our favorite blue bastard back? Oh you betcha.

The episode title seems to be a reference to Hogan's Heroes, an old boomer-era TV show dark comedy sitcom about a P.O.W. camp in Nazi Germany.

...No listen, the charm is, I'm told, that the German officers are portrayed as bumbling idiots and the P.O.W.s basically run an entire clandestine resistance campaign right under their noses. So there are all kinds of shenanigans involved and a lot of taking the piss out of the Axis Powers and honestly some of it seems right in line with what kind of mischief the Rebels have been known to get into so the shoutout makes sense to me.

Anyway.

Cham and Numa return!

"The Empire is getting better at anticipating our moves!" Ha ha yeah he... he has a tendency to do that. It's a little scary sometimes.

Now taking bets on whether or not Thrawn showing up on Ryloth was premeditated in order to draw the Spectres out.

"My daughter is always serious." Lol, love how this joke comes back later.

This music cue is great, I love it. Lot of rapid build-up to the serious horn variation of "Shenanigans".

"You didn't think this through did you?" LOL love that awkward little noise the Scout Trooper makes, he's just like, "Oh..."

Zeb being a perfect big brother asking Ezra if he has the Scout Trooper set yet and knocking out the trooper awww.

Hugs! Lovely to see that Cham and Hera have repaired their relationship.

Yeeeeeeah I don't think it was Slavin that you underestimated, Cham. I think it's pretty heavily suggested it was actually Thrawn who ousted y'all from the house there.

Hera is a bit reluctant to include everyone in what's arguably a very personal and selfish mission but they're all for it, so into the fray we go.

I think I may have had a little mourning moment the first time I watched this, upon the realization that Ezra doesn't fit in his cadet uniform anymore.

Zeb nudging Kanan in the arm to let him know it's time to charge out. <333 And Sabine grabbing his wrist and keeping hold of it until they're both on the blurrg. See, little touches like this are great, just a nice subtle way of showing Kanan's blindness without calling direct attention to it.

Some really nice Hera and Ezra interaction this episode, I really liked that, they don't get to be on missions together much so this is refreshing.

Do we know if this is a reused asset from TCW? Looks almost too nice to be one lol.

:((((((

Droids can have PTSD apparently, Chopper is unusually sad about this crashed Y-wing, grieving his former pilot maybe?

*strains ears* This soft music-box like cue almost sounds like Leia's theme. It's too short and buried under the dialogue for me to tell and even Clone Gunner Commander Jedi doesn't have it extracted.

HHFHFHFFFFFHH FRICK.

The man can jumpscare me just walking into a room, gah.

"The Rebel activity is far from here." As Ezra and Hera are literally sneaking past them lol told you the reference to Hogan's Heroes was deliberate.

Oooh the harp in this cue, nice!

Chopper's finally over his drama in order to assist.

We return to Hera and co. after a brief setpiece back in the canyon and Chopper readily plays "malfunctioning droid" again for a distraction.

Hera smoothly slipping back into her Ryloth accent to try and deflect suspicion. <3

Ezra trying to at least stay next to her even if he can't break cover.

Thrawn already totally knows it's Hera.

Ohhhhh boy it's time for creepy Cultural Appropriation!Thrawn, with him analyzing the details of his opponents' culture and traditions in order to find ways to hurt and oppress them more effectively for the Empire.

Since he studied up on Twi'lek culture he knows what a kalikori is, and its significance. Therefore he knew immediately that someone trying to smuggle one out of the compound would have to have some kind of personal emotional connection to it. This kalikori was found in Cham Syndulla's office, ergo, family of Cham Syndulla. Ergo, obviously, Hera Syndulla, noted Rebel insurgent.

See I kind of like this method of showing Thrawn's "strategic art analysis", which was practically magic bullshit in the original Heir To The Empire trilogy. Thrawn comes across as brilliant but not OP here, instead.

By the way, "Thrawn's Web" is the perfect musical leitmotif for him. Creepy plinky music box notes giving way to slowly building cathedral organs, ominous and refined.

I almost feel like I need to take a shower after this exchange it's so freaking creepy. Thrawn almost exotifies Hera here, breathlessly gushing and envious about how she was "forged" by war, while he merely studies it from the outside.

Making Hera the primary rival/foil to Thrawn was a really inspired decision for Rebels, contrasting her passion to his apathy, her warmth to his cold sterility. The villainous respect he has for her makes their interactions cordial with a hostile edge.

Plus, with all his focus on Hera, identifying her as the primary threat, he completely misses all the Force Bullshit that Kanan and Ezra are capable of throwing at him lol.

After all, he repeats the idea, "To defeat an enemy you must know them." and as he later confesses to Ezra in the finale he doesn't know the Force.

(It's almost impossible for him to know, Palpatine has spent so much effort destroying and hoarding other Force disciplines. Way to screw yourself Palps.)

Worried spacemom when Thrawn stuns Ezra. <33333

:((((

Thrawn's picky insistence on using the "correct" pronunciation of Hera's name is also creepy.

Thrawn: "Really too bad you're probably gonna be executed immediately. Anyway I'm taking your family heirloom for my art collection, definitely not as some kind of sick trophy of my besting you noooooo not at all." Hera: "Kriff you, bastard!"

Thanking Hera for her "hospitality" when the Empire literally invaded and occupied her house, he's such an asshole. It's great. I love him.

Ngl, not gonna lie, really dig Feral!Thrawn. I have a thing about seeing normally calm, stoic characters just completely lose their shit and go berserk. ('s'why I took Thrawn through a slow Villainous Breakdown in my "Mirrorverse" series.) Even this brief loss of control is just *mwah*.

"What'd I miss?" He's so cute.

"And my daughter is not important?!" Awww, see, character growth!

Love this conversation, Ezra reassuring Hera that he doesn't regret coming along to support her on this.

Chopper running full tilt into Ezra lol.

Hera gave the murderbot permission to find and plant explosives, uh-oh, ha ha.

Caps that could easily be watercolor paintings number 337.

Slavin seems very confident and snooty. Something that becomes a pattern on the show is that Thrawn will let more incompetent underlings fail so he can learn more about the Rebels, will set them up to fail sometimes.

Also something I noticed before but this little moment reminded me, the Stormtroopers tend to be pretty rough with Ezra, they're always shoving at him or manhandling him for absolutely no reason, they're just petty.

Chopper laughing maniacally as he plants the detonators. <3

"You were serious?!" You're the one who said she was always serious my dude, lol.

Impressive move from Kanan, redirecting that rocket at the AT-DP.

You know I think maybe Thrawn likes the cat and mouse thrill, obviously he sacrifices smaller victories for eventual much larger ones but I also think he's just really into having a worthy opponent.

Preeeeeettyyyyyyyyyy.

Hera talking about how her mother's memory is kept alive via the love that Hera's Found Family shares, while Zeb is giving Ezra noogies in the background aaaaah I love it.

I think I remember wanting this episode to have been a little longer??? Not quite sure why I thought that now, maybe I just really wanted more of it at the time.

Thrawn gets his first personal up-close encounter with the Spectres and even if he's hands off about actually closing the trap on them this episode we can tell he's got major plans coming, and is factoring what he learned about Hera specifically into them for later. This did annoy certain fanbros who forgot that this was Thrawn's whole thing and decided it was Plot Armor because kids show but frankly I ignore those types of people and my fandom experience is better for it.

As I already said, love the Hera-Ezra interaction, love the music, this episode is honestly a bit laid-back and unassuming compared to the tense premiere and dramatic previous episodes. Lulls you into a false sense of security. Just like Thrawn. XD

I'll be talking more about him later, trust me, I have Opinions™.

[aruz11]

This is the first post

Topics to be covered on this blog:  

1.Reviews of my past videos posted on YouTube  

2.Interesting topics related to Final Fantasy series and Kingdom Hearts series  

3.Introductions to music videos that I find exceptional

For this post, I would like to focus on my activities in creating music videos for Final Fantasy X.

Activities on Youtube

First of all, I tell you what kind of activities I do on Youtube. I've been posting music videos using FFX sources on Youtube since 2008. I create music videos in a style that includes lines that go with the music, and visual effects that match the melody. It's difficult to pinpoint the genre of my videos, but I think it's a remix that combines AMV/GMV and YTPMV/otomad. I only post 2-3 times a year, which is not very often. Also, although I have been active for over 15 years, I don't have many video views and subscribers. Still, I have no regrets about my activities. I feel happy that I have continued this far.

The reason that I chose FFX

Actually, before I started my activities on YouTube, I used to make GMVs (Game Music Videos) for the Kingdom Hearts series and posted them on AMV/GMV forums. And I had the idea to try posting them on YouTube as well. However, due to the strict copyright issues surrounding the Kingdom Hearts series and the high risk of deletion, I had to give up on that. Nevertheless, my desire to do something on YouTube persisted. so I decided to try making music videos outside of the KH series. That's when I turned to FFX. There were two main reasons for this choice. First, FFX was a game that held a special place in my heart, so much so that I had always wanted to make music videos for it someday. I remember encountering this game during a difficult time in my teenage years, and its wonderful story touched my heart, making me feel like it saved my life. The second reason was that I already had visual and voice clip data from FFX, so there was no need for material gathering.

About song choice

I have used songs from the Touhou series, FF series, Nintendo games, KH series, etc.In the early days of my activities (2008-2010), I used to decide which songs to use based on intuition. I didn't consider whether the songs matched the atmosphere of FFX. If I felt like using a particular song, I immediately used to start production. However, from 2011 onwards,  I gradually began selecting songs that better matched the serious and somewhat dark atmosphere of FFX. As I mentioned earlier, since I originally made GMVs,  I always emphasized the compatibility between visuals and music. Therefore, I believe the atmosphere of my videos tends to be more serious and somewhat heavy.

Things I prioritize in video creation

Before starting the video production, I first think about a clear concept that I want to express in the video.  In the past, I used to focus solely on creating rhythmic videos  by overlaying dialogue on the music without considering a concept. While I think that approach had its good points, I came to realize that to capture the charm of FFX's story and characters, it's better to imbue the video with some kind of concept. Therefore, I thoroughly consider what the theme of my video should be based on the story of FFX. Additionally, it's important for me to make videos when I want to without forcing myself. It might sound obvious, but I believe that being able to do this has allowed me to continue for over 15 years.

Answers to questions from comments on my previous videos

I. Favorite Character in FFX

Jecht. Although there are various opinions on how he interacts with Tidus, I think he is a character with strong resolve.

II.Favorite Scene in FFX

The scene in the Thunder Plains where Rikku screams and makes strange movements. It’s a comical scene, but during my first playing,  I thought Rikku might have been possessed and would turn against the party.

III.Favorite BGM in FFX

1.Otherworld

2.A Fleeting Dream

3.Challenge

IV.What software do you use?

Audio:Reaper

Visual:After Effects

However, I used to use Vegas for creating visuals in the past.

V.How long does it take to make a video?

It depends on the length of the video, but if I devote myself fully to it, I think I can finish in 2 to 4 weeks. However, since I can't always dedicate that much time,  my posting frequency naturally decreases.

VI.Do you have any videos you refer to when making your videos?

There's nothing specific, but I often check movie trailers and the opening sequences of anime and games.

VII.Will you collaborate with other creators?

I can't because I don't have the time...

VIII. Will you make music videos for anything other than FFX?

As long as I'm active as Aruz11 on YouTube, I won't.

That's all for now. Thank you for visiting. See you next time.

[m39]

Decade of DOOMstruction(2000s): 10-19 maps WADs

Disclaimer: I updated GZDoom to version 4.13, because 4.12 had a bug where partial invisibility couldn’t make enemies miss their shot.

With that said, let’s take a look at today’s patch of WADs.

VANILLA

2000 – THE DARKENING EPISODE 2

Finally, a Doom II WAD.

Being a homage to Quake II like the first Darkening to Quake I, this WAD ended up better than I expected. Sure, some of the levels tend to get annoying (like the final map being the biggest case of a mangled maze filled with corrosive slime), but it wasn’t that painful most of the time. And it was rather easy might I add (with a couple of cheap hiccups). Also, my past self was right; I do appreciate the music more now (although I still think some tracks are too loud and have questionable parts in them).

It might be an over two decades old fossil of the WAD, but it didn’t age that horribly.

2001 – SLAYER

Oh, great. This one.

It’s far from being a bad WAD. It’s just that I have so many pet peeves with it. Starting with relatively minor ones like pea shooter/chaingun and shotgun now sounding like hammers, to the more severe ones like how the WAD is hard for the wrong reasons, forcing you to fight hordes of mid to high-tier enemies in small areas, and/or hitscanners with next to no cover (especially during the latter half). Not to mention the piss-poor start of the first map, where you are forced to fight an armada of hitscanners with just a peashooter in order to get ammo/shotgun for later.

It’s basically not my cup of tea.

WINNER

Yeah, the winner should be obvious. It’s the Darkening Episode 2. It gets the Platinum Bone Zone award for the best 10-19 maps-long WAD of the decade. And, as much as I don’t like it, I am obligated to put SlayeR into the runner-up category.

That was the first half of this category. Let’s take a look at the second one.

SOURCE PORT

2001 – EQUINOX

Welcome back, B.P.R.D!

One of the earliest works of this guy, and... oh boy. New sound effects that are loud as fuck, some of the locations might feel too big in some places, and it’s overall kind of janky.

And yet, most of the time, I had a small blast playing again. Sure, it’s not as good as when I played it in the past, but there are still many great things about it: the music, some of the level design aging greatly, how it creates lore without any shred of dialogue or plot written in the textfile, and encounters, while being dry on ammo most of the time, were rather fun for around 80% of the playthrough.

Not to mention the hub area getting more, and more destroyed with each visit.

It might be old, and it might be janky, but I still recommend you to try this WAD out. But maybe play it on easy on the blind playthrough, just in case.

2005 – CRIMSON CANYON

This is another WAD that ended up better than I expected.

Sure, MAP05 tends to get annoying with its backtracking and switch hunting (its size doesn’t help), but the rest of the levels were pretty good. It all looks good as well, with enemy encounters being rather easy with a couple annoying ones sprinkled in between for the lack of better words. I wish the music was slightly louder, though.

Oh, and as a bonus, you can play an additional two maps from Congestion 1024 made by the author of this WAD.

2006 – HELLCORE 2.0

I still very much like this WAD; especially when it comes to how it was made. The original Hellcore was nothing but an unfinished mess of maps that both of its authors wanted to make but got burned out due to the 9 years of it being in development and released what was finished. But it looks like they weren’t satisfied, so they dusted-off, and revamped nine original maps, added three additional ones, and so they made something great (asides from the new enemy in the credits map; he kind of reeks of cheap shit).

This WAD gets my 100% recommendation.

2007 – IT ONLY GETS WORSE

And we drop the quality to another Mockaward winner… Yippee...

Okay, I’ll try to be brief: While not as bad as Doomworld Forums 3 (mostly because jokes aren’t related to the events of that site and its cutscenes are more polished), it’s still just a bunch of LOL SU FOONY maps for the sake of random stuff being thrown at your face. I might like random humor (mostly talking about Gmod/SFM stuff), but this WAD feels like a low-hanging fruit.

And people say Gen Alpha is watching brain rot.

2008 – REMAIN 3

Thank God! Eternal is back!

Now, on a more serious note, aside from a few annoying encounters/new enemies, I still really enjoy this WAD. I like how it pays homage to the original maps from MAP06 onward, either with their mechanics or visuals that look more like a title to the original Doom II map. Even then, the first five maps, more original ones, didn’t feel samey when compared to each other for the lack of better words. And hey! It’s not that hard (if you don’t mind it)!

Another banger worth checking out.

WINNER

Looks like we have a harder choice again with Hellcore and Remain 3. Both WADs are great, but hey. Only one winner.

Part of me wants to give the second Platinum Bone Zone to Hellcore 2.0 due to the sheer determination of its authors to create something great out of what was previously good at best; but on the other hand, Remain 3 was for me less polarizing than the former WAD.

And just by that, Remain 3 gets the award, but only by the margin.

Other WADs (not counting It Only Gets Worse) get named runners-up. Yes, even Equinox; despite its jank, it deserves some recognition.

THE DRY FARM OF SIEGE COWS

Normally, the next WAD category would be dedicated to the WADs with 20-29 maps along with its dedicated award – Ruby Dairy Farm.

But it looks like the category is dry for the 2000s decade since there were no WADs for it. It’s even more severe than the 1990’s because at least there was one WAD to talk about.

So, yeah. That’s all I have to say for now.

Next up, we will be looking back at 30-32 maps-long WADs, and, like with the first two categories, we split it into two parts due to it having over 10 WADs to replay.

And, by the way, there will be at least two WADs that I’ll play on easy to not drag out the making-of part of this project.

I’ll see you next time with more megaWADs.

[mi5019tomberry]

Video Ideas

With the coffee video above as a point of reference for this project, I scribbled out a couple of visual ideas about this project. Then to get a better understanding of what I liked about the coffee visuals, I briefly analysed the progression of the video some the stylisation to each drawing which acts as visual entertainment and symbolic/literal representations of what is being discussed. I need my own symbols to be a little more abstract as that is the nature of this module, I want to experiment and explore shape and iconography and play around with repetition, shapes and transitions to get a short punchy video about AI. I need to keep things simple with enough room to play around until I can find a happy medium between practicality and creativity so that I end up with a finished product that I like.

Kurzgesagt is another channel with engaging colourful visuals and I will draw inspiration from the harmony between the bright animation and the calm curious voice-over. I don't have access to voice-overs myself so I could try it myself, find a friend or use AI, I haven't decided yet as whatever I decide upon can play into the tone of the video - silly VS serious or both.

Some more ideas I was playing around with, I was taking a bit too many notes and started leaning into narrative too much and which takes away from the abstract visuals that are the core premise of this project. I need to find fun trippy methods to transition between each visual subject guided by the narration and sound effects to explore the topic of AI either from my own perspective or that of the artist or an average Joe.

I am aiming for a light-hearted somewhat informative style of video so I want to replicate in some ways the TV static and old fashioned radio voice in training videos from decades ago. The video above is a satire of the same style of video focused around surviving in the apocalypse with a little character guided by a narrator. Again, I don't want a character to be the focus and instead want to maintain a fluidity of motion all of which is guided by sound and music.

For the projection side of things, I need to figure out a way to give it that vintage educational video aesthetic so once I have animated a clean version of the video, I will need to rough it up with TV static, grain etc... I want to go for an old cathode ray tube style or as if it was made using film to give it a more interesting visual aesthetic. I may use some of the tutorials above but I have not looked deeply into this side of things yet however I do know that I will need to try and build my own old fashioned TV out of cardboard or find an old cheap TV that I could play it on.

For this project I am aiming to make something that incorporates stylistic elements from similar videos to the one above and also the motion graphics feel of the coffee video.

I started thinking about the limitations of the project because that is where I have messed up in the past; there is only a small window of time for me to make this animation and the duration cuts short any detailed expansion. Topics need to be covered in brief aided by visuals fast paced dialogue and visuals. Just to get a judgement of the depth of my dialogue, I counted the words in the coffee video which came to 109 words in 34 seconds; concise narration is crucial if I am adding narration.

There's a lot of similarity between these shapes for simple transitions of key topics of this video:

Robotics = Cog

AI = OpenAI logo

Earth & Humanity = Globe

Digital Humanity = Digital Globe

Whilst searching for that iconography I found out about The Noun Project which has 5,000,000 icons for different topics which could be essential building blocks that I can expand upon when trying to represent complex themes with simple geometry.

[creatiview]

[ad_1] It’s far too easy to overlook a key component of a great Super Bowl watch party experience: quality audio. Although we’ve already covered some of the best TV deals taking place ahead of the big game, it’s also advisable to not assemble a room full of football fans when all you have for sound is the tinny built-in speakers on your TV. Thankfully, Sonos is running a sale until February 12th on a few of its speakers and soundbars, which can help you level up your system when it comes to watching sports and listening to music. First off, the midrange Sonos Beam is on sale for $399 at Best Buy, Target, Amazon, and direct from Sonos. That’s $50 off the latest version of the Beam, which supports Dolby Atmos for virtual surround sound and has a fairly small footprint, allowing it to fit nicely into most home TV setups. I own the previous-gen Beam, and while it has served me well for years, it has some faint audio latency that’s most apparent when playing games. The second-gen model fixes that issue thanks to its support for eARC and HDMI 2.1, however, and produces better sound overall. If you’ve got a compatible TV and want an affordable-ish soundbar that’s available in black or white and works easily with multiroom streaming, the Beam is a worthwhile option. Read our review.Now, if you want a premium soundbar experience — with a premium price to go with it — the Sonos Arc is on sale for around $799 ($100 off) at Target, Best Buy, and direct from Sonos. The Arc is Sonos’ flagship soundbar and features 11 drivers, helping it put out some big boomy sound. Two of those drivers are upward facing to provide a more surround sound-like envelope, but it also delivers excellent audio overall, which helps you hear all the details of sound effects and soundtracks without losing the dialogue in the mix. It pairs best with a TV that supports Dolby Atmos, however, so check to see if your set has an HDMI port with eARC compatibility. And if you already have a Sonos speaker system for listening to music, the Arc is great for pulling double duty for music listening as well. Read our review.The Sonos Sub offers plenty of oomph for $649. Image: SonosFor those of you already invested in the Sonos ecosystem and looking to add some more throaty rumble to your home, the latest Sonos Sub is selling for around $649 ($100 off) at Best Buy, Target, and direct from Sonos. Unlike most subwoofers out there, Sonos’ Sub isn’t a total eyesore in your living room. It has a sleek design and comes in black or white to match or blend in with your space, and it pairs wirelessly with other Sonos speakers and soundbars (so you just have a power cable to worry about). You can even position it on its side and squeeze it under your couch if you want it completely out of sight. That said, don’t be surprised if you feel every big hit during the Super Bowl — or when your downstairs neighbors come knocking.Last, though certainly not least, is the Sonos One, which is on sale for around $179 ($40 off) at Best Buy, Target, Amazon (low stock), and Sonos. This is Sonos’ most diminutive Wi-Fi-connected speaker, and it’s the best fit for most people. If your priority is listening to music in one or more parts of your home, the One is hard to beat (unless you’re on a much tighter budget — because the more stripped-down Ikea Symfonisk also exists). The smart speaker produces terrific sound for its size, and it can be paired with a second One for stereo playback if you want to use them to listen to music or act as a pair of rear surrounds for a Sonos soundbar. The Sonos One also supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants via an array of six built-in mics, but they don’t perform quite as well here as on those brands’ dedicated smart speakers. The One is really geared toward those who care first and foremost about ease of use while streaming music, which makes it perfect for the casual listener. Read our original review. [ad_2] Source link

[talkingtypecaptions]

Why It Makes Better Sense To Do Closed Captioning And CCSL Together

The world of broadcasting and media production is changing rapidly, and the importance of closed captioning and combined continuity and spotting list (CCSL) cannot be overstated. Closed captioning makes television programs more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing so they can enjoy them with greater ease.Combined continuity and spotting list (CCSL) ensures that when a show is broadcasted it runs in order without any potential disruption caused by faulty data transmission. The combination of these two elements helps deliver quality content from one side of the globe to another, no matter who may need it critically. So why do closed captioning and combined continuity and spotting lists (CCSL) go together? Keep reading to find out!

What Are Closed Captions?

Closed captions, also known as subtitles, are a visual representation of the audio in videos. They provide viewers with an understanding of the dialogue and other sound effects that would be otherwise unseen, aiding those who may have a hearing impairment or simply want to watch without sound.From a closed captioning vendor to live streaming service and YouTube channels, closed captions are becoming increasingly popular as they help make video content more accessible. Thanks to closed captions, people around the world can now enjoy and understand their favorite movies, sports games and TV shows.

What Is CCSL?

Combined continuity and spotting (CCSL) is an essential post production tool that helps editors and post production crews navigate a scene. It involves the combination of scene description, shot description and combined dialogue -- all which must cover every aspect of the post production script. This post production tool is often especially helpful when there are multiple cameras capturing footage at one time as it can be tricky to spot or note the individual shots as they happen. Combined continuity and spotting offers clarity and structure to post production scripts so that video media goes seamlessly together without losing any important details of each individual shot.

Why It Makes Better Sense To Do Closed Captioning And CCSL Together?

Combining closed captioning and combined continuity and spotting (CCSL) makes so much more sense for transcription services than relying on open captions alone. CCSL is a process that creates better quality captions by taking into account around the clock noise, minor details, background noise and overall final movie context, which often gets lost with open captions which are designed to simply provide the exact words of a movie.By doing both types of transcription simultaneously the transcription service is able to provide clear and precise captions while also ensuring it fits into the entire visual context that the movie wants to convey. Not only does this make sense but is an absolutely great choice when trying to get quality transcripts!

Benefits Of Using Closed Captions And CCSL Together

Here is how using closed captions and combined continuity and spotting list (CCSL) together:

Improved Accessibility

Closed captions and CCSL enable viewers to better understand audio content as they can read a transcription of the dialogue on-screen. This is especially useful for viewers who are hearing impaired, or have trouble understanding certain accents, such as foreign language films.

Seamless Transitions

With CCSL, editors can make quick and seamless transitions between different scenes. This helps to create an uninterrupted viewing experience that viewers will enjoy.

Increased Engagement

Viewers are more likely to stay engaged with audio content if they can follow along with the text on-screen. CCSL helps to ensure that viewers remain focused on the dialogue, rather than getting distracted by other elements.

Improved Audio Quality

By using closed captions and CCSL together, editors can make sure that the spoken dialogue is accurate and clearly audible for viewers. This helps to improve the overall audio quality of a project.

Better Time Management

With CCSL, editors can easily make precise edits to the audio content. This saves time and increases the efficiency of the editing process, resulting in better quality projects.

Overall, using closed captions and CCSL together can help to create a more accessible, enjoyable viewing experience for viewers. It also makes it easier for editors to manage their projects and deliver high-quality results. With increased accessibility and improved audio quality, closed captions and comprehensive CCSL are essential tools for any video editor.

By utilizing these tools, you can ensure that your projects have the best possible audio mix, which will in turn provide viewers with an enjoyable viewing experience. So don’t forget to include closed captions and CCSL into your next video project!

Can Captions Help To Improve Comprehension?

Captions can be a great tool to improve comprehension, especially in multiple speaker situations. For example, when watching a movie or television show, adding end credits with all the timecodes helps viewers pay attention and comprehend what's being said. Moreover, multiple speakers can be a challenge for students to interpret multiple ideas. Understanding individual conversations more easily is made possible with captions offering support as needed! Even MS Word has captioning features that allow users to quickly understand the information they’re reading without sacrificing readability and accuracy. Captions are tools that can make all the difference in helping readers readily understand information, making them key resources for improving comprehension.

Tips To Use Closed Captions And CCSL Together

Here is how closed captions and combined continuity and spotting lists can come in hand together:

Use captions to verify lip sync

Closed captions are great for verifying the accuracy of lip sync. When combined with CCSL, they make it easier to spot any discrepancies between the audio and video.

Spot action points

Captions can also be used in conjunction with CCSLs to quickly identify important action points during a scene. This is especially helpful during editing and post-production for films, television programs, and online videos.

Improve readability

Since captions are usually placed directly above the speaker's mouth on screen, they can improve readability for the audience by providing an easier viewing experience. Combined with CCSLs, this helps viewers understand the dialogue and action taking place in a scene more quickly.

Assist with foreign language dialogue

If a foreign language is spoken during a scene, captions can help the audience understand what’s being said and CCSLs can provide additional context for the dialogue. This can be useful for audiences with limited language proficiency.

Provide accessibility

Closed captions and CCSLs help make films, television shows, and online videos more accessible to deaf or hard of hearing viewers. When paired together, they can provide a comprehensive viewing experience for people with disabilities.

Guide editing decisions

Finally, closed captions and CCSLs can be used together to make informed editing decisions. Since they provide an accurate representation of the audio and video, they can help editors understand how a scene should look in its finished state.

With these tips, you can use closed captions and CCSLs together to get the most out of your productions.

Things To Consider When Using Closed Captions And CCSL Together

Using both closed captions and CCSL is an excellent way to help make digital content more accessible. However, when combining the two there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, audio descriptions need to be used judiciously; too many audio descriptions can become intrusive which can defeat the purpose of making content more inclusive.

Additionally, you want to make sure all the text-based visuals are accurately described so that each caption is clear and descriptive for people who rely on both visual and auditory information.

Finally, it is essential to utilize CCSL color choices thoughtfully to ensure your accessibility goals are met without distract from the video message itself. Ensuring that closed captions and CCSL are used together properly can help create optimal outcomes for everyone involved.

Conclusion

The captioning services we offer at [company name] always include ccsl because it is the most effective way to provide access to your content. It’s also more affordable than you might think, and our team of experts can help you get started quickly and easily. Contact us today to learn more about how closed captioning and CCSL can benefit your business.

[heywriters]

Hi! (I don't know if you have written about this before so I apologize in advance if I have missed it, I kept searching on your blog but I found nothing similar.)

To this day I still don't know how to write a 'suddenly' scene without it sounding awkward. I tried to but it ended up as ["Well I better get back to class—" she said, and suddenly there was an earthquake.] How can I make it smoother? Thank you so much!!

When ���suddenly” feels abrupt or unnatural, that’s because it is telling the reader that something is about to happen when showing them is probably better. Like a scene in a movie, for an event to feel sudden there should be no lead-in. Characters are conversing one second, and action occurs in the next. The usual seamless flow between scenes is now unnecessary. While it is vital in the rest of storytelling, unforeseen events require disconnect and surprise.

You already show interruption in the dialogue by using an em dash, now support it by removing the attribution and interrupting the scene altogether.

“Well, I’d better get to class—”

[drop indent + immediate action]

Also like watching a movie or experiencing something irl, we don’t always get an explanation right away. We see the effects the action has on people and environment first. So instead of making the action “an earthquake,” show the reader what the earthquake is doing.

Expanding on your example, you can choose to keep terms like “suddenly.” Removing them increases the show factor and decreases the tell factor, which alters the effect slightly.

“Well, I’d better get to class—”

The floor suddenly rumbled. – vs –  The floor rumbled.

Paintings on the wall began to tremble. – vs –   Paintings on the wall trembled.

Removing these terms naturally makes it less obvious that what is happening is abnormal. So whatever action you choose should seem out of place enough that the reader knows this is an unusual circumstance. For instance,

The lights flickered and objects fell off shelves.

She hit the ground before she could say another word.

Both of these examples clearly indicate something is going wrong. If there isn’t an already established reason for these things to happen, the effect will be twice as strong—depending on how climactic you want your sudden action to be. Earthquakes in particular have different magnitudes, so it’s up to you and your research on how jarring the effects of this will be.

It also helps in any sudden scene to imagine which sensory cues will get your characters’ attention first. Will they hear that there’s an earthquake before they see the effects? Will they feel the ground shaking before hearing objects fall? You can write each one in the order you think your character would notice, cutting in with dialogue or other character attributions wherever it feels right. A little descriptive writing will go a long way towards putting the reader in the scene.

Avoid passive voice and stick with active voice to keep the scene feeling fast-paced. All the examples I’ve given are active voice. Passive voice would sound more like,

The floor was shaken by an earthquake.

A rattling sound was caused by paintings on the wall.

These sentences don’t contain the crutch “suddenly,” but passive voice makes them awkward and underwhelming in their own way. I’ll include a couple links that I used as reference while writing this, so you can double-check me and keep them as reference yourself.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Passive Voice Demonstrated by Zombies

Writing Tips—Don’t Say Suddenly, Show It!

Great question, and I hadn’t covered it yet so I’m glad you asked!

---

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[freddie-weaselbee]

Someone Blue//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader 

Warnings: Slight language, angst, a lot of confusion, fluffy ending

Summary: Fred spots a familiar face at his brother’s wedding, and has a sinking suspicion about why she’s acting so upset during this time of celebration. 

Prompts: Enemies to Lovers (kind of) and Weddings with the dialogue prompts “you look like you need a hug” and “did you need something?”

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: Day 1 of @theweasleyslut‘s 2k writing challenge 

Angelina looked absolutely ethereal, skin glowing in the shimmering lights as she glided across the grass as if it was a ballroom floor. Her white dress was slightly stained, mostly from when her now husband tackled her to the ground after their first kiss as a married couple, and yet it only made her seem all the more angelic. 

George’s feet seemed to never touch the ground. He was moving at record speeds, prancing and hopping and skipping around the dance floor, dragging his wife along with him. It was the most joyful Fred had ever seen him. 

Not when they left Hogwarts, not when they opened their shop, not even when Angelina said yes to the proposal could have compared to the happiness on George’s face. Nor Angelina’s. They were in a pure state of bliss. 

The rest of the wedding-goers seemed to match their energy. Fred couldn’t go anywhere without being bombarded with drunken laughs and horrid dancing, and the occasional congratulations or two from some tipsy guests who didn’t know that the man they were talking to wasn’t the groom. 

All in all, it was an amazing night. The field behind the burrow had become a traditional wedding venue for the growing Weasley children, so far hosting Bill, Percy, Ron, and now George’s days to remember. The tents and lights were all set up as they were with Bill and Fleur’s wedding, except this time there was no risk of Death Eaters ruining the event. Hopefully. 

However, while making his way around to talk to (and flirt with) the guests, Fred happened to notice one person who did not fit the overzealous tone. Well, he didn’t really happen to notice. Rather he’d been staring at her throughout the entire night, watching her somber mood break through her happy façade. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone. 

You were standing by yourself, but you weren’t secluded from the action. Rather, you were right in the middle of things, on the very edge of the dance floor, staring out at the masses of bodies swinging their partners around. Your arms were crossed over your chest, a defensive position that Fred had seen so many times in you before. 

He turned away and tried to ignore it. It wasn’t any of his business if you were upset. The two of you were barely even friends anymore. You had cut him out of your life so many years ago and never looked back. To this day, Fred still didn’t know why, and it killed him. 

He wanted to walk away. To go the other direction toward a beautiful guest wearing a flowing red dress, hair done up perfectly. The stranger would be the smart choice. A fun way to spend the evening, dancing around and snogging under moonlit trees. But, against his better judgement, Fred’s heart wouldn't let him leave. 

Sighing, Fred lifted his feet and made his way in the other direction, to the girl who couldn’t care less about him. 

You stood unmoving, except for a subtle sway to the music. People brushed by you, but you paid them no mind. You were too focused on something else. As Fred drew nearer, he was able to follow your line of sight to the people in question. The newlyweds. 

Fred bristled before softening slightly. Of course. This must be about George. Back at Hogwarts, Fred was positive you had the biggest crush on his brother. You were always tagging along with their jokes, even when they got you into huge trouble. You definitely spent more time alone with George than Fred, sharing whispers and stares at the expense of the older twin. He could never get George to break and tell him what you two talked about. George even took you to the Yule Ball in your 6th year. You had never looked as radiant as you did that night, except for maybe this moment. Fred wished he had asked you to dance at the ball, but he never worked up the courage to. He didn’t want you to internally grimace at the thought of dancing with the “lesser” Weasley twin when George was right there. 

In his recollection of memories, Fred hadn’t noticed how close he had gotten to you, and how you were no longer gazing at the couple dancing. You were now staring at him. 

“Did you need something?”

Fred was shaken out of his imagination, met with an annoyed glare but soft smile coming from you. His surprise was immediately replaced with his signature cocky grin, leaning his hand onto one of the wedding tables while keeping his gaze on you. Unfortunately, his hand accidentally dipped into a wine glass, but he quickly pulled it out and hoped you didn’t notice. You did. 

“Well, that’s not a very nice way to greet one of your oldest friends, now is it?” Fred wiped his wine-covered hand on his suit pants and slipped it into his pocket, pretending to be unbothered by his previous mistake. 

You turned your eyes away from him, once again gluing them to the dance floor. “I think it’s fitting, seeing as how you were creepily staring at me for about 5 minutes before I said something.”

Fred’s ears grew pink at the accusation. “I, umm, I didn’t realize it was that long. Or that you noticed. Sorry.” He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, pretending to glance around at other guests who might interest him more. 

“You still haven’t answered me.”

Fred cocked his head to the side in question. 

“Why’d you come over here? Was there something you needed?”

“Ah, yes well,” Fred began smoothly, “I saw this darling beauty from across the tent and I just could not take my eyes off of her--”

“Fred,” you interrupted. You were looking at him again, your gaze piercing through him, forcing him to tell you the truth, to tell you everything about him. His fears, his hopes and dreams, what he had for breakfast this morning. He wanted to tell you it all. 

“The truth, please.”

Clearing his throat, and his mind of whatever thoughts just plagued him, Fred decided to be honest. You deserved that much. 

“You look like you need a hug,” he said, shrugging nonchalantly. 

Evidently, those were not the words you were expecting to hear. You were prepared with about a dozen quips to say in response to whatever cocky joke Fred was about to make. But he didn’t, and nothing could have prepared you for what he did say. 

“I--I need a what?”

“Sorry, have you lost your hearing or was I not loud enough? It’s definitely not the second; you’ve told me on numerous occasions that I have the biggest mouth of anyone you know.”

There it was. But it still made you giggle, relaxing and gravitating closer to your companion. 

“I heard you,” you said, “just wasn’t expecting that from you, I guess.”

Fred took a half step closer, visibly glad when you didn’t move away. “Wasn’t expecting me to have noticed your behavior, or wasn’t expecting me to care if I did?”

It took you a few seconds to respond. “Both.”

He let out a sound of understanding before you both averted your eyes, looking straight ahead. Occasionally, Fred would try to look at you using his peripheral vision, and you would do the same. It became a kind of game--just an awkward back and forth between two people who used to be so close, and were now so far apart.

You game ended when one of the wedding guests decided to clink their glass, beginning a chorus of high pitched chimes to echo throughout the room. You watched as George turned to find Angelina, running to her to give her a kiss so full of love and passion that it took everything Fred had not to shout out a joke and ruin the moment. He could do that next time. 

He noticed you stiffen at the kiss, presumably because it was just another reminder of what you couldn’t have. George. 

“You know, I always wanted to be a Weasley.”

Fred was surprised that you had spoken to him, and even more surprised about the turn the conversation had taken. 

“I grew up with you guys,” you continued, not waiting for Fred to respond. “Molly was like my second mother, even though she always liked Hermione and Harry a bit more than me.”

“Join the club,” said Fred, causing you to laugh loudly, a sound he hadn’t heard from you in ages. Godric, how he had missed it.

“It’s just…” you trailed off, not knowing if you wanted to be open with Fred, someone you hadn’t spoken to in years. Chances were, you wouldn’t keep in touch much after the wedding, so you might as well. What was there to lose? “It’s just...seeing Angelina, one of my best friends, dance around, wearing that ring, getting to be an actual Weasley. It’s...it’s making me a wee bit jealous.”

Fred watched you fidget with a bracelet on your wrist and decided to push his luck just a bit more. “And you’re wishing that it could be you wearing the ring, married to a certain Weasley gentleman?”

The shock was evident in your expression. “No, no, it’s not--I mean I never…” Sighing, you decided to come clean. “Yeah, I’ve maybe been harboring feelings for a certain twin for, oh I don’t know, my entire life. No biggie though, it’s totally fine that he never asked me out.”

The ginger beside you threw an arm around your shoulder, handing you a glass of wine in the process. “Drink. It makes everything better.”

You glared at him, but took the glass anyways, chugging it down in a few large gulps. “Another, please,” you demanded, and Fred obliged. 

You started to ease into Fred’s side, as soft and comforting as you remembered it to be, before realizing exactly what it was you were doing. “Fred, can I ask you something?”

“‘Course. You can ask me anything.” The absolute last thing Fred wanted to be doing at the moment was talking about your undying love for his twin brother, at his wedding no less, but he didn’t want to leave you alone. Not seeing you for so long had had a harsher effect on him than he thought, and he didn’t want to leave your side. 

Taking a deep breath and gathering your courage, you asked him the question that had been plaguing your mind for years. The one that ate you from the inside out and kept you tossing and turning at night. The reason you had to separate yourself from your love in the first place. “Why am I not good enough?”

Your voice broke a tiny bit, but a lot less than you had been expecting. A tear did happen to slip out, and Fred quickly wiped it away, his fingertip resting on your cheek for a moment too long. 

“Y/N, love, come here.” Fred pulled you into that hug he had talked about earlier, holding you closely to his chest. If he thought you were going to appreciate the gesture, he was wrong. You pushed him away softly, refusing to let any more tears fall. 

“I’m serious, Fred. W-Why am I not good enough? I’ve made it clear for years and yet...nothing. And not even a simple rejection. I could’ve handled that, y’know. If I got a simple no, I could’ve handled it and moved on. But I never did, and it’s killing me. Why am I not good enough?”

It killed Fred to see you this upset, and it hurt him even more to see that the anger was directed at him and not at George. It was his brother that broke your heart after all, not him. “You are good enough!” Fred said, with enough truth and force that a little part of you believed it. “You’re, you’re too good! You’ve been by our side from the beginning and haven’t left it since. Well, we haven’t seen you in years, but that’s probably because of--”

You nodded, confirming what he thought. Your heartbreak had driven you away. 

“But other than that,” he continued, “you’ve been like my third arm. Any guy would be crazy to give you up, you know that?”

 A tiny smile grew on your face, but was gone as soon as it had arrived. “The timing...the timing was just all wrong, wasn’t it?” you asked. 

Fred nodded, watching his brother and his wife greet guests and take pictures that were sure to be on the mantle in the burrow as soon as the wedding was over. “Yeah, I guess so. The prick should’ve asked you out sooner.”

“Oh I agree wholeheartedly, he is a prick,” you said, poking his arm, a gesture that slightly confused him. “So, I’m guessing there’s no chance of anything happening now? No sliver of hope that maybe this could work out?”

He hated that he would be the one to crush your dreams, but he couldn’t let you keep living in false hope. “Well,” he said, “the wedding bands are on and they both said ‘I do.’ Kind of hard to come back from that. I’m sorry.”

You froze, now more befuddled than you had been all night. “I...what?”

Before Fred could say anything you reached to grab his left hand, checking his ring finger for something you knew wasn’t there, but you had to be sure. 

“Wedding bands? What in the world do you--” Realization hit you like a brick, and you wanted to slap yourself. Or Fred. Either one. But preferably the latter. 

“Frederick, my dear love, who do you think we have been talking about this whole time?” you asked, voice genuine but also teasing. 

Fred didn’t know what you all of a sudden found so amusing, but he was already doubting himself and he didn’t want you to make fun of him for whatever he had done wrong. 

“Umm, well you said a Weasley, and then you said a Weasley twin. So I thought the answer was obvious.”

“Say it,” you demanded. “Who have we been talking about? Who am I in love with after years of unrequited feelings?”

He felt like he was walking into a trap, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He hesitated for a few seconds before your searing gaze forced him to answer. “George. We’re talking about my brother George.”

No sooner had his words left his mouth than your hand came up to slap his head. “You idiot! Are you serious right now?”

Fred stood flabbergasted, racking his brain for who else you could have been talking about. George was a Weasley twin. You said you were in love with a Weasley twin. Who else was there?

“It’s you, you big oaf!”

Oh. OH! There were two Weasley twins, and he was one of them. Which meant…

“You’re in love with me?!”

By this point, heads were turned to watch the scene and people were not-so-subtly whispering to their partners. 

You dragged a still surprised Fred through the crowd and out of the tents, finding a secluded enough area where you could talk. 

Fred’s brain had still not been caught up. “It’s me? You’re in love with me? But, but what about George?”

You furrowed your brow, wondering how Fred could have so easily mistaken your feelings for him as those for another. “What about George?”

“You’re in love with him!”

“I most definitely am not!”

“The Yule Ball!” he spat out. “You went to the Yule Ball with him when we were 16!”

“Yes,” you said calmly, “and you went with Angelina, but I don’t see you two getting married. We went as friends and I talked to him about you the entire night. In fact, most of the time when we hung out I was talking about you. Made him swear not to tell though. I was never good about expressing my feelings.”

Fred put a hand to his head, a growing throb threatening to overtake his senses. “But why were you so sad tonight? You wanted to marry George!”

“No,” you said patiently. “I was sad because Angelina and George’s relationship worked out the way I was wishing one between you and I had. They fell in love during school, dated a few years later, and now she’s a part of your family. I wasn’t wishing it was just me out there with your brother. I was wishing that it was our wedding.”

You blushed heavily and buried your face in your hands, embarrassed by your bluntness about your feelings. “Oh, Godric, I shouldn’t have said that, now it’s more awkward. I, umm, I should probably get going.”

Fred grabbed your wrist before you could leave, pulling you into his chest. His eyes were wide, mouth hanging slightly ajar as he gazed down at your muddled expression. 

“It’s me. I’m the one you love.”

He said it as more of a declaration rather than a question, but you could tell that he needed confirmation. 

“Of course, Freddie,” you said. “It’s always been you.”

His hand wasted no time in going to the back of your head, pulling your face into his and melding your lips together in your first kiss with Fred Weasley. After the shock wore off, you were hastily kissing him back, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t pull back and proclaim what a stupid mistake this all was. But he never did. You kissed and kissed and kissed until you were the one who had to pull back in order to catch your breath. 

It took you both a few seconds to realize what had just happened, and for the first time you both were at a loss for words. “That was, umm…” you mumbled, trying to think of what to say. 

“I love you too.”

Fred’s words were rushed out of his mouth, voice deep ragged. “I mean, when you said it was me, not George, that you loved. I, well, I love you too. Always have. Guess I just thought that you had a thing for George and I had no chance. Pretty silly of me, huh?”

“Downright stupid of you,” you replied, giggling as he pushed you away with a bashful smile gracing his lips. 

“So,” he said quietly, inching closer to you once again, “is there a chance of anything happening now?” Fred repeated the words you had said earlier, making you smile wider than you had all night. 

“Depends,” you said. “Are you gonna get the courage to ask me out?”

Fred waited for a moment before answering. “How about,” he said, offering his arm out for you to link with yours, “we have that dance we never got at the Yule Ball. And then that date we never got after, and then that relationship we never got as well. Oh! And then that wedding, and then a dog, maybe a few kids, a big house in the country--”

“Woahhh, slow down buddy, you haven’t ever properly asked me!”

You took his arm and made your way back to where the music continued to blare and festivities raged on. 

“Y/N, love, may I have this dance?”

You pushed a strand of hair from his face, ruffling it up a little to give it that signature Fred Weasley style. 

“Of course, Freddie. And every dance after that.”

Tag List:

@famdomhideout @amourtentiaa

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

Writing’s On The Wall (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello, again! We’ve finally reached... Civil War! Loosely inspired by Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall”. Some of the actual dialogue from the film is used here with some adjustments. Let me know what you think.

Summary: How the reader and Wanda are involved in the events of Civil War. Will they be on the same side? Or will they have to fight each other?

“I want to feel love, run through my blood, tell me is this where I give it all up? For you I have to risk it all, 'cause the writing's on the wall”

Half a year had passed since you left the comfort of the Avengers tower and the path to healing had never felt more manageable. You should have known that wouldn’t last. Peace never seemed to last around you. 

You didn’t know what to expect when Fury called you out of the blue and told you to turn on the news, but it was certainly not what you saw. A quiet curse escaped your lips as you watched the news of what happened in Lagos play out before you.

For at least an hour you listened to them completely annihilate Wanda’s character and talk about her like she was a monster who couldn’t be controlled. A threat. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. She made a mistake – she was trying to help. You could only imagine how she was feeling.

The news continued to pile on the next couple of days which is when you caught wind of the Sokovian accords. The information being relayed to you in the form of a demand from one Tony Stark who said you needed to sign since you were technically still an Avenger. You told him you would need time to think about it because the fact of the matter was, you didn’t agree with it. Not that you actually told him the second part. 

Shortly after your phone call with Stark, Steve also reached out. Though he was reluctant to have to ask you for help when he knew what he would be dragging you back into. You agreed within seconds. Not only was it what was right, but Steve was your first lifeline. You’d always offer him help. You’d always stand by him. You had made a promise. That’s just who you were.

Due to some loose ends, you were the last to arrive at the parking garage Steve had designated as the meeting location. 

The sight of Wanda before you after all this time shocked you and rendered you immobile for a moment. 

As if she could sense your presence, she looked over and made eye contact with you, her eyes widening ever so slightly. You shook your head, you had healed – moved on. She wasn’t your focus anymore. The look in her eyes stuck with you though, it was something you had never seen before. You could feel her eyes follow you. Even after all this time, it slightly hurt you still.

Wanda, on the other hand, felt breathless at the sight of you. The one she thought she’d never get to see again. She could feel her heart beating so hard in her chest she was sure everyone in the area could hear it. It took everything in her not to run over to you, take you in her arms and never let go. Even after all this time, she missed you still. 

“Cap, what have you gotten yourself into now?” you questioned playfully, smiling brightly when Steve turned to look at you.

Despite the circumstance, Steve was genuinely glad to see you, to physically see how much better you looked after your time away rather than just hear it in a phone call. “Y/n. I hate how this is how we’re being reunited but it’s good to see you.” He pulled you into a tight embrace which you gladly returned. 

For the first time in her life, Wanda envied Steve Rogers. 

When he released you, Steve turned and addressed everyone else. “Alright everyone, go and get ready. Time is of the essence… And I can’t imagine they’re going to let us go easily.”

Before you could walk away, Steve threw a duffle bag at you with a wink before he walked off to put on his suit. You looked into the bag and noticed a sleek black outfit with blue and white accents. New gear, you thought to yourself, nice.

“Hi, Y/n.” you heard an all too familiar voice say softly from behind you. 

With only slight hesitation, you turned. “Hello, Wanda.” You greeted neutrally, proud of yourself for not feeling as broken as you once did at the mere sight of her. 

Wanda smiled slightly at you, her nerves at an all-time high from being this close to you once again. “I’m surprised to see you here. You look… good.” She said shyly. 

An amused smile spread over your lips. “Thanks. I thought I told you I’d always be on your side.” You said with a wink. The referenced conversation felt as though it had happened in another life. 

A pink hue covered her cheeks which you took note of curiously. “I’m actually glad you are.” She admitted honestly. “I’ve had a lot of time to think these last few months and it’s made me realize that I-“

“I’m genuinely sorry to do this, ladies, but we’ve really got to go.” Steve interrupted. Looking apologetically at Wanda who appeared disheartened.

You waved your hand dismissively. Allowing yourself to get invested in even just a conversation with Wanda wasn’t something you’d allow yourself. “Not an issue at all, Cap.” You replied lightly, pretending you didn’t see the way Wanda’s looked down dejectedly. In that moment you wished you didn’t know her so well.

Once you were all gathered, Steve separated you all into teams that would be spread throughout the airport, Clint and Wanda would be together, Sam would stay with Bucky and you would be with Steve. Scott would be waiting in hiding for when the perfect opportunity presented itself. Without knowing all the variables, it was difficult to form a perfect plan, but you all worked with what you had. Once that was settled, it was time to get into position. 

“Y/n.” Wanda took hold of your hand as you were turning to leave. “Do you think we could finish that conversation later, whenever that may be?” She asked hopefully. You took note of how she was holding her breath.

“Sure, Wanda.” You eventually replied, watching the way she breathed out graciously. “I’ve got to get into position now though, Steve is already out there.” 

Wanda lightly squeezed the hand that you hadn’t realized she was still holding. Awkwardly, you pulled it away. A short look of disappointed flashed across her features. “Be careful out there, okay?”

“You too.” You replied neutrally, this conversation was veering into dangerous territory. With one final nod you took off in a sprint to get into position, not seeing the way Wanda stayed behind for a moment. 

Even just the minor action made her aware of the fact that you’d changed, you used to always look back. She looked at your retreating figure with worried eyes until it disappeared from sight.

Almost as soon as you got into position, you could hear Sam begin calling you over the coms. “Y/n, go out to Steve, give them some numbers. Remember your points and the mission.”

“Haven’t been out of the game that long, Wilson.” You replied with an eye roll before heading out to where Steve was trapped.

The end of Tony’s speech caught your attention. “… in Clint, rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn’t even want to leave, a safe place-“ His words halted as you came to a stop by Steve’s side.

For a moment Tony just looked between you and Steve, obviously surprised to see you there. “And you brought the kid back into the chaos for this? To make her a criminal? Real nice, Rogers.” Tony quipped angrily.

Steve opened his mouth to respond when you beat him to it. “I can speak for myself, thanks. Hi Tony, good to see you again.” You matched his sarcasm with a mocking wave of your fingers. “If it means I can fight for what’s right then I’ll gladly join the fray again.”

“You heard her.” Steve replied with a small chuckle. 

Wanda couldn’t help but watch you with a small smile of admiration from her position. She truly missed being able to see this version of you. Always determined to do what was right. Clint shook his head in amusement at her but didn’t say anything.

From your place you could see Tony’s frustration grow as he addressed Steve again. “I’m trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.”

“You did that when you signed.” Steve replied coolly.

Tony looked away before looking back at Steve, his anger more present. “Alright, we’re done. You’re going to turn Barnes over and you’re going to come with us. Now. Because it’s us.” He paused slightly. “C’mon…” he added, and you almost felt bad for Tony.

Over your coms you could hear Sam let you both know that he had found the quinjet. That’s when chaos ensued. Your focus was keeping Rhodey back from Steve when you saw Tony begin shooting at Wanda and Clint, with a flick of your wrist Rhodey sunk into the floor, completely encased in the concrete that was once flat underneath his feet. 

The sound of his suit slowly chipping away at the defense let you know that it wasn’t too damaging as you began running towards Tony, using your powers to propel you forward. That was until a truck got thrown right in your path and exploded mere inches from you. You ducked and rolled, jumping back up. “C’mon.” you mumbled to yourself. Noticing the red wisps that surrounded you during the explosion.

You made eye contact with Wanda, who’s eyes were worried as she lowered her hands, the red wisps that were lingering around you fading. You nodded in thanks, Wanda just quirked her lips up and nodded back.

“Sorry!” Scott said sheepishly to you over coms. 

You refocused and noticed the path to the quinjet clear for you all, each of you sprinting in its direction. 

The quinjet was quickly approaching as each of you sped up even more until a beam of light cut into the ground before you, effectively stopping you all in your tracks. 

“For the collective good, you must surrender now.” Vision said, his eyes on Wanda whose expression never changed. Each member of Tony’s team formed a defensive line in front of the jet. 

Both sides were in a stand-off, and it was obvious neither was willing to back down. “What do we do, Cap?” you questioned. 

“We fight.” Steve said without a moment of hesitation, determination clear in his eyes as he began running forward. Everyone else followed suit, both teams clashing in the middle.

The scene was so frenzied, and your focus was on fighting Tony with your powers that it wasn’t until Sam spoke over coms that you focused in again. You easily agreed with the plan that not all of you could make it out. It had to be Steve and Bucky. 

The sound of Wanda’s scream distracted you, thankfully Scott had also distracted Tony just in time. 

“Wanda!” You shouted on reflex already beginning to run over when you saw her fall to the floor, clutching her head. You were able to catch the building that was falling on Steve and Bucky with your powers for a moment before allowing it to crash down behind them. 

When you turned your attention back to Wanda, you noticed Vision come to a stop beside her and take her in his arms. The conversation between them looked intimate. She looked up from her place in his arms for a moment and met your eyes. Her eyes looked as though they were trying to convey something to you when they had suddenly gone wide as you felt a strong force make contact with your head then everything went black. 

When you finally came to your head felt groggy and achy, the way it did when Hydra used to run experiments on you. You tried to lift a hand to rub at your head when you noticed resistance and something cool around your neck. Out of confusion, your eyes shot open only to feel anxiety seep into your bones when you took note of the straight jacket that you were confined in and the collar locked uncomfortably around your neck.

“Hello?” you called, hating the way fear crept into your voice.

“Y/n. You’re awake.” You heard Wanda respond, relief obvious in her voice. You looked around for a moment trying to locate her voice when you finally noticed her across a brightly lit circular sort of area, in her own straight jacket and collar. Her eyes that were so bright before the battle now dull.

Fruitlessly you tried to use your powers to manipulate the walls of the cell to no avail. “Where are we?”

“They call it the raft.” You heard Clint’s bitter voice float through the walls. “We’re criminals now.”

The anxiety you felt began to overwhelm you as flashes of being tied up in a similar manner and watching someone you loved be harmed went through your mind. “How long have we been here?”

“Three days,” Wanda began hesitantly almost as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell you more. 

Clint interrupted her. “They’ve been knocking you out each time you come to, even for a second. First, they doped you up. The last time they just hit you. They’re not big fans of Steve over here, you’re the closest they could get to him.” Anger was clear in his words. 

You thought you heard him mumble something about putting Wanda directly across from you, so she’d be forced to watch. 

Wanda looked resigned with purple bruising under her eyes. You were hesitant to ask. “What happened to you?” she shook her head.

Thankfully Sam answered for her. “They’re not big fans of her either. The one good thing Tony did was stop what they were doing to both of you.”

Before you could ask anything else, the sound of the door opening caught your attention, all of your attention it seemed. A moment later, Steve walked in, a relieved smile on his face as he took in each of you. 

“About time.” Sam said gruffly.

Without hesitation Steve began taking you each out of your cell and loaded onto the jet he had waiting. 

You were watching the prison shrink in the distance from the safety of the quinjet when you felt someone take a seat next to you. You didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Do you think we can have that talk now?”

Part 8! Don’t worry there’s more to come, I’m just releasing one title ahead at a time. This part was semi-difficult to write because I didn’t want to add too much of the fight scene because then it would be extremely long and this was more of a set-up chapter for Wanda and the readers story. To establish where they are after separating and bring them back into each others lives. Anyway, as always, hope you all enjoyed! Comments and thoughts always welcome. :) (bonus points if you can tell me what part was referenced in this chapter ;)

[blade-liger-4ever]

G.I. Joe: Resolute Review

So, this is my first time watching a G.I. Joe film all the way through, folks, so expect both good points, brutal honesty, and a tad bit of biased thoughts.  I’ll begin with what I enjoyed, what didn’t work, and what was absolutely wrong.

What Was Good - The Animation

I mean seriously, just look at this stuff (more under the cut).

The animation is drop-dead GORGEOUS, and the designs of the Joes are so faithful that it would make the MCU look like low budget cosplayers.

Heck, even Cobra’s redesigns were done with care!

It’s truly mouthwatering animation, with all the characters looking just fi -

......Okay Zartan looks like a bleached turd, but he’s the only character whose design I wish had been scrapped and redone.  All in all, though, the animation is top notch, and I would dearly love to see more shows animated in such a style.

The Voice Acting

This one was honestly a bit of a mixed bag, and I’ll explain.  Because the studio wanted to save on money, they only hired four voice actors: Steve Blum, Charlie Adler, Eric Bauza, and Grey Delisle.  Due to this budget constraint, dialogue for multiple characters was cut and switched around, leaving us with silent cameos for numerous characters, including some who hardly got any time in the original cartoon.

cough Airborne cough cough

Now don’t get me wrong, I love hearing these guys in animation as much as the next fanboy, and they all managed to make their characters sound relatively distinct.

Relatively.

Charlie Adler, as always, gave a great many performances, and I had to double check to make sure he was the voice behind Gung-Ho in addition to Flint.  Eric Bauza was similarly outstanding, and I am truly amazed that he pulled off such an authentic Scottish accent for Destro.  But while they came off well, the performances of Steve Blum and Grey Delisle were...unfortunately lacking.

While their acting as Duke and Scarlett was excellent, their performances for the rest of their characters was spotty.  Outside of the Baroness, Grey Delisle wasn’t very effective in differentiating her roles, and the Baroness only skates by because of the accent.  Dial-Tone could have easily been mistaken for Scarlett, and Cover Girl sounded like Scarlett but with that missing Southern twang.

Steve Blum, while a superb actor who infuses his characters with his very being, is painfully recognizable.  His Ripcord sounds like Duke but with his voice pitched to sound younger, while Zartan sounds more slithery and Australian, but trust me when I say the difference falls short once you hear Duke speaking literal seconds after Zartan makes his evil speech.  That said, Blum’s Mississippi dialect was convincing - so much so that I mentally did a double take when I heard Roadblock speak for the first time.  Bravo, sir.

What Didn’t Work - The Arashikage Subplot

Look, I love my American Ninja as much as anyone else, but with an already decent plot with Cobra’s Particle Cannon (don’t worry, Geno Saurer, you’re still the best), the story involving the famed ninjas was truly unnecessary.  About fifteen minutes of the film is devoted to Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s feud, and while that precious time was better spent and more faithful than the Snake Eyes film, it was still a clear attempt at fanservice.  Now I’m not finished with Storm Shadow yet, so expect more on that later.

Zartan’s Presence and Sudden Death

Seriously?  You give the world renowned assassin who killed the freaking Hard Master less than five minutes of screen time and off him practically immediately?  Without it being at the hand of Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow?

Really, Zartan’s presence was so last minute and left field.  His role could’ve easily been handed off to Firefly, who got a silent cameo, and it would’ve worked better.

Cobra Commander’s Escape (image below is fan-made)

While I do appreciate how menacing CC is here, having him mysteriously evade death from a Particle Cannon aimed directly at him while trapped inside a super bunker was severely unfulfilling.  If you’re gonna make him a complete monster, then have the decency to kill him off for real, people!  Ugh....

What was Wrong - The Overhauling of Established Character Traits

inhales deeply

Alright, for those of you who don’t know, Storm Shadow was never as vile as they portrayed him in Resolute.  In the original comics, Storm Shadow was training to be a ninja alongside Snake Eyes when Zartan, hired by Cobra Commander, killed the Hard Master using one of Storm Shadow’s arrows.  Storm Shadow was thought to be the killer when he was seen escaping the scene, when in actuality he was attempting to hunt down the real murderer.

Framed for murder and seeing a nearby Cobra jet, Storm Shadow joined Cobra in order to find the real killer and clear his name.  What Resolute gave us was an evil man with no honor and no sense of familial bonds - a very obvious step away from his previous portrayals, and an outright slap in the face to his traditional characterization.

Roadblock suffered too, though not nearly as much as poor Storm Shadow.  Roadblock was originally conceived as a gentle soul who is a master chef and the overall most cheerful man on the team.  Here, he’s far more serious and growly; now while I’m willing to chalk that up as a result of Cobra killing over ten million people, that does not excuse the frightening visual of Roadblock shooting Cobra soldiers while laughing like a maniac.  I like Blood Knights, but there’s a reason they’re separate from the Gentle Giant trope, and I will not stand by and let people get away with exchanging two totally different archetypes and expecting the audience to be unbothered by it.

Introducing the Characters

If it weren’t for my previous knowledge of the franchise, I wouldn’t have had a clue as to who the characters were.  The Joes aren’t subtly introduced like they were in Renegades - they’re just there, and it’s like the writers are expecting their viewers to be G.I. Joe fans specifically.  When you tell a story with any previously established franchise, you have to make it work for all movie-goers/readers/etc, not dump it on them and expect people to figure it out on their own.

The Sour Tone

While a franchise featuring war shouldn’t be as juvenile as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero occasionally was, the show made an impact because while it had serious moments and episodes (There’s No Place Like Springfield, anybody?), its characters weren’t stone-faced about their situation.  They faced death on a daily basis, and it was their willingness to smile in its outraged face that made them memorable.

Because of this, the Joes were allowed to be approachable, so that when someone like Gung-Ho made a crack about Cobra troops, it made the characters endearing and taught the kids watching to stand up in the face of danger not with a Clint Eastwood glare, but with a smile and quip to show that they wouldn’t bend to the enemy’s whims.  Resolute clearly tries to copy the war films of the early 2000′s, and it only serves to undermine what could’ve been a splendid movie.

Conclusion

Despite these flaws, G.I. Joe: Resolute is a good watch.  It’s not the best, but it is far more considerate of its source material than its live-action counterparts.  If you wish to watch something with G.I. Joe in its title, a low budget war film, or just something with good acting/animation, then I recommend Resolute.  Until next time -

“YOOOOO, JOE!!!!”

[nopefun]

Interview #494: Ryan Frigillana

Ryan Frigillana is a Philippine-born lens-based artist living and working in New York. His work focuses on the fluidity of memory, intimacy, family identity, and visual culture, largely filtered through the lens of race and immigration. Embracing its plasticity, Frigillana explores photography’s relationship to context as a catalyst for thematic dialogue.

His first monograph, Visions of Eden, was published as two editions in 2020, and is held in the library collections of the MoMA, Getty Research Institute, and Smithsonian among others.

We spoke to find out more about Visions of Eden, his love for photobooks, and photography as a medium for introspection.

Lee Chang Ming Ryan Frigillana

Thanks for agreeing to do this! As we’ve just arrived into the new year, I want to start by asking: how did you arrive at photography and how has your practice evolved so far? Your earlier work was anything from still life to street photography, but your recent work seems to deal with more personal themes.

It’s my pleasure; thank you for having this conversation with me! Wow, looking back at how I’ve arrived at this point makes me feel so grateful for this medium, and excited to think of where it will lead me from here. I came to photography somewhat late. I was initially studying to become a nurse and was set to start a career in that field, but I found myself unhappy with where I was going. My mother was a nurse and I know what goes into being one; it’s not an easy job, and I respect those who do it, but my heart wasn’t in it. I found photography as a creative outlet during that stage of my life, and I’ve clung onto it ever since.

My first exposure to photography (no pun intended) came in the form of street and photojournalism. I would borrow books from the library a lot, consuming works by Magnum and other photographers working in that tradition. At the time, it was all I knew so that’s what I tried to emulate. Even early on in my undergrad career, these modes of creation were reinforced by curriculum and by what I saw from my own peers. My still-life work branches off of that same sentiment: the only names that were ever thrown around by professors were Penn and Mapplethorpe, so that’s who I studied. Thankfully over the years, I’ve been able to broaden that perspective through my own research. Though I don’t necessarily pursue street or constructed still-lifes anymore for my personal work, I’d like to think my technical skills (in regard to timing, composition, light) owe a debt to those past experiences.

I suppose now I’m starting to explore how photography can be used as language, to communicate ideas and internal conflicts. I’m thinking more about the power of imagery, its authorship, its implications, and how photographs have shaped, and continue to shape, our reality. That’s where my work is headed at the moment.

I liked how you mentioned photography as a language, which calls into question who we are speaking to when we make images and what kind of narrative we construct by putting photographs together.

In your work “Visions of Eden”, you trace your family’s journey as first-generation Filipino immigrants in America. I was quite struck by how you managed to link together original photography, archived materials and video stills. To me, with the original photography there was a sense of calm and clarity, perhaps in the composition. But with the archived material it was like peering through tinted glass, and the video stills felt like an unsteady memory. What was the editing process like for you and how did you decide what to include or exclude?

For me, editing is the hardest part about photography. Shooting is the enjoyable part of course because it can feel so cathartic. Sometimes when I shoot it feels almost like muscle memory in the sense that you see the world and you just react to it in a trained way. But with editing, it’s more of a cerebral exercise. More thought is involved when you have to deal with visual relationships, sequence, rhythm, and spacing, etc. The real creation of my work takes place in the editing process. That’s where the ingredients come together to form an identity.

When creating this identity, I not only have to think about what I want to say, but also how I want to say it. It’s like speaking; there are numerous ways you can communicate a single sentence. How are images placed in relation to one another? How large are they printed, or how much white space surrounds it? Are the images repeated? What’s on the following page? The preceding page? Is there text? How are they positioned on the spread? All of these little choices impact the tone of your work. And that’s not even mentioning tactile factors like paper stock or cover material. I think that’s why I have such a deep love for photobooks because 1) they’re physical objects and 2) someone has obsessed over every aspect of that object.

I’m aware that my photographs lately have a quiet, detached, somewhat stripped-down quality to them. I think that’s just a subconscious rejection of my earlier days shooting a lot of street where I was constantly seeking crowded frames and complexity in my compositions. As I’ve grown older, I realize less is more and if I can do more by saying less, that’s even better. Now, the complexity I seek lies in the work as a whole and how all these little parts can form something fluid and layered, and not easily definable.

For Visions of Eden, I wanted the work to feel somewhat syncopated and wandering in thought. That meant finding a balance between my quiet static photographs and the movement and energy of the video stills, or balancing the coldness of the illustrations with the warmth of the family snapshots. The work needed to be cohesive but have enough ambiguity for it to take life in someone else’s imagination. Peoples’ lived experiences in regard to immigration and religion are so complex that they can’t be narrated in any one definitive way. Visions of Eden, hopefully, is a rejection of that singularity.

Yes, there’s definitely something special and intimate about flipping through a photobook! For your monograph, you recently released a second edition which is different from your first (redesigned, added images, etc.). Why did you decide to make it different? Was the editing mainly a solitary process?

The first edition was a partially hand-made object. Illustrations were printed on translucent vellum paper and then tipped into the gutter of the book. When you flip through the pages, those vellum sheets would overlap over certain images, creating a collage-like effect. That was my original concept for this book. Doing this, however, was so laborious and time consuming, and not to mention expensive! Regretfully, I wound up making only twenty copies of that first edition. I wanted the work shared with a wider audience so that’s why I decided to publish a second run.

The latest edition is more of a straight-forward production without the vellum paper. With this change in design, I had to reconfigure the layout. I took liberties in swapping out some images or adding new ones altogether. Also, a beautiful afterword was contributed by my friend, artist, writer, and curator Efrem Zelony-Mindell. I still feel so fortunate and grateful to have had my work seen and elevated by their words in my book.

For the most part, yes editing is quite a solitary process for me. But there does come a point when I feel it’s ready, where I share the work with a few trusted people. It’s always nice to have that outer support system. Much of Visions of Eden was created during my time in undergrad school so I had all sorts of feedback from peers and professors which I’m grateful for. But in the end, as the author, you ultimately have the final say in your work.

Given that Eden is a starting point and metaphor in the work, I was thinking about ideas of gardens, (forbidden) fruit, and movement of people.

How do you view yourself in relation to your place of birth? In your series, I see the most direct links in the letters, old photos where tropical foliage is present in the background, and the photo of the jackfruit (perhaps the only tropical fruit in this series).

I came to America when I was very young, about five years old. For my family and for many other families still living in the Philippines, America is seen as a sort of ideological Eden: a land of milk and honey, of wealth and excess. We all know that’s far from the truth. Every Eden has a caveat, a forbidden tree. Which leads me to ask: as an immigrant living in this country, what fruits were never intended for me?

I honestly don’t remember much about my childhood in the Philippines aside from fleeting memories of my relatives, the sounds of animals, the smell of rain and earth, the taste of my grandmother’s cooking. The identity that I carry with me now as a Filipino is not so much tied to the physical geography of a place but rather it is derived from a way of life, from shared stories, in the values we hold dear, passed on from generation to generation. This is a warm flame that lives on in me to this day as I write these words thousands of miles away from where I came.

Photographs have a way of shaping our memory and our relationship to the past, which in turn affects how we engage with the present. The family photographs and letters used in my book act as anchors in a meandering journey. They serve as landmarks that I can return to whenever I feel lost or need assurance so far away from “home”. They give me the comfort and affirmation that I need to navigate a space where I never really felt I belonged. The spread in my book­­ that you mentioned—the jackfruit on one side, and the Saran-wrapped apple on the preceding page—was a reference to my duality as both Filipino and American. It’s a reminder and an acknowledgment that I am a sum of many things, of many people who have shaped me. If I flourish in life, it’s because my roots were nourished by love.

I like how you mentioned photos as anchors or landmarks. Isn’t that why we create and photograph? To mark certain points in our lives and to envision possible futures, like a cartographer mapping an inner journey. Do you feel like you and your relationships with those you photographed changed through the process of making your works?

When my parents took pictures of our family, it wasn’t done solely in the name of remembrance; it also served as an affirmation of ourselves and our journey—a celebration. Every birthday, vacation, school ceremony, or even the seemingly insignificant events of daily life were all photographed or video-taped as a way of saying to ourselves, “Here we are. Look how far we’ve come. Look at the life we’ve made. And here’s the proof”.

Now, holding a camera and photographing my family through my own lens still carries all of that celebratory joy, but with so much more possibility. Before I really took photography seriously, I never realized its potential as a medium for introspection, but that’s ultimately what it has become for me. In taking pictures of my family, I not only clarify my own feelings about them, but the act of photography itself informs and builds on my relationship with each person. The camera is not a mere recording device, but a tool for understanding, processing, and even expressing love...or resentment. Though I may not be visible in my pictures, my presence is there: in my proximity, my gaze, my focus.

Does all of this impact my relationships? Absolutely. Photographing another person willingly always demands some degree of trust and vulnerability from both sides. There’s a silent dialogue that occurs which feels like an exchange of secrets. I think that’s why I often don’t feel comfortable photographing other people unless we’re very close. Usually my family is open enough to reveal themselves to me, other times what they give can feel quite guarded. That’s a constant negotiation. After the photograph is made though, nobody ever emerges the same person because each of us has relinquished something, no matter how small.

Being self-reflexive in photography is so important. I agree it should be a constant negotiation, but it’s something that bothers me these days – the power dynamic between the photographer and photograph, particularly for personal and documentary projects. More significantly, after the photograph has been made, who is really benefiting. But I guess if we are sensitive to that then perhaps we can navigate that tricky path and find a balance. 

Right, finding that balance is key and sometimes there are no clear-cut answers. That power dynamic is something I always have to be mindful of. As the photographer, you are exercising a certain role and position. At the end of the day, you’re the one essentially “taking” what you need and walking away. There’s an inherent violence or aggression in the act of taking someone’s picture, no matter how well-intended it may be. This aggression carries even greater weight when working, as you say, in a genre like documentary where representation is everything.

I remember an undergrad professor of mine, Nadia Sablin, introducing me to the work of Shelby Lee Adams—particularly his Appalachian Legacy series. Adams spent twenty-five years documenting the disadvantaged Appalachian communities in his home state of Kentucky, visiting the same families over a long period of time. Though the photographs are beautifully crafted, they pose many questions in regard to exploitation, representation, and the aestheticization of suffering. He is or was, after all, an artist thriving and profiting off of these photographs. Salgado is another that comes to mind. This was the first time I really stopped to think about the ethics of image-making. Who is benefitting from it all?

I think the search for this balance is something each photographer has to reckon with personally. Though each situation may vary with different factors that have to be weighed, and context that must be applied, you can always ask yourself these same ever-pertinent questions: am I representing people in a dignified way, and what are my intentions with these images? Communication (listening), building relationships, acknowledging your power, and respecting the people you photograph are all foundational things to consider when exercising your privilege with the camera.

Well said! The process of making photographs can be tricky to navigate yet rewarding. Any upcoming projects or ideas? What’s keeping you busy these days?

Oh, let’s just say I’m constantly juggling 3-4 ideas in my head at any given time, but ninety percent of the time they don’t ever lead to anything finished haha. This past year has been tough on everyone I’m sure. I’ve been dealing a lot with personal loss and grief and the compounded isolation brought on by the pandemic, so for months I’ve been making photographs organically as a subconscious response to these internal struggles. It’s more of an exploration of grief itself as a natural phenomenon and force—like time or gravity. Grief is something everyone will experience in life and each of us deals with it differently, but in the end we have to let it run its course. I see these photographs as a potential body of work that could materialize as a zine or book one day, so we’ll see where that goes.

Other than that, I’ve been working on an upcoming collaboration project with Cumulus Photo. Speaking of which, I saw your photograph featured in their latest zine, running to the edge of the world. Congrats on that! It’s beautiful. But yeah, just trying my best to keep busy and sane, and improving myself any way I can.

Thanks! Looking forward to your upcoming projects! Last question: any music to recommend?

I feel like my answer to this question can vary by the week. I go through phases where I exhaust whole albums on repeat until I get tired of them. So I’ll leave you with the two currently on my rotation: Angles by The Strokes, and Screamadelica by Primal Scream.

Thank you for your time!

Thank you for a lovely discourse. I had a lot of fun!

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[autoplaysdigimon]

So, let’s talk comics again.

Previously, I showed off the transition between seasons 1 and 2, and how it cut off about three quarters of 01 content. 

(Also, since that cover was scanned, it has come apart from the rest of the book, and now I have two halves of cover for this comic. Alas.)

The comic series for 02 must have been handled by different people, because it’s ever so slightly different to the anime. But, uh, the quality is about the same as before.

This is a cute detail to include, even if the scene that this is from didn’t appear in the comic. You can see that it’s the actual photo that was taken, with everyone staring at the egg! How nice.

TK, Kari and, weirdly, Izzy are missing from this. I’d chalk it up to all three of them showing up in this story, but Tai does too, so who fuckin knows.

This is their first appearance, no scene of TK and Davis or anything. Of note is that Kari doesn’t insult Davis, maybe he’s less of a douche in this version. Also: “football”, not soccer. Different markets, I suppose, but I know that we call it soccer here in New Zealand, so????

“YOUR BROTHER IS AWESOME AND I WANNA BE HIM”

Davis Motomiya: Disaster Bi.

Oooo, an almost swear? “Oh my God” seems a bit risky for a kid’s comic.

This art style is adorable! Much better than the 01 version, even though they appear in the SAME COMIC.

BELIEVEABLE DIALOGUE. Although hey, there’s a “damn” there! They must have had their big boy pants on for this translation or something?

I really like “UH OH” as a sound effect.

(...ignore that spot above Kari’s dialogue there, it doesn’t seem to be on the actual comic so it must have been a scanning oopsie.)

Here’s these guys’ introduction! Why is Cody there? Who knows!

Also I was wrong, this mention of Izzy is his only “appearance” in this one, so why didn’t he get to be in the age-up panel up there? How rude.

(He appears in the next one, so they weren’t going for any “ooo what does IZZY look like!” suspense kinda thing. They were just bullying the poor kid.)

Hey look, a panel from the show! I don’t think that one actually shows up in this episode, though, weirdly.

Yolei why are you reading someone else’s email? Rude.

The dialogue immediately before this is Kari saying “Not all of us can go!” and then this happens, immediately proving her wrong. This version of the story just utterly blitzes through the plot points, doesn’t it? No hesitation, just action. It kinda takes the charm out of it a bit?

Not entirely,

but a little bit.

Now, I say that, and then I have to present to you my absolute favourite panel from this mess.

...I

I’m so glad I took a break between the last comic and this, in retrospect, because it means that I got to have the last avatar up for a while before I changed it to this. IT’S TOO PERFECT I LOVE IT

The egg is just on a fucking path, I guess. Why not?!

...

Well, that’s another strong contender.

Davis inherently understanding this all notwithstanding, this sequence never fails to crack me up. What was your thought process here, Davis? Why the sassy? Why did fear not happen? Who are you???

Now, you may have noticed some sequence breaking here - by this point in the episode, we should have our little blue friend by now. This is the biggest difference between the two versions.

In the anime, they discuss the egg a bit, try to lift it, and Davis succeeds. Veemon is born, they throw around some introductions, and then Monochromon shows up and ruins their day. 

In this version...

...this happens, somehow.

I don’t understand

THERE HE IS I LOVE HIM

...and then his birthday is IMMEDIATELY RUINED.

HOW IS THIS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER

I just... I don’t know what to say that could add to this situation. This is the funniest damn thing to ever happen and there’s nothing that I can say that could make it funnier. Between every expression that Davis makes, the fact that they forget that they’re in mortal peril because a little blue man appeared, poor Veemon’s triumphant debut being interrupted and losing all of his momentum, the fact that you can hear the nonexistant music grind to a halt for this one moment, and the fact that even the Digimon Emperor and Monochromon are given pause... fucking hell this is my favourite moment.

“im 12 seconds old and what is this”

dshgkjhdjl Veemon you absolute fuckup. Never change.

There’s a minor plot hole in the dub, where Davis shouts “Digi-Armour Energise” without knowing that phrase, the second episode confirming that they have to shout that and Davis didn’t just make it up. In the original version, Veemon tells him to shout it, but his line was changed for the dub. Interestingly enough:

It’s preserved in this version! Along with the basics of the line that they changed it to in the dub! Weird. Were they going off the original script, or was there someone on the writing team who noticed that?

The fight goes slightly differently, but the basics are the same.

This panel is cool as fuck, tho.

You know what? I am ready for a new adventure. Let’s do it.

(Does Davis have a tear in his eye there? CUTE)

[themangolorian]

ketterdam unsolved

For @kanejweek Day 3: Adventure (robbery & piracy, outer space)

Pairing: Kaz x Inej

Warnings: for some explicit language

Summary: (modern au) ketterdam’s version of buzzfeed unsolved (not what i expected when i started out) but you don’t have to watch bfu to get it, it’s just a modern ghost hunting au with a twist

“If this is going to work, then Kaz needs to be the skeptic and Inej the believer.” Wylan kept saying in various reiterations without ever explaining why.

“This isn’t going to work.” Jasper repeated.

“Shouldn’t that be Kaz’s line?” Inej smiled dazzlingly his way.

“Wylan is right.” Kaz finally spoke, his voice unwavering rough stone.

Silence fell over the room. They’d been bickering over the roles for several minutes and Kaz had kept his peace until now.

“Even if he doesn’t know why.” Kaz continued, effectively erasing the satisfied smile from Wylan’s face.

Jesper stuck his tongue out at Wylan in retaliation, but Wylan actively ignored him.

“Jesper, you’ll be manning the camera.” Kaz said, then, a moment later: “What was that?”

“Nothing, boss,” Jesper shot back enthusiastically, though they’d all clearly heard him mutter a second ago: “You’ll regret that when you see the footage.”

Kaz nodded in satisfaction. It wasn’t that they didn’t all rile him up intentionally once in awhile; it was that you didn’t do it during a job.

After all, if they were going to steal the Lantsov Emerald from a high tech security vault inside of an allegedly haunted castle while playing at being amateur television personality ghost hunters, they were going to need full concentration throttles ahead.

“What about me?” Nina pouted.

“You, my dear,” replied Kaz liltingly, holding up a skimpy yet utterly expensive looking gown, “are tonight’s distraction.”

Nina grinned devilishly, but Matthias only groaned.

“Let’s get to work.” Kaz murmured.

*******

Later, on the set Wylan and Jesper had constructed to look like some old timey investigator’s office, Inej studied the hastily thrown together script with wrinkled nose.

“This dialogue is terrible.”

“Oi.” Wylan feigned hurt surprisingly well.

“It’ll have to do,” Kaz agreed without actually agreeing from where he sat behind the desk at her side.

“This week on Ketterdam Unsolved, we dive deep into the mystery of the Haunted Castle of Ravka,” Inej tried but failed to say without cringing.

Kaz’s lips twitched. “The most awful part about it all is that they’re going to fall for it.”

Inej glanced his way slyly. “Oh yes, truly horrible.”

Kaz focused for just a second too long on that smile before forcing his gaze back to the script.

Jesper zoomed out of the shot. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

********

The castle’s wide open hallways were cold and foreboding, and Inej found herself shivering from more than just the temperature. For all her skepticism about the script, she might be the only one of them other than Matthias who truly believed the castle was haunted.

Glancing past where Matthias stood guard (she didn’t know how Kaz had managed to accomplish that one - stand in security guard for a nationally recognized security company seemed even beyond his capabilities), the thought did little to comfort her.

Knowing she was being stupid, she still felt like eyes were watching her. Kaz, of course, noticed instantly and used it decidedly for their sham of a show.

“Don’t mind my friend here,” Kaz said in that awful voice she barely recognized, “she’s just positive we’re going to be murdered here tonight.” Kaz laughed into the camera Jesper was pointing at them. He sounded like a total idiot.

Inej stared at Kaz, hoping she was conveying the proper amount of derision.

“Everyone loves to taunt ghosts, until they’re being haunted by them.” Inej said as much for Kaz’s benefit as for the camera’s and that of the bemused tour guide showing them around before leaving them to their antics for the night. If only he would just leave already...

Kaz only laughed mockingly back, which riled Inej up even more. But she knew her lines.

“Keep it up, big guy, and see what tonight has in store for you.” She managed to say, this time without wincing.

The tour guide began leading them to the rooms where they had been instructed to keep to during their overnight ghostly vigil but failed to notice the way their eyes were memorizing every layout, every window, every door.

*******

When they had finally been left alone, charmed out of the castle as the tour guide had been by Nina’s wiles, Inej let out a deep frustrated breath.

What had seemed to be an interminable smile fell from Kaz’s face.

“Jesper, you take the east wing. Wylan will be waiting at the gate. Don’t alert the guards, but Matthias is on stand by if you do.”

Kaz didn’t have to say a word. Inej knew to follow him just by the look in his eye.

“Did you see the way the guide kept glancing at the door to the main study?” But Inej knew she didn’t have to ask.

“I’m betting that’s our target.” Kaz agreed, leaning lightly on the walking stick he had swapped out for his usually more dramatic cane. For the “aesthetic,” Jesper had said.

Inej didn’t bother to ask why Kaz had sent Jesper and Wylan in another direction. Kaz always had his reasons.

“It’s likely a pressurized vault.” Inej muttered, thinking carefully on what they had learned on their tour.

Kaz fished something out of his pocket and Inej’s eyes went wide. Then she smiled, taking the hefty false emerald out of his palm. “Our friend, Mark.” She laughed.

“Exactly.” Kaz didn’t smile but the twist of his lips was unmistakable. He was pleased with her reaction.

He was not so pleased when they reached the outer chamber of the vault. Inej had never seen such high tech locking mechanisms. There was no way they were getting in.

“What now, big guy?” Inej tried for levity but Kaz’s face wad screwed up tight. He was-

“Scheming face.” Jesper let out a low whistle, sidling through the door behind them.

“Definitely.” Inej shot back, watching Kaz take apart the puzzle that was invisible to the rest of them.

*****

The break-in to the vault had taken them the better part of the night. Finally, just before dawn, they had retired back to the window lined room and their sleeping bags to await the arrival of the tour guide who would check them out of the castle.

Wylan had fallen immediately into a deep slumber and was snoring across the room next to Jesper who was fiddling with the video camera, but Kaz was still too pumped full of adrenaline with their success. He could feel the hefty weight of the emerald in the inner lining of his jacket where it could not be detected even if they were searched.

He gazed fondly, if with a blank expression, over the room full of his crew. Then- his eyes found Inej.

****

“It’s a murder well.” Kaz was crowing enthusiastically to the camera, his voice an overexacting exaggeration.

Kaz raised one eyebrow at the TV as he walked into their crowded headquarters. Jesper, Wylan, Inej, Nina and Matthias were laying haphazardly across the too small sofa watching the footage Jesper had captured just a few nights ago.

“Holy shit, dude, this is how they murked traitors back then.” The on-screen Inej babbled while the in-person Inej groaned and covered her face.

“Shh, this is my favorite part,” Jesper exclaimed, tossing a handful of popcorn kernels her way.

“Oi.” Inej barked, beginning to tussle over the popcorn bowl as on-screen Kaz and Inej laughed a little too hysterically at some scripted joke.

“What business?” Kaz leaned on his cane as they call came slightly to attention before relaxing again.

“Just enjoying the fruits of our labor, Dirtyhands,” Nina laughed joyously as she popped what Kaz knew to be very expensive gourmet chocolates between her lips while ignoring Matthias’ longing glance.

Inej extricated herself from the pile of limbs of their friends to join Kaz behind the sofa. She was grinning wildly and bouncing on the toes of her feet. “So?” She seemed even more excited at the prospect of CEO Rollins’ downfall than Kaz was.

Kaz nodded his head curtly and Inej beamed. Kaz got the distinct sense that Inej wanted to launch herself at him and was disconcerted to realize he quite hoped she would follow through when-

“Awwww,” Nina was exclaiming in a loud sweet voice.

Both Kaz and Inej looked up at the same moment at the TV screen to see Inej as she had been the morning after their heist, in the castle, sitting on a window ledge with her eyes closed letting the sun bathe her in warmth and light.

Something was wrong. There had been no filming... There shouldn’t have been any filming then. The camera began to pan out and Kaz took a stilting step forward, though by then he knew it was too late to stop what was about to happen.

The room went still. Even Jesper had stopped his constant squirming. That early morning, Kaz had been sitting on the floor just diagonally to Inej. He remembered the exact second his eyes had landed on Inej then, the way his breath had quite literally trapped itself in his throat. He remembered possibly even better now as he watched himself on screen, past him watching past her with something akin to absolute enthrallment on his face.

No one moved except for Inej who Kaz could see, from the corner of his eye, looking from the screen to him. He could almost make out the disbelief and - was that joy? He wanted to believe that was joy - on her face.

Suddenly the camera on screen was being whipped around and Jesper’s face was filling up the entire screen.

“Told ya you would regret putting me on camera, boss.”

The screen went black.

[bella-caecilia]

#12 – power, please? 😊

Thank you for the prompt <3 I hope you like what I made of it (I only realised when I had already finished it that Robert basically isn’t in it but it does contain little hints of Cobert so I decided to go with it anyway). This is set in s1e1. Parts of the dialogue belong to JF.

Black – Power

The sun was high up in the sky and spent its heat with all its might. The brim of her hat gave Cora some protection from the burning light but it didn’t really make up for the stuffiness that was trapped under all the layers of heavy dark garments she was wrapped in. She hurried to take the few steps to the motor that waited patiently in front of the Abbey’s stately entrance.

Cora was on her way to her mother-in-law. Even in the summer’s heat, it was better to pay the Dowager Countess a visit instead of having her over and having her inviting herself for dinner when she was already there for tea. Mama might be an ally in the whole Mary business, from the entail to finding appropriate suitors, but the amount of time Cora could bear to be in her company until her snappiness bothered her too much was still limited. So, driving by the Dower House in her heavy mourning attire was without question the way to go.

Cora settled in the backseat of the motor and gathered her skirts around her legs before Thomas closed the door and the chauffeur started the engine. Her gloved hands ran over the extent of black material. Yes, they were in mourning because of James’ and Patrick’s unexpected death but Cora thought to make the best of the obligatory dress code. Today’s attire was very obviously one of complete mourning. Her gown and coat were high-closed, all she wore on her body was pitch black even the feather on her hat, there weren’t any coquettish accessories. But she somehow liked it and she had no problem posing confidently and gracefully in it. Her daughters didn’t share her attitude towards the mourning’s dressing. Edith was fully convinced that going into full mourning like that was the least they could do but Cora didn’t think her middle daughter enjoyed wearing black. Mary didn’t hide her aversion, and Sybil didn’t protest but as the sweet little sunshine she was, black wasn’t right for her either.

Cora didn’t despise the mourning’s black as the girls did, Mary especially. There was no question in wearing it the next months, and she wasn’t counting the days until the colours could return to her daily closet. Cora even liked how she looked in black. There were striking black gowns that did perfectly well on all kinds of dinner occasions, and they pulled Robert’s gaze to her exposed shoulders, arms, and cleavage in a slightly different way than her lighter gowns did. The effect of black was strong, and sometimes it felt to Cora as if this strength was something she absorbed when Robert watched her in her black dresses. When she had been much younger, she had thought at first (and maybe it had been like this in the very first years) that black made her – or any young woman for that matter – unapproachable; if it was mourning’s black or not. Though, it sometimes managed to give the wearer a strong appearance most often it was perceived as not very welcoming. Robert also had to learn that this hadn’t had to be the case. It certainly wasn’t anymore.

Now when she wore black evening gowns, she felt less like the young inferior bride but nearly like an equal to the men with might. Her power, though, was a wholly different one than the power of these men. But she liked being a bit more at eye’s level with the gentlemen and making Robert aware of the power she had over him and in their marriage.

When her thoughts started wandering into fields less grave and too pleasurable for times of mourning, the motor neared its destination and Cora tried to shake off the memories that intensified the heat under her high-neck gown.

Clouds covered the sky and the short moment of the real summer sun was gone already as she arrived in front of the Dower House.

Cora had asked her mother-in-law for an invitation because there was a letter she had received and wanted to discuss with the older lady. The letter had excited her but because it was a rather delicate matter, she had decided to approach her ally, her partner in crime, to make a real decision about it.

As soon as she walked up the way towards the front door the Dowager’s butler opened it and greeted her as obligingly as ever. With a small nod and a smile, Cora appreciated his silent effort to take care of her coat. The quietly muttered “Milady” was less talking than a necessary addition to moving around her busily, acknowledging her presence. When Cora touched her hat a little to make sure it was still in place, the knocking sound of the cane announced Mama’s arrival.

“It is nice of you to come, my dear,” she greeted. The form of endearment towards Cora was something she had used nearly since the beginning of Robert’s and her marriage but it never had anything affectionate about it primarily. It sometimes could be a way of showing a bit of empathy but that wasn’t the norm.

The Dowager Countess was in one of her all-black gowns as well. Mourning and all that came with it was something she knew better than anyone living at the Abbey. She didn't bother how it made her look as long as everything about the gown was proper. Cora thought the black attire perhaps made her mother-in-law look even more intimidating.

Cora followed her into the sitting room. She sat down slightly sideways on the armchair the Dowager offered with a rather impatient gesture of her right hand. Cora tried to adjust her skirts a little that strained slightly in the position the seat forced her to adopt. Violet repeated the nervous shake of her hand towards the butler.

“The tea,” she muttered before sitting down as well. Cora slipped her gloved hand between the folds of her skirts and brought out the reason for her visit. She handed the letter to Mama.

“Here, this arrived yesterday with the afternoon mail. Have a look at it.”

Violet grabbed her reading glasses from the small table next to her. As she unfolded the paper, she sent a short gauging look at Cora over the rim of her small glasses. All the while Violet skimmed the letter and the butler brought the tea, Cora tried to make herself a bit more comfortable on the antique seat. She was still warm in her clothes. For a moment she thought about slipping off her gloves but she wouldn’t stay long anyway. So, she just leaned back as much as possible (more would also have been improper) and held on to the cushion at her left. She enjoyed the slightest of breezes that brushed through the curls at her neck when the butler opened the door to serve the tea.

“So, the young Duke of Crowborough is asking himself to stay.” Mama had finished reading the letter.

“And we know why,” Cora inserted instantly, opening the conversation to the topic that had defined all their latest talks.

Mama provided her with a wary expression. “You hope you know why. That is not at all the same. You realise the Duke thinks Mary’s prospects have altered.” She took off her glasses and emphasised her statement by pointing to the letter with the folded pair of glasses.

“I suppose so,” Cora admitted. She had hoped Mama wouldn’t come to the same conclusion. It would all be much easier if the Duke was interested in Mary no matter what. But Cora knew best that this wasn’t how marriage and courting worked in the English aristocracy. When would a gentleman be interested in a lady just for herself first before securing his family and estate could benefit from her? Was it really always the same? No matter how rosy she managed to have made things work with her dear husband she was aware of the brutal and heartless business of marrying off one’s children, particularly daughters. She wanted her three girls to have good prospects for the lives ahead of them and apparently this meant she had to play this game of matchmaking the best she could. She would always do the best she could for her daughters even if this meant engaging in customs of the peerage that went against her beliefs. Her girls would be dependent on husbands that could and would secure them a safe and happy future. Safety and happiness were closely tied to position according to English nobility, and Cora knew that sadly there was a kernel of truth to it in this society.

“There’s no ‘suppose’ about it,” the Dowager countered with a short shake of her head. “Of course, this is exactly the sort of opportunity that will come to Mary if we can only get things settled in her favour.” She threw another short glance at the lines on the letter before she asked, “Is Robert coming round?” with a circling gesture of her hand.

“Not yet. To him, the risk is we succeed in saving my money but not the estate. He feels he’d be betraying his duty if Downton were lost because of him,” Cora explained calmly. The matter of the entail has bothered Mama, Robert, and her continuously over the last weeks, and Cora knew it wouldn’t help anyone if it was discussed with overbearing emotions.

“Well, I’m going to write to Murray.” Violet’s answer was resolute. She had made a plan with Cora and was determined to make it happen.

“He won’t say anything different.” Cora shook her head. It seemed like there were treading water and everything that had been decided for them – for her (years ago when she had to sign this stupid contract) – was out of reach to change.

“Well, we have to start somewhere. Our duty is to Mary.”

Cora was slightly baffled at her mother-in-law’s resilience. She had never thought that there was someone who would fight more for her daughters than Cora herself. Robert was very close but as became apparent once again (and Cora didn’t hold it against him) Downton was a very high concurrence to the girls. Violet, however, had a determination as fuelled as Cora’s when it came to securing what was right for Mary.

The Dowager Countess sighed, “Well, give him a date for when Mary is out of mourning.” She handed the letter back to Cora who took it with a smile. When Mama was thinking there was still something to fight for, Cora would certainly go with it. She really hoped there were good prospects for Mary. Maybe Mama and she could really achieve something if they continued putting their abilities together for good use. Cora had never thought she would be so powerful with Mama by her side when she had been the young bride she once was. That Mama and she were such a great team ironically was only one of the nice surprises the years had brought.

“No one wants to kiss a girl in black,” Mama said slightly theatrically before they started sipping their teas. Their conversation left them both with a lot to think and so they were mostly silent while drinking the warm tea. Cora was happy Violet seemed to have no other topics she wanted to discuss. She was glad to make her way home again and think about what could still be done about Mary’s situation. Dear strong Mary who shouldn’t be restricted in all her great abilities to form a promising future herself. Things didn’t seem right that way, to rob a girl of what could very well belong to her and could assure her great conditions for her future life. It just didn’t seem fair.

Cora sighed as the door of the Dower House closed behind her not much later. The challenge Mama and she had taken on wasn’t easy but Cora was sure if there was someone at the moment who could achieve something on that score it was the ally she and Mama had formed.

She walked back to the motor. The sun still hid behind a cloud but it was warm nevertheless. Cora moved sparsely therefore and gave a short nod to the chauffeur who held the car door open for her. She had power; she knew it. Strange only that out of all Mama was the one to remind her of that.

On the slightly bumpy road back to the Abbey Cora remembered a particular thing Mama had said earlier.

No one wants to kiss a girl in black.

Even if she shouldn’t, Cora had to smile remembering Mama’s words. She knew someone who didn’t object to kissing a certain girl in black. A girl that has already been kissed in black quite a lot of times.

[amispnrewatch]

SPN 1x06 “Skin”

Okay, I’m gonna try to type while I watch this time instead of forgetting this blog exists until the episode is almost over.

You can tell the footage for the previously on segment was saved on a VHS copy instead of the original film that the show was shot with because even in the HD iTunes version I have it looks low quality as fuck. And jumpy in the way that brings me back to my teens watching the WB all the damn time.

I love this song. WTF is this song. Shazam says “Good Deal” by Mommy and Daddy. I… have no comment, except that it sounds like everything I was listening to in college at the time this shit was airing.

Aaaaand not!Dean turns around to face the SWAT team after obviously torturing some woman. THAT is a cold open.

I wanna know what that car is in the background. It’s pretty. Maybe a convertible Impala? They have similar grills. This is not at all important.

Also, I love that with these higher definition versions of the episodes you can see that Sam’s email is lawboy and whatever dot com and that people in the fandom have started calling him Law Boy. It’s hilarious.

DEAN: Well, what exactly do you tell ‘em? You know, about where you’ve been, what you’ve been doin’?

SAM: I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess.

DEAN: Oh, so you lie to ‘em.

SAM: No. I just don’t tell ‘em….everything.

DEAN: Yeah, that’s called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse.

SAM: So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life? (DEAN shrugs.) You’re serious?

DEAN: Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.

Aaaaand now I have Dean and Cassie feelings again and we haven’t even gotten to her episode yet.

SAM: No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer.

DEAN: Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.

Aaaaaand now I have Dean and Lee feelings and we’re nowhere near Lee’s episode in season 15.

YOU JUST BLEW THROUGH A STOP SIGN DEAN WTF.

Little Becky. Oi with the reusing of names.

Of course Sam made friends with a bunch of rich kids while he was at college in a desperate attempt to try to be normal.

SAM: You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.

DEAN: We could.

REBECCA: Why? I mean, what could you do?

SAM: Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop. (DEAN laughs.)

DEAN: Detective, actually.

I love that Dean was like “how dare you call me that.”

Okay, after a bit of research, I totally want to take a day trip to Bisbee, Arizona, but it’s already in the 90s here in the desert and it’s not even May so that trip is going to have to wait until… winter or something. There is no way in hell I’m going deeper into the desert when the weather gets hotter.

It’s a historic mining town tourist trap looking place now which is exactly the kind of shit I love.

SAM: Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.

I mean, not technically, technically you would 1) NOT FUCK WITH A MURDER INVESTIGATION YOU’RE NOT LEGALLY INVOLVED IN BECAUSE ANYTHING YOU FIND WOULD BE INADMISSABLE IN COURT 2) find evidence to provide a reasonable doubt for the jury that he did commit the crime. You know, like a lawyer would need to do, Law Boy.

DEAN: I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.

When I made my husband watch this show with me (he’s seen it all at least once now over the years) this is the recurring thing that drove him crazy.

You guys can’t even go in through the back door? Or shut the front door behind you? Really?

REBECCA: (tearfully) Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in.

Yeah, that doesn’t even really mean that she knew her attacker. Just that it was someone she let her guard down around or got in some other way. See: The Son of Sam and Nightstalker, etc.

Love the pinup magnet on the fridge. I’d throw shade at that, but I have a pinup magnet on my fridge too so… pot kettle and all that.

Okay, both people in the next couple are gorgeous.

And oh wow those special effects changing eyes… wow.

This poor couple. I feel so bad for them in this episode.

How… how are the police gonna explain the way he was able to beat himself over the head with a bat??? I…

I love that 5:30 in the morning on TV is clearly like… 10 AM.

Okay, this is a really unrelated point, but the graffiti on the dumpster here reminds me of the Teen Wolf fandoms use of the name Void!Stiles when Stiles Stilinski was possessed by a Nogitsune… I just spent way too long digging through YouTube and my Tumblr tags from back when those episodes were airing looking for a few specific videos and couldn’t find them. The TL;DR reason I bring it up here is goofball, bi-coded main character guy getting possessed by an entity set on destroying the people he loves. SOUNDS LIKE THIS EPISODE AND A WHOLE LOT OF SPN RIGHT. I love that all these monster hunting shows call out to each other.

This scene haunts me years later and I don’t even WATCH Teen Wolf. I just watched the fandom on Tumblr collectively lose it’s shit then tripped down a Hale Pack fanfiction rabbit hole.

ANYWAY

Back to Supernatural, a show that also treated its fan base, cast, and characters like garbage! Huzzah!

DEAN: Well, there’s another way to go—down. (They look down and notice a manhole.)

I’m gonna be mature and ignore the double entendre there…

But I love that Dean thinks of the world in 3D. Which sounds like a dumb statement to make, but this is honestly a good example of that in action.

SAM: I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too.

Really Sam, sewers run by houses? SO WEIRD. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED.

DEAN: You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds.

SAM: That is sick. (DEAN puts the bloody pile back on the ground.)

Guys, there is a WHOLE ASS EAR in that pile of yuck you’re looking at. I think it’s pretty safe to assume the shapeshifter indeed sheds its skin like a snake. A much… gooier snake.

Sam’s friend is rightfully pissed at him for fucking with the crime scene.

This is before the pearl gripped guns?! Wow. I never noticed that before.

Also, this whole episode gives me feelings.

++++

Cool. Tumblr mobile ate a whole section of my notes on this when it crashed for NO APPARENT REASON. Love that.

It always boggles my mind that actors can trust the people they’re working with enough to let people “tie” ropes around their neck or put them in actually dangerous positions in a scene.

SHAPESHIFTER: He’s sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?

SAM: Where is my brother? (The shapeshifter leans in close to SAM.)

SHAPESHIFTER: I am your brother. See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me. (He backs away.)

SAM: What are you talkin’ about?

SHAPESHIFTER: You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin’, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It’s not without its perks. (He laughs.) I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let’s see what happens. (He smiles and covers SAM with a sheet.)

This exchange is just… so much. So many feelings. And I will forever (unless we magically get a fix-it fic mini season someday…) be SO MAD that none of this got resolved in that pointless, trash heap of a finale.

REBECCA: Okay, so, this thing—it can make itself look like anybody?

SHAPESHIFTER: That’s right. (She chuckles.)

REBECCA: Well, what is it, like a genetic freak? (The shapeshifter laughs.)

SHAPESHIFTER: Maybe. Evolution is about mutation, right? So, maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else. (REBECCA looks around, uncomfortable. The shapeshifter’s eyes glint silver, and he smiles.)

It always amazes me how much of this show is a pile of accidental queer allegories parading around in an ill-fitting toxic masculinity suit.

Vulcan mind meld! I love nerd!Dean. Also, I’m rewatching Star Trek: TOS with my husband, because that is what my life amounts to these days, rewatching comfort TV and flailing over the bits I love.

This post does a better job than I can do of pairing up screen caps with the dialogue of this next scene. SIX EPISODES IN. They’re dumping all of this character depth SIX EPISODES IN. FUCK THIS SHOW FOR NOT EMBRACING ITSELF.

Okay, I love that he screams back in her face after he threw the phone. It’s not something to laugh at because the situation is horrifying, but I can’t help laughing at it every time.

AND THE WAY THEY CUT THESE SCENES. Going from him winding his hand back to backslap her directly to him dropping the chains on the table to show how hard he must have hit her without actually making the actors hit each other. Good job editing department!

I… don’t understand the shifter’s motivation for killing people. If he can take over people’s identities without killing them, why kill them? Is it just because he’s a homicidal, rapist piece of shit? Cause that’s all it seems like.

How did the SWAT team even know she was being attacked? Why can the snipers aim no better than Storm Troopers?

Ugh, these kind of transformation body horror scenes are exactly why werewolf stories have never really appealed to me much. Like, I could do without watching your ribs move and teeth fall out, dude.

BUT.

THIS FUCKING SCENE.

I looked up the song that’s playing over shapeshifter!Dean being caught by the SWAT team and then going through the grotesque transformation. (And as far as I know, the iTunes version has the original music from the episodes.)

It’s a song called “Mary” by The Death Riders

Who's your mother, who's your mother here boy // Who's your mother, whos your mommy dear // Who's your father, who's your father here boy // Who's your father, who's your daddy dear

Silently screaming // Where everyone knows // Daddy's always watchin' // Where everywhere - everywhere I go

I don't wanna be a freak show pretty boy anymore // I don't wanna be a full time slave // I don't wanna be your midnight cowboy anymore // I just want to be Mary

This is… a fascinating choice. Here are the rest of the lyrics. The song as a whole has a weird incesty kinda vibe to it? Kinda like when SPN tries to straight-wash itself and misses the mark wildly. (Like Dean’s male siren episode.)

The midnight cowboy line reminded me of 12x11 and the bull riding scene with “Broomstick Cowboy” by Bobby Goldsboro playing over it

Dream on, little Broomstick Cowboy, // Dream while you can; // Of big green frogs, // And puppy dogs, // And castles in the sand.

For, all too soon you'll awaken; // Your toys will all be gone. // Your broomstick horse will ride away, // To find another home. // And you'll have grown into a man, // With cowboys of your own. // And then you'll have to go to war, // To try and save your home.

And then you'll have to learn to hate; // You'll have to learn to kill. // It's always been that way, my son; // I guess it always will.

Because, you know, why not add tons of feelings into the lyrics, right?

Props to the people who can embrace their rewatches and reclamations of the show with ease. Because every episode seems to remind me of how hollow and tragic Dean’s ending was and I just… struggle all over again.

Anyway, back to the episode so I can move on with my day.

REPORTER: An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home. (A sketch of DEAN appears on the screen.)

DEAN: Man! That’s not even a good picture. (SAM looks around cautiously.)

SAM: It’s good enough. (He walks away.)

DEAN: Man! (He follows SAM.)

(CUT TO: Alley. DEAN and SAM are walking. DEAN steps into a puddle.)

DEAN: Ugh, come on.

I love that we get two tiny little back-to-back vanity moments for Dean here. One commenting on the sketch artist rendition of him being broadcasted on the news and the other tripping in the puddle. There is literally someone running around the city trying to kill people while wearing Dean’s face, but Dean is still concerned with how he looks appears to others. He’s still concerned with keeping up his own performance. The shifter left him with just a t-shirt, so he doesn’t even have his usual comfort layers on and at any moment someone could spot him and call the police or try to kill him for assaulting Sam’s friend. His life is wildly out of control in that moment and the only thing he can try to focus on is his appearance (something semi-controllable) and finding the shifter before any of that other shit can happen.

One day I want to put together a like top 10 episodes focusing on / explaining each TFW character from the series. Like the kind of list you could show someone who’s never seen the show, but has OPINIONS about the characters (or who hasn’t seen the whole show and seen the growth they went through… you know, like the people responsible for the travesty of 15x20). This episode would be on that list. I’m not sure how I could manage to make a list of only 10 episodes to understand Dean Winchester by, but eh.

SAM: What are you gonna do to me?

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, I’m not gonna do anything. Dean will, though.

SAM: They’ll never catch him.

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, doesn’t matter. Murder in the first of his own brother? He’ll be hunted the rest of his life. (He picks up a sharp knife and examines it.)

Speaking of season 15 in general, this right here. This was Chuck’s villain story arc thesis statement. AND THEY DROPPED THE GODDAMN BALL WITH IT. I think that’s the thing that honestly pisses me off the most these days (about 5 1/2 months from when the finale aired) is that they tried making the whole thing a tragedy but did such an awful job with it that it just ended up like a deflating condom balloon at a dive bar concert. Disappointing and gross. The finale for season 14 set them up SO FUCKING WELL and it just… didn’t get there.

Becky’s parents are gonna be pissed at how torn up their house is after all this shit…

And you’re not shooting him when you first see him strangling Sam because…?????

I like that he took the necklace back. Also, is this kinda Dean death number .5 of the show? Like it wasn’t him but it was also kinda him. Eh.

At least they left the windshield on Baby this time. Reflections are better than tearing her apart.