#justice for shadis give that man a wig

[storiesofaot]

Hello, hello. I hope your day has been treating you well. I come bearing questions from this post. Do you have any details or further ideas regarding Hange's crush on Keith Shadis? How they behaved around him, what the nature of the infatuation was, maybe more on why, etc.

Heey there! 😇 Yes, thank you so much - I had a good day with some tea and gingerbread hehe! Hope your day is going or has been good, too! ✨️

Ooh yes, Keith Shadis, our dear sunken-eyed, bald-headed friend 🤭 I actually did some thinking and rewatching this afternoon, and now I do have some more thoughts about the whole Hange&Shadis thing! (Still feeling gloriously inadequate to actually try doing an analysis on them, but it truly was a lot of fun! 😁)

I have my own personal timeline for Hange in my mind, so I created a comparison with Shadis's time with the Scouts. I don't know if it'll matter that much for the following ramble, but I'll share it anyway :)

In that flashback scene from 3x11 (Chapter 48), we get to hear Shadis himself talking about the time he met Grisha, and sharing some of his beliefs with us. He always had the drive to know what was outside the walls; he felt trapped inside and wasn't too happy about everyone living in "comfort", simply accepting the situation without actually wanting to change anything about it. I think Hange was also always curious about the world beyond the walls. Her focus was on the Titans, yes, but she was equally fascinated by the ocean and all the new discoveries they made in Marley = the world outside of the walls. In that sense, I believe she felt a connection with Shadis, as those were likely the values he advocated for during his time as Commander, and they clearly resonated with her.

But Shadis believed that in order to accomplish something, one had to be special. He wanted to be special, and over time, he was even convinced himself that he was special, and even better than the others? I think, though, that the whole feeling special thing might’ve sparked that little crush Hange had on Shadis. This is just my personal opinion - it’s not really based on anything - but I can imagine that when Hange joined the Military, she was already exceptionally smart but maybe lacked a bit of skill when it came to actual combat?

He might have been the one who saw beyond that "lack" - he recognised her curiosity about the world and her genuine desire to understand things. (We know he’s very good at reading people; we saw it when Eren & Co. were training). So he made Hange feel special in a sense, because, as mentioned above, he believed that only special people could accomplish (great) things. He recognised her potential and might've been the one who allowed her to join the Scouts, maybe even pushed her to get a better fighter, encouraging her so that she could unfold her full potential (a little like he did with Eren, he could've made sure he didn't enter but in the end, he yielded; and we know Hange can be very persistent, too!)

This might be a slightly silly thing to admit, but it's all for the sake of this analysis sooo xD I remember back when I was in secondary school - I must’ve been around 16 - there was one moment where someone made me feel "special" in a way that hadn't happened before. It was just a little, minor, innocent thing, not even worth mentioning (he pretty much just opened the door for me 😂) but it was such a nice gesture. Because it was the first time something like that happened, I guess it especially stood out to me, and I will (always?) associate it with that person.

Bringing this back to KisuHan (lol xD), Shadis might have been the first one to truly see her abilities, to acknowledge her amazing mind and not dismiss her due to the way she appeared or acted? That's where her infatuation with him started; she felt seen and valued, he made her feel special, so her 15/16/17 year old brain crushed hard on him 😁 (and he still had his hair, sooooo xD) I don't know if she actually wanted to feel special, but since it kind of happened, in a sense it made him feel special to her, too?

(Maybe that was also the reason why she seemed truly mad or hurt when he told them the story about Eren and Grisha, a story he had withheld from all of them for so many years. She might have always thought highly of him, and the first little damper was him stepping back from his role as Commander, and the fact that he kept all that information hidden was another big damper?)

Now if you've made it this far - thank you!! (this turned out much longer than I thought it would be lol) I know, I could've just said "Shadis made feel Hange special." but where's the fun in that? 😂 Of course, this is just my personal opinion or explanation, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on their "relationship", too!

As a farewell, here’s a little photo of our buddy Keith. This was so much fun, thank you sooo much for asking, I really loved thinking about this! 🙌🏼

[katnissmellarkkk]

Okayyyy here comes the next chapter ! Number .... lemme look. Okay, number six! 🥳🥳🥳

And yes, my thoughts as usual will be a messy, very Everlark-biased and full of typos. Letsss gooooo 🥰🥰🥰

Is this the first time Katniss and Peeta have been to their floor or is this just the most opportune time to explain and introduce the Tribute Center living quarters?

Also why are they called tributes anyway? That word suddenly seems weird to me after nine years... 🤔🤔🤔

“I've ridden the elevator a couple of times in the Justice Building back in District 12. Once to receive the medal for my father's death and then yesterday to say my final goodbyes to my friends and family” .... 😶😶 so only good memories and connotations to elevators then, huh?

“The walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air.” My mind is just imagining the elevator in Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone’s Spider-Man movies 🤗.

“It's exhilarating and I'm tempted to ask Effie Trinket if we can ride it again, but somehow that seems childish” this is so cute and innocent omg. Katniss, like I said in my last chapter blog, still has some childlike innocence left in her 🥺🥺🥺. I’m a sad.

Also excuse the unnecessary extra gif use but 🤭🤭🤭

Oh wow, so Haymitch hasn’t been around since they were on the train? No wonder neither Katniss nor Peeta fled they could trust him for basically the entirety of the first book. 😐😐😐

You know it’s bad when Effie being around feels like a blessing to Katniss. Girl has more restraint than me, I’d have ripped off this woman’s janky wig by now without remorse. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Effie acts like they’re her purebred show dogs. I know I know how is this news, that’s a blatant fact. The movies really softened her up tho for the general audience. And I bleed the movies and books together more than I should 😔😔😔

Well at least she’s made herself useful, trying to get Everlark sponsors ... even if it’s ultimately to benefit herself above anyone else .... 😤

Effie calling Twelve barbaric while she’s preparing them for the slaughter isn’t even ironic it’s like literally just brainless. Johanna probably had the nickname floating around for a lot of people before she officially knighted Katniss with it 😭

“Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district.” Is this how they refer to Twelve? So basically if a district makes a better item, it’s a more worthy one in the Capitol’s eyes? So essentially, if District Eight made like diamonds or pearls or whatever then it would be more worthy? So are the districts assigned their numbers (one, two, three, four, etc) based on their order of importance to the Capitol’s lifestyle? I always thought it was based on their distance in relation to the Capitol? Okay so I didn’t really pay much attention to these facts previously when I read these books ok look away I’m an idiot

Omg 😭😭😭😭 Effie is such an idiot. But the coal turns to pearls thing is my favorite line from her only because it serves as the cutest inside joke when Peeta makes a callback to it in Catching Fire and Finnick is just like “why are these two teenagers so stupid who did I ally with? 🥵😳🥵😳🥵”

“I wonder if the people she's been plugging us to all day either know or care.” After reading Songbirds and Snakes, I’m sure they don’t have a clue, boo. 😑😑😑😑 although not everyone was an idiot back then ... maybe Snow is putting lead in the drinking water?

“But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary.” I know she’s trying to help and I know we say this kind of thing today, but considering this is two kids she’s well aware will be heading into a death match this is just bad wording I know surprise surprise 🙄🙄🙄😬😬😬😬

“Although lacking in many departments, Effie Trinket has a certain determination I have to admire.” Katniss really does see the best in people. What’s sad, y’all, is I think Katniss unconsciously really tries to like people and that’s why she has her guard up so high. Because the softer you are, the easier people will step all over you. Terrible phrasing here, Samantha, I’m so sorry to any of my readers ... okay now that sounded arrogant, implying I have readers 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤣😅🤣😅🤣😅

“My quarters are larger than our entire house back home.” Omg? I mean, yes, I knew this already obviously no duh but like also. Just the fact that three people live in a space smaller than a bedroom and bathroom arena is saddy sad sad. Also do they have indoor plumbing in the Seam or is their backyards just full of—okay, I’ll see myself out. 😶🤭😅🙃

“The shower alone has a panel with more than a hundred options you can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, and massaging sponges.” I’m just imagining a Spongebob scene ngl.

I’m sorry there’s so many gifs this time around it’s probably taking us out of the reading headspace I’ll never do it again 😩😩😩😩 I talk like I have a class of people listening to me 🤭🤭🤭

“Instead of struggling with the knots in my wet hair, I merely place my hand on a box that sends a current through my scalp, untangling, parting, and drying my hair almost instantly” I need this someone invent this NOW my brush is yanking out my hair 😔😩

“I program the closet for an outfit to my taste.” ‘Yes, Alexa, I’d like a hunting jacket, some boots and a green shirt. Yes, it can be brown.’

“You need only whisper a type of food from a gigantic menu into a mouthpiece and it appears, hot and steamy, before you in less than a minute.” I like this idea because it means that Peeta could order hot choccy to comfort Katniss after her nightmares in Catching Fire from the comfort of her their own bed. 🤗🤗🤗 also I want this for myself. The bad people are giving my greedy self ideas look away everyone 😬

“I walk around the room eating goose liver and puffy bread until there's a knock on the door.” 🤢🤢🤢🤢 Of everything you could have chosen, child, this is what you decided on? Someone help my girl and her rotten tastebuds now.

“Effie's calling me to dinner. Good. I'm starving.” Baby, you were just eating. She’s so nutritionally messed up. 😔😔😔

Katniss trying wine 🥳🥳🥳 she’s so funny, trying to find a way to improve the taste 😅. She’ll make a good taste tester for her baker husband one day.

Hahahaha Katniss not liking the feeling and judging Haymitch for always being tipsy. Also this is sad because she ends up addicted to morphling later one which is far worse than a little wine.

I’m glad to know Baked Alaska survived the apocalypse 😅🥳

Katniss just constantly trying to decipher the recipe of every meal and how to recreate it reads cute on a surface level but it’s actually so tragic because everything to this girl is based around food. Like even more than is typically noticed. They really should have given a hint at this in the first movie. Good thing she marries a man who can always keep her full.

I’m just forever side-eyeing you, Gare Bear.

That’s Gary Ross for the confused kids in the back.

Why does Katniss yelling mid-sentence, “oh! I know you!” add to her innocence? 🥺 it’s because she was overwhelmed by all the food and new luxuries she’d never even been able to imagine ... and also this is pre her first games so she’s still got some childhood left in her 😩😔

I wonder how Lavinia felt seeing Katniss volunteer and knowing she’d be her Avox? I wonder if she, like Cinna, somehow volunteered to be her Avox?

I mean ... talk about convenient placement that this specific girl was assigned to Katniss’ district—oh wait, y’all, I just caught myself. She’s from Twelve. She was assigned to Twelve’s tributes because she’s from there, duh. I’m such an airhead omg just call me Effie.

Don’t you actually dare.

“When I look back, the four adults are watching me like hawks.” Meanwhile, Peeta is just like 😬😬😬 eating his dinner.

Actually, ngl, this could be such a reach and it probably is but like maybe Peeta sensed a confrontation coming and, because of his implied upbringing, he naturally becomes silent or makes himself invisible when trouble starts looking like it’s gonna arise. 🥺🥺🥺 I don’t know why I say these things I’m just hurting my own feelings but ya know the drill. I thought it so I said it.

Why is Effie yelling at Katniss for saying she knows the Avox girl like omg overreaction much? And I know, the sky is blue 🙄🙄🙄 she’s prejudiced against basically everyone, I know, I know

Rip her wig off, Katty Deen 🤗🤗🤗

Oh I stupidly forgot that Avoxes are supposedly known by everyone to be traitors or criminals. So I suppose this isn’t Effie’s worst offense but I’m keeping a tally anyways

Katniss is blaming her stuttering on the wine but my girl just has social anxiety 😔😔😔

Peeta coming in with a save 😭😭😭 he’s already trying saving his girl 🤧

Alsoooo the unspoken friendship, the covering for the other and teaming up against the adults, is still riding high and going strong here 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 look away, y’all, the shipper comments are coming in strong

Also why is this the first real interaction with Peeta in this chapter yet? My baby needs more page-time 🤭🤭🤭

“Delly Cartwright is a pasty-faced, lumpy girl with yellowish hair who looks about as much like our server as a beetle does a butterfly.” Now why did Katniss just tear Delly to shreds for no reason at all 😭😭😭 this was a surprise assault on the poor girl 🙃🙃🙃🙃

“She may also be the friendliest person on the planet - she smiles constantly at everybody in school, even me.” Okay not to tie absolutely everything back to Peeta ... but to tie absolutely everything back to Peeta ... this description of poor, sweet Delly is actually indicative of Peeta’s character? Since Delly, we find out in Mockingjay, is Peeta’s childhood best friend, her personality being this sunny, kind, good-natured person tells us Peeta has always probably been somewhat like her and perhaps not as much like the other town kids Katniss implies to be stuck up or snooty. Maybe Katniss is just shady and deflects onto others 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️.

Also the fact that she gives this like ... mean description of Delly but saw Peeta as popular, even though surely Delly and Peeta spent time at school together, implies further that Katniss did indeed harbor a secret crush on Peeta even before the reaping. A very mild comparison of his on her though, of course 😅😅😅

“It must be the hair” “something about the eyes too” their piggybacking on the other’s comments really is just chiefs kiss 😘🤗🥰🤧 FYI I know the saying is chefs kiss but I made the typo once a long time ago and decided to add it forever to my brand 🤗🙃🥳

Also though this Everlark interaction is reminiscent of when two kids get caught by their teacher goofing off in class and covering for each other 🥰 only it’s a lot more deadly stakes

“A few of the other couples make a nice impression, but none of them can hold a candle to us.” She’s so modest 🤧🤧🤧 her narration here and during the Tribute Parade just has the vibes of ... well .... sorry in advance

Haymitch’s comment “Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice” leads me to think he and Cinna and maybe Portia were always in cahoots about the rebellion even before Katniss and Peeta came along and well ... lit their match on fire 🥁🤗🤣🤭

Katniss is like “rebellion??? Rebellion where??? What’s that you old people speak of???” And yet, girlfriend goes out to the woods and hunts illegally every day of her life 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

“But when I remember the other couples, standing stiffly apart, never touching or acknowledging each other, as if their fellow tribute did not exist” too lazy too look it up but there’s a quote from Ballad about Lucy Gray and Jessup being distinguished by their visible friendship too that set them apart from the other tributes.

Either Suzanne thought of drawing a nice parallel showing what a failed Everlark attempt looks like, because I firmly stand by the fact that without their real feelings behind their act, even Katniss’ unconscious ones, they wouldn’t have pulled it off, or Suzzie just reused her own content. I prefer the former but I think it’s probably the latter 🤭🤭🤭

“Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk." I know Haymitch is being facetious here but this quote reminded me of the fact that the movies would have hit differently if they’d cast actual sixteen year olds in the roles.

“When we get to my door, he leans against the frame, not blocking my entrance exactly but insisting I pay attention to him.” This is such a flirty, high school boy pose, you cannot convince me otherwise 😭😭😭

Also I definitely feel like Peeta is getting more and more confident here because he’s oblivious to Katniss’ inner monologue as much as she is his actually we all are his sadly and he probably thinks she’s starting to like him 🤧🤧🤧

“So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here." 🤣 He honestly cracks me up idk why this line isn’t even special or that great. He’s just so ... subtly nosy / funny. Which brings me to that quote from Mockingjay where Katniss talks about his sense of humor because it’s one of the things she loves most about him 😭😭😭

But he’s like, “I can keep a secret, Katniss, tell me who that tongueless chick is to you 😬”

Katniss stop talking about debts, friends cover for the other all the time 🙄🙄 I know it’s in her character stop yelling at a fish for swimming that’s not a real phrase I know that too

Okay first of all, they’re about to share a secret 🥰🥰🥰🥰. My shipper goggles are on tight and obstructing my vision. I know this and am proud 😬🥳🤗

And secondly, “Maybe sharing a confidence will actually make him believe I see him as a friend.” Hey, butthead, you two are already friends. She doesn’t even recognize that the girl who constantly sits with her, talks to her, eats with her and trades with her is her friend either though, I’m shocked she calls Gale her friend

Does Peeta get to know Cinna too? I don’t think so but it’s mentioned now a couple times in this chapter alone that Peeta has interacted with Cinna. Katniss never interacts or has a conversation with Portia.... then again, is that even surprising? Katniss isn’t ... what you would call ... social. Hashtag relatable.

Awww, they’re communicating so effectively together 🥰😭🤧🥳

Also rooftops belong to Everlark only 😍😊😉 I mean, seriously, Katniss never goes up on a rooftop with anyone else. Besides Haymitch in the first movie but we ignore.

“Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day.” Earlier she said the Seam didn’t often have electricity, in particular, so either she’s not specifying her section of the district anymore or Suzanne is backtracking.

“But here there would be no shortage. Ever.” I’ve had two power outages recently so clearly the Capitol isn’t based on us currently today then 😐😐 I’m just joking ok

“I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren't they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side?” .... boyfriend, where does your mind go sometimes? Peeta’s darker than we realize, y’all 🤭🤭🙃🙃

“He holds out his hand into seemingly empty space. There's a sharp zap and he jerks it back” between this and Catching Fire, Peeta is addicted to getting shocked by forcefields 🤧🤧🤧

“I wonder if we're supposed to be up here now, so late and alone.” If this was a romantic drama or comedy, that line would have meant something a lot more fun 😒😔😬😉😏

“On the other side of the dome, they've built a garden with flower beds and potted trees.” Is this meant to resemble Snow’s grandmother’s garden???? Like he had them put a garden there to like ... put a piece of his Grandma’am in the games? Idk this made zero sense it was a stupid thought

Two people in a garden at night, with wind chimes, sounds romantic in any other context. 🥺🥺

Ummm does everyone in the entire district know Katniss and her father used to hunt together?

Oh nevermind, Lavinia is not from District Twelve. My bad, guys. I should go up and edit my previous thoughts but that’s a lot of work. 😅😅😅

Katniss, stop being so hard on yourself. You and Gale were kids. 😣😣

Ummm, Katniss for a girl always complimenting Peeta’s storyteller, you’re pretty good at painting a picture yourself...

Peeta noticing she’s shivering 🥰🥺

He gives her ... his jacket 😭😭😭😭 such a romantic troupe Samantha, get over it there’s literally children dying

Oh wow, Lavinia was from the Capitol originally. Hmm, it is sus now that she got District Twelve this particular year.

But also 🤧🤧🤧 “he secures a button at my neck.”

His hands .... are .... often .... at her .... neck .... 😶😬 .... look away, y’all

Oh wow, Katniss is over here thinking, “who’d leave the Capitol if they were from here???” And Peeta’s like instantly, loudly, without hesitating, “well I would 🙋🏼‍♂️”

Hot take, y’all ready? Peeta was a bigger rebel than Katniss from the start. At least internally.

Awww, Peeta is so jealous 😭😭😭😭 and kind of nosy 🤭🤭🤭

Katniss : “me and Gale are not related” Peeta : “😬🙃😭😩😶”

“I'd set out to tell her I was sorry about dinner. [...] my apology runs much deeper. [...] I let the Capitol kill the boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger. Just like I was watching the Games.” I feel like this is actually a good comparison though, because of you grew up in a society where you have to watch kids die, your whole entire life you’ve watched it in a glorified television show, you would be really desensitized to it...

“You don't forget the face of the person who was your last hope.” Here she’s talking about Lavinia but it applies to Peeta too. Katniss was Lavinia’s last hope and she feels like she let her down but Peeta was her last hope once and he came through. And, as she said in chapter one, she’ll never forget him for it. And for other things too. Later on. 😏

Of course my last bullet point was focused on Everlark 🤣 is anyone surprised you shouldn’t be we all knew who this post was written by right? 😅

And once again, if too made through this marathon, congratulations 🥳🥳🥳🥳 maybe next chapter I’ll talk less not likely though so don’t count on it 😅

[romansrace]

Season 13 Sassy Reviews - E1: The Pork Chop

Salutations! Here we are with a quick run of episode 1 - which we can all charitably say was a hot mess, right?

The queens gathered, split into pairs - and one three (would it be Drag Race without one ill-thought-out extra large or extra small team?) to lipsync for their lives in Episode 1 with... no eliminations, because the fandom loves a no-win no-elim premiere, amirite? ...

And of course with this format where they could go all out with gaggery, the producers of course chose... to protect their favorite queens at all costs and clearly signpost to the audience from the first minute exactly who they want us to care about and root for.

Is this the moment the show jumped the shark? Full lipsync review after the jump.

First lipsync is between obvious Vanjie/Shangie-esque life and soul of the party Kandy Muse who blasts into the werkroom with energy at 11, and self-described ‘filler queen’ Joey Jay who boasted in her Meet the Queens of never wearing a wig yet showed up looking like 2001 Christina Aguilera in her entrance look and a notably more subdued 2021 Pink in her confessional.

They lipsync to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe. Joey gives us all the right showgirl tricks and follows the song hitting every beat and word, while Kandy plays up a schtick and comedy with a few dance moves thrown in for good measure. All in all, it was a pretty equal start in my view from two queens neither of whom are likely lipsync assassins. However, the producers had a different idea, and Kandy is given the first shantay while Joey sashays away.

The second lipsync features ice skater (did you know she skates? It was only hammered home about 8 times in the 3 minutes of screentime she got) Denali vs dancer and seeded-not-the-best-look-queen LaLa Ri, who is very high energy in the confessionals compared to Denali’s slightly more subdued and cautious remarks. Want to guess who wins without even watching it?

Yes, once again, despite Denali pulling an amazing performance out of the bag to the PussyCat Dolls’ When I Grow Up in full-on ice skates on a normal floor including  a Naomi-Smalls-esque full body back bend and a cartwheel, you’ve guessed it, the louder confessional queen wins the second lipsync too, and Denali is sent out back to the loser queens’ holding room.

The third lipsync is between young look queen Symone wearing a dress made of photographs of herself (choices) and cancer-surviving well-established queen mother Tamisha Iman. They’ll perform to Janet Jackson’s The Pleasure Principle. To reiterate, a young, confident, beautiful looks queen - who is friends with Gigi Goode, from the last season - versus an older queen who has been doing drag for 30 years and has tried to get on many years previously. Gosh, wonder who the producers will favor.

If you guessed Symone... you’d be right. Despite Tamisha giving us a near-perfect rendition of Janet-esque choreography with handography the house down boots in a Janet-esque colored suit with shoulderpads, the shantay goes to Symone for...I guess waving her hands in the air a bit and strutting. In truth, Symone did not do badly in the lipsync, but did she win it? Not in my book.

Our resident two kooky queens are up next; Gottmik who is inspired by clowns, and Utica Queen who is inspired by colors and patterns mixed up and blended together. Gottmik is also the franchise’s first trans man competitor.

The two queens give it all they’ve got to Rumors - by Lindsay Lohan. This one’s pretty even, but of course, there was no way they were going to let RuPaul eliminate a trans contestant on the first episode after her past controversies - although, given the number of contestants, a double shantay would be perfectly doable AND would probably build early rapport between the pair - so it’s instead a shantay for Gottmik only and a sashay for Utica.

Fifth lipsync with only one to go gives the floor to Rosé, the drag sister of Jan, from season 12, and Olivia Lux, a young queen who admires and has always looked up to Rosé. Does anyone smell a storyline here?

Rosé is asked by the judges before the lipsync - to Elle King’s Ex’s & Oh’s - starts if she expects to do better than Jan did. Ru has a nasty twinkle in her eye that suggests that no matter how Rosé answers, she’ll make sure it doesn’t come true. Once again, Olivia and Rosé perform quite evenly matched. Olivia arguably gets a bit more into the song, but equally, she breaks into some non-drag-esque air guitar moments that previously saw contestants like Yuhua Hamasaki eliminated. In any case, once again, the typical happens, and it’s bye bye to Rosé while Olivia is given the win.

And finally, we have a three-way lipsync, and the first time I was personally even a little gooped because this resulted in only one queen winning rather than only one sashaying away, meaning that as of the end of episode 1, Season 13 has eliminated over half of its cast. Choices. (Although as if they won’t be back in some way...)

The final three queens into the werkroom are the slightly wallflower-esque yet shady Kahmora Hall, confident-but-perhaps-deluded Elliott with Two T’s, and the big girl winner stereotype the show has clearly been trying to capture for four seasons now, hostess, actress, and comedy queen Tina Burner, a mainstay of the New York drag scene.

Lady Marmalade is the lipsync song this time. Kahmora is a little outclassed by the other two, Elliott especially, who pulls out a number of tricks, flips, and a full side split - even in not the best outfit for the showgirl classic in her half-tank and cargo pants. Tina Burner holds her own with a comedy lipsync playing on her height and age, but it’s quite obvious that she would have been given this win almost no matter how she did. And she does - shantay you stay Tina Burner, and you other two, get off my stage! - was the vibe.

And so we go into episode 2 with six of the 13 queens clearly marked out as The Winners. Do we need any clearer demarcation of who the producers’ favorites will be this season? Is that guaranteed the top 6 - or maybe, at least, most of the places within the top 7 or 8?

I’d love to be gagged by changes as the season goes along, but this premiere had an almost-but-not-quite self-aware vibe to it that left me feeling uneasy in a way I haven’t since season 11. The eliminated queens looked - perhaps unsurprisingly, given the stressful nature of 2020, when this was filmed - genuinely devastated to be put into the losers group on their first episode, only to be told that they can only save themselves by Survivor-esque voting off themselves one of their number - a trick that works better on All Stars because we know by then all the queens competing are wealthy and already well-established, and have just come back for the game, rather than to make or break their livelihood.

I’m very cautious as to how this season will go now, and, to be honest, it’s not quite a death knell, but this did feel like the first steps into a new - and not necessarily better - era for the franchise.

But on the plus side, after this episode, I have a new and unexpected fan favorite queen - Justice for Tamisha Iman!

[blue-analytic]

Project: Crossover

As soon as I’ve got some time, I’m going to work on my new project, which is a Crossover between the fandoms Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. The story will be centred around Nico di Angelo and his twofold mission:

1) collecting Death’s tools and giving them back to Thanatos as the latter no longer wants to be caught off guard by enemies 2) learning more about his family, a part of which seems to be connected to Death Eaters and Grindelwald. In so doing, he will understand their motives and forge his own path

Important characters:

Draco, Hermione

Minor characters whose POVs you will occasionnally see:

McGonagall, Snape, Lucius

Themes:

uncanny, grotesque, friendship, discrimination

General info / warnings:

(probably) no pairings, rate 16+, graphical descriptions / allusions to uncanny / grotesque elements

Autho’s Notes:

I’m not sure if people here or outside of this site are even interested in my ideas, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give a first impression and see if people are intriguied by it. Bear in mind, though, not much happens, and the first chapter is incomplete. It’s just a teaser, after all.

The Uncanny: The Man is a Portrait

His smile was straining, his eyes narrowed to slits. There was no hiding the sweat, nor the vein bulging out of his head. If people found him in this current state, news would spiral out of his control: How he no longer took care of his well-being. How he derived satisfaction from scaring people off with his stench and grimace. Or even more ludicrous: how he was turning into the next Bellatrix. The conclusion was obvious to even a troglodyte: The mighty had fallen from grace. That thought alone made his fist clenching and his stomach revolting. It only made him wish even more fervently he didn’t have breakfast this morning. 

Yes, he was a tragic man in a tragic situation for sure. And it was all thanks to the pathetic excuse of wizard in front of him. If only he had a knife, he would gladly ram it into the man’s eye. Just to see if he was dealing with a puppet or a person with good poker-face. Any kind of reaction would be welcome if it meant he could explore the victim’s weakness to the fullest potential. But if there was one aspect of his life he abhorred more than losing control, then it would be becoming as savage and as mindless as a muggle. Which is precisely what resorting to barbaric means would lead to. And so, he resumed his silent fury and reflected.

Torturing the man in front of him wasn’t as easy as he thought. He didn’t like dirtying his hands, and he certainly didn’t like wasting his time for something any servant or maniac could have done. Especially the latter who loved nothing more than the pathetic whimpering and the grotesquely distorted faces of their victims. Those psychos bathed in their fun, always excited at the prospect of having found ways to unravel new emotions and prolong the torture session. 

One person in particular was gifted in the art of mental affliction and always insisted everyone watch her treatment towards these sad excuses of a wizard. Why anyone would shower these traitors with attention was beyond him. Were it up to him, he would deal with this affair swiftly and efficiently. No need to make them feel worthy; they all deserved to be ignored, rotting alone like an old black widow in a broom closet. But of course, in their master’s absence, it was Bellatrix who called the shots, she whose eyes wandered over every member like a predator sorting their conspecifics from their prey. A beast, that was all what she was in his eyes, a savage beast. 

Although she came from a prestigious family, her lack of any sense of decorum didn’t really surprise him. It was, however, unbecoming to lower yourself to the level of a muggle. Ever since the start of the First Wizarding War, her greasy hair was hideous to his nose, and her moments of sweet affection made his skin crawl. I am no toy to be played with, he didn’t say whenever she would put an arm on his shoulders, purring like a cat. Were he to push her away, she would dig her nails only deeper into his arm while making a pouting face. He would never give her the satisfaction of knowing how her very presence irritated him, and he certainly would never submit to her however hard it was to keep his emotions under control. But of course, he wasn’t a public figure for nothing. Luckily enough, he didn’t have to deal with her; she was where she belonged, in prison.

Lucius quickly shook his head, then turned his attention to the man, his nose wrinkling. The man’s curly hair had a dark glamour, likely from spending all his time in this shabby department. The shady lines made his grey hair stand out as if he were proud to show this unfortunate mess to the world. How unfortunate indeed. In France, nobles used to wear a wig in public. Whoever went against the dressing code was considered eccentric, a deviance that was simply outrageous. Because to expose your hair to the public eye was like revealing an intimate part of your body. If the man’s hair was in such a horrendous condition, he didn’t want to imagine how the rest of his body was. With no sense of shame, the man was just one step away from turning into a pig, ready to be slaughtered by those simple-minded muggles. At least, that was what they were good at, to dispose scum. If only the British wizards shared the same sense of decorum and fashion as the French ones did. But alas, he belonged to a small minority.

Lucius sighed. Then, he eyed the man’s robe. It was covered in fuzz and emitted an unpleasant scent of perspiration. What was most insulting were those sleepy eyes, showing no care in the world. They did not budge when he used crucio on the man after having paralysed him. It was most unusual. Did he not mean it enough? Preposterous! He was once prefect at one of the most prestigious school in the world, later one of lord Voldemort’s most useful acolytes, and then proud chairman of Hogwarts’ Board of Governors. Every resistance he met, he nipped it in bud—sooner or later, at least. How hard could it be to subjugate a person’s will, let alone a shabby one at that? Bellatrix always made it seem so easy. There was no way he was inferior to her. His spell had to work, it simply had to. He would certainly not lose his lord’s favour and made a mockery by her. The success of their campaign depended on him. 

Unlike her, he could still move politically so long as no one suspected him of dubious actions. It was a great responsibility for sure, but his throat tightened and his heart grew heavy the more he thought about his situation. To this day, he could still recall that young girl, clutching a hand of what appeared to be her stepbrother, his body as motionless as her face. Lord Voldemort had made it his goal to erase out of existence any connection to muggles in the wizarding world, and he had started with the first pureblood family in his vicinity. As the girl didn’t have any choice who her family were, she had been left alone. Her father, on the other hand, had committed a great crime by marrying someone outside their community. In the name of justice, he, alongside his wife and stepson, had received the full brunt of the killing curse. Afterwards, it had been left to Bellatrix to disfigure their faces in order to make sure they were unrecognizable to the world. Not worthy to be remembered, she had argued, her smile a smug and her eyes shining like cat’s eyes at night. 

If her victims’ groans and contorted faces elicited feelings of thrill and desire from her—a desire for more painful reactions—, then this dehumanising process only managed to raise his eyebrows. It was simply revolting, an unnecessary display of barbarity he had quickly wanted to get away from, lest she might have forced him to partake in her follies. However, no matter how much he had tried to push the incident into the darkest corner of his mind, he still couldn’t help but recall from time to time what had been left of the stepbrother’s face: There weren’t any traces of eyes and mouth as if they had all been molten away. Where the nose should have been, only nose hair remained, trenched in blood. Bellatrix had been gaggling in light of these events as if proud of her art d’œuvre, but he, on the other hand, could only shake at the insult to his eyes.

When he had spotted the blond hair, the same colour that his son had, and taken notice of his size, he was now reminded of Draco and the gravity of the situation he found himself in. If he failed, he did not want to imagine the kind of punishment lord Voldemort would reserve for him and how his very absence would impact his family—a family he didn’t count Bellatrix in, he grimaced. That love-sick fool was utterly loyal to the dark lord and would not hesitate to abandon her own blood if it were to please him. Lucius was quite sure she would try to disgrace him to the best of her abilities. 

Then, there was her savageness and persistence which would overwhelm his wife and encourage his son’s rash behaviour. Already, Draco’s promotion to prefect required a lot of responsibility. Gone were the days where he had stormed into his office, demanding a new broom for his team like some monkey on tantrum and without coming up with a strategy in the first place. Such alacrity to back up his comrades, but also such foolishness and recklessness to not expect any resistance in his endeavour. Had he not realised how important it was to be able to adapt to any scenario if he wanted to succeed? Now that Draco was a bit older and, hopefully, more mature, Lucius only hoped his son was ready for the school’s position so that he could prove his readiness for more important missions. After all, it was only a matter of time until he was forced into his father’s business, for the dark lord demanded proof of loyalty from everyone. 

Until then, Lucius had to keep reminding his son of their family’s duty to lord Voldemort and giving him some small tasks that would groom him into a strong and respectable person, worthy of his name, just like his father. Most importantly, however, he had to keep him away from any silly lessons Bellatrix might impose on him as soon as she got out of prison. But first, Lucius had to deal with the man.

The sight of him drained his energy, left him with a headache. It still boggled his mind how well the man could resist his spells. The imperius curse that Lucius had used on the man in his last visit didn’t seem to work anymore. He couldn’t find any traces of outside influences that might have helped to dispel the curse. It was as if the man had never been hit by the spell to begin with. Did the man really manage to break it on his own? But as soon as the thought crossed Lucius’ mind, he dismissed it. There was no time to entertain some delusional ideas. Don’t be ridiculous. He would have been in danger if that were the case; the man would have notified the head of the Department of Mysteries or the security—if such a thing existed here at all.

Lucius turned around to take a good look at his surroundings, assuring himself no unauthorized parties were observing him. While he carefully examined the place, his eyes were soon drawn towards the wall. It was adorned with bronze mural paintings, glowing eerily in the dark corridor. In one of them, a corpse was trapped between two boats and exposed to the sun. From all sides of the boats, ants, ticks, and leeches were crawling towards the body while flies and wasps were descending on the face. There were so many of them, he could barely make out the facial features, just the empty eye sockets and the small mouth, open as if crying and from which insects were rising. 

Crying, when was the last time he had cried? He had felt immense joy at Narcissa’s smile the moment she had accepted his marriage proposal, then a sense of achievement when he had held their child in his arm, deeply breathing in the sweet air of their garden and enjoying the tranquillity. However, pitying an unknown person who more than likely had committed a crime? That was such a foreign concept, it was almost ludicrous. Right here, right now, he shouldn’t let his emotions run free in his mission; in fact, getting Potter’s prophecy was of utmost importance. For the sake of his family and for the betterment of the wizarding world, he had to get a hold of himself. 

But then, his eyes fell on the jelly, bubbling with thousands of eggs and worms. He shuddered. There was no mercy for the victim, and there would be no mercy for him the longer he remained in this place. Wherever he looked, each illustration showed a cruel scene: a woman sewn into a sack and torn apart by a monkey, rooster, snake, and wolf while drowning in the sea. Then, there was what seemed to be a big straw voodoo doll, hiding under a bed and clutching the head of a crying boy with its long fingers as if sucking his blood dry. Over him was a bleak image; it looked like as if a child was running away from a pale skinned man with eyeballs in the palms of his wrinkled hands. A look of utter horror appeared on the boy’s face when he was tripping over the remnants of newborn children. A few seconds later, his arm was ripped off like some feathers of a chicken, never to be seen again.

Lucius startled. As his heart was racing, a sense of foreboding overcame him. For a moment, he felt like a child, intruding on a private session he wasn’t privy to and about to face severe consequences. His mind was telling him again and again to run away. If he was caught, he didn’t want to imagine the kind of pain being inflicted on him and the grief his absence would cause to his family. It all reminded him of the Triwizard Tournament where Cedric Diggory just happened to die at the wrong time and at the wrong place. Did Lucius want to share a similar fate as him? He had already seen the devastating face of Amos Diggory, the red eyes and the shaking arms as if in shock or denial. While he did not approve of his friendship with Mr. Weasley, he, at least, understood why a parent would mourn the loss of an heir, no matter how foolish Cedric had been to help Harry Potter. After all, there weren’t many pureblood families left, and sons were prone to foolish acts. Lucius should know; he had a son quick to anger, after all. No doubt an unfortunate trait of his father as his wife loved to remind him. Hence why he was glad for Snape and her taking care of Draco and disciplining him in his absence.

Lucius sighed. All his planning and political dealings left him little time for his family. When was the last time he had enjoyed a cup of tea with Narcissa? When was the last time he had played chess with their son, lecturing him on the importance of planning moves in advance? He could have it all again. Yes, he could see himself passing through the exit and leaving behind that dreadful place of Ministry, then buying some fancy jewellery to please his wife and a new broom for his son to calm him down. It would be a good start to make it up to them. The most logical thing to do was to never bother the Unspeakable again and go home, fulfilling his duty as a husband and a father. There was no need to risk his life if the horrendous paintings here were anything to go by.

At the mention of immediate danger, he stopped, his eyebrows raising. He was no Gryffindor, true, but he had been once accepted into the great house of Salazar. Slytherins were not easily cowered when promised a high reward. Any threats they faced, they solved it with the cunning of a chess player. The grotesque drawings on the wall, however, they were just that, scaring people with splatter and cries. How utterly barbaric. How very, and here Lucius paused before spitting, muggle like. Didn’t they keep strange souvenirs at home: dead skulls of animals and people to boast of their cruel deeds and some creepy masks born straight out from a dark fairy tale? He still remembered from one of the forced muggle lessons at Hogwarts: a werewolf in disguise of a human simpleton, indulging itself in fornication with a sick grandmother. Then, as if it wasn’t scandalous enough, it even seduced some virgin before devouring her. Or was it her who wanted to explore her carnal needs? Mad. They were all mad.

Lucius could only shake his head. He had never understood the value of muggle studies. They merely filled heads with moths, just like how the scribbles at the wall tricked people into a false sense of fear when there was nothing to worry about. What did it matter if the owner of the paintings had a morbid sense of cruelty? They were just inanimate objects; they couldn’t do anything to him or report to their master. He snorted. Master? More like a weebie obsessing over satanism. 

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t believe how poorly he had reacted to the pictures. It was illogical to expect any threat from them; it was downright ridiculous. There was nothing that might have excused his inappropriate reaction. He had been a fool if he was honest to himself. No, he thought. It was more like he had been played a fool. Under no circumstances would he have done any foolish acts. That might have been acceptable and even expected from a child like Draco; however, he had long since grown out of this phase. There had to be some kind of spell on the paintings to ward off any intruders, there simply had to be. 

Unfortunately enough, he didn’t have the expertise to detect any traces of magical defence mechanisms to appease his mind. On the other hand, he didn’t want to activate any traps. Who knew what mad ideas some employees of this department might have come up with to trick people like him. For what else could it be than the work of a sad bogeyman if the paintings were any indication? Those punishments and cries, it was Bellatrix all over again. Except, even she was not mad enough to satisfy her hunger and thirst in a way these misshapen figures did. One of them was slurping in a child’s head as if it was some cup of tea while the other one used fork and knife to eat some legs of a crying baby on a plate. The civilized manner with which these mindless beasts enjoyed their dinner and drink simply bewildered him, gave him goose-bumps. It was almost enough to vomit. Almost.

[itsbenedict]

Kingdoms and Koopas: Ep. 6

K&K is a Fate Accelerated campaign set in the Mario universe, which I’m running for three players:

Bee @thebeeskneesocks���, playing Kandace Koopa

Jovian @jovian12​, playing Cozmo Naut

Malky @sleepdepravity​, playing Dr. Chevy Chain

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Previously on Kingdoms and Koopas, the party survived a harrowing underground experience, arrested a bigshot crime lord probably, acquired a magical item, and were in the vicinity of Kandace while she did horrifying things.

This time... we’re leaving the Koopa Kingdom for a fun vacation! Woooo!

So, Kandace wants them there Music Keys, still- and her favorite test subject I mean minion I mean friend, Cozmo, is all too happy to go on a fun adventure to help her get them. Unfortunately, Dr. Chevy Chain would be all too happy to never interact with these chucklefucks again, so she needs an alternate reason to follow Kandace and Cozmo. That reason is... her boss at the hospital has ordered her to make a house call in the Magic Kingdom, which happens to be where the other two are headed!

Unfortunately, the road to the Magic Kingdom has problems on it. One of the problems is bandits. Y’know, Bandits. They’re like Shy Guys, but their masks are more like faces and they steal your crap? Bandits. They’re here to be a random encounter.

Cozmo and Chevy begin fighting them off, but Kandace has an idea to end the fight quicker than that. Y’know her curse that she has? Her magical talking shadow, Carbonado, who makes her life difficult? Well, she’s prepared to bargain this time around- in hopes that maybe he can actually help.

Carbonado’s terms- in exchange for using the darkness to get very big and scary and scare the bandits off- are that Kandace must behave. This is a bit of a tall order, and she bargains him down to... using manners while in the Magic Kingdom. Which are still, likely, terms she’s going to violate, but hey.

Further down the road, they encounter... someone... they’ve... met before? It’s... a Shy Guy wearing a trenchcoat and a big bushy mustache, who would like to sell them some merchandise. It’s Deals Guy! 

Immediate attempts to rip off Shady Guy’s mustache again (isn’t he supposed to be in jail?) are met with failure, as this happens to be... the Real Deals Guy. He actually has decent stuff to sell! Or... would. He’s kind of out of inventory right now, and is actually looking to buy. We try out the new Rich system I threw together (an extra stat you roll, Rich, which depending on the outcome tells you whether you can afford the thing, and whether you need to decrease your Rich to do so). Rolls ain’t great, but Kandace does buy a Super Leaf, once it becomes clear that the random crap off the floor he’s selling does include some useful items.

As they proceed, and as they’re getting closer to the magic kingdom, they meet a wandering wizard- and he has Prophecies for them! One about hearts, one about dreams, and one about paths. He can give them two true prophecies, and another false one- and they have to pick which ones will be true and which will be false. Which... shouldn’t be how prophecies work, but they agree, pick that “paths” should be false, and Merlon gets all SHA-ZIBBY, SHA-ZOOBY on ‘em. The prophecies are as follows:

'Thou shalt never be betrayed by those thou trusteth with all thy heart and all thy mind.'

‘The bow is a truer guide to the arrow's path than the arrow.' 

'A dream is a nightmare waiting to happen.'

The second, on the subject of paths, is conveniently the false one- which they can get the true version of just by inverting it. Still... cryptic as hell, though.

Finally, though, they arrive in the Magic Kingdom.

Chapter 3: From the Stars

Unfortunately- besides Chevy, who has an address she’s meant to head to- they have no idea where to go. The Music Key’s magical signature is just “up”- somewhere in the sky- and they need to find a way to get there. (And, Chevy needs to find a way to figure out how to reach the address in question, since the Mario world doesn’t have GPS.)

So they check an information booth, manned by a Star Kid named Astrid. She gets out a telescope and checks out the spot in the sky they mention- which, as it appears, is a strange ribbon of rainbow light... hm. I wonder...

As for getting up there- well, there’s ways. All kinds of ways! Except, there was recently a large destructive bomb-related accident down at the local Cannon District (where they keep all the Cannons That Shoot You Into Space), and there’s only two cannons left standing. Bullet Bud and Robert Omb attempt to convince the party (minus Chevy, who’s gone off to do her job elsewhere in the city after obtaining a map) that their cannon is the safe one and that the other guy’s cannon is a rickety mess that’ll explode in their faces.

(The paths prophecy, by the way, applied to this situation, though in keeping with Merlon’s “Useless Prophecies” aspect, nobody realized that the “arrow” is the Bullet Bill, and the “bow” is the explosive that fires the bullet- or the Bob-omb.)

No, they solve this dilemma by arbitrarily picking the right cannon- which Cozmo tests first. Unfortunately, they fail to notice a problem in time to stop it (but succeed in noticing it happening at all.) Robert Omb snuck around the side of Bud’s cannon and blew up as it fired, knocking Cozmo off-course. He goes flying up into the sky, and... well, he’ll probably be fine. Let’s assume he’s fine.

Kandace, noticing the sabotage, attempts to... mete out justice? Which is to say... draw a teleportation circle, and attempt to shove Robert Omb into it, to get rid of the cheating bastard. She barely fails the Forceful contest, but Bullet Bud helps her out with sending his rival off to... well, Ted the Storm God’s cloud, is the only place Kandace knows how to make her random-teleport spell come out, right now. Gonna be one confused Bob-omb, suddenly in the middle of Kam Ekademy.

Meanwhile... Chevy has a job to do. She’s arrived at the address, to make the house call she was specifically needed for. See, there was some kind of magical accident that cost everyone in a given radius of the patient to be unable to control their hands, which made things difficult for normal doctors. But Chevy doesn’t even have any hands, and so was considered perfect for the job.

Arriving at Rainbow Cruise Tours, she encounters a crew of concerned Bob-ombs who explain the situation. Their captain, apparently, stumbled in one day with a big piece of magical crystal sticking out of his chest, and fell into a coma on the bed. The crew didn’t have hands, but they also didn’t have surgical training- and most of the surgeons in the Magic Kingdom are Wizzerds, known for pretty much just having hands.

The job itself turns out to be pretty easy, and Chevy successfully removes the foreign object and resuscitates the patient- an odd, stout, yellow man with a heavy accent, a curly purple wig, and an inability to shut up. The Great Flavio invites Chevy on a sky cruise as a reward for her efforts, which she- having nothing better to do, now- agrees to. Like a fool.

Partway through the lovely flight on the sky boat in question, there is a THUMP as something impacts the side of the ship. And then manages to grab hold of the dangling anchor, rather than slide off the ship and fall to its death. This something, as it happens, is Cozmo Naut, who for reasons unknown was recently fired out of a cannon into the sky. Weird. Chevy confirms he isn’t going to fall, and then entirely declines to try and help pull him up.

Kandace, after probably doing a crime by magically banishing someone by force to another Kingdom, climbs into Bud’s cannon and fires herself up there, getting enough altitude that she can reach the Rainbow Cruise and rescue Cozmo using her broom (which would’ve been too difficult to ride all the way up there by herself.)

The cruise, though, appears to be making a stop somewhere else before heading up to... the rainbow ribbon in the sky that you’ve probably already figured out what it is. That they’ve actually figured out what it is, actually, so I’ll just tell you: it’s Rainbow Road, the famous kart-racing track.

But the pit stop is at... oh, just the Royal Castle of the Magic Kingdom. For guests to meet the princess, and stuff. No big.

As they arrive- and Cozmo and Kandace line up to meet the princess, while Chevy hangs back because when can Chevy ever be bothered- they encounter a... familiar face? Sort of? Except for how X-Nauts wear face-concealing goggles and stuff? It’s an X-Naut Cozmo used to know from back during the whole moon thing- Oneiro Naut. They catch up a little bit- apparently, Oneiro is doing some guard duty for the princess’s meet-and-greet, and in their spare time is researching dreams.

Researching dreams...? Dreams, dreams... there definitely wasn’t a prophecy about that...

Anyway, Cozmo and Kandace eventually reach the front of the line, and are face-to-face with Princess Opal herself!

(art by Bee)

Now, here’s a little bit of Kandace backstory that I don’t think I’ve mentioned in these recaps yet: when Kandace was younger, she was experimenting with teleportation spells, and... accidentally teleported herself into this very castle. It was a little surprising, but Opal took it in stride, and told the young magikoopa that she knew she’d be an amazingly powerful witch some day, before helping her get back home.

It was a pretty formative moment for young Kandace- and now, here she is, once again meeting her hero.

Who... absolutely doesn’t recognize her. Which is... fairly crushing, for a moment. But... hang on. This Opal is weirdly... sedate? Very calm, regal, princess-like. Which isn’t at all how she remembers her.

Suddenly, there’s a spark of realization, and Opal tells Kandace- and her friend- to head through a door just behind the throne area. Confused, they agree... and are dropped through a trapdoor and fall and fall and fall through some kind of magical sparkly hole. They land in... what looks like some kind of extremely messy magical workshop. And in that workshop is... the real Princess Opal. 

She explains that the Opal doing the meet-and-greet up in the throne room is a decoy, there to handle all the princess-type duties she finds super-boring. What she doesn’t find boring is Kandace, who she does in fact remember. And she... has Kandace look at some weird magic instruments, and pokes her with a glowy detector rod thingy, and has her hold an orb which she then tosses into a machine which explodes, and generally sort of geeks out about Kandace’s nonspecific magic specialness. She’s very excited.

It’s kind of difficult for Kandace to follow a lot of Opal’s projects, which are very advanced and very hard to determine the actual purpose of. It seems there’s a lot of stuff here that’s unfinished, or that was never really meant to do anything besides look cool in the first place. Opal’s running all over the place, unable to stick to a topic for very long- because whose attention span wouldn’t be taxed by the many wonders of magic, right?

Anyway, Cozmo and Kandace tell her about their quest- to find a magical music-related orb of incredible power. Opal tells them that she’s pretty sure the big tournament is going to have something like that as a prize.

Tournament?

Yeah, the kart-racing tournament. On Rainbow Road. That one. Do they want to enter? YES they want to enter.

So Opal- who’s big into kart racing, along with apparently everything else- offers them pick of her old experimental karts, to borrow for the race! (She herself has been, uh, banned from participating, because she kept breaking vehicle regulations and causing magical accidents during races. Apparently the issue was bad enough that they actually banned their own princess, so... well, it’s probably totally safe.)

Cozmo picks out something with flame decals and lots of firepower- just a big ol’ beefy boy of a car, with a high top speed at the expense of handling. (He tests it out by crashing it directly into the wall of Opal’s workshop- pretty good at crashing!) Kandace, rather than pick out an old kart, works with Opal to soup up her broom, giving it a magical bike mode that increases its top speed at the expense of flight capabilities. 

Meanwhile, Chevy is approached by a Buzzy Beetle who represents the Rainbow Road course management. Apparently, there are so many outlandish injuries that happen on Rainbow Road that most of their doctors have quit in horror, so they’re really looking for last-minute replacements. And so it is that Chevy takes on a part-time job, and is escorted to Rainbow Road by a Lakitu crew.

The two racers, meanwhile, are escorted to the track personally, on karts towed behind Opal’s magical royal chariot. It’s a very stylish entrance, only slightly dampened by a Monty Mole mechanic at the track demanding that Opal leave immediately, in a panicked and horrified tone of voice. He can’t do this again! He can’t! (It’s fine, though- Opal’s just going to be spectating, honest!)

So we would leave off there, but... a couple strange things happen. One thing is that... Oneiro Naut is somehow amongst the crowds of spectators, despite having been at the castle a minute ago and not having been aboard the chariot when they left. So that’s weird.

And another thing is that... Kandace can still track the Music Key’s energy signature. And where it appears to be is... still up. Still straight up, in the sky just above Rainbow Road.

...It’s probably fine! See you next time!

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[atopearth]

Shall We Date? Ninja Shadow Part 1 - Ukyo Route

Damnn, the brother and the heroine really do look exactly the same hahahah, true twins! But that is so cruel to the heroine... It's logical to want to save others but to sacrifice your life for it and leave your sister to restore their village is just so cruel to her! Now she's lost the most important person in her life and she's stuck with the burden and responsibility of taking care of their village by herself! He's so mean😢 so I guess the heroine must make a name for herself in the Nagasaki Vigilantes masquerading as her brother to save her village? But I see, the love interest is the instructor that will be teaching her how they work. Let's see...I like Asagi's and Makoto's looks the most but I'll go with the order of release as usual. So Ukyo it is!

Ukyo seems kind but sensible and I like that. But he really doesn't know what personal space is huh? But that's also good since he's practically treating the heroine like a brother by taking care of her and wanting to feed her so she'll get more manly since Haru thought she was a girl, which she was right hahaha. I really like Ukyo, he's so funny and cute but so reliable as well! It was really kind of him to give the heroine a present before the assassination to I guess calm her nerves and make her feel welcome. Seriously though, it must be terrifying to be the heroine. She's never participated in a battle like an assassination and only did things like disguises etc that rely on very different abilities and experience. I'm cheering her on but I'm not surprised if she makes a mistake. She's not as experienced as her brother after all. Wow, Ukyo is impressive, he so swiftly handled everything. A quick death is definitely better than a slow one I guess..

I don't know how the vigilante work or why they killed that famous doctor, but since this is an otome game, I'll assume it's for justice and to change the corrupt Nagasaki. Whether that can be truly done by assassinating these shady guys, I don't know. It was certainly admirable of the heroine to protect Haru from that perverted merchant whilst concealing her identity as a ninja by just taking the cuts to her kimono. It was a dangerous situation but if she didn't step in and just waited for Kagura to get Makoto, then who knows what would have happened to Haru already! I love how Ukyo is so understanding and truly wholeheartedly believes in her even though he's not sure of what she's really hiding. He's really kind and sweet. I think it's natural that the heroine would end up liking him. I really do as well.

The corruption in Nagasaki is something that runs deep and probably a problem most countries and towns had to deal with in these eras. Greedy merchants rampant with the rich at the top and the poor at the bottom. The poor farmer that was killed by the samurai was a fine example. The farmer was driven into a corner and that's why he threatened to kill the merchant, the samurai may have killed the farmer to "protect" the merchant, but this doesn't solve the underlying problem. Only more people with similar situations as the farmer will continue to appear, and really, you can't kill every single of them. Although Ukyo couldn't save the farmer, I know that he's working really hard to try and bring justice upon Suetsugu (guy that burnt the village and killed heroine's brother) so that Nagasaki won't be so influenced and controlled by him.

I admire the heroine's resolve to be Ukyo's equal. She doesn't want to settle for being by his side and protected by him. She wants to help him and I think he needs to acknowledge that soon! I'm glad to see how much she has matured and how well she can handle situations even without Ukyo's guidance. Considering that the Nagasaki Vigilantes are like a branch off from the Edo Vigilante and always seen as a sort of lesser version of them, it would be nice to have them work together and acknowledge each other.

When the guys asked why Ukyo was so intent on crushing Suetsugu now, and he answered by confessing to everyone that he loves the heroine and wants to help her avenge her family and make a name for her as a vigilante to help her village out, I was so touched. Especially when he said he doesn't care whether she's a man or woman, all he knows is that he loves and cares about her and that's that. It was so sweet and heartwarming. How could you not fall for such a confession?! The heroine wearing a kimono and a nice wig makes her look so ladylike and beautiful! Definitely great attire for their first date hahaha.

It's really cute how haughty and confident Ukyo is in terms of how much they love each other. He doesn't doubt the heroine's love for him because he's such a great guy hahaha. It's true though. Ukyo is a wonderful guy, especially with that kind of confession, who could possibly escape from his grasp hahaha. It's so adorable how he's trying to keep the heroine to himself and yet show her off to everyone hahaha. Everything with Suetsugu ended so quickly but I guess that's because they all worked together to achieve that result. I'm so happy that right before they dealt with Suetsugu, Ukyo and the heroine rekindled the vow he asserted when they first became partners and said that he'll always protect her no matter what😊

Overall, I love Ukyo and think that they match so well! They're partners for work and in their personal life and work in such great harmony. They respect each other and know the other well. It's like a nice caring teacher turned boyfriend route I guess lol. I really liked this route. I loved how chill Ukyo was and how his love was for the heroine herself and it didn't matter whether she was actually a guy or girl. He liked her for who she was and didn't care about those details and that's what I really loved about him.

[twosunaz]

Scandalous, money greed and lust

In this trife life, there ain't nobody you can trust

Plus there's no justice, it's just us

In fact, watchin' yo back it be must

And each and everyday around the way gats bust

And jealous so-called friends'll try to set you up

It's called betrayal

Check the horror scene

The kid was like twelve or thirteen

Never had the chance like other kids to follow dreams

Watched his father catch two in the dome and to the spleen

Nothin" but blood everywhere, these streets are mean

They spared his life, but killed his moms and his sister Jean

Of course over some drug shit

Hi spops was on some ill-out, spill your guts, on some thug shit

Didn't know his boys was on some shady ass no love shit

His pops got played out though, with silencers they laid him out yo

Took his stash and all the cash and left 'em, tied up on the couch yo

With tape over his mouth, so he couldn't cry out

cause his dad was the nigga with clout

Survival of the fittest so they split his wig no doubt

Despite the stocking caps he noticed the same cat, who used to give him doe

and taught him, to use the same gat

Supposed to be an Uncle, fam and all that

He could tell it was him 'cause he wore the same slacks, he wore when

he took him to Meadowlands racetrack

Why did he flip and go out like that?

It's called betrayal

Scandalous, money greed and lust

In this trife life, there ain't nobody you can trust

Plus there's no justice, it's just us

In fact, watchin' yo back it be must

And each and everyday around the way gats bust

And jealous so-called friends'll try to set you up

It's called betrayal

A Betrayal

Punk ass niggas

It's called betrayal

He on a mission to become a ball player

Flip big Benz's, flossin all gators

Had it all mapped out, 6-8, 12th grader

Fresh outta school, he fin' to go lay paper

He had abrother who was hustlin collectin his change

Never let his baby brother stick his neck in the game

Told him all he had to do is just enjoy the ride

And he ain't have to worry about money cause that's in time

So now he's pacin as the time moves slowly

Can't wait to face Shaquille in the paint and school Kobe

Kept his grades and stayed up under naighborhood functions

And then a group of knuckleheads came through dumpin

So now he's sittin on the sidewalk bleedin

Fell into a puddle of his own blood and stopped breathin

And everybody in the neighborhood still grievin

But destiny caught up with his ass and he got even

And all the cryin in the world ain't goin to bring him back

his brother, sittin at the wake wipin tears from his mother's eyes

Why'd the game have to go and take the young boys life

Only the wicked live shife, payin the price

while he's starin at the shell

his brothers soul wants hell the trigger man made bail

and you, wouldn't pay the boys mail, and sacrificed the fuckin family

That's betrayal

Betrayal

Scandalous, money greed and lust

In this trife life, there ain't nobody you can trust

Plus there's no justice, it's just us

In fact, watchin' yo back it be must

And each and everyday around the way gats bust

And jealous so-called friends'll try to set you up

It's called betrayal

[samanthasroberts]

Saturday Night Live: the most memorable cameos of the Trump era

With Matt Damon taking on the role Brett Kavanaugh, who else has proved most successful in the shows A-list White House?

As Saturday Night Live prepared to air its 44th season premiere last weekend, the question on viewers minds wasn’t if they would parody Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious Senate testimony from earlier in the week, but who would play the embattled frat boy turned would-be supreme court justice.

While SNL’s regular cast has settled comfortably into their recurring roles as members of Donald Trump’s (played by honorary cast member Alec Baldwin, probably in perpetuity) revolving administration over the past two years – with, among others, Beck Bennett as Vice-President Mike Pence, Aidy Bryant as press secretary Sarah Sanders, and utility player Kate McKinnon as Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions – there is always the expectation that a celebrity will pop up to embody whatever soon-to-be-infamous individual gets sucked into the president’s orbit next.

With that in mind, here are some of most notable Trump-era celebrity cameos SNL has given us so far:

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer

Undoubtedly, Melissa McCarthy’s unexpected turn as Sean Spicer proved the most popular example of a non-cast member playing someone from the cabinet. Her cross-gender performance (enhanced by surprisingly convincing prosthetics) as the combative, gum-chewing former press secretary – whose ineffectual lying, constant fumbling and poor sartorial choices made him a marked man from day one – drew massive attention and praise. According to inside accounts at the time, it may well have been one of the key factors that ultimately cost Spicer his job.

Popular as McCarthy was in the role, with Spicer long gone, she has since confirmed that she’s done playing him.

John Goodman as Rex Tillerson

Fellow perennial host John Goodman joined Alec Baldwin during 2016’s Christmas episode to play silver-haired oil magnate and then incoming secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Goodman’s gruff, dismissive Tillerson is shown as having little time or patience for the aloof president-elect, coming off as the power-behind-the-throne alongside his business partner/buddy Vladimir Putin (Bennett).

It’s a testament to the volatility of the Trump presidency that the next time Goodman turned up as Tillerson (joined by Bill Hader’s Anthony Scaramucci and Fred Armisen’s Michael Wolff) over a year later, post toilet-seat firing, he was portrayed not as a power broker, but a broken man striped not only of hist power, but also his dignity: “It’s just crazy how one day you’re the CEO of Exxon, a billion-dollar company, and the next day you get fired by a man who used to sell steaks in the mail!”

Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump

The first daughter and presidential adviser had actually been played by a couple of different guest stars, including Emily Blunt and Margot Robbie, before Johansson took on the role and made it her own, most memorably in the scathing perfume commercial parody Complicit (“I bet when she watches Titanic she thinks she’s Rose … sorry girl, you’re Billy Zane”) which, according to former Trump confidante Omarosa Manigault Newman, had a devastating effect on the real Ivanka Trump.

Jimmy Fallon as Jared Kushner

To supplement Johansson’s Ivanka Trump, SNL tapped former cast member and current Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon to play Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Taking up as his go-to costume the flack vest/blazer combo that has caused Kushner an endless amount of ridicule since he was first photographed wearing it while touring Iraq in April of 2017, Fallon’s “Kushball” is an alternately silent and Mickey-Mouse voiced patsy, all fashion and no function.

Bill Hader as Anthony Scaramucci

Even by the standards of this administration, Anthony Scaramucci – the Wall Street hustler who lasted 11 days as the White House communications director before his profane candor got him axed – was especially ridiculous. Parodying a man who might as well have walked straight out of an SNL sketch in the first place seemed like a pointless gesture, but former cast member Bill Hader, always adept at playing high-wire oddballs, managed to do a good job of it. Hader’s Scaramucci – or “Mooch”, as he insists on being called – is, in his own words, basically “human cocaine”. It’s a simple depiction, but one that Hader makes memorable.

Ben Stiller as Michael Cohen and Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller

Aside from McCarthy as Sean Spicer, Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and recent admitted felon, has proved the most memorable recurring guest spot by a celebrity in the role of a Trump ally (turned enemy). His similar facial features and dead-on vocal imitation make him singularly perfect in the role, as does his innate ability to switch between hostile and sympathetic, manic and pathetic.

In two of the three sketches in which Stillers has appeared as Cohen, he’s been joined by his Meet the Parents co-star Robert De Niro, as special counsel Robert Mueller. De Niro is a fitting choice for Mueller, given his vocal opposition to Trump, but unlike Stiller he doesn’t attempt to do a convincing impression of the president’s arch-nemesis, instead playing him as his character from Meet the Parents, replete with catchphrases and physical gestures from the franchise.

Martin Short as Dr Harold Bornstein

The second of the three aforementioned Cohen sketches featured the most celebrity cameos of any Trump segment to date, including Stiller as Cohen, Johansson as Ivanka, Fallon as Kushner, Stormy Daniels as herself and a brief turn from Martin Short (disguised but still distinguishable in a long wig and fake beard) as Trump’s eccentric personal physician, Dr Harold Bornstein. Short steals the scene with his over-the-top antics, giving us a Jerry Lewis-inspired interpretation of the shady doctor.

Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh

The answer to the question on viewer’s minds before last week’s season opener – who will they get to play Brett Kavanaugh? – ended up being Matt Damon. Damon was all shouts and sniffles as he sparred loudly with Democratic senators, showed off his decades-old calendars and talked about his love of beer. An entertaining enough performance on its own, there was nothing specific to it, and it falls on the lower end of memorable celebrity portrayals of Trump associates. Also, the writing took pains to avoid mentioning the disturbing allegations of sexual assault leveled against Kavanaugh, which is understandable, but which also made the sight of Damon chugging beer while delivering the iconic “Live from New York!” introduction feel a little gross.

With the new season just starting out, and with the Trump administration still embroiled in dozens of political and legal fires, expect many, if not all, of these actors to reprise their roles, as well as a handful of new guest spots.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/saturday-night-live-the-most-memorable-cameos-of-the-trump-era/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/04/09/saturday-night-live-the-most-memorable-cameos-of-the-trump-era/

[adambstingus]

Saturday Night Live: the most memorable cameos of the Trump era

With Matt Damon taking on the role Brett Kavanaugh, who else has proved most successful in the shows A-list White House?

As Saturday Night Live prepared to air its 44th season premiere last weekend, the question on viewers minds wasn’t if they would parody Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious Senate testimony from earlier in the week, but who would play the embattled frat boy turned would-be supreme court justice.

While SNL’s regular cast has settled comfortably into their recurring roles as members of Donald Trump’s (played by honorary cast member Alec Baldwin, probably in perpetuity) revolving administration over the past two years – with, among others, Beck Bennett as Vice-President Mike Pence, Aidy Bryant as press secretary Sarah Sanders, and utility player Kate McKinnon as Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions – there is always the expectation that a celebrity will pop up to embody whatever soon-to-be-infamous individual gets sucked into the president’s orbit next.

With that in mind, here are some of most notable Trump-era celebrity cameos SNL has given us so far:

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer

Undoubtedly, Melissa McCarthy’s unexpected turn as Sean Spicer proved the most popular example of a non-cast member playing someone from the cabinet. Her cross-gender performance (enhanced by surprisingly convincing prosthetics) as the combative, gum-chewing former press secretary – whose ineffectual lying, constant fumbling and poor sartorial choices made him a marked man from day one – drew massive attention and praise. According to inside accounts at the time, it may well have been one of the key factors that ultimately cost Spicer his job.

Popular as McCarthy was in the role, with Spicer long gone, she has since confirmed that she’s done playing him.

John Goodman as Rex Tillerson

Fellow perennial host John Goodman joined Alec Baldwin during 2016’s Christmas episode to play silver-haired oil magnate and then incoming secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Goodman’s gruff, dismissive Tillerson is shown as having little time or patience for the aloof president-elect, coming off as the power-behind-the-throne alongside his business partner/buddy Vladimir Putin (Bennett).

It’s a testament to the volatility of the Trump presidency that the next time Goodman turned up as Tillerson (joined by Bill Hader’s Anthony Scaramucci and Fred Armisen’s Michael Wolff) over a year later, post toilet-seat firing, he was portrayed not as a power broker, but a broken man striped not only of hist power, but also his dignity: “It’s just crazy how one day you’re the CEO of Exxon, a billion-dollar company, and the next day you get fired by a man who used to sell steaks in the mail!”

Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump

The first daughter and presidential adviser had actually been played by a couple of different guest stars, including Emily Blunt and Margot Robbie, before Johansson took on the role and made it her own, most memorably in the scathing perfume commercial parody Complicit (“I bet when she watches Titanic she thinks she’s Rose … sorry girl, you’re Billy Zane”) which, according to former Trump confidante Omarosa Manigault Newman, had a devastating effect on the real Ivanka Trump.

Jimmy Fallon as Jared Kushner

To supplement Johansson’s Ivanka Trump, SNL tapped former cast member and current Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon to play Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Taking up as his go-to costume the flack vest/blazer combo that has caused Kushner an endless amount of ridicule since he was first photographed wearing it while touring Iraq in April of 2017, Fallon’s “Kushball” is an alternately silent and Mickey-Mouse voiced patsy, all fashion and no function.

Bill Hader as Anthony Scaramucci

Even by the standards of this administration, Anthony Scaramucci – the Wall Street hustler who lasted 11 days as the White House communications director before his profane candor got him axed – was especially ridiculous. Parodying a man who might as well have walked straight out of an SNL sketch in the first place seemed like a pointless gesture, but former cast member Bill Hader, always adept at playing high-wire oddballs, managed to do a good job of it. Hader’s Scaramucci – or “Mooch”, as he insists on being called – is, in his own words, basically “human cocaine”. It’s a simple depiction, but one that Hader makes memorable.

Ben Stiller as Michael Cohen and Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller

Aside from McCarthy as Sean Spicer, Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and recent admitted felon, has proved the most memorable recurring guest spot by a celebrity in the role of a Trump ally (turned enemy). His similar facial features and dead-on vocal imitation make him singularly perfect in the role, as does his innate ability to switch between hostile and sympathetic, manic and pathetic.

In two of the three sketches in which Stillers has appeared as Cohen, he’s been joined by his Meet the Parents co-star Robert De Niro, as special counsel Robert Mueller. De Niro is a fitting choice for Mueller, given his vocal opposition to Trump, but unlike Stiller he doesn’t attempt to do a convincing impression of the president’s arch-nemesis, instead playing him as his character from Meet the Parents, replete with catchphrases and physical gestures from the franchise.

Martin Short as Dr Harold Bornstein

The second of the three aforementioned Cohen sketches featured the most celebrity cameos of any Trump segment to date, including Stiller as Cohen, Johansson as Ivanka, Fallon as Kushner, Stormy Daniels as herself and a brief turn from Martin Short (disguised but still distinguishable in a long wig and fake beard) as Trump’s eccentric personal physician, Dr Harold Bornstein. Short steals the scene with his over-the-top antics, giving us a Jerry Lewis-inspired interpretation of the shady doctor.

Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh

The answer to the question on viewer’s minds before last week’s season opener – who will they get to play Brett Kavanaugh? – ended up being Matt Damon. Damon was all shouts and sniffles as he sparred loudly with Democratic senators, showed off his decades-old calendars and talked about his love of beer. An entertaining enough performance on its own, there was nothing specific to it, and it falls on the lower end of memorable celebrity portrayals of Trump associates. Also, the writing took pains to avoid mentioning the disturbing allegations of sexual assault leveled against Kavanaugh, which is understandable, but which also made the sight of Damon chugging beer while delivering the iconic “Live from New York!” introduction feel a little gross.

With the new season just starting out, and with the Trump administration still embroiled in dozens of political and legal fires, expect many, if not all, of these actors to reprise their roles, as well as a handful of new guest spots.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/saturday-night-live-the-most-memorable-cameos-of-the-trump-era/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/184055474847

[allofbeercom]

Saturday Night Live: the most memorable cameos of the Trump era

With Matt Damon taking on the role Brett Kavanaugh, who else has proved most successful in the shows A-list White House?

As Saturday Night Live prepared to air its 44th season premiere last weekend, the question on viewers minds wasn’t if they would parody Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious Senate testimony from earlier in the week, but who would play the embattled frat boy turned would-be supreme court justice.

While SNL’s regular cast has settled comfortably into their recurring roles as members of Donald Trump’s (played by honorary cast member Alec Baldwin, probably in perpetuity) revolving administration over the past two years – with, among others, Beck Bennett as Vice-President Mike Pence, Aidy Bryant as press secretary Sarah Sanders, and utility player Kate McKinnon as Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions – there is always the expectation that a celebrity will pop up to embody whatever soon-to-be-infamous individual gets sucked into the president’s orbit next.

With that in mind, here are some of most notable Trump-era celebrity cameos SNL has given us so far:

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer

Undoubtedly, Melissa McCarthy’s unexpected turn as Sean Spicer proved the most popular example of a non-cast member playing someone from the cabinet. Her cross-gender performance (enhanced by surprisingly convincing prosthetics) as the combative, gum-chewing former press secretary – whose ineffectual lying, constant fumbling and poor sartorial choices made him a marked man from day one – drew massive attention and praise. According to inside accounts at the time, it may well have been one of the key factors that ultimately cost Spicer his job.

Popular as McCarthy was in the role, with Spicer long gone, she has since confirmed that she’s done playing him.

John Goodman as Rex Tillerson

Fellow perennial host John Goodman joined Alec Baldwin during 2016’s Christmas episode to play silver-haired oil magnate and then incoming secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Goodman’s gruff, dismissive Tillerson is shown as having little time or patience for the aloof president-elect, coming off as the power-behind-the-throne alongside his business partner/buddy Vladimir Putin (Bennett).

It’s a testament to the volatility of the Trump presidency that the next time Goodman turned up as Tillerson (joined by Bill Hader’s Anthony Scaramucci and Fred Armisen’s Michael Wolff) over a year later, post toilet-seat firing, he was portrayed not as a power broker, but a broken man striped not only of hist power, but also his dignity: “It’s just crazy how one day you’re the CEO of Exxon, a billion-dollar company, and the next day you get fired by a man who used to sell steaks in the mail!”

Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump

The first daughter and presidential adviser had actually been played by a couple of different guest stars, including Emily Blunt and Margot Robbie, before Johansson took on the role and made it her own, most memorably in the scathing perfume commercial parody Complicit (“I bet when she watches Titanic she thinks she’s Rose … sorry girl, you’re Billy Zane”) which, according to former Trump confidante Omarosa Manigault Newman, had a devastating effect on the real Ivanka Trump.

Jimmy Fallon as Jared Kushner

To supplement Johansson’s Ivanka Trump, SNL tapped former cast member and current Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon to play Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Taking up as his go-to costume the flack vest/blazer combo that has caused Kushner an endless amount of ridicule since he was first photographed wearing it while touring Iraq in April of 2017, Fallon’s “Kushball” is an alternately silent and Mickey-Mouse voiced patsy, all fashion and no function.

Bill Hader as Anthony Scaramucci

Even by the standards of this administration, Anthony Scaramucci – the Wall Street hustler who lasted 11 days as the White House communications director before his profane candor got him axed – was especially ridiculous. Parodying a man who might as well have walked straight out of an SNL sketch in the first place seemed like a pointless gesture, but former cast member Bill Hader, always adept at playing high-wire oddballs, managed to do a good job of it. Hader’s Scaramucci – or “Mooch”, as he insists on being called – is, in his own words, basically “human cocaine”. It’s a simple depiction, but one that Hader makes memorable.

Ben Stiller as Michael Cohen and Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller

Aside from McCarthy as Sean Spicer, Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and recent admitted felon, has proved the most memorable recurring guest spot by a celebrity in the role of a Trump ally (turned enemy). His similar facial features and dead-on vocal imitation make him singularly perfect in the role, as does his innate ability to switch between hostile and sympathetic, manic and pathetic.

In two of the three sketches in which Stillers has appeared as Cohen, he’s been joined by his Meet the Parents co-star Robert De Niro, as special counsel Robert Mueller. De Niro is a fitting choice for Mueller, given his vocal opposition to Trump, but unlike Stiller he doesn’t attempt to do a convincing impression of the president’s arch-nemesis, instead playing him as his character from Meet the Parents, replete with catchphrases and physical gestures from the franchise.

Martin Short as Dr Harold Bornstein

The second of the three aforementioned Cohen sketches featured the most celebrity cameos of any Trump segment to date, including Stiller as Cohen, Johansson as Ivanka, Fallon as Kushner, Stormy Daniels as herself and a brief turn from Martin Short (disguised but still distinguishable in a long wig and fake beard) as Trump’s eccentric personal physician, Dr Harold Bornstein. Short steals the scene with his over-the-top antics, giving us a Jerry Lewis-inspired interpretation of the shady doctor.

Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh

The answer to the question on viewer’s minds before last week’s season opener – who will they get to play Brett Kavanaugh? – ended up being Matt Damon. Damon was all shouts and sniffles as he sparred loudly with Democratic senators, showed off his decades-old calendars and talked about his love of beer. An entertaining enough performance on its own, there was nothing specific to it, and it falls on the lower end of memorable celebrity portrayals of Trump associates. Also, the writing took pains to avoid mentioning the disturbing allegations of sexual assault leveled against Kavanaugh, which is understandable, but which also made the sight of Damon chugging beer while delivering the iconic “Live from New York!” introduction feel a little gross.

With the new season just starting out, and with the Trump administration still embroiled in dozens of political and legal fires, expect many, if not all, of these actors to reprise their roles, as well as a handful of new guest spots.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/saturday-night-live-the-most-memorable-cameos-of-the-trump-era/

[trendingnewsb]

5 Unsung Heroes Who Made Your Favorite Movie Fight Scenes

Not unlike any given trip to IKEA, action movies are chock-full of fights, the difference being that someone has to choreograph all those epic punches and spin-kicks. And since most of us don’t sit through a film’s credits without the promise of, say, Captain America staggering in front of a green screen to advertise a movie that won’t be out for three years, we’d like to take a moment to highlight a few of the cinematic artists who crafted some of our favorite movie fight scenes. Such as …

5

Thank Jonathan Eusebio For John Wick, Black Panther, The Avengers, And More

Loosely based on the story of everyone who watched Marley & Me and then angrily punched a hole in their drywall, John Wick (aka Scruffy Matrix) finds Keanu Reeves hitting and shooting his way to get to the baddies who offed his puppy dog. The fantastic action scenes were choreographed by Filipino American martial artist Jonathan Eusebio, who also worked on the sequel (titled John Wick: Chapter 2, perhaps in an effort to make literature seem more action-filled and exciting).

Summit EntertainmentThis time, he’s killing people for ruining all his shirts in the last movie.

Eusebio has done lots of great work, even in movies hardly anyone saw. Like Hitman: Agent 47, an adaptation of the successful video game series in which Mr. Clean has a midlife crisis, becomes a contract killer, and ransacks Donald Trump’s suit closet. Take this scene, wherein the titular Mr. 47 gets knocked onto a subway train, then rolls onto the tracks …

20th Century Fox“Aw, that was my tra-” “Don’t worry, I’ll help you catch it!”

… leading to a deadly bout of hand-to-hand combat that also involves navigating speeding trains and puddles of urine.

20th Century Fox

20th Century FoxAt least, we hope that’s only urine …

Eusebio has also worked extensively as either a stunt or fight coordinator in Marvel movies such as Deadpool 2, The Avengers, Doctor Strange, The Wolverine, and the cultural juggernaut that is Black Panther. The latter featured giant battles, an extended car chase, and the only casino brawl in history not caused by booze, money, or Celine Dion tickets.

Marvel StudiosPlus the deadliest use of a wig in a non-Steven-Seagal fight scene.

He also worked on the Expendables series, which is presumably the usual process, albeit with more Metamucil breaks. Perhaps most impressively, he was the uncredited fight coordinator in the obligatory “that escalated quickly” sequence in Anchorman 2. Give this dude his Lifetime Achievement Award already.

4

The Guy Who Did They Live Also Turned Matt Damon Into A Badass In The Bourne Series

They Live is John Carpenter’s classic 1988 film about a pair of shades that allow a drifter to see the secret skeleton-faced alien overlords controlling our planet, and until they make a biopic about Bono or David Caruso, no pair of sunglasses will be so damn important in a movie. Perhaps the most memorable part of They Live is an extended fight scene between star and professional wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David, in which they punch each other in a filthy alley for roughly the length of The Eagles’ “Hotel California.”

Universal PicturesThis is your periodic reminder that Piper thought all of this happened for real.

Carpenter delegated the choreography of the scene to his frequent collaborator Jeff Imada, with only the request that “three specific wrestling moves” be a part of it. He doesn’t say which ones, but they probably didn’t involve slamming your opponent into concrete littered with candy wrappers and used condoms.

Universal PicturesIf you go frame by frame, you can see a full pack of bubble gum falling out of his pocket.

But Imada didn’t dissolve into a puddle of water like the aliens at the end of that movie (we think, it’s been a while). His name is on a ton of classic films before and after They Live, including Lethal Weapon, Rambo, Blade Runner, and Charlie Sheen’s magnum opus Hot Shots! Part Deux. More recently, he was the fight choreographer on The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum — two of the ones starring Matt Damon, not his understudy Jeremy Renner.

Universal PicturesAlthough it’s hard to tell who it is with that camerawork.

Imada even did stellar work on otherwise-forgettable movies, such as this epic fight in The Book Of Eli, in which a post-apocalyptic Denzel Washington battles a horde of chainsaw-wielding madmen …

Warner Bros. Pictures

… or the critically panned but occasionally kickass Green Hornet remake, featuring scenes seemingly meant to gaslight audiences into thinking their popcorn was laced with PCP.

Columbia PicturesOr something else, considering Seth Rogen is in this movie.

A way better fight coordinator than a script picker, Imada has also worked in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, After Earth, the Total Recall remake, a couple of Fast & Furious movies, and the Twilight franchise. So if you notice any especially skillful angst-filled werewolf-on-vampire punches, that’s probably due to his expertise.

3

The Transporter‘s Corey Yuen Has Been Kicking Asses For Almost 50 Years

The Transporter sounds like a Star Trek spinoff about the exciting lives of those poor saps who spend eight hours a day standing in a windowless room waiting for someone to decide to beam somewhere. But no, it’s a 2002 action movie starring Jason Statham, Qi Shu, and Jason Statham’s bare chest.

20th Century FoxAnd bare head.

Statham stars as Frank Martin, a guy who transports packages somehow even too shady for UPS. Of course, this allows for a multitude of scenes wherein he kicks the crap out of bad guys, and by metaphorical extension, male pattern baldness as a whole.

20th Century FoxThe famous scene where he interrupts a breakdance competition.

The Transporter was co-directed and choreographed by Corey Yuen, who has a laundry list of martial arts movie credits. Or rather, the laundry list of a hotel hosting a bedwetter’s convention, because this guy’s been making movies since the late ’60s, working with luminaries such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. Yuen’s American directorial debut was No Retreat, No Surrender, which was also the first movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme (unless you count his performance as “Gay Karate Man” a few years earlier).

Behind the scenes, Van Damme was apparently straight up knocking the other actors unconscious. When Yuen chastised him for breaking character to check whether his scene partner was, you know, still alive, they shot a second take … whereupon Van Damme proceeded to knock him out yet again.

Also in Yuen’s filmography are the ’70s kung-fu flick 7 Grandmasters, featuring glorious swordplay like this …

Tokyo Shock

… and the friggin’ nuts Badges Of Fury from 2013. Sadly, it isn’t about anthropomorphic badges (or badgers) that are super angry.

Easternlight Films

Easternlight FilmsThough that wouldn’t be any less believable than the other scientific laws that govern this movie’s universe.

2

Yayan Ruhian And Iko Uwais From The Raid Also Popped Up In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Like the frustrated daydreams of your apartment building’s super, the Indonesian action hit The Raid (subtitled “Redemption” in the U.S. so audiences wouldn’t think it was about bug spray) found a cop ass-kicking his way through a filthy high-rise — like Die Hard, if John McClane wasn’t a middle-aged former sitcom star. The movie concluded in a monumental fight scene only made better by grabbing a Nintendo controller and hurriedly mashing the buttons.

Sony Pictures Classics*play for full effect*

Written and directed by Gareth Evans, the fight choreography was done by stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian — who were so unknown at the time that Uwais was working as a “delivery guy for a phone company” when he met Evans. Of course, after the movie’s success, they soon followed it up with The Raid 2 (Re-Redemption?). It too was full of one insane action scene …

Sony Pictures Classics

… after another …

Sony Pictures ClassicsThose walls were originally white.

The pair’s post-Raid careers haven’t been as plentiful as you might think. While both of them appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they disappointingly merely showed up to verbally threaten Han Solo, presumably because Harrison Ford is far too old to get kicked in the face.

Lucasfilm“Hi, we’re here to deliver your space phone book.”

But it turns out that wasn’t the only highly-anticipated sci-fi sequel the Raid guys worked on. They also showed up in Beyond Skyline! You know, the sequel to that alien invasion movie so low-budget that it was filmed in the director’s apartment. But with Uwais and Ruhian on board as actors as well as choreographers, Beyond Skyline has some surprisingly badass scenes …

Vertical Entertainment

… including one where Ruhian gets his arm ripped off by a damn alien and keeps fighting.

Vertical Entertainment“What’s the sound of one hand hacking?”

1

Road House Was Authentically Nuts Thanks To Benny “The Jet” Urquidez

Road House is a bonkers ’80s action movie starring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer who works to clean up a corrupt town while also roundhouse-kicking anyone under 21. In one of the most memorable fight scenes in any movie, Swayze has a beachside brawl that ends with him ripping out the other guy’s throat with his bare hands. Warning: The following clip is NSFW, unless you work as a bouncer in Missouri, in which case we have to assume this is business as usual.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer“Come again!”

This cinematic gem was partly the work of fight coordinator Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, a champion kickboxer who somehow managed to forge a career as a tough guy even with an Elton-John-inspired nickname. Urquidez once claimed that he was challenged to a fight to the death in a Hong Kong warehouse. He also claims to have won the fight, but refused to kill, leading to an audience riot. Those deathmatch patrons can be real jerks.

Urquidez did the choreography for many more Hollywood movies, even managing to make Lou Diamond Phillips and Marky Mark seem like martial arts masters in The Big Hit, which concludes — in the most ’90s of fashions — in a fight inside a giant video store.

TriStar PicturesThe fight ends with Wahlberg using AOL disks as ninja stars.

Urquidez also performed in some movies. Here he is tussling with Jackie Chan:

Golden Harvest

Golden HarvestHow many of you can say you’ve had your nipples twisted by Jackie Chan? No more than 20.

And you might recognize him from Grosse Pointe Blank as rival hitman Felix La PuBelle, who tries to murder John Cusack at his high school reunion.

Touchstone PicturesWhich, if you’ve ever been to one of those things, would frankly come as a sweet release.

Urquidez landed that gig because he’s John Cusack’s kickboxing teacher, which is apparently a thing John Cusack does to say in shape so he can carry around all his boomboxes.

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter, or check out the podcast Rewatchability.

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[starshower1215]

I love this. Please don't hesitate to give long explanations like this if I've sent you an ask, I want to hear all the details. First of all, nice handwriting, if that is yours, lol. Much lovelier than mine, I always ponder how people are able to read my comics. Second, that makes a lot of sense, and I like it so much, because it fits perfectly into this idea I had of Hange's backstory based on what little evidence we were given, and one which was solidified by the new information from Hajime Isayama. Ugh, I really wish we got a backstory for them sometimes. I would absolutely get to the bottom of this if we had one, but that aside, this is so cool.

I do remember from somewhere (reliable sourcing, I know) that Hange talked of having trouble the first time they used ODM gear. It may have been somewhere with Levi, when they were admiring his skill in ACWNR. So the idea that their athletic ability does not come naturally is likely. I, too, imagined them this way, and very much like Eren had been. Determined to master ODM gear, no matter what. Ohh, as I'm typing this, the ideas that are filling my head. Ugh, I have shit to do, I cannot be doing this.

Thanks for the answer, anyway! Loved all the details. It's really, really making me want to go write, but I can't, damn it.

Hello, hello. I hope your day has been treating you well. I come bearing questions from this post. Do you have any details or further ideas regarding Hange's crush on Keith Shadis? How they behaved around him, what the nature of the infatuation was, maybe more on why, etc.

Heey there! 😇 Yes, thank you so much - I had a good day with some tea and gingerbread hehe! Hope your day is going or has been good, too! ✨️

Ooh yes, Keith Shadis, our dear sunken-eyed, bald-headed friend 🤭 I actually did some thinking and rewatching this afternoon, and now I do have some more thoughts about the whole Hange&Shadis thing! (Still feeling gloriously inadequate to actually try doing an analysis on them, but it truly was a lot of fun! 😁)

I have my own personal timeline for Hange in my mind, so I created a comparison with Shadis's time with the Scouts. I don't know if it'll matter that much for the following ramble, but I'll share it anyway :)

In that flashback scene from 3x11 (Chapter 48), we get to hear Shadis himself talking about the time he met Grisha, and sharing some of his beliefs with us. He always had the drive to know what was outside the walls; he felt trapped inside and wasn't too happy about everyone living in "comfort", simply accepting the situation without actually wanting to change anything about it. I think Hange was also always curious about the world beyond the walls. Her focus was on the Titans, yes, but she was equally fascinated by the ocean and all the new discoveries they made in Marley = the world outside of the walls. In that sense, I believe she felt a connection with Shadis, as those were likely the values he advocated for during his time as Commander, and they clearly resonated with her.

But Shadis believed that in order to accomplish something, one had to be special. He wanted to be special, and over time, he was even convinced himself that he was special, and even better than the others? I think, though, that the whole feeling special thing might’ve sparked that little crush Hange had on Shadis. This is just my personal opinion - it’s not really based on anything - but I can imagine that when Hange joined the Military, she was already exceptionally smart but maybe lacked a bit of skill when it came to actual combat?

He might have been the one who saw beyond that "lack" - he recognised her curiosity about the world and her genuine desire to understand things. (We know he’s very good at reading people; we saw it when Eren & Co. were training). So he made Hange feel special in a sense, because, as mentioned above, he believed that only special people could accomplish (great) things. He recognised her potential and might've been the one who allowed her to join the Scouts, maybe even pushed her to get a better fighter, encouraging her so that she could unfold her full potential (a little like he did with Eren, he could've made sure he didn't enter but in the end, he yielded; and we know Hange can be very persistent, too!)

This might be a slightly silly thing to admit, but it's all for the sake of this analysis sooo xD I remember back when I was in secondary school - I must’ve been around 16 - there was one moment where someone made me feel "special" in a way that hadn't happened before. It was just a little, minor, innocent thing, not even worth mentioning (he pretty much just opened the door for me 😂) but it was such a nice gesture. Because it was the first time something like that happened, I guess it especially stood out to me, and I will (always?) associate it with that person.

Bringing this back to KisuHan (lol xD), Shadis might have been the first one to truly see her abilities, to acknowledge her amazing mind and not dismiss her due to the way she appeared or acted? That's where her infatuation with him started; she felt seen and valued, he made her feel special, so her 15/16/17 year old brain crushed hard on him 😁 (and he still had his hair, sooooo xD) I don't know if she actually wanted to feel special, but since it kind of happened, in a sense it made him feel special to her, too?

(Maybe that was also the reason why she seemed truly mad or hurt when he told them the story about Eren and Grisha, a story he had withheld from all of them for so many years. She might have always thought highly of him, and the first little damper was him stepping back from his role as Commander, and the fact that he kept all that information hidden was another big damper?)

Now if you've made it this far - thank you!! (this turned out much longer than I thought it would be lol) I know, I could've just said "Shadis made feel Hange special." but where's the fun in that? 😂 Of course, this is just my personal opinion or explanation, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on their "relationship", too!

As a farewell, here’s a little photo of our buddy Keith. This was so much fun, thank you sooo much for asking, I really loved thinking about this! 🙌🏼

[storiesofaot]

Hehe I'm glad you didn't mind its length - I wish interpreting books in school was that much fun to be honest! 😂 Yes, that was my handwriting; thank you so much!

I am relieved that you liked it haha, I wasn't sure if it was all a little too far fetched, so I actually went through some of the Manga chapters this afternoon and now kind of have a little compilation of the scenes I mentioned above; I will leave them under the cut.

⬆️ Shadis's view, and his ambition of wanting to know what's outside the walls. (Ch. 71)

⬆️ Shadis's belief that only great people can accomplish anything, and that Hange & Co. are one of those great people (and that he's not).

I think, though, that the whole being special thing actually comes from wanting to give people (or himself?) hope; that’s there is a world outside the walls where they might have a better life? Or at least something to look forward to. He doesn’t want to stand still, he wants to move forward (which makes me wonder if that’s a Commander thing all of them share, but I better not start with that now lol xD) And that hope also exists within Hange, as we can see in these two parts (Chapter 37 & ACWNR) ⬇️

This might be another slight KisuHan connection or parallel, but I don’t know if I’m just going down a rabbit hole here and randomly connecting stuff, which is why I’ll leave it at that (Shadis talking in the first pic) 😂⬇️ (Ch. 71; Ch. 34)

◇

As to what you mentioned about Hange having some trouble using ODM gear at the beginning; I foud that part and you’re right, it was in ACWNR!

There’s also another panel that shows Hange referring to he first expedition outside the walls, and how terrified she had been. This might also be fitting here, since in that moment, she might not have had the skills she has many years later -> she is aware of the great danger they face when they are fighting the Titans. She doesn’t underestimate it and has a necessary respect for them. And that awareness might’ve driven her to improve her combat abilities, and eventually reach the level we see when we first meet her.

I think one of the guidebooks says that her fighting skills are rated 7/10; now I don’t know if that was while she was still Section Commander or already Commander, but either way it could mean that her skills could’ve been lower when she was a recruit.

Oh, the panels, let me give you the panels xD ⬇️ (Ch. 34)

(This makes me wonder whether her fascination with Titans already existed before she joined the Scouts or began only after she joined them? Ugh I agree; I would’ve loved to know more about her past 😭)

Sooo many thoughts, and the ending isn’t that much about KisuHan anymore hehe but it is about Hange and I love Hange, so it’s fine! 🤭

Write little key points onto your paper, about the things you want to write about, or make a voice recording on your phone so that you have everything ready once you have time 🤭 (I feel you, though; life gets in the way SO many times 🙄) I hope you’ll find the time to write about it!!

Again, this turned out a little longer than I thought it would, but I hope it's still fitting! Have a great week! ✨️

Hello, hello. I hope your day has been treating you well. I come bearing questions from this post. Do you have any details or further ideas regarding Hange's crush on Keith Shadis? How they behaved around him, what the nature of the infatuation was, maybe more on why, etc.

Heey there! 😇 Yes, thank you so much - I had a good day with some tea and gingerbread hehe! Hope your day is going or has been good, too! ✨️

Ooh yes, Keith Shadis, our dear sunken-eyed, bald-headed friend 🤭 I actually did some thinking and rewatching this afternoon, and now I do have some more thoughts about the whole Hange&Shadis thing! (Still feeling gloriously inadequate to actually try doing an analysis on them, but it truly was a lot of fun! 😁)

I have my own personal timeline for Hange in my mind, so I created a comparison with Shadis's time with the Scouts. I don't know if it'll matter that much for the following ramble, but I'll share it anyway :)

In that flashback scene from 3x11 (Chapter 48), we get to hear Shadis himself talking about the time he met Grisha, and sharing some of his beliefs with us. He always had the drive to know what was outside the walls; he felt trapped inside and wasn't too happy about everyone living in "comfort", simply accepting the situation without actually wanting to change anything about it. I think Hange was also always curious about the world beyond the walls. Her focus was on the Titans, yes, but she was equally fascinated by the ocean and all the new discoveries they made in Marley = the world outside of the walls. In that sense, I believe she felt a connection with Shadis, as those were likely the values he advocated for during his time as Commander, and they clearly resonated with her.

But Shadis believed that in order to accomplish something, one had to be special. He wanted to be special, and over time, he was even convinced himself that he was special, and even better than the others? I think, though, that the whole feeling special thing might’ve sparked that little crush Hange had on Shadis. This is just my personal opinion - it’s not really based on anything - but I can imagine that when Hange joined the Military, she was already exceptionally smart but maybe lacked a bit of skill when it came to actual combat?

He might have been the one who saw beyond that "lack" - he recognised her curiosity about the world and her genuine desire to understand things. (We know he’s very good at reading people; we saw it when Eren & Co. were training). So he made Hange feel special in a sense, because, as mentioned above, he believed that only special people could accomplish (great) things. He recognised her potential and might've been the one who allowed her to join the Scouts, maybe even pushed her to get a better fighter, encouraging her so that she could unfold her full potential (a little like he did with Eren, he could've made sure he didn't enter but in the end, he yielded; and we know Hange can be very persistent, too!)

This might be a slightly silly thing to admit, but it's all for the sake of this analysis sooo xD I remember back when I was in secondary school - I must’ve been around 16 - there was one moment where someone made me feel "special" in a way that hadn't happened before. It was just a little, minor, innocent thing, not even worth mentioning (he pretty much just opened the door for me 😂) but it was such a nice gesture. Because it was the first time something like that happened, I guess it especially stood out to me, and I will (always?) associate it with that person.

Bringing this back to KisuHan (lol xD), Shadis might have been the first one to truly see her abilities, to acknowledge her amazing mind and not dismiss her due to the way she appeared or acted? That's where her infatuation with him started; she felt seen and valued, he made her feel special, so her 15/16/17 year old brain crushed hard on him 😁 (and he still had his hair, sooooo xD) I don't know if she actually wanted to feel special, but since it kind of happened, in a sense it made him feel special to her, too?

(Maybe that was also the reason why she seemed truly mad or hurt when he told them the story about Eren and Grisha, a story he had withheld from all of them for so many years. She might have always thought highly of him, and the first little damper was him stepping back from his role as Commander, and the fact that he kept all that information hidden was another big damper?)

Now if you've made it this far - thank you!! (this turned out much longer than I thought it would be lol) I know, I could've just said "Shadis made feel Hange special." but where's the fun in that? 😂 Of course, this is just my personal opinion or explanation, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on their "relationship", too!

As a farewell, here’s a little photo of our buddy Keith. This was so much fun, thank you sooo much for asking, I really loved thinking about this! 🙌🏼