#like yes Cora's story is nuanced and I love it

[dissneyadult]

came across an article the other day about an "undeserved redemption arc" in o.uat and i didnt read it bc i didnt want it to be about regina. and then i felt like getting angry tonight so i looked it up again (rant under the cut)

so yes, spoiler alert, the article IS about regina "not deserving" her redemption. but here's the thing.

YES, regina committed atrocities. she's guilty of murder, ravaging villages, poisonings, etc. but the regina who earns a redemption arc is NOT that regina (also something something you can get away with a LOT in fairy tales without crossing the line, ouat is a soap opera, etc).

regina is such a nuanced and flawed character and that shows from the get-go. it takes her a LONG time to even consider that she can change and be a good person. she's selfish. she wants power. she wants love. but she also hasn't ALWAYS been that way.

seeing her in her younger years is honestly kind of heartbreaking bc it's such a stark contrast to evil queen/1st season regina. she's kind and genuine and loving. in fact, SHE'S the one who tells snow that "love is the most powerful magic of all." she doesn't want the life her mother has arranged for her (becoming royalty, all-powerful, etc). she just wants to live her life. ffs she falls for the stable boy and wants to elope with Him!!! and even when that's ripped away from her, she doesn't "turn evil" right away.

she's devastated and heartbroken but she still tries. she tries so hard to escape because she KNOWS she'll be miserable and angry every day for the rest of her life if this keeps up. she's even a good mom to snow at first and she freaks out when she realizes she's having homicidal fantasies!!! she doesn't WANT to hurt people. she doesn't even really want to use magic because it means she'll be just like her mom!

hers is a story of a vicious cycle of abuse (and a cycle she tries Desperately to stop once she recognizes it). she's also an abuser, yes, but like the old addage goes, villains are Made. if not for her mom regina would be so normal!!!

all of this said, there is no excuse for her actions! directing her rage at snow, who was a CHILD when she "betrayed regina's trust," is absolutely ridiculous and i will never stop making fun of it. committing atrocities because of her lust for power and revenge is obviously inexcusable. but again! storybrooke regina is NOT evil queen regina!

i genuinely think her turning point was when she adopted henry. before she was the evil queen, she absolutely had good maternal instincts and would have made a great mother. adopting henry was definitely a bit selfish, especially because the idea came to her after she tried to kidnap and forcibly adopt a kid akfjsk, but i do think she had good intentions in the end. she struggles as a parent at first (as she puts it, she doesn't know how to love) and even considers giving henry back when she convinces herself that he doesn't love her.

but just before she does, she finally has a bonding moment with him. she's able to soothe him for the first time ever and that changes her mind. she isn't unlovable; this kid is a blank slate and he is finally starting to warm up to her. she loves henry ok that is her son.

but like...if it weren't for henry (and how much she loves him), i genuinely do not think regina would ever see the error in her ways. it is only when her child expresses disgust for her actions and reflects the ideals SHE had as a kid/teen that she starts to rethink everything. there's a whole ass episode where storybrooke regina adopts the techniques cora (her mom) used back in the day, but when she sees the toll it is taking on henry, she STOPS. she lets him go because she understands that she cannot force him to love her.

her redemption arc is a VERY slow burn, but that is Necessary. it wouldn't be satisfying if she decided out of nowhere that she wanted to be good- but she wants to be better for HENRY. henry makes her want to change. she wants to be a mom that he won't reject. she wants to be a mom he will love.

i'm not saying that she hasn't done horrible things- rewatching ouat with my husband is a fucking Trip because the change in regina as a person is so dramatic and crazy (and still feels earned/justified!!!)- but she did deserve the redemption arc she got, 1000%. seeing her fight with herself and try everything she can to "defeat" her evil self is legitimately heartbreaking. and like...

the point of her redemption isn't that her crimes are forgivable; the point is that, no matter what you've done in the past, you have the potential to change and be better. even the most heinous villain can become good. and i think that's a fantastic message!!!

i don't understand how ANYONE can say regina didn't earn the ending she did. she fought hard to earn her place in season 6's finale. she put the work in to genuinely better herself. she tries so fucking hard and i'm actually furious that anyone can diminish that effort as "undeserved."

TL;DR: regina is best girl and her redemption arc is fantastic and earned thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[swanqueensalad]

TRIGGERWARNING!

Without triggering anyone I wanna ask two things:

1) Was Cora ever physically abbussive towards Regina?

2) I know many ppl's head canon is that Leopold raped Regina again and again as his bride, but is that your headcanon too?

ok again TRIGGER WARNING for abuse & SA (and brief mention of suicide) for anyone reading/scrolling!

i'm going to just explain my personal interpretation of the show and these subjects, bc i find regina so interesting and heartbreaking. and i actually do think part of what makes regina so fascinating as a character is her relationship within the cycle of abuse and how yes, she was incredibly hurt and manipulated all her life, but she eventually managed to break free of it all and work to be better for her own child.

buckle up because i have a lot of feelings and this is probably going to be LONG

so, my thoughts on exactly what happened and why regina is as fucked up as she is:

so yeah, cora was a horrific parent. it's canon that she abused regina both emotionally and physically for practically all her life.

in practically her very first scene, we see cora using magic to hurt her eighteen year old daughter - to violently restrain her/drop her to the ground when she 'misbehaves' which pretty clearly says this is a woman who uses power and fear as a control tactic, and is not afraid of physically hurting regina.

and if this is what she was doing when regina is almost an adult, i think it's safe to assume she's been doing it since she was very young - regina's response 'please don't, i'll be good' is the conditioned response of a much younger child. everything about the way regina was written, her relationship with cora, and the way lana and the directors chose to play it screams abuse victim. she is hypervigilant - she jumps when people come close or make sudden noises. when she's choked with magic she immediately knows not to struggle or fight back. as a young girl, she is terrified of doing things wrong.

(also, when we get the flashback to actual 10 year old regina, cora says she can't help her because 'it needs to be someone who's magic has never hurt her')

while i think most of the time cora relied on magic to physically punish regina - knowing how much regina particularly hated it/was afraid of it - i think she was definitely not above slapping her for more minor infractions

beyond just physical abuse, cora was clearly emotionally distant and got regina to a place of being pretty touch-starved and desperate for affection. (lana and barbara play this so masterfully as well) we see her being constantly, nastily critical of everything her daughter does.

i think it's also implied in the regina rising book that cora was controlling/restrictive of regina's food to ensure she stayed thin/attractive which is just a whole other can of worms

as for leopold. please bear with me while i RANT:

nothing will ever make me more mad than the fact this man was never held accountable in the narrative for his role in regina's story and how absolutely fucking awful he was.

first of all, even before he meets regina, he is dodgy af. he supposedly genuinely loves cora, but throws her out immediately when he discovers her pregnancy without even asking her if it's true/discussing it. also, even in that flashback the man is visibly much older than cora and even more so than eva, who he actually does marry (although i do believe they came to truly love each other). so yeah he has a habit of Not Listening to women and not looking at women his own age

and then we get to regina. the eighteen year old daughter of his ex fiancee (younger even than the unborn child who cora carried when she was engaged to him)

yes i think he raped her. because powerful old men do not marry pretty eighteen year olds for the company. (also, if it was just so snow would have a mother figure, well, she already had her maid joanna. and if snow really wanted regina around that badly, leopold could have just brought her to court as a lady in waiting, a fitting role for a noblewoman, and more appropriate seeing as regina was only about eight years older than snow)

regina is visibly distressed by the proposal. she is panicked. she looks to her father to help. cora accepts the proposal for her. and leopold does not care. i think this tells u all u need to know about his views on consent

(also it all gets ickier when you remember leopold was attracted to cora, and regina is considered to look like cora did when she was younger)

leopold clearly had zero interest in regina as a person. he used her for arm candy for events, to make snow happy, and to keep his bed warm. (later, he invades her privacy so much regina counts on him reading her diary as a thoughtless and integral part of a plan, and locks her up for receiving a present from another man) and yet he is never treated as a villain or ever held accountable (besides regina killing him - good for her - but even then it's framed more as a way to villainise her for tricking sidney) and it makes me FURIOUS

i sometimes see the take that leopold might have stopped raping her towards the latter years of their marriage, but i disagree - i think maybe it did get fewer and farther between, but regina was still his wife who he only saw as serving a few purposes, and the way he is so possessive of her in 1x011 makes no sense otherwise, seeing as he was so uninterested in her in every other way

i do think a lot of regina's rage and vendetta against snow is because of this abuse too.

hear me out: in s1 especially, both snow and regina refer to snow as 'ruining her life'. because regina blamed her for everything that happened to her. not only did snow cause daniel's murder, it was her desire for regina as a mother that prompted leopold to marry her.

and this marriage was hell. and i think people don't realise how long it lasted either - snow went from a child to at least her late teens before regina killed leopold. regina was a traumatised young girl, grieving the love of her life, with no friends, no allies, nobody except the literal dark one who was grooming her for his own gain. (no wonder she clung to the brief sense of freedom and control his lessons offered. no wonder she nearly killed herself.)

and while regina suffered, she was forced to play with snow white every day, who was so spoiled, so loved, so happy, and had no idea of the life she had unwittingly trapped regina in.

so yeah, it's all pretty dark.

and it's for all these reasons i think ouat ended up shying away from many more regina backstory episodes centring on the time she was married/pre-evil queen years, because they were on abc after all, and i don't think they were really equipped to deal with the horrendousness of the story they'd created

but lana most certainly did her work becaue i think all of this nuance does show in her portrayal

and it all just makes regina's ending - the good queen, in her own name, safe and strong and loved, part of a true family, her bond with snow healed - so much more of a relief.

[chromatic-lamina]

Yees, character game, how about one of the donquixote brothers? Either would be great ;)

Yes, yes, yes! You’re going to get both. I’ll do Rosi in another post. This one’s for the pink feathered bastard. 🕸🕷

I was hoping emojis had a flamingo emoji, but no such luck, so spiders it is. ↑

favorite thing about them:

Oh man, he is so super over the top extra. He just reminds me of Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, except he gets better lines. Of course, Oda layers all of his villains, so Doff’s our chorus, in a way, even while being an instigator of a lot of harm, possibly in reaction to harm.

I think he’s amoral, but with that he’ll invest enough in people and infrastructure to get what he wants and some good can come from that. 

Your work has made me view him in a more nuanced way, but he’s still my go-to villain cos he’s so much fun to write and explore.

So, apart from his personality, let’s say his pink coat. I love those coats (his and Rosi’s). 

least favorite thing about them:

Well, he’s a bastard, right? Caused and inflicted a lot of harm. For the purpose of story though, as said above, he’s got other aspects that mean he definitely isn’t two-dimensional. 

He was so chaotically evil, or indifferent, at Marineford, he really caused a lot of trouble. With the Whitebeards, with Oars Jr. (ah, his leg), but it was wonderful too. We particularly saw how he mistreated Riku Dold and Bellamy—so, y’know, as a real person he’d be pretty low down on my list of favourites, but Oda just went to town on making him a form of likeable and evil, whereas say, Walpole os Spandam don’t have the backbone or the sexy factor (backstories help of course).

Look, if he wasn’t an arsehole I wouldn’t have any writing material. So um, just the fact we haven’t seen him more often in Wano Arc (in reflection, feedback, or in the Reverie interlude), but that’s fine too. Doff will have his chance to cast his ito ito web again. Gonna edit my favourite pic in here, cos I’ve got an ‘after the cut” in this post.

favorite line:

His three speeches are golden. The one about justice and the child of war and child of peace, and the victors writing history tells us so much about the OP world, but also the world in general.

In the brig—when he’s soliloquising to a very unimpressed Tsuru, about the ushering in of the huge era of chaos, now that he’s been taken down and the ties that have been holding all the governing bodies or powerful bodies in some form of detente (so the World Government can do its thing) are fraying like crazy. And then his Impel Down speech. I put it in a drabble but can’t remember it now. Ah, about power not lasting. Back to what do I like about Doffy? Even though he regards himself as a god, he also seems to have a pretty good handle on how quickly the winds of fortune change, and how ephemeral things are. He’s definitely a fighter, and not often at the bottom of the pack.

brOTP:

Does Doff do brOTPs? Yeah, maybe Vergo. It’d be good to learn more about their early days, and Tsuru in their own way. From your A Test of Endurance, I loved that chapter where I think you had Mihawk, Croc and Doff interacting, I think, or maybe just Croc and Mihawk, anyway, I remember having a discussion where you said they were all batshit crazy at Marineford, and it’s true. So I don’t know if these guys are supportive of each other in a brOTP way, but they’ve definitely got that frat competitive energy, albeit with a more sophisticated edge (or bigger cutting power). 

I mean, I’d like to see him interact with a few others of that generation—Shanks, Marco.

OTP:

Doffadile: If we’re talking about healthy ships. 

I don’t mind him with Vergo either, healthy or unhealthy ship. I’ve read fics of him with Monet and Viola, and that’s fine, but he needs to keep that edge he has. I actually like some of the crackier ships like Luffy and Doffy, which are obviously with canon pretty subverted. 

Unhealthy ships, and I won’t call it an OTP, but yeah, I write Doff///Law and read it, but I don’t want Law to stay in that situation.

I’ve seen some crack ships of Doffy and Tsuru in fanart, with a love sick Doffy smitten for Tsuru, and Tsuru patronising him like crazy, and Doffy lapping it up. That appeals to my sense of the absurd and something that could possibly happen cos Doff’s all about thinking outside of the box.

nOTP: 

Okay, I’ve read these ships, and sometimes I enjoy the work, and each to their absolute own. I know some folks don’t like what I write either, so I’ll just plunge in.

Not really keen on yes-con Doff///Law, though there’s some good stuff out there. The main reason being that it seems that Law never had the chance to make an independent life for himself so I kinda get a feeling of being trapped or of claustrophobia when I read it. So yeah, I know it doesn’t work for me. 

If they meet as adult strangers I don’t mind so much, but the power imbalance usually means it’s not a go-to.  I mean, they really didn’t have a sweet relationship in canon.

Doff///Cora is not my go-to, but there are some stories I like, and I really like some of the art. Cora’s already had a tough life (same as Law). I kinda want the both of them to have some space to themselves at some time.

Otherwise, no-one really. 

random headcanon:

Doff...hmm, I write him as such a bad villain...oh, I know! He definitely wears a g-string. He’s kinda vain like that (I mean, we’re talking about blowing Doffy all out of proportion here). I wouldn’t put it beyond him to wear a mankini and to wear it proud! 

(I know you love him. Me too, but he has so much potential for any situation). He’s shameless. Also, yeah, he’s also on some step or stage of the sociopathic/psychopathic spectrum.

unpopular opinion:

I’ve seen it mentioned before, and since Dressrosa was published, but I think that some fanfic glosses over the fact that Doff’s done some pretty heinous things in canon, like redeeming him beyond recognition. Crack fics and fluff fics, AUs are another thing. But it can tip the other way (guilty) of making him even more heinous than he already is.

song i associate with them:

“Da ya think I’m sexy?” Particularly the lines: “If ya want my body, and ya think I’m sexy, c’mon sugar (NOT that Sugar) tell me so”

and

“I’m too sexy for my shirt

Too sexy for my shirt

So sexy it hurts”.

fave pic:

There are so many good ones, but I’ll go for the Croc and Doff one as fashion designers from the One Piece magazine, and I’ve posted that above.

Hope the above’s okay. I love a crack Doflamingo, but also a complete bastard, and also the amazing layered characterisation you have of him too.

Thanks for the ask. Law, Tashigi, Usopp, Zoro, Luffy, Marco Kid, Chopper and Doflamingo are completed!  Rosinante is lined up.

Just taking a few more (one or two) if anyone’s interested. One of the OP ladies?

↓

character asks (one piece only)

[votsalot]

Downton Abbey Oppositions Tag Game by @naevery​

I was tagged by @oleander4​ - thank you so much!

1. Favourite plotline from your least favourite season?

Season four is my least favorite because it’s a season of vacancies where they find themselves trying to replace three key players plot-wise with.....mixed...results. But one thing I think season 4 touched on that could’ve been really interesting was Jack and Rose; Jack was a total sweetheart, and a singer, and cute, and I think they deserved some more fleshing out and time on-screen instead of being something everyone forgot about. Downton Abbey generally needed more characters of color from season 1 onward, so Jack’s presence was very welcome. I wish he’d been given more love and respect from the writer’s room, though. There could’ve been a very nuanced portrayal of an interracial relationship from the 1920s, and they could’ve used it as an opportunity to give more roles of substance to actors of color. What we got wasn’t that.

2. Least favourite plotline from your favourite season?

My favorite season is season 2 --> I think my least favorite plot line was the Daisy / William “love” story. The whole thing is just super uncomfortable to sit through, and I feel bad for William because he’s a kid that’s drank the patriotism juice that everyone was loving in 1916, and you know he talks big about doing his bit but did he ever think he was really going to die?? And I feel bad for Daisy because she is only into him because Mrs. Patmore said he would die on front if she didn’t say she’d be his girl....and then be his fiancee...and then marry him....and yeah, she got a widow’s pension out of it, but I think the WIDOW variable kind of detracts from the $$$ part of that equation. Anyway. It’s sad from all angles and it fills me with a deep sense of second-hand dread.

3. What’s a quality that you actually like about (one of) your least favourite main/regular character(s)?

I like that Bates can pick locks and forge hand writing. We love some mischief. As wiser minds have said before me, rock solid evidence this man fucking killed his wife.

4. What’s your least favourite quality of your favourite character?

Least favorite quality of Thomas’s is when he’s intentionally cruel without any reason to be. For example, making light of Cora’s miscarriage and bullying Baxter in season 4/5. Sucks bad. 

5. What’s your favourite thing that your least favourite main/regular character has done?

My favorite thing Bates did was get Jimmy, Alfred, and O’Brien to cancel the “Fire Thomas” cavalcade. My feelings about why that parade was even a plot point in the first place are very complicated, but this was an efficient use of Saint Bates, even if looking back at it too closely tempts God to smite me by turning me into a pillar of salt. 

6.  What’s your least favourite thing that your favourite character has done?

My least favorite thing Thomas has ever done was write to the police that Baxter knew more about the murder of Mr. Green. I hate that whole story line. The show would be better on the whole if it didn’t happen, and season 4/5 could spend the extra time establishing that Edith is bisexual and making a bunch of gay writer friends instead. Anna never goes to prison. Rob James Collier delivered on the unhinged, “Because I FEEL like it,” though, so that’s something we could keep.

7. What’s a positive aspect about (one of) your least favourite ship(s)?

A positive aspect of Tom / Sarah Bunting is that Sarah Bunting was in proximity to Daisy and taught her to read. Run away, Miss Bunting. Onto a better show, where you lead marches and organize rallies and covertly teach kids about imperialism being evil instead of being the socialist strawman JF beats up at the dinner table.

8. What’s an aspect about your favourite ship that you don’t like?

An aspect of Thomas / Richard that I don’t like? They don’t spend enough time together. I think there should be a group proposal to fix this in Downton Abbey 2. Richard and Thomas should get two and a half hours of screen time, and then all the straight romances can get 5 minutes

Extra -

Matthew / Mary, I don’t like how the passion kind of goes *pffft* in season 3. They’re still cute, but instead of the longing and anguish over being apart, they’re arguing about what to do with Lavinia’s money....realistic? Yes. Sexy? Not to me, but if you think it is I unironically admire your ability to transmute the mundane. Bring back the psychic-connection-red-string-of-fate shivers, please.

9. What’s your favourite and least favourite styling/outfit of your favourite and/or least favourite character? (feel free to add pics if you want!)

Most of Thomas’s looks are iconic, he’s got his fingers on some kind of fashion pulse, which makes sense because that’s his job. He can’t have his bosses walking around looking bad. That being said...this is one of my favorites:

And I’m not really sure why. This is also good:

 Also his season 3 ensemble. Spiffy. And more or less every time he’s out of uniform, except for the whole striped ensemble in the season 3 Christmas Special. 

Striped suit ensemble is my least favorite styling. Take away the jacket, the hat - but that’s very 2020 of me to say.

More like this! 

And the wig in season 4...they spend so much money on wigs that look like a Marcel waves and you can’t tell they’re hairpieces, so why did the one they pick for RJC while his hair grew back look like that? Some sources said production spent 5,000 euros on it - I can’t think about it, it’s too painful.

tagging @sybbie-crawley​, @helpmemarty​, @waistcoat35​, @silentgirlspeaksout​ - you don’t have to do it, but if you’re looking for something to do!  Pass it along, this was fun.

[life-of-will]

I really like Mass Effect: Andromeda

So I picked up Mass Effect: Andromeda about two weeks ago and proceeded to poor over 80 hours into one playthrough.  So yeah, I really liked it.  Which got me thinking why I really like it and why it has such a bad rep.  Andromeda came out over two years ago now and I understand when it launched there were actual game play problems.  Broken quests, deleted saves and crashing games are not acceptable launch conditions and I am not here to defend that in any way.  But! Many reviewers as well as the parts of the fandom (hard to tell how much) seem to really dislike the story and characters of the game.  I’m here to talk about why I love them and really hope there is a sequel.

The characters are all consistent with the theme of new beginnings, both in terms of place but also identity.  Specifically the shedding of stereotypes.  Suvi (I romanced her and she’s such a cutie) is a scientist that is spiritual.  Clear stereotype breaking.  Drack is a 1400 year old Krogan that has seen the worst of Krogan and the worst done to the Krogan and while he will fight he is smarter than a lot of his younger fellows because he realizes peace and cooperation are the path forward, something he obviously imbued in Kesh.  Vetra a Turian that’s not super militaristic, cares for those outside the social hierarchy and is obviously very diplomatic given her many connections. Not something Turians are known for more of an Asari trait.  Which brings me to Peebee.  The least Asari Asari we’ve met in the Mass Effect universe.  Yes she’s in her maiden stage but we haven’t seen an Asari act so rashly before.  Liara was about the same age as Peebee in the original Mass Effect but she was shy and not outgoing.  Peebee disparages long term thinking and planning opposite of most Asari interacted with across all the games.  Kallo directly tells you he rejected his cushy job in order to explore.  Gil a man that is always joking, surprisingly good poker wants to have a child.  In most stories this type of character would never approach parenting expect when joking.  Cora a human biotic that spent years with Asari commandos would seem like the Miranda type character to conflict with the player character’s leadership but instead she immediately trusts Ryder and offers her support.  Liam, ah Liam.  It seems like he might be the most disliked squad mate in the game.  I think this comes from his genuine and unfaltering optimism in the Initiative.  Let’s be honest a lot of people these days are cynical and perhaps for good reason and when confronted with optimism tend to scorn it.  And I’ll admit Liam was annoying at the beginning but by the half way point his antics with Jaal and his optimism made me smile.  Jaal is probably the hardest to fit into this dynamic since it is his home but he does end up embracing the Pathfinder and the crew as another family for himself.  Lexi’s played by Natalie Dormer so obviously she’s great.  The game also shows the damage stereotypes can do.  Most notably in Tann’s rejection of the Krogan and the Roekaar’s lumping of the Initiative with the Kett.

Speaking of the Kett, I think they have the potential to be a much more interesting villain than the Reapers.  Now, I love the original trilogy and the Reapers and I think I might be the only person who liked Mass Effect 3′s ending pre-extended cut. (Liked the extended cut too)  The idea of an AI taking its programming to a logical extreme is something we have to start worrying about in the real world but it does limit story options.  The Kett on the other hand are a biological enemy made up of individuals which means there is room for lots of growth.  I think the reason people saw the Kett as one-dimensional is because they are by design.  The Kett encountered in the game are only military expedition personal, we meet no civilians, no politicians, no one but military.  All those other types are hinted at in codex entries and logs but not a lot is revealed.  The potential for the Kett to be an interesting and nuanced factor in future games is 100% there.

There is also so much potential for future conflicts within the Initiative, with the Exiles, with the Krogan Colony and with the Angara.  Not to mention the Jardaan are probably still out there and the mystery of who unleashed the Scourge on them remains.  The Ryder family’s own drama around their mother is also quite compelling.  As well as the knowledge of the Reaper attack that the Pathfinder has now.

I could write about a lot more and maybe I will another time.  I think the touching on colonization and indigenous reaction is fascinating and could be discussed at length and dived into deeper in future games.  I know people were let down by the buggy launch and the graphics problems (I personally don’t care about graphics but I know many people do).  But Andromeda is a solid game with great combat, an interesting story and good characters.  I hope Bioware continues the story and that they address the very real failures of the first game.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X10 - The Cricket Game

I’m loving this Season’s villains! I think they’re...CORA-upting me!!! XD

It’s okay, Reggie! You know I’m PUN-OMENAL at these!

If you want to read my actual thoughts on this episode (And BOY do I have some opinions), hit me up by going down below the cut!

Press Release Regina is accused of murdering one of the town’s most beloved fairytale characters – but only Emma senses that she may be innocent. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, after capturing the Evil Queen, Snow White and Prince Charming set about planning her public execution in order to rid the land of her murderous tyranny. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past The trapping Regina scene in the flashback captivates Snow’s character in essence. Snow is not a stupid woman. She knows from experience what Regina is capable of, so she took the precaution of bringing reinforcements. However, she still has the kindness and love that the world (Both in and out of universe) came to know and love her for by attempting for diplomacy with Regina and later mourning the fact that Regina didn’t take it after the fact.

Apart from that, this is honestly a very frustrating segment. That’s because from where I stand, Regina at this point in her life absolutely deserved to die, and it was moronic of Snow not to let that happen.

And I get that that’s the point of the segment. Snow learns what everyone else already knew: Regina can’t change. However, the problem comes where this episode tries to make Snow and Charming’s debate one of equal merit to try to play up to a level of ambiguity. The episode is trying so hard to convince me that Snow might be in the right for wanting to spare Regina from execution, but is actually giving the explanation and diligence of dialogue to Charming. Charming’s coming across as barely ruthless, and his words are those that make sense and are given truth by the fact that we have seen what Regina is capable of. Hell, Regina, in the moments before the execution says that she regrets not having caused more pain.

And if they’re not going for an ambiguous plot and Snow is unabashedly supposed to be wrong in this flashback, then it’s just an honestly boring flashback. The segment itself doesn’t explore anything or lead to any unique character moments. While it’s nice to see Regina and Henry Sr. talk again, their conversation is pointless and gives us nothing that we haven’t gotten before. It honestly shouldn’t have existed because it paints Snow and Charming’s rule, something that was supposed to be fair and strong, albeit stuck in a conflict with Regina’s kingdom, into a bit of a joke. Now, in relation to the present, is it better that Regina lives? Yes, but this flashback is so fresh off the boat of detailing all of the harm that she caused in Season 1 that it would’ve had more effectiveness had it aired in a later season where present Regina could’ve had a lot more goodness at her back and her past been more distanced. As it stands, it’s a flashback that works semi effectively for Regina, but at the cost of reinforcing Regina’s more evil qualities and making Snow seem like not only a detrimental pacifist (And to be frank, an idiot), but an unjust ruler to all of her friends who lost what and who they cared for at Regina’s hands. It was actually painful to watch the scene between Snow and Charming after the failed execution, and not in the good way (It’s made even worse by the fact that Snow is so much smarter in the present). Snow’s not presenting a good enough argument to spare Regina against someone who is framed semi-negatively who has every reasonable reason to want to kill her, and it’s even revealed during her conversation with Rumple (“I don’t even know if it’s possible.”) that she doesn’t even have complete confidence in her decision while it risks the safety of her entire kingdom. How am I supposed to retain my confidence that Snow has what it takes to rule when this is how she handles such a big decision? Present I love the story here. It feels like the logical continuation of the story for out mains: What do we do with Regina now? Emma feels mixed, but her love for Henry and after dealing with Cora for an extended amount of time paints her as more willing to at least hear Regina out going forward (Though with understandable limits) while Snow and Charming who have encountered Regina at her worst for far longer are far more reluctant, and that conflict of feelings is the driving point behind the story. Now, do I consider Emma a touch too forgiving? Somewhat, but I also feel like said experiences with Cora paired with an understanding of the path bad parenting can turn on onto and genuine gratefulness for her return home makes it work well enough, especially with their argument during the party!

If I had a complaint about this segment (And it’s honestly a nitpick), it would be at Emma trying to pretend that there’s this connection between her and Regina about trying to change. Now, it’s effective enough, showing how Emma wants to be a mother to Henry while Regina’s trying to change her life, but I feel like the balance of that comparison never quite felt as strong as it could’ve.

Also, let’s talk about the “my son” line. I take no issue with it and actually applaud the line. It’s appropriately framed as the moment where Emma’s gone too far when she says it, but because as far as she knows, Regina has just squandered her own redemption, something she was trying to do for Henry’s sake, and then had the nerve to lie about it. It’s supposed to be a frustrating yet understandable response and it annoys me how so many refuse to accept that there are layers to this line and conversation that are delivered through framing and think that this is some issue where sides need to be definitively taken on who was “right.” That’s not how this works. Also, it had an appropriate level of setup because Emma was definitely responsive to Regina’s snipe at her during the party as to her skills as a mother. We see that throughout the episode, Emma’s been taking more steps to take on a direct motherly role to Henry after that conversation at the party. It culminates so well so at the moment she’s lost faith in Regina’s innocence, she’s lost faith in her ability to be a mother too. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -The opening shot of this episode is the most underrated shot in the entire series. It’s cool, dark, and Killian’s standing in the moonlight like a badass. It’s the first frame we see without even a recap or intro, but it pulls me in like nothing else in the world! And as the moment intensifies and we here Killian’s theme as he looks upon an unsuspecting Storybrooke and later jumps off his ship, it only gets better. Gif makers, make more gifs of this because I don’t see these shota on my dash at all and that’s a fucking problem! Like, it’s badass Hook! How is this not the centerpiece art or inspiration for like a dozen fics, no matter what you ship?! Like, Killian could either be a good guy or a bad guy in that! So please, just use this gif more! -Cora and Killian have a great rapport. While Killian’s not dumb by any means, we see how his vengeance tends to blind him and how someone more reserved in her thinking like Cora (EFor as INCREDIBLY fucked up as she is) can keep his thoughts in check. -Cora! Don’t kill the nice tackle shop employee! Rude af, ya bitch! And thank you, Killian for at least having the decency not to kill him. -I talk a LOT more about the tacos scene in the “Flip My Ship” section of this reviews (Or should I say, I TACO bout it), but the aftermath with Henry and Emma is hysterical and it only gets better with time. The line that brings the joke home (“It’s impressive that we can still provide her with a few traumatic childhood memories at this stage of the game”) just cements it as one of OUAT’s eternal shining moments. -Why did we not see Snow and Charming take down King George? At risk of dipping my toe into the salt pool, I feel like King George was really done dirty in the name of getting more characters when he was dripping with nuance. I’m not mad, per se seeing as we got that great castle storming last season, but there were more than a couple of eyes rolled when that bit of exposition was delivered to Regina. -It is just too cute to see Snow and Emma walking into a party only to be cheered by all their friends. Like, that just warms my heart. -On a sadder note, I realized how Emma’s name on the sign is smaller and not of the same material, almost like an add on. I don’t know if that was supposed to be read as a subtle hint from the set designers that Emma doesn’t fully fit in yet or what, but that hurts so much! -”I cannot tell you the relief of cooking something that I didn’t have to kill first.” “Don’t I know it. Meat loaf back home? What a bitch.” Another great set of funny lines! -On another funny note, I’m just imagining somewhere in town, Killian and Cora are walking around with ALL of the modern world jokes happening in the background! Fic writers (Maybe just me): GET ON THIS! -Charming’s speech is just so great here! It’s funny (“Here’s to hopefully not having to look for a while), adorable, and creates this very at-home mood. -Leroy, way to rush for the knife! XD And “What’s the secret ingredient? Poison?” is just a riot! -Mad props to Regina for her respect for the new paradigm of her standings with Henry’s custody. Like, look at Season 1 Regina, and there’s this big change! BUT also, I like how the writing shows how she’s not suddenly a goody-two shoes. Regina has anger issues and that comes out in a nasty and petty way. This was a good decision, especially given how fast she realizes her mistake and apologizes! And that real sincere apology is accepted, but the nastiness and pettiness doesn’t fully go away either, as evidenced by her talk with Dr. Hopper shortly afterwards! The character work at here is just gorgeous! -Cora is terrifying. She knows from just one look at Regina how “broken” she is. (As a side not, I’m now thinking of the title of the Season 1 premiere, “Broken” and how it relates to Regina. -”Reminding them of my past?” Archie told Emma nothing about your past and even you know that! -”I fear the Queen will never change.” I like this line, not only because it contrasts between Jiminy’s resolve in the past and present towards Regina, but how it speaks to the impact that Henry has had on Regina, as he’s made her someone who he believes could be saved. -”We must dispense justice.” Jiminy, for once in your life, you are making sense! -LIsten to the fluffy baby! -”Corgina’s” outfit is just so cool! -I like how Emma, though knowing that Regina’s words were said out of anger, still takes an aspect of them to heart by trying to be a more involved mother. -”How can I blame the one I love most?” A more cynical side of me is saying that this line is purposely over the top, but the side of me seeing Regina and Henry Sr. having a moment is crying too hard at said moment to care! -Rumple shows up for the execution. I wonder, did he actually fear that Regina would die, and if so, was he coming just to see if it would happen, or was his motivation more out of concern. Also, love the pan to him when Regina says, “even caused death.” Twice! -”We let her go. Then, we find the truth.” YES! Give me “Emma Swan: Investigations” on the 3DS, please! -If I ever decide to make a drinking game out of this show, I need to make sure that I take a BIG gulp every time Rumple is interrupted while or right before eating. -Rumple cooing at Pongo turns out to be all I need. Best episode ever! -”Well a long time ago in another life, I got to know a sheepdog or two.” WHY. WAS. THIS. NEVER. SHOWN?! -”It won’t allow us to communicate [With Pongo].” If magic won’t let you communicate with animals, then what’s the fucking point of it? -”Couldn’t you just use magic to fool us?” Give it time, Emma. -I LOVE those looks Snow and Charming give when Rumple reveals that Emma has magic and the follow-up reluctance when Rumple goads her into using it. -Love the Neal hint with that dream catcher! Prop Department, you guys deserve a retroactive raise! XD -Why did Pongo’s dream catcher only start glowing around his back/stomach? XD -I like how Emma immediately adopts and understands the concept of “all magic comes with a price.” -”He’s not [your son]! He’s mine.” I love the buildup to this fight. Like a cup of tea, it was brewing to the point of a perfect outburst. That having been said, Emma’s dialogue gets a little...weird after Regina magically pushes her. It sounds like how Snow or Charming would talk, not her, and character voice is an important thing. And why did what Emma say during that bit of the fight change her attitude from fighting Emma to leaving? It’s not like Henry showed up and saw her attack. I guess it’s a matter of credibility? -How the hell did Cora and Killian travel through Storybrooke with any manner of subtlety?! They’re Mr. and Ms. Drama! -Killian says “mom” too! I know it’s stupid, but what was up with the weird colloquialism in the Enchanted Forest?! Like, 98% of the citizens use the “mother/father” designation, and these instances where they use “mom” really pop out! -”If that’s him, who did you kill?” “How should I know? It’s my first day in town!” The humor in this episode is just the best! XD Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Regina’s Redemption - Regina’s redemption is appropriately challenged here and instead of Henry doing the challenging, it’s Henry’s heroes, who are far less forgiving of Regina’s misgivings. Well, partially because of Emma. I said this before, but I think how they handled Regina in the present part of the story was just genius! She’s really trying to fit in, but no one forgives her barring Henry, Emma, and Archie. Understandable. But what makes this so good is that Regina’s doesn’t just flip characters into someone nice but unrecognizable. The nasty, petty, and savage side to her is still very much alive, suppressed until she gets angry. That goes such a long way to showing that this redemption is a fight within herself. It’s a show of how self aware she can be depending on if she can apologize or not and sticks with the other characters as they investigate Archie’s murder. Cora in Storybrooke - Cora’s here and she’s corrupting shit! Cora immediately starts acting like a heat-seeking missile. She gets basic intel about her situation and then set out about destroying Regina’s life. And just like said missile, she destroys it pretty much on sight. Killian’s Revenge/Redemption - We’re starting to get into the “how” of how Killian takes his revenge. And Killian saves a fish guy! Rumple’s Redemption - Granted while all but forced because of Belle’s presence, Rumple does help Emma and co. to the best of his abilities. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Regina -  What I love about this dynamic here is just its sincerity. Emma is blatantly unsure of how much Regina has changed, but she knows that she wants to and is being supportive. And even though this builds to an unhappy ending between the two of them, that sticks with Emma the whole time. She gives Regina the benefit of the doubt because she both believes in Regina and she wants Henry to have her in his life until plausible deniability goes out the window (As far as she knows). Emma works herself to the bone trying to examine each and every possibility that could prove Regina’s innocence and I feel like she doesn’t get enough credit for that. Regina herself is also being sincere, both in her defense for herself in the murder mystery and with her emotions and wants. She’s very honest as to her opinions on why she’s innocent and she’s open about her hopes to spend more time with Henry. And you honestly feel her trying to be more self aware, especially with the apology at the party. Writer Goodman and Hull are back in this episode, and unfortunately, so is Goodman’s sanctimony. This episode is so annoyingly on the nose with its laurels and in the past, it has nothing to show for it. Additionally, there’s no sense of framing in the flashback. While Snow ultimately decides that trying to redeem Regina was wrong, the entire amount of buildup towards that conclusion gives all the good points to David while making Snow our focal character. In the present, things are much better, for the framing is dependent on the effective shows of work into her redemption that Regina’s gone through and the audience has the crucial point of reference that Cora is in town and she can transform herself. I feel like I need to attribute this to Hull. Rating 6/10. I’m so torn about this episode. The quality of the content in the present is out of this world. Half the lines had me in stitches because the comedy hit a bullseye each and every time. And story wise? What a great one! The conflicts between Emma and her parents, Emma and Regina, and Emma with herself are all delivered masterfully and they were written so intricately that no one is left without sympathy. On the other side of the coin though, the flashback is a profound waste of time. It serves to grant a single point of exposition, but unlike other episodes that try for the same thing, nothing of interest is even attempted barring a genuine though completely useless conversation between Regina and Henry Sr.. We know Regina wasn’t about to switch sides in this flashback, and without the attempt of pretense to entertain that, the writing ends up making Snow a complete idiot. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Snowing - TACOSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! *ahem* That is all. Okay, I’ve got more to say because the taco scene is just adorable and sexy, and it’s rare that we get a scene like this without unfortunate implications behind it. The chemistry between Ginny and Josh is as hot as it’s ever been and it’s a perfect bout of payoff for their separation. Seeing Snow and Charming cradle each other and have such fluffy pillow talk that you’d think the scene happened in heaven itself is just flawless. Rumbelle - Seeing Belle coo over Rumple cooing at Pongo brings the biggest smile to my face on this Earth! ()()()()()()()()() Thank you all for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales! Next time, let’s examine one of our outsiders, okay? See you then!

Season 2 Tally (92/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (29/60) Jane Espenson (17/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (20/50) David Goodman (16/30) Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (7/30) Kalinda Vazquez (10/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[sieben9]

thatvermilionflycatcher reblogged your post and added:

Episode’s summary:Yes. Yes. This episode is a...

I didn’t get why Neal couldn’t go with them, either. I think we’re just supposed to turn a blind eye to those “little hiccups” Also, thinking about how the magic determines in which realm you “belong” made me think about His Dark Materials, and now I’m this close to crying again XD

And the Belle thing just reeks of careless writing of me. Straight-up. None of these characters are the type to leave someone in such obvious distress without at least lending a hand to help her up. Hell, they could have gone “I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to grieve right now”, that would still have been better than this nonsense.

And Hook... see, even if he were Emma’s true love, she doesn’t remember him! The kisses never work when the other person doesn’t remember you! It’s failed for two couples who’ve been confirmed to share true love; why does nobody think about these things before going around kissing people?

I’ll... just have to take your word on the MBTI thing, because I know exactly enough about that stuff to know my type and that it’s the boring one XD But yes. That scene. Awards for everyone, please.

And the kiss... yeah, there are definite parallels to Cora’s and Regina’s relationship. And from what I’ve heard it’s very common for survivors of parental child abuse to still love their parents, even knowing that they’re horrible people who hurt them. I also think it’s important for another reason: Rumple isn’t doing this because he hates Pan; he’s doing it because he loves his family.

Also, wow, I never grasped that shadow thing. Not even with Rumple all but saying it outright. That is... really convoluted, if I may say so. Though it makes sense now why Rumple cut off his shadow. Actually makes that scene a lot more meaningful. That was the moment he was resolved to die in order to stop Pan, and he did it all by himself without ever talking to the Bellucination, either...

I’ll just... wait a week or so until I try and talk about the nuances of Rumple’s sacrifice, because right now, my analytic brain gets drowned out by the wailing whenever I try to think about that ::cough:: (Look, I’m only human. Mostly)

But I did want to comment on this, because it’s such a brilliant summary:

The story starts with Rumple and Regina plotting to cast the curse… and it closes on this episode with Regina and Rumple sacrificing themselves to destroy the curse and save everyone.

Not only that, but they play the exact same roles. Rumple brings Regina into a position where she would cast the curse, and now he creates the circumstances for her to save everyone from it. It’s... just very good. Sorry, ran out of words there.

And what helps a lot with Snow’s and Charming’s portrayal, I think, is that we get to see them doubt, and fail. They make mistakes, and they aknowledge them. Even in the beginning of the episode, you have optimistic, up-beat Snow almost crumbling under her fears, and she needs Charming to help her get back on her feet. They’re not good “just because”, they’re good and hopeful, because they fight for it. ...yes, I like them a lot, why do you ask?

And I like your corner. It’s a good corner. I think I’ll live there for a while. At least until tomorrow, at any rate *g*

And in entirely unrelated news: the malevolent spirit that lives in all my music playing devices (I call him Orpheus, and he’s a little shit) decided to play this sucker while I was typing this up:

In the immortal words of Yzma: Why do I even have this lever??

[luciatraskwrites]

oh, but it is! i must admit, i’m trying to be a bit more nuanced in how i handle it, though. i am going off, but i want to do so with dignity and good writing.

for context: yes, there are characters who find the content beltran (the writer) creates to be objectionable, and yes, they go about it in a very destructive way. but at the same time... i don’t want them to be pro-censorship strawmen. i want to be clear about my intentions and the themes present in this piece of work, but at the same time what good is it having an antagonistic mindset that is only there to be knocked down, y’know?

at the end of the day: i do not agree with pro-censorship people. i abhor censorship in general. at the end of the day, however, even if i disagree with most of what they say, some of their criticisms of media and writing are valid and should at least be listened to and considered. 

but here’s more about the story in general (so far):

it is set in a country that’s purposefully anachronistic in terms of setting. think less pseudo medieval, more pseudo-edwardian/late victorian era. and it’s also more influenced by spanish (as in spain) mythology, folklore, and aesthetics, because as a hispanic girl myself i think it would be neat.

beltran is the writer character. he gets his poetry published in the newspaper, and people justify their actions in wanting to censor and harass him by claiming he /deserves/ it: he’s a partygoer who loves alcohol, all that good old-fashioned hedonistic stuff. also he allegedly kept a dragon companion on campus back in college before he dropped out? whack.

this city has an arena which is sort of like traditional spanish bullfighting. don’t have money to bail your way out of jail but still want to be freed? especially heinous prisoners are yeeted into an arena and made to fight monsters with a red cape, a la bullfighting.

beltran is friends (or maybe a little more - wink wink, nudge nudge) with a local priest. the priest’s name is felix, and he is as introverted as beltran is extroverted. he’s shy, timid, fragile, but very kindhearted. though he doesn’t want children himself, he gets along well and takes good care of them. unfortunately, he’s a bit of a doormat and has trouble expressing his opinions because he’s so worried about what others think of him.

and finally, the princess. her name is cora, she’s lovely, sweet... and in hiding for complicated political reasons. she befriends felix and beltran by chance, and they find out that she’s the princess! 

magic system is still a work in progress, but: it’s sort of like dark matter. there’s debate as to where it’s from exactly, but it is there and people use it. mental illnesses as well as neurodivergence affect use of magic - for some mentally ill folk or those struggling with disabilities/chronic pain, using magic is emotionally and physically draining. for neurodivergent people, it can be either uncomfortable, feel awesome, or anything in between. it manifests as different sorts of superpowers (?) depending on the person, i suppose. it’s not particularly rare, it’s more the norm - this sort of reflects real-world spain, since their attitude on magic in medieval literature was very different compared to the fearmongering of other european countries

but that’s what i have for now.

Writers who have had works spawn from one sentence or image... share that line here!

[kristablogs]

The history and mystery of America’s long-lost pickle sandwich

In this Depression-era stalwart, soft, chewy white bread (homemade or store-bought) is an ideal canvas for butter and pickles. (Jennifer May/)

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why bread-and-butter pickles are called bread-and-butter pickles? “I thought they were called that because they’re sweeter and less vinegary,” a friend tells me. “You know, smooth as butter.”

I had never questioned their name either, but rather quietly, to myself, word-associated bread-and-butter with “reliable”—just like the idiom. What reliable pickles! Always perfect for snacking, on a burger, or chopped up in an egg salad. But no, that’s not quite right either.

After decades in the dark, a lightbulb went off when I read this passage in Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table (Clarkson Potter, 2013), this month’s pick for the Saveur Cookbook Club:

I realized the answer may be in the name itself: bread-and-butter pickles. Sliced pickled cucumbers layered between two slices of buttered bread was, allegedly, a Depression-era staple, due to the low cost and high availability of those ingredients. I say allegedly because there aren’t many contemporary sources that can confirm this, and those that do mention the sandwich (the blog Cottage at the Crossroads, Chef John Mitzewich of Food Wishes, and Marisa McClellan in an old Serious Eats post) report it through hearsay: “Supposedly…”; “I’ve been told…”

Why is it so difficult to find a hard, veritable source for this theory that bread-and-butter pickles were named after a sandwich? Seems simple enough, if not glaringly obvious.

The Joy of Cooking does include a recipe for bread-and-butter pickles, but no bread-and-butter pickle sandwich. Tomato lovers can, however, find a peanut butter and tomato sandwich in Irma S. Rombauer’s tome of American cooking, as well as a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, which leads to another sandwich rabbithole one could go down: the peanut butter and pickle sandwich.

There are plenty of accounts of the PB&P. The Times wrote about it in 2012, and even provided a recipe. Later, a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich also circulated the Internet. When I asked Jed Portman, editor of Midwesterner, he said, “I wish I had something of value to share. I’ve heard of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but I’ve never had one—much less the butter variant, which is intriguing.”

When a quick Google search for “bread-and-butter pickle sandwich” led me to a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, my ears perked up. But alas, the matching keywords were in a comment by a user, not by Deb Perelman herself. “I LOVE B&Bs!” the reader writes. “I make sandwiches of them on buttered white bread.”

Perhaps this is the point: The story of the bread-and-butter pickle sandwich lives not on the page, but, as many of the best foods do, in orature (oral literature). Word of mouth. Comments sections. Message boards. Facebook groups. The only way to find its elusive history, then, is to ask around.

It seems so obvious, yet when I asked my friends and even threw out a call to Twitter and Instagram (“Do you know this sandwich?”—like a wanted ad), I got multiple responses from experienced food editors and writers who said, “No, and I feel robbed.” Many others exclaimed, “Yes! But peanut butter, not butter”; “Yes! But mayo, not butter”; “Yes! But cream cheese, not butter.” Not butter, not butter, not butter.

And then ... one of my readers, Jessica Wharton, showed up in my inbox like a unicorn: Yes, bread, butter, and pickles.

Though Wharton was raised on these sandwiches, even she doesn’t know where they come from. “It’s a recipe from my great-grandmother and her family,” she tells me in an email. “I grew up in a rural farm town in Connecticut, but Connecticut honestly doesn’t seem correct to me as an origin, especially since besides my family I don’t know anyone who eats these either. It’s a thing we’ve always had every July or August when the cucumbers in the garden are ready and there are tons, and you’re not really sure what to do with all of them.”

I imagine my search for the story behind bread-and-butter pickle sandwiches will continue after the publication of this piece, and in its comments section.

For now, eager to try one myself, I made a batch of Thielen’s refrigerator bread-and-butter pickles with curry powder. I cut up some mini cucumbers (often called pickling cucumbers) and salted them to draw out moisture and to preserve their crunch. To make the pickling brine, I combined white vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, chile, mustard seeds, and curry powder, and brought them to a boil in a saucepan. The spicy steam filled the kitchen, like aromatherapy. After rinsing the cucumbers and draining them thoroughly, I sliced up a red onion and added it to the bowl, followed by the hot, golden brine. I let my pickles cool slightly, then packed them in old kimchi jars that were lying around and put them in the fridge.

I could only wait a few hours before making myself The Sandwich. I popped a couple slices of brioche into the toaster for a few seconds, only to soften them up. Next, I spread unsalted, room-temperature butter on one side, then laid a single layer of pickles—“overlapping slices” as Thielen suggests—on the other slice, and joined them together. I took a bite...and promptly texted three of my closest friends.

“You have to try this.”

It’s such a rare pleasure, as an adult, to experience a new taste, especially one that changes your mind about food. Who knew that pickles, for instance, could taste so much fresher, crunchier, more nuanced—leagues above the neon-green store-bought ones? Even more so when you’ve added a hint of curry powder for savory warmth? Who knew that soft buttered bread, which is already sweet and comforting on its own, could partner so seamlessly with its exact opposite: sharp, crunchy pickles? Who knew that this was the food pairing I’ve been waiting for all along?

The two together—butter and pickles—remind me of a cucumber and mayo sandwich, sure, like the kind you’d eat at English tea. In fact, Wharton wrote me back days later, after confirming with her dad, that their family tradition did indeed come from a very old recipe for English tea sandwiches. It is an entirely different experience, though, when you pickle the cucumbers yourself and swap out the mayo for butter. Its taste is surprisingly multi-dimensional, yet balanced. Whether you’re having it for afternoon tea or for a grab-and-go farmhouse lunch, the bread-and-butter pickle sandwich is, truly, the food of royals.

Update: One of the first recorded uses of the phrase “bread-and-butter pickles” can be traced back to 1923, when Omar and Cora Fanning of Illinois registered for a trademark (since expired) on the logo for their family pickles. According to a 1996 issue of the Feingold News, “Mrs. Fanning worked out an agreement with a local grocer, who gave her groceries—including bread ‘n butter—in exchange for the pickles.” Other related trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office include “Betty Rae’s Bread & Butter Pickles” and “The Original Bread 'n Butter Pickles,” but no one owns just “bread and butter pickles.” Thank you to reader Nicolas Emerson for the tip.

[scootoaster]

The history and mystery of America’s long-lost pickle sandwich

In this Depression-era stalwart, soft, chewy white bread (homemade or store-bought) is an ideal canvas for butter and pickles. (Jennifer May/)

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why bread-and-butter pickles are called bread-and-butter pickles? “I thought they were called that because they’re sweeter and less vinegary,” a friend tells me. “You know, smooth as butter.”

I had never questioned their name either, but rather quietly, to myself, word-associated bread-and-butter with “reliable”—just like the idiom. What reliable pickles! Always perfect for snacking, on a burger, or chopped up in an egg salad. But no, that’s not quite right either.

After decades in the dark, a lightbulb went off when I read this passage in Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table (Clarkson Potter, 2013), this month’s pick for the Saveur Cookbook Club:

I realized the answer may be in the name itself: bread-and-butter pickles. Sliced pickled cucumbers layered between two slices of buttered bread was, allegedly, a Depression-era staple, due to the low cost and high availability of those ingredients. I say allegedly because there aren’t many contemporary sources that can confirm this, and those that do mention the sandwich (the blog Cottage at the Crossroads, Chef John Mitzewich of Food Wishes, and Marisa McClellan in an old Serious Eats post) report it through hearsay: “Supposedly…”; “I’ve been told…”

Why is it so difficult to find a hard, veritable source for this theory that bread-and-butter pickles were named after a sandwich? Seems simple enough, if not glaringly obvious.

The Joy of Cooking does include a recipe for bread-and-butter pickles, but no bread-and-butter pickle sandwich. Tomato lovers can, however, find a peanut butter and tomato sandwich in Irma S. Rombauer’s tome of American cooking, as well as a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, which leads to another sandwich rabbithole one could go down: the peanut butter and pickle sandwich.

There are plenty of accounts of the PB&P. The Times wrote about it in 2012, and even provided a recipe. Later, a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich also circulated the Internet. When I asked Jed Portman, editor of Midwesterner, he said, “I wish I had something of value to share. I’ve heard of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but I’ve never had one—much less the butter variant, which is intriguing.”

When a quick Google search for “bread-and-butter pickle sandwich” led me to a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, my ears perked up. But alas, the matching keywords were in a comment by a user, not by Deb Perelman herself. “I LOVE B&Bs!” the reader writes. “I make sandwiches of them on buttered white bread.”

Perhaps this is the point: The story of the bread-and-butter pickle sandwich lives not on the page, but, as many of the best foods do, in orature (oral literature). Word of mouth. Comments sections. Message boards. Facebook groups. The only way to find its elusive history, then, is to ask around.

It seems so obvious, yet when I asked my friends and even threw out a call to Twitter and Instagram (“Do you know this sandwich?”—like a wanted ad), I got multiple responses from experienced food editors and writers who said, “No, and I feel robbed.” Many others exclaimed, “Yes! But peanut butter, not butter”; “Yes! But mayo, not butter”; “Yes! But cream cheese, not butter.” Not butter, not butter, not butter.

And then ... one of my readers, Jessica Wharton, showed up in my inbox like a unicorn: Yes, bread, butter, and pickles.

Though Wharton was raised on these sandwiches, even she doesn’t know where they come from. “It’s a recipe from my great-grandmother and her family,” she tells me in an email. “I grew up in a rural farm town in Connecticut, but Connecticut honestly doesn’t seem correct to me as an origin, especially since besides my family I don’t know anyone who eats these either. It’s a thing we’ve always had every July or August when the cucumbers in the garden are ready and there are tons, and you’re not really sure what to do with all of them.”

I imagine my search for the story behind bread-and-butter pickle sandwiches will continue after the publication of this piece, and in its comments section.

For now, eager to try one myself, I made a batch of Thielen’s refrigerator bread-and-butter pickles with curry powder. I cut up some mini cucumbers (often called pickling cucumbers) and salted them to draw out moisture and to preserve their crunch. To make the pickling brine, I combined white vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, chile, mustard seeds, and curry powder, and brought them to a boil in a saucepan. The spicy steam filled the kitchen, like aromatherapy. After rinsing the cucumbers and draining them thoroughly, I sliced up a red onion and added it to the bowl, followed by the hot, golden brine. I let my pickles cool slightly, then packed them in old kimchi jars that were lying around and put them in the fridge.

I could only wait a few hours before making myself The Sandwich. I popped a couple slices of brioche into the toaster for a few seconds, only to soften them up. Next, I spread unsalted, room-temperature butter on one side, then laid a single layer of pickles—“overlapping slices” as Thielen suggests—on the other slice, and joined them together. I took a bite...and promptly texted three of my closest friends.

“You have to try this.”

It’s such a rare pleasure, as an adult, to experience a new taste, especially one that changes your mind about food. Who knew that pickles, for instance, could taste so much fresher, crunchier, more nuanced—leagues above the neon-green store-bought ones? Even more so when you’ve added a hint of curry powder for savory warmth? Who knew that soft buttered bread, which is already sweet and comforting on its own, could partner so seamlessly with its exact opposite: sharp, crunchy pickles? Who knew that this was the food pairing I’ve been waiting for all along?

The two together—butter and pickles—remind me of a cucumber and mayo sandwich, sure, like the kind you’d eat at English tea. In fact, Wharton wrote me back days later, after confirming with her dad, that their family tradition did indeed come from a very old recipe for English tea sandwiches. It is an entirely different experience, though, when you pickle the cucumbers yourself and swap out the mayo for butter. Its taste is surprisingly multi-dimensional, yet balanced. Whether you’re having it for afternoon tea or for a grab-and-go farmhouse lunch, the bread-and-butter pickle sandwich is, truly, the food of royals.

Update: One of the first recorded uses of the phrase “bread-and-butter pickles” can be traced back to 1923, when Omar and Cora Fanning of Illinois registered for a trademark (since expired) on the logo for their family pickles. According to a 1996 issue of the Feingold News, “Mrs. Fanning worked out an agreement with a local grocer, who gave her groceries—including bread ‘n butter—in exchange for the pickles.” Other related trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office include “Betty Rae’s Bread & Butter Pickles” and “The Original Bread 'n Butter Pickles,” but no one owns just “bread and butter pickles.” Thank you to reader Nicolas Emerson for the tip.

[likefusion]

5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers: I don't want to write another article explaining the importance of visual content in your content marketing. And Joe Pulizzi already included the topic in his article about the biggest content marketing trends in 2017 so we don't need to outline it anymore. But a lot of marketers still don't understand visual content. Visual content is something that you, as a marketer, should work with a designer to create. Think about it this way: You need to influence people by touching an emotion that will make a segment of readers/consumers interact with you as a brand. And because the internet is so crowded with content, you need to take a step further to attract attention. What type of content will 65% of the population be more likely to recall? Visual. 65% of the population is more likely to recall visual #content via @SSRN.Click To Tweet You can't speak proficiently about visuals for your content marketing if you don't talk with the people who create them – the designers. Call them however you want: UX/UI designer, web designer, graphic designer, creative director, visual content creator, or art director. They are the ones who consume visual content, create visual content, and think about visual content every day. And that's why in this article, I go to these visual experts to share the five lessons content marketers need to know about visual content. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 37+ Tips and Tools for Picture-Perfect Visual Content 1. Know less is more  “When marketers feel that every little bit of info needs to be included on a piece that's when things get very muddy and messy,” says Joseph Kalinowski, creative director at Content Marketing Institute. And I agree with him. If you think creating a lot of content will bring you the results you want, well my friend, let me tell you that you are wrong. Creating a lot of content, articles, videos, and social media posts won't get you more clicks, leads, or whatever else you want to get. When I asked designer Paul Jarvis what content marketers need to know, I assumed he would reply in three words: Keep it simple. But I was wrong (and right): Less is always more. Non-designers seem to always want to add elements, more fonts, more colors, more stuff to designs to make it ‘pop' or stand out. When design, professional design, works best when it's focused and to the point. Less is always more when it comes to #design, says @PJRVS.Click To Tweet Many content marketers want to write one more piece of an article, to insert one more image, or to record one more video. But what if they focused on the thing that is important for them and their audience? Focusing on one point brings them value. As Mihai Cora, UX/UI designer for Smartketer, says: Give enough space between the lines. This will make it more comfortable to read. And I couldn't agree more. Yes, your content needs space and time to breathe. Your content needs to let your audience consume it, think about it, and interact with it. As Jozef Matas, head of design at Teamweek, says, “Reduce clutter and make it breathe.” Takeaway: Don't go overboard with text – design to give your content the space and time to be consumed easily by your audience. Don't go overboard w/ text. Design to give #content the space & time to be consumed easily.@katairobiClick To Tweet HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Bringing Ideas to Life: A Look Behind the Creative Curtain 2. Strike a balance What's the right mix between text- and visual-based content? A 2014 Blog Pros study shows that the 100 most popular blogs on average use one image every 350 words. That means if you write a 2,000-word article you should use at least six visuals, including the featured image. Use one image for every 350 words in an article, says @blogpros. #designClick To Tweet But throwing a few visuals in a blog post doesn't mean that you are doing a good job, or as Joe Kalinowski says: Many marketers in general have a good sense of design, but there are many times when they overlook some of the basic design principles that should be adhered to when trying to create visual content. Basic design principles should be adhered to when creating visual content, says @jkkalinowski. #designClick To Tweet Only half of B2B marketers say creating visual content is a priority. What about the other half? Aren't they interested in visual content? Ian Paget, a logo designer and visual content creator, outlines the importance of visual content for a successful content marketing strategy: Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging. Images can be created in a few different ways. Create your own imagery, using photography, software such as Photoshop, or online tools such as Bannersnack. This route is more time consuming, but means that you can create exactly what you need, and have a consistent style throughout your content. Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging, says @Logo_Geek. #designClick To Tweet Takeaway: Visual content creation should be as important as text or audio content creation. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Design Mostly Dead? DIY Platforms vs. Hiring a Pro 3. See the color I believe I lost a few great articles and stories because of the color of the website. I couldn't understand why the designer (or developer) behind that website used that ugly combination with red and orange, or green and yellow. Think about how many users you lose each day because of your color combinations. Joe offers this suggestion: “Think back to the days of your high school art class when you had to make the color wheel. Contrasting and complementary colors, primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the list goes on. You don't have to get crazy … Just remember that unless it's the holiday, try to steer away from placing green type on a red background (LOL). “… If you have a general idea of a color that you would like to use as a base, there is an abundance of online tools like Sessions College that can help you choose colors that will work well with your palette.” Though the psychology of color is one of the most controversial aspects in branding, you still need to understand its importance. Takeaway: Every time you launch a content marketing project, make sure your use of color stays true to your brand. Every time you launch a #contentmarketing project, make sure use of color stays true to your brand. @katairobiClick To Tweet HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Brand Guidelines to the Rescue for Clear, Consistent Stories [Example] 4. Think about typography What is the difference between a Sans Serif font and Comic Sans or Curlz? If you're a designer, I bet you have a few ideas. If you're a marketer, you may ignore that question but you shouldn't. If your type is hard to read, readers will ignore your articles. Jacob Cass of Just™ Creative explains: (T)ypography plays a huge role in communicating a message visually. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication. So learning about the basics of typography will help set you up for visual marketing success. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication, says @JustCreative.Click To Tweet You don't have to be a professional in web design and understand the role of every type font, size, and color, but you need to know the basics. Jacob recommends a great book for you: The Non-Designer's Type Book. I love the way Joe puts together the importance of typography in this analogy: Think of a newspaper's front page, big headline, medium-sized subhead, small body copy with a nice accompanying photo that works well with all of the fonts and sizes. Now, imagine how hard that newspaper page would be to read if everything was the same size, font, font weight. Adjusting size and weight of items in your visual content is a must. Takeaway: Educate yourself on the basics of typography to ensure that readers won't find your content hard to read. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Movie Poster Creates JAWS-Dropping Visual Storytelling Lessons 5. Don't let page-load time deter visitors When your website is loading so slowly that you can watch one season of House of Cards (OK, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but you got the point), you have big problems. As Google says, the best brand is the one who is there, useful, and quick. Ian suggests one way to speed things up in design – optimize images: “Make sure when creating images for the web, images are sized and compressed correctly.” And Patricia Coroi, graphic designer at Flipsnack, says: More people are consuming content using mobile, so being optimized for mobile is very important. And the best way to check out how ready is your website for mobile is by checking it with Google's tool. Takeaway: Make sure your visuals are optimized for the online environment. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Your Content Ready for the Mobile Takeover? Tips and Tools to Ensure Speed Doesn't Kill Your Site Conclusion I let Denis Matveev, product designer at PromoRepublic, have the last word because he makes the value of design to all content marketers clear: Apart from art, design is a suite of rules and laws, such as typography, composition and color. When doing design, you don't steal, but borrow the best decision. Always seek for trends and reference in order to create a working, eye-catching, wow-effect visual. Apart from art, design is a suite of rules & laws, such as typography, composition, & color. @MatsofskiClick To Tweet So here are the five important lessons from designers every content marketer should learn: Know less is more – give visitors space and time to pace their viewing. Strike a balance – see visual content creation as important as text or audio creation. See the color – stay true to your brand. Think about typography – give visitors an easy-to-read experience. Don't let page-load time deter visitors – optimize your visuals. Now, get back to your content creation and see what you need to adjust to do a better job. But before you go, which one of these lessons do you think is a general problem for the content marketing industry? Let me know in comments. Want help in balancing your content marketing mix? Whether it's visuals vs. text or something else, get advice from experts in CMI's daily newsletter. Subscribe today – it's free! Cover image by SplitShire Please note:  All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team.  No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used). The post 5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers appeared first on Content Marketing Institute. http://bit.ly/2oOdPXq

[lucyariablog]

5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers

I don’t want to write another article explaining the importance of visual content in your content marketing. And Joe Pulizzi already included the topic in his article about the biggest content marketing trends in 2017 so we don’t need to outline it anymore.

But a lot of marketers still don’t understand visual content.

Visual content is something that you, as a marketer, should work with a designer to create.

Think about it this way: You need to influence people by touching an emotion that will make a segment of readers/consumers interact with you as a brand. And because the internet is so crowded with content, you need to take a step further to attract attention.

What type of content will 65% of the population be more likely to recall? Visual.

65% of the population is more likely to recall visual #content via @SSRN. Click To Tweet

You can’t speak proficiently about visuals for your content marketing if you don’t talk with the people who create them – the designers. Call them however you want: UX/UI designer, web designer, graphic designer, creative director, visual content creator, or art director. They are the ones who consume visual content, create visual content, and think about visual content every day.

And that’s why in this article, I go to these visual experts to share the five lessons content marketers need to know about visual content.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 37+ Tips and Tools for Picture-Perfect Visual Content

1. Know less is more 

“When marketers feel that every little bit of info needs to be included on a piece that’s when things get very muddy and messy,” says Joseph Kalinowski, creative director at Content Marketing Institute.

And I agree with him.

If you think creating a lot of content will bring you the results you want, well my friend, let me tell you that you are wrong. Creating a lot of content, articles, videos, and social media posts won’t get you more clicks, leads, or whatever else you want to get.

When I asked designer Paul Jarvis what content marketers need to know, I assumed he would reply in three words: Keep it simple. But I was wrong (and right):

Less is always more. Non-designers seem to always want to add elements, more fonts, more colors, more stuff to designs to make it ‘pop’ or stand out. When design, professional design, works best when it’s focused and to the point.

Less is always more when it comes to #design, says @PJRVS. Click To Tweet

Many content marketers want to write one more piece of an article, to insert one more image, or to record one more video. But what if they focused on the thing that is important for them and their audience? Focusing on one point brings them value.

As Mihai Cora, UX/UI designer for Smartketer, says:

Give enough space between the lines. This will make it more comfortable to read.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Yes, your content needs space and time to breathe. Your content needs to let your audience consume it, think about it, and interact with it.

As Jozef Matas, head of design at Teamweek, says, “Reduce clutter and make it breathe.”

Takeaway: Don’t go overboard with text – design to give your content the space and time to be consumed easily by your audience.

Don’t go overboard w/ text. Design to give #content the space & time to be consumed easily.@katairobi Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Bringing Ideas to Life: A Look Behind the Creative Curtain

2. Strike a balance

What’s the right mix between text- and visual-based content?

A 2014 Blog Pros study shows that the 100 most popular blogs on average use one image every 350 words. That means if you write a 2,000-word article you should use at least six visuals, including the featured image.

Use one image for every 350 words in an article, says @blogpros. #design Click To Tweet

But throwing a few visuals in a blog post doesn’t mean that you are doing a good job, or as Joe Kalinowski says:

Many marketers in general have a good sense of design, but there are many times when they overlook some of the basic design principles that should be adhered to when trying to create visual content.

Basic design principles should be adhered to when creating visual content, says @jkkalinowski. #design Click To Tweet

Only half of B2B marketers say creating visual content is a priority. What about the other half? Aren’t they interested in visual content?

Ian Paget, a logo designer and visual content creator, outlines the importance of visual content for a successful content marketing strategy:

Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging. Images can be created in a few different ways. Create your own imagery, using photography, software such as Photoshop, or online tools such as Bannersnack. This route is more time consuming, but means that you can create exactly what you need, and have a consistent style throughout your content.

Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging, says @Logo_Geek. #design Click To Tweet

Takeaway: Visual content creation should be as important as text or audio content creation.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Design Mostly Dead? DIY Platforms vs. Hiring a Pro

3. See the color

I believe I lost a few great articles and stories because of the color of the website. I couldn’t understand why the designer (or developer) behind that website used that ugly combination with red and orange, or green and yellow.

Think about how many users you lose each day because of your color combinations. Joe offers this suggestion:

“Think back to the days of your high school art class when you had to make the color wheel. Contrasting and complementary colors, primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the list goes on. You don’t have to get crazy … Just remember that unless it’s the holiday, try to steer away from placing green type on a red background (LOL).

“… If you have a general idea of a color that you would like to use as a base, there is an abundance of online tools like Sessions College that can help you choose colors that will work well with your palette.”

Though the psychology of color is one of the most controversial aspects in branding, you still need to understand its importance.

Takeaway: Every time you launch a content marketing project, make sure your use of color stays true to your brand.

Every time you launch a #contentmarketing project, make sure use of color stays true to your brand. @katairobi Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Brand Guidelines to the Rescue for Clear, Consistent Stories [Example]

4. Think about typography

What is the difference between a Sans Serif font and Comic Sans or Curlz? If you’re a designer, I bet you have a few ideas. If you’re a marketer, you may ignore that question but you shouldn’t.

If your type is hard to read, readers will ignore your articles. Jacob Cass of Just™ Creative explains:

(T)ypography plays a huge role in communicating a message visually. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication. So learning about the basics of typography will help set you up for visual marketing success.

Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication, says @JustCreative. Click To Tweet

You don’t have to be a professional in web design and understand the role of every type font, size, and color, but you need to know the basics. Jacob recommends a great book for you: The Non-Designer’s Type Book.

I love the way Joe puts together the importance of typography in this analogy:

Think of a newspaper’s front page, big headline, medium-sized subhead, small body copy with a nice accompanying photo that works well with all of the fonts and sizes. Now, imagine how hard that newspaper page would be to read if everything was the same size, font, font weight. Adjusting size and weight of items in your visual content is a must.

Takeaway: Educate yourself on the basics of typography to ensure that readers won’t find your content hard to read.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Movie Poster Creates JAWS-Dropping Visual Storytelling Lessons

5. Don’t let page-load time deter visitors

When your website is loading so slowly that you can watch one season of House of Cards (OK, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but you got the point), you have big problems.

As Google says, the best brand is the one who is there, useful, and quick.

Ian suggests one way to speed things up in design – optimize images: “Make sure when creating images for the web, images are sized and compressed correctly.”

And Patricia Coroi, graphic designer at Flipsnack, says:

More people are consuming content using mobile, so being optimized for mobile is very important. And the best way to check out how ready is your website for mobile is by checking it with Google’s tool.

Takeaway: Make sure your visuals are optimized for the online environment.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

Is Your Content Ready for the Mobile Takeover?

Tips and Tools to Ensure Speed Doesn’t Kill Your Site

Conclusion

I let Denis Matveev, product designer at PromoRepublic, have the last word because he makes the value of design to all content marketers clear:

Apart from art, design is a suite of rules and laws, such as typography, composition and color. When doing design, you don’t steal, but borrow the best decision. Always seek for trends and reference in order to create a working, eye-catching, wow-effect visual.

Apart from art, design is a suite of rules & laws, such as typography, composition, & color. @Matsofski Click To Tweet

So here are the five important lessons from designers every content marketer should learn:

Know less is more – give visitors space and time to pace their viewing.

Strike a balance – see visual content creation as important as text or audio creation.

See the color – stay true to your brand.

Think about typography – give visitors an easy-to-read experience.

Don’t let page-load time deter visitors – optimize your visuals.

Now, get back to your content creation and see what you need to adjust to do a better job. But before you go, which one of these lessons do you think is a general problem for the content marketing industry? Let me know in comments.

Want help in balancing your content marketing mix? Whether it’s visuals vs. text or something else, get advice from experts in CMI’s daily newsletter. Subscribe today – it’s free!

Cover image by SplitShire

Please note:  All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team.  No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used).

The post 5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/04/visual-lessons-designers/

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X14 - Manhattan

I don’t have a pun for this time, but I wanted to say that this is probably one of the episodes that I was the most excited to cover for this rewatch for a few reasons. First, I haven’t watched it since my initial watch of the series so apart from the broad strokes of the story, I’ve forgotten a great deal of it. Second, it’s one of the biggest and best received episodes of the season from a General Audiences standpoint from what I understand. Third, I’ve never had a real opinion on Neal because I binged Seasons 2 and 3, so this episode will provide me the opportunity to do just that! Finally, it takes place in New York and who doesn’t love New York!

...Don’t answer that! Anyway, I hope you’ll read my review of this episode which is just under the cut, so I’ll CUT to the chase. Ha! Turns out I did have a pun in me! Okay! Let’s get started!

Press Release While Mr. Gold, Emma and Henry go in search of Gold’s son Bae in New York, Cora, Regina and Hook attempt to track down one of Rumplestiltskin’s most treasured possessions. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin realizes his destiny while fighting in the Ogres War. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past We gotta talk about the forking Seer and how she relates to Rumple. First, on a strictly aesthetic level, look at the way that the Seer moves her hands as she asks for water! It looks a bit like how Rumple moves his hands when he gets the Seer’s powers. Also, even her voice is sing-songy in the scene as per the captions, matching Rumple’s. Second, on a more narrative level, it’s really interesting to examine just how much of the Seer ended up becoming part of Rumple. When we see Rumple first become the Dark One, while manipulative at times, because said manipulation happens with Bae as a child, it’s played as more of manipulation that any authority figure could conceivably do cranked up to 11. And when he’s not with Bae and he’s dealing with others, he’s blunter, not as cunning as he grows to be later. But the Seer, like him in later flashbacks, picks upon more vulnerable parts of Rumple’s psyche, like how she brings up Milah and Rumple’s fears of his past and cowardice.

So I know that there are some complaints about Rumple’s discussed reasoning for turning back from the Ogres Wars was changed to being about Bae to about Rumple’s cowardice, and I actually couldn’t disagree more. This entire flashback’s setup isn’t about Rumple’s excitement to be a father, but about how he is more scared than he realizes of fighting and dying in the war. That’s how, as I mentioned before, the Seer initially gets him: by mentioning his father’s cowardice and his desire to stray away from that path. In the next flashback scene, Rumple shows much more explicit fear at those harmed in the war and one of the most poignant lines from that scene is about praying for a quick death and the final words he says to what he thinks is the Seer is “and I’m gonna die.” I honestly feel like this was a revelation that was always supposed to come out. It doesn’t lessen Rumple’s love for Bae or that that loves is any less powerful, for he wants to live for Bae, but from a story perspective, the main throttle of Rumple’s decision to harm himself does lean more towards cowardice. Hell, even Milah hits the ball on the head: “You left because you were AFRAID.”

“It will require a curse -- a curse powerful enough to rip everyone from this land.” Note that the Seer says this as Rumple’s asking for the truth about him finding his son to be revealed. I feel like people forget about this line and how it pertains to Rumple’s journey back to Bae. Many in the fandom (Myself included) mock Rumple for needing a curse to traverse realms while there are many other ways to travel them as revealed over the course of the series. Now, I get that yeah, to an extent, that’s true. New magical MacGuffins are introduced so that new characters can be introduced and so that we can see our current cast battle the fairytale elements with their modern mindsets and emotional problems (I personally find it more annoying when it’s mocked to the point where it’s used as an actual story critique, forking Cinema Sins and the mentality they’ve introduced for many who criticise films over minute details rather than how the work functions as a story -- this is why you will never see me take a point off for a plot hole). But back on topic, Rumple was told by both the Blue Fairy and now the Seer that he’d need a curse to get back to Bae, and so he kept that in mind. Present I know that a major point of contention is Emma not telling Neal about Henry when he brought up the idea of something good coming of their relationship, and I think it’s more of a complicated situation, one akin to both her initial lie to Henry in “True North” and her decisions in “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” where to say that something is objectively right or wrong is missing the point. Yes, Emma shouldn’t have lied and the episode is very explicit with how that was the wrong decision. However, look at what she’s dealing with. A vulnerable time in her life is now being further bastardized with the knowledge that it was all a conspiracy and while I like Neal, he didn’t exactly broach the subject with tactful bedside manner, instead trying to rationalize something so personal and painful to her. Also, I want to point out how Emma on some level knows this. That’s why she calls Mary Margaret in the very next present scene. But she doesn’t do the right thing. Look, this isn’t the easiest episode to be an Emma fan during, and I know that well. And I swear, I’m doing my best to keep my fan goggles off, but I’m not going to pretend that it’s not a nuanced situation when it is. And finally, Emma is chewed out for her decision. Henry gives her a “Reason You Suck Speech,” calling her just as bad as Regina, a line that hurts but is justified and given with an appropriate level of painfulness from an eleven year old. And even her initial apology isn’t enough.

So, that first confrontation between Rumple and Neal. Wow. What I like about Neal as he pertains to Rumple is that he immediately gives Rumple no leniency. I talked about this briefly during my review of “The Return,” but this is such an important distinction to Rumple’s other biggest loved one, Belle, who has somewhat looser parameters. From the second Neal sees Rumple again, he’s blunt about his intentions and exactly what he thinks about what Rumple’s capable of. I don’t want to say that there’s no love there, but it is pushed back in terms of Neal’s priorities, buried under decades of bitterness. And at the same time, while full of love, Rumple is still using his old tricks to get Neal to talk to him. He leverages his deal with Emma for more time to talk to him and while it works, it only serves to get more ire out of Neal. Rumple’s apology is likewise undeniably sincere, but the manner in which it is both gotten and attempted to be implemented completely miss the point that the anger produced can’t be healed so easily. I mean, just look at Neal’s face when he says that there’s magic in Storybrooke. Every benefit of every doubt is abandoned like the Stiltskin boys across portals. That having been said, with three minutes of time for an apology, I feel like we almost got more out of Rumple’s apology to August in “The Return” than we did here. Where are the tears? Why isn’t Rumple saying as much as he possibly can? It’s not enough to take points off or anything, but this meeting is partially what the first season and a half were building towards, and I kind of wanted more umph to it. That also having been said, I get that because Neal is a different person from August’s rendition of him entirely, of course the reactions are going to be different, and Neal’s speech after he’s done talking blows the conversation away. Credit to Michael Raymond James because in this scene, he completely kept up with Robert Carlyle, and that’s not always an easy feat, especially in such an emotionally charged scene. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -It is so bizarre to see Rumple and Milah happy. It’s a great contrast to how bad things got between them and is a great show of how Rumple’s cowardice really affected Milah, turning her from someone who looked so content into the miserable woman from the flashback in “The Crocodile.” All throughout the scene, they’re so dopey-eyed and in-sync towards the end. I honestly would love to read a fic where they managed to come to terms with their past and maybe be able to forgive each other, and I know I’m alone in this, but there is a story there. -”My weaving days are over.” *thinks about how in roughly 250 years, he goes by Weaver* Suuuuuure, Rumple. -Okay, seeing an adorably excited non-Dark One non-present timeline Rumple is just the best. Robert Caryle really shows Rumple’s youth here, excited, bouncy, full of music and light. It’s an honest job and plays against the cowardly spinster we see in “Desperate Souls,” the blunter Mr. Gold and the silly, but frightening Dark One version of Rumple, it makes for such a unique contrast! -Milah also gets such a unique contrast in another respect, being the more cautious half of the relationship compared to how she is after Rumple arrives home. -”But to the world?” So, when in the series finale, the idea of “the Rumplestiltskin the world will remember” came up and kept being echoed like it was this important thing, I felt that it kind of came out of nowhere because I hadn’t ever seen Rumple concerned with his legacy beyond the more isolated well being of his children, grand and great-grandchildren, and wife. However, as I hear this line, it makes a bit more sense to me, especially because this is the same episode that discussed the Henry prophecy, which was also touched upon in the series finale. -So, Rumple does that bug-eyed thing that I complained about in the last episode, but here, because the confrontation between Rumple and Bae is impending and is isolated as the main reason for his concern, it works sooo well! -Killian, thank you for breaking up that horrible mother/daughter moment! -”Names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no.” This line cracked me up! XD -”I’m not answering anything until you tell me the truth.” That’s a pretty solid rule of thumb, Emma. Neal’s definitely no villain, but just going forward, that’s a good mindset to have! -”I am the only one allowed to be angry here!” She’s got a point, Neal. You’re not really explaining yourself in a way that you’d be justified in being angry. -I love spotting bloopers as they’re happening. It’s like the OUAT version of finding Hidden Mickeys! -”My son’s been running away for a long time now.” When?! He ran away ONCE and he wasn’t even trying to run from you. He was trying to take you with him, in fact! Did you forget that?! -Henry and Rumple get a great scene! -I know you’re Baelfire.” Fun fact, last year at NJ con, I got this question wrong in the true/false game. But now I know the truth, and I’m coming for you again, Jersey! -Gotta give all the credit in the world to Jennifer Morrison here. There’s so much pain in her voice as Neal’s revealing the truth to Emma and Jen just captures how Emma’s barely holding her shirt together because now even more of her life has been shown to be a lie, and this time, a more vulnerable memory has been made even worse because of this new knowledge. -”To remind myself never to trust someone again.” That is such a tragic line. Even as Storybrooke has done a major job of changing Emma’s mindset in that regard, you do still see bits of that distrust in her personality. That’s why I like the concept of Emma’s walls being a constant in the series. -”You’ll never have to see me again.” Neal, you do know that your father is clearly still chasing you, right? You think he’s gonna give up so soon? -I like how as Rumple agreeing to watch the Seer, you can already see that his face has fallen and that he’s grown more haggard, showing some of that fear already striking him now that some of the initial adrenaline has worn off and the reality of the war is settling in. -”Who are you?” Jeez Belle, why not say “hi” like a decent person? -Regina, you know, instead of playing The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it could be easier to, you know, look in her bag instead. -David, Thanksgiving with your family would be the best thing EVER! -Apparently, Bae learned to be a locksmith from Rumple. Neat! -Another great use of the weather from OUAT! The snow really helps to accentuate the dire straits of the war and is just adds a nice bit of texture to the scene so that it’s not just dirt against a night sky. -On the opposite end, Rumple hurting himself, especially as someone who is overcoming some serious orthopedic issues right now, is so uncomfortable to watch. Rumple’s screams actually gave me shudders. -As if I didn’t have enough reasons to praise the living daylights out of Robert Carlyle, just look at the moments when he enters Neal’s apartment. It’s the first glimpse that he gets of everything his son went through as a result of his actions and it’s subtly heartbreaking. -To add to this Robert Carlyle acting chain, his eyes as he screams “tell me” is forking hysterical! -Rumple’s splint makes me so uncomfortable. Go see a better doctor! -”A strong name!” Rumple straight up indignation as he says that cracks me the fork up! -I like Milah’s buildup of frustration as Rumple arrives home. At first, she’s almost smiling as she tells Rumple Bae’s name, but as she quickly confronts him and learns the facts, she gets angrier until we see the beginnings of the misery that sets off “The Crocodile.” I also want to note that Milah’s anger is for Bae’s sake, not for her own like in “The Crocodile,” and I think that is such an important distinction. A lot of people condemn Milah for her choice to leave Bae and my degree of agreement with that statement varies if you’re asking me to view it in terms of her choice as an individual vs comparisons with other characters, but I think it’s important to show that love for Bae. -forking hell. Die, Cora! -I think I do enough of a job complimenting the effects team to be able to laugh at the New York backdrop during Emma and Henry’s conversation. -I ADORE the design of the Seer, by the way. The stitched up face and the eyeballs on her hands is just so cool! -It’s interesting to note that the last scene of the flashback happens after the events of “The Crocodile’s” flashback, as Rumple states that his wife ran away, and not “died.” -Rumple, to quote a magnificent show of great quality, “If you could gaze into the future, you’d think that life would be a breeze, seeing trouble from a distance, but it’s not that easy. I try to save the situation, then I end up misbehaving. Oh-oh-o-o-o-oh!” (I’ll write a ficlet for the first person to tell me what I’m referencing). -”Okay. I get it. We’re all messed up.” *Takes a deep breath* Ookay, Neal. You sent Emma to jail, and while it may have helped break the curse, it also put her through some serious shirt. You don’t get to make light of that. -”In time, you will work it all out.” Yeah, about 250 years, but he does get there, and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome when he does! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Rumple finding his son - I probably should’ve listed this as an arc long ago, but I forgot. In any case, Rumple finally found him! The journey from the start of the series here was a fantastically well done one! I feel like it never dragged or took any longer or shorter than the season and a half that it ended up lasting. And now, it kind of gets a second life. Rumple is now physically with his son, but emotionally couldn’t be further from him, and we get to see Rumple trying to bridge that gap. I don’t remember liking this part of it, but on concept alone, it’s so fascinating to see that next step. Emma lying to Henry - I like that Emma gets to have a flawed moment with Henry and that Henry actually reacts to it so negatively. For a season and a half now, Emma’s been Henry’s hero so of course when she not only lies, but to such an extent, he’s going to have a bad reaction because he’s put her on a pedestal. Not only is it an interesting character moment for Henry, but as I mentioned before, it’s a good job on the narrative’s part in punishing Emma for her lie. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Henry. To be honest, Neal and Rumple should absolutely go here, but their entire conversation is more story based, and I talked about them ad nauseum up in that category, so why not highlight another dynamic? Rumple and Henry are so supportive and kind to each other here, and it feels like both good foreshadowing of their familial relationship, a show of the progress both characters had made thus far when it comes to how they treat their loved ones, and a tragic setup for not only the let down they both get from their respective loved ones, but also of the prophecy. For the latter one, for most of he episode, it felt a little weird seeing Rumple talk to Henry so softly despite knowing the prophecy. It felt a bit like him raising a pig for slaughter. However, the end of the episode makes it clear that Rumple was just now remembering the prophecy as he watched Neal and Henry bond, and it works well enough for me. Their time together in the episode is just so gentle and in an episode that’s more or less full of harsh moments (those gentle moments included in hindsight), the break that Henry and Rumple give is desperately needed. Writer Adam and Eddy are really good at writing intricate storylines. When you look at their other episode like the “Pilot,” “A Land Without Magic,” and “The Queen of Hearts,” you notice that the situation the characters are put into are never so simple. Just like someone can’t or shouldn’t be expected to straight-up hate Regina in the “Pilot,” one can’t or shouldn’t be expected to hate Emma, Neal, Henry, or Rumple here (Except Cora. We can hate Cora allllll we want), no matter who you’re a fan of. That’s because they’re careful with their framing and character work as to never let one forget their full picture. And I think that holds especially true in “Manhattan.” Culture In my intro, I said I was excited to finally get an impression of Neal for myself. When you’re in a certain shipping camp like I am (Captain Swan), Neal tends to be thrown through the ringer. Hell, even my best friend in the fandom hates him. However, when you’re as anti-salt as I am, you tend to take a lot of the shirt thrown at him with a grain of...well, salt. This is part of the reason why this rewatch appealed to me so much. I always found Neal to be pretty average in my book. I remember liking him, but not having much of a reaction to either his actions or his death in Season 3 (I also feel like I should disclose the fact that I wasn’t in either of the shipping camps throughout Neal’s entire present existence on the show), and I feel like I’d be remiss not to talk about him a bit now, especially as this is his debut present episode and affords him the most perspective.

So here goes.

I like Neal. I don’t love him. If you asked me to line up every character in the show, he’d probably end up near August, and I like August too, though not as much as major characters like Rumple, Regina, and Emma.

What’s appealing to me about Neal is his non-exaggerated blunt personality. The way he curb stomps Rumple’s apology is so in-your-face, as if to scream to an audience that already finds sympathy for Rumple that his pain matters too and it will be paid attention to. This works by keeping him a sympathetic character, but also giving him a compelling dynamic. As for Emma, that bluntness also helps, but in a way that makes Emma more sympathetic. I mentioned before that Neal’s exposition about his part in the conspiracy of sending Emma to jail was less than ideal, and it’s part of what contributes to her decision to lie about finding him. Neal is a bit of a jerk, obviously not devoid of either the heroism or love of his former selves, but it’s a character quality all the same and a good one, especially because to my memory, it stays around and is pretty organic. It paints the trauma that he’s had at the hands of the world since his abandonment as it’s such a stark contrast to his Enchanted Forest self.

Rating Golden Apple. What a great episode! It goes in with the promise of payoff for quite a few major story elements and does exactly that. It’s unwaveringly harsh in many respects, but that’s why it works as well as it does. Neal’s addition to the main cast shakes things up and provides new opportunities for characters, for as harsh as it is to watch, seeing Emma lie about Neal and be punished for it was a good narrative choice, and the flashback was utterly fantastic in its storytelling! Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Swan Fire - Listen to that vulnerability as Emma says Neal’s name and that happiness that Neal just can’t keep out of his voice as he says Emma’s! That’s just fantastic! Also, he keeps the dreamcatcher! Also also, that “leave her alone” was romantic as all hell! Captain Floor - I’m very pissed at myself for not mentioning the best ship ever at any point before this. Like, Killian and the Floor just belong together, and to not acknowledge that was a callous mistake on my part! My sincerest apologies to my reader base, and I beg for you not to think I’m at all an anti! ()()()()()()()()() It feels so good to give this season a high grade again!!!! Woohoo!! Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this project together!

Next time...someone DIES!!!

...I’m saying that like we all don’t know who it is that dies… ...Please come back…I’m so lonely...

Season 2 Tally (124/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (39/60) Jane Espenson (25/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (24/50) David Goodman (16/30) Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (17/30) Kalinda Vazquez (20/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

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