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baodurs · 4 years ago

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i want someone besides me and the 2 friends who know all the lore to meet my detective, but i’m too impatient to let you get to know her via fic so i filled out this questionnaire instead. she is veronica and she is so important, here is some stuff about her if you are interested :’)

QUICK READ OF YOUR DETECTIVE

Name: veronica langford

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bi

Love interest: adam

Best friend: morgan

Main skill: science/technology

Secondary skill: combat/physical

Main personality trait: impulsive

Secondary personality trait: sarcastic

Why did they join the Wayhaven PD?: best use of her science skills

Relationship with Rebecca: not great

Relationship with Bobby: ex, finds it hard to be around him

Verda or Tina?: both! but she’s on verda’s branch

Murphy bite?: wrist

Murphy's fate?: captured

Rescue LI or Rescue Sanja?: sanja

GENERAL

Name: veronica “it’s been 3 years and i never gave her a middle name” langford

Nickname: just veronica. people around wayhaven called her ronny growing up, and a few still do despite her trying to grow out of it. maybe a few people from college and sometimes tina call her v or vee or something.

Birthday: please you all know i am so scared of concrete dates

Age: 26

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bi

Hair color: brown

Eye color: dark brown

Height: 5′10 (178 cm)

Piercings: just one in each ear

Tattoos: something retro sci-fi on her shoulder. not a reference to anything specific, but like a little planetary landscape with a UFO in the background or something.

Clothing Style: casual. lots of tank tops and muscle tees (weather- and occasion-permitting), concert t-shirts, warm colors. flannels and leather jackets. jeans, sneakers, combat boots. think like rocker chick vibes, but cozier and more colorful.

Apartment Style: basic. she really did not plan on living there long and kept putting off decorating because it’d be a waste if she was just going to move out. this rationalization went on so long but since the end of book 1 she has slowly bought a few things to push it towards “cozy,” still pretty sparse though.

STATS

Personality:

Charming | Intimidating

Impulsive | Cautious

Sarcastic | Genuine

Friendly | Stoic

Easygoing | Stubborn

Traits:

Heart | Mind

Optimist | Pessimist

Team Player | Independent

Skills:

Main Skill: science/technology (but mostly science)

Second Skill: combat/physical

By the Book | Bend the Rules

KEY DECISIONS

Reason for joining the Wayhaven PD: best use of her science skills

Murphy bite: Wrist | Neck | None

Murphy’s Fate: Captured | Escaped

Rescued: Love Interest | Sanja

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

Love Interest: adam

Why them?: for veronica it’s kind of retroactive. the way i imagine their True Canon, they don’t have any real romantic moments in book 1, so she doesn’t seriously consider that adam might have feelings for her until well into book 2. (the training scene is when she’s like “oh. ok. i get it now.”) even then it takes a few more chapters for her to really process that, figure out how she feels, and recontextualize everything. like realizing that he loves her and then thinking back on their relationship, knowing that, makes her feel so held (sorry i have no better way to say it) in a way that just makes her want to cry.

to give some actual specific reasons, it’s his dedication and his constancy and hidden care/softness. and his very specific brand of... selflessness might be just left of the word i’m looking for, but hopefully you get me.

Bold, shy, or mixed?: neither! in theory it’s closer to bold, but it’s more just earnest.

What were their first impressions of each other?: disastrous. on top of finding him condescending and unpleasant, there are also a few moments where veronica genuinely wonders whether he’s even a good person. or, like, cares about people. but once she learns the truth of things, a lot of her initial anger gets transferred to rebecca.

adam, with the benefit of knowing what’s actually happening, has a slightly more favorable impression of veronica. yes he thinks she’s difficult and reckless and too emotionally driven, yes she’s making his job absolutely miserable, but he does begrudgingly respect that her accusations are always on the right track and she’s good at her job.

What do they find attractive about each other, mentally or physically?:

for veronica: she loooves his sense of humor. and how much faith he has in the people he cares about. physically, dimples <3. but everything about his smile really. and his nose!

for adam: veronica has a very blunt, unadorned sense of kindness to her that he really loves. the way she is kind before she is nice and values directness. physically, her eyes, they’re deep brown and so expressive.

What do they do to spend time together?: they’re both competitive so anything where they can compete on the same team is fun. (competing against each other is fun too, but also like. exhausting. for them and everyone.) maybe puzzles or other things where it feels like they’re “winning” or solving something together. i have spent an embarrassing amount of thought on veronica and overw*tch esp*rts and she would absolutely make adam learn how to play main tank so they could queue as a tank duo. but most of the time i think they don’t Do specific things together; they just hang out. just talk with each other. perhaps snuggle.

What is their favorite memory together?: in current canon... lol. veronica really just treasures any time adam relaxes around her but those moments always get Ruined. even once they’re well into a relationship, i think veronica’s favorite memory would still be something small like a random time he said something funny and they both laughed together and they were outside and the sky was pretty.

What are their love languages?: acts of service for both of them, but especially adam. veronica... probably lots of words of affirmation and physical touch. they’re both bad at blocking out time for themselves in the first place, so quality time can get neglected especially at first.

How do they handle being apart from one another?: pretty well i think! once they’re in an established relationship at least, before that it’s probably harder. but adam can distract himself with work, and veronica is good at focusing on whatever’s in front of her (whether that’s work or she’s away on vacation or something). if neither of them is too busy, veronica calls every night and they stay on a while, half talking and half just keeping each other company.

Do they argue? How do they handle arguments and disagreements? How do they make up?: i think arguments are fairly rare! yes they’re both insanely stubborn, but they also understand each other pretty well (especially once in a relationship) and are very sympathetic to where the other is coming from. unless both of them are extremely stressed, one of them crumbles when they start genuinely arguing like "i don't want to fight ok, let's take a second."

What does their future look like?: who knows! i haven’t decided whether veronica will turn. i think she probably will, just because i do not want my main pairing for this IF to make me very sad all the time, but like. i’m not fully committing until i see a reason pop up in canon. as of book 3′s final demo, it’s not on her radar at all; she knows she loves adam and wishes they could Talk, but ultimately doesn’t expect or even want a relationship right now (because she doesn’t want to deal with dating one of rebecca’s agents OR with the logistics of being in a committed relationship with an immortal being). it’s just all so foreign to her current state of mind that it’s really hard to say!

Anything else you'd like to share: do you know how hard it was to answer some of these considering veronica wasn’t sure they were even, like, on decent terms for such a large portion of the canon content

BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIP

Best friend: morgan and farah are essentially joint besties but i’ll go with M

Why them?: i think they appreciate each other’s no bullshit attitude. morgan likes that veronica doesn’t take herself too seriously and respects/relates to the way she tackles problems (quickly, head-on, and without complaint but also without pretending that it doesn’t suck?). veronica appreciates morgan’s bluntness, likes bantering with her, and in general just likes being around people that have quiet/steady presences.

What were their first impressions of each other?: neither of them had much of a first impression honestly. morgan barely thought of veronica at all beyond “she’s annoying,” and kept to herself so much that any dislike veronica had of morgan took a backseat to her dealing with the rest of unit bravo.

What do they do to spend time together?: lots of just sitting in the same room and listening to (low volume) music, veronica spends a lot of time hunting for songs morgan might like. morgan is also her go-to sparring/training buddy. and there are semi-frequent movie nights where veronica shows farah her favorite old shitty B movies, and sometimes morgan will tag along just to sit in the room with them or affectionately talk shit.

Anything else you'd like to share: i’ll talk a little about N! obviously veronica and nate respect, trust, and like each other, but she finds him the hardest of UB to connect with. they’re both people who wear their compassion on their sleeves but keep a lot of their hearts/themselves held back, so they just kind of circle each other, especially since like... nate values politeness and is very sweet in how he relates to people, while veronica values directness and is more jokey/lighthearted to put people at ease. idk how well i’m communicating this; as of the book 3 demo it’s getting easier, but their friendship is still newer/more... nebulous? than the others.

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS (Feel free to go in depth!)

Relationship with Rebecca: so strained. veronica has come to terms with rebecca’s absences throughout her childhood, but there’s newer resentment over... a lot of things, but how she handled the murphy case especially. veronica hates being kept in the dark, and even more than that she hates being rebecca’s priority. it’s difficult to reconcile her childhood and present images of rebecca, and she’s angry that rebecca is so freely and recklessly choosing her, now, to the point of endangering others if she has to, especially when she never felt like rebecca’s choice before. and incredibly frustrated/confused by how often the lines between their professional and familial relationships are blurred and what rebecca actually wants from her.

Relationship with Rook: veronica takes after rook a lot. in stat terms, the only trait they don’t share is stoic, and even then that’s veronica’s least extreme stat. people always told her how like her father she was growing up, and it’s a comparison she took/takes a lot of pride in! she looks up to him based on the stories, but more recently is uncomfortable with the comparisons. veronica would never have even come back to wayhaven if her life panned out as planned, let alone become a detective or joined the agency. that makes her doubt herself, and she feels like that doubt is letting rook down somehow.

rook is also part of the reason her relationship with rebecca isn’t as bad as it could be. she knows that rook loved her, and that he would want his family to be there for each other, so she feels obligated to at least try to make things better. but it’s really hard for her to move past everything to connect with rebecca (which also makes her feel like she’s disappointing rook).

Relationship with Bobby: they were together for a long time and veronica thought she loved him a lot! it was her first relationship, so she wasn’t sure a) what a “bad partner” looked like, or b) how to even be in a relationship or rely on someone in that way. so they spent a lot of time together and had great superficial chemistry, but veronica didn’t have enough experience with not feeling neglected to realize how shallow it was, or notice the red flags when she did occasionally open up. the plagiarism fiasco was a slap in the face, especially because it cost her internships/grad school apps/whatever, i don’t have the details, and forced her to move back to wayhaven after school. she’s still very hurt by it and finds it hard to be around bobby.

Relationship with Verda: due to the above plagiarism fiasco, veronica was pretty depressed when she moved back home, and disliking her job didn’t help. she was extremely jealous when verda was hired and wanted to hate him. but it did not take long for that to crumble into respect/admiration, and eventually into close friendship! verda is a role model for her; they bond over science; they joke easily and have good chill fun. she was really excited to see him piecing together the truth about the supernatural and then devastated to see how he reacted. she feels insanely guilty and thinks it was selfish of her to let him figure it out, but is also cautiously optimistic about making it up to him as of the book 3 demo.

Relationship with Tina: very close! veronica isolated herself when she came back to wayhaven after school, and she is so grateful to tina for being her closest friend and link to the rest of the world during that time. hates keeping the supernatural from her, though. she didn’t like lying to tina to begin with, but she feels even worse about it now that verda knows, and now that tina has clearly picked up on something being wrong but she still can’t say anything.

Relationship with the Mayor: cannot stand him. hates the way he talks about rook, hates the way he talks to rebecca. she cooperates as necessary but doesn’t bother hiding her lack of patience/respect for him.

Relationship with Capt. Sung: basically fine. i think veronica might be a little too casual for him in the way she works, but she always gets the job done so he’s not too bothered by it. (she is ‘bend the rules,’ but more ‘strict rules aren’t important as long as you’re still doing good work’ than the ‘boooo fuck paperwork’ variety. so it’s mostly fine.) she also appreciates him as a minor link to rook.

Relationship with Haley: very friendly, but not super close. they get along great and could make pleasant conversation for hours, but ultimately don’t know each other super well despite the familiarity of growing up together.

Relationship with Elidor: such a comforting presence for veronica during her recovery! she is so grateful, so fond.

Relationship with Tapeesa/Vieno: veronica loves vieno’s cranky-yet-friendly vibe and they get along well! not close, but will stop to chat whenever they pass each other.

Relationship with Unit Alpha: loves their energy. always looks forward to the next opportunity to chat with them, and fully supports any harmless dunking on UB even if she rarely joins in.

Relationship with the Maa-alused: going through the house of mirrors and then coming home for them to appear in her apartment and infect bobby was one of thee worst experiences of her life, and it’s hard for her to get past that + the illness in general. sympathizes with them, and got them to sign the treaty, but is still kind of unsettled by everything that happened and by falk.

Do they have any other important relationships, past or present? (Relatives, friends, etc.?): some vague figures i have in mind but no one i’ve really developed. a couple friends from college, and maybe an elderly couple that lives on her childhood street and used to check in her.

PERSONAL BIO

Describe their personality: her usual demeanor is very warm and casual. sincere but private--she’s pretty blunt and likes to be direct with people, but steers conversations away from personal topics. likes to joke around and doesn’t take herself that seriously. but behind all this, she’s extremely stubborn and won’t shy away from conflict if she thinks you’re in the wrong (which is why she seems like a different person in the first half of book 1. UB is surprised by how like... chill and nice she is once they clear the air). a workaholic, self-reliant and secure but still pretty hard on herself, takes a lot of responsibility for the people around her.

Strengths: so dedicated. honest and trustworthy, has a strong moral compass and can always be counted on to do her absolute best. flexible and intuitive, her brain works really fast.

Weaknesses: cannot compartmentalize or separate herself from a case, throws herself so recklessly into everything (in terms of both physical danger and emotional burnout). doesn’t necessarily hold grudges but has a hard time letting go of hurt, still can’t think objectively about bobby or rebecca.

Where in the world is their Wayhaven?: somewhere on the US east coast idk what to tell you. perhaps a carolina or a virginia.

What is their personal history?: veronica was pretty social and well-liked around wayhaven growing up. she was known as just a really good kid; she was an overachiever and got along with almost anyone. in college, she felt like she was free of something and took a very work hard/play hard approach to life. always doing or going, whether it was for school or work or fun. she really enjoyed life during this time but crashed and burned pretty hard when she and bobby broke up; a lot of her plans were delayed until the plagiarism incident was resolved and she didn’t really have the heart to pursue them afterwards.

a year or so after graduating, she returned to wayhaven with the intention of taking one more year to regroup, and she has been stuck there longer than she meant to be and has kind of hit a wall when book 1 starts.

If they weren't a detective, what would their dream job be?: she was on track to become a biochemist and it was her dream job but then the main plot happened to her.

Anything else you'd like to share: i don’t really know enough to fully explain this, but no OC i love is a cop so like. i think maybe the job she took when she got back to wayhaven was a douglas-esque receptionist role for detective reele’s private office. then reele retired and small town politics + veronica’s history of useful contributions to cases in her downtime at work led to her being pressured to take up the mantle. it’s hard to explain why she’s a detective when she so deeply does not want to be one but i am Trying (or maybe she would have jumped at the chance to do something marginally closer to forensics?? who knows)

RANDOM FACTS

Zodiac sign: aries is what i assigned her when i first made her and i think it suits her! plus it’d be fun for her and M to be twins. this goes hand-in-hand with my birthday commitment issues though

Hobbies: music (she plays guitar and bass and sings a little), running, gaming unfortunately. i could also see her having been into boxing or some martial art but idk what exactly!

Likes: early morning stillness, DIY projects, t-shirts with inexplicable slogans and other weird thrift store finds

Dislikes: overly sweet food or drink, when cold weather lasts too long, being lied to or “protected” from the truth

Drink of choice: something with gin maybe. also feels a great fondness and gratitude for cheap wine.

Starbucks order: i truly know nothing about coffee. is it weird to order black coffee at starbucks

Favorite food: variations on spicy chicken soup! she eats a lot of crockpot meals for convenience and they’ve grown on her, and she has a few different recipes based on whatever she has on hand.

Favorite color: maybe like a rusty orange

Favorite music: she will listen to anything, but her favorite is probably folk rock, or sometimes stuff with soul or old school country vibes. big thief is a good example of an artist she’d be into i think! also was very into the indie music scene in her college town and still follows some of those bands.

Favorite genre (and favorite movie/book/etc): loves old, campy, unselfconsciously optimistic sci-fi. loves star trek tos. also a fan of documentaries of all kinds.

Favorite season: summer

Anything else you'd like to share: a kiss for you reading this mwah

#oc: veronica langford #i wrote most of this in my post-vaccine delirium and did not edit it so. apologies if that is obvious #anyway if you read all/any of this thank u!!! i would love to write more for veronica and w/ayhaven but my sole writing brain cell has-#-always been allergic to t/wc for some reason. One Day. love her so dearly tho #once again macrodosing on shame by posting a filled out oc questionnaire. thank u everyone for witnessing

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haknew · 4 years ago

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pls talk about your thoughts about chanhee and also the other concepts!! I always have such a hard time interpreting music and videos but i love to read about it

“bestie pls share ur thoughts on make your own concepts specifically chanhee’s but any others that are ur fave too 🎤- mar”

omg mar thank you for enabling me all day today 😭🥺🧡 thenks bestie ily :,)) and thank you too anon ! i should preface that T-T i have not read any other theories or analyses so these are just my opinions / impressions but i hope it’s entertaining to read about haha :p ! (feel free @ anyone to add on or share your thoughts too ! :,))

HYUNJAE - okay so audio cues... if you listen to the beginning there’s a sound of a bomb going off before the music starts ? and that ties into the dystopian / cyborg aesthetics that jump out at me of course, but what i immediately thought of was their no air perfo ? like we know hyunjae in the no air mv got that shot where he’s laying in the bathtub filled with water but also their kingdom performance with it also had those underwater shots ! so i think it ties into that... i feel like we saw in gen z, he’s a very straightforward person he says things on his mind which can come off as blunt but he thinks it’s better than not saying it ? which is interesting bc i think that speaks to his self- determined personality, he’s much more inclined to do whatever it takes to get something done, which i think falls perfectly in line with the “make your own air” phrase that he gets, if it’s something he needs he makes it himself, in a situational sense methinks u.u

JUYEON - JUYEON’S DJSKHDG i’m waiting for dri’s essay but in essence we see the gen z “juyeon is not such a good boy” shot and these text bubbles that pop up that say “sexy” “you so hot” “such a bad boy” and tbh i like this ‘concept’ ? for him better than his gen z one ? it’s not bc of the concept itself but i like the idea that he can “make your own character” as in he has the capability and power to be whoever he wants to ! you see him throwing white paint at the gen z canvas and i think ?! that’s symbolic of like a fresh canvas ! of remaking himself to whatever he wants bc the canvas is now blank again thanks to the white paint and flowers usually indicate spring ? so renewal and stuff like that ! i really like his, it’s also fun word play on “character” which has been juyeon’s intro in tbz (bc his name sounds like main character in korean) but yea :o ! i really love his the idea he can just repaint / paint over a literal image of him gives it the possibility of becoming smth new and that’s so so cool

CHANGMIN - SCREEEEECH okie um oh boy um *windows shutting down noises* this was so so so very different from his gen z stuff but i actually think BOTH are equally perfect for him ? the way that he set up the sparklers and neon lights on this very obviously trashy and kind of rundown rooftop with the cityline behind him is so ?!?!? LITERALLY making his own stage as his tagline goes, sort of like how the physical stage itself does not matter but rather it’s changmin himself that makes the stage special ! i talked about this in gabi’s set that i rbed ;-;/ but changmin puts a lot A LOT of stake in his position as a dancer it means almost everything to him as a form of expression from what i can see ? so he’s always trying his best to put forward the best performance possible and seeing this segment makes me feel like he’s doing just that ! pouring himself into it to make his stage pls i care him

HAKNYEON - god i’m a jusadan but just u.u rest in peace me, i’ll ... T_T be kind of honest this one confuses me a little ? i have assumptions and i feel like i know ... quite a bit about haknyeon (LMAO) my best guess is it has smth to do with self assurance ...? the way he’s framed and the fact that he’s sitting on a bed in the middle of a church surrounded by candles gives me christ figure symbolism (where my ap english takers at :/) and the light that perfectly frames him in a halo gives me angel vibes too, but the tagline of “make your own romance” paired with him kissing his reflection makes me think it’s about self love ;;;; from what i can tell haknyeon has always been someone who really likes feeling validated and praised for the stuff he does well, which he does for himself a lot of the times too ! but sometimes i think the self assurances he compliments himself with is more for reassuring himself rather than bragging (which i think people misinterpret) so it’s more about becoming the person he wants to fully love and being happie with himself which *tears* i might be reading too much into who knows i just love him ok ... U.U

KEBINNN - i know !!! dri mentioned this in my gifset tags but ! kev on kpop daebak (? was it) or smth mentioned how he strives to keep a childlike wonderment for the world around him, which is a reason why i think he loves drawing and sound / music production, he talked in a fancafe post once about an artist who turned mediocre everyday objects into art and he said he really loves that sense of wonderment so peter pan who “never grows up” is actually perfect for his worldview ahhhh T^T also kev really likes disney lmao, the way he’s doing this outside in this “neverland” garden on a balcony which is a part of this very typical apartment backed by a typical city bg also i believe ties into this turning a mediocre everyday thing into smth wonderful through his sense of childlike wonderment and his tagline of “make your own fantasy” (i also care him a lot this concept >>>>>>) and keeps to his referencing movie plotlines like he did in gen z jddkfj

SUNWOO - i also mentioned this in my tags on sunu’s set but this gives me 100 degrees vibes which i still to this day think is one of the most “sunwoo” vibe things ever, it’s a lot of him having fun and doing his own thing, and mixes both more mature and youthful aspects together in a way that i’d only ever describe as sunwoo vibes LMAO like the roller skating around and all the soap bubbles ! cute and youthful ! the crop top and celine wasitband (don’t laugh at me we all noticed) more mature and a callback to his gen z look methinks U.u, think sunwoo has always been a more go-with-the-flow or do whatever he feels like doing sort of person and so “make your own vibe” fits well with him in that sense to me

SANGYEON - .... *silence* *more windows shutting down noises* *jess.exe has stopped working* OKAY i feel like ! sangyeon’s is also more self explanatory :p i love the juxtaposition of boxing AND the arcade type fighter games ?? like both require very different sets of skills i feel like one is more physical the other is more mental ? but both require adapting to changes whether in the game or the boxing ring which as leader sangyeon would know a lot about, esp being flexible and quick to respond to different situations, and the “make your own glory” i feel is maybe more on the nose, but tbz are this man’s pride and joy you can see it literally anywhere and for him, as leader, to have made it this far with tbz, winning rtk and building their popularity through their hard work and efforts really is building his own glory and i just HHHHHHHHHH

YES EYYSFDHSHF CHANHEE YES - i said it in the tags of my srb before deleting it so i’ll just repeat it here but CHOI CHANHEE !!!!! this detail i didn’t quite process first watch was the continuous flashing of lights in all his scenes, like ... from the shots and the set it looks REALLY empty ?? but the flashing seems to indicate cameras and photos being taken of him despite there being no people we can really see in any of the shots ? WHICH IS SO COOL i think the implication is like “all eyes on him” type which SO TRU i love that idea, like i said the walking past the wedding dresses ? v heavily implies fashion designer which i think you mentioned mar :o ! and i see it in the sense of his tagline “make your own stereotype” bc white wedding dresses are the very traditional / typical choice and obviously feminine in stereotypes, whereas chanhee is wearing a SUIT which is all black in a very clean b/w set with no color which i feel is very stereotypically MASCULINE and the glasses too, it’s such an interesting contrast of his “stereotypically feminine” features (in my view) with very masculine symbols, like glasses we usually associate with more soft hearted / meek stereotypes ? but the geometric shape of the windows and again his suit seems to indicate the very opposite ? it’s a mixing of stereotypes which i think is the point, by putting those together he quite literally makes his own stereotype and puts on the crown while the cameras continue flashing while pointed at him AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

YOUNGHOON - okie might have less to say about this one :o i feel like both hak’s and younghoon’s i don’t see the connections quite as readily but ! i think it’s interesting that his tagline is “make your own classic” but then in the scenes itself he has a flip phone ??? with an antenna (okay boomer /j JDHFKFG JK PLS) and a teddy bear while in PERIOD stylized clothing and setting where those two things are more modern / contemporary in origin (but also not modern enough bc ,,, it’s a flip phone LOL) like 90s kid vibes ? you know but as an emperor in the joseon era haha :p while eating shrimp chips and reading a (comic ?) book, like idk too much of what it means but it’s a cool dichotomy LOL, think it might also tie into actor ! hoon bc it’s make your own classic and i think acting has become a very important aspect to him :o after seeing what he’s capable of in love revolution and his atbz video so it’s interesting u.u (need help w/ this one)

JACOB - think my explanation in han’s set’s tags didn’t really make sense so lemme ... reexplain LOL,,, so ! similar to his gen z video ? like he’s talked about how difficult it is to open up about his own feelings etc. and he said it’s less bc he realizes he needs to but rather just to make other people feel more comfortable when it comes to understanding him, and like the whole breaking the mirror with his reflection in the wanna be angry jacob, it’s about freeing himself to the point he can express the emotions he wants to ! in gen z it was about being able to be angry when he felt that way instead of being tied by his image of being just nice ? and in the video with his pilot uniform not only does he control the ride but he also rides on it himself ! quite literally making his own freedom (symbolically), a sort of realizing he can free himself ? from what’s been tying him down and i think the really big smile he has while riding it just comes to show how he wants to feel :,))) (jacob bae i care you)

ERIC - last one :p AHHH this is one of my favs too, the quite literal “make your own pride” I LOVE IT ! sooo i think the biggest takeaway i got was that of course in this video his “pride” is symbolized by the hot pink car (that he’s going to pick up his christmassy date in of course u.u if he has a license which he does n- his driver’s license in this was literally his aaa / boy version of reveal photo which in no dmv anywhere would a license picture be allowed to look that good-) and LITERALLY when he finished and takes it for a joy ride while sitting on the roof he’s STILL covered in the dirt and grime stains ! from working on it ! which i think is so symbolic ! it’s my favorite detail actually, he literally put sweat into this car which is his pride and now that he’s finally riding around in it, it feels accomplishing ! his pride ! love that, also when he’s grabbing a stub from that flyer i noticed he chose “youth” over the others (which was like .... ca$h, beauty, ice cream, hamburger...) which i think also just indicates that despite all this hard work he put in he still cherishes his youth and still lets that be a huge part of who he is (i mean pink car so of course) so idk i think it’s very neat go bestie mwah

#sunnew #anon #asks #not tbz #jess.replies #be your own king analysis #I WROTE SO MUCH PLS #even more than my gen z analysis i think #anyway if anyone reads all of this oof thank you #HHHEEELP #i just did all of them ....#my weakest ones are def hak sunwoo yh #idk but i like what i came up with for the others ! ^^#i've seen a few twt threads but haven't read any lol #wrote the most about chanhee but no one is surprised of course

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tothelasthoursofmylife · 3 years ago

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4, 8, 11, 15, 21, 40 and 43 for the fanfic writer asks :)

Thanks^^

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Hm, basically what I like to read as well which is fantasy and mystery/crime with some other things sprinkled in it here and there, but fantasy and mystery are the main ones.

(Though I am realising that mystery is an absolute pain to write.)

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Uh.

Uhm.

I don't know? I guess it's just I take in as much as I can from music/books/movies/shows/posts/etc. and then it gets all shaken up and I end up with something at some point? I can't think of anything more specific ._.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Yes, though most of the time it's less "criticisms" and more "friendly point-outs" I think? Just last chapter, someone told me that Catholic priests actually don't marry and have children. I had actually looked that up and decided that Marcel's simply a convert and was married and had a child beforehand because that's okay - well, nowadays, yes, but I didn't check any dates and was a hundred years off with this^^' They are now all Protestants.^^' (I'm not Christian and not very religious or very versed in religion-related things ._. Was a bit embarrassing...)

I can't think of much else. I was once told that the Frankenstein joke from Ch9 is too long and maybe I should cut or omit it, but that's an answer for the reverse of the question because I didn't amend it.

Most amendments I think are because I want to change things. I don't change too much though so that I am not throwing people off too much. I want to make larger changes, but I guess it's better that I don't (I may rewrite too much).

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

It's a mix of "using the first name that came to my mind", "going on Behind the Name or another name site and looking at the lists until I find a name I like", "using random name generators until I get a name I like", "naming a character after another character", and "carefully picking a name." (The last two often intertwine.) Or: "naming a character after someone I know."

Basically, I do everything hah.

For example:

"Kristopher" is the first name that came to my mind that starts with a "K". (I low-key wish I had picked something else.) "Cecelia" was just a name I thought was pretty.

"Aurèle" is the product of a Behind the Name hunt. So are "Arnaud", "Jacques", and "Gérard".

Most Nanteuil residents got a randomly generated name hah.

Anais is named after Anais from The Amazing World of Gumball.

Marcel is named after a former history teacher of mine that looked like Jesus 👀

The Disaster Trio's names are a bit more complicated...

They are named after characters from KHR and based on them as well :)

Hayato ("haya" is falcon, "to" is person) Gokudera --> Falk Hermann ("mann" is man, so it's also person)

Takeshi ("Takeshi" means military in this case) Yamamoto ("yama" is mountain) --> Cadell (means battle) Beaumont ("mont" is mountain)

Ryohei (no idea what the right meaning for his kanji is, but the name can, i.a., mean peace) Sasagawa --> Geoffrey ("frey" --> "frid" means peace) Bentley (the first part means "bent grass"; Ryohei is nicknamed Grass Head)

"Disaster Trio" is something from an old KHR FF of mine^^ Though that trio consisted of 3 other characters.

(EDIT: Minutes after hitting "publish", I realised I've been listening to the three singing "Familia" while writing this XD)

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

I admire many! I could go on and on, but I'll just pick my favourite ones :)

(I'm not quite sure if the question refers to published writers or writers of fanfiction, so let's do both.)

Derek Landy (Skulduggery Pleasant) - I'm terrible at fight scenes. His? Great. I love them. His dialogues are also so much fun. It's all fun and games and then he hits you with a brick of devastation :')

V. E. Schwab (Shades of Magic, Monsters of Verity...) - She also has lovely fight scenes and her writing style is so, so pretty.

Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles) - She's SO good with multiple POVs. The POVs keep adding up in the Lunar Chronicles and by "Winter", there are like 10 different ones and they are all distinct and easily distinguishable. Also, I've never been so anxious reading anything like I read the last parts of Cinder/Scarlet/Winter (and I got a genuine shudder reading the last bit of Heartless). If she ever writes a thriller, maybe it will finally be one that will actually "thrill" me.

All three are also genuinely nice people^^

I have to say: I don't actually read much fanfiction...^^' I used to read a bunch a few years ago. I only got back into reading more FFs in the last few months...

FollowTheMagpie is after all these years still one of my favourites. Dropped an amazing piece of writing and then dipped. Never uploaded anything again. Such an icon.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Yes, some.

In real life, it's just my sister (my brother's suspicious haha). A bunch of my internet friends know too^^

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

YES, OF COURSE, YOU WOULD ASK THIS.

Yes, some things were guessed^^ 🤭

(The age-old dilemma: Can't say what though ._. (But I really want to.))

(A bunch of stuff hasn't been noticed yet though 👀)

#it took me so long to answer omgg #asks #ask games

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thesvenqueen · 4 years ago

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TO THE END

S&B Episode 8 (I get a bit rabmle-y at the end there but, it's a good end review I swear!!)

- l've loved the switch in title cards every episode, really great detail and so fun to see what they come up with - bowler hat gang UNITE - HOW DARE YOU FORGET MILO WTF - oop Zoya piecing the puzzle together, yes girl - AHHHH MATTHIAS AND NINA YEEEES. - >.> there's only ONE BED <.< - NO DON'T LEAVE - :( god damn it, y'all killing me here - can you at least share the bed before you go?? - YES TO KERCH, LETS GO - "I will keep you warm" ASKLFGKLASDGBASDFNKB - WE NEARLY HAD A KISS WHY YOU AHHHHHHHHDLKASGALSKDHGVLSDKVBLKS - omg they let them get waffles I COULD CRY - oh they were so happy god DAMN IT - Fedyor WHY WHY WHY WHYYYY THEY WERE HAPPY GDI - they dooo though they dooooooo - UGHHHH we got 3 mins of happiness ffs I hate it hereeee - "remember who's driving" bitch I know you did NOT - bro Inej realizing someone is below deck with them YES YES YES - "I'll ask again, who are you?" god Jesper intimidating is HOT AF HELLO??? - boy Kaz has no buisness looking that good too jesus - mhmmmm, you be right Alina. - yeaaaaaaaah this is bad, this is really bad - ohhhhhhhhh my GOD - bruh, the SCREAMS wtf - ffs Mal can you please listen for once - INEJ COME ON YOU TOO???? UGHHHH - ok book quote I see you, nicely done - "us" it's just you tf you mean - again, Mal, I know you said you're not smart but bruh what kind of plan was that - JESPER NOOO YOU DON'T GET IT YO - YEAHHH BEAT HIS ASS INEJ - HE CALLED HER WRAITH OHHHHH - Ivan jfc - NOOOOOO INEJ - ZOYA HELL YES LETS GO - JESPER, BOY, THAT WAS DOPE BUT THE CUT OH MY GOD OH MY GOD - KAZ COMING IN CLUTCH THANK FUCK - she kissed the knife before she threw it I am just...I am dying hello HELP?!? - INEJ GOT THE DARKLING BITCH I SEE YOU QUEEN - Kaz is literally laying on top of Jesper even with his phobia I can not right now - girl don't you waste all your knives!!! - KAZ. WITH THE CANE. PROTECTING HIS INVESTMENTS. FUCK YES. lmao - owowowwowowowow my hand owowowow - YAS QUEEN LETS GO - save???? YOU engulfed the whole fucking city into darkness because they pissed you off shut the actual fuck up - Mal. Sweetie. what are you doing?? you literally brought a butter knife to a cut fight - I V A N. BITCH. NO. - JESPER BABY LETS GOOOOO - god with every spin of his gun I fall more in love jfc - byeeeee Ivan!! - whyyyy you no aim for the head Mal?!?!? - lmao Kaz ready with his fucking cane to wack some mf monsters I'm here for it - thank you for showing Kaz hella struggling with his cane and walking, I appreciate this so much - Awwww Inej, sweet baby - SHE GAVE HER A DAGGER BLESS - aw :( Kaz realizing Inej really might leave, oh sweet boy - LISTEN, Kaz can't break a deal homie. there is a lot at risk here that he can't lose - ......that might fix the problem. - For Inej, he did it for Inej and that's it and Inej was over in the back fighting to not fucking hug him I can not - Kaz be right, from experience Zoya please. - lmao "I still don't like you" ZOYA girl come on - this entire Kaz & Inej conversation I have no words I'm crying - "I need you" the face & noise I just made were not human ahhhhh - I mean, we know you stay, BUT PLEASE INEJ STAY - MATTHIAS - YOU WAIT MATTHIAS CHILL WTF - IT WASN'T THOUGH - come ON Matthias how do you not believe her??? - that literally broke my heart oh my god - he ALWAYS has a plan - ayeeee I got one for you - oh you shit, I see you - yeahhhh bout that, he ain't dead - welp, that's definitely not good.. - "follow" nah I only follow Kaz Brekker thanks

Netlfix, seriously, just go ahead and announce season 2 because we ALL want it. I NEED it so badly just, do it do it do it.

In all seriousness, as for as YA book adaptation, this is top notch if not the best adaptation I've seen. The cast was A+, nailing the characters so beautifully and bringing life to some that I really didn't fully appreciate in the books. Specifically Archie with Mal, credits to him and the writers (and Leigh) for really working to make him a stronger, fully developed character. It was so well done and I am really rooting for them more so than I was in the books.

Crow wise. Brilliant. Absolutely fucking brilliant. Kit, Freddy, Amita, Danielle, Calahan; literally the most perfect casting. Period. I was so incredibly nervous when the show was announced how casting would go for the crows. They're my favorites, ones that I really treasured and when I tell you just the cast photo I had a feeling this was going to go well. Well was an understatement. I was absolutely blown away by how well they nailed the Crows. The humor, the small gestures, the teasing and comments; absolutely perfect. I have only one complaint, the same as Kit: GIVE ME WYLAN!!!

Also,Jessie as Alina, round of applause as well. I didn't mind her character in the book, but in the show I felt more connected and really was cheering for her and I have to give that to Jessie. Like Archie, she did a great job bringing the character to life and making her enjoyable, more fully developed tbh. I don't even need to go into Ben because I despise the Darkling as much as I did in the books so I'd say he was fucking brilliant.

The fact their budget was limited, they somehow was able to create a world so beautiful so incredibly well done and oddly inviting. The costumes, the sets, even the Fold looked nearly inviting. It all seemed so well done, so well put together and as I imagined it for the most part. The display of Grisha power was not corny but subtle and well created, not overdone like some like to do. It was believable and so cool to see displayed on tv.

Honest to god this is, to me at least, by far the best YA book adaptation in a long, LONG time. This coming from a HP, Twilight, Series of Unfortunate Events fan. I've seen YA books fail so badly (Euragon, ugh the heartbreak of that disaster) or just, be so flat it hurts...looking at you Twilight. Some having a cast that just, despises the entire book and movie all together, others so well connected and done so brilliantly only for the story to be torn to bits in some parts that you're left wondering if you read the same book at times (HP, never forgive you for that final battle scene, wtf was even that??). But for real, this had the perfect cast, perfect sets & editing, amazing music, fantastic writing to piece it all together and overall was just...absolutely amazing. Definitely going to be something I rewatch over and over and over again till the next season.

Thank you for not fucking it up <3

#six of crows #shadow and bone spoilers #jessica watches shadow adn bone

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shortskirtsandsarcasm · 4 years ago

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My Best Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

My Best Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

In mid-2020 I made a blog post of the best books I read in the year up until then, and now it is time for part 2 of my best 2020 reads. My final book count was 201, and you can find the full list of titles here and here as well as any statistics you want here. The titles in this post will appear in alphabetical order.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This was a re-read for me. I read this series for the first time in middle school when I was 12/13 and was absolutely enamored of the real and fantasy settings in Victorian London. It was the first young adult thing I read, with the possible exception of Twilight (deep regret) and Meg Cabot’s The Boy Next Door (time for a re-read). I was worried that the story and characters would not hold up, reading it as an adult (like Twilight!) but I regret my doubts. It was just as perfect as I remembered.

Gemma Doyle is a sarcastic sixteen-year-old eager to grow up in a harsh world for women but has not thought much about what “growing up” will mean (both in the real world and in the fantasy world she discovers) until her mother dies suddenly and mysteriously and she is spirited from India where she has spent most of her life, to England to attend a stuffy girls’ boarding school, where she makes unlikely friends with the most popular girls and a poor outcast.

Even though she lives in the Victorian era and also a magical universe, many of her teenage experiences are very relatable. Friends, boys, romance, her relationship with her parents, and dealing with addiction, abuse, and The Patriarchy™. I am excited to re-read the rest of the series this year.

I will also take this opportunity to shout-out Bray’s other series, The Diviners! The fourth book came out this year and I loved it, just like I have loved every single other book Libba Bray has ever written. Maybe when I am done with my Gemma Doyle Trilogy series re-read I will re-read all of the Diviners books (especially because they have Gemma Doyle Easter eggs). I will make sure to rave about them to you all over again.

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi

My first graphic novel! I saw the movie when it came out in 2011 in an arthouse theater in NorCal and I have not been able to find it online anywhere since then. Please let me know if you find it somewhere.

This 84-page book is a sad and beautiful tale of Nasser Ali Khan who has decided to take to his bed and wait for death since his beloved violin has been destroyed. There is a main timeline and flashbacks throughout Nasser’s history showing how his violin became his reason to live, and how it got destroyed.

Where the movie has many hilariously funny moments, the book does not. It is purely devastating. The artwork is gorgeous and evocative and even though the story is sad, in my mind it does not bog the reader down in sadness.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Reading this memoir was extremely tough, but of course important and worth it. Miller’s recollection of her assault and the physical and emotional toll it took on her is devastating to read, especially as it parallels many scenarios other women have found themselves in. Despite the dark subject matter, it was encouraging to see Miller’s resilience and healing process.

I immediately followed this book with She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, also an important book on rape and sexual assault and therefore also dark. I would absolutely recommend this book as well, but learn from my mistake and read at least one light fun thing in between them.

Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O’Donoghue

I have already reviewed this year (which you can find here) so I will only say that I loved it when I read it, but more importantly, it has stuck with me. I have thought about this book at least once a week since I have read it. I have thought about Satan, the dog a lot, but most of all I have thought of Charlie and Laura’s evolving friendship.

I am so excited for Caroline O’Donoghue’s newest book, All Our Hidden Gifts, out this year and I was bitterly disappointed to hear that the release date has been pushed back until July (though understandably). For more on my love of my fellow Caroline, you can read my original review of Scenes of a Graphic Nature.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

I find myself comparing every other book about a young woman finding her way in the world to this book. It made me uncomfortable and self-reflective, and it was highly entertaining at the same time. You can read my original review here.

Reid’s writing style is exceptionally readable and funny in places. This was an amazing debut and I hope Reid publishes a new book soon for my greedy bookworm soul.

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

I have very recently extolled the virtues of The Golem and the Djinni, but here I am again, recommending this delightful tale. The central friendship is relatable, yet unlikely and unprecedented (at least in all the literature I have read) and the prose is atmospheric and transportive. I am a huge fan of magical realism, and this story satisfied my cravings.

Something I did not mention in my previous review is the deftly written descriptive prose. My favorites were the scenes of Chava working in the bakery, focusing on kneading bread dough and shaping pastries. Chava’s inner monologue while dealing with customers and their private thoughts and desires was also a touch I appreciated. Maybe I have not read enough books with a mind-reader protagonist, but Chava’s type of clairvoyance felt fresh to me.

The Witches are Coming by Lindy West

Lindy West is a gift. I listened to the audiobook, which she reads herself, and was absolutely crying with laughter. Her writing style is accessible and her analogies are perfect. I wish I had her talent to distill the world’s cruel injustices so deftly and accurately.

My favorite essay was “Ted Bundy is not Hot, Are You High?” As much as I love the true crime genre, I do have a gripe with the thirst people seem to have for Bundy. Why? First of all, he looks like an average man from the ’70s who is off-duty from his day-job making balloon animals at the county fair. Second, anyone who perpetrates vicious and brazen gendered violence is immediately not attractive. West expresses this much better than I ever could, and with the added bonus of humor.

For more media on the [American] fascination with white men serial killers, I would recommend the podcast You’re Wrong About, specifically the episodes on “alpha males,” Kitty Genovese, and Jeffrey Dahmer.

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eirenare · 5 years ago

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Okay, soooo *rubs hands together* Now that I have the TLJ junior novelization, let's get to something very important:

it reveals the origin of the “Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise”

First of all, I have to say that I found out that reveal accidentally little ago before getting the novelization, thanks to this lovely Reylo art post over here , and it totally hyped me up (and made me cackle because I was writing a highly speculative fic piece that could kinda fit with this)

For those who don’t know, both in the TFA junior and non-junior novelizations, when Rey touches (or gets close to it, depending on the version) the legacy lightsaber and she sees the vision, what we see in the movie isn’t 100% what happens in the novelizations: in the books she also hears a familiar voice, described in interesting ways, telling her “Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise”, among some other changes

The TFA non-junior novelization has this, and the TFA junior novelization describes it too, but it also has minimum another moment where Rey thinks of this (I haven’t fully read the novels for now, so there might be more I’m unaware of as of now)

And this is where TLJ makes things interesting: there’s no mention of this in the movie, just like in TFA, and as far as I’ve read on the TLJ non-junior novelization there’s no mention there either—but the junior TLJ novelization has, at least, FOUR scenes where these phrases and Rey’s past appear

Sounds interesting? Well... buckle up guys, because this is going to be long (like... very long, because there are lots of paragraphs from the novelization, and then some discussion/speculation/theorizing) and it’s gonna end up in much feels for Rey (also, I’ll highlight some important or curious things):

CHAPTER 7

“The island was haunted. Rey was sure of it.

She stood outside Luke’s hut and watched the fog roll across the village. The haze was thick and held an eerie pre-dawn glow. She had the vague impression that something lurked within those mists. Specters whispering secrets from a long-lost time.

Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.

The voice startled her. Those words were the same she had heard so many times in her drams on Jakku. Yet this was not Jakku. And looking around, she saw she stood alone.”

CHAPTER 10

“Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.

The star freighter’s hatch closed, and its engines warmed. Rey tried to run toward it, but Unkar Plutt’s meaty hands held her back. No amount of squirming or wriggling would release her. She was only a small human child, while Plutt was an overweight, overgrown Crolute.

“Come back!” Rey shrieked at the ship. “Come back!”

Her cries caused Plutt to squeeze her arm so tightly it hurt. But that pain did not compare with the heartbreak of watching the freighter lift off. The ship roared toward Jakku’s sun, never to come back as promised.

Rey woke to the sunlight of another world. Dawn streamed through the doorway of the hut in which she’d taken shelter to escape the night’s rain. Fortunately, the rain had ended, as had the nightmare of her parents abandoning her on Jakku.

She blinked and the afterimages of the bad dream faded away.”

CHAPTER 21

“She didn’t want to listen to him. She wanted him to stop the charade and return to Leia. But she also wanted to know.

“Let it go”, he said. “You know the truth. Say it.”

She knew only what she feared. And what she feared was the truth of the voice from her dreams—the dreams that had haunted her since the day her parents abandoned her on Jakku.

Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.

That was not the voice of her mother or her father, as she had long convinced herself.

The voice was her own.

She had imagined that voice and repeated those words over and over as a child until they became part of her reality, even her dreams. They had helped her fall asleep on a hungry stomach and pushed her to persevere when the future seemed bleak. When the years went by and her parents never returned to take her back, she never gave up the hope that someday soon they would and the nightmare of her youth would be over.

It was a false hope.

Was that what Luke had tried to prompt her to confess in the library? The truth she had locked in her heart and had never let herself admit? The truth that her parents were not hardworking space merchants trying to scrape enough together to make a better life for their family?

“They were nobody”, Rey said at last.

“They were filthy junk traders who sold you off for drinking money”, Kylo Ren said, spitting out the words. “They’re dead in a pauper’s grave on Jakku, like all the other junk buried there.”

Rey hadn’t known those details, but she had no doubt what Kylo Ren said was true. Her whole life had been one giant lie of her own making, a castle of dreams and echoes that had no foundation.

She shook all over. She might have survived Snoke’s mental thrashing, but this self-admission could break her for good.

Ren stepped toward her. “You have no place in the story. You come from nothing. You are nothing.” His tone became tender. “But not to me.”

He deactivated the blade. “Join me. Please.” He held out his hand to her.

She looked at him, pale and ghostly in the starlight of the window. His request was sincere. He wanted to teach her. She could learn great power from him. He could help her attain her true potential in the Force. Her past didn’t matter. All that mattered was her place in the future.

Rey reached out to Ren. He smiled.

Their hands never met.

Rey could never join with him. Not as he stood before her now. For he, too, had tried to erase his past, reinventing himself in the mold of his grandfather. The difference was that he had lost hope in his parents, while she had kept hope in hers, however false, alive.

Perhaps that was the very meaning of hope. It seemed false until it happened.

And if she wanted to save Ben, she would have to stop Kylo Ren.”

CHAPTER 23

“Rey saw stars. And lights. And more stars.

But the stars in the viewport began to fade away, as did the lights on the console. Everything was fading—even the sound of her breathing—into a quiet, dark nothingness.

Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.

Jarred by the voice, she sat bolt upright in the cockpit of Snoke’s private shuttle. Of course there was no one else in the ship. Those words were just an echo in her mind. Something she had repeated to herself to stay alive on Jakku. A truth about herself with which she had reconciled.

Those words had just saved her, drawing her from what could have been a deadly slumber.

— — —

"Those words had just saved her, drawing her from what could have been a deadly slumber”

The absolute s e r v e

* “Sleeping Beauty” vibes intensify*

Also, the reflection about how her past doesn’t matter, but that her future does? All the while she’s considering joining Ben? The fact that she can’t stay by Ben’s side specifically then, as the situation was in that moment?

And the fact that Rey, at that exact point between after the revelation and before the battle of Crait, clearly thought she wanted to save Ben— I’m—

*cries in Reylo*

But well, going back to the main point of all this...

Yep. That was Rey’s own voice

Not Ben from the future, not her parents, no one but herself—trying to shield herself from the pain and the truth to walk forward. I have to say this surprised me, but it’s interesting and it has me full of feels for Rey

Now the thing is, translations can be very interesting... and whereas in English you can probably just assume that Rey is saying “come back!” in plural, in Spanish (Castilian) it gets more interesting because the “come back!” is in singular

Worth to note how Rey doesn’t doubt Ben at all, she fully believes him. And honestly, I don’t think he lied either. But... could Ben had been mislead on accident by what he saw? Could have he seen something that, while true, wasn’t the whole truth, so he had an incomplete view?

I mean, that happens constantly—and we know how visions can be tricky things (something that, in fact, Snoke thinks about for a good while during a certain chapter of the TLJ non-junior novelization)

Also, another thing worth to note is that the TLJ novelization (both the junior and non-junior ones) expands on what Ben tells her in the turbolift about her turning. Here’s the TLJ non-junior version text (Ben’s words don’t differ, but the non-junior highlights in cursive some words—which is why I chose it, except I’m going to highlight them in bold for better visibility), starting from when Rey reveals her vision of Ben’s future:

“When we touched I saw your future,” she told him. “Just the shape of it, but solid and clear. You will not bow before Snoke. You will turn—I’ll help you. I saw it. It’s your destiny.

She watched the emotions chase themselves across his face, echoed by jitters and spikes in the Force. Anger. Confusion. Pain. Loneliness. Longing. Sorrow.

Then he lifted his eyes to hers.

“You’re wrong”, Kylo said. “When we touched I saw something, too. Not your future—your past. And because of what I saw, I know that when the moment comes, you’ll be the one to turn. You’ll stand with me. Rey, I saw who your parents are.”

Rey stared at him, but there was no lie in Kylo’s eyes. And a terrifying realization bloomed in her mind: Kylo’s churning emotions weren’t just about himself. They were also about her.”

So, what Ben saw wasn’t a part of her future, but her past—and we know what Ben told Rey about her past, about her origins, but as I said: what if the picture was incomplete?

With incomplete I don’t mean that we would be getting Rey being related to someone important, nor inheriting powers—I do think there are ways for Rey to keep being a no one chosen as a “vessel” of the Force, to keep her origins humble, while making something really dramatic and shocking with her past

I mean, think of that... while Ben told Rey that her parents are dead and buried in a pauper’s grave in Jakku, Rey is shouting “come back!” in singular, so either the devil’s in the detail and the parents didn’t die at the same time, with one leaving Rey behind (or dying trying to do so *looks sideways at the theory of Rey accidentally killing her parents*), or after her parents died someone who could’ve taken her out of Jakku but didn’t (or couldn’t) do so

Regardless of what we see in TROS, though—reading Rey realize the truth behind those words is so sad. This woman needs: a hug

And it makes me sad too that we’re probably not going to see anything about it in the TROS movie because it hasn’t been mentioned in TFA or TLJ outside the books *sigh*

But well, if the TLJ novels adressed this when the TFA and TLJ movies didn’t, I think there’s a high chance that the TROS novelizations will do, too

#Reylo #TROS speculation #TROS theorizing #TROS theory #TROS theories #TFA novelization #TLJ novelization #TFA junior novelization #TLJ junior novelization #TFA #TLJ #The Force Awakens #The Last Jedi #The Rise of Skywalker

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best-enemies · 4 years ago

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For the fandom ask meme thing can I request the whole damn alphabet or is that not very cash money of me? I’m nosy lmao I wanna know all of them!

AHDKAJSDKJAHSKDA JACK YOU’RE THE BEST

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

I’ve had my current OTP for like almost 8 years and it’s, obviously, Thoschei (Doctor/Master). My other current obsession is the Gallifrey OT4 hehehe

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

It’s funny because I didn’t ship Hannigram at first... I’d thought the idea of a cannibal having a relationship was terrifying because what if they had sex and Hannibal got hungry in the middle of the act? Lmaoooo

But yeah they’re my endgame now. I watched the show when it first aired and I was about 14/15 years old so now you see why I thought that. Although I’m still afraid I’m gonna be reading a fic and Hannibal will suddendly bite Will’s dick off or smth AKJHSAKJSAHSASKAJ

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

Uhhh Doctor/Clara. Mainly because I don’t like to ship the Doctor with companions (there may be one or two exceptions but I don’t ship them enough to actually say I ship them lol) and I don’t know I just never vibed with it

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t (again: be nice)

Doctor/River. I mean, I did like it for a while years ago but now it’s just... eh. I think she has a waaay better chemistry with the 12th Doctor, but still don’t ship it. I might give it a try once I listen to the River audios but so far meh. I’m not much of a multishipper anyway.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

God. I’ve written a couple of Academy Era (focused on the Deca) crack fanfics and I still have to translate them to English. They’re pure garbage but I love them. I have a lot of fun writing crack fics because they’re easier and I can ignore whatever piece of canon I want just for the laughs

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Guess it’s Doctor Who, been here (in and out of the fandom) for over 8/9 years

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Uhhhh I think it was Han Solo and Leia, since I was a kid really. I wanted to marry both of them lol

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)

I had to google what a source text is and still don’t know

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

I don’t think so, but Twitter definitively has. I remember a couple years ago I was curious to see what voltron was about and watched a few episodes, it was ok, fun and cute but the fandom was so annoying I stopped watching it for good and don’t care about it enough to pick it up again

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

I had definitively forgotten about supernatural until I saw it all over my dashboard in the year of our lord 2020 lmao like in my wholock days I tried to watch the show because everyone on my dash (is it still called dashboard?) was talking about it and I watched about 8 episodes before dropping it. But seeing it again on the dash was actually a happy surprise because the memes are too funny hahaha

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

I’m extremely shy irl and on the internet as well but I wanna say that @janeturenne is one of the best authors ever and her fanfics are a blessing in my life; also @thebraxiatelcollection who brings awesome content to my dash and is also one of the best authors. And of course, you, Jack, also one of the best authors god I’m so BLESSED

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Uhhh I guess I’m neutral about the current companions. They’re not my favorites but I don’t really dislike them - they had a lot of potential and chibs came up with some good storylines but did not develop them well in my opinion. I think Graham is a fun grandpa whom I’m going to miss when he leaves; Ryan is cool and could’ve done a lot more if the writers had kept a few things, it’d be awesome if he vlogged all of their adventures. He’s like the one I was curious to see more but sadly didn’t feel a connection; and Yaz, I hope she’ll keep growing and that her friendship with the Doctor will finally be developed to a level we can connect to her.

It sounds weird because with the fam it’s always ‘what I wish could have been’ because I never felt really connected to them :(

M - Say something genuinely nice about a ship that you don’t ship (or its shippers, or anything related to you)

Ok... I don’t really ship Rey/Finn but I think it’s one of the sweetest ships ever, and if they ended up together I’d be happy. They love each other and are there for each other always so, yeah :D

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

I don’t know if I got the question right but it’s three things I wish I saw more in my main fandom? Well, if it’s that, then, 3 things about the Doctor Who fandom: 1) people having more civilized or light-hearted discussions about things. Like, I genuinely disliked an 8th doctor audio I listened once that my friends loved, and they made fun of me and we joked about it. Also once we were in a live twitch video playing among us and discussing doctor who, and then we got into a ship “discourse” as a joke and nobody really cared and just laughed because everyone knew it’s fictional shit so why get mad over it? 2) Doctor Who has a titanic amount of content, it’s all canon but at the same time it’s not, so who cares? If you want to listen to Big Finish audios and if you can afford it, then lisiten; if you can’t, it’s okay, no one has the right to tell you you’re less of a fan. Just tell them to fuck off; 3) The best way to keep fandom alive is by creating content. Here in my local fandom we have several podcasts dedicated to all areas of the whoniverse (the show, the expanded universe, the audios, etc), those old fandom websites who do serious work to bring news to the fans, people who make subtitles for the classic series (we don’t have it available here so they do their best to make it accessible to other fans), accounts dedicated to promoting dr who fans who create content, and we even have people making their own audiodramas with dw characters and writing book-lenght fanfiction to help explain the show to people who’ve never watched it, and a great variety of things. I’ve seen a few of these things in the international fandom, mostly by older fans, so I wish younger fans about my age who have the means to make this kind of stuff would make it too. Maybe there’d be less twitter drama out there lol

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

“the killing moon” by echo & the bunnymen reminds me of thoschei. yep it was totally random

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

The fact that we don’t have a pride and prejudice AU for brax/romana yet is driving me insane

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

I’ve mentioned it before but doctor/river, don’t really remember why idk I just don’t vibe with it anymore. But also because thoschei has so many different pairings in 1 ship that I don’t really feel the need to ship them with anyone else lol

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT’S SO SPECIFIC ok fellow academy era stans gather around if you have read Divided Loyalties there’s a scene where it SHOWS that Magnus had a crush on Ushas. And NO ONE HAS EVER TALKED ABOUT THEM and the power couple they would’ve made. I write them into all my fanfics in hopes of making other people ship them but I’ve had no success so far

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

The Master is a big fan of musicals and in the 77 years he spent on earth he watched every single one ever. I’m gonna be bold and say that when he was young, still Koschei, he was an artist, and thought about dropping everything to become an actor on Gallifrey. Time Lords do appreciate art, and have their own plays, but it’s just the same old and boring ones the young people don’t care about. The Master then created a shocking performance that was way ahead of its time and the older Time Lords were so appalled they banned him from writing and presenting plays and that’s his villain origin story

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

1) The Doctor and the Master married on Gallifrey and the entire show is just them having the most litigious divorce in the universe (still isn’t final because the Master has killed all the judges); 2) Ushas/The Rani is ace; 3) The Deca was a 10 people polyamorous relationship; 4) Romana and Livia were girlfriends at the Academy and they hate each other now because the break up was baad; 5) Romana writes fanfiction; 6) Romana/Leela had a thing in Davidia I KNOW it; 7) Leela pegs Narvin; 8) Brax has a life-size painting of Romana at his collection or a statue or smth; 9) Brax’s dream in Reborn is actually REAL and he’s married to Romana, Leela and Narvin all at the same time

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

I don’t even think I’m in 5 fandoms but

Doctor Who: The Master, The Doctor, Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane, Bill (this was the hardest thing ever)

The X-Files: Mulder, Scully, Monica, and can I add The Lone Gunmen too?

Star Wars: Leia, Obi-Wan, Finn, Poe Dameron and honorable mention to Din Djarin and Grogu

Hannibal: Hannibal, Will, Bev, Alana, Chiyoh

V - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

That’s hard

Doctor Who: thoschei ofc, gallifrey ot4.......... uuhh as you can see i don’t ship many pairings in the show

The X-Files: Mulder and Scully. And whatever Scully and Monica had going on because they definitively flirted

Star Wars: Poe/Finn, Han/Leia, whatever Han/Lando had going on too

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships

WHATVASHAJSKAJSA ok this is a little embarassing but I don’t have a lot of kinks for many ships... I guess I have some for thoschei like, choking, whipping, blindfolds/gagging, bondage, begging, biting, sem-public, phone sex, dirty talk, body worship, praise kink, etc. Alright alright I know it’s a lot but in my defense they've shown half of these on the show

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

The Master, Romana, Leela, Brax, Narvin, Bill Potts, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane, Donna Noble, Lucie Miller. No particular order for most of them but the Master is my precious baby and I will die for this mf

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)

Not many, usually the people I follow are in the same fandoms as I am but I’ve seen some mutuals reblog some Hadestown stuff which is a play that I’ve never seen but definitively would because the protagonists look hot

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

I DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN

it took me three hours to do this but it was fun!! thank you bb <3

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x-tosca-archive · 5 years ago

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More TLK Hot Takes: Listen, I loved TLK19. It was legitimately entertaining and the new scenes were highkey interesting. However, I have some opinions on things they could have done that would have made it even better. Disney, take fuckin note ok. > More facial expressions on characters, rather than trying to rely solely on body language. I can pretty much guarantee if not for the lack of facial expression in a lot of the scenes in the movie, it would have come across so much better to people. I get they were going for a ‘realistic’ approach- but you CAN make characters look v realistic while still being able to emote with facial expressions etc. The Jungle Book did it, many other “realistic” CGI animal movies have done it. Disney could do it too. It’s really not a case of “2d animation is and always will be superior to CGI and CGI sucks and can’t possibly be as good”, it’s, “if they had put more effort into the characters’ emotion showing, it could have been much better.” It’s about how it was animated, not the art style. CGI remakes are not inherently bad, what matters is how they are done. I already covered this in my last Hot Takes post but meh. > Covered this already as well, but Be Prepared should have been omitted entirely as it was completely out of character for this new version of Scar to sing it at all with his characterization, same with the hyenas. It just didn’t really work, and I know they only put it in at all to appease angry fans who were pissed when they heard it wouldn’t be in the movie. > The scene of Simba’s hair floating around until Rafiki finds it... like come on, did we really have to see 5 minutes of Simba’s hair floating around, getting eaten by a giraffe, then rolled around in a ball of shit, then carried by ants, then Rafiki finding it? That could have been cut a bit to allow more time for character interactions and development.

> If they planned to remake TLK2... as it stands, because they showed scenes of Scar’s rule after taking over Pride Rock, they way they portrayed it, makes it essentially 100% impossible for TLK2 to occur, as the entire premise of it hinges on the idea that Zira existed as a pride member and was Scar’s mate or something of the sort, that Kovu existed and was chosen by Scar to be his heir, etc. However, in the scenes we were shown, Zira was never mentioned or seen, while she should have been a fairly prominent character if there were any plans for a TLK2 remake further down the line. The fact that she was not in any way referenced in scenes she should have been has completely destroyed any chance for a TLK2 remake to have any reasonable believability. > Continuing that last point, I think the movie would have been even more interesting had they introduced Zira and the Outlanders as characters and created an opening for TLK2, whether they actually planned to make the second movie as a live action remake or not- at least it could show us an idea of what could have happened to lead to the animated TLK2. Zira could have been portrayed as a ruthless rogue lioness that Scar allows to join the pride, along with a few of her followers, and she ends up falling for and becoming fiercely loyal to him- after Sarabi’s rejection, and Scar announcing the lions eat after the hyenas- he could make an exception for Zira’s group, specifically, and take her as his queen. This could lead to a ton of interesting inter-pride conflict between Zira’s group and the original Pridelander lionesses, with Zira being the ruthless queen by Scar’s side. > The changes I mentioned above, i.e. adding Zira and the Outlanders to the plot, would have made the movie stand out much more from the original movie, enough that perhaps people wouldn’t be quite as upset about it being made as it wouldn’t appear as simply a “rehash of the same exact story but just done in CGI”, because it would actually be a much different version of the story with those changes, which could stand as more of a justification for making the movie in the first place without people immediately labelling it nothing but a cash grab, but instead a worthy re-adaptation.

> In all, there are a lot of things that could have been done to make the movie stand out a bit more from the OG enough that it doesn’t feel like the same exact movie but in CGI- which, to some extent, they did fairly well, i.e. with the new characterization of Scar and the Hyenas, the new scenes of Scar ruling over Pride Rock, Nala sneaking out, etc, but I feel they could have done a bit more.

> The soundtrack really could have been improved. There are some bits where some of the soundtrack doesn’t really sound as great as the original. > During the “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” sequence... it should have actually been night, or at least sunset and then night at the end. All in all, I feel like it’s important to be able to criticize some aspects of a movie while still recognizing that it DOES have some merits and not just write it off with, “It fucking sucks and shouldn’t have existed”. The movie really wasn’t that bad. It could have been improved, but it wasn’t absolutely horrible like some people are saying. Honestly, I think most of the people saying it’s horrible either: a.) Haven’t even watched it at all and just have a raging hate boner for it based solely on the fact that they are so in love with the ideal of 2d animation that they’re highkey pissed about the simple idea of a “CGI remake” being made at all, and are just pissed ab it based solely on trailers(which isn’t a fair way to judge a movie at all) or b.) Have watched it, but ironically, and already went in expecting to hate it, already hated the mere idea of it before they ever saw it, to the point they refused to even acknowledge anything actually good about it and only wanted to see the bad. i.e. went into the movie with a completely closed mind, hated it before they ever entered the theater, and therefore hated it still when they left. Most of the people I see criticizing the movie and saying it sucks are people who were sitting there screaming about how “bad” it was before the movie even came out, so... if you go in already hating something and prepared to only focus on what you perceive as “bad”, and refuse to have an open mind when seeing a movie, of course you’re just going to hate it and not recognize anything good about it.

#tlk #the lion king #the lion king 2019 #TLK19

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noddytheornithopod · 6 years ago

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5 for the ask meme?

(From here)

5 - Favorite Episode(s)? Hmm, this is interesting. I have a few that come to mind as favourites for various reasons. I love so many of them, but here’s what I consider major standouts.

Alone Together: This is just such a sweet episode, not really much else to say on it. I’m major Connverse trash. :V

Open Book: I really admire this episode because it has a message that is only growing MORE relevant with time. People are defining their relationships too much by what they do and don’t like in regards to specific media (a major feeling I have right now because of Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law and the increasingly mixed reaction of their crossover lol). If your friendship really matters, you will know it’s okay to have different opinions on a book, movie, show, etc. I mean, it even feels like the Steven Universe fandom forgets this so much, I can tell you I’ve made my share of mistakes with this.

Sworn to the Sword: This is the episode that made me realise what the show could truly be capable of. It’s just so dark and sinister, and I really appreciate how the show isn’t afraid to use its own core characters like Pearl as episode antagonists. Of course, as you’ll see in a bit, this episode is now even darker. :V But I mean, in the end it’s about Steven and Connie’s relationship and how close they’ve become, and also really brought to my attention the idea of how self sacrifice can be detrimental. It’s just so good. I see some people take issue with the end and while I can see why, I’m still fine with it personally. It’s also just so well done from a technical standpoint too, like seriously Do it for Her has to be one of my favourite examples of lyrical dissonance I’ve ever seen, and the visual storytelling is brilliant.

Log Date 7 15 2: Look, I NEEDED a Peridot episode on this list, okay? XD I adore her, and this episode is so funny and great. It also helps add to Peridot’s character to the point it made me wish I got to see this before It Could’ve Been Great. XD It’s also cool because it really shows how much Steven can sometimes miss and as a result us because we’re limited to his perspective.

Mr Greg: Nuff said. Okay but seriously, Steven Universe musical episode? Yes please. Steven Universe musical episode that has major development for Greg and Pearl? Even bigger yes please. Honestly, you can really tell they went all out here, and the level of effort and passion really shows. It’s Over, Isn’t It is of course the big standout song, but they’re all enjoyable, and I really like Both of You both as a song and as the episode’s climax.

Mindful Education: Yeah, another really adored one. When I was first watching it, I have to admit I wasn’t quite sure where it was going. Steven Universe’s slower pace than most cartoons does that sometimes. XD But then the final act came, and it all clicked for me. Steven is really starting to struggle now and question who Rose Quartz really is, and it’s getting to him a lot. It’s also another great episode showing just how supportive Steven and Connie are of each other, seriously I adore them. Also, Here Comes a Thought is one of the best songs if not THE best song in the show hands down, it’s such a powerful piece of music and listening to it really is able to help with things like anxiety and stuff (and I mean as someone with OCD and also being an Autistic person prone to intense emotions, it really is something that helps).

Onion Gang: What?????? Some random townie episode??? Boring filler, get out!!!!!! Okay to be serious, this is actually my favourite of the Beach City citizen based episodes. I always was hoping for an episode that really helped to make Onion sympathetic because to me he’s VERY Autistic coded (in a different way to characters like Pearl and Peridot that is) and as a result a lot of the stuff people say about him rubs me the wrong way. This episode was just really touching, we got to see more of Onion than we ever had seen before and it helps make him more sympathetic to those who aren’t a fan of him. Also seriously, the part where he cries at the end because he’s now alone again always hits me hard.

I Am My Mom: Oh gosh, this episode. It might even be THE favourite depending on my mood. The previous episodes built up the threat of Aquamarine and Topaz really well and they really did have quite a scary presence. But this episode, damn. It just really hits so hard. It’s already beginning at a low point, but it just gets even harder. Just as when Steven seemed to think he might begin to heal over his issues, Aquamarine shows up with Topaz and they completely botch everything. Topaz is great as someone intimidating and will ultimately remain loyal to her duty even if we discover she’s secretly really struggling and sympathetic, but I love Aquamarine BECAUSE she’s such a little shit. I mean, I even get the impression she’s not even fully into her job and just wants what comes out of it for her. Steven’s guilt gets to the better of him to the point where he basically just gives up and sacrifices himself, quite possibly the lowest point for him so far. It’s a DEVASTATING scene, especially seeing how everyone is reacting. Connie’s scream at the end completely breaks my heart because now she risks being alone again, it’s so sad. The next two arcs are really great because this episode is such a wham. Speaking of which…

The Wanted arc: It’s probably just because it’s fresher in my memory, but I love it all so much. Not only do we get major character growth for Lars (and he fucking dies… ouch), but we also have it made clear to us the known story about Pink Diamond doesn’t make sense. I am a little let down by Lars’ Head, which while still a good episode I did feel maybe wrapped things up a little too neatly since Steven had such a means to get home. I guess maybe I just feel they needed another revived being to help establish it more so that it felt less of a surprise and less convenient? Still though, the next arc makes it clear it’s not all so easy.

The Season 5 Connie/Steven arc: Another instance where every episode hits so brilliantly. For me the second half of the episodes are definitely the overall stronger ones, but seeing this fallout made sense even if it was still devastating. I guess it’s why I like Aquamarine so much: she was able to fuck so much up compared to previous antagonists. But yeah, not only is the Steven and Connie stuff really emotional and touching in the end, but I also love the Peridot stuff too. I was happy to see that they addressed the issues in her relationship with Lapis (something I think was discussed further on the SU podcast), but you still so bad for her. It also relit my interest in Amedot, Amethyst was just so caring even if she was rough at times. Also I really liked Sadie Killer, purely because it satisfied the anti-capitalist side of me (Working Dead is a pretty cool song too). Also… they even added depth to Kevin. FUCKING KEVIN. It was also amazing to see that Steven actually resorted to working with him to try and patch things up with Connie, but even that didn’t go as planned.

A Single Pale Rose: So not only did we get a creative way to learn more about, Pearl, we also get the biggest twist of the show so far. Like seriously, Rose being Pink Diamond is the best kind of twist. Not only was it heavily foreshadowed in the series and could be picked up by anyone willing to put the pieces together (I was a big fan of the theory myself because I felt it would fit into Rose’s character really well), but it’s also something that completely changes everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Everything is now so much more darker and complicated, and Rose is now only even more interesting as a character. And the best part is: apparently there’s even more we have to learn about Pink Diamond that will inform why Rose is such a complicated and tragic being.

Made of Honor: It’s fresh in my memory, but even so I still think this episode is worth mentioning. This Garnet arc is great, and Ruby and Sapphire marrrying is so sweet and satisfying and of course I mention this here because the wedding planning is a lot of fun, but I also loved how Bismuth was handled in this episode. Even if she only had one episode before this, she was still such a fully realised character, and I don’t blame people for feeling so passionate about her. Seeing her come to terms with everything was just really interesting to see.

#ask #meme #steven universe #please send more!#(yes i need something positive to direct my attention to lmao)

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surveys-at-your-service · 6 years ago

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Survey #167

“everything he sees is just blue like him, inside and outside.”

Did the house you grew up in have a big yard? It was fairly decent. Have you ever worked over 50 hours in one week? No. What has been the most difficult class you’ve ever taken? Latin. Do you think teenagers should focus more on their education rather than on relationships? Well, yeah. I mean that as in you should pursue knowledge more than love, but it can of course happen and should be taken seriously. What’s your opinion on couples ‘staying together for the kids?’ Awful idea. Your children don't need to grow up on the sidelines of a dead relationship. It can give them such negative expectations. Did any of the classes you took in high school count towards uni credit? No. Do you think being born was a mistake? No. Have you ever been arrested? No. Has a relative ever been arrested? Don't believe so. Do you think the Fountain of Youth exists? No. How about in a parallel dimension? Maybe, idk. Do you believe humans are part of a giant alien experiment? Not necessarily aliens, but I'm *open* to the possibility that we're just a simulation of a future civilization to learn how their ancestors lived, like we're literally Sims. I lean towards that being false, but. There's astonishing evidence for the possibility we're not "real," though regardless, I stand by the "I think, therefore I am" quote, so I really don't care either way. Do you think your blood is sacred? Uh... no? Have you ever been suicidal? Yeah. Was it a passing phase or is it something controlled by medication? It was something corrected with the help of medication, LOTS of therapy, and a closure conversation with Jason. Do you hold any holiday special in your heart? Halloween and Christmas, particularly. Is there a holiday you wish no one celebrated? Which is it? Why do you feel that way? Eh, I don't feel like flipping through the list of holidays right now. What’s your favorite book? Why is that? Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo because it is a masterpiece of the needlessness for war, as well as The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, though by this point I don't even recall most of the story... I just know I adored it. Who is your all-time favorite author? Don't have one. What do you like about them? N/A Who’s your favorite poet? Poe, of course. What’s your all-time favorite band? How about all-time fave singer? I have too many favorite bands. Singers, Freddie Mercury and Brendon Urie. Do you think most mythological creatures exist? No. Have you ever had lice? No. What brand of dish soap do you use? Uhhhh idk, I don't wanna go look lol. Do any of your neighbors have dogs? Idk. Growing up, did you listen to country music? Yup, believe it or not. Have you ever dated someone on the football team? No. Do you like tomatoes? I'm not a fan. I can enjoy fresh ones in a small amount in a sandwich/burger, but that's it. What’s your favorite brand of bottled water? Essentia. Do you have any ceramic animals in your house or outside? No. What brand of makeup do you wear? I don’t wear a specific brand. What type of waffles do you like? (Plain, blueberry etc..) Plain or chocolate chip, depending on mood. Do you brush your tongue? Holy shit brush your tongue, dude. What kind of laugh do you have? It's loud and obnoxious as hell. What kind of cell phone do you have? (ex. flip, slider, or traditional.) Touch screen. Have you ever gotten searched by the cops? No. Have you ever been enrolled in private school? No. Do you know how to grill a steak? No. Would you ever use an online dating service? No, was on one v briefly and it was. Very much not my thing. I felt like I was hunting for a relationship when I'm way more for it just finding you. Do you like Gushers? YES. Do you have a large dog? No, Teddy and Bentley are both medium-sized. If not, are you afraid of them? Not at all. I love big dogs. What is more annoying: A sore throat or a headache? Headaches. Have you ever sent an X-Rated picture to someone? No. Have you ever gone out of state for a concert? No. When is the last time you went on a date? March. ;____; Do your parents know that/if you smoke? I don't. What is your favorite board game from your childhood? I hated shopping, so I haven't a clue how it was Mall Madness lmao. I also loved that carnival Cranium game, whatever it was. Have you ever gotten rid of something you shouldn’t have and then really regretted it later? Yeah, senior prom pics. There were some where I actually looked pretty fuck Do you beat yourself up when you make mistakes? Usually. Have you ever tried anything off the Starbucks secret menu? No. Do you have string lights in your bedroom? No, but I'd like them. What is your favorite flavor of tea? Tea is disgusting. Do you have an inspiration board? I have a Pinterest board of hair colors and styles I like. What is your favorite magnet on your fridge? Never paid attention to the ones we have. Do you like to sit in the grass? No. Are there popsicles in your freezer right now? Yeah, we got 'em for when I got my tongue pierced. Is there a lamp in your bedroom? No. Would you prefer eating jello or pudding? Pudding. After washing your hair, do you put any products in it? No. Have you ever crawled through a vent? No. Last time you rode a bike? Years ago. What is something you used to always do but don’t anymore? Uhhhh. Idk. Well actually, I used to always have soda like multiple times a day, but now I go some days without touching it. What is the last thing you broke and how did you break it? Idr. What is the best thing you have received when trick or treating? Reese's, ha ha. What is the worst thing you have received when trick or treating? I hate(d) tootsie rolls. What word do you hate the absolute most? Probably "the 'n' word" or the derogatory term for gays... idk. How many seasons is your favorite TV show in so far? Eight for That '70s Show, but both FMAs don't have seasons. Do you remember getting sung to when you were little? No. Have you ever felt a temperature below 0? No. When was the last time you had blood drawn? Couple days back for more tests. What color eyes does/did your father have? Brown. What do you daydream most about? The future. What names do you like? Alessandra, Damien, Josephine, Luther, Chloe, Evelyn, Evangeline, Vincent, Victor... At what age do you want to start working or at what age did you start? My first job was when I was about 19, I think. Where’s the best place to eat a romantic dinner? Olive Garden omlllllll. Who was the last person to piss you off? I don't know about pissed. Probably Mom. Has anyone ever told you that they loved you, and you didn’t say it back? Yeah. What’s your favorite hairstyle on the opposite sex? I like scene/emo hair too much fuck Has anyone ever played a prank on you? What happened? Probably. Which parent are you more similar to? Idk. I'm a pretty even mix of them both. Do you have a lot of self-discipline? Eh, depends. Have you ever been to another country’s capital city? No. What are some of your favorite qualities for another person to have? Compassion, kindness, an open mind, considerate, creative, difficult to anger, understanding... What smell reminds you of your childhood? Chlorine, gingerbread, rain in the air... Have you ever dated someone who had a child from a previous relationship? No, and I wouldn't. When was the last time you spoke to the first person you ever kissed? Second week of February '17. What’s a political issue you have a strong opinion on? Gay rights. Stopping that "oh if (s)he was raped ten years ago, why come out now?" bullshit that's been popular lately. What was the last fruit or vegetable you chopped/sliced up? Romaine lettuce for Kaiju. When you take a nap, do you nap in bed or on the couch? My bed. Have you ever done a Mason jar craft? No, but most of those that I see are so cute. What are you going to be for Halloween this year? Idk if I'm even dressing up. Do you decorate your front door for holidays? Mom puts up a wreath. What are all the costumes you remember wearing for past Halloweens? I literally remember none. Who is your favorite photographer? Check out mothmeister on Instagram. Cool as fuck. Don't know who takes the pictures exactly, but. Jovana Rikalo/thefirebomb on deviantART is also incredible. Were you shy in high school? Not very. Do you wish karma were real, or are you glad that it isn’t? I wish it was. What was your favorite Nick Jr. show? Rugrats. What school subjects are/were you the best at? English and science. What comes naturally to you? Spelling, usually. Bonding with animals. Do you prefer to call life a journey, a battle, a dance, or an adventure? Journey. Do you believe in the power of dreamcatchers or do you just like them as a decoration? They're just pretty decor to me. Who are the cutest babies in your Facebook newsfeed? I have two friends with young babies and neither are cute tbh. One's face looks like a grown man's with elephant ears, while the girl is just like, a month old, and I almost never find babies that young cute. What were your favorite mall stores when you were in high school? HotTopic. What time of day do you normally feel the most awake and alert? A while after I wake up. Have you ever searched for your house on Google Earth? Yeah. How old do you look? I guess my age? Do you like movie nights? Only if it's with someone. What would be number one on your bucket list? Pet a wild (well, habituated) meerkat. How old do you think you’ll be when you make your will? *shrugs* where is the fanciest place you have ever visited? Idk. Do you wear earrings on a normal basis? Ugh, I wish. Two reasons I don't. 1.) My first holes are stretched badly from wearing heavy earrings to much. Put one in the left especially and it almost looks like it's not even attached to my ear. Looks gross. 2.) I'm allergic to silver and like all my earrings are silver. Are your ears pierced more than once, if at all? Yeah. If you wear skirts, are you more likely to wear leggings, or go bare? If I was to wear them, I'd probably wear leggings. Ever stayed up all night on the phone? Jason and I did that (or almost did?) once early in our relationship. If you could move somewhere else, would you? Uh yeah. The one and only reason I won't move too far is because I'm unwilling to leave my psychiatrist; he's one of the biggest reasons I recovered and also gives me free samples of the medicine that saved my damn life, which costs over $1,000. No exaggeration. He knows that's absolutely outrageous. So it's like if I moved somewhere else, would my new psychiatrist do the same? Did the last guy/girl you kissed have any piercings? No. Do you actually love your parents? Yes. Have you ever had a school picture turn out absolutely dreadful? Like, all of them. I look high when I smile. What is the name of the last band you discovered? That I actually got into, Powerwolf. What happened last time you got drunk? Never been drunk, but on the occasion I got the closest, I was more outgoing and giggly. Do you know anyone autistic? I don't believe so. How about someone bipolar? Me. What do you want your job to be when you’re older? A photographer and also an out-on-the-field zoologist. I could bring my camera out with me, combine the two. Have you ever made your parents cry? Mom on sadly multiple occasions, and I could hear that Dad was tearing up when I called him wanting to make up. Do you always lock your door? Not my room door, but the front and back door pretty much always are. If I'm home alone, without a doubt. Have you ever been to Hooters? No. Do you snore in your sleep? No. Do you have a brother? What’s his name? A half-brother, Robert/Bobby. Do you believe in celebrating anniversaries? Year ones, yes. Have you ever driven without a license? I don't have mine yet, but I don't believe I've ever done so without my permit. What was your very first pet like? I'm pretty sure my first personal one was a long-haired guinea pig named Squeak. He was a total sweetie that loved attention and would do one of those high-pitched, four squeaks back at me if I did it lol. What kind of an old person do you think you’ll become? I hope I become a wise, more loving than ever, content person that does all she can for humanity and doesn't isolate like I do so much. I want to be out there with people, making memories and always maintaining a young heart. Which well-known person’s death shocked you the most, if any? Steve Irwin's above anyone else, but Chester Bennington was a close second. What’s the craziest color you’d dye your hair? I seriously want to bleach my hair to snow white and have it fade to a blood-red tip, but that'd probably destroy my hair. What’s the coolest hobby one of your friends has? Hm. I'm not sure. What’s the silliest thing you’ve believed, that turned out to be untrue? LOOK I stg I learned in school that thunder was clouds rubbing against each other and I only learned the truth THIS YEAR. Have you ever pet a cow, a sheep or a pig? A pig. Who’s the last person to make you laugh? GameGrumps. Ever been in a race? No. Favorite brand of color pencils? Crayola, I'm a basic bitch. Do you like the smell of peppermint? Omgggggggg yes. How many pieces did the last puzzle you completed have? Idr, maybe 150? It was at the hospital with my peers. In the end we were missing exactly o n e piece. What is missing from your wardrobe that you need to buy? I want a studded leather jacket pls I've wanted one since high school. When was the last time you witnessed a sunshower? A month back, maybe? Maybe sooner? Who was the last person to kiss your cheek? Mom, I believe. What temperature do you consider “too cold” to be outside? Comfortably, 40 F. Did anything bad happen to you in September? My knees became quite a problem. Had some rough streaks of depression. In your phone’s contacts, who is the first person listed under the letter ‘R’? When did you last see that person? No one under "r." If someone is sticking their nose into your business where it isn’t wanted, how would you deal with that? Would you say something to them? I'd like to think I'd say something. When your last relationship ended, how long was it before you felt ready to think about being with someone else? I realized I wanted to be with Sara while I was with him. It was one of the reasons I broke up with him. Think about your Facebook profile photo. What kind of assumptions do you think a stranger might make about you, from seeing that photograph? Would any of these assumptions be correct? (It's the same picture as here.) I obviously like a darker style, and it'd also be an understandable assumption I'm a bitch by my expression lmao. That one's not true, I hope. If you aren’t an only child, do you wish you were? Noooo. What is your birth order? I'm the middle child between my immediate siblings. What is your eye color? What would you want it to be? Blue/green/gray. I wish they were more sapphire. Do you like Victoria’s Secret, or PINK? I like their bras and undies, super cute, but other products, nah. What color highlighter do you prefer? Pink. What is the wallpaper on your best friends cell phone? Dunno. Do you like using big words when you talk? Don't hate it, but I avoid it when I can with most people. I wanna make sure they understand what I'm saying, no need to make it all fancy. What’s your favorite thing to do in the summer? Stay the fuck inside and wish it was fall. Eh, swimming. Do you like being tickled? NO. Are you loud when you’re having sex? I'd always try to be quiet even when home alone because I was worried about someone coming home and us not hearing or something. But it took effort to keep quiet sometimes, and even then I was a moaner. Are you a very open or private person? Depends on who I'm with and whether it's on or offline, but generally, private. What is your favorite Christmas movie? Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What do you get complimented on the most? My hair. When was the last time you were in a public setting and a stranger annoyed you? I'm not sure. Scariest storm you’ve ever had in your town? Um idk. Skill you wish you had? Drawing exactly what I see in my head ugh. How do you feel about raising minimum wage? FUCK-ING DO IT. NC's is $7.25 an hour, and you can't live off that shit. Humor me. What physical ideal do you imagine in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? It really doesn't matter to me, but I'd say I'm more quickly attracted to people with a dark style. What type of personality traits do you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? Calm, open-minded, friendly, I like a bit more outgoing than me, compassionate, very passionate like myself, artistic, considerate... Any other essential quirks/interests/other you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? The only thing I can think of as essential are some common interests to bond over. I don't think I could date someone totally different from me. Or someone heavily religious. Any romantic gestures you really like? Small, simple efforts just for the purpose of showing you care, more than anything. I appreciate the cliche of opening doors. What were you like when you were a kid? Outgoing, talkative as hell, pretty odd, big time creative. What is your definition of cheating? Flirting in a clearly non-joking manner. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist? Both since the 6th grade. Are looks important in a relationship? For me personally, no, but I don't shame people who feel it's at least a smaller factor for them. Sure, it'd be more difficult to be more sexually attracted to you, but not romantically, which is what I care about. What were you doing right before you started this survey? Another survey. I combine them into longer ones. Ever get mad at something that happened years ago? Rarely, and if ever, briefly. What do you order on your pizza? Jalapenos. I miss meat lovers. What the kind of soda you drink most often? Mountain Dew Voltage. Do you freak out if a bee/wasp flies near you? Wasp, I'm fuckin' outie. I'm uncomfortable with any bee, but won't spaz over most. If Facebook started making you pay, would you still use it? No. If you were dying and had to tell the last person you texted one thing, what would it be? Lmao we actually had a convo about this once, and it'd totally be, "I love you, and I'll see you on the other side." If you could have sex to one song, what song would it be? We playin' "Death of a Bachelor" by P!atD on our wedding night 100% 100% 100% 100%. Are you a forgiving person? Too forgiving. Who is the last person you told you loved them? Sara Jaaaane. <3 Do you have a specific gas station you usually go to? Or do you stop wherever? Mom tends to go to Sheetz or Shell. She gets bad mileage at Sheetz, but it's super close to our house. Do you have a place you go to a lot that you may be considered “a regular” at? The people at New Addiction (tat and piercing parlor I go to) are starting to recognize me lmao. I'll be there tonight again. Think of the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a bed? Yeah. Do you like your girlfriend's/boyfriend's parents? YEAH. Why aren’t you with the person you first fell in love with? He couldn't stand my depression anymore. What’s worse, knowing you still love them, or pretending you hate them? THE FORMER. Do you own any television series box sets? All seasons of Meerkat Manor. What is your favorite band of all time? Ozzy Osbourne. Would you consider getting a tattoo any time soon? I'm getting one T O N I G H T B O Y S. Do you like candles? Yeah, but I prefer incense. Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness? More like seven lmao. And I'm 99% sure I have ADD, but I haven't been officially diagnosed. If you had to choose to have a different accent than the one you have now, what accent would you choose and why? British, 'cuz I love it. Have you ever or do you currently live in a Gated Community? No. Do you know how to use a DSLR camera? Yeah. Do you know anyone who is named after a state? Jason's mom. Miss that woman, she sincerely cared for me. I owe her so much for staying on the phone with me for legit like two hours a couple nights before my attempt. It was dead in the middle of the night, yet she was happy to be there. Have you ever had a “bad trip”? If yes, what happened? N/A. Do you enjoy learning about conspiracy theories? Y E S. Shane Dawson got me so into them omg. If you had a baby boy, what would you name him? Damien Alexander, maybe.

#survey #quiz #questions #random

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theouterdark · 6 years ago

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Tag: Get to Know the Writer V

Thanks for the tag, @tlbodine. I’ve done so many of these lately, hope you’re all enjoying it.

Rules: Answer the ten questions, write ten questions, then tag ten people.

1. Do you have any (realistic or not-so-realistic) writer daydreams about your ideal future? What are they?

There are several. I think getting my work developed for the screen is the big one though.

2. What’s a book that was otherwise forgettable but just has that one. weird. thing. about it that sticks in your mind? Like a specific scene/character/detail/line?

Honestly, if a work isn’t captivating enough I’m going to put it down. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a book I didn’t care for, except perhaps in school.

The closest thing related to this that I can think of is a story from the children’s book In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, called The Green Ribbon. It pops into my head every now and then, even though I read it one time in second grade, twenty years ago.

3. What was your first introduction to your favorite author’s work?

I first read Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World a few years ago, when I was first getting back into writing. A friend of mine read a piece I’d written and said my style reminded him of Murakami’s. I was intrigued, and picked up this book first. It’s an excellent read, and I learned a lot from it.

4. How do you feel about poetry?

There is nothing more agonizing than a piece of art left unfin

5. What’s one question you always wish somebody would ask you about your writing but nobody ever does?

Can I read it?

6. An asshole genie appears. He offers you the choice: Would you rather be able to write anything you want (effortlessly, beautifully, satisfyingly, with ideas that never end) but no one else could ever read it….or have a massive international bestseller except it’s the one and only idea you will ever have in your entire life?

Wow. Asshole genie. I’m assuming if I pick neither, the genie will be free, and will wreak havoc on all the nearby villages. So I guess the second one? At least then my work could be remembered, and I could move on to other things. There is more desperation and less security in the first option.

7. What’s a song that always puts a story in your head?

“Fate of the Stars” by Tally Hall

8. Have you ever written that story? Or any other song-inspired fiction?

Sort of. It’s a short film called Tenebrism. If you play the short and the song over each other, they should sync up. I listened to that song endlessly while editing.

9. What’s your favorite monster/cryptid that you wish somebody would make a badass horror movie about?

I don’t think Slenderman has been done well, and that bothers me. But if we’re talking legitimate cryptids and not just creepypasta monsters then I’d have to go with Sasquatch. Bigfoot was a youth obsession of mine—when I lived in Michigan, of all places—but now that I’m in the Pacific Northwest, I’m getting the itch to explore the mythos. Most of the work done with him isn’t that great.

There’s this really bad Rear Window wannabe called Abominable, where Bigfoot is a serial killer, and this curly haired douche bag grabs an ax and says, “Hey, assmonkey! Eat this!” And bashes him with it, and proceeds to get his face bitten off. It’s so fucking stupid.

⚠️ GORE WARNING ⚠️ Here’s a video of it.

So that’s where the bar is at. I think it should be raised a bit.

10. Do you ever think of giving up? What’s stopped you?

I do. The itch to get stories out of my head has been the main thing so far, but lately I’ve been question my resolve. I don’t have a good handle on where I’m at, skill wise, and there is a lot of work ahead before I’d get to where I want to be, so we’ll see. I don’t plan on quitting, but the world is chaotic. Something might stop me.

New Questions for the tagged:

What can you write that no one else can?

Are there underrepresented groups or ideas featured if your book?

What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your subject/genre, that isn't so?

How do you find or make time to write?

Do you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two?

What do you like to read in your free time?

Who is your favorite tumblr prose writer—the one you always, without fail, must read—and why?

What subjects do you find you cannot write about, and why?

Do you intend to pursue traditional, or self-publishing?

Where did you get the idea for your current work?

These questions are for: @els-writes, @headspace-hotel, @theglambibliophile, @attythonywrites, @sugarmommamusings, @brutalbunnyrabidrabbit, @gloriousdevourerofstories, @thebloodstainedquill, @words-and-nothing-more, and @halfbloodlycan, if they’d like to answer them.

#me #about me #get to know me #get to know the writer #tag game #writeblr #writing #writers #writers on tumblr #q&a #the outer dark #bigfoot #abominable #slenderman #cryptid #cryptids #horror #amwritinghorror #short film

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thecostumeplot · 3 years ago

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Episode 21: Walk the Line & The Impossible

Both

Welcome to The Costume Plot.

Jojo

I'm Jojo Siu.

Sarah

And I’m Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description.

Jojo

We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in The Costume Plot. [music]

Sarah

Hello!

Jojo

Hello, welcome back.

Sarah

How's it going?

Jojo

Yay. We actually recorded more often this month, and I still feel like it's been forever. [both laugh]

Sarah

I know! We're curring it fine again, too, where we're not that long from release. But that's okay. We have time. It's great. Here we are. We made it.

Jojo

Sorry. It's been a busy month.

Sarah

Jojo's had a lot going on. But we're glad. I'm glad you've made it. Here you are.

Jojo

Thanks. Still surviving somehow. [laughs]

Sarah

Yeah. So I have a thing that I want to talk about at the top of the show today. It's a little bit of self promotion. So I hope our listeners are okay with that. I am competing in the Her Universe Fashion Show, as you guys might know. And it's virtual this year, and there is an audience vote. [editor's note: Votes are now closed! I didn't win!] So I'm campaigning for votes right now! I need your vote. [laughs]

Jojo

Yay!

Sarah

If I win, if I win, I get the chance to design a line with Her Universe that gets sold in Hot Topic. So it's a really big deal. My look is "Hamilton"-inspired. And if you listen to the show, you know I am a big fan of "Hamilton".

Jojo

Yes.

Sarah

I'm really proud of it. And I got to shoot in a theater, like an abandoned theater, from the 20s. So like, I'm just so excited. So all the links that I have so far will be in the description of this episode. We haven't given been giving a lot information. It's on... I'll back up. It's on July 23. [laughs] At 5pm pacific time.

Jojo

Very important.

Sarah

Yeah, that's the important information. And it's part of Comic-Con@Home, San Diego Comic Con. And so we don't have any specific links for where to watch it yet. But I do have a link that will hopefully be updated as the info gets released. And then that will hopefully also have voting stuff. But yes, please watch. And then please vote for me, if you like my look.

Jojo

Yay! Definitely vote for Sarah.

Sarah

Thank you so much.

Jojo

I'm so excited to see it in person.

Sarah

I'm so excited too.

Jojo

I've only been seeing snippets of it.

Sarah

I know. If you follow me on social media, I've been trying my best to kind of like build some suspense. I made a little trailer in iMovie. I'm doing the thing.

Jojo

I saw that. I love it.

Sarah

I'm working hard on trying to get people interested, because I mean... more power to them, but I'm competing against some people who have multiple thousands of followers. Like, 25-100k. So I gotta find a way to stand out, you know, when I don't have that big of a fan base.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Right.

Sarah

Which, like, I'm excited for them that they have that. I just don't.

Jojo

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Sarah

So.

Jojo

We'll get there eventually.

Sarah

I mean, maybe I'll win and then I'll be... my followers will just "whoosh!"... through the roof.

Jojo

That would be great.

Sarah

So then I'm Instagram famous. [both laugh] Okay. Yeah.

Jojo

Perfect. Onto our theme!

Sarah

Our theme this week! I'm going first this week, our theme is... are we calling this "based on real life events"? Is that what we're...?

Jojo

I think so. I think that's what we ended up deciding, like, based on true events.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And however loosely that is, that is true.

Sarah

Yeah. So real people or real historical events. So I chose "Walk the Line". Because I'm not usually a biopic person. I often find them to be a little bit... I don't wanna say "heavy handed," but it's sort of like they're always sort of Oscar-bait movies. And they're really melodramatic sometimes, but I really like "Walk the Line". And I'm not even a giant Johnny Cash fan. I just love this movie.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

I think I also just really love Reese Witherspoon. So that helps a lot. She's...

Jojo

She's pretty great.

Sarah

...one of my faves. Okay, so I'll just dive in. It was released in 2005. So I was like, you know... it still feels like a very current movie to me, but it's very much not. Because that was...

Jojo

I know, I forget how far away 2005 was. Like, that really wasn't that long ago, but...

Sarah

Once again, just facing our own mortality on this show. Going, "What? ...Okay."

Jojo

How have we passed this many years already?

Sarah

[laughs] Exactly. It was directed by James Mangold, who is a very prolific director. He's done "Logan," "Ford v. Ferrari," "3:10 to Yuma," "Girl, Interrupted," and he's also a producer. So he produced "Greatest Showman," lots of blockbuster movies. And the costumes were designed by Arianne Phillips, who works a lot with James Mangold. So she designed a lot of those movies that I just mentioned, in addition to "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," "Nocturnal Animals," which I heard is not a very good movie, but the costumes are great. [laughs]

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And then she also has a really long-standing working relationship with Madonna. So she has styled basically everything Madonna has done, like in the last...

Jojo

That's amazing.

Sarah

...decade, at least. So, good for her. That's great.

Jojo

Yeah, exactly.

Sarah

Oh, and she also did a couple of really iconic movies that I haven't even seen. But if I can... I can imagine the looks from them. So those are "Tank Girl" and "The Crow". And I'm like...

Jojo

[gasps] Ooooh.

Sarah

...I know both of those visually, even though I haven't seen them.

Jojo

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sarah

So she's done a lot of great work.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

She has been nominated for three Oscars, one for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," one for "W.E.,", which makes sense, because didn't Madonna direct that?

Jojo

I think so.

Sarah

And then this movie. And she has not won an Oscar yet, but she probably will eventually.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And she has been nominated for a lot of Costume Designers' Guild Awards, and she won one for "W.E.". And then she also has a Tony for "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" on Broadway, because I think she did the movie as well.

Jojo

Oh yeah, I forgot she did that one. Yeah.

Sarah

Yeah. So it's cool... I like when-- it happened with my movie last week, too, where the designers also got to design the stage adaptation of the movie that they designed. I think that's cool. Okay, so the movie itself was in part based on two autobiographies, "Man in Black" from 1975, and "Cash: the Autobiography" from 1997. Although they say that the film goes deeper into some painful sort of subjects that Johnny Cash himself didn't really dive into in those books.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

I don't really have any other like background on the movie itself. I think they were trying to get it made for a really long time. And it just like, finally happened in 2005. So let me share my screen. I have a lot of pictures this week. So I think that, you know, I'll obviously put all of them on Pinterest, but I might have to weed out a few for Instagram, or I might have to do two posts, we'll kind of see how I feel.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

Partly because I have some real life pictures, as you can see, to compare to the movie.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And then also because we go through, like, three decades. We go from the 40s through to the late 60s. So there's a lot of periods being represented.

Jojo

A lot of period wear.

Sarah

I don't know why put this one first. That doesn't go first. That's not it. [both laugh] That one's first. Okay, so we open in 1944. I mean, basically, the story of this movie is Johnny Cash's life, which is... he starts growing up in rural Arkansas. And he loses his older brother very young, in a tablesaw accident, which is really sad. And it seems like it informs a lot of his life, and his trauma, throughout the movie.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And then he joins the military and gets married. And then he kind of hits it big in music. And then it's basically just about his musical career, and also his struggle with drugs and alcohol. And then also his eventual relationship with June Carter, who he falls in love with when he's already married to his first wife. And he doesn't exactly stay faithful to her. But then he and June...

Jojo

[laughs] As we well know.

Sarah

[laughs] Yeah. He and June eventually do get married. And, you know, after the events of this movie, they were married for like 35 years. Until they both passed away. So that's the story. It's Johnny Cash's life. Okay. So here we are in 1940s Arkansas, and I like these sort of first scenes, they're very warm in color, I feel like. Everything looks kind of dusty, but also really hot, you know, and it kind of sets the mood of this. They're very poor. So this is him and his brother, he... Johnny is on the left. And when he's young, he goes by the name JR. And he has a lot of guilt because his brother, he says, is the good son. Basically, his brother wants to be a preacher and is really good at minding his parents and is really helpful, and JR just feels lesser-than, like he's not as good as his brother. So.... Oh, also his dad is abusive. And his dad even says, after his brother dies, he says, "God took the wrong son," basically.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Yeah.

Sarah

So that's gonna really impart some trauma on your child, to say something like that.

Jojo

Just a little bit.

Sarah

Just a little bit. Yeah, so this is them going fishing. And their little relationship is so cute, they're clearly very close. And so it's even more heartbreaking that one of them dies. And then this is his mom, who is the one who teaches him to sing and stuff. And this is... oh, I have this, and I was thinking about cutting it, but I have a picture of her later in the movie. So I wanted to compare, you know, her. Because she's not in a lot in the movie. But we see her go through a big change, you know, after Johnny is successful and is probably like, paying for her to have a happy life. A happy, comfortable life later in life.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

So, yeah... oh... yeah, I put these in a dumb order. Okay, this one. [both laugh] Sometimes I label them wrong.

Jojo

I do the same thing.

Sarah

So this is Johnny thing after he goes and serves in Germany. And that's kind of like... not really focused on in the movie. But... this is... he has a job, basically, as a door to door salesman, and he's not doing a very good job at it. So this outfit really says to me a real lack of personality, because he hasn't really found who he is yet. He hasn't found his own identity. He hasn't found even-- he knows that he likes to sing. But he hasn't really let himself think that maybe he could be a successful music artist.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And also, when he first tries, when he first starts a band, they do exclusively gospel music. And the radio guy who they meet with is like, "Gospel music doesn't sell anymore. What do you have?" And so he like, on a whim, plays him... the famous song about shooting man in Reno. Can't remember what it's called. [editor's note: "Folsom Prison Blues"]

Jojo

You're asking the wrong person, I'm so bad with names. [laughs]

Sarah

I don't know.

Jojo

I know what you're talking about, though.

Sarah

I honestly... "I hear a train a-comin'." I don't know. Anyway, I really liked this soundtrack in high school when it came out.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

I just don't remember the names of the songs. So this is them playing for that radio guy.

Jojo

Mmm.

Sarah

And it's not really communicated why he chose black. But black becomes, obviously, his signature color. Maybe it's just like, they all had black in their wardrobe. So they were like, "let's all just wear black."

Jojo

Right. Pretty standard color.

Sarah

Yeah. And his wife says, "It looks like you're going to a funeral." And throughout the movie, people tell him that. And he's like, "maybe I am."

Jojo

[laughs] "Maybe that's exactly what I'm doing."

Sarah

Let's see. So there's an LA Times article that's an interview with Arianne Phillips, and she says, "You can read a lot into it. Black is a very humble color, and Cash was a working man's man. He was also an outsider who didn't belong to the rock world, or the country world. And there was something shocking at the time about wearing all black. It's what you wore to funerals. So it worked for him on many levels." So he just becomes... he becomes the man in black, you know.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

This is his wife, Vivian. And I have a lot to say about her.

Jojo

[laughs]

Sarah

Because... so she's played by Ginnifer Goodwin, who we can see here, I like this. I really like this pattern of this gingham with the stripe, with the cardigan on top.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

I pulled it because it's like my favorite look of hers. But I want to talk about stuff that isn't even costume related when it comes to her character. So his wife, Vivian, let's get into it. She was...

Jojo

[laughs] Let's dive deep.

Sarah

I'm ready. She was a mixed race woman. And I found this out because a Twitter thread came across my page recently where it was like, "can't believe they cast Ginnifer Goodwin to play a black woman," basically. And I was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we talking about here?" So I did some research. Her grandparents were from Italy. And then Vivian, according to her at the time, her grandmother--I mean, her mother's family--was like, German and Irish.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

So in real life, Vivian was photographed at a court hearing with Johnny when he was arrested for drug possession. And in the photo, she looks darker skinned than him. And so at the time, I found an article... oh, in the Washington Post, and it said, "at the time in the eyes of most Americans, you were either black or you weren't." And interracial marriage would not become legal until 1967. So leaders of the racist National State's Rights Party in Alabama ran an article in their newspaper "exposing" Johnny for having a "Negro" wife, basically being like, "they're trying to hide the fact that she's black."

Jojo

Ahh. Right.

Sarah

And they were connected to the KKK, this organization was, and they boycotted him for like a year. So he had to basically file a counter attack and sue them for this, because Vivian at the time thought that she was white. She had gone to all white schools, and on her birth certificate, marriage certificate, it says Caucasian, because...

Jojo

Ah, right.

Sarah

That's what their whole family thought they were. So in THIS year, February of 2021, Roseanne Cash--Johnny's daughter, who is also a country star in her own right--went on the show "Finding Your Roots". Which is about genealogy and DNA tracing.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

And they found that Vivian Cash's--so Vivian, the wife's--maternal great great grandmother was an enslaved black woman named Sarah Shields, whose white Father, in 1848, had "granted her and her eight siblings their freedom and their passage into whiteness." So she married a white man. And by the time Jim Crow arrived in the 1930s, all of her children and their descendants were listed as white. So...

Jojo

Wow.

Sarah

...she had basically erased her own blackness, Sarah Shields did, from her descendants.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

So Vivian Cash did not even know that she had a black ancestor.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

So, I was ready to come on the podcast and be like, "Can you believe they whitewashed this character?" But in 2005...

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

...we were still taking Vivian's word for it--and her whole family's word for it--that she didn't have any black relatives.

Jojo

Yeah. Yeah.

Sarah

So isn't that interesting? [laughs]

Jojo

That's so crazy. Like to, I mean, to not know that, too. I feel like...

Sarah

I know.

Jojo

...that's such a huge part of your identity, to not know for your entire-- I mean, for your adult life too, not even... like, it's one thing if you didn't know as a kid, because you just didn't know any better. But to have have that all throughout your adulthood, like, that's crazy.

Sarah

Yeah, it probably made the real Vivian's life easier that she had been passing, you know?

Jojo

Oh, yeah. Right.

Sarah

But it is kind of heartbreaking to know that, like, this enslaved woman's story wasn't known until now.

Jojo

Yeah. Until many, many, many years later.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

That's crazy!

Sarah

I know! So I just thought it was really interesting. The other thing I'll say about this character is that... this is the thing I don't like about biopics. It's that there's often, in the stories of great men--like, genius men--there's often a first wife or a first girlfriend who is just seen as a long-suffering wife, who has his children. But basically, the audience is kind of meant to see her as a complainer who's holding him back from achieving his destiny.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

And I definitely think that she serves that role in this movie. And it kind of is a disservice to her, because they were married for like 12 years.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And probably a lot of those years were really difficult for her. So I think it sucks for her to just be portrayed as like, she's holding him back from being the real Johnny Cash, and also holding him back from his relationship with June, which is also problematic.

Jojo

Right, right. I think that's a lot of biopics, too, it's like, you know.... Oh, you're right. She definitely... she definitely looks like she has some sort of Black in her history.

Sarah

Yeah, she looks darker skinned. And like, you know, at the time, she was probably just like, "Oh, I have olive tone. I have Italian, you know, Mediterranean DNA."

Jojo

Right, right. Right.

Sarah

Yeah. So that's the real life Vivian and Johnny. Okay.

Jojo

So interesting.

Sarah

I know, right? So I... that just kind of gave me the lesson of, like: don't get mad about things you see on Twitter without actually reading what they're about. [laughs]

Jojo

Do the research first.

Sarah

Yeah. All right. Moving on. Moving on. So this is Jerry Lee Lewis, and I love him. He's sort of... he has a more flamboyant style, obviously. My brother was watching this movie with me and said he looked really 70s, and I could agree with that.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

Even though this is the 50s at this point. He has sort of, like, unbuttoned... very rakish hair. And then this is him in real life. So I feel like it's a pretty good job casting.

Jojo

Ohh. Yeah.

Sarah

Okay, let's talk about June because let's get to the main event, honestly.

Jojo

Yeah!

Sarah

This is a picture of Reese on set. So her hair is not... like, I think her hair is in rollers.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And she's just walking to or from. But this is the best picture I could find of this whole dress. There's not a lot of really good high quality pictures out there.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

And Arianne talks about this costume. So she says for June Carter Cash, she referenced 1950s Howdy Doody culture and Minnie Pearl, who... I don't know really who that is. Didn't Google it. "She found her talisman for the character at the Santa Monica Vintage Expo, a ruffled red organza dress with a sweetheart neckline and Swiss dot overlay," that she wears in basically her first scene. And they had to rework it, and redo it, because it was rotting, apparently.

Jojo

Ohh.

Sarah

So I wonder if that means that they replaced the whole lining, or did they take a pattern off it and basically make a replica? Unclear. Yeah. And she says, "the dress summed up for me the place that June Carter comes from as a child performer, as this comedic character at the Grand Ole Opry. I knew we would see her transform into a woman but the starting point was this cartoonish country girl." So June says in the movie that her sisters are the pretty ones and the talented ones, and that she had to learn to be funny.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And so we can see, sort of, it's a little immature and young-looking, and definitely sort of cartoony.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Very comedic.

Sarah

Yes, exactly. Here is that dress onstage. And they said... I watched an interview with her on YouTube as well. She said that they did a screen test in this video.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And the... not the network. The... the studio! That's the word I'm looking for. [both laugh] The studio got worried because the sleeves were really poofy. And it was just this sort of... it was more cartoony than they were originally... thinking.

Jojo

...Expecting. Yeah.

Sarah

Yeah. And when you book a name as big as Reese Witherspoon, the studio definitely wants Reese Witherspoon's fans to come to the movie and see Reese Witherspoon.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

Like, people are expecting to recognize her. So they don't want the costume to swallow her and be all that people can focus on. So...

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

...studio notes are often like, "Oh, make the lead sexier," or "tone this down."

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And I think that they took some extra ruffles off the sleeves from what it originally looked like. But it looks pretty-- they showed some footage of the screen test and it looks pretty much the same.

Jojo

Mmhmm. I mean, they still kept that poof sleeve too. I feel like there's still that. It doesn't take away enough from her, that you're not like, "oh, who is that?" Or like, "I'm so distracted."

Sarah

Yeah. Exactly. Agreed. So this is Johnny onstage. And he goes... we see a few of his sort of onstage outfits before he starts only wearing black. It seems like he started wearing exclusively black on stage in the 60s. So this is him in the 50s, it's this lovely red- burgundy.

Jojo

Yeah. Oooh.

Sarah

I like that.

Jojo

Does he have a design on his lapel too?

Sarah

Oh, it... does it say JC?

Jojo

Or J... oh yeah, that's pretty cool.

Sarah

It's hard to find pictures of this movie, which is surprising.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

Like, I always expect, if it was nominated for costumes, that I'll be able to find really good pictures of the costumes.

Jojo

That's what you would think!

Sarah

Not so much.

Jojo

Nope.

Sarah

So this is June later on when they're on tour. And they're kind of just walking through town, having some time off. And so we see this in contrast to her stage persona, her real life wardrobe is a lot more subdued. It's still very sweet and feminine, but it's definitely more grown up, and as she goes through the movie, it definitely gets more and more grown up as she evolves and comes into her own. Oh... do have a picture? I don't think I do. So in the interview Arianne said she found an orange and green flowered dress, a vintage one, because apparently the budget was pretty small for this.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

So she used a lot of actual vintage, borrowed... you know, found for cheap. And one of them she found, she found an actual picture of June Carter Cash in that exact same dress! Like, she found the actual dress.

Jojo

Oooh. Yeah.

Sarah

But I couldn't figure out which dress it was, because she wears two that are orange and green floral. [laughs]

Jojo

"Which one?!"

Sarah

And it's not this one, but they're later in the movie. So I think I got rid of the pictures because I was like, "I don't know which one it is." So I can't really hold this up and be like, "See?"

Jojo

[laughs] Right. Right.

Sarah

So that was frustrating.

Jojo

I do love the floral motif that she has on a lot of her stuff.

Sarah

Yeah, I like the colors that she wears too. She doesn't stick to certain colors.

Jojo

Right. Right.

Sarah

I would say generally it's pretty warm. She does wear a little bit of blue. But yeah, it's just like a nice... you know, wardrobe.

Jojo

Fun. I would wear this skirt.

Sarah

Yeah, it's cute.

Jojo

If I wore skirts more often. [laughs]

Sarah

I wear too many skirts. Like, when I go to thrift stores I go to the skirts first and I ended up with... I have so many of them, and I keep buying them because I love them. Anyway.

Jojo

[laughs] They're great.

Sarah

So this is her onstage singing later in the movie. I think we might be moving into late 50s at this point. And then I have a full body shot of this. So once again with a floral motif.

Jojo

So cute!

Sarah

I know, right? She's got a little bit of a bouffant happening.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And this is definitely more streamlined in silhouette than that frilly one was at the beginning. So she's moving away from her cartoony image and into more of a serious singer.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

This is her onstage again. Once again, could not find great picture. I found some on a mannequin.

Jojo

So sad!

Sarah

I think it was auctioned, so here's this.

Jojo

So cute.

Sarah

And I thought, looking at this picture of her onstage, that it was beaded.

Jojo

Yeah, I was gonna say that's what I thought too.

Sarah

Yeah, cuz it's sparkly. But I found this, and you can see that it's like a metallic embroidery?

Jojo

Oh, yeah. It's almost like a trim.

Sarah

Yeah, it's very sparkly, but it's not actually beads. It's the fabric.

Jojo

I wonder if it's real metal, because you know how they used to have that on some of the trims?

Sarah

Right.

Jojo

That's probably what's creating that extra sparkle

Sarah

Could totally be. Okay, so what's next? We're moving into.... Okay, I have this picture, it's called "John is a mess."

Jojo

[laughs]

Sarah

Because he's a mess. This is when he basically has lost everything, he had a breakdown on stage. He's drinking too much. He's doing drugs. Vivian has left him at this point. So he's living in this nasty apartment.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And he's wearing this, it looks like a tux shirt, because of the pleats.

Jojo

Oh, yeah.

Sarah

But it's clearly very... he hasn't showered, it's very yellowed. Looking pretty gross. And then... oh, I liked this. Because we got to see some period children's wear. This is an upsetting scene, as you can see, the children are crying. [laughs] But...

Jojo

It's so funny to me, because it's always those little scenes of children that we're always like, "Okay, we HAVE to get these images." Because you just don't see them very often.

Sarah

I love period children's wear!

Jojo

I know. It's great.

Sarah

Children look so cute in vintage clothes.

Jojo

So cute. I can't wait.

Sarah

I was at a party the other day and one of the kids running around was wearing... it looked like a little Oktoberfest dirndl, but it was vintage.

Jojo

Yes!

Sarah

It was like a three year old girl wearing a vintage dress.

Jojo

Love that.

Sarah

And I was like, "that girl looks so good."

Jojo

On point, mom! On point.

Sarah

I know. I was like, "you're doing it correctly." I love that. Yeah, I mean... I haven't anything to say about them. They're just cute. And I like seeing period kid's clothes.

Jojo

Yeah. Yep. Agreed.

Sarah

Okay, how am I doing on time? I'm doing great on time! Yay.

Jojo

Woohoo!

Sarah

This is Thanksgiving, later when Johnny is starting to get his act together, but hasn't quite. But he invites basically his parents and then June and her parents, and it ends up getting very awkward because his dad is very... his dad sucks, basically, his dad is really mean. But this is in the 60s, as you can see from the hair, and such. [laughs]

Jojo

Yep.

Sarah

And on the left here, this is Johnny's mom. So she's gone through a big transformation since we saw her in the 40s, of course. She has money. She's hopefully happier, even though her husband sucks.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And then June in the middle is... oh, I have this dress. Here it is.

Jojo

So beautiful.

Sarah

It's pretty.

Jojo

It's that lantern sleeve that I love again!

Sarah

I know, we love a lantern sleeve.

Jojo

So funny. I keep seeing that everywhere. I'm like, "just looks good every time I see it."

Sarah

It does. And also, in my opinion, it's timeless.

Jojo

Yeah, I agree. It's a really elegant look.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

Especially, I mean, most of the ones I've seen happen to be transparent or some kind of see-through material. So maybe I'm just a little more biased, but I just think it looks really nice. And it's just, I don't know, it's kind of secretive and seductive while also being classy.

Sarah

Yeah, you're covered up, but you're not.

Jojo

Right, exactly.

Sarah

Totally. So this dress is, I think it's probably chiffon. It's this gorgeous burgundy. It looks so good with her brown hair.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And it's totally free of surface decoration, you know? So it's like her final sort of evolution into a more mature adult woman. And then, I would say, we talk a lot about how in period movies you can kind of tell what era they're made in, because they don't quite go all the way to the period.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And I think that we can see that in Reese's hair for a lot of the movie, and probably a little bit in the makeup too, because her makeup looks pretty modern for the time in a lot of the shots, like this one right here. I mean, she has a maybe a little liquid eyeliner on. And the lipstick is definitely pink. You know, that's definitely a 50s/60s color. But...

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

I think the way she's styled, they clearly wanted to make sure ...like I said, the studio wanted to make sure that people saw her.

Jojo

...It was a good enough balance that it still felt like it could relate to contemporary audience.

Sarah

Exactly. They don't want to make... they don't want to alienate her from her audience by making her look too removed from the Reese that we know and love. So I think that that's a pretty good balance, actually, that they struck, because this hairstyle is pretty period looking. But it's also... it also looks kind of 2005, so there's that.

Jojo

Yeah, seriously.

Sarah

All right. Oh, I was close to cutting this picture. But I was like, "couldn't possibly do it." This coat.

Jojo

I love it. Love it so much.

Sarah

So good.

Jojo

I do love a good pea coat. in general.

Sarah

It's... I love all coats. I love codes from all periods. I think everybody looks good in coats. I like summer a lot, but I will say some of my best outfits involve a jacket, because I love jackets and coats.

Jojo

Yeah. That's why I miss fall so much. All the pea coats you can wear.

Sarah

This is when she she takes him to... she's basically helping him get his his life together. And she takes him to church. So here they are going to church. And he's kind of like, I don't know... I like a lot of his offstage wear and I would have pulled some of it but this movie stays really tight on like, heads and shoulders. So there weren't any good screencaps I could find of most of the stuff he wears offstage. So, you'll just have to trust me that a lot of it's really cute. [laughs]

Jojo

I trust you, Sarah.

Sarah

All right. And here is his freakin'... like, he's back. He's at the record label being like, "guess what? I'm gonna play a show at Folsom Prison." And they're like, "Say what?" And actually, I enjoyed this because there was a scene of him getting dressed. So... ta-da. Close up on that fabric. I love it.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Ooh, yeah.

Sarah

Arianne said that while they had a small budget, the money they did spend was getting a lot of his stuff custom made. So...

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

...you can kind of tell, you know, it looks great, especially this outfit.

Jojo

That's usually how we prioritize, you know. The lead character usually is who gets kind of the more custom made items, or at least the ones that are... a little more focus are put on them.

Sarah

Exactly. And I think she probably saved a lot of money on shoes, because like I said, hardly any shots of anybody's full body in this movie. [laughs]

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

Okay, and then here's him performing at Folsom. And I like this because of the the stark visual contrast between all of the inmates in blue, and then him in black in the middle. I just think it's a really effective picture.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Yeah.

Sarah

And then I have one last one. This is when they're performing on stage. And he proposes her onstage, which is a very sweet scene. But she also had said no to him so many times. Like, obviously, he knew that she was in love with him. And he could feel that and probably could feel that she wanted to marry him. But he also... it's also just a little bit like he pressures her into it. Just a tiny... it's still very sweet, though.

Jojo

Juuust a little bit.

Sarah

It's... Yeah.

Jojo

I mean, anytime you do something that public.

Sarah

Right, you're like...

Jojo

They don't really have another option.

Sarah

Exactly. You're like, "Oh, so you won't say yes on the tour bus. So you'll say yes onstage in front of hundreds of people." [both laugh] I like this outfit on June. I think it looks a little bit 2000s-y. But I wonder if it is vintage. And it just kind of happens to look contemporary?

Jojo

Yeah, like maybe a repeated silhouette or something.

Sarah

Yeah, exactly. But it's very nice. Oh, and then this is when we come to this picture, because this is them onstage in the 60s.

Jojo

Oh, cute.

Sarah

I know. As we can see, the hair; very different. They did not go for a full 60s bouffant on her.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

For reasons as we have discussed. But I love this little dress. Look at this kicky little skirt. So cute!

Jojo

Very cute.

Sarah

Okay, so the thing I just wanted to finish up saying, is I watched... like I said, I watched an interview with her. It was at a film festival of some kind, and it was her and James Mangold.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

The director. And she just brought up a couple points. And I was like, "let's chat about that a little bit." She talked a lot about how the wardrobe department is an actor's, basically, first foray into their character.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

It's often the first thing they do on the movie, having a costume fitting and meeting with the costume designer.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

So lots of times, the movie actor is coming from another project, they're really busy. You know, this is the first chance they've had to kind of stand there and be like, "oh, who is this character? What did they look like? How do they stand?"

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

So I just thought that was really interesting, that costumes are often their first chance to see themselves as the character.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And they also they find a lot of their physicality in costume fittings, how are they going to stand? How are they going to walk?

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

So I just thought that was a really good point. And probably something that average people don't necessarily know, is that like, the first thing is not a rehearsal, sometimes. Sometimes the first thing is costumes.

Jojo

Yeah. And that happens often very late in the game, especially for theatre. So it's like, sometimes... I mean, they have been doing their own research into the character, but once they actually see themselves. And I had that conversation with a few actors too, where they're like, "I was getting into my character, and I was understanding them a little bit. But it wasn't until I got into the costume that I fully embodied, like, who this character was." So that's always a kind of rewarding moment, I feel like, for designers. Because it really does mean you've thought about it... I mean, you both have thought about it. And you've clearly made those choices very intentionally. But to see the actor really get into the character that you've created for them too is a really nice part of the collaboration, I think.

Sarah

Totally. And things can change, obviously, that's what fittings are for.

Jojo

Yeah, absolutely.

Sarah

And so something that you as a designer might think was perfect for the character, the actor might be like, "Well, I'm not sure, you know, if this is right, because of these reasons," and then you find, and you explore it together. And that's how it should be. It should be a dialogue and a relationship between you--the designer--the actor, and the director. It should be a collaboration and that's what I love about it.

Jojo

Right. And that's what makes it so collaborative, is that you are having an open dialogue about it, and that it's not just "you just do whatever I want." Although that sometimes may be the case, if you've had a really extensive conversation with a director. But yeah, I think that's very important. So that's cool.

Sarah

Yeah. And then the other thing she talks about is like, she said that she specializes in distracting actors during fittings. And I was like, "that's interesting." Because actors can often feel really objectified.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And I think it can be dehumanizing, especially, to be in a costume fitting when people are staring at your body, talking about your body, like you aren't in the room.

Jojo

Right?

Sarah

So it can be really hard when you make your living off of partially how you look.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

So she said she likes to just chat with them and get them out of their head and get them out of focusing on the flaws they see in the mirror and just really work on her relationship with them in the fitting. And I was like, "yeah, that's a good thing to do." Because you don't want them to feel like they're just a mannequin being dressed.

Jojo

Yeah. Yeah, I feel like sometimes those are the most.... Well, I guess I'm a little more biased, because most of the costume designers that I know, that I think are really successful, are the ones that do build that rapport with their actors, and sometimes become friends with their actors, because they've built up that relationship. And they've built that trust. And that's also-- I mean, you never know, an actor sometimes can be the one getting you the next job, too.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Even though people don't necessarily think about it that way. But you know, it's such a small industry, you really don't ever know who's going to get you your next job.

Sarah

Totally.

Jojo

So I think building that relationship with whoever you're working with, and in this case with actors, it's the most intimate relationship that you can have. It really does go a long way, when you're able to build that trust. I mean, you know, Arianne is the perfect example with Madonna, building up that trust and being that person that becomes her go-to. That's how she got a lot of her other work.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So it's kind of a cool... like, you get to see sort of how the relationship changes and shifts and builds and still kind of benefits both parties, because of that trust. So that's always important.

Sarah

Totally. Yeah. Yeah.

Jojo

So excitiing.

Sarah

So that's "Walk the Line". And those are my little side tangents that I was like, "let's chat about this, this will be fun."

Jojo

Good sidewalk conversations. [both laugh]

Sarah

Yeah. We like sort of diving into stuff that, you know, average, people who don't necessarily work in the industry might not think about or know. And it's all about shedding light and opening people up to what they might not know about.

Jojo

Yeah. And hopefully that's, you know, that's what makes our podcast interesting, too, is...

Sarah

I hope so too. [laughs]

Jojo

... hearing more of that stuff. And even though it is costume related, but yeah.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Opening it up to other things, because we don't just live in a vacuum of costume.

Sarah

Totally, it's not just about the pretty dresses, even though it we like those too.

Jojo

Yeah, very true.

Sarah

All right.

Jojo

Okay, let me...

Sarah

Are you ready? What's your movie?

Jojo

I'm doing "The Impossible," which... I'm just trying to get my stuff loaded up. So I can see my notes, as well as my pictures.

Sarah

Yeah, no problem.

Jojo

And I don't have a ton of pictures for this. Because again, very similar to Sarah, even though this movie actually got quite a few nominations, and Oscar wins, there were just really not a ton of pictures of this. And I mean, some of it is kind of understandable. Because it is a movie that is about a natural disaster. And so, you know, a lot of the costumes are naturally very, very distressed.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And it's not like it's some beautiful thing that you see on a mannequin that you can put on afterwards. It's really more about kind of seeing the realistic, I guess, and natural way that costumes can break down over time. So I kind of wanted to choose it for that reason, because as many of you know, I am really into distressing costumes. And I've talked about this in the past. So this, unfortunately... there were not a lot of pictures of all kind of the step by steps, which I wish that I could have gotten. But I'm going to try and at least get some kind of important beats throughout the movie, where we can actually see how the costume kind of changed, at least. And sort of how the the costume designer-- it was actually multiple--how they were sort of coming up with, you know, where these outfits came from and that kind of thing.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Okay, so really quick, just talking about some of the background for "The Impossible". The director is J.A. Bay... Bayona? I think that's how you say his name. I believe he's actually a Spanish--like, from Spain--director. I don't know exactly what his ethnicity is, but he did projects like "The Orphanage," which was his directorial debut. He also did "A Monster Calls," which I've never...

Sarah

Oh yeah.

Jojo

...I've never actually seen the movie but I have a whole book on all of the the creative visual effects that they did for that movie, which is phenomenal.

Sarah

I've read the book that that's based on, but I have not seen the movie.

Jojo

Okay. Yeah. And then he also did "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom". So one of the newer ones.

Sarah

Okay! Wow.

Jojo

So his choices of what he directs is very, very eclectic and very versatile. So that was kind of interesting. But his directorial resume actually is not super long. But the fact is, even though he hasn't done a ton of projects, they've all been pretty big and well recognized at least. And then in terms of the costume designer, it was actually three people. And again, they're all... none of them are very big designers. Anne Bingeman, I think is how you say her name. She did "Deception". And she also did the the comedy "Bachelorette".

Sarah

Oh yeah, I've seen that.

Jojo

Yeah. Which I was like, "Oh, that's interesting." Very different movies.

Sarah

Did we watch that together?

Jojo

We might have! I feel like we did.

Sarah

With Jessica?

Jojo

Oh yeah, I think we did.

Sarah

[both laugh] I think we did!

Jojo

That's so funny, because I was like, "I know I watched it with somebody."

Sarah

That's really funny.

Jojo

And then Sparka Lee, which I thought was a very interesting name, literally spelled "spark" with an A at the end. She's mostly a costume supervisor and assistant. And I think that was kind of her role in this as well.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

But she did "The Constant Gardener". She was an assistant, I believe, for "Resident Evil," "Speed Racer," "The Reader," and then she was a supervisor for a lot of "The Queen's Gambit".

Sarah

Oh, nice.

Jojo

So she's probably had a little bit more of a recognizable career than the other two. And then the third costume designer was Maria Reyes. And she does a lot more foreign TV shows. So I don't think... there was a lot of stuff that I didn't recognize, I wrote them down. But they're not things-- they're not titles that I recognize. They're "Merli," "Oh Happy Day," which is also a TV show. And then "La torre de Suso," which I think is also a movie. But again, all titles that I was like, "I've never heard of any of these things." But maybe it's just because it's in a different country. And I've just haven't seen them.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So yeah, so that's just a little bit of background. Just to tell you a little bit more about the actual event that this was based on... it follows a tourist family who ends up heading to Thailand, and this was back in like 2004. So there was a huge tsunami, which is actually... it said that it was one of the largest tsunamis in record, even to today. And that occurred in the Indian Ocean. So basically it pretty much wiped out the entire coast of Thailand in 2004. So there were, let's see, what were the statistics that I wrote down? It was considered the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. It was a 200 foot wave. It wiped away entire towns and the lives of over 200,000 people across 14 countries.

Sarah

Oh my god.

Jojo

So this thing was huge. And it was traveling from Indonesia. But this this particular movie focuses mostly on Thailand. And then the death toll in Thailand was nearly 5400, including 2000 foreign tourists.

Sarah

Wow.

Jojo

So this focuses on one specific tourist family who, miraculously, all five of the family members ended up surviving. But there were obviously a lot of other tourist deaths that were also happening at this time.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So just to give you a little bit more background, because again, I don't have a ton of pictures. But I was curious how well they translated, I guess, what happened in real life versus what happened to this family, because it is a very isolated event. And actually, it only took place over about two days.

Sarah

Oh, wow.

Jojo

But of course, the entire time during the movie, you're just like... I was like crying and tense and all these other emotions, just because I was like, "I don't know what's going to happen to these people, even though I kind of do."

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And also you're just watching them almost drown multiple times. And I think he spends a lot of time focusing on them underwater, getting hit and all this debris and everything. So of course, all those moments, you're kind of just sitting in tension, waiting, and hoping that they're going to resurface and and be able to breathe and survive. But the original family... and this is what I wanted to kind of touch base on, because I was a little confused. And there is a lot of critiquing about how they portrayed this movie, because the original family that survived was actually Spanish.

Sarah

Oh.

Jojo

And of course, all the actors that they cast for this were all well known white actors. And I think there was a back and forth of like, well, they chose these white actors. And there's a lot of white savior complex in there, even though there is you know, obviously they were in Thailand, and so they took a lot of the locals to portray, you know, the hospitals and the nurses and all the people that ended up helping. But the big critique was that it was essentially at the very end of it, the white family that survived while they didn't really focus on how much it actually affected the Thai people in the aftermath.

Sarah

Do you know if if the family, the original family, was Spanish from Spain? Or were they Hispanic?

Jojo

I believe they were from Spain. So yeah, not Hispanic, sorry.

Sarah

There are white people in Spain but like...

Jojo

Correct.

Sarah

...it still would have been better to cast actual Spanish people.

Jojo

Yeah. And I mean, it's very clear, the original lady was named Maria Belón. She was a physician. And then her husband's name is Enrique Álvarez. So you know, it's interesting the choices that they made. And you know, in justification, they actually did have the original Maria Belón come back, and literally be an advisor on--and guider on--the entire film.

Sarah

That's good.

Jojo

So she had a lot of, like... she was telling a lot of her own experience. And they said that their first interview with her... because I think she was also trying to figure out if these filmmakers were the right people to tell her story. Her first interview with them was actually five hours long, just her telling what happened.

Sarah

Wow.

Jojo

And I was like, "five hours?" Like, I can't even imagine. So a lot of, actually, what happened to Naomi Watts in the movie did in fact happen to Maria, in very much the same way. Even the way that the tsunami originally, or initially, approached them or attacked them. Like, they said that they actually had the family members standing in the same exact spot at that resort, where their family was. And I was like, "yikes." Like, I don't-- as an actor...

Sarah

Wow.

Jojo

...I don't know that I would.... Like, that would have been so mentally like... I'm not ready for this.

Sarah

That's a... that's heavy. That's like...

Jojo

It is.

Sarah

...that's a lot.

Jojo

Definitely. And they actually, so they were from Japan originally. Sorry-- they lived in Japan for Álvarez's job. And then they ended up going to Thailand for Christmas. So they were actually there for holiday.

Sarah

It was Christmas time?

Jojo

Yeah. So crazy.

Sarah

That is heartbreaking.

Jojo

And then they said that in terms of the actual injuries that she suffered--because I was also curious about how much of that they translated--Belón apparently suffered severe thigh and chest injuries, which is also what they did in the movie for Naomi Watts. So like, very, very much exactly like what she experienced was what they kind of recreated.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Both parents ended up being separated from their children. So they had three sons, Lucas, Simón, and Tomás were the original names. They changed them to very white names of Lucas, Simon and Thomas.

Sarah

Ooh.

Jojo

And then even Enrique, they changed to Henry. Maria, they kept as Maria. But their last name was actually Bennett instead of, you know, Maria Belón and Álvarez.

Sarah

That's...

Jojo

So like that part of it, I was a little bit like, "uhhhh..."

Sarah

How do you excuse that? Like, how do you... we wanted to get the movie made, and we didn't think that they would fund a movie with no white people in it?

Both

[editor's note: our apologies, we do know that Spain is primarily Caucasian. Our use of "white people" in these exchanges is incorrect. We meant that instead of casting people who looked like the familiy--dark hair and olive skin--they cast very fair people and Anglicized their names, essentially changing the fact that the family is Spanish.]

Jojo

Right. And I think that was the one person that critiqued it. They were like, "why did they choose not to use a, you know, a more well known celebrity that was from Spain?"

Sarah

There are a lot, yeah.

Jojo

Like, I think they had mentioned Penélope Cruz as an option, you know, things like that. And it was interesting because Maria, the original lady, actually said that when she talked to Naomi Watts, she felt the most... like she could relate to her the most when they were talking about the role.

Sarah

Okay.

Jojo

So I was like, "Oh, that's interesting that she connected the most with a white lady to represent her." Like...

Sarah

Yeah, I'm glad that basically she gave her blessing on it.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

Like, I'm glad she's not upset by the decision. Yeah, but it is kind of bad optics, you know?

Jojo

Very much so, especially now. I mean, this was created a couple years ago, but like...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...you know, it's just weird to think about it now, when everything is so much more sensitive about that.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Okay. So let's see. One thing that I did want to mention, Naomi Watts quoted Belón when they spoke, she said, "Belón felt completely sure of her instinct." And this was like, during the time of the tsunami, everything that happened. She said, "Nothing got in the way of her instinct, and she'd never had that feeling before." So I think that was something that really helped Naomi kind of get into her character as well. Which you definitely do see that, like they make Naomi a little bit more fearful, I think, in the movie. Like she... when they start off on the plane flying to Thailand. She's already nervous about all the bumpiness on the plane.

Sarah

Hmm.

Jojo

And then when she goes into the actual... when she actually has to save her son, or try to reach her son, there's a little bit more of a jump of her anxiety, becoming a mother and trying to save her children. So moving on to costumes.

Sarah

Costumes!

Jojo

Sorry, I spent way too long talking about that, but I figured I would at least show some background. [laughs]

Sarah

Yeah, it's good to have that information.

Jojo

Before we talked about it.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So I wanted to show you the original family. And you can tell they're... they look very Spanish, like from Spain. Like, all their features are very "from Spain." And then you have the white family that represents them. So... so yeah, it's quite a big difference. Ewan McGregor plays Henry.

Sarah

[laughs] I'm sorry.

Jojo

Naomi Watts plays Maria, obviously... I know.

Sarah

We couldn't even put them in dark hair? Like, we couldn't even dye their hair? Okay. All right.

Jojo

Yeah, yeah.

Sarah

They had to be blonde.

Jojo

And then we had, interestingly enough, this is actually Tom Holland.

Sarah

Oh my god!

Jojo

So funny, because I was like, "Oh, yeah, I forgot he was in this movie!"

Sarah

Little baby.

Jojo

He's so, so young in this movie. And he plays our oldest child, Lucas. And then we have our middle child, our little blond, blue eyed kid, who I believe is Simon. And then our youngest is Thomas. So I kind of wanted to pull this picture out, just because throughout the movie, the designers actually kept a really, really tight palette for them. So it was a lot of really nice earth tones. They're mostly in... like, if it's white, it's a kind of cream. I mean, this is probably the lightest white, and it's only the mom.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

The rest of the time, most of the guys are either in blues or greens, you'll see a lot of kind of deep grays, or kind of cooler tone grays. So I think they really did a good job of kind of sticking to that.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And then... and this is all, of course, before everything happens.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

This is a little out of order. But this was the original outfit that Maria is in. And this is pretty much the outfit she's in the entire time she's suffering through this tsunami. So she starts off, obviously, in this white tank top and the blue shorts. And of course, throughout the movie, there's so much that's happened. She's like, drowning in muddy water. So this totally looks like a completely different outfit by the end of this.

Sarah

Right.

Jojo

But this is sort of where she starts.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Okay, and then... so this was actually supposed to be before the other one. But this was basically one of the nights before the tsunami hits. They actually have a little lantern, which is very famous in Thailand, they do the lantern release.

Sarah

Oh yeah. Mmhmm.

Jojo

Where they're seeing the lanterns fly into the sky. And this is kind of their last calm and nice moment as a family. So I love that, again, it's still earth tones, but these beautiful greens that the costume designers decided to use here really kind of ties them into the the natural setting of Thailand as well.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

She actually ends up putting these kind of tropical flowers in her hair. So it's this very tropical feeling, you know, they are on vacation.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So I did love that they kind of tied everyone together very tightly, in terms of color. Alright, so...

Sarah

Oh boy. Here we go.

Jojo

...after the tsunami hits, you can already see her white tank top has turned yellow.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

She's already covered in mud. And even her blue shorts have kind of turned sort of a gray. It looks like they've kind of given her some... almost like salt stains.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Because this is after the water has kind of died down. But she's sort of still... kind of trying to find her way to help. They end up picking up this kid, which apparently this also happened in real life. They actually found a stray kid that they helped for a little while named Daniel.

Sarah

Oh my gosh.

Jojo

And in the movie they totally just make it a happy ending where he finds his dad, and they see him reunite with his dad. In the real situation, apparently Daniel was never found again. Like, somehow he got separated from them a second time and they never found out what happened to him.

Sarah

Oh, no.

Jojo

So it's like... it's just this really heartbreaking moment.

Sarah

That's too dark, too dark for the movie, I guess.

Jojo

It really is, it really is.

Sarah

Oh, that's so sad.

Jojo

And you can kind of see even with Lucas, he, you know, he's still got that kind of blue swimming shorts. I mean, like I said, there's not a ton of costume, interesting things here because they're in swimwear.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

They're at the pool when the tsunami hits. So it's like, very kind of bare minimum clothing.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

But you do start seeing how much this kind of changes, even just seeing all of the different details of what water does to our clothes, after being in a muddy tsunami. And the other thing, too, that's interesting is she was wearing a swimming suit under this when everything happened, and somehow the swimsuit has just sort of disappeared.

Sarah

Oh!

Jojo

Because during this time, she actually... underwater, gets stabbed in this, in the rib cage. And also a whole chunk of her back thigh is just missing. So there's a scene where-- I didn't want to show it because it was just very, very graphic.

Sarah

That's fine. [laughs]

Jojo

But you see the kid walking behind her, and he just sees a chunk of her leg just flapping down and he's like, "I can't."

Sarah

Ugh!

Jojo

He's like, "I can look at you right now," and so she makes him walk in front of her, so he doesn't have to look at it. And that's why she has this little thing tied around her leg, to like, keep the skin up. And I'm like, "oh my god."

Sarah

Oh god. [laughs]

Jojo

But yes, it's a lot of... and again, this is where it kind of gets down to the nitty gritty of like, this costume crafts person had to understand what each of these steps were. Like, everything that hits her has to somehow show up on her clothes.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

So you know, you start seeing the blood kind of dripping and staining from the side-- the side injury, but then you also see the blood kind of getting on some of her pants.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

It's just like, I don't know, it's so much to think about. Especially in a natural disaster, this where literally everything is making you dirty. [laughs]

Sarah

Yes, that's the daunting part of distressing, I think. Like, you must have to completely storyboard it.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And then that's how you figure out how many duplicates you need. And you must have to like, just lay it all out.

Jojo

Yeah. And I... you know, even in this, it's like, they must have had to have, you know, 15 or 16 copies of this shirt alone.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Like, even just for a 20 minute segment, just because she goes through so much trauma, and she's still wading through water even after it kind of subsides. So like, there's still things that are happening, because she's still trudging through terrain, so...

Sarah

Well, and then you're like, "Okay, so how many times does she have to do to the take," you know.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

"Do we need a fresh one at the beginning of every take, so that she can get wet?"

Jojo

Right, exactly.

Sarah

So yeah, it's so much to think about.

Jojo

And that also makes me wonder why we have, you know... it's probably why they had three costume people.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And also why they had a supervisor in addition to, you know, maybe a more seasoned designer, because someone who's a supervisor understands more of that craft stuff. And usually, they'll either at least have someone on hand that they know who can do that, or they're often the ones doing some of the craft stuff.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So it's, you know, it's sort of interesting how they pulled together their team. Like, it makes a lot more sense when you're looking at the amount of craziness that has to happen to these costumes in terms of breaking them down.

Sarah

Yeah. And you need people on set who know exactly what is supposed to be happening when.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

So I think that is... that's kind of probably what a supervisor would do too, right? Is be, like...

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

...in charge of knowing which one is for which scene.

Jojo

Right, right, and making sure everything is organized in such a way that they don't get those mixed up.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

But yeah. Okay.

Sarah

Wow, oh no.

Jojo

So this is the next stage. She gets basically dragged through... I mean, there's quite a few things that happen in between this, of course, but a big part of this--the original story, too--was that a Thai man actually ended up dragging her through the mud. And like, this is so hard to watch, because she's just screaming in pain the entire time. And they just-- they're just dragging her through grass, and like...

Sarah

Ohh.

Jojo

...mud and all these other things. And she... you know, it's the back of her leg. So it's just getting ripped up even more. But that's his only way of trying to get her to a hospital and get her to somewhere safe.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And you see her son in the front. Like, it's interesting, because clearly the people making this movie did not want to hurt children or make them look hurt. So like, the two youngest kids, don't look distressed or dirty or anything at all.

Sarah

[laughs] Not bloody.

Jojo

You see maybe one or two scenes where Tom Holland gets kind of beat up under the water, but you know, in terms of the amount of pain and injury that he sustained, it's much, much less than...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...what Naomi Watts goes through.

Sarah

People don't want to see kids getting hurt.

Jojo

It's so true. So yeah, they definitely kept them pretty clean in general. But she, again, she gets stabbed right in the side. And then it's really gross. Like, they actually show her boob all sliced up underneath. And so, you know, her son's obviously freaking out because she's like, falling apart in front of him.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And so she ends up having to tie one of her tank top straps to the other side, just to, like, cover herself.

Sarah

Uh huh.

Jojo

So yeah, it's just, you know, this looks so horrible here. But again, it just shows you this is sort of the next few steps that our craftsperson had to pay attention to.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

She's getting dragged through the mud. She's also got all the blood on top, she's probably bleeding more because she's being dragged through other stuff. So it's just all those things that you have to pay attention to. Because as humans, that's what would happen in real life.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So yes, so she ends up wearing pretty much this outfit for the rest of the time until she's she's able to get to the hospital.

Sarah

Wow.

Jojo

Okay, so Tom Holland. Obviously when he gets to the hospital, somehow he finds a shirt. Or like, they end up... so when they get to the actual Thai village, where it's a little safer, they actually have a-- it's basically like all the local people end up coming and, you know, putting... they end up giving her a shirt. They end up, you know, giving Lucas another shirt. But one of the reasons I wanted to pull this image is not just because it's like, "Okay, great, now we have a costume change." But it kind of also goes to show the kind of clothes that are overseas. Because a lot of times, overseas countries do end up just getting, essentially, the waste that America gets rid of.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So it's interesting that we're looking at graphics that look a little bit more American, but it's almost like it's faded out, or it's not quite there anymore.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Like these are old clothes that have been discarded from elsewhere.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So I kinda want to just pull that in. Because I mean, it just says... even with how kind of dingy it looks, it tells you a lot about what's actually in the rest of the world, and how other people manufacture clothing, or even get clothing from other places. Or wealthier places.

Sarah

Yeah, I think, you know, Americans at large don't necessarily think about what happens to our clothes when...

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

...you know, they can't even be sold in Goodwill or whatever.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

That's what happens, is that we ship them to other countries and just... make it their problem instead of ours.

Jojo

Yeah. Yeah. And like, he gets this as a new shirt, but you can see how torn up the collar is, and how the sleeves are all torn up.

Sarah

Yeah. And the graphic is faded.

Jojo

So yes, I just thought that was a really interesting way to kind of introduce that.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Okay, so then the second half of the movie, they kind of go... I mean, because the first half of the movie you're really focusing on how Naomi is able to find her son, and they stay together, and how they're able to get to the hospital.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And hers is probably the much more traumatic experience, because I think she obviously went through a lot more injuries. Somehow, Ewan McGregor stays fairly intact and untouched through all of this. Which is weird. But he's also in the pool with his kids when he starts.

Sarah

Oh.

Jojo

And I wanted to pull this image, even though it's the dirty version of this, because he has these pretty standard Hawaiian blue swimming trunks. But in the beginning, his kids are just making fun of how ugly they are. [laughs] And so it's just funny that, you know, it... obviously, it's not a huge thing, but then they just get so dirty and ripped up by the time he gets through the tsunami. And yet, somehow, the only injuries he sustains are maybe a few scars here and there on his face.

Sarah

Wow.

Jojo

And when they find him, or when he starts his kind of portion of the story, he's still back at the resort. So somehow, he's survived enough after the water has kind of subsided, to still remain at the resort. And he's somehow found his two kids. So like, apparently, they were also clinging to a tree. And that's how he found both of them. Like, they were both, you know, just holding on.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And so at this point, the water has subsided. The rest of the movie, his goal is to just basically find his wife and his kids, because he feels like they're alive, even though no one else seems to think so. So I just wanted to pull that image really quick, because that's mostly what he's in until he's able to find a shirt.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Later on, this is still him looking for his wife, he's kind of talking to his kids and trying to convince his middle child that he has to take care of Thomas, because you know, they're going to go somewhere safe to the top of the mountain so that it's far away from the water. And then he's going to keep looking for his wife. So basically, this is sort of like a "grow up, you gotta man up and take care of your younger brother."

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Because he's also the kid that's afraid of everything at the beginning of the movie.

Sarah

Aww. I relate to that.

Jojo

Okay, so moving on. This is actually... I believe this is one of my last ones. I wanted to pull this because she's one of the few characters that kind of gets a little bit more screen time, other than the guy that drags Naomi Watts through the mud. And she actually does speak pretty fluent English, because she's one of the ones that finally kind of is able to converse with Lucas when he's trying to find... at a certain point in the hospital, he loses his mom temporarily. So she finally is able to converse with him and calm him down and try to help him find his mom again. And so she's kind of... it's still a really, really small role. And again, another big critique is that the local people just aren't given much of a character in this movie. But she ends up kind of having this big long conversation with him and she ends up kind of being his trustworthy, like, go-to nurse.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So she has a very small part, but you do see her represented a little bit more. And I kind of just wanted to show, again, their uniform is clearly not pristine, like we are used to seeing in the States.

Sarah

Right.

Jojo

It's clearly like, this is the shirt that she got. And it's probably whatever "Goodwill" version that she got out of wherever she could find. And that's their uniform for the hospital.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So I just thought that was interesting, to sort of represent kind of what the local people were wearing. And I didn't do enough research to find out how accurate this actually was.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Or if this is just something she wore on her own, versus an actual, you know, hospital issued uniform.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And then last one.. they talked about-- like, I just kind of pulled this image because again, they haven't really changed. But this is sort of where they finally find each other. And this is after a very long like hour and a half of the movie. So within that last half hour, Lucas finally finds his two brothers, and then they finally find their dad.

Sarah

Aww.

Jojo

So there was this really heartwarming moment. And again, it's sort of like a double edged sword, right? There's so many other people that die during the tsunami that aren't focused on in this movie. And yet, the white family is the one that survives. So I think that was one of the biggest critiques of this movie, of how whitewashed everything was.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

But you know, it's at the end of it, it's still a very heartwarming happy ending, I think. Unfortunately, audiences don't... well, I shouldn't say "unfortunately," but audiences don't really like to see a sad ending for things like this, where it is a natural disaster that's totally out of your control.

Sarah

Right.

Jojo

But it is also one of those things where, you know, it makes you wonder, what about all those other families that didn't make it? So... Yeah, anyways, that was the last thing I had for this movie. Again, a really hard thing to watch.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

But I did like that they at least brought the original survivor into the discussion and didn't just try and like, fake it or make something happen that wasn't really happening.

Sarah

I feel like if I was making this movie, which... I don't make movies, so whatever. But I would probably try to tell a bunch of family's stories, you know?

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

Instead of... you can get the real life testimony from the survivors and try to do justice to their actual story.

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

But you could also add in some side characters who are on their own sort of struggle and journey, and maybe not all of them have happy endings, you know?

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

Like, you could tell the story in a way that was sensitive to the actual family who survived this. And then... but also sensitive to everybody else who didn't find their family.

Jojo

Right. Which... I think, you know, they did do a little bit of that.

Sarah

Yeah?

Jojo

When Lucas is running through the hospital. Because while his mom is laying kind of in the hospital ready for surgery, he ends up... just because he doesn't know what to do with himself. So he ends up running around the hospital, and all these people end up reaching out to him and being like, you know, "have you seen this person?"

Sarah

Mmm.

Jojo

Like, most of them are parents asking for their sons, or their kids.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And so he starts going around, he starts taking their names down, and walking around the hospital and just yelling out names, being like, "anybody recognize this name?" So there is a little bit of that, that I think they tried to throw in there to like, redeem some of it.

Sarah

[laughs] Yeah.

Jojo

But yeah, you know, it is one of those things where I think you see maybe two families reunite-- including that kid Daniel, who in real life, we never find out what actually happens to him. But there is another family who... the son and the father get reunited, because Lucas ends up finding him.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And then there's another mom who also goes, like... she has a similar situation and ends up having to go into surgery kind of right next to Maria's character. And you never find out what happens to her. Like, she goes into surgery. And she, I think she writes her name on Maria's arm, so that she won't forget her name, because she was like, "I have a family too. And I just want to say bye to them one last time before... I don't know if I'm going to survive this surgery," kind of thing.

Sarah

Oh, wow.

Jojo

And then she goes into surgery, and you never see her come back out. So you know, there's a lot of unfinished stories, which, you know, I think they tried to do that. Which is probably why this movie lasted two hours. Like, I forgot that that was long it was. [laughs] And I was like, "how are they going to make a movie about a tsunami last two hours?" [both laugh] But you know, they did it. So... so yes, it was interesting to see how they were able to kind of translate some of that. And like, show all of it. I think, you know, again, at the end of the day, I'm kind of like, "what was the reasoning behind switching to a white family when it didn't have to be done that way?"

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Like, you know, it's one thing if you're resonating with that particular actress. But like, they could have even kept her husband, you know, Spanish. Or... I don't know, something like that.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

I'm not a filmmaker. So who knows? But...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...but yes, it does make me wonder what their choices are, what their motivations behind those choices were.

Sarah

It's hard to justify that, you know, in a way that really makes a lot of sense. Other than...

Jojo

Right.

Sarah

"...we were worried about money. We were worried that people wouldn't pay to see a movie about people who weren't white," which is like... [grimace sound] [laughs]

Jojo

Right. And then last fun fact I wanted to share was when they did the tsunami, apparently he built a water tank. And that's how they filmed the whole movie. I think it was very similar... I can't remember the other movie you said that they did that for. But there was another one.

Sarah

"Parasite"?

Jojo

Yes. Yeah.

Sarah

Yeah, I just transcribed that one.

Jojo

They built a water tank. And like, they just... you know, they kind of just did most of their swimming in there.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And then they just added some digital, you know, extra effects or visual effects afterwards for the extra stuff. But I was like, "That's so crazy," because I can't imagine trying to film. He tried to use as much real water as possible, though.

Sarah

Oh, wow.

Jojo

He was like, "I wanted it to be as authentic as possible." So a lot of the tidal waves that come in, and things like that, all of that happened for real. And I was like, "yikes," that's... that's so crazy and scary. Like, I can't imagine.

Sarah

Yes, I feel like that would be very hard. But also I think about actors and I'm like, "a movie where you're wet the whole time?" That just has to suck to shoot.

Jojo

Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.

Sarah

Just wet for two months.

Jojo

And where you have to constantly change costumes, just to make sure you're continuous. Like...

Sarah

They're like, dumping buckets on you before they start. Ugh.

Jojo

Yep, yep. So yeah, must have been a very grueling process. For sure.

Sarah

Yeah. Yeah.

Jojo

But yeah, that's my coverage of "The Impossible."

Sarah

Great job.

Jojo

Thanks, Sarah.

Sarah

I'm glad you covered that, because I am glad I know about that movie now. But that's the kind of movie that would stress me out deeply to watch. So now I got the experience of watching it without having to actually watch it. [both laugh]

Jojo

So funny. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I will definitely say, the scene where she reunites with her son--and she's trying to get back to him because they're so far apart--and they see each other and they're both screaming for each other, but they can't get close enough to each other. And there's a whole scene where they're reaching across a mattress, but they can't touch hands, because it's too far away. And they're still also trying to avoid debris under the water that they can't see. And I'm just like, "this is so stressful!" And I feel like I don't know what I'd do if this was me, and my parents. Or like, me and a child that I cared about. [laughs]

Sarah

I hope we never have to find out what that's like.

Jojo

Agreed. Agreed. [both laugh]

Sarah

Oh, man.

Jojo

But yes. So yeah, that's our coverage of true event movies.

Sarah

Very different films we picked, from each other. [laughs]

Jojo

Absolutely.

Sarah

That's good. We like to keep it spicy. Keep it fresh.

Jojo

That's true. It's very true.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Keep your interest peaked.

Sarah

Exactly. [both laugh]

Jojo

Oh, man. Well.

Sarah

Okay.

Jojo

Thank you so much, Sarah, that was so much fun.

Sarah

Thank you, JoJo.

Jojo

Thank you guys for joining us. And again, if you have any comments or questions or just other things you want to add, maybe more information about either of our movies that maybe we didn't cover, please feel free to add or comment on Instagram.

Sarah

Yes! Totally.

Jojo

We are behind on YouTube. So I will get back on that this week. Sorry. It's been a crazy month. But thank you for being patient with us.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

And we look forward to hearing all of your comments and notes and questions and everything else.

Sarah

Yes, we appreciate your patience as we, you know, try to fit doing this podcast around our regular lives. [laughs]

Jojo

So true. Well, thanks again and we'll see you on the next one.

Sarah

See ya. Bye.

Jojo

Bye!

[OUTRO]

Jojo

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at [email protected].

Sarah

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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inspirited-goddess · 7 years ago

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10 Questions Tag

Tagged by the super sweet and amazing @lady-redshield-writes probably a week ago and I’m just now getting to it? I’m such a procrastinator ugh but here I go!

Rules: Answer these ten questions, create ten of your own, then tag ten people.

1. Do you like to mix genres when you write?

Honestly I don’t really pay attention to this? I mean the main genre I’m currently writing for is fantasy action/adventure but I guess sub genres could be romance and suspense/mystery. As far as “mixing”, I don’t do it intentionally, so I don’t have an opinion.

2. Do you set aside specific time for writing, or just write whenever you can?

Uhh...I try to write every night (because the night is the only time I’m guaranteed peace and quiet and privacy) but sometimes I get too sleepy. For the most part I “write whenever I can” (which is always, but I’m a procrastinator sadly and I haven’t got a handle on my laziness yet)

3. Would you ever want your WIP to become a TV show or movie?

This might end up sounding crazy, but too often I imagine it becoming one. I like to fantasize me being successful off my writing and having a fanbase, etc, and that often leads me to imagine movies for my entire series, and then a spinoff TV show series. I think about it a lot, and I imagine scenes in my head in the “movie” format. It’s really cool imo and in my head

4. What’s your favorite OC relationship? (Doesn’t have to be romantic!)

Thinking about my response to this question while listening to music is overwhelming me with lovey feels, omg. But anyway...

My favorite OC relationship (and you have no idea how hard it is for me to choose one) has to be between Bruce and Vanessa, otherwise known as Ness. They’ve known each other since they were little kids and they’re married in my series, and thinking about them makes me so happy because as friends, lovers, and warriors, they’ve been through so much together and alone. They were the first real relationship I remember thinking of for my series, and it makes it even better that they have a healthy relationship. (Not that i would EVER write anything unhealthy, ew.) I just love them so much. And their bond with their best friends Phil and Elise is literally the greatest, oh my god.

5. Read anything good recently?

Yes! EVE: The Awakening by Jenna Moreci is currently my second favorite book is the world, topped only by The Savior’s Champion by the same author, which is released April 24th! I’m so excited, b/c Jenna is a super talented author and vlogger I look up to :)

6. Which character is on your mind right now?

This question is the devil because I usually have more than one character on my mind at all times, BUT I’m listening to some really great music right now and at the same time I read this question, the beat dropped in the song and made me think of my OC Elizabeth, a badass Warrior Princess who wields the Four Seasons Claymores, weapons molded to harness the powers of water, earth, fire and air. The song I’m listening to currently has me imagining her in a really epic battle, and I love her <3

7. Are there any settings you like to write about? (Forests, oceans, deserts, etc.)

The eventual main setting of my series is the kingdom of Enchancia, and honestly I find that whenever I think of it and when I’m writing about it I get really happy. There’s ten cities in the entirety of the kingdom and they all have their own unique trait that make them stand out and I just love writing about them and the special warriors who live in each city. So yeah, basically Enchancia.

8. Would you want to live in the world(s) you’ve written about?

Hell yes, especially in Enchancia! It’s far more technologically advanced then us and much more prosperous, plus it’s super beautiful. Of the ten cities, I’d want to specifically live in Olympia, Enchancia, because my favorite characters live there and Olympia is known as the “Wondrous Warrior Wasteland”. It’s based off Ancient Greek and Rome and is the largest city in Enchancia.

9. How do you decide when you’re done planning and just have to start writing?

As of right now, I don’t plan/outline; I just open a document and start writing. This method has proven futile for me, though, so after I finish my current WIP, I will try my hand in various forms of outlining so I can better plan and pace my books.

10. Which character is most similar to you? Most different?

This is really tough, b/c I try to make my characters not like me, you know? The most different, though, would have to be Snowella, because she’s a strong individual who knows what she’s going to do with her life and how she’s going to get from point A to point B. She stands up firmly for what she believes in and never lets anyone sway her opinion or bring her down, and she’s confident in herself. She has several other great qualities I could list, but alas, let’s keep this short. I lack a lot of her attributes, but I’m slowly trying to work on fixing that.

Most like me, though? ...I’ll say Elizabeth. While she is more like Snowella in more ways than one, we also both have a desire to explore and see what the world has to offer. We both yearn to get wrapped up in crazy adventures with the hope of meeting some really great people along the way, and we're both in love with swords (lol). Elizabeth is one of my favorites and doing this made me realize we have some similarities! And now I’m getting some random urge to travel the world and meet new people...

I liked this activity a lot because it made me think, so thank you, @lady-redshield-writes!

Here are my questions:

1. Are you looking forward to reading/trying out any new books this year?

2. When was the last time you tried to write something outside your comfort zone?

3. What is your least favorite genre to read and/or write?

4. What is the craziest idea for a story you’ve ever gotten?

5. Besides writing stories, do you write anything else? (Like poetry, songs, etc.)

6. Are you a writer who hopes your works may one day be turned into a TV show or movie?

7. What would you say are your strengths in writing? Your weaknesses?

8. Do you have an OC(s) that makes you smile whenever you think of them?

9. What’s your favorite part of the writing process, besides writing?

10. What first inspired you to write, if you remember?

Tagging: @kclenhartnovels @dragonscanbeplantstoo @oheoo @writingguardian @quillwritten @writebruh @brynwrites @merigreenleaf @beefragment and @l-a-v-ender. I’m aware that some of you may not know me (but I tagged you because I thought you were a cool person and writeblr that i follow!) so don’t feel obligated to do this! We may only be acquaintances after all. And I don’t know who has or hasn’t done it so obviously don’t do it again if you don’t want to, but still feel free! Enjoy!

#writing tag #about me #ten questions tag #ten questions #tag game #writers on tumblr #writer friends #writeblr #writer tag

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verdigrisprowl · 7 years ago

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Jan 22 Dancitron Movie Night - The Accountant

Prowl was quite intrigued by tonight’s movie selection.

Today Smokescreen 8:01 pm 😀 Optimus! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:02 pm *Soundwave nods at Smokescreen before settling in his place. He was going to try to catch a snack before anyone showed up, but, well. No time for that now.* FakeProwl 8:03 pm *appears, claims his seat. a greeting ping for soundwave.* Smokescreen 8:03 pm /He's going to grab an armful of snacks before taking a free couch, if at all possible./ ItsyBitsySpyers 8:04 pm *Soundwave bobs his head at Prowl.* [[Hello.]]

*Casual hand flick in Smokescreen's direction. Yes, yes, take what you want to fill up on while you're watching. It's there to be eaten.* Smokescreen 8:07 pm /Perfect! Smokescreen's happy to stuff his face!/ Hey- Sounds, thanks again for all those math and science documents you gave me- they really came in handy! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm ((y'all make sure to get your food and whatnot)) [[Finding a way to provide public education at last?]] Bull 8:08 pm ((*goes to grab a drink*)) Smokescreen 8:09 pm Yeah! I wrote up these plans- and Megatron thinks we'll be able to implement them pretty much as soon as we have the space and bots. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm [[Do you think they would be useful to other timelines? These plans of yours.]] Smokescreen 8:11 pm Maybe! I'd probably take out the specific history documents since that would be wildly different, but everything else probably would- I could send you a copy if you want to get something setup as well? ... Might be good to wait until we've implemented it first, though, to make 100% there's nothing it's missing. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:12 pm [[He would like to take a look. We are still having trouble getting anything settled. A multifaction document that's already partially arranged might help smooth the way.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm *Warrants out for an arrest. That does remind him. He'll have to see about that later.* Smokescreen 8:14 pm Alright- I'll send the documents to you when I get back. I hope it can help smooth it out- I'm guessing a lot of bots missed out on education in your universe, too, because of the war and caste system slag? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:15 pm *Slow nod. Naturally.* Smokescreen 8:16 pm ((I... i love the description on this- apparently it was RIGHT before crossfire aired Bevel 8:17 pm *trundles in and makes a quick stop to pick up something to drink before making her way to her spot* Bull 8:19 pm ((back *gets sewing stuff to work on during movie*)) Swoop 8:19 pm *is a well charred dinobot tonight yum* Magnum Ace 8:19 pm -pings Soundwave for a bridge. They're not late, are they?- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm *Not late. Bridge opens up!*

[[Swoop, the ash. Outside removal again, please.]] Swoop 8:21 pm : < *drags his feet all the way outside to SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE off ash EVERYWHERE* *everyone walking in that door can enjoy some well coated feet* KnockOot 8:22 pm Hellooooo Smokescreen 8:22 pm !!! Knocktopus! KnockOot 8:22 pm Trogdor! Smokescreen 8:22 pm Knocktopus!! KnockOot 8:22 pm Hello Soundwave! Magnum Ace 8:22 pm -and he's walking through the bridge, to his normal spot on the table- Smokescreen 8:22 pm ... You don't have needles anymore right Swoop 8:23 pm *flounces inside* KnockOot 8:23 pm . . . I won't bring them out. Smokescreen 8:23 pm ... Swoop 8:23 pm *is still v dirty in the joints but he isn't Pigpen anymore* Bull 8:23 pm *Bull Armor walks with Ace to the table* KnockOot 8:23 pm I proooomise. !! Short bots! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm [[No weaponry, medical equipment, or questionable content in the open.]] Swoop 8:24 pm *perks up at questionable content* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:24 pm ((all right y'all more serious business for a moment:)) Swoop 8:24 pm *is he questionable content* *the world may never know* Magnum Ace 8:24 pm -oh dear, who is this?- Bull 8:25 pm *Bull looks to new mech; or atleast one he doesn't remember meeting before* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:25 pm ((LONGER THAN USUAL WARNINGS: Dug around for a while and saw a mixture of approving, disapproving, and middle ground reviews. I think the movie tries harder in some respects than many other films/shows, but it does step into some common stereotypes and errors. I've decided to show it for the pros, acknowledge the cons, and leave it to everyone to make individual decisions about the whole.))

((IIRC there are two scenes with loud music and strobing lights. I'll try to note them in time but it's been some months since I watched this. Other content I can remember: blood, violence, death, ableism, some outdated terminology, child abuse with lasting repercussions, cursing, a sexual threat.)) KnockOot 8:25 pm Hello, I'm Knock Out. ((What are we watching again? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:25 pm ((The Accountant)) Swoop 8:26 pm Bird? Bird Bird! Magnum Ace 8:27 pm Hello, Knock Out, I'm Magnum Ace. KnockOot 8:27 pm Are you one of those sports bots? Bull 8:27 pm I'm Bull Armor, nice to meet you. Smokescreen 8:27 pm Knocktopus- knocktopus they are! They're great right? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm ((idk how loud this is rn tell me if i have to adjust at some point)) Swoop 8:28 pm *wanders all over looking for Bird* *may physically move people if they are in the way of possible BIrd sightings* Magnum Ace 8:28 pm Yes, we're Leaguers, if that's what you mean? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:28 pm *Bird is precisely where most people would expect her to be.*

*Also, Soundwave greets everyone strolling in with a nod.* Swoop 8:28 pm *wanders over to the goodies* Hi Bird Smokescreen 8:29 pm Also also Sounds- are there any other documents that might help your Cybertron out too? ... Is there anything that you might need help with on your end or anything? Magnum Ace 8:29 pm -warily turns attention to the screen at gunshots- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm *Someone familiar cackles through Soundwave's speakers.* {{Bird not there.}} Swoop 8:29 pm :V ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm [[There is, Smokescreen. We can talk about that when the movie is over.]] Ali 8:29 pm -Hamstor makes her way inside- this is the thing you guys do with the movie and the free snacks, right? Bevel 8:29 pm *waves to Soundwave, will look to see if Chimera is here tonight* Swoop 8:29 pm *scampers over to laugh at the speakers* Hiding Bird! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm [[It is. If it is sitting on the bar top, you can have what you need of it.]] Smokescreen 8:29 pm Sounds good! Uh- Also, there's not like... Optimus dying in this movie or anything right ItsyBitsySpyers 8:30 pm [[No, no. This is a strictly human movie.]] Smokescreen 8:30 pm Ohhh- okay! It's not a documentary, right? FakeProwl 8:30 pm *that wasn't the title he expected for that introduction.* Swoop 8:30 pm Why You a hiding bird? : > Ali 8:31 pm Sweet! -she scampered over to the snacks and starts stuffing her face- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:31 pm {{Bird not hiding bird. Bird always docking here.}} Swoop 8:32 pm *pats Bird and smiles* Hide from MOVIE! Smokescreen 8:32 pm I already don't like that dad! FakeProwl 8:32 pm *oh. a shrink. and people talking to a shrink. already not pleased with where this is going.* KnockOot 8:33 pm Leaguers, right, that's what I meant. I watched your videos. Ali 8:33 pm So uh, what is this we're watching? -her mouth is full while she talks- FakeProwl 8:33 pm ... Heh. *pleased with the kid who can solve puzzles upside-down, though.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:33 pm *Agrees. The creator clearly is not listening.* Magnum Ace 8:33 pm You mean the recordings of our games? Smokescreen 8:33 pm How do you even BEGIN to solve a jigsaw puzzle ... upside down, I mean KnockOot 8:33 pm My mate could do it. FakeProwl 8:34 pm *by looking at the shapes. ... not saying that out loud.* Swoop 8:34 pm ((It's a little quite for me. Is that just my laptop or is everyone quiet?)) Bevel 8:34 pm Looking at the shapes of the pieces. *will* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm {{Bird not hide from movie! Bird not hiding! Bird here, all for seeing.}} Swoop 8:34 pm Oh! Maybe Soundwave hiding - keehee - under Bird. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:35 pm ((...i've just realized apparently the subtitles are not working)) Smokescreen 8:35 pm ((wait were the subtitles on? Swoop 8:35 pm ((damn subtitles)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:35 pm ((yeah, they're supposed to be)) Swoop 8:35 pm ((That would be helpful)) Bull 8:35 pm *Bull is still surprised by how many outside of their world know about their games* Smokescreen 8:35 pm ((i remember the other night watching dark of the moon... like, every third phrase was subtitled and nothing else FakeProwl 8:36 pm *so he solves puzzles and now he's a helpful accountant. okay, prowl's forgiven the shrink scene.* Swoop 8:36 pm ((weird)) FakeProwl 8:36 pm *AND law enforcement.* Smokescreen 8:37 pm ....... why bring her past into it Magnum Ace 8:37 pm -don't worry, Bull. So is he- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:37 pm *Soundwave huffs softly at Swoop's accusation that he's the one hiding. No. If anyone's hiding, it's Chimera. They're curled around a light fixture up in the ceiling.* Swoop 8:38 pm *will throw Soundwave under a thousand buses to compliment Bird* Ali 8:38 pm -Once her cheeks are throughly stuffed with snacks Hamstor waddled over to the nearest couch and takes a seat. Whoever that unfortunate soul happens to be that she's next to- Bevel 8:39 pm *which explains why it takes Bevel several minutes to spot him, she briefly thought he was part of the fixture in serpent mode like that* *waves Hamstor over to her empty table, no Whirl, twins, or Windchill tonight it seems* FakeProwl 8:40 pm *he's a FORENSIC accountant* Ali 8:41 pm -the giant hamster takes the offer- Smokescreen 8:41 pm That's... that's kinda fragged isn't it FakeProwl 8:41 pm *that's one of the top five greatest job titles Prowl has ever heard. ... even if he works for criminals.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:41 pm [[It's certainly not by the book.]] Swoop 8:41 pm ((breakfast dinner? I'm into it.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm ((LIGHTS AND NOISE and fuck i'nm late)) FakeProwl 8:42 pm *cringes.* Magnum Ace 8:42 pm !!!!! FakeProwl 8:42 pm *don't mind him, he's just gonna, cover his audials. and squint.* Smokescreen 8:42 pm but why ... Ali 8:42 pm So -her mouth full as she addresses her new table partner- what's your name? Swoop 8:43 pm *perks up and then laughs* Him like You Bird. Flashy light LOUD music kehheh. Magnum Ace 8:43 pm ...... Ali 8:43 pm Oh waot, we met before, right? Magnum Ace 8:44 pm -okay, ow, he didn't like that at all- -OR THAT- FakeProwl 8:45 pm *huffs. he's shooting the faces from the shrink's chart.* Swoop 8:45 pm *is gonna be all up in Soundwave's business as long as Bird is docked* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:46 pm @Prowl: [[Apologies. There will be another scene like that later.]] Smokescreen 8:46 pm primus what would you even do with all that physical money primus Swoop 8:46 pm *would not think twice about incidental snuggling if it made it easier to pet Bird* FakeProwl 8:46 pm @Soundwave «Noted.» ItsyBitsySpyers 8:46 pm *Soundwave sighs and points Swoop to the other side of himself and the floor. He may sit THERE. Do NOT hug Soundwave.* Bevel 8:46 pm *gives Hamstor a confused look, they've met before, but she gives her name again anyway, no need to be rude, it might be a different Hamstor* Bevel. Swoop 8:47 pm *chirps but doesn't move* *what?* Ali 8:47 pm Ah, yeah that's right, sorry must. I'm not great with names sometimes FakeProwl 8:47 pm @Soundwave «... So, we're to understand he's... got some sort of condition?» ItsyBitsySpyers 8:47 pm [[Purchase illegal things, he assumes.]] FakeProwl 8:47 pm *... a condition that involves it being seen as impressive when he can recognize an emotion. hm.* @Soundwave «I was about to ask whether he's going back to that shrink to cure it, but it looks like he's working on it in prison instead.» Bevel 8:48 pm It is ok, maybe I looked different! *she honestly doesn't remember but she tries to keep consistent-ish at movie nights since being warned about Tara but her shapes get... blurry for her sometimes* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:50 pm @Prowl: [[He... thinks so? He does not know.]]

*...Heavy sigh? Why would someone say heavy sigh instead of sighing heavily? Soundwave tilts his helm, thinking.* Swoop 8:50 pm *rests his cheek on Bird* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:50 pm *Soundwave's just. Going to SUDDENLY LIFT SWOOP IN A FEELER. And place him firmly on the floor.* [[Please. Do not do that while she is docked.]] Swoop 8:51 pm ???? FakeProwl 8:51 pm *he also likes the character who says "heavy sigh." very clear.* Swoop 8:51 pm *doesn't fight it and stands on his feet looking confused* Ali 8:51 pm ((Sorry guys I gotta go, it's being really slow and leggy on my end, sorry )) FakeProwl 8:51 pm ((awww. bye.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:51 pm ((i'm sorry ;; i wish i could make rabbit go faster)) ((it seems to be a problem tonight)) Ali 8:51 pm *laggy Magnum Ace 8:51 pm ((byyye Bevel 8:51 pm ((aw, later Ali FakeProwl 8:52 pm *... hmm.* Swoop 8:52 pm *peep* Ali 8:52 pm ((Later guys, feel free to message me if yah wanna RP I'm starting to get the hang of her blog now)) Bevel 8:53 pm ((will do! I mean to have Bevel stop by the shop on your open starter later Ali 8:53 pm ((Ha, yeah that'd be awesome!) ((Bye)) FakeProwl 8:54 pm @S «The heavy sigh. It's—one of these.» *amusement tag; curious tag; concerned tag.* «Do you think? An emotional content notifier.» ItsyBitsySpyers 8:55 pm [[If you want to be near B-- Laserbeak, Swoop, you may sit where he has placed you.]] Swoop 8:56 pm *doesn't like being told where to be ...... but does like BIrd............. he'll go grab a fistful of goodies before plopping in the spot where Soundwave put him* Magnum Ace 8:56 pm ...... Smokescreen 8:56 pm ... Man I'd be kinda impressed with myself if I could destroy the economy all on my own ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm @P: [[...You are right.]] *Taps finger.* [[He has an idea. He will wait to see if it is true.]] Swoop 8:56 pm *giggles at the throat punching* Keheh Him hit face FakeProwl 8:57 pm @S «Oh?» ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm [[Please do not destroy Cybertronian economies. They're all struggling enough as it is.]] [[And he would hate to have to Do Something about it.]] Smokescreen 8:57 pm I'm not about to! But it'd be kinda ridiculous having that power anyway Bevel 8:57 pm *quietly so she won't disturb too many people* Pst, Chimera. Smokescreen 8:57 pm I'm trying to help Cybertron, Sounds. Magnum Ace 8:57 pm .... Swoop 8:58 pm *holds a goodie up where he would guess Bird's mouth may possibly be right now* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:58 pm *Chimera startles almost off their perch, then looks down at the source of the voice.* <<Hello, Matrix Creation Friend.>> *A thin feeler slithers out from beneath Bird and grabs the feeler. There's two seconds of crunching, and then Soundwave blips in alarm. He rises, deploys her, and puts her on the couch.*

[[Crumbs.]] *She knows better than to eat while docked!* Bevel 8:59 pm *grins and waves* Is it comfortable up there? Swoop 9:00 pm *CACKLES at Soundwave's reaction to Bird* Magnum Ace 9:00 pm ........... -excuse him. He's covering his eyes- Smokescreen 9:01 pm ............ Swoop 9:01 pm *watches Bird with heart eyes, so very smitten* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:01 pm @Prowl: [[...He thinks there is an anti-surveillance measure in play. To protect the assistant.]] FakeProwl 9:02 pm @S «Hmm. ... Voice disguise?» ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm *Soundwave bobs his helm at Ace.* [[Do you require a safe location to avoid the violence?]] Swoop 9:02 pm <3 <3 <3 *holds up another goodie* Magnum Ace 9:03 pm -shakes head- I'm fine. Now. FakeProwl 9:03 pm *that poor man. small talk.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm <<It is not comfortable. It is more comfortable here than there.>> Smokescreen 9:03 pm ....... what do pocket protectors even do? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm {{Protect pockets. Neheh.}} Smokescreen 9:03 pm But From what wait dogs play poker?? Swoop 9:04 pm You Bird not protect pockets kehehhh Bevel 9:04 pm It is more comfortable up there than--? *motions to room questioningly* FakeProwl 9:05 pm *mumbles* That was scripted. *oh numbers!* Bevel 9:05 pm Ooh all the markers lined up like that is smart. Smokescreen 9:05 pm do they really keep track of all the numbers like this? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm @Prowl: [[Perhaps. But he wonders why they would not simply sigh. Interpretation convenience, or--]] *Finger twitch.* [[The voice was too exact. More than a disguise? He does not know.]] {{Nooo, Bird not pocket protector. That Buzzsaw now. Him front deployer spot.}} FakeProwl 9:06 pm *he'll reply to that when there stop being numbers he can look at* Swoop 9:06 pm Bird got Him Soundwave back : > FakeProwl 9:07 pm *oh, the numbers are gone.* @S «Was it? I thought it sounded... normal.» ItsyBitsySpyers 9:07 pm [[And it is an accountant's job to review accounts. It is in their name.]] Smokescreen 9:07 pm But do they really save all that account data? Just like that? You think there's still some of that data buried on Cybertron somewhere? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Chimera nods. They are not comfortable around other mechs anymore. Comes from being either forgotten or blatantly ignored as a non-Cybertronian. Last week, someone called them a fancy toy. It is better up here.* FakeProwl 9:08 pm *oh, the numbers are back* FakeProwl 9:10 pm ... Well where's the profit coming from?? *waves at the screen. hey. profit?* Bevel 9:11 pm Is it warmer? *she knows Soundwave prefers the warm, so maybe Chimera does too, and warm air does tend to go up unless directed elsewhere* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm *Soundwave sends Prowl various voice prints from the person on the phone. Some portions are - he would not know how to explain what he is seeing/hearing. Clipped at the edges, precisely repeated, and so on.* Smokescreen 9:11 pm Maybe it was also fibbed somehow? Or the account it's going to is internal? Swoop 9:12 pm *wraps his arms around his legs and rests his chin on his knees* Bull 9:12 pm *Bull bristles at what he's hearing* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm [[Most companies did not send their 'books' to the Hall of Records. They were probably destroyed. He has a few, but they were - hmm. Useful to him, when he gathered them.]] Magnum Ace 9:12 pm ...................... ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm [[...Ugh.]] Swoop 9:12 pm *heard the word "burn"* *is suddenly more interested* Smokescreen 9:13 pm Well, not in the hall of records! But just somewhere, you know? Under a ton of rubble? Bevel 9:13 pm There are lots of things in the rubble if you look. Smokescreen 9:13 pm like rocks FakeProwl 9:13 pm @S «Hm. If you think something's there.» *that's Soundwave's area of expertise. sound waves.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm <<It is warmer.>> *Bevel gets an exact temperature.* <<Chimera does not mind warm.>> Bevel 9:14 pm More than rocks ha. FakeProwl 9:14 pm *but the numbers!* Smokescreen 9:14 pm ... ItsyBitsySpyers 9:14 pm [[...But it does not return the money. How will they get it back?]] FakeProwl 9:14 pm ... The fact that he killed himself doesn't mean that there isn't still corruption in this company that needs to be uprooted and eradicated. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm *Laserbeak grabs Swoop's shoulder with a feeler claw and pulls herself up. Must see better.* FakeProwl 9:15 pm If the person who SUPPOSEDLY killed himself over this was the ONLY one involved, they need to prove it. If he WASN'T the only one involved, they need to get the others. *DAMN RIGHT he's not finished. You tell them, Mr. Wolf.* Swoop 9:16 pm ((This movie is great and I'm really enjoying it BUT I have a really hard time buying not taking pictures of all the boards prior to leaving. Every whiteboard heavy meeting I've ever been in has everyone pulling their phones out for pics at the end juuuuuust in case something gets erased.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm ((I NEED TO TYPE FASTER)) Magnum Ace 9:16 pm !!!! FakeProwl 9:16 pm *oof. covers his audials again.* Magnum Ace 9:16 pm -owowowow- Swoop 9:17 pm *is ALWAYS glad to be a perch* Smokescreen 9:17 pm It's probably that one guy who fired him who's involved in the corruption, right? Swoop 9:17 pm *touches the tip of her feeler with the tip of his claw* FakeProwl 9:17 pm *... hm. magnets.* Magnum Ace 9:17 pm -so not happy with those bits of the movies either- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm ((god i'm sorry about that ;;)) *Does not like the creator. Who ignores the words of a trained fighter like that?* FakeProwl 9:19 pm *agreed.* Magnum Ace 9:19 pm No. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[And ignore them, apparently.]] FakeProwl 9:19 pm He's very bad at his job. Magnum Ace 9:19 pm No, that's not...that's not how... ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[And why do you think that, Smokescreen? About the one who fired him.]] Bevel 9:20 pm I run hotter than most bots so I like it best in cooler places. Smokescreen 9:20 pm The way he says the slag- how fast he is to fire him as soon as he starts to uncover what's going on? FakeProwl 9:20 pm What a person can do when pushed past all their limits and health is very different from what a person ought to do for their continued well-being. Magnum Ace 9:20 pm -nope, he's hopping off the table- Swoop 9:20 pm *cackles* Him SNIPER kehehh SPLAT ItsyBitsySpyers 9:21 pm *Motions for Ace to come over to him.* Bull 9:21 pm *follows as he nopes off too* Magnum Ace 9:21 pm -oh, hello Soundwave, he's taking that offer- Swoop 9:22 pm *suddenly cares about this movie* Smokescreen 9:22 pm ... whoa that's creative Swoop 9:22 pm *scooches closer* Bevel 9:22 pm Ha, always bring a belt to a knife fight. Swoop 9:23 pm KAHA! Dead. Smokescreen 9:23 pm ... Swoop 9:23 pm Him break neck That pretty cool : > ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm *A motion for Bull as well.*

[[Here.]] *Pulls the upstairs remote out of his subspace pocket.* [[If you need to be somewhere else, you may go to the second floor and watch something milder on the screen just around the corner from the stair exit. If you wish to leave, he will bring you a bridge.]] Specs 9:24 pm *the dragon sneaks in an hour late with treats, and takes up position on the back of a nearby couch* ((hey is this the accountant or?)) FakeProwl 9:25 pm *has made a decision to root for the accountant even if he is involved in criminal activities of questionable morality.* Swoop 9:25 pm *bounces in place, ready for more murder now plz* FakeProwl 9:25 pm ((ye)) Specs 9:25 pm ((DAMN GOT IT)) Magnum Ace 9:25 pm Ah...thank you. Sorry for disrupting movie night. I wasn't expecting this much violence. Smokescreen 9:25 pm ... yeah, this pretty much cements that that higherup is also responsible and corrupt FakeProwl 9:25 pm To be fair, with a movie title like "The Accountant"... Bull 9:25 pm *Bull comes but doesn't look as disturbed as Ace* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:26 pm <<The Bird likes the cold. The Matrix Creation Friend is the same. Chimera will file that.>> Smokescreen 9:26 pm Whoa that's a nice suite though ItsyBitsySpyers 9:26 pm [[That's fine. Go ahead; the stairway door will not be locked. Do not attempt to enter the other doors you find on the second floor.]] *Nods to them.* Smokescreen 9:26 pm ... She's good at this too FakeProwl 9:26 pm *he has more interesting things to contemplate than who he's going to root for.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm [[And yes, he thinks you are right, Smokescreen.]] *And how painful that is to say.* *Bird whistles at the dragon and waves a feeler. Hello, hello.* Smokescreen 9:27 pm /And Smokescreen is beaming at that compliment- or what might as well be from Sounds./ Magnum Ace 9:28 pm Thank you... Specs 9:28 pm *the dragon waves a paw back at Bird, and proffers an animal-shaped energon cookie* Swoop 9:28 pm *kicks his legs out in front of him and spreads his wings out for maximum space wasting* Bevel 9:28 pm *smiles* You can sit by me sometimes and I can keep you warm too. Though... is the view up there better? *if it is she's gonna wish she could sit up on the ceiling* Smokescreen 9:28 pm don't touch the paint!!! Magnum Ace 9:29 pm -and up the stairs he goes, waving for Bull Armor to follow him- We'll stay in the one room, until we're told to leave, okay? FakeProwl 9:29 pm Obnoxious. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm [[...He was going to ask why they would return the money, but if these two are dead, there would be nobody to show that it hadn't always been there, would there.]] Bevel 9:29 pm *some of these drawers look like her's* Swoop 9:29 pm Me Swoop want to see armory 😮 FakeProwl 9:29 pm *elbows on his knees and chin on his laced fingers. he's got things to contemplate.* Bevel 9:29 pm *currency from different universes, fun shit, more currency* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm [[That is fine. Feel free to come back down for the music afterward.]] Smokescreen 9:30 pm Exactly! It was a kinda obvious plan. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm *Bird gobbles the cookie. Soundwave carefully nudges Swoop's wing away from his leg. Swoop 9:30 pm *blinks owlishly at Soundwave* Specs 9:31 pm *the dragon puffs up into a satisfied loaf. everyone loves cookies* Swoop 9:31 pm *what is happening? why is his wing getting moved? why would anyone do that?* Bull 9:31 pm *follows Magnum* Smokescreen 9:31 pm Like- I kinda suspected it as soon as the guy dismissed what she saw like it was a mistake, you know? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:31 pm <<Chimera wants to be here, please. Sight is easy.>> Specs 9:32 pm ((this part kinda torques me because I make eye contact with camera lenses just fine; it's the people eyes that bug me)) FakeProwl 9:33 pm *... lack of eye contact. social difficulty.* ((can't expect a random dude on the phone who's like "uhhhhhh ptsd????? idk" to get it all perfectly right.)) Specs 9:33 pm ((sorry, I hecked up the scene)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm ((ur fine)) FakeProwl 9:33 pm ((nah ur cool)) Specs 9:34 pm ((IIRC, in a different scene, he doesn't make eye contact during his mugshot, which supposedly ~confirms autism~)) Swoop 9:34 pm *carefully sets a goodie on Bird's wing as close to the tip as he can* Specs 9:34 pm ((hence the torquage, because I have autism and I look at cameras just fine >:C )) FakeProwl 9:35 pm ((sadly, we can't expect a single character in a single movie to be a perfect representation for all varieties of autism.)) Swoop 9:35 pm ((fine arts is just classy money laundering anyhoo)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm ((i do appreciate what they try to do but there is some shortcutting and generalizing yeah)) Swoop 9:35 pm ((idk why she doesn't know that)) Bevel 9:36 pm ((i would take payments in paintings tbh FakeProwl 9:36 pm ((maybe she WOULD have if her DAD let her go to ART SCHOOL. gosh.)) Specs 9:36 pm ((yeah, I know. I'm just hideously picky and hard to please)) Swoop 9:36 pm ((omg)) FakeProwl 9:36 pm ((fair nuff.)) Swoop 9:36 pm *bOoOoOoRiNg* *tap tap tap tap taps his heels* FakeProwl 9:37 pm *... is taking that checklist down.* Specs 9:37 pm ((AUGH FUNCTIONING LABELS I'M GONNA GUNCH)) ((sorry ignore me ;-; )) Bevel 9:37 pm You can stay there then. I just, um... *she wanted to offer at least, she liked when Chimera sat with her before* I wanted to check on you. Because you are my friend. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm ((no we're not ignoring you, you're very right, and these are things i warned for in the beginning as some of the movie's cons)) Swoop 9:38 pm ((vera wang is beautiful girl u do u)) Specs 9:38 pm ((and because I walked in late I missed it >_> )) Bevel 9:38 pm ((ur fine specs <3 Specs 9:38 pm ((don't worry, I'm just bitching because I've watched this a lot and I'm good at bitching)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm ((so please do not feel like you can't say things or be upset - no no that's not why i mentioned the warning labels, i'm not blaming you, i'm noting that they were noted)) Smokescreen 9:39 pm Speed math sounds pretty cool to watch FakeProwl 9:40 pm ((i tell myself that this is a deliberate representation of flawed people getting it close but slightly wrong. it makes stuff like "lol hey functioning labels" less annoying.)) Specs 9:41 pm ((I should start doing that)) ((it would lower my stress levels)) FakeProwl 9:41 pm ((to be clear im not saying "don't be annoyed" im saying "im completely with u on why those parts are annoying this is just my personal coping mechanism")) Specs 9:41 pm ((nah I know what you're saying)) ((I do very like phone voice as a character)) Swoop 9:42 pm Good plan : > FakeProwl 9:42 pm ((phone voice is Fantastic)) Specs 9:42 pm ((she's why I watch this 1000 times)) ((life goals)) Bevel 9:42 pm ((I love phone voice ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm *He MUST know who the person on the other end of the phone is.* FakeProwl 9:44 pm ... He shot, and then left without confirming his kill. He probably didn't actually believe that anyone was there. He only shot just in case there might have been. That's messed up. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:46 pm <<The Matrix Creation Friend is very nice. Thank you.>> Bevel 9:47 pm Thanks, Chimera. *grins* Windchill 9:48 pm *He's here.* Specs 9:48 pm ((I also like the towel thing mentioned here. it bugs the hell out of anyone I have to go places with because god forbid the sheets and towels are Bad, I will be insufferable for the whole trip)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:48 pm *Nod to Windchill.* Specs 9:49 pm Hello! *have a fuzzy epaulette windchill* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:49 pm ((bad sheets, bad pillowcases, no sleep. and a comforter. always a comforter.)) Windchill 9:50 pm Hi. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:50 pm ((can't sleep without enough weight. even in summer.)) Swoop 9:50 pm *sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides back until he's laying flat on his back* boring FakeProwl 9:50 pm *and we're back to the terrible parental unit.* Windchill 9:50 pm *He'll sit down now that he has one (1) fancy shoulder.* Smokescreen 9:50 pm can we just delete the dad Specs 9:51 pm ((SAME HAT SLENDY)) Swoop 9:51 pm AH! Better : > Them fighting FakeProwl 9:51 pm *prowl tunes out the scene, he's got to mentally re-read the entire script.* Windchill 9:51 pm What the hell. Specs 9:51 pm ((same. hat. I got a minky weighted blanket off of etsy, it was GR8)) I don't know, I just got here. What a horrid docent, though. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm [[...He is leaving?]] Swoop 9:51 pm Boring AGAIN : < Bird Why movie night never ever FIGHT movie? : > *: < ItsyBitsySpyers 9:52 pm {{Is fight movie sometimes.}} Specs 9:52 pm Swoop, I have clearly seen several punches in this movie. Swoop 9:52 pm Wheeeeeeeennnn? Windchill 9:52 pm Just now, Swoop. Maybe. Swoop 9:52 pm nuh huh Windchill 9:52 pm Maybe YOU'RE boring. Swoop 9:52 pm NOOO Windchill 9:52 pm Yes. Swoop 9:52 pm Swoop not boring Me Swoop am very very NOT boring ItsyBitsySpyers 9:53 pm ((is the minky warmer than a regular one or not so bad?)) Specs 9:53 pm ((it's about as warm as the average blanket, but it's VERY soft)) Windchill 9:53 pm You Swoop very boring. You Swoop not pay attention. Swoop 9:53 pm NO Windchill 9:53 pm Yes. Swoop 9:53 pm Biiiiiiird : < You tell Him Specs 9:53 pm *the dragon makes a strangled sound* Windchill, what is THAT? Swoop 9:53 pm Swoop not booooooooooring ItsyBitsySpyers 9:53 pm [[...He had THAT in his garage?]] [[He WAS prepared.]] Specs 9:53 pm That looks like something from Whirl's arm. FakeProwl 9:54 pm Mm. Magnum Ace 9:54 pm ((holy shit dude Windchill 9:54 pm I'm more interested in the scope in the bushes. Besides. I'm pretty sure anything Whirl's sporting is more sophisticated. Specs 9:54 pm To be fair, I'm seeing size, not elegance. Everything looks terrible when you're tiny. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm *Well. Soundwave can obviously see he was prepared in plenty of other ways as well, but that's a little - he wasn't expecting giant guns that would give a minicon pause.* Bevel 9:55 pm Overkill. Windchill 9:55 pm When I say "sophisticated," I mean "probably shoots fire out both ends." Swoop 9:55 pm Biiiiiiird : < ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm {{What?}} Windchill 9:55 pm *Whispers.* You Swoop so boring. Swoop 9:55 pm *points at Windchill* Him say Me Swoop am boring Specs 9:56 pm That's not sophisticated for dragons. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:56 pm {{Then you show him you Swoop not boring.}} Windchill 9:56 pm You Swoop have observational skills of a mud pie. Which is none. Swoop 9:56 pm Me Swoop bite Windchill 9:56 pm I know. Magnum Ace 9:56 pm ((so glad Bull and Ace are upstairs for all this Smokescreen 9:56 pm isn't money all those things or something money is power money is money ItsyBitsySpyers 9:56 pm *Scoots forward.* Specs 9:57 pm Lots of teeth and a will to use them is power. Smokescreen 9:57 pm uhhhh not having money can be fearful Swoop 9:57 pm Me Swoop melt You face 😛 Windchill 9:57 pm *He's barely paying attention to the film. He came in late and doesn't plan on bothering.* You Swoop could stand to think of ways to be not boring without resorting to threats. So boring. Swoop 9:57 pm *RASPBERRIES* Specs 9:58 pm ((I like this scene)) Windchill 9:58 pm *That's a marked improvement. He sticks his tongue out in return.* Swoop 9:58 pm *rAsPbErRiEs* Windchill 9:58 pm *Fart sounds.* Smokescreen 9:58 pm ... not surprised he spared him Specs 9:58 pm *loafs up to become the Fanciest Epaulette* Swoop 9:59 pm *giggles* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:59 pm [[Why?]] Windchill 9:59 pm *Makes a face at Swoop. How dare you giggle when he is so fancy right now?* Smokescreen 10:00 pm .... Swoop 10:00 pm *mimics the face, but can't keep it up long and goes back to giggling* Specs 10:00 pm *the dragon gets REAL POOFY and hides her eyes* Windchill 10:00 pm *Definitely not watching the movie right now.* Magnum Ace 10:00 pm ((SO glad the Leaguers weren't there for all that)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:01 pm *Revenge for the one who taught him?* Specs 10:01 pm ((voice! voice! voice!)) Bevel 10:01 pm *can't blame him for taking revenge* Smokescreen 10:02 pm ... Specs 10:02 pm ... Swoop 10:02 pm *throws a goodie at windchill* Smokescreen 10:02 pm OH Windchill 10:02 pm *Mouth opens in a wide O of offense.* Smokescreen 10:02 pm I was wondering if he like... hit someone's head with it Specs 10:02 pm (("took the thermos" big mood)) Swoop 10:03 pm You bad at catching kehhehh Smokescreen 10:03 pm primus i've seen too many movies Swoop 10:03 pm Bird better *throws a treat in the air for Bird* Windchill 10:03 pm Yeah. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:03 pm ((waste not want not)) *Bird gobbles it up.* Windchill 10:03 pm My hand-optic coordination is terrible. Swoop 10:03 pm That BORING reason Windchill 10:04 pm So? It's a lie. Swoop 10:04 pm Liiiiie? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:04 pm [[...What is a Barnyfifetype?]] Windchill 10:04 pm Yeah. FakeProwl 10:04 pm *clueless shrug* Specs 10:05 pm ((well, HIS dad was kinda a shit dad)) FakeProwl 10:05 pm ((congratulations u taught ur son to respond to everything with Violence, good job!)) Swoop 10:05 pm Why you a liar liar pants on fire? Windchill 10:05 pm The real reason I'm bad at catching things is because it's funnier to miss and make faces. Bevel 10:06 pm *sighs and folds her arms on the table she's at* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:06 pm [[But he brings them all manner of enemies.]] Windchill 10:06 pm Because people like you Swoop believe him. Swoop 10:07 pm FUN people : > Windchill 10:07 pm Gullible people. Specs 10:07 pm ((this is where I figured out the twist)) ((huehuehue)) Swoop 10:07 pm Gullible??? Windchill 10:08 pm Yeah kinda. Swoop 10:08 pm noo ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm *Folds his hands on his lap and scoots even closer to the couch edge.* Windchill 10:08 pm I'm pretty sure. Swoop 10:09 pm what GULLIBLE for? Windchill 10:09 pm It means you believe things easily. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm *....Oh.* Swoop 10:10 pm what FOR? 😛 Windchill 10:10 pm I suppose it's for making a fool of yourself. I wouldn't recommend it. That's MY specialty and I don't appreciate competition. Swoop 10:11 pm *snickers* Dinobots veeery competitive. You and Sludge can do! Windchill 10:11 pm We can see who is a bigger fool? Swoop 10:12 pm yah Windchill 10:12 pm Ridiculous. It's obviously me. I am bigger. Swoop 10:12 pm Him Sludge is BIG! Specs 10:12 pm And fancier! *wiggles her poofy paw* FakeProwl 10:12 pm *... And now he's figured it out.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm *Pings Prowl. He knows a thing. He knows it.* FakeProwl 10:12 pm *Double pings back. So does he.* Windchill 10:12 pm Him Sludge not bigger than I am. *He nods: the dragon is definitely lending him some fanciness right now.* Swoop 10:13 pm Him Sludge is brontosaurus! Windchill 10:14 pm Him Sludge PREY ANIMAL. Swoop 10:14 pm Vegi-saurus kehehh Herbavore Plants Windchill 10:14 pm *Snaps his teeth as if he might up and eat someone at any moment. But he won't.* Yeah. Swoop 10:14 pm *chatters in response* Specs 10:15 pm Wait, does Sludge actually EAT plants? Swoop 10:15 pm No Maybe? Specs 10:15 pm Maybe? Swoop 10:15 pm Dunno Him Sludge do lot of dumb stuff Stupid kehehh Specs 10:15 pm That's concerning. I thought only Tarantulas could eat organic stuff. Windchill 10:15 pm Nooooo way. Bevel 10:15 pm Why were they saying the same thing? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm {{Swoop eat rock once.}} Windchill 10:15 pm He hardly has a monopoly on that. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm {{It not organic. It funny, though.}} Windchill 10:16 pm Insecticons can eat almost anything. Swoop 10:16 pm YAH! Me Swoop eat rock : > Specs 10:16 pm *bird pls. do not take advantage of Swoop* Swoop 10:16 pm *is took advantage of for comedy* Windchill 10:16 pm Was it a tasty rock? Swoop 10:16 pm No! Windchill 10:16 pm I've eaten a few rocks. They were gross too. Specs 10:16 pm *blinks* Wait. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm [[Their creator failed them both.]] Specs 10:16 pm W a i t. Windchill 10:16 pm But I ate them anyway because I'm stubborn like that. FakeProwl 10:16 pm He did. Smokescreen 10:16 pm ... wait is that his sibling or? Bevel 10:16 pm Oh! It is his brother. Specs 10:16 pm That's the other one the docent was caring for! Smokescreen 10:17 pm Ohhhh FakeProwl 10:17 pm He taught them both to operate with violence first and only. If you're approached at a funeral, you respond with violence. Smokescreen 10:17 pm They both have brown hair, that makes sense that they're siblings Bevel 10:17 pm Is his brother a criminal too? Specs 10:17 pm Smokescreen, I don't think it works that way. FakeProwl 10:17 pm If you think that inanimate car is looking at you threateningly, you respond with violence. Smokescreen 10:17 pm Hey, how else can you tell? Specs 10:17 pm Technically, I have a sibling with red points. And I've got black points. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm *Nods at Bevel.* [[A killer, like him.]] FakeProwl 10:17 pm If you meet your estranged sibling, you respond with violence. Smokescreen 10:17 pm ... Do you have red points sometimes? Swoop 10:17 pm Me Swoop eat rock and Her Bird eat worm but Her worm was goodie one and rock was real rock Smokescreen 10:18 pm Pfff- Specs 10:18 pm No. I mean, I could dye them, but I'm sealpoint through and through. Smokescreen 10:18 pm they should just beat up the corrupt guy ... wait Bevel 10:18 pm *frowns* Killer is not very descriptive. Smokescreen 10:18 pm wait this is just metal gear solid all over again brothers fight at the end Windchill 10:18 pm Sounds like you got gypped, boyo. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm *Wonders who both brothers might have been with a better creator.* Swoop 10:18 pm Gypped? Specs 10:19 pm ((lmao mom doing something and she just popped out with "I should go to bed soon... but I have to finish")) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm ((heh)) Windchill 10:19 pm Means someone swindled you. Specs 10:19 pm ((I wonder if she Knows™️)) Swoop 10:19 pm Swindle? 😮 Windchill 10:19 pm I don't know, did he sell you the rock? Specs 10:19 pm ((update: she knew)) Smokescreen 10:19 pm which brother got all the dominant genes and which one got all the recessive genes Swoop 10:19 pm No ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm ((points for mom)) Swoop 10:19 pm It cave rock on floor Specs 10:19 pm Smokescreen it definitely doesn't work that way. Bevel 10:19 pm ((um, can we cut it with the slur please. g*pped is based off g*psy which is a slur Smokescreen 10:19 pm but in metal gear solid Specs 10:20 pm I. I don't know what you are talking about but it confuses and scares me. Like so many things you do. Smokescreen 10:20 pm It's a video game with brothers! Like this movie! Windchill 10:20 pm Why did you eat that rock and not the other rocks? Smokescreen 10:20 pm AND there's nanotechnology YES ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm *Soft huff.* FakeProwl 10:21 pm ... Excellent response. Smokescreen 10:21 pm About time FakeProwl 10:21 pm Very concise. Minimal monologuing. Specs 10:21 pm *the dragon wheezes* Beautiful. Absolutely stunning. Worthy of every award. Swoop 10:21 pm ((omfg)) Ate rock because uhhhh it there Specs 10:21 pm ((god I lvoe that part too)) Swoop 10:22 pm and Bird said Smokescreen 10:22 pm Like that's probably related to the terrible parenting but primus it was necessary at this exact moment Windchill 10:22 pm Bird told you to eat a rock? Swoop 10:22 pm Yah Then her eat worm Windchill 10:22 pm *Blinks.* Specs 10:22 pm Swoop. Swoop, that was an energon worm, right? Swoop 10:22 pm ya Specs 10:23 pm OH GOOD. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:23 pm {{Peh. Bird not eat real worm.}} Swoop 10:23 pm Bird eat everything else keheh Windchill 10:24 pm *Shakes his head.* Windchill 10:25 pm *Stretches his legs.* My time's up, gotta go. Swoop 10:25 pm *throws a goodie at Windchill's face* FakeProwl 10:25 pm ((i do like this scene. it shows that the psychologist has updated his thinking. and he very politely shuts down the parents' grade-A stereotyped bullshit.)) Windchill 10:25 pm *Offended face again.* FakeProwl 10:25 pm ((it ain't perfect but it's pretty damn impressive for a hollywood action movie.)) Specs 10:25 pm Alright. * jumps into the air and finds somewhere else to sit * Hope you had fun! ((I KNOW RIGHT)) ((I lvoe this scene)) Windchill 10:26 pm Stop wasting fuel. Swoop 10:26 pm no ItsyBitsySpyers 10:26 pm *PERK* Windchill 10:26 pm You Swoop wasteful. Swoop 10:26 pm ya Smokescreen 10:26 pm 12 core? FakeProwl 10:26 pm *why the perk, what's--* *--PERK* Specs 10:27 pm *the dragon lets out a howl of delight* Windchill 10:27 pm You Swoop naughty. Shameful. Swoop 10:27 pm Yup : > Windchill 10:27 pm Tsk tsk tsk. Smokescreen 10:27 pm 😮 : O painting! Ooooh- they're Specs 10:27 pm ((hue)) Smokescreen 10:27 pm They're playing poker! Sounds sounds sounds do they do that can they be taught ItsyBitsySpyers 10:28 pm *She's the one he picked to trust. And he was right about the - oh, the painting?* Smokescreen 10:28 pm W What No ... ohh Specs 10:28 pm *the dragon giggles* I like the way this ended. Swoop 10:28 pm *wants to tear something that makes that noise* Smokescreen 10:28 pm ... but the dogs Swoop 10:28 pm *sounds like a good time* Windchill 10:28 pm *Gets up and waves to the dragon, then makes a face at Swoop.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:28 pm *...That was incredibly sweet.* Swoop 10:28 pm *raspberries* Windchill 10:29 pm *sticks out his tongue for good measure.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm *Oh, but - he was right, sort of, about the use of a program. And the ending was - he liked it. He's going to move the credits to music and lean back against the couch now.* *Have himself a small, quiet think.* Windchill 10:33 pm *He's gonna go before Bad Swoop decides to waste more food in his presence.* Specs 10:33 pm *the dragon finds a suitable couch back to loaf upon. this was a very feel-good movie.* FakeProwl 10:33 pm *he's still perched like he's been for most of the movie. elbows on his knees, chin on his laced hands.* Windchill 10:33 pm *Disgusting.* Swoop 10:33 pm *THROWS A FISTFULL OF TREATS AFTER WINDCHILL* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:33 pm {{Swoop! You not doing that. Then how can Bird eating?}} Windchill 10:33 pm *SCREAMS in horror and runs for it.* Swoop 10:33 pm *cackles at his clear victory over windchill* Windchill 10:33 pm *He's gone.* Swoop 10:33 pm *then looks sheepishly at Bird* Sooorry Specs 10:34 pm I suspect that I am going to be dragooned into making more treats tonight to appease a Bird? *it's only dragooned if you wouldn't do it anyways, but you can't make the dragon say it* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:34 pm {{Naaaaah. But you make tomorrow, yes?}} *Cute roll in the air.* {{Is fine. But you clean up, yes, yes.}} *To Swoop.* Swoop 10:35 pm *so cute <3 <3 <3 * Specs 10:35 pm I'll have them for you by tomorrow, Bird. Swoop 10:35 pm Kay *sccooooops up the treats, looks around with no idea what to do, then just plops them on the bar, mission accomplished* Smokescreen 10:35 pm whoa frag i was watching something in another tab and it went with this REALLY well which is weird Omicron 10:36 pm *big dragonic predacon walks in with a chirper on her back, looking around* Magnum Ace 10:36 pm -peeks down the stairs. Is it safe?- Specs 10:36 pm *the dragon chirps back!* Omicron! Omicron 10:36 pm Ice Queen, Omicron is an old name of mine ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm *Soundwave suddenly sits up again and turns to tell Prowl something - only to realize that he's still stuck in that deep thought pose of his. He tilts his helm and pings, adding a curiosity mark so Prowl can better decide whether that reason is worth a pause or if Soundwave should wait longer.* Specs 10:37 pm Whoops, sorry! *the dragon ducks her head and gives Ice Queen a contrite warble* Ice Queen! A pleasure to see you! Omicron 10:37 pm *chirps back at, and there's an echoing chirp from the hatchling on her back* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:37 pm {{Thank you~}} *Happy chattering to dragon before circling around Swoop.* {{That not tra... never mind. You come play game outside.}} FakeProwl 10:37 pm *glances at Soundwave and returns curious tag* Swoop 10:38 pm Me Swoop LIKE playing games with You Bird! Specs 10:39 pm *gentle gasp! she has been blessed by a Baby Chirp. oh, joyous day!* Smokescreen 10:39 pm sounds sounds sounds you wanna see a video Omicron 10:39 pm *looks around and finds a place to lay down in her beast mode with the chittering hachling looking all around, really debating on transforming* Specs 10:40 pm *chirps at the hatchling. this is communication at its finest, right?* Omicron 10:40 pm *hatchling chitters back at Specs! he's more aware then last time, and a third bigger too* (oh yes() ItsyBitsySpyers 10:40 pm {{Then us go.}} *And out the door. She knows a huge herd of space slugs are passing through the canyon lately. Good for sitting on and riding around* FakeProwl 10:40 pm *gaze is attracted by the chittering. that is a MUCH bigger hatchling.* Swoop 10:40 pm *is ALL about this plan, pchooo!* Omicron 10:41 pm Hatchling: *spot prowl and perks up* PTTTB! Magnum Ace 10:41 pm -okay, only music, he's coming down the stairs now- ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm @Prowl: [[...What are -you- still thinking about? The mysteries were tied up...]]

*Not judgmental. Legitimate wonder. Usually Prowl doesn't stay quiet that long once the solutions present themselves.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:42 pm *...Follows his gaze. Is that a different one?*

*Absent wave to Ace as he comes back down. Good to see they at least made it through the night, even if not the movie.* FakeProwl 10:43 pm @Soundwave «Oh. Just mentally reviewing the script.» Specs 10:43 pm ((oh my GOD I thought you were playing soundtrack from hamtaro ham ham heartbreak)) ((I'm. I'm done with my brain.)) FakeProwl 10:43 pm *looks back at the hatchling.* ... Pbbbbt. Smokescreen 10:43 pm ((yes ItsyBitsySpyers 10:43 pm @Prowl: [[For what?]]

*Oh no. Oh no, it's still charming.* Smokescreen 10:43 pm ((beethamven Omicron 10:43 pm ((its all good, I just got off work so fried brain is understandable here)) FakeProwl 10:43 pm *Same one.* Smokescreen 10:43 pm ((Hamthoven Specs 10:44 pm ((it's actually part of the soundtrack! the lady hamster plays moonlight sonata to rescue hamtaro and I should not admit to knowing this)) Magnum Ace 10:44 pm -yep, all good. He and Bull are ready to go home now. After Ace gives Soundwave the remote back- Smokescreen 10:44 pm ((Oh YEAH I remember that!! no shame ((ham ham heartbreak is a good game ((like... if i remember right it was done by the same people who did the mario and luigi gba rpg games ItsyBitsySpyers 10:45 pm *Soundwave places the remote back in his subspace pocket and dips his helm.*

[[It will be a while before he shows milder Earth films. They should not be -quite- as violent as this one, though.]] Omicron 10:45 pm *the hatchling chitter-clicks back at Prowl before chewing on one of Icy's spines before looking back* pbbbbt! *he lifts his wings and folds them back, look! he's learned a Thing!* Smokescreen 10:46 pm Wait- how violent are the next movies gonna be, Sounds? Magnum Ace 10:46 pm Ah...I hope I'll be a bit more prepared next time. Thank you for the warning. FakeProwl 10:46 pm *ah, he's figured out the sound again.* Pbbt. Omicron 10:47 pm he has his first name now *to prowl as she settles down* FakeProwl 10:47 pm Is he going to have multiple? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:48 pm [[Two concerning a vigilante assisting a struggling police commissioner in cleaning up a corrupted city, a long documentary for the Starfleet timeline, and the last of the vigilante films.]] Omicron 10:48 pm we give a temporaty name, until they're old enough to diside if theywant to change or keep it ItsyBitsySpyers 10:48 pm [[Imagine what that means for yourself, Smokescreen.]] Smokescreen 10:49 pm Uhhh- sounds like it'll be probably fine for me! Just wanted to make sure it wasn't, like, horror or something. FakeProwl 10:49 pm Ah. Wise. What's his temporary name? Smokescreen 10:49 pm Wait, Starfleet timeline? Magnum Ace 10:49 pm Can we get a bridge home now? Omicron 10:50 pm Racer *she sighs* racer: Ptttb! *at his name he perks up* Specs 10:50 pm *peeks over at Omicron's baby. it's really time for her to head back, but this is adorable.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:50 pm [[You can. You will find it in the usual place outside. Be well, Leaguers.]] Magnum Ace 10:50 pm Thank you, and the same too you. Good night! Bull 10:51 pm Night. Smokescreen 10:51 pm Nice to see you, Magnus and Bull! Omicron 10:51 pm n.n FakeProwl 10:51 pm Racer. Hm. Omicron 10:52 pm racer: *peering down icy's side, debating on getting down, head going back and forth*

It suits him so far ItsyBitsySpyers 10:53 pm *Nod to Smokescreen.* [[Yes. The one where Tribbles originate from.]] Smokescreen 10:53 pm Ohh! That universe! The Tribbleverse. FakeProwl 10:53 pm Good. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:54 pm *Trying to be a good host and not ignore most of his guests. Failing. Wants to watch the hatchling. And his thoughts keep returning to the movie, and why Prowl was so deep in serious thought. And back to the hatchling.* Specs 10:55 pm *hatchling confirmed for adorable cognitohazard* Smokescreen 10:55 pm ... /Frag now Smokescreen's wondering and is trying to resist pulling the covenant out- testing his luck isn't a bad idea!/ Hey Sounds sounds sounds is any of the stuff in that starfleet documentary in ours too FakeProwl 10:56 pm ((brb)) Omicron 10:57 pm hmm... *Ice queen shifts her wing to keep the hatchling up for now, but glances around and then over to soundwave and chirps at him. Is it safe or alright if he runs around a little? Or should she keep the hatchling close for now?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:57 pm [[What?]] *Pause.* [[He doesn't know about yours.]] *Pause.* [[He knows about his.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:59 pm *Soundwave nods to Ice Queen.* [[It will be safe to let him move, as long as he stays away from the other mechs.]] *He's quick, but failing to rescue them from underfoot is not a risk he'd like to take.* [[He can create a small barrier, if that will ease any worries.]] Smokescreen 11:00 pm Well- Is yours connected to that universe at all? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm [[Well, let him think. We had a brief tribble infestation in part of a lower deck while attempting to transport material we did not realize they were attached to or eating. Astrotrain was taken by cyborgs and modified into a small geometric figure of a ship. We--]] *No. Don't tell them about the upgrades to the mechanical being.* [[Have knowledge of several matching languages in our databanks.]]

[[No. It has no connections whatsoever.]] Omicron 11:04 pm *as long as no one tries to make off with her hatchling... Ice Queen shifts her wings, one moving and opening a little*

Racer: pblblblbl....? *chirps in his spot, then perks up as soon as the blue wing is moved he bounds over and slides down it, tumbling into a ball of wings and tail, chittering in glee* Smokescreen 11:04 pm ... Huh- so it's pretty connected? That's neat! I don't actually know all that much about the universe. Specs 11:04 pm *the dragon laughs in delight. look at the cute bumbler!* *chirp chirp!* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:05 pm *Soundwave huffs again. What an excitable little one. He would not be surprised if they get themselves into many troublesome places and adventures when they're older.* [[Then perhaps you should attend the nights their documentaries are played.]] FakeProwl 11:06 pm ... !!!! *ping ping ping PING PING* Smokescreen 11:06 pm That's the plan, Sounds! Omicron 11:06 pm racer: *cirp? he heard a chirp! Chirps back and flails, before he's righted with Icy's wing, stands up on all fours and CHIRPS at one and all.*

He has landed ItsyBitsySpyers 11:07 pm *Startles just enough to make him full-frame twitch on the couch. He quickly hides the action by rearranging his seating position as if to be more comfortable.*

*Returns the pings.* @P: [[What? What?]] FakeProwl 11:07 pm @S «That means Odo might be adrift in your universe's Denorios belt AS WE SPEAK.» Specs 11:08 pm *chirps more! chirp chirp CHIRP* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:08 pm @Prowl: [[He - that's--]] That's a damn good point. [[Do we -have- a Denorios belt?]] Like Prowl would know. *Soundwave summons up his best Predacon chirping file and responds to the hatchling's mighty noise* Smokescreen 11:09 pm 😮 /He's gonna try some chirping too! Mostly by mimicking the chirping he's hearing!/ FakeProwl 11:11 pm @S «If your universe is an alternate timeline of the ones that contain Starfleet—or that WILL contain Starfleet—then it stands to reason that your universe has similar astronomy.» Omicron 11:11 pm racer: *Wide optic, looking around at all the chirping, meeps and looks at Icy with a tiny lizardy wtf face and backs up at the loud music too*

Its okay, *chuckling as she shifts to lay on her side, leaning over to give her hatchling a lick on his back* Racer: O_o o.0 <_< >_> *CHIRP* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:11 pm *Startles slightly. WHO THE FRAG IS FIRING CANN--* *...It's the song. Okay.* FakeProwl 11:12 pm *he's just casually covering his audials.* Specs 11:12 pm *the dragon is on the floor* FakeProwl 11:12 pm @S «And if yours diverges enough from the ones that we've been witnessing that your galaxy ISN'T arranged the same way, then it's probable that you still have Odo somewhere, in a somewhat-similar-but-not-identical position, as is so often the case in the multiverse.» ItsyBitsySpyers 11:13 pm [[...He did not know Earthlings considered cannons instruments. Maybe they don't know how to use them.]] *Shakes his helm.* Smokescreen 11:14 pm I'm pretty sure humans will use ANYTHING as an instrument. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 pm *Soundwave reaches out to pat the dragon with a feeler. There, there. It was only strange music.* Omicron 11:15 pm Racer: *might be hiding under the leading edge of icy's wing eyeing where the music is coming from*

I think Smokestreen is right Specs 11:15 pm *give the small dragon a moment to collect herself. the cannons nearly sent her jumping out of her fur.* Th-thank you... ItsyBitsySpyers 11:16 pm @Prowl: [[You're...]] *Uncertain wavering from side to side. What is he to take from this new realization?* [[Suggesting we try to find him?]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:17 pm *Soundwave is sorry to have startled the hatchling. He had no intention of doing that. Human playlists can be so fickle.* FakeProwl 11:19 pm @Soundwave «... I would like to meet him. But, he isn't "him" yet. And we have no way of knowing that our intervention might not be—detrimental. To him and to the organics of the galaxy, if he does not take the path that will allow him to intervene in the war between the alpha and gamma quadrants.» *but he WANTS to* Omicron 11:19 pm *icequeen isn't angry, she's sort of bring out her hatchling to expose him to things after all. But she starts to hum regardless of the music to help calm racer down* Smokescreen 11:22 pm ((this... this brought back band memories i thought i had forgotten xvcb,mn ItsyBitsySpyers 11:23 pm @Prowl: [[...We could try to find where he -will- be. To watch from afar, when he arrives there?]] FakeProwl 11:23 pm @Soundwave «... We ought to at least make sure that, in this universe, he doesn't... fall into a black hole or a sun or something.» ItsyBitsySpyers 11:25 pm @Prowl: [[Agreed. ... Though he does not know how to go looking. We do not have a ship. And you have only just begun your new work.]] *Tap. Tap. Tap. Hmm.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:26 pm *OH. Hold on. You know what he forgot all about, there, for a moment?* [[...We were going to speak, weren't we, Smokescreen.]] *This is fine. He can juggle several conversations at once. That's his damn JOB.* Omicron 11:26 pm *shifts to bring her tail around and twitch the end as her humming turns to very soft singing, trying to coax her hatchling to come back out, grinning as two brown forelegs are soon popping out to grab at the tail* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm *Ravage would be proud of that determination.* FakeProwl 11:27 pm @Soundwave «... Well. It's... not immediately important.» *Unfortunately. «We've got... mm, probably around three hundred years until he's SUPPOSED to be found. Possibly a bit longer.» Smokescreen 11:27 pm ... Wait, were we? I got distracted- I, uh- what were we-- Oh yeah! If there's anything else that might help your universe- and maybe if there's anything so I can help mine out. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:31 pm @Prowl: [[We are both accomplished at achieving nigh-impossible amounts of work in short stretches of time. Perhaps in a few years? For the ship, he could begin putting away a portion of his pay or looking for others to tie into owing him massive favors...]]

[[There is, but]] *There's a Predacon of questionable connection present and he can't talk about the Covenant in front of them.* [[it will require a more suitable environment than this one. We should make arrangements for a future discussion - as long as the location is not on your planet.]] *Not about to go near that filthy alternate of his.* Omicron 11:32 pm ((I don't want to intrude but icy has a living ship?)) Smokescreen 11:33 pm Sounds good to me- you still scared of my universe? It's really not that bad- I could even show you the restoration process for the hall of records. But we can meet in your universe, sure. Omicron 11:33 pm racer: *trying to hum along with Icy, a forepaw waving at the bigger tail before he peeks out and glares at the tail as it twitches away from his reach* FakeProwl 11:33 pm @S «Don't worry about the ship. This is my idea and I've got savings.» Specs 11:35 pm *the dragon shakes herself awake. okay. she HAS to sleep now.* Goodnight, Racer, Soundwave, Ice Queen, everyone. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:35 pm [[He isn't scared. There are simply some sights he would prefer not to see.]]

@Prowl: [[...That is a rather large savings.]]

((not intruding! it's just a matter of IC they can't quite spare THAT much time for vacationing on a potentially fruitless search for an alien rn heh)) [[Goodnight, dragon.]] Smokescreen 11:36 pm Mmhm, I'm sure you're not. My universe isn't that ugly, you know. Omicron 11:36 pm Have a good evening n.n *twitching her tail tip out of her now chittering hatchling's reach* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm ((but the offer is appreciated, and a living ship sounds fascinating 😮 )) Smokescreen 11:36 pm Aww, night night! ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm [[It isn't the universe. It's who is in it.]] Smokescreen 11:36 pm ... You scared of Megaron? Really? Omicron 11:37 pm ((its a possable offer, Icy's has her clutch so her and her crew are not really doing anyhting)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:37 pm [[He has assisted in the defeat of at least three Megatrons. No. He's not.]] Smokescreen 11:37 pm ... Oh- Ohhh, is it a way larger mech? Is that it? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:39 pm [[He refuses to dignify this nonsense.]] Smokescreen 11:40 pm I'll take that as a yes- we can meet in your universe, anyway. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:40 pm *Primus, he knows you gave him the patience of three mechs, but can you not spare him a little more right now? Please?* Omicron 11:41 pm *pauses her song to give a yawn like motion, but really just stretching her jaws out. hopes no one minds as the fangs are exposed and killing fangs fold down, distractions?* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:42 pm *At least one mech here doesn't mind in the slightest. Be a bit hypocritical if they did.* Smokescreen 11:42 pm /Smokescreen's getting a bit too tired to notice or mind!/ ItsyBitsySpyers 11:43 pm [[...You have mobile fangs. Intriguing.]] FakeProwl 11:43 pm *thinks that's an impressive trick.* @S «For a personal craft to house two people? It'd be a solid investment, but it's not THAT huge an expense. Anyway, we probably won't need one. Solid research can tell us where the belt is and where Odo was found, from there we can calculate a limited range for where he would be three hundred-odd years before that point. We bridge to an asteroid, camp out, and run long-range scanner sweeps.» Omicron 11:45 pm *she's not the bigest predacon, yet big enough. she gives a somewhat muffled sheepish sound as she works the fangs to fold back into the 'roof' of her beast mode mouth* yeeaaa.... those normally stay up Racer: *trying to mimic, but has no big fangs, he tries though* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:49 pm @Prowl: [[You forget a half dozen others. Though the asteroids will keep at least two of them home. He supposes he could build and bring specialized scanning equipment...]] *Part of him sort of liked the idea of traveling somewhere for a while with Prowl, though. He's not going to say so, but he did.*

[[He has only seen similar features on razor snakes. It has always seemed strange to him that no one else should have them. It looks convenient.]] Smokescreen 11:49 pm They do look pretty cool- do you got any more secret dentae though? FakeProwl 11:51 pm @S «You're planning to bring them? I'd think none of them would have any desire to go on a snipe hunt for a lantern full of organic goo with the boss's ex-Autobot cop boyfriend.» ItsyBitsySpyers 11:51 pm *HIS life would probably have been more convenient, anyway. Might've been less trouble for him if his retracted.* Omicron 11:51 pm they're good for biting and hanging onto muscle cables, not so much for the outer armor though. *She grins at smokescreen, twitching tail to get the sparkling to bat at it again* I have fangs in my bot mode Smokescreen 11:52 pm Oooh- /Waking up again, coming closer to Omi, looking up at the teeth./ Can I poke 'em? If I poke them, will they go back down? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:53 pm @P: [[He goes nowhere unfamiliar without Zori, Laserbeak does not like to be separated from him, and Ravage would -ask- to be brought on a h--]] *Wait.* [[One moment. Ex-Autobot. Then what you asked Buzzsaw to do was not only for show?]] Omicron 11:53 pm *she tilts her head and opens her jaws again, unfolding the two fangs for smokescreen to look or poke at* Smokescreen 11:54 pm /Smokescreen's enjoying himself and is poking at the fangs!/ Man, my dentae are so flat in comparison. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:54 pm ((lmfao this right as soundwave goes "wait ex-autobot?")) FakeProwl 11:55 pm ((a+ timing)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:55 pm [[Be glad you _have_ dentae. Ingesting your fuel by injector all the time tends to make the elbows ache.]] Omicron 11:55 pm *the fangs don't move at first, seeming as solid as her normal ones but after a second lets them move at the next pokes* *she's really trying not to laugh* Smokescreen 11:55 pm I'd offer you my dentae, Sounds, but I'm pretty sure neither of us want that. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:56 pm [[He would rather starve.]] Smokescreen 11:56 pm ... Fair enough, I wouldn't want yours either! Or anyone else's, really. Can you imagine waking up and suddenly having someone else's dentae though ItsyBitsySpyers 11:56 pm *Can you IMAGINE the anonymous innuendo to which he'd be subjected? Quintus' wriggling tentacles. No. No.* FakeProwl 11:57 pm @S «I haven't filed my paperwork with High Command, but only because High Command is basically /missing./ But it's time to get out.» Smokescreen 11:57 pm /Oh primus no/ FakeProwl 11:57 pm *has someone else's denta. isn't going to join the conversation.* Yesterday Omicron 11:58 pm Racer: -launches out from under icy's sheltering wing and TACKLES her tail. He gives little hisses as he wrestles with it and kicks, full on tiny war there on the floor- ItsyBitsySpyers 12:00 am @P: [[If High Command is missing, those left effectively -are- High Command. Send them to yourself and approve your paperwork.]] *That really weird serious/humor tag I don't remember how to spell offhand.* [[May he ask why? He approves, but - he is curious. This is, he thinks, the kind of thing that deserves more than a footnote in his map.]] [[Do leave your creator -some- tail for balance, Racer.]] *Huff huff.* FakeProwl 12:01 am *sheurmiours* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:01 am *That's the one! There you go.* FakeProwl 12:01 am @S «Well, if I'm not going to /send/ the paperwork to anyone, there's really no point, is there?» Omicron 12:03 am *icy pulls her head back and closer mouth, snorting at racer before twitching the tail and dragging him with*

Racer: ...!!!! *omgomgomgomgomgAHHAHA! chitters!* FakeProwl 12:03 am *... plus, he is justifiably terrified of the consequences of cutting that very valuable tie to the Autobot intel community. Sure, being who he is, he could call upon anyone in intel or spec ops at any time and ask them what they know, but—that wouldn't be what a good cop does, would it?» ItsyBitsySpyers 12:04 am *There are other ways of getting it. And many of bringing it with.* FakeProwl 12:06 am *he's already looking into establishing a liaison between the Autobots and the CSF.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:06 am *...Somehow, this does not seem like music for the Pits of Kaon.* Smokescreen 12:08 am Also also frag I'm gonna head off- I got some things to take care of. Thanks for hosting Sounds! And it was good to see all of you. Omicron 12:08 am Racer: *having the time of his life wrestling with the bigger tail, though starts to calm down as Icy starts to softly sing again. Soon he's sitting on the stilled tail looking around, wings half arched to show he won the war on the floor* It was nice to see you again ItsyBitsySpyers 12:08 am [[You're welcome. Attend to your business.]] *Nod.* FakeProwl 12:09 am *mutters* finally. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:10 am [[Now, now.]] *Save those mutters for private conversations. You'll get more agreement that way. Soundwave has to play nice host in public, after all. His business requires it.* Omicron 12:11 am *she's being polite and ignoring mutters* FakeProwl 12:11 am *side glance. don't u "now now" him, you undoubtedly had the same thought.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am *Of course he did.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:17 am @Prowl: [[...You do not have to explain why if you do not want to. But he--]] *His turn to side glance.* [[He will still stand behind you when those more loyal to pretty etchings than their friends do not. You do not need to maintain contact with such mechs to be certain of that.]]

*In other words, he promises he won't leave if all those contacts suddenly dry up, whether or not there's a liason in place.* Omicron 12:18 am (I have a missing snake) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:18 am (( 😧 GO FIND THEM AAAAA)) ((poor lost bby...)) Omicron 12:19 am (Red Alert does this a lot, I'm pretty sure he's under me/under the bed) Omicron 12:22 am (working up strength to lift the bed up. he just ate a jumbo rat this morning) (so he shouldn't have gone far) FakeProwl 12:22 am *The side-glance is now a full glance-glance. Wow, that sounds like something straight out of a gangster movie. Right after somebody pledges a blood oath to the mob boss.* @S «... I didn't think you wouldn't.» ItsyBitsySpyers 12:22 am ((naughty boy, i hope he doesn't bring it back up having to be put back where he goes)) FakeProwl 12:23 am *would it be rude to send an amusement tag? he's going to chance it.* Omicron 12:23 am [red's pretty stubern about keeping his food down. Honey, his tank mate didn't eat her's I just found out x.x] Omicron 12:26 am racer: *sniffing around with his nose to the floor* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:31 am *Listen, he learned very specific lessons about friendship in the Pits and elsewhere, and he's not got a lot of other sources to draw from when it comes to how to speak about it.*

*Soundwave's not sure what to do with the amusement tag. He meant what he said in all seriousness. Maybe he'll just. Note it for now and try to work out its meaning later?*

@P: [[...Oh. Good.]] *Tiny head shake.* [[He is - still unused to being thought of as anything besides a mech who is only around to dig up secrets.]] *And after a moment, an intense ping of affection.* [[Thank you.]] FakeProwl 12:33 am *a return ping.* @S «You're welcome. If you WERE just trying to dig secrets out of me, you'd be——going ridiculously far.» *and in the middle of that sentence was the point where Prowl remembered that he has quite a bit of evidence suggesting that that's exactly why Chromedome is conjugated with Rewind.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:36 am *Then it is a good thing Soundwave already made it clear he would not be conjugated and gave Prowl the beginnings of a way to literally destroy his too-trusting spark, no?* FakeProwl 12:36 am *and what business does Prowl have trusting people, when he's the exact person who untrustworthy people would want the trust of for untrustworthy purposes, and when he knows damn well that all the people currently closest to him ARE untrustworthy and yet he's chosen to trust them anyway—why? where's the logic in that? how's that going to end?* *give him a moment to forcibly shush those thoughts. they never stop, they just quiet down.* Omicron 12:37 am (found red) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:37 am ((YAAAAAY)) FakeProwl 12:38 am ((YAY)) Omicron 12:39 am (that was a wrestling match) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:40 am *Since he never listens in any more than Prowl blatantly gives him, Soundwave can't hear that realization, or that internal struggle, or the quieting of said struggle. He just stretches a little, having mentioned most of what was on his mind that night and a little publicly-socialized-out.*

[[He should call this a night. Hatchlings should have rest - and in a little while, so should he.]] @P: [[...He still would like to know what you spent the movie thinking about, if or when you feel like telling him that. ]] FakeProwl 12:43 am @S «Just going over the script. I'm curious about the, ah... disorder they said he had.» ItsyBitsySpyers 12:43 am *That's still an odd notion. Sitting right next to someone - him, a telepath - and having to ask what's on their mind. He's not sure he'll ever get over the strangeness of that. He minds it less, but it may always be odd* Omicron 12:44 am *icequeen stops her song and gives a chirp like sound as she gets up and streaches* Racer: *freezes from sniffing his way to soundwave and prowl* O-o *hesitates but bounds back* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:45 am [[We will pbbt at each other next time, hatchling. Fear not.]] Omicron 12:46 am racer: O,o pffft? *looks back as he's being picked up* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:46 am @P: [[...Similarities?]] FakeProwl 12:48 am *oh, so Soundwave noticed too.* @S «You said it was time to call it a night. How much longer did you want to stay up?» *it's... a list.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:48 am *Confirms that by pffting back to the hatchling with a mixture of static.* Omicron 12:49 am racer: pttb!!

*Icy chuckles around the hatchling in her mouth, rumbling a purr back at soundwave as she calls for a bridge home to her ship* (good night, I have to deal with my gaint scaly kids <3) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:50 am @P: [[For you, he will make the time you want.]] *Unless that was some kind of dodge. In which case he would let Prowl do that, too.*

[[Be well, Ice Queen. And Racer.]] ((night! good luck with the scaly kids heh)) Omicron 12:51 am *she gives a kinda bow back, has a moutful of wriggly sparkling as she leaves* (thanks) FakeProwl 12:51 am @S «Mm. It doesn't make a difference to me, you're the one who asked a question. Unless it was rhetorical?» *oh look, similarity #1: hard to identify rhetorical questions.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:54 am @Prowl: [[It was not. It rarely is, when he is curious about something.]] *Checks his chronometer and gives the next day's schedule a quick review.* [[Let us add... thirty-five minutes for ourselves before rest. Anything not mentioned by then may be covered next time we have the opportunity. Among other things of lesser importance.]] FakeProwl 12:55 am *now that they're by themselves and don't need to keep to comms—* Very well. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:57 am *Well, now that Prowl doesn't, anyway. Soundwave's communication method won't change much aside from a slightly loosened target focus.* FakeProwl 12:57 am Identified... symptoms? Consequences? of the disorder—things that are specifically identified as having a higher occurrence within the population that has the disorder compared to the outside population. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:00 am *Soundwave twists to get more comfortable on the couch and tucks one leg underneath himself, leaning against the couch's back. Full listen mode.* FakeProwl 1:02 am Self-stimulating activities different from the normal, small ones that regular people have. Unusual sensitivity to some noises and some lights. Sensitivity to and dislike of touching and hugging. Difficulty in... mm... *he's going to glide over what he was originally going to say with just,* optic contact. ((oh my god.)) ((u better include a link to that in the log)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:03 am ((what why)) FakeProwl 1:03 am ((because it's precious)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:04 am (( https://78.media.tumblr.com/527e1d0b01101f8a71076b447123eded/tumblr_inline_p2zyentzUv1ryyzb8_540.png very well )) FakeProwl 1:04 am ((and because posterity Deserves To Know)) ((aw, the link doesn't work. nvm!)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:04 am ((eh someone can copy-paste)) FakeProwl 1:04 am It's an improbably high number of unexpectedly correlated character traits. ((no, the copypaste doesn't work)) ((well it was a cute very attentive couchsit)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:08 am [[He has noticed all of those over time. Or been told, in one case. He assumes you believe yours may be... he does not know an appropriate word. Related?]] [[Alike?]] ((link fixed)) FakeProwl 1:09 am ((perf.)) ... "Yours" suggests I /possess/ something. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:10 am [[The symptoms or consequences you mentioned.]] *Tilts head. Did he speak incorrectly?* FakeProwl 1:12 am I think this might be a category of humans with which I have more in common than other humans. I don't think that means I "have" something. We're talking about the psychology of aliens, after all. What classifies as a disorder among aliens is by no means inherently something disorderly among us. *always, always, always very twitchy about even the implied suggestion that he HAS something.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:16 am *Considers this for a moment. He supposes that makes sense. The humans do share similarities in some respects while being completely different in other ways or having wildly opposite viewpoints.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:20 am [[But it must interest you to see a similar collection of traits in this category of theirs? The assistant at the end - he can speak, if he wants, but both his words and his silence have led others to dismiss him in the past. And they did not see her brilliance simply because she did not communicate as they do. It was--]] *Long, long vent.* [[It pleases him that -some- of the humans understood who she was.]] FakeProwl 1:21 am ... Anyway. Beyond the listed—traits, he's also shown as... having a rather flat vocal delivery. Disliking participating in small talk. Possessing a skill for and inclination toward mathematics that is far beyond that of any of his peers, and beyond that which most of them would be capable of achieving even if they wanted to. Other things. I don't know if those things are connected or not, but... ItsyBitsySpyers 1:21 am *Quickly dams up his thoughts. He didn't realize Prowl was going to keep speaking or he would have waited.* FakeProwl 1:23 am *A glance at Soundwave. And a glance down.* ... I couldn't speak when I first came online. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:26 am *Still in the middle of processing the second part when a third one pops up. It takes him a second longer than he'd like to rearrange his priorities and focus on the newest one.*

*Small fidget. He wants to ask, but he doesn't know if it'll anger Prowl if he does. There's... not really a way to work that out without trying, is there?*

[[...Did you get to have a speaker?]] *Like the assistant. A program that would say what Prowl wrote.* FakeProwl 1:28 am *and after Prowl went to all that trouble to rearrange his priorities to focus on Soundwave's.* No. They turned me off and reprogrammed me until I could talk. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:31 am *He didn't mean to steal it. Only to give an example of what he meant by his question about interest in what was shown.*

[[He is - sorry.]] *Pause.* [[Angry. You should have been given help. To find your own way.]] FakeProwl 1:34 am *he shakes his head.* I'm not angry. I've never been. Based on everything they knew and believed at the time, they WERE helping. They were giving me what the believed was a necessary tool to allow me to find my own way. In Petrex, under Functionism and the Senate, they were probably right. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:35 am *What in the seventh chamber of the deepest, darkest cavern in Kaon does 'turned me off' and 'reprogrammed me' mean? How do you just - turn off someone who's alive? What did they do with Prowl's head?* FakeProwl 1:35 am The world should have been such that that wasn't true. But it wasn't. FakeProwl 1:37 am *a deep vent in, and a sigh.* I probably should be angry. You know—for ethical reasons, and all that. But I'm not. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:39 am [[Then he is that much more glad to see the world as it was go.]] *Still threads of anger in there. He's not letting those go. He's not the one who grew up in Petrex.*

[[Do you -want- to be?]] FakeProwl 1:43 am ... No. I don't. I knew the people who did it, off and on, for—well—the rest of THEIR lives, as the war started picking them off. They all wanted to see me succeed. They were pleased by my successes and concerned by my setbacks. For their own, various reasons, they wanted the best for me. I don't want to be mad at them for that. FakeProwl 1:44 am They made a decision for me when I was a few days old that took me millions of years to conclude that, based on modern science and ethics, it was wrong. It's hard to fault them for that. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:48 am *Soundwave doesn't find it hard to fault them at all. He's also notoriously unforgiving of anyone who has caused his loved ones pain. Make of that what you will.*

[[He doubts they would have agreed to submit -themselves- to... to being 'turned off' and 'reprogrammed', were someone to demand it of them.]] *...But again, Petrex and being neck-deep in Functionism.* [[Maybe he is wrong about that. But it does not make sense that they would.]] FakeProwl 1:50 am I'm sure if you suggested it to them, they'd say that if they had been in my position, they would. And I'm also sure that if you offered it to them, they'd refuse on the grounds that they're not in my position and so don't need it. *a wry smile.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:57 am *It's probably a good thing Soundwave's mask is still on. Nobody needs to see the expression he made at the second sentence.*

[[Of course they would. It is convenient.]]

*Long, slow vent.*

[[He does not mean to tell you how to feel. It is just that - he merely--]] *His right hand closes and opens again.* [[Never mind. You already know, he thinks.]] *Mainly that he resents that time and history can't all be changed specifically so that Prowl could have had his speaker. Or anything else he needed.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:59 am *And other mechs for not being quick enough to make necessary adjustments to their own world.* FakeProwl 2:00 am Yes, I do. And if you want to be angry, that's your prerogative. *... Can he take that right hand? He's going to tentatively brush at it and see.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:09 am *Nods. Turns his hands over and spreads his fingers apart, willing to not only let it be taken but lace them properly.*

[[...He would like to know more. About you, and all the things you also saw in the human. To understand, when you let him. The dislike of small talk, the vocal delivery, sensitivities and activities. Not just the existence. The--]] *Look to ceiling. Words, please?* [[How they -are-. -Who- you are, never mind the secrets and affiliations and history.]]

*That probably doesn't make sense. It barely makes sense to him and he's the one who tried to think it out.* FakeProwl 2:11 am ... Uh. *Prowl's optics flicker. Wow, Soundwave, that's a lot.* Thanks. You too. *there's another similarity: inappropriate usage of stock, polite, scripted phrases.* *He's going to look at that wall over there, the most interesting wall in the room. Fascinating.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:18 am *Soundwave watches the flickering and the turning away and is quiet a moment.*

[[He apologizes. He isn't - attempting to be invasive. Or overwhelming. Or to test you.]] *Like he imagines reprogrammers probably would have done.* [[Or to - to smother you, somehow.]]

[[...Do not think too much about it now, if you do not want. It was only an admission.]] FakeProwl 2:19 am No, it was just, ah... enthusiastic. ... And now you've said two grand things to me tonight and I've said zero to you. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:21 am [[He was not expecting anything. He's spoken his mind. That was all.]] FakeProwl 2:24 am ... Well, yes, I know, but... *He's not going to get anywhere with that. Quick, change topics.* But anyway, I didn't want to... Your point was that the brilliant assistant is dismissed on sight because she can't speak, and as you've had similar experiences, you're glad she has someone who listens and respects her. And the point I was TRYING to make is— yes. That. I agree. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:27 am *He can see that change of topic and he'll let it happen.* [[For that, he is most glad.]] FakeProwl 2:29 am ... And we've run quite a bit over those thirty-five minutes. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:30 am [[We have. He will just have to save his gift for the next time. But he does not regret that.]] *Finally takes his visor off and places it on the couch's arm.* [[Do you want to join him?]] FakeProwl 2:31 am ... NOW you mention the gift. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:32 am [[Ah, ah, ah. Anticipation will sweeten the delivery. It will wait.]] *Untucks his leg and gets to his feet.* FakeProwl 2:33 am *Stands without letting go of Soundwave's hands, so that's that on joining him.* If you insist. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:35 am [[He is as stubborn as he is quiet.]]

*He'll lean forward with intent to offer a kiss. Once he knows if it's going to be taken or is too much, he'll carry on appropriately and then start for the stairwell.* FakeProwl 2:35 am *It will ABSOLUTELY be taken.* *To the stairs.*

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