#look at me not talking about costumes or colour theory for a change!

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Okay this isnt costume but I do have thoughts about it. Full disclosure Im just a woman in stem so idk anything about tv production/set design etc and if its normal to set up lighting like this but like. I do think its really interesting that all the light in the scene is between buck and eddie. Specficially when buck is talking to tommy all of the light is coming from where eddie is sitting and it literally looks like tommy is casting a shadow over him. And also to some extent all the light on eddie is coming from where buck is sitting

Hey Nonnie

Being a woman in Stem is a fabulous thing and you have far more knowledge of tv production and set design than you think - you've proven it in your ask.

The lighting and camera departments can set up the lighting and how it appears on camera however they'd like - the lights are mostly moveable (apart from the ones that appear on camera - such as the ceiling lights in the corridor behind tommy!) so can be positioned to push the light in the desired direction! The crews choices are all part of telling the story and aiding the narrative.

The things you've written above that you picked up on are exactly what you should be seeing - what they want you to be picking up on - even if it is only subconsciously (trust me you notice when a scene is lit badly and wrongly for what the other elements are trying to say!).

This scene (or section of scene as we don't yet know how much more of it there is or isn't!) is all about the triangles, and it has very much been lit to ensure that triangle is obvious!

This is also shown in the way the light hits each character

Bucks light is coming from the left of the camera - lighitng bucks right side

Tommy's is coming from both above and from behind Buck, but also from behind him, but becasue of the way the blinds are positioned it generally drives that from behind light downwards - except through the doorway - which is directly behind Tommy and helps create that looming shadow you mentioned.

While Eddies is coming from behind and to his left side (and a little bit behind him as well)

All of the light is coming from behind Eddie and between Eddie and Buck - they are not in shadow, but Tommy is - which can be seen best from this angle here;

Where we can see a clear line across Bucks pillow casting his injured arm and Tommy into shadow - which is coming from behind Eddie.

Whats interesting is the way that this lighting set up casts all of their faces into shadow in varying ways as you can see in the pictures above - we have Eddie who's face is mostly in shadow apart from the section from his left eyebrow round to his ear. Buck who is more or less half and half vertically, while Tommy is lit straight on but also slightly from above - meaning the lower half of his face is slightly in shadow, but generally speaking his entire face is lit. This is a play on the episode title - Tommy is not wearing a mask, while both Buck and Eddie are - to various extents - Bucks mask is hiding who he is from Tommy while Eddies is hiding most of himself from both of them, but Buck can see some of the real him (the lit part!).

The other thing the lighting does in this scene - is make the area around Tommy appear darker and duller - the image below shows this pretty well - with all the light coming into the room from behind Eddie and from the corridor behind tommy - the area behind Tommy should be brighter that it appears - but instead it is very cool toned and dull and gives the feeling of creeping darkness that makes the space look like its closing in. The opposite is the case with Eddie - its much brighter and warmly lit and feels like the light is expanding.

This is what good lighting and the right filter on the camera can do!

The other thing that we can see from the lighting and from the camera angles is the fact that Buck and Eddie are at the same level while Tommy is looking down on both of them

If we compare these lighting and sightline aspects with the other scene/scene we have stills for involving Buck, Tommy and Eddie we can see a similar thing - Tommy is looking down at Buck in the living room but we don't have that triangle formed as there is only the two of them in the scene.

The light is hitting him in a similar way to the hospital - more or less front on. This time is is creating a little more shadow over the side of his face. It will be interesting to see how much of Bucks face is in shadow when we see things from other angles.

The scene at the dining table is the most similar to the hospital scene - we have the identical sight lines (making an approximation due to not actually being able to see Tommy in the still!) only this time it is Eddie who is looking down while Buck and tommy are at an even sightline.

The light is coming in from behind Eddie once more as well creating a similar effect to the hospital scene. I'm making the assumption that the camera will be located in the kitchen so that we are given the scene straight on - putting tommy in between Buck and Eddie visually - this angle will allow us to see if the same shadows are being cast across their faces or if they are different. When we see the scene we should also be able to get a better idea of warmth v cool with the lighting.

I hope this is helpful - I'm by no means an expert on the lighting side of things, just the stuff I picked up from the sets I've been on in my past life! You're already getting so much of it though, so just keep watching and paying attention and you'll find you spot more and more and begin to connect how the choices made serve the scene!

This was fun to answer! 💜💜💜

[ignitification]

Midoriya Izuku - Green for Hope, Red for Burning Passion

I always asked myself why exactly Horikoshi has changed Midoriya's character design so drastically.

Indeed, we go from a character called Yamikumo who looks like a feral child with the bad habit of eating his nails off, and drinks more coffee than humanly possible to an anxious bunny who smiles awkwardly and does not know how to accept compliments.

To me, the difference is absolutely insane. Izuku's hair and eyes are uniform and reflect his character and surname. However, a thing that I find peculiar is how the dark (Black/Green) and the Red theme are a constant throughout particular tellings of his character.

The legendary red shoes are one of Deku's main features. It's part of his character. However, I just got to think why exactly (especially having an idea on why was green used for him) and I think that the answer might be very very banal. However, I do think that this is not the only reason.

First of all, there is the most simple reason which I could think of: Midoriya Izuku is described as plain. In my opinion, plain does not really define Midoriya but the concept of him being bland and capable of melting into background is fundamental to express him in the most little details (however, there are few things which inwardly contradict this description: first and foremost his freckles). But as it might be, and Midoriya is indeed considered not worthy look at for more than once (at least as described in the manga - which is also one of the reason why his design has been changed so much, as Yamikumo had literally zero chance to go unnoticed), it appears clear how this suppression of character, of wanting to relegate Mido to a background role is what instead pushes Izuku forward to make a bold choice of something like wearing red shoes. They are strikingly particular, and noticeable: which means that Midoriya is not happy about being an npc, but instead wants to be noticed and in some way stand out.

The second reason, which I mulled over if was relevant enough is All Might. A recurrent color in all All Might's costumes is Red (and Blue, which kind of reminds of Superman and the American Flag. A fact that I found interesting as well if how AM wears Blue, Yellow and Red while Midoriya wears Green and Red, and of course Blue and Yellow together form Green).

And finally the third and final reason (at least, for now) is that Red, as a colour reminds Deku of Kacchan (even if arguably, we see in the first panel of the manga how Izuku wore already his shoes so this might be false and instead it might refer to the fact that Red is Izuku’s favourite colour only), who we know he associates with victory. As the mental image of Kacchan, who was red eyes, is his substitute for him being able to stand proud, strong and capable to win, Izuku might want to express this strive to be strong.

But what do these two colours mean, stand alone ?

As for Green: this colour, in different cultures, is associated with "Hope" . I think here the main gist and general going is that Midoriya represents Hope for the Heroes, Hope for the Unwanted, the Broken and the Damned (the Villains). I talked about Izuku being a Symbol of the New Society here, but in short, with Izuku Midoriya being fundamentally associated to the colour green, I think Horikoshi wants to express two things: how Izuku never loses hope (to be a hero, to have a quirk, to be a friend to Katsuki who bullied him for years or Shouto who straight up challenged him even before getting to know him, to reach and to save everyone) and how he represents and spreads hope for others (Eri, Kouta, the same Todoroki and Katsuki).

Green indicates life, renewal, harmony and safety. Which, in this sense, points out Izuku's nature as a person and how he is bound to feel restless unless he provides comfort to everyone, and that desire to save desperately anyone who he can reach. Green is a calming and soothing colour. It also stands for prosperity, freshness and progress - which point out not only the conclusion of Deku being N1 Hero, but as well at him 'changing up' the society and becoming the Symbol of Hope and Change (on which I briefly touched upon here).

However, on a negative side it also stands for Greed (wanting to be a hero and follow AM steps even when he had a hard time adapting his body to his new quirk) and Envy (Bakugō first and foremost and the generally heroes and those who has time to wield their power properly). In this negative meaning of the colour, I think Izuku’s selfless nature comes to the surface even more: how he feels bound to feel negative emotions which spur his renewal and development (after all, he did unlock Black Whip after Monoma had insulted Bakugou), but at the same time use this emotion toward a bigger goal (him being mad at Shigaraki, but at the same time wanting to save him - I wrote about this too here).

Green, is, finally, the colour of the Heart chakra: an expression of how Midoriya puts everything before him, because his heart cannot take the selfishness of thinking of himself first, which also come hand in hand with his sacrificing nature and reminds of his name meaning and the association made with the number 9. Indeed, “Opening the Heart chakra allows a person to love more, empathise, and feel compassion” - which in short, stands for an externalisation of Mido’s personality.

On a shorter note, in Japan, the colour green represents youth, eternity, vitality and energy - which, in its own way is both a confirmation and a denial to other references made in Izuku’s character, such as his dangerous nature, him not being concentrated to live on for more than he is allowed to fulfil his duty (him being tied to number 9 and so on), and at the same time it reminds us of OfA, as it gains more power and energy and at his cheery, youthful persona.

As for Red, as the colour of Blood, it also stands to indicate '' Danger, Sacrifice, Courage" (which reconnects to his name's theory and numerology, of which I talked about here, in short).

In addition, red is usually used to professionally gain attention (it's hard to miss something so bright) and convey confidence. We know for a fact that Deku has been wearing red shoes since he was a kid (or at least, since he met Bakugō, which coincides with Izuku being four) and that despite being Quirkless, he always showed courage in standing out to people even when they thought of him as 'inferior' because on his unusual condition.

Among other negative meaning, there is an overflow of temper, anger, agitation, and overbearing, demanding and oppressive behaviours. As clear as day, these characteristics relate more to fiery Katsuki than Deku, but as stated before, Deku puts Katsuki as model and adapts his combat style to resemble Katsuki’s. So, this overflow of energy and action is a double-edged sword which affects both Katsuki and Izuku in different ways (and is mellowed out in Izuku’s character by his other soothing characteristics , but more on that later).

Also, Red, in Asia is a lucky colour which might (or not) hint at how, despite everything Izuku got his 'lucky' chance to inherit AM's power and follow his dream of becoming a hero. Particularly, in Japan this colour is associated and denotes strength, passion, self-sacrifice. A transmission of feeling as complex and empowering as the ones Deku fills while he is living his everyday life as a future hero, summed to his nature and inherited quirk.

Red is also a magical and religious color. It symbolized super-human heroism to the Greeks and is the color of the Christian crucifixion, which might be as meaningless as other things, but in this case it might greatly relate to the type of enormous power Izuku tries to reign in, and to the self sacrificing spirit which he proves again and again.

So far, the meanings of the colours which have been associated with Deku are in line with his name, his personality and even the storyline which has been drawed out.

Among other meanings red represents power, courage, energy, passion, and creates physical effects such as enhanced metabolism, enthusiasm, higher level of energy (which comes back to the initial reasons on why Deku chooses Red as a distinct colour for himself and his shoes).

The color red is linked to the most primitive physical, emotional, and financial needs of survival and self-preservation.

Finally is also the colour of leadership, determination and courage. So in short, the colours red, where it indicates energy, action and strong emotion-filled desires and aspirations, is also weak to overbearing aspects which transform empowerment into negative traits (which is what, in the end, is represented by Bakugou). It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power (the shoes in Deku’s case). 

Red is the colour of the First (or Spine) Chakra and usually allows a person to be grounded and connect to universal energies, while Green is the link between spiritual and material.

What do these two colours mean in association with each other?

Onto how these two colours are related to each other, especially considering the premises made, we see that Red (life-giving properties, trust, belonging and violence) and Green (health, eternity, youth and greed) are not only opposites, but they complete and balance each other out. Indeed, to reign over emotions and actions, to red is usually added green which indeed is a pain-relieving patch for red’s intensity (the theory of Bakugou and Deku being two sides of the same coin are thriving).

Midoriya Izuku is an intense person. His personality allows him to balance out his power with a selfless nature, and while he himself is sweet and caring, his fiery eyes (and shoes) express for him his utmost sincere feelings, which deep down are very telling. As mentioned before, Izuku responds to Monoma when he insults Bakugou and makes a jab at how actually Bakugou is the one who ultimately terminated AM, by unlocking a new dangerous and powerful quirk, which is so powerful and fiery, and red in his intensity, that they need Shinsou’s intervention to actually calm him down.

Izuku is a overly protective person: he has forgiveness as a foremost characteristic and even if he does mention how he will not forgive Shigaraki for what he has done, on second though he realises that even a ‘monster’ like Shigaraki deserves to be saved, and therefore his other nature takes over.

Therefore, the coexistence of these factors, and his personality are probably at the origin of why Midoriya has had such a drastic make-over before becoming Midoriya Izuku, and why the colours of Red and Green are fundamental in the description which lets us have a full picture of Midoriya as an individual: something who is full of hope and energy, striving to express whisk power and passion while trying to concern only himself with the danger that comes with his mission to save everyone.

[sanstropfremir]

ok this took way longer than i expected because i got sidetracked looking at paintings and reading poetry and just admiring the mv, but it's finally finished!! let's talk about

higher

✨

i'm going to draw your attention to a few things.

firstly, these verses from rime of the ancient mariner by samuel taylor coleridge, published 1834:

The harbour-bay was clear as glass,

So smoothly it was strewn!

And on the bay the moonlight lay,

And the shadow of the Moon.

The rock shone bright, the kirk no less,

That stands above the rock:

The moonlight steeped in silentness

The steady weathercock.

And the bay was white with silent light,

Till rising from the same,

Full many shapes, that shadows were,

In crimson colours came.

A little distance from the prow

Those crimson shadows were:

I turned my eyes upon the deck—

Oh, Christ! what saw I there!

Each corse lay flat, lifeless and flat,

And, by the holy rood!

A man all light, a seraph-man,

On every corse there stood.

This seraph-band, each waved his hand:

It was a heavenly sight!

They stood as signals to the land,

Each one a lovely light;

This seraph-band, each waved his hand,

No voice did they impart—

No voice; but oh! the silence sank

Like music on my heart.

secondly, this ivan aivazovsky painting, chaos (the creation), c. 1841:

and thirdly, the memorial of percy shelley, who drowned in a boating accident at age 29, in 1822:

there's a common conflation between the romantic and the pastoral in the general cultural consensus because the pastoral a) has been around as an art term longer than romantic, and b) romanticism does use some similar imagery. but there is a key difference: the pastoral is specfically an idealization of 'the simple shepherding life,' often for high class and urban audiences who have no conception of the details of this life includes. one of the more famous examples is christopher marlowe's a passionate shepherd to his love, published in 1599:

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the Rocks,

Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow Rivers to whose falls

Melodious birds sing Madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of Roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;

Fair lined slippers for the cold,

With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and Ivy buds,

With Coral clasps and Amber studs:

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come live with me, and be my love.

The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May-morning:

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love.

whereas romanticism is a more pointedly specific movement that was active from around 1800 to 1850, primarily focused on intense emotion and catharsis as the primary experiential output of an artwork. which most prominently manifested in a deep fascination and glorification of the natural environment and historical nostalgia. the movement sprung from the german sturm und drang (literally storm and drive/stress) period of the late 1760s to early 1780s, which was a direct reaction to rationalism and enlightenment. romanticism had similar impulses; it was also a revival of medievalism and a reaction against the looming urban sprawl and mechanization of the industrial revolution. a typical romantic poem from one of the originators of the english movment william wordsworth, composed upon westminster bridge, september 3, 1802, originally published 1807:

Earth has not any thing to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

this romantic fascination with nature was underpinned by the philosophy of the sublime, generally agreed to be first treatised by edmund burke in 1756, the theory was also written about by kant and hegel. in the simplest of terms, the sublime is a quality of greatness beyond calculation, imitation, and human comprehension. the sublime is twofold; the greatness of the ocean is beautiful, but its power is also terrifying, and the experience of the sublime is to feel those two at once. to be in awe and also to be horrified of its ability to sink ships and drown a life in a tempermental change of tide.

let's take a quick detour to talk about

clothing

in the present day we have become much more lax thanks to the aesthetic movement in the late nineteenth century, but back in the early victorian period there are still highly structured rules about when and what clothing one can wear in public. and the clothing itself is also highly structured. anyone with a passing understanding of the victorian era knows about the whole flashing of the ankle thing and corsets galore, and it is true that the general day to day garments cover a lot of area. for men in particular, this manifests in no less than three layers in public at all times: shirt, waistcoat, and suit jacket, with a coat or mantle overtop in colder temperatures. this also includes a variation of a neck tie (depending on what year), hat, gloves, and any other decided upon accessories (this can also include a corset and other padded structural underpinnings). an important tangent to mention here is that this is the uniform of the upper classes, although the rules do apply to the lower classes if they wanted to appear 'sophisticated.' the working man's uniform was also shirt, waistcoat, trousers, but the difference here is in the textiles themselves; the colours tended to be much more drab, with less complicated patterns. obviously due to the price fabric itself, but also due to the labour of laundry. an indicator of class here is the white shirt itself and its pristine implications. (there is a longer conversation here about the invention of neckties and detachable collars and cuffs, but that's for another day). the silhouettes are very important to note here in the higher mv, as they are directly referential to the 'romantic poet' archetype of loose shirt and tight pants that we see in popular culture. but as i've just said, the reality is that men of the era were not dressed like this out in public. this look is essentially underwear; the implications are salacious. so where did this come from? well, we can blame it mostly on lord byron, who by all accounts was the first western 'rockstar.' notoriously called 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' by lady caroline lamb (a married women he publically had an affair with), byron was openly bisexual and deeply hedonistic with a lot of questionable habits, but his poetry was so popular that he was known to have women following him in the street and gathering in large quanities to see him at salons. and this was close to three decades before lizstomania. his close friends and contemporaries included percy and mary shelley, with whom he lived with abroad in italy for some time (this living arrangement resulted in the writing of both frankenstein and john polidori's the vampyre). byron's reputation was so eclipsing that the image of the lush poet lazing in his undergarments has become its own genre of romantic, slightly removed from the movement byron was writing in. it's also worth it to point out that there are no official portraits of byron dressed like this from the time. the visual assumption is somewhat apochryphal. now let's get into some specifics. a.c.e is not unfamiliar to this silhouette; as previously mentioned in this post i wrote about their styling, the boxy loose upper and fitted lower is their general mode for their styling because of its emphasis on legs. cactus was the most extreme example of this, and to prove my point, this specific silhouette is extremely common in classical ballet:

1. vaslav nijinsky, giselle, 1911 2. nehemiah kish, george balanchine's ballo della regina, 2011/12

higher fits very neatly into this same category: we have an emphasis on the legs through tightly fitted garments and also through light reflective textile, as well as a secondary emphasis on arm and shoulder movements with looser fit shirts. plus, the shirts are made from fabrics that have good drape and flow, and mimic the visual effects of water:

there are also several instances of scale patterning and wetlook hair styles, further elabourating on the siren theme. and the jewelry is the same, purposefully cut clear stones for oceanic sparkle or pearls, the gem directly born from water, as highlighting accents to specific parts of the body - namely eyes, hands, and torso:

the body jewelry also serves a double purpose in addition to being sparkly; it gives a semblance of shape to their torsos so their movements aren't totally lost in the shroud of their shirts, and it also invokes some of that salacious element that us as a modern audience doesn't necessarily perceive in the same way when we see a man wearing only a shirt. all of these points are especially prominent in the stage costuming. concerning the veils, these are an aesthetic choice following the theme of depicting water without actually using water. the song has a very breathless quality to it, and the lyrics directly make reference to water and breathlessness, so it only makes sense to have a physical manifestation of struggling to breathe.

now let's talk about

mise-en-scène

unlike most kpop mvs, I would argue that higher is not a spectacle in what we normally see spectacle to be. the overwhelming visual saturation of goblin (and the goblin remix) is more in line with what we expect, but how do you follow that, top it? the answer is that you don't. you aim for something with a completely different feel, which is exact what they did with higher.

the performing arts did not escape romanticism. the very start of the movement, sturm und drang, is actually named from a specific play written by friedrich maximilian klinger that premiered in 1777. the plays of the brief period are characterized by extreme and passionate emotions, and were siblings to one of the most famous genres of theatre, the melodrama. meant to appeal directly to the emotions of the audience using sensationalist plots and stock characters, the melodrama was the predominent form of entertainment in victorian england and gradually developed a specific form of its own. in this period we also start to see the development of 'stagecraft' into the recognizable form that it takes today. footlights, limelight/spotlighting, the separation of house and stage lighting, fly galleries, elevator platform mechanics, and the first (purported) western use of rear projection are all innovations of the late 18th and 19th centuries, as melodramas were known to have very intricate and spectacular stagings. and to go along with these stagecraft mechanics we see the rise in designated stage crews, which were predominantly off-duty sailors looking to make money. the rope systems that made up the fly galleries were very similar to that on ships, and much of the terminology and supersitions crossed over: this is the origin of the term 'rigging' being used for suspending set elements, and also the origin of the 'don't whistle in a theatre' superstition. as sailors communicated with whistle patterns on ships, the same system was adopted for changing scenery, and therefore whistling a random pattern could potentially drop a setpiece on an unsuspecting victim.

so with all this backstory out of the way, what is the very first full location we see? a stage, complete with forced perspective via the painted fabric legs (the side panels) and borders (the wavy upper panels). we even have a flat painted backdrop with a projection screen and hanging overhead lamps. there's also a second interior set, a desk in what looks to be a study of some kind. bit self explanatory on this one, taking the poet notion on the nose.

the locations have a bit of an obtuse arc, but it's there when you look for it. it starts interior spaces, where the ideas of sublime attempted to be recreated for the viewer. then it moves to transitory spaces; portions of nature isolated from a whole environment, interjections of human architecture into natural spaces:

(the white hut structure in the greenhouse is reminiscent of a skene (literally hut/tent), which is the structure at the back of the stage in ancient greek theatre used for the actors to change their masks and costumes. it was originally temporary, but slowly transformed into permanent stage architecture)

and then finally outdoors, into the sublime itself:

jwm turner, crossing the bridge, 1815

lastly,

lighting

there's a very clear lighting pattern here, primarily in light and dark. the base colour story is fairly simple complementary pairs; there's a lot of purple/red and green, and blue and yellow/amber, with everything relatively on the same tonal level. there are deliberate interjections of heavily saturated red for specific effect. there are also, most notably, a 'dark' version of all the sets. obviously as a reference to the eclipse that we see in the mv and in the concept photo series, but also as a reference to that darker undercurrent of the sublime, the upsetting, the uncanny, and the terrifying:

And the bay was white with silent light/Till rising from the same/Full many shapes, that shadows were/In crimson colours came.

[goblinconceivable]

some more feels

A few more bullety-points I’ve been pondering, and mostly me pushing my mind into a happier place, even if for a few minutes.  More like buckshot really.

Two Person Costume

So laying it out, Jeff, who picks costumes based on what women will find hot, asks Annie to pair up.  And does so rather vaguely and behind text, which makes it look like he’s being overly casual about it, like he hasn’t given it much thought and he can pretend she just shows up perfectly matched.  But he’s basing the entire theme on his father’s old gloves.  And he has his father’s phone number with him.  I’m sorry but there is no conclusion other than he wanted to talk to Annie about his father and tried to set up this whole intricate situation to give him an opening.

I have headcannon that Annie knew what he meant by “ring girl” but refused to play along when he refused to be direct.  And a headcannon headcannon where she’s got the ring girl costume on underneath.

Handshake in RV Repair

After some replaying and frame-by-frame examination, my conclusion: Annie probably initiated the handshake (hands are closer to him) but then she’s trying to pull her hand back and he doesn’t let go for a split second.  Despite the fact that Jeff’s looked away by then and that’s usually when you let go.  Am I trying too hard?  Probably, but this is what happens when “handshake in RV” has to count as a “moment of interest” because of general dearth.  Anyway, frantic-2am-essay-writing self says this symbolizes how Jeff is not reaching out this season, but also can’t say no/ can’t let go of Annie when she puts herself within reach.  Highlighted by Abed’s hand metaphor (coincidence?  I argue no.)

Also because they don’t really shake hands?  They hug.  In seasons 1-3.  I’m trying to think after that and I don’t know.  That one needs research.  

Season 5 finale: 

Does Jeff look at Annie even once between getting “engaged” and when they’re physically in the lab?  Except maybe right when she, Abed, and Dean walk in because they’re acting like suprise freaks.  But otherwise I don’t think so.  Even when she’s specifically trying to catch his eye.  Whenever she talks, he’s looking elsewhere (usually Britta) or turning away.  Even when she’s standing next to Abed, who’s talking, Jeff looks over to the side.  Camera cuts emphasize this: whenever he *might* be looking, they catch him turning away or maybe starting to turn towards.

And thus it is cute that right before the gavel ending the episode he looks at her.  Closing frames ftw!  Awww.

Garrett’s Wedding ep

Why is this episode so regressive?  I do appreciate using one of the final moments of the show as a global reflection of the group.  But what’s up with the Annie/Frankie talk about Jeff scene?  I don’t think Annie’s character has been in a place where she’d stop in the middle of a conversation to sigh and dreamily think about how messed up Jeff is for at least 2 years, possibly ever.  I think Frankie’s (repeated) codependency judgment is extremely valid, but it’s shoehorned in unnaturally.  “Get you away from Jeff” would have been very interesting in season 4, but by this point Annie has been doing her own thing all year, the most interaction was during the commercial bruhaha, where Annie showed dominance and Jeff figured out how to do what she wanted.  So... From where is Frankie deriving the conclusion that Jeff is a bad influence?

This episode just made no sense to me.  My brain is filing it as a standalone.

Or: the setup for the ep felt natural.  Jeff staring into his glass with an Abed-noticed strange face fits with his married-fantasy in the finale.  So it’s an implausible but Hail Mary theory that the rest of the episode is in Jeff’s head. 

Off topic, but I have some trouble with face recognition, changes in hair really doesn’t help, nor does bulking up, so I pretty much believe Jeff was played by 3-4 different actors.  Hence issues grasping on to character continuity.

Objecification

Something always niggling at me is Annie’s objectification of Jeff’s body.  Not that I disagree with her or find it unreasonable.  It’s just that Jeff literally built his body so people would like him and his personality to gain respect.  Which is his wall as well.  And for the first years at least, that was a basis of Annie’s crush.  

Yes, I believe they became actual friends as well, but here’s the thing: attraction remains at the core of why Annie (initially) tried so hard.  There’s an inherent muddle between her idealizing him, and knowing and liking him as a person.  And I think Jeff knows this and feels it, and it colours his approach and response to their relationship.

This whole Political Science episode is about Jeff blustering.  Starting at the table, where Annie comes back at his needle with a comment on his hair and abs.  He’s wearing leather and amping his condescension and god-like demeanor up to 11 even before she disses him*, at which point he moves to a 15. He literally suits up to win.  All his defense mechanisms are out, because he’s hurt.  And Annie slices right through him, ruthlessly.

I like the storeroom scene for several reasons (duh), but look at his face when she says she dropped out of the race.  It’s one thing for her to feel bad and apologize - he’s already taken the blame on himself, because he understands going to any length.  But she gave up something she wanted  because she hurt him, which is validation of her real affection.  Subsequently, they have a bonding moment, hug, and his smile fades, indicating more complex emotions than the mere resolution of conflict.  Then near kiss, all of which I argue is linked to a feeling of emotional intimacy - she wasn’t impressed by his bluster at all this episode, and she still likes him.

Bonus: when he reciprocates and admits that everything he pulled out was down to wanting her to think well of him.  Which in his mind is the physical and personality facade.  But Annie throws all that aside when she talks to him. 

“That’s why this happened.”  He doesn’t say “why I did this”.  Almost like he doesn’t have control, doesn’t know another way to react...

*Maybe he’s having an off day and needed validation, and she’s often an easy mark because she is easily impressed by him?

ACB

Really out in left field on this one, but as per Conspiracy Theories, Annie and Jeff are well matched on the deception front.  Quick timeline: Annie tries to recruit Jeff, he declines.  Troy gets cracked.  Jeff joins in.  Annie tries to drop it, Jeff refuses.  What if at some point during this Jeff figures out that Annie is the one behind it?  And he runs with it because he does enjoy the excuse to hang out.

And his call back in the finale was thus about them going to lengths to be together.

s6 Finale:

In Jeff’s marriage dream it’s when he says “I love you” that Annie turns away.  And it’s not being turned down at the revelation, in the context of his imagination he says it as a comfortable fact, something he’s said more than once.  Dunno where to go with this, just poking at how he avoids saying “I love you” - appropriately, but still.

[getreadytosmash]

Small smash headcanons I was thinking of and to put out my reboot designs

Skaar

Skaar took a more gladiator look from his time on Sakaar and no longer wears the loin cloth except for when he's on off days

His hair gets to around his upper back and often tends to be in buns and ponytails

Working on his reading and writing and gets help from Hulk and goes to the Xavier Institute for sessions with his mind control and memories

Got introduced to queer stuff by Rick and he was THRILLED to find out about this stuff and the footage of Skaar carefully picking out non binary, asexual and panromantic stuff was trending for a month

Yes I'm going into pridecanons a little more

Skaar's very happy with his own feelings of being nb. The rocks below him whisper about it always being fine and he doesn't need to care about what others say anyway. Not when they're too busy calling him a monster to care about his gender

Anyway. Skaar's sex neutral and I say this because its quite often the theory that all ace folks won't have kids blah blah but??? Some aces want sex to have kids and that's Skaar.

Ridiculously good sword fighter and often meets up with Nightcrawler and Shadowcat to have sword fights and compare tricks

Lots of whipping scars on his back and some around his mouth that hardly anyone knows are from

Has a matching scar with Red of a circle on the back of his neck as well as running lighting scars up his hands and feet with Rick, Red and Jen from where the Skrulls tried to harvest their gamma

Absolutely has the tattoo and has no clue about it

Occasionally has days where he can't remember the entire event and Skaar's become rather thankful that they can rely on Rick's cameras to guide him home if needed.

Adores the Savage Lands and is best friends with Kazaar and Zabu

Sometimes copies memes from Rick and it’s terrible

Likes having Jen help him with normal stuff, especially when she helps him learn stuff like reading and writing 

Rick

Yeah, can’t feel anything and that causes a few secret depression episodes aha 

Big on other sensory stuff now. Really likes to savour sights, sounds, taste and smells since he lacks a big ass part of it now. It really isn’t that uncommon for Rick to have a low of flowers within his bedroom and shit. 

Has to file down his spikes since they keep growing and often Hulk does it for him while Rick falls asleep

Rick needs a lot more protein now and often eats eggs or fish and gets into big fights with Red over it daily

Uses a stylish for everything since his fingers don’t work on touchscreens anymore

Often wears sleeveless jackets with different pins. Owns four of them with three of them entirely dedicated to alien, mutant and bi rights

Well known Youtuber and I really need to get around to writing some videos he’s done god someone remind me to put out that shit

Hardcore gamer and still screams at Samuel to help make a dating sim come oN-

Can hold his breath for an hour and a half and didn’t realise until he fell asleep in the bath and got woken up by Hulk panicking and tossing him out of the water

Very intent on mutant rights and often helps out with teenage mutants and raising the social status of the school 

Loves bi culture and is very defensive over aspects of his identity after years of feeling lost among the orphanages 

Has gotten more comfortable with his gender since he’s been wearing kilts and skirts for almost two years now

Used to have scars across his hands and thighs from years of canings from the nuns but now has a large cracked scar across his chest after Abomination ripped his shell off

Red unintentionally fathers him and blames Hulk 

Best pals with Jen and Betty and is the only one who gets to join them on Ladies Night with Lyra and Marlo

Stands on his tip toes when talking to Hulk often because he wants to be tall and it amuses Hulk to no end

Jen

Has a lot of different costumes she changes regularly and Rick always posts a vote on “What outfit has Jen got this week?”

Freckles and curly hair galore 

Hulk paints her nails and she does the same for him and it isn’t long before Skaar joins in

Works in New York but stays at Vista Verde for her time off

Yes i do want a all female gamma mutate team and yes they are A-force

They consist of Jen, Betty, Lyra, Carmilla and Marlo but are sometimes joined by other female heroes

Wears sweatband wrists, left one is the bi flag and the right one is the trans flag

Was afraid about being open towards loving women for a few years since Jen knew her father didn’t do anything about Bruce’s abuse, what would happen to her if Brian found out she liked more than boys? Came out after hulking out and is happier than ever

The same goes for being trans since Jen’s form is based heavily on her mentality of her body. Gamma gave Jen the body she wanted and she was SO pleased with it

tbh I do imagine she was more comic/noodle armed at the start since Jen wanted to look rather feminine but over time she’s gotten more comfortable with her body and idea of who she wants to be and slowly she got beefier 

Has two wardrobes at the base and makes Red help rearrange stuff for laughs

Pals with Samuel and often enjoys sitting around and dragging him out for shopping and starbucks while discussing cases

The one who appears in Rick’s youtube videos the most 

Can never finish a book and feels deep seeded adhd guilt

Sings outloud to every thing she hears 

Likes grape flavoured stuff and she is so thankful that she can’t die for that sin

BEST pals with Betty and Rick. Like. There’s a reason my “Betty is the OG Hulk and is a lil wlw with Jen” has happened honestly 

Has vitiligo patches of grey around her arms that were left over from her more traumatic transformations

Watches Red bake if she’s having a panic attack and the videos don’t help

Red

Has a lot of scars over his body from where Ghost Rider’s chain dug into him and left him burnt. idk seems really fucking cool

Like Jen, has yellow patches along his spine and hands from where he was joined mentally with Zzzax 

Still gets nightmares about said incident and is still scared for the day that a nightmare is actually happening

Started to bake because it helps from when he couldn’t control his heat powers or during ptsd attacks

Tends to get lost in work alongside Samuel, especially if they’re overly excited about a certain idea

Hulk fondly calls him a nerd for this exact reason and Red tackles him over it to this day

Tech reacts to him badly sometimes due to his possession issues and there’s been once or twice where he’s had some...odd experiences when it’s come to certain technology or alien tech

Stays the same mostly with his outfits but occasionally wears a leather jacket and fuck it takes his shirt off a lot he’s a dilf he can do that 

The one who crouches for humans the most and it isn’t uncommon for him to do it purely to unsettle the humans. Ass

Uh. Likes women but??? Sometimes there’s an annoying guy and shit being able to be easily suplexed now means that anyone who can do it can kinda catch his eyes and he fucked a demon- uh. Red has a lot of thoughts now about dating and it’s nerve-wracking

Still does missions with his Thunderbolt team and still hangs out with Hell’s Circle team when he met others that had been dragged down to hell as well

Gets courted by vampires and hates the fact that the others laugh at it 

Gets nightmares of crashing, of electric burning him away but doesn’t want to admit to the fact that he has some ptsd 

Not really Red but fuck it Betty has her own team and I’m shifting the Gamma Corps for Betty so her team involves; Betty (Harpy), Marlo (Sirin), Clay (Hulkverine), Lyra (Athen), Carmilla (Scorpion) and Gwen (Daydream) 

Right. Uh. So for those who don’t know who Daydream are, basically the writer at this time had been going through a bad divorce and he treated Betty like SHIT which involved breaking Bretty up before they could have a child, making Betty suffer a miscarriage, killing her and having the villain Nightmare raping her in her sleep and having Betty give birth to Daydream who appeared for one arc and was never seen again. So. I’m mad. 

anyway fuck him but I did like Daydream so instead she was an experiment from gamma base as a unique weapon that got used to infiltrate the Agents sleep but was later on rescued along with the rest of the gamma experiments. Got adopted by Betty when she found out Gwen had her DNA and went “oh worm?” to getting a baby i have more thoughts about this but u know. carry on.

Hulk

So Tired. Part time team leader and Avengers and even has his many own adventures of trying to help so many people out

I imagine he has a lot of the same issues as Steven in suf where Hulk often stresses out more about not being able to help people since he worries about the worst case scenarios 

Gets forced to take days off by each of the team and appreciates it but dear god if he doesn’t get anxiety about the whole situation every time

SomeTIMES he wears a blue shirt but only sometimes and that’s if he’s actually prepared for missions. Also has boots Red got him but Hulk keeps those clean and safe instead

Team dad for a reason. Fathers anything he can get his hands on and well known for it enough that Rick and Skaar get him something for fathers day every year and Jen gets him goofy ties because she KNOWS he doesn’t throw them out

Pretty relaxed about being pan and yes he makes jokes about being attracted to kitchenware he’s THAT terrible Rick wants to die and not come back pls 

Buys a lot of pride stuff for the others. Skaar owns so many nb and ace colour chalks he needs help

Really wants to own a guinea pig but he’s worried about scaring it or not being around all that often to take care of it properly

Falls asleep through almost every movie that he usually starts one half of it one day and finishes it the next day

Meets up with Ben Grimm and Logan Howlett every Wednesday for a night out. Usually they do bowling, play cards or go out to eat. It’s isn’t uncommon for other heroes like Spidey or Gambit to join them occasionally

Has business lunches with Betty to discuss movements of gamma mutates that turns into a fun brawl because they’re immortal children

Keeps a whiteboard in his room so that he can have arguments with Joe and Bruce.

Samuel

Keeps his outfit relatively the same but adjusts it slightly so it isn’t the exact same outfit he wears back when he was evil

Tends to cover up more after he gains a power that lets him control people just by touch

Aware of this power and thus often awkwardly flitters when someone near him might be upset and keeps spare gloves or arm sleeves on hard just in case

Has the sharpest teeth of all the hulks and actually tends to file them down so he doesn’t need to “scare people off” when in reality he’s self conscious about his teeth and the fact that he keeps biting his tongue by accident 

Buys and redesigns Icarus’s cage every other month to make it more elaborate, is currently fighting the constant urge to buy more rats for this reason

Demiboy! Fine with what he is, doesn’t give a shit. He rules hell and he’ll send you there if you argue with him so who the fuck cares if Samuel wears dresses and makeup?

Big stupid bi. Cannonly into women who are more powerful than him with examples being Rikki (Aka Brilliance, a female Leader) who kicked his ass and threw him across the room with her more advanced mind, Betty Ross...who can blame him, and lately is that one scientist in Hulkverine who Samuel literally fell for within one night sksksk

Big manipulator for people he cares about. Samuel has and will make elaborate plans to keep someone he cares about safe and is more than willing to kill anyone who has hurt his loved ones

Owns a large collection of nail polishes and tends to vary them when he’s bored and creates amazing art. Red watched Samuel once spend and hour re-creating all of Van Gogh’s paintings on his nails

Really good friends with Betty surprisingly, mostly because she can make jokes about being dead and he’ll just snort and go “same” 

Has the second best sense of smell after Skaar as he can smell early signs of sickness as well as a wider range of emotions

Info dumps so much and has long winded theories about the oddest things that resonate really well on the Youtube channel

talks to his oversized rat so seriously

Suffers nightmares and currently runs the Down Below and is so tired

Has actually died from exhaustion twice already 

Has large sockets in his back due to the fact that Samuel physically cannot hold the information he knows all the time and uses it to charge his phone

Still hangs out with villains like Loki and Mystique tho

[just-some-gt-trash]

"I can't believe you're wearing my clothes" for a size swap between a giant and a tiny ??

Okay, I might have created a new au-

I swear it was just a simple story, and even if it’s short, it now has a whole story behind so if you want to know more feel free to ask!

Also wow, two stories on a day? I had way too much free time today-

Ships: Royality and Analogical

———————————————————————————————————————

How had this happened was yet to be determined, neither of them had done something out of the ordinary.

Patton had worked on the bakery as usual, alternating with Roman between backing and attending the costumers.

Logan had done his borrowing trips with Virgil, they both had to admit that living with the humans knowing about them was not so bad, they often left some food out for them and it made their lives easier.

Everything was normal the day before, but today, somehow, both Logan and Patton woke up with their sizes switched.

Virgil freaked out when he saw an unknown borrower on their house and his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, but he calmed down when he recognized Patton, only to freak out again, having no idea why he was borrowed sized.

Roman was just as confused when the man on the bed by his side was not his fiancé, and Logan was even more confused, they both figured out what was happening, getting to the conclusion that Patton must have been on Logan’s place.

They confirmed that theory when Virgil and Patton showed up on the kitchen, Roman scooped the shrunken man up and held him close to his face, giving him little kisses an rambling about his new size and how cute he was.

On the other hand, Virgil, who still wasńt that close to the humans, was a little overwhelmed when he saw Logan, he knew the man he loved was still there, but it was hard to see him as something you had feared your entire life, Logan knelt next to the kitchen counter, getting eye-level with his boyfriend and comforted him smiling and speaking softly until he calmed down.

Roman and Virgil offered to look around the bakery and the walls for a posible answer while Logan and Patton talked, once they were alone, they decided to get changed, since both of them were still on their pyjamas.

Logan guided Patton trough te walls until he got to the borrower’s house, he used Logan’s clothes and came out to indicate Logan where his stuff were.

“I can’t believe you’re wearing my clothes” Patton said looking up at Logan, both borrowers wore darker shades on their clothes, but Patton’s clothes were always pastel sand soft colours, so seeing Logan with that style was weird.

“We somehow switched sizes, and the clothes changing is what you’re surprised about?”

Patton huffed “I guess I’m trying to stop focusing on that”

Logan smiled softly “That’s understandable, I still don’t know why you put my tie on, I just use it because I like it, but you don’t have to”

“But is to complete the look!” Patton said spinning “I wouldn’t be dressed as you without it!”

“You’re not dressed as me Patton, you’re just using my clothes”

“It can be both, but I can take it of if me using it bothers you”

“I didn’t say that, I just think is unnecessary to wear it” Logan said, adjusting Patton’s rounded glasses on his face “I think the best option is to catch up with our couples” he said, leaving his hand on the desk for the now borrower to climb on “Let’s go downstairs and see if Roman had any luck.

Patton nodded and got on top of the now human’s hand, he had to admit being this size was exciting, but that didn’t mean he wanted to stay like that, Patton just. Hoped they could fix this before his wedding with Roman.

[ohaewz]

tv-show questionnaire tag 🔖

ーi was tagged by the lovely @sarcwat thank youu, sweetie!💞🌸✨

rules: pick any 5 shows (without looking at the questions), then answer the following questions. don’t cheat! and tag some people.

2gether

tharntype

until we meet again

theory of love

why ru

• who is your favorite character in 2? definitely type. the contrary of his personality and of course, the development of it are the things that i like about him. the pure honesty toward himself such as the acknowledgment of mistakes that he has made and learning from them or even his own way of loving and understanding someone are one of the sides that i like. i mean, he knows himself, i remember that he was saying:”yes i’m a straightforward, hot-tempered etc. / but this is me.” and plus, by having all these sides, he tries to change and soften himself, although he is so soft in deep, through walking in his new and beautiful road with tharn. and also, generally being in denial to something like an emotion that he feels because of his shyness is so cute! i like how so natural and realistic he is.

• who is your least favorite character in 1? i wanna say mil. we’ve seen him just a few episodes but i don’t find good about how he behaves i guess. yes, there is an increasing lenience to phukong as time passes -which is so sweet, but i think there are still wrong things that he does and has. i want to see development of himself, hopefully.

• what is your favorite episode of 4? oof, wait it’s a hard question. i might have forgetten some scenes but, the one in which khai confesses his love to third by giving the same sincerity to him, like the way third did with the reference to love actually “to me you’re perfect.” scene. and at that time his speaking about how he feels and answering the question of “what is love?” by emphasising how so special and specific it is and after that giving him the necklace, again.. yes, absolutely this scene is one of my favourites, it is so touching. i suddenly remember how i felt while watching😔🤧

• what is your favorite season of 5? there is only one season of why ru right now hehe

• who is your favorite couple in 3? *cries, screams, jumps, heart’s broken* inkorn inkorn and inkorn! their relationship involves its own both matte and vibrant colours just like the lively and sweet personality of intouch and the withdrawn and dignified one of korn. therefore, the affection between them was deeply so passionate. they were the right ones and souls that complete each other.

• who is your favorite couple in 2? i love our main couple tharntype very much, but also we have khlui and seo!! they were so lovely!!

• what is your favorite episode of 1? ah.. another hard question.. i’ll go with the episode 7 in which the story that we have seen and virtually lived with them was explained wholly. i can talk every each episode one by one but, this holds the major status in my eyes. a reciprocal confession of love and pleasant feelings to each other that both sarawat and tine have, yes.. i’m still crying over this.

• what is your favorite episode of 5? probably, episode 8 where saifahzon hugs to each other and reveal their feelings by giving a kiss. and also when fighter wears a koala costume and lends a hand to tutor, these were so cute!

• what is your favorite season of 2? the second season is forthcoming, let’s wait and see🤓

• how long have you watched 1? from the very beginning, the first episode. so, it’s been a while i guess. and we have some episodes left, the reality of which breaks my heart into pieces. that’s why i’m currently thinking a bing watching🤤

• how did you become interested in 3? oh it happened when i was watching theory of love. while scrolling down on my youtube page, i saw it as a recommendation in there and wrote it in my watching list. and after a few days, a friend of mine messaged me that she had started watching and insisted on me to watch.

• who is your favorite actor in 4? third being delicate and sensitive; the sadness which he only shared with his own soul have inevitably reached me, but also after having met his love -the genuine love, evoking the most peaceful, gentle and thoughtful person inside by complimenting a big part of the quest of map of himself; thereby attaining the growth.. yes, i say khai.. he has an important place in my heart.

• which one do you prefer 1, 2 or 5? undoubtedly and undeniably 2gether the series, period.

• which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3? once again 2gether. i must have watched every episode at least twice or third times asdsjdd. i’m so into with this series, it’s perhaps my ultimate fave since i am a freshman in bl series.

• if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? i suppose.. umm.. third? because i want to perceive and understand how it feels like to have someone in your life that you love from bottom of your heart.

• would a cross-over between 3 and 4 work? uhm.. it might be? unless.. no, i cannot imagine right now, i couldn’t create anything in mind kshdjssh

• pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple: have no idea but what about seeing air or fong with someone else? i love these two🥺

• overall, which show has the better storyline 3 or 5? i’ll definitely go with until we meet again. the mythical belief of red thread and the whole storyline is quite well and impressive.

• which has better theme music, 2 or 4? i love both, can’t choose,, “be mine” is vivacious whereas “getsunova” is just like rainfall in a warm day. both good, both nice!

ーi’m tagging: @seren-ii @altgulf @inkorns @saratinne and @musicdramalove ✨🌻 also, anyone else who wants to do it could say that i’ve tagged them 💫

[dccomicsnews]

Review: THE FLASH #750

  [Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Marv Wolfman, Scott Lobdell

Artists: Rafa Sandoval, Stephen Segovia, Scott Kolins, Francis Manapul, Riley Rossmo, David Marquez, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund

Colours: Arif Prianto, Michael Atiyeh, Ivan Plascencia, Alejandro Sanchez, Luis Guerrero

Letters: Steve Wands, Rob Leigh, Joshua Reed, Deron Bennett, ALW’s Troy Peteri

  Reviewed By: Derek McNeil

  Summary

The Flash #750: Beginning: “The Flash Age”! The story we’ve been building toward since issue #50 comes to a head! While a supercharged Speed Force wreaks havoc on Barry Allen’s life, a new threat appears on the horizon in the form of the deadly Paradox. Destined to destroy the Flash’s legacy, Paradox sends his herald, Godspeed, to trap the Flash family! Plus, in this special anniversary issue: tales from across the generations of super-speedsters by an all-star lineup of writers and artists!

  Positives

In honour of the 80th Anniversary of the title, DC has reverted back to legacy numbering. Thus, The Flash #750 hits the stands this week instead of the expected 89th issue of the series. “Legacy numbering” means that if the title kept the same incremental numbering through every relaunch of the title, then the number would have naturally progressed to issue #750 with this very issue.

This covers the tenures of DC’s primary three Flashes, Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, and appropriately, all three are well represented in the six stories included. As the current star of the title, Barry merits three stories, while Jay and Wally each get a single, yet important story each.

This first, and main, story is the first chapter of regular series writer Josh Williamson’s “The Flash Age”. I really liked this story, as it mostly gives a break and allows us to catch up with the current status of Barry’s world and the people in it, before pushing into the next big conflict. This makes the story a nice jumping-on point for new readers as well as providing a neat wrap up of the previous story arc.

Most importantly, it shows that Barry and Iris are back together and that their relationship is as strong as ever. In fact, things seemed to be going so well, that when Iris said, “I have something to talk to you about. A surprise”, I was expecting that she might propose to Barry.

Positives Cont.

Unfortunately, this is where the impending conflict cut into the story. Godspeed interrupts this moment, taking Barry to face Paradox. Paradox then gives Barry a choice between giving up being the Flash or fighting for his life against Godspeed. This is where the story leaves off, giving us a rather effective cliffhanger to bring readers back for the rest of “The Flash Age”.

I also love that this story includes several instances of Central City’s citizens showing their gratitude to the Flash for saving their lives or helping them in other ways. It’s a nice touch for an anniversary story. Plus, it provides a nice counterpoint to Paradox’s claims that Barry has been endangering everybody by the effect his powers have had on reality itself. Hopefully, this will help Barry realize that the good he has done outweighs any damage he has caused.

In the second story, Geoff Johns bring us an interesting little tale featuring Captain Cold, set during Wally’s tenure as the DCU’s primary Flash. In this story, we see that what Wally assumes that Cold goes on a rampage for the sole purpose of infuriating Wally.

However, the story shows us that the “rampage” came about unintentionally. Cold merely stumbled into the midst of an armed robbery when shopping at his local corner store. Through a series of misunderstandings, he finds himself in the middle of a confrontation with the Keystone City Police. While this doesn’t excuse Cold for his crimes, this does show how easy it is for events to quickly get out of control for a villain in the DCU.

Positives Cont.

The next story, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato features Barry examining the question of whether the Flash has to be Barry Allen. He does this by using a previously unseen power to send his consciousness through other timelines where somebody else became the Flash instead of him. In each timeline, he finds that someone admirably fills the role of the Flash. He arrives at the moral of the  “Even if it doesn’t have to be me… I”m glad that it is”

However, I have to wonder why the examples of Wally and Jay aren’t enough evidence that that someone else could serve as the Flash other than Barry. I would have thought either would be proof enough to settle the question.

Marv Wolfman, the man wrote the story of Barry’s death in Crisis On Infinite Earths, returns to the character to tell of an interesting encounter between Barry and the Mirror Master. The interesting conceit of this story is that the Mirror Master’s mirrors in the story enact various transformations upon the Flash’s body. These transformations allow artist Riley Rossmo to revisit some of the bizarre transformations over the years, such as the time Abra-Kadabra turned Barry into a walking wooden puppet.

Next, regular writer Joshua Williamson gives us a story of Jay Garrick, set in the title’s inaugural year, 1940. The story centres around an encounter between Jay and the Thinker. However, the most intriguing bit of the story is when a mysterious figure, presumably the Reverse Flash, whispers in Jay’s ear, “They’ll forget you Jay Garrick. I’ve seen your future…”.

Positives Cont.

This seems to be setting up a future storyline involving Jay and the Reverse Flash, which is further borne out by the blurb at the story’s end. This blurb promises, “To be continued in The Flash in 2020″. Unfortunately, this seems to imply that we won’t see the followup immediately, but it is coming relatively shortly.

Also, I noticed that the image on that page also shows Wally and Bart. I hope this means that we will be seeing a full reunion of the Flash Family when this story continues.

Finally, the entire creative team for the Flash Forward miniseries returns to provide an epilogue to that miniseries. Writer Scott Lobdell  continues where that story left off, creating a bridge between it and the upcoming Generation Zero: Gods Among Us and subsequent Generation One to Five specials.

While little is known about this upcoming event, it has been speculated that it will involve a major shift in DCU continuity. That speculation seems to be borne out in this story, where Wally, now wielding the power and knowledge of the Mobius Chair, exams the current state of the DC Universe’s continuity.

It has been my theory for a while now that the time itself is unravelling in the DC Universe, and this story confirms that. Wally looks through his own personal timeline and sees that multiple contradictory events seem to concurrently exist in the current continuity. The original Silver Age origin of the Teen Titans happened as Wally remembers it, but the New 52 Teen Titans also exist as the first group to call themselves by that name.

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The Flash #750 1940s Cover

The Flash #750 1950s Cover

The Flash #750 1960s Cover

The Flash #750 1970s Cover

The Flash #750 1980s Cover

The Flash #750 1990s Cover

The Flash #750 2000s Cover

The Flash #750 2010s Cover

Positives Cont.

I must also interject that it’s great to see that Wally remembers the original Teen Titans costumes, and not the New 52/Rebirth re-imagined versions of the original outfit – even down to Robin’s short pants.

Wally confronts Tempus Fuginaut about the state of the DCU, stating, “Everything. Time. Space. Reality. It’s all broken. It all risks collapse”. And if there is any doubt about the severity of the situation in the reader’s mind, the story itself drop many significant keywords that indicate big reality-changing events in DC history: “Crisis”, “Flashpoint”, “Doomsday”, “Rebirth”, and others.

Truly, the DCU is reaching an important turning point. But there we are given ample reason not to dread this. When Fuginaut asks if Wally is up to the task of repairing this damage, Wally West, the DCU’s symbol of hope and rebirth replies, “My name is Wally West. I’m the Fastest Man Alive. I sit on the Mobius Chair. The power of a God races through me. So yeah. I got this”.

This speech gave me chills and reassures me that whatever the Generation special lead to, it bodes well for the future of the DCU.

Besides the amazing lineup of artists in each of the stories, there are also fine selection of pinups, as well as the multitude of gorgeous variant covers. I love the look of the decade covers. Especially, with the care taken to match the title logo and DC symbol for each time period. DC does pull out the stops to make sure these anniversary events look truly amazing.

    Negatives

However, there is a nasty side to all these variant covers. This is a book with a $7.99 cover price. But with ten different covers (including the blank cover), that’s almost 80 bucks. Now I didn’t mind this when Action Comics and Detective Comics reached issue #1000. That’s a once in a lifetime milestone. Now DC is doing the same for Wonder Woman and The Flash reaching #750, which is a bit much, but okay. But DC has announced similar 80th Anniversary events for Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, and Green Lantern. That’s one or two of these expensive specials a month. Such a cash grab is excusable when it is once in a blue moon, but DC is venturing into the realm of highway robbery. Please, DC! Have mercy on my bank account!

  Verdict

  Review: The Flash #750 Review: THE FLASH #750 Writers: Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato…

[scribeofmorpheus]

Safe by My Side

Paring: Dean Winchester x Reader

For the SPOOKTOBER 2018 Competition

Requested by @smallmarvel : For your Halloween fic celebration, could I request a little Dean Winchester x reader where they go to a haunted house and Dean is acting all cool but one of the jump-scares get him? And the reader ends up "protecting" him in the haunted house even though Dean said it'd be the other way around.

Words: 3167

Warnings: Playful teasing, uhhh??? Maybe pining? Maybe?

A/N:  I wanted the reader to have this playful (almost flirtatious) banter between herself and Dean and I’m not sure if I succeeded but I loved making Cas pop out of nowhere and trying to make it a little more outrageous each time. I sorta changed up the jump scare bit, but it still kinda counts. I haven’t written anything Dean-centric in years so I may be rusty, this was written with the younger, less tortured Dean in mind.

The younger Winchester brother had dark circles under his eyes and was buried beneath a mound of papers and books. He looked exhausted.

"According to the news reports, several people were found dead after visiting a Haunted House attraction in Iowa. Eyewitnesses say they all just collapsed and turned pale. The current theory is that they all suffered from cardiac arrest," Sam informs you and Dean about the latest string of strange deaths that caught his attention. "Which is odd because all the victims seemed perfectly healthy."

Dean offered a cup of coffee to Sam -who accepted it graciously- before he took a sip from his own steaming cup, he looked far more rested than Sam, although you could tell he too was not at his best because he had let his scruff grow out more than usual. You had opted for tea that morning in fear of having a caffeine overdose -your hands were shaking plenty as it was.

"Young, healthy people suddenly dying of heart attacks… sound familiar to you?" Dean quirked a brow at his brother, undoubtedly a reference to a previous case they had worked. "We thinking Reapers again?"

Sam simply shook his head, "Official reports said heart attack, but have you ever seen a heart attack do this?"

Sam pointed at his computer screen and both you and Dean leaned in closer to get a better picture. An image of one of the victims was on display on an online forum run by fans of the occult. The image showed a young man, skin drained of almost all colour, his eyes red and hair a ghostly shade of white. A look of pure horror frozen onto his face as his lips were permanently set in a forever scream.

"Yikes," was all Dean said.

"Yikes indeed, which also means cause of death is not a heart attack or a Reaper."

"Wait, so what you're saying is that this demon or whatever it is, is literally scaring people to death?" You asked, slightly ruffled by the idea of being scared to death. Chills, unwelcomed, crawled up your spine and caused gooseflesh to spread over your skin.

Dean noticed you shiver slightly. His cheeky smile was obscured by his coffee mug.

"Don't worry Y/N, I'll keep you safe," he nudged you playfully with his elbow, and despite the teasing tone, you noticed a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

You rolled your eyes and let out a soft sigh, serving out your signature blend of exasperation and sarcasm. You tried really hard to hide the small smile that tugged at your face muscles but being around Dean always made you feel more vulnerable, exposed. It also made it so you'd have to constantly fight off the blush in your cheeks and the dazzled glint in your eyes every time you were close to him.

You had been an ally to the Winchester brothers for going on two years, and even though you and Dean had undeniable chemistry (like two magnets pushing and pulling against each other), neither of you dared explore it further.

They were hunters and, even though it wasn't by choice, so were you. Besides, Hunters rarely got their happily ever after. And in all honesty, you weren't sure you'd be able to survive it if anything ever happened to Dean while you guys were together.

"The mighty Dean Winchester, my hero..." you teased him back after you managed to compose yourself.

The two of you held eye contact for a while until Sam awkwardly cleared his throat, making you jump a little as you took a seat next to him to look over several newspaper articles on his laptop. An article headline revealed that the house attraction was located on carnival grounds.

"Oh, Sammy-boy, carnivals. Best keep you away from those clowns," you joked.

Sam smiled a little before putting on a serious face, "Please, stop calling me Sammy-boy."

"Not a chance!" you wiggled your brows playfully as you took another sip of your tea.

"The day Y/N stops calling you Sammy-boy, is the day Dean gives up pie," Cas chimed in nonchalantly from the upper floor of the bunker. You and the boys gasped from freight, not expecting Cas to pop out of nowhere like he always does.

"Jesus, Cas! We talked about this. If you keep on popping out of thin air unannounced I'm going to have to put a little bell on your neck so we know when you're around!" You lectured the adorable trench coat wearing angel. He gave you a confused and apologetic look.

"Where would you find a bell large enough? I apologise, Y/N, I simply came here for this book," he held up a book he previously didn't have in his hands and without a word of warning, he blinked back out of sight.

"Oh, and one more thing," Cas popped back in front of you. "Hold onto this for me." He handed you a small ancient looking pendant and then disappeared again.

"Sure," you replied to thin air. "Aaand he's gone."

"Well, that was a very insightful visit..." Sam deadpanned.

"So, everyone up for a road trip to Iowa?" Dean tossed the keys to the Impala gently in one hand.

Sam grumbled, obviously not too keen about the prospect of running into clowns, especially since it was the Halloween weekend. You, on the other hand, were slightly more optimistic. You got to solve a case and celebrate Halloween with two out of three of your favourite people, Cas was away handling 'angel duties' as he had put it. You hadn't seen him in one place for longer than 5 minutes in almost two weeks.

***

When you finally arrived in Iowa and got settled into a quaint but minimalistic motel, you and the boys decided to go to a diner to get something to eat.

"So what's the plan?" You asked as you watched Dean stuff his face with the most outrageously sized burger you had ever seen while Sam gulped down his first cup of coffee of the day.

"Well I was planning on doing some more research at the motel," Sam informed you.

You smiled into your coffee cup, stifling your laugh before it could surface. Sam rose an eyebrow at you while he moved his salad about with his fork.

"What?" He asked feeling a little self-conscious.

"Afraid of running into any clowns, Sammy-boy?"

Dean smiled like a smug squirrel with cheeks full of food at your jab.

"No, just afraid of being stuck with the two of you while you trade flirtatious banter."

Dean choked on his food and your eyes went wide as a blush spread across your face.

“Well that sure as hell shut you up,” Sam leered with delight at his quip.

Once Dean finished with his burger he added: "So I guess that means you and I are going monster hunting."

You turned to him with some alarm in your expression, "Wait… but we don't know anything about this monster. Or how to kill it. If we even can kill it!" You whisper shouted.

Dean rose one brow and tilted his head with a suggestive smirk, "Don't worry. I promised to keep you safe, didn't I?"

You leaned closer to him, "Dean Winchester, my knight in shining armour." You teased

Sam groaned into his coffee.

"Oh, brother..." He whispered before looking towards a waitress and saying: "Check please."

***

"So what's the plan?" You asked Dean as you made your way towards the haunted house.

"I was kinda just going for See monster: attack it."

You shook your head, "Not a plan for that. A plan for that." You pointed at the flashing lights blinding patrons from the windows, blaring otherworldly recordings of screams and cackles next to dozens of paying visitors dressed in costumes of all shapes and sizes.

Finding the real monster on an ordinary occasion would be difficult as is since you didn't know what it looked like, but with the added difficulty of everyone being disguised, that elevated things to near impossible. Not to mention the obvious jump scare attractions and disorienting lights and sounds blaring from the PA system.

Having a third pair of eyes would have been beneficial, but Sam doing research was equally important if you wanted to figure out how to kill this monster.

You unknowingly huffed with exasperation, not looking forward to the cat and mouse act that was undoubtedly going to play out.

Dean didn't seem as bothered by all the potential problems that could arise and simply gave you a nonchalant shrug. "Well in that case, how about: hear a scream, run in that general direction?"

You clapped sarcastically, "Bravo, good to know we're all in good hands."

"Oh, you wish you knew how good these hands were," Dean winked.

You gasped before playfully jabbing his side, making him clutch his side with a coughing laugh, "Ow, your elbow is so sharp… and bony."

“It’s sharpened by years of having to listen to your terrible excuse for wit, Winchester.”

“Wow, Y/N! You wound me?” He placed his hand on his heart dramatically.

“Come on Romeo,” you shook your head at his theatrics. Dean was always more playful around you. You loved that feeling, knowing you brought out a side of him people rarely saw.

As you made your way through the entrance a glum-looking attendant stopped you with a cardboard Stop sign.

"Fifteen dollar entrance fee beyond this point. Halloween special weekend requires patrons to be in costume for free entry." He delivered his lines in a very drowsy monotone, clearly unhappy at his current employment.

"Fifteen dollars?" Dean barked in disbelief, his mouth agape when he looked at you with shock.

"I've got this," you whispered to Dean as you sauntered over to the attending clerk and gave him a heart-melting smile. The clerk didn't look up from his desk so you cleared your throat. He finally looked up, his face caught off guard by the charming smile you had on.

"My friend and I didn't know we had to wear costumes, you think you could, maybe, let it slip... Just this once?" You flipped your hair. When he looked like he wasn't going to budge, you leaned closer and dragged your finger against his name tag. "Please Chad. It would mean the world to me!"

"I'm not supposed to… Company policy," he shrugged apologetically.

You leaned closer and whispered as though you were conspirators, "Aww, come on Chad. I'd be really grateful."

The clerk blushed and stammered a bit, "I- I wish I could but..." He averted his gaze, too shy to look you in the eye for too long.

Dean grumbled disapproving beside you, it sounded a little jealous to your ears. You would be lying if you said that didn't make you feel a little wily

You over exaggerated your pout. Then you saw a stack of name tags laying on his desk. "Hey, can I borrow those?" You pointed at the stack of name tags.

"S-sure..." he handed them to you.

"And a pen?" You batted your eyes innocently. Chad handed you his pen.

You jotted down two names and stuck them on your and Dean's jackets. Yours said 'God' and Dean's said 'Lucifer'.

Dean just gave you a very unimpressed look and you simply wiggled your eyebrows, "What? Too soon?" You joked.

You turned back to the attendant, "Now we're in costume."

The clerk looked between you and Dean and then back to the name tag stuck to your left breast pocket of your jacket, "I guess that counts."

"Thanks, Chad!" You winked gleefully as you made your way into the haunted house.

You heard the clerk whisper something to himself and then Dean cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Chad, eyes back on your magazine pal."

You beamed at his overprotective streak.

***

As you searched the house, slightly tense with anticipation of some sort of scream or attack, you and Dean made small talk as you walked from one overly dramatized room to the next.

"So, you and Chad were chummy. You gonna ask him out on a date? Maybe hunt a poltergeist." Dean huffed, pretending he wasn't jealous.

"No, definitely not." You said straight-faced. Dean's green eyes lit up as a smile danced across his lips. "Vampires are more appropriate for first dates!"

Dean's smile faltered and his ears turned red slightly. You snickered.

You twirled to stand in front of him, "Oh please, Dean Winchester. You know I only have eyes for you." You jabbed, imitating your flirtatious eyelash bat from before.

Dean sighed as he ran his hands through his well-maintained scruff, but then he saw something that made him grin. With curiosity, you turned around and yelped with sudden freight.

"Fuck!" You gasped as a giant animatronic scarecrow looked down upon you.

Dean laughed, holding his sides. "You should see your face."

You punched him playfully, "Jerk! You know I hate scarecrows!"

Dean parried your playful punches and ended up griping you cross-armed against his chest. He didn't notice how tightly your back was pressed to his chest until he felt your body move along with the resounding vibrato from his deep laughs.

He let you go and cleared his throat, his hands unsure of whether to stuff themselves in his jeans or his leather jacket. You wiped the awestruck look from your face and tried to let the smell of the smoke machine wash his musk away from your brain. It was futile. You tried to return to your playful demeanour from before.

"Come on, Mr Funny Guy. Let’s go before I beat you to death with this guy’s robotic arms," you pointed to the scarecrow, making sure your eyes didn't land on its face.

"I'm shaking in my boots."

You scowled at him in faux anger and he shrunk his neck and held up his hands.

"Ladies first," you urged him to open the door.

Dean complied and as soon as the door swung open, a creepy 6 foot Easter bunny with different sized red eyes and blood-stained teeth popped from its hidden trigger switch -a bloodied fake knife in one hand.

Dean laughed at the jump scare and turned to give you a triumphant look. As soon as he did he shouted, "Jesus, Cas!" as he stumbled onto the floor from surprise.

Cas was practically covered from head to toe in black ooze. His clothes partially singed and his torso home to two daggers.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dean asked from the floor.

"Hell happened," he said monotonously before turning to you and asking, "Do you still have that pendant?"

"Yeah," you fished it out from around your neck and handed it to him.

"Thank you. Oh and be careful, I'm pretty sure the only thing that can kill your monster is a ceremony dagger blessed by a witch doctor steeped in alligator blood."

"Alligator blood?" You asked. "Where would we get--"

Cas pulled out a 9-inch knife and handed it to you.

"Thank Sam," was all Cas offered in response before blinking out of existence.

You waltzed over and kneeled next to him, offering your hand. "Don't worry Dean, I'll keep you safe from the big, bad killer Easter bunny… Oh, and the harmless trench coat wearing angel too."

Dean tried to hide his smile when he picked up the irony of your words, but you saw it nonetheless. He accepted your hand, but before you could help him to his feet he pulled you down towards him and cupped your face close to his. And after a tantalisingly long pause, he kissed you passionately, knocking the air right out of your lungs. When your kiss broke your lips were partially kiss-swollen and your face had a blank expression. He had literally rendered you speechless.

"So that's what that’s like," He said hoarsely.

"What?" You asked in a splendorous daze, your whole body tingling.

Dean smirked, "A moment of quiet."

You were snapped out of your moment of elation by his retort and scowled at him again, slapping his chest as you untangled yourself from his strong arms.

"Oof!" He protested.

"Ha ha, Winchester," you helped him off the ground. 

When you were standing close together again the both of you tried to hide your blush when it dawned on you both what just happened. You both stepped away from each other clumsily, averting your eyes from each other's faces.

"We've got some hunting to do." You said frantically as you practically shoved the knife at him, storming ahead as you tried to shake the memory of what just happened away.

After some uncomfortable silence, Dean tried to lighten the mood again, "Are you blushing under that scowl?"

You rolled your eyes, "Say's the guy who was jealous of Chad!"

"I wasn't jealous of Chad!" He denied your allegation childishly, waving the sharp knife around dangerously causing you to bob around the knife.

"You know, I don't know how I feel about someone as jumpy as you swinging that sword around."

"It's not a sword and I'm not jumpy!" He waved the dagger again causing you to duck this time.

"I dunno, at this point I feel like I'd be safer with Sam by side. Clown phobia and all!" You quipped.

"Yeah, unless our monsters happened to look like scarecrows or clowns, or both!" He retorted. “Clownish Scarecrows! Ooh, Scarecrow Clowns! Wouldn’t that be something?”

You sighed and turned to Dean. Leaning close to him so he let his guard down. He stalled for a moment, unsure of what you were about to do.

The energy between the two of you had shifted, become more electrified now that you both knew what kissing the other felt like. Your toes were still tingling, but now wasn't the place to address his rash actions and your equally rash acceptance of them. When your lips were merely a hairsbreadth away, you snatched the giant knife and used his weight to flip him onto his back.

"Nevertheless, I still think it'd be better if I took over the role of the knight in shining armour." You said sweetly while he grunted from the impact of the fall.

"You know, it may be nice to be the damsel in distress for once," Dean joked as he picked himself up.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"After you." You replied.

***

After that night, you and Dean had found it increasingly easier to share more quiet moments together, much to Sam’s chagrin since he usually had to deal with your blatant flirting and innuendos while he was around. Cas just found the whole situation confusing.

MasterList

[those-pink-specs]

So, um, yeah … I finally finished my great long rave about the Klámstrákur video … make of it what you will …

Maybe this is a load of hot garbage, but my starting point was what they’ve said about self-image and toxic masculinity.

But I reckon that if your toxic masculinity shows up in a latex crop-top and corset, there’s probably something interesting going on.

I had a quiet Sunday a couple of weeks ago, so I watched it really, really slowly and overthought the hell out of it.

Sssooo … tl;dr (because the bit after the cut is really long).

What if ..

·         the lighting and colours (and costumes) have consistent meaning, and are part of the storytelling?

·         it’s basically all an attack of angst in a bathroom: an internal power struggle with no clear winner?

·         everyone who appears is part of that person’s own psyche (except Einar, who is a memory)?

 I’m definitely not saying that any of my thoughts are a ‘right’ interpretation, or especially original for that matter. It was just fun to fit all the bits into a nice pattern that makes sense – at least to me.

[Even I’m quite surprised by how much I had to say about this in the end...]

Klámstrákur

The toxic-masculinity-in-a-corset interpretation

*TW: low key for discussion about anxiety and gender angst. Nothing heavy, but, hey, I know how easy they can be to set off at times …*

 So, this thing is Art and it can mean basically anything you want it to.

Most people see a narrative around sex work. The lyrics make it hard to get away from, in fact (though could be a metaphor for queerness – but never mind that). Anyhow, while I agree that sex work is the background, in my overthinky way, I don’t think the song is about that, precisely.

I like to overlay it with the idea that the two voices are the same person, and we’re mostly having a tour through his angst. This works okayish for the song on its own, but it’s much better in the video (or so I think).

Anyhow, we start in the bathroom. The scene is saturated in a deep, velvety red light. (I’m going to talk about lighting a lot.) A choir hums gently in the background. Our lad stumbles in, washes his face and has one of those ‘is that really me?’ moments in the mirror.

He shakes his head, as though trying to dispel bad thoughts – and that’s where we immediately go … and stay.

Bad thoughts.

We get a flash of Einar alone in a theatre. Then three nearly subliminal flashes of Matthías as we see him at the end. Only with his head in hands like this:

(Sorry for the shitty screen shot. Perfect gifs of this bit do exist, just not here.)

This has got to mean something, surely. It’s not there by accident. I pause to mention it now, but I’ll come back to it later…

 00:25 – … on stage…

A curtain brushes aside and we’re on stage. My interpretation is that the stage is his perception of the outside world and/or memory of the recent past.

Why? Because that’s where Einar is – and it’s the only place we see him. Einar is the only ‘outside’ person we see. So he’s being recalled and thought about as an audience. It’s a perfect metaphor for playing a role, as the outside world looks on. As I flippantly said on another post – Einar is the ‘male gaze’ on this rather ambiguous body. (I wrote it as a weird academic joke [‘male gaze’ is a feminist art theory thing], then went … oh wait … what if he is?)

And then … there’s that red light bathing everything in the theatre. I think the red represents (or reinforces) a concept. Possibly desire … for sex, sexuality, submission, androgynous or feminine expression … money, whatever – anything except the accepted norm for a nice cis-het bloke, basically.

We’re just 26 seconds in at this point – and our lad is recalling stripping off and dancing on his pole for Male Gaze Einar. But the recollection is starting to make him feel guilty, ashamed, anxious and sick (or just more so than he already was). He starts to panic, and think he’s dying – as you do. But he’s not really dying: it’s anxiety.

His thoughts start to circle. There’s a nightmarish hospital trolley – that he’s literally chained into (perhaps by the anxiety if we want to really push the metaphor – or at least by those serious-looking girls in catsuits). And then there’s the theatre where he’s dancing like the sinful, slinky mink he accuses himself of being.

The first time we see the trolley (at 0:59), it’s in a blue corridor –the first real change from the red – but as the other three in the scene approach, the trolley swings slowly back into a red corridor. Then, just as we get to the end of the intro … ég sé að deya (1:16)… back onto stage.

Don’t worry – I’m not going through the whole thing this slowly. In fact, for the first verse – where we’re hearing about what a degraded, weak little smut addict he considers himself to be – it’s mostly visual escalation. We cut between him being strapped tighter into the trolley in the red corridor, the stage, and a few shots of Male Gaze Einar starting to look … frisky…

At the end of the verse, it’s crisis time, because we get our first, momentous: Þú ert klámstrákur!!! … and so enters Matthías properly.

He’s mostly lit with blue. He’s wearing some very important pink specs (ahem) and a lab coat. And he is most certainly playing the part of ‘toxic masculinity’ as in internalised shame, guilt, and a self-hating need to conform to society’s expectations of maleness. He’s a part of our pole dancer’s psyche, though. Not someone else shouting at him: just his own desire to be someone else, to be another way. To be in control of himself. To not be gay or gender-bendy or a pole dancer … or whatever.

So I see something implied in the settings and lighting: red scenes, desire and immersion in the klámstrákur lifestyle; blue scenes, self-loathing and a need to control, purify and conform. And it’s a real tussle with … I think … no clear winner.

 01:45 … The spin out

I particularly like the next little bit.

Don’t look now, but between one bellow from Matthías and the next, we’re back on stage. And Einar has got a bit over-excited and is clambering over the seats. As in a dream, the pole has transformed into a chair full of pole dancer, and in one of the most memorable snippets, we get fingers tenderly/sexily making their way down Klemens’s chest.

Let’s enjoy a crappy screen shot of that for no reason at all:

[… oh my …]

And then that fabulous chair spin from the red stage to the blue clinic room (screen shots do not do it justice, so please just replay that bit in your head … I’ll wait …)

… Now how about this?

When he stumbled into the bathroom at the start – he was just starting to get anxious. And that bit with Einar was what set him off. Desire for some stranger. A touch. Something too gay or too … something … for his self-loathing part to handle. He panics, spins out and goes into cold self-hatred (blue clinic) needing to regain control, and to conform and purify.

And from the two minute mark – right through the next bit of verse where he lists all the things that ‘sometimes’ happen – that’s what’s going on. The list maybe be factual, or his fantasies, or angsty exaggeration, or some of each. It doesn’t matter, he seems to think he needs or deserves the treatment he’s getting, and submits to it wholly, like a góður drengur.

But – as I said at the start, that toxic masculinity in control of the situation is dressed a wee bit less masculine than you might expect. I mean – when you think about gender-panicky homophobes IRL, you don’t usually think latex crop-top and corset. But maybe it’s more about domination and control. This is the part of the psyche that seeks and exerts those things – so dominatrix chic may be just the ticket.

Anyhow, he’s bathed in the purity of that blue light, busily head-massaging away the gay, while screaming at himself for being filthy and disgusting.

[This is so fucking camp … why am I like this?]

 02:30 – ambiguity – or who’s the anxious one here anyhow?

From here on, things get really ambiguous and therefore really interesting.

New setting: this is a chamber with a nice pole in it, and windows so the Matthías character (now in a nice fluffy red coat that just screams ‘pimp’) and the serious girls in catsuits can watch at a safe distance.

And our pole-dancing boy is released from captivity for observation. And what happens then?

This …

Followed by this …

This little backward glance. An implied moment of eye contact.

What do you see? Is porn boy anxious? Unsure? Obedient?

Well, maybe.

But I like my queer boys a bit bolshy, so I see defiance. A look that says: ‘Think you can control me? Well game on, bitch.’

Because he really goes for it on the pole after that. Surely that lightning-quick crotch grab at 02:43, when he’s being called ógeðslegur karlmaður is a very clear ‘fuck you’!

[Really though?

Well why not?]

It’s easy to listen to the Eurosonic version and hear the Klemens voice suffer and panic, and just assume that he’s a victim. There’s no real story line to the lyrics, but the Matthías voice gets the last word, so we naturally suppose that our poor little filthy boy is somehow lost, or fighting a losing battle for survival.

But to me, the video evens things up a lot.

One of the reasons that I thought that both voices might be the one person even just in the live versions, was that the name-calling is so over-the top it seems kinda panicky. The video reinforces that – with the shouty voice being so obviously controlling. And the need to control is an anxious need. Internalised homophobia as a fear. So, Mr Shouty in the crop-top is as much an embodiment of anxiety as the filthy boy. Maybe more.

Because if they’re both inside the head of a lad having a panic attack in a bathroom, then it’s Mr Shouty who has caused it. He (Matthías) desperately needs to control his impulses (Klemens), maybe because he’s afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t.

[Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense to someone besides me.]

 Anyhow … back to the action … it’s game on, and the next bit (02:45 to 03:00) is a lot of shouting about filth and a whole lot of arse.

Uhm …

[well … quite …]

The battle pushes to-and-fro until we’re suddenly back here:

 What is this? Opening his pores? Who knows, but it’s a very cool effect. It definitely looks like punishment/purification (so very like opening one’s pores). The light is blue – just as hard and bright as before. No red in sight (there was a lot of red in the observation chamber – such was the power of the filthy boy’s wiggles). So control is seriously asserting itself again.

The struggle is real.

Now, from 3:02 – the really difficult bit – the couch:

The couch is long and low, lit blue and red at opposite ends with a homoerotic / bondage picture partly obscured by curtains. What does it signify?

The messages are really mixed, even just with Mr Shouty. He’s in his pimp coat screaming about his disgust, sometimes lit blue sometimes red – but he’s got filthy boy by the leash now.

So what is it? He hates himself, but he kinda gets off on being a slinky-mink pole dancer? It’s the same mixed message as the clinic outfit: ‘I’m your need to be a normal bloke – but I’m rocking this crop-top and corset look.’

Well … at risk of overdoing it by trying to fit everything together too neatly – what if the couch bits are about balance? Getting over the attack with a little give and take between the warring selves. Or something like that.

In the last minute, the war between clinic and pole is fierce – with interludes of couch.

When we see the couch we also see:

Porn boy’s leash being held, him dancing obediently and wearing more clothes. So less impulsive – under some control. The purifying ‘treatment’ has worked a bit. Pores cleansed.

Control freak still shouting but, as I said, he’s not looking like a dominatrix anymore – more like a pimp. So arguably, he’s secretly enjoying porn boy’s show while calling it filthy and disgusting. I think that’s the point – which I guess means that toxic masculinity also makes one a moralising hypocrite (‘that type: making a scene’ – though that’s not the official translation, sadly!). However, for now he seems comfortable watching – and he’s no longer trying so hard to control his filthy-boy self.

But, of course, the war isn’t over. How could it ever be, for an androgynous pole dancer with internalised homophobia and gender panic?

[Sounds horrible and I don’t recommend it. Just be a happy slinky mink and a cheeky sinful seal, that’s my advice.]

 So lastly …

This whole emotional-breakdown-in-a-bathroom theory would have been greatly assisted if we had even the tiniest throwback to the bathroom right at the end. But we (probably) don’t.

What we have instead, however, is a throw forward from those flashes of Matthías on the couch at 0:24 (I said I’d come back to that!). If I’m even vaguely right, then those flashes show the balance breaking down. The visual is of Matthías’s shouty half of the psyche – head in hands. What’s he feeling?

Our pole-dancing lad is staring at himself in the mirror at that moment, thinking of that excited audience member. His inner control freak, who had been moderately at ease with the dancing, and sitting on his comfy couch, is suddenly overwhelmed by guilt and flickers into breakdown … and it begins where it ends.

So it’s a cycle. Maybe.

Or maybe this is a load of hot garbage.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Sometimes I get things so right that I surprise myself and then I’m left feeling rather insane

I’m writing my costume meta and I went back to check what I’d written about the locker room scene and the Chris’s bedroom scene when the stills dropped and predicted that the locker room scene would be about buck and Natalia’s relationship and possibly about their break up and I said that the Chris bedroom scene was going to be Eddie leaning on buck about communicating complex family dynamics.

Locker room scene I said ; The only thing I can do is scream into the void about check theory because check does't bode well for people - they always end up in the middle of the drama (see my check theory posts linked on my pinned post for more) and while they come out the other side (99% of the time) Buck in check for that scene in 6x18 pretty much doomed his relationship with Natalia (its specific to her and not C&K's baby as Buck wasn't wearing it when he delivered it!) and as that shirt in the still is very un Buck like, has not only yellow ochre in it, but also its a white base (and we all know buck in white is a bad sign!!) and its check patterned - my theory is that this scene is connected to Natalia in some way - either Buck is not being true to him self in more than one way - that things are going to/have come to a head for their relationship (my kingdom for a reverse of Buck to Eddie about Ana in 5x03!!!) and lead to a pretty big change in some way (fingers crossed for Buck to end it and then finally break down and deal with his trauma!!!)

Some other things about that shirt - the colour combination - the green blue and yellow ochre are giving me call backs to coma Buck (another reason I think it might be connected to Bucks unresolved trauma around his death and Eddies absense in his dream)

And this for the bedroom scene where I’d already talked about Chris’s shirt playing into the grey one buck wore in the bedroom before Eddie flew to Texas - about complex family dynamics but expanded on the grey/ yellow shirts in combination;

I do want to add to this theory by looking at Christophers shirt as well. The grey/ yellow combination is a bit reminiscent of Breaking point (the episode that really is the gift that keeps on giving) because we get Chris in grey and Eddie in tan - that is yellowish toned whilst not actually being yellow

There isn't a good screenshot of them together, but the placing of Chris and Buck in the new one has echoes of Eddie and Chris in that scene (one that is interestingly enough playing into the idea of changing family dynamics, but also the moment before and the one that happens afterwards at Bucks loft, directly placing Buck into a parental role (as an aside the idea of Buck being a miracle worker plays into the theme of Eddie looking for magic, just saying!))

The wardrobe team never miss and I love them

[unsoundnerd]

I have Many Thoughts(tm)

Sanders Sides - Intrusive Thoughts Spoilers

Also - probably me being dead wrong about some stuff, but here’s my ramble:

With the Dark Side Virgil reveal, I’ve been seeing people theorizing that Virgil is the opposition to Logan - as Remus is to Roman, and Deceit to Patton - but I’d like to explore otherwise. While I do see the poetic difference between them, I think their opposites would be more direct. I would think of Anxiety’s opposite to be Carefree-ness or something along those lines; it would make sense that we haven’t seen that Side yet because he would obviously take a back seat to Anxiety but, more importantly, he may be a childishness that Thomas doesn’t want to accept he still has as an adult (meaning that this “childish” Side is hidden away from his core four like the other Dark Sides). While theorizing these “new” Sides, I imagine Logic’s opposite to be more like Insanity than Anxiety - that may be a hard topic to tackle (as was Intrusive Thoughts, to be fair) because that can easily verge into territory that stigmatizes mental illness. Regardless, Anxiety and “Insanity” would certainly be comparable as characters (again, making it difficult to phrase it as “Insanity” because of the actuality that this would be another Side that encompasses Thomas’ mental health issues), which plays into the opposing roles Logan and Virgil often have in episodes, almost paralleling the Anxiety/Logic opposition theory in that way, while also opposing Logan’s orderliness.*

And, to give kudos to the production team, I don’t think they would make Logan and Virgil, two fleshed-out main characters, one another’s Opposite Sides. Bear with me for a second: while watching the new episode, I initially thought Remus’ sash was yellow - a nod to Deceit as another dark side, I figured - but it’s not yellow at all, it’s actually green. The Dark Sides’ colours are (mostly) opposite to their counterparts on the colour wheel - Patton’s blue to Deceit’s yellow, Roman’s red to Remus’s green - the team knows what they’re doing with their costume design just as well as they do with their writing. Though the main Sides’ costume changes were quite a while ago, they were intentional, and I truly believe that they wouldn’t accidentally have this beautiful colour imagery just to have blue and purple be opposites. So, I think Virgil’s opposite would have an orange colour scheme, and Logan’s opposite would have a yellow-ish colour scheme, too (cue theorizing that Deceit, the embodiment of two-facedness, is the opposite to Morality AND Logic...).

Further on the production side of things, they have already introduced Anxiety as a villain and played through that storyline. It’s the same with Deceit - he was introduced as a villain and poses as a direct antagonist to the main Sides; he, arguably, is growing as a character (wanting to help Thomas see himself wholly in SvS, rather than just stir things up as he seemed to do in his first appearance) and I’m sure the writers have a character plot lined up for him. Remus, too, is introduced to us as a villain though we currently don’t really know about his character arc. Virgil, Deceit and Remus seem to be “evil” or “dark” characters that are deemed antagonists, but (I think) will all follow similar storylines where they are accepted as valid parts of Thomas. But, thus far, the Dark Sides are still (for the most part) villains, as they are the opposites to Thomas’ “good” Sides. Deceit and Duke are our only true look into the “Opposite Sides”, and they’re each used like a plot device - a character who can come and go as the writers need to deal with darker issues in the series while maintaining the dynamics of Thomas’ core four Sides - the main cast of the show. And it is truly a show at this point, not just a venting tool for Thomas. The showrunners know they need to have conflict to drive the overarching story of personal character development (meanwhile, Thomas grows as a person outside of these videos, too) and I can imagine they would keep with the theme of introducing the “Opposite Sides” for that. It’s a very character-driven series, and it’s really, really good.

Tl;dr - I’m excited to meet Logan and Virgil’s Opposite Sides

[mini disclaimer about my less-than-perfect wording under the cut]

*I don’t use the word insanity lightly, and I in no way mean to say Thomas is “insane” by any stretch of the imagination. I may be projecting my own feelings as another person with mental illness who very much relates to the Intrusive Thoughts episode, so maybe my viewpoint for theorizing on this is biased. That said, I understand fearing one’s own illness and, on the darker days, letting oneself fear any possible truth in the old school of thought that mental illness could become insanity - looking back on how mentally ill people were treated is kinda scary, and it’s easy to turn that fear into hate for your own mental illness (probably more so if it’s personified tbh). If they choose to explore this, it would be a very interesting storyline with potential for very interesting interactions between Virgil and this new Side. And I do subscribe to the theory that the “Dark Sides” aren’t actually evil or bad - just Sides that, internally, are easy to antagonize even if their motives aren’t bad per se - “Insanity”, whoever he may actually be, included.

Also, I’m talking about Thomas more as an in-series character here because, as much as the episodes are rooted in his personal experiences, it’s still a scripted show, and Thomas, as the creator of the show, has a third-person perspective that in-series Thomas does not. I have the utmost respect for Thomas as a creator (and otherwise, honestly) for sharing his experiences with us like this, and I mean to share my thoughts as someone who (at least somewhat) sees eye-to-eye on the figurative mental illness playing field. I can’t help but see myself faceted into “Sides”, too, and the Intrusive Thoughts episode (along with the whole concept of “Dark Sides” and learning to accept them, like Virgil) really resonated with me.

[dcbicki]

hi jo! so admittedly, i skimmed your trailer breakdown (which wow, extremely impressive that you got that much from it, half the stuff you pointed out is stuff i never would have noticed), so i might have missed this but i wondered if the kids (and later jonathan and nancy) are trying to investigate what happened to heather and that's whose house they're at from that one still? i saw at theory that the shot of el in the void looking like she's drowning could relate to them trying to figure out +

(cont.) what happened to heather, because it so closely mirrors the shot we have of heather seemingly drowning (also el doesn’t seem to be wearing the yellow shirt from the other void scene). this made me wonder if maybe when the kids are in the basement, that’s what they’re trying to figure out, which would answer why they might be at the pool (which is a great find, i assumed they were at the hospital already).

hey kate! so… there’s a lot to unpack here! :) this is gonna be an add-on of this post.

first off, i could definitely see the kids (and nancy/jon in their own storyline before they team up) trying to figure out what happened to heather via el entering the void. it makes sense given they need a mystery to investigate this season, and episode three is aptly titled “the case of the missing lifeguard”; so it makes sense to me that they’d use heather’s disappearance as the way to make the party/jancy/maybe even billy meet up. but i feel like that theory needs to be altered somehow.

[warning: potential spoilers below!]

in the shots of el in the void (where she isn’t wearing the yellow shirt, and i can’t believe i forgot to include these ones in my long ass rant, lol), she’s wearing a blue t-shirt and pants:

and not this *hello eighties* outfit we see her in when she’s (i guess pretty obviously) on the hunt for the truth with the rest of the party:

i guess it’s possible that both of these looks are worn on the same day (and that the girls just change after it starts raining or whatever), but it’s probably important to note that what she’s wearing in the void is the same outfit she was wearing in a scene with max near the community pool (that we’ve yet to see in any official capacity):

if they were filming at/around the pool, with the heather actress on hand, then maybe something happens while el and max are there (minus the rest of the party) that leads them to start asking questions. the fact that millie reportedly had a stunt double that day too just screams important! to me. they filmed this stuff when her knee was busted so i feel like el having scenes in water were shot around that same time.

my best guess at this point is that max and el are at the pool, and maybe they don’t even have to get in the water, but el can tell that something is amiss and she has a *vision* (kind of like in ‘holly, jolly’ when she sensed something was up with barb by simply looking at her picture) in which she sees heather drowning. she proceeds to tell max (hence her looking like she’s telling her something on those bts pics, and max’s “i’m all ears” face).

(that could definitely be el’s shoulder we’re looking over, especially since whoever it is is wearing blue. that part of the theory we totally agree on).

meanwhile, the boys are at the mall. i forgot to bring this up in my post also but someone pointed it out to me that finn, noah and caleb were seen filming outside the mall sometime around late may — remember the yellow shirt from hell that we all joked about? yeah, it made its debut here. and will’s striped tee? i’m gonna touch on that in a sec.

we haven’t seen anything of the whole group together while they were dressed like this aside from.. wait for it… mike and el in the poster!

even though el is wearing a lighter coloured t-shirt in the poster that contrasts better with the colouring in the background, i’m gonna go ahead and assume both of their respective outfits go hand-in-hand… literally.

so, basically, if we’re going off the #solvingherdisappearance theory, we’ve got:

el and max at the pool, where el can sense that something /bad/ has either happened or is going to happen and she channels heather in the void somehow (and we see her try to reach out to save her but it’s too late);

the boys at the mall while this happens (though they’re probably just watching “back to the future” or something), though there might be tension;

it rains at some point, possibly while the girls are walking home and the boys are outside of the mall, given the fact that will’s t-shirt in the aforementioned mall scene looks suspiciously similar to the one he’s wearing in that *emo scene in the trailer:

(thoughts? let me know!)

the party reconvene either later that same day (after the rain and hence why they’re all changed into different clothes), or the next day… i’m leaning towards it being a day later for narrative purposes and i assume it’ll be at the wheeler house;

el (and max) explain what happened and they agree that el should try and re-enter the void to find heather again:

they end up at heather’s house — possibly to try and find something of hers to channel her so el can try again?

but who do they run into there?

i’d actually be willing to bet they team up with jonathan and nancy at the wheeler home already (because we saw behind the scenes stuff of all seven of them filming there, in costume) and then they all head out together — hence why the family car is involved in later scenes) — and el only does *the look* when either one of the older two can’t get into heather’s house.

they split up: jancy go to the hospital for answers (and either bruce or billy factor in there) and the party go to the pool together this time:

i get that we’re not supposed to know they’re at the pool — i cracked that case for everyone — but it’s interesting to me that el isn’t in either shot… another void scene maybe?

thoughts? questions? let’s talk!

[hysydney]

A penchant for purple: part 3 (Series 3)

“Colours are light's suffering and joy.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In part 1 and part 2 of this series, we saw the disruptive influence of purple as identified by Goethe in his treatise on colour, Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colour).  Goethe in his analyses did not bother with colour as a physical phenomenon to be dissected; on the contrary, his philosophy concentrates on how colour is sensed and interpreted by the eye then the mind.

Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher, was motivated by his interest in painting, and describes, in some of the earliest published accounts, coloured shadows, after images and complementary colours. In contrast to Isaac Newton, he was not concerned with the physics of colour, analytic measurement and cold, hard mathematics.  He was concerned with colour harmony and ways of characterising how colours affect the viewer.

Philosophers and psychologists embraced Zur Farbenlehre; physicists rejected it. 

In theorising about the psychological impacts of colours, Goethe’s ‘chromatic’ wheel, as he termed it, illustrates also the opposition of colour as perceived by the human eye. 

Purple, the most powerful wavelength of the spectrum, sits, in Goethe’s colour wheel, on the divide between reddish-yellow (orange) and the reddish-blue (violet). It resolves the polarity between yellow and blue. 

from Theory of Colours, (1840), Plate I Figure 3 and ¶612

(Primary and secondary colours are depicted as triangles and complementary relationships are depicted as straight lines.)

It was Goethe who introduced the colour purple into his schemas, while Newton’s theory contained only spectral colours. Purple is still included in colour wheels today. 

Purple is the zenith of Goethe’s world of colours.

Its manifestations in MFMM are hugely varied and, with some poetic licence, extend from pale mauve satin, delicate lilac chiffon and soft lavender feathers, to deep, rich violet felts and noble purple itself in plush velvet.  Series 3 sees on-going glimpses as well as long, lingering gazes at its tonal palette.

First glimpse appears in Episode 1 of Series 3, Death Defying Feats, and in the awkwardness, then the more relaxed environment of the morning after the night before.  Phryne and Jack have had  a couple of dates defied by death and Daddy, and they are just coming to terms with his waking up in her bed.

Our colour de jour appears in the form of a soft lavender silk scarf that accompanies Phryne’s eggshell blue chinoise coat.  Having established what took place, they revert to collaborative detective-mode to interview the contortionist, her unravelled appearance complete with floral dress displaying bunches of violets:

The pale lilac-grey scarf then accompanies Phryne and Dot, then Phryne and Jack on investigations into the mysteriously misplaced mermaid Millie, with reflections of the blue-lavender in the trim of Phryne’s red cloche:

Mysterious Millie offers some purple accessories of her own:

Goethe appreciates that the sensation of complementarity does not originate physically from the actions of light on our eyes but perceptually from the actions of our brain - our visual system.

And in his system, it is green that has a complementary relationship to purple (just saying):

Episode 2, Murder and the Maiden

Just when we thought, after the Episode 1 date disasters, that things might start looking up, along comes Episode 2 and a pronounced purple patch.

Purple’s ability to both excite and then dampen delight appears in another piece of gorgeous chinoiserie, and no subtlety of colour this time. The black, midnight blue and purple silk has purple silk lining, trim and cuffs, and a purple cloche with silk embroidered floral motifs; Phryne’s earrings dangle purple appeal.

Despite some reminiscing and some subsequent remonstrating, the dashing detective duo collaborate to confound culprits (and captains):

Series 3, Episode 3 Murder and Mozzarella

For a scene with ‘a rival for Jack’s affection’ Phryne needs an outfit that ‘is sexy but incredibly elegant’ (MFMM Costume Exhibition catalogue). It is black beaded Chantilly lace over a purple silk under-slip.

Phryne’s visit is to find out, ostensibly, more about the feud between culinary families and involvement of the Camorra, but perhaps it is more than rival restaurants that incite the visit.

Concetta: You are a friend of Gianni's? Jack.  

Phryne: A friend, yes. And you? 

Concetta: Si. He tried very hard to find who killed my husband, but it is not easy. Since then he has dinner here many, many nights. 

Phryne: He must like the food.

And just to make sure we have this evening and the next day firmly established as significant, the next morning reinforces the purple theme, with perhaps one of the most telling scenes in relation to Phryne’s growing propriety of Jack:

Phryne: I didn't know you drank coffee, Jack. 

Jack: Would you like me to make a full confession? 

Phryne: No, thank you. I prefer a never-ending source of mystery.

Jack: Concetta, this is Miss Fisher. 

Concetta: Si. We talked last night. 

Jack: Did you now?

The rich purple velvet jacket with wide buttoned cuffs is teemed with a black straw hat and feathers of black, white and lavender and a long black and purple floral print scarf.  The coat could well be one we’ve seen previously in Raisins and Almonds and/or Juana, but without the fur collar.  But it continues tonally the link with Phryne’s dinner with Concetta.

The tonal link with Jack too is reinforced as they walk away from Strano’s, the red lining of their coats in step with their, well... step.

There’s some serious manoeuvring on both their parts as murder investigation and personal interest interplay in a truly delightful exchange of flirtatious banter:

Jack: So you came back to the restaurant last night. 

Phryne: I had a few questions for Concetta. 

Jack: Did you get the answers you were looking for? 

Phryne: Too early to say. When you say 'old friend', do you mean 'old friend' like Dr Mac, or 'old friend' like Captain Compton? 

Jack: Concetta Strano hasn't saved my life from a burning plane wreck in Madagascar, if that's what you mean.

Then a change of tone as concern for one another becomes serious:

Jack: I'm more concerned about you getting in too deep. 

Phryne: Who, me? 

Jack: Look, these people have been killing each other for generations... 

Phryne: I'll be careful. Promise me you'll be careful too. 

The plush purple and accoutrements head off to the docks for a shoot out:

Then a meeting with Mac in the morgue:

Mac: I have no doubt she was attacked, but that wasn't what killed her. 

Phryne: There were mushrooms in the dish she was preparing. 

Mac: That is where it gets interesting. I tested the contents. Those mushrooms were not poisonous. 

Phryne: So, she was killed by different mushrooms?

A slightly awkward interview with Guido:

And a return to the scene of the crime and a rather beautiful vignette in the restaurant garden with Marianna:

The colour seems to be significant in this episode in its presence in scenes that highlight both personal and professional ties.

So to the final coup d’oeil for the series in Game, Set and Murder,  Episode 8. Tennis is at the heart of this murderous mystery - literally!

Phryne wears a lilac silk chiffon scarf with yet another piece of chinoiserie, this time a smokey silver-blue jacket. Trim on the palest mauve-grey straw cloche echoes the scarf. 

Phryne’s old friendship with the Burrows is tested, as love of tennis becomes more than a game.  Constance loves tennis to the point of obsession and her adoring husband is prepared to support her ambition at any length.

In the scenes set in the gorgeous grounds of Ripponlea (Aunt P’s house again?) the lilac of the the scarf is reflected in the jacaranda in bloom behind the tennis courts. 

The detective duo are decidedly working as a mixed double - both on and off the court, despite a deuce of a difficulty or two or three: prying paparazzi, tempting tennis contestants, and arachnophobic interludes.

Final score - love all?

[strechanadi]

POB Swan Lake overthinking no. 783

I don’t have time for this, she said. I have to work on actual papers, she said. And here she is, writing shitload of words about another POB Swan Lake, since she’s a respectable, responsible adult human being.

(Dear @spinmelikeyoumeanit, this is purely your fault, please do know I hate you right now. Enjoy the madness and all the mistakes I am far too lazy to correct. If I’d be able to find them in the first place, that is.)

Shockingly enough, I was yet again asked to share my opinions on POB Swan Lake. And we all know the real meaning behind question „what did you think about SL?“ is in POB case „What did you think about Wolfgang/Siegfried relationship?“ Can’t quite believe that after the madness that was 2016 recording, someone think it healthy to let me dive into this once again. But you wanted it, so here we go!

  You know, despite my academic title, that was supposed to made me educated in matters of history, theory, aesthetics, and who the hell knows what else of dance, I’m still just 5yo child in a overgrown body deep down. So watching anything on stage I am still very much driven by my feelings, my opinions formed by and based on my liking certain things and disliking others (and by disliking I mean hating – 5yo child, don’t forget that). I am all too well aware of my reviews, critics, even the supposedly professional ones, being strongly personal and not at all objective. (As I think is pretty clear even from bad English translations…) (And let’s not begin with the „is it even possible to write an objective, i.e. unbiased, review at all?“ let’s just… not.) (Because it surely is and it‘s just me, painfully incapable of doing so, and desperately trying to hide my own lameness by saying such things as „it can’t be done, so why wasting time trying?“) (However an essay on me and my way of writing things is absolutely different matter, that no one was asking for, and reasonably so. I’m going to shut up now and maybe even get myself to the point…)

  Thinking about yesterday’s performance, there’s one feeling coming back constantly, no matter how valiantly I’m trying to fight it. It’s disappointment. And I HATE it! Partly because – come on, disappointment is not at all something one should feel after watching Nureyev’s POB SL, partly because it’s utterly absurd – the company was in top shape, 2nd and 4th act corps de ballet flawless, Nureyev’s choreography still one of the best I know. And yet…

It’s like I cannot be given POB SL I would like 150%, without questions, without reservations.

Don‘t get me wrong, I love the 2005 recording. It opened my eyes, it made me realize French technique is IT for me, it showed me Karl for the first time and made me fell in love with him (and with Wolfgang) the second he stepped on stage in prologue (if anybody ever tells you love at first sight doesn’t exist, well…). I utterly loved Agnes as Odette/Odile and after few years I realized I actually adore the costumes, the faded colours, the weirdly dreamy atmosphere. But even though I got to understand José Martinez and his interpretation of Siegfried at the end (like after 3 years, never said I was the brightest one), I still felt there’s something missing for me to be completely happy. (But then again, there was Karl the-best-Wolfgang-one-could-ever-hope-for Paquette, and that alone could make me happy for days!)

Knowing me you are probably a bit confused right now, because hello, you were obsessing over 2016 recording for literal weeks, you wrote utterly mad review on it AND another positively deranged essay on main characters, you were clearly unable to shut up about it for even 5 seconds, so what the hell are talking about now, not being 150% happy with any SL recording so far. Well yes, I got to see Siegfried I loved embarrassingly much, and Wolfgang/Rothbart that worked so well with him, that I was almost able to forget Karl (for exactly 27 seconds or so), but then there was Amandine, whose Odette was just… well… eh, nothing special, and as minor issue as it may seems, it still left the faintest bitter taste somewhere deep, deep down, thanks to which I simply couldn’t make myself to say – yes, this is the best Swan Lake of all Swan Lakes I’ve ever seen and you all should just stop with whatever you are doing right now and go watch it (even thought it was one of the best Swan Lakes I’ve ever seen and you all should stop with whatever you are doing right now and go watch it).

And now, now I got Odette/Odile with personality and strong charisma again, Wolfgang that is still more Rothbart that anything else, but that I got used to. And Siegfried, who I fucking hate. There. My inner child strikes again. In full force.

 Honestly, Germain was my biggest disappointment. And kind of the only one, thinking about it now. It’s rather ridiculous, dismiss the whole performance because of one character, isn’t it? And that character being Siegfried. It’s not like there are not quite few SL with a bit boring princes, right? It’s kind of expected, not that shocking, is it? But hell – if I love Nureyev’s ballets it’s because he’s given his male heroes more time, more space, more dance, more personality. If I love Nureyev’s SL it’s because of Siegfried being the main character (and because of Wolfgang/Rothbart, because of corps de ballet, because of many other things, but you get my point, surely). This SL demands much from its main hero, and is not forgiving. Or maybe in reality it is and the unforgiving bitch is me. And rest assured I am. I love Siegfried. I love his character, the possibilities the dancer’s given in interpretation and I fucking love his variations. And Germain kind of killed everything, or almost everything for me. It is personal, of course it is, how it cannot be? But one just couldn’t mess one of the most beautiful variations ever made and expect I’d be just, you know what, whatever, your feet were pointed, your 5th position perfect, your technique overall crystal clear, and you are pretty, so who cares? Who cares about interpretation? Who cares about how it seems you have no idea, what you were doing 5minutes ago, what you are doing now and where your character is heading? God, Germain, please, this Siegfried is not just some other prince. He’s so much more than that. You could do practically anything with his character, built it the way you want, the way you are, the way you believe. Just use that pretty head of yours and what’s inside!

There were moments in act 1 (that, let’s be clear, sets the mood for the whole thing), that were promising. I loved what a child Siegfried was, how eager he was to pleased Wolfgang, what an adorable little puppy he could be. (And what is it with me and puppies lately?! First Armand, then one of Bourne’s princes, now Germain, when does this stop? I should choose different animal, seriously. Or different comparison altogether…), but the more promising these moments were – like the one, where Siegfried was looking at Wolfgang as (and I cannot describe it in any other way) a blushing virgin, which, and I swear, made me screamed so loud it could be heard across the ocean! - the more frustrating the outcome.

As I said yesterday, Germain’s Siegfried was like 5yo. You can tell just by looking at him the moment Wolfgang stopped him from following the other boys. I kind of expected Siegfried’s going to stamp his feet or something equally mature :D (but he just went and killed off my favourite variation) (I cannot watch it without screaming, so don’t make me just so you would know what exactly I found problematic).

If anything, his interpretation was simply incoherent. All right, you decided to portray your prince as a child, so pure, so clueless, fine. But if the only thing you can do is one smile, it’s too little, and it is really hard to make your character convincing and not simply annoying after 5 minutes. (Yeah, we got it, you are dreamy, starry eyed kid, cool, could you maybe do something different now? ANYTHING?) But OK. Still could work. But then there’s Siegfried’s variation at the end of act 1. And suddenly you are acting like the teenage prince who is about to marry, who is forced to become and adult and who is scared and has his doubts and all that, but – there was exactly NOTHING before in your way of building your character, that would justify such change. No self-doubt during whole act. None. Zero. Who are you trying to convince now? It’s not going to work all of sudden! And then, another ultimate favourite part of mine – Siegfried/Wolfgang duet. And Siegfried is yet again his unsuspecting, depending, pure baby self. And reading this, you may think, OK, well it could make sense, don’t be such a bitch about it. But it didn’t make sense. The whole interaction had so much potential from Francois‘ part and almost nothing from Germain in return (apart from his perfectly perfect legs – I swear, should he spent as much time thinking about his character as much as he seemed to be thinking about his technique, what an interpretation we could‘ve seen)!

Someone on twitter or somewhere said Germain did his variations beautifully, but they looked more like from concours, than from an actual performance. And that’s exactly it. Not just he became all melancholic out of blue, but the second he was about to do a sissone or a pirouette or a developpé or anything, he was all about technique, about pointed feet, about jump higher and I wanted to scream (so I did).

What hurts me the most is knowing it really, truly could have made sense. Were Germain’s presence more genuine, more real… (or at least consistent!)

  Francois was his usual self as Wolfgang. Still more Rothbart in disguise (*sigh* I want Karl *more pathetic sigh*), smug smile on his face the entire time (I caught myself smirking with him, so he did something right, I’d say) (or maybe I’m just a bad person who would love too much to play with this Siegfried and make him suffer without him even knowing what’s going on) (I told you he was annoying, didn’t I?), he was aware of his power, he was using it freely, enjoying himself (maybe in a bit more reserved manner than in 2016, more for his sake, than for show, even though he could probably laugh at Siegfried’s face and the prince would still run to him happily). And there was Siegfried, all wide eyes, unguarded smiles, so out of touch with anything he physically needed Wolfgang to hold his hand to take him here and there (at one moment pretty disturbing idea crossed my mind – how it would be easier for Wolfgang to just have a leash… I sincerely apologize for my brain, I’d like to say it’s not my fault, truly, but it most probably is.)

Honestly – it was far too easy for Wolfgang this time. This Siegfried believed him implicitly, without question, without doubt, completely, unreservedly, with everything he has, while having no idea, while being completely unaware of a single thing going on around him, not to mention with him. Their relationship was (or could have been) (sorry, inner child, remember) even more uncomfortable, with all those touches literally all over prince’s body – his bare neck, his chest, his arms, his hands, and yet there was anything remotely sexual (not even intimately intimate – if it makes sense) between them. Which was a good thing, because that would be pure child’s pornography…

In act 4, Francois‘ Rothbart was positively mad. Like cartoon villain mad. And it is so not for me… (give me Karl, please, give me all his performances, and if it’s too much, give me just his 4 acts, that’s all I would ever ask for, pretty, pretty, pretty please with the whole cherry tree on top)

 You know me (well you don’t, but you do in a way, which is terrifying and I hope you all have already come to terms with me have to kill you some day), I love looking for things, for meaning of this and that, analysing every tiny bit of one interaction between characters (i.e. overthinking everything and making up more and more insane theories) (this applies on ballet only, I’m literally unable to see anything that is not canon in literature/tv shows/films/whatever, so if I had the misfortune of stumble over fandom of one thing or another, I’m more often than not at loss for what the people are talking about, but that is probably just my own autism showing…) – but with this SL, this Siegfried, I had to try unreasonably hard to see something. And that’s simply wrong. The (over)analysing should be an outcome of pure need, that was brought into life by strong emotions you felt while watching something, it should come naturally. There should be no effort, no trying… It’s quite easy – heart, then mind. If there’s nothing in your heart in the first place, why bother your poor, overworked brain with it? While it probably doesn’t even exist. It doesn’t make sense.

  So to sum this whole SL up, here you have my ultimate conclusion:

Siegfried wasn’t just autistic, he had serious mental affliction. I mean, weren’t Wolfgang right sadistic bastard, he could tell Siegfried to jump out of window, be done with it and spare himself all the effort.

  And since it’s 3.30 AM again, I’m going to bed. To sleep. Not watching Siegfried variations when they were perfect and therefore the world still made sense… (God, it is I who have mental affliction!)

[offtothepictures]

mamma mia! (2008) - part 1

mamma mia! is a musical starring meryl streep and amanda seyfried (post-mean girls but pre-les mis), in which seyfried’s character sophie discovers she has three potential dads and invites all three of them to her wedding on an idyllic greek island. got all that? and the best and DEFINITELY most important aspect? it’s allllll ABBA songs baby. talk about culture clash (1970s sweden vs 2008 greece? actually we’ll come to the 2008 part later). it’s cheesy and raucous and loud and sweet and an utter riot of joy, and the only musical my best friend actually doesn’t hate. and his excuse for hating musicals is that they’re cheesy so i think someone needs to work on their argument.

hi everyone! so love island has finished, i’ve just got back from holiday to torrential rain – thanks england – and meryl streep owns my ass, so before i go and see mamma mia! here we go again a gazillion more times (and meet the director AGHHHHH yes that’s actually happening) i’m gonna review the first one! bear in mind that i’ve seen this film literally 100 million times please. i can’t actually stress how much i adore this film and it’s my comfort film that i watch when I’m sad or ill or tired or bored in history. i’ll pick holes in the technical aspects of it but just know that i would die for this film. got it? lets go.

visually, it’s a pretty film. nothing toooo wild or groundbreaking (like florals for spring) but it’s saturated and dusty and bright and 100% suits the tone and setting of the film. it also has a softness and realness to it that i feel we don’t get anymore from hollywood in 2018 – if a film isn’t crisp and chockablock with cgi and visual effects, then it’s not making bank, and that includes you, new mamma mia. from a glance at this film, you know it’s set in the mediterranean. also the faded and bright quality of the film evoke some of the 70s imagery, not only of ABBA but of donna’s (meryl streep) past.

the costumes are also gorgeous and so camp and bright and cheesy! mamma mia! knows what film it is and keeps itself campy and cheesy without skimping on quality, and this is especially prevalent in the disco costumes, particularly super trouper and the end credits (which are oscar worthy in themselves lets be honest)

so I know it was originally a west end musical and having source material makes screenwriting easier, but i love the way the songs are worked in. nothing feels forced and once again, the crew didn’t have to compromise on quality by changing most of the words, which is a relief to the avid ABBA fan. and yes, this is a complaint i’ll revisit in my mamma mia! here we go again review.

why does sophie go post her letters on the mainland at midnight? did she sneak out? didn’t donna or sky question this?

also this will come up again a bit later but why do they have to shoot night scenes during the day and then try to colour correct? It’s just PAINFUL. can’t y’all shoot at night? jesus. also this is my theory as to why they cut the name of the game later in the film with bill and sophie – because it looked like shite!!!

this is EVIDENTLY SHOT DURING THE DAY CAN’T Y’ALL EVEN TRY?! THAT IS FUCKING SUNLIGHT BUT I GUESS MAYBE I’M WRONG AND THAT’S NOT HOW LIGHT WORKS

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE SONG WAS “I’M TALL I’M TALL I’M TINY” BUT I GUESS I’M WRONG also i love that being ‘tough’ is this scottish girl’s quantifier in her friendship group. is that racist? smh mamma mia u ain’t woke

you know what isn’t fucking mentioned once in mamma mia 2? (yes i am already sick of typing out the whole damn name so this is what you get) BILL’S ICONIC EYE TATTOOS. okay butch count olaf i see u sweetie

did they hire christine baranski before or after this line was written? because either way that’s…………. savage

this is 1000000% a whole ass reach but is sophie wearing three little stars on her necklace to represent her dads? Because that’s some adorable shit right there

this is still the coolest scene transition ever imo

okay why have they got sophie doing these anime-ass gasps when she sees her dads for the first time lmao

QUESTION: how did sophie meet her two friends? did they stay on the island? this IS a question i’ll be asking director of mamma mia! here we go again ol parker when i see him in two weeks. also WHERE ARE THEY IN THE SECOND MOVIE FFS

and on that note how does sophie know sky?

sooooo this film is supposedly set in 2000? if sophie is born in 1980 according to the second mamma mia film…… so sky is setting up a website for donna in 2000? i did some research trying to trip the film up for not actually being set in 2000 when it was released but i can’t find anything incriminating. just know….. that i know the truth. you can’t hide from me phyllida lloyd.

Is aunt sophia dead?

the guy who hits on tanya does have a name and it is pepper. i was initially wondering why it wasn’t mentioned in the film but now i guess i know why. also it is shouted at him at some point in the second act but i guess i just thought they were….. hurling abuse?? idk

the level of innuendo in this film that completely went over my head as an 8-year-old is unreal

also shoutout to my friend hannah for not realising harry is gay even though he basically says it. and makes out with a dude. and sings take a chance on me to him which is honestly the most convincing part. love you han x

harry’s greek boyfriend is actually called petros or smth but he looks like a fabio so we’re calling him fabio

okay here’s where we’ll leave part 1!! keep ya peepuhs peeled (not ya noggin. god that’s quite the reference) for part 2!!