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cattles-bians · 3 years

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exes au part 13

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em: if anyone asked id deny it but secretly i think dani teasing jamie abt viola is The Funniest thing

[em note: this is what we in the biz call ‘dramatic irony’]

em: jamie not only did u sleep w two trust fund babies they’re Sisters and it was a weird rivalry thing

obsetress: jamie for someone who hates vi so much you sure were happy to be a pawn in her weird psychosexual power play

obsetress: "didn't say i was happy" "oh, you didn't need to. vi told me "

em: PSYCHOSEXUAL POWER PLAY

em: thinking abt 5’8 kinda buff viola featuring scrawny mf 5’3 jamie taylor no reason

obsetress: no reason

em: not thinking abt viola being able to easily lift jamie

em: no reason

obsetress: oh

obsetress: oh my god

obsetress: oh no

em: clenches fist no reason

em: jamie couldn’t top her even if she tried violas like haha that’s cute (yoink)

obsetress: right before you said that i was thinking about like

obsetress: jamie hooking up with perdita pillow princess then jamie hooking up with tops the shit out of her viola and like

obsetress: the duality of willoughbae

obsetress: and now im like. yeah

em: jamies in for a Surprise

em: first she’s like oh thank god i’m not gonna do all the work- and then the monkey paw curls inwards

obsetress: just like um

obsetress: thinking

obsetress: jamie straddling vi on the bed n then vi just way too easily flips them and pins jamie's hands above her head

em: oh

em: thinking thoughts

em: jamie's dumb little surprised face

em: she’s into it tho

obsetress: like full surprised pikachu and then slow grin

em: jamie's dumb ass starts to say something like ‘oh haha i figured since-‘ and then she cuts herself off bc she’s like no actually i should not mention perdi right now

em: viola fills in the blanks w whatever feeds her ego the most tbh

obsetress: god yeah

obsetress: jamie's just like

obsetress: we've talked about this she's fuckin chatty and she's just like running her fucking mouth and then vi's head is between her legs and she's like "o–– oh" and then she shuts up

em: danis like so um you never. suspected anything? like you didn’t think the timing was weird? and jamie's like we have been over my self worth issues i was jsut happy to

obsetress: dani, chinhands: so which one was better

obsetress: jamie gives her a withering look

"you know which one was better"

"maybe. but i wanna hear you say it"

em: jamie: you cannot repeat this to her she’s already insufferable about (insert funny gaffe here)

em: jamie knows dani is going to repeat it

obsetress: dani knows jamie knows and still smiles sweetly and says she won't anyway

em: i love these idiots hannah

obsetress: the next time they see vi she is. SO smug

obsetress: em i love them so much

em: kinda weird to be so invested in ur sisters sexual prowess vi

em: it’s about the principle of the thing sweet jamie

obsetress: dani is just smug because she wasn't even a player and still ended up winning the weird psychosexual rivalry

obsetress: jamie: actually, uh

jamie: don't you all think i'm the real wi––

dani and vi and perdi: no

em: she is in my heart,

obsetress: dani, kissing her into the mattress later: i think you are jamie: no, you think you are dani: mm

em: jamie and vi and dani and rebecca and even perdi goddamn perdi we are gonna get you so laid

obsetress: lmao rebecca just in the corner with a drink like what did i ever do to deserve this

obsetress: perdi showing up to vi's christmas brunch w the five of them and being like

obsetress: "good news everyone. i met someone"

obsetress: and vi's sickly sweet condescending like "oh, what's their name?" and rebecca's already shooting her a look

obsetress: and perdi's like "pet––" and rebecca's like actually you know what absolutely the FUCK not

em: thinking about perdi bringing violas EX HUSBAND to christmas for the drama of it all

obsetress: oh my god

obsetress: i think both of these things can happen

em: perdi almost goes after eddie for yet another deranged power play but dani just grabs her arm and says ‘you absolutely fucking will not’

em: leave that dumb gay boy out of it

obsetress: god and like of COURSE dani's the only one she actually listens to bc again

obsetress: terrified

obsetress: the dubm adagyagladsjkf aldsjf kbyoh

em: Terrified

em: rebeccas like ‘wow i didn’t realise dani could be that intense’ and jamie just sighs dreamily into her egg nog

obsetress: rebecca's pausing, Realizing

obsetress: turns to look slowly at vi

obsetress: cocks her head

obsetress: raises an eyebrow

em: jamies like oh don’t worry ur plenty intense becs

em: because she thinks that’s what becs is concerned abt

obsetress: wow

obsetress: anyway i'm about to pivot

obsetress: tahirah posted some insta story of some zipline place and it just made me think about exes au group vacations

em: omg

em: the Chaos

obsetress: dani and jamie just wanna like. chill

obsetress: meanwhile vi and rebecca are up at six am at the resort gym

obsetress: doing lunchtime spa treatments

em: dani and jamie having a tasty little beach nap

em: dani draws a smiley face on jamies stomach so she has like. a weird smiley face tan for Too long

obsetress: ,jakljkdsf

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: jamie's like "chicks will dig this right? it's like a scar"

obsetress: and dani just laughs and swats at her

obsetress: jamie, deciding to have a little fun: vi, chicks will dig this, right? do you dig it or

em: comically slow wink

obsetress: rebecca's catching dani's eye over the top of her sunglasses and they're exchanging a look

em: i KEEP thinking about 'i fucked ur ex'

em: and danis lil 'did you though bc i really dont think' like it CRACKS me up jdshfbanf

obsetress: nddndnndndndnd

obsetress: it’s so funny to meeeEEEEEEE

em: like i know we have the silly little tumblr posts but thats canon to me now bc it tickles me so much

[em note: ;/ ]

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: it's canon to me too

obsetress: dani, sitting in jamie's lap one night, all of them absolutely shitfaced: hey rebecca? becca: hmm? dani: do you ever think–– no. no, nevermind

#‘weird psychosexual power play’ is my fave combo of words ever fwiw #the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au #this ones silly! and short! theyre all silly but #this ones pretty short so ill post another in idk 8 hours sajhfsb #when i wake up #Sorry For Crack Shipping Jamvi On Main

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bereaving · 4 years

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That's true, Bly is definitely more Gothic. When I compare them with each other, I like Bly more based on story, characters and the overall feeling you get while watching 👀 but that's just my personal opinion. Hill House made me a really huge fan of the whole series. It's not just dumb horror it's a well thought through story with so many details and twists, it's perfectly done.

Haha well he's not as interesting as Jamie so it's easy to forget about him 😉

To his whole backstory, yeah I mean he had a traumatic childhood and it made him who he is now, but even after episode 7 I had no sympathy for him, like nothing. OJC did portray him perfectly, there's no doubt about it, but just his character and how he treated Rebecca and the kids just made me hate him and there was nothing that could change that. I have to say it was kinda hard for me to hate him because in Hill House, I loved Luke and now seeing him playing the complete opposite of that was definitely interesting 😅

Everyone was shocked by this scene but I loved it 😂 it was just great how Viola just came and shut him off

You have, but there's no need to stop saying it 🥰

This scene...oh my 👌 I've watched it so often and it gives me goosebumps every time I watch it again, too. That's such a good shot, the whole atmosphere was perfect. And then Dani, with so much nervousness in her voice, saying this line 🥰 the way Jamie looks at her after it and then the hand holding, makes me realize how much I love them every time 💕

I mean, yeah, their whole story was perfect, nothing happened without a reason and that's the same with the ending. I can't say I will ever get used to it, I'd have rather liked to see them happy till the end, as cheesy as it sounds, but I just don't get the reason behind of destroying a good relationship in the most cruel way possible. And I also know that it kinda had to end like this but it caused so much struggle for me, I was so sad after watching it, I felt so empty and I know it's just a show but I was heartbroken at the end. Like really heartbroken, and even after watching it a few times I have to prepare myself for the end cause it destroys me every time. But yeah it caused a much bigger impact, thats for sure.

I can agree to everything you just said in this! And it's true, the show reminds yourself of many things in your own life even if it reminds me of sad things mostly but it's still unusual for a show to have so much impact and thats wonderful 👏

Haha yeah I get that 😂 I, as I already said, didn't have this "wtf" moment because I knew she would be in this one too 😅 but it changes the whole look you have on the show knowing that she already was playing Nell.

And I agree on the most fascinating sibling, for me it's also Nell for sure. I loved all of them (except Steve) but Nell was my favorite for sure

Totally true! I don't like the whole concept of the show which makes it automatically not interesting for me.

I mean i have seen a few gifs of Victoria here on Tumblr and she looks f*cking cute in it what makes me even hate the concept more cause if it wouldn't be like it is, I could watch Victoria's great acting again 😭

Haha omg yes! Same here! 😂😍 I would leave everything behind just to be the one helping her out and I wouldn't care about my fear of dogs too! I mean that would be a dream come true tbh 😂

It’s another long one, anon! :D

We stan one man in Bly and that’s Owen 😄

OJC was jarring for me, too, but by the time I watched Bly, I’d gotten wind that 1). he played Luke and 2). he was supposed to be the gardener but people were like, “it’d be weird seeing the siblings play lovers” so he was cast as Quint instead. So to see him as Luke, it was still a shock, but... a mini one. It is also worth pointing out that if he had played Jamie... I don’t think I would be this invested in Bly.

His pre-death scene? LOL, I screamed so loud when that happened and almost threw my phone. I had an inkling based on what Rebecca said, but... good christ. It got me.

Re: the ending again Yeah, I mean, I completely understand how it feels. Personally, I can’t really say that I felt differently, particularly after the first watch - I was left empty, too, and so so shattered. Even now, if I have to go back and see clips of the ending, I still get teary-eyed. Some days I would just randomly put on I Shall Believe, or Frank Ocean’s Godspeed, and just... cry. Generally, there’s always going to be that part of us, when we see stories that resonate with us but have sad/tragic endings, that holds up for that bit of hope that they’d defy the odds and conquer whatever it is that life throws at them, That maybe this time as we see them again, they’ll prevail. But... alas.

Re: Nell Crain, this blog is her stan account, and adult Steven can kindly go away. Which, if I’m being honest, I was underwhelmed by Michiel Huisman in Hill House. I mean I saw him in Orphan Black and I remember walking away from the episode where he’s in it thinking, “oh this guy’s good.” And then I see him here and he’s just... there? Everyone made me feel and everyone had that Thing that made me relate to them easier. Not him.

Honestly with Love Quinn... I obviously do not know how batshit crazy she is, but judging from the GIFsets... she’s a chef. I’m studying to be one. Her murdering tendency and derangement aside, I just... want to go to the farmer’s market with her, buy her flowers and/or strawberries or both, and bake pies with her.

#ask #anonymous

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ubourgeois · 6 years

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Top 30 Films of 2018

I’m actually getting one of these out at a fairly reasonable time! I’m a champion.

Compared to last year, I would say 2018 had fewer films that I really loved, that shook me and immediately registered as important - but also, more films that have grown on me over time, that were clever and inventive in ways that convince me to look past their shortcomings (or reevaluate if they are shortcomings at all). Plenty of odd, perhaps imperfect movies made it far up the list, and I think I ended up privileging that weird streak more than usual this year. But hopefully that makes for interesting reading here.

I found making this list that a couple of the big arthousey hits of the year (Eighth Grade, Burning, The Rider, and others) ended up slipping into the basement of the top 50. Keep an eye out for a rejoinder post following this in a couple days where I hash out my thoughts on those. For now, top 30 after the jump:

30. Unsane dir. Steven Soderbergh

Remember when Tangerine came out and everyone was like, “wow I can’t believe this was shot on an iPhone” and it was a whole thing? Well, I can believe that Unsane was shot on an iPhone, and that’s really for the better. Ever the innovator, Soderbergh follows Sean Baker’s lead by taking full advantage of the logistical advantages and distinctive appearances of iPhone-shot footage, putting together a film that uses its hardware not as a flashy obstacle to be overcome but as a driver of its look and feel, proving at least for now that mobile-shot films are viable (though we’ll see how his next one turns out). The film itself is good too - Claire Foy gives a wonderfully prickly performance, and the claustrophobic visuals make for a great psychological thriller.

29. Cold War dir. Paweł Pawlikowski

Expanding on the aesthetic territory he explored with Ida, Pawlikowski brings another black & white, Polish-language period piece about identities split between different (religious, political) worlds. Cold War is the more complicated and perhaps less focused film, but also the more alluring one, with a luscious love story, incredible music (Łojojoj...), and great, showy performances from Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot. In other words, it’s luxurious, romantic Euro-arthouse fare. Probably best watched with a full glass of wine in hand.

28. Ready Player One dir. Steven Spielberg

A film that many accused of “pandering” to audiences for its many blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nods to 80s nostalgia and gaming culture, Ready Player One was on the contrary seemingly uninterested in anything of the sort. It managed to accomplish something more meaningful by packing the film so dense with nerd-bait that it becomes just texture and noise - Tracer popping up in the background of random scenes ends up being less of Overwatch reference and more of a piece of plausible set dressing in a VR social media hub. This contributed to RPO being not only a technically impressive but a visually overwhelming effects film, packaged around a seemingly knowing 80s blockbuster pastiche (the story, the character types, even the music cues were too old-fashioned to be on purpose). A film both smarter and easier to like than the discourse around it suggested.

27. Widows dir. Steve McQueen

I do really wish that McQueen would go back to making demanding, brutal films like Hunger, but if he simply has to become a commercial filmmaker I guess I don’t mind this. Surely the ensemble film of the year, with the entire cast firing on all cylinders - Daniel Kaluuya as the sadistic enforcer/campaign manager in particular impresses, though naturally Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, and even Colin Farrell make for compelling characters in this twisty, nervy heist film. The action scenes are all impressively mounted (if a bit few and far between) and there are enough McQueen-esque florishes to keep things interesting in the interim (that long car scene!). Great moody popcorn stuff.

26. An Elephant Sitting Still dir. Hu Bo

Elephant has gotten a lot of press for two reasons: its nearly four-hour length and its director’s untimely death shortly after its completion. The length is important because it beats you into submission, forcing you to accept its rhythm and smothering you in tight focus on its main characters until you feel like it’s your own POV (I wasn’t really into it until, uh, the two hour mark, but then somehow I was hooked). Hu Bo’s death is important because knowing that, the sensation of being trapped, pressured, and disoriented by the Current State of China (ever the popular subject matter) feels all the more palpable and, maybe unfortunately, grants the film some extra layer of authority, or at least urgency. If I ever have the time or energy, I would love to revisit this film - I expect it will one day be seen as a landmark.

25. Make Me Up dir. Rachel Maclean

A bizarre little bit of sugary pop-feminist techno-dystopia, pulling off a sort of cinematic cousin to vaporwave by way of Eve Ensler. What unfolds is pretty insane, involving dance numbers, incomprehensible lectures on dodgy gender politics, and sets that look pulled out from a cheap children’s TV show. It’s definitely a marmite film - how well you connect with this will depend heavily on your tolerance for clearly-fake CG, well-trodden feminist talking points, and pastels - but for those with the appetite for this brand of political kitsch then this is just about the best version of itself imaginable.

24. Liz and the Blue Bird dir. Naoko Yamada

Naoko Yamada out Naoko Yamada-s herself. A standalone spinoff of Hibike! Euphonium that focuses on members of the secondary cast, Liz makes good on the sensitive, subtly-executed love story that the show ultimately failed to produce (not quite Adolescence of Utena-tier course correction, but we’ll take it). This is a film propelled by the tiniest gestures - a hand tensing behind the back, a nervous flicker of the eye, a cheerful bounce in the step - in that way animation can provide that seems not incidental but hugely, blatantly filled with meaning. While A Silent Voice was a great breakthrough for Yamada as an “original” feature, it’s Liz that feels like the more mature film, and a promising indicator for what lies ahead.

23. Sew the Winter to My Skin dir. Jahmil X.T. Qubeka

Maybe the most surprising film of the year is this, an action-biopic about John Kepe, a South African Robin Hood figure, that almost entirely eschews spoken dialogue in favor of visual storytelling, physical acting, and clever audio design. But this is not some pretentious, austere arthouse film substituting gimmicks for actual character; Sew the Winter to My Skin is an engaging, fascinating, and unexpectedly accessible historical epic, prioritizing mythic bigness over simple recitation of fact. While it demands some patience at first (with no dialogue, it takes a bit for the film to properly introduce its cast), it quickly shows itself to be an inventive, exciting, and occasionally funny adventure that proves Qubeka as a truly exciting voice in South African cinema.

22. Mom and Dad dir. Brian Taylor

Forget Mandy, THIS is the crazy Nic Cage movie of the year. A slick, rapid-fire horror comedy that feels almost like a music video at points, Mom and Dad has what’s surely Cage’s best unhinged performance in years as well as a great, more restrained turn by Selma Blair. The violence is ludicrous, the premise is nutty, and the sense of humor is utterly sick - that the film manages to squeeze out a surprisingly coherent commentary on suburban family life on top of this is a minor miracle (a scene where Cage destroys a pool table proves strangely thoughtful). For all the broadly acclaimed “serious” horror films in recent years, like this year’s kind of boring Hereditary, groan-filled A Quiet Place, and mostly incoherent Suspiria, I more appreciate this breed of deranged, funny, and tightly focused effort. It doesn’t need to be that deep.

21. Good Manners dir. Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas

I’m going to mark this write-up with a **spoiler warning**, as I think it’s basically impossible to talk about this film without giving the game away. Good Manners has one of the best genre switcheroos in recent years, starting off as a proper Brazilian class drama (think Kleber Mendonça Filho) with a lesbian twist before explosively transforming into a horror movie that reveals a hidden monster-coming-of-age story that’s nearly unrecognizable as the same film from an hour before. As delightful as this bit of narrative sleight of hand is, it can’t justify a good film alone, which is where the great lead performance by Isabél Zuaa and the mesermizing, inventive matte paintings of the São Paulo skyline come into play, making this fantastical, genre-bending film a true original of the year.

20. The Miseducation of Cameron Post dir. Desiree Akhavan

There’s a tendency in the queer teen film genre to sometimes drift towards miserablist portrayals of growing up; to emphasize the hardship, nonunderstanding, and isolation to the expense of other experiences. Cameron Post manages to avoid this path even as it explores the dreadful premise of life in a conversion camp by balancing the solidarity, humor, and defiant joy hidden along the edges of the camp experience with the cruel, dehumanizing nature of the place. The film works, then, not only as a statement against conversion therapy and the real harm it does to all participants, but also as a lively, triumphant teen movie that feels more powerful than the lazy, doom-and-gloom approach.

19. Minding the Gap dir. Bing Liu

Few films capture the particular small city Midwest atmosphere quite like this one, a very raw documentary that feels very much like the first feature it is - but in a good way. Cut together from years of Liu’s amateur footage as well as new material of its subjects (the director and two of his old friends), a documentary that at first seems to be about the local skateboarding culture stretches out to many other topics: domestic violence, race relations, middle-American economic anxiety. The film, perhaps because of its closeness to the director and his relative inexperience, manages to take on a quick-moving scattershot approach, weaving stream-of-consciousness from one topic to the next, while still giving each the time and weight it deserves.

18. The Green Fog dir. Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin

A hard film to sum up, though at its heart not a terribly complicated one. Ostensibly a very loose reconstruction of Vertigo using clips from other material shot in San Francisco, from The Conversation to San Andreas to Murder, She Wrote, this new, uh, thing from Maddin and the Johnsons is a short, sweet, and really quite funny collage less interested in slavishly reenacting its inspiration than making funny jokes with movie clips. Some highlights include Rock Hudson carefully watching an *NSYNC music video on a tiny screen, a long sequence admiring Chuck Norris’ face that doesn’t seem to match any particular part of Vertigo, and a number of scenes of dialogue with all the speech cut out, leaving only awkward pauses and mouth noises. It’s high art!

17. Sorry to Bother You dir. Boots Riley

Boots Riley’s transition from long-standing underrated rapper to breakout auteur has been wild to witness. Sorry to Bother You is certainly one of 2018′s most original and distinctive films (what other film is it like, exactly?), and any complaints about unsubtle politics or overpacked narrative can be easily counterbalanced with the film’s sheer verve and oddball energy. Like Widows, it’s another of the great ensemble pieces of the year - Lakeith Stanfield and Tess Thompson are great as usual, and of the supporting cast Armie Hammer emerges as the standout with an incredibly funny halfway-villainous turn, plus a great bit of voice casting with David Cross. Leading candidate for this year’s Film of the Moment.

16. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse dir. Robert Persichetti Jr., Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

The problem with comic book movies a lot of the time is that they’re somehow too embarrassed to own their source material. Into the Spider-Verse succeeds because it emphatically embraces its roots, not only visually (the cel shading, impact lines, and even text boxes that make up the film’s look) but also narratively, by adopting the multiverse concept in earnest and milking it for comedic and dramatic effect. It’s an incredibly innovative (not to mention gorgeous) animated film that not only raises the standard but expands the scope of superhero films, giving new hope to a genre that has been stuck spinning its wheels for years. Plus, it has probably the only post-credits scene actually worth the effort, which is a very special sort of victory.

15. Museo dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios

A playful, thoughtful heist film that gets the actual heist out of the way as soon as possible. Two suburban twenty-somethings pull off a daring robbery of Mayan artifacts from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, then set off on an ill-fated roadtrip to fence the goods. There’s a certain magic to this film, in its approach that is at once totally reverent and mythologizing but also eager to take the piss out of everything (the recurring motif of Revueltas’ The Night of the Mayas suite does both), and in how it turns this story into something of a love letter to the history and geography of Mexico. Very mature, well-balanced filmmaking in Ruizpalacios’ second feature.

14. BlacKkKlansman dir. Spike Lee

The best Spike Lee joint in a long, long time. It taps into the freewheeling, confrontational energy of his best work, but almost as a career victory lap as he makes a game out of outfoxing Klan members. There’s plenty of humor and tension here, with a great, dry leading duo in John David Washington and Adam Driver, and a funny turn from Topher Grace (!) as David Duke. Even if it does play it a bit safe with an easy target and wraps up a bit too easily (a quick flash-forward to Charlottesville as a postscript notwithstanding), it should be fine, I think, for a film to indulge in the simple pleasure of overcoming obvious villains in a glorious fashion. For all the recent films that give nuanced and serious takes on racism in America, one ought to be about the joy of blowing up the KKK.

13. Mirai dir. Mamoru Hosoda

Since he’s started making original features, Hosoda has been taken with relatively high-concept storylines, from his “debut” The Girl Who Leapt Through Time to Wolf Children, but Mirai is certainly his most ambitious yet. Nearly every choice about the film is a bit weird: from the unusual, compact layout of Kun’s home to Kun’s very believable, nearly alienating (to an older audience) childish behavior to the simply bizarre logistics and metaphysics of Kun’s fantastic adventures. The time- and space-travel antics Kun and Mirai get up to never seem entirely literal or entirely imagined, somewhere between childish fable and psychological sci-fi, a mixture that culminates in a surprisingly existential climax for an unabashed children’s film. After the quite safe The Boy and the Beast, it’s exciting to see Hosoda branch out into such a complicated and strange project, certainly the most daring animated feature of the year.

12. Support the Girls dir. Andrew Bujalski

A bubbly, sensitive, and lightly anarchic workplace comedy in that most essential of American institutions: the Hooters-flavored sports bar off the highway. Bujalski continues to prove himself an observant and funny writer, putting together a fascinating ensemble of characters brought to life by a perfectly-cast ensemble (Regina Hall is flawless as advertised, and Haley Lu Richardson brings us one of the most adorable characters in cinema). I don’t think I’ve seen a more charming film about workers’ solidarity and the lively communities that find their niche in liminal spaces.

11. First Reformed dir. Paul Schrader

Edgy priests are in a certain way low-hanging fruit; the tension is automatic, the contradiction inherently compelling. It’s a lazy symbol that can be milked for cheap profundity when employed, if you will, in bad faith. That’s why it’s so important that First Reformed, for all of its alcoholic, violent, libidinous angst packed into Ethan Hawke’s (masterfully interpreted) character, is also a great, genuine film about faith besides. It’s a Revelations film if I’ve ever seen one, about facing down the apocalypse with no way of understanding God’s plan, about living on the precipice of a collapse of belief, about accepting mystery. It’s the only film I saw this year that communicated actual dread, but even then still, somehow, bizarrely hopeful.

10. Birds of Passage dir. Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra

Ciro Guerra (now with partner Cristina Gallego co-directing) follows up the excellent Embrace of the Serpent with another powerful portrait of an indigenous community that, under the pressure of colonial influence, gradually devours itself. In the new film, however, this takes the form of a traditional gangster film, from the humble beginnings and runaway success to the explosions of violence and crumbling of an empire. Birds of Passage shows the origins of the Colombian drug trade with the native Wayuu people (a counterpoint, Gallego explains, to the much-celebrated Pablo Escobar narrative), and in doing so still finds room to organically and respectfully depict the traditions of the Wayuu, as well as showcase their beautiful language, which makes up much of the film’s dialogue. Best film in the genre since at least Carlos.

09. The Favourite dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

Though I really admire Dogtooth, I’ve found myself increasingly disappointed in Lanthimos’ output since that film. Alps was fine but clearly minor; The Lobster started strong but fizzled out; Killing of a Sacred Deer was ultimately too self-consciously bizarre. With The Favourite, we’re finally back in exciting, unsettlingly weird territory, Yorgos having found that his very mannered style of English dialogue works superbly in a costume drama context. He also gets great, uncharacteristically emotive performances (compared to, say, the last two Colin Farrell outings) out of his central trio of Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone, with especially great work coming from Stone, who I think has discovered that all of her best roles take full advantage of the fact that she looks like a cartoon character. It’s wonderfully perverse, incredibly funny stuff, with one of the great, inexplicable endings of the year - fair to call it a Buñuel revival.

08. Bisbee ‘17 dir. Robert Greene

A documentary that tackles a shocking forgotten chapter in American labor history - a group of strikers deported from their mining town and left for dead in the desert - as well as the potential of historical reenactment to act as communal therapy. Greene moves a bit sideways from his usual performance-centric subject matter to show a different kind of performance meant not to affect the audience but the performers themselves, breaking through decades of near-silence on Bisbee’s tumultuous small town history. It’s also a remarkably multi-faceted film; though it would certainly be easy to side fully with the strikers, Greene makes sure to document the perspectives of current Bisbee citizens who sympathize with or even celebrate the decision to deport, complicating the emotions and politics of the reenactment in genuinely interesting ways. A powerful, important documentary.

07. Asako I & II dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Unwieldy and annoying English title aside (especially considering all the possible translations of Netemo Sametemo), Asako seems on the surface like nothing more than a cheap TV romance. It hits many of the same beats and adopts much of the visual style associated with this vein of visual media, particularly in the music video-esque, almost-supernatural meet-cute that opens the film. But hidden beneath these affectations is a shockingly cold un-romance, a story with an inevitable bad end that you’re tricked into thinking might not come to pass. By employing so many stylistic and even verbal cliches, Hamaguchi reveals how these internalized these storytelling devices are, and how they not only can’t prepare us for the complications of actual relationships, but even shift our expectations away from reality. It’s an absolute gut-punch of a film, covered in a seductively sweet carapace.

06. Sweet Country dir. Warwick Thornton

In a fairly large shift from his previous Samson and Delilah, Thornton has put together one of the best and most unusual Westerns in recent years. Featuring great, earthy performances from its nonprofessional cast (plus a bit of Sam Neill and Bryan Brown for good measure) and a weird, almost Malicky flash-forward structure, the film explores a not-widely-depicted history of exploitation of indigenous Australians. It’s a sad film, showing a fairly exciting lead-up to a somewhat deflating moment of unjust violence - but of course, many of the best Westerns aren’t about good triumphing, either. It’s the film on this list that most grew on me over the course of the year, having not impressed me at first but then blowing me away on a second viewing.

05. Leave No Trace dir. Debra Granik

For all the buzz surrounding Winter’s Bone - a film that still holds up after so many years - it’s a bit surprising that it took Granik eight years to put out a follow-up, but I guess it’s worth the wait. Unlike Bone, Leave No Trace is a kind, gentle film, leaving behind the edgy Ozarkian drama of its predecessor for a similar but more forgiving setting of woodland communities in the Pacific Northwest. It initially seduces you with Ben Foster’s outdoorsy survivalist lifestyle, cut off by seemingly uncaring state officials, but gradually revealing, through the second thoughts of his daughter (Thomasin McKenzie, in a shall we say Lawrencian turn), the downsides and flawed motivations for their lifestyle choice. It’s a quiet and thoughtful film, melancholy and optimistic in equal measure. Makes one hope Granik can get another project off the ground sooner.

04. Roma dir. Alfonso Cuarón

I mean, what else can we say about Roma? It’s about as good as claimed, beautifully shot, framed, written, acted, whatever. It’s at its best, sort of ironically, when Cuarón breaks up the quiet personal drama for some of his characteristic action-y set pieces (a Children of Men-esque protest sequence and the climax on the beach are particularly memorable), but he also shows his talent in handling relatively uneventful family scenes, using the layout of the house to facilitate some surprisingly interesting camera movements. I’m happy that Cuarón, who could easily transition into a more boring prestige Hollywood filmmaker if he so chose, is using his industry clout to pull together neat little films like this.

03. The Old Man & the Gun dir. David Lowery

What a completely pleasant film. A film that walks a dangerous tightrope - one of nostalgia, roguish charm, and incessant aw-shucks optimism - that can easily fall into twee, navel-gazing hell, but that miraculously pulls it off, resulting in a genuinely spirit-lifting character study of an almost folkloric figure. Robert Redford’s good in this, but of course he is - that’s the whole point. Perhaps more appropriate to say that this film is good for Robert Redford, that it rises to the occasion of celebrating his career in full and pulls it off without appearing trite or disposable. As good a (reportedly) final outing as anyone could ask for.

02. I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians dir. Radu Jude

A nearly three-hour, densely conversational, nakedly didactic examination of the historical effects and contemporary sources of fascism and ethnic nationalism that somehow flies right by. Radu Jude, a relative latecomer to Romanian cinema’s rise to international prominence, makes a strong argument for being his country’s best and most important filmmaker, taking on complicated, controversial, and infrequently discussed subject matter about Romania’s troubled past. If you can get past Barbarians’ sort of user-unfriendly exterior (Iona Iacob opens the film by introducing herself and explaining her character, which tells you the sort of thing you’re getting into), it should prove to be a remarkably stimulating and even fiendishly funny ride.

01. Shoplifters dir. Hirokazu Koreeda

If you’ve spent the ten years since Still Walking wondering what exactly Koreeda is trying to do anymore, then this is your answer. He’s spent most of the last decade pumping out the same nonconventional family drama over and over again (everything from I Wish to After the Storm, at least) so he could hone his skills like a weapon and create the perfect, ultimate version. With a pitch-perfect cast (Koreeda regulars Lily Franky and Kirin Kiki are the standouts, but Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, and the two child actors more than hold their own), and probably the perfect expression of the chosen family, spots and all, that has consumed much of Koreeda’s career, Shoplifters is one of its director’s career-best films, showcasing all of his talent for depicting delicate, intimate moments and bringing smart, complex ideas to seemingly straightforward premises. The most exciting Palme d’Or winner in years and easily the best film of 2018.

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missymarysthings · 5 years

Text

Stone Shattered Soul

(So...you ever just randomly think ‘what if this character just completely broke and became unhinged?’ and then seemingly find the perfect piece of music to write to for said character and scenario you’re thinking of? Yeeeeaaaah...that kinda happened today. I don’t know why I had this thought for Lorena, but it was interesting. So this is for some unnamed au separate from others mentioned or talked about before. And this: X, Is the music I listened to on loop while doing so. Maybe it was just my evil side wanting to come out and play... )

---

“Ruba...take Mariani and go someplace far away! Discard the Stellato name and find peace somewhere together! Gabriel, take your mother and do the same! You and aunt Viola do not deserve what this family has done! Melanie, our dear Songbird, go! Fly! Be the musician you’ve always wanted! Strip yourself of the Stellato name and be the star I know you can be! This is the last thing I ask of you three dear cousins.”

“Lorena...what are you...“

The head of their family, their cousin, Lorena ‘Medusa’ Stellato, only looked at the three of them with a slightly unnerving smile. She stood from her desk and hugged each of them before ushering them out her office. “Something that was perhaps...long overdue after all. But please do as I asked, and very soon, like next few days soon. I have already made sure your accounts are set with plenty of funds and untouchable except by you alone. You three, Mariani, and aunt Viola...you should be safe, happy and free. Honor my wish please.” she said before closing the door behind them.

Once they were gone a hand went to her heart as an unsettling laughter started to come from her. “Please heed my hidden warning and abide by my last sane wish,” she uttered. “The last good I know, I care about, must be safe, even from me...”

Medusa turned away from the door and headed back to her desk. From there she paged those working to go home early for the day and to take a week of vacation.

The end was near.

She knew were all her pieces were going to be over the next few days. Might have made her grandfather, ‘Grandmaster’ Stellato, proud in a way, if she cared and he was still around. But then, he probably would not have been safe either...

When sunset came she was standing on the roof of her office building. Her cravat was undone and her coat laid, carelessly tossed, on the roof beside her. Her hair was wild and purposefully messed up and she glanced at the city streets below. Watching as people moved around unaware of the winds of change beginning to blow.

“Yes, yes...continue your evening as usual before the whispers begin. Before the disruption in the business world truly begins. Before the chaos starts...“ she murmured in an unsettling tone and then laughed to herself as she swayed lightly. “Starting tomorrow every share the Stellato family holds will be up for grabs, released back to their original owners to be divided up again. Partnerships dissolved and contracts broken. Oh the confusion! What is Lorena Stellato doing? What is she thinking? What’s going on?”

A crazed laugh escaped as she took off her cravat completely and tossed it away. “HA! Like they’ll really care what the woman of stone is doing! It’s one less competitor isn’t it? They won’t have to deal with me anymore! They won’t have to deal with my family anymore! Who cares if I couldn’t change their minds about the former mafia illusionists?! Who cares if my family resisted and hated my changes every step of the way?! Who cares if I don’t seem gentle?! Or caring or warm?! It doesn’t matter any more! Why wait for Salazar to try and ruin me?! Why wait for someone in my family to do something wrong, or for me to say or do the wrong thing and have Sein try to bring my family down....WHEN I CAN DO IT MYSELF?!”

Medusa did a flip backward away from the edge of the roof and kicked off her shoes in the progress. Her eyes seemed to darken as a lopsided smile came to her face. “If I am to be alone or disregarded anyway...might as well do it on my own terms. Sleep well Stellato family...for tonight is your last night before retribution from the one you mistreated, abused, and took for granted comes for you and your lives! No one wants us anyway...why not be our own self-destruction!?” she exclaimed and laughed as her hands went through her hair. “No more working myself to death for you and trying to better our name! I’d now rather die trying to end us! Or succeed and leave myself to fate!”

She then created a heart made of stone and placed it on the rooftop before creating a hammer out of stone as well. Medusa smashed the heart soundly, and while a brief look of pain crossed her face, she soon began laughing wildly.

“I AM NO ONE!“ she declared before skipping back into the building and down to her office.

---

Any meetings, or events she had been expected to attend over the next few days she did not show up to. Medusa Stellato was too busy for them. Busy bringing the demise of her own clan. Catching her family unaware, trapping some in unbreakable stone coffins to slowly suffocate. Fighting others that she couldn’t catch off guard and putting them down before placing the bodies in more stone coffins. Some fights she had injuries from, cuts and bruises, but the did little to slow her down. Her element was all around her, and she knew how to use it.

Her father Vincent, that was the hardest fight. The one she almost lost, but she refused to let him get the satisfaction of beating her. She would not die to him. Driving a stone spike through his heart, while looking at the disbelief and pain in his eyes, was perhaps the most satisfying thing she had done so far. The one that had done her the most injustice, the one who had most treated her like a means to an end rather than a human being was now dead at her hands.

And she had no remorse or regrets.

His body only got a stone box rather than a coffin. The same for her mother. They would not even get the decency to be placed together when the time comes.

When Medusa was all done she was a frightful mess. But she could care less. The Stellato family was no more. Only two last things to do. All the stone caskets, and boxes, were gathered to the Stellato Estate. They were scattered and buried throughout it without care or much thought. Then once she was outside once more, she turned the entire estate into impenetrable stone. A petrified mausoleum no one could enter or visit but herself.

And that would never happen.

When she got to her office building she was tired and in pain and neglecting all of it. She made her way back to the rooftop once more and with deranged laughter, encased the entire building in stone. Then chains of stone sprung from the top of the stone encased building and cuffs formed at the ends to attach themselves to her hands and ankles.

She had willingly chained herself to the building. Made herself a true prisoner of her own madness and unhinged mind. “No one can destroy my family like I can! Dream all you want Salazar but you could never accomplish this! I have taken what you and your family have wanted and twisted it! You don’t get the satisfaction of saying you ended the Stellatoes!” she yelled out to the world before laughing more. “Sein! I know you can crush the Roses and show them how truly pathetic they have become! Put them in their place! You have one less competitor in business now so it should be even easier!” she yelled out as well.

Medusa was not sure what would happen now as she fell to her knees in exhaustion. Maybe vampires would come and finish her off. She was still bleeding in some places from the last few fights she had been in. Maybe justice would come for her and end her life for murdering all but five members of her family. Maybe her horrid health would be her demise and the toll of everything she had done the last few days would be the last straw.

In the end it didn’t really matter to her. She knew she was too far gone to be saved in any way. The whites of her eyes had turned black days ago and her golden irises glimmered against it. She felt nothing but dark inside now, knowing that what’s left of her soul must be void black as a result of what she has done.

And all Medusa could do now was laugh hysterically and rattle the stone chains she had placed herself in.

How tragic for one so promising to fall so far...

#random prompt #random what if #Medusa Stellato #under a read more mainly because of lenght #but also because of subject matter

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cattles-bians · 3 years

Text

exes au part 15

post directory

em: viola teas i am like. incapable of sleeping in

em: i woke up 10:30 on the dot and i thought. what the fuck

em: 10:30 is especially offensive bc it means the mcdonald’s breakfast is done

obsetress: brain immediately said viola up and about doing all the chores vacuuming with no sympathy for her constantly sleeping in snoring girlfriend dani clayton

obsetress: but nah i'm sorry for you that sucks

em: inspiring deranged viola behaviour is

em: the greatest gift of all

obsetress: god so true when u think about it

obsetress: not that viola vacuums, she def has cleaners but

obsetress: actually no

obsetress: she has cleaners but she's prob not satisfied and gets out her expensive vacuum she has no idea how to use and is clattering n making such a fuss

obsetress: and poor dani

em: she’s up and about rearranging things, she’s causing a ruckus,

obsetress: dani's like "you have just as bad insomnia as me and you're just... getting up? that early?"

obsetress: viola shrugs "i don't need that much sleep"

obsetress: "you do, though"

obsetress: she shrugs and disappears into the kitchen

obsetress: insomniac gf and insomniac gf

em: insomnia gfs

em: viola runs on like

em: supernatural element carrying over: viola is a little too good at running on no sleep and no one knows if she ages

obsetress: YEAH

em: i love a sorta, grounded real life show w like one or two unexplained ambiguously supernatural things that no one blinks at

obsetress: i was gonna be like

obsetress: i wonder what dani and viola do when theyre up not sleeping at night and then i was like

obsetress: Well,

obsetress: no they do that but they also do the most random borderline unhinged shit like

obsetress: dani tries new baking recipes and they sit on the countertop in their pjs or underwear or nothing and eat scones at three am

em: go for night drives

em: night drives aren’t even unhinged but they’re nice

em: but they don’t listen to music they listen to fucken podcasts

obsetress: that fuckin lorde song

[em note: it's supercut]

obsetress: they go to the roof and dani lays her head in viola's lap and stares at the stars while viola reads to her in french

obsetress: ugh i put it on oh god why did i put it on

[em note: it's still supercut]

obsetress: in my head.........

obsetress: i do everything right............

obsetress: when you call............

obsetress: i'll forgive and not fight.............

obsetress: ours are the moments.........i play in the dark OH MY GOD VI'S INSOMNIA AFTER DANI LEAVES AND SHES ALONE

em: ur a MONSTER

obsetress: i need to lay on the floor and put this song on repeat

obsetress: anyway um

obsetress: another thought from when i was thinking about the vacuum like

obsetress: viola has a degree of learned helplessness that all rich people have but she's not an idiot like the rest of them yknow and i think like

obsetress: she had to do a lot when she and perdita were kids!

obsetress: after her mom died

em: hannah......

obsetress: and then after her dad died before she married arthur and like

obsetress: then being a single mom (viola lloyd single mom i'm drooling) even w all the help she can afford

obsetress: she has a chip on her shoulder and Does Things For Herself but also just

obsetress: sometimes it happens! there's never enough time and never enough help!

obsetress: and she loves isabel so much like

obsetress: viola making isabel her lunches

obsetress: oh god

em: making her little lunches at like 2am bc it’s been a busy day and she’s tired and she’s sore and she’s sad but the one thing viola will never skip is like

em: making sure isabel gets her lunches

em: hey what is wrong with us

obsetress: GOD YEAH

obsetress: EXACTLY

obsetress: HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS THINKING ABOUT HER MAKING THEM AT TWO AM UGH

obsetress: anyway um yeah viola making isabel her lunches at two am

obsetress: i know that i wrote jamie leaving flora notes on her napkins but like

[em note: read 'and she taught me a lesson alright']

obsetress: i just think it's something a mom who really loves her kid and wants them to feel safe and okay would do so i want to say vi does it for isabel too!!! and what of it they're different universes it's fine

em: ur just building the hannah obsetress cinematic universe

em: building up some Themes and Motifs

obsetress: themes motifs and symbols

obsetress: anyway viola packing isabels lunches she writes little notes and puts on lipstick n kisses them

obsetress: so isabel can get a kiss from her mom

em: im going to kill u w my bare hands

obsetress: cut to vi in the bathroom wiping it off later à la jennifer check

em: im GONNA

obsetress: sometimes when vi has to go out of town for business or w/e she leaves a stack of napkins with arthur to put in isabel's lunch so she can still get a kiss from her mom even when she's gone

em: thats so extra??

em: its so viola

obsetress: exactly

obsetress: she definitely has a fear of isabel favoring arthur over her (abandonment issues etc etc)

obsetress: gestures at canon

—-

em: dani 'its casual' taylor

obsetress: leave the typo

obsetress: dont you dare change it

em: i need u to know that i DO fuck but

em: hgfngjkyhGJBJKFHD FUCK

em: ruined my own joke

obsetress: in the most spectacular way

em: dani 'i need you to know i DO fuck but im accepting offers' clayton

obsetress: she takes care to drop that like

obsetress: it's just casual SHE'S not anything serious. i'm not dating HER or anything

obsetress: jamie's like dani i know you're gay you literally stare at my lips every time i talk

em: dani getting off the phone and dramatically rolling her eyes like 'ex girlfriends, am i right? whats up with these women i-' and jamies like love i get it

obsetress: jamie raising her eyebrows "how many ex girlfriends do you have"

obsetress: dani's like "well, just the one, but"

em: but i COULD have more. if i wanted to. bc i am looking to date more women

em: jamies like ok cool

obsetress: jamie, a little too casually: oh? any, uh. prospects?

em: danis like (patented nervous dani lip bite) maybe but

em: jamies like drat

em: jamies like darn

em: and then she gets home and shes like

em: wait

obsetress: jamie calling dani back "when you said maybe"

obsetress: and dani immediately is like yEAH?

em: jamies like do you think you could ever be interested in me and danis like umm. yeah.

em: jamie hangs up like ok cool

em: long beat

obsetress: oh my GOD

em: REDIALS

---

obsetress: ok last thing i was gonna say

obsetress: i meant to say this earlier and got distracted a hundred times over

obsetress: but um imagine dani helping isabel with her english homework

obsetress: vi helping isabel with her math homework

em: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

em: SOFT

obsetress: well,

em: oh no

obsetress: isabel needing help w her english homework post dani and vi's trying to help and vi's smart n all but

em: get HELP

---

em: dani 'hooking up w my ex is actually a v girlboss of me' is SO funny to me

em: when they get together danis like, oh but havent we all- and jamies like nooo i have very good boundaries

em: except for the perdi vi psychosexual power play ig

obsetress: moment of weakness

obsetress: who wouldn't want to hook up w their hot boss

—

obsetress: when dani goes up to london whatever weekend like friday night to get her closure dinner with vi

obsetress: boom haircut and therapy reveal

em: 3 day bender u say

obsetress: all of a sudden it's sunday night and

obsetress: YEAH

obsetress: they spend

obsetress: all fucking weekend

obsetress: in vi's bed

em: sighs dreamily

obsetress: dani playing with her hair

obsetress: "this is nice"

obsetress: "i'm gonna miss your bun though"

obsetress: vi's brain is short circuiting at "i'm gonna miss"

em: later danis like look. jamie. what would you have done? and jamie chokes on her beer and splutters 'not fuck my ex for 3 days straight?!'

obsetress: dani "well you've never fucked v–– oh wait"

obsetress: "you really can't blame me, jamie, you KNOW" jamie: (grumbles)its different... dani: well i mean i guess, technically, you didnt,

obsetress: unrelated in some bad fight at the end vi is like "you can't go isabel needs a–– you're like her–––" and dani's like "a what? say it" and viola's too stubborn and proud and hurt to say it

em: just perpetually bouncing back to the worlds angstiest break up

obsetress: i don't know WHY

obsetress: as someone who HATES ANGST

obsetress: i am so DRAWN to these two

em: its ummmm weirdly cathartic??

em: the whole exes au is based on a joke about them being friends and exes. we are v firm in like. viola and dani reconcile!

em: idk i love a catharsis moment! i love it when a character claws their way to happiness. or even begrudgingly goes to therapy

em: viola can go through a little hell as a treat

obsetress: turns out the only one who could fix her in the end

obsetress: was the one who said it's not my job to fix you

em: dani transformative power of (platonic) love

obsetress: "Platonic"

#the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au

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