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warningsine · 2 years ago

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Have you ever been enjoying a film or TV series, only to suddenly find yourself squinting at the dark screen? Recent releases including “Euphoria,” “The Batman” and “Handmaid’s Tale,” as well as classic films including “Alien,” “Taxi Driver” and “Seven” all utilize dark imagery, but what if the visuals are simply too dark to see everything in the frame?

While dark scenes are usually due to the filmmaker’s vision, there are several factors both at movie theaters and when viewing at home that will affect the viewer’s ability to see what’s going on onscreen.

Home viewing

For home viewers, one culprit could be the viewing environment, according to digital imaging technician Nicholas Kay. When he goes to visit his parents’ house, he’s aghast at the butchered image quality on their television screen, which Kay believes should be as neutral as possible. As someone who spends countless hours perfecting visuals on- and off-set, he feels personally offended by the settings on his parents’ TV, from motion smoothing to brightness, which Kay said shouldn’t be turned up or down.

“They watch this stuff, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you’re killing me, like please, let me help you,’” Kay said. “And then I help them, and they’re like, ‘Oh, what happened?’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean, what happened? This is how you’re supposed to see it!’”

The settings on a TV are just one factor when it comes to how a film is ultimately viewed. Other determinants might be the lighting in the room or the size and quality of the monitor.

Images in movie theaters, which should provide the ultimate viewing experience for cinephiles, can be just as dark as a badly adjusted home screen. Many projectors are not well maintained and even 4K resolution can fall flat.

But ultimately, the reason a movie or series seems super dark is that it’s how the filmmaker intended it to look.

A few years ago, a final battle in the “Game of Thrones” finale was criticized by many viewers for being so dark that it was impossible to see what was going on. Cinematographer Fabian Wagner defended his work at the time, telling Wired, “Everything we wanted people to see is there.” He also pointed out that the scene was shot at night and said the intention was to differentiate the battle aesthetically from other scenes throughout the series. He also stressed that watching the show anywhere other than a darkened room with a neutral, large monitor was a disservice to the viewer.

Mood-setter

Other than the viewing environment, though, Kay, a two-decade industry vet who has worked on movies including “Joker,” “Venom” and “Black Panther,” said there are practical and emotional reasons for dark images. Whether “dark” refers to the moodiness of a piece of media or its literal lack of light, the two often go hand-in-hand.

Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” takes place largely at night, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is set in a gloomy dystopia, and horror movies like the “Fear Street” trilogy rely on the cover of darkness to keep viewers on their toes. Those works and more have all faced criticism for being too shadowy (the West Wind Drive-In in Las Vegas told patrons that they couldn’t get a refund for “The Batman” if they found it too dark) but the alternative might be an unrealistic depiction of the plot.

“I think that a lot of cinematographers, when they do certain things like that, they’re trying to make it feel extremely truthful,” Kay said. “I don’t think the intention is to struggle to see, but there are times where I personally feel like I’m struggling, like, ‘Is it taking me out of it?’ My job really is to calibrate my eye to what the cinematographer wants it to look like.”

Of course, it’s not just newer titles that have viewers straining their eyes. Over the years, films from “Alien” (1979) to the aptly titled “Dark City” (1998), have been presented with extremely dark images. One difference, Kay says, is that those movies were shot on film, while most modern cinema is shot digitally. Even the digital remasters of those classic films might appear much flatter than the original, because 35mm film has two to three times more grains per square inch than 4K has in pixels. That means cinematographers have to get creative when it comes to crafting a unique and “organic” image.

“What they’re fighting is the sharpness and the crispness and the perfection of digital,” Kay said. “That’s what they would all say, and that’s why they want to shoot on film or that’s why they want to use a lot of smoke and filters — to basically take away the perfection.”

‘Euphoria’s’ Special Treatment

One of the most notable deviations from the digital landscape is Sam Levinson’s HBO teen drama “Euphoria.” The show’s second season was shot on 35mm Kodak Ektachrome, which forced Kodak to convert part of its factory to produce the discontinued film stock.

“Euphoria” has become well-known for its unique visuals, and cinematographer Marcell Rév said the stock’s film speed of 100 ISO (the metric for how much light the film picks up) forced them to light the set “like we were lighting a sitcom.” The result is an extremely textured final image that allows Rév to play with light in ways most filmmakers can’t, and he acknowledged that contrast is an important aspect of his vision.

“We were trying to do like velvety deep shadows, but I don’t think they are dark,” Rév said.” You always have very bright reference points in every image. I don’t think there are images where you’re wondering what’s on the image.”

Rév said he doesn’t believe that films are trending darker or lighter in general, but noted one inspiration in the world of film noir: David Fincher — specifically his 1995 film “Seven.”

“It’s a really dark [film],” Rév said. “That revolutionized the way they shot movies in the ‘90s, the way that [cinematographer] Darius Khondji used film stock and how he underexposed film stock and how he lit that movie. It was something so original and unique. It was in the ‘90s and it was way darker than anything I can see now in the cinema.”

In “The Batman,” Reeves and cinematographer Greig Fraser employed a technique similar to Khondji’s, where they printed the digital print of the movie onto film and used a bleach bypass to achieve a more high-contrast image. The technique marries aspects of film and digital, and creates a more textured look than most digitally shot superhero movies would allow.

As a technician who entered the industry as it was transitioning from film to digital, Kay’s job, he said, is often to help directors and cinematographers capture the essence of the films they grew up watching, trying to emulate the look and feel of film without any special treatment from Kodak.

Kay said that ever since digital has taken hold, studios have also gained more control when it comes to the final product. As a result, he said he believes many films are actually brighter than they need to be, with the exception being the works of well-known auteurs and cinematographers who have full control of the resolution and coloring of their movies. He referenced the work of his friend, cinematographer Bradford Young, who has shot films including “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018), “Arrival” (2015) and the 2019 mini-series “When They See Us,” which Kay also worked on. Those works all utilize dark imagery, but Kay said that’s entirely on purpose.

“He likes things darker, as an example of people who like to be more honest with the image, and certain scenarios and scenes are dark,” Kay said. “‘When They See Us,’ I know, was dark and smoky, but it was meant to be this organic, visceral experience where these kids are suffering.”

Lighting darker skin tones can also lead to problems for cinematographers, and the industry has only recently begun to acknowledge the inequity faced by Black actors and other people of color on screen. Many of the technologies used for lighting have been historically calibrated for white people, which is why the work of cinematographers like Young and Ava Berkofsky on “Insecure” has contributed so much to the craft.

In terms of his work on “Joker” (2019), photographed by Lawrence Sher, and “Venom” (2018), photographed by Matthew Libatique, Kay said the dark visuals were justified.

“‘Joker’ wasn’t even that dark to me,” Kay said. “It was more dark in theme. I don’t feel like you’re struggling to see it. It’s more like it takes place at night a lot of times or on subways or things like that. You know, the lights are going on and off … It’s all practically motivated.”

Beyond aesthetic or practical motivation, though, sometimes the reason for a scene’s dark lighting is much more mundane. If a movie utilizes special effects makeup or if a shot picks up lighting cables in the background, the darkness provides a great solution for hiding things that filmmakers don’t want the audience to notice. The modern techniques of CGI and VFX editing can fix the issue, but for lower budget projects, the old-school way is often much easier.

“‘Just paint it black’ is literally the answer to everything,” Kay said. “‘Alien’ is a great example of hiding things like prosthetics, all that kind of stuff. Those prosthetics look real, because they’re in a real environment and they’re lit realistically. To light them more, you start to reveal that they’re fake.”

Adjust Your TV

But, regardless of why an image seems dim, Kay has a few tips for making sure you have the best shot at seeing a film the way it was intended. He suggested Googling the make and model of your TV set to learn how to neutralize the settings, adding, “If a window outside is pointing at your screen, you’re fighting an uphill battle.”

When it comes to your local movie theater, keep an eye out for smudged screens or washed-out picture quality, and alert the theater manager. Make a point of patronizing cinemas that prioritize the viewer experience, such as AMC’s Dolby Cinemas or Alamo Drafthouse.

When it comes to lack of control over how someone will watch one of the projects on which he spends months perfecting the imagery, Kay takes the challenges of his work in stride.

“Most people are gonna be watching this on an airplane or an iPhone anyway,” Kay said, “but that doesn’t stop you from trying.”

#film #cinema #cinematography #lightning

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kmclaude · 2 years ago

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Idk if you've been asked this before, but favorite horror movies? Anything particularly impactful to you? I'm kinda lost with what I want to watch lately, esp for spooky season

I just got all the OG Hellraiser movies and i may gorge myself on them bc that's always fun, I love fun. Ring is also good but it was also my 12 year old special interest. If you want a better and Japanese Would You Rather from the 90s, Red Room (also called King Card Game iirc) is good, unearthed films released the dvd but it once was on youtube in full. I actually need to watch a couple of horror dvds i've had and just never watched...

Obligatory The Devils rec

Oh, i have a love for the Re-Animator films, my exfiancé and I went down a Re-Animator and related films wormhole. Speaking of, by the same director: Society. Fun film. Good effects. Freaky third act.

(I am completely dead inside and desperate to feel so most horror movies fall flat unless they can do something fun/quirky/aesthetic/interesting for me lol so sorry if these aren't scary.)

If you have Shudder and like found footage, Deadstream is pretty good. One dude carries the whole dang thing, props to him. Host is also good.

The movie adaptation of the videogame Detention is good. Netflix also has a tv show based off it but the movie is more horror and the show is more ghost drama.

Kairo/Pulse, the OG one, is so gd good. Upsetting in a bleak way--I watched it with friends raaaaather soon after my breakup and it kinda fucked me up lmao--so I rec it but with the caveat I was in a super dark lonely isolated borderline suicidal place ("was" lol) so it hit even HARDER than usual. Good film. But like...if you watch it while depressed you're gonna be suuuUUUUUuuUuUuper depressed.

Oh wait yeah if you want bleak and upsetting true horror, on youtube for free is the film Threads from 1984. It is about what nuclear apocalypse would look like for the survivors. It is....it is difficult. It is kinda like watching The Handmaid's Tale where you just keep getting punched in the face over and over and it never stops.

Noroi: The Curse is a slow burn found footage that actually...ok so i love found footage bc the bar is low. So low. I have 0 expectations. You can only delight me. Noroi is like "what if we did found footage fucking RIGHT" and it is good. Again slow burn.

I'm sure others have better recs than I--tbh if you have access to Shudder I have found you can't go wrong with the Shudder originals. They have yet to disappoint. They also have a shitton of giallo films which tend to just be....very pretty trainwrecks.

#kmclaudereplies #kmclaudereplies to ask #horror recs

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cocochannel00 · 4 years ago

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Things that Husband!Harry would definitely do (a thread)

(If you don’t think that Tiny Desk Harry doesn’t give off mad husband!harry vibes - he looks so fluffy- then we can’t be friends)

- He’d sneak into your room the night before the wedding because he missed you even though he knows its bad luck and when you’re mad at him for it he would just smile and place a kiss on your forehead and say “I don’t need any luck, I just need you”

- At your wedding reception he would walk around the room introducing you to everyone as “my wife” as if they didn’t already know who you were

- During your wedding dinner he’d spend the whole night whispering dirty jokes in your ear trying to make you laugh because he knew that even though it was your wedding day you were still spooked by all of the attention

- On your first year anniversary Harry wanted to surprise you by making you breakfast in bed so he started making pancakes as you slept. You woke up to the sound of your fire alarm going off and Harry blowing the smoke off a pan with a pillow. He’d give you a sheepish smile before mumbling a “maybe we get takeout this year?”

- During the holidays he’d hang mistletoe all around your house and force you to kiss him at every one. “Look love it’s mistletoe, you know what that means” he’d state with a grin. “Harry I just kissed you literally 2 minutes ago in the other room” you’d grumble “Doesn’t matter love, it’s mistletoe and those are the rules. Now come here and kiss your husband”

- Anytime the two of you would get into any sort of major fight where you would say “I hate you” he would shoot back “Well I love you so I guess you’re stuck with me” before going to sulk on the couch

- Whenever you went to his shows or stayed with him on tour he would force you to sit back stage and watch him from the wings so he could watch your reaction to his corny jokes and steal a kiss from you in between sets and on his bathroom breaks

- You agreed to be the designated drive for your group for a night out so Harry gets drunk and becomes extra clingy. He spends the entire night stuck to your side, shoving his face in your neck whispering “I’m going to marry you one day” to which you’d remind him quietly that you were already married. He’d then nod thoughtfully and mumbled “Well then I’m going to marry you again just in case”

- One night you would be tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep and you would accidentally wake up Harry. You’d apologies because you knew he had to wake up early the next day, but he would just shush you with a quick peck before repositioning you so that you could lay your head on his chest. He’d then softly start humming the tune to one of the new songs he was working on until you’d fall asleep

- Harry would convince you that he was capable of building the Ikea coat rack the two of you had bought for your new home on his own so you’d go into the room next door to take a nap. When you woke up and hour later you found him laying on the floor facetiming Mitch as he tried to figure out why the last piece wasn’t fitting properly only for you to look at it and realize he had built half of it backwards

- Harry would come home late from one his movie shoots and would mumble a quick hello as he walked in through the door. You’d be sitting on the couch watching and episode of Dateline and he would throw himself next to you and lay his head on your lap. You’d start running your hands through his hair as you finished watching the last couple of minutes of the episode before asking Harry how his day was only to realize he had passed out on your lap and was now quietly snoring, a small trail of drool slowly coming out of his mouth

- The next season of your favorite show Handmaid’s Tale had come out so you and Harry started watching it. Every five minutes Harry would ask you a question about the show until mid way through you looked at him and bursted out “Harry if you ask me one more question about the show I’m sending you to our room”. Harry would pout at you and sink into the couch, grumbling about how it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t remember what happened last season before he shoved some popcorn into his mouth

- You’d need to go shopping at Target one day to get some decorations for your niece's birthday party and Harry would decide to come along. “This is our list Harry, we’re not buying anything that’s not on the list” you’d say in the car before getting out, but it would be hopeless because every other aisle Harry would pick something up and say “babe we need to get this” and you would stare at him and say “is it on the list?” and he would grumble a no before sulking back down the aisle to put it back

- On road trips when he let you pick the music he would grumble when you would change the song every 30 seconds. “Love just choose a song, it’s not that difficult, gave you the bloody playlist” he’d state as you would continue to skip through the songs mumbling “I’m tired of that song though, just wanted to hear the chorus”. “Is that what you do with my songs too, just skip all the good parts to get to the bloody chorus?” he’d ask mockingly as you gave him a sheepish smile and mumbled a “sometimes” before finally picking a song

- It would be nearly 4 am and you would still be awake reading your book in bed as Harry slept soundly next to you. You could feel the tears running down your face as the main character just had their heartbroken and a soft sniffle left your nose which caused Harry to startle awake. “Babe what time is it?” he’d mumble as you continue reading, paying him no mind. He’d turn on his phone and groan as he saw the 4 flash at him before turning to see the tears on your face. “Oh no love did she get her heartbroken again? Sure they’ll get back together by the end” he’d state, knowing this was your third rom-com book of the month. You’d mumble a yes as Harry gently dog eared the page before you could protest. He turned off your lamp before tucking you into his side, pulling the covers up to your chin, letting you crying into his chest over your fictional characters

- You and Harry going to your 15th high school reunion together and he gets jealous when he sees you talking to your ex-boyfriend from when you were 16. He’d come up behind you and wrap an arm around your waist while placing a kiss to the side of your temple before reaching out his free hand to introduce himself. “Hello I’m Harry. The Husband” he’d say as he shook your ex’s hand just a little tighter then necessary

- Harry would be overly invested in your work place gossip so when the two of you would have dinner together he would constantly ask questions about what happened with your coworkers that day. “So did Stacy and Justin get caught yet or does Janet still have no idea? Did Kathleen ever get that promotion? If I ever see Garrett I’m going to punch him”

- He’d force you to wake up early with him so the two of you could workout together in your home gym, but you’d just sit on the floor against the mirror in your workout clothes staring at him. After several attempts at trying to get you to stretch with him he’d give up and say “If you’re not gonna workout at least give me some motivation babe” so he’d do his abs workout in front of you and every time he came up from a sit-up you’d give him a kiss

- Harry would come down with a cold and he would turn into a 5 year old boy and try to milk it for everything it’s worth. “Think the doctor mentioned that cuddles would really help with my headache, love.” “Harry I don’t think that’s what the doctor said” you’d reply as you placed a cold wash cloth on his forehead. “Don’t think I would have forgotten such an important order from her. Now, come here I want to cuddle my wife”

- He’d come home from the studio fidgeting with his beat-up blue iPod in his hand as you were finishing up a quick dinner for the two of you. He would gently place the iPod on the counter next to you as he poured himself a drink to calm his nerves. You’d stare at it for a minute before asking “Is it finished? Can I listen?”. He’d nod before you gave him a quick kiss and took the device to the living room, leaving him there with his thoughts. An hour later you came back into the kitchen, tears streaming down your face as you ran up to hug him. “Liked it?” he’d ask nervously, this being the first time you’d heard the finished album. “Absolutely loved it” you’d whisper back causing Harry to release a deep breath before taking your face in his hands and kissing you roughly

- He’d start every award acceptance speech with “I’d like to first thank my wife for always supporting me” and then try to catch your eye in the crowd, giving you a soft smile that was only meant for you before going on to thank everyone else

- “We need an intervention Harry. Why are your suits in my side of the closet?” you asked as you came down stairs with one of Harry’s Gucci suits. “I was running out of space and I didn’t think you would notice” he replied with a blush. “Well I did so either you move them or I’m throwing them out” “Love but they’re Gucci you can’t just-” “Ah ah ah I don’t care. My side of the closet” you’d state before dropping the suit in his lap and walking back upstairs

So many others come to mind but these are just a couple that came to mind. I’ll probably do a Dad!Harry version at some point as well

#harry styles imagines #harry styles x reader #husband!harry #harry styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles fic #harry styles masterlist #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic

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oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years ago

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Under His Eye

Masterlist

You and Henry move in to your new district and Henry wastes no time in putting his foot down these commanders need to know who the new boss is around here!

Warnings: Swearing, handmaids tale patriarchal bullshit, BDE Henry? A/N: so here is the first of my Handmaids tale au, just for reference your driver is Jai Courtney, guard is Chris evans. This is more to set up the story a bit of info ect mostly just seting things up! I took some liberties with the new Gilead arch-types I hope they make sense...Any way enjoy Taglist: @promptandpros @isitmine @runawayolives @two-unbeatable-beaters @thatgirly81 @angelofthor @iloveyouyen @sofiebstar @thefangirlsblog @tinabean37 @viking-raider

You sighed looking out the window as your driver-Jai moved the large black car through the streets two black moving trucks and another three cars holding a Martha- Molly and your handpicked guard for the household Chris then just a few of Henry's loyal soldiers who would help oversee the district followed drawing the attention of the locals. Handmaids ,Martha’s ,Aunts, wives and guards alike they all looked. All wanted to see the newcomers. They couldn't the windows were blacked out, for your privacy Henry had said but It wasn't, he liked getting the first look not them. It was rare someone moved home in Gilead. If they did it was because they either got in trouble...Or they got a promotion. Not you, not your husband. Henry was a commander, a son of Jacob but he was more then that he was what they now called an apostle. An elite commander who had proved to be the best of the best on and off the field, he had been an angel- one of Gilead’s best soldiers and was pulled from the front lines after yielding incredible results, not that he really believed all of this shit! God no he did what everyone did in the god forsaken place. He survived. In doing so he worked his way up into the top ranks there wasn't many above him in Gilead now. He was used to bring order in to unruly areas, unruly commanders. And he wasn't idle no he spared who he could ,saved who he could usually women...He spared you saved you from a fate worse then death. You looked from left to right down the road and Henry moved a large hand to yours on the seat between you. He gripped it lightly smoothing his thumb in circles across your skin. You sighed again at him. Curling your slim fingers around his weakly, you hadn't wanted to move not again you wanted a home to settle and just live. "Love...Stop worrying everything with be fine, I'm sure you will make friends here...We will be here for years this time not months" you looked over to him and rolled your eyes at him making his lips twitch in a grin revealing his immaculate teeth. "Friends you mean the lesser wives? Who have probably never seen a Royal blue? And will want to scratch my eyes out at the sight of me?" He laughed a deep baritone sound at your little jab. Yes it was true being a royal blue wife was rare and the regular Teals didn't like it. A fertile wife of an apostle? Yes there was only four of you in Gilead. You were called Royal blues allowed to wear darker and brighter blues then your teal counterparts, darker to show your higher ranking and brighter to show off your fertility...Red was taken. Henry turned to you taking you in he knew how you felt about the move. You didn't want to leave again but it was necessary this district had it all! And the powers at be had enough for so many sons of Jacob this district was in all honesty taking the piss. Suicides? Bombs? Handmaids going insane?, wives reading? Sex out side of the ceremony? To many infringements in such a short time Henry was here to cleanup house and he started with the top. These commanders had no idea that he was coming this was his turf now and he was going to 'tear shit up' as they used to say. He smiled leaning over to his staring little wife kissing her cheek making her blush and go shy. He pulled back and spoke. "Well if they were ever stupid enough to do such a thing you know I'd handle it y/n" you cast him a shy glance and smiled at him you'd be the first to admit you were lucky to have your husband. He was a fine man even with that fuzzy face, the kingstach hid a perfect jawline and dimpled chin strong and defined. His bright blue eyes that were always playful and warm when he gazed at you, yet cold and biting frightening to others. He had his curls looser today one or two skimming his forehead. You couldn't help staring at him...You did at least once a day still in awe of the man. He was masculine strong in every sense of the word he had not dropped his training since being and Angel of the faith he kept it up going for a run and works outs each day. The training he had kept him wide and built more so then the eye's and guards he was just...An incredible male to behold. "My little wife you wouldn't be over come with sinful thoughts now would you?~" you giggled looking away blushing as he teased you bringing your hand to his mouth kissing your palm. "Sinful husband? No I am merely appreciating the good lords handcraft. You are an angel~" Henry scoffed at your teasing and moved his hand tickling your side making you squirm and giggle batting away at him. "Come here you~" you squeaked as he pulled you over to his lap still tickling you before moving in to kiss your lips fully. This is what you loved to the world he was a big scary Apostle but to you? He was your big teddy bear how you had found the love of your life in this wretched place you didn't know but you were thankful for it! You were treated as an equal in the comfort of your own home, sure you followed the laws....Well you did follow most; you didn't read ect but he was adamant that ha healthy sex life determined a healthy marriage and since you had proved fruitful you had no real setbacks now, which was a god send. Henry as it turns out was a randy boy~

Your car rolled to a stop in front of a huge house a gated courtyard it was the largest on the street. It looked light and airy like one of those house posh people had on reality tv...Then again you supposed you were posh people now? You looked seeing a few wives come out into their gardens deciding now was the perfect time to inspect there precious flowers whilst stealing glances to the convoy. "I'm afraid I have to get to work right away...Introduce myself to the local government...I hope you like the house I had it cleaned already and it is mostly furnished hand picked by me of course~" you laughed at him as he wriggled his brow. "Mix and match then my love? Tell me will anything match of do I have to go shopping again?" Henry frowned at you playfully and swooped in for another kiss deepening it cupping your face molding your lips together in an obscene twist of tongues drinking one another in. You moaned softly as he moved crouching over you getting far to invested not that either of you cared Jai didn't he just sat there looking back rolling his eyes at the two of you hand on head. You grunted when he finally pulled away he had a shit eating grin as you whined embarrassingly and pouted at his teasing. "You are lucky we are in the car my love~" you moved up closer breath ghosting his lips taunting him and raised a brow. He hummed a quiet chuckle at you as you kneeled up beside him to be level with his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Luck is that what they call it now Mr Cavill?" He laughed wrapping you up in his arms moving to tuck his face into your neck groaning as he took a breath your scent was of the clean rosemary infused soap you'd began using. He loved the fresh scent just as your fingers began to wander he pulled back with a soft grunt. "Oh come now love your audience awaits we can't get away with having sex in the car...Jai wouldn't appreciate it~" Jai scoffed laughing from the front. "Don’t mind me Henry! Closest thing to action I'm fucking getting, by all means plunder away little hanky panky don't do me no harm ~" you rolled your eyes at his sarcastic reply you kicked his seat making him groan with a laugh you crossed your arms at the two chuckling men. They were close made brothers on the front line Henry had pulled him out as soon as he could he was a very loyal man and you cloth called him family. "Well you'll be pleased to know there is a jezebells here...Just don't fuck around be mindfull-" Henry began to warn Jai waved him off. "Henry fuck man! Consent is consent shit I don't need that lecture besides I will walk in there and have them biting at the bit to see my goods...They will be climbing the walls to let me in theirs they’d be-" "Alright Jai you have a penis well done!" Henry smiled as you cut off the sordid ramblings of a horn dog. He relaxed he knew that Jai would never force himself on a woman its why he hired Jai and Chris like minded men who protected women when they could.

Jai got out placing sunglasses on and moved to the door to let you out. The neighbors held there breath a you were helped out of the car. The bright blue of your dress was the first thing they noticed. You cringed a little at the titters and hisses of the women around the street, you knew what was going on they were asking each other why you were decorated in such a bright color. A lot of women didn't realize even wives had ranks well not out here anyway and as far a ranks got they didn't get higher then you hence why there is only four of you even apostles had to use handmaids. You tucked your hands in front of you demurely just as you'd been taught and turned to the car smiling. "Go in grace husband I eagerly await your return~" you finished with a wink that made him roll his eyes and shake his head at you. It always gave him a chuckle watching as you fell into the Gileadian wife so easily. You stepped away smirking as Jai closed the door and entered the car pulling away fro the curb. You watched for a few seconds then subtly scanned the street that now had quite a few people outside. It seemed everyone wanted a look at the newcomers. You twisted on your heel your long flowy dress swinging delicately the blue satin almost shimmered making you stand out especially against the dreary back drop of the autumn street. You took a deep breath and stepped to the house making your way to the gate which the other guards had opened and was already carrying things into the house. Molly came and stood next to you as you looked up at the house. "They are staring" she said casually making you sigh closing your eyes feeling the envious and curious stares of your new found neighbors none approached you. Either to shy or frightened no one would come near you yet it wasn't done. Women do not make freinds with other women...Well not the elite anyway, teals were bitter they all had a belief that they would not be held to the same laws as the others and were very put out when they realized just what they had to give up. You held no sympathy for them, they helped create this world they made there bed they can lay in it! "Yes they always stare...Anyone I should be wary of?" She hummed nodding and moved alongside you tipping her head subtly to motion to the street as you made your way across the court yard to the house. Taking slow steps being sure to let the local have a good look, get there fill so they can gossip to one another because really gossip is all women had now. "Well not much in the way of neighbors...Only two you need be concerned about....Mrs Putnum across the road, nosy old bat just had a baby- well handmaid, her husband lost an arm fornication with said handmaid ...Blowjob literally cost him arm haha..Well half an arm at any rate I just hoped she swallowed at least." You smirked Molly was another of your family though to the word you were the perfect household ruled by a strong patriarchal commander and his iron fist.

The truth was you were all a family you ignored each others slip ups and were free to do as you pleased within reason. You played your silly Gileadian roles, Martha, Wife, Husband and so on but you did not think you were better then anyone none of you really believed in Gilead or its ideals but abided by them on the face of it. Molly moved to look at you letting you enter the house first and continued talking quietly. "But seriously Commander Warren Mrs Putnums husband will probably try to kiss ass with Henry terrified of getting another reprimand...He will be a good tool for him...Watch out for her though because she is stuffed up the local matriarchs ass...One Serena joy Waterford...Up until recently she thought her husband ruled the roost...Snippy she is a shell of the woman she once was reduced to a angry frustrated baby obsessed house wife....She has a baby on the way...Again a handmaid" you nodded as you entered the home it was dripping in marble light and airy just as you'd thought it would be you smiled and turned to Molly. "Lets get begin shall we?" She smirked nodding ready to 'set up shop' as it were you left her to the kitchen and moved through the house alone eyeing the rooms appraising them. Henry had listened this time in selecting your home the rooms were classy and airy nothing really needed to be changed whites and accents of black and gold ran through the house some rooms had pale blues and pinks. It was nice elegant and free you liked it much better then your decadent yet dark home in the capital. You nodded and took a seat On a dark grey velvet love seat in front of a large open fireplace in the small den needing to take the weight off your feet for a few minuets the house was very large and it had taken you a good half an hour to really get your bearings. This would do, you could make this home.

Henry strode into his new workplace dreary old government office posh and smelt of old git, Jai smirked walking beside him he loved this! Henry knew he did its why he brought him Jai liked front row seats to these things. Both men argued over who got to come sadly one of them had to stay and guard you Chris was taking a back seat. Henry nodded to Jai and they both slipped into the 'court room' that in his opinion looked like they had read a bit to much harry potter. Henry stayed in the shadows watching them bicker they had the typical uppity cunts thinking they owned the place, the sniveling cowards who simpered choosing to be neutral in every debate and decision. Then the few who honest to god believed in Gilead regime...There were three one was about to get a very abrupt wake up call. He was going for particecution today under Henry's orders he scoffed watching as all the men panicked amongst themselves a few he knew by name. Warren little weasel of a man already had the fear of god...or more correctly Gilead put into him, Lawrence who had made an unusual appearance he was the only one who knew of Henry's arrival and a close friend...Well close enough that neither ratted each other out. Then there was Cush, well what can we say the man is another weasle used Gilead to gain wealth and fame...Very close to the Waterford's even before the war and then the other one he recognized one of the main reasons he was here. Waterford an original son of Jacob but all bark and no bite...Henry couldn't tell if Fred Waterford actually believed in Gilead or if he just wanted a title without the leg work but yes. Waterford was the one to watch one of Gilead's poster boys that was now pretty much obsolete now that the regime was up and running.Much like his and wife Selena pretty little thing, the perfect image of the perfect woman useful spreading the ideals but now fucking useless waiting around for her prize; A baby.

Henry smirked crossing his arms nodding to an older male a seat away from Waterford. Commander Feaver he was fighting with the Eyes and guards that were taking him to his very own cell ready for his salvation. Death by handmaid particecution. Hanged by the ones he had wronged and raped. A fitting end. "You can't be serious! Who? Who ordered this?!" The desperate man twisted screaming out for anyone to help him explain to him what was happening. But no one knew. Henry did. They didn't. The smiled creeping across Henry's face was wicked and sinister. He watched as others began getting nervous. "The orders from Commander Cavill Apostle of Gilead's righteous ruling government" The room went silent as Henry's name was mentioned, it seems his reputation proceeds him. The commanders looked panicked to one another Waterford was the first to speak. "What?! From the capital?! He's here why wasn't we told of his arrival?!" Henry smiled tucking his hands into the pockets of his woolen coat and placed a foot on the wall behind him as they now spoke quickly and panicked amongst themselves. "And what is he doing poking here-" Finally when a few of the Commanders stood trying to speak hurriedly wanting to be out Of the building before Henry arrived and that was his cue. "Because as of now I am the one calling the shots in this district..." he spoke loud and clear there was a deafening silence no one moved or breathed. Jai followed casually behind zig zagging across the floor.the only sound was the clicking of his shoes on the polished wood floor as he slowly made his way down to the 'podium' he rested the heels of his palms on the wood leaning forward with a predatory grin

"Gentlemen you have all failed to maintain order! And as a result of your failings you are now all under my jurisdiction" "you?! They called you in?" "Yes I am an Apostle, a messenger here to teach and enforce his word upon all those in this rebellious district... I have a perfect track record of cleaning up the unruly districts...The capital decided to call in the Cavillry as it were~" he chuckled at his own play on words scanning the men now shaking in their boots looking to one another they were used to being the fish fish and now they all looked like fucking tadpoles! Henry took another breath moving around the podium shoving his hands back into his pockets. "I like any good leader start with the top...For those of you not aware of what that means well it is simple you are all in my district..As of now I'm running the show and in my districts we as commanders lead by example or you don't lead at all...bare in mind gentlemen the colonies are always looking for strong laborers and failing that the wall here is very bare~!" Now that caused a few shocked faces he smirked up at the old toffee nosed pricks and made a slow sweep immediately picking out those who looked a little too panicked he would have them looked into. Fred stood up trying to placate Henry with a man to man type of reasoning. "But surely Mr Cavill there should be consetions for us...Diplomatic immunity so to speak" he finished with a laugh he was confident. He shouldn't be. Henry tipped his head back and made a huh. He turned looking to Jai. "Waterford?" He saw the man flinch in his seat, Waterford did not like being known by name by this Apostle. Jai nodded to him with a sly smile fuck he loved being able to watch Henry shit shaft these cunts. Henry nodded humming then pointed a finger at the nervous man sitting on his little 'throne' "Well commander Waterford I’m not sure what kind of Gileadian circus your running here but I’m not her to play a fool, you are to refer to me as commander because that sir is what I am...I'm your commander, your apostle and you now answer to me am I understood commander Waterford?" Henry smiled he could feel the others tense as Henry slapped him down a few pegs swiftly dominating the 'bravest' in the room Henry tipped his head 'politely' to the furious man who swallowed harshly and gave a stiff nod. Good he can learn to behave. Henry opened his hands and clapped loudly pacing from side to side before them. "Gentleman this is how exactly the type of thing we need to stamp out Gilead would fall to ruin if weak willed leaders were left unchecked and that is my job...To remind everyone of their place...These types leaders of have no place in Gilead's elite, we are to lead with strength and honor obey the laws! obey his word and he will reward us..Those are now our values...I suggest to anyone here that believes in the cowardice of hiding behind diplomatic immunity step down as a commander immediately...This is your only warning because as of now there is no place to hide, you will find very quickly that your childish games will not get very far with me..." A hush fell over the room again Jai had to bite his lip it was the best bit! When they began to realize that the rumors were true Henry took no prisoners he came in and dominated he treated everything like a war, every room was a battle field and he was always armed. Not with a guns but with knowledge, he had balls of steel and he didnt mind swinging them around either he was untouchable and everyone fucking knew it. "But a particucution? For sleeping outside of the ceremony?" Oh? Waterford was going for round two? Trying to save face no doubt Jai had to look away as Henry smiled unamused but secretly thrilled. It was rare he got a second go at one Fred really wanted to be a big boy. Henry stood pin straight staring evenly to the now anxious commander. "She was pregnant and lost the child! Tell me is the death of and unborn child not the greatest sin! Would you allow that to go unpunished?" Fred was taken back and flicked his gaze to commander Feaver and frowned before slowly looking back to Henry. "I...we did not know that detail" "You wouldn't have commander information like that is above your pay grade" Henry snipped making another hit on Fred’s ego. His attention was brought back to the sniveling Commander Feaver whining and begging with the guards..Oh how the mighty fall~ to say Henry didn't love this would be a lie, in many ways he was like these men but he made the guilty pay not the innocent. His drive to have those in power that make the laws follow them was unshakeable its what got him here. Gilead central government mistook it for loyalty it was..They destroyed his home and he would make them pay for it until he took his last breath! "She wasn't pregnant! She wasn't! I swear!" Jai rolled his eyes and shifted his feet waiting for a more desperate man to go toe to toe with his brother in arms. Henry sighed and blinked slowly looking up at the restrained man. "She was at the Drs two days before there was a delay in the blood tests she had to do them again did she not?" Feaver nodded whimpering and went to speak but Henry held up a hand silencing him. He was trembling Henry wouldn't be surprised if the man pissed himself. "And these results showed that before your sinful coupling she was pregnant! After your Martha found you with her she was tested again and found to be not pregnant...Your fornication terminated her pregnancy! And for that harm the penalty is death!...now does anyone else have anything else to say?" Henry looked straight at Waterford he was daring him to speak up, the others watched slowly moving sitting back in their seats looking thoroughly fucked. Henry smiled and clapped his hands again this was going to be fun at least half of them were guilty of something he just knew it fro the terrified looks on there faces. No? Good now take him away, we have other business to attend to!"

#handmaids tale au #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill fic #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x you #Commander!Henry cavill

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doodle-boy · 3 years ago

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Me: I like my villagers but I wouldn't say I’m obsessed with them...

Also me: Anyways here’s my giant list of all my islanders and what I think their relationship dynamics are with each other underneath this cut based on my recent and past playthroughs of this game from last year.

Renee: kind of a loner, she’s just being cool in the background in her leather jackets I’ve lovingly given her. Since she is a big sister type she'll often step in to help everyone out from time to time and give advice. She is defiantly my best friend thou, she is my homie.

Kevin: Homies since the beginning. They don’t hang out as much as they used too, though I still see her watching him as he gets to his sport antics with a smile on her face.

Penelope: thinks she’s a bit of a ditsy girl but likes her for her bubbly personality.

Rasher: have butt heads in the past but they have mad respect for each other now.

Naomi: Sometimes they bump into each other and will talk about their week briefly before parting ways. Very casual.

Kevin: Has talked to everyone at least once I feel. So high energy and always looking to hang out. My second best friend :3

Renee: First best friend and still his best friend, he just can’t talk to her all the time cause he gotta go get swoll and also respects her need for alone time.

Penelope: keeps trying to talk to him about “Squid Game” and he don’t know what that is, but he do love competitive sports so he’ll listen to her talk about her SaeHun ship.

Filbert: might have a thing for him?? He told him he was really handsome once and Kevin seemed super flattered by this so I think there may be something there.

The Old Man Squad: Kevin’s presence makes them tired and wish for their by gone days.

Penelope: Hangs out more with the “artist crowd” as well as the all the old men but she is very much a social butterfly who has touched all their lives with her outgoing personality. Very cutesy even if she kind of too much some of the time and leave the people she talk to either overwhelmed or tired lol.

Renee: She thinks Renee is the coolest. Renee is that cool older friend that she always wanna talk too but sometimes can’t find cause Renee went to the park to vape.

Kevin: Thinks Kevin got potential as a cool buff celebrity but can’t seem to convince him to get a twitter so she can tag him anytime they take a selfie together.

Filbert: Has figured out the best way to get him to come over to her house to binge watch the new season of “YOU” is to tell him there’s gonna be snacks.

Chadder: Seem very close in a sibling sort of way. Loves talking about fashion with him cause he’s the only one that freakin gets it. Supports his dream to become a celebrity.

Naomi: Gal Pals For Life! They watch “Pretty Little Liars” and “Riverdale” all the time together. She always got great tips to help keep her house’s interior fresh and they do each other make up sometimes.

Rasher: Confuses him with her way of speaking, once said “I literally died” and he immediately asked her if she was ok. Rasher would probably kill for her thou she is always so nice to him and gets him gifts.

Apollo: Have this little thing where they talk about “The Handmaids Tale” and “Outlander” but she’s watching the tv show and Apollo is reading the books. But the fact that she is cool with him not being into tv and instead found a way to still talk about it by incorporating the fact he likes books is very sweet and thoughtful of her.

Admiral: Always asking her what her plan for the future is and asking if she had anything to eat today and when she shoots back with “I’m gonna be a popstar duh!” and “Oh yeah I’ve been on the latest trend where you eat yogurt for two of your meals” he is left confused and concerned and probably takes her back to his house and cooks her a proper lunch.

The Old Man Squad: as a whole they love her and protect her fiercely.

Filbert: Is baby boy baby. He literally is the cinnamon roll of the island and everyone loves him.

The Old Man Squad: Always stressing him out cause they keep asking him about his plans for the future and if he’s met anyone nice yet, and when are they gonna meet them, and are you coming to family dinner on Saturday. Filbert knows they love him but he just wanna take his naps and eat pancakes. Also you know he coming to Family dinner lol.

Renee: asks him the same thing as the old man squad but is more tactful about it and so is less stressed about it. She absolutely helps him with his online college classes.

Kevin: Has crush on him maybe?? Recently told him he was handsome twice now and has invited him to his house before. They even went to each other’s respective birthdays. I feel like there’s something there.

Penelope: Has little brother/big sister energy when they hang out. Literally always inviting him over for snacks and to watch “Centaur World” and while know he should be working on his coding homework he can’t say no to snacks.

Chadder: Very much a snooty character. Always acting like he’s all that and a bag of very expensive imported beans from Madagascar. So I think some villagers find him overbearing. But Chadder got a heart of gold.

Naomi: His very successful, very beautiful, very smart tall girlfriend. He loves his, smart, tall, successful girlfriend. And though he acts like it’s a privilege to be dating him, he probably was holding his breath up until she said yes to going out with him. They are always together.

Penelope: His sister that he dotes on. Feels like he might be the older brother and she the little sister. Also always giving her stuff so he may be spoiling her a little lol. Also supports her dream of being a popstar.

Filbert: Has attempted to take him under his wings and be his fancy boy protégée but Filbert was too much of a snack and nap loving boi to fully absorb the lessons and at some point gave up.

Naomi: Also kind of aloof like Renee, has her select few friends. But she cherishes her friends and isn’t afraid to tell them that they’re being ridiculous and stupid when they are acting as such.

Chadder: Her small handsome boyfriend. I think out of everyone she is the first to tell Chadder that he’s being vapid and egotistical and roll her eyes at his antics. But at the same time she is always with him and going over to his house. I think she knows something about Chadder that even I don’t know about. Seems to genuinely cherish him.

Penelope: Her best friend. Always down to talk about the latest trends and help her think of new ways to become online famous. Even if Penelope is always bouncing around on new trends and what’s cool and fab now Naomi knows Penelope got that passion and drive to someday become famous.

Renee: They like to talk and catch up with each other from time to time. A very casual friendship.

Admiral: Old and has a surprisingly hot temper. Also very traditional and stuck in his ways, though he tries his best to understand the younger ones and their weird trends.

Rasher and Apollo: They are all the oldies of the island, so naturally the three of them have gravitated toward each other. I imagine they take turns going to each other’s houses to play Parcheesi and their own version of three person Shogi. Also take turns hosting family dinner with Penelope, Filbert and anyone of the other youngsters they can rope into coming that week.

Penelope: Gives him a headache and heart attacks on the regular but god dammit if he doesn’t love that girl to bits as if she was his own granddaughter. Will kill for her, hide a body for her and go to jail for her all in that order.

Filbert: Is just praying he is paying attention to his classes (doesn’t understand how he is attending classes though, he says it’s “all online” so is going to trust it’s a legit thing and not push it too much) that boy needs a degree and a job.

Chadder: If Penelope brings him over he tolerates it. Also is wondering when he and his girlfriend Naomi gonna get married, always brings that up when Chadder comes to family dinner.

Kevin: Makes him tired.

Rasher: Grumpy but not as grumpy as he used to be (he used to be a villager of mines back when I played animal crossing on game cube, trust me he used to have mad anger issues lol). He is retired now thou and plans to stay that way. Tries to be friendly with everyone but these youngsters tire him out just from watching them.

Apollo and Admiral: Thank god there are other people his age on this island, if he was the only old person on this island he would’ve fallen into a comma from watching the younger islanders. The three of them totally chill on the beach and drink the canned Pina Colada’s because he refuses to learn how to make them form scratch and thinks they taste better that way anyways.

Penelope: Much like other two from the squad he can’t help but love her as well. She is always sweet to him and while they sometimes fight when she comes around with a gift and an apology his heart just melts and he’s quick to apologize as well.

Filbert: Doesn’t think Coding is a real career and is trying to convince him to choose a fall back career but Filbert keeps dodging the topic. He and Filbert also definitely have an unspoken competition to see who can eat the most of Apollo’s special corn breads at the family dinners.

Renee: Thinks she needs to stop trying to be the parent to everyone else when she herself is so young. Thinks that should be left to himself and the rest of the Old Man Squad. But he respects her ability to not back down.

Chadder: Tolerates him since he’s Penelope’s brother. Likes it when he brings his girlfriend Naomi with him.

Kevin: Makes him tired.

Apollo: The most chill and with-it out of all the old men. Has a real cool older uncle energy that everyone on the island seems to adore including myself lol.

Admiral and Rasher: Loves hanging out with them. I think he was the first one to introduce the idea of “family dinners” and even though the other two pointed out they ain’t technically family Apollo just shrugged and said, “family are the people who you love the most. So you’re my family.” And the other two couldn’t help but be flattered by this and agree.

Filbert: Is always handing him pocket candy and also the most invested to his love life. He just wants to make sure that kid has someone to look out for him since Apollo is genuinely afraid that kid is gonna forget to take care of himself after he watched Filbert wear the same sweatshirt for three weeks and watched it get increasingly dirty and grimy until he finally pointed this out to Rasher and Admiral and watched them toss his stinky butt into the ocean.

Penelope: Introduced him to two new book series that he really enjoys. Loves to talk to her about them, though she seems less interested in talking about the themes of the story and more about her ships and head cannons. Still she is a sweet girl and he loves her.

Chadder: Has tried to talk to him before but he frustrated him with his shameless behavior. Still if Penelope invites him to family dinner he is polite to him. Likes him best when he’s accompanied by his girlfriend Naomi since she keeps him in check. Hopes they get marred soon.

Kevin: Makes him tired.

Merengue: Is new to the island. Literally brand new baby girl so hasn’t interacted with anyone yet. I am hoping she gets along with Penelope and Filbert. I feel like they would like her :3 (will update this list once she settles and makes friends.)

#animal crossing #new horizons #animal crossing villagers #headcanon #character dynamics #yeah no I do actually care about my villagers immensely #save for two who moved away cause they just kept asking too #I have refused to let any of them move away because I love them so much #DoodleBoy

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tchaikovskym · 4 years ago

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TV series recs because I'm bored:

Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is a children's cartoon in a fantasy setting but I don't care how old are you it is still an amazing story with great characters. The character development in this is just amazing. And the villains! Were so well developed! One of a very few pieces of media that recognizes that the "enemy" side is not just all evil people but a lot of innocent people just fallen victim to the ruling regime. It is a very light show that makes you feel like you just went through a philosophy class for 5 year olds.

The Good Place. A comedy series (safe for people like me who cannot handle series like the office). It explores concepts of afterlife and ethics while keeping it very light and funny. Once again great character development and this time it feels like you finished an ethics course but your prof was a stand up comedian. It just. Makes you feel good.

Hospital Playlist. A medical kdrama. It just makes you feel warm and calm and good about your life. There is no grand plot it is just you falling in love with a group of friend doctors and just feeling. As kdramas can be I found some of the romance moments a bit cringe but overall it is still amazing and I love it. Warnings for things that typically happen in hospital dramas (patient death etc).

Big Little Lies. I am recommending only the 1st season of this show 🙈. It starts that there has been a murder and at first I thought oh no it is going to about rich moms going crazy for trivial reasons and killing someone. But I was wrong. It was anything but that. Bonus for great soundtrack. Warnings for abuse, violence and rape (it sounds really bad but remember that the warnings are not the whole series)

The Umbrella Academy. The siblings dynamics in this is amazing. While I am usually not into "the apocalypse is coming we have to stop it" and time travel plot it was done good and worth to watch. But the siblings. Mmm the siblings. Warnings for violence.

Grey's Anatomy. Mm the medical drama whith very strong relationship drama. While it has a lot of seasons it still makes you feel things. Interesting to watch and it will draw you in. You will cry. There is no choice. Warnings for things that typically happen in medical dramas and major character death.

Money Heist. Recommending only the 1st 2 seasons (or the 1st? I guess it depends where you watch it. Anyway just the 1st story line, you'll know it when it ends). What it says on the label. People robbing royal mint. While detailed plans are usually not my thing the show did great by showing the plan being executed and after that explaining it why they did what they did. Overall very exciting and kept me wanting to see what's going to happen next. Maybe not my favorite characters, but still good. Warnings for violence.

The Handmaid's Tale. Time for some dystopia folks and it is bad really bad. It will make you want to rebel against something while also everything you see will look aesthetically pleasing. I would say it is more slow-paced than most shows but I like it. Warnings for violence, rape, torture and well it is dystopia.

Stranger things. It is just a fun horror series that will make you nostalgic for something (supposed to make you nostalgic for 80s but I never lived then but I got that feeling so yeah). Warning for violence.

Adventure Time. A kids cartoon that is mostly fart jokes hiding a grand elaborate plot that will make you feel things. It has a lot of episodes and some of them really have no other meaning than being a joke however once you have gotten into what is going on (the post-apocalypse is what is going on) then it is hard to not want to see more. Warnings for violence (but the kind you can show kids?)

The Untamed. Fantasy historical cdrama. Oh god I love it so much. However if I had not read the book I would not have known what is going on for most of the time (don't know how people figured out it started with a reincarnation). Characters having multiple names does not help at all. Also the special effects are so horrible they look funny. However the scenery is amazing, so is the clothing. And the story is also amazing. And the feelings you get. You will cry. And most importantly: it is gay (as much it can be despite the censorship). Warnings for violence.

Orange Is the New Black. Ladies in prison. It also has a lot of seasons and somewhere in the middle it was not as good as it could be (I don't care about gang wars in prison I just don't). While I found the main character pretty annoying it was the stories about other inmates that pulled me in. You will feel things and you will cry. Warnings for violence, rape, abuse, substance abuse.

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w-ngs · 4 years ago

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jan21

hello 2021! you did not get off on a good start. let’s try and be a little better, okay?

i didn’t read much this month (and probably won’t be for a long while because of school), but it was a wild month. well, you’ll see.

***

crooked kingdom, leigh bardugo — oh my god???? i completely forgot that i read this before i left for school and almost didn’t include it in my monthly wrap-up????? how dare i forget this masterpiece.

it was great. i loved it. i think overall, i preferred 6oc because heist stories are my guilty pleasure. but romance-wise... let’s just say kaz and inej have made it to my top 10 ships. but also i read through this so fast because i had to finish it before i left that half the story is kinda just not in my brain lololol

the most intriguing part of the entire story was the anti-wraith. her character kind of came out of nowhere, and i’m not really sure she had much of a purpose than being someone who could physically match inej. i guess she was also anti in the sense that she had no respect, just ruthlessness, which is the opposite of inej and what she stands for. but i don’t know if the anti-wraith was significant enough of a character to really be considered a foil.

i don’t really give spoiler warnings because hardly anyone reads these other than myself lolol but big spoiler ahead. skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to know. cuz i accidentally spoiled it for myself before reading and i kinda ruined it for myself lmfao.

poor matthias. he was there, and then he was gone. i feel terrible for nina. they were finally on the same page, and then he had to act all saint-like and trigger some idiot into killing him. and matthias finally came to terms with what he’d been taught and what he was trying to teach himself (#charactergrowth), so he wrapped things up neatly for himself before the bye-bye. but nina, she finally got her guy on her side and they were supposed to change the world together. sigh.

and of course, we got kaz. he’s my favorite. how could he not be, with his trauma and desire to overcome it but not letting it define him and still maintaining that evil genius act he’s so good at. it definitely hit harder in this story, the extent of his trauma. it made him more real, too. both sides of him coexist, and one could not exist without the other. he’s crazy, in nearly all senses of the word. also crazy in love, the mfing idiot. ugh, i love vulnerable kaz. i love what inej brings out in him, how she knows just how hard to push without driving him over the edge. also i saw a tiktok (this app is gonna come up a lot more in the next few reviews fsjdsdfkjdf) with a photo of them kissing with a towel between their mouths because he can’t touch her but he desperately wants to and what a perfect solution is that their... bathroom scene had me holding my breath. or at least taking very shallow breaths. it was intense. so intimate, i felt like i shouldn’t even have been there. ugh, the cute little babies. uwuwuwuwuwu

one last note. leigh bardugo is a very good writer, plot and characters and all. everything flowed much more smoothly in this book, and once again i was impressed by the detail provided. you go girl. i can’t wait to see the tv series development.

a 10/10.

***

the shadows between us, tricia levenseller — literally what did i read lmaooo. this is my first tiktok book recommendation. and it. was. boring. boring characters that didn’t make much sense. boring plot. i skimmed it after the first 50 pages cause it was so boring. that’s it bye.

a 3/10.

***

manacled, senlinyu — um. wow. i literally......... even hours after finishing it my brain is still ridiculously scrambled. edit: it’s about a month later and sometimes random scenes and images still pop in my head for no reason and then i feel all twisted inside again. i love it.

so, this is not a published book but a dramione fanfiction on ao3. i don’t read fanfics that often anymore, mainly because i’d rather read other things, not because i don’t like them. but i found this one because a tiktok that showed the illustrations in the story and i was so blown away by the fact someone would illustrate an entire fanfic that i just had to read it. and i have no regrets. it’s kinda long and a biiit wordy for me at times but holy shit that hit like a mother trucker. and i haven’t read dramione in ages, not since... years. so this really hit different.

the illustrations are beautiful. they’re what dragged me into the story in the first place, so, of course they are. but i’d literally spend minutes looking at every detail in amazement at how perfectly the emotions were captured and the lighting casting the perfect shadows and just… everything. i know nothing about drawing but my eyes were truly blessed.

i think integrating the handmaid’s tale with the hp world was ingenious. i would never have expected that. and wow. the relationship between the two, it’s…….. i can barely put it in words in my mind, and it’s even harder to articulate on paper. complex, but at the same time not, simply the desire for the other to stay alive. timeless. destructive. their only defense from the harsh reality of their situation. desperation at its most desperate, their one and only survival method. depressing. it’s so depressing. i was so sad, the angst almost too much at times.

the flashbacks were insanely intense. and i thought the handmaid section was bad. it was awful to read. i could hardly bear it, it was so dark at times i didn’t know how either of them got through it all. i mean, they barely did. the near-death scares, the constant need to create a blank slate within yourself in order to not overwhelm yourself with crushing emotions… wartime sometimes has a tendency to sound romantic, but theirs wasn’t anything near romantic, and i appreciate that the author chose to be very real about it.

at the beginning, and in the middle when we went through the flashbacks, i was afraid the love would be toxic. and, well, it kind of was at some points. but in a time like that and a situation like theirs, it would be hard to not have a toxic relationship. i was glad that in the end theirs was a good love, the kind that sustained and kept them alive and got them through until the very end, because it was what they needed from each other. and, of course, my favorite part of it all was draco’s ceaseless possessiveness that only seemed to grow, never fade. i love simpy men.

they deserve each other. i was afraid at the end they wouldn’t, that one of them would die—that draco would die because hermione basically did once already for him, so he would have to “return the favor”—also she was pregnant so there was no way she’d be the one to die—idk many theories. but at the end i’m so glad they both ended up alive. after everything, they deserved it.

i did nothing for two days straight but read this book. except eat. and barely sleep. and i have no regrets.

a 9/10.

***

bloodlines, richelle mead — dang. i used to be obsessed with vampire academy when i was in middle school. i even watched the terrible movie that released because of it. and now i can’t believe i really thought that was peak literature lmfaooooo

i remember adrian being such a funny and interesting character that i picked up bloodlines to see if it was gonna be as good as i remembered it was. i was disappointed. it was just... well let’s just say there wasn’t enough to get me invested in the characters as i used to be. i think what it was is that adrian’s characterization was so weak. he wasn’t as ~quirky~ as i remembered him to be haha. the plot was also way too slow-paced, and a little too easy to guess. maybe if i was 12 again i’d be going crazy over it like i used to. but i’m not a pre-teen anymore and my brain craves stuff along the lines of manacled—destruction, death, angst that wants me to pull my own heart out to stop it from hurting.

a 5/10.

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #401

“my love is just waiting to turn your tears to roses”

Do you typically do your makeup the same each time? Or do you like to change it up often? IF I wear makeup, it's essentially always the same. Who is the last person you were in a room with just the two of you? What were you doing? Yesterday with Mom. We were trying to find the best deal on Eco Earth, a substrate we're getting for Venus. What was the last really good book you read, and what was it about? If we're talking REALLY good book, then The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. In short summary, it's a dystopian future novel where women are now basically just objects used only for repopulation, even having their names stripped from them. They follow very strict rules as society has returned to horrible misogyny. As a woman, the "oh my god, this is possible" aspect of it is terrifying, and it causes such a sense of disgust and urge to ensure women rights always continue to be fought for. Do you feel safe in your country? For the most part, I'd say. I guess. There are places I'd feel safer, though. How many meals do you eat a day? Three. Have you ever performed a solo dance in front of a crowd? No, but I was supposed to my senior year in high school; the seniors at my dance studio were always welcome to do a solo in celebration. Mine was a modern dance to "Coma White" by Marilyn Manson, wanting to tell a story about depression and how being medicated could feel, but I eventually decided like halfway through learning the choreography that I was just too nervous to do a solo. Have you ever sung a solo? No. When you go to McDonalds, what drink do you usually get? Coke. Have you ever had to call and complain about a product you bought? No. Do you own a designer purse? Definitely not. I'm not wasting that much money on something like that. What’s the weirdest rumor you’ve ever heard about yourself? Apparently, Jason and I had a baby in high school even though I was obviously never pregnant. To my knowledge, it was started by his ex. Who is now a good friend of mine lmaooo. Life is funny. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon growing up? Pokemon, of course. Would you ever have an affair? Nope. Would you ever have a one night stand? Nope. Where you present at any major historical events (e.g. 9/11)? No. What are your opinions on marijuana legalization? Legalize it, but treat it similarly to alcohol in that driving under the influence is illegal and punishable, and I believe you should be of a certain age. How about abortion? I am pro-choice. I was pro-life most of my own life, but now I am very firm about a mother being able to choose if she wants to endure a pregnancy or not. Like, that is a MASSIVE life event that almost inevitably changes - and sometimes traumatizes - people. I do believe a fetus is its own body and not part of the mother's, but rather in the mother's, but the belief that a woman decides what she wants in her body is her choice, too. I'm not very fond of people treating abortion as a simple, regular form of birth control, like it's nothing but an "lol whoops," but I still believe it is ultimately her decision, and she should always be free of judgment for doing what is best for her. Do you wear skirts or dresses more often? Neither. I wouldn't dare wear a skirt more so, though. What do you think about tipping at restaurants? There should always be an expected minimum, imo, unless the person was truly, sincerely, genuinely fucking awful. Waiters do not have an easy job, fight me about it, and they're just trying to survive while putting on a happy, jovial face, all the while dealing with hungry people who can be such assholes. I believe the actual tip should relate to actual service, but again, give them something. Would you ever get back together with any of your exes? One, absolutely. The other would take a shitload of consideration and proper communication on his part. Do you have a preferred coffee brand? No, because I don't like coffee. Do you usually befriend your coworkers, or do you prefer to keep work separate from your personal life? IF I had a job, I'd like to build a friendship with those I have to engage with almost every day. What is something you frequently forget? Dates, ages, names, what I was about to do five seconds before I forgot... Pretty much everything. My memory is frightfully poor. Is there any drama currently going on with your family? No. When you take a nap, do you nap in bed or on the couch? In my bed. Were you raised by both of your parents? If not, then who raised you? Both; my parents split when I was somewhere around 17, though, but I'd say there wasn't much more "raising" to do at that age. Have you ever stolen anything? If so, why? No. Have you ever plagiarized someone else's work? Hell no. What's your most-used mode of transportation? My mom's car. Have you ever taught someone else a useful skill? Not to my recollection. Does seeing everyone else's 'perfect lives' posted on social media ever bring you down or affect how you feel about yourself? It actually does, honestly. Not ALWAYS, but if I'm being honest, it does most of the time. I've contemplated deleting Facebook for that reason, but with is also comes things that make me happy, and I think I'd feel even more isolated without it. What is your favorite Hostess/Little Debbie snack? This is SO impossible for me to answer. I loooove Hostess and Little Debbie treats. I want to say honeybuns, but I also love those chocolate cupcakes with the white swirls on top, as well as Twinkies. Very few exist that I don't like. Do you/your family buy loafs from the bakery or bagged on the shelf? We just buy bagged bread. What’s the best news you’ve gotten lately? My APAP mask is definitively WORKING!!!!! :') Mom got an app that connects to the machine via Bluetooth that monitors the effectiveness of the mask, evaluating many factors of your sleep, and it's detecting a definite decrease in disruptive behaviors or something like that. It is so, SO encouraging to know that. ^And, the worst? Hm. Oh, probably some news on something serious a good friend is going through, but I don't feel it's my right to disclose what. It's just a very worrying and potentially dangerous issue that I wish I could help her with. Would you rather receive (or give) flowers, chocolates or jewelry? I'd appreciate any, but my fat ass is drawn to the chocolate, ha ha. What *I* would give would vary depending on what the person liked. How do you feel about coconut? Smells lovely, but is otherwise gross. ^ Ever cracked one open? No, but omg I've always wanted to, haha. What’s the best thing about being your gender? I guess the fact it's more "normal" and "accepted" to show our emotions. Fuck that generalization, though. I don't give a shit what your gender is, you experiencing emotions is NORMAL and welcomed to be expressed. ^ And the worst thing? The ability to be raped and impregnated by it. Do you do your part to save the earth? I don't do nearly enough. :/ We recycle, but that's about it. Well, none of us DARE to litter either, but I still don't feel like it's as much as the earth deserves from its denizens. Who do you think should have their portrait on a bill? I don't know or care. Why did you last feel exhausted? Yesterday was my niece's birthday, and I spent essentially ALL day playing with her and her brother. I have a very limited battery when it comes to kids, and I was running on empty for hours. My anxiety was SO high and I really needed a break from them, but they're too young to really understand that Aunt Britt can only socially run for so long before I'm completely burnt out, and TRUST ME, I was there for sure. I didn't want them to think they did something wrong, you know? I just had to keep going. I slept like a baby last night though for sure, haha. Have you ever used emotional blackmail to get your own way? Wow, no. Has anybody ever used emotional blackmail on you? No. Who did you last worry about and why? Sara for health reasons. Are you currently looking for a new place to live? Not actively, but Mom and I definitely want to move. We feel very out-of-place here in the suburbs. Which would you prefer as a view; mountains or the sea? Mountains. Do you have a mouse for your laptop? (Assuming you have a laptop) Yes. I canNOT play games with a trackpad. Do you apologize a lot? Extremely excessively. When you get married what do you think you’ll put most of your focus and money into? Do you mean like, for the wedding? In that case, probably the venue. Being a photography buff, I want a place I think is really pretty to have pictures taken. What’s something you complain about frequently? My legs hurting, my weight, and being hot. Do you have anything planned for the summer? Nope, and that's fine with me. I'd rather stay inside away from the heat. Who usually makes dinner in your household? My ma. Do you have a blog? Just on Tumblr. Does anyone in your family snore loudly? My mother does because of gerd, and at least when my father still lived with us, he snored super loud, too. Do you want to fix anything with anyone? Yeah, a few people. What shows do you watch? Right now, only Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. Whenever The Edge of Sleep comes out, I will 110% be watching that, too, because Mark is a key actor in it. :') Plus the concept seems super cool. Have you ever broken someone’s heart? I don't know. Who was the last person you had a conversation with on the phone? Me mum. Does the song you’re currently listening to remind you of anyone specific? No, given it has like... one lyric, haha. Do you own any TV show soundtracks? No. Last thing you did that made you feel like an adult? I mean I guess sign myself in at the doctor's. What’s your favorite picture of your mom? Dad? Oh my god, there's a candid one I got of Mom laughing when she was posing as my subject for a photography assignment, and I cherish it with ALL my heart. I want to share it with essentially the whole world, but yeah, I'm not gonna put my mom's picture here. As for my dad, I like this one I took of us at Red Lobster for his birthday a year or two back. Last TV show series you finished? Fullmetal Alchemist with Sara. Favorite flavor of cream cheese? Regular. What US state would you like to visit? Alaska. Last meal you made yourself? I put a chicken pesto thing in the microwave earlier for dinner.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''whispers in the dark'' by skillet

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qsdblogging · 4 years ago

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10 More TV Shows You Need To See

This is the second installment of my recommendations of shows for you to add to your own lists. I watch a lot of television and I’ve got, what I consider to be at least, a wide variety of shows under my favorites.

If you haven’t seen the first list, you don’t need to unless you want to see another list of ten shows you may want to check out if you’re looking for anything new to watch.

Warning, though, some of these don’t end the best way and may end up more as a disappointment. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

I. Warehouse 13.

Pete and Myka, U.S Secret Service Agents, are deployed to South Dakota’s Warehouse 13 with a new assignment from an authority above and outside the government.

Intrigued?

With the Warehouse comes assignments regarding objects that hold some sort of abilities that can cause people to do wild and crazy things. It’s their job to find the artifacts (as they all hold significance to history) and bring them back to the Warehouse for safe keeping.

Things get wild and some serious topics get handled, but the show isn’t alone. It’s connected to another on this list, Eureka. More on that when you get to Eureka.

Some familiar faces are Eddie McClintock who played a part in Bones, one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joanne Kelly who played a role in The Dresden Files television series, Allison Scagliotti who played roles in Stitchers, The Vampire Diaries, and Drake & Josh, Aaron Ashmore (twin brother to Shawn Ashmore, who has been in the X-Men movies alongside appearing in The Boys, and voicing Conrad in Man of Medan) from Killjoys, Lost Girl, and Smallville, and Jamie Murray from Castelvania, Gotham, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Defiance, and Dexter.

I highly recommend, especially because the dynamic of the characters is really interesting and covers a lot.

II. Eureka.

As mentioned above, this is connected to Warehouse 13. But only in the last two seasons of this show are the two connected.

Eureka is a town full of geniuses and advanced technology that the government funds, and when a new sheriff comes to town, he’s exposed to all the daily occurrences the locals get up to. And maybe a couple instances of time travel that may or may not have to do with the connection.

The town is full of faces you may recognize. Colin Ferguson who has roles in Haven, The Vampire Diaries, and Maytag commercials, Erica Cerra who has roles in The 100, Supernatural, Deadly Class, and the first Percy Jackson film, Felicia Day who has roles in The Magicians, Supernatural, Con Man, The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Trevor Jackson who has roles in Grown-ish, and a couple Disney productions.

It’s a huge science fiction show and if you’re into that, give it a watch.

III. Alphas.

Now, like the two above is, Alphas is a science fiction packed drama. And it’s rumored to be connected, like be in the same universe, as Warehouse 13 and Eureka. It’s never been confirmed, but there is one character (same name and job) that plays a part in both Alphas and Warehouse 13, which is the stem for the theory. (Plus, some other ideas floating around).

But Alphas focuses on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities while they, themselves, have abilities. These powered people are referred to as Alphas, due to their nature.

Unfortunately, this show ends on a cliffhanger in its second season.

Yet, I still recommend giving it a shot because it truly is an interesting show and it’s got some people you may recognize.

IV. Haven.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”, you’ll most likely enjoy this show since it’s loosely based off of it.

Set in the coastal town of Haven, Maine, FBI Agent Audrey Parker comes to town to find that the residents have dormant curses, or rather troubles, that can be triggered at any given moment. She, along with the Sheriff and the town’s black sheep, must deal with the troubles’ deadly effects. And a few things may be revealed about herself too along the way.

It’s pretty interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot when I first watched it. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, and the connection seems to barely be there, but I wouldn’t know given my dislike for King.

I highly recommend giving Haven a shot, however, especially if you’re a crime and fantasy fan.

V. Lost Girl.

Lost Girl focuses on the gorgeous and charismatic Bo, a supernatural being called a succubus who feeds on the energy of humans, sometimes with fatal results. Refusing to embrace her supernatural clan system and its rigid hierarchy, Bo is a renegade who takes up the fight for the underdog while searching for the truth of her own mysterious origins. (Taken from IMDB).

Plus, there a lesbian romance or two.

Now, the show itself is pretty strong holding in its own storyline and lore, but the last season does get a bit rocky feeling. It could’ve been better, and it definitely feels a little rushed, but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. However, it’s not a show that got cancelled before it could wrap things up and it leaves things pretty open-ended.

In my books, that’s a point. I highly recommend this is if you’re a fan of fantasy.

VI. Almost Human.

Unfortunately, this is one of the ones in the list that only has one season (that seems to be out of order and frankly I’m not entirely sure of the order myself, so rely on googling it yourself and hopefully you find the right order) and was cancelled not long after airing.

BUT, it’s a good watch. It’s set in the distant future, where cops are assigned an android partner to protect and serve. Things get pretty wild and I’m quite sure there are some bombs involved at some point, but there’s a bonus to all the madness of Almost Human.

Minka Kelly and Karl Urban. Two incredibly beautiful human beings.

I highly recommend bingeing this single season show.

VII. American Gods.

This shows feels very confusing. But it’s still a good watch.

It centers on a recently released ex-con named Shadow Moon. He runs into a man full of mystery named Wednesday (and you’ll later come to find out who he really is, or you may already know given your knowledge on the book of the same name or just how well you know mythology) who seems to know more than Shadow about his own life and past.

There are Gods, mischief, and a lot of crazy shit in this show. So far it’s on it’s third season as far as I know (I have to rewatch the first two before I pick it back up).

You should give it a shot, but I won’t blame you if you feel way too confused about the whole thing.

VIII. The Boys.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy regarding this Amazon Original Series, but honestly, I think everyone should at least give it a chance. I know a lot of Tumblr users were put off on trying to due to the advertisements on the site.

If you don’t know what this series is about, it follows a group of vigilantes set on taking down the corrupt superheroes that are abusing their powers and status.

It covers a lot of ground. Murder, sabotage, terrorism, capitalism, and a lot more. Feminism and sexual harassment occur, but there are warning before each episode for what you may see in the contents.

Some familiar faces include Karl Urban, who’s known for his roles in Thor: Ragnarok, the newer Star Trek movies, Almost Human, Lord of the Rings, and more, Erin Moriarty from Jessica Jones, Laz Alonso from The Mysteries of Laura, Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and The Covenant, and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural has been confirmed to be joining the cast for its third season.

The Boys is currently on it’s second season, being released on a weekly schedule. So, if you like superheroes and graphic content, this show might be it for you.

IX. Chuck.

Chuck is the result of when a twenty-eight year old computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. assign two agents to protect him and exploit the knowledge, turning Chuck Bartowski’s life upside down. (Taken from IMDB).

This is one of the shows I cannot recommend enough to people. It’s the right mixture of action and comedy, plus a little romance. Spies, love, and murder, oh my! What more could you want?

Plus, Zachery Levi plays Chuck. If you don’t know him by name, you probably would recognize him from some of his roles with the most recent being in Shazam!, Fandral in the second and third Thor films, voicing Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider) in Tangled, and Heroes: Reborn.

If Zachery Levi playing a lovable computer geek turned spy doesn’t interest you, maybe some more familiar faces will.

Yvonne Strahovski from The Handmaid’s Tale, The Astronaut Wives Club, acting as Daenerys in a Princess Rap Battle on Youtube, and Dexter. Adam Baldwin from Firefly/Serenity, Bones, Angel, The Last Ship, and Independence Day. Brandon Routh who plays Ray Palmer from the DC Shows. Matt Bomer from Doom Patrol, American Horror Story, White Collar, Magic Mike, and True Calling.

X. Deadly Class.

Unfortunately, I have a truly bad streak with new shows. Deadly Class, like others that have been mentioned in these lists of mine, got cancelled and on a cliffhanger no less. However, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the action-packed coming-of-age story set in the 1980s.

Following a new recruit for a high school training assassins, things get pretty wild when you pair death and teenagers.

#deadlyclass #watchlist #tvshows #chuck #eureka #americangods #alphas #theboys #almosthuman #lostgirl #haven #warehouse13 #qsdblogging #qsdbloggingpopculture #qsdpopculture #findingqsd

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steveharrington · 5 years ago

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your dustin opinions are impeccable. also, would you mind elaborating on what your problems with the scoops troop plot? something about it has never sat completely right with me but i'm not sure how to put it into words

yeah for sure! to start out i’ll say that the scoops troop plotline was probably my favorite of the season, as in i had the most fun watching it. obv im biased because whichever group steve is in will probably be the most entertaining to me, i adore him, but it was also due largely to robin’s presence and the chemistry that i think joe maya gaten and priah all had as a group. that being said though i think the plotline was handled in a really weird, lowkey eerie way that all comes down to tone.

stranger things started out as a drama. like, when it’s recognized in awards shows it’s in the drama category, which puts it up against shows like game of thrones, the handmaid’s tale, shows that tend to have really serious, oftentimes dark content. it fits because stranger things IS dark. it draws inspiration from classic horror movies, characters die, usually in pretty horrible ways, children are traumatized, etc. that’s not to say that there hasn’t ever been humor in the show before scoops troop, obviously there has been, but on the whole the show had a pretty dark premise and a lot of dramatic moments that are written 100% to be dramatic. there tended to be a really good balance of knowing when to keep the tone serious and when to lighten it up a bit. in season three, i personally felt like the duffers decided to try to make the show both a drama and a comedy in equal measure, and their way of doing that was to keep the dark content matter but to make the lighthearted tone more frequent, and that manifested mostly in the scoops troop. it’s made a little worse by the fact that steve, dustin, and erica are undoubtedly comic relief characters. steve’s entire character since season one has pretty much been delegated to being laughed at, dustin has always been the kid with the most jokes and the least emotional arcs, and erica was literally made a season regular based on the fact that people thought she was funny in season two. also, i think the duffers lowkey realized how ridiculous the russian plotline is so they figured adding humor and making the russian general so cartoonish would relieve some of the audiences disbelief that this would ever happen. the result you get is really fucking weird, though.

right away it’s strange how casual they are about everything. i think the duffers were going for like “these clueless children were just having fun and they accidentally stumbled into a dark deadly secret” but it doesn’t really work when they see men with giant guns and think “okay anyways, how are we gonna get past them?” you can argue that steve and dustin have been desensitized, but robin and erica haven’t. once the elevator drops, they become reasonably freaked out and for the first time you get the since that they’re genuinely scared, but even then it’s treated as a joke. again, this isn’t the first instance of this happening in stranger things. steve has a meltdown every single season and it’s always been used for humor during a serious moment, but in seasons one and two it was just a momentary break from the intensity of whatever was happening. in season three, the jokes are consecutive. steve has his meltdown, then there’s a conversation about him liking robin, then there’s a piss joke (??) like there’s never a moment where they stop and really consider that like damn we’re trapped underground with no food or water and no hope at anyone figuring out where we are. that would all be okay if that was the extent of it, because characters on stranger things have had much worse fates than being slightly dehydrated, but then it takes a super sharp turn and becomes irredeemably dark. when i was watching the season for the first time i found it insanely jarring how fast it goes from steve being completely fine to steve being covered in blood. the duffers clearly want to keep up the routine of him getting beaten up, and they go a little harder on him every time, so this being the third time means he’s like pretty seriously injured. i would say the only scene the scoops troop gets that’s 100% serious is the one where they bring steve back to the room and robin is like “what did you do to him” and all that. that was good! that was realistic! but as soon as he’s awake again they switch back to banter and ahaha steve confuses his left and right bc he’s dumb. the thing that Really gets me is that the season 3 trailer used the shot of him getting jabbed with the needle in a very deliberate way to get people to theorize and be like “season 3 steve harrington DIES???” so like obviously they knew how dark it looked out of context. the thing is like......even WITH context it’s dark!! like the duffers were like “so at this point steve and robin, the oldest of whom just graduated high school like a month ago, are going to be tied up and drugged against their consent (after physical violence didn’t work) to get them to confess information that they literally don’t know. and it’s gonna be fuckin hilarious :) one of them is gonna almost get his fingernails removed by pliers haha” and it’s batshit crazy.

the best way to really realize how insane it is is to rewatch the older seasons. i rewatched season one recently and when the scene where hopper is interrogated came on, i was like wait hold the fucking phone. he’s just getting tased. and it was treated SO SERIOUSLY in comparison to when steve who is at most 19 years old gets knocked unconscious during an interrogation and later says his ears are ringing and he cant breathe. the scene where nancy and jonathan are surrounded by all the lab employees at the park is super unsettling and eerie and you’re like oh shit these two teenagers just walked right into a government secret. when there are russians surrounding steve and robin with guns, they put in a joke about dustin quoting a movie at them.

im not saying that this is Problematic or Immoral or anything like that. this isnt like a duffer brothers call out post. like i said, this was still my favorite storyline in the season. i actually think it’s weirdly fascinating. like you know when they take trailers for like, high school musical and just add scary sound effects and editing to make it look like a horror movie? it’s the same premise as the scoops troop. it’s a super dark premise but with jokes and writing that makes it seem like a fun goofy coming of age story. if the duffers were Intentionally trying to do a subversion where they’re like “look we tricked you into laughing while these children were traumatized and nearly killed” i think that wouldve been brilliant. i don’t really think that’s what they were going for, though. i think they accidentally put all their comic relief characters into one group and wanted as many laughs as they could get to break up the drama of the other groups. it just so happened that they also almost tore steve’s fingernails out with pliers :///

#long post #this couldve been way more concise #what can i say #anon #answered #st

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houseofglass · 4 years ago

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Some thoughts on The Stand, 2021 version on Amazon Prime. There’s spoilers, but dammit the book was released ages ago so buckle up.

I haven’t finished the series yet, I have two episodes left. But this was burning my fingertips so I had to type it out.

I read The Stand by Stephen King back in the late ‘80′s. It was released in 1978 and re-released somewhere around 1990 as an ‘uncut’ edition. The editor had decided to trim the book so it could sell better. My mom looked at the uncut version and said, “If the editor cut 150,000 words, there’s probably a reason.” I agreed with her - Stephen King’s best work was his novellas, not his long novels.

A television series was released in 1994. I thought it was earlier because the character Randall Flagg has a mullet, but nope, IMDB tells me that the above date is correct.

I remember most of the details of the book and series, although the series helped me to see the final battle properly. King didn’t describe it in a way I could understand at all and was confused until the show came out. I felt similar when reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I had no idea what the costume looked like and those hats were nothing like what I imaged from Atwood’s work. I try to keep these examples in mind while writing my own novel.

So when this new iteration of The Stand appeared on my radar, I made a point of watching it. But, alas, there are some problems.

1. Nadine must remain a virgin until she can meet up with Randall. Really? It’s 2021. A person’s virtue is not determined by the use of equipment between their legs. How does remaining a virgin make someone virtuous? Why is she allowed to participate in any other sexual act but not penetration? And why does this only apply to women? Is a man’s virtue intact if he doesn’t insert his penis into someone? No! Why? This also tangles the issue of nonbinary people. What if a woman has a penis but hasn’t used it? Is she virtuous? If a man with a vagina hasn’t used the equipment, is he virtuous? Does this stem from the ancient, outdated idea that people with penises masturbate because they ‘can’t help it’ and people with vaginas don’t because they ‘can help it’?

This might have been okay in 1978, but that was 43 years ago. I need to pause here and clutch my aging heart because I can remember 1978. Whew! Okay.

This virtue bit is core to the show because Nadine must carry Randall’s child. But I feel like this could’ve been tweaked to better represent the times. Especially since the book takes place in the future, not present.

2. Las Vegas features rampant sex. This, in and of itself, doesn’t bother me. I’ve watched Netflix and HBO. I’ve seen sex, both integral to the plot and gratuitous. What bothered me was twofold:

A) The sex featured was public (in a nightclub, but still public) and people wore what could be described as BDSM gear. Lots of belts, black leather, fishnet stockings, lingerie, that kind of thing. This bothered me because they’re portraying ‘nightclub sex’ as something that ‘sinners’ do.

These people are in Las Vegas, on Randall’s side, therefore are the antagonists to the plot. Randall represents the Devil, where Mother Abigail in Boulder represents God. So people who enjoy public sex in a safe environment are sinners? In 2021? Similar question, so people who enjoy BDSM are sinners? In 2021?

B) The implication that if this kind of sex is allowed in Las Vegas, it wouldn’t be in Boulder. There, people have ‘vanilla’ sex, right? Not much is featured, but what is (or what I noticed) was hetero sex. I don’t recall seeing any poly couples in Boulder, or same-sex couples there. Why not? If they are there, why aren’t they more obvious? I tend to notice and am thrilled whenever I see nonbinary people in relationships or two men holding hands, but I didn’t notice it in Boulder.

3. There's a whole lotta white people. Other skin tones were sprinkled in, but not in the quantity I’ve become accustomed to. Since the diversity rider appeared for Canadian shows, I’ve noticed a much wider range of actors and it’s been delightful. I love seeing a First Nations person played by a First Nations actor. I love that I’m shown wonderful hairstyles for kinky hair. I love the intermingling of skin tones in relationships. This has become so normal to me that when there’s too many white people I notice, and not in a good way.

Here’s a sticky point to consider too: if I can’t see the difference in tones because the overall filming filter makes everyone look similar, this is a bad thing.

The main cast of characters is fairly diverse, but the background extras are not. Are they trying to convey the idea that mostly white people survived this plague? That would be insane. If I strain my brain I can recall some extras being on the lighter side of dark tones, but why should I have to strain to remember that? And if my mind is remembering the sea of whiteness, why? Because I’ve set my brain to glance at the background to ensure there’s a nicely diverse crowd, that’s why.

4. The religious aspect is troublesome. Yes, I’m aware that the book was written with religion in mind. The whole story is good vs evil shown by God vs Devil using humanity. I get that. But the Christianity irked me. I’m not religious, but I do know there are more religions out there besides Christianity. None are represented, that I could see. Instead, these characters dream of Randall or Abigail and go to where they feel the greatest pull. Good people go to Abigail, bad people to Randall. And yes, this was fairly well represented by having selfish people go to Randall and those who want a community go to Abigail.

But this is also a problem. No matter how good or bad you are (or think you are), you can change. You can decide to be different. This show pigeonholes people in a way that rankled me, with the one exception of a main character, Harold. He didn’t dream of either person, and was neither good nor bad. He just hadn’t found ‘his people’. I could identify with this facet of his personality because I know my behaviour is weird for some and not normal enough for others. It’s been difficult, trying to fit in to workplaces and friend groups, and is a measure of my neurodiversity and mental illness.

So here’s Harold, trying to be good, but has had a lifetime of not fitting in and not being included. He’s tried and failed. His behaviour is shown as someone who ‘just doesn’t get it’, and people around him tolerate him more than enjoy his company. He tries to be bad, mostly because he’s angry at the world, but he’s also good at heart. When the plague hits, he travels with Nadine to Boulder and joins the body removal crew. He even makes a friend. This tentative, tenuous friendship is torpedoed when Nadine kills the guy.

Harold is neutral, but he discovered the world can be decent. Rather than resolve this and show that there’s a place for everyone, Harold is killed. This bothered me a lot because there are people out there who just need a friend, they need someone who understands them and wants to be around them. Everyone wants that, and some people are gifted with the natural ability to make friends, but some really aren’t. For them, they spend most of their time knowing they’re disliked but not knowing how to fix the problem, or if it can be fixed. Killing this character off felt like a cop-out.

Back to religion. Imagine that you’ve been dreaming of a kind woman named Abigail, so you go to her only to discover that your religion isn’t represented in the imagery, symbolism, or icons. Instead, it’s another religion, equally good, but not yours.

Oh my, also, Las Vegas has no religious imagery that I can recall off the top of my head. There’s no indication of religion other than people nailed to crosses as you enter the city. Does this mean that if you’re religious you’re good and if you’re not you’re bad? In 2021?

This entire debate could have been avoided by not using religion as a base. Yes, it’s faithful to the book to include this aspect, but like I’ve mentioned, it’s 2021 now. Rather than good vs bad = God vs Devil, why not have: people who want to try to live peacefully vs people who want to take over and rule the world? This would be effective when done well.

To conclude, overall the show is not bad. It resembles the book and previous television mini-series quite well. The storyline is a bit current, what with a plague and all, but a lot of it feels so dated that I cringed away from my screen while watching.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading my rant.

#The Stand #Stephen King #its problematic

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meepmorpperaltiago · 5 years ago

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The Machine

Aka Jake and Amy travel through all my aus! This is a totally cracky idea I had to celebrate reaching 80 fics - I hope you enjoy this 2k crackfest of insanity!

Neither of them notice at first when the machine shows up in the precinct. No one knows what it is or what it does anyway - a group of officers stand around, trying not to press any of the buttons, not knowing whether or not it’s something dangerous.

It catches Jake’s gaze as he walks past on his way to see Amy, with its round shape, big buttons and silver shine and he asks the officers what it is.

“We don’t know”, his wife responds with a shrug, getting up and going over to the place where half of her beat cops are currently gathered. “Some crazy drunk guy who kept trying to tell us he was from a parallel world had it with him. It has all these buttons but we can’t figure out what any of them do.”

“Well you know what the best way is to find out what something is?”, Jake asks, taking Amy’s hand as he goes to push the biggest button, right in the centre.

“Jake no!”, Amy exclaims before a clap of lightning strikes and they’re thrown to the ground.

“Jake what the hell!”, Amy yells. “Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Ames, I see a button and I have to push it”, Jake responds with a shrug, hoping to win over Amy with a smile.

“Even Mac would know not to push that button and he’s 6 months old!”, she sighs, before getting up and looking around.

They appear to be in a large mall and other than it being unfamiliar, nothing about their location seems to be particularly amiss. Until, after deciding to explore a little to try and figure out where on earth they are, they walk into a record store with a name they don’t recognise and see Amy’s face plastered all over a prominently placed CD stand. Clear as day, it reads at the bottom “Amy Santiago: Sugar – 05/18/20”

Jake’s face lights up at the sight. “You know what this means?” he says to Amy with excitement, grabbing her arms.

“That one of us hit our head real hard and is hallucinating?”, Amy says.

“No – this is a parallel universe! Excuse me maa’m, could you tell me a little more about this album?”, Jake says, stopping one of the people working in the store as they go past.

She gives him a strange look before speaking slowly. “You mean the new Amy Santiago album? Her 11th and first in like 2 years? Well, it’s been pretty hyped up, we’re thinking it’s gonna sell a lot.”

“Why has she not done an album in two years?” Amy then asks, growing curious whether this is some kind of crazy fever dream or not and slightly concerned for this parallel version of herself that she’s just heard of.

“Well, she was kind of busy planning and then doing her year-long residency at Madison Square Garden…” the woman says, as if that’s something everyone knows.

Both of their eyes grow wide at that – the woman decides that the two of them are both just crazy and leaves them be with a quick excuse.

“Wait, if I’m some kind of big celebrity here, how come I’m not like, being mobbed or something?”, Amy asks.

“Uh, I think I know why”, Jake says, staring into his reflection on the front of the CD. Amy looks too and that’s when she realises: they look completely different.

“The machine must create some kind of filter”, Jake says whilst reading the track list.

“Come on, let’s try and find that machine and figure out how to get home,” Amy says, walking out of the store.

“Come on Ames, aren’t you at least a little bit curious about how all this happened? Don’t you wanna explore a little?”, he says, gesturing to her glammed-up image on the cardboard.

“Yeah, I guess I am a little curious…”, Amy says as Jake drags her away.

Hours later, they’re sat by the machine, having played the entire Amy Santiago Essentials Playlist on Apple Music whilst looking for it and googling both of them (Jake was slightly disappointed to find out that he’s still just an ordinary guy in this universe).

“Wow Ames, other you made some bops, even though it does seem like she had a nervous breakdown doing it.”

“Yeah, it seems like she didn’t have a fun time for a while…”, Amy says distractedly, whilst eyeing up the big button that brought them here in the first place. “Lets hope this can bring us home”, she then says, before pressing the button in the centre and triggering another zap.

This time, they land on a beach – they both share a disappointed look, realising that they’re still not home.

“I wonder what’s different about this universe? Am I in a rock band?”, Jake says, only half joking.

Then they see a tail coming out of the water and realise they’re in a world even stranger than the last one.

When mermaid Amy sees them, she quickly dives under the water with a scared look on her face.

Stopped in their confusion, then they see a very relaxed Jake coming out of a nearby house and realise they can’t escape meeting themselves. Even if the other versions of them won’t know who they’re talking to.

Without even realising who they are, other Jake still looks at them with surprise “Sorry, it’s just we don’t get a lot of people on this beach”, he explains.

“We?”, Amy questions.

“Oh my wife and I. It’s kind of nice that it’s so quiet – then again that’s not always worked out great for me…”

Neither of them inquire into this rather strange comment which clearly has a story behind it, as a now two legged Amy comes out from a nearby cliff.

“Did they see me?”, she asks her Jake in a whisper that’s probably not as quiet as she’d like it to be.

Feeling awkward, original Jake and Amy make a move to leave, but Amy slips and accidently presses a button further down. Given the looks that their alternative selves give them, something must have messed with the perception filter. Then other Jake says it, in a slightly surprised voice.

“You’re… us”

“Yep”, Jake says, feeling very awkward. “That machine has kind of been taking us through all these different wild scenarios…”

“Wait, why aren’t you more shocked?”, Amy asks.

He responds with a shrug, saying: “Well, I married a mermaid, my life is already wild enough”

“Jake!”, mermaid Amy says, elbowing him with a whisper. Clearly this is some kind of secret that he was supposed to keep.

“Come on babe, it’s us”, he points out to his Amy.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right”, she admits.

Jake finally asks the question he’s been itching to ask ever since he realised him and Amy are still together in this world. “How did you two meet anyway?”

That’s how they end up sat chatting to their alternate selves, exchanging stories and comparing their wildly different life experiences. They both love each other’s stories, although the mermaid one is of course slightly more strange.

“Do you still miss being a cop?”, Jake asks the other version of him as he draws patterns in the sand.

“Y’know, I did for a really long time… but now I’m ok”. He smiles softly at his Amy when he says that, bumping her shoulder slightly and it warms Jake’s heart a more than a little bit.

“Ames, you’re basically Ariel here!”, Jake says excitedly whilst the other versions of them head back their beach house.

“I know!”, Amy says as she once again pushes that darn button.

They still don’t end up back at the precinct. This time, they end up in a place that seems distinctly… historical.

This time, they figure out their story with a simple look at a newspaper. The headline reads “SANTIAGO SCANDAL AS LADY AMEILA ELOPES WITH SERVANT”

“Amy… you gave up everything for me…”, Jake says, moved by the sacrifice that the other version of his wife made as he looks at the front page article in more detail. Amy simply reads along with him, resting her head on his shoulder unsurprised – she’d definitely have done the same thing.

They’re in a cheering crowd and they see themselves high up on a balcony. The other versions of them wave elegantly, with a boy in tow that looks distinctly like an older version of the baby who waits for them at home. It makes their hearts ache a little and increases their determination to get home. But first, they look at their phones to figure out how the heck they became royalty in this world.

Jake smiles as he imagines Amy going through the awkward process of becoming a princess: but then again, he can imagine she would make a great ruler. And she definitely has the beauty part down.

“Do you think we could just break that filter thingy again and chuck these guys down some stairs?”, Jake says in a joking tone.

“Jake we can’t murder ourselves, let alone assassinate royalty”, Amy says in a hushed tone and with a giggle.

As they keep pushing the button, they go through more and more scenarios.

“You had kids with Teddy?”

“I had a kid with Sophia?”

“Are we British here? What the heck are prefects?”

“Oh my god, we have such cool powers here!”

“Our kid has such cool powers here!”

“Gina and I are openly friends here? Rosa willingly sings on stage? And we’re in a girl band? This is weirder than our kid going to Hogwarts honestly”

“What the hell? We’re nowhere near cool enough to be Youtubers”

“How come I was the one who got Thanos snapped?”

“We all go to jail here? That’s a bummer”

“Fuck is this the Handmaid’s Tale? Oh man, this is even more of a bummer than the we all go to jail universe”

“Ooooh we’re both suffragettes?” “But you being in World War One is sucky”

“Oh god I love Chidi and Eleanor, I’m so glad we got to be them”

“Teddy proposing to you again, what a surprise”

“Oh my god, Jake this is like that one tv show we watched, the one with all the fairy-tales”

“Even more fairy tales! I hope this Amy wakes up that Jake soon”

In a second, they zap onto a darkened Brooklyn street and Jake looks up to see all of his dreams come true. There he is, up on a building in a white shirt, grappling rope in hand, filling the role of his hero, John Mclane. But in his excitement, he steps back, pushes the button and they zap away before he can see himself saving the day.

“Ugh, why can’t I ever do anything badass?”, he complains with a stomp of his foot as they seem to land back in the precinct. After checking that everything is definitely still the same, they realise they’ve spent an entire day hopping from world to world and they finally head home. Then Amy makes a curious observation.

“It’s so weird how some of those stories just never finished huh? Like someone was too lazy to finish them off or lost interest?”

“You know what I really loved about seeing all those different worlds?”, Jake asks as they snuggle together on the couch later that night, having put Mac down to sleep in the nursery.

“What?”, Amy asks, looking up at her husband with a curious gaze.

“In every universe, we always managed to come together. Even in worlds where you were a superstar, or we were in different classes, different ages and nationalities or you were another freakin’ species. We’re soulmates in literally every scenario.”

Amy smiles at that and simply kisses him in response.

“I guess we really were just meant to be”, she says as she falls asleep on his shoulder.

“I think so too,” he says in response before following suit.

#b99 #b99 au #brooklyn nine nine #brooklyn nine nine fanfic #jake peralta #amy santiago #jake x amy #peraltiago #peraltiago fic #royalty au #fantasy au #mermaid au #popstar au #basically literally every au I've ever done is referenced in some way here

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evabellasworld · 4 years ago

Text

Young Soul

For Star Wars POC Week 2020

Day 5: Family

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Summary: After 8 years, Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young has reunited with their mother, Kaia Young on Chandrila and learned about their deceased father.

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“Come on, Lira,” Eva groaned as she knocked on her door, clinching both her dolls. “We don’t want to miss the first bus.”

“Hold your horses, Evie,” Lira talked back. “I’m trying to pack up.”

“Well, you should have done that yesterday when I got back from Mortis.”

“Ugh, stop nagging me. You’re annoying.”

She took a deep breath and crossed her arms as she was about to step inside her room when Lira popped out, with her backpack and her extra slingbag, which carried her gadgets and gizmos that she made out of trash. “Now I’m ready.”

“You took too long,” Eva slapped her arms. “Do you know how long it will take from the Jedi Temple to the cargo bay?”

“It takes twenty minutes, Evie,” Lira rolled her eyes as they both walked on the empty corridor, with no one up early in the morning, except for a few, who were too tired to even care about where the twins were even going in the first place. “I’ve read the map like fifty times.”

“If you read the map fifty times, then why do you have to be super slow in preparing yourself?”

“I prepare myself. I just forgot a couple of things, that’s all.”

“That could have been prevented if you prepared yourself earlier on.”

Lira let out a groan of frustration. “Whatever, you sound just like Obi-Wan sometimes.”

“Well, maybe it’s for the best.”

As they finished their conversations, the identical twins with red hair and almond-shaped eyes stepped outside the Temple, where they were greeted by Commander Tori, who only had her bottom half of her clone commander on, along with her black top. “So, where are you girls heading today?”

“Just take us to the cargo bay,” Lira answered, grabbing the backseat. “We need to fly out of Coruscant as soon as possible.”

“And why is that?” Tori raised her eyebrows. “Are you guys meeting someone important?”

“It’s our mother,” Eva spoke, with a frown. “We haven’t seen her since we were three years old and it is urgent that we have to get to Chandrila.”

Being a clone trooper, Tori doesn’t know about being separated from a parent from a young age, but one thing she understood is family and bonding. Being close to Rex, Cody, Mayyah, and Minnie, who were her siblings, not being able to see them for a long period makes her anxious and depressed, and it is what the twins are currently experiencing right now.

“Of course, girls,” she gave a nod, driving off from the Temple. “But do your masters know about this?”

“They’re at the battlefield, again,” Lira said, glancing at the dark, morning sky, with the sun not rising from the horizon and the cool wind blowing in their surroundings.

Tori sighed. It’s been a year since the Clone Wars had begun and day by day, she noticed that the relationship between the girls and their Jedi Masters had slowly dwindled, without both of them realizing it. Lira and Eva loved their masters, obviously, but most of the time, they found themselves closer to Tori than they thought.

Arriving at the cargo bay, Tori escorted both of them inside and stepped inside the ship, sitting beside them. If the girls had to see their mother, she won’t let them go by themselves, with the danger of the outside world much worse than what they watched on cartoons every Saturday morning.

“So,” Tori breaks the awkward silence between them. “Does your mother know that you both are visiting her today?”

Eva nodded. “Yes, Tori. We managed to find her phone number in the yellow page and commed her immediately. She’s very nervous to see us both.”

“Oh, well, that’s good to hear. Now tell me, what does your mother work as?”

“She worked at The Angel Inn,” Lira informed, showing her the pages that she found the other day. “It only opens at night, so we have ample time for Evie and me to spend time with her.”

She read Kaia Young’s comm and noticed the place was listed down as a brothel on Chandrila, making her cheeks turn hot. Should I tell them the place where her mother worked, or should I just keep quiet and let their mother come clean about her job?

She heard about her brothers and sisters visiting brothels on Coruscant, and getting kicked out of the place when they realize that their service isn’t free at all. Choerry was a fine example of a clone trooper who was banned from a brothel. Tori could only grumble, but at the same time, it amuses her as well.

“Oh, that’s fascinating to hear, girls,” she smiled. “I can’t wait to meet your mother as well, even though I don’t know much about her.”

“She’ll love you, Tori,” Lira cuddled next to her. “Trust me, I told her about you and she’s excited to see you as well.”

A civilian excited to see a clone like me? Well, that’s unexpected. “Oh, I’m sure she’s a kind lady like the both of you.”

“She is.”

After a few hours on board, the ship jumped out of hyperspace and landed on the planet’s surface. The Chandrilan skies were coloured with sapphire, with the golden, glistening sun shining above the white clouds. Despite that, the natives, which was ninety-six per cent of humans, didn’t feel too hot or too cold and were enjoying the weather.

The three of them emerged from the station with their bags when they noticed a woman in her 30s, with jet black hair and almond-shaped, dark honey eyes, along with fair skin and bow-shaped lips, which shared similar facial features as the twins. Eva, who recognized her, ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her torso. “Mama!”

“Evie, is that you?” her mother spoke, recognizing her 11 years old daughter. “Look how big you’ve grown. The last time I remember you, you were so tiny.”

“Mama!” Lira called her, hugging her as well. “We miss you so much.”

“Well, I miss you both as well,” she grinned, kissing their foreheads. She stood up and noticed Tori’s presence, and offered to shake hands with her. “And you must be Tori. The girls have said nothing but good things about you.”

“They always say good things about everyone,” Tori shook her hands. “The girls have told me about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Young.”

Kaia let out a chortle. “Oh, no, Tori. I’m not even married at all. You can call me Kaia or miss, whatever makes you comfortable?”

The first-name basis, eh? Now I know where the girls got it from. “Alright then, Kaia. It’s great to meet you, again. Sorry, it’s quite-”

“Awkward?” Kaia finished her sentence, laughing. “Don’t worry about it, Tori. I don’t bite unless you want me to.”

Her eyes widened as her face flushed. “Actually, Kaia, I’m an ace.”

“Tori, I’m just joking with you.”

Wow, she has a sense of humour, just like Lira.

“Anyways, we should head back to my apartment,” suggested Kaia, holding the twin’s hands. “I made something special for the three of you.”

They arrived at her small but cosy apartment, which was filled with potted plants everywhere and vines growing on the grille of the window. A shoe rack was placed beside the door, with the walls painted in mint green, which gave the whole house a calming effect towards the host and their guests.

Lira, Eva and Tori took off their boots and placed their backpacks on a tiny, wooden bench that Kaia found at the garbage disposal and repainted them to make them presentable. The identical twins sat on the brown couch, along with a few tie-dye pillows.

Tori checked out the bookshelf that was leaning against the wall, and found herself picking a book from its place, titled ‘Tales of Handmaids.’ For Tori, it was surprising that a prostitute like Kaia would have a decent place, not too lavish nor seedy. Chandrila isn’t like Coruscant, where people like her would rot in a dangerous alley. Instead, they fared better, even though there are flaws.

“So,” Kaia walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of glasses, which were filled with iced lemonades. “How long did it take you from Coruscant?”

“A few hours,” Lira told her, as she took a sip of her drink.

“Huh, that long, eh?”

“Yup,” Tori nodded. “Do you live alone, Kaia?”

“Yeah, it’s just me and all my plants, in my boxed-sized apartment. No one is there to look after yourself, and that is the harsh reality, unfortunately.”

“Isn’t it lonely?” Eva asked. “Living all by yourself.”

“Sometimes, it does, sweetie,” Kaia sat between them, wrapping her arms around their shoulder. “But at the same time, I enjoy the silence once in a while, you know.”

“Don’t you have any friends, or maybe a lover?”

Her mother let out a snort. “I see you know a lot about love, Evie.”

“They know a lot about love and sex,” Tori spoke. “They heard about them from my troops, and even some Jedi.”

“A Jedi having sex?” her eyes widened. “Why am I not surprised? Who told you about the birds and the bees anyway?”

“A friend told us,” Lira replied. “Eva and I accidentally caught him doing the deed with a Senator, so he had to explain everything about it. It was disgusting.”

“Well, I’m sorry that you girls had to see that," mused Kaia. "But at least it's better for you girls to know, rather than being ignorant and making the same mistake that I did when I was younger."

“Oh?” Tori raised her eyebrows. “What about that?”

“Well, it’s too disturbing for the three of you so consider yourselves warned but when I was 16, I was violated by an adult man, and that adult man was a friend of my parents. Instead of believing me, they denounced me and kicked me out of their home.”

“But they’re your family. Why would a family cast out one another? Don’t you guys share the same blood?”

Kaia shook her head. “Tori, your brothers and sisters aren’t the same as mine. Your siblings care for one another and look out for each other, but my family cares only about two things, which are money and ego. My aunts and uncles, my siblings, my parents, fight like vultures when they see gold. They don’t care about your well-being at all. They only know how to back-stab you, that's all."

"That sounds like the Separatist more than a family."

"Indeed, though the Republic has its flaws as well, especially recruiting kids to lead an entire army."

"If I have to be honest," Eva raised her hands. "I don't even know why we are fighting in the first place."

"We were told by the Kaminoans that it's for peace, but I could hardly believe that statement anymore."

"It seems like the people of the Outer Rim are growing unsatisfied towards the government," Kaia sighed, finishing her drink. "Honestly, I won't be surprised if there is a rebellion against them."

Lira and Eva exchanged glances of surprise before their mother cleared her throat. "So, anyone up for a movie?"

"Yes, please," Lira bobbed her head. "Can we watch Rowling's Castle?"

"Of course, sweetie."

As night came, both Lira and Eva were cuddled next to their mother as Tori slept in the right corner of the bed, laying beside the younger twin. The stars above Chandrila were shining as bright as jewellery as the moon above the sky illuminated. “Kinda rare to see this many stars in the city,” Tori commented, counting each one of them with her fingers. “We never get this much on Coruscant.”

“People here value nature,” Kaia told her. “It’s the basis of life. Without nature, we have nothing. No food, no water, no air, just torture and pain.”

“That explains why you have so many plants around your house.”

“Greenery is good for your mental health. Makes you feel calm, especially for a soldier like you.”

Maybe I should follow Daisy’s advice and get myself a potted plant in my barrack then.

“Hey Mama,” Eva called her. “There’s something I need to ask you about and it’s really important.”

“What is it, baby?”

“The other day, my master and I stumbled upon a planet called Mortis, and when I was there, I saw a man with a Jedi robe and long hair. He spoke to me about how I shouldn’t trust too freely and be more cautious with my surroundings. I told my master about him, and he said that he knew who the man was?”

“Okay, what did your master say?”

“He told me that he was his mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn. Do you know who Qui-Gon Jinn was, Mama?”

The name that her daughter mentioned made her heart smile and sorrow at the same time. She reached for the drawers beside her bed and grabbed a flimsi of her and Qui-Gon together, holding each other’s hand.

“You know him, mom?” Lira gasped as she saw the flimsi.

“I knew him well,” she gleamed. “He was my lover. I met him while I was exploring the forest, searching for wild berries and mushrooms. He was meditating by the river when he noticed me with a basket and a straw hat. After we got to know each other, he would visit me every weekend and slowly, we fell in love.”

“Is Qui-Gon our father?” Eva guessed.

Kaia curved her lips upwards. “Yeah, he was your father. When I got pregnant with the both of you, he was ecstatic and he couldn’t even wait to meet you both.”

Tori’s smile disappeared. She was told that Kaia lived by herself, and she could tell that something happened to him. “There’s no happy ending, isn’t it?”

Kaia shook her head. “Three months before you girls were born, I saw him in an obituary. I was heartbroken that he was gone so soon. I never get to say goodbye to him.”

“Then what happened?” Lira raised her question. “Why did you give us away to the Jedi?”

“It was difficult for me to raise you and Eva, especially with the Child Protection Service chasing after me. I had to choose between losing my job and losing both of you. I wanted both of you to have a better life than I did, so I decided to let the Jedi adopt you both.”

The twins wanted to yell at her for leaving, but at the same time, she had a point. Had their mother continued to raise them, they would have ended up in a broken, foster home, like all the other children.

“I understand, mom,” Eva nodded, letting out a yawn. “We should head to bed.”

“Alright then,” she kissed both Lira and Eva on the forehead. “Goodnight, my love.”

Tori fell asleep as well, knowing that the twins are safe and sound in their mother’s loving embrace.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaia Young:

Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young:

Commander Tori:

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scullysflannel · 5 years ago

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hitting up your inbox. here's a question for you: since you've written about tv from a lot of different periods, how would you describe the difference between 90s shows like the x-files or buffy (or even early 00s shows like alias) and stuff made more recently? i feel like "is one better than the other" is kind of a pointless question, but are there things you think each era is better at? worse at? basically just interested in your thoughts on how tv storytelling has changed in the last 30 years

oh wow. I’m sure I’d have a better view of this if I’d been in this industry longer; my sample size from the ‘90s and early ‘00s is small – and more personalized to me – compared to how many recent shows I watch/have watched. that’s my disclaimer. the rest is below the cut because I went long.

overall… it’s hard to generalize about TV now because there’s so much of it. but I think it’s a shame we’ve fallen out of love with the procedural! now they’re mostly overlooked (by critics) and mostly formulaic, which is too bad because a good case/monster-of-the-week show can go anywhere. it’s much easier for procedurals to try on different tones or experiment with form (no dialogue, musical, black and white, etc). and the best ones usually find tension in the idea that resolution is possible: the x-files and buffy both use the monster-of-the-week structure to emphasize how open ended their fights are. one of my favorite new shows this season was evil on cbs because it’s a procedural that works with the format in order to push boundaries. I’d love to see more of that. bring back procedurals that feel fresh!

but as much as I hate the trend of showrunners trying to turn everything into a “10-hour movie” (TV needs episodic structure!) obviously it’s good that we’ve got more serialized storytelling. and yes that’s The Legacy of The Sopranos, but it’s also streaming making it easier for people to catch up on what they missed. we’re at a point where even comedy can be really experimental and long-form; the good place could not have happened a decade ago. I’m glad TV trusts audiences to be smarter now. I just don’t think it’s an accident that the showrunners who are best at serialized storytelling (vince gilligan, damon lindelof, mike schur) have experience writing for procedurals (or standard sitcoms). episodes matter.

peak tv is great because even though there’s still a lot further to go, there are so many more shows now written by diverse voices, featuring diverse casts, telling stories that haven’t been on TV before. but at the same time it’s harder for those shows to find audiences and stick around, and you can see how it makes them less patient with storytelling if they’re on the bubble. the streaming model doesn’t help since apparently there’s less incentive to keep shows around past three seasons. TV shows just don’t last as long anymore. which can be for the best (watchmen was perfect as it was), but at the same time one of the things that sets TV apart as a medium is the time you get with the characters. we watched buffy and scully grow up. and I love the sort of rambling quality of a long-running show and the way the writers are forced to work around real life. I think that’s interesting! (because, again, most stories in real life don’t end neatly.) I don’t want to fully lose that unpredictability. emily van der werff at vox wrote about this recently: TV doesn’t always need to be shorter; it just needs to know how to tell short stories that add up.

this is beside your point, but I’m really interested in how shows hold up over time and what keeps them relevant. the x-files and fringe are both sci-fi shows about investigating the unexplained, but the x-files doesn’t really care about science and fringe really does, so the x-files is less dated than a show that came out 15 years later. alias is very post 9/11, even though the pilot was filmed before 9/11. it’s about living in a surveillance state. but it never seems able to make a strong comment on that; there’s a lot of push and pull between critiquing and accepting the secrets the government “has to keep,” because at the time I think they could only go so far. whereas the americans will probably hold up better, even though it’s also a spy drama, because those questions are the whole point (being a period piece also helps).

I think any good show has staying power; it’s not just about relevance (breaking bad is about the darkness people are capable of, etc, but really it’s going to hold up because it’s entertaining as hell). but I do think ‘90s dramas have a leg up because technology hadn’t totally invaded everyday life yet, so the stories they told were more human. it’s hard to make interesting TV about problems that happen online and on our phones. some shows are doing it – the good fight, evil… basically, the kings are doing it – but a lot of stories about how it feels to be alive today are looking at it sideways (like the leftovers or the handmaid’s tale). the good place had to go to the afterlife to point out that no ethical consumption is possible under capitalism. we don’t have a clear way to talk about the present as it’s happening, even on TV. maybe that’s because it’s so fragmented.

but ultimately I think the good shows are still doing the same things. it’s tempting to say TV storytelling is bolder/less linear/weirder now, but it’s really just packaging. it’s the difference between twin peaks and twin peaks: the return. the ‘90s version looks more traditional, but it’s finding the tension between absurdity and structure as opposed to going all-out absurd. it’s the same questions in a new format. the x-files and the leftovers are still making the same points about the impossibility of understanding the world around us and the importance/limits of relationships to mitigate the chaos. the x-files just couldn’t have told that story with a lion sex cult.

#impalementation #this is so long and i don't know if it's insightful at all but it was fun to think about!!#thank you!

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