#or it could just have been jeremy giving his all into the role

[strawberryicemoon]

There are VERY few shows that are truly an ensemble main cast, as usually there is one character who is front and center. In group shots, in overarching narrative, etc.

Code Lyoko is definitely an ensemble cast though. You can make a compelling argument for every one of the main characters that they are THE primary character.

Jeremie is sort of a a shoe in as the the guy who started this whole thing. He turned on the super computer. And his role as "Guy in the chair" is never presented like some supporting cast role. He's constantly working to help fix whatever is going on, and whatever Jeremie is doing is usually the most important part of the plot. He's even blue. He''s just visually in official art, often to the side (though not always) on account of his lack of a Lyoko form's been central in some official art, but he's also been known to be off to the side or excluded altogether, since he doesn't participate in the cool sci-fi battles in the virtual world so he's really not cool from a marketing perspective. He doesn't have main character vibes so to speak, but they could tell me he's the main protagonist and I'd believe it.

Aelita is a late addition to the cast, not literally in show, but in development, not appearing in Garage Kids or the earlier short film, The Children Make Their Movies. However, the main plot of code lyoko is hinged on her and her backstory. She's the one who was trapped in the super computer, whose father built it, whose mother was kidnapped. She's not passive in her life either. She's the most important person on Lyoko, where most of the action takes place because her father gave her the keys to Lyoko, making her the only one who can do certain things. The one who must be protected.

For the first part of the show, when she's confined to Lyoko she and Jeremie have alternate roles. Aelita, the most important special powerful person on Lyoko (but unable to leave it). Jeremie, the most important person outside of Code Lyoko who acts as the eyes in the sky and programs things into Code Lyoko (and outside of it). The very thing giving them main protag potential also being an argument against that status for a show focusing on school drama and virtual world fights. On the other hand this leaves the trio of Ulrich, Yumi and Odd, who ultimately all don't have the same amount of personal investment in Lyoko, so the show wouldn't completely fall apart without them, but they still have their own traits that make them "main charactery".

Odd seems like he was almost the main character once, though not so much anymore. He's the new guy, the most extroverted and with a unique skillset (being a cat boy apparently) with the weirdly implemented, potentially but not really OP power of precognition. When Code Lyoko was still "Garage Kids", him being the new guy was seemingly more plot relevant as everyone else was in on "Xanadu" before he was introduced, and was front and center on the poster, giving the vibes that he was the main character. He's also got a dog that he snuck into school. Generally he just is not the center of the plot, and and outside of animal themed shows purple cat boys isn't something that makes you think "main character".

Ulrich is probably the closest to the expected lead character. He's just a dude. He's the everyman. He's not great at school and is the star athlete. He's the guy whose at the center of the shows main love triangle (which gets turned into a love zigzag later with him still involved in both triangles. He often gets to be front and center (in virtual form) in promotional material, but so do the rest of teammates. His associated colors are green and yellow, neither of which are ever strongly with leaders. He foils Odd, as his quiet and grumpy attitude is one usually more reserved for the edgy deuteragonist, complete with a harsh and demanding father.

Yumi is probably the one with the weakest argument. But she's still the character who is in the center of the group shot at the end of the first opening so there is still definitely an argument to be made. She's also the only day student and thus her family drama is the most prevalent, which is kinda a protagy thing to do. Her Lyoko color is red which along with blue is usually one of the central protag colors. But really, she and Ulrich go together, and the two form a sort of dual protagonist situation within the ensemble. The main argument is probably just that she's too she's too busy playing that role to be main protag. She's at the center of the shows second love triangle which is an extension of the first that centered Ulrich. She's a martial artist on par with Ulrich. Not to mention she and Ulrich both have Japanese themed forms and some official art places her on par with Ulrich in the center. She just doesn't have Ulrich's "everyman" qualities. In fact she has kind of "othering" qualities such as being the token minority (Japanese), being a grade above everyone else, and also being a girl in an early 2000s action adventure show. Basically she's got a lot going on that makes her a perfectly qualified deuteragonist type. Which may be for the best in a series otherwise full of protagonist types.

But really every character takes their turn at being central in the art, and the stereotypical "main protag traits" tend to be distributed amongst them. Ulrich may have the stereotypical skillset for instance, but Odd is closer to the stereotypical personality and Yumi has the more fleshed out home life. Jeremie drives the plot forward, but the plot is about Aelita's family. You really can't point at a single character and go "that's the face of Code Lyoko".

[gingerylangylang1979]

Remember when Ebra's future at The Bear wasn't certain?

gif courtesy of @heardchef

Remember when this trailer hit and we freaked out?

I was worried about Ebra. I thought he would quit or maybe get fired because he couldn't keep up with the new pace. In season one he was a bit dismayed by all of the components in the chicken piccata. In the moment above there was foreshadowing that he wasn't confident about his place in the future. Things moved forward rapidly. He didn't thrive like Tina in culinary school. In a crueler kitchen he may have been forgotten when he disappeared but he wasn't. He was given space but he wasn't cut loose. People were concerned. Carmy asked about him. Tina reconnected with him. He still had a spot on the team, just one reimagined. I'm glad.

Edwin has high billing despite a small role. He's a legend in Chicago. I honestly think Ebra's the funniest character even though he doesn't get the big goofy, flashy moments. Please let him be funny again! But there is a story of immigration, sadness, and loss for him that is ready to be told. I don't think they will ever give him a big storyline but I do hope he at least gets a monologue to explain the whole thing or it gets revealed in bits and pieces along the way. Also, I think his style doesn't get enough love. He dresses like the older fly African and Caribbean men I see in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Bright colors, bold patterns, boho accessories. It's a vibe. I bet he smells good, too. And he's attractive. If I was his age...

I think Ebra's arc last season says a lot about the show and the people behind it. Carmy could have let Ebra go. There was a lot going on and he could have just saw a rogue element and dropped that ass. But who would Carmy be to judge? He was the most rogue element all season and was the weakest link at Friends & Family. Instead, Carmy still found value in him. Tina could have rubbed in her all star status and promotion but she didn't. She saw a friend struggling, not competition. She had the vision for him in his current position.

Storer saw Edwin in a local play when he was a kid, thought he was the most magical actor he'd seen, remembered him, kept up with his Chicago career, and sought him out for this role. He didn't have to do that. He could have hired a more widely known talent but he gave his childhood favorite actor the opportunity. He remembered and honored him.

I see a lot of how Storer is with his talent in how Carmy is as a leader. Carmy is deeply flawed but he does invest in his people. He could have fired the old crew from day one. But he didn't clean house and hire a bunch of Sydney's (he only needed one). He could have started with an entirely new crew when he decided to rebrand, but he didn't he decided to fast track his found family. Storer wanted people he had worked with to work on The Bear. Jeremy (his award winning lead), Ayo (breakout star, IMO romantic lead, and future director thanks to Chris), Ramy (director), and Molly (romantic interest) are people he worked with in the past, sought out again, and saw how they could build on what he saw in them before.

Anyways, this was partially an ode to Ebra/Edwin and partially me getting warm fuzzies over Storer as a generous show runner and Carmy as a generous anti-hero.

[bokettochild]

Hi! First off, I sent some ramblings before, and I feel safe here to share my thoughts! Your blog is amazing, to start.

Okay, so I can't read your opera house AU, though I bet it is amazing. I just don't have AO3, and when I look it up, I can't find it, so that's fine! I read your thing where it described who each LU character was in your opera house AU, and I love how Legend is a jack of all trades.

(I think it's a jack of all trades. It might be a jock of all trades.🤷‍♀️)

I feel legend, is kinda of self-conscious about his voice and thinks he isn't good enough to be on stage. That's why he mostly stays backstage and fixes things for last minute, and lets Fable take the stage.

I feel like even though Legend has been there for...like all of his life, when he saw Dusk, Artemis, and Warriors, he kind of shrunk in on his talent, seeing how they were literally crowd-pleasers. Everyone loves them; the crowds go wild when they see them on stage.

I feel like this happened once when everyone went out to get something for the play they were doing. He went on stage and just sang a hard song that not even Artemis or Warriors could do, but he nailed it.

I also feel like he would act like Jeremy Jordan. Jeremy Jordan.

Jeremy Jordan Did Bonnie and Clyde the musical and the scene raise a little hell The song, the first one he does, this great acting where he acts like he got beaten horribly, he is terrified. I describe it badly, but if you look it up if you want, I feel like that's how legend would act. He would put his heart and soul into his acting.

I feel like the warriors accidentally bullied the legend once because of something that made him shrink in on himself more when it came to stage time.

Anyways I love your blog!

I'm sorry to hear that! I have most of my fics blocked so non-users can't see them, mostly due to the rise in bots on Ao3 scraping for works and stealing our creations. If you'd like though, I can post them here as well! I used to cross-post a lot of stuff, but I stopped when I realized I could never find the fics again after LOL

And yes! Legend is the jack-of-all-trades at the Crown City opera! He grew up in the opera house (Twilight, his uncle, has been a stage-hand there since he was a baby) so he's been able to learn first hand from masters of the trade how to do basically everything there is to know! He's not as good with paperwork and the advertising aspect, as most of that sort of thing is done by Lullaby and Dot, but he's got the bare-bones knowledge (there's a rumor that Lullaby made sure he knew because she intends to leave the opera to him one day, but it's just a rumor).

I don't know if Legend is so self-conscious about his voice, but he's definitely not aware of how good he is. Like I said; he grew up learning from the best, and a lot of the crew and cast found it fun to show him how to do stuff in their down time, so he's probably got a better education in music than anyone else in the building. However, because he doesn't take acting as his main role and mostly helps in the back, he's sort of fallen into the belief that he's only maybe slightly better than average. Is he? Heck no! He could probably give the divas a nice run for their money if he was trying hard enough! However, while he most certainly has given his all to every role (he really does love acting) he still maintains that he's an "average nobody" who fills in on occasion when someone calls out sick, or plays the lesser roles when they're short on cast.

The opera knows he's good, Lullaby knows he's good, and gosh do their audiences know he's good! but because Legend is under the impression that he's average, he doesn't seek more time in the spotlight. Additionally, since Lullaby knows he loves what he is doing (he very much enjoys his prop work and set creation and costuming opportunities, don't let the grumbling fool you), she doesn't see a reason to call on him excessively if that's not what he wants. After all, he wasn't hired to be part of the cast (although whether he was actually officially hired at all is unknown, although he's paid very well).

I will say he does compare his skill to the divas, but sort of in a casual way when he's talking to Hyrule and the rest of his team. Sort of in the whole manner of: "I'm not like Dusk or anything, there's a reason you don't see my face on the billboards". I will say he's probably compared himself a lot to them in this manner though and convinced himself that he's not that great in comparison, but he's chill with it because obviously he can't be good at everything, and he's good at his job, so that's what matters.

His biggest point when people bring up his skill is always that there's a reason the divas' names are well known and he's just crew. What he doesn't know is that he very much has a near cult following and there are theories online. He's not very present on social media or anything, but their audiences know there is this one actor/actress who appears sometimes to fill roles or to cover when the headliners can't be there. Nobody knows what said actor/actress's name is, and they actually aren't even sure what gender he is, they just know said person has a lot of skill and they wish he'd show up more!

Lullaby is aware of this, but again, she respects Legend's choice to do his job, and also has no interest in throwing him to the dogs by releasing his name if he doesn't want her too. She wants him to have a normal life, thank you, not get hounded by media and fans like some of her staff are.

His skill is totally comparable to Jeremy Jordan though! Absolutely love that idea (and the idea that maybe he sounds like him too!)

As for the whole Warriors suggestion, I think they both tease each other back and forth a lot. Warriors is a good few years older, so he isn't mean with it, but considering their dynamic, it's not too far out there to suppose that maybe he once teasingly commented on Legend's singing skill with the intent of implying it was good, but Legend (pessimist that he is) assumed it was negative. In which case, he probably is a bit self-conscious about it sometimes, although it's less noticeable. It'd be more like he doesn't sing as loudly while working if he hears Wars nearby, and gets touchy when the diva talks about his skills. Wars isn't a jerk though, so he probably is clueless about the mix-up.

With all this in mind though, I can totally see the main story (when I do actually write it, LOL) featuring Legend as that sidelined, super-star-level nobody who teaches our lead (Hyrule) how to absolutely wow the crowds. Would he know why Hyrule asked him? No. He probably assumes Rule just asked the guy he actually knows, that and the divas are unapproachable or smth, or maybe because Legend's been here a while. Man has no clue, but he will help Hyrule to the best of his abilities!

[gcthvile]

Astrid Lensherr-Walsh

Name: Astrid Lensherr-Walsh

Age: 18 (varies depending on the rp)

Birthday: December 6th

Parents: Cole Lensherr & Jeremy Walsh

Backstory:

Astrid's life began with a tragic loss, as her biological mother passed away shortly after her birth. Her biological father, devastated and emotionally shattered, tried to care for her but ultimately realized he couldn't provide the stability she needed. He feared that his grief might harm her, leading to the difficult decision to place her up for adoption. However, Astrid didn’t have to wait long for a family—six months later, she was adopted by Cole Lensherr and Jeremy Walsh, who became her true parents in every sense.

From the beginning, Astrid was the bridge between two very different men. Cole, haunted by the abusive parenting of his foster father, was reluctant to become a father himself, afraid of repeating the past. Jeremy, on the other hand, had always dreamed of having a family, and his persistence and love eventually convinced Cole that they could raise Astrid together. Jeremy’s reassurance that Cole’s past experiences taught him how not to act as a parent helped calm his fears. Cole, though uncertain, felt a part of himself deeply wanting the connection and the chance to build something he never had.

When they brought Astrid home, it was an emotional turning point for both of them. Cole, especially, felt an indescribable connection to Astrid, an almost primal need to protect her from all harm. In many ways, Astrid was Cole’s second chance at giving the love and protection he had been denied. He swore to himself that she would never feel the loneliness or pain he endured.

Growing up, Astrid quickly became the center of their world, and her childhood was filled with love from not just her fathers but also a large extended family. Cole, the indulgent parent, would let her get away with almost anything, often spoiling her with gifts and granting her more freedom than Jeremy liked. Jeremy, the more grounded and responsible one, balanced out Cole’s permissiveness by teaching Astrid about accountability, respect, and making the right choices. The lessons were not lost on Cole, either—he often found himself learning right alongside his daughter. It was clear that Astrid was not just shaping her own future but also helping Cole heal from his past.

Astrid’s extended family played a massive role in her life. Her uncles and aunts adored her, often going out of their way to spend time with her and shower her with affection. Liane and Ethan were always buying her extravagant toys and clothes, making her feel like royalty. Mia and Nikolai spent hours watching Disney movies with her, sharing in her love for stories of adventure and magic. Rick’s ability to shift into his wolf form turned playtime into a magical, thrilling experience for her as a child, while Luna would strum her guitar and fill the house with music. Roch and Michelle taught Astrid the art of self-defense, despite her lack of powers. They were adamant that she could still be strong and capable without them, and Astrid took to these lessons with enthusiasm, becoming skilled with various weapons.

Despite being surrounded by love, Astrid’s teenage years brought with them a subtle shift. She began to retreat into herself, spending long hours alone in her room, immersed in books, drawing, and music. The vibrant holidays and family gatherings she had once loved now felt overwhelming, and while she still cared deeply for her family, Astrid needed space to figure herself out. It wasn’t that she stopped loving them—she just felt more comfortable in her own company, a feeling Cole understood well. Having gone through his own struggles with isolation, Cole gave Astrid the freedom to explore her solitude, always reminding her that he was there for her if she needed him. Jeremy, while more anxious about her emotional distance, respected her boundaries and tried to trust that Astrid would come to them when she was ready.

Astrid’s social circle was small. The only people she really talked to outside of her parents were her cousins, Joshua, Darelene, and Margot, Bella, George and Georgia, and Riley and Dylan. Though she was quiet and reserved, Astrid had a soft spot for babysitting her younger cousins, finding joy in their innocent energy and curiosity. Despite her more introspective nature, she loved spending time with them, feeling protective and responsible, much like her father Cole had felt toward her.

Astrid’s quiet teenage rebellion wasn’t one of defiance, but rather introspection. She wasn’t lashing out or pushing boundaries—she was simply trying to find her own identity in a large, vibrant family. There were moments when she felt like she didn’t quite fit, especially without powers, but her family’s love and support kept her grounded, even when she felt like pulling away.

Personality:

Astrid is a mix of quiet introspection and gentle strength, shaped by both her experiences and the influences of her parents, Cole and Jeremy. On the surface, she comes off as reserved and introverted, preferring solitude over socializing. She’s the type of person who enjoys spending long hours with a book or sketchpad, getting lost in her thoughts and her art. This quietness isn't due to shyness or insecurity—Astrid knows who she is, but she finds peace in her own company. She values her alone time as a way to recharge and reflect, especially given the large, energetic family she’s a part of.

In many ways, Astrid is emotionally mature beyond her years. From a young age, she understood that love can come in many forms, whether it was the protective, slightly overindulgent love from Cole or the steady, guiding hand of Jeremy. She’s always had a deep sense of empathy, often picking up on the emotions of those around her and responding with quiet support. Astrid doesn’t need to speak loudly or offer grand gestures to show she cares—her presence alone is often enough for her family and friends to feel understood. This makes her a great listener and someone people feel comfortable confiding in, even if she isn’t quick to open up about her own feelings.

Astrid’s sense of independence is strong. As much as she loves her family, she values having her own space and identity. Growing up without powers in a family of powerful figures has given her a deep determination to prove herself. She doesn’t rely on any supernatural abilities to define her; instead, she’s become highly skilled in practical areas like self-defense, strategy, and problem-solving. Her aunts Roch and Michelle taught her how to handle herself in combat situations, and while she isn’t aggressive by nature, Astrid is capable and confident when it comes to defending herself or her loved ones.

Despite her calm exterior, Astrid has a streak of stubbornness, especially when it comes to her autonomy. She doesn’t like being pushed into things or told what to do, preferring to figure things out on her own. This can sometimes lead to quiet rebellion, where she withdraws rather than confronts issues head-on. It’s not that she’s afraid of conflict—she just prefers to handle things on her own terms and in her own time. Astrid doesn’t like to feel pressured, and this can sometimes cause tension between her and her family, especially with Jeremy, who worries more about her emotional well-being than Cole does.

Underneath her reserved nature, there’s a subtle but sharp wit. Astrid may not be the most talkative person in the room, but when she does speak, her words often carry weight. She has a dry sense of humor, and while she may not be as outwardly sarcastic as her father Cole, she shares his ability to make pointed observations or drop a quick, clever remark when the moment calls for it.

Her relationships with others are meaningful, even if she only keeps a small circle of close friends and family. She deeply values loyalty and trust, and while it might take time for her to truly open up to someone, once she does, she’s fiercely protective of them. Her close bond with her cousins is a testament to this—despite her introverted tendencies, she finds comfort in her family’s unconditional love and enjoys spending time with the younger kids, guiding them the way she was guided by her aunts and uncles.

Astrid is also a dreamer, often getting lost in her imagination. Her artistic side is an important outlet for her, allowing her to express feelings she doesn’t always put into words. Whether it’s through drawing, music, or writing, Astrid channels her emotions into creativity, giving her a quiet but powerful way to communicate. She’s the type of person who will express her love or struggles through a sketch she leaves on her father’s desk, rather than through a long conversation.

Though she prefers the sidelines, Astrid is strong in her own way, with a quiet resilience that runs deep. She may not be a loud presence, but she’s steady, reliable, and emotionally intelligent—qualities that make her the anchor of her family, even if she doesn't realize it.

Fun Facts:

1. Collector of Vintage Books: Astrid has a secret love for collecting vintage books. She enjoys spending hours in secondhand bookstores, looking for rare editions or beautifully bound novels. Her bookshelf is full of these treasures, and each one has a special meaning to her.

2. Incredibly Skilled at Drawing: Though she keeps her art mostly to herself, Astrid is an incredibly talented artist. She loves sketching realistic portraits and fantasy creatures, often creating detailed character designs or scenes from her imagination. She uses drawing to process her emotions.

3. Loves Astronomy: Astrid has always been fascinated by the stars and the universe. She has a telescope by her window and spends late nights stargazing. Astronomy gives her a sense of peace and wonder, and she’s surprisingly knowledgeable about constellations and space-related facts.

4. Big Animal Lover: She adores animals, and despite being quiet, animals seem to gravitate toward her. Cole and Jeremy once joked about getting a family dog, but Astrid has been campaigning for a cat since she was a little girl. She would name the cat "Nebula" or "Cosmos."

5. Not a Morning Person: Astrid is definitely a night owl. She feels more alive and creative after dark and loves the quiet of nighttime. In the mornings, she’s usually groggy and not very talkative until she’s had her breakfast or coffee.

6. Fear of Heights: Despite growing up around people with extraordinary abilities, Astrid has a notable fear of heights. She tries to avoid high places or being too far off the ground, even though she knows she’s always safe with her family around.

7. Fan of Old-School Rock Music: Astrid has an old soul when it comes to music, and she loves listening to bands like Fleetwood Mac, Queen, and The Rolling Stones. She often draws while blasting these classics in her room.

8. Secretly Bakes When She’s Stressed: Astrid doesn’t talk much about it, but she’s actually pretty good at baking. When she’s feeling anxious or overwhelmed, she’ll retreat to the kitchen and make cookies, brownies, or her favorite chocolate cake.

9. Her Room is a Little Sanctuary: Astrid’s room is decorated in a minimalist, cozy style with fairy lights, soft blankets, and lots of plants. It’s her sanctuary where she feels the most comfortable, and she’s pretty picky about who she lets inside.

Likes:

1. Reading: Astrid could spend all day curled up with a good book, especially fantasy novels or psychological thrillers. She also enjoys reading poetry and classic literature.

2. Art Supplies: She’s a sucker for high-quality art supplies, especially sketchpads and charcoal pencils. She takes her drawing hobby seriously and loves experimenting with different mediums.

3. Quiet Time: As an introvert, Astrid enjoys having quiet time to herself. Whether it’s reading, drawing, or just listening to music, she values her alone time to recharge.

4. Nighttime Walks: She loves walking under the stars or sitting outside at night, enjoying the stillness and cool air. Nighttime is her favorite time of day to reflect and unwind.

5. Animals: Especially cats. She’s gentle and caring around animals and has always wanted a pet, particularly a cat. Astrid feels a special bond with animals and enjoys their quiet companionship.

6. Old Movies & Music: She loves watching old black-and-white films and listening to classic rock music. There’s something comforting to her about the timelessness of old media.

7. Astronomy: She’s fascinated by space and loves stargazing, learning about constellations, and reading about astronomy. It gives her a sense of perspective and peace.

8. Rainy Days: Rainy days are perfect for her, as they give her an excuse to stay inside with a blanket, a book, or her sketchpad. The sound of rain helps her relax.

9. Handwritten Letters: Astrid loves the old-fashioned sentiment of handwritten letters. She keeps a collection of letters from family members and occasionally writes her own as a personal way of expressing her thoughts.

10. Coffee Shops: Astrid enjoys the calm and cozy atmosphere of coffee shops, where she can sit with a warm drink and just people-watch, sketch, or read.

Dislikes:

1. Loud, Crowded Places: Astrid isn’t a fan of big crowds or noisy environments, like parties or festivals. They overwhelm her, and she feels out of place in overly social situations.

2. Small Talk: She finds small talk awkward and unnecessary, preferring meaningful conversations or silence over forced interactions. She’s the type to avoid social gatherings just to dodge small talk.

3. Heights: Due to her fear of heights, Astrid avoids situations where she feels far from the ground. Amusement park rides, tall buildings, and even some balconies make her uncomfortable.

4. Being Pushed Into Decisions: Astrid likes taking her time to think things through and doesn’t appreciate being rushed or pressured into making decisions. She values her autonomy and independence.

5. Superficial Friendships: She doesn’t waste time on friendships that lack depth. Astrid is loyal and values strong connections, so she dislikes people who are only interested in surface-level relationships or popularity.

6. Being the Center of Attention: Astrid prefers to blend into the background rather than being in the spotlight. She finds attention overwhelming and prefers when her actions or work speak for themselves.

7. Conflict: While she’s capable of standing up for herself, Astrid dislikes unnecessary conflict or drama. She’d rather keep the peace or quietly walk away from situations that are escalating.

8. Early Mornings: Waking up early is a struggle for her. She’s much more energetic and creative at night, and mornings just aren’t her thing.

9. Injustice or Bullying: While quiet, Astrid can’t stand when people are treated unfairly or bullied. She’s the type to step in quietly but firmly to stop unfair treatment, even if it’s not directed at her.

10. Overly Sweet Food: While she enjoys baking, she doesn’t like overly sugary treats. She prefers more balanced flavors or savory snacks.

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

hope you guys like her!

@missstrawbs2001 @jackiequick @blueboirick @aidanxsophxoxo @meiramel @purpleprincessonfyre @ask-missparker @askstevella @therealdaydreamstark @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @gaminggirlsstuff @eddysocs

[number2hazbinblue]

Hazbin Hotel Thoughts: Episodes 5 & 6

I am watching the new episodes as I am typing this, so I will share some thoughts of mine that came during my viewing!

Spoilers!

Episode 05 -- Dad Beat Dad

Okay, first off, Niffty needs a handler. Thank you, Angel! Next, Lucifer and Lilith split? As in...divorced? ...Huh... Did it happen 7 seven years ago too?

So, Lucifer (voiced by Jeremy Jordan, who voiced Varian from the Tangled series) turns out to be just an awkward short king with a dash of depression. Literarily. And he makes/collects rubber duckies as a coping mechanism...I mean, there are worse coping mechanisms.

Clearly, Lucifer loves both Lilith and Charlie with all his heart.

Wait, he had no idea about Charlie's idea for the hotel?!

Lucifer is reminding me so much of Spirit Albarn from Soul Eater, just without the whole womanizer thing. He did not want to pass up a chance to spend time with his daughter.

Um...Al? Buddy? You okay? Why are you sneering at the king of Hell?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Razzle and Dazzle!!!!

Damn, Lu-Lu! You don't know Alastor? Either Lucifer really doesn't give a shit about the Overlords or he has been reallly out of it.

Seriously, what the hell is going on between Lucifer and Alastor? Like...Alastor is so damn hostile that he straight told the king of Hell to fuck himself. That type of language is what Al typically reserved for individuals he scathingly despises and, up til now, it was solely Vox.

Does it have anything to do with Lilith?

Is Lucifer feeling threatened that Alastor has taken over the father figure role in Charlie's life?

There have been so much unexpected twists and I love it!

And it's not even the halfway point yet!

Wait...is this why the episode is called Dad Beat Dad. It's freakin' Alastor and Lucifer duking it out.

Mimzy!!!! What is happening?!

Oh! So, Mimzy and Alastor did know each other in life!

"Big talk for someone who's also on a leash." -- Husk to Alastor.

...What?

Nevermind that now, yes! Go feral Alastor!

Aww...Lucifer just wants to protect his daughter...

This ballad is so damn beautiful...

And...Vaggie? Is it because you're a sinner or are the fallen angel theories true?

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

Episode 06 -- Welcome to Heaven

Hotel walls can't seem to take a break, lol.

And, hey hey! It's Cherri! And yes! She has an Australian accent! At least, I think its Australian. You'd think watching three seasons of Bluey (on loop, courtesy of my niece) would have me pick up the accent.

Heaven does seem alright. It kinda what I figured it be.

Emily is just precious!!

And I saw Molly, y'all! Angel's sister!!!

Wait...so, only the exorcists have knowledge of Hell's yearly extermination? ...Is it to prevent an uprising in Heaven too. I mean, there could be some residents who don't agree with this.

Sera is in a higher rank than Adam, I wager?

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Vaggie was an exorcist! Holy shit!!!

God, I hate Adam and Lute.

And Angel...this is the reason why you are best boi. And that's why Valentino wanted Angel to stay at the studio, because of the contract.

Jesus, Niffty is just plain unhinged!

Awwww...Cherri and Angel are still buddies! I was honestly gonna worry that the whole Angel staying at the hotel was gonna sour it. So glad it didn't.

Soooo...Vaggie's secrets out and Sera stubbornly says that there are no redeemable souls in Hell.

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

I hope that Charlie and Vaggie will have a talk about that revelation and I wonder what does it really take to get into Heaven since (apparently) no one knows.

[andreal831]

Hey, love your posts and I hope we aren’t annoying with all of these asks!

What are your thoughts on Alaric Saltzman?

Not annoying at all! I love asks. I'm probably going to post anyway so asks just give me a direction to start talking in!

Alaric Saltzman is one of those characters who would have benefitted from staying dead.

Throughout TVD

He comes onto the show as this really great character. He's one of the few humans who knows about the supernatural world and is able to protect the teens better because of it. I love that he really becomes a parental figure to Elena and Jeremy. This time in TVD was really peak. I loved him and Jenna. I thought the conflict between Jenna not knowing plus Isobel coming back was so interesting. I really wanted Jenna to survive as a vampire and get to see that play out. All and all, I really enjoyed his character.

The storyline with the Gilbert ring was really interesting too. And how Esther was tied into it before even entering the show. But to me he should have stayed dead after he died when Elena died. It didn't feel like his character was ever as necessary again or as good. And this is coming from someone who loves him and Jo. But the whole "turning human from being saved in the 'no magic' zone" just seemed to go against the rules of the show. If it was that easy, we would see so many more people doing it. Also why wouldn't they have done it for Elena who desperately wanted to be human? I know she does enter it to get her memories back but they didn't have a doctor with her trying to save her. It just feels like they would have tried it on more people. Or what about Caroline? I know the fandom likes her better as a vampire, but she didn't even get a chance to want to be human again. I digress.

Where he starts going downhill for me, is really after Jo's death. Which is kind of understandable, but he just never recovers. After Jo dies, he goes on a spiral to try and bring her back. Again, understandable given how he lost her and the babies. I even like how gentle he was with the soul they accidentally put into Jo. But he's not really helpful to the plot at this point. If anything, he is the reason everything with the phoenix stone happened. He asked 20 year old Bonnie to get invovled, knowing it was dark magic and knowing Bonnie's history with dark magic. He was willing to risk her sanity and safety to bring back Jo. He never even apologized for it at any point. I get he was desperate, but this just highlights the rest of his character throughout TVD and Legacies. He is constantly willing to do anything to keep himself safe. It's almost like he thinks less of supernatural creatures. Like they don't deserve his consideration.

This is shown with how he treats Caroline throughout the pregnancy and after the twins are born. The fact that he doesn't even really consider what sacrifice it is for Caroline. She puts her life on hold to have his children, risking her life, and then even more after they are born to help him raise them. And then when it gets too hard, he wants to take them away from her, claiming they were never hers. I get he wanted to get them out of harms way, but they are siphoner witches, they are inherently supernatural. He wanted to remove them completely from the supernatural world with no way to teach them. I also just try to block out any type of romantic relationship between Alaric and Caroline. This was clearly just forced by the writers to cause conflict. It was clear neither of them really were into it.

I feel like in the last season we get a little bit of early Alaric back. We get to see him working with students again. But again, this easily could have just gone to a new character.

Throughout TO

His role in TO made near no sense. I've said it before, and I know I've seen others talk about it. But it would have been great for Tyler to be invovled (I think he was dead already, but his death was pointless and shouldn't have happened). It could have been anyone helping Elijah and Marcel find the Hollow bone. It would have made more sense for it to be a supernatural being considering how important the mission was. Everyone makes fun of Matt for surviving, but seems to be okay with Alaric surviving as long as he did when he's actively putting himself in these situations.

The only reason he was brought onto TO was to talk about Legacies. Again, ignoring plot to promote the next project.

Throughout Legacies

Alaric taking over a magical boarding school has to be the dumbest plot throughout TVDU. How is everyone alright with two humans (him and Dorian) running a school for magical beings. Again, I have not seen Legacies, but I've been told that he puts misbehaved students in a prison world?? Also the fact that Hope nearly kills him. They needed to have a supernatural person running the school who, first knew what they were going through, and two had the ability to protect the students and the school. Alaric's protection was throwing his teenage students at the monsters and hoping for the best. It's sad because most of these kids are there because they don't have anyone looking out for them, so Alaric takes advantage of this. He was supposed to be the one looking out for them.

The fact that the fandom all agrees that Hayley, Elijah, and Klaus were killed in TO because they never would have let the plot of Legacies happen shows just how bad it was.

And every scene I see with Alaric talking to Hope is just him reminding Hope of who her father is. How is that helpful? Children are not their parents and behavior doesn't function that way. If anything, he had more influence over Hope than Klaus since he was with her throughout her life more. I get Alaric's anger against the Mikaelsons and specifically Klaus, but he was the one that lobbied for Hope to come to the school. He told Hayley he would protect her. It breaks my heart that Hope felt like she didn't have a piece of her mom because she was turning into her dad. But with Alaric telling her that every five minutes no wonder.

I will also never get over how he treated his children. I know Lizzie stans tend to hate Josie because of how she responded to Lizzie's mental health, but that's learned behavior. Josie is a teenager and we see (I think) throughout Legacies, that she and Lizzie get closer and do better. From one of the early episodes I did watch, I remember Alaric is outside training Hope (we never see him train his own children) and Josie comes out and makes a snide comment about Lizzie. Alaric doesn't correct it or anything. He just goes and calms Lizzie down. But how is Lizzie not on medication or seeing someone regularly. They have a witch counselor, but for the most part it doesn't seem to be helping her. I don't blame the students or Josie for not knowing how to handle Lizzie because it's clear that it is learned behavior from Alaric (and even Caroline) not knowing how to handle Lizzie.

Also, Matt Davis being the worst and yet JP et al. kept inviting him back?? It just shows how toxic the set was. I wish they would have overhauled and got a new creative team before Legacies to protect the cast, but that wasn't the networks priority. It's a big reason I don't stream anything in the TVDU or anything JP has worked on.

Thanks for the ask! Never feel bad for asking! If I don't have time, I'll just get to it later <3

[anetherealpoetess]

This is how Twisters (2024) could have been done in a God honouring way:

Jeremy Allen White plays Dr. Reed Harding, the storm chasing son of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. His partner in science and navigator is Simone Ashley, a meteorologist studying for her PhD. For the sake of simplicity, her character is also called Kate Cooper, just like in the new film.

Reed is madly in love with Kate, but the mere thought of confessing this to her claws at his fraying sanity, dredging up painful memories of his father's sudden death. Grief grips him, suffocating, almost addicting. He can't bear to suffer the same fate as his mother, left to storm chase without her soulmate. So he keeps his true feelings buried deep within, afraid to expose himself to the pain he would feel if he lost Kate.

Their ragtag-bunch-of-misfit-scientists is comprised of Anok Yai (in her debut acting role), Abbey Lee Kershaw, Milly Alcock, Manny Jacinto, and the one and only Danai Gurira. Meanwhile, Eric Bogosian plays the leader of another storm chasing team. He is a respected father figure to Reed and the rest, giving them all scientific and safety advice.

Relevant note: see how cool Anok Yai looks in glasses:

I want to see her chase storms so badly.

And now that everything is organized, we can begin.

Our film does not start with Reed; instead, we open on Kate. She is a young girl enduring a sweltering hot day at home with her mother somewhere in the American Midwest. It's the 1990s, and her mum is wearing incredible jeans (which I believe is worth mentioning. Women in the ‘90s wore jeans like nobody else.)

We take our time to build suspense: the wind picks up, wind chimes whirl (in a nod to the original), the tv with news of the oncoming storm flickers, screen doors slam, and curtains snap and billow. Kate's mother rushes outside, frantically securing loose objects in preparation for the impending chaos. She asks Kate to go back inside, but Kate is rooted to the spot, fixated on something in the distance.

Kate: "Mummy ... who is that man?" Kate's mother: "What man, honey?"

Kate's mother follows her daughter's curious eyes to the horizon. There is no man standing there. But there is a tornado--a Dead Man Walking tornado. (Maybe the film is called Twister: Dead Man Walking. Maybe not. We can workshop it. )

[The phrase "Dead Man Walking" is commonly used to describe the appearance of some multi-vortex tornadoes. The multiple vortices look and move in such a way that the tornado appears as though it is walking. The expression is often associated with the 1997 Jarrell tornado due to a famous documentary, although it has been used to describe other tornadoes as well. The photo above is of the Jarrell tornado "Dead Man Walking." The gif below, I believe, is from the El Reno tornado which killed the TWISTEX team. RIP Tim, Paul, and Carl.]

Here is when their town's siren starts wailing, and our action sequence begins. Kate's mother is appropriately terrified. Quickly, she gathers Kate and their dog and rushes to the car. She knows they are facing an F5 Tornado and that without getting underground, they will not survive. The problem is the only underground shelter Kate's mother knows is at a neighbour's house. And they need to get there. Fast.

I don't need to break down the action sequence beat by beat. You know the drill. Kate, her mother, and their dog are caught up in the tornado, but they make it to shelter and survive. As they emerge from their hiding spot underground, they discover that the entire town has been destroyed, including their house, wiped off the face of the earth. Begin opening credits and then cut to decades later, when Kate is an adult in love with extreme weather and chasing with Dr. Reed Harding, who she is in love with too.

(I'll have to do a Part Two as this got away from me. But the general idea for the plot is the same as the original. The team encounter tornadoes in order of increasing intensity. The first tornado we encounter (besides the F5 tornado which opens the film) is an EF-1, the next tornado is an EF-2, and so on. The last tornado of the film is another Dead Man Walking Tornado, an EF-5.)

[astrovian]

Interview with Richard Armitage on Obsession in TV Guide

"I had been approached quite late in the day, and, I think, a little nervously, because it was going to be quite a challenging role, emotionally and physically," admits Richard Armitage about starring in this erotic thriller alongside Charlie Murphy and Indira Varma.

"That made it more intriguing. When people go, 'We're not sure whether this is going to be a bit risqué for you,' I'm like, 'Bring it on'."

Full/continued transcript under cut

"I read the scripts and the book [Damage by Josephine Hart, which was adapted for a 1992 movie starring Jeremy Irons] and thought this is a psychological journey that has a kind of human quality to it, which is the thing that you can't imagine yourself doing. Yet if this does happen to you, what choice do you make?

I don't think I ever experienced that kind of intensity that this character is going through. I don't have an answer to how I would respond. So I thought, 'Oh, that's a really interesting role to take on'."

We're meeting Richard at Netflix's London HQ to discuss the four-part series about erotic obsession.

He plays famous paediatric surgeon William Farrow, who's happily married to successful lawyer Ingrid (Indira Varma). But sparks fly when he meets his son Jay's (Rish Shah) fiancée Anna Barton as they embark on a forbidden affair which increasingly involves BDSM (Bondage Dominance Sado-Masochistic) sex. Anna sets the rules and is convinced she can keep both relationships going, while also harbouring a secret from her own past.

"It's a mutual obsession - she's very much in control. Anna's the one who sets up the game. She is the one giving permission for everything that happens between them.She is presenting a roadmap of how to escalate their physical relationship, because it goes on quite an intense journey. She's in control, but he is a willing participant."

Richard didn't know Charlie, who plays Anna, beforehand, and the pair spend time with an intimacy co-ordinator working on their characters' erotic encounters. So were the love scenes some of the toughest in Richard's career?

"I have to say, my fear of water probably peaks everything else. So the underwater scenes in Captain America and the waterboarding in Spooks, they're moments where you are physically terrified.

This was different. Being on a closed set with a screen partner naked, the first time you do it, it feels a little bit unusual, but you become used to each other. And of course, that's the job of the intimacy co-ordinator, to make it all work well and everyone feel comfortable. So after a while, you're just working without clothes on. But making sure you're focusing on the what the two characters are doing and how they're doing it - you're finding a pathway through a complex map, I suppose."

Meanwhile, playing a husband who betrays his family had a lasting effect.

"There was a real overwhelming sense of guilt that I was carrying around with me for quite a long time. After filming, I went to see Indira in a play, The Seagull, and I could hardly look her in the eye when I met her for a drink afterwards. I still felt the shame of what William had done to Ingrid, to the point where I was going red in the face.

It's weird how you can carry that around with you because you've been invested in a character, and you've tried to become them, so I felt as if I was still the person having this illicit affair."

[travllingbunny]

The Apprentice - brief review and a bit longer thoughts on the real life background vs fictionalized account

Finally saw The Apprentice - it was released in my country 4 days ago, and this was the first evening I could make it. I have lots of thoughts that can be separated into two categories: movie in itself, and its accuracy in terms of the publicly available information.

The film is excellent - not just the performances, which are indeed terrific - both Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump are Oscar-worthy - but also cinematography, music, the way it's all put together, which is not surprising as Ali Abbasi is, of course, a fantastic director that always gives his films a lot of atmosphere and tension.

But I agree with many people's comment that it should have more Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, not just because I love Jeremy as an actor but also because Cohn is such an interesting figure, and the movie just scratches the surface of his life, including his backstory or influence (you don't even see that he was friends with Nancy Reagan and involved in the Reagan 1980s campaign behind the scenes). I also think we didn't get enough of Trump's family (and again it only scratches the surface of how incredibly dysfunctional they were, according to Trump's niece Mary). I get why they had to cut it down to 2 hours, but I'd love it to be longer and go more in depth on both of these things, and of course show even more of Cohn and Trump's relationship.

Still, what we got is very compelling and complex, much more so than you'd know from many of the reviews. And they were not lying when they said it's all a (very twisted) love story, besides being an American horror story. Even in the middle part where you don't see much of Roy, it relates a lot to Donald's relationship with him and the effects of it. There's a lot of ambiguity and parallels and a very interesting arc that feels like part Succession part Midnight Cowboy And even though Dan Snyder made them take out the homoerotic dream Trump has about Cohn, it's still all gayer than it would be if they actually made out and had sex - so, seems very historically accurate in that regard.

As for the accuracy? It's complicated.

Most of the individual things it shows are known to have happened, but there was a lot of artistic licence taken with the chronology of events and exactly how they happened. Which is understandable as it was done for dramatic purposes.

But here's what I think is the big essential inaccuracy with the film's portrayal of DJT: it's not about making him look worse or look better (I could see people arguing both that the movie's dramatic licenses made him look worse or that they made him look better). It's that the film's central narrative is that he went from an ambitious wuss to a monstrous ruthless "killer", and in the process, it makes him look a lot more independent than he really seems to have been. In reality, it seems he remained a wuss who needs others to take care of him and tell him what to do. The movie downplayed his father's influence on him and his career (i.e. the fact he kept throwing money at his son, which is the only reason he was ever successful), and oddly enough, even ends up downplaying Roy Cohn's influence on him to an extent.

more under the cut with some spoilers, so to speak.

Movie!Trump starts claiming he can do things by himself, without Roy, and starts ignoring him and his advice even before he learns Roy has AIDS. In reality, by all accounts, they were super tight and Trump was calling Cohn every day a bunch of times and was listening to him and all over him, right until he learned that Cohn had AIDS. It was only then that he started avoiding him - it was like "night and day", as Cohn's secretary said. The movie also doesn't show that Cohn was the one who put the ideas of a political role into Trump's head to begin with - in 1984 (the time when Movie!Trump is saying he can do it all by himself), real Trump was babbling in an interview with Washington Post (that was set up by Cohn, who was trying to build a power base in Washington at the time and also got Trump's sister a position in the district court through his political ties with the Reagans) about how he would be a great negotiator with USSR for nuclear disarmament - and then babbled out that "you know who wants me to do this? Roy. Roy thinks I would be good at that" (the journalist, of course, didn't put that in the article, but you can see her talking about it and showing her notes in the documentary Bully, Coward, Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn).

Mary Trump. DJT's niece, has diagnosed him with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder and also Dependent Personality Disorder. The movie gets the first two across but not the third.

The movie's narrative is about how the apprentice "outstrips" the master and decides he doesn't need him. That doesn't seem to fit the reality, where DJT would've probably still be taking Cohn's advice about everything if Cohn hadn't gotten sick and died. He was still yelling "where's my Roy Cohn?" in 2019. He did not outgrow Cohn or anyone.

He also went on and bankrupted himself a couple of times, after Cohn's death - and was bailed out by his father, who supported his career with hundreds of millions of dollars. (The bankruptcies happened years after Cohn's death. But so did Donald's rape of Ivana, and the movie changed the chronology to include it.)

(Also artistic licence is the confrontation between Cohn and Trump over Trump throwing Russell out. I love that scene, and it had to be dramatized that way. Not just because for drama but also because they can't show you characters' inner thoughts. But in reality, it couldn't have happened that way because Trump is known to be a wuss who hates confrontation in person, so there's no way he would have been yelling those things at Cohn in real life.)

[rebuke-me]

broadway bmc critiques

this is a list of all my critiques of broadway bmc, in no particular order. this is not a post meant to hate those who are fans of Broadway bmc, because preference is subjective. I did my best to keep personal bias out of it, but some aspects are inextricable. please keep discussions civil. if you think critique will make you upset, I encourage you to skip this post.

- the writing is significantly watered down for the audience. while the original show was not a masterpiece of writing by any means, it only occasionally talks down to the audience. part of my interest in the original show was the open-ended characters. however, in the Broadway version, subtext is made into text, and that really hurts the show. most of the characters in tr had presumed depth, whereas bw wrote sync up: a song telling everyone exactly what was wrong with every character, rather than having the viewers observe it for themselves through dialogue and actions. tr already laid that foundation, it already had the character development. fans had already been analyzing the characters for years, and everyone pretty much got what they meant. bw felt, to me, like it was holding my hand through it and explaining to me every aspect of the characters.

- the writing of the new songs especially is. incredibly contrived. I've listened to the songs as I can bear (I do not like some of the voices in the songs, so I will admit to not listening to all of the songs, but I did make an attempt.) and the writing is significantly worse. while the tr songs weren't masterpieces, by any means, they were at least catchy and fun. the appeal of the bmc music is the earworm of it all, the way that it's fun and memorable. the bw versions new songs have not stuck in my head whatsoever, unlike the previous songs. loser geek whatever is another case of telling the audience rather than showing it: fans of tr already knew Jeremy was upset about being an outcast. we understood that. his decision at the end of upgrade was understandable to audiences, although usually not agreed with. an entire song with the writers literally physically telling the audience how he is feeling, in simple rhyme and a melody that doesn't stick out, wasn't necessary. a new song was intriguing, and could have fleshed out plot holes of the original show, but instead just tried shoving another square peg into a hole we had already been made aware of.

- fan pandering. this is an aspect of every media that has a large internet fan base, especially in the past ten years. while some aspects of the show may have been in the plans all along, the Broadway version feels like they were too engrossed in the fan culture. im a big proponent for creators being divorced from their fans, and the Broadway version is why. the addition of more moments implying a romantic connection between rich and michael at the end, with no discussion of character development, felt shoehorned in for the fans. Michael as a whole shifted closer to the fanon interpretation of him, rather than remaining the character from the original show, becoming more soft spoken and awkward.

- failure to add in diversity in a respectful way. (to preface this, I am a white person. if I say anything out of line in this section, I am more than willing to admit that, and would love to hear from the perspective of poc bmc fans, especially black fans.) a main critique of tr bmc in my opinion is the way it handled a lot of heavy topics, including diversity and the like. bw bmc made strides towards giving roles to non-white actors, which is always a good thing. however, the characters chosen for the diversity were made more stereotypical for being made into poc. jenna rolan became more of a stereotype of a talkative, phone obsessed black woman. Jenna is the less egregious example of this, as she has more depth. however, jake being black makes his character traits of being the child of money launderers, being violent towards others, being unhoused and physically harmed in the fire, not knowing how to "speak properly" at times and being a "player" seem more racially motivated. of course, none of these aspects of a character are bad, per se, but all combined into a character that is now black feels stereotypical.

- failure to fix some issues with tr. I am always willing to critique my own interests. while I have a preference towards tr, and a fixation on it, I will admit it has issues. notably, these include telling rather than showing (an issue that only got worse in bw), the treatment of female characters, and a variety of other issues. female characters in bw still have the same issues, as a whole. brooke is still the stereotypical blonde ditz. she does get a bit of development, but an opportunity for her to stand up for herself could have been needed in bw. christine is still little more than the love interest, and still ends up with the main character at the end, despite being meant to be a feminist, complete with patch on her jacket. the female characters rarely talk to each other about anything other than a man, or gossip, usually about men. none of them form solid friendships with no romantic ties with almost any of the male characters, either. the show costumes the characters in apparel that preaches feminism and writes a message about equality and being yourself, yet bars most character development from the female characters. this could have been rectified in bw, considering an entire song was added and scenes were rewritten, but was not.

I have other issues with the show, but those are more personal critiques with preferences, rather than in depth analysis of why I think the show is not as beloved by the fan base as a whole. those aren't going to be added here, because a lot of them don't lend any credence to my arguments, they're just personal opinions on character choices and actors.

if anything I've said in this post is incorrect, please let me know. I admit I'm not very well versed in the Broadway show, since I very much dislike it, so if any details are incorrect, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

also like. don't be a dick in the replies and tags please, that'd be nice. civil conversation and debate is okay, but attacking people for their interests is not.

[choco-bloop]

A bunch of random kingohger ideas I had while it was airing

I know its been a while since kingohger ended, I haven't drawn much of my silly gay bug kings but I've finally decided to write down a bunch of thoughts that had come to mind, some of which actually became true.

Insect Feature super mode. Predicted this like 30 episodes ahead of Hyouga Issen its insane. Didn't expect the VFX part but tbf, there was no way they were doing a prop for Himeno's

Jeremy never showing his face??? It was brief but before Ikeda was announced to be his actor I just imagined Spider Kumonos being eternally suited and just nodding along and being a general cryptic

Rita's heterochromia being a sign of magic. I made this prediction on the spot on Ep 5 because goddamn that reveal was chef's kiss. And would ya guess it, its true.

Body Swap!! It was prolly inevitable but I wanted HimeRita and YanKagu to swap instead. While idm what we got, i just want to see our lovely married couple bicker. So I wrote a fic.

The kings turn into kaijims. I have no idea where this started but it was inspired by Gaim's helheim fruits. This was prior to 23 revealing that they ate shugod souls to grow big. The main gist was that at one point in time, each of the four kings would have eaten the "fruit" and turned into a kaijim in their respective kingdoms. Himeno and Kaguragi directly ate the fruit by having their personalities be exploited while Rita and Yanma were administered it indirectly due to their perception. It would culminate in Gira eating it and turning into a kaijim that would've resulted in the debut of the castle mech. Ironically this was kinda true with the reveal that Gira was forced to eat the souls as a kid so he could be a weapon and that I think shugod souls are what caused bugnarok to look like how they are now.

Bugnarok Rita. Listen. Hear me out- this was pre-episode 30, like alllll the way back at then 10s. At that point we didn't know the gig with Rita's eye and the way they talked to Jeremy in episode 12 made it feel like they were someone who was also from a marginalized group. So my brain went straight to what if Rita is a bugnarok or Bugnarok hybrid?. I had a whole AU written out for that, maybe I'll give it a dedicated post if people want it.

Broken helmet. I understand the green screen limitations. BUT IMAGINE BROKEN HELMET RITA. IMAGINE. WOULD BE THE COOLEST EYE POWER REVEAL RIGHT? (literally their placement on my how likely are they to get a broken helmet is solely dependent on the eye lore).

More eye shenanigans except Rita gets manipulated by Bugnarok to go against the kings and Himeno is the one to save them. This is what happens when you give me a plot point and let it boil for 25 episodes. I create MULTIPLE scenarios.

Rita being the cause of the Fury of the Gods. Can you tell who my favourite character is? /s. Anyway this was made the week of 30's preview because I was going insane over the entire plot and eye reveal and culprit reveal. Yeah you can tell i was going a tad bit insane? anyway general plot was that Rita is unaware that they caused the initial FOTG (inspire by the fact that their finishing move summons a swarm of butterflies and well FOTG was a swarm of cicadas) and was brought into protection by Karras due to their age (5) but when they were 10, Karras, in order to protect them, sacrifices herself so Rita will continue being unaware of their role. And so in episode 30 they would be forced to restart the FOTG through mind control. I probably threw in Bugnarok!Rita into the mix here too...

Rogue Rita arc. Cm'n. Admit it, we all wanted Rita to go a bit rogue for a while didn't we? And this would give Morfonia the chance to become PapillonOhger

The aides + Suzume becoming the Kingohgers. Especially Morf and Suzume given their links to the throne. but hey the finale gave us Karras and Iroki so can't complain, it was just a different generation.

Jeremy and Rita being related (also have to note that i called him Kumo here lol). I think this was from a rumored casting for Jeremy who looked similar to Rita so then the sibling theory came up and then Jer jer's weapon has purple, Rita is purple/lavender... yeah

Female sixth. Toei stop being cowards please.

Either Rita or Morfonia, or both. are children of convicts. Confirmed for Morf but we STILL don't know about this regarding Rita. We just know their parents exist (no they don't, Karras and Shiron are Rita's real parents at this point)

kings getting their shugods powers! Did you know that apparently God Kamakiri can hear up to 160 000 hertz?? I didn't until I read the wiki! Alternatively just an episode of the kings and shugods working together

20 pilot god kingohger will appear for the finale. the first time was glorious so why not?

every pilot from god kingohger transforming. I have a whole series I did, will link it later (I hope).

That's it for now I think, I might add on more in the future :)

SIKE YOU THOUGHT. THERE'S ONE MORE THAT I WANTED SO BADLY TO HAPPEN. And i doubt I'm alone in this sentiment:

HimeRita kissing each other.

Like at this point they are so married couple I don't know how else to explain these two. wdym 30 and 16 they didn't kiss or become a couple. WDYM TOEI WDYM.

[t-u-i-t-c]

racles and jeremy

This is going to be long

Send Me A Character

Racules

Favorite thing about them I really love his expressions and mannerisms. I like how he widens his eyes when he's annoyed and the way he handles his sword. He's under constant pressure but has to keep his composure but he slips a bit from time to time which I enjoy. I appreciate it all the more knowing that it's an act he's playing up, which I thought it was, but confirmation just made it better. Him playing it up parallels with Gira, although Racules went further with it.

Some more Racules thoughts - Note that some things are outdated as this post was made early on in the series

Least favorite thing about them He raised the taxes in Shuggodam, or did he? It's never mentioned past episode one, so I literally don't know if he raised the taxes himself or if the tax collector was making an error. It seems like it's used as a hint of Racules not being as great as the people think, but I would like more elaboration on that. Also he was planning to kill the scientists working on figuring out the secrets of the Ohgercalibur Zero, however there was a sense of guilt and dread about doing this. Racules does make a lot of empty threats so his threats all need to be taken with a grain of salt honestly.

Favorite line I'll give you a few:

"If I stood to gain more power... Then I would sell my soul to the devil himself!" - When talking to Jeramie about colluding with the Bugnarak to attack other nations - Really playing it up with an evil laugh and everything, leaving Jeramie stunned

"I am the nation." - Signature line that Racules uses throughout the series to elavate himself above others

"I have returned from the depths of hell." - Reiterating Gira's declaration when he appeared before Racules after having been thought to be dead by the world - Shows both a parallel between them and how they both are playing up their evil king roles.

brOTP Racules & Kaguragi - Scheming with my brother-in-law - What if my sister got engaged to you so that our nation could benefit from the demi Shugods, but she's also scheming for me to possibly take your throne. And what if we were liars who had little schemes and manipulated the people around us to get what we want, but we were both kings?

OTP Suzume & Racules - Literally married - They lived together for over a decade and were engaged in that time. The marriage was under an agreement between Shugoddam and Toufu, but I do feel there's genuine care between Racules and the Dybowski family, hence why he puts trust in them. With Suzume it's like there is some parts that are an act but others aren't. I'm not really sure how to explain it but I do feel Racules cares for Suzume's well-being as he does Douga, hence why he allowed them to run away when Desnarak took over Shugoddam and Racules was backed into a corner. He also never pushes away or denies her affections, although he may seem a bit awkward about it.

scan by @mirai-e-jump - her post with all scans with translations

nOTP Aside from the obvious, I haven't seen any that are prominent enough to be labelled this.

Random headcanon Racules enjoys cooking but rarely does it - Based on nothing I just like the idea

Unpopular opinion I don't think Racules was ever obligated to take care of Gira. I also don't think Racules just straight up decided to abandon Gira at the drop of a hat, the situation is more complicated than that. Racules is morally gray, much like many other characters in Sentai have been, he uses questionable methods in order to do what he believes is right and in the grand scheme of things may be right. Racules needed to do a lot of things to get Dugded's trust to get the power he needed to break the Husty lineage from Dugded by killing Dugded. In short, Racules is no worse than characters like Rio from Gekiranger or Burai from Zyuranger.

Song I associate with them

Favorite picture of them I have so many photos of Racules, but this one's my current favorite:

scan by @mirai-e-jump - her post with all scans with translations

Jeramie

Favorite thing about them Again with the expressions and mannerisms. I like how he smiles big smiles and how sad his eyes look when he's upset. When he meets his mother again and his lips are quivering and he's on the brink of tears but also in shock... peak.

Least favorite thing about them In his early appearances he'd casually use his silk to create images and spell out words but now he mainly uses his silk for average things like making webs to lament in or grabbing things. Favorite line Here's a bunch:

"We'll see how much I amuse them." - Using subtext to scheme

"Besides, this time... I have people who worry about me... My good friends." - Jeramie and Gira talking about how Jeramie is doing after taking the fall for his fellow kings

"Well, now!" - Signature phrase that he uses throughout the series

"Instead of ruling over everything... I once again find myself ruing over everything." - Jeramie lamenting after his plans just make the situation worse

"I will never surrender my protagonist status again." - After lamenting and sorting out his feelings about Daisorg being revived and Racules working with the Bugnarak, along with his role in it all

"It seems I was the one who didn't read between the lines." - Jeramie learning that he has misinterpreted the situation and didn't understand the true extent of Hymeno's grief

"The fate of the world itself is my story to dictate." - Jeramie declaring his role not long after meeting the kings

brOTP Yanma & Jeramie - Webdev - They're just really fun

OTP Jeramie & Gira - Soulmates actually - I wrote about them here

nOTP -

Random headcanon Jeramie doesn't like the taste of peppermint - Based on the fact that spiders don't tend to like the scent of peppermint, but Jeramie is part human so I'd think he wouldn't mind the scent too much but the taste would be too much

Unpopular opinion Jeramie took 2 years to be comfortable to bring his sleeve up to his elbow, and dresses head to toe daily. He wouldn't wear revealing clothing casually.

Song I associate with them

Favorite picture of them Again, I have a lot of pictures but here's my favorite right now:

scan by @mirai-e-jump - her post with all scans with translations

[bakerstreetbabble]

Granada TV Series Review: "The Empty House" (S03, E01)

And I'm back, after a most enjoyable Holy Week and Easter Sunday! Speaking of "resurrection"...

Sherlock Holmes is back for the second series from Granada TV, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke taking over the role of Dr. John Watson from the inimitable David Burke. I'm sure Sherlockians weren't the only viewers who knew what was coming up in this pivotal episode, and adaptation of "The Empty House."  There are no surprises here, especially when the series has the word "Return" right in its title! 

Other than the slight detail of giving Watson a more active role in the case of the murder of Ronald Adair, the episode follows the original source material very closely. After an opening sequence that is a bit slow, dramatically speaking, we are treated to Holmes's surprise appearance in Watson's office, as he suddenly transforms from the old book seller into the great detective, causing Watson to faint "for the first and the last time in my life," as Watson puts it in the story. For me (and no doubt, for most viewers) this reunion scene was the main source of enjoyment. Much of the story is told in flashbacks, as Holmes relates what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls. Indeed, if one looks very closely, one can see that all the wide shots of Watson searching in vain for his friend are actually shots of David Burke playing the role in the previous season.

There's a very brief but very emotionally stirring moment during the flashback, when Jeremy Brett as Holmes just begins to shout out Watson's name, but immediately stops himself. It's a beautiful little detail that shows the deep fondness Holmes feels for his friend. Indeed, Watson's response to hearing that Holmes has kept the secret of his survival for THREE YEARS is remarkably gentle. It wouldn't be any stain on Watson's character if he had been just a bit angrier. However, Edward Hardwicke does show a bit of sadness, as he tells Holmes that he believes he could have been at least as deserving of Sherlock's confidence as his brother Mycroft. 

Concerning Edward Hardwicke, he really did do a fine job at stepping into a role that had been played so capably by David Burke. Perhaps because Brett was already so comfortable in the role of Holmes, Hardwicke was able to make the transition into Watson's role as smoothly as possible. I still prefer Burke just a bit, but it will be interesting to watch the process of Hardwicke bringing his own skill set into the production. Certainly, by the end of the Granada series, Hardwicke was able to play Watson in a far greater number of adventures than his predecessor.

While it wasn't the most exciting episode I've seen thus far, "The Empty House" was a perfectly respectable way to begin the next phase of the Granada productions. And as I've mentioned, the joy of watching the Holmes/Watson duo resume their partnership was definitely worth the time I spent watching. Enjoy watching the YouTube video shared below! Once again, the game is afoot!

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume Nine, Number Eight

Spiral Joy Band

The music plays on through the end of the most disastrous summer in living memory, with Maui on fire and Arizona broiled beneath a heat dome and Vermont swept away in a 100- maybe 500-year flood.  And here’s the kicker: next year will likely be worse.  Still by force of habit, we continue on with the daily grind, cooking and mowing lawns and going to shows and listening to records.  This month’s haul includes avant-black metal, turntablism, bass-forward jazz, jolting punk and music made in collaboration with our robot overlords.  Contributors this time include Jonathan Shaw, Bill Meyer, Jim Marks, Jennifer Kelly, Tim Clarke and Bryon Hayes.

夢遊病者 — Skopophoboexoskelett (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

In past thinking and writing about this tri-continental, avant-garde, jazz and black metal project (whose name translates to Sleepwalker), your faithful reviewer has made concerted efforts to set aside any references to John Zorn’s Naked City ensemble. This time around, for the project’s Skopophoboexoskelett, such efforts face real challenge holding Naked City tracks like “Saigon Pickup,” “Punk China Doll” or “Razorwire” at any sort of distance. The atmospherics on Sleepwalker’s new LP explode with unpredictable noise, then emanate a patina of Noir-ish style and sleaze, especially the excellent final track “The Bad Luck That Saved You from Worse Luck.” It’s murky like a thick cloud of cigarette smoke, sexy like a stiletto heel dotted with droplets of blood, compelling like those cinematic moments at which Humphrey Bogart (as Philip Marlowe or Glenn Griffin) would grin his mean and tight grin, presaging antic, joyful violence. In spite of that violence, Skopophoboexoskelett may be Sleepwalker’s most listenable record. That could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how much you enjoyed being subsumed in the volatile chaos of their earlier records.

Jonathan Shaw

Agnel / Lanz / Vatcher — Animals (Klanggalerie)

Animals by AGNEL LANZ VATCHER

While the ability of great improvisers to make music out immediate company, available space, and their own personal resources might amaze a listener, after a while, that might become a bit routine. Perhaps that is why French pianist Sophie Agnel and American-born, Netherlands-based drummer Michael Vatcher have sought out the company of turntablist Joke Lanz, AKA Sudden Infant. Lanz’s aesthetics have grown out of punk, noise and actionism. But, being a man of a certain age, he’s been doing what he does for a long time, too, so his onslaught of well-timed body noises, electronic squiggles and good old-fashioned scratching further confounds by evading being confounding. Construction, destruction, mutual disregard and scrupulous attunement all come into play across this album’s 13 short-for-improv episodes of absurd grace. Never mind breaking this stuff down, the players are already doing that even as they make it up.

Bill Meyer

Vicente Archer Trio — Short Stories (Cellar Music Group)

Short Stories by Vicente Archer

Reviewing a release by the Bruce Barth Trio last year, I mentioned wanting to hear more of double bassist Vicente Archer, and my wishes have been answered. Short Stories, with Gerald Clayton on piano and Bill Stewart on drums, demonstrates Archer’s strengths as a musician and composer. The tunes are generally mid-tempo, mid-length, and with a kind of timeless post-bop feel. Three were written by Archer (“Bye Nashville” deserves to become a standard), two by Stewart, and one each by Clayton, Jeremy Pelt, Nicholas Payton and Pat Metheny.

An advantage of bassist-led piano trios is that the piano is usually not allowed to dominate the sound, and Clayton plays his role just right here, taking the occasional solo, as on the bluesy “Round Comes Round,” but giving the others plenty of space. The set includes a brooding solo piece for bass, “Lighthouse,” a playful duo featuring just Archer and Stewart, “It Takes Two to Know One,” and Stewart sitting out while Clayton and Archer recreate “Message to a Friend” by Metheny and Charlie Haden. Short Stories makes clear why Archer has appeared on 50 or more recordings over the past 25 years and makes the case for him as a band leader.

Jim Marks

BEEF — BEEF (Feel It)

BEEF by BEEF

BEEF jolts hard on the four-four, their songs a continuous up-and-down battery of guitar slashes, bass thunks and relentless, manic drums. There is nothing fancy or florid or even fluid about these songs. They rain down like punches, though there’s undeniable glee in the violence. Maybe it’s because the drummer, Takoda Hortenberry, is the main singer and songwriter that the songs take on such a percussive air. He’s not in it by himself, though. His wife Ally pounds the keyboards with equal force, while guitarist Sam Richardson (who also runs Feel It Records) keeps the riffs super short and super explosive. Whatever the secret, this is punk rock that slaps hard and makes you like it.  “I know you want it! BEEF coming,” shouts Hortenberry in the closer, “I Want BEEF,” and the thing is, you do.

Jennifer Kelly

Jaap Blonk / Damon Smith / Ra Kalam Bob Moses — Rune Kitchen (Balance Point Acoustics)

Rune Kitchen by Jaap Blonk / Damon Smith / Ra Kalam Bob Moses

Titles can tell you things, and in this case, the words on the front clue you to the lack of words in the music. Texts have their place in Jaap Blonk’s concrete poetry, but this session is improvisation most pure. It went down in a town near St. Louis during a transitional moment; bassist Damon Smith was ending one short tour with Blonk, and about to begin another with (now Memphis-based) veteran drummer Ra Kalam Bob Moses. Perhaps inspired by anticipation, Smith and Moses lock right in, playing briskly evolving sound configurations that bristle with forthright gesture and woody texture and even confronting the vocalist with swinging, time-keeping grooves near the end. Derek Bailey once opined that there are players, and then there are artists, and Blonk’s extension of century-deep Dada actions has often seemed to put him in the latter camp. But he also has a skilled improviser’s ability to detect prevailing winds and respond with strategic counter-huffs; in the company of two men playing their asses off, he follows suit. Unburdened by pages, he digs deep into the rudiments, growling like a fever dream of throat singing, muttering strings of phonemes, and uttering proclamations that sound so important, he had to invent a new language to convey them.

Bill Meyer

Cloudland Canyon — S-T (Medical)

Cloudland Canyon (MR-091) by Cloudland Canyon

Cloudland Canyon’s Kip Uhlhorn has long favored the non-organic end of the psychedelic experience, with long, wigged out experiments in synth tone like 2008’s “Krautwerk” from Lie in Light or the squiggly fogs of “pinklight/version” from 2011’s Fin Eaves.  For this self-titled album, number four in the Cloudland discography, he engages even more deeply with the machine by tapping AI as a collaborator. The result is blippy, buoyant, denatured dance anthems, like “Internet Dreams” and “Circuit City,” which sound like the mathematical average of 100 other synth popiscles. Still even robots hit the mark occasionally, and “Future Perfect (Bad Decision)” is a woozy, blurred rainbow of psych pop longing, not unlike the work of another recent Uhlhorn collaborator, Sonic Boom.

Jennifer Kelly

Annie Hart — Weight of a Wave (Uninhabitable Mansions)

The Weight of a Wave by Annie Hart

Annie Hart has made four solo albums since her days in Au Revoir Simone, an all-female Brooklyn synth pop trio beloved of David Lynch, but she hasn’t moved too far away. Weight of a Wave floats flickery synth tones over rackety drums, splitting the difference between bedroom pop and strobe lit dance. “Boy You Got Me Good” does the classic girl-group trick of lacing sweet cooing melodies with the bitter taste of arsenic. “Crowded Cloud” rides synthesizer overload like a Pat Benatar anthem, then cuts back to the antsy minimum of drum machine and whispered chants. Yet though the soft-focus, gentle bop sonics haven’t changed much from Hart’s Au Revoir Simone days, time does its work on the mood. “Nothing Makes Me Happy Anymore” layers shadowy doubled vocals over a wheedling Casio riff, as Hart enumerates the people she’s loved in various ways whose phone calls no longer suffice to cheer her up

Jennifer Kelly

Holy Wave — Five of Cups (Suicide Squeeze)

Five of Cups by HOLY WAVE

Austin, Texas quartet Holy Wave have been at it for over a decade now and Five of Cups is their sixth full-length. The band mines a similar seam to Work and Non-Work-eraBroadcast: droning organs, motorik drums heavy on the ride cymbal, spaced-out vocals, jangly guitars. Though there’s nothing inherently off-putting about this 42-minute record, the songs feel listless compared to previous efforts such as Freaks of Nurture. The performances are tight, the production is three-dimensional and the arrangements are woozy and trippy, but it sounds like the last couple of years have knocked the wind out of Holy Wave’s sails. There are some bright moments in the track list, such as the dubby grooves and female vocals of “The Darkest Timeline,” plus late highlight “Nothing in the Dark,” which is a dead ringer for early Tame Impala.

Tim Clarke

Koeosaeme — Beige (Orange Milk)

Beige by koeosaeme

With Beige, sound artist Ryu Yoshizawa throttles down his usual breakneck blipscapes in favor of expressive phrasing and varied tempos. The serial Orange Milk resident allows his compositions to breathe, to hang back and to interject when necessary. His palette remains obviously synthetic: the strings are a touch too sweet, the reeds slightly nasally. Yoshizawa coalesces these inhuman tones into lush dreamscapes, embedded with only the subtlest hint of crackling glitch. He leverages the dynamics of modern classical and musique concrète to achieve a sense of movement and surprise. Coughs, harrumphs and whispers interject at random, but Yoshizawa uses these human elements sparingly. Instead, he relies on the lushness of his (synthetic) instrumentation to set the mood. At times he lets things get a little corny, such as when a Kenny G-like sax periodically slithers into focus, but for the most part Yoshizawa’s futuristic fusion is beguiling. Unlike its neutrally hued namesake, Beige is far from boring.  

Bryon Hayes

Molly Ringworm — Despicable (Self-released)

This Molly Ringworm comes from Austin, TX, and seeks to do for hardcore what Jane Pain has done for black metal (careful with this link). Yikes. Despicable’ssongs land somewhere between energizing provocation and snotty gross-out, with the occasional nods to street punk and sludge. There’s another punky Molly Ringworm — an indie-twee outfit from Jersey whose music is more compatible with the 1980s cinema of John Hughes, with which actress Molly Ringwald will forever be associated. I prefer this band, with their snarling, trashy anti-aesthetic and their nasty sonic sensibility (which may put you in the mind of Ringwald’s work in Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer). So goes culture. I had a high school girlfriend in the mid-1980s who looked a lot like the actress, and she (the girlfriend) would spit with all the imperiousness and venom that only a 17 year old can summon, “Oh great, another movie with Molly Ring-worm.” Sorry, folks — doesn’t matter to me if you’re filthy, fractious Texas guttersnipes or ironical white kids from New Jersey. Susie E. from Berks County, PA, gets dibs on the name “Molly Ringworm,” now and forever.

Jonathan Shaw

Matt Robidoux — Music For Aluminum Corn (Crash Symbols)

music for aluminum corn by matt robidoux

Mills College may be shuttered, but its students carry on.  Matt Robidoux combines symbolic and social action with accessible invention on Music For Aluminum Corn. The title derives from an instrument that the Mills graduate devised in homage to an early Buchla synthesizer that was kept at Mills. Essentially, they wired up an aluminum casting of two corn cobs to make a touch and movement-activated electronic instrument, and then called upon their fellow graduates to help him take it for a drive. A string quartet, a reed ensemble and the other instruments in Robidoux’s studio round out the sound palette, which is applied to a series of themes which, depending on their arrangement, sound like 1970s TV show themes, syndrum exotica and texture-oriented investigations. Robidoux’s electronic instrument proves more versatile than its novelty packaging might success, and the assembled crew play with a commitment to the endeavor that signals this heartening piece of news; while Mills College isn’t around anymore, the artistic community it fostered caries on.

Bill Meyer 

Spiral Joy Band — Elvehjem (Feeding Tube)

Elvehjem by Spiral Joy Band

Without Saturn, you got no rings, right? It’s easy to see Spiral Joy Band as a similarly orbital entity, forever existing in relation to its parent band, Pelt. But, just as all those hunks of space rock would feel equally substantial if your rocket ship hit them whilst circling a planet or floating on their own through the galaxy, Spiral Joy Band has demonstrated on the recent archival recordings culled from its Wisconsin sojourn in the early 2010s, it has been its own thing, and that thing is pretty solid. Elvehjem is another album-length excerpt from Patrick Best, Mikel Dimmick and Troy Schafer’s trove of basement jams, and on this one, they assert an identity separate from Pelt. Sure, there’s plenty of long bell and gong tones, but there’s also some guitar and amp activity that’ll singe your whiskers with sheer crackle action.

Bill Meyer

Heleen Van Haegenborgh — Squaring The Circle (El Negocito)

Squaring the Circle by Heleen Van Haegenborgh

Sometimes, awareness of an artist’s inspiration will help you grasp their work. With Squaring The Circle, that’ll only get you so far. Squaring The Circle is Belgian composer Heleen Van Haegenborgh’s response to Johan De Widle’s Pi — Fugue pour les survivants, a graphic piece representing the number pi which is extended each year by its maker. While the mathematic foundation of this CD-length piece’s contents are hard to discern, their sounds just might give you a glimpse into the infinite. Performed by the composer and GAME, a percussion quartet, it combines the reverberant tones of drums, vibraphones, bells and other strikable metal objects with close-up, voltage-derived zaps. Even coming out of a home hi-fi, it creates a sense of ever-expanding space.

Bill Meyer

[thelonesomequeen]

Love all this discussion RE: acting/movies/agents, etc.

Way more fun (for me) than the fandom fighting.

Anyways, some random thoughts w/respect to Mr. Evans. The discussion about ensemble casting has been done, but one thing that struck me during the talk about Jeremy Strong is just how many talented actors in that general age group exist. I'll go with the around mid thirties all the way up to the getting a little crispy Leo D. (I'm kidding sort of with him--he's still 'young' per se, but I wish Scorsese had cast a younger actor in Killers of the Flower Moon). Fifty isn't really 'old' but it starts to show differently on people's physical form and thus IMO begins to change one's script offers. I digress.

So, in that mid-thirties to fifty cohort, think of some of the best actors world-wide and it's a larger group than in the past. Note: no scientific research was done to back up that claim. Some of that may be due to the Biz (FINALLY) very slowly beginning to bring in more diversity (keep going because you're not there yet, studios) and some of it could perhaps be to something discussed on your blog earlier-- the streaming networks?

Streaming has opened up eyes to more shows (along with socials like X/insta), IMO and despite the negatives to streaming, some actors may perhaps gain a bit of a following due to a show and that makes them a little more competitive when names are tossed around the table. That used to happen in the days of my grandparents (like the soap opera/or themed tv large cast shows) but it just seems like there's MORE now (almost too much more but again I digress).

Case in point--Regé-Jean Page is a fine enough actor, but w/o Bridgerton I wonder if he'd have made as quick a leap into other high profile discussions (like 007). I have to wonder if streaming has helped actors who have talent but being that it's so hard to get one's foot in the door having a vehicle helps to just plow through it because the viewers are behind the wheel saying, "hey pay attention to this guy, he's good!"

To me, for Chris that means that regardless of awards interest, anytime there is a role, there is a range of people whose names are also being considered--from Benedict Cumberbatch and the rest of the UK crowd to the homegrown talent like Austin Butler (younger but I'll hedge on him) to Lewis Pullman to Jake Gyllenhaal to the two Ryans among others. It's a tough field and always has been, but the 'relegation' tier between film and it's A list B list and television has been blurred more than in the past. Now you have Eddie Redmayne starring in not only the FB series and Oscar nominated roles in film, but once again appearing in the film/streaming category with The Good Nurse. If you're a solid talent, then you might have a miss here and there, but too many strikes at the plate and you may get sent to the minors. It's just my opinion and sure I don't know what the man thinks, but it's his life and I'm a fan of film and actors/actresses so I'll give most anything a view, regardless of critics/general sentiment. I sat through Aloha recently because I had missed it the first go round and I'm a fan of Emma Stone but yeah, that was a hot mess of a plot that was.

Sorry for the length. TLDR: Chris is in a competitive business and he'll have to figure out what he wants if he hasn't done so already (not like I have the man in my contacts) and go from there.

*Side note: I almost ended up with an entire paragraph on the MCU but that really deserves its own discussion and I've clogged up your ask box enough with this soapbox oratory on Chris and the competition.

This is actually a very interesting take, thank you! 🧜🏻‍♀️

[saint-cecilias]

i love both characters, but overall kendall is still woobified way more than roman tbh, whereas roman is demonized. like there’s a reason why mainstream publications have written articles about the babygirlfication of kendall lol. this is especially a thing on reddit, people act like kendall is way above roman morally. like, both of them enabled mencken in ep8, but people are sympathetic to kendall’s reasons while completely disregarding roman’s. kieran and jesse have discussed how his motivations stem from being drawn to authority figures that fulfil a father role and obviously the business reasons like ATN views and mencken blocking the gojo deal. he probs also likes the hyper masculinity aspect of that ideology bc again, that’s what his dad thought men should be and it’s something he could never live up to. does it excuse his actions? not at all, but if people can understand kendall’s reasons idk why they have to reduce roman’s to he’s just a fascist? like idgi

i think there is merit to the conversation about the babygirlification of Kendall in fandom for sure. but i do i think that is a direct response to how Jeremy has always played Kendall as an incredibly emotionally sensitive individual.

Roman, historically, has not always been as emotionally raw as he's been recently. i think we started to see Roman become more vulnerable in s3 and into s4.

both Kieran and Jeremy are brilliant actors cause they've slowly shown us very human sides to both men that evoke a visceral response.

and of course, Kendall 100% also enabled Mencken as well and did so KNOWING how terrified his child was of that result. that is inexcusable. and arguably worse in some respects. Kendall has got real people in his life, Sophie and Jess, who cannot comfortably live in Mencken's America and he knows it and still made that call. so you'd never catch me rationalizing that decision from him.

the fact remains though....Roman DOES align with Mencken ideologically. there is no disputing that. there is no disputing the fact that Roman was comfortable making racist remarks about the protestors, snarking that they're "probably blacks and Jews".

hell Shiv was warning Logan and Roman about Mencken in s3 and Roman was completely dismissive of her political career, calling it a 'lemonade stand' and was horrifically misogynistic towards her in that moment too telling her to 'shhh' cause 'the men are talking'.

(insert the chorus of BUT KENDALL ONCE TOLD SHIV THAT HER TEETS ARE THE ONLY THING THAT GIVE HER ANY VALUE which yes was also horrifically misogynistic. both of these men have misogynistic tendencies that they direct towards their sister and its fucked up.)

also, Roman just doesn't VIBE with Mencken cause he's an authority figure or just cause he'll block the deal, Roman has said point blank that 'fascism is cool' and listened to Mencken talk about how he gleaned inspiration from H*tler, talked about how America needed to slow down with integration etc. and Roman was not the least bit phased by that. in fact he looked intrigued.

those are things that are just objectively BAD.

and Logan was alive and kicking (kinda) when Roman went to bat for Mencken as the candidate they should back for the Republican nomination. knowing all he knew about Mencken. there was no GoJo deal at that time.

Roman just really liked Mencken, his attitude AND what he stood for. oh and the fact that he'd be GREAT for ATN ratings.

i'm sorry but there's no getting away from that.