#phenomenal acting™

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Anna May Wong (The Thief of Bagdad, Shanghai Express)—Wong was the first Chinese American movie star, arguably the first Asian woman to make it big in American films. Though the racism of the time often forced her into stereotypical roles, awarded Asian leading roles to white actors in yellowface, and prohibited on-screen romance between actors of different races, she delivered powerful and memorable performances. When Hollywood bigotry got to be too much, she made movies in Europe. Wong was intellectually curious, a fashion icon, and a strong advocate for authentic Asian representation in cinema. And, notably for the purposes of this tournament, absolutely gorgeous.

Josephine Baker (The Siren of the Tropics, ZouZou)— Josephine Baker was an American born actress, singer, and utter icon of the period, creating the 1920s banana skirt look. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion film. She fought in the French resistance in WWII, given a Legion of Honour, as well as refusing to perform in segregated theatres in the US. She was bisexual, a fighter, and overall an absolutely incredible woman as well as being extremely attractive.

This is round 6 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Anna May Wong propaganda:

"She so so gorgeous!! Due to Hollywood racism she was pretty limited in the roles she got to play but even despite that she’s so captivating and deserves to be known as a leading lady in her own right!! When she’s on screen in Shanghai Express I can’t look away, which is saying something because Marlene Dietrich is also in that film."

"SHE IS ON THE BACK OF QUARTERS also she was very smart and able to speak multiple languages and is a fashion icon on top of the acting/singing"

"Paved the way for Asian American actresses AND TOTAL HOTTIE!!! She broke boundaries and made it her mission to smash stereotypes of Asian women in western film (at the time, they were either protrayed them as delicate and demure or scheming and evil). In 1951, she made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead (paraphrased from Wikipedia). Also, never married and rumor has it that she had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. We love a Controversial Queen!"

"She's got that Silent Era smoulder™ that I think transcends the very stereotypical roles in which she was typically cast. Also looks very hot smouldering opposite Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"; there's kiss energy there."

"Hot as hell and chronically overlooked in her time, she's truly phenomenal and absolutely stunning"

"A story of stardom unavoidably marred by Hollywood racism; Wong's early-career hype was significantly derailed by the higher-up's reluctance to have an Asian lead, and things only got worse when the Hayes code came down and she suddenly *couldn't* be shown kissing a white man--even if that white man was in yellowface. After being shoved into the Dragon Lady role one too many times, she took her career to other continents for many years. Still, she came back to America eventually, being more selective in her roles, speaking out against Asian stereotypes, and in the midst of all of this finding the time to be awarded both the title of "World's Best Dressed Woman" by Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York and an honorary doctorate by Peking University."

"Incredible beauty, incredible actress, incredible story."

"-flapper fashion ICON. look up her fits please <3 -rumors of lesbianism due to her Close Friendships with marlene dietrich & cecil cunningham, among others -leveraged her star power to criticize the racist depictions of Chinese and Asian characters in Hollywood, as well as raise money and popular support for China & Chinese refugees in the 1930s and 40s. -face card REFUSED to decline"

Josephine Baker:

Black, American-born, French dancer and singer. Phenomenal sensation, took music-halls by storm. Famous in the silent film era.

Let's talk La Revue Negre, Shuffle Along. The iconique banana outfit? But also getting a Croix de Guerre and full military honors at burial in Paris due to working with the Resistance.

She exuded sex, was a beautiful dancer, vivacious, and her silliness and humor added to her attractiveness. She looked just as good in drag too.

So I know she was more famous for other stuff than movies and her movies weren’t Hollywood but my first exposure to her was in her films so I’ve always thought of her as a film actress first and foremost. Also she was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture so I think that warrants an entry

Iconic! Just look up anything about her life. She was a fascinating woman.

[s-aint-elmo]

digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case 

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

[valar-did-me-wrong]

Rings of Power S2|E1

reactions

💍

Original form Sauron has

✨ pizzazz ✨

Adar you brave brave Uruk! I love you!!

If I was an orc; after witnessing Forodwaith, I'd have started worshipping Adar too ngl

I'm never forgiving you for that rat ROP!

AND that centipede!!

Old man Motivational Speaker™ is as much in fault as Galadriel tbh

ALSO the sea monster!

You had ONE job wyrm!!

May I interest you with a game of 🍂TAG 🍂 in these trying times?!

Elrond.

Riding.

Curly haired.

that's all

Angy Elrond

Calculating meme Elrond

Hawk Tuah Gil Galad.

Mama's boy through & through 💖

How dare they criticize your acting Morfydd! PHENOMENAL ❤️‍🔥

The real villian was Waldreg all along.

The Stranger:

🎶 Hakuna Matata 🎶

Timon & Pumba 🪳 Nori & Stranger

Good Dog 🦴

Dejected Elrond™ is legit painful to watch, Cirdan a stronger man elf

Manwë bitch name dropped!!

Deus ex Poppy!! 💗

Maedhros callback!! 😭

I don't think wine is in WHO Refeeding Guidelines but nvm

I see what you did there Loki

🌋 Lord of Mordor 🌋

GOOD DOG ☠️

Gil Galad Benjamin Walker ilu

Elrond:

Angy Elrond:

"A messenger has arrived!"

how I fall for hope again & again, despite knowing the ending should be studied 😭

S2|E2 S2|E3 S2|E4

[pouroverpaloma]

paloma I have revivified my tumblr from its decade-long sleep to beseech you: please talk about Rolan with me because I have Thoughts® and Feelings™ such as: As the eldest sibling do you think he has an oversized and detrimental sense of responsibility that continues to impact him negatively? like during his apprenticeship, do you think he actively avoided Cal and Lia to stop them from either storming the tower themselves or worrying over him when they were supposed to be enjoying being safe in the city, etc. do you think that sense of responsibility extends to Tav or is Tav the person that makes him feel like he doesn't HAVE to be in charge and on top of everything.

also this is hazelrah on ao3!!! I cannot stop commenting on your fics to save my life

Omg hi Hazel!!! ♥️ both Thoughts® AND Feelings™, what a treat you’ve brought for me

As a preface, I’m of the opinion that Lorroakan intentionally isolated Rolan. That’s one of the reasons Lorroakan didn’t let Cal and Lia stay in his fuck-off massive tower. Narcissism and disdain for others also drove that decision, because he’s an asshole, but I really think Rolan can’t be the first apprentice he’s abused. He knew he could never break Rolan’s will if his siblings were there to support him, and, let’s be real, Lia would clearly kill him with hammers the moment he raised a hand to Rolan. He had to get him completely alone.

As for Rolan—I think his gut knew right away that something was very, very wrong with his apprenticeship, even if intellectually he’d talked himself into staying. I think he did the time-old dance of hiding abuse from your loved ones because you don’t know how to explain it, you think you can’t leave, and you’re frankly embarrassed it’s happening to you at all. Imagine him talking about his apprenticeship back in the grove, right? Now imagine him behind the counter in act 3. The whiplash between his aspirations of greatness and the awful reality of life in the tower must have been extraordinarily soul-crushing, on top of everything else. And he just couldn’t let them see that he’d dragged them all to Baldur’s Gate on a false promise.

All that to say: I imagine Rolan told himself that hiding the truth from Cal and Lia was for their own good, but really, he was ashamed and afraid of failing to make them proud.

Because yeah, he feels way more responsible for them than they could ever know or understand. He’s convinced that he has to earn his place in their family by demonstrating his utility. Rolan is caught in that awful trap of trying to deserve what he already has. It’s a self-defeating cycle because there’s no end state: he already has Cal and Lia’s unconditional love from the very start, so nothing he does can ever make him feel like he “achieved” it. He can run himself into the ground trying to earn their love, but he already has it and he’s too caught up in his own self-loathing to see it.

The thing that finally gets his head out of his ass, of course, is Tav. We see him starting to make the turn at the end of the game, when he’s master of the tower and stepping into his confidence, but from there, I think falling in love really shakes his foundations. It forces him to begin to self-reflect in a way he’s never been emotionally safe to do before.

As for how all of this plays out once they’re together! I think their dynamic is a case of unstoppable force versus immovable object. I think he’s going to devote himself to taking care of absolutely everything for them (because nothing could ever be Good Enough for Tav but goddamn it he’s going to try anyway) and Tav is going to devote themselves to taking care of absolutely everything for him (because Rolan deserves rest and gentleness and adoration maybe more than anyone ever has). This kind of all-consuming care manifests in different ways for each of them, some complementary, some adversarial. They get nauseatingly competitive about it but the sex is phenomenal.

And finally—after a while—he begins to understand that he doesn’t have to handle everything by himself in order to be lovable. He can let go of the reins and let Tav be capable sometimes, and it actually makes Tav happy when he does. Somehow, the sex gets even better.

[safedistancefrombeingsmart]

Miller's Girl (spoilerfree)

So, I've watched Miller's Girl.

First of all, it's not as bad as the reviews make it seem to be. It's pretty much exactly what you would expect it to be. If you read the screenplay and hated it- you will hate the movie. If you read the screenplay and enjoyed it- you'll enjoy the movie. The plot is somehow suddenly not better or worse than in the screenplay.

Also, the movie is beautifully shot: nice scenery and sets. The acting is pretty good in general, Martin and Jenna (even tho she was a bit too Wednesday for me towards the end) were both really great. And I liked Dagmara Dominczyk as Martin's wife Beatrice.

And - most importantly (I probably should have started with this)- Martin looks phenomenal. We wanted Hot Teacher™ and we got exactly that. We already knew that after the stills and the trailer, but damn. 🥵🥵🥵 I am going to gif the shit out of this movie once it had its digital release. Some scenes were just *chef's kiss* (Sadly, Miller's Girl can't beat certain scenes in StartUp- you know which scenes I am talking about. 😏)

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, especially the 1st half. If you are a fan of Martin and/ or Jenna, you'll like the movie, I am quite certain of it. It's not Martin's best movie (there's only so much you can do with a mediocre script), but it's also far away from being his worst. And - like I said- it's really nice to look at. Don't expect depth or an important message, it's simply not there.

PS: The Beige T-Shirt should be illegal.

If you have questions or want to know more, feel free to PM me or send me an ask.

@kitturah

[gffa]

choose violence 🥰✨: 3 (altho to avoid the Drama™ it should be more related to something silly I don't want u to die to answer this lmao), 7, 9, 10, 20, 21 (v curious about the last two actually)

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr NO NO I AM HAPPY TO DO THIS ONE because it is my favorite worst take I've ever seen: "Did you know that Darth Vader and the Empire must have freed all the slaves because we never see any slaves in the original trilogy!" THEY WERE SERIOUS. (Pssst, nobody tell them about Oola.) My other favorite worst take I've ever seen: "We are allowing people to express themselves too much because I just saw people shipping Obi-Wan and Anakin, they're writing all these fics about love, and they shouldn't do that! I also saw people shipping Gojou and Geto from Jujutsu Kaisen and they are FRIENDS, they shouldn't LOVE each other!" Absolutely stellar, no notes, phenomenal, 10/10. 7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them? It is an absolute struggle not to get sucked into the whirlwind around Qui-Gon Jinn's character. He's so often used as a weapon against the other Jedi, when the reality of his character is that he's both a lovely person and kind of an actual asshole in the movie, he's a dick to Jar Jar! He only cares about Anakin because of the prophecy! But he also is genuine about his affections and he was a good teacher to help Obi-Wan come into himself! He's absolutely HILARIOUS when he's not giving a shit throughout all the batshit stuff that happens in the first 20 minutes of the movie! But so much of fandom wants to flatten him out into either lionizing him or demonizing him and, if that made it more fun for people, I'd be more onboard! Hell, yeah, lionize the hell out of your faves because you love them!! But so few people seem to actually care about the character for himself and, when he gets used to bash the other Jedi, sometimes it's hard to get out of the instinctive urge to dislike the character. (QUI-GON DESERVES BETTER THAN THIS. LET HIM BE AN ASSHOLE CAT THAT WE LOVE.) 9. worst part of canon Honestly, I like pretty much all of Lucas' canon, which is the primary stuff I care about. And most of the boring stuff I can just ignore. But, man, I have trouble with TBB. 20. part of canon you found tedious or boring To be honest, pretty much any of the Star Wars books from the last couple of years that don't focus on established characters. (And some of the established characters, too, I could not finish the Padme trilogy.) I am just so full up on half-sketched characters that never seem to have any real arc to their character or bite to them that I've almost entirely stopped reading SW books, I'm just so bored with them, none of them have Lucas' ability to create a character I want to spend time with or they don't have the page time (like 3+ books worth) to develop them. 21. part of canon you think is overhyped I wouldn't have said this three years ago, but I'll say it today: The Mandalorian. That first season was phenomenal and deserved to be as hyped as it was, just for what it did for breathing enthusiasm back into the fandom. Those early days were amazing, we all got along in fandom, there was genuine affection and zeal for having fun with the characters! But by the time the third season came around, despite that I had a blast during it, it didn't deserve the hype anymore, Favroni had lost their focus or something, and it was all over the place and I don't think it deserves to be "the GOOD Star Wars" live action anymore. (You know what I mean with that.)

[aparticularbandit]

(Am I) More Than You Bargained For (Yet) (III)

Chapter Summary: Come on, Junko.

Snap out of it.

I know we’re exhausted, but this is not the time.

Come. ON.

Brought to you by a discussion @tobiasdrake and I had about what it would look like if Junko and Haruhi ever met.

Chapter Rating: T. Fic Rating: M for Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault.

AO3

previous chapter | next chapter

Now, it isn’t that Haruhi can’t think of an adequate role for Junko to play in her most amazing movie ever ™.  She can.  It’s just that someone has to film the thing while all three of the major players are on screen, and she can’t be the one filming because she has to be directing, which really just leaves Junko.  Or Yuki, because something tells Haruhi that Junko would probably be a phenomenal villain, but she doesn’t want the villain to run away with the show, especially with the romance between Mikuru and Koizumi’s characters, which means it can’t be Junko.

To be fair, Junko would make a good mentor character for Mikuru.  They’re allowed to be crazy or zany, even if that makes them fan favorites, because they usually get killed off by the antagonist about a third of the way into the story, so they’re not distractions during the big romance.  And this would be great for Junko, because she’d only ever be in scenes with Mikuru – and, you know, Yuki, but only for the big death scene – which means Koizumi can film them!

Wow, Haruhi!  That’s the best idea!  Let’s do that!!  :D

~

Junko makes another costume.

More precisely, she pulls another all-nighter (it’s not like she really sleeps anyway) to get her own movie costume done.  Impromptu.  Immediately.  Post haste.  All those fun words that she’s learning to hate when they’re applied to her specifically.  Especially when it means pushing off the fashion show work she already needs to get done just to create a costume for something that wasn’t necessary in the first place.

She’s not supposed to have a role in the movie.

She’s not supposed to have a role in the movie.

But Junko can play a role with her eyes closed – that’s life, after all – so what’s one more on top of everything else?  If she wasn’t so busy, she’d say yes anyway, so why shouldn’t she say yes now?  It’s a bit of a break from fabric and design, is what it is.  She should be grateful.

(She isn’t.  She doesn’t have time for this, Haruhi.)

(But the movie will film itself, and she can do more fashion show work while filming.  Haruhi will yell at her for it, but Haruhi will get over it.  That’s just how it is.  Haruhi will cross her arms and stick her pert nose in the air and pretend that she’s not paying Junko’s sins any attention, but honestly?  She has to pay Junko the most attention to act like she isn’t paying her attention.  If she really wasn’t paying any attention, she wouldn’t need to put up such a front.)

Haruhi shoves Junko harshly enough at the end of class that she wakes.  She doesn’t even remember closing her eyes.  That’s…less good.  Sure, she doesn’t need to pay attention in class, but that’s still not great.

(If she doesn’t get more rest soon, she’s going to start hallucinating.)

(That will be fun for Koizumi to get on tape.  It’ll be less fun for her – she doesn’t even want to think about what she might see (probably nothing too major; at least, it wasn’t anything major last time).  But Haruhi will enjoy having it on film.  Probably play into the whole death of the mentor thing she has planned for her.  So.  Worth it.  Maybe.)

It’s fine.

She’ll fake it.

She’s really good at faking it.

Yeah.

Yeah!

She’s Junko fucking Enoshima, and she’s going to be just fine!

….

After she chugs a few of those 5-Hour Energy drinks, or whatever.

~

Junko doesn’t quite remember what happens next.

~

See, here’s the thing.

All of those energy drinks are supposed to help her stay awake, only they don’t.  If anything, they make her more tired, which is not the way any of this is supposed to go.  Of course, if Junko had ever used them before, she would know this, but she’s never felt the need to use them; her go-go-go until she crashes has been working just fine up until now, giving her more than enough time to get everything she wants to do done and still leaving excess energy and time for so many other shenanigans.  The thing is that she’s seen Yasuke use them – multiple, multiple times – while he was trying to maintain his grades, while he was suffering through that hospital internship, particularly during that last year of middle school when he had to cram for his high school entrance exams (he’d never considered that Hope’s Peak would scout him; she’d always known they would) – and he’d never had the exhaustion triple the way that she just did.

Which all means that when Koizumi starts filming that death scene of hers, Junko is barely awake and barely aware of anything at all.  She remembers her lines and chirps them like a grand master (because Junko Enoshima can play a part in her sleep (and often does, if she’s honest with herself)), and Mikuru looks at her like something’s wrong, but that’s because Mikuru always looks at her like something is wrong (because Mikuru is the thing that is wrong), and Haruhi yells at Yuki to do “something magical” to kill her (as is scripted), and Yuki makes some super fake looking hand gestures (Junko could fake magic better than that in her sleep, but she didn’t want to be in the movie because she had so many other things to do, and Haruhi hadn’t even asked her to play the villain, and it’s not like Haruhi cares about any of that), and—

And then something—

Something happens.

Junko just barely catches the glimpse of something sparkling and electric and…and something heading in her direction.  If she were more awake, she’d flinch out of the way of whatever it is (and she’d probably be able to tell what is happening), but as it is—

Then Mukuro is there, even though Mukuro hasn’t been anywhere for three years, and she stands in front of Junko with something that looks like a knife drawn out in front of her, only the knife is broken, which doesn’t make any sense because Mukuro, the Mukuro she knows, would never protect anyone with a broken knife, let alone her, and then Mukuro throws the knife to one side and pulls out a gun and aims it at Yuki and—

Something is wrong.

Something is very wrong.

She’s missed something.

Haruhi starts yelling Cut! over and over really, really loud, but Mukuro isn’t paying attention, and—

~

Come on, Junko.

Snap out of it.

I know we’re exhausted, but this is not the time.

Come. ON.

~

“Mukie.”  Junko grabs her sister’s wrist and tugs.  “Stop.  These are my—”

Unfortunately for her, Mukuro, despite seeming to stumble, skips back, tears her wrist from Junko’s grip, and rolls into a crouch with that gun still aimed directly at Yuki, as though Junko hasn’t said or done anything at all.

Bitch.

It almost doesn’t matter that Haruhi’s still yelling at everyone, waving her arms frantically, and it definitely doesn’t matter that Mikuru is screaming – a high-pitched keening sort of sound that is honestly surprising, coming from her – and it’s all so loud and overwhelming and—

Junko resists the urge to put her hands over her ears and stomp her foot like a child.  Instead, she grabs her sister’s wrist again and forcibly tugs her away from everything.  She’ll drag her away if she has to – it doesn’t matter that Mukuro is a super assassin mercenary soldier bitch; Junko will drag her kicking and screaming.  (Just because Mukuro taught her the very cool leg sweep to get someone off her feet and probably knows how to avoid it doesn’t mean she won’t still use it.)

But when Junko storms off, Mukuro follows.

Willingly.

(Yes, Junko is absolutely ignoring the way that Haruhi throws her arms to the side, hands clenched into fists, and stomps after them.  If she wants to stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong, then she’ll do it in private where the rest of the Goon Squad won’t hear it.  There’s a layer of family drama to this whole thing, and it’s not something Junko wants the entire world to hear.

She doesn’t particularly want Haruhi to hear it either, which means they need to get this part out of the way fast.)

They don’t make it very far into the forest at all before Junko thrusts her sister in front of her, drops her grip on Mukuro’s wrist, and then shoves her.  (She wants to see her stumble.  Mukie never stumbles.)  “What are you doing?” she hisses out, glaring at her.  “You’re supposed to be with your precious Fenrir.  What are you even doing here?”

(As if she hasn’t known all along how to make Mukie show up.  She just hasn’t been so stupid as to intentionally try it.)

“You were in danger,” Mukuro says, as though that explains everything.  “That girl in the witch’s hat attacked you.  I saved your life.”

“That girl in the witch’s—”  Junko groans, presses her fingers into her forehead, and completely forgets about the sparkling electric something she’d seen just before Mukuro showed up.  “It’s a movie, you idiot,” she snaps, glare darkening.  “She didn’t actually attack me!”

Mukuro’s eyes narrow, and she doesn’t say anything.

If this was all it took to get you to show up again, Junko thinks, but she doesn’t complete the thought.  She gets the hit of despair from it, feels it curl its tendril cold through her veins, and calms.  (Something is always better than nothing, even if that something is pain.)

It’s only then, in the silence that lingers when they say nothing, that Junko realizes just how different Mukuro looks.  They’ve both grown up more than a bit since they last saw each other.  In fact, she has more than her sister has; Mukuro was already taller, already rounding out when the girl Junko was before was still full of nothing but baby fat, so she knows that she must look different to Mukuro, too.  (Better in some ways.  Worse in others.)

But it isn’t just that.

Mukuro’s skin is ashen.  There’s a grey, deathly pallor about her that wasn’t there before.  Her hair hangs flat, limp against her skull, and her eyes look hollow.  Haunted.  Also, she smells like she hasn’t bathed in a week, but to be honest, she probably hasn’t.  Her clothes are all dirty and torn, and her pants look like they could fall apart at any minute.

Junko scrunches her nose, then covers it with one hand.  “Mukie, you stink—”

But as she’s speaking, Haruhi storms into view, brushing fallen leaves from her clothes and scowling at both of them.  “You ruined my shot!” she exclaims, glaring at Mukuro even more fiercely than Junko was.  “Who even are you?”

“What, don’t you see the resemblance?”  Junko’s expression turns on a dime, and she skips over to stand next to Mukuro, leaning childishly against her with both of her hands clasped behind her back.  “This is my sister, Mukuro!  The one I told you so much about!”  Then she nudges Mukuro with her elbow.  “Mukie, this is my bestie, Haruhi!”

Mukuro flinches.

Haruhi’s brow raises at the word bestie and corrects her, not by denying it, but by saying, “I’m also the drector!” just as Mukuro’s steely gaze shifts to her.  The biggest problem with this is that Mukuro doesn’t say or do anything, and eventually, Haruhi leans toward Junko and says, “Does she even know how to talk?”

“You’re the reason my sister was attacked?” Mukuro asks, not lowering her gaze.

Junko just groans.  “I told you!”  She slaps at Mukuro’s arm, but Mukuro steps away before she can reach her.  “It’s a movie.  I wouldn’t have been hurt.”

But Mukuro isn’t listening to her.  (Mukie has always listened to her, but she isn’t right now, and maybe she doesn’t at all anymore, but she’d followed her into the words, so that must mean something.)  Instead, she steps forward, closer to Haruhi, and looms above her, steely gaze down on her.  “If you – or anyone else – attacks her again, I will kill you.  Understand?”

“Mukie, it’s just a—”

“Fine,” Haruhi snaps, even as she meets Mukuro’s gaze and holds it with her own stubborn one.  (This is not backing down; this is aggressively not caring.)  “You can be her bodyguard, or something.  Then she can come back in the next movie.”  Her eyes sparkle, even as they narrow.  “Maybe you can be Mikuru’s bodyguard, too.  Maybe there’s a hundred of you!”  She beams, all bright and shining, as though nothing troubling has just happened in the slightest.  (Because she’s in control again.  Because she was never really not in control, was she?)  “Like clones!”

Junko just stares at Haruhi, blinking twice.  “Why would anyone want a hundred copies of that?”  She gestures to Mukuro, who doesn’t move.  Then she sighs, grabs Mukuro’s shoulder, and shoves her back, stepping between the two of them.  “Look, Haruhi—”

“We’re still filming!”

“Mukuro can’t stay here,” Junko says, waving a hand in front of Haruhi’s face.  “You get that, right?  I mean, look at her, Haruhi.  She looks horrid.”  Then she pinches her nose, so her words come out sounding all nasally.  “Can’t you smell her?”

Haruhi crosses her arms, lips contorting into a frustrated scowl.  “Smell what?”

Unbelievable.  Junko grabs Mukuro’s wrist again and starts off.  “I’m going home.  Just have Koizumi film some of Mikuru and Yuki’s scenes.  He can do that, right?”

“No!”  Haruhi storms in front of her, stopping her.  “You have more scenes to film!  We have to make the footage better—”

Junko flicks Haruhi’s nose.

“Ow!”

“I’ll be back tomorrow, and we can film all that then, yeah?”  Junko offers Haruhi a fond – if painfully feigned – smile.  “It’s not like we don’t have time.”

Haruhi frowns.  “I want to make a perfect movie.”

“Then you need to take your time.”  Junko gestures to Mukuro.  “You really want her in more scenes looking like this?”

This time, when Haruhi turns to Mukuro, her eyes widen the slightest bit, as though she’s actually seeing her for the very first time.  She blinks twice, and her nose just barely crinkles.  “No.”

“Let me get her cleaned up,” Junko says, meeting Haruhi’s eyes, “and then I’ll bring her bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the movie first thing tomorrow.  Okay?”

~

It’s only while leaving that Mukuro finally breaks.  She snorts, chuckles, nearly bent in on herself with suppressed laughter, lips curving slightly upward with the sort of smile that she could hide from their father the moment he turned his gaze on her.  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you argue with anyone about doing whatever the hell you want before—”

“Shut. Up.”

[long-suffering-little-spoon]

I JUST REALIZED THAT YOU WATCHED THE OFMD FINALE

H-

How are you feeling 🥲🥲🥲

Pahaha not swimmingly, I'll just say. First I have been doing a bit of the ol' menstruating which means everything is immediately more extreme lol. I've been very conflicted and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about *THE THING* especially, but this is where I stand right here right now at like 11PM lmao

Under the cut cos this ended up being exponentially longer than I thought it could ever be sorry

Overall I've loved season 2!! It has been so much fun to interact with the community and convert everyone to the Izzy hands cult engage with the fandom week by week. We've had some incredibly beautiful high moments and some lovely refreshing queer joy. I adore the new characters and the developments of our existing ones. I know my negative thoughts here are much more substantial than my positives but this doesn't mean I didn't like it!! I just don't feel the need to describe the positives because I feel like they're pretty obvious and universally recognised, agreed upon and beloved, y'know? (if you want a purely positive thoughts autistic happy flappy hands rant™, i can oblige dw)

Izzy's death is not the only reason I have mixed feelings on the finale. Obviously the episode cuts were a result of HBO'S meddling and isn't the fault of the crew, but the pacing still felt off and everything that happened just kinda washed over me like white noise (haha will wo-). The loose ends were tied up in wholesome ways and if we don't get a season 3 this would be a mostly decent way to end our characters' journeys, if a bit rushed. But then...

Izzy's death. A lot of people feel very very betrayed and hurt by Izzy being killed off, some people don't feel the comfort they used to from this show because of it and no longer want to engage. I don't wanna discount these people's views, more power to them; I cannot stop them from feeling what they feel and doing what they choose. I haven't given up hope on this show but Izzy's death just felt pretty unsatisfying to me?? Putting my bias towards him aside, I get the "killing off mentor at end of second act" trope but I just feel and wish way more could've been done with Izzy. I wanted to see more of him being happy and secure in himself and his found family and his queerness and his disability!! But now I don't get that and it very much stings. I think I could've come to terms more with his death if there had been more time to dwell on it all and get to see the individual characters mourn, but again episode cuts, thanks HBO!! /s. And I know they had the funeral but it still feels like we didn't really get a chance to mourn or treat Izzy's death with the weight it warranted. And I am far too tired especially right now to engage in "is this/is this not bury your gays/disabled character" but I will say I've seen pretty compelling arguments on both sides. As an able-bodied disabled person I don't feel it's fully my place to dictate, but I am upset Izzy was killed right after some big moments in his healing process and being a disabled person and in general just enjoying his life.

Personally I'm not giving up on the show as a whole because the finale left a sour taste in my mouth. I still very much like this show and I'm willing to stick around for a potential season 3 and on future rewatches I'll be able to see the stuff I loved separate from the stuff I didn't. But since looking back now, the latter is most recent, it kind of casts an unpleasant shadow on a very enjoyable season of television.

RIP Izzy Hands you deserved better sweetie, you would've loved Drag Race. And also shoutout to Con O'Neill for a fucking phenomenal performance last season, but especially this one. Izzy was absolutely iconic and a fan favourite for a very good reason, even if imo the writers did him dirty. He was hilarious and a petty little bitch man but then deeply broken and compelling and a genuinely beautiful character with a beautiful journey despite an unfortunate and unjust end?? He slayed.

Wow this was a lot!! Sorry if you were expecting silly goofiness lmfao I got very analysi-ish and a bit melancholic. Thank you so much for the ask JJ, it was a good opportunity to try and express all my thoughts and squish them into something cohesive for both you and me. (And thanks to my friend who I was discussing this with earlier; they helped me get a new perspective by sharing some of his thoughts. Dude, if you're reading this you know who you are, thanks a bunch!!!!)

[princesscolumbia]

More TLT thoughts (this is becoming a habit)

So I've seen some pretty divided opinions on Gideon leaning into being Kiriona and becoming besties with Ianthe "The Worst™" Tridentarius, and while both sides are legitimately right, I haven't seen anyone try to bridge the gap.

For review (and, spoilers, duh); When we last see Gideon in HtN, she's cursing ever last inch of both Jod and Ianthe "Never Met a Guro Fetish She Didn't Like" Tridentarius. Jod's a horrible liar and murderer (genocidal madman, in fact) and The Bad Tridentari proved herself worthy of the name by supporting him. When we hit G-money's entry into NtN, Kiriona and Ianthe "I Murdered My Cousin And All I Got Was This Lousy Corpse" Tridentarius, they're wearing literal friendship bracelets and swapping secret handshakes.

On the one side, you've got people furious that Gideon seems to be a sell-out, a wishy-washy flip flopper who's only in it for the girl. On the other, you have the very clear support Kiriona gives Paul and (even though she's kinda meh about her) Pyrra, the clear distrust of Ianthe "I can't wait to have an orgy at the grownups table" Tridentarius to the point she is either hiding A Secret Thing from her supposed fellow Tower Prince for an extremely long time or is making it up on the spot to protect her new clique.

And now, the bridge: Here's the secret, it's both, but not because Gideon/Kiriona is somehow super duplicitous, but because she doesn't know any other way to be.

From the earliest memory she has of Drearburh to the moment Harrow's Teenage Crush rises from the tomb, she's been captive. Whether by circumstance or scheme, she's never known a moments freedom in her life. Or death. Her entire existence is about Doing Something For Others (Whether I Want To Or Not). She had dreams, once, of getting out of bondage and living as a free woman...or dying as one, it wasn't a thing she was picky about, so long as she did it free...but then Canaan House happened, and through the worst, most fucked up circumstances anyone could imagine, she found out that she can't even choose to die. She is going to live forever, and she's always going to be the second most powerful being in the room, and the person she's going to be serving is always going to be that one more powerful asshole.

Even her dreams of "freedom" involved serving someone else. "Fuck this shit, I'm going over there, where I'm going to do the same shit but with a different uniform!" She doesn't understand the existence of a world where she's not taking (or balking at) orders, and she knows it, and she hates it, but she doesn't know anything else.

But what she IS phenomenally good at? Making the person giving those orders miserable. She trained for all of her conscious existence to make her best friend, her worst enemy, her secret love, and the one person she cared for more than herself absolutely, unquestioningly, unhesitatingly MISERABLE for their entire time together. Even the final, selfless act of love that saves Harrow also makes her the most miserable she's ever been in her life.

So now Gideon/Kiriona is immortal, eternally dead, and every single dream or hope of escaping the long, slow, unending, Sisyphean slog of her existence is gone. She can't even die, 'cause, well, already dead.

So what's someone who only knows how to survive by doing the bare minimum, being passive aggressive, and making her very existence everyone else' problem to do?

Well...I think the answer should be self-evident when put like that.

[mythvoiced]

-. About Eren's connections and whom I personally believed Eren had felt the closest to and whom he might have grown closest to in the healthiest way given the opportunity to do so aka none of the fking story happening lmao. PART 1 because there are loadsa characters and I love doing this, I LOVE LOVE LOVE--

This is NOT SHIPPING RELATED, I don't have anything against shipping (within legal and moral frames), but this post just isn't about that.

Reiner - That Eren idolised Reiner to some small extent is basically confirmed via his reaction to the Reveal, Reiner was a cool not-older-but-older-seeming kid whom Eren looked up to; his brotherly, protective demeanour and the absolute Himbo-ness of his attitude captivated Eren in a way, made him feel (and sometimes even act) like that fricking Spider-man meme. Large puppy dog eyes, 'this guy is so cool!', getting his heart broken by that Reveal absolutely annihilated my heart. That was his guy, his bro, the target of his starry-eyed gaze, dammit Reiner. (I said not shipping related, but I do sometimes like to believe Eren had a crush on this silly-ass goon)

Jean - Do not even look at me, if you've heard me go off about AoT before, chances are you know Jean is my favourite character and ALSO I believe him to be the... best character, as well, morally speaking. He's definitely the most genuine and humane, let me tell you that. But that's besides the point, one thing I am convinced of is that had Eren been given the opportunity to befriend Jean beyond the friendship we see on screen, if we'd gotten to have these two close enough that Eren would confide in Jean, none of the bullshit later down the line would have happened. Jean has the personality type that would get Eren to Stop™. He's honest, he's genuine, he's kind, he's highly intelligent, he cares So Much (I LOVE JEAN), and he's not going to treat you softly when you need some cold hard facts thrown your way. Jean & Eren could have been a fucking Tag Team, dammit. None would have done it like them. If you're seeing this in the tags, @g1gant is a phenomenal fucking Jean I violently recommend Nassy's portrayal, I'm kissing it.

Armin - Armin is Eren's canonical best friend, but part of me believes this friendship was initially born out of a subconscious desire to protect the other. In a way, I do believe these two are that Onion Headline of 'Best Friends Secretly Think Of The Other as Sidekick'. Eren & Armin both seem to believe the other needs them to get through life, which only implies a very firm perception they have of each other that doesn't allow for a lot of deviating from it. They're close, and Armin has a pretty solid understanding of some aspects of Eren's psyche, but I wouldn't say they know each other very deeply. I'd even go as far as saying Armin has a rational understanding of Eren, but his impression of him rules over any new realisations he might have been able to make. He assesses Eren the way he assesses most things.

Mikasa - I might get hate if I write anything here lmao (but I will if prompted, I love starting Mikasa-related shit)

Levi - Levi Ackerman's role in Eren's life is a fucking rabbit hole of fandom nonsense I will not allow myself to perish in, so I'll be quick: Levi is one of the many adults who judge Eren according to his purpose, his usefulness, and/or his threat level to the cause, and he's an ass to him, but he's one of the few adults who, once he's done assessing him, actually remembers he's talking to a kid, and for that he gets bonus points. Eren idolised him and meeting his idol and getting a reality check that deeply fucks with his parasocial relationship to him was good for his mental health, and I do believe adult Eren and Levi would have been good work partners, but... you know. Yeah, I think he's the best adult in Eren's life. But looking at the facts, it's like calling him the tallest dwarf, you know what I mean? Yeah. The adults in AoT suck ass oh god.

And that's all I got for now, I stopped everything I was doing because I couldn't stop thinking about this. Now I gotta go back to... doing things.

[walugus-grudenburg]

Just watched the new Mario Movie. It was okay.

The voice acting was okay enough, the characters were all pretty well-done besides Peach (who should be sweet *and* bad-ass, not just Movie Girlboss™) and I didn't like how Luigi kinda did nothing for most of the movie. The music (outside of the cliche overplayed regular songs) and visuals were phenomenal though! Illumination's style actually works pretty well with Mario, though Cranky Kong looks too young IMO (where are the wrinkles?) and Peach's face looks kinda Off.

I went in expecting something terrible like the god-awful Lorax movie from my childhood, and got just a mediocre kids film. Pretty good for what it was trying to be.

The other Mario movie is a better movie, though. This one is at least a better *Mario* movie, but the other one is just so much better as a film in general.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Maude Fealy (King Rene’s Daughter, David Copperfield)—She served cunt all the time

Anna May Wong (The Thief of Bagdad, Shanghai Express)—Wong was the first Chinese American movie star, arguably the first Asian woman to make it big in American films. Though the racism of the time often forced her into stereotypical roles, awarded Asian leading roles to white actors in yellowface, and prohibited on-screen romance between actors of different races, she delivered powerful and memorable performances. When Hollywood bigotry got to be too much, she made movies in Europe. Wong was intellectually curious, a fashion icon, and a strong advocate for authentic Asian representation in cinema. And, notably for the purposes of this tournament, absolutely gorgeous.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Maude Fealy propaganda:

Anna May Wong propaganda:

"She so so gorgeous!! Due to Hollywood racism she was pretty limited in the roles she got to play but even despite that she’s so captivating and deserves to be known as a leading lady in her own right!! When she’s on screen in Shanghai Express I can’t look away, which is saying something because Marlene Dietrich is also in that film."

"SHE IS ON THE BACK OF QUARTERS also she was very smart and able to speak multiple languages and is a fashion icon on top of the acting/singing"

"Paved the way for Asian American actresses AND TOTAL HOTTIE!!! She broke boundaries and made it her mission to smash stereotypes of Asian women in western film (at the time, they were either protrayed them as delicate and demure or scheming and evil). In 1951, she made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead (paraphrased from Wikipedia). Also, never married and rumor has it that she had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. We love a Controversial Queen!"

"She's got that Silent Era smoulder™ that I think transcends the very stereotypical roles in which she was typically cast. Also looks very hot smouldering opposite Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"; there's kiss energy there."

"Hot as hell and chronically overlooked in her time, she's truly phenomenal and absolutely stunning"

"A story of stardom unavoidably marred by Hollywood racism; Wong's early-career hype was significantly derailed by the higher-up's reluctance to have an Asian lead, and things only got worse when the Hayes code came down and she suddenly *couldn't* be shown kissing a white man--even if that white man was in yellowface. After being shoved into the Dragon Lady role one too many times, she took her career to other continents for many years. Still, she came back to America eventually, being more selective in her roles, speaking out against Asian stereotypes, and in the midst of all of this finding the time to be awarded both the title of "World's Best Dressed Woman" by Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York and an honorary doctorate by Peking University."

"Incredible beauty, incredible actress, incredible story."

"-flapper fashion ICON. look up her fits please <3 -rumors of lesbianism due to her Close Friendships with marlene dietrich & cecil cunningham, among others -leveraged her star power to criticize the racist depictions of Chinese and Asian characters in Hollywood, as well as raise money and popular support for China & Chinese refugees in the 1930s and 40s. -face card REFUSED to decline"

[almightytrashcan]

TAG GAME: EIGHT SHOWS TO GET TO KNOW ME

thank you @loveisalwaystheanswer hehe

disclaimer: lots of anime recs here HAHAHA im a weeb. also idk how else to describe stuff sometimes HJDSFKJSDHKF it's just different iterations of "wow im floored. watch it." or "this fundamentally changed me as a person."

Code Geass - Brings back memories of senior year in high school where I binged all 25 episodes of the first season during finals week, then binged all 25 episodes of the second season the next week. Season 1 was eh but it was building up for the actual bone-deep pain of Season 2. The Zero Requiem finale still hits man, it's such a perfect way to end the series. Why are mecha animes so steeped in heavy politics. Good for them! Also the Pizza Hut placements were great (we love you Cheese-kun).

Mob Psycho 100 - AMAZING ANIMATION. AMAZING STORYTELLING. WHOLESOME HIGH SCHOOLERS GOING THROUGH THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF LIFE WHILE ALSO HAVING THE MOST POWERFUL PSYCHIC ABILITIES. Genuinely feel-good, so many inspirational quotes in here. Made me cry on some occasions because I didn't expect to hear the words I needed to hear from a shounen anime of all things. Also Reigen is babygirl for a REASON.

Peaky Blinders - Where do I start. I like period dramas, and the premise intrigued me. Season 1 is so damaging to me in so many ways like I don't think any other show could get as perfect as those six episodes AAAAA IM SO ATTACHED TO IT. The whole cast are phenomenal and they really carried the show, and the song features are so good too. Also Cillian Murphy is so hot goddamn.

The Promised Neverland - DO NOT WATCH THE SECOND SEASON. Anyway. I read the manga so I know how the rest of the plot goes, but Season 1 is such an amazing display of psychological horror. The visceral fear of realizing Isabella is always one step ahead of the kids, and just generally trying outpace her while acting like everything's normal. Wow.

Attack on Titan - lol. I don't really care much about the new series anymore, but back in 2013 this was the first anime I properly watched (and the rest of the world had its dick and balls gripped by the Salute™ and the Wings of Freedom™ too). I guess I was pretty fucked up as a kid for thinking I had the balls to join the Survey Corps and could live to tell the tale. Formative anime of all time actually.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - A childhood classic. What else do I say, it's just perfect. Amazing. Fantastic. Spectacular. I have official books of that franchise: all four of The Lost Scrolls, one of the Journey Through The Earth Kingdom books, and the Tales of Zuko book. It's just so dear and close to my heart, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Adventure Time - Another childhood classic. I think I watched every episode up until the first few episodes of Season 5, then I just stopped caring SHDFJSJKFH. BUT. But, it's also still very meaningful to me, it's an amazing combination of fun but also unintentionally dark. I should pick up on it again when I have the time, honestly.

Bungou Stray Dogs - I haven't touched anything related to this anime since 2019 but this is really that one show that shaped me for a long while, mostly because I met my internet friends because of this show, and my first few days on Twitter was dedicated to being a BSD fan. The whole concept too of characters based off famous classic authors with abilities names after their most famous works is really a banger, it made me a reader again.

i dont really have anyone to tag so if you see this on your dash feel free to do it!

[thatgirl4815]

Transitions & Tension

I know we’ve all been praising Mile and Apo for their acting this episode, but I want to jump in and say that what’s impressive isn’t only their execution of immense tonal shifts but the speed and at which they execute these shifts. Their mood changes are seamless rather than choppy and divided. Not only does it make the scenes more entertaining and realistic, but it also makes them feel whole. 

Like in this beloved scene:

The shift happens right in this gif. Kinn’s face falls ever so slightly--without saying a word, we’ve already connected the dots about what he’s feeling. It reminds me of Ep6 in a way. This flirtation between them is a break from the real world. Kinn gets caught up in the moment before reality crashes back in. Porsche’s smiling face brings him joy, but everything about their situation is fragile. Porsche is still Kinn’s bodyguard, and he must assume all of the duties that come with that, but Kinn has never really wanted Porsche in this position (and I don’t think he ever really will). In the first few episodes, it was out of obstinance and annoyance with Porsche’s attitude. But oh how the tables have turned by Ep7. Kinn has acted as Porsche’s bodyguard in previous episodes, and it’s all been leading to this realization that the only way for Kinn to guard his heart is for Porsche not to guard his body. It’s an unwinnable situation though, because regardless of Kinn’s authority, Porsche still has to assume his role, no matter how dangerous it is. Kinn failed to free him from it in Ep6, so the only option now is to keep Porsche close and pray for his safety. 

Back to my point: the fact that this one scene--this one gif--can bring all of this context to mind shows just how natural and impactful the transition is. The mood flips as Kinn’s expression changes, but that’s all we need to understand the gravity of this moment. They can flirt and play with each other, but there is always this underlying threat to their interactions--the thought that for all they have gone through together, they could be ripped apart in a million different ways. 

(We won’t talk about the fact that this scene also uses three different music selections, each with varying tone, to coincide with these transitions. It’s a risky move to use so many selections, but in my opinion, it works. And Jeff’s soaring vocals of “Why don’t you stay?” as they look at each other??? Yeah.)

Let’s not even get started on the newest installment of The Scene™, because that’s got mood changes galore. Rage, frustration, heartbreak, guilt, forgiveness, desperation, lust, love: all in the span of only a few minutes. Mile and Apo have proven themselves to be phenomenal actors on their own, but they have a unique way of communicating with each other through their expressions alone. Their emotions are almost palpable, and they silently interact in a way that heightens these mood transitions effortlessly and realistically. 

From a screenwriting and acting perspective, this final scene is risky. It quickly becomes sexual, but this isn’t a hate-sex moment, as it very well could’ve been. Kinn and Porsche are very clearly sexually attracted to one another, but their coming together isn’t initiated solely by lust; as in both of KP’s sex scenes so far, the physical intimacy is inextricably tethered to the emotional intimacy. As @fleet-off​ mentioned in one of her posts, television doesn’t show emotionally-invested sex scenes very often, but that’s what makes KP’s so poignant. The tonal transition feel seamless at the end of Ep7 (at least in my opinion) because of these emotional layers they have built up so carefully over the course of the last seven episodes. I personally went into the show expecting the feelings to come after the sex, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the added layer of emotion because it makes everything feel not only necessary, but richer. And I think it’s really difficult to portray a relatively graphic sex scene and make it feel as if it really needs to be there.

Anyways, I go into more detail about how cinematographic features like lighting and camera angle play into these mood changes in this post.

As usual, this post became a lot longer than I intended, but my concluding thought is that KinnPorsche manages to handle transitions in a masterful way that I adore very much. 🙂

[alarrylarrie]

Saw My Policeman yesterday and then I got taught how to do a read more so we’re going to try it:

My Policeman Spoilers underneath:

*******************************************

Okay so I haven’t read the book. So I went in only knowing only what I’ve gotten from the trailers and stills I’ve seen. I try to avoid spoilers here and you all do a great job tagging them- so I went in very fresh.

Emma is incredible. Their reactions, their facial expression, everything. Loved them so much. And David, he’s REALLY something. He just has this gentle, beautiful presence.

Rupert was wonderful. With so little to work with, he did such a great job. And Gina did such an amazing job carrying Emma into the future. When she made her choice at the end I CRIED so hard. I think Marion is a really complex character and I loved her journey. I thought Linus also did a phenomenal job as future Tom, I thought he was suuuuper convincing as an older Harry. That was a really spot on casting choice, and a role well acted.

And Harry, my Harry. I kept trying to pull him and the character apart, but I failed… frequently. I think Harry and Tom obviously have so many things in common, and I just saw Harry’s easy charm oozing out all over the place. Not at all saying that he did a poor job acting- far from it- but. How do I explain this? I think this is more what Harry is like in real life. Not Harry Styles™, but Harry. I think he is pensive, and intense, and charming, and loves everyone, and noble, and afraid to let anyone down or hurt anyone. That’s Tom, but I think that’s Harry too. I think we see performer Harry, and camera ready Harry, and sometimes goofy Harry- but he’s always working when we see him. He’s always “on.” This is kind of what I think he’s like in private, if that makes sense?

The story is sad, and of course I cried. It’s beautiful, in a quiet way. I can see why Harry was drawn to it, for sure. It’s simple but in a really striking way. I adored the choice Marion made at the end. It takes an extremely strong woman to do what she did, and I was really drawn to her. The end scene, cutting from her in the taxi to them at the house just gutted me in a couple of different ways.

It’s definitely one I would see again, and one I will tell people to go see. It was just�� I don’t know. I keep wanting to say quiet. Simple. But truly beautiful. It’s about all consuming love, but it doesn’t put on a grand show or make a big fuss about it? It’s about two people who loved each other but had to hide, and the consequences of concealing something as intense and powerful as the love of a lifetime.

Anyway it was truly lovely to watch. And I’m over the moon for Harry, and the rest of the cast and crew- it’s a job well done.

[sparring-spirals]

This might sound like it’s straying into RPF territory, but thoughts on each of the players’ (including Matt’s dm style) playing style (ie: how they play their characters.)

Hmmm. Tbh, I don't think I'm knowledgable enough about actual game mechanics/playstyles to provide super meaningful analysis on that front, but I do like characters and how they're created and played and grown. So. I'll cheat a little and talk a little about that?

(To avoid straying into weird territory I'll be trying to keep this as speculation-free as possible and focus on some particular character elements I've noticed and appreciate, but it'll include cast appreciation too.)

this got SO FUCKING LONG because I was having a good time. sorry. enjoy?

Ive spoken about this before, but Marisha's characters often have arcs that are deeply self contained and circle around personal growth and triumph and healing in ways I really enjoy. Her characters do tend to be very powerful, which- nice- but more often than not the biggest factor for growth- and her characters always have phenomenal growth arcs- is about overcoming internal stumbling blocks and demons, improving as a person and settling into it. Which. Spells exciting things for Laudna. 👀 I also love how much she physically embodies each of her characters. Delightful to see. Post-nap Beau, mildly delirious Beau, Laudna drunk-and-woozy-from-blood-loss, Laudna hiding behind her hair.... fantastic.

Liam's characters are so fucking full of love, and passion, in ways that wrap around and shape them, both good and bad. And like yes, fantastic and distinct explorations of grief, yes, thoughtful and nuanced portrayals of loss and trauma and upheaval. But- honestly, looking at Caleb, looking at Vax, looking at Orym. They're all just Lads With Feels, yknow? Good lads who love people so damn much, and feel things so strongly and fully, for better or for worse. He also embodies his characters so fully that you feel that fullness to your core. Method acting.

Taliesin's characters are firstly, aesthetic as hell. He also does something really neat with characters and pride and inflexible or presumptous worldviews. And alongside that, each of his characters can beautifully demonstrate points about people who speak well and charismatically and reassuringly and how that really correlates so little about how much they should be trusted. (Cad, this includes you.) There's pages and pages of analysis that can be done about each of his characters and themes about authority, and pride, and self assurance, and judgements and assumptions that feels very intentional, but his characters also feel very human with it all. There are layers there. And the characters manage to not feel overburdened with it! Masterful. And Taliesin is consistent as hell with it, even if he's not always In character like Liam might be.

Sam. Fucking Sam Riegel. Bard at heart. His characters always, always, have layers, without fail, and Sam is enough of a jokester that you can't take everything done in character as hard evidence of analysis- but you can definitely take more of it than you think. And if there's a specific detail that is slightly funny but seems almost too specific, you can rest assured it will probably rip your heart out later. (Veth hates water! haha! -ah shit-) There's a nice level of thoughtfulness there with just enough actual jokes thrown in to keep you off balance, which makes some of the analysis hell but damn if they aren't good characters.

Ashley is- first of all, extremely funny, okay, there's an element of Chaos™ that I think was present in both Yasha and Pike to an extent that is truly blossoming in Fearne, it is delightful. Her characters tend to be funny in the way of deeply absurd, unexpected statements said in completely genuine tones. And it's hilarious. It also lends itself very well to the other aspect of her characters I enjoy, which has to do with them feeling deeply genuine. It is not precisely about honesty- especially with Fearne- it is about characters who say things with a sort of earnestness, who present themselves with a levek of honesty they can't quite help, even when they're lying. Its good for a comedic streak- ("Your cat is? Vibrating?" "I lied :)") and then just as easily be completely heartwrenching. (Yasha, wrecked and angry and guilty. Fearne, quietly telling Dorian, "I'll never forget you."). She plays both sides of it so well.

I'll admit I'm less familiar with Grog, but Fjord was, admittedly, one of my favorite characters from C2 and has one of my favorite charscter arcs and growth of all time. Travis is so fucking good at blending humor and heart in his characters. Like, comedic timing and sense off the charts, instinctive slapstick, which I think can distract from how consistently thoughtful his characters can be? I dunno. But also, I'm aware some people thought Fjord was boring at the start of C2 and then I think about how fucking hilarious he was through the latter half of it- falling on his face, making a fool of himself, using healing spells for 1-2 hitpoints. And go absolutely feral thinking about how that was a reflection of his growth as a character, about how his confidence in himself and being comfortable being him and not an imitation of someone else meant he felt more confident in making a fool about himself, and how he balanced that humor so well with Fjord growing into leadership and comfort with his role as a voice of reason and- oops this became Fjord meta.

Travis has really good comedic timing but also can spin that on a dime for the most heartfelt, gentle, thoughtful conversations and it is unfair how good he is at it. We're even seeing it with Chetney already. Incredible.

and. Look. I'm sure anyone following me is unsurprised to know that I have. An extreme love for Laura Bailey characters and how they're constructed. And part of this is definitely verging on like, personal preference- I have a specific weakness for characters who are trying so fucking hard to keep it together and be Good and Kind and charming, and who might be doing it VERY convincingly but are also, in one form or another, white knuckling it and On The Edge. Characters that Smile With Teeth (but are also genuinely Trying Their Best). I DUNNO.

But I think it's a testament to Laura truly thinking things through with her characters and how they would feel and react and also fuck things up, and then 100% committing to them. Strong traits as both strengths and flaws. Vex's charm distilled to an arrow point. Jester's happiness being intentional and powerful and terrifying. Imogen being anxious and empathetic and also ruthless under pressure. Her characters are always impressive and flawed in ways that make so much sense, that line up with each other and fall into place and she commits to them fully. They'll say something or do something bad and you'll be like: OOF but also OF COURSE and like. LIKE. isn't that great.

And as a bonus, we don't get to see Matt as a player often and I think NPC building has a level of worldbuilding integrated that can't be ignired. But whenever I see him as a PC he is often-

1- having such a good time, love that for him.

2- Clearly someone so well associated with the rules and uses all of that knowledge and mastery for tomfoolery or specific purposes.

3- making such Lads™. Good bois.

im mostly thinking about Dariax, actually. Dariax was so good, and so complex while also having no more than 3 thoughts at a time. i miss u dariax. ilu.

Matt's characters are a delight, is what I'm saying.

.....

okay this got unreasonably long i think it can probably be boiled down to I Love Complex Characters Who Act Consistently With Some Level Of Characterization and everyone in the cast works so hard to ensure their characters feel fully realized and act consistently and in ways that make sense. And I love characters who act consistently. my bread and butter. and they're all good at different aspects of it but. 👌