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ford-ye-fiji · 3 years

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Ok. I’m here to ramble about what has been, so far, my favorite 2021 movie: Nobody. I haven’t heard much talk about it, which is a shame because I feel it deserves all the awards. I’ve been wanting to gush about it for awhile but I’ve never found the time! But I’m doing it now so there. (Also there will be spoilers, so scroll past if you don’t want to see that!)

It’s not associated with Marvel or Disney, or any other franchises (except very vaguely John Wick i think? Idk). Either way, it’s a solid standalone movie. Plus it had me from the very first scene.

The opening scene, which I feel is worth noting, is when a beat to heck man pulls a cigarette, a can opener, and a can of tuna from his jacket, proceeds to open it, and then pulls a kitten out.

At which point I paused it, grabbed a blanket, found a dark room, and made myself comfortable because I knew it was going to be good.

I especially loved this movie’s action, which is not something I usually like. I tend to look away and squeak a lot or else completely zone out of action flicks. For example, a typical action movie like idk Die Hard, I don’t… I don’t watch any of the fight scenes. I skip em. I’ve never really felt the boom pow bam energy that the inner child loves. I think the closest I ever got to that was pacific rim.

Until this movie that is, more specifically, the bus sequence. Which is frankly, one of the best scenes in the movie.

Now some background, this movie centers about a man named Hutch Mansell. He’s a man in his forties or fifties, very unassuming, very mild looking. (Which I loved, literally I’ve seen a guy like this in the grocery store checkout):

The bus scene is the first time we really get to see him in action. Now i watched this movie right after watching Marvel’s Black Widow. And the juxtaposition of watching those movies side by side…

When the violence starts, the tone is frankly, fantastic. There’s no music and that really pulls you into the brutality of the scene. Hutch is also aging. He’s older than the street thugs he’s up against, that much is very clear. What I’m saying is he gets hurt. This isn’t Black Widow who can be dropped from five stories up and won’t even break an ankle, or who can literally slam her head repeatedly against a table and not even be dizzy. Hutch gets punched two or three times and has to fall back and get his bearings. The first time watching this, I couldn’t look bc I was afraid he was about to get his butt handed to him.

Then of course, he hit his stride and I got excited! You can see that he’s clearly skilled without him being some unstoppable machine. He gets stabbed in the thigh and has to take a minute to cope with it. At one point he gets thrown out of the bus into shards of glass. He’s clearly hurting but he’s fighting anyway. You can tell when the whole tone shifts again as he starts really getting into the fight. The music comes up again and his movements get smooth. The whole thing was exhilarating.

The bus scene was also lots of fun because you could tell that they had clearly thought about what could be used as weapon and what would be fun to use. I was jumping on the edge of my seat and wincing with each hit that landed- and there are some painful ones. Every hit I winced at. Every hit hurt, it was great! It felt real and gritty and hard. Which I feel was a far cry from the final fight in Black Widow where everyone was falling through the air in a bland CGI hellscape (*yawn*).

(^ this woman broke her nose and was ganged up on by a huge group of highly skilled assassins literally a few scenes ago. But sure yeah. She’s a-okay and ready to play free falling death tag with RoboCop.)

Nobody’s story is definitely a story that’s been told many times and in many different ways. It’s got a lot of well known tropes as well. It managed to pull off these tropes pretty well without straying into cliche territory. Honestly, if you’re not ticking off your CinemaSins card, it’s fantastic.

In an industry full of bloated Disney Approved movies where every protagonist is a superhuman or a god or a superhero and every crisis involves the end of the world/universe/multiverse, it was refreshing to see a movie about Some Guy who could Fight Good who just wanted to be himself and be a better father. I’m not saying that those plot points are bad, of course, but right now everything has such high stakes. It was so very nice to see something like Nobody in 2021. Also, this scene exists and I love it:

Here’s a link to the bus scene for reference. Even if you don’t end up watching the movie (which pls give it a chance!), at least check out the video!! ^-^

#nobody (2021)#review #i guess????#fiji ramblings #I didn’t mean to get so mad about bla///ck wid///ow #honestly she deserved better than that travesty

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anxiouspotatorants · 3 years

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HOLD UP!!! You immediately had me at the "Twilight AU but Rory is the vampire" here 👀👀👀👀. Color me intrigued AND inspired.

Ok so first off, the 'reveal' conversation. The COMEDY potential!! Just Jess being overall nervous but also pretty curious to know about what Rory as a vampire is like, whereas Rory is trying pretty hard to make him be more afraid and to hopefully get him to run away screaming so she can have some reason to tackle him, but this guy just isn't budging!

The shiny skin reveal! Like first off, THIS CAN'T BE THE SAME WITH EDWARD BECAUSE RORY'S NOT PLANNING ON STRIPPING IN FRONT OF JESS HERE (no matter how much she might like him despite her better judgement). Imagine the complete lack of suspense when she just uncovers her arm and shows Jess how it sparkles into the sunlight.

Rory: This is the skin of a killer, Jess!!

Jess: Wow, didn't know murderers had a continuous discount at Claire's for silvery glitter.

Rory: 😒

JESS WITH THE ICONIC GOOGLE SEARCH. THE DREAMS ABOUT RORY COMING IN WITH THE FULL DRACULA GETUP, MENACINGLY LEANING IN TO BITE HIM AS HE TAKES HIS "Paint me like one of your french girls" pose. Jess waking up from it not knowing whether he's scared or has just figured out a new kink for himself.

Jess dodging all of Rory's attempts to get him to stop wanting to see her by just coming in and asking her all of these questions while they're in the middle of the recess crowd in school. Rory giving up after the fourth attempt and answering all of his questions in a hushed tone.

Jess: So you can read people's minds?

Rory: Yes, except for yours. I still haven't figured out why though.

Jess: Huh, maybe Liz's all-round smoking diet during her pregnancy had its benefits after all.

Rory: Jess!!

I'm not sure whether I'd want Rory to be an older vampire like Edward or a more newly-made one, and in this case Lorelai is potentially still human but knows about Rory's condition despite Rory trying to keep her in the dark about it when she first turned. They still haven't found a way to break it to Richard and Emily though, despite their various brainstorming sessions over it.

Lorelai: We could get them drunk and just announce it to them!

Rory: Wonderful, and they'll accept their formerly estranged granddaughter as an undead creature.

Lorelai: Hey, you only asked how we should tell them, you never asked about how they'd handle it.

Jess just straight-up asking if she would eat the bullies in the high-school. Rory vehemently replying that no, she doesn't eat people, she just drinks the blood, but if he must know,......yes she drank from Chuck Presby once because she was angry and hungry and his blood almost tasted like Gatorade, so she's refrained from trying out the other bullies' blood. No, Chuck doesn't know what happened, he just thinks some girl went a bit too far with her hickey.

Jess and Rory talking to each other late at night and organizing a "studying" session where they just end up watching various B-movies, and sometimes Jess ends up falling asleep on the other side of the couch while Rory looks on at him and look, she's not being creepy here, she's just sitting on her side admiring this insane boy who still hasn't woken up one morning and decided that being friends with a vampire girl isn't in fact one of the smartest choices he could make in his life, and she can't help but like him because of that, ok? Also she really needs to hear more of his thoughts on some of the other American classics, it's imperative.

Rory ending up protecting Jess from an ongoing car that almost hits him instead of the whole "other vampire craves his blood" storyline but Jess ends up spraining his arm when he fell to the ground and Rory just feels guilty that she couldn't have saved him in a better way and tries to avoid him after that. Unfortunately she can't because this dumbass is walking along her trail in the nearby woods with his arm in a sling and goddamn it Jess, you're scaring away the deer!!

Yes. A thousand times yes. To all of this. The comedy. The pining. The Google search idea and elder Gilmore announcement. Yes to it all. But may I raise you some alternatives/more ideas:

In the books the sparkling looks more like the vampires are on fire. So when Rory reveals some skin in the sunlight, Jess is like «Shit, stop doing that do you have a death wish?!» and Rory just gives him a shit eating grin and waves her arm in and out of the sunlight. Also what if she doesn’t strip but takes of her sweater to reveal a t-shirt and Jess has a momentary heart attack thinking a vampire was about to flash him? All this being said the Claire’s silvery glitter scene is too good to replace ;-;

There just has to be a point while they’re close friends that Rory tries to impress/scare Jess by pulling him over her shoulders and carrying him while she speed runs. But when she tries to say something badass or seductive she has a brain fart and the only thing that comes out is: «Hold on tight... spidermonkey.» Jess doesn’t get to react before she runs, and when she’s finished the first thing he does is puke (apparently it’s hard to get used to that running according to SMeyer). Rory: «Oh no I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have done it, it was stupid and now you’re hurt and-»

Jess: «Spidermonkey???»

Rory: «oh, you’re fine.»

Jess: «SPIDERMONKEY????»

Rory: «I’ll just leave you here for the bears,» and walks away.

I’m not sure what her vampire origin story should be. It could be all the Gilmores are vampires and they bite each other at a certain age after procreating (and the eldest Lorelai decided to be an asshole and bite Rory early) or it could just be Rory like you said. In that case maybe Christopher became one and bit Rory because he wants her and Lorelai and him to be one big happy family of the night? But Lorelai refused and Rory protected her? Or maybe it was a stranger who passed by Stars Hollow?

Jess questions Rory’s humanity not after being saved by a car crash (pre friendship that is, I still think your idea should come in afterwards) but because he consistently skips school and on a sunny day («How can I lock myself in a stuffy dusty dark room on a day like this, uncle Luke?») he comes upon Rory hunting and eating a dear. That and/or she saves him from the swan. And because it’s Rory and she’s a clumsy new-born she saves him by speeding over and suckerpunching the swan so hard it does an action movie sweep miles into the forest.

Rory’s cover for sunny days in Stars Hollow is that she’s staying at Chilton longer for an assignment, or in the case of her still going to ST High it’s visiting their library for resources. Because she hates missing school, that cover is usually true, and she just refuses to go into any spot with sunlight:

Rory: «I have this skin condition, I have sun allergy»

Madeleine or Louise: «That’s not a thing is it»

Paris: «It is [starts infodumping]»

She usually locks herself in the darkest corner of the library and speeding away in a flash at closing time before anyone can spot her.

Rory has lost count of the amount of times Jess has dared her to drink from him. She refuses because she’s scared if hurting a friend:«What if I taste your blood and it’s so good I can’t stop? Like it tastes like heroin or ecstasy or coffee?» Jess usually counters with either «If you could resist Chuck Presby you can resist me» or «What makes you think I’d taste so good, huh?» Rory always ends up thinking she would have a blush right now if she was still human.

Jess wants to be a vampire too because hey what else does he have a chance at doing in life? But Rory refuses because she sees the potential in him and what he can be, and doesn’t want to take his chance at a good and normal life away from him. But at some point they get into a dangerous situation where Jess’ only options are death or vampyrism and Rory finally gives in. Also this is our AU and we get to decide which Twilight vampire-rules apply and in this AU vampires age mentally (it’s a bullshit excuse SMeyer and you know it).

This one depends on the origin but hey it’s an idea: While Rory was still a new new-born, her and Lorelai locked themselves up in the crap shack for a full week watching all the vampire movies they could in search of information that could help them. Rory decided to do empirical experiments too, and had garlic food, got a cross close to her, wore silver and stabbed her arm a wooden stake. The garlic food (like all food now sadly) tasted crap but didn’t kill her, nor did any of the rest. The wooden stake hurt but it healed fast.

Rory gets both Lorelai and Jess to order insane amounts of food just to watch them eat it because she misses the taste and needs to live vicariously through their tastebuds. In the AU where both Gilmore girls are vampires, they order so much food because they have no idea what the normal amount is (chaotic vampire Gilmores for the win).

Also I did not realize how well Bella and Edward’s powers fit Rory and Jess? Like of course Rory would be a mind reader and of course Jess’ thing would be an all-encompassing shield. Sometime when he’s still human and «bugging» Rory she poses the theory that maybe his head is just empty and doesn’t have any interesting ideas. Jess pretends to be hurt (okay he’s a little hurt but he’d never tell her that) and Rory immediately falls into apologetic mode.

Rory wants to go to prom because it’s a human teenage activity she refuses to miss before starts figuring out what to make out of her vampire life. Jess isn’t hyped for it but promises to get tickets. They end up both going as vampires because that altercation happens a week or so before. Jess struggles with not eating everyone in sight but he sticks close to Rory and they leave without a single drop of blood on their hands.

Also Luke as Charlie! Paying attention to the beat attacks and being the only one who noticed that Rory doesn’t actually eat the food on her plate anymore (her mom eats her own plate then switches it with Rory’s) and when Rory and Jess reveal the secret he momentarily closes down and has to take a fishing trip to process everything. But he comes back a ride or die wanting to protect the poor kids.

I also feel like there should be multiple moments where one is insanely attracted to the other and questions this attraction strongly. Like Rory crushing on Jess and wondering if it’s bloodthirst or just the last remains of her human teenage hormones. And Jess being full on into Rory while still acknowledging the fact that it could be some vampire seduction powers, but what the hell does he care? There’s a cute undead bookworm right there and if he has to go he doesn’t mind dying to be a pretty girl’s lunch meal.

#why does this AU work so well what the hell #also I loved your ideas so much!!!#The Google search the Claire’s line Jess consistently bugging Rory into sharing everything #this feels like a crack fic with a heart and I’m here for it #gilmore girls au #twilight au #literati #rory x jess #vampire au #midnight brunch

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mcfiddlestan · 3 years

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I’m relatively new to marvel and I was wondering why you don’t like Hemsworth? I absolutely understand and agree with not liking Waititi (in terms of how he progressed the plot in Ragnarok and how he treated Loki and other characters)... but if there’s something either or both Hemsworth or Waititi did that made you/the fandom not like them, what is it?

Hi, Nonnie.

Ok, so strap in. Cuz this will probably get long.

First off, it’s not so much that I don’t like Hemsworth. It’s more I’m disappointed in his progression as an actor and celebrity in Hollywood. Frankly, when I first saw Thor no one in the cast really stuck with me except Kat Dennings bc I knew her already and loved her work. (Yeah I knew who Natalie Portman was but I’ve had issues with her since Star Wars — long story). It wasn’t until Avengers that I really caught on to the Hiddlesmania. In those days, 2012 and up through The Dark World, there was a very sweet, very genuine bromance going on between Hemzy and Hiddles. They really were “brothers from another mother.” They were adorable together. I remember in one press event with the entire cast Hemzy and Hiddles were making faces at each other across the table and when a reporter asked Hiddles who his fave Avenger was, before he could answer, Hemzy shouted, “Your brother!” There was a very beautiful connection between them. What happened to that? It’s anyone’s guess, but here’s what happened for me.

Leading up to the release of TDW, I might have found it weird that the, like, fourth-billed actor, and the previous film’s “villain,” was chosen to basically lead the global promotion. It was Hiddles, by his lonesome, in Mexico, Australia, China, etc. And he killed it. And it started pretty much with his appearance at Comic-Con that July. We ALL remember that. Why wasn’t Hemzy participating in any of this promo? Idk. I’m pretty sure he was filming Snow White & the Huntsman, or something. Still, it was interesting and telling that Marvel chose to utilize Hiddles’ very apparent popularity. Hell, they chose not to kill Loki because of his popularity.

So it would be about three years before Hemzy and Hiddles came back together again to film Ragnarok. And between that time, Hemzy filmed six movies and Hiddles filmed eight. During that time, also, Hiddles pulled a 180° on everybody and participated in what was the most ridiculous, career-destroying antic he could ever participate in. If you don’t know what I mean, just Google Tom and the Summer of 2016. It’s my opinion that that whole event had a damaging affect on not only Tom’s image in the industry, but I think it made his colleagues and friends question how well they really knew him. And I think it hindered his bankability for filmmakers. Basically it wasn’t a good move for him. The moment I first noticed a change in Hemzy’s behavior with Hiddles was at a Wizard World convention in the middle of the PR nightmare and the beginning of filming Ragnarok in 2016.

During their panel onstage, Hemzy seemed oddly quiet and tense even. He didn’t seem all that interested in being there or answering questions. And Hiddles was like an anxious puppy, overcompensating for Hemzy’s lackluster demeanor. I’m not the only one who’s noticed it, but no one can really pinpoint why. Was Hemzy upset that Tom was “dating” that chick? Was he upset at how obviously out of character it was? I’m guessing there was more to it because the filming of Ragnarok, and it’s result, speak volumes about what Hemzy was apparently feeling.

There are clips and interviews from the set of Raganarok and during promo with Waitidiot and Hemzy where they are very vocal about making sure Hemzy was the star of the movie “because it’s called Thor.” Waitidiot even referred to Loki as a goth orphan or something. Overall they were very critical of and condescending toward Tom and Loki. In the few interviews Hemzy and Hiddles did together, that old spark between them wasn’t there. There’s a lot about Ragnarok I don’t like. Hela was underused, Valkyrie was underused, Skurge deserved better. But, of course, what I hate most about it is the awful way they treat Loki through the whole thing. The way Thor became a bigger bully than he already was. The way he just wanted to wash his hands of Loki — which continued with the fucking Russo brothers who couldn’t put their stupid heads together long enough to realize Loki deserved to have his revenge on Thanos just like Nebula and even Wanda did. Loki deserved to be on that field fighting next to his brother, dammit.

Anyway….since Ragnarok promo i was kind of side-eyeing Hemzy. He literally behaved like a spoiled brat who found a friend who believed his bullshit (feeling overshadowed by Loki; which I think extended to feeling inferior in some way to Tom, a very gifted, educated actor compared to Hemzy who kind of fell into acting. There’s nothing wrong with where Hemzy started; but his choices in the last few years speak for themselves. 🤷🏽‍♀️) and they teamed up to bully the brainy guy. So then Infinity War promo came around and Hiddles was paired with Sebastian Stan and Letitia Wright and Paul Bettany, I think. I loved him with Sebastian (I ship WinterFrost), but it was weird that he wouldn’t be paired up at some point with Hemzy. But then Hemzy wasn’t doing any promo — wait what?? Yeah. Hemzy skipped out on Shanghai I believe. Then he said he couldn’t be at another place bc he got in an accident and injured his elbow ??? Then the next day he posted an IG live where he’s driving?? And his elbow is loosely wrapped in an ACE bandage??? That actually falls off during the video?? And then he was supposed to be somewhere for another promo, said he couldn’t make it, and was spotted camping off the coast of Australia with Matt Damon’s family??? It was all very suspish.

Speaking of Damon, don’t get me started on the bullshit scene in the last Jay & Silent Bob movie where he literally trashed Tom and his portrayal of Loki. Fuck off, Damon. Go suck Ben Affleck’s dick already.

Anyway. All the Ragnarok stuff and his behavior during IW promo and his seeming dismissal of Hiddles completely has just rubbed me the wrong way. Added to that, it just feels like Hemzy isn’t really in the business to hone his craft. It feels like he’s in it for the money. And yeah that’s a great benefit of acting in Hollywood. But he doesn’t seem to choose quality roles anymore. I liked him in Blackhat. I liked Rush. He was really good in Bad Times at the Royale, but it feels like all he wants to do now are formula action movies with no depth, no growth, where he just has to flex his muscles and give a charming smile. Which is fine but that gets tired after awhile (just ask Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude VanDamme). So right now, I want nothing to do with Love and Thunder — which is one of the stupidest movie names I’ve heard in awhile. And frankly I just don’t want to watch Hemzy not try to be his best. If I want mindless action with no real plot, I’ve got the Fast and Furious franchise. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Hope this answers your question, Nonnie. Thanks for asking. Let me know, if I can clarify anything for you.

xoxo, La

#la answers #asked and answered #anonymous #Hemzy #Hiddles #Waitidiot

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ink-beneath-her-fingernails · 4 years

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BNHA/MHA First Watch-Through Notes

1x01

these are... stupid... and... a mess. bc I am stupid and a mess. you have had your warning. I didn’t even go back and skim through this when I was done I’m just releasing these little bastard thoughts into the void they’re not my problem now

I’m watching dubbed btw

I know, I know... it’s the only one I have access to rn tho

I... do not know how to feel about funimation’s new intro?

well I guess it’s not really new but

listen I haven’t watched anything of funimation’s since the og fruits basket ok I’m used to the DUN-DUN *funimation* ((....you should be watching))

he is. babie. green babie.

but also why do these small children have such wild hair colors

I mean I’m here for it

I just wasn’t expecting it

oH SHIT THEY GOT POWERS POWERS

so this is the famous deku

I’m guessing this is like a flashback or memory or something?

I missed the bully’s name

speaking of the bullies, they changed order? It was wings, fire, stretchy hands, but now it’s fire, stretchy hands, wings. I know that they probably wanted to show the “leader” closest and that’s why but,,

also wtf?? these are kids. like bullies should not be a thing, I think we can all agree on that, but yeah, it’s gonna happen. but these kids are, what? eight? nine? maybe their powers (’quirks,’ whatever) aren’t super powerful yet, but this blonde kid has fire powers. has nobody talked to them about just how dangerous this is? forget roughing the other two up or intimidating them or giving them a hard time, this could genuinely escalate and get way out of hand super fast, and someone could get seriously injured.

oof. boy is dead.

this eight year old (purple hair) sounds like he’s a thirty yo new teacher trying to sound hip and cool but also wise and knowing to his class who Does Not Care

that wasn’t purple kid?? that was current deku???

wack

then this fourteen year old sounds like he’s a thirty yo new teacher trying to sound hip and cool but also wise and knowing to his class who Does Not Care

also they were four?

jeepers heckin criminey who starts beating people up at four years old

have to say though, I loved that sky-to-puddle transition

jiminey fucking crickets I’m not even a minute into the episode these notes are going to be stupidly long I’m sorry

!! I love his little skipping-dance thing when he’s impatient at the crosswalk!

alright... I’ll admit it... his character design is pretty adorable

also tf is that thing

it looks half shark half poorly drawn dog

I mean I get it’s probably a person and that’s their quirk or whatever but

did this kid just run all the way across the city just to watch this guy start shit at the station so he could see the heroes take him down??

I mean respect tbh but also priorities kid

also I really appreciate that the cops are just kind of calmly directing everyone and everyone else is just kind of chillin like “oh. another villain. that’s too bad.” like tbh that’s one of the things that always kind of annoys me about movies and shows like this where there’s like repeatedly villain attacks because yes they are scary, especially when you’re caught up in them, but if you’re just kind of there and not directly in the action or being directly threatened, then why are you freaking out? you’ve lived in this city for how long? there’s an attack every, what, two days? this isn’t routine for you by now?

I started this like 15 min ago and am only like a minute and a half into the ep smh

ngl this intro kinda pops off

that hero guy seemed... kind of evil lookin tho

love the animation oml

also the lyrics to this are great???

OH IS THAT A NARRATIVE FOIL I SEE IMPLIED THERE

I THINK IT IS

“and they were narrative foils” “oh my god they were narrative foils”

k ngl rewinding real quick bc I missed some of the intro and there’s always so much fun stuff to see and unpack in those

also I wanna read all the lyrics

k so I was wondering this before but I’m just gonna say it... why does the hero guy have rabbit ears

alright character designs lookin p fire so far

last guy I keep missing but he kind of looks like steven universe?? idk I still have to watch that show too tbh so,,,

does the big hero guy turn into a giant bird?

oh that intro got me excited for this

these characters look so lit!!

“the first incident?” so this isn’t just like a natural factor of their world? it hasn’t always been going on? there was, like, a definitive start to it all? was that kid really the first incident or the first one they noticed? was that actually the first incident or is it just like the commonly told first incident, like an old myth/legend/folktale/old wive’s tale?

interesting that it started with a baby and then moved to people of all ages?

oh they don’t know the cause of the quirks? interesting

((why do I feel like finding out the answer to that is gonna be like A Big Thing™ at some point in the series))

I really like the visuals they put with this exposition?? idk why it’s just,,, very appealing

also his voice is very nice to listen to tbh, so that’s a definite plus

I hate it when the main character’s voice is super annoying

but like how long ago was it that this started? he just said “before long”

I like that in this universe they actually acknowledge that hey comic books are a thing and this whole superheroes/villains/powers thing is kind of ridiculous bc it’s legit like playing out scenes straight from those comic books but also this is real life and it’s actually happening and really does pose a lot of danger and complications to a lot of people, so we’re going to treat it as something real and serious and affecting us

I might’ve spoken too soon but I really hope they don’t blow that mindset

I feel like too often superhero shows/movies just either completely gloss over the effects this stuff has on society as a whole, or it’s like a completely new thing for them, like there’s never been the concept of a fictional superhero or a comic book there before.

“was an age of heroes”??? oh no what happens

k but why is this guy dressed like the ‘do not cross’ lines

kind of a lame hero costume tbh :/

why. does he have. sleeves. but no shirt.

edna mode would never do you like that honey go see her

“Death Arms”?? what kind of alias is that?? also wouldn’t it make more sense for arms to be uncovered than his chest, then??

“The Punching Hero”

I’m sorry I Cannot take this guy seriously

waterbending??

asdkfdls idk why but this firehose guy really reminds me of that one alchemist from fmab with the top hat and the monocle and the peg leg that spun like a top and Scar murked

“rescue specialist” see?? that makes sense!! it makes me so happy that they’re actually thinking more about the worldbuilding and how dangerous scenarios would work if 80% of the population had powers of different kinds, beyond “big bad guy meet big good guy. punch punch good guy wins”

also dear god thank you for putting someone on crowd control I know I was just saying it was great these people weren’t really treating this like the end of the world and it is good that they were mostly staying back by themselves but. they were still standing very close to an ongoing fight. priorities, people. self preservation. they are things. that I do not believe most people in superhero universes have in the slightest.

aww he’s too short

(but is he shorter than edward elric)

((do we know))

(((somebody please tell me if this information is available)))

alsdfkj l;a that guy calling in late bc the train got held up by the villain... do you think that’s another equivalent of “oh...I’m...sick... yeah, totally, I’m sick” and “my dog ate my homework” to them? “there was a villain attack” or “some idiot on my block decided to show off their quirk and it got out of hand”

ope Big Hero™ is here

...why am I surprised that they have fans?? I mean I guess that makes sense they’re basically celebrities and public figures right?

okay Big Hero™ is Kamui got it

wait no that is not the Big Hero™

but they are another hero and their name is Kamui got it

“Kamui Woods” ok that’s actually helpful I was gonna ask what his skin was supposed to be bc I didn’t think it was scales and it does look kind of like bark... Now going to take that as permission to assume it’s the latter

kamui kind of reminds me of some pokemon but I’m not sure which one?? I’m sorry idk pokemon v well but thy def remind me of one of them

“...a fAnBOY” he looks and sounds like he just tricked someone into confessing to murder why is he so smug about that smh

you know what. speaking of. I don’t get why everyone views being a fan of something/someone as something to be embarrassed or ashamed about?? why do people make fun of other people for it? why do we treat it like some big dark secret we try to hide? when did liking something become a bad thing? like?? sorry I have hobbies and interests and you don’t? sorry I think this person is talented? sorry I thought this book was life-changing? sorry I listen to this album so much because it’s good? sorry this show made me laugh during a really rough time? like goddamn it’s nobody’s business what you like unless you’re trying to force it on you when you’ve asked them to stop or it’s hurting someone? if they’re being safe and respectful about it for everyone involved then there shouldn’t be a problem? stop making people feel like freaks or be scared to enjoy something just a little too much? just let people have good things in life and consume the media that makes them happy? it has little to no effect on you? I don’t get why it’s you’re problem?? sorry to get all soapboxy this is something that’s always really annoyed me

does kamui have flowers on their belt

icon

k but isn’t wood like... really easy to break tho

I mean... comparatively speaking?

“illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic” alsfjsadlkf

wait so he’s listing charges for the guy, does that mean heroes are officially licensed here and can actually arrest people? and... actually work with law enforcement?? gasp no wait but I thought that was impossible except for The One Officer On The Inside That The Hero Has Convinced Of Their Cause™

hold up... “assault, robbery, and illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic... you are the incarnation of evil” ...bro chill lmao

I mean those aren’t good things but,,,, buddy “evil” can get so much worse holy shit sunflower child has no idea what’s in store for them

the show can do a hell of a lot even if they decide not to go that dark

well deku did say he was new

also off topic but I just looked it up and DEKU IS HALF A FOOT TALLER THAN ED

I’M SORRY BUT THAT’S HILARIOUS

CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS EXCITED GREEN CHILD MEETING ED THE GREMLIN ELRIC AND JUST TOWERING OVER HIM

he’d probably get along well w al though so ed would have to like him anyways

ok but back to bnha

ope kamui just got upstaged

but honestly?? he was actin a lil cocky and she seems like a queen so I ain’t mad about it

oh great creeps are everywhere apparently

YES THANK YOU THEY NEED TO INCLUDE SUPERPOWERS IN LEGISLATION SOMEHOW OTHERWISE PEOPLE CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING GEEZ

just. more worldbuilding that I appreciate.

jfc they muzzled him?

ok i wasn’t that mad about kamui being upstaged (idk why I kinda like the guy) but now she’s acting a little too cocky for me and I feel kind of bad for Death Arms and Backdraft (?) because they definitely do deserve at least a little credit

yes. official. overseen by the government. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a good idea bc I’m not getting into the whole mess the MCU basically did regarding that, but it really does add to the worldbuilding and making it seem more realistic/draw you in a little more because you can bet that would be a thing that would actually happen in some capacity if such a large percentage of the population had superpowers, and crime was at an all-time high at the same time, with normal methods without powers likely not doing much to combat that, and it being even harder because everyone’s is different

wow so they really do have roles similar to celebrities huh?

I actually love how he’s analyzing the new hero

that’s!! the good!!! nerdery!!!!

ngl thought that guy was gonna be like “well that’s never gonna happen” lmao glad he didn’t turn out to be an asshole

this guy’s hair and his sweater need an upgrade

I’m sorry honey it’s just not a Look™

I mean ngl I’d probably wear it but also I am the absolute last person to look to for a good idea of fashion so

wow we hate asshole teachers

this kid’s hair grows wtf

they seriously just break out their quirks when they get annoyed?? I mean me too probably but

oh wait he’s not totally an asshole

but that still is kind of a dick move because even if it seems really really likely that most of them do, a lot of them probably feel like that’s just what’s expected of them or that that’s their best bet at an ok life, or they don’t think they’ll actually be able to get a career as a hero, and he has to know that there are kids (or at least one) in his class who don’t have powers and who will probably be shut down at every turn on that career track??

also what is it with the absurd number of people whose hair grows/flys/whatever and whose hands change chape and/or elongate

the girl who just throws up the rock n roll sign is my favorite

also why does this teacher remind me of gilderoy lockhart

I get that his eye thing is part of his quirk... but does he face no consequences health-wise from putting his grubby fingers all over his eyeballs?? you don’t know where your hands have been

the famed bakugo

we finally meet

you seem like a cocky asshole and if I remember correctly you have firepowers

you know who else seemed like cocky assholes and one point or another and had firepowers??

roy mustang and zuko

and one of those guys is an awkward, angry turtleduck, and the other one is a rightly smug bastard who succeeded in pulling a coup on the government who was surveilling him and holding half his team hostage

so yeah I have a feeling I’m gonna like this guy

probably

at some point

eventually

it might take a while

“the only place worthy of me” oh dear

All Might!! Big Hero™ has a name!!

oh being a hero solely bc you want to be rich and popular? lame

aklsdfsjaslkfd teach just callin deku out in front of everyone

r.i.p.

it was nice having you as a main character for eight whole minutes I’m sorry you have to face death-by-embarrassment you deserved better

ope

bakugo doesn’t want anyone stealin his thunder

lemme guess deku is also his Main Rival™ or at least will be

awwwww poor guy

how much you wanna bet he gets the highest scores in all the exams bc he studies the heroes so much and that’s how he gets in

that lady got forcefields for her quirk? damn she lucked out

“this cash is mine” *drops cash*

are all the heroes like fine mt. lady can deal w the guy she keeps stealing all our credit anyway so there’s no point??

....is that all might?

k but... y’all should be taking notes on the heroes too if you want a better chance at that career and better schools for it? I know they’re probably making fun of it bc he doesn’t have a quirk but still

also I find it really interesting that the kids all act like the quirks are absolutely everything but at that scene on the street earlier people were complaining about missing the days they didn’t have to worry about “every rando w a quirk” or something... like maybe it’s because the kids grew up w it? Idk just the difference in mindset between (presumably) generations seems cool to look into

wow we love bullies so much

no we don’t pls stop you’re not as cool as you think you are

DESTROYING SOMEONE’S NOTEBOOK/JOURNAL/SKETCHBOOK IS ONE OF THE MOST DICK MOVES SOMEONE CAN MAKE CHANGE MY MIND

alright bakugo you’ve definitely moved onto my shitlist for the moment

don’t stay there

well you know what they say about greatness... some people are destined for it, yeah, but some become it, and some have it thrust upon them

cliches are there for a reason buddy

and either way... I could be wrong but... there doesn’t seem like anything great or heroic about bullying people... I mean idk that’s just my opinion but

god I hope they eat bakugo alive at ua

deku I know you’re a sunshine child but you have to get in now. you have to. out of pure spite. please.

yeah, friend 1b is right buddy...

destroy him deku

DESTROY THEM DEKU

oh suicide jokes huh

bakugo you’re on thin fucking ice you’ve just moved way up in my shit list

wow I hate him <3

EXACTLY

THANK YOU DEKU

I hate it when shows have someone make a suicide joke like that and just? no one addresses it?? or the characters don’t seem to realize that it needs addressing, at least to themselves??? so this is refreshing

voiced my thoughts exactly

he really is an idiot

NO BUDDY YOUR DREAMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE AND VALID

YOUR NOTES ARE SALVAGEABLE

he really is a jerk deku you’re right

awww little deku is so cute

alright I’m gonna make a prediction

this is his mom right

is this gonna be

another

dead anime mom?

and lemme guess she always told him she was sure he’d be a hero/she knew he’d become one, and then she died, and that’s why he’s so set on it

probably not

but just... placing my bets now

w h a t is this child doing

he’s a hair’s breadth away from head-desking

are we... just gonna... ignore that robbery that was happening on the street a few minutes ago

OKAY WE GET IT YOU’RE HERE CAN YOU GO BACK TO SAVING PEOPLE THEY’RE STILL IN DANGER

HIS CACKLES I CAN’T

alsdkjf;lsjk I feel bad for him but also,,, that transition was gold

but also the face his mom made before he started laughing... she knew he probably wouldn’t get one didn’t she

but why do they assume it won’t happen if they don’t get it by a certain age? they said after that baby people all around the world were getting powers, and showed people of all different ages when they said so. that implies that they got those powers at those ages, after the baby was born but not when they were children themselves? like yeah there’s probably some point where you’d consider them “aged out” and therefore less likely to get a quirk but... she just said he’s in kindergarten.

fourth generation? so the appearance of quirks isn’t a super recent thing then

they can tell if someone is going to manifest a quirk or is starting to by looking at x-rays?

also I know I’m seriously overusing the word “interesting” but

maybe I’m reading too far into this but it’s also kind of interesting that his father and his (current) main antagonist have such similar powers?

OH!!!! lore drop!! kind of!!! that’s a really interesting (wow there it is again) thing they chose to be an indicator for that kind of thing in this universe

*cue izuku contemplating chopping off his pinky toes*

I feel like... all might’s... not gonna be that great....

DEAR LORD HOW MANY TEARS CAN THIS CHILD HOLD IN HIS EYES

also ngl when little deku’s eyes are wide and he doesn’t move he looks really creepy and kind of like a child-sized doll

like pinocchio

how sure are we that deku isn’t made of wood

hmmmmmmmmm I do love this animation

ah Internal Angst™

the fuck is that laughter??

skin suit? no thanks

but guess we aren’t ignoring that earlier scene

yeah all might’s in the city alright

he’s gonna break this up isn’t he

yepppppp that’s him

idk I think alex louise armstrong did it better sorry bud :/

“texas smash”??

he just... punched liquid apart

this kid’s still gonna go flying and hit the ground hard buddy thanks for your help

oh he stuck around

and he’s not hurt too bad

“justicing”

he’s using the city’s sewer system being difficult to navigate as his excuse for why he wasn’t paying attention to keeping bystanders safe like he “usually” does?

the armstrongs do the sparkle better

a;ldkfsdlfls this is really funny to watch ngl

“that’s... a pretty good point.” yeah no shit lmao

I love how he’s just. awkwardly patting deku.

yeah he’s gonna end up accidentally adopting this kid isn’t he

is he hurt?? or did the other guy actually take him over while deku was unconscious??

nah I think he’s just hurt I’m p sure he really did get the guy

but still

that was... a big boom.... that’s not good

he’s just.... abandoning this kid on the rooftop??

but also he probably really does have to go if blood is coming out of his mouth

do heroes in this universe have secret identities?

I feel like yes but also no??

watch as this guy’s like “I don’t have a quirk either” and he’s just. like. an armstrong or something

that or he’s gonna crush this kid’s dreams and be like “no, it’s not possible” and I will be forced to ensure deku becomes the most successful hero ever out of Even More Pure Spite™ even if he idolizes the guy

oh yeah he’s gonna get his dreams crushed

IS ALL MIGHT GONNA VOUCH FOR HIM AND GET HIM AN OPPORTUNITY AT UA BC HE FEELS BAD FOR HIM

hmm this outro kinda slaps too

overall feelin good, like it so far, definitely think I won’t have trouble continuing watching at least for now

#this took me... almost 2 AND A HALF HOURS #IT'S A 24 MINUTE EPISODE #THESE AREN'T EVEN GOOD NOTES #but whatever #notes #bnha notes #mha notes #bnha #mha #yap yap #1x01

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thesaltyoceanwaves · 4 years

Note

What order would you recommend watching the second part of season 3? Since it's an out of order mess?

I mean, obviously watch Hearthunter and Miracle Queen in the correct order. If you feel like sitting through MQ that is.

After that, it’s hard to say. There is a production order, which looks something like this:

1. Chameleon

2. Animaestro

3. Bakerix

4. Backwarder

5. Reflekdoll

6. Weredad

7. Silencer

8. Onichan

9. Miraculer

10. Oblivio

11. Desperada

12. Christmaster

13. Startrain

14. Kwamibuster

15. Feast

16. Gamer 2.0

17. Stormy Weather 2

18. Ikari Gozen

19. Timetagger

20. Party Crasher

21. The Puppeteer 2

22. Cat Blanc

23. Felix

24. Ladybug

25. Hearthunter

26. Miracle Queen

Some of this order makes some sense, to an extent, although I can’t explain without getting into spoilers. So, anon, if you haven’t already watched the last part of the season and want to go in blind, I’d suggest returning to the later part of this post after that. Or you can just skip it, if you’re not looking for a long-winded rant. Otherwise, here I go.

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF SEASON 3 FROM THIS POINT ON.

Ok, so things that make sense - Party Crasher coming after Desperada, Startrain, and Feast. It doesn’t really matter which of the first two comes first, so long as Party Crasher is after them, because Viperion and Pegase make their return. And we see that Fu is no longer hiding out at his place when he gives Kim Xuppu, so this has to take place after Feast.

Gamer 2.0 coming after Desperada, because she makes a cameo in the game, works.

Timetagger before Cat Blanc checks out, because Bunnix makes her return in the latter episode.

I forget where I saw this, but I think someone on the team said that it was important to see Animaestro before Oblivio, because the poster that the amnesiac Marinette and Adrien see makes more sense when you know it’s from the movie. This could have been easily changed in the script so that the two discover their identities regardless, but whatever I guess.

Both Feast and Stormy Weather 2 make sense as mid-season episodes in theory. There are so many problems with both of these episodes in execution, but I’m not going to detail that here. But on paper, an episode that changes the status quo for the second half of the season, and an episode that recaps how far everyone’s come both work at the midpoint.

Of course, there are so many issues with individual episodes in general, so if they were reworked, I think the order would have to be shifted dramatically.

Ladybug would have been a much better episode if it had been the season finale, or at least a two parter. If you’re going to start the season establishing the Lilanette rivalry, then it only makes sense to end the season with the escalation of that rivalry. And pull no punches either - Marinette’s relationships should get shaken up, characters should second guess their actions, and so forth. Alternatively, I have two other options for how this should have been handled.

1. This should have been put into season 2. Because going into Chameleon after Hero’s Day is jarring tonally, something that has been addressed numerous times by this point, so I’m not going into detail further.

2. If you’re going to keep Chloe as a recurring antagonist and fail to redeem herself, then you don’t really need Lila in the show at all. Marinette can still come across the grimoire when Adrien brings it to school. Maybe he forgets about it or something. The Scarlet Army can be caused by a bunch of things going wrong on Hero’s Day that have a domino effect. Chameleon can be cut entirely, along with Ladybug. Onichan can have Kagami in conflict with her mother, since she wants to be a good daughter and not cause problems, but also feels lonely. Lila only caused everything in Miraculer to happen at a quicker rate, but tbh, I still think the episode would have played out without her. Chloe would have gotten fed up with not getting the bee back and taken it out on Sabrina. This could be its own post tbh.

I agree with @miraculouscontent on Desperada taking place before Silencer, especially with Marinette’s behavior in Silencer basically forgetting all about Adrien, since Desperada she learns that she can like the both of them at the same time.

Felix wasn’t as bad as I was prepared for it to be, but I would still have Adrien reflect on his own pushy behavior toward Ladybug, and give the moral that harassment isn’t just physical, it can also be psychological and verbal as well. Also, I would give new, unique forms for Alya, Juleka and Rose.

Timetagger is okay mostly, but I would want some of the stakes to be higher and the foreshadowing to pack more of a punch. Maybe have future!Alix warn Chat that he’s taking things too far or something. Also, have Alya and Nino actually babysit their siblings together instead of making their friends do it. It’s not a good look for them.

Episodes I would cut:

--> Puppeteer 2 - if you’re not going to make this a dramatic episode where the friend group fights, and just have it as an excuse to embarrass Marinette, then it deserves to be cut. We could actually spend that time on fleshing out Alya and Nino, so that their progress in SW2 doesn’t amount to “dating” and “being superheroes”. Seriously, this episode is the mission statement of the season:

Any other S3 Episode: Clearly, I will have the scene meant to most humiliate/embarrass Marinette.

Puppeteer 2: Hold my beer.

--> Oblivio and Cat Blanc - these episodes are both major teases and do basically nothing for the Love Square except sabotage it. The second one especially explains to us why we shouldn’t ship these two together, in the most dramatic, over the top, killjoy way. Even if I was still a Love Square fan, I would still hate these episodes, because we could actually be getting scenes and episodes that actually develop Marinette and Adrien’s relationship with one another, but instead, we have to waste time and make people feel bad for wanting to “rush” things.

--> Bakerix - while I like that we’re getting more episodes focused on Marinette’s family, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HER MOM. Hell, this could have been the recap we got - maybe a two parter revolving around her parents realizing that they’ve been growing apart and that their daughter is getting older. OR Weredad could have been more about Marinette growing closer to her friends, not just a potential romance, while an Akumom episode could be about Sabine feeling out of touch with Marinette’s interests.

--> Christmaster - WHY DO WE NEED TWO CHRISTMAS EPISODES THAT WASTE OUR TIME WITH HUMILIATING AND/OR MAKING MARINETTE LOOK BAD? This one is worse in the sense that it could have focused on Nino for once, and have it focus on his relationship with his brother. But no. That’s not funny enough apparently.

→ Reflekdoll - A good example of a body swap/power swap episode: “Trading Faces” from Jimmy Neutron. Because the show actually shows both Jimmy and Cindy failing to adjust to the life of the other, learning to develop a small appreciation for the other by the end of the episode. JN is another episodic based show, so they’re still at each other’s throats for a while, but you can see that soften over time. Reflekdoll, on the other hand, refuses to have Chat learn or understand how hard Ladybug’s job is, especially when all he does is joke around and not take things seriously.

--> Gamer 2.0 - Another episode where Marinette “needs to learn to loosen up” but actually it should be “Marinette learns to prioritize everything in her life while still giving herself some downtime to relax and breathe”. Again, if you cut this episode, you lose nothing really.

TL;DR: You thought you were getting an answer for the best viewing order of season 3, but it was actually a rant about how season 3 is The Worst and how things could have been better. Go with the production codes, I guess.

#ml salt #salty answers #ml s3 salt #i think everyone is still amazed by netflix messing up the last two episodes #major wOW

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emptymanuscript · 4 years

Text

Pirate Pirate Bo Birate

Time to organize (snort) with EPICAL. My pet thought experiement. Events Personalities Ideas Contexts Architectures & Language.

Tool 1A: What do I know? Are any of the Aspects already determined about my story?

What do I know about Pirates? I know it is ABOUT pirates, in the positive sense. This is a Jack Sparrow, Wesley (Dread Pirate Roberts), and Long John Silver style pirate story. The Pirate is primarily protagonistic rather than the protagonists being menaced by pirates.

So we know some of P-personalities. The Protagonist will be a pirate, someone who wants the right thing (from the story’s point of view) but who is extremely comfortable breaking rules to get to that point.

Which tells us some of E - events. If our protagonist is comfortable breaking rules, then they must be challenged in a way where rules can’t be the barrier to success OR success is only possible by sticking to unpleasant rules.

And, you know, I immediately like that. I want that as part of what the Protagonist must overcome, sticking to rules that they would rather not.

What about I - ideas? Well if there’s the challenge of sticking to rules you would rather break, then there’s got to be some aspect of theme related to the idea of order and self control. Which sounds like a maturation plot to me. The protagonist has to learn that sometimes the way you do a thing is as important or maybe even more important than what you do.

This also tells us more about P. Our protagonist’s Achilles heel will need to be a lack of self control and adherence to decorum. So bad that they self sabotage because it’s just easier to just take what they want. And only something truly worth it can get them to even consider behaving properly. The Juvenile delinquent.

Now some C - context is necessarily given. Pirates means the age of sail. Pirates means charming rogues. Pirates mean over the top adventure. Exotic locales and the wide wonder and danger of the sea.

Architectures will be fairly standard because that’s what Pirate stories are. A standard adventure except good and bad cultural values slip. And the end is the proof that we’ve been right all along and the Pirate IS a hero.

Language is pretty open but tends toward more heroic speech. These are larger than life people and unless the character is supposed to be an idiot as a defining trait, they all have a bit of the Actor chewing the scene about them.

So, that’s not much but it is SOMETHING to start with.

Tool1B: What don’t I know?

I don’t know what the Protagonist is trying to do why. I don’t know what they want. But I do have an inkling of what they need: maturity/self control. So the want will be a misaligned version of that.

I don’t know what events precede the launch of the action. I don’t know what event demands the Protagonist to act. I don’t know what events keep them in place. I don’t know what events teach them so they change. I don’t know what events would prove a victory/loss condition.

I don’t know the deeper statement of what the story is about. I don’t even know the surface idea of: It’s a story about an X who wants a Y but when Z happens they must A or B.

I don’t know specifically what contexts from the outside world I want to reflect in the inside world.

I don’t know what subtype of a standard plot and arc I am drawing on.

I don’t know if I should give any real concern to altered language or not.

Ugh, that’s a lot not to know.

Tool1C: Given what I know, how do I figure out what I don’t?

Ok, well, I see that standard Architecture statement. So, nothing fancy, but what exactly is Standard?

Well, I feel like every pirate story I can think of falls into one of four fuzzy boxes. There’s a monster and the pirates have to save the day, Maybe. That’s Pirates of the Caribbean. All of them. There’s Coming of Age, which is Pirates of the Carribean’s subplot with Elizabeth and Will but the masterwork is Treasure Island, where Jim is forced to mature and delve into the trickier problems of adult morality by his experiences with the Pirates. There’s the wish fulfillment tale. Again, used in most as subplots, but the golden triumph is The Princess Bride, the “villains” of the piece are able to work against the true villains and be powerful through the power of their banditry. On Stranger Tides, the real one, not the Pirates of the Caribean movie with the same title, also falls into there, with piracy and magic enabling the hero to save the day. And finally, Buddy Love, which is almost always a subplot. But you know, while I’m sure they’re there, I can’t think of a buddy love main plot off hand. Which tells me I should cut it. I love Fezzik and Inigo but that helps the story, it’s not the center. So, alright, down to three.

I’ve already talked about it probably needing to be maturation. So, let’s just go with that. Everything else can go in there as subplots and adventures anyway. But let’s make the heart of Pirates a Rite of Passage tale.

Which needs: A problem with the Main Character’s life itself. That child ain’t right. So, ok, She’s a juvenile delinquent. And I guess she’s now a she. All she wants to do is have some fun. And if it hurts someone, that’s fine. Scratch that. If there’s some real danger and she can win and throw it in someone’s face, that’s better. If the choice is treasure or thumbing her nose at the person she is scrapping with, she’ll thumb her nose.

Now, she’s got the wrong way to fix this problem. The Wrong Way is what really makes coming of age stories work. Because she doesn’t see her behavior as a problem. She’s got some false problem. I want Buddy Love elements because I love Fezzik and Inigo, so let’s say she’s lost her Buddy and thinks she’s gotta go find her and rescue her and be a badass. But the deep issue is the above, that she HAS to one up the other guy. She has to get her wild on in the same way an alcoholic has to drink. She can’t help it, and her Buddy is in danger until she figures out that is the problem, not that she isn’t tough / heroic / badass enough.

The happy ending, and fuck it, I don’t do unhappy endings, is that the MC makes peace with the realities of life and who and what they are. They learn to value positive things rather than flee into their destructive behavior. So, with the above, that means - her name is now Ashala until I think of something better. And her buddy is Bogey, for no good reason - Ashala has to come to accept that her behavior is putting Bogey in Danger and to realize that Bogey is more important to her than winning at any cost. More importantly, she gets that her scallywaggery is her way of running from her deeper issues, that she feels powerless and taken advantage of and is over compensating by a mile. So, the subtext is her looking that in the eye.

And that gives us a framework for our architecture:

We need:

Scenes showing why Ashala has decided to become a Scallywag.

Scenes where it gets her into so much trouble she has to double down.

Scenes where someone warns her about her problem and she doesn’t listen.

Scenes where she loses Bogey. - Act Change -

Scenes where everything she does to get Bogey back makes it worse.

Scenes where her enemy provokes her into making it seriously worse.

Scenes where it starts to register, hey maybe I’m the problem, but nah.

Scenes where something happens where she can’t get Bogey back the way things were - 1/2 way point.

Scenes where Ashala takes what she has learned and applies them to the chase, allowing her to start catching up.

Scenes where the antagonist, I’m suddenly going to call her Mallie, shows she is willing to cheat more than Ashala ever would.

Scenes where Ashala uses the expectations of her to skip through Mallie’s defenses and reach the final battle.

It’s a trap! Something terrible happens, I dunno, maybe it looks like Mallie has killed Bogey. 3/4 mark. We’ll think on it.

But, because Ashala has learned her lesson, Bogey is able to send her a last bit of help and the final leg of the chase is on.

Ashala finds Mallie, is totally a hero, and they sail off into the sunset better people.

That is barebones suckage.

But it’s enough to start with.

And I should stop procrastinating. I’m gonna wing it all anyway.

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lightandwinged · 4 years

Text

Alright, it’s review time, and it’s going to be spoilery and rambly because I’m still parsing my thoughts on everything SO.

Sans spoilers: a solid and fitting conclusion, if a bit faster paced than I would’ve liked, but it adhered to the overarching themes of the Skywalker saga probably better than anything in the new trilogy has before, and I don’t know how, considering everything (namely that Space Mom is gone), they could have or would have done things differently. Not my absolute favorite (that will forever be RotJ), but still very good.

Spoilers below, be ye warned.

I found it utterly hilarious that the plot started with Kyle Ron finding the Macguffin and chillin out with Papa Palpatine while the Good Guys had to go on this entire huge quest to FIND the Macguffin to begin with, and the only reason he didn’t just fuck off and finish some dastardly plan while they were scurrying about and trying to find the Pyramid Of Doom was because he’s got a lot to work out in his feelings about Rey. Like shit, no wonder Papa Palpatine decided to just stick with his own bloodline for galactic domination, Skywalkers are useless.

(except Leia, who is awesome)

The inclusion of Carrie Fisher in this film was VERY well done, but it also hurt a lot because you could tell that her scenes were cobbled together from old material and not made of anything new. It was good and necessary, but it also just hurt, like a constant reminder that she’s gone and nobody could replace her ever. And I’ll get more to that in a minute.

The Macguffin questing honestly felt a lot like the first half of RotJ, where we have to go rescue Han right quick because Harrison Ford was pretty sure he didn’t want to Star Wars anymore, so here’s a sidequest for half the movie, with the only difference here being that the questline had to do with the actual Plot. I’ve been following the Star Wars leaks subreddit for a while (don’t read the comments, it’s a wretched hive of scum and villainy and bitterness), and I know that at one point, it was supposed to be this race between Team Dark Side and Team Light Side to get the Pyramid of Destiny and then they’d find out that oh shit, Sheev’s here, but that was scrapped... and I kind of wish it hadn’t been? It would’ve made the first half of frolicking through this planet... no this planet... no, no, it’s on this planet... feel a lot less distracting.

The dynamic between Finn, Poe, and Rey was fantastic, because those three actors just have amazing chemistry on so many levels. They immediately fell into the dynamic of “we’re a polyamorous triad who’ve been living together for a while, and we really love each other, but we’re also a LITTLE BIT STRESSED RIGHT NOW OK” and that’s fair. I was glad to see all of it, and I just wish that we’d had more of it in both TFA and TLJ. It reminded me a LOT of how the best parts of the OT were always when Luke, Han, and Leia were together.

And now I’m going to take a sulk break to think about what we could’ve had with that amazing dynamic.

I’m back.

The new characters were some of the weaker parts of the film, I felt, save for Lando (because Billy Deeeeeeee). Dominic Monaghan, whom I love, could’ve had his role taken entirely by Rose, or Billie Lourde, and nobody would’ve noticed. And I don’t mind the addition of extra women to the cast, but Zorii and Jannah felt like they were just there to be like “Poe fucks women! Finn might too!” And... yanno, cool? But the OT3 stands.

And then General Pryde, aptly named, should’ve been a bigger part in all three films because it was like... here’s this yahoo out of nowhere who’s apparently a really big Sheev fan and just... like... what? I mean, I’m a huge Sheev fan, too, but I wish he’d been more of a Piett, where we could’ve seen him worming his way up the ranks, which would’ve made his downfall more satisfying. Instead, it was just kind of like... eh? Cool, I guess? With Piett, you felt like “yeah, we’ve seen this guy fucking things up for our heroes for two entire movies now, and here he is, getting destroyed because of his pride, hahaha!” but with Pryde, it was like “wait, who are you? Oh you’re dead now? Okay, cool, I guess?”

And in conjunction with THAT, Hux was just wasted in this film. I fully accept the idea that he rose through the ranks because of nepotism or something, and I also fully accept that he’s an absolutely useless twink who can’t do anything without having Phasma top him weekly (she used to top both him and Ren, which is why they’re such disasters in this movie), but man, couldn’t we have like... taken him with us? Imagine the comedy potential as he’s brought back as a prisoner and Domhnall Gleeson gets even more screen time with Oscar Isaac. I don’t mind that he died a worthless death because he was basically a useless wretch, but I do feel like if the movie had given itself more breathing room, he could’ve been a lot of fun.

RELATED, the pacing. So in the beginning of the movie, the idea of a light skip (basically, just sort of using the hyperdrive without planning or anything) is brought up, and everyone involved in this action bounces from world to world to world in rapid fire fashion to get rid of a bunch of TIE fighters following them, and that’s roughly the pace of this film. There are a few moments of quiet and contemplation, but they’re so rare that they seem to last a lot longer than they actually do, and I think it’s mostly because this movie really feels like a Lord of the Rings style epic packed into a MCU time frame. And I’m not complaining about the time, because by the time the credits rolled, I had to pee so fucking badly, but I feel like also if we’d trimmed out a couple of things (like maybe we can get rid of Kijimi, I think it is? The snow planet? or just merge Kijimi and Pasaana?), we’d have had more time to breathe and that would’ve helped the pacing a lot.

The slow moments in the film belonged almost exclusively to Rey and Kyle Ron, and honestly, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver both deserve some sort of award recognition for their acting, the latter particularly. Without going into wild details about the plot, Kyle Ron does change his mind and go back to being Ben Solo, and god bless you so much Adam Driver because the change is instantaneous and delightful. If we’d seen significantly more Ben Solo than Kyle Ron, I’d totally be on board with the r.3y.10.z because this child omg. As it stands, the kiiiiissssss made me do like

in real life. It felt... mm, unearned, we’ll say. Maybe as a moment of “oh fuck that was intense and now we’re both alive” I could’ve bought it, but it wasn’t that, it was supposed to be this “my looooove” moment and just... sorry, but no.

BUT that said, while I think his death was the only way this series could’ve ended for him because a redemption arc would’ve required a LOT more time and energy, and that just... wasn’t going to happen. The time to have him make the turn if we were going to see a redemption arc was during TLJ, and since he didn’t make that change, we don’t get a Zuko arc. And that’s FINE because that’s a lot of work for a three movie series. And I don’t want a TV series devoted to Ben Solo learning to not be a dick to people. That’s exhausting.

But I do wish we’d gotten more time with him. The brief time we had, the bit of Han Solo snark that came out (”ow”), that was all delightful and made me understand what people see in the character (who I hate because he’s a great character to hate).

(omg while I was writing this, someone was saying that they were in a theater with someone talking about how the movie should’ve ended with Kyle Ron giving Rey a Force baby, and Y’ALL THERE IS NOT ENOUGH NOPE IN THE WORLD)

Anyway, bullets now, for the times I cried:

Literally everything with Leia, but especially that her last word was “Ben” and her using every last bit of her energy to save her son because I GET THAT FEEL, and honestly, the only reason she wasn’t there raining death and destruction on Sheev by herself for grooming her baby was because Carrie Fisher died. But anyway, from the moment she dropped her headset on, I was a blubbering mess.

And then Han, just a memory, but looking more at peace than he ever has. He convinces his son to come home, and Ben now says, “Dad?” and Han just says, “I know,” and FUFUUFUFALSKJDLAKSJDF: SOBBING

And then CHEWIE reacting to Leia’s death just... UGH. I am destroyed utterly, still.

Luke finally managing to Force lift the X-Wing out of the water made me cry as well, weirdly enough.

And then whatever emotion I felt when Rey heard all the Jedi, and it was LITERALLY EVERYONE WHO HAS PLAYED A JEDI EVER COMING IN AND SAYING A LINE like not just the familiar ones but the ones you wouldn’t know unless you’d watched all the TV series and extra material... it was so much more than tears. I couldn’t cry because it wouldn’t have been enough to encompass everything that made me feel. Very sincerely well done.

All-in-all, yeah, it was really good. I don’t get what everyone is so fussed over with it... it ties up the themes of the entire nine-movie arc pretty neatly and does basically the best it can with what it has.

But a bigger point in its favor, for me, was seeing Sam’s reaction to it: jumping up and down in his seat, gasping, grabbing my hand, whispering, “Mommy, they’re going to be okay, right?” and then cheering at the end. Star Wars, as a thing, isn’t for just one person or one group of people, but I consider how people who were kids when the PT came out say without a hint of irony that it’s not that bad, because to them, that’s what Star Wars is and always has been. The joy of it isn’t just the OT but those three movies that were “meh” to those of us who cut our teeth on the OT only. And in a similar vein, the ST is full of that joy for kids now. Like holy moley, Sam and his best friend geeking out over seeing each other in Star Wars costumes at Halloween was just worth everything.

So in the end, like I concluded at the end of TLJ, the message here is that it’s for them. And also that there’s always hope, that ultimately, even when it seems the odds are against light, there’s more of us than there are of them.

#star wars #the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker spoilers #I dehydrated myself crying at this movie

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dorkery · 4 years

Video

youtube

I manifest, briefly, to write about this miniseries WHICH I HAD EXTREMELY HIGH HOPES FOR, and it disappointed me so much I’m compelled to write an actual review about it. In summary, of course. If I did it in-depth, it would probably have to be on my proper blog (oops shit I haven’t updated that in ages).

INTRO ABOUT JAPAN AND WWII (skip this to get to actual review of series)

TOKYO TRIAL. Ah. The Asian parallel to Nuremberg. Media about Japanese war crimes and the subsequent actions (the trial, the rehabilitation of criminals, the adoption of Unit 731 research by American forces, the conflicts between the Japanese Imperial Army and its victims) is not as extensive as the war in Europe. In fact, the Tokyo Trials themselves were not as punitive as the Nuremberg Trial (for a host of bureaucratic reasons, but also the lack of systematic eradication of Japanese citizens, but this is a very simplified explanation). And most media about the Japanese occupation is usually Chinese or Korean (understandably) even though the Japanese did a good job fucking up the Philippines, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and so on. Also, much media about the Japanese occupation, I find, tends to be about the overall general existence of the Japanese occupation force, rather than specific historical figures (I am making a blanket statement here, I’ve watched limited amounts of Korean and Chinese language media on the Japanese occupation). There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but the lack of quantity then leaves a viewer chomping on the bit for some good historical drama.

Part of it, probably, is due to the relative mystery of the Japanese occupation when compared to the Nazi occupation. Nazis, the Holocaust, the Third Reich are everywhere in media and have been researched and shared to death. Not so for the Japanese invasion (well, probably in English). The Rape of Nanking (book) was probably THE thing that shone a spotlight on Japanese atrocities, but it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the overall Japanese action in Asia (newsflash: the Japanese ALSO tortured the people in countries that were not China, even though yes, I will readily admit they especially tortured the Chinese populations in countries that were not China).

There is so much Good Shit TM from a edutainment perspective on stuff you can squeeze out of the Japanese invasion. DID YOU KNOW??? THE JAPANESE ARMY CYCLED - ON BICYCLES - FROM THE KINGDOM OF SIAM TO SINGAPORE OVER 2 MONTHS, CAPTURING ALL THE TERRITORY THEY CYCLED THROUGH (because the locals supported the Japanese invasion at the time - Asia For Asians! was the propaganda they put out which was total bullshit, the locals would eventually discover), AND THEN ACCEPTED A BRITISH SURRENDER. THE KING OF SIAM AGREED TO LET THE JAPANESE USE THEM AS THE BIKING ENTRY POINT IN EXCHANGE FOR “DON’T INVADE ME BRO” AND ALSO “can I have some northern malayan territory”. THE JAPANESE AGREED. You can’t make this shit up. And this is the non-atrocity part of it. The atrocity part is as vicious, but differently so, from the Holocaust (which I would prefer not to get into as that’s an entire essay in and of itself - summary: the Japanese bayonet everything - EVERYTHING - and also Contest to kill 100 people with actual Japanese swords as promoted by Mainichi and Nichi Nichi Shimbun and also soap water drinking stomach bulge boot step interrogation technique ok let’s stop this here)

You get what I’m saying. It’s an entire period of history that has not been harvested for good quality drama. And I don’t need fabricated romantic bullshit (I’m looking at you, Embun (even though you were damned good, you’re STILL BULLSHIT)). I’m talking Schindler’s List-type films, with history and gravitas and nuance. Most historical movies have immature script-writers who basically paint the Japanese occupiers as monsters (not necessarily inaccurate, but painfully one dimensional). (Digression: Recently I watched Kanang Anak Langkau which was about a Malayan (and then Malaysian) Ranger who helped fight off the Communists after the Japanese occupation ended and, man, the entire movie was flat... except the Communists??? Like, they were clearly terrible but they were well-portrayed and had great actors. So. Opposite problem. Asians are really bad at war films that aren’t Classic Period Dramas.)

As a citizen of a Japanese-occupied country, with YEARS of history textbooks dedicated to the Japanese occupation, and a generation of Japanese war survivors either dead or unwilling to discuss their experiences, in a region with... pretty bad recording of this sort of history, I think you get my interest and fascination with this entire chapter. And since I’m in a country that isn’t the centre of the Japanese invasion (i.e. China and Korea) it makes even more sense that I’m interested in the occupation and action in countries like the Philippines, Malaya and so on.

ACTUAL REVIEW OF TOKYO TRIAL MINI-SERIES

OK. Sorry. I had to get that off my chest. SO. Tokyo Trial.

This is actually the second piece of media about the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal on video that I’m aware of (that’s been dramatised). The first one was a movie, also called TOKYO TRIAL, and it was a Chinese production (in English) from a Chinese perspective. The protagonist was the Chinese judge on the bench, Justice Mei. Tokyo Trial the Movie (TT(M) from here on out) was heavily dramatised and abridged in order to make for (well, attempted) excitement, action and historical legal thrills. It gets bogged down at times with some typical pacing problems (typical for Asian films). Like a good historical legal thriller, it focuses on victim testimony and the arrogance of the accused and of course it culminates in the feel good moment where you can watch outraged/distraught Japanese war criminals reacting to their sentences. Overall not a bad movie to watch, but not really great. Made interesting only by the righteousness of the protag and the severity and outrageousness of the subject matter. But it suffers from some stuttered pacing and an extremely narrow Chinese POV (understandable, given the protag and the production).

Now. Tokyo Trial (Mini-Series) (TT(MS) from here on).

Pros: Very beautiful. Decent Actors. VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Cons: Literally everything else.

HOW. HOW DO YOU CREATE A MINI-SERIES ABOUT THE JAPANESE WAR CRIMES TRIAL WITHOUT FEATURING JAPANESE WAR CRIMES?????

Astounding. I’m truly astounded. Where to even begin.

1. The protagonist

GUESS WHO IT IS. No really, guess. In a movie about the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, guess who the main character is. I guarantee you won’t get it.

It’s the Dutch Judge.

WHY?

The Judge, btw, doesn’t even have any kind of personal or professional link to the Japanese occupation. Even when the protag is asked by a stranded German diva about how he must have suffered during the Nazi occupation, he admits that he didn’t have it as bad as others. His family is entirely intact although they were in the Dutch East Indies when the Japanese invaded.

2. The focus of the series

can you fucking guess

it’s the goddamn judges

the entire series is about the trials and tribulations (pun fucking intended) of the GODDAMN JUDGES

DURING SERIOUS TESTIMONY OF VICTIMS AND THE ACCUSED, THE SHOTS ARE OF THE CONCERNED/CONSTIPATED FACES OF THE JUDGES

The mini-series, 4 episodes long, opens with the Dutch Judge writing to his wife and giving some decent introduction to all the major players. And then it brings into focus the various justices from around the world who will be partaking in this historical undertaking.

The President of the Tribunal is Sir William Webb, Australian. He looks great but suffers from terrible lines and staging. BTW all the characters are extremely one dimensional WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS: The British Judge (who veers between an ally, a one-note antagonist, but is then redeemed as an anti-hero - clearly the deuteragonist) and the Chinese Judge, who is soft-spoken, well-mannered, firm but not unyielding, a clear contrast to the fiery and righteous protag of TT(M). Honestly, I think he would be the best portrayal except... halfway through, Irrfan Khan appears as the Indian Judge, and honestly Paul Freeman was so good as the British (Scottish) Judge.

The entire series is about the judges politicking amongst one another and trying to argue about whether crimes of aggression (or crimes against peace) are valid grounds for a case, as these crimes have never existed before (cue arguing about the precedent set by Nuremberg).

Our intrepid (barf) protag intersperses the tense boardroom confrontations (really can barely be called that: a serious point is brought up in court, they adjourn to their chambers, they START to argue, and then the Tribunal President immediately says ok let’s all go retire for the day before any interesting or insightful conversations can begin) with one-on-one interactions with (1) a German pianist diva whom he admires as he plays violin (their duet sucks btw) (2) a Japanese intellectual who hangs out at the beach (they have zero onscreen connection and exists only to instill doubt in the Dutch judge’s mind as he contemplates the trial) (3) various judges as they begin gossiping over the latest judge to pose drama in the chambers.

That’s all. Honestly. That’s the content of the mini-series in a nutshell.

3. The pacing and the script

god it’s so

MEALY

Every scene, EVERY SCENE, is played as grave and solemn

You think this isn’t bad? Every single scene begins with thoughtful pauses and long poignant looks, even over such lines which you can picture your grandpa and uncle just quipping at each other (”The marathon begins” “I’d rather hope it would be a sprint”).

Mealy = the actual script is so awkward. It doesn’t sound like human beings talking. It’s a mouthful. ugh.

Pacing = Example: in episode 3, probably, literally 3 scenes side-by-side, 2 judges talking to each other as they walk down a path. Each scene is: A asks B about C. And then it is immediately followed by D asking C about B. CAN YOU IMAGINE??? They don’t intersperse the shot at all. It’s just 3 conversations in a row gossiping.

Pacing 2 = time passes but badly. Suddenly a year has passed, but we don’t get a sense of it unless we’re told; there’s no difference in appearance or speaking manner among the judges. there’s no real development at all, except for the position of the Dutch Judge whose position on crimes of aggression changes as he gets pulled in several ways by several people, and you end the series without any feeling of resolution or satisfaction. AT ALL. I feel like you end where you start in terms of the arguments and everything.

4. Reflections

I’ve discovered that this mini-series was nominated for an emmy in 2017 for best series. I’ve also discovered 2 reviews (ONLY) online for this series, one on a blog and on one iMBD, both praising the series for being good for history buffs that showcases an unknown part of history.

i) That is not accurate. It is a terrible series that showcases the politics and drama of the tribunal judges, and not of the japanese war crimes. literally nobody needs to know, or care, about the judges of a war crimes trial (british, canadian, US, NZ judge conspire to get the president replaced, he leaves, US judge is chosen as his replacement, HE COMES BACK, NOBODY CARES) (aside with Blakely the US lawyer and what he’s trying to accomplish in court with his controversial and it’s not explained and ignored later)

ii) Historic footage is interspersed, meaninglessly. This includes the footage of the accused and 2 victims giving testimony, I believe. It is THE MOST INTERESTING part of the series. The footage used is minimal. And it just doesn’t gel with the whole series as a whole.

iii) This show was made by a Japanese crew and NHK so.

All in all, from an entertainment perspective, Tokyo Trial failed to be compelling, interesting or noteworthy. The actors were bogged down by a bad script and weak direction. If you want to watch a show about the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, watch the older Chinese movie - less accurate but way more entertaining, and it ACTUALLY focuses on Japanese war crimes.

#tokyo trial #netflix #review

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moonmothmama · 5 years

Text

ok. so. The Princess Bride. i read it yesterday.

and right up front, before even a review, i’m gonna go ahead and list everything objectionable in the book that i can recall. please don’t take the length of the bullet pointed items to follow as an indication that the book was wildly problematic and offended me at every turn; it wasn’t and it didn’t. but there were some things that made me go: 😑 or 😒, and here it all is, presented with context, before anything else, because to be honest, i didn’t expect any of it. the film is relatively spotless, which is pretty rare for that era, and if any of you are thinking of reading it, you could do with being more prepared for this than i was.

first off, racism. two passing remarks. one isn’t even in the story proper; it’s in the first whole long intro bit from the author/narrator. that takes some explanation, i suppose: like in the film, the story is presented as a book having been written by “S. Morganstern,” except instead of a grandfather reading to his sick grandson, the narrator is interjecting with notes on the original text that he has abridged. the beginning is a whole long shpiel that, in my opinion, could have been significantly pared down with absolutely zero loss to the story (which! hey! the film did perfectly! go figure!). anyway, the first racist remark is an absolutely tasteless line in which the narrator pisses and moans about his fat son, making a crack about “painting him yellow” and making him a sumo wrestler. y i k e. the other passing remark is from Miracle Max (really, truly, the film version of this scene is miles better than the book version, but contains an important plot detail, so you should prob still read it, but i’ll give you the lowdown if you wanna skip). he refers to Iñigo as a sp*ck (rather bafflingly, i might add, bc Iñigo is a Spanish man... from Spain... not a Hispanic or Latino man from Latin America. so. i mean i’m certainly not an expert on slurs but... i have never in my life heard that term in reference to a person from Spain, and am virtually certain it was invented to refer to ppl from the americas) and in the same breath uses an objectionable term for a Polish person. sooo... again: y i k e. what gets me is that... these could’ve just been edited out? why weren’t they? i mean i know why but

fat shaming! see above. though to be honest, any true negativity about fatness is restricted to the author/narrator’s interjections; there are a few minor fat characters in the story and those depictions, without being too long-winded or spoilery, didn’t offend me (fyi: i’m fat). if you want the details, please feel free to message me about it.

if we can go back to the whole long beginning shpiel from the author/narrator, it’s just... eh. he comes off as kind of a jackass, tbh. not even halfway through it i found myself more than a little impatient for the story to begin, and that could be at least partly because the film spoiled me with a lovely, not annoying, not problematic scene of Granddad Columbo reading to Baby Fred Savage where no one made any racist remarks or ragged on fat kids. the basic gist, if you want to skip it, is that the author, as a kid, had this book read to HIM by his father, who was a Florinese immigrant, and nearly illiterate in English, but still labored over reading the English translation to his American-born son, who adored the book and requested it read to him dozens and dozens of times over the years, refusing to read it himself (though he read plenty of other books). as an adult, he buys his son the book, and is crushed when the son doesn’t like it. he then reads it for the first time, and realizes his father skipped over huge, boring blocks of text. he read his son only The Good Parts. so he decides to edit that shit out himself and release the abridged version he loves so much. add into that some complaining about his wife and some extra blah blah, and that’s pretty much it.

you remember the scene in the movie where The Man In Black/Westley almost slaps Buttercup for what he believes is lying? in the book he actually slaps her. not that his actions seem supported or endorsed by the text, but still, there you are. Buttercup does push him off a cliff soon after, though, so. i wouldn’t call that ‘even’ exactly but, shrug

Vizzini, in the book, has a fucky leg and his back isn’t quite straight, and he’s referred to repeatedly as a “humpback” or “hunchback” which needless to say is Not Kosher

that, as i recall, is it. i hope i’m not forgetting anything. now onto content/trigger warnings:

alcoholism. this shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve seen the movie: Iñigo has some, shall we say, issues

Fezzik’s parents were... terrible. CPS would be all over them. spoiler: basically they emotionally blackmailed their son into fighting professionally, which they knew he hated, by telling him they’d abandon him if he didn’t

Buttercup has some kinda messed up (read: unsettling but in no way graphic) nightmares after leaving Westley when they’re found by Prince Humperdinck at the Fire Swamp, mostly involving bearing children to the Prince who she once again is set to marry

the slurs and whatnot i mentioned above

violence, obviously. nothing worse than the film as i recall.

that’s it i think.

okay. all that said. did i enjoy the book? yes i did. a lot.

now, you might be thinking: jesus, Kathleen, after all the shit you just listed? and to this i reply: listen. there is no Unproblematic Media, so you either enjoy some things that are flawed, or you enjoy nothing at all. there is plenty of objectionable shit in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit! fucking plenty! and i love those books! and so do plenty of other people! in my own humble opinion, the good story is worth the shitty bits, because the shitty bits aren’t like, fundamental to the plotline. the story isn’t built on offensive humor or nasty, bigoted attitudes. and they’re also not the most egregious examples of Objectionable Content i’ve come across- not by a longshot. there are levels to offense. there are tiers of bullshit. this is on a far lower tier than a whole host of other things i could mention. but if any of this stuff i’ve listed crosses a line for you, i totally understand and respect that. that’s why i’ve bothered to list it at all. imo, how you respond to objectionable content is important: you don’t ignore it or excuse it, you acknowledge and criticize it. and if you still enjoy whatever the thing is, you allow yourself to enjoy it, without getting hissy or defensive with people for whom the objectionable content ruined the book/movie/whatever.

there you go, there’s my disclaimer for having enjoyed the book. your mileage may vary.

okay. so. review time.

Buttercup is a far more interesting character in the book than the movie, for which the movie can’t be faulted all that much, because you can’t easily translate a character’s inner monologue/unspoken thoughts to the screen, especially not with the time limit that comes with the medium of film. but watching her struggle with her feelings and life choices (and... lack thereof, since her choice is between marrying the prince and being put to death, which isn’t much of a choice, even if she tries to reason it out later by telling herself she COULD have said no... and initially did) creates far more of a bond between her and the reader in the book than, personally, i felt watching the movie. also she has a great line after Westley calls her beautiful at their reunion- she says something like, ‘everyone’s always calling me beautiful, i have a mind too, why don’t you talk about that’

Both Westley and Buttercup are immature, naive, and foolish in the beginning, and if Westley strikes you as Extra Dickish, a) rewatch the film! he did act like a bit of a dick, there, didn’t he? b) remember that in the story he’s a young man between the ages of eighteen and twenty five, which in my considerable experience is the age at which young men are generally at their peak of Asshole. sorry dudes

and not that Buttercup herself is a complete peach! she deals very poorly with her emotions in general and acts kinda shitty herself once or twice. i won’t say too much lest i spoil everything that’s different between the film and the book.

Prince Humperdinck is also a more three dimensional character; still a rat bastard tho.

onto Fezzik and Iñigo.

as i have said in other blog posts, these boys are... pretty much the whole reason i sought out the book. and... jesus.

you get all the way into the tragic backstories that were only hinted at in the film. okay, Iñigo’s backstory was more than hinted- but of course you go so much deeper in the book- and Fezzik’s was less than hinted, reduced mostly to a peek at the insecurity that Vizzini exploits and preys upon to keep him in line. not that you’d have to expend a great effort to him to keep him in line; his personality is docile and non-confrontational. truly not the slightest bit aggressive by nature. he’s also kinda clingy and needy, which is a thousand percent understandable given his childhood, and tbqh doesn’t need to be browbeaten for Vizzini to keep him on his short, cruel leash. which makes it all the more painful! hurrah! 😭

also you actually get to meet Iñigo’s father, Domingo Montoya, in a flashback, aaaand... i kinda love him. probably predictable if you know me.

anyway. tragic backstories. which further illuminate the emotional and psychological issues that make them so dependent on Vizzini, and turn them to lives of crime in his employ. poor boys! oy gevalt. sympathy abounds; i honestly don’t know how you could go through the book and not fall at least a little bit in love with this duo, whose friendship is precious and adorable and a balm to the soul that is aching from their painful life stories and unhealthy coping mechanisms. they’re each, very plainly, the only friend the other has in the world, and are constantly helping and bolstering one another. it’s heartbreakingly sweet. i think those boys will be alright as long as they stick together.

and now, the repeated theme of the book, that is presented with far less intensity in the film: life isn’t fair. which, one supposes, is true. but while the narrator’s framing of that assertion may give you the same misgivings they gave me- bitching about his fat son and his less than ideal relationship with his wife- you can also step back and appreciate it as a wee pearl of wisdom. life is often unfair, but that doesn’t mean it’s altogether bad or that you can’t enjoy it. idk, that’s my attitude, man.

i could talk about the ending here, but i won’t. at least not too much. not to spoiler-ish-ly. if you don’t want to know anything about the book’s ending at all, feel free to not read the last bit here, except for the very last lines which are bolded.

ready? yes? no?

...

the ending to the book is different than the movie. there is a more philosophical, open ended conclusion than you could really get away with in a movie. at least this movie.

just throwing it out there: i believe in happy endings. ones in real life. but i kind of disagree with the author a little bit, in that i don’t think happy endings necessarily have to be perfect and unblemished to qualify as happy endings. that may be the way “happily ever after” is generally presented, but to me, “happily ever after” means, maybe some shit happened, but none of it was completely devastating, and in the final analysis, life was satisfying. that’s the kind of real life happy ending i’m aiming (and hoping) for. this might sound vague but i hope it’ll make sense if you read the book.

if you wanna do that, btw, i read it for free online at allnovel dot net.

#kathleen reads the book #the princess bride #william goldman #book review #ish? thing?#blogging on my blog

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quirkyresources · 7 years

Photo

♡ All my tutorials ♡

Hi! I'm no expert, but I've been making gifs for at least like four or five years, and over that time I've learned a lot, so I want to share that stuff :) Also, someone requested that I teach them how to gif. I hope this helps!

This tutorial will teach you how to create simple but quality gifs, like the ones in the gifset above! Those gifs are all from TV shows, but it should apply to giffing almost anything. I’ll be using KMPlayer and Photoshop.

This is the gif I’ll be showing how to create, as an example:

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to message me here :) And I’m somewhat new to writing tutorials, so if you notice that I got something wrong, please let me know. Thanks!

Please like/reblog if this is at all useful to you. Thank you so much if you do!

You need:

KMPlayer (link below)

Photoshop (I'm using CC 2017, but I think any version with the timeline should work)

A video to gif (recommended source below)

A sharpening action (recommendations below)

A PSD / or to know how to color gifs (recommendations & tips below)

I'll go over:

How to buy/download PS, download KMPlayer, and download a video!

Taking screencaps in KMPlayer

Importing the screencaps into Photoshop

Cropping and timing the gif, organizing layers, etc.

Adding a PSD or tips for coloring it yourself

Adding subtitles & learning font settings

Saving for web

Posting to Tumblr

Various tips along the way!

The tutorial is under the cut. Have fun and good luck! ♥

[Note: If a photo looks too small, right click it and choose "open in new tab"]

Step 1: getting Photoshop, KMPlayer, and quality videos

Get Photoshop: I was able to buy my Photoshop, so I don’t have any free downloads to recommend, I’m sorry! But there are plenty of other Photoshop blogs on tumblr that can help with this stuff :) And there are some deals from adobe that might help you afford it if you want to buy it instead. They had a great one for college students that totally helped me. Anyways, if you can get it somewhere/somehow, here are the next steps...

Download KMPlayer: Here's the link (it's free!): kmplayer.com You can use it to watch videos, but in this case we use it to take screencaps of them to use for gifs.

Get your video: If you’re going to download a movie or show, I recommend getting torrents from thepiratebay.org and using μTorrent to download them. (Here's a tutorial for how to download stuff with it.) Be careful with viruses and stuff, though! When you look for a video, try to get one that's as HD as you can find, meaning one that is 720p or 1080p! That tells you what the height of the frames will be, in pixels. They are usually big files, but should be much better quality than others. Also, try to find videos that do NOT have network logos or ads on them!! They can make gifs look pretty bad, and it takes some serious cropping to get rid of them, which then makes it look even less quality.

Step 2: taking your screencaps Open your video in KMPlayer. (Open KMPlayer and press CTRL O.) Get to the exact scene/clip you want to gif. (Tip: it's hard to find the exact place you're looking for, so I recommend using your right/left arrow keys to skip through a little at a time.)

Once you're at the part of the video you want to gif, press CTRL G. This brings up the "frame extraction" window. This is where, as you can probably guess, you extract the frames for your gifs! Here are the settings I use:

I use these exact settings almost every time, except for the image format section. I go between JPEG and PNG. I use JPEG if I'm making a smaller gif (like 268px width or less) and I use a PNG if I'm making a larger gif (like 540px width.) This is because (or at least I've heard) PNGs are the highest quality option, JPEGs are the middle, and bitmaps are the lowest (don't use them!!) The only downside is that the higher the quality, the higher the screencap's file size. So use PNGs sparingly if that matters to you.

You can also change the "prefix" of the screencap filenames.

After figuring out all of these settings, click "start"! Then press play on the video, play until the end of what you're giffing, and press "stop" and pause it.

Then, in the frame extraction window, click the "open" button that’s to the far right of the "extract to" bar. This will open up the folder location of your new screencaps.

Step 2.5: organizing your screencaps What you'll want to do now is organize the screencaps into separate folders for each individual gif. This is something that's good to do whether it's all from one scene or you're doing a compilation of different clips. This is because, when you upload the screencaps into PS, it's best to have them in their own little folders!

(Tip: Personally I use 75 frames or less in each gif. This is because that’s the limit on the sharpening action I use, but I also think it's a good amount to stop at.)

Step 3: importing your screencaps into Photoshop

Next, we're finally going to move the screencaps you took into Photoshop. Yay!

Open file > scripts > load files into stacks. (Tip: Sometimes this function doesn't work on certain Photoshop downloads. If this is the case for you, here's a tutorial on how to get around that!) This brings up this window:

Click "browse" and find the folder with the screencaps you want for your gif. Select all of them and click "open". Then click "ok" and wait for them to load. Each screencap will load as its own layer in the layers panel, which is what you want to start with.

Step 4: changing the screencaps from layers into frames in the timeline

Once they're all loaded as layers, go to window > timeline. This brings up the timeline!

At this point, things should look something like this:

Now we can start using the timeline! In this method we convert the layers into frames that live inside the timeline, which we’ll use to make the gif move.

First click on the button in the middle of the timeline panel that says "create frame animation" right here:

Then click on the little three bars icon on the top right corner of the timeline. Click "make frames from layers" on the thing that pops up .

It depends, but you might need to reverse the frames (if it imports them in backwards). So just click on that three bars icon again and click "reverse frames".

Step 5: cropping the gif

It's really important to know the Tumblr dimensions! If you have a gif that doesn't fit the dimensions most Tumblr users view it at it can get distorted.

So the width dimensions you should use are:

A row of just one: 540px wide

A row of two: 268px wide each

A row of three: 177px & 178px & 177px

A super helpful explanation of good dimensions to use is this one made by karazorel. It's very close to the way I do it.

So to crop it, go to the crop tool (duh, sorry) and enter in the dimensions you want into the area I highlighted here:

Here's what the gif looks like so far:

You'll probably notice it moves really fast and stops moving after playing once. That's because we haven't gotten to the step to fix that yet. But that's next!

Step 6: timing, looping, etc.

Timing: Select all of the frames. You can do this by selecting the first frame, holding shift, and clicking on the last frame. Now click the little arrow next to where it says "0 secs." under any of the frame previews right here:

Click on "Other..." and type "0.14" into the text field. That represents the number of seconds, or usually the fraction of a second, that each frame will play for. (It's "0.14" in this case because of the way we entered the settings in KMPlayer in the "Frames to Extract" section. The number depends on what you enter there.) Press enter/okay.

Looping: Next change the looping setting from "once" to "forever". Here's where I'm talking about:

Step 7: sharpening the gif frames

This step can either be done at this point (before coloring it) or later (right after coloring it.) I go back and forth on which is better, and different people say different things. So just play around with it!

I use this sharpening action. It can sharpen up to 75 frames, which is a really good amount in my opinion.

Once you have a sharpening action downloaded, go back to Photoshop and go to window > actions. Click this little menu button, then click "Load Actions...".

In the window that pops up, choose whatever sharpening action you downloaded and open it. This will load it into your actions panel!

Next, click the menu button on the upper right corner of the timeline panel and click "Flatten Frames Into Layers". Now there will be a new set of layers that are labeled Frame 1, Frame 2, Frame 3, etc. Keep those, and then you can delete the OLD set of layers. (That can significantly lower the file size, and it doesn’t mess anything up if you do it right!)

Now select the very first frame in the timeline, labeled "1", and select the corresponding layer, labeled "Frame 1".

Then open the sharpening action's folder within the actions panel and select the folder labeled with the number of frames you have in your gif. For example, I have 18 frames in my gif, so I selected the folder labeled "18 frames". Or at least that's the way they labeled things in the action I'm using. You may have to explore yours to figure it out.

Then click the play button on the actions panel:

Now that should have sharpened all of your frames/layers! Woohoo! Here's what the gif should look like by now, all cropped, timed, looped, and sharpened:

If this way of sharpening doesn't work for you, here are some other gif sharpening tutorials:

How to use sharpening actions in Photoshop CC by peacelovegifs

Gif sharpening tutorial by manofsteel.co.vu

Sharpening for Photoshop CC by completeresources

Sharpening all gif frames at once by thosetutorials

Sharpening masterpost by itsphotoshop

Gif sharpening action tutorial + download by themazerunnrs

Step 7.5: grouping your layers (a baby step!) A bonus step that I recommend you do is to put all your layers into a group to keep things neat. Just select all of them and press CTRL G.

Step 8: adding a PSD and/or coloring it yourself!!

Here's the fun part! Now you can let out your creativeness with the coloring. It takes a LOT of practice to get good at this, trust me. I've been doing this for YEARS and I still hate my results sometimes. But if that happens to you, too, don't let that stop you from trying again! (God, I sound like a motivational speaker or something, sorry!)

Here’s some background on PSDs for beginners, but you can totally skip this bit...

"PSD" stands for "Photoshop document", meaning a file you make or edit in Photoshop (sorry, kind of self explanatory). On Tumblr, when people talk about PSDs, they're usually referring to a document with layers that add effects (mostly adjustment layers) to a gif/photo/graphic, etc. Also referred to as a "coloring". They usually include things like brightness/contrast, vibrance, curves, selective color, etc. People post these so you can download them and use them for your own work! (Just don't repost and claim as your own. Not cool, man.)

All you have to do is download the file, open it in Photoshop, make sure you have the layers panel open (windows > layers), and drag the PSD file's window on top of your file's window, but keep them separate so you see both at once. Then drag the PSD file's group of layers (but not the background!) over to your file.

(Then you can close the PSD window.) Then on YOUR file, mess around with the adjustment layers and stuff to change it to whatever you want it to look like. I usually edit mine like crazy!

Anyways, here are what your options are.

Finding a PSD (and then I recommend editing it to however you like it)

Here are places to find some great PSDs on Tumblr! (FYI, some are tag pages with sections for PSDs, with different types to choose from. So look around.)

QuirkyResources (Navigation) (Yup, shameless self-promo!)

QuirkyResources (My PSDs)

CompleteResources

ItsPhotoshop

ChaoticResources

YeahPS

DrunkandColoring

AresColoring

That's just a few of my favorite sources, so message me if you want more recs! :)

Coloring it yourself

I'm not going to do a full-on coloring tutorial right now, but here is my tag for those made by other people!

Basically you should learn how to use the most important adjustment layers: curves, brightness/contrast, selective color, color balance, hue/saturation, vibrance, levels, exposure, and gradient maps. At least those are the ones that I use the most and find super useful. Many of the tutorials in that coloring tutorial tag I just linked go over how to use those. So check them out!

In this case, I used my current fave PSD by dracoharry. (I’ve noticed it works on most shows I gif, so it’s super useful! I actually used it for all of the gifs in the gifset I made for this post.)

Here are the layers I kept hidden/showing:

FYI, I changed the layers' settings and whatnot a bunch.

And here’s what my result was:

Step 9: adding text & learning font settings (optional)

This is usually when I add text to the gif, if relevant.

There are various fonts and settings you can use for this, but to make things easier, here's a font PSD by adorkablelena. It’s for subtitles/quotes. I recently started using it. It's really cute! If you're not into it though, here's my tag for other font PSDs you can check out.

When you find a font PSD you like, open it and drag it into your document the same way you would with a regular PSD.

Select the text tool and replace the text with your quote. (Tip: Try not to misquote or misspell things if you can help it! I've done it and it sucks when that happens. Ugh.)

As far as colors go... For the primary quote I make the text white, and the secondary quote I usually make it yellow (#ffde00). And if there is a third I'll use some shade of orange, and anything after that I just use whatever I can make look the best. The stroke color I use varies sometimes, but I usually use black (#000000).

Finally, select the move tool (V) and make sure "smart guides" are turned on. To check this, go to view > show > smart guides, and make sure it's checked. Now when you drag around the text (select its layer first), you can see little purple vertical/horizontal guides pop up when you drag the text to the center of either direction. For the subtitle we're making, we want it to be centered horizontally and close to the bottom of the gif, but not too close. Also, if you have more than one line of text, just press enter somewhere in the text that splits it into similar-sized lines. Here's an example of all of this stuff put together:

Step 10: saving for web

There are a lot of settings to remember and play around with when saving for web, and specifically for Tumblr.

First, go to file > export > save for web (legacy).

Here you'll see a lot of settings to choose from, but they're not as intimidating as they may look!

Here are my usual settings:

Red highlight: There are multiple options in the top drop down list in the area I highlighted that are good to use. I usually use “Adaptive”, but “Perceptual” and “Selective” are good options too. In my experience, the rest make your gif look pretty gross. For the drop down list under that I choose "Pattern". This arranges the pixels in a pattern, and I like the look of that more than the two other viable options, ”Diffusion” and “Noise”.

Orange highlight: This is where you choose the number of color shades that are in the gif. I use the top amount allowed, 256, because this achieves the highest quality possible! If you need to make the gif's file size smaller, you can lower this amount, but I don't recommend it. If it's a B&W gif you can sometimes get away with using less and have it still look just as quality.

Yellow highlight: Looping options: Forever. Very important! Like I showed earlier, you can also set this setting before you get to the "save for web" option. Either way, this makes it so the gif loops forever.

Green highlight: Gif size! As I mentioned earlier, there is a limit for Tumblr. This example is a pretty small gif (592.9K) and the current file size limit on Tumblr is 3MB. Tumblr seems to change this limit a lot though, so you may want to look that up once in awhile to stay up to date.

Turquoise highlight: Always check the box next to “Convert to sRGB”. I just learned that this setting is important. It basically keeps the vibrance intact when you take it from Photoshop to Tumblr. Read a much better explanation here! :)

Then just click "Save...", choose the file location, and press "Save" again.

Step 11: uploading/posting to Tumblr

Now, last but not least, it's time to upload it to Tumblr! I probably don’t need to explain this, but I’m going to anyways. It's super-duper easy. Just go to your dashboard and click on this button:

Then the post creation window pops up, and just go on from there. Upload your images/gifs, drag them around to arrange them however you like, and add a caption if you want.

(Tip: Don't forget to add tags! It's super important to add tags if you want people to actually find your post. Only the first 5 tags show up in the main Tumblr tag-search results (ugh wtf, right?) but sometimes the other ones you add will show up on the general search page. I don't really get how to explain it or how it works tbh, sorry! But I do know that many fandoms have developed their own tagging-language to find people's posts more easily (and avoid spam) which is very useful once you figure it out. For example, if I was posting a gifset of Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale, I'd tag it with things like "riverdaleedit" and "cherylblossomedit" and maybe "madelainepetschedit". So basically the name of the show/character/actor/ship plus "edit", no spaces. Or an abbreviation of any of those, like "spnedit" or "dwinchesteredit". I hope that at least makes a little sense? As far as the amount of tags that will show up on individual blogs, I'm not positive, but I believe you can use up to 30. After that the post won't appear on the tag's page. Grrr.)

Then, of course, just post it! I recommend saving it as a draft and then posting it at a time when a lot of people are likely to be on Tumblr. (There's research done on this timing!)

THE END! :D

I really hope that was at least somewhat helpful. Sorry if it was annoying that I went into sooo much detail, I just thought I should explain everything so it would make sense to most people, especially total beginners. Again, if anyone has any questions at all, you can absolutely ask me here! Or let me know if you think I got anything wrong, I would definitely want to fix it! Thanks for reading, and please like/reblog ♥ I’d really appretiate it!

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thesethingsofours · 4 years

Text

Watchmen, Anchors & This Extraordinary Being

As anchor episodes go, what makes Watchmen’s This Extraordinary Being so… Extraordinary? Beside the rest, it’s a masterclass of meta.

In its entirety, HBO’s Watchmen is deserving of tremendous praise: “woke” without patronising, intellectual without pomposity, indulgent without narcissism, complex without confusing. Its best trick is to make the fanciful believable, laying on just enough familiarity and pseudo-science to imagine we really could be watching a parallel version of our own reality. Many of the ideas originated from its source material — Alan Moore’s seminal 1980s graphic novel of the same name. But successfully adapting, updating and elaborating on those ideas is no simple task, notwithstanding the presence of showrunner Damien Lindelof, and his history of intricate storytelling (Lost, The Leftovers, Prometheus, Tomorrowland).

The series follows Vietnam-born Angela Abar (Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk) as Sister Night — a highly-skilled police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Masked vigilantes are outlawed, but several are now openly integrated into the police force. Ironically, all Tulsan police officers now wear masks to hide their identities — a reaction to a white supremacist terrorist attack on officers in their homes, several years earlier. The KKK-like “7th Cavalry” responsible for the attack were forced underground, but have re-emerged, threatening to re-boot their police-killing operation. Dr Manhattan, a blue, atomic, god-like super-human has long-since disappeared to reside on Mars, and (oh yeah) the world appears to be in occasional overlap with a portal to another, squid-filled dimension.

If you are familiar with previous iterations of Watchmen (either from the novel or Zack Snyder’s 2009 movie), you’ll recognise some of these elements and be unacquainted with others. Set 34 years after the novel, the surviving characters have evolved in tandem with their invented surroundings. Given George Floyd’s recent death and the recent focus on Tulsa (via Trump’s floppy rally and heightened awareness of Juneteenth), the intersection of the setting, white supremacy and policing makes this version unavoidably topical. Beyond that, the original thematic similarities are maintained — what if superheroes (with the notable, dick-swinging exception of Dr Manhattan) were just exceptional people, without supernatural powers, but with typical human flaws? What if there had been a different chain of presidents and major events in the latter 20th century? What if we better understood quantum physics and could put it to use?

Does Your Anchor Hold?

Every season of novelistic, modern TV has that episode, anchoring the entire show. In a typical 8–12-episode affair, it tends to appear around two-thirds of the way through. In a good show, it allows the other episodes to tread lightly on otherwise clunky exposition and foreshadowing, resolving unanswered questions from the first two acts, while constructing intrigue for the third. In a great show, it will go further, offering up an ambitious concept with cinematic exposition and efficient storytelling. It can virtually stand alone — a piece of poetry amidst a wealth of narrative, specifically memorable beyond the whole.

Often it is played out in a context outside the conventional environment or characters of the show. At its best, it can even make the finale seem underwhelming (which, despite our natural (perhaps biological) craving for a climax to signal a conclusion, is no bad thing). On the other hand, it can just as easily go underrated, without the major twists or revelations offered elsewhere.

It’s the cradle into which the show’s fundamental ideas are birthed. For everything to work, it’s the point the show needs to reach. The list is increasingly extensive, but a few examples, recent and historic, are listed at the end of this article.

Joining the anchor pantheon is Watchmen’s Episode 6 — This Extraordinary Being; a significant reason for the show’s recent 26 Emmy nominations. The episode itself is up for 8 categories: direction, writing, cinematography, original music, picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing AND supporting actor (Jovan Adepo; Fences, When They See Us). Wowzers.

WARNING: DEPENDING ON YOUR TOLLERANCE LEVELS, WHAT FOLLOWS POTENTIALLY CONTAINS (LIGHT) SPOILERS. YOU COULD PROBABLY READ IT ALL BEFORE WATCHING THE EPISODE WITHOUT ANY MAJOR HOO-HA, BUT IF YOU LIKE TO GO INTO EPISODES COMPLETELY BLIND — I FEEL YOU. JUST SKIP TO THE LAST PARAGRAGH, NO HARD FEELINGS. WHEN YOU’VE WATCHED THE SHOW, COME BACK AND GET FILLED IN.

This Extraordinary Episode

As anchors go, what makes This Extraordinary Being so… Extraordinary? Well, in addition to drawing the story threads together and answering a wealth of pent-up questions, it’s a masterclass of meta. A meta Beretta. A meta Matryoshka. A full meta jacket.

It opens with a big storyline reveal on “An American Hero” — a fake, popular TV show within Watchmen, which portrays a fictionalised (and inaccurate) version of the (also) fictional story we ourselves are watching unveil. Phew. Maybe read that again.

[Incidentally, this is just the self-referential rollercoaster making its initial ascent. Keep your hands and legs inside the episode at all times.]

It quickly progresses to depict one character’s experience of another’s memories; including memories within those memories; and the occasional reversion to the show’s reality. If that weren’t enough, among the fiction, chunks of your and my actual, human reality continue to land, in the form of real-life people, events and societal norms. Cleverly, the effect is to blur what is true versus what Angela, the other characters and we, the audience, perceive to be true. This not easily achieved (nor easily explained), but simply put, in This Extraordinary Being, it is seamless, sumptuous, and sensational.

The audacious concept of “Nostalgia” — a pill that contains a person’s harvested memories — drives the episode. Tremendously cinematic, it’s filmed in rich, crisp black and white noir, with flashes of colour emphasising critical moments to pertinently fuel the story. Constantly on the move, the camera switches between first and third person, accentuating the feeling of simultaneously experiencing several perspectives. There are very few gimmicks or effects — it’s traditional film-making, reliant on great camera work, acting, direction and editing. Hard cuts and smooth transitions are cleverly blended, with flashbacks quietly interspersed, allowing the story to move at pace. Beautiful pacing is one of the episode’s most impressive achievements.

Back to the action, which is precisely detailed. Playful, symbolic flourishes compliment heftier motifs, often subtly relating to previous episodes or our own cultural reference points. Note the lettuce in the grocery store, the (real-life) Bass Reeves, Will painting his eyes white (compared to Angela’s black), the piano playing in the (again traumatic) cinema, the comic book reader on the sidewalk, the Alt-Right “OK” gesture, the destructive and restorative functions of fire. All these pieces efficiently collude to inform the present story, as well as crafting Will’s personality and guiding his behaviour.

Adhering to it all is deeply affecting music. Its simplest impact is to aptly recall the early 20th century era in which the memory is set. But the romantic, haunting, crooning over both tender and violent moments consummately mirror the emotional state of the protagonist. In particular, I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire, by the Ink Spots (1941) — with lyrics variably ironic and literal — will infiltrate your dreams for some time afterwards. Between the ballads is the show’s thematic, dramatic, western movie piano music — a tormenting echo in Will’s psyche, recalling both his mother and his hero. Reminiscent of Birdman (dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 2014), chaotic, thrilling solo jazz drums play whenever he escalates the power of his own agency.

With these ingredients blended, the scenes all underscore the internal and external conflicts of the characters: between blacks and whites; rage and serenity; integrity and corruption. The underlying messages of racism, history, and technology essential to this version of Watchmen are wonderfully extolled.

Notably, there are no plans for a second season of Watchmen. Rather than a question of HBO’s reticence to renew (I’m sure they’d love to), Lindelof himself has stated his intention for the show to end where it does — his exhaustive love-letter to the ever-extending Watchmen epic. As much as we have become accustomed to the fulfilment of our insatiable desire for sequels, we should be grateful that this symphonic limited series and Its Extraordinary Episode will exist in illustrious isolation. Like Nostalgia, some things are best consumed in small, perfectly measured doses.

Watchmen is available to stream on HBO Max (US), Amazon (UK, £11.49), HBO Go (elsewhere).

Other Anchor Episodes for Your Viewing Pleasure:

Sopranos Season 3, Episode 11 — Pine Barrens (HBO / Now TV) Mad Men Season 4, Episode 7 — The Suitcase (Netflix) Atlanta Season 2, Episode 6 — Teddy Perkins (Hulu / Amazon) Better Call Saul Season 2 Episode 7 — Inflatable (Netflix) The Wire Season 3, Episode 7 — Back Burners (HBO / Now TV) Bojack Horseman Season 5, Episode 11 — The Showstopper (Netflix) Westworld Season 2, Episode 8 — Kiksuya (HBO / Amazon) Succession Season 2, Episode 8 — Dundee (HBO / Now TV) The Marvelous Mrs Meisel Season 2, Episode 7 — Look, She Made a Hat (Amazon Prime)

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#watchmen #hbo #television #tv #tvshow #review #tv review #episode review

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saltynemo · 7 years

Text

Rainstorm

WHATADO Everybody, Its your boi Nemo back at it again with another Fanfiction. I thought about doing a Tyler Joseph fanfiction but I wasn't in the mood for making a smut, so I made a fluff! Sorry if its kind of long, but other wise, I hope you enjoy it :) (This is Jena from the future: This is one of my first stories written so pls excuse errors)

Summery: Y/n is having a hard time dealing with a storm, and Tyler decides to calm her down

Type: Fluff

Warning: !Cute Tyler!, Storms

Requested?: Nope

Word Count: 1.7k (1,728 words)

PT.2

So without further a do, P-P-P-P-PLAY IT:

You look outside to see nothing but dark clouds and raindrops smeared on your window. A storm was heading over you and your boyfriends house rn, and it was horrible. You didnt mind thunderstorms that much, but since your boyfriend, Tyler, was running late, it worried you. He told you he would be home at 5:00 pm, but its already 5:35 . Today was the day you would see him after what seemed like forever, since he was gone on tour. You imagined him being in a car accident, which brought tears to your eyes. Following those thoughts was a loud clap of thunder, which drove you to hide your head under the sheets and burst out into tears. Clips of Tyler being in a hospital bed or, even worse, a coffin made you cry even louder. Just then, you saw lightning flash outside your window, following a rumble of thunder. You were scared of everything at this point.

You were crying so much that you didnt hear Tyler come through the front door and into yours and his room. "Hey hey hey, whats wrong?!" Tyler said, putting down his things and running to the bed. You picked up your head and removed the covers from your face. You instantly hugged him. "Y/n, im here..please dont cry." Tyler said, petting your head, trying to calm you down. "Im sorry I was late, the rain slowed me down." he added. "I-i thought you were in a c-car accident or something worse...i was s-scared that y-you g-g-ot hurt.." you stuttered out, sniffling as well. "Aw, baby im so sorry you had to go through that.." he said patting your head. He sat besides the bed and pulled you onto his lap. You leaned your head over his shoulder, trying to calm down (you failed that part). He rubbed your back: "Hey, shhhh your fine..im here with you." Tyler said, making you become more calm.

All of the sudden, Tyler starts singing softly. His voice is like an angel. He starts singing one of your favorite songs, Truce. You start to calm down, knowing Tyler is holding you in his arms, the rain is slowing down, and a song is being sung. "Stay alive, stay alive, for me. You will die, but now your life is free.." Tyler sang, stroking your hair. You stopped crying and lifted your head from his now soaked shoulder. You face him and look into his dark eyes: "Take pride in what is sure to die..." he finishes. You lean your forehead onto his so your nose is touching his. "I love you, Tyler. Thank you." you say, pecking his lips softly. "I love you too, Y/n." he says, rubbing his nose against yours. You both chuckle at his action. You look outside your window: "Hey, it stopped raining!" you cheered. Tyler came over and also looked outside. "Wow Tyler, your voice does wonders." you chuckled. He laughed and smiled, crinkling his eye a bit. "Yea, hehe. I guess it does. Thanks." Tyler said, walking away to the bathroom. "Hey, Ty?" you called out to him. "Whats up?" he said, washing his hands. "Is it alright if we go out to eat? I dont feel like cooking.." you asked, hoping for a 'yes' answer. "Yea, sure baby! Where do you wanna go?" he replied, turning off the sink and walking out of the bathroom. You didnt want fast food, so you had to think of a nice restaurant. Tyler leaned on the wall, waiting for an answer. "How about *insert cliche Italian restaurant name*? We havnt gone in a while." you stated. "Yea sure! Sounds nice. But we cant go like this, we need to get dressed.." he said, laughing a small bit after. "Agreed!" you said, laughing as well.

Tyler heads to the shower, while you head to your closet. You pick out a nice black dress that ends at mid thigh. You pick up a black and white choker, hoping it will be a nice touch. You look in the mirror and you are happy with what you see. You hear the shower stop and sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for Tyler. Tyler comes out with a towel rapped around his waist. He pauses, looking you up and down: "Nice outfit, your gorgeous, Y/n." he said, smiling a little bit. "Thank you, Ty." you cooed. Tyler stood there for a moment, staring at your face. "You ok?" you chuckle. "Oh-oh yea, Sorry. I was blinded by beauty [(cringe cringe cringe)]." he laughed, walking away to the closet. You laughed at his words: "Nice save." you complimented. Tyler chuckled in response. He put on a nice black button up shirt and some dress pants. He didnt bother tucking in his shirt. "You ready?" Tyler asked. "Yep! Lets get going before the rain starts again." You replied. Tyler began walking out to the front door, you followed. He grabbed the keys from a little shelf by the door and headed out, locking the door behind you both. Once you reached the car, Tyler opened the passenger door for you. "Thank you" you said. "Anytime" he said, adding a smile. Once he turned on the car, you headed out to dinner.

*TIME SKIP brought to you by Patrick's fedora*

"Here you are!" the waiter said, bringing you and Tylers food. "Ah, yes. Im starving. Thank you" Tyler said, laughing a small bit after. The waiter put your food down. "Would you like anything else?" she asked. "I think were ok, thanks" you cheered, happy that the food is here. The waiter walked away to the kitchen. "So, how was your to-" you asked, suddenly cut off by a loud crack of thunder. You jump at the sudden noise. "Whoa! That was loud!" Tyler said. You sat there for a moment, shaking and wondering what just happened. "Hey, Y/n? Are you ok?" Tyler asks, concerned. "Im, i-m alright." you finally say. "Lets just eat.." you add, digging into your food.

After what seemed like a hundred noises from outside, both you finish your food. The waiter comes around and places the check. You get out your wallet to pay, but Tyler stops you: "Ill pay, its fine." he says. "If you insist." you say, laughing a little bit. "Lets get out of here, before it rains." You say, grabbing your things and heading for the door. Tyler held the door open for you and you thanked him. You headed for the car door, and, once again, Tyler opened the door for you. "Thank you" you said, following a smile. He smiled back and headed for the wheel.

The ride home was quiet (except for slight thundering), but not akward. Occasionaly, he would look over to see if your alright, and look back to the road. Once you he pulled into the drive way, he got out quickly to open the door for you. You got out of the car and headed for the door, waiting for him. Tyler unlocked the door and let you in. "Im gonna go take a shower, Ty!" You call out to him while you walk to the bathroom. You take off your dress and everything else and jump in the shower. The hot water hits you emediatly, making you feel relaxed

After a good 30 minutes of taking a shower, you hop out and dry off. You get your pajamas on and step out of the bathroom. "Hey Y/n/n. Finally out of the shower, I see" he jokes. "It felt good, ok?" you say, laughing. "Wanna watch Netflix?" Tyler asked. "As long as we dont watch Fight Club again" you say. "Whatever, what do you wanna watch then?" Tyler asked, dissapointed. "How about...Deadpool." you chuckle. "Ah, why not. Lets watch it" Tyler says, smiling from ear to ear. You smile and hop onto the bed with Tyler. You lean your head on his chest while he searches for the movie.

*TIME SKIP 1 HOUR brought to you by Tylers Left Thumb*

The jokes the movie made never got old, even though this is about your 50th time watching it. A major fight scene was taking place and you didnt want to miss it. Your eyes were glued to the screen. Tyler was tracing cirlces on the top of your head. He kissed your forehead lightly. All of the sudden, you saw a lightning flash outside your window. Before you could cover your ears, a loud crack was heard and all the lights went out and it was pitch black. You screamed and hid in Tylers arms. "Shh shh shh, its okay baby, im here for you. Tylers here.." Tyler whispered, rubbing your back softly. Your head was in his chest and your arms were around him. You let out some tears from the noise of thunder. Tyler turned on his phone flashlight for some light in the room. "Here baby, get under the covers..youll be ok, im here" He said, letting you go so you can get under the covers. He stood up and took his phone so he can get to his backpack. He picked up something but you couldnt see what it was. He jogged back over to the bed and layed back down next to you. Tyler rubbed your head and kiss your forehead: "It will be fine, honey. Just wait till the power comes back on.."he said. You were still crying a little bit, but you tried to calm down. Just then, you heard Tyler softly start playing his ukelele. You looked up into his eyes while he played. "Wise men say..only fools rush in...But I can't help..falling in love....with...you" Tyler sang. You smile from ear to ear and lay your head down on the pillow. He continues to play softly, calming you down. "Shall I stay...would it be a sin.." Tyler sings. Angels were jelouse of his voice, his voice was amazing. "If I can't help....falling in love with you.." he sings. I sit up and kiss him lighlty on his lips: "Thank you Tyler..I dont know what i would do without you.." you say, now leaning your head on his shoulder. Tyler puts his ukulele down besides the bed and kisses your forehead lighlty: "I dont know what i would do aswell, your my everything. I cant stand to see you cry.." Tyler cooes. You take your head off his shoulder and put it back on the pillow. "Lets get some shut eye.." Tyler says, laying down. You kiss his nose softly, making him scrunch up his nose. You both laugh. You turn your back away from him, trying to find a comfortable position. Tyler scootches close to you, wrapping his arms around you. "Goodnight, baby" he whispers. "Goodnight Ty" you say..drifting off to sleep.

(Sorry for any errors or POV switches. Over all, I hoped you liked it :D) (BTW THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LIKES!! Send me a message or something like that if you would like a second part to this :)) )

#tyler joseph #tyler joseph smut #tyler joseph fluff #fluff #smut #top #twenty øne piløts #twenty one pilots #twenty one pilots smut #twenty one pilots fluff #josh dun #josh dun smut #josh dun fluff #fanfiction #fan fic #fanfic

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butheresthething · 7 years

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Sometimes Life Chooses For Us

“Wyatt Earp wanted to be a farmer. 30 seconds in the OK Corral, and a gunslinger he was made. Sometimes, life chooses for us.” This line from the Wynonna Earp pilot, said by Doc to Wynonna, came roaring back to me this week because replace a few details about farming and the OK Corral and it might as well have been said about Wynonna. In those 24 words, Doc previewed one of the central themes of the series, the tension between fate and choice. Realizing that we don’t have as much choice as we thought and doing the best we can to navigate the decisions life forces on us. It’s a theme this entire season, really the entire series, has explored in different ways. We’ve seen Wynonna, much like her great great grandfather, thrust into a role she never asked for having to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders even if she can barely manage the weight of her own demons. But the other thing this show is about is what it actually means for her to be forced into the role of hero. Everything has consequences, this isn’t John Wayne riding off into the sunset unscathed at the end of the movie. Being the heir shapes who Wynonna is and she pays a price for every decision she is forced to make and every consequence of the curse that is beyond her control.

Episode 10, I See A Darkness, brought a lot of that back into focus. In quiet moments in between the rush to save Nicole, in subtle emotional beats played beautifully, as usual, by Melanie Scrofano, and ultimately in the crushing moment where Wynonna realizes that Waverly didn’t wait, we see the pressure that comes with being heir, whether it be the moral ambiguity she has to embrace to do what needs to be done or the weight of the endless onslaught of being the only one who can do it. Episode 10 reminds us that nothing about being the heir is fair or easy.

Wynonna has always had a darkness to her and an affinity for the violence that surrounds her. It’s a darkness that predates becoming the heir, but almost certainly has its origins in that fateful night when the seven took Willa and Wynonna shot Ward. But what’s relevant here less where it came from and more how she uses it. Throughout the series, we’ve seen Wynonna channel her rage and anger into a laser focused determination that can often be quite ruthless. In 2x10 this was on full display when she threatens Rosita and forces her to be the test subject for Jeremy’s anti-venom. Whether she actually had to threaten Rosita or not (she didn’t) is not really the point. There was no way for her to know that for sure. They needed a test subject strong enough withstand the cure and didn’t have a lot of time to find one. As disgusted as he was, even Jeremy acknowledged that there weren’t a whole lot of other options. And the thing is the people who surround Wynonna have the expectation that she will do what they can’t regardless of how difficult or emotionally taxing. No one is asking Jeremy to choose between possibly letting Nicole die or forcing Rosita to endure painful testing. Yes, he is the one who has to do the testing, and that’s not nothing, but he gets the luxury of not ultimately being the one responsible for the decision. Wynonna carries that burden. In another example from 2x10 Nicole asks Wynonna to end her life if things get bad. In truth, I loved seeing that moment of trust between Nicole and Wynonna, but it’s an incredibly difficult thing to ask Wynonna to do. Not only is Nicole asking Wynona to accept the emotional cost of ending the life of a friend, but she’s asking it as the only person Waverly loves as much as Wynonna. She’s asking Wynonna to bear the brunt of Waverly’s anger and grief because she’s the only one who can. That is what it means to be the special one, the one people depend on. Wynonna doesn't get to decide something is too hard, unfair or distasteful. With the fitting, but brief, exception of Doc in the season two premiere, there is no one who can take a turn shouldering the burdens of the heir. It’s practically written into the curse because she’s the only one who can even use Peacemaker. So Wynonna does the best she can with the hand she was dealt. She endures the cost of digging into her darker instincts to help her compartmentalize and push away emotional distractions until the crisis is averted.

I sometimes wonder if Wynonna’s darkness doesn’t scare Waverly a little. Whatever Waverly’s darkness is that keeps getting alluded to, we haven’t really seen it yet (Gooverly doesn’t count) and it’s one of the most striking contrasts between the sisters. I remember first noticing it in episode six of season one when Waverly and Wynonna are in the diner looking at the picture of the seven. Waverly says she hates the picture and is repulsed by it. But Wynonna says that she loves it because it reminds her why she’s needed. She is feeding off of all the ugliness it makes her feel to give her purpose and drive her forward. We see the contrast again in season 2 when Wynonna and Waverly are talking about finding everything that got into the ghost river triangle and killing it at the end of episode one. Waverly’s response is a simple, “sounds messy,” while Wynonna, with a hint of determination and swagger, says “braving the winter while hunting demons in an endless cycle of violence? Sounds fun” (I am also aware that this is a nod to the audience about to join Wynonna on this ride). Again one leans into the darkness the other is repulsed by it. To be sure, Waverly does her own compartmentalizing, but instead of ruthlessness or anger, usually when she does it she redirects her focus to helping others or making them feel better (For example I think her “that’s what she said” joke after getting her hand chopped off was as much to make Wynonna feel better as it was anything else). Perhaps most relevant to episode 10, Wynonna also says in the premiere that her only job is to keep her baby sister safe. Not even to protect her, which could more reasonably be interpreted by Waverly to include prioritizing Nicole. As with the seven Wynonna is zeroing in on a simple and single minded purpose to propel her to action. It’s easy to believe that Waverly wouldn’t fully trust Wynonna to use the Seals at least at leverage if all other options failed or there was no time left. We’ll never know for sure what Wynonna would have actually done. I personally think since she gave Peacemaker to Willa in season one to save Nicole, she would have made a similar decision if she had to in this situation, but I can understand Waverly not being willing to bet Nicole’s life on that.

There is no right way for Wynonna to navigate being the heir or to handle the extraordinary circumstances she finds herself in. She’s making the most of the tools she has. If using her rage and anger keeps her from getting pulled under then that’s what she needs to do. There is no judgment there. But but that doesn’t mean there are no consequences either. In interviews about 2x05 Melanie said a few times that in a way Goononna was who Wynonna might have been if not for the curse (you know, minus the evil and the rat smoothies). If not for the curse she would have had that lightness and fun about her that Goononna did. The tragedy of Goononna was getting a glimpse of what an unburdened Wynonna could have looked like. We’ve also certainly seen Wynonna reach her breaking point before, sometimes in healthy ways like leaning on Waverly for support at the end of 2x06 and other times in unhealthy ways, like binge drinking at the beginning of 1x09. But inevitably, before she knows it, the curse will demand more of her and Wynonna will use her strength to push past her own needs and save those she cares about from whatever is threatening them this time.

Through most of 2x10 Wynonna stays solidly in her “do what it takes to fix it “ mode. She doesn’t have time to be sad about her friend or be indecisive about moral ambiguity. But Mel lets us see beyond that, she brings us into the tension between Wynonna’s resolve to do what she needs to do and the wear and tear of doing it. Our first glimpse comes early in the episode in Mercedes’s hospital room where Wynonna talks to Mercedes, but really herself, about all the ways the Widows are kicking their asses. The guilt over what happened to Mercedes that had been there throughout the scene is joined by a look of exhaustion and a little exasperation. We see the losses weighing on her and that the energy it takes just to keep up is physically & emotionally draining. But before she can even take a breath she hears Waverly’s screams for help in the other room and the moment is over. We see that weight again in the already discussed interactions with Rosita & Nicole. It’s most clear with Nicole when Wynonna, realizing what Nicole is about to ask her, says “Nicole, please don’t ask me to do this,” and then the note of resignation on Mel’s face as she makes the promise to honor Nicole’s wishes. It was heartbreaking to watch Nicole plead with Wynonna to end her life, but it was equally difficult seeing Wynnona make that promise and accept responsibility for yet another no win situation. Even with Rosita, while her words never give her away, Mel’s face and body language tell a story of someone who doesn’t like what she has to do, who knows exactly how cruel she’s being and takes no pleasure in it. She confirms as much later with Doc when he says “but she sure can feel the pain” and her response is “they all can.” Her line implies that even though most of the revenants are evil and deserve their fate, each act of violence she’s responsible leaves a mark on her as well. Whether it was her choice to be the heir or not, she is responsible for the consequences of her actions, including the toll a life of violence takes on her own spirit.

All of this makes that final blow with Waverly that much more tragic and heartbreaking. Perhaps the saddest moment in the whole episode is Wynonna practically skipping down the hospital hall with the cure for Nicole. She thinks she finally has an unequivocal win. She beat Faux-cedes without having to give up the seal, no one died in the process, and she was able to keep her promise to her baby sister. But we know what’s coming, we know it’s all about to snatched away from her. Worse than that is it’s Waverly, Wynonna’s tether to the light and the person that keeps her grounded, who snatches it away. That it’s Waverly, of all people, that not only robbed Wynonna of her win, but enabled the curse to once again choose for her is utterly devastating. Remember, Wynonna was trying to take control of the curse and break the seal on her own terms. She thought she could come up with a plan to free herself and her family from the curse forever and without having to play by its rules. But Waverly took that from her. Took her chance to beat fate. I don’t really blame Waverly for what she did and as much as I like to think I’d have kept the faith and trusted Wynonna, I’m pretty sure I would have made the same decision. Waverly chose the certainty of Beth-faced Widow’s cure over the hope that Wynonna would be successful. It may have been the wrong decision, but it’s one I understand. But whether Waverly’s decision was reasonable or not doesn’t make the betrayal Wynonna feels any less potent. It doesn’t change the impact it’s going to have or mitigate the consequences for Wynonna. Wynonna will most certainly find her way to forgiving Waverly despite what Waverly might think. Their bond and need for each other are too strong for her not to. But right now, or at least up until she disappears, Wynonna has been betrayed by another sister (calm down, I’m not trying to suggest there’s actually any equivalence between Waverly and Willa, plus any one who’s talked to me about the show before knows just how much I love Waverly, so don’t @ me on this) and left to deal with the repercussions of the choice life made for her.

#wynonna earp #waverly earp

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theaterdisneynerdsunite · 7 years

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Groundhog Day Review

If you’re familiar with groundhog day you know there’s a joke everyone uses and I’m going to see if I can make it through the entire review without doing it, wish me luck.

I’m basically going to skip over the two things I generally tend to fixate on in my reviews because they’re oddly less relevant to this, the plot and the score. Plot: jerk weatherman doomed to repeat the same day forever until he learns to be a good person. It’s the same plot as the movie, and basically everyone knew the plot going in. Score: repeats the same songs a few times at first for plot reasons, rest of songs are nothing bad nothing good, just not particularly memorable. Now on to the crazy bits.

Ok, this show is a physical feat. Which in some sense is weird because it’s not a typical show that you would associate with that claim. It’s not an acrobatic show really (like Pippin or Bring it On), nor a “dance” show (like Newsies or American in Paris) nor a “protagonist undergoes huge physical strain in order to the character” (like Evan Hansen or Valjean). But trust me when I tell you that the choreography for everyone (ensemble and main characters alike) looked like the biggest test of endurance I have ever seen. And the ensemble is doing it in winter clothing making them warmer and movements harder and every single one of you deserve a round of applause. You really don’t get that sense from any of the promo videos because any number on it’s own doesn’t look particularly strenuous in comparison to other things out there, but its a marathon not a sprint. How Andy Karl did that with a torn ACL for weeks is so beyond mind numbing I literally do not understand how it was physically possible. You are a great actor and a great dancer without knowing about the ACL thing, but with it I have no words. Well, I have a lot of words but I’ve already rambled.

Also, I’m adding this to my mental list of #propgoals All the visual gags from your props are beyond creative. Like, my feeling watching your cameraman’s van and the car chase was like my feeling when I first saw the doors scene in Gentleman’s Guide. And everything for the good deeds sequence and the bright red sequence that will be described later was timed so perfectly and everything has to go off without a hitch and there is so much to coordinate and it is impressive and appreciated. I applaud you.

Now for my word of warning. The show has a happy message and sort of cliched premise and for the vast majority of the show it is a great show for kids. Except two major sequences that honestly cover so many triggers that if you do have a trigger skip the rest of this paragraph. So I’m going to start with the less graphic trigger and then the more graphic trigger. Less graphic: once main character realizes he literally has no consequences to his actions because everything resets, he goes on a trail of debauchery. Alcohol, sex, drugs etc. very graphically displayed. Bigger trigger that is one sequence so the second number of act two is about suicide. What I described before as the bright red sequence. The stage is bathed in red and there are a bunch of protagonist dopplegangers showing a bunch of graphic suicides methods all at the same time. I’m not going to list them here because there were too many to keep track of. And when I say graphic I don’t mean implied I mean you’re actually watching a bunch of suicides and they hired an illusionist company for this sequence and I felt sick. If you have ever struggled with self are or suicidal thoughts seriously skip the first part of act 2 or leave after act 1 or don’t watch it. In technical terms the execution of this scene is incredibly impressive but honestly it’s too much for me. I mean it makes sense in context but still...too much.

In summation or TL:DR Groundhog Day is visually super impressive, Andy Karl is a tour de force, the fact that it was treated like a joke at the Tonys in comparison to the other shows is a shame (other shows may have struck individual punches better but this felt more rounded overall. Except for props, you rock and need more appreciation). There is a song with a lot of triggers so be careful. Honestly, come in with an open mind, I promise you it will exceed your expectations. You turned this soundtrack skeptic into a believer.

#groundhog day #andy karl #props #choreography #Theater #musicals #calling that song hope isn't just misleading its harmful #seriously that's messed up

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years

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Lawyer Reviews Laws Broken In Classic Love Scenes

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Lawyer Reviews Laws Broken In Classic Love Scenes

My title is Diana Iseman with iseman law company in los angeles California i’m a criminal security lawyer and a former prosecutor at present we’ll be watching clips of various traditional films and watching into whether or not or no longer the characters that we all know and love have been truly committing various forms of sexual assault i would prefer to think you’re no longer in all of this caper skip it i’m not let’s go what would it not take so that you can see matters my way much more than you may have got how have you learnt i don’t wish to be aware of is not it long-established to grant a condemned man his final request you’ve gotten asked for this oh my god so many crimes let’s with the first one we could battery throws her across the room into a pile of hay she tries several times to maneuver her face so that he are not able to kiss her and he does anyway so that’s sexual battery in addition to the battery cost he would be watching at advantage lifetime intercourse wrongdoer registration on the grounds that sexual battery even though it’s a misdemeanor remains to be a registerable offense now we’ll watch a scene from Revenge of the Nerds hello Betty a nerd i am no longer kissing a nerd you need to I paid my money kiss this nerd I desired to it all this kissing’s made me sexy Betty you are like a goat subsequent and modified your intellect take off your masks it used to be distinct he did things we have now on no account completed before you’re that nerd yeah thanks k in order that was once terrible and disturbing to watch considering this young girl was raped the law protects victims from having sex with anybody who’s pretending to be any person else in different words if she proposal she was having intercourse along with her boyfriend and this guy comes in carrying a mask she even asks him she says changed your mind he says sure they are now going to have this consensual intercourse except it is not consensual intercourse it is obviously rape as good as you yes I feel the article that particularly form of irritates me is that immediately afterwards when he exhibits his identity she’s so ok with it it’s completely fine that she was conned into having sex with this whole stranger under false pretenses underneath most instances a sufferer like this could go and file it as a rape they forgot my birthday the next clip we’re gonna watch is from sixteen Candles a traditional John Hughes coming-of-age story I cherished loved loved John Hughes movies they had been the voice of a generation it’s rather stupid he would not really exist he requested me about you didn’t i go for it in the best thing is I made a bet with my acquaintances I bet them that I do with you however this is before I knew as a character i will get proof without without a doubt getting bodily how can i borrow your underpants for 10 minutes I believe it is time to blow this thing off and go to your house you guys i am serious come on dude piece of ass any time i want xiaolin the bed room correct now handed out cold violate her ten distinctive approaches don’t want to that’s disgusting and it is rape if you happen to did definitely go in and do that make a maintain you let me hold these until you are taking Carol at residence but you acquired to be certain she gets residence you cannot depart in some automobile parking space somewhere Jake i am only novices so she’s so Blitz you’re going to know the change who’s he that is me what occurred i’m going to inform you the place you are simply inform me who you are did we yeah i am pretty definite I did I enjoy it did you you know i’ve this bizarre feeling I did i’m rather sorry about getting you blended up with that man oh it can be ok i’m quite sorry about last night the social gathering oh come on make no qualms about it she used to be a rape victim and it was all orchestrated through someone that she depended on her boyfriend more than 60% of sexual assault circumstances go unreported so I do not know what she would do however expectantly she would go to the police and he or she would make a file and that investigation would mostly uncover the truth that this rapist took her in a automobile at the same time he used to be consuming so there is a lot of underage drunk using happening here too she used to be additionally violated by way of many witnesses that’s something that may play out quite unfavorably for the rapist within the court docket in these days so the subsequent one we’re gonna watch his wedding crashers which is a film that I genuinely laughed out loud close to from starting to end once I saw it within the theater is going on little one I started interested by what you stated before and i consider the drawback is i’m not being adventurous enough for you i am pretty definite that is not what i have been saying to you child i am gonna make oh yeah but this isn’t guys may also be victims of sexual assault too and in this circumstance i’m lovely certain that’s precisely what occurred they do not make it clear what happens subsequent it cuts to the following scene pretty quickly but you are alleged to understand that they go on to have some sort of sexual journey in opposition to his will apparently so that may be a crime relying on whether or not or no longer there used to be intercourse but that would investigate what kind of crime it was but at the very least it’s false imprisonment sexual assaults most likely I simply had my titties finished you liked him these look like lovely knockers what him does not give a little bit about my titties well darn him but mrs.Cleary this is pretty unexpected you’ve gotten been enjoying cat and mouse with me ever on account that you got here right here mrs. Cleary i do not come once more okay cat call me k ok kitty cat this feels borderline inappropriate Fiona what I stated think them her mrs. Cleary i am sorry kitty cat are you out your mind i am not letting you out of this room I inform you suppose so I suppose the article that’s rather principal to notice here is that there’s a energy dynamic she is competent of power it is her home he needs to make a excellent affect and she’s put him equipped where if he will get up and walks out he might be insulting her and he would make him feel just like the easier thing to do would simply be to acquiesce and do what she’s asking him to do versus make a enormous scene and leave her hanging it’s probably no longer gonna alternate the legality of it I still do not see a prosecutor filing expenses headquartered on this conduct I could potentially see a civil case popping out of this since it’s some type of harassment however it’s not going that this could bring crook expenditures it can be already difficult to show allegations of sexual assault when there’s a woman sufferer and in circumstances when the victim is a male it makes it even more challenging particularly where the perpetrator is a feminine the next clip is from Twilight forks is developing on me would a man have some thing to do with that yeah tell me the whole lot what’s indie talk to you later come on we gotta speak boys are you being riskless did you get in right here no window do you do this quite a bit oh only a earlier couple of months i like observing you sleep it is um it can be kind of interesting to me um I simply want to check out one thing you keep very nonetheless oh my god don’t transfer in instances that I’ve come throughout the place a guy thinks he’s being romantic but the lady would not recognize that’s what he is doing we call that stalking and there may be nothing romantic about it you can’t simply go into a woman’s condominium and sneak into her room to watch her sleep over the last couple of months no that is illegal just the truth that she used to be present within the house when he trespassed it can be it is an aggravated misdemeanor it’s known as an aggravated trespass except he had the intent to do some form of felonious act inside the house commit a criminal throughout the apartment then it would be a residential burglary and the penalty would be state jail and a strike what’s major to notice in these films is that there aren’t any penalties for the perpetrators moves in fact they do not even particularly see it as something that’s fallacious or illegal this is just a subplot of the movie and that’s altering that’s some thing that i’m hopeful going forward in films filmmakers are extra careful about what kind of messages they’re sending to young girls and young boys about what is suitable behavior the most important factor concerning the me to movement is that it can be bringing forth numerous consequences for movements that previously most often shouldn’t have even been mentioned and quite what we want is for the media in movies to mirror that to now not glorify these actions that unfortunately victimized quite a few females and guys throughout the country

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