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whitelotusherald · 6 months

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I said I may or may not write my opinion about Blue Eye Samurai and guess who finished the first season and felt like sharing some stupid thoughts! (Gonna use they/them pronouns for Mizu - I think the creators' been using she/her but they just have that vibe, sorry.)

First of all, I'm NOT gonna praise it and say this is the best animated series I've ever seen in the samurai genre - this show is at most an okay copy/retelling of the classic Japanese revenge stories, however, it is still captivating.

For me, it felt like a mixture of two of my fav stories, namely Kaze Hikaru and Bakumatsu Kikansetsu. Mizu is pretty much like Kaze Hikaru's Sei (though a hundred times stronger and a million times more bloodthirsty with just an ounce of mercy) with a though start in life thanks to links to the Western world, losing family and wanting revenge so much that both of them end up leading the life of a man, often encountering how much better they are off in this role. On the other hand the whole show's vibe and Mizu's design remind me of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu's more serious tones and its hero, Akizuki - mysterious dude with unconventional clothing, blue eyes, a badass special sword, with the occasional rampage. Maybe my nostalgia towards both stories made me watch this one within a day.

The mix of Japanese and American storytelling was fun, although I must say that the baddies lacking complexity whatsoever made me itch sometimes. (Except for one dude, who really managed to fool me for so long.) Fowler is plain and boring, the most typical big brute Western guy they could depict, though it's fun to think this was an intentional copying of similar anime archetypes of Western characters. Taigen felt like a cheap imitation of Zuko being honor-bound but getting his ass constantly kicked, but who, by the end of the day, seemed to learn nothing. Ringo was fun and proved to be a million times useful indeed, though he just went and followed his heart in the twenty-fourth hour instead of his common sense, not helping those who would've needed it after all (though in the end it seemed like his help was not even needed lol).

Ah yes, this was my big problem with the show. Sometimes people just went to do stuff that... resulted in nothing. Like. Okay, go, warn people of imminent danger but what is the use when they can just...spot the danger like five minutes later without the warning and those minutes make zero difference? Ringo almost abandoned Mizu several times just to go after them eventually, for what?

But the series also offered some very clever ideas. For example, I truly thought that "oh my god are we going to get a two floors/episode fight or what? getting to Fowler will be like a stupid video game" just to have some pleasant surprise instead. Mizu's weapon... I'm not gonna go into that because I'm so in love with it! The red-light district and Madame Kaji and her girls were also A+ content.

This is again, something the show handled tastefully. Since anime can't show nudity without censorship (I think that law still exists?), I don't think there's any show, hentai or not where they could've got away with these sex scenes, but in an American animation on Netflix? No problem. I'm really not a fan of hentai or this type of mature content (I'd choose the most disgusting gore over it any time) but didn't bother me that we had a sex scene in every episode. (Maybe except in the last one.)

As for Mizu. Their whole aesthetics is so badass. You cannot not fall in love with them, ruthlessness or not. I know their whole character is built upon the fact that women couldn't get their revenge in the shogunate's era thanks to the strict patriarchy, and really, the most a women could achieve was rather Akemi's path. However, there are a few instances where it's not that easy to decide whether they are just pissed to be looked down upon as a woman, want to keep their secret, or there's more than that. They might be considered an unconventional woman who could never be satisfied with the traditional roles of women. One, who is forced to take on the role of a boy and does not know how to forget that when they can return to their womanhood. But that womanhood also feels forced. As if they're just simply outside of this whole shit that dudes are honorable samurai (or artisans / farmers / merchants), women are cooking and raising kids. That's part of the reason why I loved the idea that their sword is actually multifunctional and can be used as a naginata. Naginata became the weapon of women in the Edo era, so even though we're not there yet, it seems to have more feminine connotations than a katana. This double-shape of their weapon seems to reflect their soul. This is further emphasized by their outcast half-breed status, which, again, means they're not entirely one, not entirely the other.

Anyway.

Go watch the show.

It's worth it. Mizu is like some cockroach that refuses to die and kills at least a hundred people and just wants to be left alone to kill their enemies.

Please, watch it, otherwise we may never get to know how the fuck will white dudes die by the hands of a lowly half-breed who has the most crazy and determined eyes you've ever seen.

#blue eye samurai #mizu

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willel · 2 years

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Will's Powers

I'm bored so I guess I'll talk about this again, compiling all the ideas formed over the past few weeks.

First and foremost, there's no way Will has telekinesis imo. I'd prefer if he didn't. If Will has powers, I want his "position" to be more like Kali. By that I mean little to no overlap with El's powers and no physical powers, only mental. I feel if Will has powers, they should be complementary to El's so that their characters aren't redundant. She should be able to do things he can't do and vice versa. Combined, they'd form a good team. Superhero and Superspy.

Will, unlike El, is not really a physical guy. I do believe the story and his character development is on the trajectory to be able to stand up for himself and others, but I don't think physical powers should be involved.

✨THE POWERS✨

🟡 True Sight

Although we haven't seen Will use this since season 2, I'm almost positive this is his own innate ability that he can learn to control for their benefit.

Definition- "notices Secret doors hidden by magic, and can see into the Ethereal Plane"

Usefulness - Going by its uses, maybe if Will learned to control it he could see through the illusions Vecna can cast (under the assumption Vecna will remain for season 5).

Potentially, he can grant this ability to others by touching them as the d&d spell specifies, so pairing him up with someone else (such as El) would be incredibly handy. It can also be handy for spying on their Upside Down enemies, but it does leave him vulnerable to their psychic influence as seen in season 2 when he gets possessed.

Evidence - Will was capable of using True Sight the moment he returned from the Upside Down. He continues accidentally using True Sight for an entire year before the Mind Flayer sees him and later possesses him. I believe he no longer accidentally uses True Sight because the gate El created was permanently closed at the end of season 2. It's possible he will be able to use it again now that there are multiple permanent gates.

🟡 Remote Viewing

This would be an overlap with El's. Remote viewing is that power El can use to find people and even interact with other psychic beings. The black void place.

At least one other numbered child had this ability, #010.

Definition- "the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind."

Usefulness- As we've seen from El using it, it's been extremely handy for tracking the bad guys and the good guys. Why would Will need it? Well, if it's possible to make contact with and communicate with other psychic beings in that void, it would be pretty handy if Will could give information to El from a distance whenever they needed it. There's only so much you can gleam from watching someone in that moment compared to actually speaking to them.

Evidence- In season 1, El is not only able to see Will like her other targets, she's able to touch him and speak to him. He's able to hear her and speak back. He even weakly holds her hand for a little before passing out. In season 2, it seems he might've used it to find Hopper in the tunnels, but it's unclear if that's just a part of the hive mind or if it was Remote Viewing. Will's actions (the closing his eyes pose and silence) is identical to when El and #010 used this power.

🟡 Detect Evil and Good

This is referring to his ability to detect when the Mind Flayer and Mind Flesher were present. The show has been inconsistent with the distance of his detection. On the one hand, he could sense the Mind Flayer from his house when the Mind Flayer was alllll the way at Hawkins lab. He could sense the Mind Flayer in an abandoned factory alll the way across town from the movie theater. But sometimes he can't sense the Mind Flayer until it's literally on top of them. This is also a form of clairvoyance.

Definition- "you know if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within 30 feet of you, as well as where the creature is located. Similarly, you know if there is a place or object within 30 feet of you that has been magically consecrated or desecrated."

Usefulness- If he were able to use this power consistently, it could be even more useful than Remote Viewing for "spying" on their enemies. Remote Viewing can't tell you exactly where someone is unless you get context clues like a street name or an address. It's even less handy for finding a monster.

But if Will can simply concentrate and listen to the tingles forming on his neck to determine what enemy is approaching them and how far away, they could form strategies better. Maybe even map them out. Like a radar device.

If we follow the d&d spell even more closely, he would be able to tell if a creature had been there previously. Like following invisible tracks. Maybe if he learned to control it, they wouldn't need to perform a "Sauna test".

Evidence- Will has displayed having this ability before and after his possession by the Mind Flayer. If nothing else, this ability is certainly of his own and warms him of danger.

NOTE: THE POWERS BELOW ARE FOR FUNSIES, they have in no way been hinted at Will having these.

🟡 Banishment

This is how it sounds, an ability to banish creatures to other planes of existence. This is a power El has, which she used to banish the Demogorgon and #001. Since Will himself is "stuck between the slides", it'd be interesting if he could force others to be on one side or the other.

🟡 Command

This is a spell to command creatures of your choice as the name implies. This is kinda how the hive mind works. It would be interesting if Will could give his own demands to Upside Down creatures and it'd actually work. Like say a Demogorgon shows up to attack their friends and Will shouted "Stop!". The Demogorgon would stop in its tracks, at least for a few moments. Super useful.

🟡 Gate

Another spell from d&d, something we have seen El and Vecna create. Maybe Will himself has the power to create gates, or temporary ones. People use the example from S1E4 as proof that Will nearly opened one in his living room, but I think that was just a temporary gate left over from the Demogorgon the previous day. Another example would be the gate in the school El used to get back to the real world.

With so many permanent gates sitting open though, creating another one, however temporary, might not be necessary. But in an emergency could come in clutch.

🟡 Remove Curse

An interesting spell. With something like this, Will could "cure" anyone that gets cursed by Vecna theoretically. That'd involve breaking the psychic link between them by touching them. Too OP?

🟡 Fire

Too lazy to actually look up a fire power related to d&d, but I know this one is discussed a lot. I still think a power like this is too "direct" for Will. It also seems as though season 4 has debunked the idea of powers like that. All the powers we've seen are much more related to the mind and manipulating physical objects rather than creating power from thing air, such as fire.

I do still like the idea that Will the Wise's main attack is "fireball" which he used to defeat his foe but maybe it doesn't have to be super literal or involve any powers at all. It could be just like Lucas using fireworks in season 3.

#stranger things #will byers #theory

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starsong13 · 8 months

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Oc recycling centres #1 customer ✨

[I'm so fucking lazy]

I just wanted to waffle about these fuckers don’t mind me

1 [Star Song]

I tried to faithfully recreate how the colors looked on paper digitally (because 95% of my art was on paper at the time)

I can't remember what the black spots or red streaks were about

I know I put ties & bow ties on many characters during my times of gender confusion

The style of hair is a result of the times of the show, many background characters would often have rainbow dash looking hair, and while most of it is based off of the mare style, the back part is specifically the stallion

The wings are a result of the fandom at the time, with many people adding color to wings because of Cadence

2 [Star Song]

This one isn't exactly a TV head it's technically called a droid, this character was created very quickly in an ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ for the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ fandom

In their quick creation I basically reused most of the colors from the pony because I didn't have time to be creative

Many of their design aspects between both results you see here are because of challenge posted on the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

Even the character being a fusion is because of these posts - however because of one person saying oh like "Garnet from Steven universe?" I've always explained the character in reference to Garnet (a character I didn't know, from the show I didn't watch)

3 [Star Song]

At this point the character being a fusion had been long established on the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ and I had added more colour to the hair to make them full rainbow when combined and half rainbows when split. This is supported by the heart on the chest and the heterochromia

Sometime between the first design and this design, one half of the fusion became male (gender confusion strikes again)

4 [Star & Musica]

These characters were again rapidly created as a result of fleeing the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ - ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ now you can see how they split, hot & cold

While one of them was always more prone to anger, and lashing out when the other one was much quieter, and kept to themselves - polar opposites in the most boring way possible

Things like this where it's painful how lazily these were created, literally the only thing I changed about the designs was what they were, they were no longer a droid they were now humans, I didn't change their eyes didn't change their hair didn't even change their names

5 [Maya & Sam]

Wow I Actually Leared How To Colour A Character Without Making Your Eyes BLEED, It's A MIRACLE

I also stopped being a fucking coward and gave Sam his shaven sides that I had wanted to forever

And I made him trans in a way that made sense

Sam is his own person now with his own skills and abilities

He’s a gymnast and artist who practices astrology and studies chemistry

(although he's still neglected in comparison because I haven't been able to flesh him out as much as Maya, he's still much more of a character than before)

Despite the history of her original creation (and past gens) Maya has become my most fleshed out character out of any fandom (even earning multiple timelines, ex. the purple)

The scars on her lips were transformed into “joker” like scars on her mouth and they aren’t random (ex. the ones on her cheeks before)

Her grey teeth, rather than the off-white yellow that Sam has, is not a mistake either - the real ones were shattered in a fight

Same with the robotic arms being extra arms and not replacement ones, as well as the beep head not being permanent - she wants to remain has human as possible while still experiencing her work

I also changed their hot and cold, dynamic to Ying and Yang one and actually fleshed it out is that they have similarities and differences like real siblings

6 [Star Song]

Again I learned how to digitally color properly

Now with later seasons having more detailed background characters I felt more confident making a more unique design

Darkening the coat, throwing away the green and yellow, getting rid of those weird marks and tie

The hair now being just three shades/hues of blue that fit well over the cooler purple

They are no longer just a full pony

The wings being princess size rather than a normal Pegasus (+being unable to fly properly) and being a taller body type make them more unique

The heart on the hoof is a call back to gen 3 dolls

The feathers on the ears and legs are from hippogriffs

Coloured horseshoes/wings and the design of the feathered legs are from Gen 5 (the last being concept art only)

Anyways that’s all I wanted to waffle about for now, this whole page was about looking how far I’ve come with these characters and seeing how much I’ve learned over the years.

Looking back through my old art and looking at these old designs as I went... I can really see how some of my special interests in certain cartoons influenced the way I drew. One day I might go back and analyze all of it and write it all out for my own sake of self study... But not now

#this was a fun exercise #and looking through that old art was a trip because who let me draw like that holy shit #mlp oc #tv head oc #tf2 oc #hunters things

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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Return to Omashu Re-watch

No thoughts, only mean teenage girls who could & would kill me

This is the episode where we get to see the formation of the Dangerous Ladies™ & it's exactly as iconic as I remember it. (To be fair, this is another episode that I've re-watched pretty frequently on its own.) The Girls Are Fighting & you should be scared!

So, Omashu has been taken by the Fire Nation & the Gaang are horrified. I think it's interesting that Katara & Sokka were basically like "Bumi is probably dead. Oh well, let's move on." Sokka is practical & always focused on moving ahead so it's not a surprising reaction for him but it's a little surprising from Katara. The trend for her character is to try to help everyone who might need it, & that would include a potentially lost or hurt Bumi. I'm theorizing that Katara's lack of interest in this project is a combination of her belief that Bumi is dead (although Katara is often more of an idealist) & her heavy focus on finding a new earth-bending teacher now. Also, this mission is personal to Aang. He's had so much taken from him. All he has left of his old life are Appa & Momo. So, of course, he wants to find the only friend he has left from the life he left behind.

Sokka's plan to fake 'Pentapox' is pretty funny & smart. Also, the Fire Nation guards yelling "PLAGUE!" when the earth kingdom citizens were heading toward them holding their hands out and groaning hit a LITTLE too close to home in light of recent years 😂

Azula's manipulative prowess is targeted at someone other than Zuko & Iroh & it's fascinating to watch. Azula's recruitment of Ty Lee is such a mind game. The audience is getting an ongoing introduction to an entirely new & much more dangerous type of villain than anything we had last season.

We would never see Zhao or Zuko subtly threatening someone the way Azula does Ty Lee, having the net set on fire at her show & the animals released then talking about excitement for the "next show." No, the other two main antagonists of the show thus far - Zuko and Zhao - are much more in your face. Azula could have ordered Ty Lee to join her, or she could have outright threatened to set her on fire, but she took a more careful and calculated approach. The only other character I could see taking a more subtle approach like this is Iroh.

In light of later revelations - that Azula believes "fear is the only way" to relate to people & that "trust is for fools" - as well as the knowledge that Azula does view Ty Lee & Mai as friends (I think this is shown clearly in their dynamic, but it's also proven by Azula's hallucination saying "your friends, Mai and Ty Lee") - I think that in a twisted way, Azula wanted this to seem like Ty Lee's choice. She didn't want to order Ty Lee to join her, she wanted this to feel like a friendship. Could she have understood that about herself or articulated it? I highly doubt it, but sometimes we don't understand our own emotions & motives. And of course - a disclaimer that this is my interpretation/theory.

Mai's recruitment is much more straightforward. Mai is miserable in Omashu. Her parents are busy doting on her baby brother, and she's constantly expected to act like a quiet good girl. She's bored, & she doesn't say it but probably lonely. Also - Mai loves violence. Mai's first encounter with the Gaang isn't even with Azula & Ty Lee, it's on her own, & she is excited to fight. Another interesting aspect of Mai's character is that she's 100% onboard right away with abandoning Tom Tom. I could see an argument that Mai was afraid to argue with Azula, but I don't buy it because there is no evidence for it. Ty Lee has clearly been intimidated into joining Azula, but we haven't seen that with Mai. So, I think that Mai just doesn't seem to care about her brother at all. This isn't a moral judgment on her by the way, just an observation.

The Dangerous Ladies Vs. The Gaang has to be one of the most exciting fights we've seen so far. Everyone's different styles are showcased & it's just amazing to watch. I think it's super interesting that Ty Lee almost kicks Sokka & Tom Tom off a building. She was ready to murder a baby & it's only cartoon logic & luck that she didn't!

Speaking of ready-to-murder - I'm fascinated by the different Fire Nation characters' approach to fighting Aang. I can't recall Zuko ever trying to kill Aang. He's been set on the whole "capture" thing. Zhao spells out to Aang that he won't kill him because it would just trigger a new Avatar. But there's no argument I can see that Azula is not trying to kill Aang during their fight in this episode. She is actively shooting fire at him, again & again. So, does she know that if he dies a new Avatar will be born? If Zhao knew, I have to assume Azula does. Of course, she does kill him (sorta) later, but we'll analyze that when we get to it. For now, I'm just saying that this is interesting. Azula is capable of a fighting style that doesn't go for the kill, or Zuko would've died during their last encounter. But, she chooses to go after Aang by shooting him with fire which would kill him if he failed to block or dodge her attacks. Super interesting to me.

Anyway, Aang's conversation with Bumi is very interesting to me. We learn about three of the apparent eighty-five 'jings.' Fighting is positive jing and retreating is a negative jing. Aang knows this, probably from his teachings with Gyatso, but Bumi explains that there's a third jing - neutral. I'm not sure how I feel about the argument that "doing nothing" is sometimes the best call. Bumi is a very interesting morally gray character. I understand what he was trying to say, & what the narrative was getting at, but still, Bumi abandoned his people when they needed him. I have a feeling I'll come back to the quote: "Your teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking." For now, though, those are my thoughts on the episode!

#return to omashu #atla book 2 #atla re watch #image ids in alt text #long post

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variousqueerthings · 1 year

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movie shenanigans vs show shenanigans

MASH actually has more than a couple of shenanigans that were also in the movie/book, so which did it choose and in what ways were they (maybe) different:

1. they do record frank and margaret on the show and broadcast it across the camp. on the show, I think this is one of the worst things that hawkeye does to margaret, and gives quite a neat bit of characterisation -- to hawkeye in the moment, to margaret, alas, not until a few seasons later in hindsight. hawkeye of course has the great “I was too busy going too far” line, whereas margaret’s ordeals with misogyny are explored further along in the story, although unfortunately in the episode itself she’s kind of pushed aside in favour of frank’s outrage (although she does get to be angry initially). one thing I appreciate is that at least she’s already acknowledged to be a great nurse by this time, if still an antagonist, and so potentially losing her is a blow to the unit, while in the movie she’s steadily reduced to little more than foaming-at-the-mouth ditzy

2. they do frame an army guy with a sex worker, although it’s not as graphic on the show as in the movie, in which they actually strip an unconscious man and put him in bed with a naked woman and take pictures of them as he wakes up and struggles to get out of the bed. in the movie this is actually done as an act of trying to get some actual doctoring done, on a Korean baby no-less, while an army bureaucrat is trying to hinder them. a rare moment of something related to the army more directly + actually gives a sense that they are in Korea and can do something, although it’s also another example of the limited roles that women have in this story, particularly asian women (I believe they’re on leave in tokyo at this point? so she’s presumably japanese. am suddenly unsure if we ever see a korean woman??). in the show it’s because a man is trying to stop an American soldier and a Korean woman from getting married, and they only try to convince him that they have pictures of him with sex workers after getting him blackout drunk

3. they do steal a jeep! actually this is my favourite hijink in the film, because it’s showing casual disrespect for army protocol, and happens right at the beginning, setting up the tone and two of the characters. in the show the most famous jeep-theft is when BJ arrives in korea, and hawkeye’s at his peak devil-may-care fuck-this-place-and-fuck-the-army-(and-fuck-trapper-perhaps?) so it’s less about character set-up (although it says a teensy bit about the newcomer BJ that he’s so ready to follow hawkeye at this point), and more about hawkeye where he’s at in that episode

4. they do... I think????... get an outsider in to the unit (or try to??) in order to win a sports game? if I’m remembering correctly. but I cannot remember when or how or if they succeed? in the movie, this is everyone’s bestest guy oliver! he only arrives late in the story, and unfortunately I think the football match is boring, but I do love that he and one of the other black players get to interact about how to get a white racist player thrown off the pitch. they should’ve been the main characters

5. and of course they do trick someone into being naked, while members of the camp watch and cheer, once with bj and hawkeye, and once just with bj. the framing of it is, ahem, less... virulently misogynistic and overall nasty, because they’re all friends by this point. one also perhaps gets a sense that considering the show had a bunch of “nekked women in showers” spying jokes early on, this is fair turnaround from a meta point of view/that it fits into alan alda’s agenda of taking hawkeye down a peg. also, both bj and hawkeye have pulled some pretty big and sometimes not-so-nice pranks in the show (and bj in particular continues to/both of these episodes are about pranks), so the power dynamics are overall veeery different from what the movie is doing

6. they do trick someone into getting psychiatrically evaluated for fitness of duty (the ringbanger), but it’s done differently and it’s not frank burns. it’s got a lot less of a personal vendetta ring to it, and far more of a “this guy gets people killed, we’ll stop him somehow!” vibe. it’s a fucked up thing to do to a person, but it’s got more depth and stick-it-to-the-army feeling to it. in the movie, frank is the main face the army gets, and he’s a tool, but the way the goad him into a fight by graphically describing what margaret must be like in bed, uh... doesn’t speak well for them/they seem to hate him more because he’s annoying than because he’s an army guy who abuses his power. I wonder if frank in the show almost getting a section 8 is a callback to that?

7. they do drug an opponent during a fight/match that has a heavy bet related to it. in the movie this is done during the football match. in the show this is done during the boxing fight. probably the least deep in the show of the hijinks, as this is fully just to get nurse margie cutler to stay

so that makes possibly 7 hijinks from the movie that are also in the show, at least four of which occur in the first three seasons. there may be more, I’m just forgetting. the overall difference is in the framing -- often either specifically anti-military, although there is definite sexist bullying of margaret baked into that with the first one, and/or could be done after they were already all friends. overall there is simply more context to the show’s version of these shenanigans, whether narrative or character-building, but that’s understandable considering the time the show has to build these things (I said in my review, I like the aimless shambling of the movie, although I got nothing out of the nastiness of it). I actually think some of the meaner tricks they pull on the show are directed at charles, but I don’t think there are any there inspired by the movie

the one I was most weirded out by in the film was “tricking someone into thinking he’s committing suicide (but actually just knocking him out), so that they can “cure” him thinking he’s gay (because he’s impotent, which he thinks must be because he’s gay), by a nurse -- whom they didn’t include in this plan until she was literally in the room with him and has consistently wanted to be faithful to her husband I think -- having sex with him while he’s unconscious” -- and it works, because of porn logic, I guess. am I right, that that’s what happened? unpacking that is... a whole thing

#mash 1970 #mash #MASH meta #mauvecardigans thank you for indulging me during my watch #i DID have a good time watching it although I cannot say im a fan #more that im... building my mash lexicon

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truly-morgan · 7 months

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[Mob cheating on his spouse with Ekubo (nsfw-ish)]

EkuMob | Mob Psycho 100 16-11-2022

bruh now I want to actually write something like this Shigeo trying to be quiet as Ekubo presses him against the wall, whispering in his ear to be quiet because his spouse is still in the living room

first I had Reigen getting cucked (which is also 👌)

But then I thought: Shigeo finding someone his age and somewhat forcing himself to marry her to please his parents, meanwhile he and Ekubo have been dancing around each other for years and did more than what friends should do

Like, he meets this girl in college and they end up in a relationship after she confesses to him. Everything goes well, Mob tries his best to be a good boyfriend, she seems alright with his power (although she doesn't know to which scary extent they can go)

Everything is fine, everything is perfect, his parent and Ritsu seem to really like her once they meet her after visiting him and she comes along to meet them. He sometimes feels odd about it all, but everyone around him seems about for him and her and he assumes it is the way to go.

Then Ekubo pops out of nowhere, bored at the s&c office without Mob around. Even better, his favourite meatsack has moved to that city for a new job.

Everything is fine at first, he presents Ekubo to his girlfriend, saying he's a friend.

Then he slowly falls back into some habits when he's with Ekubo, a familiar feeling settling him, putting him more at ease.

Then his ears spent at college fly by, still with his girlfriend, Ekubo tagging along, sometimes going back to seasoning city to help his shisho.

They eventually get engaged, after people ask Mob about when he'll propose, assuming it's the thing to do.

He's happy, truly, she's really a nice lady who also gets along with his family and friends.

But something in him can't fully settle with that.

Then things with Ekubo also keep going into more dangerous territories, on the border of being inappropriate for friends.

Until one day they cross the line and make out after going out drinking with Reigen and Serizawa after a case. Everything just feels so right.

Ekubo wouldn't have broken up a happy couple, but if Shige-chan is ready to give himself willingly, who is he to not accept it when he wants him? He never claimed to be a good man after all.

Shigeo does feel guilty later, once he sobers up a bit, but at the same time, he just really liked it and doesn't want to really stop. It feels like this is something he's always been looking for.

And then they slowly slip farther and farther down this road.

stolen kisses here and there, growing into making-out sessions that come more frequently.

making out session that turns to gripping and grinding against each other.

Grinding that slowly turns to hand directly on skin, pleasuring each other.

until they eventually start having sex. The first time Shigeo feels overwhelmed, he's never done anything like this before, never actually having done much with his spouse actually.

but he loves the way Ekubo touches him, holds him, makes him feel things he never felt before.

And what was going to be a one-time "mistake" becomes something they repeated.

And to get back to the og prompt.

I can imagine Shigeo and his fiance having Reigen and Ekubo over for dinner, everything going very well as they chat.

Then Ekubo accidentally (👀) spills his drink all over him and Mob suggests cleaning it right now so it doesn't stain and that he can lend him a shirt so he doesn't have to wear his dirty shirt either.

And while they are away Ekubo starts getting handsy, Mib barely pushing him away, until they start having a quick fuck against the door of Mob's bedroom, having to keep quiet.

I could imagine his power getting slightly out of hand despite how good he got at controlling them, most things staying perfectly in place.

When they finally get out, saying they took so long because Ekubo was being picky, his fiance is blissfully unaware of what happened.

But Reigen does give a stern look to Ekubo, probably having an idea of what happened in the room. Maybe Mob wasn't as quiet as he thought he was and Reigen who was the closest to the room heard something, maybe his power leaked enough to affect things close to the door not enough to be that noticeable, but enough for Reigen to notice, used to how esper can be

Reigen who probably feels unsure what to think of this situation. Because on one hand, he can't imagine Mob cheating on his fiance, but on the other hand he can't see Ekubo actually forcing mob to do anything either, it would have to be consensual.

Original

#tweet archive #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #ekumob #ekubo #shigeo kageyama #cheating #netorar #nsfw-ish #reigen is suspicious

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supernutellastuff · 1 year

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I posted 315 times in 2022

7 posts created (2%)

308 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@taralkariel

@xue-mei

@leafy-m

@missmorwen

@austennerdita2533

I tagged 204 of my posts in 2022

Only 35% of my posts had no tags

#me irl - 23 posts

#buckynat - 14 posts

#klaroline - 10 posts

#fanart - 8 posts

#i love tumblr - 8 posts

#politics - 7 posts

#mcu - 7 posts

#seriously - 6 posts

#just human things - 6 posts

#art - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 94 characters

#the scariest point was about not being able to digest my favourite food sometime in the future

My Top Posts in 2022:

Tag game!

Tagged by the amazing @diaz-eddie

Favourite colour - funny because I recently had a very in depth discussion about this with a friend, but anything in the blue-green family

Currently reading - I'm rereading The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel in preparation for her new novel The Sea of Tranquility (btw her Station Eleven remains one of my fav all timers, esp during the pandemic)

Sweet/salty/spicy/bitter/sour - spicy any day, though I do like sour as well

Last song - 2 AM by Lykke Li & Mark Ronson, also Nothing Breaks like a Heart by Miley Cyrus & Mark Ronson (these songs hit them feels like nothing else)

Last movie - Everything everywhere all at once (such an original movie)

Currently working on - it's supposed to be the second chapter of my Picturesque prequel but alas I have a presentation for work 😭

Tagging @recyclingss @xue-mei @mallosoar @taralkariel @missmorwen @highgaarden and anyone else who wants to play!

10 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

Ok so I’m in early season 4. I’ve always really liked Bonnie, but she never gets anything to do and when she does it’s always just “here’s a random guy for you to have a relationship with and that will be your story for a while” (her and Jeremy 🤮) and it’s never interesting (although I wouldn’t mind if they went anywhere at all with her and Damon tbh).

I also very much like Damon, by far the better brother. I really don’t care about anything Elena-related anymore and I think it’s mostly because they’ve played everything out with her several times through already. Also sorry to Nina Dobrev but she’s not a great actor and I’ve kinda had it with the character by now. The less said about Stefan the better. Jeremy and Tyler too.

Now that I’m several seasons in though it really is feeling like they’re stretching for content. The world and season threats got too big and they have no idea how to stop the power creep so they just keep adding stuff that totally breaks established lore. One of the things I love about Caroline is how well she grounded the story (sure she’s a vampire but she’s also still really into regular high school drama and trying to be a normal person still).

(Also sorry for sending anon before. I didn’t realize I’d clicked that until it had sent)

Hello!! It's been a long time since I watched the show so I apologise in advance for any inadvertent spoilers or vague plot recall.

Okay so Bonnie has legit been done the dirtiest even though she's one of the coolest characters. I like some of her plot lines where her witch roots means she's actively opposed to the vampires but she still wants to be on Elena's side, the conflict could have been interesting but it's never mined deeper. I hate her and Jeremy too and I agree that she and Damon have some legit chemistry (explored in further seasons, so you do have something to look forward to!)

Yeah Elena is annoying, and I got tired quickly about how everything was always about her. I'm not sure if I prefer Damon over Stefan, but Stelena is defs more boring. I prefer Stefan as a stand alone character or his friendship dynamic with Lexi, Caroline etc (more on this later).

I agree with you that the world building gets bigger than the writers can handle, but I really enjoyed the cure storyline in s4. I'm in the minority, but I really liked how there are all these factions with their own agendas competing to get the cure, and well, i always like it when the Originals have to team up with the Mystic Falls gang.

Talking about the Originals, I think they're the best thing the show has ever done. The casting, the acting, the group dynamics, the lore, the integration with the core tvd group... Perfection. What do you think? Who's your favourite Original?

Yes, Caroline is such a breath of fresh air in the show. I absolutely love how she's one of the few characters who actually LOVES being a vampire. I related to her even before she turned, when she was talking about being second choice "no matter how much I do, its never enough". She's thriving as a vampire as well as retaining her connection to her human side, without any of the angsty brooding that Stefan and all do. One of the reasons I love Klaroline is that Klaus is the ONLY one who recognises this, that she wants a life bigger and better than this. He accepts her as she is, and I just looove how much he changes throughout the course of knowing her, how he consistently puts her first. Sigh. I can go on and on about Klaroline. They have such epic moments, my god. What have been your favourite scenes??

10 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

[bernie sanders voice] I am once again asking for more of Chronicles

Aaaahhh Hahaha! I will always always appreciate your constant cheerleading for Chronicle 💜 unfortunately I don't have any plans to continue the story, it had a natural end. What I *am* working on rn is the Klaus POV prequel to Picturesque! You might be interested in that :) anyway, thanks for this message and can I just tell you (again) how much joy your fics and writing have given me??? 🥺

12 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

running like water - a Zutara oneshot

AU Post-finale, that time when an assassin crashes Zuko's 18th birthday. Luckily he has a master waterbender by his side. Ft. a badass Katara, Fire Nation political intrigue, and Bloodbending as flirting.

(Realised I'd written this years ago but never posted. Hopefully this gives me some much-needed inspiration while I muddle through my WIPs. Happy reading!)

link on ao3

Or read below!

It’s Zuko’s 18th birthday and he is nowhere to be found. By all accounts, he’d made an appearance at the Royal Ball for a respectable amount of time and then disappeared into thin air. Katara hurries across the halls of the palace, one hand gathering the skirts of her formal gown, her heels clicking on the marble floor. The palace staff haven’t seen him either—he wasn’t in his bedchambers, nor in the library, and she’d even checked under the willow tree next to the turtleduck pond. Katara fumes, her annoyance rising. She’s laboured over his gift for days, the least he could do is not get kidnapped or whatever.

It’s nearing midnight and Katara is about to contemplate hiring the services of Jun and her shirshu when she remembers the one place she hadn’t yet searched: the rooftop. While the rooftop was largely inaccessible, owing to its steep pagoda architecture, there was a flat alcove, hidden to the public, that opened up to the sky. Zuko had shown it to her a while ago when he was making plans for renovation, but it was dirty and in disrepair then, which is why it had slipped her mind.

The entrance to the roof is hidden behind a tapestry, a rather heavy, ugly thing the colour of blood. Katara twitches the tapestry aside and slips behind it. A narrow spiral staircase stands in front of her, illuminated by a hanging dusty lantern. Clutching the wrought iron railings, she begins the dizzying climb. An unexpected sight greets her at the top.

The place has been transformed into a charming rooftop garden. Vines climb the walls and trail down the parapet. Rows of potted herbs are flanked by beds of exotic flowers, the spicy and sweet scents intermingling in interesting ways. Fat beeswax candles stuck on iron stands are placed strategically in recesses, giving the entire garden a low, atmospheric lighting. And lounging on a profusion of cushions, eyes shut, his top knot undone, is Zuko.

“Took you long enough,” he says lazily, cranking one eye open.

“Happy Birthday,” Katara snaps, flinging the wrapped parcel at his stomach with a little too much force.

Zuko straightens immediately. “What is this?”

“Your present, dummy. I’ve been running around everywhere looking for you.”

He frowns. “Didn’t Oromi deliver you the message?”

“What message?” she asks, sinking into a cushion beside him.

“He must have misplaced the note again.” Oromi was the new palace gardener, a country lad, kind-hearted but rather forgetful. He was a magician at his work, though—he could make the stubbornest of saplings sprout and the most exotic flowers bloom under his care, almost like he was bending them. This little rooftop garden seems to be his doing. “I wrote you a message asking you to meet me here. I could not stand all those dreadful festivities.”

“Yes, yes what a bore having people throwing grand parties in your honour.”

A sheepish smile spread across his face. “I appreciate it all, I really do.”

“The royal cooks roasted an entire hippo-ox in your honour.”

“And I savoured every bite of it…but it exhausts me, having to put on this stern, aloof, regal front.” He does look exhausted, there are lines around his eyes that have no business being there. He also looks older; the planes of his face have sharpened and there’s stubble on his face on days he has no official business. “I hate pretending to be someone I’m not, especially on my birthday, when I’d rather spend time with the people I like.” His eyes flicker to her and her stomach flips.

Clearing her throat, Katara gestures to the package lying in his lap. “Open your gift.”

Zuko picks up the gift, examining it from every angle. Katara watches him carefully as his deft fingers unwrap the parcel, untying the strings and peeling off the layers. Nestled in the folds is a stack of small, unassuming-looking, semi-circular cakes.

“It’s a mooncake,” says Katara hurriedly. “A traditional Water Tribe recipe. Probably not a very special gift but my mom used to make them for birthdays-”

Zuko is already digging into the stack. He takes a bite, makes a sound of appreciation, and polishes off the whole cake. “Is there fruit jam inside?!” he asks in delight, mouth full. He offers a cake to her and picks another for himself.

“Yes!” She grins. “Salmonberry jam. I spent days in the palace kitchen, trying to get the thickness of the filling right. It needs to be the right amount of oozy…”

The words die on her tongue. Zuko is licking the jam off his fingers. She puts down her cake, suddenly very flustered.

Zuko looks up as she falls silent. Their eyes meet and the moment holds still. They’ve been dancing around each other for the past two years, longer than that, if she’s honest. Lingering looks, not-so-accidental touches, charged banter…she’s been noticing it more in their interactions lately, whether it’s quiet picnics beside the turtleduck pond or heated fights during state meetings. And now this connection, whatever it may be, is threatening to make itself known in very real ways. Katara has half a mind to brush off the moment with a flippant remark.

It’s Zuko who breaks the silence. “You look beautiful, by the way,” he comments. She’s wearing a traditional Fire Nation gown, richly embroidered in threads of red and gold, but her hair—

“Your hair is braided Water Tribe style. It looks good on you.”

She smiles, fighting off a blush. “Thank you.”

See the full post

29 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Longing - a Picturesque prequel (Klaroline fanfiction)

Hellooo, the Picturesque prequel from Klaus's POV is finally here!

Longing

Summary: Klaus likes his life, mostly. He has his own flat in New York City, a great group of friends, a budding career as an artist, but as he's navigating all the ups and downs the city throws at him, he realises that he's longing for something more. Or rather, someone.

[The long-awaited prequel to Picturesque! As promised, this is from Klaus's POV and tells the story of how in the process of figuring out who he wants to be, he's more and more drawn towards Caroline. Too bad she doesn't think of him as anything other than a friend...]

I cannot believe how long this took! Writing from Klaus's POV was challenging, and I felt like my writing style had changed in the years since I wrote Picturesque. Anyway, here's my labour of love, hope you like it! This will be a two-parter, the second chapter will be up next week. To new readers, this is a prequel to Picturesque so PLEASE read that fic before this! You'll enjoy this fic better *after* reading Picturesque. While chronologically/plot-wise Longing comes first, I feel like from the progression of my writing style and the work I've put in the characterisations, it makes more sense to read Longing after Picturesque. Also, if you're a familiar reader, I'd still suggest you read Picturesque, just to brush up (I've made some slight edits for continuity, especially in the last chapter)

For @recyclingss who's always been such a tireless cheerleader <3

Read Longing here - https://archiveofourown.org/works/38565495

33 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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maximumwobblerbanditdonut · 1 year

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Outlander Season 8:

This was always the end?

The eighth and final season

Starz's Outlander series was officially cancelled at the end of season eight, which is likely to be released sometime in 2025 or later. The news of the finale comes ahead of the Outlander season seven release, which will bring back many familiar faces. Season 7 will release 16 episodes for the penultimate season. This means that Outlander has 26 more episodes since the last season will have 10 episodes. When the show wraps up at the term of season 8, Outlander will be one of Starz's longest-running original series.

Outlander season 7 is still in production, and there's no denying that the possibility was raised in recent months that season 7 could be the last season on Starz. The 16-episode season 7, and the increased costs associated with the show at this point in its run, have generated much speculation.

Outlander's cancellation comes after a tumultuous year of TV and movie cancellations (see Batgirl and Westworld). Could this be the reason STARZ took so long to announce it? Also, the news about season 8 was perhaps delayed due to the complexity of the negotiations to agree to continue and not extend the series beyond season 8. Perhaps looking at the original 8-book Outlander collection set by Diana Gabaldon, considered the initial contracts of the main actors Or the Exec Producer status for CB and SH, was part of the end of the deal to continue.

The main actors’ current situation could have defined, the agreed commitment to continue until season 8, always it’s better to have a small secured…” a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. Regardless of what one thinks of Outlander's ending, it's hard not to argue that in season 8 someone is in such a rush to end there.

Since have been announced the eighth as the last season, the reactions may be mixed. The show hasn't been good in some seasons. Once they got older, the stories got boring and so did their chemistry. With ten episodes to wrap up this show, Outlander’s fans will hope for an abbreviated last season for a reason: the rushed storylines, disappointing endings, and hasty character deaths might leave some viewers cold. Diana Gabaldon still has another book to write to complete her list set, but she goes 4-5 years between books. The book will go ahead with SH’s supporting.

The show-runners and main cast of Outlander aren't eager to move on after Season 8. Outlander was cancelled and attention now turns to the 'Blood of My Blood' prequel series. Starz's goal is to deliver to their target audience a series with a long way to go (because nothing is written yet, they have no source material (i.e., the books) to fall back on) but with the same creators; they found in Outlander fans a niche to present what they want.

The new series will be in development — this doesn’t mean that it will see the light of day, overnight, but that it is being planned behind the scenes. While the project was being worked on, they didn’t realise it would move to the next stage so quickly. All of this is very much bizarre for a multitude of reasons. Why would Starz green-light the prequel at this point? A part of it may just come down to trying to strike the Outlander fans while the series is still trendy.

The fans will be disappointed when Outlander ends up picking its pace at breakneck, absurd speed and reversing some of its best character arcs and plot lines in a clear race to the finish line. We've learned with the TV business that they rarely like to wait, remembering the last season eighth of Game of Thrones aired before George R.R. Martin completed the final books. Although, many people would rather read Gabaldon's completed material than watch a prequel series on a similar project.

.......It's just a thought

This is ironic … Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon Vowed That What Happened to 'Game of Thrones' Writer George R.R. Martin Will Never Happen to Her — 'They'll Never Catch Me' …We’ll I Think STARZ series caught up with her…before she could finish the book, which it will caused the divisive final season.

#Outlander #STARZ #lastseason #season8 #Blood of My Blood #Diana Gabaldon

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rockclimbinglover12107 · 8 months

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Unpopular OITNB opinions because I’m bored and procrastinating

I had little to no interest in Taystee and found her outright annoying at times. She was okay in the earlier seasons and my idea of her was that she was good character that I didn’t like due to personal preference. However, in the later season, I felt that she could be irritating, irrational and depressing in an unenjoyable way and that she got far too much screen time for what I considered to be a rather dull plot.

I find it hilarious when people try to complain about people on the show being mean or bad people. Like yes, that’s why 99% of them have landed themselves in prison. The funniest examples of this complaint are when people say that Lorna, someone who grew up Italian-American in New York, could sometimes say racist things or when Flaritza, two girls who probably couldn’t even legally drink before they went to prison and, in Maritza’s case at least, didn’t seem to have parents who cared for them, could sometimes be bitchy and immature. These comments are even funnier when whoever says this then goes on to say that they love Frieda, Carol and Barb.

In my personal opinion, Season 2 was the best season quality-wise but Season 4 was better when it came down to drama and entertainment. Season 3 was actually one of my favourites aside from Alex’s whole paranoid arc and I didn’t really mind the panty storyline. Season 1 was obviously good, if a little slow and boring at first. Season 5 shouldn’t have dragged on for so long, if they were only going to cover three days, although I probably would have enjoyed it if it hadn’t felt so absurd and weird compared to previous seasons. Season 7 was depressing trauma porn from start to finish and Season 6 was dreadful n every single way and a terrible conclusion for the riot.

I felt like the family dynamics became way less cohesive it’s the show progressed and people that had once gotten on perfectly well were suddenly at each other’s throats and vice versa. A good example of this was Spanish Harlem which went from a clearly outlined family where Aleida and Gloria acted as parents, Blanca was not a part of the group and the other four ( Maria, Daya, Maritza and Flaca ) pretty much did whatever Aleida said. Contrast this to Season 4/5 where Aleida leaves but Flaritza and Maria don’t seem to even notice, Gloria just let’s Maria have control over Harlem with no complaints whatsoever, Maria and Maritza seem to be at each other’s throats one second and back to there seemingly rather good Season 2/3 friendship the next, Blanca is suddenly an active member of the group and Gloria only cares about Daya. This faulty dynamic is true for all of the other groups as well, and never gets the chance to recover after they are sent to Max.

I didn’t like how some of the seriously traumatic stuff that happened to some of these characters, especially in Season 4, was never addressed by the show again and seemed to forgotten after the episode ended by both the writers and the character themself. You’re telling me that Maritza was creeped on, forced to eat a live animal, held at gunpoint and repeatedly harassed but she bounced back after throwing up like twice and hugging Flaca. In reality, she would probably take a long while to recover or feel truly comfortable in her own skin again, maybe even experiencing some PTSD, which could have been an interesting storyline to take her character down through Season 5, instead of relegating her back to comedy bits and pop culture references.

That’s all my opinions for now, although I will probably make a Part 2 for this post. Hope you agreed with at least one of my takes and that you don’t want to kill me for some of the things I said.

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puppyduckster · 1 year

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Wednesday: A Review

So I recently watched the Wednesday series on Netflix and I have some thoughts 😂. I first got into the Addams family back in 2020(it was in fact one of my quarantine obsessions lol) and when I found out Netflix was making a series with Wednesday, I was intrigued but also a little nervous. Anyway I eventually watched the series and after watching it, I think I’m going to give it a 5.5-6/10(the 5.5-6 sort of depends on my feelings at the moment lol). So, here I’ll talk about what I liked, didn’t like, and what I hope to see in future seasons. Warning that this post is rather critical of the show at times, so read at your own risk 😝.

Cut for spoilers/long post

What I Liked

Jenna Ortega: It’s probably blatantly obvious, but Jenna Ortega was easily the best part of the entire seasons. She gave a phenomenal performance and while I definitely saw some similarities to Christina Ricci’s performance, Jenna was still able to bring out another side to Wednesday as well. I haven’t seen Jenna since her Disney Channel days and this showed that she really has what it takes to be a great actress. And it should go without saying- but the dance scene was iconic 😂

Wednesday and Enid’s friendship: I genuinely really liked the dynamic between these two girls. The actresses both had great chemistry with each other and although I sometimes think the dark/broody with the cheerful/peppy character can be a bit overused, I really liked it in this case. The scene at the end where they hug was really touching and I’d love to see those two interact even more. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about those two in a relationship(mainly because I feel like Wednesday isn’t interested in anyone…more on that later), but I will say that I would rather have them be in a relationship than that boring love triangle we got.

Christina Ricci/Ms Thornhill: I really enjoyed her character in this series. I thought it was really cool that they got the 90s Wednesday for the series and that she actually had an important part to play in the series. I will also admit that I hadn’t really expected her to be one of the villains, so that was a good twist for me. (Side note: I also think it would have been cool if Lisa Loring(aka the Og Wednesday) got a cameo too, but I digress lol). Christina Ricci did a really great job and I especially enjoyed her scenes with Wednesday and when she really showed her villainous side at the end.

The opening credits: 🤷‍♀️ What can I say? I’m a sucker for cool opening credits and this show delivered on that lol.

Tyler/the Hyde: So I didn’t really like the love triangle thing at all, but I did find Tyler being the Hyde interesting to me and honestly I think it would be cool to see the origins of him becoming a Hyde in future seasons. Idk if that would result in him being redeemed per say, but I think the show implies that he is not really aware of what he is doing as the Hyde. And even if he doesn’t get redeemed(I could see the show going either way tbh), I still think that part of him could be explored. At the very least I found that aspect of him more compelling than his “relationship” with Wednesday(again more on that later lol)

Thing: He may be just a hand, but he was very entertaining and I enjoyed his scenes with Wednesday and Enid quite a bit.

What I Didn’t Like

The Addams Family Dynamics: One of my favorite things about the Addams Family is that for all their creepy and macabre interests- at the core this is a family that really loves each other. They have one of the most wholesome family bonds I’ve ever seen and you can tell that the members of the family really care for one another. I…didn’t really get this feeling in the show. I understand that Wednesday is a teenager here, but I feel like having her be so against her parents is honestly just really dull and not true to the original characters. Wednesday and Morticia are usually shown to be close, but this series drove a wedge between them that I didn’t really appreciate. I also didn’t get why Morticia and Gomez would be so against Wednesday knowing about what Morticia did. It seemed OOC for me as judging from what we’ve seen from the Addams family previously- murder is not exactly on their red flags list(*glances at the movies from the 90s*). There was a bit more familial solidarity with Wednesday and Pugsley, but we really don’t see those two interact all that much. I understand that this is a show about Wednesday primarily, but I really didn’t really enjoy her dynamics with her family in the show(where normally it’s one of my favorite things in most of the other adaptions(animated movies aside lol) )

The Love Triangle: Good grief, did this nearly bore me to tears lol. For starters- I’m just tired of love triangles in general. 9 times out of 10, I can already predict who will “win” and it’s also just an overdone plot point by now. In this case, it was made worse because Wednesday literally shows no interest in either Xander or Tyler. And so I was struggling to see how those two could think she liked either one of them, because she only seemed to tolerate them at best. It also didn’t help that I wasn’t super interested in those two as characters(I became more interested in Tyler upon the Hyde reveal, but that was towards the end) let alone as love interests. I also think that Wednesday showed no real romantic feelings towards anyone and that if she was going to be with anyone it should be with Enid, because those two at least had good chemistry.

Wednesday being an Outsider: I’m going to be honest- I found it weird that at a school filled with werewolves, Sirens, and who knows what else- Wednesday was the outsider? This entire school is filled with people who are out of the ordinary and so one would think that weirdness is expected from everyone. I honestly think it would have been more interesting if people in the school were more accepting of Wednesday, because I think that could have led her to interact more with the characters at Nevermore. That also could’ve led to some more character development for the secondary characters, because outside of a few characters at the school- I didn’t really get the chance to care all that much for Wednesday’s classmates. They just didn’t really interest me all that much and the whole “Wednesday being an outsider” thing didn’t really help.

The Social Media References: Okay look. I know the show is set in modern days and as the Addams family often interacts with the regular world, they’re going to have to take note of that stuff. However in this case- the mentions of Instagram and TikTok only served to make me cringe than anything else. It also felt like it would make the show seem too outdated while in the movies and OG series case- they felt timeless. Yes it’s obvious that the OG series and the movies are set in the 60s and 90s respectively, but every time I watch those again, I never really get the outdated sense from them. However, in the series a lot of the modern “shout outs” were a little off putting and I feel like in a few years, it could really end up dating the series. Also since most of the show has a supernatural theme to it, I’ll admit that hearing stuff about Instagram or Tiktok could throw me for a loop at turns lol.

The CWness of it: Another reason why this show didn’t speak super highly to me is because it felt very CW in some ways. I felt like at times they leaned into the whole mystery/teen drama a little too much and I didn’t get the same macabre/spooky feeling I normally get from the Addams family. Rather at times I felt like I was just watching a CW show (just with more supernatural stuff lol)

Wednesday’s Classmates: With the exception of Enid and sometimes Xavier, Ajax, and Bianca, I wasn’t all that interested in the other characters. They didn’t really feel all that developed to me and when Wednesday enlists their help later on, the scene didn’t impact me all that much because I didn’t really feel like we got to see their relationship develop very well. It also seemed like a few of them(Ajax and Xavier mainly lol) existed mainly in terms of love interests which sort of stinks, because I didn’t really get a chance to care for them as individuals. I think it would have been more interesting if we could have seen Wednesday interact more with her other classmates or if they just got more characterization in general.

What I Hope To See

Better Family Dynamics: I’d love it if we could see Wednesday having a healthier relationship in any future seasons(like she does in other versions) and I’d also find it interesting to explore more of Enid’s family and her relationships with them as well.

More Development for Tyler: I found the reveal of Tyler being the Hyde to be rather interesting and more compelling than his “relationship” with Wednesday. I think exploring the Hyde side of him could be an interesting route to explore.

More Development for Bianca: She was one of the few classmates I found intriguing and I hope the show can do more with her. She also seems to have a complicated relationship with her mother and complicated familial relationships are kind of my jam(if my other favorite tv shows are any indication 😂)

Less Teen Drama(Aka no more love triangle): It should go without saying, but honestly the love triangle was just really overdone and forced and made the show seem a lot more CW than necessary. And I don’t even hate all CW shows, but it could make this series seem a little flat at times. I found the whole idea of a magical/supernatural school to be really cool and I think it would be better if they stuck more to the supernatural/mystery aspect of it all.

Anyway, that’s all my thoughts on the show for now. I honestly didn’t hate it or anything and I totally agree that Jenna Ortega was a fantastic Wednesday and she gave an exceptional performance. I must admit that I am a bit wary now about any future seasons, but I liked it well enough to see a Season 2 :)

#wednesday addams #wednesday review critical #wednesday review #jenna ortega #my review

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anbubisibuna · 1 year

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If the movie was about true love it should have been MagnusxMara don't you think?

Long post because I rant alot. Pretty chaotic like my brain is.

Absolutely not. They shouldn't shut them down for sure but this wouldn't suit them. ( Magnus getting jealous was OOC enough bc in Season 3 he rightfully trashes Danina) Danina have this attention seeking relationship, were only talk in Pinterest Relationship Goals Quotes, so this suits them. I also don't understand how the others are so invested in their boring ass relationship with 0 chemistry.

I fail to understand how the Pad has anything do to with Daniels love for Nina. I mean yeah it was partly because he didn't give up on Nina. But the task with the mirrors. Why is it supposed to be bad if your want to touch your loved one? As if being attracted to them is a bad thing. I mean if we were dating and you could resist me in the mirror I would be a bit offended.

The whole movie didn't do Nina and Daniel a favour tbh haha. They really didn't know what to do with them. They did not had like one normal conversation which wasn't about them dating for 6 months. First they have this conversation in the bus how long they have been dating and that they are going to for the next decades. They also look so uncomfortable. But that's not the point. Then we have Nina telling Daniel that they need to celebrate those six months they have been together. They both get a gift for eachother. Nina gets Daniel a view and Daniel some rings. Again they mention how great these six months were. Nina gets kidnapped. Gets saved by Daniel. Daniel says he loves Nina she doesn't say it back hahaha. The End. During the whole movie they act like 11 year olds instead of 16/17 year olds. Especially Nina. She's so childish and I have no idea how Daniel deals with her. They were really cringe during the movie. I can't lie and pretend that they were cute no, they were flat out embarrassing. I didn't watch the movie when it came out and when I watched it the first time years later, I was like: " Eww"

The majority of their relationship is just tell and not show. Nina tells Daniel that they had the most romantic, craziest and greatest six months and I don't see where. And the writers just didn't care about developing their relationship to something other than just the Club. They are just in love that's it. You never see them have dates or mention doing something together. Not even in Season 3 or like during the first couple of episodes were didn't know about the vision with Mara. It would have been so easy:

Felix: Where are Nina and Daniel?"

Delia: Oh they went out. To the Cinema."

Felix: Uh romantic. "

I can't view Danina's relationship as true love after Nina cheated on Daniel with Benny like this. Absolutely not. There was no guilt or was she heartbroken after she kissed Benny that she lost Daniel. "You were always the only one for me Daniel" No. He wasn't.

I have never seen Nina do anything for Daniel. Especially after cheating on him she should have shown with some gestures that she loves him. Because she thanked Benny with going to the cinema with him so he was worth it? Give him some flowers or buy something nice for him. Her 6 month anniversary present isn't even a gift. She just takes him to his old gate without doing anything there. And after saving her ass bc she was the one who felt like they had to prove their "true love" she doesn't even say I love you back to Daniel.

However I do think Mara and Magnus show throughout the show that they love eachother deeply. They don't need this movie. Although the writers shouldn't have pretended like that their love was less than Danina:

Mara brings Magnus breakfast in bed sometimes. Magnus does it one time in Season 3. But it's also the way both do these little things for eachother. When Felix is missing in S3, she holds his hand on the table to calm him down. Magnus gives Mara gifts in S2.

When Mara gets sick in Season 3 Magnus takes care of her for weeks. Even sleeping on the floor on an air mattress next to her bed when he is allowed to. He checks on her before going to school and after school. He puts her in bed. And Mara is comfortable with him taking care of her and not seeing her at her best. Or when she gets put in the hospital with a concussion after being attacked but she can't remember he stays with her in the hospital the whole night sitting on a chair. Which is 100% undoubtedly more of a sign of true love than everything in the movie.

They have a connection with eachother which Nina and Daniel don't have.

They have those intimate moments with eachother were they sleep in a bed together. Or when they watch Horror Movies ( it's scary so they cuddle up together). After Magnus saw that ghost he goes to Mara and it seems that she cuddles him the whole night. By the end of Season 3 it was also suggested that Mara sometimes sleeps over at Magnus place. ( And we know for sure she isn't sleeping on the floor).

In S3 they act like they are married

Just how Mara looks at Magnus and how she had no interest in Benny from the beginning. And Radus saying to Magnus in those episodes that she can't keep her eyes off him.

Apart from that the movie seems to be "Fanservice". Back then Nina and Daniel were well liked with young kids. So probably the writers wanted to appeal with them. (And Magnus had to stay as long as possible to save it.) Which is also kind of weird because the writers directors etc... seem to prefer Mara and Magnus overall. Maybe it's just me. 🤷‍♀️

You have those moments between Mara and Magnus which are not in HHA.

Mara telling Magnus she can be herself around him like he can S2

Mara telling Magnus she feels comfortable around him S2.

When they almost kiss in the park in S2.

And just in general how hugged up they are together in S3.

Then they give those hints that they cuddle in bed together S3.

Mara "dies" in S3 and Magnus telling her that he loves her and always will.

And then with Nina and Daniel which are not in HHA:

Nina acts alot worse with Daniel when Benny is there. They chose to have lean in to kiss Benny aswell after the Cinema. They chose to film it that way so you can see the kiss in the washroom. They also chose to have this seductive type of music play when Nina walks down the stairs to go out with Benny.

In S3 Fabian "died" but Daniel was just kidnapped. It's understandable how Nienke isn't doing anything because there is no. hope anymore. But Nina isn't even like actively searching for him. She's does almost nothing. I mean this how they could have proven her true love for him but they didn't. Instead after Daniel is there.

Delia commenting on the relationship she has with Vincent. It's not like she can't be friends with him. But given that he kidnapped her 🎇Daniel🎇 it's a bit suspicious how she always runs to him or defends him.

#das haus anubis #ask #danina #maragnus

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broodinglitanies · 5 days

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2.05 - The Indicator

This is a perfect display of Alias by-the-numbers back in the S1/S2 era. Definitely more of a season 2 era type of filler. So many things to uncover and do properly, but it seems to me they have a hard time focusing and the drama/action/suspense/great entertainment value mix does not quite add up excellently very often. The story isn't intriguing actually. This time, Sydney, among other things, discovers that she might have been programmed to be a spy at an early age. Sloane, on the other hand, is doing a remarkable job at fooling everyone around him in order to truly make them keep believing Emily truly is dead. Although, looking at it now, Ron Rifkin's performance makes the most of the job effortlessly, since in reality, The Alliance is not everyone and can't be fooled by Sloane that easily. It's a bit of a stretch and naive.

The fact that he's being closely monitored by them and even for someone as sharp, emotionally focused and ... well... cold and quite sociopathic, makes it kinda cheap. But they do this kind of thing all the time. Brilliance and downright ridiculousness are always playing a tug of war in this show. Moments between Sydney and Jack are, yet again, tiresome with all the ups and downs and deceit that needs to be cleared out of the way, rebonding and then pulling apart again... yawn. They really test my patience. I pushed for it a lot since it was always one of my favourite tv shows, since elementary school. Will was in the episode and basically had nothing relevant to say. Good having him around, but he seems to be too chill for a smart guy who was presented as a dynamic reporter in a kinda hectic environment and after digging deep into the SD-6 storyline and having his life completely destroyed in order to actually keep his head, now sitting in the park with Syd behaving like it's all a chit-chat thing. And most of the time he's like that when he's with her.

Sydney takes up a lot of space in the show which is just fine, but the lack of focus and stories that intertwine, or better yet, get in the way that don't add much to the actual character-driven atmosphere they should be aiming at leaves a lot of the characters being seemingly flat and terribly under-written. Besides Sloane and Jack, which both perfectly capture every moment they're in, as well as being interestingly conceptualised, written, played out to the finest detail. Vaugh is always problematic since he fits the role perfectly well, but the character, even with everything that could be used to reinforce his role in the show crumbles under the weight of Vartan doing an actually great job at trying his best not to be bad at acting and keeping up with the rest of the cast. But that leaves us with a major romantic interest/later a romantic partner as well that appears dull, terribly understated at times and even the two of them will later make for a boring couple. Dixon was never given a true chance to be seen as a relevant character, so any time they would focus on him turned out to be an unnecessary route, so they kept it very, very low-key, learning from that mistake. Francie is as good to have in the show as Syd's friend as she's equally redundant most of the time.

Some storylines seem as if they were envisioned very early on - the Muller device and everything. But this all just seems so overwrought, pre-calculated in the most offending kind of a way with cheap shots at drama & sweetness and unnecessary action-packed (sometimes more, sometimes less) minutes chunking off pieces of every episode, one after another. The titles are almost insignificant most of the time, because Alias is just as poorly creatively focused and panned out and set into motion as is my trainwreck rambling and writing, journaling, whatever... Actually, what pisses me off is that it is filled with potential and incredibly well-executed moments and episodes but the filler is all over the place since so much of it feels like something that does not concern me as a viewer and to make matters worse, just gets me all whiny and bitchy since they kill my mood most of the time I watch it with their messed up pace. And that's 90 % of the time.

When they keep it down a bit, imagine the horror! It's even more tiresome. So much of season 4 really got me into a cringe-fest mode. They don't know how to handle the storyline in its entirety since its conception and on top of it, they have trouble writing an episode in a wholesome, focused way. It ends up trying everything and anything, using its charms to get away with too much as it is, and has no depth whatsoever. What truly displays the strength of Alias is the strength of the entire cast, how driven everyone working on it can seemingly be, with episodes that are a blast truly being a blast (still waiting for those to watch them, any time soon). Ranting and rambling. I can't focus because this is truly starting to irritate me as shit. And I don't feel like getting back into anything else right now. Simply because I have difficulty expressing myself and I'm not articulate enough... blah blah blah... now I gotta watch a very emotional scene between Syd and Jack. Wow... never happened before.

They really get on my nerves. I don't know if this episode is a 5, a 5.5 or a 6 since I can't even remember anything that happened so far. Oh, Irina's facing trial - death penalty. I know how that went, but it's... and she wasn't even cleverly written at the beginning. People tend to forget that. They're aiming at "observing, creepy and filled with subtle meanness (whatever that's supposed to mean in my book - I wouldn't say subliminal audacity!). Things are getting very boring in Aliastown. And Vaughn being part-time missed in season 5 is also due to the changes that the show underwent that turned it into a silly, grotesque version of what it's (or their misjudgment of was) supposed to be. No, the finale really didn't cut it. Just like Chosen it’s criminally overrated.

The episode will end up as a low 6. It is just not written well. Considering the season, the plot, the characters involved, everything they had at their disposal, it was really not a good time to get complacent. It all just seems too familiar. Not in a sense of having seen it all several times throughout the years, but as a rewatching experience, it does leave a lot to be desired whereas on the other hand, I really understand all the people with their negative first reactions. Come to think of it, why did everyone have such a strong negative reaction to season three? I recall it being more focused, it didn't slip as much, can actually be taken for what it is and it really felt enjoyable. The part that actually kills the mood is way too much dialogue that does not serve the series well. This episode was not a perfect display of that at least. But most of the time, they go back and forth with overlapping scenes, describing the mission that most of the time no one cares about to begin with and the plot is made out of so many scattered bits and pieces throughout all the episodes that pile up so that you can't really know what purpose it’s serving and what's mere filler. Frequently they expect you to care about so much of what is taking place that they fail to realise you are not actually invested in these "minor" aspects that they centre the action around (and in 90% of the cases, it's either for the fun of little action, playing dress up, great score and soundtrack choices but it also seriously damages the show as time goes by because they shouldn't rely on it as much since I believe many of us aren't interested in what has to be done, obtained/retrieved, how things work, how to bypass it all, the tricks, the schematics, techops and whatever they keep throwing around... seriously, I have no idea what they're talking about and by the time we're on the spot and things start are set into motion, I almost don't feel like I'm watching the same show!). Something needs to be done right, most of the time Syd does it right, sometimes she ends up getting caught, sometimes it's kinda serious, things work out just fine and any complications that occur are handled in a naive, way too convenient way. That's bad, considering how resourceful Sydney is.

Cliffhangers on missions are also a bad idea when they keep forcing that crap on you, since there really isn't any actual danger you can imagine considering it's the LEAD CHARACTER it's all happening to - and might as well be the entire episode running out of time to wrap things up properly. It happens very often in season one. Iit also displays a major setback for a show that truly shines when it uses its strengths with everybody behind the scenes being concentrated on really making it work, putting aside the elements of the show that get overstretched and get cheaper by the episode, more focus and investment from everyone involved... Great pacing that is aligned with storytelling, polished to set aside all the cacophony of explanations, "terms for this and that" about how something works and so forth... I keep repeating it since I wonder if anyone who also loves Alias pays attention at all to anything being said regarding mission description. I can't even explain missions myself and I'm a longtime fan.

What ever happened in Badenweiler? Syd had to disarm a bomb, but Dixon had another way of ravishing the entire building by doing the ka-boom. Okay. CIA operatives died. Okay. And Sydney was --- ? Retrieving inhalers? For what? The doppelganger guy was necessary to Sloane and only wanted to talk to Sloane because being in hiding all these years, knowing the laws and what he wants in exchange, he didn't have proper contacts and couldn't have found out what SD-6 and Arvin Sloane are actually about? I don't even want to get started with how ridiculous Sydney's lying is in season one. Jack's as well. Sloane knew, but for how long?. Also, Sydney and Vaughn having most of their discussions when he was her handler took place at a secluded location, something like a dim storage facility whereas other conversations are all over LA and even Syd mentioned on a couple occasions that SD-6 has people that are specifically tasked to track their operatives’ movements and interactions when they’re out in the open and report any suspicious activity. Michael Vaughn, a CIA agent being seen, all casual and friendly with an SD-6 agent throughout season one - not careless at all?!? I love it how the inconsistent (meaning: bad) writing really exposed itself with Sydney being stunned in season four at the “revelation” that Jack talked openly about his work for the CIA to and in front of Irina/Laura when it was made clear in various scenes in season one that all of that was known and even addressed for what it actually was! Balance is a huge problem for Alias.

Lots of respect for trying and proving that it can quite often be pulled off, but this is seriously a tv show that gets lost in its own world in a really bad way and it's not always enjoyable to watch and be a big fan of (I should know!). Unique and endearing, but quite irritating as well. With a myriad of useless moments, they really sunk too low without a chance to resurface and accomplish anything exceptionally worthy in the end. Clumsy investment in both plot and characters, intertwining arcs, far-fetched concepts, missed opportunities ended up selling a very, very fine show too short. It ends up flirting with ridiculousness too frequently for its own good and it has always deserved better.

╰┈➤⍣ ೋ

⑥

#gif #alias #alias s2 #sydney bristow #tv shows #reviews #misc #@juliareed inspiring me to really put these alias rewatching reviews here #I like both bitching about Alias as much as watching alias #i like bitching about buffy just as much as watching buffy #actually i'm not watching i'm mostly rewatching #angel buffy and alias are the best tv shows of my life and i have been a fan since elementary school and now i'm in my mid-30s

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ywdtme · 2 months

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Life update, 2024

My younger self should be safe around me, and I am so proud of it. I feel like there’s a lot of lessons coming up in my life lately.

I have never thought that I would ask an old lady which floor she wanted to go when we’re in a lift, and I prioritized her first. I have never thought that I would talk to strangers, have eye contact when talking with them, and get my business done. I have never thought that I would tell the waiters when they got my orders wrong, instead of just accept it and silently upset. I’ve never thought that I could actually do anything by myself and overcome my fears. And there I believe, my younger self would be so proud of herself.

Life has never been easier, but I am grateful for what I have now, I am enough.

People say if you have no luck in your love life then you must be so lucky in another area of life. I guess I do, for now, I have luck in my friendship. Well sadly, season changes, so do people. One thing that I got from what I've been learning in any kind of relations I have, we can never force people to always be around us.

Human beings are dynamic. I used to think that in the end, it's all about the person who is willing to stay on those ups and downs state of this life, and vice versa. It's about the person who is willing to get through all the boring or exciting days together, also willing to work things up together. But then there were some days that got me feeling not so good.

The worst feeling is when the person who used to tell you 'let's figure this out together', now become the person who says 'go find someone else better'.

This got me thinking, am I not enough? Especially when the world came crushing down, once again.

It's hurting when the person who used to be willing to sit down with you in the mud, now become the person who doesn't even care whether you are alive or not.

But then again, I realized. This world doesn't revolve around me. Everyone has their own life to live. I can never expect them to do everything exactly like what I have done to them. Never expect people to treat you just like how you treat them, because those kind of expectations will kill you sooner or later. Well, we're not supposed to put any expectation on people, I guess. Once again, it was me who broke my own heart. Ah, treating them well is still a choice though, but sometimes I don't realize that I am also still not good enough, so, who knows I might be the bad one in someone else's story, haha.

After all these times, I am still learning to accept how this world works the way it is. People come and go. Just consider some of those changes are just a phase, believe me soon you will get use to it. Although you got at least your own shadow but they're gone when it's dark unfortunately. In the end of the day, it's myself whom all I have. And again, my younger self would be so proud of herself.

-Hope everyone could live your life well :)

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declanowo · 4 months

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Random Weekly (Horror) Film - Bonus Review - It's a Wonderful Knife

13/12/23

For me, one of the things that was indicative of the Christmas period was sitting and watching movies during lessons. Sometimes, they would be documentaries, which always felt like the boring and safer option, but what was always far more enjoyable, was watching a film that was slightly related to the course. However, college yielded my favourites; in English we would watch plays, this was more so of an evergreen event, while in Film one year, we watched It’s a Wonderful Life. Although I enjoyed most of the films I studied, seldom would I connect with any of them in a way beyond an appreciation for the craft (Pan’s Labyrinth might be the only exception) so when it came to watching a film in the build up to Christmas, I had just assumed that I would be impartial to it, and while we were meant to watch Home Alone, we instead watched It’s a Wonderful Knife. Although sceptical, the film did really connect with me, it feels universal in its ideas, and sure, some of it feels pretty out of date, yet the heart of the film is something I believe everyone can connect to, this belief that the world could exist to be far better without you, when in reality, this world couldn’t exist without you.

I can’t say so far this week I feel any more enveloped by the season than I previously had. Although my house is now draped in lights and a smattering of decorations, I always enjoy decorating the tree too, especially since finding Tyler, the Creator's Christmas album, which I loop while I do it - truthfully, it is the only Christmas music I enjoy. Despite this, I have been on a few winter dog walks this week, which has ingrained itself as a central image of the season in my mind, alongside the others mentioned in my previous bonus reviews - I hope my final one next week will similarly continue this trend.

When I sat down to watch the Christmas movies I had set out, I was most excited to watch 2023’s It’s a Wonderful Knife, and spin after spin, it didn’t appear. After finally watching it, I got what I wanted from it; the film was a fun, christmas slasher, and that’s all I was after. Sure, it doesn’t capture the same sensibility as its namesake, yet I never expected it to, because doing so would be near impossible, but what they do instead is craft a string of incredibly fun characters, an amazing villain and a fun time that never feels strung out.

This film follows a trend of horror movies that I personally love, being that it takes family films, and then twists them into horror. There is most recently Totally Killer, which is based on Back to the Future, Happy Death Day, which is based on Groundhog Day, and my favourite of them, Freaky, based on Freaky Friday and written by Michael Kennedy, who also wrote today’s film. Of all these, It’s a Wonderful Knife is the only one where I have watched its counterpart, and maybe this helps me enjoy it more, as it feels referencial, and more reliant on its source material than the others, although I haven’t yet watched Totally Killer (which I can’t wait to see!).

To start, I want to discuss the film's characters, which I think are often the strongest points of these films! Winnie Carruther’s, played by Jane Widdop, the film’s protagonist, who saves the town from a murderer, only to regret her decision a year later, seeing how it has changed her life. I enjoy her as a character, and think she is very well acted, especially this is the truth when she is trapped in another world after making a wish she never existed. Here she shines more, and her desire to change things back for the better is fun to watch; although not an infectious protagonist, she is enjoyable to watch and root for, which places it as a good Christmas movie. In contrast to something like Better Watch Out, which is subversive and mean to its core, this feels like a happy Christmas movie, embodying the traits one might expect to find within your average holiday piece of media, which I think works to its credit here. Although I love unique twists on things, this film feels cosy, it is like being warm while outside a blizzard howls. The kind heart at the core of this film is what makes me enjoy it so much!

I also really enjoy Bernie Simon, played by Jess Mcleod, who plays the social outcast within the town, who we later learn is considering suicide. Even more so than our protagonist, we want to see Bernie feel better, and her friendship with Winnie is so lovely, it fuels even further the idea of the film being cosy, their relationship, alongside the perfect killer, are mostly what make this film so fun to watch, it’s sweat more than anything, and that was all I was looking for from this film!

Finally, my favourite character is the mayor, and killer, Henry Waters, played by Justin Long. Recently, I have become more and more excited when I see him in a cast list, while I love his performance in Barbarian and Tusk (he was the most enjoyable part of the latter, for me) I was first introduced to him through the Alvin and the Chipmunk movies, where he plates Alvin. Although I did watch these as a child, I have fonder memories of watching them with my boyfriend when we first met. I love the accent he puts on, and overall found him to be a perfect villain for a Christmas movie - he is the antithesis of the Christmas morals and ideals, he takes and takes, he’s selfish and cares so little about those around him. Despite being despicable, although in a somewhat cartoonish manner, he is enjoyable to watch, and balances the film's tone perfectly! I like him a lot.

Throughout the film, there is a parallelism towards its inspiration, through its characters, town, themes and general references. To start with its characters, the film subverts our expectations, with our protagonist instead alluding to the role of Clarence, the angel - she eventually seeks to save, both Bernie and the town, rather than her own life. In contrast, the Bernie, who appears to at first be a guiding light to our protagonist, instead alludes to George Bailey, mostly through the theme of suicide. By living in this new world, she is saved, she makes a friend and finds a reason to live. The killer’s design is inspired by that of an angel, as is the town's name Angel Falls. The killer's design is my favourite allusion to the film, it’s instantly iconic and looks incredibly fun! Snow set horror is some of my favourite because of the crystal whites that bathe every scene, it's inescapable, and here this is no different, for this reason, the killer’s stark white appearance, inspired by an angel, is so perfect!

This ties into the kills, which are great! They have a perfect tone, they’re goofy and gory, they inspire awe rather than disgust, at least to me! That’s what I enjoy most about slashers, the deaths don’t hold meaning, they are simple to watch and are enjoyable, they aren’t entirely grounded, yet they don’t feel too out of place. Specifically, I enjoy kills that use the movie's theme to good use, or like in Freaky, where they all feel fresh, fun and they are vibrant.

Starting with the first kill, which is nothing special but I feel it’s also not bad - a man has his throat slit, and it sets up the killer in an incredibly fun way, it also sets up a much larger shock for the following kill, where a candy cane is pushed through someone’s head, coming out their mouth. The following evisceration is also fine, it reminded me of some of the more recent Scream movies, where they use grounded and realistic means of murder, while adding more blood and pushing them to be somewhat over the top. The subsequent kill of the angel killer is amazing, as he is fried to death by some jumper cables! Great stuff, and it links back to the Christmas setting with the lights. While many are simple knife kills, I still enjoyed them, they are stylized and fun! It also makes the more fun ones, like the aforementioned candy cane kill, stand out more, although even more of these styles of kills wouldn’t have hurt!

I want to end this much shorter review by discussing just how gay this film is, which I love! Horror has always been a harbourer of queer themes and characters. This film has an abundance, from the main characters to a pair of aunts (who I loved!). Nothing about this feels out of place, as a queer person myself, you can often tell when characters were written by people who aren’t gay, and often it’s mostly harmless, but these characters have purpose outside their queerness, which I enjoy within the film - so often we have seen meaningless subplots about a character dealing with homophobia, or coming to terms with who they are, but I enjoy that not every story has to, or should, be like that!

I enjoyed this film loads, it was a fun slasher, and provided on all the fronts I was hoping for! I’ll likely watch this one again in a few years, and I think the film’s strengths overpower its weaknesses, like some of the plot lines feeling half-baked and unimportant, only to aid the film's final sequence, an allusion to It’s a Wonderful Life’s, like Winnie’s boyfriend cheating on her which holds no real weight. But it’s snappy, I don’t care much about that because we never linger on any moment too long, it doesn’t outstay its welcome and was a fun time.

7/10

#horror #horror movies #creative writing #literature #reviews #review #horror film #horror movie #christmas #its a wonderful knife #slasher #slasher movies #slashers

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