no bc if byler isn't endgame why did the writers let noah confirm will is gay AND in love with mike? and even that has been built since s1? they could have only said "yes will is gay he is interested in boys" and that's all. if they only said that i'd absolutely think that byler was just a ship that could never happen. if they only said that i'd agree w/ someone saying will's arc is about figuring out his sexuality and self-acceptance. the writers could do that and finish will's arc in s5 in an easier way, but NO they didn't. they made will's and mike's arc connect to each other and it has to mean something. it would make no sense at all if they told us they built this up and drop out in the final season. like, it would be extremely bad writing if byler wasn't endgame, whether it's clearly showed on the screen or just hinted in the ending scene of s5.

Part 2 of me talking too fucking much about these men!

At this point in the story, we start to see Johnny filming everyone/everything that he finds interesting enough to include in his stories. The first thing we see him film is an interaction between Kung Lao and Raiden at Wu Shi Academy. As pictured, you can see Johnny finds them important enough to the story to film, but his face and body language aren’t exactly giving excitement- he’s more so just doing a task. Again- not that he dislikes Kung Lao and Raiden or that he finds them super boring- but at this point he’s just kinda filming to film. He then approaches the two and starts complaining about how long this all is taking, and how he needs something crazier to happen to include in his movies. This is when Kenshi walks up

[side note: THE WAY HE SHOWS UP ON SCREEN STRETCHING IN THIS SCENE DOES THINGS TO ME]

and immediately begins an argument with Johnny over his motives for being here. Despite training together for months, the two are still butting heads at every interaction- or so you’d think if you were any of the characters in the game. I want to take extra time here just to fully acknowledge the fact that this interaction is not only happening in a public space but directly in front of Kung Lao and Raiden who are the two original people of this conversation (Johnny really saw them having a good time and decided he needed to come in and whine about shit and Kenshi saw that as an opportunity to start an argument with him- can these bitches just let Lao and Raiden be happy together??). The conversation leads to the comment ‘my ex’ll rue the day she gave up on me’ from Johnny which immediately earns an eye roll from Kenshi and the sarcastic reply ‘so selfless.’ I want to note that Johnnys been here for months- he says “ex” casually enough to imply that at least most people know he’s going through a divorce but most people don’t know enough to know her actual name. Or, he’s specifically putting emphasis on the fact that they are very much over and Johnny is very much single in front of a certain somebody. Maybe a healthy balance of both. I also want to note that the way Johnny speaks of his ex wife is very much indicative of the fact that Johnnys motive currently is to redeem himself and prove to everyone that he isn’t a lost cause. These movies becoming a success is his only hope at this time. However, this also means his focus should be shifted from Sento onto his movies now, right? Wrong! You’d think since now he’s putting all of the pressure of getting his life together on these movies he’s be willing to give up the sword that used to symbolize his past life, but no. Even tho his focus is now on something he can do currently/in the future to get his life back on a track rather than fixating on an object from his past, he’s still clinging to Sento. Though he’s now looking forward, his goal is still centered around people from his past (him wanting to prove to everyone that left him that they were all wrong about him rather than fixing himself for his own sake). The argument escalates to Johnny calling Kenshi ‘tattoo’ and tells him he’s only here for his sword anyways.

[side note: him calling him tattoo despite Kenshis effort to cover up the majority of his tattoos means a couple of things- Johnny is studying Kenshi. As mentioned in my previous post, Johnny is absolutely infatuated with Kenshi and wants to know everything he can. It also means he’s poking at Kenshi, letting him know that though he may try to be reserved, Johnny will stop at nothing to get to know him. He’s just going to keep observing the little things about him until Kenshi can open up about the realer shit]

IMO, Johnny very clearly knows what Sento represents for Kenshi and saving his family is much more important than the sword itself (at this point it’s important to remember nobody knows of Sentos powers- it’s just a symbolic thing to Kenshi since it’s his family sword). Deep down he knows objectively this sword should go to Kenshi, but he’s unwilling to admit it. Here’s where a lot of headcanoning happens for me- since this is a new timeline, we can’t guarantee things we know about these characters from previous games are still true. However, based on how Johnny behaves, I think it’s safe to assume his relationship with his dad was still rough as a kid (is this mentioned in this timeline? I can only seem to remember it being mentioned in MK11). I headcanon that while his dad was abusive, his mother was his rock. Unfortunately, living with both a negative and a positive parent in the same house creates instability and often leads to things like NPD, BPD, Bipolar Disorder, etc. I don’t specifically think Johnny has any of these, but maybe just aspects here and there that show up. For example, when you grow up with your needs unmet and never being a priority of your parent’s, you learn to provide for yourself. Sometimes this can be in a healthy self sustaining way, and sometimes this can mean over compensating when you perceive that somebody doesn’t think your problems are very important- like Johnny knowing that Kenshi deserves the sword more than he does, but hearing him say it leads Johnny to double down and cling to the sword with his life. Anyways, this is getting too long so there will have to be a part 2 of my analysis of the scenes at Wu Shi Academy.

across the spiderverse spoilers under cut

was discussing the film with some of my friends who saw it last night, same as me, and I think I can provide a perspective on one of the major themes that is heavily rooted in the Black Caribbean student experience

tw: institutional racism, references to sexual harassment and antiblack hate crimes

everything in across the spiderverse is incredibly intentional, including the early college advising meeting. now, you may think it's solely furthering the theme of expectations, and while it is concerned with that in a fundamental manner, that's not the full story.

colleges, especially top colleges, want stories about struggle. they live for it! crave it! I was naive enough starting out that summer between my junior and senior years that I thought writing a personal essay about how my interest in game writing has influenced my own trajectory would fly. it didn't. my family, my advisers, they all said it lacked something, that it wasn't me. can you guess what WAS me enough to get me into 13 colleges, including the university of chicago? writing about me being hate crimed and sexually harassed at the same time. because I 'overcame it'. I struggled, yes, but I persevered!

I don't like college applications. I get the point of the holistic approach, but said approach fails students when what is personal is only seen as worthy if you suffered and can adequately describe it on the page. they constantly say 'we'd rather see a student who did poorly but had to raise their siblings than a Straight As students with no experiences to speak of' but why is the only merit we can find in students, especially students of color, moments of anguish that you have to then fight against? why do I have to recount the worst moments of my life (sanism in Afro-Caribbean communities, sexual harassment, the works) for the sake of a school that doesn't actually give two shits about me now that I'm here? thanks by the way, uchicago, love being a token, it's really cool. I swear this is still about Miles.

the framing of his familial story into something palatable yet appealing to princeton (a school that I also applied to back then) even though it's not exactly true? pure autofiction. and it's what colleges eat up. they want to see a Black boy, son of immigrants (again regardless of how true this might be), suffer but persevere. he's 'beat the odds'! look at him, going from his miserable little Brooklyn existence to studying quantum physics at an Ivy League!

and by the middle of the film, Miles says 'no' to all that. people are constantly trying to write his own story. they want to take who he is and judge it against a board of critics, against algorithms that say his choices are wrong, against his peers who don't think he belongs. and he says "nah. I'mma do my own thing."

he might not be able to transcend the desires of admissions, but he can assert himself here. he can protect his inner child as his mother wanted. and he does it as well as he can. it's why I relate to him so much, I wish I was in the position to do what he does: look someone dead in the eye and reject their narrative of him as unfair and stifling.

@minnesotamedic186 @mimizzin @darkmedolie @randomrabbidramblings @deezeyrabbidy @pastelprince18 @salamifuposey @bramble-scramble @sneklover

Okay, I need to get this on a full post because I've been completely baffled ever since The Last Spark Hunter DLC came out.

[Spoilers Below, just in case]

I made a couple reblogs about this, but I really wanted to express what I think is going to happen in the upcoming Rayman DLC, specifically with Phantom.

As of recently, Phantom has made somewhat of an appearance in The Last Spark Hunter as a giant plushie/inflatable object(?) with Beep-O emphasizing on how the Heroes will never, ever, ever see him again. Ever.

And, of course, a good majority of us believe that this is a BIG case of suspicious foreshadowing.

While I am on the side of "OMG PHANTOM'S COMING BACK!!!", that's not the only thing why I'm making this post. I'm making a post because Ubisoft has been making Phantom... weirdly similar to how I make Phantom to be. I'm not saying that Ubisoft is spying on me, but it is a very startling coincidence.

First, it was Madame Bwahstrella's mention of Phantom's infidelity in The Tower of Doooom DLC:

"You didn't need to be a psychic to predict the Phantom dumping Bea for one of her backup dancers, but would she listen?"

The above text is from the Super Mario Wiki and is available under a Creative Commons license. Attribution must be provided through a list of authors or a link back to the original article. Source: https://www.mariowiki.com/List_of_Mario_%2B_Rabbids_Sparks_of_Hope_quotes

---

Although my depiction of Phantom is far less adulterous, it still creates an undeniable similarity between the fanon and canon lore. Both Phantoms are devilish heartthrobs, delving deep into a romance the moment the opportunity has presented itself. I believe this also implies that canon Phantom has or had plenty of flings and relationships (all of which were not so great). When the Rayman DLC comes out later this year, I genuinely hope we get to see even a glimpse of Phantom being flirty or even "easter eggs" of previous love affairs and crushes.

Now, with The Last Spark Hunter out, it is revealed that Phantom wears eye makeup. While this may be a design choice for the Phantom Plushie, again it's another similarity. I chose to draw Phantom with eye makeup because I felt it was appropriate for an opera singer and overall thespian. Plus, I was heavily inspired by 80's traditional Goth makeup, specifically Siouxsie Sioux, as well as German Expressionist films like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "Metropolis".

While we wait for the final DLC for Sparks of Hope, allow me to make even more predictions for Phantom's supposed arrival with my headcanons. Because I apparently have the power of Future Vision and I want to manifest some really cool shit. /j

Phantom lives underneath the theatre in Spooky Trails. This, obviously, is a reference to the original Phantom of the Opera. Considering that the Rayman DLC appears to be located within a hotel, perhaps Phantom will have some secret lair underneath for our Heroes to discover. As @minnesotamedic186 described it, maybe Phantom will "pull a Helen Gravely" and reveal himself as the host/owner of the hotel.

This one is very evident in my headcanons, but Phantom has a major crush on Princess Peach. Again, like the underground lair, it's another POTO reference and... honestly, how could I not ship these two? If there's going to be a moment within the DLC that confirms this, I like to think it would be like an unfinished song, a sketch, or maybe a small shrine dedicated to her. But it would be even better if Phantom has a mannequin dressed up as her (similarly to how the OG Phantom had one of Christine Daae). However, if it's revealed that Peach is not Phantom's crush, it better be Rabbid Peach or maybe a brand new character within the DLC.

Phantom studies magic in his spare time and, through his abilities, can (and has) created servants/assistants/company with it. Now, this headcanon is more in-depth, as it applies to his fused DNA as well as his emotional state. Since he's part Boo, powers such as invisibility and hypnosis come naturally to him. On top of that, the ability to possess objects into helpers plays into the idea that Phantom doesn't have much in terms of friends. The concept of him conjuring magic may be a far stretch in terms of canon lore, but maybe the DLC will present a scenario where Phantom gains or plans to gain a very strong source of power.

This one applies to the previous headcanon: Phantom has multiple powers, including hypnosis, invisibility, illusions, and fog transformation. His wide variety of powers references how the OG Phantom was a Renaissance man with a ton of skills under his belt, ranging from ventriloquist to composer. If Phantom makes his debut in the Rayman DLC, he needs to be cunning as well as almost invulnerable. He would make quite the formidable main villain, just like how Rabbid Kong was the main villain in the Donkey Kong DLC.

Another headcanon I have is that Phantom loves to dress up in costumes! I'm putting this out there because my man definitely deserves some drip - be it a brand-new suit, an opera cloak, or an elaborate costume for an upcoming performance. It would be so cool if Phantom has a Red Death costume for his final battle or even a picture of him wearing it.

hi jo! i saw someone shit on the idea of van as a nonbinary butch today and as one myself it made me upset. I love your fics and how you write van so I was wondering if you had any headcanons about van being gnc / nonbinary?

hey! first off, I'm really sorry you saw someone reacting negatively to the idea of nonbinary butch Van. I know it can be really frustrating and upsetting to see someone getting offended at the idea of a fictional character possibly having a similar identity as you. it's like "what's wrong with my identity that makes you deny this character I love and relate to could also be a nonbinary butch lesbian?" (spoiler alert: nothing is wrong with being a nonbinary butch lesbian, some people are just very loud and very wrong)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! it truly means a lot to know that people like what I write. I'm especially glad that the fics I've written dealing with Van's gender have been well received, and that people could feel seen by them!

I could write multiple essays on Van's gender and why I personally believe they're nonbinary (and why they're already canonically butch), but I'll confine this to just my top nonbinary Van hcs lol

if they had lost states and never gotten on the plane, Van would've gotten a scholarship to NYU and double majored in film and women's & gender studies. They would've become aware of Gender Trouble and Stone Butch Blues through their major, and they also would've met more gnc people in NYC. This would've led to their realization that there are other people like them who share similar experiences. I personally think it would've taken them a year or two to talk to Taissa about it because they didn't want to "burden her with it" (typical Van), but Tai would've been really accepting and went out of her way to read about gender identity and try really hard to understand Van's experiences once they told her. I don't think Van would've been out as nonbinary to anyone besides Tai and close friends until like the early 00s though.

in "canon" where the crash happens, I think it would've taken Van a lot longer to realize they even could be nonbinary. like they had so much trauma to work through, and just surviving was probably a struggle for them. I can really see them spending at least a decade just ignoring any dysphoria they had. they probably also didn't have the same exposure to information about being nonbinary back in the late 90s / early 00s, especially if they weren't living in a very queer area or around academia. I think one of the queer college kids who helped out around their store eventually came out to them as nonbinary in the late 00s. then Van researched being nonbinary so they could be there for them, and that's how Van finally realized they're actually nonbinary.

I think Van would've spent some time exploring what pronouns felt right for them after realizing they're nonbinary, but they would eventually use they/them or they/she by the present day.

I think Van had top surgery in the late 00s in the no crash universe and in the mid-2010s in the "canon" universe

I think that Van's dysphoria is mostly social dysphoria, but I do think they have top dysphoria. I personally read Van's boob jokes in S1 as using humor to deflect from some dysphoria they may have been experiencing at the time. (as a nonbinary lesbian, it reminded me a lot of how I personally dealt with my own dysphoria when I was about Van's age and hadn't yet realized it was dysphoria)

Lastly

important note: all of this is purely my own hcs and opinions, and I am not claiming to know what they will or won't explore canonically on the show. that being said, I am a nonbinary butch lesbian and personally see a lot of myself and my own experiences in Van, and many other nonbinary lesbians also see themselves in Van. we all have every right to hc Van as nonbinary. if you don't like it, you can politely fuck off

Do you have any alternate career ideas that you like for Leon? Like if he stopped being a cop as you said in your other ask or was magically released from the government. I'm not necessarily expecting a happy answer here but... (have you talked about this before? Weird deja vu suddenly...)

I kind of like the idea that he'd be good with dogs so I like to imagine him as a dog trainer. :)

I haven't talked about this, no, so idk man maybe I was still nerding out over Leon in a past life LMAO

Canonically, Leon has always been very technologically savvy, and there's just something about his personality in RE2make that just makes me feel like he was kind of an A/V nerd in school AND I DON'T KNOW WHY TBH.

Like, my brain is just like "there's no possible fucking way that Leon goddamn Kennedy -- ESPECIALLY Remake Leon -- made it all the way through college and never once worked tech or did camera work or editing on a student film. that's just not fucking possible." probably because i, myself, was a criminal justice major who did a lot of acting in college and i was not the only one and i know exactly the type of personality that doublefists those particular interests LMAO so many of the tech guys i knew were double majoring or at the very least minoring in political science or law or also criminal justice for some reason, it was so weird.

and now i'm for some reason imagining that one of the student films he helped shoot or edit was a porno and idk why. it just seems like the kind of bizarre circumstance he'd get himself into and doesn't know how because his life is just Like That

So, if there was no outbreak and Leon quit his job in the RPD, I could see him being a systems engineer with a secret dream of actually becoming a film editor but having absolutely no idea how to even start getting into something like that.

I also think it's possible that he'd consider going back to school and studying law with the intention of being a defense attorney -- because that's a way for him to actually help protect people in a way that doesn't feed the system.

Now, if Leon was to have never been kidnapped by the CIA but Raccoon City still happened, I think that'd be a little different -- because he doesn't come out of Raccoon City the same person he was going into it, so I don't see him leaning back on secondary interests he'd had in school.

Plus, he has a surprise daughter now LMAO

I imagine that he would've just taken Sherry back to his parents' house and tried to figure out a plan from there while he waited for word from Claire about Chris's whereabouts. (And, honestly, I think that's the reason why Leon insists that Claire goes off on her own to begin with?? He can get Sherry to somewhere safe -- he can take her to his parents -- and then, from there, he'd be able to focus on helping Claire fuck up Umbrella's shit.)

And in this particular scenario, I don't think Leon would be eager to jump right back onto the front lines. He's not ex-military like Chris and Jill, so he probably wouldn't see himself as a natural combatant. I can almost see him wanting to use the investigation skills he learned in police academy to pursue something like investigative journalism and help in the takedown of Umbrella that way.

Unless, of course, Chris put a hand on his shoulder, looked him dead in the eyes, and said in a firm but sincere voice, "We could really use a man like you out there."

Then, Leon's heart would melt and his "I'm a good boy 🥺" sense would activate, and he'd be joining up with the BSAA two days later.

And if he were to be released from his deal with the government at some point after his training was already finished, he would probably just up and join the BSAA on his own -- because, at least there, he'd be with friends and have a support system and wouldn't be chained by the neck to a government he didn't trust in order to do work he didn't always necessarily agree with.

🪄thoughts on Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness🪄 long post and will contain spoilers under the read more

Disclaimer: I enjoyed the movie but this somewhat review will contain some major criticisms.

When Martin Scorsese said MCU films aren’t real cinema, and the MCU fans consume films like one would enjoy a theme park. I don’t think he’s wrong but I don’t fully agree with him either, but, MoM is the best example (if there was any). I’m not sure how to properly put this into words. I’ll give it a few days to see if I can do this thought justice. But know that I genuinely think MoM is the best example for this opinion.

Goddamn that plot was MESSY. Three act structure whomst???? (Extremely derogatory). My film studies teacher would have destroyed that script, gave it a D- and a whole month to rework it because that’s how much time it would need. There’s a Lad Bible interview Cumberbatch and Olsen did. They were describing how often things would change, how the morning of the shoot they would get brand new info. It’s very evident in the pacing of the movie.

MoM would need a 6-episode show, with 45-60 whole minute per ep, to fully do justice to the characters. The lack of character development, or effective character development was a little sad. The pacing is my biggest issues with this movie because they’re just bringing in SO many things into one film when they cannot afford that rn

It’s basically a horror movie in a lot of ways. It was visually stunning and absolutely lovely in so many ways. The music!! (And that fight scene w the music ohmygod) I love it.

Spoilers here on out.

Dr Strange, sir, I’m sorry this wasn’t your movie. Literally so many things happened, I wish I got to see how you processed the snap and the “dust for 5 years” thing. I’m glad you gave us a better quote to express love I love you 3000 was kinda ????, (like a friend said, it’s superior). “I’d love you in any universe” was wonderful (and I might get the exact wording wrong, sue me, I’m still drunk)

WONG MY BELOVED. You deserve to be Sorcerer Supreme!! Ur amazing and can do no wrong. Beloved <3

America Chavez!! You’re super cool and I cannot wait to see the cool shit you do. But also, I’m going to acknowledge that they’re brining a new character without putting in the work? To me it seems like they introduced her with no personality and a tragic back story. Do MCU women have any real backstory other than “a tragic event thats entirely (female characters) fault or something they should feel shame/take blame for?”

Replacing Irondad-Spiderson with a Strange & Chavez, Father-Daughter relationship I see. It’s cute, fanfics will be fun. Can’t wait to block the inevitable ship name.

Christine, I’m glad that in every universe, you’re prioritising yourself and your sanity instead of dating a man too afraid to be vulnerable. Good for you, girl!!

WANDA. I have so many thoughts!! You might get your own post??? She’s so powerful, I love it. Even though I think it was a horrible way to show her power, watching her destroy the Illuminati was awesome. The whole bit where she used her Intelligence and the reflections was a 11/10 better way to show her formidable nature. I think there’s some major cognitive dissonance in her motives. If she knows that she can create her own world through sheer emotions, then why would she need to go to another universe??? If you’re telling me she feels guilt, and that’s why she won’t hurt the humans on earth-616, then how do you explain her being ok with taking away another Wanda’s babies for herself? Anyway. Thinking thoughts. Feel free to explain I guess? Idk.

The fucking Illuminati!!!!!!!!!! This is a whole thing bro

First of all, REED RICHARDS??? THEY KEPT KRASINSKI’S CASTING HIDDEN?? Alleged Tom Cruise was a fucking phenomenal distraction, I’m in AWE. Andrew Garfield could NEVER!!!! Everyone else on that cast list we had strong inklings but ufh Mr. Fantastic that was GG as fuck. (Also I think I read Tom Cruise and Haley Attwell were dating so maybe the whole Tom Cruise Ironman came from him visiting her on set? Idk)

Now to shit on it.

You’re telling me the smartest man in their universe, Who voted on killing their Strange for Dreamwalking the darkhold magic, didn’t anticipate Scarlet Witch’s power????? Even if he did anticipate it, why would you tell her about Black Bolt’s power!!! God that was DUMB. Good to see u Mr. Jim Kraskinski but you deserve to be noodle string cheesed. The fam service is great tho, and I really hope we see Kraskinski-Blunt and Evans in a new Fantastic 4 movie

CAPTAIN CARTER I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! Thank you for not bringing Steve into her narrative in any way what so ever. Thank you for the “I can do this all day” It’s lovely!!!! She’s Amazing and strong, but like I said killing her off was just meh move. I like that you did it that way? But idk,,, I want to see more of her so maybe Marvel will listen to their fans again and give us more!!!

Black Bolt, why did I think Ben Affleck played you?? You died in a super fucked up way and honestly, thank you for that. Your death was refreshing and will scar at least one (1) child, and idk if that’s a good thing but, parents definitely need to adhere to the movie ratings on this one.

PROFESSOR X!! I love you, I missed you, you were dressed like your husband (Mr. Magneto) when you died why was that??? I hate that Wanda killed you but I missed you. So much. I love you.

CAP MARVEL MARIA YOUR AWESOME but I wanna see more of you also if ur Cap then where Carol and did you still have a kid? What happened?? I wanna see more!!!!!!

Okay I think that’s mostly it. Closing notes, could do better, y’all threw character development out of the window. Randomly introducing new powers, characters and strengths is a little weak in terms of writing. Employee foreshadowing instead of expecting your fans to watch over 20 hours of content. It was good but you could do a lot better.

I will not watch it in the movies again, and I watch NWH like 3 times full priced tix.

(Lets all say a silent thank you to my cousin who suggested that I record him at major moments last week) 2/3And Brian said there’s nothing noble about being poor. (And my brother lost his mind. Im glad you gave me a heads up that you guys were wondering about this scene so i could film him) ‘Wait!!!!! hold up!!! Pause it! I’ve had thoughts about brian and money and *waves his hands while fast walking* stuff but I need my laptop! (he has over 20 google tabs opened with research about colleges in Pittsburgh that could do marketing degrees, how much it would cost and shit like that. One tab was also ‘how to learn to play violin in less than a week’ he said he wanted to see if its really that hard) Okay so! I’ve been thinking A LOT about this. So Mike said they were in the same school, remember? But Mike dropped out or something like that from college which to be fair, so did I and I think I’m doing fantastic, haters that go by the name mom and dad may disagree but I’m here for a fun time not to cure cancer, anyway back to Brian. Brian has this big fancy wearing suit type of job and he’s a partner remember? So that unfortunately demands a resume with big words on it like “college”. So Brian definitely went to college and he obviously worked his ass off since clearly him and Mike are nowhere near each other cash wise. I mean a loft like that? That he probably owns? At 30? Plus the suit wearing job? Yeah, he did a lot of work and probably even had straight As. Probably even in high school so he could get into college AND like how he keeps going at Justin for school? Remember him being impressed by his SATs and how he would make him study like crazy. Shit I wouldn’t be surprised if he even quizzed him during sex. Poor Justin for sure got a boner while taking a test. Wait im getting distracted! Anyway his *gags* dad also took money for him AND HE HAD IT FUCKING READY! He went to see him and he already had it ready! And just before his nephew said Brians sister says he doesnt give them any money which clearly not true to some level but clearly they saw him make money and they took it. And we both know that house was on fire! It was burning every day! This dude made it out alive but he most definitely got 3rd degree burns. So he for sure knew the only way out was to turn 18 and get into college far away and then never come back unless it’s for a funeral to make 100% sure that they are in in that box. So him saying there’s nothing noble about being poor is coming from a different place than what Justin is dealing with with that fucker. That dude is just a broke college student who got offered a deal that kinda sucks BUT he said it himself to Jen, his parents payed for shit, they supported him. Meanwhile Brian? Every single thing he has down to his drugs was bought by him. And i doubt he’d ever take anything from anyone because you know how shitty abusive parents are? They buy you a box of cereal once and then throw it in your face for 3 years straight. So he probably never got anything from his parents and if he did it came with a price *looks at paused Brian on tv and takes a deep breath* and probably some bruises too. So him saying and thinking that, is coming from a place of survival and “look what i did for myself” when everyone probably told him he’s never gonna be anything except maybe dead. And sure he clearly loves money and power since he’s even willing to work with that fucker but in some way can you blame him? He was powerless all his life. But if that would be Ethan who would say that? Now that’s different. It’s not exactly survival in the same sense *looks at me in worry* i fear, i lost the plot of the point..i will make it back but i need to think. *plays the episode again* ‘WHY WOULD THEY MAKE HIM JERK OFF TO RAGE?! No matter what he’s always gonna be obsessed with Brian. HE IS RUNNING WITH SPERM IN HIS CUP! RUN FORREST RUN. Is that really how this was done?’

WOW the character analysis from your brother… I personally think he’s spot on (I’ve given a lot of thought to Brian’s SES background and where he is financially and professionally at the start of the show… too much thought? Nah.) (Btw tell your brother some day that the fandom thinks Brian went to Carnegie Mellon - I love all his open tabs) And this is happening in parallel to Stockwell - Brian is clearly a take the money and who tf cares where it’s from because he had to be, he didn’t have any alternative. His advice makes perfect sense for him to have survived.

Cosign your brother’s analysis.

hey so after rewatching r1ct for the 19th time maybe i should actually get around to sendig asks abt it SO HEY i've been trying to make a more abstract sort of story and it seems i have trouble with ... being abstract in general. i usually can't come up with any sort of weird imagery or storylines without borrowing heavily from something else. it's highly inconvenient. How do you go about the concept process for your films ? any major takeaways from art school or things i should try ? :0

Wow. this is like the last ask i ever expected to get so first of all thank you for watching R1CT....19 times?!?? this may be hyperbole but either way thank you. its a project that went through a lot of stages and changes and difficulties and it means a lot to me

*puts my hands on your shoulders*i have to tell you something. there is no way you can come up with shit without referencing or borrowing from others' work. im working on a zine/book/thing about the entire journey of making it but basically my"concept process" was a 30-month mess that started out with 1 sketch on the train, which became an idea for a way too ambitious yet still half-assed fully hand-drawn second-year film..but put through the play-doh spaghetti machine of covid i started having a different relationship with myself, with my computer, with my computer-self.. and it morphed slowly and weirdly into wut it is i guess. i dont think i could recreate those circumstances if i tried lol. but yea im rambling too much so let me actually try to answer your question

so ya like i said its actually important and beneficial to borrow from other peoples works. i definitely have the privilege of going to art school to help with that cause i was exposed to a variety of different media and art and obscure films i probably wouldnt have seen otherwise. but i will say itll serve u well to branch out and look at art forms other than the one youre studying, even stuff that seems boring or not relevant. and combine the elements that inspire u the most and make something of ur own. some big inspirations that went into the melting pot early on were: the movie la selva oscura by carlos santa, the opening for the 1974 anime majokko megu-chan, the 1983 movie rock & rule, the matrix, movies by gregg araki, roberto rossellini, david lynch(sorry), elaine may, jonni phillips(to whom i owe so much), among many others; the animated series transformers: beast wars, sally cruikshank's quasi at the quackadero, the artworks of fernand leger and leopold survage (both part of the Cubist scene but had a conceptual interest in filmmaking)...... yeah i could go on for a really long time. (i guess i already did). if you look at this stuff you can probably see lots of elements of these things, in r1ct but it still ended up being something at least semi-original.. so yea go to the library look at art books watch old movies, find stuff u hate, find stuff u like. absorb shit and make shit. dont be afraid to do something way different than what youre used to. basically just go crazy

shoutout 2 any1 who managed to read through this whole thing LOL. i encourage you to check out at least one of the things or artists i mentioned here and yea.. thank you again:)i hope you can look forward to more works in the R1CT cinematic univere

Ohhhh, I get your initial post better now. I think the next film is gonna be more spectacle than any actual attempts at nuanced and critical story telling. Not just because of shit like markets and medium, but also because I remember reading a review where the director (I think it was) got pissy that people were complaining about aspects of the cinematography not translating well to TVs. And he got mad that people weren’t watching the movie “in the way it was intended” well at $15+ bucks a pop for the privilege of sitting in a dark room to watch wide establishing shots of desert scenery for roughly three hours… the prospect doesn’t exactly tickle everyone’s pickle.

So with that sort of ego running the show, I don’t think much nuance is gonna happen. Which certainly won’t help the likely Fight Club phenomenon you mentioned. (I Actually knew a guy who’s favorite movie was fight club, one of the worst people I had the displeasure of going to middle school with)

And to answer the question you didn’t ask

I initially found the game because one of the artist’s SFW pieces showed up in the periphery on my deviant art home page.

Very clean, well weighted line art, in the comic book aesthetic that’s more prevalent now, the sort that allows itself to have more cartoony features, very well defined silhouettes, (even for the characters that didn’t have tits twice as big as their head) I was taking an animation class at the time and also a horny teenager. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A lot of their page was concept and WIPs for the game. So it was both me being horny and me also trying to study for class, one of my major weakness was (and still is) I didn’t simplify characters enough for a good, consistent, well managed, workflow.

I would go through the concept stuff they posted, and eventually got curious enough that I decided to play it even though the only thing I knew about Dune was that David Lynch directed a movie version of it.

the studying sort of helped, I got a bit more confident and comfortable with simplifying features, but I was still pretty slow going compared to most of my classmates. I held myself to a stupidly high standard and kept trying to make it perfect, luckily the teacher was okay with me holing up in the computer lab during lunch and after school to finish assignments.

I don't think that cinema culture purists, while often annoying, necessarily overlap with thoughtless directors. It certainly can be telling, but the state of theatrical distribution is so utterly fucked right now that i wouldn't rule out most big-name directors playing a PR game with their incessant commenting on The Experience. and I think you're selling dune a bit short there - I enjoy greig fraser's cinematography to be honest! compared to lynch's version it is a bit sanitized in art direction, but the craft is solid. same with sound, it's all outstanding. certainly ends up cheaper to see movies in theaters in my neck of the woods too. the streaming subscription bloat is something I fully refuse to participate in and thankfully we don't have to pay that much for tickets. it's maybe half of that, and even less for matinees.

but I still think the question of nuance in part 2 stands apart from all that. I surely hope denis doesn't "view himself" in paul, in which case his ego could very well fumble shit real bad. but for now i really think it could go either way. The seedlings are there, even in the new trailer; they just might pull a fast one and one-up the books on clarity of message, who knows. I genuinely don't remember book paul being this cognizant of the psyop he was participating in.

anyway. very happy for your practical success in studying the game 😄 I respect any pursuit of craft in visual arts that is partially fueled by horniness. always a potential recipe for greatness. godspeed!

Fanfiction "Would you rather?"

Tagged by @future-dregs , yours were so fun to read and I got a bit rambly but had fun answering too!

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Friends to lovers, or enemies to lovers?

Friends to lovers, definitely. I'd rather not have animosity and troubled backgrounds that add baggage to the relationship, it's frustrating for everyone. Unless it's a very rare case of well done enemies to friends to lovers slowburn.

Be forced to watch a terrible movie adaptation of your favorite fanfic, or an amazing adaptation of your least favorite fanfic?

Amazing adaptation. If something like Harry Potter can be decent movies with THAT kind of source material, you can do anything. I think I've already seen enough terrible fanfic movies with all these shitty 'franchise reboots/sequels' so. Yeah. looking at you star trek and resi

A more fun question for me would be which one I'd have to direct, my favourite fic with too much upper management meddling and ruining it, or adapting a source material I hate but with mostly free reign over how I go about it - to which I'd still go for the one I hate cause I'll work through it with pure, hard boiled spite and turn it into something good LMAO

Read fanfic chapters backwards, last to first, or read them as parsed from google translate?

Backwards, but I'm taking the assumption that each chapter is in order and I'm reading the chapter order backwards, not each word of each chapter backwards as well.

Consume every fanfic as an audiobook read by a monotone narrator, or have to read every fanfic on a tiny printed piece of paper written in yellow highlighter?

I can't fucking read yellow highlighter and I already watch enough of that monotone shit on YouTube when I'm studying/drawing, easy win to monotonous reading.

Get a tattoo on your body of every fanfic title you read, or never read fanfic again?

Tattoos. Just get a good artist and make a kind of design out of how all the titles are placed, make em tiny so you got room for more, and off ya go.

Vampire AU or Werewolf AU?

Vampire! But good ones please lol. Werewolves are fun too but a lot of what I've read is too bland-angst or unfunny crack, and vampires just appeal to me more

Get sold to a boy band, or be stuck in a time loop with your love interest?

Time loop! There's some really nice episodes of shows that have time loops (I'm mainly thinking star trek but I'm SURE I've seen other time loop episodes) so I'd be interested to see how that'd go with different stakes and have it be relationship oriented/character driven instead of in massive high stakes must save the world lol

Kill your favorite character, or marry your least favorite character?

I MEAN.... CT already gives you the option. I can just do that. I've also jokingly already been married and divorced to the annoying shit head from CT as well, but I don't think it counts cause I love to hate him. Dunno. If eventual divorce is an option maybe I'd get married, cause I can already kill

Meet your love interest in a coffe shop AU or a college AU?

Really depends on what we're studying. If it's my current major, that could be kinda funny. Making short films with these constraints and pretty much no budget is insane, and I'm even more so. It'd surely be interesting. Also tbh I don't go to coffee shops because I don't like the smell and they're always loud as fuck and I don't even drink coffee to begin with soooo......

Have your fic history leaked, or never read another fanfic again?

Fuck it. No shame. I've read some shit and it'd be a bit nostalgic to see what I read way back in the day cause some were fun (most the fics are lost or got deleted) but most of it is cringe LMAO

Be able to read amazing fanfiction but it always has an mpreg plot twist, or only read bad fanfiction for the rest of your life?

Listen. If it's amazing, mpreg could be good. I just don't like seeing weird mpreg that feels fetishy and not well done. Plus if this means cool trans rep in fics, sign me up I'll get over my own personal discomforts. Also will it stay a plot twist if it's in EVERY fic I read? That's just overdoing the trope with no innovation

Gay ships or straight ships?

Honestly I prefer The Gays ™ cause at least back in the day, when did we ever get shit. It was all queer baiting or villain characters or bury your gays. But! If it's written well I honestly couldn't care less, I'd take an interesting het ship over a bland gay one any day

Ship a rarepair with almost no content, or a pair with lots of content but almost all of it is cracky nightmare smut?

Haha both of these are reality 🙃🙃 I mean, I made an OC to ship with my favourite dude (almost no content cause I'm da only one making shit) BECAUSE all the other fics with my man were fucking gross. Not even funny cracky nightmare smut just straight up. Enemies that are together but not really lovers, taking advantage of power imbalances, incest, and straight up being disrespectful and blurring lines of consent and all of it feeling wildly ooc. YUCK NO THANKS I'LL STAY IN MY CORNER WITH MY OC AND CONTINUE MAKING DUMB MEME COMICS AND ATTEMPTING THE NICE FIC

See your OTP shatter years after their happily ever after, or never have the happily ever after happen in the first place? 

Hmmmm..... Well considering my oc ship I mentioned previously ALREADY HAS a betrayal and break up with ambiguous ending in mind for their 'canon' fic, I might have to go with the first one. Cause it can be done well and having that reflection of all the good times together being only memories can be so bittersweet... Though I'm up for reading a good one that explores never having gotten together. Any otp I'll read either if it's good

Read a poorly written but complete fanfic, or a literary masterpiece last updated June 2013?

Listen. I've already read some masterpieces that haven't updated since earlier than that. I still think about a lot of abandoned fics all the time. If it's good and I have to live with it being incomplete I'll take it

Read SSSS++++ tier smut with almost 11k words, or 70k words worth of fluff?

Both, if they're both well written. But tbh I'll take the smut if it's that good

Read only alternate universe fanfics, or only canon fanfics?

Considering I get a little inwardly pissy when I see some utterly whacky ooc stuff, I'd rather take the aus, cause then if people feel too ooc for me it's just an au lol..I know the point of fanfic is that you can do whatever but also, if you're doing a canon/canon adjacent fic, I prefer when they're taken seriously. I know that's pretentious as fuck and definitely of the 'you will never understand these characters like I do' shit but. Aus are so much easier to enjoy cause so many people have weird interpretations that'll piss me off way more if they're trying to pass it as canon...

Introduce fanfics to your normie friend with an ongoing smut fic with great writing, or a complete fluff fic with terrible writing?

Great writing. Nothing wrong with some smut if it's really good, no need to be prudish. And honestly, if the normie friend is REALLY against it, I could just create a censored version for them and snip out the smut scenes.

Read your NOTP with all your favorite tropes and perfect characterization, or your OTP with tropes you despise and inconsistent characterization?

Notp done well for sure. If it's that good and in character with good plot and tropes, it could be fun. Dunno if it'll change my mind on it being notp lol but I'd rather that than have to read those shitty fics for my man all over again lol.. Already been through that don't make me do it again

Read a fic with an interesting concept but very poor writing, or read a fic with an uninteresting concept with really good writing?

I've already read plenty of both. Some fic authors are just able to make the most mundane things compelling, and some are still honing their skill but clearly have the passion, and both are fun to read. Don't really have a preference here, I'd probably just go on whatever is recommended to me/piques my interest first lol

Have a major character death, or have a bed sharing scene but it's a ship you hate?

Both lol, I don't really care. I'd be mildly curious about how others characterise the ship I hate, and major character deaths can be very interesting and help create some fascinating dynamics and character driven moments. Actually maybe I'd lean more towards character death

Read a fanfic that has consistent grammar and spelling mistakes, or one that the characters are wildly different than canon?

Grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm taking this as 'wildly different to canon but trying to make a canon fic,' in which case it's a massive no thanks. If it's a crack au or clearly meant to be silly, I don't mind, but grammar and spelling aren't that bad

Every fanfic includes Jackson Wang, or every fanfic includes at least one NSFW moment?

Fucking .. Jackson Wang... I've already been in the dark days where I read Kpop fic and every other fic he'd be there anyway and sometimes it's the most random thing... He's a nice enough dude irl but now I'm older and have different fandoms to actually read I realise I'm rather uncomfortable reading fics of irl people, no matter what the mental gymnastics I might've used to justify back in the day. So I'll take the nsfw thanks

Read the most absolutely messed up dead dove with your most wholesome otp, or subject yourself to 100,000 words of your NOTP all written in a solid block with no punctuation and horrible grammar?

Dead dove. I can take that, I'm fucked in the head anyway and might really enjoy it. Spelling and grammar being poor I can deal with, but a solid block? Even of a ship I do like? No thanks that's going to make my head cave in

Have the power to read every fanfic in existence, or have the power to make any ship canon?

All da fanfic, and please have part of that be that I remember the titles and where to find them LMAO. Unless we're talking about turning my oc ship canon in a game mod.... Coders hmu I have ideas to make this a reality

Have your OTP get together in canon but one of them dies in a tragic way, or all members of your OTP survive but get together with other people?

Hmmmm.... Really depends on what ship it is. And the context. I'd take either cause they're both great angst.. I am trying to think of what I'd lean towards but it really feels split down the middle for me lol

Read a cringy 70 chapter Harry Styles mafia AU, or a highschool Kpop AU y/n fic horrible grammar?

Already read those cringe kpop high school aus with next to no grammar and I'll fucking do it again. I don't care for Harry Styles at all lol

Accidentally send your boss a super detailed smut fic, or read a super detailed smut fic about your boss?

Read one, I can keep that to myself. Yeah maybe the first couple days/weeks after I read it will be hard not to laugh or something, but I'll get over it I can be professional.

Read smut fanfic aloud to your parents, or submit fanfic to the employer of your dream job?

I MEAN....... I'M STUDYING TO MAKE MOVIES RN AND IF IT'S MAKING A SCREENPLAY FOR AN ALREADY EXISTING FRANCHISE THAT'S TECHNICALLY FIC!??? I dunno if making movies is my ~dream job~ but I've always wanted to be creative and make stories so. Easy. Also if I make movies or whatever and there's a sex scene in it that's really similar to reading a smut scene to them anyway..

Pine after an oblivious love interest, or be the oblivious love interest being pined after?

Mutual oblivion 🙈🙈 🤯💥

jk, I think both have their interesting qualities, I can't really say. What about being oblivious to the fact that you're pining??

Hanahaki disease, or your soulmates first words to you tattooed on your body (and they're really stupid)?

Ummm... I don't really read soulmates aus all that often. Hanahaki has a really cool aesthetic to it but all the fics seem the same, and tattoo ones... Like once you meet, what's next? I'd probably say hanahaki just for the aesthetic and fingers crossed it's interesting and not bland tragedy porn, or I'd just ask for a better soulmates au LMAO

Be an Alpha, Beta, or Omega in omegaverse?

I've never read any of these kinds of fics so I dunno. I'll be whatever is funniest or provides the most compelling plot

Read a fanfic where the characters turn into furries, or a fanfic where the characters all get pregnant?

Nothing wrong with furries, could be fun. Lowkey interested in what's caused everyone to get pregnant, like is it just slice of life and EVERYONE is pregnant, like men women and all inbetween alike? Or is it a sci-fi or fantasy where there's some magic/science bullshit? It could be interesting? And tbh I have a few scenes in a fic I'm writing with sci-fi bs for some characters getting pregnant but it's coming from a body horror perspective so? If it's a cool premise I probably wouldn't care about everyone being pregnant?

Be able to resurrect dead fics, or have the power to create of plethora of new fics effortlessly?

So uh. This is the choice between resurrecting dead fics or actually having the time to write my 20+ aus just for ct? That I could even write fics for other fandoms? This is easy I wanna finish writing my fucking fics babbbeeeyyy

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Tagging @stillmoveforward @hellishgoat @fanimefreak @kanonavi @dishesoap @nyx4 and anyone else I'm forgetting if ya wanna do it. No pressure to it you don't want to either

if you wouldn’t mind, may i ask how you got into your career? did you get a degree in it, what is your degree? how long did it take you to progress in the field?

totally disregard this if it’s too much! i just noticed your about and i’ve followed you for awhile and im a bit interested in the field you’re in!

omg of course, i don't mind at all! i actually kinda love talking about it – i'm the type of loser who genuinely likes their career (even though you WILL still see me bitching about the stupid aspects of it lmao).

under a cut because i am apparently incapable of shutting up!!

so i actually kinda fell into this line of work out of desperation lmao. i was originally trying to get a job in book publishing after i graduated college which is, like....notoriously difficult to break into. so after struggling for so damn long, i was at my wit's end when i had a thought like, "well, i grew up using social media. i'm on it all the time. i know how it works. lemme see if i can finagle this into a resume."

and then somehow it fucking worked??? i saw a job posting looking for a social media person to work specifically on this one company's twitter and tumblr accounts. yes, they were on tumblr. in 2016. and they needed someone who knew how it worked and how to run a blog. i was the only terminally online loser who fit the bill, and that's literally how i got started.

as far as degrees go, i majored in creative writing. social media degrees/studies were only JUST getting off the ground when i graduated, so it wasn't much of a thing back then. everything i know was either self-taught or learned via the WONDERFUL community of social media managers i've found over the years. there are SO many people who work in this field who are eager to help each other out, because the irony of it all is that it's.....kind of an isolating job? even though you're basically the frontline/mouthpiece of the company, your coworkers tend to forget about you. i've been left out of whole entire marketing meetings because they figured they could just hand me a pile of random content with ZERO context and i'd just be able to magically piece everything together by myself. so it's nice to have a community of folks that have been through the same struggles and can act as a shoulder for you to lean on when things get frustrating. and yeah, if i ever have a question about anything – from "what's a reasonable salary range for this position" to "what the fuck is going on with the instagram algorithm today" – someone will always answer.

and as for job progression, it's funny – when it comes to the actual job function, i haven't really "risen" up the ranks that much, but i LIKE it that way! i don't want to be a manager or anything like that – i really do love being the person who gets to dream up the content, write the captions, film the videos (sometimes), and figure out the best ways to share them. i've worked at 4 different companies since 2016 and by total coincidence, at each company i was the first person they'd ever hired to run social media as a single entity, rather than just handing it off to an employee who already had a full-time job of their own. so that means i also get to set all the benchmarks and design all the platform strategies from scratch – which sounds daunting but again, i'm the kind of loser who finds that shit fun lmao. it's partly creative and partly analytical, so it never gets boring.

ANYWAY yeah, can you tell i love chatting about this stuff lmao. it started out with me bullshitting my way into that first job by being like "i've been terminally online since 2009, please hire me" and now i actually DO know what i'm doing. kind of nuts!! i love it lol 💕

Why do I watch film?

Originally posted April 14th, 2015

I was posed this question today, and I realized that despite all of my experience and knowledge relating to film, film criticism, and film theory, I don’t actually have a simple answer, and even worse, I’d not once asked myself this question before.

It’s never really been a big concern, if I’m being honest. I’ve been watching film and television since the first month of my life (I was taken to see The Lion King in theaters by my Papaw not long after it was released), and so the idea that I would just keep watching film has always just been a given in my mind. And, most importantly, I enjoy watching films, and find doing so to be enriching, educational, and valuable, so the possibility that I would ever stop watching films is just absurd, in my mind.

To further complicate things, I already have a huge number of answers to the similar question “Why should a person watch films,” all of which are fairly obvious to anyone who understands the value of art, and that films are art (it’s a form of personal expression, the expression can resonate emotionally, and the creativity of that expression is inherently valuable). And that’s not even mentioning film’s specific capacity to represent the real, the fantastic, the dreamlike, and the unconscious in unique ways, all of which have been explored in detail by both filmmakers and film theorists alike.

So this question of why I watch films isn’t something that puzzles me because I doubt its value or importance as a medium. It puzzles me, I think, because I have never asked the question of why I watch films instead of focusing on another artistic medium, and also, because I’ve never asked the question of why I personally watch film. And now, I’m going to attempt to answer those two questions to the best of my ability.

Why do I watch films?

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Films (typically) tell stories. Stories have emotional impact and resonance because they’re one of the primary methods of human communication and education. They have inherent value because of that, and they have personal value because of how they have affected me.

So with the obvious (I say, nonchalantly throwing out complex and controversial anthropological theory at you without evidence; a post for another day, because these are totally frequent) out of the way, let’s get into the complicated matters.

As I mentioned before, I’ve always watched films. Some of my earliest memories revolve around watching The Fox and the Hound, and more importantly, watching my cousin’s watch it, waiting for their reactions to the “good parts” (the friendship of Todd and Copper and their dedication to one another will always hold a special place in my heart; also that bear is scary as shit when you’re seven, and is definitely the creepiest creature Disney has ever animated in my opinion). But that experience is by no means unique to me; most of my generation has grown up with the same amount of exposure to film, and probably even watched The Fox and the Hound with their friends, and the majority of them haven’t ended up studying it at a high level with me. So why am I here, studying film, writing films, and making plans to become a film writer and director?

I think that primarily, it stems from the fact that I just “get” film. I understand visual storytelling. I understand what a cut from one shot to the next can imply, what the framing of a shot can imply, what the movement of the camera can imply, and I understand all of these things very automatically, often subconsciously (learning to consciously recognize these things has been what the bulk of my study of film has been for). And this natural understanding of film is why I’ve probably always seen stories very visually (beyond imagining stories in my head as films, when I read books, I see cuts, pans, shifting focus, variable depth of field, etc.; it’s probably why if worse comes to worst, I’ll end up writing adapted screenplays of popular novels).

That natural understanding doesn’t apply to nearly any other medium though. With say, painting, my understanding of framing and composition gives me some understanding of the medium, but I know absolutely nothing about brush strokes, canvas, or paint type. The same applies somewhat to fictional writing as well; sure, I know how to analyze plot, characters, themes, and the like, but I know nothing about defining space with language, how to use different writing styles to differentiate between characters, or how to use different rhetorical styles to differentiate between ideas (this post is undoubtedly a mess in that regard).

But my natural understanding of film only explains why choosing to study it was a smart choice; I could have invested the time necessary to understand the other mediums of art, and in the future, that’s most likely what I will end up doing with my spare time. And the reasons for that natural understanding are still actually really mysterious to me. Does my mind just naturally function like an editing board, making my understanding of editing a natural extension of its capacity? Or on that same note, have I simply just been so influenced by the editing of films that my brain has rewired itself to accommodate that, making my understanding of editing a learned behavior? Why have I always been drawn to film, and not any of the other arts that I’ve spent time studying? Is it something inherent to the nature of film that’s always appealed to me?

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Tár - Review (slight spoilers)

I never watched a trailer for this one, but I knew a rough synopsis of it just from osmosis; a conductor being ‘me too’ed’ and getting cancelled.

The movie opens with a long Q&A  and you get the impression that Lydia Tar, played by Cate Blanchett, is  an extremely intelligent know it all , which is slightly annoying. But at that point she isn’t entirely unlikeable. I found myself intrigued and wanted to see her at work. Flash forward to a scene of her teaching (guest lecturing? That wasn’t clear to me) a class at Julliard and its during this scene that you realize, “oh so this woman is a c*nt”. That scene is going to be on every for your consideration highlight real this season , and will be studied for years. Blanchet is incredible in this scene, and her character is so awful in it that it actually made me a little excited to see her get knocked down later in the film.

Lydia Tar is one of those people that is so arrogant , so up their own ass believing their own shit, and so unfeeling to the majority of ever other human she interacts with, but is, we are lead to believe, so incredibly talented that she can get away with it. It leaves her feeling immune to any and all consequences of her actions. The one redeeming relationship she has is with her young daughter that she’s raising with her partner, but even that is ruined. There is a moment when she does something to defend her daughter, but she does it in the most horrible and atrocious way that its like, wow even when you’re trying to be good you’re a truly terrible person.

Tar is an exploration of a person that leaves a path of destruction everywhere she goes, and eventually she gets cancelled in the most spectacular way. My initial thought as I was getting out of my seat after the credits rolled were “wow” – she got CAN. CELLED….  But thinking about it more, its like yeah she got knocked down but she’s still free to find work, and probably well paid work,  without making any amends or answering for the things she’s done /the lives she’s destroyed. It felt a little on the nose for the current climate where so many awful people get to continue being awful without any real consequences.

Overall I’m glad I went to see the film, but didn’t love it.  But honestly probably will go see it again my theatre did not have the best sound so it was a little hard to hear the dialogue.  I don’t know why this movie had to be 2 hrs and 40 minutes though. There are other parts of the movie that I really enjoyed (this movie is filled with nice rich people apartment porn), but I feel kinda dispassionate about it and don’t even feel like writing it down , and I guess that says a lot lol.

6/10  

saw ur tags about dbh brainrot and thought you’d relate: i learned two programming languages bc i felt like everyone thought kamski seems smarter than he is. i study political science (a main reason for this was bc i got into different tactics in political progression bc of markus). it’s sickening!!!! glad we’re in similar boats

(talking about the tags on this post) Oh my God YES and I've always done things like this with so many fandoms, but it seems dbh has been the worst djfjfjds.

That's so fucking cool that you learned two programming languages. I learned some throughout highschool and my dad has worked IT for 23 years now, so I know a lot from him, and it's such a fun thing to learn but definitely easier to understand once you've learned it.

Also studying political science??? That's so awesome and kickass of you. And yeah seriously, as much as I'll shit on the half assed politics of this game, that aspect of it certainly allows for the inspiration to explore these topics in real life.

I was so upset and frustrated with this game that it motivated me to double down on my own research of historical freedom fights and how absolutely none of them were won "peacefully" because the oppressors don't give that option. I wrote an essay about it too. Also made it through my old shitty job by pretending to be an android performing tasks by programming. Writing scripts, fics, and outlines like I never have before. I saw a simarkus edit on Instagram the other day that I'm obsessed with, and the audio was "De Diepte" by S10 - sung entirely in Dutch - and I loved it so much I literally taught myself how to sing the song. I don't speak a word of Dutch but now I can sing a song. I had to write a 5k word story for my intro to script writing class last semester (I'm a film major) and I based my two main characters off of Simon and North. Detroit: Evolution was so breathtaking to me from a film perspective that it spurred me through two other film courses with new examples and vocabulary - I even wrote a breakdown of the symbolism and foreshadowing in DE but I'll probably never share that because it's all over the place and kinda like a personal project.

I got into dbh last November. It has been 9 whole months which is the longest I've ever lasted in any fandom. And I don't see it going away anytime soon either. It's,,, ridiculous but also I am very grateful because it's given me SO much creative liberty and motivation. It's also so fun to write fix-it-fics for a game that has such terrible writing skfhdkdus

josh headcanons cuz yeah (these are gonna be all of them actually so anyone who cares abt my posts have prob seen these before)

multimedia artist; i think he mainly likes to use paints and charcoal, and if he's sketching he uses smudges and sharp fancy artist pencils

loves drones and cyborg related anything, especially if it's horror related, so like sci-fi horror (also is a sucker for slasher horror, i fink saw is his favorite probably)

he's got an engineer kinda streak to him. he loves making things and tampering with machinery (contrast to chris who loves tampering with electronics instead)

loves to write stories, but he keeps it hidden bc he thinks it's embarrassing

he doesn't game often, when he does though he enjoys castlevania and resident evil, and has played majority of the story games out there on playstation

he also likes survival horror in general when it comes to games. prob liked haunting ground

video essay enthusiast, josh is like that meme that's like "what happened to him" "he ate without youtube" like that's his vibe

can info dump about anything aquatic, loves the aquarium and his favorite sea creature is an isopod bc it looks so extraterrestrial

although he's afraid of spiders, he enjoys the creepy crawly if they're slimy and cool looking

has about 20 sketchbooks

breaks every pair of headphones he's ever owned and the only ones he hasn't broken are sony headphones his dad got in like 2001

made a shit ton of mix tapes in high school, it's literally all poorly exported mp3s of unheard of artists that he still indulged in till college

i don't think josh is that frequent of a drug user so from time to time he smokes weed

on that ^ topic tho he has messed with a variety of drugs

horrible decision maker: in 7th grade he chugged robitussin and had a full body rash

trans, was stealth till he came out in like college, and he doesn't gaf abt what pronouns ppl use

likes the uncanny, creepy dolls and masks and mannequins are like one of his favorite things in horror (kinda true bc of all the mannequins we see in the therapy sessions + the dolls he used to represent his friends)

his bday is january 30th (mainly bc his bday just has to be in january for his age to make sense + he's the most aquarius man i've ever seen)

used to be into sports bc his dad would play baseball with him but i think that ended up dwindling over the years and josh lost all interest in sports by high school and thought it was lame

also in high school he was in the yearbook club

he was verryyyy dorky in high school which he tried keeping to himself but it didn't mesh well with others so josh opted to be like. the guy who everyone went to for parties and booze when he got to college

while he did study psychology i also think he was interested in other science or stem courses in general while there, but he didn't pursue it

in public he dresses in a way he hopes nobody even thinks about (just super casual and normal he's like a sim) but splurges on weird clothes he finds on cheap sites

both his parents worked and were hardly home, so josh had to learn to cook if him and his sisters ever wanted to have dinner

he had a lot of jobs while in college and high school; longest place he worked at was a cafe. he also took up working at the college library but hated it and quit

he steals a lot of hannah's accessories

is mildly interested in botany

knows ASL, has EDS, and used to do ballet with his sisters at a young age. they try to get him back into it but he firmly declines.

very autistic, specifically about horror movies and filmmaking in general. he always looks for the behind the scenes footage of all his favorite horror films, and particularly enjoys the FX process

okay this is all i got i might add more to it if i remember my other headcanons (which honestly is just endless atp)

also while i do hc all of this for him, josh is still the same douche bag we see in game. i just wanted him to have more interests besides just being the horror and films guy (which i do keep in his character while headcanoning all of this)