#I haven’t watched twd in literal ages

[whateverisbeautiful]

Reveling in Richonne

#177: The Unstoppable Life (11x24) 

Y’all, I can’t help it. I have got to revel in Richonne right quick. 😋 It hit me that we very much got a Richonne sequence at the end of the series finale and, as are the rules, if anything Richonne-related was recorded and released, I gots to analyze it. Even years later. The Richonne love never ends cuz they are the gift that keeps on giving. 💯

And boy were we blessed with Rick and Michonne’s first return to the franchise after years away. How absolutely perfect is it that this show ended on the two of them, Rick and Michonne’s impeccable unstoppable love, and their precious family! They’re the show’s heart and my heart, y’all. 

There’s a lot to react to in their final moments of TWD so, finally, it’s time for more reveling. Because our lovely Richonne is back!! Won’t He Do It! 

(Also I’m still extra years later when it comes to R&M so I thought I could do a brief reveling, especially since I’m rusty...but it still ended up being a 2-part dissertation 🫣🤗) 

R&M’s return was every last thing and it was wonderful to see them be the final note of the series as they prepare to bless us ten times over in a spinoff show further dedicated to them and their love. Like this is legit what dreams are made of. 🤩

So to start, while I completely stopped watching TWD shortly after Michonne left, I returned to watch the series finale with hopes of one thing and one thing only - seeing the return of our king and queen.  

And truly all it took was seeing them back on my screen for my brain to be consumed with this couple like old times. The hold they have on me lol. But how could you not adore the GOAT TV couple and this special love story that was incredible from beginning to “end.” 

Just when it was looking like the finale was about to close with Daryl riding off to his spinoff, a single match was lit. 😏And y’all what a glorious match it was. 

Finally, after years, we see him. Rick Grimes is back. And just the very first glimpse of his face had me rejoicing. 

Rick’s face is lit by a fire as he looks down and writes fervently to someone. And learning who he’s writing to - it’s perfect and it only makes sense for Rick’s return to the show to be so focused on Michonne. 

Then we see gorgeous Michonne also writing a letter by a fire. 

And seeing both of them back, this was legit my reaction the second Michonne and Rick were on screen...

And I love that they both look goodT, with a capital T at the end. 🤩 Like they both age like fine wine, and I know Rick won’t know what to do with himself seeing Michonne’s stunning new look, and Michonne’s gonna love that her handsome man’s curls are back lol. 

I also love the use of fire to tie Michonne and Rick’s final moments together. I’m sure there’s more eloquent symbolism to be drawn, but I just love the visual and the way it can feel like their actions (and their outfits) are still so in sync and aligned. They’re sharing this moment, even apart and in different time periods. And there’s so clearly a burning fire within them as well, as they continue to resolutely search and long for one another. 

It also just reminded me of a time when they really were together by a fire in the s4 finale. How far we’ve come in their journey since then ☺️ and how wonderful it’ll be when they’re finally together again.  

We start to hear bits and pieces of their letters, with Rick’s iconic voice beginning, “I think of the dead all the time,” as a montage plays of the many memorable characters throughout TWD. The first character shown is fittingly young Carl wearing the sheriff hat which is precious and emotional. 😭

Rick goes on to say he thinks about the living that he lost too, because he lost literally everyone when he was carted off on that helicopter. It’s so sad knowing it was all taken away from him so quickly without a single goodbye. But while he physically lost them, it’s clear they haven’t at all left his heart. 

Then Michonne’s sweet voice reads her letter to Judith and RJ about how she tried to get back to them “again and again,” but she’s too far for the radio. I adore the many layers of Michonne, with her Mama Michonne side being one of my favorites, so I’m glad that was spotlighted in the finale. 

Michonne then breaks my heart and warms it all at once when she states, “But I still got you and you got me. We’re connected. We’re still connected.” Y’all one thing about Danai, she never misses when it comes to perfectly delivering lines. Like sis makes the right choice every time in just how to capture the emotion behind the line. 

As she speaks, we see sweet flashback moments between her, Judith, and RJ. And truly, what a testament to the power of Michonne that amid all the trauma and loss after losing Rick and Carl, she still gave her kids a good life filled with love and smiles. 

The montage continues with more clips of past members of TF and one thing I noticed and appreciated is that the clips used for each character aren’t of them in action or being walker-slaying warriors, but rather quieter moments for each character, during times where the character might have most believed in hope and a future worth living. Such as Abraham looking at Maggie and Glenn’s sonogram. 

I feel using these type of flashback scenes was a subtle way to further emphasize the show’s final message about life and the living prevailing. Even if some of them are not literally living, their legacy and impact lives on and it was the simple, familial, human moments of their life that they’re remembered by. 

Rick says he thinks about them all everyday, which of course. Still the family man we know and love. I know some people were worried that after so many years Rick would be forced to move on or even start to have a foggy memory of his family, but that’s not Rick Grimes. I think even if Homeboy were to have literal amnesia he’d somehow still remember TF, and especially still remember and think about Michonne. 

I love knowing that while he’s been away, he’s held those he loves so close to his heart nonstop. And as his letter will further confirm, he’s not just thought about them but been fueled to keep going by them, and most of all by Michonne. 

Rick acknowledges how he thinks about what he learned from TF and how those in his life made him who he is, even more so than all the stuff he’s experienced while away. All these years away and still no one has been more impactful than the family he was taken from. 

I love Michonne saying, “We’ll always be together. Even when we’re apart. We together are the strongest thing.” That sentiment is why she’s still so connected to Rick all this time. 

And Michonne later shares the uplifting gospel truth, “We’re love. And love is endless. We are endless.” Amen. 

I also love Rick acknowledging “all of our lives becoming one life,” because one; he still feels so one with his family and two; he and Michonne’s lives really did become one and then created a life in RJ. 🥹

So then we get to the best part of these flashbacks. 

Because time-jump Rick finally looks up over the fire as if there’s one particular person he thinks of that most takes up his mind. One person whose memory he doesn’t just recall once or twice, but several times because he can’t stop thinking of her once he starts. 

And we don’t have to guess who he’s thinking about, who’s fueling him, because four different flashbacks of Michonne then come on screen and y’all…perfection. 

Very telling too that Rick and Michonne are the only ones to get four back to back flashbacks. It just so emphasizes their love, their importance, and them being the drive of this show and of each other’s lives. 

I love that Rick also emphasizes, “We’re together. Pieces of a whole that just keep going for what we gave each other,” as we get Michonne flashbacks. 

In Rick's mind, heart, and soul, he and Michonne are still together. They’re still one. Rick knows Michonne gave him the most valuable thing possible by giving him a love worth fighting for and a life worth living. That doesn’t die, regardless of distance. 

I love the choice of Michonne flashbacks too. They’re all sweet and significant in their own way. 

We first see Michonne arriving at the fence for her iconic entrance into Rick and TF’s life, which I still say is the most significant introduction between any two characters in TWD. It’s the unforgettable moment where R&M’s lives became intertwined and forever changed for the better.

Then it’s the always amazing s5 moment where Michonne places a comforting hand on Rick’s to ask if he’s ready to head into Alexandria for the first time. It’s pre-canon but still such a confirmation of how they’ve become partners that support, lean on, and encourage one another. 

Then it’s Michonne smiling and looking like a glowing mother in s9 while painting with Judith during one of the most calm and domestic times she and Rick got to enjoy. It’s joyously casual moments like that one that I know Rick wanted to live out for years to come with his Grimes girls. Moments like that morning are why life was still so worth living. 

And of course, there’s the special moment when Michonne and Rick first held hands over mints, where the rest was history and R&M never looked back nor held back their love for one another from then on. 

Rick’s letter then just gets better and better y’all. Because then he starts to get specific. This is when it becomes clear this letter isn’t just to anyone in TF but to Michonne directly. 👌

He states, “One unstoppable life. You showed me that.” 

And it’s just perfection and the utter truth. She really did show him that time and time again. It also reminds me of blessed 7x12 when Rick tells Michonne in the van how she led him. Rick always happily has taken to heart what Michonne says and shows him, and he still does here, miles and miles away This love story is something else, man. 🥹

I love that Rick and Michonne both believe so strongly that their resilient love is unstoppable and endless. It absolutely is. 

After Michonne’s flashbacks, we see current-day Michonne finally looking up, also reflecting on the man that still has her whole heart. 

And I especially love each of the four Rick flashbacks, especially one subtle s5 scene in particular that had me thrilled. 

Fittingly, they pair Michonne and Rick’s first hand hold in 6x10 with their last hand hold in 9x03. 

I love these hand holding visuals because it just illustrates how united they are and have always been. They’re always in it together, as both their letters reiterate. 

We get Rick’s reaction to Michonne at the fence in s3, as he takes in the woman that will change his world and become the love of his life. It’ll forever be gold. 

But then…y’all then!! The third Rick flashback is from season 5 where Rick is in his constable outfit and leaning against the wall. And y’all can I say why I love this!!

I immediately remembered this scene when I saw it return in the finale, and I knew this is when he’s staring at Michonne in her matching constable outfit.

This is a pre-canon moment but was still so clear that Rick had an attraction to his then-bestie, Michonne. And y’all this scene was during that one storyline-that-shall-not-be-named, so in my mind, using this scene in the final moments of TWD is just further confirmation that Michonne was always who Rick wanted. Always. 😌

And the final flashback of Rick, is him beaming up at Michonne during their romantic candle-lit dinner in the treasured 7x12 episode. The day he and her established they want the rest of their lives to be the two of them, “you and me.” And while a major curveball was thrown with Rick being taken, it’s clear they are still very much embarking on life the “you and me” way.  

Seeing that whole Rick and Michonne sequence I was like ‘did we really just get a Richonne fan edit at the end of TWD?’ #Blessed. 🤭 I love that every single one of their flashback moments were Richonne-related. And like I noted earlier, a lot of these flashbacks are from when the characters were at some of their most alive, happy, hopeful, and human. So of course all Rick and Michonne’s flashback scenes were with each other. 

The reading of the letters concludes with my favorite part, Rick saying “You gave me that.”

Y’all Rick is literally writing love letters to Michonne, telling her that she gave him life. 😭🥹🥰 Unstoppable life. #WeWon. 

And his statement is truer than he even realizes. (I promise you my heart will soar to another dimension when Rick learns about and meets RJ, his son, and the life he created with Michonne, cementing their love is truly endless.) 

Also I love how Rick is still trying to ensure that Michonne knows her impact. He did so right before he left in season 9 by thanking her for everything, and years later it’s still important to him that Michonne know all she’s given him. I love their never-ending love. 

And y’all while that ends the little letter overlap part. There is still more to take in. So you know my extra self has to do a part 2. 😁

[twdmusicboxmystery]

11x02: Acheron, Part 2 - Analysis

Okay, let’s talk 11x02. And 11x01. Because it’s a two-part episode, it’s important to consider them together. I have a LOT to say about what’s going on in these two episodes, so I’ll have plenty to post all week. Let’s dive in!

***As always, spoilers abound below for TWD 11x02. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!***

Maggie

The first thing we see is a point of view from under the train car. The instant I saw that, I knew how things would go. I never thought Maggie would die (if nothing else, there are scenes with her in the trailer we haven’t seen yet) but I was curious as to how she would survive. When I saw this POV, I knew she’d end up crawling under the train. Just as Glenn crawled under the dumpster. Massive parallels to Glenn. Which by extension, massive parallels to Beth. Major resurrection theme.

It's also important that when she reappears, she comes from underneath the car. Obviously, that’s logical given that she crawled underneath the car, but they make a point of asking if the pounding is coming from the roof. Gabriel says no and then they open the bottom hatch for her. Her coming up from the ground like that is a visual representation of a resurrection.

So we see Gabriel, Negan and the others enter the train car. The spatial details here are important, and I had to watch the episode twice to get them all straight. It’s a little confusing the first time. So, the group jumps down into the train car through a hatch in the roof because they couldn’t get the door open in the last episode. The thing is, if you watch closely, you come to realize they’re not in the train car on the end. They must have walked along the roof for two or three cars before finding a hatch that let them in.

So, when Gauge shows up, he comes behind them, and that confused me because I was thinking they came from that direction. And they did, but they entered through the roof, not the door. Anyway, they can’t get the door open. So honestly, even if they’d tried harder, I’m not sure they could have saved him.

This scene accomplished a lot of things, character-wise, that we need to touch on. It’s important to note that Gauge’s death happened due to his own choices. Does that mean he “deserved” to die or that they shouldn’t have tried to save him if they could have? Of course not. No on both counts. But that doesn’t change the fact that his choices sealed his fate.

It's especially interesting that he called Maggie a Liar. Not only is that a throwback to the Governor, but it’s a particular type of mentality they’re showing here. Even the fact that he didn’t shut the door behind him is really interesting. My first thought was to be annoyed with him. Why WOULDN’T you shut the door. You live in this world. You know better. But it’s all ego. He can’t imagine something bad will happen. He just assumes if it does, someone will save him.

But the most telling thing was how angry he got before saying Liar. It just shows very much how he approaches life. When he messes up, he doesn’t feel bad, and accept that it was his fault, and try to learn from it. No, instead he gets pissed and blames everyone but himself and his own actions.

If this had been Daryl or Gabriel or Alden or any of our other heroes, they would have recognized that opening the door would have gotten their friends and family killed and would have sacrificed themselves. Especially if they realized they’d screwed up. But Gauge became angry and defiant, even killing himself.

Anyway, I’m rambling. This really has nothing to do with Beth or TD other than perhaps being a future template for something. But I thought it was a really fascinating character sketch.

The thing is, this isn’t really a matter of Gauge being wrong and everyone else being right.

Maggie is…not doing so well either. As I told my fellow theorists, Paola Lazaro said in TTD last week that Maggie was kind of off the rails. I think she said that a little prematurely, because we really didn’t understand Maggie’s state of mind just by watching 10x17 and 11x01.

It's not until she tells that messed up story about the house she found and the people in it that we understand that her state of mind really isn’t at its healthiest. Even saying she wanted to kill Negan before is…understandable given their past. But it makes more sense now why Negan is so nervous. He’s sensing her state of mind that her moral conscience isn’t as strong as it once was, so of course he’s fearful for his life.

I don’t know where they’re going with this Maggie story line, but I have a feeling this attitude of hers will cause conflict down the road. Several of my fellow theorists believe it will cause a rift between her and Daryl. And we can see that somewhat through Alden. At first, he was very much defending Maggie, especially against Negan. He has a lot of loyalty to her. But he didn’t like her abandoning Gauge, and you can see his loyalties starting to waver.

At the very least, what she said about not feeling anything about it is the opposite of what Beth always stood for. Daryl was trying hard not to feel things during Still, in the wake of the prison going down. She made him feel things because that’s the only way a person is truly living, rather than just surviving. Now Maggie is in that state of mind.

And I’m gonna argue that makes it a prime time for Beth to return to help her. But of course I’m completely objective over here. ;D

Maggie’s Story:

Maggie’s story was definitely dark and horrible, but interesting to analyze. I’m assuming there was cannibalism going on there. That’s why the missing limbs. The men in the house were eating the female prisoners. No only a callback to Terminus, but remember that Bob’s leg was taken for food, so I’m sure that’s what we’re supposed to infer here.

She talked about no eyes, no tongue, no limbs, vocal cords ripped out. So definitely the see no evil, speak no evil themes. With the limbs, it’s also a matter of not being able to escape or save themselves.

In terms of the plot, I do have one question about this that I think may be significant. Maggie first talks about three deformed people (she says, “I wouldn’t call them men”) coming toward her. She kills them, and only after that hears the noise from the attic.

My question is, why were they deformed? If they’re “men,” then they must be at least Maggie’s age, if not older, which means they’ve been around since before the apocalypse began. Even eating human flesh doesn’t cause one to become deformed, so why the deformities? I have no idea, but I wondered if there is a radiation theme going on here. Something they’re hinting at, but not saying. Just thought that was intriguing.

After that, things go sideways and everyone almost dies until Daryl arrives to save the day. So, let’s skip to his story.

Daryl:

We first see him bust through a wall with Dog. So, dog took off in the last episode, but the first time we see Daryl, he’s already found Dog again. At least, the first time. This is where he sees the murals on the wall, the walker with the handcuff and the suitcase of money, etc. I already talked about most of that in great detail HERE, so I won’t rehash it, though it’s very important.

One thing I will say about the mural is that thematically, it’s a match to Still. So, in the golf club, we had lots of rich people who clearly hid there when the world first went bad. And I don’t remember this particularly, but several of my fellow theorists have told me they remember the TTD after Still and that the writers talked about how the golf club was a statement about the class system. You have these very rich people, but their wealth couldn’t save them. Death, walkers, the apocalypse…none of these things discriminate based on wealth or position.

On the wall, we see people with crowns standing at the top, but below, they are homeless, and one of them is being attacked and torn apart. Meanwhile, Daryl sees a line of text that says, “it comes for us all,” probably meaning death.

Well, guess what? Angela Kang, in talking about the murals, said that this, too, was a statement about the class system. So thematically, this is meant to be a parallel to Still.

It’s just interesting to contemplate because if you think about it, most of our heros—Rick, Daryl, the Greene family, etc—weren’t at all wealthy. Rick was humble and well-grounded. Hershel worked hard his whole life and never had any glory or fanfare. And then there’s Daryl, who was “nothing. No one.” They all survived.

So of course it’s a socioeconomic statement, but it’s also one about mindset. It takes not only grit to survive this world, but a certain amount of humility. Ego always gets you killed eventually, as it did with Gauge.

I’ll also mention that I thought the guy with the crown who was being torn apart was being set upon by walkers, but AK says they’re specifically not walkers. They’re people.

So, it’s not a coincidence that we see this juxtaposed with the Gauge situation. His ego gets him killed and we literally see him being torn apart because of it.

Moving on.

Daryl finds a bag with a $100 bill with a letter written on it. This is a massive TD clue from start to finish. 100 is an important number. The hundred dollar bill features Benjamin Franklin on the front and Independence Hall on the back. Look either of those up and you’ll find lots of fun parallels we could point to. I won’t go into all that today except to say it’s definitely part of the Revolution theme.

This is what’s written on the bill Daryl finds:

“Dear Dad, you always said if you don’t come back in a week to move on. Mom didn’t listen and went looking. It’s been three weeks, so we’re going next. I’ll watch Jesse and turn on the radio every day at 10. See you both soon. Love Tom and Jesse.”

He also finds a picture of two kids. So, the “three weeks” jumps out because of Rick’s line in 5x10, “it’s been three weeks since Atlanta.” It’s also about missing family members, going searching for them, etc. Possibly important that the mom is also missing. I can’t help but think of the song from Still. “Our mother has been absent, every since we founded Rome…”

There is a 10 in there, which is an important number. The turning the radio on every day is both the radio/airwaves theme (also a line from the song) but a callback to Rick and Morgan and their walkie talkies. So, really interesting symbols here.

The two kids immediately reminded me of Noah’s twin brothers. I don’t think these two are supposed to be twins. I’m assuming the brother is older. But still obviously siblings. And it hearkens back to the last episode Beth was technically in. Which also had a lot of the CRM/Revolution theme in it. (X, X).

AK says this family probably didn’t make it, so I’m not expecting these kids to show up in the narrative. But it’s also important to note that the little girl is carrying the toy rabbit Maggie found earlier. So the rabbit also ties into all this symbolism. (P.S. I didn’t get to my rabbit post last week. I planned on it, but time got away from me. I should get it posted later this week.)

So, this is massive in terms of TD symbolism. I’ll talk about it fits into the bigger narrative in a minute.

Then Daryl kills the sleeping bag walker. I wasn’t sure the significance of this at first, but I think it ties to the tents and sleeping bags we saw in Atlanta in 5x06, Consumed. Daryl and Carol passed them while looking for Beth. So, this just shows us that this is tied to her storyline and Daryl searching for her.

You could also argue that the walker was “hidden” at first, and it’s significant that Dog found it/realized it was there before Daryl did. 

The other thing is that as he’s looking at the sleeping bag walker, there’s a random shoe on the ground next to it. Missing Shoe/Foot theory, which is also indicative of Beth. 

They hear another roaring sound and Dog takes off, running into the dark tunnel.

Here’s the thing. I think most people will assume the roar he heard was just more air being forced through the tunnels by the storm, as Alden explained it in ep 1. But I always watch with the subtitles on and I noticed at this part, the subtitles said, “Man Roaring.” So they actually did hear someone screaming. And that’s probably why Dog ran toward it.

After watching it again, I realized it’s probably supposed to be Roy. He’s the white-haired guy, played by C. Thomas Howell, who Daryl finds wounded after he emerges from the Tunnel. I think whatever happened to him when he went topside but then got attacked by walkers is what Dog heard and went running toward.

Maybe not terribly significant in the plot, but it’s important symbolically. Because once again we have something Daryl hears from a distance but doesn’t see. Dog (a proxy for Beth) runs toward it, and Daryl follows. When he does, he find someone who had previously separated from the group. They’re hurt, but alive. See the parallels?

I will say the Roy situation confuses me just a little. He’s clearly hurt, and when Daryl tries to bandage him, he refuses, saying, “just tell my kids I didn’t die a coward.” But then later he’s with the group, all bandaged up, and seems to be okay. (He dies when they reach the Reapers by taking an arrow to the head, so he still dies overall.) But it’s just weird that it seemed he would die, then seemed he was fine again.

It may well be something that foreshadows a future situation, and that’s why it’s not making tons of sense right now. Only time will tell.

Anyway, I kind of glossed over Daryl crawling through the dark tunnel. I don’t have much else to say about it except that it’s a SUPER potent symbol for Beth’s arc and very important that he emerges on the other side and finds this person. Annnd then goes to save TF. (Dark Tunnel Symbolism).

So, he hears the gunshots and finds the train they’re on. He comes up behind the walkers attacking them from the front, kills them, moves the bench blocking the door, and lets everyone through. Then he uses a grenade to blow up all the walkers. (Ew.)

After that they all get out of the tunnels and go topside. The next scene is also super important. We see the stars above. That’s partly to show that the storm has passed now, but also constellations = Sirius.

Maggie asks what he has and he tells her about it. There is one weird moment in this scene. When she tells them about the supply depot she wants to stop at, she says Georgie (from S8) set it up for emergencies, for people on the outside to use. When it says this, the camera focuses on Daryl for a LONG moment, and he looks almost sad. I’m not sure what they’re trying to tell us there.

Anyway, they all head out. Unfortunately, when they reach the right neighborhood, the Reapers are there to meet/kill them. And Roy is the first to go.

So, a couple of things here. I’ll probably do a details post because I’m leaving out MOST of the background details throughout the episode, and there are a lot of them. Lots of details to be gleaned in this scene.

But the second time I watched it, I was struck by the people hanging upside down. Obviously a grim sight, but it occurred to me that these people hanging this way look a LOT like the deer diagrams from Scars. Let me show you some pictures:

Top pick is 11x02. Middle and bottom one are from Scars.

See what I mean? So, chances are something about Scars foreshadowed the Reapers, which is interesting. They clearly see human beings in a certain way (as animals to be strung up and…perhaps eaten?) And that makes me think that what Maggie found in that house may tie into the Reapers as well. Just kind of interesting foreshadows of coming plots.

Eugene:

Let’s talk Eugene and then I’ll shut up for today. Eugene’s stuff was very intriguing. First thing you need to know. And understand, I didn’t know this. @wdway​ pointed it out. Some months ago, the actress cast as “Stephanie” was announced. This is her:

And that’s clearly not the woman who steps into the train car at the end. Which means this isn’t really Stephanie. She’s a decoy. In fact, the actress from this episode is billed on IMDb as “woman 2,” not as “Stephanie.”

Knowing that, if you go back and re-watch the parts with Eugene’s group, they mean something very different.

On the surface, it seems that Zeke, Yumiko and Princess are taken away in a sinister fashion. Then Eugene melts down and tells his story. (Note: while he focuses on his feelings for Stephanie and I think most of that is true, he still says he lied both to her and to his friends about being from a large settlement. So, he’s still keeping large chunks of the truth from them.)

Again, on the surface it seems that they accept his explanation and just decide to allow them all in. All the stuff with the other three is just a misunderstanding.

But if “Stephanie” is a decoy, that can’t possibly be the case. I think Zeke and the others told Eugene the truth as they know it, but they’re all still being manipulated.

After Princess left to pee, the guy told Eugene no one was in the room and acted like he had no idea who Princess was. They were definitely using psychological torture on him, trying to break him.

I think they know very well that Eugene's group is still lying about their settlement, and they're using a decoy "Stephanie" to find out the truth.

My point is that it goes back to the hallucination, making-someone-think-they're-crazy theme. It will be really interesting to see how this unfolds, because there's all kinds of psychological shenanigans going on here.

@galadrieljones​ made a really interesting connection some time ago. She noticed that back in 10x18, at Leah’s cabin, there is a metal, heart-shaped chair. The same chairs show up in the Commonwealth’s sales video from the trailer. So there’s some kind of link between Leah, Daryl’s memory of her, and the Commonwealth. We don’t know what it is yet, but all of this gives credence to the idea that she is either an outright hallucination, or Daryl is just remembering things wrong.

It also might mean that the Reapers are connected to the Commonwealth in some way. We don’t really know yet, but I’m having tons of fun trying to figure it out.

I want to touch briefly on the train car theme. Once again, there’s a parallel in both story lines (Terminus, and this one at the Commonwealth). Daryl’s group is in train cars this episode. And while Eugene’s group has been at a different compound, they started in the train yard and end in it here. But what I noticed is that Eugene enters the train car at the end, which is furnished inside, and finds his friends there. They all have a happy reunion.

It made me think of the fact that when Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Carl enter the train cars at Terminus, there is also a family reunion. What happened beyond that was not good or easy. Clearly, Terminus was not a good place. Many of them almost died at the trough and they had to fight their way out through a walker blood bath.

I’m just saying that, while it obviously won’t play out exactly the same way, something similar is probably waiting for Eugene’s group outside that train car. Not good.

Acheron Overall:

Okay, let’s get to the big cheese, here. The overall narrative. The template.

These two episodes are called Acheron part 1 and part 2. So here’s the skinny:

Acheron = Underworld. Daryl’s group going into the subway tunnels (dark, underground) is what constitutes Acheron and why the episodes are called that. That’s why, at the end of this episode, they emerge from the tunnels onto the surface (i.e. the living world).

Given all the death, cemetery, and dark tunnel symbolism around Beth, given that she ventured into the land of the dead by being shot, maybe clinically dying for a time, and being thought dead for so long, what this tells me is that everything that happens in these tunnels is a foreshadow and template for what will happen this season.

I maintain that Dog = Beth and we will soon see something where Daryl hears something (not necessarily her; it was a man screaming so I still think it will be Rick he hears word of) and goes chasing after it. While searching for it, he stumbles across Beth. Then the two of them (both Dog and Daryl returned to the train car) go back in time to save TF from something.

This is most likely why the Roy thing is weird. In a super understated way, he represents Rick in the template. Daryl will find him, but only after he finds Beth. Even consider what Roy says. He says, “tell my kids I didn’t die a coward.” And that’s all well and good, but did we even know Roy had kids? No. Have we met them? No. But who has kids that Daryl IS concerned with? That would be Rick.

So I’m thinking that maybe when Daryl finds Rick, Rick will think he’s dying for some reason, and that’s why the dialogue here. But he won’t, which is why we see Roy with the group later.

And no, I’m not thinking that Roy dying via the Reapers will extend to Rick. It’s more like what they’ve done with countless characters that have been Beth proxies. Eventually, they kill them off. He’s a minor character they were using as a proxy, and when they are done with him in the narrative, he becomes walker chow. Or, in this case, Reaper fodder.

Anyway, I think everything will end up being a foreshadow for something. Maggie and Negan. The Gauge situation. All of it. I’ll try to keep coming back to this as the story progresses to show what everything foreshadows. I’ll stop there for today.

[majicmarker]

so i’ve had a lot on my mind lately — the good, the bad, the ugly, you know the drill. i’m used to the bad and the ugly, but i think (and ofc by my therapist’s rec) i need to give a little credit to the good, too. not to mention the good is largely comprised of people, and those people deserve a sports stadium wave, yk? idk shit abt sports, whatever, but i know what the wave is and it’s like the grandest gesture i can think of, SO

listen, y’all. to get real here, i hate fandom. my time spent therein has been hit-or-miss, but the misses got me hard and contributed to some major self-loathing, etc etc. we’re not gonna get into the specifics, i don’t owe that to anyone, but suffice it to say things got Rough.

but so much of it can be so, so good. and rn i want to keep on my rose-colored glasses, and the rosiest parts for me have always been @kitten1618x and @mygutsforgarters

(quite a few others, too, but i no longer have everyone’s info. and some ppl are newer friends, or relationships that have moved more slowly. i have mad love for u guys too, obvs, but ik melissa and gus irl so we know each other More and they’re who this post is rly about atm. pls know i don’t want to harsh on anyone’s feelings)

the tl;dr version of events is i met them both via fanfic. i happened upon theirs like “bitch!!!! **i** wanna do this, they’re bomb as hell” and then i made them be friends w me. they’ll tell you they wanted to be friends w me first, but that’s not important bc **i** am the one making this post, so they can both like,, suck it.

ANYWAY.

@ melissa : so bitch listen. here’s the thing abt melissa…… i found her while browsing jonsa fic back when i cared abt GOT, and she brought me back to what i loved so much abt romance when i first started, way back in junior high, what’s up. i bad a fascination w historial romantic epics for a loooooong time — those formative yrs, amirite ladies??? — but girl i could never write it so well as melissa. immediately she struck this balance between the drama you expect from historicals and the levity of a good romance, and i was just like, “hand to god this woman must be published already, surely???”

(she’s not, but that’s ridiculous so we’re gonna skip that)

(also she’s busy?? we’ve been friends for like six years and i will never know how many kids she actually has, but the point is she’s a goddamn superhero and i’m obsessed w her, MOVING ON)

i just Had to be her friend for two reasons: 1) she’s too talented, and b) i have said that abt 2 ppl my entire life and she was the first, so i was like, “AH YES MY HOLY GRAIL”

so ofc i slid into her DMs just as effectively as that one guy i had a crush on when i was sixteen and he’s still shooting me texts every valentine’s day bc of the societal pressures i guess (it is Far Less Effective these days, he’s my age and therefore too young for me, gross, but i digress), except me and melissa go way stronger.

she reminded me of why, half a lifetime ago, i started writing romance — bc it’s fun, bc i want to. bc i can do absolutely anything i want, bc who else is gonna read it but me and whoever i share it with? it was all up to me what i wanted to do with it, and i could do anything. nothing really mattered but what i wanted, and i hadn’t felt that way abt anything in such a long time — let alone abt something i used to love so much.

melissa’s writing is so beautiful, it’s everything i wanted to achieve when i was fifteen and never got around to perfecting. and i’m totally okay w that now, bc what do i need to do myself that she’s not already doing/wants to do in the future? when i found melissa’s writing i found a missing part of me — a part i’d maybe lost, maybe i gave it up, idk, but it was totally gone until i found her fics and they fucking clicked. i had to reach out bc there was a part of me that was a part of her, and she helped me find that again w/o even knowing it.

so i found melissa via GOT, and from the start she’d been trying to get me to write some bethyl. years and years, she dropped not-so-subtle hints — and by “hints,” i mean legit directives that i watch just enough TWD to write her some beth/daryl fic. real crafty, she is.

eventually the stars aligned: i was bored w the same dynamics i’d been writing for years, i wanted smthn new, i was restless, i was line editing a bethyl fic she’d written, and — again — this shit clicked. her fic made me want to explore this dynamic i’d never done before, so i watched the prerequisite episodes (no more than that tho, i super hate the show and i’m begging y’all to not @ me abt it anymore). i found smthn that i’d been missing, smthn that challenged and excited me and brought me back around to why i love romance and, more importantly, why i want to write it myself.

so as i was starting to write bethyl, i was poking around the ao3 tag to get a feel for what had been done, what hadn’t, anything i might be missing. and goddamn BAM —

@ gus : this is where u enter dramatically thru a red velvet curtain that i don’t wanna touch (Metaphorically bc you do romance better than me and i’m cool w that bc your talent simply Cannot be touched, and Literally bc i hate velvet) — i was like, “please for the love of god let her want to write contemporary romance, i need some good fckin food”

i happened upon “doo wah diddy diddy” first. ofc the summary hooked me, forget my usual hard no against pregnancy fics (i have issues w pregnancy and that’s all anybody Needs to know, back off), but This Bitch !!!!!!! has a way with words and i wanted to be friends w her straightaway. lmao too bad for her, now she’s stuck w me

gus’s fics gave me what i wanted without having to write it myself. her style is so distinctive, she hits the notes between porn and Actual Affection that is missing from uhhhh, every romance i’ve tried?? (why is everyone so intent on the sex part?? fckin chill. at best it’s unrelatable and at worst u sound like u’d rather wear someone than fuck them, check urself)

she writes w such care, she wants you to know what she’s doing here, and what she’s doing here is combining the physical and emotional needs of both characters w/o infringing on anyone’s comfortability. you root for these characters bc they simply want to be together, no strings (and if there are strings, damn, they talk abt it).

gus makes you believe in love in the modern age. like, not to sound like one of those ppl who post fckin “no one in this generation knows how to love!!!1!!11!!” memes on facebook, those are dumb, but gus’s writing made me think “yeah man, love ain’t dead, it’s just abt how we approach it.”

(if y’all haven’t guessed yet, i have some hang-ups abt relationships. i’ve goddamn earned those. but melissa and gus both brought me back to where i needed to be — in this place where, yeah, we’ve got some shit to deal with, but we all still deserve the things we want, and those things are achievable. i could not have gotten here without them, so jot that down.)

gus is Real, she’s funny, she’s unapologetic in the way she writes. ofc she has her personal hurdles, but who doesn’t?? and tbh nobody writes a sex scene like gus does. physical, realistic, but balanced w the emotional depth that makes you root for these characters bc you can Feel how much they want each other — not just sexually, but in the less-erotic aftermath of that passion. it continues to blow my mind, bc i’ve never seen anyone do what she does. i can’t even pinpoint the specifics, bc she just… Does It. and you’re reading it like “yeah bitch that’s it,” and That’s It.

it’s fckin wild.

these two — my best friends, the lights of my life, both of whom always make me crave chicken tenders at THE most inconvenient hours bc somehow we always talk abt chicken or ice cream or ultimately DQ, but they're both so hot idec — have something special.

i really, really want them both to know that: it’s not just in how they’ve treated me as a friend, but who they are as people, in their creative pursuits. i’ve never known support the way they’ve shown me; i’ve never known this much enthusiasm or investment or belief that i can do what i want with my talent. i want them to know that i feel the same way abt them and their works.

sometimes, when i look back at their writing that completely kicked my ass, i still can’t believe that they’ve become two of my best friends. it’s totally bonkers. they’re This Talented, and they wanna be friends w my spastic ass? GIRL. i’m out.

i’m not always the best at being present, at giving people what they need when they need it. but with everything that melissa and gus have given me in the past few years, i need them to know this — honey!!! i need all y’all to know this, bc i know fandom shit is hard, but you should know some of these friendships are so, so worth all that bullshit, so —

they have so much to give, so much to say, so much to offer. i could not have kept going without them. i couldn’t believe in myself without the faith they’ve given to me. i hope that i can always give that same faith right back.

and that, babes, is what real soulmates are all about.

[hurmione]

Pick your top 10 OTPs without reading the questions. these aren’t in any particular order tbh, and thank you meri @impractical-matters​ for tagging me! x

1. jake/amy - brooklyn nine nine 2. eleanor/chidi - the good place 3. david/patrick - schitt’s creek 4. aziraphale/crowley - good omens 5. alexis/ted - schitt’s creek  6. tony/pepper - marvel 7. ron/hermione - harry potter 8. amy/laurie - little women 9. rick/michonne - the walking dead 10. mark/lexie - grey’s anatomy

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6? A. the first marvel movie i saw was iron man 2 so i’m pretty sure it was then lol

2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2? A. nah i don’t really read fics tbh...

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr screen saver? A. no my screensaver is reserved for my cats on my phone and my m&g pic with niall on my mac lmao

4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be? A. i wouldn’t be mad tbh bc when i think about it they were a bit of a weird match and honestly? i’ll say it, i could see harry and hermione being better for each other anyways

5. Why is 1 so important? A. jake and amy are such a good representation of a solid relationship where two people love and respect each other. i love that the writers of b99 have actually let a couple have a GOOD relationship, i hate when couples are alway fighting/breaking up for drama. also i just love them both a lot!

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship? A. serious for sure. i mean i stopped watching twd ages ago but they were great together!

7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry? A. that’s tough, i feel like most of them have great chemistry, but maybe mark/lexie or jake/amy or even aziraphale/crowley lol

8. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond? A. maybe eleanor/chidi? or rick/michonne. both couples went through some SHIT (like, literally being dead, zombie apocalypse). but idk really tbh. i could honestly say almost any of them

9. How many times have you read/watched the 10’s fandom? A. well i’ve fully seen grey’s beginning to end once because i only just watched it all last year, but i started rewatching a while a go but haven’t watched for a bit lol

10. Which ship has lasted the longest? A. romione i guess? or eleanor/chidi since, you know jeremy bearimy babey!

11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up? A. a couple i think?

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8? A. i think eleanor and chidi would be more likely to survive than amy and laurie lol

13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason? A. not really

14. Is 4 still together? A. technically they’re not together at all but the chemistry is *chef’s kiss*

15. Is 10 canon? A. yeah

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win? A. aziraphale/crowley bc they can literally perform miracles

17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5’s ship? A. don’t think so? i can’t really remember tbh lol

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond? A. most of them but especially jake/amy

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s tumblr page? A. no

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink? A. romione lol

that was pretty fun lol

Tagging: @biancas-diangelos @calypsoatlaas @peetas-mellarks @louvegoods @severusnpe @mischiefsmanaged @romanoft @ginys + anyone else who wants to do it. as usual feel free to ignore and sorry if you’ve already done it x

[thegloriouscollectorlady]

Daryl’s role as a father figure

I haven’t done a lot of posting recently because I haven’t had much to say throughout the season. I really really enjoyed season 9 and overall thought Angela Kang did a great job but I haven’t had much to comment on. It wasn’t until after the season 9 finale that some really important themes jumped out at me and in recognizing them I wanted to share my thoughts. I am going to put them under a read more because like usual this got a bit long. 

               So first I am going to take this way back to when Angela Kang wrote Still in season 4. That was the first episode where we saw Daryl really open up to someone about what his past was like. About how he grew up and more importantly about how that made him feel. Daryl shared small pieces and hints of his story before that but not in a way that indicated how it made him feel. It was more so the audience could begin to piece together what his life looked like before. In Still we begin to understand how those formative life experiences made Daryl feel about himself and the world around him. The most important aspect of this arc which continues into season 5 is that because of these experiences Daryl does not see himself as a worthy person. He has not been loved enough to have the confidence to believe he is a good person. Now the audience knows that everyone around Daryl sees him as someone who is strong and capable but Daryl doesn’t see himself that way which is why I believe Daryl bonds so deeply with Beth. In multiple ways Beth tells Daryl over and over and over again that he’s a good person. She literally says as much at the funeral home during Alone and Daryl finally feels something he’s never felt before and that’s acceptance and love and in feeling those things from someone who Daryl perceives as a good person he is finally able to believe them about himself. This is a huge emotional leap for Daryl and one he does not maintain but it’s hugely important because it cements Daryl’s bond to Beth.

So the question that arose from Daryl’s time with Beth was what did this relationship mean to them and what was its context within the story itself. Now the writers left this ambiguous and to this day its never been clarified by those who are actually part of the show. The actors Emily and Norman hinted at a possible romance and didn’t deny that it would be possible. But with no actual clarification from anyone officially connected to the show a certain portion of the viewing audience felt very strongly that Beth and Daryl’s relationship was a familial one of either an older brother and younger sister or of a father and surrogate daughter. I personally don’t feel it’s either of those and but the older brother younger sister thing bothers me the least because it implies there wasn’t a huge age gap because there isn’t typically between siblings and in reality Beth and Daryl were not related in any way. So even if Daryl had initially approached their relationship that way things can change and personally I didn’t see Daryl’s responses to Beth in Alone as brother sister and I think they actually mirror a relationship we’ve seen this season and the show which was most certainly a romantic relationship. But one thing we absolutely have learned from season 9 is that Daryl’s relationship with Beth was not in fact that of a surrogate father and daughter.

So how to do we know this? Well that would be from the narrative itself which clearly indicated this season that Daryl would become a first time father this season. Aaron talks to Daryl about it early in season 9 (that one day he will know what it’s like) and then confirms later in the season that Daryl has indeed taken on the role of a father figure. All indications from the writers are that this is a first in Daryl’s life and not a role he has taken on before. Then of course we actually have the relationship that the writers are presenting to us for Daryl. . . where Daryl is the surrogate father figure to. . . a teenage girl. In  watching 9X16’s The Storm we actually see Daryl in his role as a surrogate father figure to a teenage girl and what that looks like for Daryl. We can ascertain from the passage of time that Daryl has been in this role for at least a short time. As long as he was with Beth we can assume. Oddly enough Daryl’s father daughter relationship with Lydia is pretty typical. He brings her food, protects her, defends her, and overall looks out for her well being. But in no way does it mirror Daryl’s relationship with Beth during season 4 and especially during Alone. I doubt for example that we will see Daryl drinking moonshine with Lydia, that he will bridal carry her, that he will seek out reasons to touch her including holding her hand (Daryl’s scene with Lydia at Henry’s pike was a mirror of the graveyard scene with Beth during Alone) and placing his hand on the small of her back, or that Daryl will gaze longingly at Lydia while she is engaged in activities that she enjoys such as when Daryl watched Beth play at the funeral home. I would also expect that we won’t see similar conversations to what occurred between Beth and Daryl during Alone. Two jump out at me as very important. The first is when Beth implies to Daryl that he is a good person.  This conversation happens when Daryl observes that someone has been keeping the food stock from collecting dust and the implication is that the person might come back. So Daryl tells Beth that they will only take what they need and leave the rest (in case the person returns) and Beth observes see I knew there were still good people implying that Daryl is one of those good people.  He then gets all shy and bashful and in order to lighten the moment he scoops jelly out the jar with his fingers causing Beth to joke that his actions are gross. Beth’s observations please but also embarrass Daryl and he isn’t ready to talk about them. Contrast that moment to the second important conversation that Daryl has with Beth where he is also eating jelly but in a different manner. In the second conversation right before Beth is taken Daryl is eating jelly out of a jar with a spoon indicating subtly that he is ready to talk to her about good people. Very seriously Daryl tells Beth that he now believes in good people and when she asks why he implies that it is because of her leading to the very emotionally charged “oh” moment where Beth possibly gets a hint to how much she’s been able to influence Daryl and how much she’s begun to mean to him. The nonverbal cues in this moment are intense as Daryl who doesn’t make it a habit to maintain eye contact with folks because of his vulnerabilities makes prolonged and significant eye contact with Beth in possibly one of his most emotionally vulnerable moments on the show. He is literally baring his soul to her and he looks her in the eyes while doing so. It’s an intense moment for Daryl and it shows a deep level of trust between Beth and Daryl that indicates an equal give and take relationship.

So by listening to what the writers are saying within the narrative and by observing how the characters interact we can ascertain that Daryl’s relationship with Lydia is his first foray into a surrogate father role. Daryl’s relationship with Lydia on screen is nothing like his relationship with Beth but there was a relationship on the show this season that I believe was actually an intended mirror of Beth and Daryl’s relationship and it explains a lot about the onscreen narrative choices that were made even down to some of the dialogue in the finale such as the moment Daryl asks C@rol who she sees when she looks at him. So to hash this out a bit when examining Beth and Daryl we have a dark haired, emotionally closed off, pessimistic, abuse survivor paired with a blonde haired, optimistic, thoughtful and emotionally available individual who was raised in a loving household by available parents. Now who does this dynamic remind you of from this season? If you guessed Lydia and Henry you would be right. The writers even drove this point home by paralleling Henry so strongly with Beth at the beginning of the season and using those moments to remind Daryl of Beth through Henry. Now of course Lydia and Henry got their own story but within that story Henry paralleled Beth and Daryl parallels Lydia. The descriptions of the characters are the same Lydia is a dark haired, emotionally closed off, abuse survivor (childhood abuse survivor exactly as Daryl is) and Henry is a blonde haired optimistic individual who comes from a secure and safe home with loving parents (Ezekiel and C@rol). I would just like to take a moment to point out how far in advance the writers were planning this dynamic before I continue. Way back in season 5 when Daryl is searching for Beth he picked up a book in the shelter that C@rol took him too. It was on surviving childhood abuse and at the time it seemed that Daryl picked up that book for himself especially in light of his conversations with Beth but it would appear now that instead that book was most likely foreshadowing Daryl’s arc with Lydia. Which means that the writers have been planning this particular part in the story for quite a long time. We often see this with TWD. There are hints in the story that don’t come into play until seasons and seasons later indicating that the writers have a very long term plan for characters and they take their time setting those arcs into motion.

But I digress from my original point which is that the writers purposefully set up an arc where Daryl is parenting a young woman who is a parallel to himself right down to her relationship with Henry/Beth.  We even saw in 9X16 a parallel to Daryl in 5x10’s Them with Lydia wandering away from the group multiple times to try to harm herself and just like with Daryl in Them it was C@rol that followed Lydia away from the group. Just like in Them it’s C@rol that reaches out and touches Lydia in a way that matters. For Daryl she gave him Beth’s knife and told him he needed to let himself feel his pain and with Lydia she tells her she is strong. She provides the thing they both most need to hear in their grief. I also think the awkward bit of dialogue that viewers struggled with when Daryl asked C@rol who she saw when she looked at him was about this. C@rol says first that when she looks at Lydia all she sees is Henry meaning she is only focused on her own grief and not on this young woman for who she is. Daryl then says who do you see when you look at me and C@rol says that of course she sees him. But I think that moment when C@rol follows Lydia to that barn is when she really sees her for the first time and I think what she sees breaks her heart. I think she sees in Lydia an echo of Daryl that tugs at her heartstrings in a way she can’t deny because C@rol knows what losing Beth did to Daryl and she on some level I think recognized that Lydia is suffering the same way and she truly saw her as her own person for the first time. It’s a very powerful but very subtly done sequence of events that only comes together in hindsight.

I think the finale also pointed out another really important piece of Daryl’s story that I think has been largely overlooked and it’s the idea of home. Throughout this arc Henry is wearing a compass shirt and Angela did an amazing job of pulling together the theme of compasses and home and what it means this season. In the episode where Negan escapes he takes Judith’s compass and leaves the ASZ but by the end of the episode he realizes that ASZ is now home and he returns. This theme goes all the way back to Carl telling Judith when she was a baby that if she ever gets lost to follow the north star home. It also ties into Ezekiel’s speech at the end of the episode where he talks about a house not being a home (callback to 4 Walls and a Roof) and that home is where your heart is. Where the people you love are. Henry was wearing a compass shirt because he became Lydia’s north star and he guided her to a place where she felt safe and where she thought she might have a home. Without him she is completely lost and she says as much during 9X16 when she is talking about not fitting in anywhere and no one wanting her around. But this theme is larger than even Lydia and it goes all the way back to season 4 with Beth and Daryl. At the end of Alone Daryl tells Beth he wants to try staying at the funeral home. He wants to make it a home because that is where Beth is even if no one else from TF is there. Fast forward through all of seasons five, six, seven, eight, and nine and notice one thing. Daryl has no home. He never fits into the ASZ when they first arrive, he bounces from community to community during the war with Negan, afterwards he’s at the Sanctuary for Rick, and then in the woods looking for Rick, and then this season Ezekiel offers to Daryl that he can stay at the Kingdom if he wishes (before Henry’s death). This all indicates that Daryl has not had a home since losing the prison and since losing Beth who like Henry is a north star. Beth is Daryl’s north star and without her he is as lost and aimless as Lydia is without Henry.  So it fits writing wise for the writers to pair Lydia and Daryl because these two characters have traveled on parallel arcs to this point. All the set up between Beth and Daryl back in season 4 and 5 plays into the Henry and Lydia arc this season and also points to where the story might go from here.

So after the season finale there was a moment where it hit me that the writers had set up a very deliberate paralleling of arcs and in doing so had defined very clearly some things about relationships that up until this point had been ambiguous and the way they did so was very subtle unless you look at the story in its entirety. I think what they set up has some really interesting implications for Daryl’s arc moving forward and what it means and also for C@rol’s arc and where that is going. I also think that the seeds of where Daryl and Lydia’s arc is headed were planted in the finale and I also think those are very interesting. I have some ideas about where the direction of the story is headed and I will post them in a separate post because this one is long enough and I have a feeling that one will be quite long as well. I also have another really interesting idea I want to look at that came to me watching the finale and I can’t wait to hash that out because it has to do with character deaths on the show and how they are used and it has some really interesting implications for what happened in season 5 and how that might affect Daryl in the coming season.

[nightcoremoon]

I think part of the reason why I hate horror movies is because of the overreliance on jumpscares and shock value and BWAH SUDDEN LOUD NOISES rather than on atmosphere, believability, tension, fear.

here's a list of horror movies from google and the reasons why I hate them, or why I love them, or that they're not actually horror movies.

A quiet place: haven't seen it yet but it's a thriller more so than a horror. thrillers can be scary though but then again so can comedies. and romances. 50 shades is definitely scary: it is psychological abuse after all.

Halloween: slasher film, automatically boring and shit. I'm including the entirety of the franchise here, by the way, and I'm also gonna be including Friday the 13th, nightmare on elm street, etc. They're all the same brand of sensationalist garbage. maybe the very first in each series could be redeemable but the mass volume of shitty and terrible CGI gorefests have ruined them forever. "oh no the scary unkillable monster is coming after us and he's gonna kill us in overly violent ways" 💩

Hereditary: I don't even give a shit it looks trite EDIT maybe it's okay but I don't give enough of a shit to bother to ~give it a chance~ because hey. that's what fucking horror games are for.

Insidious: boring, not scary, 0/10

Get Out: haven't watched yet but will because it's a cinematic masterpiece that defies genre conventions

Bird Box: IM SO FUCKING SICK OF HEARING ABOUT FUCKING BIRD BOX SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT BIRD BOX HOLY SHIT. It's just the goddamn happening by shyamagofuckyourself and it's an excuse to profit off of sensationalist suicide. oohh so spooky. eat my ass, boggart

It: too much bad cgi makes it a comedy. plus a bunch of kids say fuck a lot. good movie that's technically horror I guess but is it scary? nah.

Suspiria: I've never heard of this movie

Annihilation: same

Split: M NIGHT SHYAMALAN IS A SHITTY FILMMAKER and also it's ableist as fuck so

Mandy: google you suck none of these movies have any mainstream appeal

The Conjuring: 💩💩💩

Hush: ??? you know what fuck it I'm skipping the ones that don't matter

The Vvitch: 🙄 my mom's a witch, my best friend's a witch, I'm a witch. hey yeah maybe let's not buy into christian colonialism please? scary witches are boring as shit. gimme something actually scary. like Catholics.

The Nun: wait shit not like that! and by that I mean BORING AS HELL aside from the jumpscares. which are shit

The Babadook: clearly an LGBT movie, not horror

Cabin in the Woods: a parody and an excellent one at that. at least the gore is in homage, or hilariously over the top

Sinister: the fucking epitome of shitty jumpscares and shock value and lack of atmosphere and bad acting and bad plot and jesus fucking christ this is one of the worst and most boring movies I've ever had the misfortune to see DONT WASTE YOUR GODDAMN TIME

Saw: it's actually a thriller with Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Michael Emerson, and Tobin Bell. it's a campy cheesy low budget true to form horror film with adequate writing, good acting, AMAZING MUSIC BY CHARLIE CLOSER, and isn't over the top with gore considering it's all practical effects. top fucking notch but spawned a dozen terrible sequels.

Shaun of the Dead: it's a touching and heartfelt romantic comedy... with zombies, EXCELLENT CINEMATOGRAPHY, excellent acting, and sad parts that will rip your fucking heart out, stomp on it, and grind it to dust. literally one of the best movies ever made of all time, eat shit tarantino.

The Ring: eh, the original Japanese was better (Japanese horror is its own genre and not a part of this criticism, I actually really like original Japanese horror unfucked up by american audiences as long as it doesn't just gratuitously glorify suicide as Japan does), but this was still a really good mystery thriller with some really cool effects, and is the only movie that has ever actually scared me for real. even now I hate that there's a tv with a vcr right at the foot of my bed.

The Sixth Sense: shyamalan made a couple of good movies. this was one of them. but it wasn't a horror movie and if you didn't know the twist IT WAS A FUCKING AMAZING ONE. like, goddamn empire strikes back levels of supreme and god tier plot twists. it went a little overboard on shock value but compared to the rest of the COMPLETE BULLSHIT on this list (AND IN HIS OWN MOVIES) it really could've gone way further.

The Descent: goddamn claustrophobia. too much horribly cgi'd gore and terrible decisions to be truly enjoyable though. would've been a much better movie without the mutants and the middle finger to physics throat stabbing and the JUST FUCKING KICK IT YOU GODDAMN IDIOT and oh yeah the subtle misogyny. the first half was good tho

28 days later: shitty remake of a merely ok movie EDIT I was thinking of 28 weeks later, 28 days was actually okay I guess

Scream: did not age well but it's okay for being meta, despite the fucking torture porn of drew barrymore at the beginning. allowed for scary movie 1 though, so I'm glad it exists.

Paranormal Activity: PARANORMAL FUCKING ACTIVITY CAN EAT MY ASS, ITS SUCH A SUBLIME FAILURE OF EXECUTION. I WANTED IT TO BE GOOD BUT IT WASNT. oh well at least it inspired five nights at Freddy's. I'll go ahead and throw all shitty found footage movies under this one, including unfriended.

Blair Witch Project: a fucking pioneer of its time. a genre definer. truly scary. good movie. I'll go ahead and throw all good found footage movies under this one, including cloverfield.

The Shining: a thriller, not horror. but goddamn is it the scariest not horror movie ever made. Stephen king you magnificent bastard

Alien: goddamn fucking alien. science fiction masterpiece. director's a little creepy but eh, sigourney weaver kicks ass, and alien isolation is such a good game (despite its many flaws), and it's just so iconic in terms of sheer scope of concept. it's the same horror movie as anywhere else but in space, and I still can't fucking believe this was made in the 70s. this and Star Wars were FUCKING AMAZING, and the xenomorph? THATS ALL PRACTICAL EFFECTS BABEY. NO OVERRELIANCE ON CGI GUTS AND SHOCK VALUE HERE, ITS JUST PURE HORROR AT ITS FINEST. good movie. aliens was better. everything else... eeehhh...

The Thing: same as the descent but with men instead of women, and EVEN WORSE DECISION MAKING. IT IS UNBELIEVABLE JUST HOW GODDAMN STUPID EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM COULD POSSIBLY BE. and in the remake yeah the practical effects were mind blowingly fantastic and inspired dead space which I believe is one of the best horror games if not just best games or horror pieces of media if not just best pieces of media constructed. but the prequel? 🙄 no thanks

The exorcist: masterpiece of practical effects without an overreliance on jumpscares and gore

Jaws: it's Stephen fucking Spielberg in the 70s and one of the most influential horror films and just films in general

Hellraiser: okay I'll give all works by clive barker a pass here because goddamn is he a demented fucking genius if ever I saw one. if only Jericho was actually a good game, it could've been the next doom 3

Poltergeist: an actually good horror movie that depends on atmosphere and effects more so than jumpscares and gore? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP

Evil Dead: campy but misogynist. the sequel was a comedy so it's okay. the next sequel is also a comedy AND ARMY OF DARKNESS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES EVER FUCKING MADE. FIGHT ME. and fuck the remake. sam raimi should've retired after spiderman 3. maybe even before that.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: honestly not bad. it was actually freaky and believable. rednecks really are fucking scary with all their inbreeding and terrible music and hatred of black people. I refuse to acknowledge the original and the sequels.

Psycho: eh, hitchcock's worst is still better than most of the shit on this list.

The Wicker Man: OH GOD NOT THE BEES! AHHGUBLAHH MY EYES! AAAAAHHHHH!!! fucking excellent comedy. but it doesn't have any naked ladies in it like the original did. oh well, can't please everyone.

Night of the Living Dead: THOSE ZOMBIES ARE BULLSHIT. ZOMBIES CANT USE WEAPONS AND THEY SURE AS FUCK CANT TURN YOU INTO A ZOMBIE BY STABBING YOU WITH A TROWEL. THEY HAVE TO BITE YOU. FUCK YOU GEORGE ROMERO. Also, dawn of the dead was just sensationalist garbage. "They tore apart a real pig carcass tho so it looked like real intestines" what? the fuck??? who gives a shit????? I watch movies to escape from reality, dumbass. I don't beat off to chopped up human carcasses. If I want a zombie movie I want the walking dead sans the soap opera bullshit and the racism and then "no one is safe and everyone will die" boring mentality propagated by twd and got and other things I used to like but no longer care about (because why should I give a shit about it if everyone could die? I can already be sad enough about all the real people I know who die. enjoying the pain of the deaths of those important to us is a privilege the cishets have). the walking dead seasons 1&2 was pure horror and the very best kind. don't give me boring contrivances. "but sheena, night of the living dead was a trope definer! everything in it was original!" yeah, you know what else is original? *farting noise* George Romero is just rob zombie without a rock band. his best work was fucking call of duty. that's pathetic. "maybe you just don't like gore" HEY YEAH SURE I DONT WANNA SEE UBER REALISTIC INTESTINES AND ORGANS IF THEY ARENT PART OF A MEDICAL DEAL SO IM JUST A BIG DUMB HATER. I'm the one in the wrong. fuck me, right?

Don't Breathe: A FUCKING TURKEY BASTER FILLED WITH SEMEN. THATS SO STUPID I FORGOT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY. BEST CRINGE COMEDY OF THE YEAR :D

Tremors: legitimately great movie with a hundred shitty sequels. like saw but your faves win so you walk away filled with determination rather than sad and disappointed. enjoyment of tragedies are a privilege awarded to those who are neurotypical.

Zombieland: gore done right. the only casualty is mindless zomzoms and bill murray. good. granted it counts as a romance and a comedy but honestly last time I watched it I cried at the part where you find out buck isn't tallahassee's dog. god I love that movie. AND FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS IS THE MOST BADASS MOVIE OPENER EVER.

The Fly: Jeff fucking goldblum. amazing effects for good reasons. need I say more? the original doesn't exist because 1950s horror movies are all bad because all 1950s movies are bad. the 1950s should just be purged from america's records except for pleasantville.

All other Stephen king movies: hit or miss but mostly still good. although very few are actual horror.

10 cloverfield lane: more of a thriller like above's misery but still an amazing movie.

Peeping Tom: literally a movie about how creepy it is to fetishize the deaths of women WHILE LITERALLY FETISHIZING THE DEATHS OF WOMEN. like, come on man. how do you miss your own point so completely?

Invasion of the body snatchers: it's not horror and if it's made to be horror using gore it's shit. the whole thing is just an allegory to the joe mccarthy communism witch hunts anyway.

Cube trilogy: the ultimate b movies. so bad they're good. and it's such an interesting concept too!

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: fucking alien clowns come to earth to turn us into cotton candy by killing us using carnival fare. THIS IS THE GREATEST BAD MOVIE EVER MADE.

All horror movies based on horror video games: either irredeemably bad, or action movies

All creepy Netflix horror movies: wow any idiot with a camera and basic cgi skills can throw shit together to make a movie these days, huh

The Slender Man: I am literally too pissed off about this movie to insult it.

Marble Hornets, Tribe Twelve, the Slender Man movie on YouTube: triumphs of meta, editing, found footage, proof of concept, and story. Slenderman is such a malleable entity for a perfect horror experience, HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY FUCK THAT UP? YOUD HAVE TO BE INTENTIONALLY SABOTAGING YOUR WHOLE MOVIE TO FUCK IT UP AS BAD AS SOMEone who exclusively directs remakes... oh... oh no.

Wrong Turn: one mediocre movie and a dozen loathesome snoozefests coasting by on shock value

Troll 2:

oh god

they're eating her

and then

they're gonna eat me

...

oh my gooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

(Troll 2 is literally the worst movie ever made and I have to respect it for that at least)

but yeah, horror is just bad for movies. but for video games, though...

[weapon13whitefang]

Negan’s New Carl

It’s well known in the TWD Comics that Carl and Negan have a very intense respect-but-hate relationship going on.

I’ve gone back and reread a bunch of old interviews because 1) I’m bored and 2) I was trying to recall something Scott once said and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy and 3) I’m in the mood to dig into TWD and this crazy nonsense show and drive myself crazy!

In an interview with Gimple - Found here - He talked about the Carl and Negan relationship and how he might split some of the story among characters (this interview was before S7 and we know this has been done with Daryl, Eugene, Carl, Rosita [she shot Lucille instead of Carl, so that part was split] and even a bit with Sasha [she took comic Holly’s place afterall]

So he’s done that... But there’s something he said in that interview that still kind of bugs me...

"Whether it's with Carl or not, I cannot say," Gimple says. "I absolutely want to explore Negan having that strange respect for someone which I think was the hallmark of that relationship and we'll tell versions of that story."

Who is Negan’s new Carl?

Gimple touched on wanting to play on the Negan respect for another trait. It’s one of the things that makes Negan interesting; his beliefs and interests.

In the comic, Negan had interest and respect for Carl because of being as tough and hardened as he is at such a young age, even going far enough to a) tell Carl he’d want a son just like Carl and b) being upset that Carl still wants to kill him two years after the war and telling that he thought he and Carl were friends. 

Carl and Negan are one of the many interesting relationships of the comic next Rick and Dwight (for me in terms of chemistry between characters, which is a big thing for me in the comic). And while Rick and Dwight’s relationship with Negan is there in the TV show, it’s nothing like the comic feel and his relationship with Carl are brief and hardly comic level.

So... Who is Negan’s new Carl is what I’m trying to grasp.

It’s not Dwight. While Dwight has that rough relationship with Negan, it’s not the same as the comic. He fears Negan but also hates his guts because of the Sherry thing and mostly works for Negan to keep his ass alive and keep Sherry safe (Sherry becoming a wife to Negan as vice versa for Dwight and because of her own trouble of believing she can survive without the extra benefit of being one of Negan’s wives).

But Negan isn’t really fascinated or interested in Dwight. Not in a way that makes for an interesting chemistry. It’s a gleamed over thing between them that we all are aware of but it isn’t played on.

It’s not Daryl like I thought it was gonna be. Negan is interested in Daryl, but more like he wants to see how far he can push and go at Daryl. The “you don’t scare easy... I like that” line is an example that Negan is interested in Daryl’s lack of fear towards his own death and incarceration and how he won't let himself “be Negan”. And he does say “I gotta get me my Daryl back”, but that’s more of the interest of keeping a prisoner/strong hand of Rick’s and raising himself above him. Daryl was taken because of his show of strength and his crazy attack at Negan. But otherwise, Negan and Daryl haven’t really had a “you really fascinate me” moment.

In fact, for Dwight and Daryl, they have a more interesting relationship of fascination with each other than Negan does to either of them. Daryl has respect and hate for Dwight. He gets Dwight now. He gets why he’s doing what he does. But Dwight still helped get Glenn and Abraham killed and shot Denise and stole his shit and fucked him up. He did a lot of shit to Daryl that can not be forgiven, even if he gets it. So Daryl gets Dwight and even respects why he’s doing it, but he still hates the guy and would kill him if Dwight even tried to blink wrong at them.

It’s not Eugene. Eugene is an asset. That’s it. He can make bullets and he knows a lot of shit. He’s useful to Negan. And without Eugene, Rick can’t produce more bullets for any guns he might get ahold of. Also, I have a feeling Negan doesn’t fully trust Eugene because of what happened with Sasha AND Negan has shown disgust at people who turn on their leaders and Eugene quickly let himself turn to Negan and basically be his bitch, which Negan doesn’t really respect for, as shown with Spencer.

Carl isn’t it either. The whole “Carl breaking into the Sanctuary” thing happened, “Kid you scare the shit out of me”, meeting the girls, singing the song and showing the eyeball hole happened. We had a spaghetti moment and we had a stare down of Carl and Negan at the end of S7. But otherwise, there’s been no dig into Carl and Negan’s arc like the comic did. So it’s not Carl.

It’s not Rick, although it could be. Rick fights back and keeps taking on Negan and even goes at him full throttle and Negan swaggers about it but he isn’t about to forget the damage Rick can do. The damage he knows he will do. We see that. But he also knows he has the numbers while Rick technically doesn’t right now. There’s no respect for each other besides the whole “I know what you’re capable of” respect and that’s not fully digging into the respect and fascination aspect.

So basically... We don’t have someone specifically that Negan is fascinated and respects. Yet. And that bugs the fuck outta me because that’s something I find important about Negan. His beliefs and what he sees as something worth watching over is what made Negan interesting to me in the comic. Right now Negan is just a bigger version of the Governor and I didn’t find the Governor that fascinating, just crazy. And that’s boring. Just being a crazy bad guy isn’t... It isn’t interesting. 

Negan is this charismatic and seemingly invincible character in the comic. He does so many crazy things and does all this stuff to get Carl and Rick to like and trust him over time. He cuts off the Whisperer leaders - Alpha - head for Rick and throws up his arms like “see I killed the leader and didn’t take over a new group to attack you so I’m cool and you can all like me now!” and that want to have these characters like him while doing this crazy shit and to like him AFTER he did such terrible things to them, is both crazy and interesting about Negan.

I’m basically saying that Negan is a boring villain right now. He’s a plot device to make TWD be able to have this war happen so that more characters can be killed off and create more emotional deaths of possible favs, bring in a bunch of characters from the past (like Morales) and have all these extra explosions and crazy battle scenes... That’s boring. 

That’s been done before. Negan isn’t even needed really. He basically stands in the background yelling about his dick and flailing on the ground like a scared idiot as he gets shot at by Rick and everyone... That’s not fascinating that really is booorrriinngg.

Negan needs a drive. Negan needs someone that he can focus on that makes the war something besides a pissing contest of death. His thing in the comic was that he wanted everything Rick had. He wanted to rule over Rick and make him be his, same with Carl and everyone. After his imprisonment and escaping, he wants Carl and Rick and the Safe Zone to trust and like him. His focus is Carl and Rick and making himself look like a good guy basically. Which is fascinating because we still don’t know if we can trust him after all he’s done and what he’s capable of doing and the fact he’s not always stable like in his decisions of how to handle situations... 

He doesn’t have that right now. He has a hold over The Saviors still, but for how long? And he’s still got a one up on Rick in numbers and reaches but for how long? This arc is going to be predictable and that’s lame.

And yes, most of this is me complaining. I am bored with Negan. I liked him for awhile, but by the end of S7 he just wasn’t giving me anything to be interested in. He wasn’t showing any chemistry for anyone and to me that’s important. That’s why The Governor bored me as time went on. In the beginning, he was charming and had an interesting power relationship with Merle and Milton. And with Andrea his play of being this “good guy out for his people” but is really out for himself and losing his humanity was interesting. But then he killed Merle and killed Andrea and Milton. And with Michonne he died right after having a chance to build up that rage with her.

The Terminus Gang was the same way. All this build up to get to Terminus and then they’re all killed off like pigs to a slaughterhouse a few episodes later. Grady was interesting for a second because of Dawn’s manipulative relationship with Beth and everyone but then she fucks shit up and Daryl blows her fucking brains out and then she’s dead. The Wolves were a build up that went nowhere. They literally got killed in like two episodes and then we moved on. And the Scavengers are still around but Jadis hasn’t done anything but betray Rick (not a surprise, we all saw that shit coming) and made a rocky team up with the Saviors. A team-up that we don’t even know is still going on or not. I mean I’m sure we’ll see more of them later (hopefully) but like Jadis is this “I am a Goddess Queen” bitch whose weird and creepy but otherwise she hasn’t shown anything to make her interesting or that she’s worth any build up. Yet.

I’m bored of one lane villains. Villains are only as interesting as how they go against the opposing team (I can’t call Rick’s group the good guys because they’re not, they’re just the bigger killer group’s obstacle) and how they use that relationship to battle the other. Negan doesn’t have that right now and neither does Jadis.

Negan doesn’t have a Carl. Or a Comic-Rick or Comic-Dwight. He’s just bland right now... I’m so tired of hearing about his dick. I mean I laugh a little don’t get me wrong but dude, Negan, you’re boring me

I need Gimple to give us something. Is he still going to have Negan be fascinated with and respect someone? Is he gonna have his Comic-Self fascination or is he just going to be the fucker that took Glenn and Abraham and Olivia and Sasha from us? Cause the Governor did that with Hershel and Dawn did that with Beth. We’ve had that shit already. Are we gonna get more?

This is basically an “I’m already bored of Negan” rant. His only thing going for him is that he’s played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and he occasionally can piss me off and make me laugh. That’s it. 

Gimple... Give me something this season. Make Negan more interesting. I need to see if this is gonna be a thing.

Also, it’s okay if you don’t agree with me. That’s fine. This is my ranting opinion and I hope I’ll change my mind as S8 goes on.

[hebblog]

#WalkingReview S7 Finale / S8 Premiere

Alright hi, how’s it been…

While S7 was a bit drab, it did manage to pull me back in near the end. If I’m being totally honest, the whole idea of not writing about episodes as I watched is what turned it around for me. Now here we are, half a year later, and I nearly forgot the show was even coming back. I had jumped on the hype train during NYCC, but in the end my passion for great story telling in television has been preoccupied by series’ like GoT, Ozark, and Mindhunter. Even Webseries by creators like My Name Is Byf have managed to write more compelling shows using the lore of video games. That’s not a jab on TWD as a story, but rather what the network has chosen to use as fillers instead of getting straight to the point.

*sigh* In the end, I still love the show. I love zombies, and Rick is still one of my favourite characters, but I feel like it’s sliding down the same slope as Heroes or…well to be honest it takes a lot more for me to stop caring about a story once I’m into it.

Anyway, remember when a freaking tiger came out of no where and saved Corl from being killed by Negan?! I haven’t yelled at my screen like that in ages! The soundtrack was beautiful, uplifting, empowering. The plot twists were sickening, and had me truly despising the villains. I spent all of S6+7 waiting for that moment - the giant barrage of bullets that should have been given to us when The Governor first showed up. Remember when Negan killed everyone’s favourite character, and we all thought we were going to pass out from emotions?! Remember when we were shown a whole universe that has existed outside of the Group this whole time? Remember when there were so many things to get excited about!?!? So why is it that every time I watch an episode…like two or three days later…I forget what happened and feel like it didn’t even matter? I think it says something that series have progressed to a point where seasons are now 6-10 episodes short, with points being hammered home while cliff hangers aren’t used to beat us over the head. We want to consume stories, learn something, feel for characters, take a piece of it with us, and then move on. The Walking Dead seems to just want us to sit and not move. Does that mean I have less patience, I’ve become too much of a story-hoarder rather than a story-lover? I don’t think so. I think it means I know exactly what I like, and I don’t want to waste time on something that’s willing to waste my time. That being said…I’m still very excited about this season. I already mentioned that this show was tailor made for me, and the first 15mins of this new season proved it. I’ve sen the poor reviews, and negative headlines, but I’m also seeing the dark gritty return of a show that spent too much time trying to make me focus on love triangles and whacky antics. I get it, you can’t just kill zombies forever, but give me more Road Warrior meets 28 Days Later not When Harry Met Sally.

Also that quip about it being Carl’s show now…that was definitely literal.

So what WAS that premiere? So many clips from the present..future…future future?!? Whatever they’re planning in those fever dreams, I’m really really excited about it!

[scavengerridley]

Les nombres impairs du Get to know me et les multiples de 5 du distract me Merci bisous :)))))

1) What images do you have set for your desktop/cell phone wallpapers? My desktop wallpaper is an edit of FitzSimmons a friend made me years ago and i never changed it i can’t find it but it’s a great one

3) What was your last text message? My mom telling me she just got to the repair shop5) If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be? Nowhere i’m good here for now7) What was your favorite 90s show? Malcolm in the middle, does that count?9) Have you ever been stood up? Nah11) Have you been to Las Vegas? Nope13) Honestly, have you ever cheated on your significant other? I’d need a significant other for that, but not, i won’t cheat15) Have you talked to anyone on tumblr that you could see yourself dating/having sex with? If possible? huuuum no i don’t think so?17) Do you smoke? If so, what? ...............nooooo. Haven’t smoked in like, 2 months? 3 maybe19) Do you believe in God? nah21) Favorite position? Lying down in a pool of my own tears23) Your fears? I have some, like, ending up with no friends and shit, sometimes heights, sometimes butterflies cause they’re freaking weird25) What never fails to turn you on? politeness, humor27) What is something most people don't know about you? The color of my underwear29) What store do you shop at most often? Leclerc rpz31) Do you believe in karma? yeh kinda33) Do you think flowers or candy are a better way to apologize? I’s a good start35) Coffee or Tea? Neither

37) Would you rather be older or younger than your current age? idk older i guess? but like, not much, like maybe one or two years idk39) Are you a competitive person? not at first but once you get me started yeh maybe41) Do you like dancing? alone, yes

43) What is your favorite cartoon character? Wendy Corduroy45) Eat at home or eat out? at home, but take out.47) What was the last thing you bought for yourself? clothes probably49) How many hours do you sleep at night? 7ish, maybe 8 on a school night51) If you had a friend that spoke to you the same way you speak to yourself, how long would you be friends? Forever i’m fucking amazing53) What do you wish you didn't know? idk55) If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? The Cullens’ house cause it’s big and lost in the woods and great57) What's the habit you're proudest of breaking? i don’t know??59) What's the best bargain you've ever found at a garage sale or thrift store? I don’t go to any of those :///61) If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? WYOMING WINK WINK63) Favorite kind of chips? paprika, or the normal salted ones65) Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? The thesaurus 67) What's your favorite form of exercise? sleeping

69) What's the most memorable class you've ever taken? On of my civilisation class where the teacher is so lame i don’t even go to his class anymoreBut like, english in high school was the shit, the teacher was amazing and super funny and shit71) Do you like guacamole?never tasted it i think  

73) What/who are you thinking about right now? the episode of twd i just watched

75) Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? Probably lmao77) Favorite city you've been to? In France, Rennes is probably on top79) Talk about an embarrassing moment? ahahahahah no.81) What's the worst injury you've ever had? I fell of my bike literally right in front of my house, hurt half of my face and other parts of my body like wrist, shoulder, hip and shit. Also once i fell of my bike (again) (not in front of my house this time) and fell in pebbles and one of them stayed in my elbow for like a week, fun times.

83) Do you consider yourself sexually open minded? yeh i guess

85) Which living celebrity would you like to know? Any french basketball player like, i’m not picky. OH OR LIKE CHYLER LEIGH I MEAN come on87) Do you want/have kids? yeh why not89) Do you get easily distracted? Absolutely, i’m the worst91) What is your favorite word? ÉPITAPHE93) Do you have any pets? yeh 3 cats95) How old are you? 19 on the outside, 12 on the inside97) Is there anything you're really passionate about? Women’s Basketball i guess lately 99) Do you believe in love at first sight? Yeh why not

5: Are you afraid of falling in love?Nah?10: Do you like your phone?I love it15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?Art museum, i hate the zoo20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?idk good couple of months i’d say?25: What’s on your mind?food30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?nah35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?good for them40: Have you ever cried over a text?proooooobably yeh45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?yes 50: Top 3 web-pages?betaseries, netflix, and like, ao355: How is your hair?Fine i just washed them today, they were super happy60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug?idk probably next week when i go back to uni65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked?I don’t think i liked anyone?? OH no yes, i do.70: How many windows are open on your computer?475: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?Cause they were dating someone else i guess? I mean it wasn’t love but i liked them so :///80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?nah, but, story time, in 3rd grade, we were on a big school trip and we went to this “amusement park” in France and there was a night show so we went there and i was so tired i put my head on my teacher’s shoulder and fell asleep.85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care?Depends what kind of drugs i guess?90: Have you ever trusted someone too much?idk, i don’t think so?95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?nah it’ll be fun100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise?

myself

i hate you

[breadkahalwa]

electrictattoos:

My 2017 Horror Movies List

I’ve seen tons of stuff, as usual. So if something it’s not on the list I probably didn’t like it enough (like the blackcoat daughter, or XX, just to name two you’ll find in a lot of similar lists), or maybe I thought the horror component was too thin despite the premises (Personal Shopper).

Here we go, starting from the stuff I enjoyed the most, in no specific order:

Raw – A damn good coming of age movie about cannibalism. 

Mayhem – Infected collar workers creatively killing each other. Count me in.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer – Not an horror movie, but since IMDB thinks it is, it makes the list. It’s not the best Lantimos movie, but he is still one of the most interesting directors around.

Get Out – Funny, political, classic in it’s own way, and thrilling.

The Void – Definitely the one with the best posters of the list, I’ve struggled to pick one. It could have been better (it’s still a low budget movie, despite the great sfx), but it’s funny, gorey, and of course Lovecraft inspired. It’s in the top list cause I want more like this.

Split – M Night Shyamalan is back. Great acting, interesting plot, and the ending was epic. Now I just want more.

The rest of the movies on the list are on a lower steps for different reasons. Sometimes just for a matter of personal taste. Still all of them are absolutely worth a view.

Phoenix Forgotten – This one, for example, is basically perfect. Except, there is NOTHING in it you haven’t seen already. Literally nothing. Zero creativity, just done better. 

Hounds Of Love – Australians are always great at suburban crime movies. This one is the unofficial transposition of the “Moorhouse Murders”, a case of serial kidnapping (and killing) from the eightees.    

Better Watch Out – The Babysitter – Home Alone meets Funny Games? Both entertaining, one lacks of ambition, the other slightly missed that spark I was hoping for.

A Dark Song – A good flicks about dark magic and regrets. I liked the  mood, it’s a theme I definitely love so much when properly approached. Too bad sometime lit acked of ambition.

The Devil’s Candy – Metal music and posessions, canìt miss. But from the director of the underrated (and one of my all time favourites) The Loved Ones, I want more.

It – It’s a lot better than the disaster it could have been, but still not the movie I hoped for. Is it scary? Not even for a second. But it’s a well directed, well acted fantasy movie, specially if you liked Stranger Things, and of course, the old It. 

Tonight She Comes – This one has the lowest rate on imdb of my list, no idea why.  Yes it’s silly, and sometimes cheap (a lot of good slasher are) but I found it pretty funny, and somehow different. If you are into this kind of stuff, give it a chance. 

It Comes At Night –  The Girl With All The Gifts – Two different, intense take on the zombies/infected theme. Are you still into it? I’am, but probably not as I used to. Both good, I probably just needed something dioffrerent.

Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word – Another old fashioned slasher,  my expectation were pretty low, and it surprised me.

A Cure For Wellness – An enjoyable dark fantasy movie (definitely not an horror), but the script it’s not always effective as it could have been. 

Creep 2 – Not for everyone. You must be familiar with mumblecore stuff or Duplass’ previous works to be sure it’s weirdness it’s something you will enjoy… 

The Transfiguration – Puberty meets vampirism. Not bad, but Let the righ one in (the original one) did it before, and better.

Just a couple words about Channel Zero. Of course is not the first mainstream attempt to a quality horror tv show, just consider The Exorcist, or Outcast, both still running, TWD and all its clones, or a lot of anthologies and slashers I barely remember. In Channel Zero every season have no connection with the others. New season, new story, based on a different creepypasta. Kinda like that big mess known as American Horror Story, just better.  The second season had me more than the first one (the poster in the pic is from season one just because it looked better) but both seasons, even with ups and downs (second season start was great), are worth a view.

Have a nice and creepy 2018. 

The post electrictattoos: My 2017 Horror Movies List I’ve seen tons of… appeared first on uTubepedia.

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[breadkahalwa]

My 2017 Horror Movies List

I’ve seen tons of stuff, as usual. So if it’s not on the list I probably didn’t like it enough (like the blackcoat daughter, or XX, just to name two you’ll find in a lot of similar lists), or maybe I thought the horror component was too thin despite the premises (Personal Shopper).

Here we go, starting from the stuff I enjoyed the most, in no specific order:

Raw – A damn good coming of age movie about cannibalism. 

Mayhem – Infected collar workers creatively killing each other. Count me in.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer – Not an horror movie, but since IMDB thinks it is, it makes the list. It’s not the best Lantimos movie, but he is still one of the most interesting directors around.

Get Out – Funny, political, classic in it’s own way, and thrilling.

The Void – Definitely the one with the best posters of the list, I’ve struggled to pick one. It could have been better (it’s still a low budget movie, despite the great sfx), but it’s funny, gorey, and of course Lovecraft inspired. It’s in the top list cause I want more like this.

Split – M Night Shyamalan is back. Great acting, interesting plot, and the ending was epic. Now I just want more.

The rest of the movies on the list are on a lower steps for different reasons. Sometimes just for a matter of personal taste. Still all of them are absolutely worth a view.

Phoenix Forgotten – This one, for example, is basically perfect. Except, there is NOTHING in it you haven’t seen already. Literally nothing. Zero creativity, just done better. 

Hounds Of Love – Australians are always great at suburban crime movies. This one is the unofficial transposition of the “Moorhouse Murders”, a case of serial kidnapping (and killing) from the eightees.    

Better Watch Out – The Babysitter – Home Alone meets Funny Games? Both entertaining, one lacks of ambition, the other slightly missed that spark I was hoping for.

A Dark Song – A good flicks about dark magic and regrets. I liked the  mood, it’s a theme I definitely love so much when properly approached. Too bad sometime lit acked of ambition.

The Devil’s Candy – Metal music and posessions, canìt miss. But from the director of the underrated (and one of my all time favourites) The Loved Ones, I want more.

It – It’s a lot better than the disaster it could have been, but still not the movie I hoped for. Is it scary? Not even for a second. But it’s a well directed, well acted fantasy movie, specially if you liked Stranger Things, and of course, the old It. 

Tonight She Comes – This one has the lowest rate on imdb of my list, no idea why.  Yes it’s silly, and sometimes cheap (a lot of good slasher are) but I found it pretty funny, and somehow different. If you are into this kind of stuff, give it a chance. 

It Comes At Night –  The Girl With All The Gifts – Two different, intense take on the zombies/infected theme. Are you still into it? I’am, but probably not as I used to. Both good, I probably just needed something dioffrerent.

Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word – Another old fashioned slasher,  my expectation were pretty low, and it surprised me.

A Cure For Wellness – An enjoyable dark fantasy movie (definitely not an horror), but the script it’s not always effective as it could have been. 

Creep 2 – Not for everyone. You must be familiar with mumblecore stuff or Duplass’ previous works to be sure it’s weirdness it’s something you will enjoy… 

The Transfiguration – Puberty meets vampirism. Not bad, but Let the righ one in (the original one) did it before, and better.

Just a couple words about Channel Zero. Of course is not the first mainstream attempt to a quality horror tv show, just consider The Exorcist, or Outcast, both still running, TWD and all its clones, or a lot of anthologies and slashers I barely remember. In Channel Zero every season have no connection with the others. New season, new story, based on a different creepypasta. Kinda like that big mess known as American Horror Story, just better.  The second season had me more than the first one (the poster in the pic is from season one just because it looked better) but both seasons, even with ups and downs (second season start was great), are worth a view.

Have a nice and creepy 2018. 

The post My 2017 Horror Movies ListI’ve seen tons of stuff, as usual. So… appeared first on uTubepedia.

for more fun visit http://ift.tt/2D2ZScm