#I too like to post hot takes about characters who I’ve seen in one episode

[despexco]

I may have just been trolled on spn Reddit.

Someone made a “All fans who think Dean is bi are delusional bizarre liberals” post. I thought it was real.

In my defense, this was third time just this month someone made a similar post. Plus, all the comments are engaging with it as if it’s real. They also all support it’s apparently very good take.

I had a whole post written up for here about how you can view Dean as straight, but don’t call other fans bizarre when they disagree.

OP has only watched episode 1.

[angelbarelywrites]

♡ scenarios | dating negan

♡ fandoms; The Walking Dead

♡ characters; Negan Smith

♡ reader; gender neutral

♡ cw; explicit sexual content

♡ notes; in case anyone forgot i’m technically not a dedicated slasher blog

i put this in sections so i didn’t have to make more than one post lol . also these take place while he’s still the ruler of the saviors. i’ve been obsessed since his first episode oh my god that’s eight years of hyperfixation so that’s usually where my brain goes plot- wise

i’m thinking Billy Butcher is up next? lmk who else we wanna see, Garcia Flynn from Timeless is probably too niche? but i love him so so much

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

I. Kisses/PDA

> negan is an affectionate person

> with his wives it’s just for show- they’re hot, and he wants all his followers jealous of his lifestyle

> but with you, it’s different

> his wives don’t like him, per-se. he’s convenient to be married to and easy on the eyes, but they’re cold to him

> and he knows why, he doesn’t really give a shit. especially now that he has you.

> you may not be his spouse- you’re sure as fuck not letting him call you that without a ring- but he’s even more physical with you

> standing by him? hand on your back. sitting? you’re on his lap. look cold? he gives you his jacket and keeps you tucked under his arm

> “i just like takin’ care of you darlin’”

> and he loves kissing you in front of others- from little pecks to long, lingering kisses that makes other people look away

> he seems possessive, and he doesn’t mind people pointing it out

> it’s not that he doesn’t trust you- it’s never that

> he trusts most of his men too…maybe not simon. because simon loves staring at your ass

> but he’s proud. he’s proud you’re his, and he’s yours, and that he gets to show you off

> and like hell he ever lets anyone forget it

> alone he acts like keeping his hands off you is impossible

> he smacks your ass any time you lean over, pulls you into big bear hugs from behind and randomly pick you up

> he doesn’t ever want you to doubt his feelings for you, and physically is the easiest way for him to show it

> he’s very sexual, big shocker

> but his favorite kisses are sleepy kisses

> you wait late into the night when he’s due home from terrorizing his territories

> some part of you is afraid one day he won’t come home- so you always wait

> you’ll be exhausted, rubbing your eyes and yawning and usually wrapped up in a blanket

> but no matter how long he takes directing his men and double checking inventory and dealing with the dead

> “hey there, baby doll”

> you always run straight into his arms and bury your face in his chest. he’ll laugh and pick you up, kissing you gently before he carries you to bed

> most times he falls asleep on top of the covers with you, eager for the morning when he can make it up to you for being gone so long

II. Sharing a bed

> negan isn’t used to sharing a bed anymore

> the wives have their own rooms just down the hall, and so do you

> no reason for him not to give you at least a little space

> and having a room is the height of luxury in the sanctuary anyways. it’s a perk of dating the boss

> but you don’t know how to tell him you do want to share a bed, even though you’re barely apart when you’re awake

> so you just…don’t. you assume it’s a boundary he wants to keep and don’t mention it

> until the night terrors start up again

> you’ve seen a lot of people die a lot of different ways. most of them people you cared a lot about

> the memories always seem to come back in your dreams no matter how far back you push them

> when you’re woken up by one in the middle of a harsh storm, it’s just a bit too much

> you just can’t stop crying, and it’s loud and you need held. you need him.

> you creep as quietly as you can down the hall, and you hesitate at the door until the thunder crashes again

> when you stumble in he sits up fast with a knife in his fist

> then he gives a slightly annoyed sigh in recognition, relaxing

> “the hell are you doing?”

> “i just- um-“

> you can tell he notices the wobble in your voice and opens his arms up without another smart remark

> “hey, hey, i’ve gotcha..”

> he doesn’t ask questions- you don’t cry for nothing. and he gets nightmares too

> falling asleep in his arms feels natural…so natural it becomes a habit

> and he sleeps better with you too, curled around you and holding you so tight you think he might be worried you’ll disappear

> it’s less than a week before you stop using your bed altogether

III. Let’s get kinky

> he’s happy in pretty much any dominant role, whatever you call him is good enough for him- daddy, sir, master, etc

> and he likes when you call him whatever it is in front of his men

> the only chance of getting your dick/strap in him is if he power bottoms. but 95 percent of the time? you’re receiving and it’s big

> he likes being risky. he’ll take you out to visit settlements just to have an excuse to stop and fuck you in the car

> or even in a house there, just a room over from his men and gagging you with his fingers so you don’t get caught

> not that he’ll care if they catch you anyways

> he has a nice big office- half of the reason he uses it is so he can have you on his lap as a cockwarmer while he reads or looks over inventory numbers

> the other half is so you can suck his dick under the desk while he talks to simon or dwight

> (simon is a raging pervert so he definitely knows, too)

> he loves fucking your face, watching you get all teary eyed and drooling all over yourself from taking his massive cock

> “oh look at the fuckin’ mess you’re making!”

> he’s generous though- he loves reciprocating oral

> and he loves overstimulating you too- whether that’s by edging you for hours or just making you cum again and again and again

> he loves taking you from behind, pushing your face into the mattress and gripping your hips so hard they bruise

> but he also loves when you ride him slow, gasping quietly as he watches you fall apart completely for him

[snarky-art]

I swear I dont wanna be mean but why does everyone keep making stella fat. Why is it that the most attractive character, whom everyone finds beautiful inside the show, is the one who is always turned fat. Like... No one would find her attractive if her canon design was like that. I promise im not being mean but I feel like the artists are always projecting themselves onto Stella and wanting to be loved like she is, cause usually the ones making her fat are fat too, like I saw your selfies and you're a bit curvy. I promise im not being mean im just curious.

For starters, send me more fat Stella’s if you can I haven’t seen that many made and would love to see more varied takes on her appearances in redesigns.

Secondly, I made her fat because I think it’s nice to have the character that’s canonically considered to be the most beautiful girl in all of magix, a fashion icon in the magical dimension, a very celebrated trendsetter, be something other than the stereotypical concept of socially acceptable fashion tropes. She isn’t an hourglass, she has cellulite and stretch marks, she’s super pear shaped, and that can be and should be considered something to be normal, since they are, and shouldn’t be seen as things that need to be hidden. Having that put on a loud and proud fashion girly seems good imo and it can only really contribute to good stuff for body image stuff and representation. I did it so people like you could reconsider that beauty is something that comes in multiple forms and shouldn’t have to fit one type of standard. If we wanna get super technical too those standards also very from culture to culture and I image that’s extended even further in Winx club.

The girls are all aliens from different worlds. There’s bug people. There’s a lady in the miss magix episode that has tentacle hair, a blue body, and tentacle hands and feet. I highly doubt beauty standards in canon would be the same as what you’re saying, ie that no one would consider her beautiful. As if people who look like her irl also would inherently be considered not beautiful too. I know lots of people who have people that think they’re the hottest thing ever and they have all sorts of different body types and traits. Lets just call it realism lol

I’m not really projecting any of my physical stuff on her also, outside of I guess stretch marks and cellulite?? But I put those on other characters too so I don’t really think that holds up. I actually put my old body type on Flora since she’s my favorite, but now I’m way more midsized, like a slightly thinner Bloom from my stuff (love this unit of measurement gonna start using the gorls as a reference point for my appearance going forward lol). I’ve always had the “socially acceptable” fat type of body, ie hourglass with even proportions and a super snatched waist. I just think it’s tired and trite to constantly reenforce the idea that “the hot fashion one” needs to be tall and thin all the time, and if she is made fatter, that she needs to look like I did ie not much of a tummy with super equal proportions, big boobs, and a big ass.

Kinda related to that also, I made a post about a lot of character design “rules” too that I think are kinda outdated and annoying, at least to me, since I’ve seen them a million times. We all have. So I decided to do something different that I think would be good for normalizing traits outside of what we consider typically acceptable for that kind of character.

I’m already very loved also and don’t need to project anything on Stella lmaooo

I got multiple partners, great friends, do modeling, and am slaying with my own fashion and appearance stuff outside of that too. That’s all independent of whatever I’m doing with her physical body type when I draw her.

Gonna level with you also, you going “I’m not trying to be mean” doesn’t erase how weird this ask is. Sounds like you have your own gripes that you need to work through. Like, if you consider those traits on Stella ugly, that means you definitely have some internalized hatred for fatness, skin blemishes, scarring, and other peoples’ general appearances if they don’t fit some specific molds that aren’t realistic for the majority of people. Even if it is just genuine curiosity, being aware of this stuff going forwards and reevaluating how you view beauty standards and bodies in general would do you a great benefit imo.

Thanks for going through my old selfies tho it was pretty weird of you but at least make sure to leave a like on them. I looked hot when I was fatter and I look hot now too sharing this with the world is the least I can do💕✨💕✨

[c-c-cherry]

Tell me about that reigen and ritsu thing on the backburner, I'm curious!

(In exchange, have a picture of Scrungly Lola, my gecko.)

Chef!! It’s been awhile!! Thank you very much for the Lola. She’s very lovely and sweet. I have many many thoughts and fics in the back of my mind right now, but here is my little half-baked Reigen and Ritsu idea that I've been chewing on:

(General warning for talk/mention of suicide in the context of miscommunication/misunderstanding)

Alright alright alright. For those who have seen the OVA (the train OVA, my beloved OVA, the OVA where we get a smidge of Reigen canonically suffering), you know that Reigen is trapped in this spiritual dimensional cursed version of the train in his sleep. As the episode goes on, he becomes more desperate and hopeless and blah blah blah you’ve seen the episode you know what happens. 

But there’s a moment where Reigen writes a note. And when the other espers come in to save him, Reigen tries to hide that note. I wasn’t really sure what it said, but weeeeeks ago @cryran88 sent me an English translation and if you haven’t seen it already, it is SAD. 

Now…post-train OVA. This could be as post-canon as I see fit. Ritsu is helping out in the office for whatever reason (mob is sick, studying, some event, literally any reason) and Reigen asks him to grab something out of the filing cabinet where they keep the info on previous jobs. When Ritsu opens it, a shit ton of files fall out because its way too unorganized, which he picks up with help from his powers. 

A specific folder catches his eye, though: the one from the hot spring trip, filled with spilling papers and an under-the-table receipt and every other document that had to do with the case. He’s sorting it all back into its folder with his psychic abilities when a little glimmer makes him stop. He pulls out one of the papers, trip itinerary on one side and blank on the other…until he looks closer. With his powers aiding him, some kind of writing appears on the blank side, almost like invisible ink. 

Key words stick out to Ritsu as he floats it into his hands and reads it. “Sorry,” “useless,” “gone” ...as he reads closer, he recognizes it to be Reigen’s handwriting. What is this? Why does he have this in here? 

“Have you got it yet?”

Ritsu jumps as he hears Reigen’s voice across the room. In a panic, he shoves everything back in the cabinet, taking the one slip of paper and slipping it in his back pocket.

“Yeah—yeah. I’ve got it.”

He reads it again when he gets home, at night, when he’s sure he won’t be interrupted. He concludes it's a suicide note. He isn’t sure how Reigen did this or how he concealed it without powers of his own, but it has to be one. 

After that, Ritsu becomes completely obsessed with Reigen—monitoring him, making sure he’s okay, obsessively looking into details in the note to try and undo the damage he thinks has been done. He feels responsible. No one else knows about it, and the guilt and worry of being the only one to know drives him up the wall. Did he do something to make him feel this way? Ritsu never really hated Reigen. He thought Reigen was happy where he was. He didn’t want him gone. 

There are more unspoken details with other characters and moments and build-up I would write in between of course, but the fic would essentially peak with Reigen catching on and finding out that the note he wrote on the train somehow transferred over to become visible in this realm due to psychic interference. And now it’s in Ritsu’s hands, and it’s really, really not what it looks like.

At first, there's the age-old lesson of "you're a kid, you're not responsible for adults and how they feel," and "you can always talk to me," and "I promise I'm not feeling that way, and if I was, you shouldn't burden yourself with issues I should be working out with help from other adults."

But then there's another issue. To convince Ritsu that he really is alright and doesn’t plan on leaving them like that anytime soon, he would have to explain why he really wrote it. He can no longer sugarcoat his experience on the train. He doesn’t want the kid to have to know about this terrible stuff he went through, but he realizes he has no choice, no other way to convince him. He has to tell the truth.

Juicy, hurty, comforting in the end, you get the gist. I’m not sure what other characters I would bring in and what roles they would play just yet, but Ritsu walks out with more of an empathetic lens towards someone he initially kind of resented, and Reigen is forced to be weak. Those are two things I just love.

Thank you for listening to my ramblings!! I don’t even know if there would be an audience for this type of fic, but I think it would be fun to write regardless! Anyone else got any juicy ideas? I always love to hear them.

[lost-technology]

Vash - Asexual Icon?

Okay, controversial hot-take ahoy!   This is NOT a anti-shipping post.  I freakin’ love shipping. It’s awesome!  I used to be big into Vash x Meryl back in my old OG fandom days.   However, I read something on here (because this is tumblr, of course) about Vash being a queer icon, as in some notation on how in Trigun Stampede the director was cited as saying that he made Vash kind of like “both the female lead as well as the male lead” - as in, male, but having some traditionally feminine traits, hence why he looks more “bishounen” than he did in other iterations.  He has some “ship-fodder” moments with various other members of the cast - commenting on Wolfwood’s “kind eyes” and, of course, my VashMeryl heart soared at a certain scene in Episode 11 - those who’ve seen it know the one.   So far, in this version, there’s no clear canonical shipping with Vash.  In the other iterations, there was never any canonical shipping with him (the only canon ship is the OG anime having Wolfwood and Milly “eat sandwiches” together).  He never “ends up” with anyone.   Some fans think that he’s heterosexual (well-argued in the OG anime due to his flirtatious behavior toward some female characters - the old late 1990s trope of “let’s make the hero a bit perverted for humor” that was popular at the time). I’ve met yaoi fans who were convinced that he’s one-hundred percent gay (despite the pervy toward attractive women behavior). Bisexuality can be very well-argued for him, especially in Stampede as noted above, also the “every character in every fandom is bisexual or pansexual in fandom” rule that people seem to have unless a character as a specifically stated sexuality.   But has anyone besides me ever thought of Vash as an...asexual?   (In this essay I will...)  Consider Vash’s general character through the franchise when it comes to romance and / or sex:  Stampede incarnation:  Has a few moments that can be interpreted as flirty or budding feelings toward both Wolfwood and Meryl, however, nothing clear.  His most significant relationship is familial - his grief-filled relationship with his toxic brother.  This seems to be what this anime is about.   Trigun Maximum incarnation: Never has any clear shipping with anyone, although there are interpretable moments, same as above.  I remember that moment of pretending to be unconscious to avoid the attentions of prostitutes and being ashamed of his scars in the manga, same as in the OG anime. Nothing else of note.   Classic Trigun Anime: Vash plays the flirt with pretty women.  He goes into that common Late ‘90s Flirty Shounen Hero trope for anime heroes of the time.  This seems more or less tossed in by the anime writers and director.  As the anime becomes more serious, this is generally forgotten in a “Vash has too much on his plate for the romance-stuff” and it’s an action anime, not a romance anime... And the same shame of his scars... the same scene with the sex workers as noted above. (The context for the scene is that a town is celebrating because Vash saved them all and some of the men in the town set up with the local brothel ladies to show Vash a good time as a reward.  Vash pretends to have drank too much and passed out, couldn’t be roused - to the disappointment of the brothel workers.  He gets up as soon as they leave and wonders “could I be regretting it? Maybe just a little)?   The scene is generally interpreted as him not wanting to take advantage of the women in the situation.  (Although, honestly they were eager)...  Well... it seems to me that Vash might not be as interested in the old bang-bang as some fans would like him to be (and are perfectly within their rights to fanart and fanfic to their hearts’ content).  Even the “flirty” Vash of the OG anime seems to be doing it as part of the fake-stupid / silly behavior that he does to throw people off-guard.  And where it seems to be genuine behavior, well... I still think asexuality is a valid interpretation because, speaking as an asexual, myself, many of us “do things that we think we are supposed to do” because society tells us that people are supposed to do certain things.  Some of us never learned what asexuality even was until fairly late in life and went through various “supposed to” behavior even when we weren’t really feeling it before we discovered ourselves.   This is common throughout the queer community - the gay person raised in a community that is hostile who will try to date the opposite sex, someone thinking they are straight until they discover that they really are bi, and etc.  This happens to asexuals, too.  I had a boy-band member crush when I was 12, just like all “normal girls” did.  It took a while for me to figure myself out - that I wasn’t really “normal” and that it was okay.   Therefore, I see even the “Let’s make him pervy for comedy” written with clearly heterosexuality in mind of the OG anime as compatable with an asexual interpreation of Vash.  He was just doing the “I am a normal human” act!   Do keep in mind that I am arguing for “an asexual interpretation for the sake of fanwork / fan-fun” for Vash NOT based on his artificial human nature / his status as a plant, but just, individually, as a person.  

[pleasecallmeeds]

my top ten favorite television shows

did anyone ask? no! do i care? no! 

(I actually found this post in my drafts a few days ago and decided to update it and actually finish it. Most times you can tell when 2021/2022 Madison is writing because it’s all in lowercase. I mainly just moved things around and then changed a few of the standings. I also included gifs for the ships that I love the most. I hope you enjoy!) 

10. The Sandman

I wasn’t expecting to love The Sandman as much as I did, but I did. I’m also grateful that this is my first dive into Neil Gaiman’s writing, which led me to watching Good Omens, which I also enjoyed. I personally prefer The Sandman’s mythology and the strange way the season is formatted; it has a plotline running through but each episode feels like it’s in an anthology--almost like this was based on a comic series or something. Also, major props to The Sandman for being one of the gayest shows on television. I’ve never seen a show be comprised of probably 95% queer people. It was a marvel. Don’t love that Morpheus hasn’t had any queer relationships yet--doesn’t mean he’s not queer, but so far, hasn’t said anything regarding this. I’d like it if the main character was queer and not just all of the side characters, but I’ll take what I can get. 

favorite quote: “What power would Hell have if those imprisoned here were not able to dream of Heaven?”

favorite character: the Corinthian is so fucking cool. Dream is hot too.

favorite episode: “Sleep of the Just,” “24/7,” & “The Sound of Her Wings.” I love them all. 

favorite ship: dream/morpheus x hob

9. What We Do in the Shadows

On the topic of “the gayest shows in television,” this one is included. Literally all of these vampires are queer and fucking each other. It’s groundbreaking! It’s also one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. I wish that I had stronger, more genuine bonds of friendship between this group, but they’re vampires that have lived for hundreds of years. Outwardly showing love toward your friends is overrated, I guess. 

favorite quote: “Trust me. Gay is in. Gay is hot. I want some gay. Gay it’s gonna be.” 

favorite character: laszlo cravensworth, my beloved

favorite episode: “The Wellness Center” (season 3, episode 8)

favorite ship: look, i’d love to ship Nandor and Guillermo but their dynamic is pretty toxic. besides, we all know that they’re all just living in a polycule. 

8. That 70′s Show

That 70′s Show is nostalgic for me. My aunt is nine years older than me, so she was a teenager when I was in elementary school. She would watch this show on the television at my grandparents’ house and I’d watch the camera circle around a group of kids getting high in Eric Foreman’s basement and I was invested. I love the group dynamics, the sarcasm, the humor, and the rare emotional moments, too. 

favorite quote: “Damn, Jackie, I can’t control the weather!”

favorite character(s): Kitty & Red Foreman (people who don’t like Kitty Foreman need to grow up fr)

favorite episode(s): “Eric’s Buddy” (Season 1, Episode 11), “Grandma’s Dead” (Season 1, Episode 23), and “Garage Sale” (Season 2, Episode 1)

favorite ship(s): hyde x jackie, eric x buddy

7. Stranger Things

If it weren’t for the last two seasons of Stranger Things, this could easily be at the top of the list. But my perception of Stranger Things has changed so much through these last couple of seasons. I still really enjoyed the fourth season, which is why it has remained in my top 10. There’s things to like about season 3 and 4, but they don’t compare to seasons 1 and 2. The mystery, the character development, and the strong relationships between characters made me fall in love with the show. Unfortunately, I feel like this has declined over time, but nonetheless it’s still a fun time, even if the actors will be grown adults playing children by the time season 5 comes out. Also, I’m just begging on my knees for queer characters and relationships in the forefront. Robin is the only openly gay one (so far, we know that Will is canonically gay) and her relationship isn’t a main focus and she isn’t actively in any relationships yet.

favorite quote: “Harrington’s got her, don’t ya, big boy?” & “Do you wanna be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak.”

favorite character(s): steve harrington. eddie munson. robin. my beloveds

favorite episode: “Chapter Four: The Body” (Season 1, episode 4) had me genuinely freaked the fuck out. that’s what got me hooked on this show. 

favorite ship: steve x eddie, mike x will (but will deserves better)

6. Freaks and Geeks

It’s actually criminal that Freaks and Geeks was cancelled after one season. I think it is one of the most realistic depictions of high school I’ve ever seen. I felt seen in both Sam and Lindsay Weir. I related to Sam’s awkwardness and finding comfort in a few close friends, but I also related to Lindsay’s desire to fit in and try new things but not exactly finding the right friends. I loved the dynamic, the humor, the references, and the relationships. Overall, it is one of my favorite comfort shows. 

favorite quote: “I’ve seen God...he plays drums in Led Zeppelin.”

favorite character: Bill Haverchuck, you comedy genius 

favorite episode: “Chokin’ and Tokin’” (episode 13)

favorite ship: look, I would have loved if Lindsay actually liked Nick, because i thought they were really cute together. I don’t get why everyone’s obsessed with Daniel. James Franco is gross on so many levels. 

5. Criminal Minds

When I went to college, all of my classmates were studying forensic science because of this show. They all told me to watch it, because literally my whole class was obsessed with it. So I did what they said, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Wow, is this show fun. I haven’t even finished it because I don’t want it to end. This is one of the strongest casts of characters I’ve ever seen. I genuinely love and care about each character. If any of them died, I’d be heartbroken. The cases are compelling and thrilling to watch (well, not all of them, but most of them), and I love watching the BAU figure it out together and take care of each other. 

favorite quote: ‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you’ve really stopped to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

favorite character: obviously the Dr. Spencer Reid. but Penelope Garcia is a VERY close second. 

favorite episode: “Amplification” (season 4, episode 24)

favorite ship: reid x morgan (i present evidence A, your honor: “pretty boy”), morgan x garcia (i present evidence A, your honor: every episode of CM), garcia x every woman

4. The X-Files

I recently got into The X-Files because of my friend @midwestmothman and I will forever be in their debt. I haven’t even finished more than two seasons of this show and I’m in love with it. I don’t want to watch it too fast because then it’ll be over, and what do I do then? (I know they have this exact same dilemma.) Mulder and Scully are one of the foundations of so much of our current ship/fandom culture and it’s obvious why. I love the mystery & sci-fi of it all but we all know that it is the chemistry between the two leads that keep us invested even if the episodes aren’t as strong as usual. It’s one of those shows that I could turn on and watch all day. 

favorite quote: “Mulder, sometimes I think the world is going to hell and we’re the only two people who can save it.”

favorite character: I can’t pick. They’re both iconic.

favorite episode:  “Ice” (season 1, episode 8)

favorite ship: mulder x scully ofc

3. Seinfeld

ok, sorry (not sorry?) but Seinfeld is hilarious.

i absolutely love it. it is partly a nostaliga thing, but when i got old enough to actually give a damn about what i watch i decided i would watch it on my own instead of reruns on my grandfather’s television and i decided on my own that it is one of the most hilarious things i have ever seen.

i am a piece of each of these characters. they’re all complex characters with deep flaws but just as deep character and depth. they’re not meant to be praised; they know they are selfish people but the whole point of the show is that we can laugh at the terrible things that they say that we’re too afraid to joke about (as in like little rude things not hateful things).

this show is iconic. there are so many sayings, so many scenes, so many quotes that are iconic. Kramer--iconic. Seinfeld’s apartment--iconic. they’re all iconic.

obviously i do not care for the actual namesake of the show but every other character has an incredibly special place in my heart.

favorite quote: “You’re a nice guy, but I actually only have three friends. I can’t really handle any more.”

favorite character: the man, the myth, the legend Cosmo Kramer

favorite episode: “the red dot” (season 3, episode 12) & “the voice” (season 9, episode 2)

2. Fleabag

Fleabag has a special place in my heart. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a genius and this show is a testament to that. I thought season one was a great examination of what it’s like to be a woman that feels like she’s being a woman wrong. That she wants to say things and feel things that she’s not supposed to. She also doesn’t know how to handle her grief or to handle love. Then season 2 is a full-blown love story (admitted by Fleabag herself) and I LOVE it. It is so tragic, it is so beautiful, it is so comforting. It is upsetting that Fleabag finally finds someone who gets her but they have a barrier that they can’t overcome. It is one of the most heartbreaking moments of TV for me recently. “I love you.” “It’ll pass.” ARE YOU JOKING. 

favorite quote: “I want someone to tell me what to wear every morning. I want someone to tell me what to eat. What to like, what to hate, what to rage about, what to listen to, what band to like, what to buy tickets for, what to joke about, what not to joke about. I want someone to tell me what to believe in, who to vote for, and who to love, and how to tell them. I just think I want someone to tell me how to live my life, Father, because so far I think I’ve been getting it wrong.”

favorite character: fleabag, duh. but obviously the hot priest, too. 

favorite episode: series 2, episode 1

favorite ship: fleabag x the hot priest, it truly breaks my heart

1. Succession

Succession is one of the best meshes of comedy and drama that I’ve ever seen. Endlessly quote-able, at times nauseating, at times hysterical, at times the most depressing thing I’ve ever seen. A story of cycles and power and prisons. A tragedy. Witnessing these ups and downs over the past few years have been one of my favorite television experiences. It was like a new Game of Thrones for me. In a similar vein I think both shows ended the way the story demands but weren’t very satisfying in nature. (Spoilers) No one will admit it but Tom being the successor is like Bran being the King at the end for me. I loved it, though. Every minute. (I was secretly rooting for Ken but we don’t need to talk about that.)

favorite quote: all of the best quotes are between Greg and Tom. Tom’s “Are we talking to each other on the deck of a majestic schooner? Is the salty brine stinging my weather-beaten face? No? Then why the fuck are you are wearing a pair of deck shoes man?" always gets a laugh and Greg’s “It’s not like they pre-poop them” response regarding the dog poop bags. Also of course “You can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Gregs.”

favorite character: roman roy you weird fuck 

favorite episode: “This Is Not For Tears” (season 2, episode 10) - probably my favorite episode of television ever

favorite ship: tom x greg, ken x nate somehow?? like can we go back to the line “Man, I forgot how eager you were to get laid at a party”??? also ken x stewy -- once again going back to the line “You like pancakes and waffles and you kiss guys on molly”??? kendall roy & his relationships with men will forever remain one of life’s greatest mysteries

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

House

favorite quote: "It's one of the great tragedies of life — something always changes."

favorite character: Dr. James Wilson my BELOVED !!!!!!!!

favorite episode(s): tough because i love “three stories” (season 1, episode 21) but “wilson’s heart” (season 4, episode 16) absolutely destroyed me. 

favorite ship: wilson x house ofc 

The Great British Bake Off

favorite quote: James Acaster’s “Started making it, had a breakdown.”

favorite contestant: GBBO 2020′s winner PETER (noel’s not a contestant but he’s my favorite) are you kidding me he’s so cute

favorite season: 2020 season 

Full House

look, it’s peak nostalgia. I’ve been getting back into it lately. 

favorite quote: Stephanie’s “How rude!” and Michelle’s “You’ve got it, dude!”

favorite character: Uncle Jesse. He’s easy on the eyes.

favorite episode(s): “Secret Admirer,” (season 4, episode 5) & “Silence is Not Golden” (season 6, episode 17)

favorite ship: danny x joey x jesse. don’t act like you don’t see it, too!!

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones used to be my favorite show of all time. It was one of the only shows that kept me in anticipation every week for the next episode. It takes a lot for a TV show to do that. And I loved every minute of this show, even the last season and its ridiculousness. I’ve always felt this, but I feel like that now that we’re a few years out from the finale I think maybe if some people looked back on the last season they wouldn’t think it’s so bad. I thought the ending made sense. It was disappointing, but it made sense. I’m more upset about the character arcs reverting, ending in disappointing ways, or progressing too fast (I’m looking at you, Daenerys.) However, even when it was bad, it was still good. Just not good enough to break my top 10. Close though! That’s why I’m giving it a little speech. 

favorite quote: “Our fathers were evil men. All of us here. They left the world worse than they found it. We're not going to do that. We're going to leave the world better than we found it.” (Oh, Daenerys. You had such potential.)

favorite character: jon fucking snow 

favorite episode: “The Winds of Winter” (Season 6, episode 10)

favorite ship: jaime x brienne (we almost had it all), jon x ygritte 

Thanks for reading. What are your top ten favorite television shows?

[becauseimanicequeen]

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Two Worlds ep. 1

This is technically my second watch. However, since I wanted to make posts about my random thoughts on each episode of this series, I decided to start over. So, here are my random thoughts on this first episode:

The logo for the series is really pretty with the red and blue creating that infinity symbol.

I always appreciate some fantasy/supernatural aspects. It was actually one of the reasons I wanted to watch this series, along with Max and Nat being in it.

Khram will always have a special place in my heart for the sole reason that he’s an artist. Yes, I’m biased like that.

Khram being more interested in painting than that girl talking is so me.

That girl getting pissy for Khram being more interested in painting shows they’re not a good match. I don’t care that they haven’t seen each other for two weeks. Painting is clearly his thing. She could take a seat next to him and watch him paint. How fascinating wouldn’t that be?

I love that Khram’s dad is an artist as well.

Naked Phupha. 5 minutes into the series, and we’ve already gotten some bare ass.

Khram referring to past Phupha: “That little brat?” I wonder how small Phupha was when they met as kids. Either way, he’s really grown up, hasn’t he?

I love feisty Khram. Nat always has a knack for playing feisty.

I also love the pretty nature shots.

The first time I watched this episode, I thought that the man sleeping against the tree was Phupha. But it turned out to be Thai.

A person who appreciates art will always have a special place in my heart.

Phupha looks so gorgeous in blue, btw.

That hug from Khram, after Phupha practically said he was lonely, was so sweet.

Phupha literally said: “Draw me like one of your French girls.” At least that’s what I heard.

Shirtless Phupha.

Practically naked Phupha.

The way they’re looking at each other…

Fucking mosquitos. Ruining that moment is illegal.

However, we did get Khram rubbing repellant on Phupha’s body. So, I might forgive the mosquitos.

Okay, to be a bit more serious… Why is Phupha bringing up the legend about the “portal” in this scene? Is it because he knows it’s true? Is it because he knows what’s going to happen? Or is it just a foreshadowing of Khram entering the other world because of Phupha?

That kiss!

I love the chemistry between Khram and Phupha. Their openness and vulnerability with each other… Beautiful.

(Btw, I don’t care about shipping culture, so I don’t mind actors changing “partners”. And in this particular case, I’m really enjoying Gun and Nat together.)

The way Khram is lying there on his bed, thinking back to the kiss, while smiling is so cute.

Phupha: “I’m most myself when I’m with you.” He’s falling hard, isn’t he? And, even better, it’s reciprocated.

These boys are making me emotional (I’m partially blaming my current migraine for this).

Phupha giving Khram that necklace is pretty much the same as giving him an engagement ring (at least in my mind).

How can these two be so hot, funny, and cute at the same time? I’m getting whiplash here.

Props to the girl who broke her engagement (or soon-to-be engagement) with Khram after learning he’s in love with Phupha. However, considering this is a BL, I have a bad feeling it won’t be that simple. I’ve seen too many BLs where female characters have been reduced to evil and desperate wreckers to believe this is the end of her and Khram. I hope I’m wrong about this.

I’m sorry, but Max is hot as a baddie.

Hey, Jao, don’t you point that fucking gun at Khram!

Honestly, I don’t think Phupha’s dad would raise him and take care of him all these years only to kill him as soon as the truth of Phupha’s real dad came out. And if he was behind Phupha’s death, there has to be some other reason for it, right?

This was a good start to the series. I’m already enjoying the chemistry between Khram and Phupha, Max being a baddie, and the beautiful nature shots.

[destinygoldenstar]

Responding To Ninjago Hot Takes (Round Two)

Hey, remember the post I made asking people for Ninjago Hot Takes?

No?

Links here

I said I was gonna respond to some, so well, here we are. I’ll just do a post per hot take, cause some of these I have way too much to say, and I want to shout out people who made these in the first place. (Please support these people, even if you don’t agree with what they said.)

I’m going to repeat this for every post: I’m going to approach these hot takes in two ways: How hot I think they are as takes, and whether or not I agree with the take. Know that I’m just using both of these to reflect on others opinions, which is always fun to see, and I will try to be as respectful as possible to the person. (You guys be respectful too) And as always reblog some of your hot takes in either this post or the other one, preferably the other one.

So I’m gonna go from oldest reblog and onward.

@cavernfog

They said:

‘I genuinely really like hands of time’

‘like it's just underrated for no reason’

‘and most retcons aren't that bad in ninjago’

That’s like two separate things. So I’ll treat it as such.

First, Hands of Time being underrated.

That’s a spicy one. Especially from most rankings I’ve seen. So definitely there’s some spice there.

But it’s a little too spicy for me because I tragically do not agree with this.

Don’t get me wrong. I can see how people can like the season. There’s a lot of potential here. I can see people saying the Time Twins are some of the best Ninjago villains. Or the family conflict between the Jiang Smiths. Or Wu coming to terms with his mistakes over the years.

But people who follow me know that I posted about this season a lot, and have and will be rewriting it. I just felt like the pacing of the season was all over the place and hardly justified its ten episode length. There’s a far weaker dynamic between the ninja this time around, which to me is pretty deal breaking. I don’t think Wu’s crisis was handled very well as there wasn’t a lot of resolution to it besides getting lost in time, and it contradicts a lot of his mindset in previous seasons. (Love the short though) The Lloyd focused episode has always been in my Top 10 of worst Ninjago Episodes. The animation is really stiff, and jarring looking compared to other seasons. I made a whole post about how the dialogue was awkward and didn’t work. There were several points where they made the ninja flat out STUPID just to move the plot along. (Why would you trust that the time twins wouldn’t betray you?! You’ve been fighting against them the whole time! You should’ve anticipated a fight!) And I just really hate the twist with Kai and Nyas parents being good all along, as it completely negates their whole struggles this season, the story’s theme before this, and tells us their past doesn’t matter in their characterization at all.

This isn’t my least favorite season though. I do think Crystalized and Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitsu are worse. But I can’t say I fault people for saying Hands of Time is their least favorite season.

You are bold for saying you like it though, and I applaud you.

I’ll give you an 8 for Spiciness

But only a 3 for Agreement

Sorry.

As for the ‘the retcons aren’t bad’

I’m assuming you mean the lore and the plenty of times it’s been retconed?

I love Ninjago. But I think most fans can confess that this shows lore is a complete mess to understand and the retcons do not help at all.

Now yes, said retcons make for compelling stories in their respective seasons.

But you do not need twenty different ways characters can die or be in purgatory. You do not need ten Serphantine species. Etc. etc.

The Merge was honestly the best thing for Dragons Rising BECAUSE they fully admitted to ‘Screw it’.

But the original show? It expected me to take all of this seriously. Like this was always there. Even though it contradicted previous seasons by being there.

I definitely feel like it could’ve been better handled. And it annoys me sometimes when we get a lore dump nowadays as a result. Because I know it’s gonna contradict something previously.

But you’re right in the sense that the retcons don’t hurt the stories TOO MUCH. And it’s not the deciding factor of seasons quality for me. Without some of the seasons themes reinventing the world, Ninjago would’ve ended years ago. But the show is always reinventing itself and that keeps people watching. I’d say some of the worst seasons are when they try to stick to a status quo and what was done before. (Ex: Crystalized. Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitsu.)

You can say what you want about Ninjago. One thing it has rarely ever been for me is boring.

I only ever felt that way ONCE, and that’s Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitsu.

It’s very impressive. And I can respect that.

But I also have to admit when the retcons weren’t very well handled and mess up the lore. That’s not really a good example of good writing moves.

In terms of Spiciness though… not a lot. Because everyone I’ve talked to, love Ninjago or not, have admitted to the lore being a mess. And no one has tried to justify it. I say “The lore is a mess”

And they say something in the lines of “Yeah. I know.”

So I’ll give you a 2 for Spiciness

But a 5 for Agreement

I’m kind of right in the middle.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Dead City, Episode 6 (Final Episode)

Okay, here is some of our convo about the final episode of Dead City. I will probably do another post next week (or whenever I can get around to it) about season 1 as a whole, but for now, this is what we talked about.

***Warning: Spoilers abound below for Dead City, season1. Don't read until you've watched!!***

@galadrieljones

I just finished Dead City season 1. I have to say, looking back, I can’t believe there was a time I used to despise Negan with a red hot fury lol. I hated him so much in season 7 I almost stopped watching. Ofc he got funnier in season 8, and then things changed.

I love how they have found a way to complicate his relationship with Maggie without consistently rehashing old plots. I love how they have woven Hershel into this. The scene with him and Maggie in the truck really hurt my heart and my spirit for Maggie. As a mother, I watched her character melt and despair how she fears she’s lost the only thing she has left to love. Maggie is in a very dark way. She still hasn’t clawed her way to the light. She talks about losing things and how the world keeps “taking,” and how she’s always trying to get things back. I really hope it gives her something back.

I was very interested in the Dama and how she seems to be referencing the CRM and their glut for “resources.” The woman who’s totally lording over Armstrong wants to know about the methane. She doesn’t even care about Negan. This is super interesting. I did not see that angle on the horizon.

@wdway

I was thinking about this very same thing. How we saw in TWB Coda the female scientist taking out three tapes but we only saw one. I'm just so curious about the other two. I've said this before that it could be possible that Beth is actually seen on one of the tapes. These could be tapes sent to France by the scientists that were stranded in America. I guess that's why the short one shot I mentioned above was intriguing, because I thought it kind of tied into that kind of theory.

@galadrieljones

The way it ends, with the Croat bringing Negan as his prize, and Negan essentially taking Hershel’s place as a karmic price, and then the slow reveal that he’s there, not for punishment, but for glory, to rule…that was really good. I’m super excited for the future of this show and for all the ensuing spin-offs. If they’re half as good as Dead City is right now, that means big things for the franchise! Seriously I just really loved it. I want more lol.

I love how Negan can’t escape his past because he was just really really good at being a tyrant. He as so good, it keeps coming back to haunt him. Not because people want revenge, but because they want to serve him. They want him to keep playing his role. Even Maggie can’t help herself. She is charmed by him and we know she’s going to go back for him. What I love most about DC, and then I’ll shut up, is that I can finally see a way out for Maggie. I can see her choosing to forgive Negan. I can see Hershel asking her to forgive Negan, and for her to let go. I can see her letting go, rather than killing him in revenge, like she did Carver in season 11. Because we know that won’t solve anything. Anyway, that’s all lol.

@galadrieljones

Totally. I really think one could contain recordings from Grady. I’ve got my eye on Slingerland still as a potential lead. I was thinking, too, earlier about how, if Laurent was a guinea pig, he would have been a little baby when the experiments happened. If they were the same experiments that happened to Beth, it would have been around the same time frame. Just based on his age. Maybe he’s 11? 12?

@wdway

What I came away with about Maggie in DC e6 is we saw her so bitter and broken in Home Sweet Home and then in s11. She's just bitter. Which is understandable, but I hated how she was teaching that hatred to Herschel.

In this latest episode we see that Herschel is old enough now to start to put things together for himself. He's turning into his own person, trying to make his own judgments about situations and people. Maggie definitely is starting to realize that people change, things are never quite as black and white as we want them to be. I think we will see Maggie on her own road to redemption by coming to terms with who Negan really is now. And the difference between the persona of Negan and who he really is are two different things.

@galadrieljones

Totally. I was glad for how they gave so much agency to Hershel, and the ability to see things for what they are, and how he calls her out. I was so glad to see him accuse her of being obsessed with Negan, because she is. And it’s clearly harmed her relationship with her son and with everyone she’s ever been close to, since Glenn’s death.

One thing I love about TWD and its female characters is that the writers don’t let them get away with these vendettas. Sometimes, I feel modern female characters are shown as badasses who can do no wrong and who are always entitled to their whims. But characters like Maggie and Carol are truly flawed and those flaws are layered and realistic and they’re always evolving to meet the story they’re a part of. Maggie has become a really good character I think since season 11. She’s become fearful. Not that she might die, but that she has been living her life all wrong, and that because of this, she might survive and find herself totally alone. Just good writing.

@wdway

Isn't it funny how the females in the series, Maggie and Carol have become hardened as time has gone on. Daryl who is not a wimp by any means. he has came into himself, to show his soft side. He has in many ways softened over the years.

@galadrieljones

Yes. I sometimes think back to the first conversation that Rick and Shane have in Days Gone Bye, about the difference between men and women. While it’s very subtle, I think one theme tptb explores, particularly in the earlier seasons, is how men and women handle things like catastrophe differently.

Women grab the picture frames while men grab the survival gear. This makes sense at first. But as time goes by, we see that it’s really men who are hanging on to the dreams and romance of the old world. They want to fix the world. They want to save the world. The women recoil from expansion, become protective, ruthlessly practical, like snakes in a den.

Of course it’s just one interpretation, and it’s not universal. But I think in general, men are more romantic than women. Women are practical. The here and now. Men are all big picture. I think it can be approached in different ways.

Beth is a softer version of femininity in the show. But she still does a good job of bringing Daryl back down to earth. He can’t stop thinking about the big picture, how he failed them, failed Hershel, failed everybody. If only he would have done something differently, he could have saved them.

Beth grabs him and just helps him to remember he’s still alive, and that he did save her, and he did a good thing that day, and they can’t give up, because there’s still more to do. “We’ve all got jobs to do” is like this ultimate motto of practicality. It’s how Beth organizes her will to live, one foot in front of the other, and how she helps Daryl move forward even when he can’t stop looking back: she just gives him a job. OKAY WOW I just need her to come back now :’)

@twdmusicboxmystery

I wanted to put in my impressions of the end of Dead City. I agree with everything you both said about Maggie and Negan. I do think she’ll go back and get him, and there will be forgiveness. And the bit with Hershel was definitely heart breaking. I was thinking about how Hershel could never truly understand what happened with his father. He wasn’t there, and he doesn’t understand how it affected Maggie.

But none of that means he’s wrong about her. Maggie isn’t a terribly open or nurturing parent, and she needs to talk to him more about what happened. Not just the bare facts, but what she actually went through internally. But Maggie isn’t one to do that. She often feels cold and distant. So, I think it will also be interesting to see Maggie and Hershel’s relationship grow and hopefully come full circle around Negan.

The thoughts I have as to where they might be going with it are more big picture, I suppose. Obviously, this Dama woman is something of a queen in New York. One of you said you got Rich Bitch vibes from her, and I totally agree. She’s the epitome of a rich class living lavishly in her little enclosed space while people live not far from her in utter squalor, and she oppresses them for own amusement and aims.

But she also just basically asked Negan to help her run New York. In an evil and oppressive way, of course. But I’m assuming, even if it’s several seasons away, that since this woman is a relatively minor and new character, that she’ll die and Negan will become king of New York.

That’s interesting, because—again, perhaps several seasons away—when Rick and Daryl and Beth and all of TF reunite to fight the CRM, Negan may be running New York.

Remember in S8, when Rick and Negan went down into that basement together, past the “Abandon all Hope” sign? That foreshadowed something major between Rick and Negan, and the end of AOW just didn’t seem epic enough to fulfill it. I’m wondering if this hints at something more, a much larger scale conflict between them.

This is both subtle and obvious, but the show has set up a foil between the countryside and the city. We’ve had it long before now, with how TF has always avoided the cities, such as Atlanta, because they’re overrun with the dead.

Beth was taken into the city, which is probably more important symbolically than I ever gave it credit for.

And now we have New York. Of course there are plenty of evil people in the country, and plenty of walkers, but big cities are just their own monsters. Much different. Much worse.

In the bible—early Old Testament—we learn of two great cities under great leaders that are built up side by side. The first is the City of Enoch, which was filled with people so righteous and perfect that eventually the entire city was translated and taken up to heaven. Led by the prophet, Enoch.

The other city was built by a man named Nimrod, a mighty hunter in defiance of God. He hunted the souls of men. He became the first king of Babylon, which became synonymous with evil, sin, darkness, and the kingdom of the devil.

The two cities grew up at the same time, in different places, and as foils to one another. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.

I’m just saying they’re sort of making Negan king of Babylon here.

Beth was taken into the city. Into Babylon, the kingdom of the devil. And the CRM is most likely running other cities. Is Rick in Pittsburg? Another city run by the devil? No idea, but all big cities probably fall under the same symbolism.

It’s even somewhat reminiscent of the Morgan/Strand dynamic in Fear. Strand in his high tower, building a community based on fear and oppression, while Morgan, on the outside, strives to build a community based on respect, mutual protection, and self-reliance.

And I’m not even saying Negan and Rick will forever be enemies. (Morgan and Strand aren’t.) It would make more sense for them to eventually join forces against the CRM, which would make everything come full circle as well. Once enemies, now allies to bring peace and justice and order to the world. Anyway, I’m rambling now. This is what the end of DC got me thinking about.

@galadrieljones

This is really good, @twdmusicboxmystery. I love the idea of us returning thematically to AOW. Because we really haven’t yet. After the war ends, Rick “dies” almost immediately, then there’s a time jump. Negan is incarcerated, and Maggie leaves. There’s no opportunity for meditation on what happened.

Even Carl’s death is somewhat lost in these developments. Because for Michonne, who would be the only person left for whom it was truly life-shattering, it is overshadowed by Rick’s and also by her pregnancy. Daryl has left and he goes through his own Underworld experience, while Carol is with Henry and Ezekiel attempting to rebuild.

Then when Negan becomes a real character again, it’s the Whisperer War. So what I’m saying is, AOW has never really been processed thematically. And I think you’re right that we are headed back in that direction. I love the idea of an inverse scenario, in which Rick, a leader of his own rebellion, is able to employ Negan for help.

If Negan is leader of Manhattan, and Maggie is the leader of the hinterlands, and Ezekiel is governor of the Commonwealth, then we have an entirely new iteration of The King, the Widow, and Rick. Only instead of fighting against Negan, they infiltrate NY to ask for his help. Or they may be fighting him at first, but once Rick realizes they have a common enemy, they will be inclined to work together.

Also, we may then finally have an opportunity to process Carl’s death. Carl died to try and pave a way for peace ahead. And he wanted Rick to forgive Negan and for the two of them to work together to make the world a better place. We already know that the CRM will be after NYC for their methane operation. It looks like after all this time, resources are truly what it’s about, and TD was right about that.

I love the idea that tptb is creating a massive scenario in which Negan and Rick will meet again in some epic inversion of AOW. Even Jadis will be there. During AOW, she tried to play both sides and got burned. Now she seems to be playing both sides again, but she’s smarter this time, presumably. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Jadis who somehow gets Negan and Rick into the same room again, to broker some sort of deal. Anyway. Love this idea!! I’m super excited for how things seem like they’re going to come together.

Thinking about Carl’s death and how it’s never been processed actually makes me think about Beth’s. Really can’t wait for all this stuff to truly kick into gear!!

@wdway

I really liked your take on the episode as well. I really felt that Negan was forced, blackmailed into joining her. She hinted to the fact that she could always go back and get Herschel and she understands Negan has a lot of guilty feelings about killing Herschel's father, Glenn.

I think right now Negan main concern is to keep Ginny and Herschel safe and that hopefully the fact that he has a wife and a son of his own will stay secret between him and Maggie. She has the means of destroying Negan by telling his enemies that he has a family.

At this point I don't think she would knowingly let it slip that he has a family I think if she did that purposely she would sever any possibility of a relationship of any meaning with Herschel. I think he would see it as her choosing revenge over him, that he is less important than her hate for Negan.

And where is Negan's family? Missouri, where I imagine they've probably run into the CRM. I think Rick or Michonne are even Jadis meeting up with Annie finding out that Negan had a family might be a turning point that give Negan the incentive to join Rick against the CRM. We've seen Negan be brutal, but we've never seen him in action against people who could harm the people he loves. The all in, full out killing machine we've never seen before in him.

[sukka-week]

Hey everyone, we’re back with another theme post! This week our theme is going to be “warriors” and today’s post is about...

Warrior Face Paint

I think something we Sukka fans love about this couple is how much they have in common with each other. Their identities as non-bending warriors is obviously very important to each of them, which gives them something they can relate to each other deeply about.

In fact, I always like to think, despite all his belly-aching about how “girly” the Kyoshi Warrior uniform was, that Sokka found the Kyoshi Warrior face paint to be...pretty familiar? Comfortable, even? Because he’s no stranger to applying war paint.

Now, about that war paint. As far as I can tell (and please do correct me if I’m mistaken!), circumpolar peoples do not have a tradition of painting their faces. Tattooing their faces, yes! But Sokka’s war paint may be inspired by Native American practices of face and body painting.

From what I’ve read, in Native American cultures, painting one’s body is a solemn and sacred act, like a prayer. It can be a prayer of thanks, or a prayer for protection. It can be to celebrate a special milestone, or to honor loved ones who have passed. The colors used have significance, and although the meanings may not necessarily be shared across all tribes, I’ve seen some of these meanings for the following colors:

Red symbolizes strength, power, success, happiness, and beauty

Black is the color of living; it is worn to prepare for war and symbolizes victory and homecoming, but in some cultures can also symbolize mourning

White symbolizes peace and prosperity, or it can also symbolize mourning

In the first episode, we see Sokka wearing mostly gray, with large swaths of white and accented details in black. If we apply the meanings above to the patterns Sokka has painted, then his act of face painting takes on a particularly poignant message...one of hope, for victory and peace, in preparation for facing the Fire Nation.

In the sources I saw online, I didn’t see mention of gray face paint used in Native American tribes. However, I did come across one website, though I can’t vouch for its accuracy, that described gray paint used in African tribal face paint as commonly symbolizing security, authority, maturity, and stability.

So what about Suki? The Kyoshi Warrior face paint is not inspired by real-life samurai, who did not paint their faces, but by the depictions of warriors and heroes in Japanese and Chinese opera.

(Oshimodoshi, from the series The Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays)

Kabuki, Japanese classical performance art, makes use of face paint called kumadori, which is meant to exaggerate the blood vessels and muscles of a character’s face and expressions.

Colors have meaning here, too. Black is used for details and accents and doesn’t seem to carry other significance. A base color of white represents a good person or a high-ranking character (as opposed to a base of light brown which is used for supernatural entities, or a base of red which is used for the main villain’s henchmen). Red details, then, are used to represent justice and courage, and also sometimes hot-headed youthfulness.

The patterns of the face paint have meaning, as well! There are several types with meanings ranging from “great villains with high status trying to take over the country” (this pattern is called kugeare) to “heroes who have been imprisoned and so have become pale and thin” (this is called kagekiyo no kuma) to “heroic samurai who are comical despite their status” (called saruguma). You can check them out here, but I picked out a couple that I thought looked similar to the Kyoshi pattern.

According to the site I linked above, ipponguma is used for characters who are “strong and reliable, but also rough and rascally,” while nihonguma is for “calm, majestic, and strong adult roles.” Meaning-wise, I think ipponguma fits Suki pretty well. ;) (And Suki’s eyebrows are about as ipponguma as you can get!)

Now, in Chinese opera, the colors have meaning, as well, but the elaborately-painted faces tend to be more colorful and detailed than in kabuki. So, red symbolizes loyalty, devotion, and courage. Black is for serious or bold characters and symbolizes strength and roughness. And white is for characters who are sinister or suspicious. But the patterns you would see with these colors look nothing like the Kyoshi face paint.

(from https://www.chinaculturetour.com/culture/peking-opera.htm)

Rather, Suki’s makeup more closely resembles the typical face paint of the dan role in Chinese opera (which is any female character). The patterns and colors for these characters is less about symbolism and more about beauty.

(Kunju actress Fengying SHEN performs in Kunju Peony Pavilion on the stage of Peking University Hall in Beijing, China, April 18, 2006)

And actually, the male sheng roles in Chinese opera do their makeup very similarly, so Sokka in Kyoshi Warrior paint fits right in.

[kai-keda]

I just wanted to say that your recent analyses on Lego Monkie Kid have been excellent and well-constructed arguments.

Screenwriters are human, so they'll have narrative holes in their writing, likely by mistake. Thank you for helping to expose the plot holes in Lego Monkie Kid, for this will help other writers to avoid similar plot holes in the future.

I doubt I'm the only one who appreciates the firm way of how you backed up your arguments in your takes, and I have to say, I agree with the recent three you've posted. (The ones concerning Macaque, Red Son, Sandy, and Bai He.)

Awww this is really sweet!

I love this show so much, but it does have some flaws in the writing and I think it’s fair to point those flaws out without being accused of hating the show or the staff. Heck, the last post about Macaque was actually focused on how I LOVE how they wrote him and closed out his character-arc and WHY I loved it. The initial hot take that started this conversation was mostly a hot take about what I DON’T want to see happen and was against a very popular fandom expectation for the show as opposed to what the show actually did. Granted that post included pointing out flaws I’ve noticed in the writing (mostly about Sandy’s character) but the main point was more a cautionary “oh I hope they don’t do this…” thing.

Double granted I do have other issues with the writing but rushing through things and adding unnecessary stuff in there when they’re already working with not-enough time is the main problem.

(Seriously - what they did with Tang in “Benched” was weak and annoying and I’m actually bothered by how that episode started with a character feeling useless and ended with saying “You’re not useless cause here’s some magic powers” instead of “You don’t NEED to be useful to be a beloved family member and friend.” Or at least say he’s not useless by having him use the skills we have already seen him have. Like wtf actually did they do to our boy)

The only thing in the show I believe was an actual mistake that genuinely makes me UPSET to think about is Porty being in “Embrace Your Destiny.” (Even ignoring why I’m kinda meh on the specialty clones appearing after Duplictnation in the first place)There was no justification for that. At all. Not even any character reasoning. Like, him being there did. NOTHING. I feel bad saying that cause I’m mutuals with someone on Twitter who loves the clones - Porty especially - a heck of a lot and I love that for them, I really genuinely honestly do. I love their content that includes Porty and Mixtapeshipping and their original stuff for Porty is great! And they loved seeing Porty in EYD, and I don’t want to tell them that THEY have to hate that he was there all because I do.

But I just… I love Porty, too, he was really fun. His “Never forget… da music…” line before his ‘death’ was the moment I went “Oh shit this show is actually hilarious af” but the issue of time constraints being so glaringly obvious made Porty in EYD being better left on the cutting room floor and yet still in the episodes all the more frustrating.

And I always feel the need to say this just in case someone thinks I’m being unreasonable:

I do recognize that there was a possibility something he was doing with the car was making it go faster but that is SUCH a stretch because they did NOTHING to express that directly. We’ve never even seen him do anything like that before! And the ONLY REASON I can say that that MIGHT have been the intent was because of his line about the car being at “Maximum Porty” but, again, I’m stretching to make that connection. Because what does “Maximum Porty” mean, anyways??? Genuinely I stand by my theory that there was a whole episode cut after the initial drafts and the crew had to scramble to cut and paste things together.

Good fanservice? We get to see Red Son with his hair down. It didn’t interrupt or negatively impacted the writing.

Bad fanservice? Porty in Embrace Your Destiny. Gonna be really hard to get me to change my mind on that.

Now, as much as I appreciate the compliment and the point of how pointing out flaws in writing is not some terrible evil thing fueled by hated, I still feel the need to point out that I wouldn’t call these criticisms “plot holes”.

Nothing in what I said contradicts or actually makes the main plot of the story fall apart, imho. My criticisms are mostly about characterizations and feeling like arcs were dropped or mishandled and wanting to see better. The story is still solid but the characters and their arcs could have had more weight and meant more if these flaws in the writing weren’t there.

Heck, even my whole Porty rant - His biggest crime for existing is taking up time when he had no reason to be there. He didn’t break anything, he just… wasted everyone’s time.

Like you said, though, the writing staff is human. I don’t think they’re any less a talented crew for these flaws - far from it! And I still love this show and get a lot out of the characters and the stories otherwise I wouldn’t care to talk about it.

And remember!

The Lego Monkie Kid interpretation of Sun Wukong has never done anything wrong ever in his entire life and pissing in Buddha’s hand does not count.

[strideofpride]

okay so me and my friend @summrsbuffy have talked a lot about zemon (Zoe and Lemon) and we used to low-key think there were fruity vibes and now it's more like High Key (idk if you saw my set about it but I'm telling you) and I definitely agree that Lemon def had feelings for Zoe at some point and didn't know how to deal WOULD YOU CARE TO DISCUSS

Is that the “a rival is a crush you’re mad about having” post? Yes I’ve seen it and I am obsessed with it!!!!

I don’t know if Lemon ever had like capital F feelings you know? But I definitely think there was an instant attraction? But in a way that Lemon couldn’t recognize?

Like, okay…maybe this is a hot take but I don’t think George had deep feelings for Zoe straight from the jump. I think that came somewhere between their [redacted cause he’s a child predator] movie date in 107 and all the stuff that happened with his dad in 116/117. I think initially it was maybe just a little bit of attraction for George, maybe not even a full crush.

I think LEMON was kinda projecting onto George in the beginning. Like, oh well I think this new lady doctor is super pretty so I bet George does too! I can’t have George hanging around her, he might get ideas in his head! (Says the person who definitely has ideas in HER head)

(Also because I’m me and I love Hayland very much, I would be remiss not to add that a lot of Lemon’s initial jealousy of Zoe comes not from her connection with George but because Lemon thinks there’s something going on between Zoe and Lavon in the first two episodes!)

And like as the series goes on, I think Lemon and Zoe become reluctantly aware of just how much they understand each other. Like they both have very similar parental abandonment issues that only the other one can relate to that I find really really fascinating. Like the speeches they give each other about how the other will be a great mother…those are speeches that could’ve only come from them. Because Lemon and Zoe both Get It in a way I don’t think any other hod character really does. They get what it’s like to feel completely unloved by a parent, to fear that you’ll turn into them, but also while still desperately craving their love and approval and yeah…

I’m getting off track here but yes, Lemon and Zoe are very fruity and I think they liked each other as people as early as like…118 maybe. But they would never ever admit to it because pretending to hate each other is like an intricate ritual in a way??

Idk and there’s just so many times where one calls the other pretty or something, and like also!!! The way they often parallel Rose/Magnolia who are like…possibly the queerest hod ship lololol yeah it all just makes me go 👀👀👀

(Oh also when Didi finds that picture of Lemon in Lavon’s desk and Zoe lies and says it’s hers and the lie is that Zoe was trying to look like Lemon?? Instead of just saying she has a crush on Lemon?? That’s capital S stupid!!! If Zoe was a real friend she would’ve said she had a crush on Lemon with her full chest, the only reason Didi bought that nonsense is cause she’s canonically a little air-headed lolol)

[timesnewreader]

I’ve been an Asoiaf girlie for about a decade now and I don’t know if it’s always been this way (I never read GoT reader insert) or if it’s just because HotD is the baby of the fandom, but I’m having shit luck finding anything that meets my admittedly exacting standards. I found one, which I’ve linked in my previous post, but not many others. Like some of the smut was hot, but Everyone wants Almond to be a soft boy and I completely disagree. While it’s not as bad as babygirlifying Daemon where you just have to ignore like 90% of his personality if you wanna simp, I think it takes all the fun out of Aemond’s character. Like do what you want idgaf if you want him to be your babygrill, but I find Aemond interesting because (even if it’s his family’s fault for raising him this way) he’s still a bit of a prick. He’s thirsty for battle as all hell and was obviously raring to fight in the last supper scene if daemon weren’t there. Even the night he lost his eye, like of course that was fucked from all sides as it was meant to be because they were literally all kids, but people seem to forget that he was gonna bash Jace’s head in with a rock and so his baby brother cut wildly ya know. Like it’s fucked from all sides even though ultimately Aemond got the most hurt. I liked that Almond was sad in the last episode in THE moment, but he’s just gonna get more fucked from here on out and he was quite literally playing with fire by chasing him in that way. He convinced me at least that he really was gonna cut the kid’s eye out. My point with all this being that almost no one writes him as an asshole in x reader fics and I want Almond and that bitch y/n to have hatefully playful/ just hateful banter until it escalates and they eventually have hate sex. Of whatever sort you choose considering the setting or if you wanna do modern au. Like they can catch real feelings eventually if you want but having illicit, secret, possibly kinky, and emotionally charged sex is far more interesting to me personally. And then they can get caught and forced to get married and shit which could be fun. ESPECIALLY if the reader is a Strong! Like think of the conflict and resolution that would bring!! And I get why people are uncomfortable with it since they’d be related, I’d be uncomfortable too in any other fandom, but in Asiof (especially as Targaryens) that ain’t even that bad. I might write it myself honestly since I’m the one who wants it so bad, but self motivation is a bitch and so am I lmao. Like mad respect to anyone putting their writing out there even if we want different things from the almond boi, I’ve never gotten past outlining generally and y’all should be proud of your work. Thus ends my wild rant, I’ve just been thinking about this shit for a while lmaoo. Don’t really expect this to get seen, but lemme know if there’s any interest in the fic idea lmao. Or babygrill if you have any recs I would die for you sjdhajfjsjdj✌️✌️

[prolix-yuy]

hiya! so i just got caught up with your series ‘i think of you’ and you are a fantastic story teller! they way that you’ve seamlessly introduced an original character into an essentially canon story line is very impressive. i’m always in awe of authors who find the spaces in a show/movie/etc. and not only build a well rounded character, but make it seem as if they were there the whole time. and the way you write din feels spot on to me (i’ve actually never seen the mandolorian, i just enjoy any and all pedro fics), but the way he wants to fight all these instincts he has about this girl because she threatens the only thing he’s had, the only thing he really knows just seems so in character. and this girl who he’s just met and has one amazing night with and that’s all they have to go off of and they are still just in each other’s heads, easing each other’s worries and need and it is actually so fun to read. and the way they have settled so easily into co-parenting grogu is so damn precious! and the dirty talk din does is actually amazingly filthy. it is so hot. i just finished the last ‘episode’ last night and the way he didn’t want to take his armor off, but wanted nothing more than to feel her on his skin was like making me scream!!! i cannot wait for season two! hope you have a great day ☺️

This has me in my feelings today! Thank you so much for reading Ansley, I saw your likes come through over the weekend (which always makes me smile, seeing how far you've gotten and remembering the plot points of each part) and then you send this!

My heart is so full from this message, I'm so glad you've enjoyed the little world I've created for Mando and Grogu and our dear RC. It's been a really fun challenge to create this story - especially since it was originally just One Very Good Night tossed into the universe and suddenly it grew! And the fact that you've been enjoying Mando's characterization makes me all blushy, I'm sending you so much love for being so kind and generous with this comment. (and oh boy, do I get all hot and bothered with Mando's sexy talk too!)

Season two is only a few short weeks away! I realized when I "paused" posting for this to do follower asks that I kind of did it at the perfect time, with them taking that first step into the unknown together, so I'm calling the 10 current stories Season 1! Season 2 will have much more where that came from, and a trip back into canon events. I cannot wait to share it with you!

Thank you for brightening my day, Ansley, and for reading and enjoying this story. I Think of You is very near and dear to my heart, and it's been amazing talking to people about it. You truly motivate me to write and keep this series going (and believe me, there's lots more coming!) and I thank you for spreading the love!

[dollwritesarchive]

BABE I've been so busy recently sorry for not being as active 😭 but I'm gone for like 4 days and I come back to you WATCHING DEMON SLAYER!? I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ITS LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVES ❤ so I literally watched all 3 seasons of demon slayer in like two days lol and I kinda regret watching it while on my period bc I fr cried like every episode LOL I was just a mess of emotions for those two days. First Inosuke is 100% my favorite character I would die for him in a heartbeat, and tanjiro is like my son I genuinely just adore him 🥺 I was hesitant to start demon slayer bc I thought that tanjiro seemed kinda boring for a main character (and I was like why the fuck does that girl have that thing in her mouth 24/7) but I was wroooong hes such an angel and I would literally stop watching the show if anything bad happened to him. I also want to fuck literally all of the hashira and demons big shocker I know lol. I'm super conflicted about muzan tho and would love to hear your thoughts on him. Like I think hes super hot, does he resemble Michael Jackson? Yes, but hes still sexy in my eyes lol but at the same time I just have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to him. I usually LOVE villains no matter what no questions asked but after watching rui's backstory and seeing how muzan basically manipulated this poor boy to become a demon bc he was in that much pain and wanted to be free from it made me really sad ngl 😥 idk I'd probably still fuck him lol and I think hes a really cool and cruel villain but hes definitely not my fav. Also if you like the demons in this season wait until you get to mugen train and entertainment arc 👀 my fav demon so far is in entertainment arc so I'm so excited for you to get to that season ❤ as far as the hashiras goes I feel like this is such a controversial take bc hes everyone's favorite but I'm not that into uzui lol. Like hes undeniably the hottest character for sure but hes just not for me especially since I'm a super jealous person lol (would still fuck him under certain circumstances tho lmaoo). My favorites in no particular order are giyu, obanai, and sanemi for sure. Pleasee keep us updated on your thoughts as you watch I would love to see how you feel about the next two seasons like there's so much to talk about lol. Also I feel so blessed that I came back to you announcing a hashira au wtf I could cry 😭

Your important info post is looking BEAUTIFUL btw 👀

I WOULD LOVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT MY MAN DABI 😭 I feel like this ask is already ridiculously long tho so I probably will in my next ask lol but I 100% only watch mha for dabi and shigaraki so I dont blame you for not watching it. Imo they make it worth it tho they're probably my favorite anime characters of all time

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRfUSNkE/ me and you fr lol

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRfUR3KB/ this is definitely one of the coolest jjk edits I've seen

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRfUFPEg/

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRfUBhf4/

Jjk nonnie 🖤

NO NO NO BABY DONT APOLOGIZE AT ALL, it’s taken me just as long ❤️ I’ve been working on kinktober so I’ve been neglecting my asks a bit 😭😭 BUT I MISSED YOUUU

IM STILL ON SEASON ONE BUT I THINK LIKE THE LAST EPISODE IM TRYING TO STRETCH OUT AND WATCH DIFFERENT STUFF AT THE SAME TIME SO I DONT JUST HYPERFIXATE

I think it’s very iconic that Inosuke is also my SON AND we have the same favorite hashira too 😭 OBANAI SANEMI AND GIYU FOR ME IN THAT ORDER

I’m bummed I thought I was gonna be all over uzui and like you said he’s sexy and I really like his character but he’s far from my fave, so is Rengoku! Who is, coincidentally, my moms favorite

YES THE HASHIRA AU reader is going to be the company hole ™️ we love to see it for sure

KDKSKSKS I REALLY PROBABLY NEED TO CHANGE MEGUMIS PIC IM JUST SO LAZY BUT I WANT THEM ALL TO MATCH

ALSO okay muzan is all right 😭 I don’t think he’s the best but he definitely has his moments HOWEVER

Rui

My beloved

My little sweet spider demon baby boy

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I WANT TO PROTECT HIM 🥹 the first figure I got of demon slayer is actually of rui I love himb

YES YES YES TIKTOK FEEDING TIME

I felt personally victimized by every one AND I have some for you!!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRPNVKkH/

Watched that bad boy like 6 times before I fell asleep and I dreamed about Obanai like SPECIFICALLY HEARD THAT LINE OF DIALOGUE IN MY DREAM WHILE HE WAS UP IN THE TREE

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRPNqd8K/

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRPNAB6d/

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRPNHEbm/

Aaand I wanna throw in some Levi ❤️

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRPNhNw1/

BUT YES MY LOVE TELL ME ALL ABOUT DABI MY EARS AND EYES ARE OPEN I WANT TO KNOW YOUR MANS 😖

[uomo-accattivante]

Excellent article about bringing a re-make of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage to fruition, and the twenty-year friendship that Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain share:

There were days on the shoot for “Scenes From a Marriage,” a five-episode limited series that premieres Sept. 12 on HBO, when Oscar Isaac resented the crew.

The problem wasn’t the crew members themselves, he told me on a video call in March. But the work required of him and his co-star, Jessica Chastain, was so unsparingly intimate — “And difficult!” Chastain added from a neighboring Zoom window — that every time a camera operator or a makeup artist appeared, it felt like an intrusion.

On his other projects, Isaac had felt comfortably distant from the characters and their circumstances — interplanetary intrigue, rogue A.I. But “Scenes” surveys monogamy and parenthood, familiar territory. Sometimes Isaac would film a bedtime scene with his onscreen child (Lily Jane) and then go home and tuck his own child into the same model of bed as the one used onset, accessorized with the same bunny lamp, and not know exactly where art ended and life began.

“It was just a lot,” he said.

Chastain agreed, though she put it more strongly. “I mean, I cried every day for four months,” she said.

Isaac, 42, and Chastain, 44, have known each other since their days at the Juilliard School. And they have channeled two decades of friendship, admiration and a shared and obsessional devotion to craft into what Michael Ellenberg, one of the series’s executive producers, called “five hours of naked, raw performance.” (That nudity is metaphorical, mostly.)

“For me it definitely felt incredibly personal,” Chastain said on the call in the spring, about a month after filming had ended. “That’s why I don’t know if I have another one like this in me. Yeah, I can’t decide that. I can’t even talk about it without. …” She turned away from the screen. (It was one of several times during the call that I felt as if I were intruding, too.)

The original “Scenes From a Marriage,” created by Ingmar Bergman, debuted on Swedish television in 1973. Bergman’s first television series, its six episodes trace the dissolution of a middle-class marriage. Starring Liv Ullmann, Bergman’s ex, it drew on his own past relationships, though not always directly.

“When it comes to Bergman, the relationship between autobiography and fiction is extremely complicated,” said Jan Holmberg, the chief executive of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

A sensation in Sweden, it was seen by most of the adult population. And yes, sure, correlation does not imply causation, but after its debut, Swedish divorce were rumored to have doubled. Holmberg remembers watching a rerun as a 10-year-old.

“It was a rude awakening to adult life,” he said.

The writer and director Hagai Levi saw it as a teenager, on Israeli public television, during a stint on a kibbutz. “I was shocked,” he said. The series taught him that a television series could be radical, that it could be art. When he created “BeTipul,” the Israeli precursor to “In Treatment,” he used “Scenes” as proof of the concept “that two people can talk for an hour and it can work,” Levi said. (Strangely, “Scenes” also inspired the prime-time soap “Dallas.”)

So when Daniel Bergman, Ingmar Bergman’s youngest son, approached Levi about a remake, he was immediately interested.

But the project languished, in part because loving a show isn’t reason enough to adapt it. Divorce is common now — in Sweden, and elsewhere — and the relationship politics of the original series, in which the male character deserts his wife and young children for an academic post, haven’t aged particularly well.

Then about two years ago, Levi had a revelation. He would swap the gender roles. A woman who leaves her marriage and child in pursuit of freedom (with a very hot Israeli entrepreneur in place of a visiting professorship) might still provoke conversation and interest.

So the Marianne and Johan of the original became Mira and Jonathan, with a Boston suburb (re-created in a warehouse just north of New York City), stepping in for the Stockholm of the original. Jonathan remains an academic though Mira, a lawyer in the original, is now a businesswoman who out-earns him.

Casting began in early 2020. After Isaac met with Levi, he wrote to Chastain to tell her about the project. She wasn’t available. The producers cast Michelle Williams. But the pandemic reshuffled everyone’s schedules. When production was ready to resume, Williams was no longer free. Chastain was. “That was for me the most amazing miracle,” Levi said.

Isaac and Chastain met in the early 2000s at Juilliard. He was in his first year; she, in her third. He first saw her in a scene from a classical tragedy, slapping men in the face as Helen of Troy. He was friendly with her then-boyfriend, and they soon became friends themselves, bonding through the shared trauma of an acting curriculum designed to break its students down and then build them back up again. Isaac remembered her as “a real force of nature and solid, completely solid, with an incredible amount of integrity,” he said.

In the next window, Chastain blushed. “He was super talented,” she said. “But talented in a way that wasn’t expected, that’s challenging and pushing against constructs and ideas.” She introduced him to her manager, and they celebrated each other’s early successes and went to each other’s premieres. (A few of those photos are used in “Scenes From a Marriage” as set dressing.)

In 2013, Chastain was cast in J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year,”opposite Javier Bardem. When Bardem dropped out, Chastain campaigned for Isaac to have the role. Weeks before shooting, they began to meet, fleshing out the back story of their characters — a husband and wife trying to corner the heating oil market in 1981 New York — the details of the marriage, business, life.

It was their first time working together, and each felt a bond that went deeper than a parallel education and approach. “Something connects us that’s stronger than any ideas of character or story or any of that,” Isaac said. “There’s something else that’s more about like, a shared existence.”

Chandor noticed how they would support each other on set, and challenge each other, too, giving each other the freedom to take the characters’ relationship to dark and dangerous places. “They have this innate trust with each other,” Chandor said.

That trust eliminated the need for actorly tricks or shortcuts, in part because they know each other’s tricks too well. Their motto, Isaac said, was, “Let’s figure this [expletive] out together and see what’s the most honest thing we can do.”

Moni Yakim, Juilliard’s celebrated movement instructor, has followed their careers closely and he noted what he called the “magnetism and spiritual connection” that they suggested onscreen in the film.

“It’s a kind of chemistry,” Yakim said. “They can read each other’s mind and you as an audience, you can sense it.”

Telepathy takes work. When they knew that shooting “Scenes From a Marriage” could begin, Chastain bought a copy of “All About Us,” a guided journal for couples, and filled in her sections in character as Mira. Isaac brought it home and showed it to his wife, the filmmaker Elvira Lind.

“She was like, ‘You finally found your match,’” Isaac recalled. “’Someone that is as big of a nerd as you are.’”

The actors rehearsed, with Levi and on their own, talking their way through each long scene, helping each other through the anguished parts. When production had to halt for two weeks, they rehearsed then, too.

Watching these actors work reminded Amy Herzog, a writer and executive producer on the series, of race horses in full gallop. “These are two people who have so much training and skill,” she said. “Because it’s an athletic feat, what they were being asked to do.”

But training and skill and the “All About Us” book hadn’t really prepared them for the emotional impact of actually shooting “Scenes From a Marriage.” Both actors normally compartmentalize when they work, putting up psychic partitions between their roles and themselves. But this time, the partitions weren’t up to code.

“I knew I was in trouble the very first week,” Chastain said.

She couldn’t hide how the scripts affected her, especially from someone who knows her as well as Isaac does. “I just felt so exposed,” she said. “This to me, more than anything I’ve ever worked on, was definitely the most open I’ve ever been.”

“It felt so dangerous,” she said.

I visited the set in February (after multiple Covid-19 tests and health screenings) during a final day of filming. It was the quietest set I had ever seen: The atmosphere was subdued, reverent almost, a crew and a studio space stripped down to only what two actors would need to do the most passionate and demanding work of their careers.

Isaac didn’t know if he would watch the completed series. “It really is the first time ever, where I’ve done something where I’m totally fine never seeing this thing,” he said. “Because I’ve really lived through it. And in some ways I don’t want whatever they decide to put together to change my experience of it, which was just so intense.”

The cameras captured that intensity. Though Chastain isn’t Mira and Isaac isn’t Jonathan, each drew on personal experience — their parents’ marriages, past relationships — in ways they never had. Sometimes work on the show felt like acting, and sometimes the work wasn’t even conscious. There’s a scene in the harrowing fourth episode in which they both lie crumpled on the floor, an identical stress vein bulging in each forehead.

“It’s my go-to move, the throbbing forehead vein,” Isaac said on a follow-up video call last month. Chastain riffed on the joke: “That was our third year at Juilliard, the throb.”

By then, it had been five months since the shoot wrapped. Life had returned to something like normal. Jokes were possible again. Both of them seemed looser, more relaxed. (Isaac had already poured himself one tequila shot and was ready for another.) No one cried.

Chastain had watched the show with her husband. And Isaac, despite his initial reluctance, had watched it, too. It didn’t seem to have changed his experience.

“I’ve never done anything like it,” he said. “And I can’t imagine doing anything like it again.”

###