#are we going to be breaking the fourth wall for part of this season???

[kiralamouse]

"I thought that was non-diegetic!" is now my VERY FAVORITE leaning-on-the-fourth-wall line ever.

[torturedblue]

There are so many fun Disaster Twins parallels I caught the last time I binged Rise

I’m mainly going to start with lines before I get into some deeper stuff in part two, but as far as I’ve seen this pair seems to have the most parallels and I love it

Both the sillies have a line about sounding naturally sarcastic: “And I know everything I say sounds sarcastic, but I’m being completely genuine… This time.”

“Oh sure, let me just load my Tap Into Every Security Camera in New York app! I’m sorry if that sounded like sarcasm it wasn’t I am in.”

They both land on Warren in his first episode 😂

These sillies in Bug Busters:

Also LOOK at these guys in their matching cutesy pajamas

Donnie teasing his brothers and hitting them with the tennis balls all smug in Smart Lair feels very Leo of him

Leo being the naysayer of the group in The Gumbus and constantly insisting there has to be some kind of logical/scientific explanation is very Donnie of him

“There has to be a simple answer. Earthquake, magnets, giant prankster mice. There’s no such thing as ghosts!” “A model train. Simple answer.” “Aha! Right? The simple answer!”

Donnie has a funny line about Dragons (and their teeth) not existing, both these moments being ironic since discovering yokai, the Hidden City and the whole mystics world makes dragons and ghosts not just possible, but proven real

Their iconic weird showing-off-clothes poses in Purple Jacket and Late Fee

These lines:

“Can’t we get new brothers?!”

“We have to go back for our brothers! Or are you gonna replace them, too?!”

“Guh-ee…”

They are also the only two characters with lines mentioning they think Splinter would’ve been cooler specifically as a tiger 😂 While I love the Eric Bauza/Tigerclaw references to ‘12, otherwise the comments are rather random other than saying tigers are cooler than rats. It made me realize how much they really do think alike. “You’re just a rat, we need a tiger.” “Yeah sure you’re a rat and it probably would’ve been cooler if you were like a tiger or something.”

More similar lines when they both break the fourth wall: “One season later and I still have full battery!” “If this isn’t the poster shot, someone’s getting fired.”

Leo’s chosen last words: “With my last breath I told you sooooo!”

Donnie’s chosen last words: “At least I shall perish knowing I was the better brother.” (a lie)

I believe they’re also the only ones to call Splinter Papa whereas Raph and Mikey use ‘Pops’ more

And last but not least, their shared aversion to Staten Island

Bottom line, the rottmnt writers practically made their twinship canon without realizing it sooo it’s pretty much undeniable now 😊

[heliza24]

Wilhelm, The Look (™), and Endings

The recent poll on the confessions blog about the ideal end of the series (King Wilhelm vs leaving the line of succession vs the end of the monarchy) got me thinking about endings. In trying to think of what my own answer to this question was, I ended up reflecting on the way that Season 1 and 2 end, and that got me thinking about the infamous straight-to-camera Wilhelm looks that bookend each season. I’ve always loved those moments and found them crucial to the visual language of the show, but I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped to analyze why. But if I’m trying to decide how I feel about the possible endings of season 3, I should probably stop and figure out why I feel the way I do about the ending (and beginning) shots of season 1 and 2, right? So let’s take a minute and talk through these shots, and what I think they do for story structure and Wilhelm’s character.

I think the main thing those glances to camera do are establish Wilhelm as a protagonist with agency. Just for a second, he’s aware that he’s being watched, and that awareness means that he’s going to make active choices about what happens during his story. I think this makes sense when we realize that the first look to camera happens when Wilhelm is giving his first press interview. Wilhelm has always been in the public eye as a member of the royal family, But this is the first time that the attention of the press has been directed directly at him. It’s the first time that he has been asked to answer for his actions, and the first time he’s had to take responsibility for something like an adult. The camera catches him right as he makes his first decision: to follow his parents’ wishes, do the press conference, and go to Hillerska. It’s not a look of rebellion so much as it is a look of acceptance. All the growth that comes after as part of season 1 comes as a result of the awareness that starts in that moment. I think it’s significant that the gaze at the end of season 1 comes right after Wilhelm has made a very similar decision to the one he made in episode 1. Once again he has obeyed his parents, given the statement to the press that he was supposed to give, and toed the party line. It’s only in the fourth wall break that we know that something is different. We see all the rage and disappointment and heartbreak he has in that look, and we know that moving forward something is going to be different. But the season ends simply on this promise, and doesn’t let us see the payoff. Before we knew whether or not we were getting a season 2, I remember thinking that season 1 felt like a complete story (if not a happy one) but I would be mad if we never got to see all that Wilhelm was promising us come to fruition. 

I think the gazes in season 2 function in much the same way– they emphasize Wilhelm’s agency and show us how much he changes over the course of the season. At the beginning of the season Wilhelm is literally ready to burn it all down, as he stares at us in the mirror as he burns August’s photo. But the look we get at the end of episode 6 is much more calm and confident. He’s taken the rage that fueled his initial revenge quest against August and turned it into the bravery he needs to tell the truth on his own terms. This last look once again acts as a promise; Wilhelm is swearing that he will live authentically, no matter the consequences. But once again the season ends before we have a chance to see him follow through. We know that there will be a whole host of difficulties that arise from his confession, and that last look gives us the confidence that Wilhelm will rise to meet them. But we don’t see any of that, or at least we won’t until season 3. The fact that the season ends here really emphasizes that what was most important about the season was Wilhelm’s growth. The fact that he grew to a point where he could give the speech and stare down the barrel of the camera with confidence meant that the story the season was trying to tell was complete, even though we might expect a longer denouement. I know it’s common fandom knowledge that there was at least one additional shot filmed, of Simon and Wilhelm walking away together. So I think it’s significant that in the edit Lisa and Co decided to end on The Look (™) instead. I don’t want to suggest that the Wilmon relationship isn’t hugely significant to the show, its ending, or to Wilhelm. It is, and I think that’s represented when they lock eyes right before Wilhelm’s final look to camera. But there’s something about Wilhelm growing just enough to tell the truth in front of everyone that means that this chapter of the story is now closed, with no additional Wilmon scene needed.

The other thing that first glance does of course is establish us, the audience, as part of the public that is watching and judging Wilhelm. We’re in the audience for the press conference he gives at the beginning of season 1, and we’re in the stands watching him give the speech at the end of season 2. The relationship this creates between Wilhelm and the audience is really charged. Those looks create an intimacy which makes us care about Wilhelm as a character. But they also implicate us as part of the reason why Wilhelm is always being observed. We’re part of the oppressive force Wilhelm has to deny in order to live truthfully and claim his agency.  When Wilhelm looks into the camera he’s defying *us*. He’s daring us to stop him from getting revenge on August, or disobeying his mom, or telling the truth about the video. We’re brought in as co-conspirators in the same moment that we’re sized up as an enemy. 

Circling back to thinking about season 3, I think it’s a fair guess to assume that the season will begin and end with The Looks (™). I also expect that the last moments of season 3 won’t tie up every single loose end, much like the end of season 2 didn’t address the fallout from Wilhelm’s speech. I expect that last look to feel like a promise, like Wilhelm saying “I’ve got it from here.” 

In general I’m not huge on making super specific predictions. But if I were to guess how season 3 will end, I would predict that any questions about the larger fate of the monarchy will not be answered fully by the show, and will instead be covered by The Look (™). I think this holds true whether or not Wilhelm decides to remain in the line of succession, but that his character arc will feel most complete if he makes the decision to leave.  

If Wilhelm does make the decision to leave the line of succession and this does have national implications, I don’t imagine that we’ll see them fully play out. Wilhelm growing enough to leave will mean that the story that Young Royals is telling is complete. After a lot of consideration, I think this is my desired outcome for the show and my best shot at predicting the general shape of the season 3 finale. I want Wilhelm to grow enough to leave (with Simon) and I want the show to end with us confident that he’ll be able to handle the consequences of that decision, even if we don’t see them all play out.

[cambrioleur]

Random observations on this season (updating)

(SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY)

Episode 1

I don't think we've ever seen Assane do a genuine fourth-wall break before

OK so Claire has a last name now

Assane really expected that he could just show up and Claire would just fall at his feet

I'm surprised Benjamin is just allowed to continue working at his shop

This feels better-edited than Parts 1 & 2

Name a more iconic duo than Belkacem and failing constantly (she really doesn't listen, does she)

Episode 2

Philippe Courbet sighting

NEVER invite Guédira to a funeral lmaooo

Hang on I'm just now realizing that Juliette is at this funeral, too (she's standing in the second row behind Benjamin and Claire and honestly doesn't seem too upset about Assane's "death")

I like how in the flashback Babakar tells Assane that he reminds him of his mother and then it turns out she was a criminal

This seems to be around the time of Raoul's birthday again; he really can't catch a break on that

Episode 3

New shipping war just dropped: Guédira/Belkacem vs Guédira/Fleur

That bit where Claire was outright begging Benjamin to tell her Assane was alive and he couldn't...that was sad

But then it was followed by Benjamin doing the "uhh my FRIEND just died" act with Belkacem which was funny

This gang of thugs is trying a little too hard tbh

Assane's disguise in this episode is fucking terrible lol

The basketball coach disguise, on the other hand, is the only time I've genuinely thought he wasn't recognizable

Episode 4

Ironically that coach persona is probably the best parenting Assane has ever done

Claire? Doing things that are vaguely cool?? That feels illegal. Also, she looked so proud of herself for swiping that book, lol

Betraying Benjamin was certainly...a choice on Assane's part ("everyone disliked that")

This episode is going to devastate the show's Tumblr fandom

Episode 5

Assane trolling the shit out of Guédira will never not be funny

These 1998 flashbacks are pretty dark actually

Honestly the way Claire got that reveal out of Benjamin was very well-played on her part

Guédira out here looking like present-day Ringo Starr with that disguise

Aww look at Assane playing the matchmaker for Guédira and Belkacem, heh heh

This is easily one of the funniest episodes

Except Benjamin is straight up not having a good time -- it looks like he got beaten up in prison

Episode 6

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not totally sure Benjamin knows that Assane betrayed him. It's possible he just thinks that he fucked up with the bracelet and then missed a cue in the maze

"Pasta with ketchup" jesus fucking christ Claire that sounds horrendous (although I'm guessing the only reason they did that was because of the ketchup-bottle reveal)

Assane really has Claire's number because he's now seduced her twice under two different identities

IDK whether or not Raoul has figured out that the coach is his dad but it's funny that he still seemed to be shipping it either way

It's nice that we get to see Claire's more playful side in this season, like her messing with Assane by acting really flirty with "Alex" after she realizes they're the same person

INCREDIBLE casting for the younger and older versions of Keller tbh; they easily look like they could be the same person

Episode 7

What a nice family reunion...it would be a shame if something happened to it...

The flashbacks are significantly darker than the present timeline this time around

Guédira finally got to arrest Assane, good for him!

The scene at the train station with the letter from Assane to Claire sort of reminds me of the ending to A Tale of Two Cities, which I had to read for AP prep a while back

Oh look, Hubert Pellegrini is back

So they're CLEARLY setting up another season with this ending

The choice of people to show on the montage there was interesting, lol

I could see a Juliette antagonist arc happening tbh

Maybe Assane's mom isn't all she seems either

And what about Benjamin? If he turns against Assane the viewers are going to lose their minds

[justforbooks]

Christina Hendricks

The star of Good Girls discusses Mad Men, sexual harassment and squaring her glamorous reputation with her ‘weird, goofy’ personality

Christina Hendricks appears on our video call with the most dramatic backdrop. Art deco gold peacocks bedeck a black wall, making her look, as she has so often in her career, a bit too good to be human. Perfectly poised, perfectly framed, perfectly lit, she is more like a dreamy vision of what humans look like. “I, erm, like your wall,” I say, pointlessly. She flashes a smile, as if to say: “Obviously.”

We are here primarily to discuss the comedy-drama series Good Girls, the fourth season of which will resume in the US this month after a midseason break. The elevator pitch would be Breaking Bad for girls: three suburban women, each hovering on the edge of bankruptcy, unite to embark on a life of cack-handed crime, only to discover they are good at it. The ensemble – Hendricks, Mae Whitman, who plays her sister, and Retta, their friend – works strikingly well, their pacey comic rapport instilling a sense of perpetual motion. You just can’t imagine Good Girls ending. Every time a plot line seems to be reaching its climax, something worse – and funnier – happens.

“It’s funny you say that, because originally, when I read the pilot script, I thought: ‘I love this, but I can’t imagine this being more than one episode,’” says Hendricks. “It felt like it finished itself.” She is unsentimental about it. Hendricks wasn’t looking for a new show – “I was happy doing films, taking my time” – but went into it with her eyes open. It is a network drama, for NBC – it is shown on Netflix in the UK – so producers are always aware that “it’s going into every house in the US on a Thursday or a Sunday and a family is watching it. They’re much more careful about numbers and advertisers and people being offended or not getting it. A cable show is much more: ‘We trust this creator – they’re a visionary.’”

It has a conventional tone – however dark the material, it is handled very lightly. Yet you can’t help but notice some hard-boiled social commentary from the off – if it weren’t for the bracingly callous US health system, the generation of wage-stagnation casualties and the patriarchy, none of the characters would have gone anywhere near a supermarket heist. More than Breaking Bad, it reminds me of Roseanne and the golden age of US mainstream comedy, when you could be poor on TV without that being a breach of good taste.

The 48-year-old has been a household name for almost 15 years, thanks to Mad Men. She was born in Tennessee, where her mother was a psychologist and her father worked for the Forest Service, and educated in Oregon and then Idaho. She didn’t have time for formal acting training; by the time she was 18, her modelling career had taken off. Later, when she had a manager, she took acting lessons: “I did that for almost a year and a half and put auditions on ice. Then I was watching a film – I don’t even remember what film it was or who was in it – and I thought: ‘I’m ready. I can do this.’” She has the most insistent work ethic; as she describes her life’s trajectory, she notes diligently the jobs she had while she was at high school, at a hair salon and a menswear shop.

In 2007, she appeared as Joan Holloway in Mad Men. She played the role for the next eight years, her character growing around the depth she brought to it, until by season seven she was almost the central part. In the early 2010s, Hendricks was talked about constantly, although she says the original focal points of obsession were the male characters: “Men started dressing like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. Suits came back in, skinny ties came back in. It took three to four seasons and then all of a sudden people wanted us [the female stars] on magazines. We were like: ‘This is strange – we’ve been doing this for a while.’”

Hendricks, along with January Jones, who played Betty Draper, came to represent so much. There was a great deal of rumination on their physicality, Jones as elegant as an afghan hound, Hendricks like the pin-up painted on the side of a bomber. What did it mean, people asked, that in the middle of the 20th century there were multiple ideals of the female form, whereas in the 21st century there was only one? How did that complicate the perception of gender equality as a steady march towards the light? Thousands of column inches went on that question – but, from the actor’s perspective, it was an annoying distraction. “There certainly was a time when we were very critically acclaimed, and getting a lot of attention for our very good work and our very hard work, and everyone just wanted to ask me about my bra again. There are only two sentences to say about a bra,” she says.

The signal impression the show left was of an ensemble at the peak of its creativity: actors, writers and the creator, Matthew Weiner, working in almost telepathic unison. It won the Emmy for outstanding drama series four times in a row, but the more notable year was 2012, when it was nominated for 17 Emmys (and didn’t win any of them). The take-home was: everyone involved with this is absolutely brilliant.

That harmonious picture was blurred two years after the show ended, when one of the former writers, Kater Gordon, accused Weiner of sexual harassment. Marti Noxon, a consulting producer on Mad Men, concurred that Weiner had created a toxic environment and said that he was an “‘emotional terrorist’ who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met”.

Hendricks takes this head on, in a considered, straightforward manner. “My relationship with Matt was in no way toxic,” she says. “I don’t discount anyone’s experience if I wasn’t there to see it, but that wasn’t my experience. Was he a perfectionist, was he tough, did he expect a lot? Yes. And he would say that in a second. We were hard on each other.”

It is impossible, from this distance, to adjudicate on Weiner’s character, but Hendricks’s response reveals something of hers. The easiest response in this situation, and the one 90% of actors give, is: “No comment.” Hendricks is always collected, never evasive, doesn’t gabble. She reminds me powerfully of Joan Holloway – and I am sorry to say it, because she insists throughout: “I’m an actress. I am completely not Joan. Not in any way. I wish I was more like Joan.”

I wonder if, while we were all fixating on Joan’s bras and whether or not, in the asinine words of Lynne Featherstone, the UK’s equalities minister in 2010, she represented a “curvy role model”, the audience was responding to Joan’s deeper life lesson – that self-possession is 9/10ths of the law.

What Hendricks emphatically doesn’t do is minimise the existence of sexism and sexual harassment in the industry: “Boy, do you think anyone in the entertainment industry comes out unscathed and not objectified? I don’t know one musician or one model or one actor who has escaped that. I have had moments – not on Mad Men; on other things – where people have tried to take advantage of me, use my body in a way I wasn’t comfortable with, persuade me or coerce me or professionally shame me: ‘If you took your work seriously, you would do this …’

“Maybe it was my modelling background, but I knew to immediately get on the phone and go: ‘Uh oh, trouble,’” she says. “That’s where it’s very much a job. We need to talk to the producers and handle this professionally.”

Yet, at the same time, she is defensive of her industry. “It gets a lot of attention because people know who we are. I’m sure there’s a casting couch at the bank down the street, I’m sure the same thing happens in management consultancy, but people don’t know who the management consultants are.”

Modelling always sounds like a harsh environment – predatory photographers vying with stringent agents to give everyone a complex about their thighs and stop them eating carbs. But that is not how Hendricks describes it at all. Her career sounds like one out of an 80s Judy annual: innocent and hearty, good for pin money and travel opportunities. “I think I was lucky – I didn’t start when I was 14. When I was about 18 or 19, I went to Japan for the first time, I went to Italy. We’d be lots of girls, sharing a house, and I sort of became the den mother. I’d make everyone egg salad sandwiches and Greek salads, going into this mother hen role.”

That is what they say about being taken hostage: if you want to survive, choose someone to look after. “Oh,” she says, coolly. “I wouldn’t consider being a model as being a hostage.”

She was only ever medium-successful, she insists – an “unusual and quirky” hire, rather than the slam-dunk face of everything. About as far as it went was that she never had to get another job to supplement her income. Probably the most famous image of that era in which she was involved was the poster for American Beauty. Two models were in the frame, so they took a photo of the stomach and the hands of each. In the end, they used Hendricks’s hand on the other model’s stomach. It sounds like a clunky metaphor, but it is true.

During this period, she moved to London with a friend, for the hell of it, living in a flat on Gloucester Road, “surviving on cider and hummus”. It is a glimpse of the oddball she says she was growing up, the outsider as whom she is rarely cast. This has been the story of her CV. “Early on in my career, I would get auditions and I would call my manager and say: ‘I would never cast me in this – she’s a cheerleader, she’s a bimbo. Can I audition for the other one, the weird doctor?’ And they’d be like: ‘No, they saw your picture.’ And I started realising that people didn’t see the weird, goofy me that I saw.”

She made the jump from modelling to acting via adverts, with what looks like fairytale ease. In fact, it was “a lot of pounding the pavement and showing up for auditions and getting rejected – and learning, as a young woman, to not take that personally”. By the late 90s, she was the face of ultimate female confidence, the woman who drinks Johnnie Walker and doesn’t need a chauffeur (these are two ads, not one for drink-driving). “I always thought of modelling as freeze-frame acting. It felt like a scene, and I still consider it that way. There are so many technical things that I think people don’t notice. They see you playing dress-up.”

From the commercials, she learned “how to hit a mark, how to memorise a line”, but acting wasn’t novel. She had been doing community theatre since the age of 10, and grew up expecting an alternative life, supplementing an art-house existence any which way. She never amplifies her creative urges. She is much happier talking about professionalism and graft, but that is strategic more than anything else. “I am incredibly emotional and I take things very personally. But I’ve learned to be a little bit of a politician and a little bit of a producer along the way. As a female actor, the easy go-to is: ‘She was emotional, she was hysterical.’ It can be a million other people’s fault, but it’s easy to point your finger at an emotional artist. So, I realised: if I’m going to be taken seriously, I need to have professional perspective and I can cry about it to my friends later.”

Yet she cares deeply about creativity, as is clear when she talks about Mad Men. “It may eclipse anything I ever did. And, if it does, it was a good one and I’m proud of it,” she says. “I got to bring who I was as a woman. I think I learned some of how to be a woman from Joan. No one would give a shit about me if it wasn’t for that show. I’d still be doing good work, but no one would have found me. If that’s the best thing I ever do, it was pretty good.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[carcharodontosaurus-enthusiast]

Assorted thoughts on Doctor Who's re(?)

revival

love that even with Disney Money™, Doctor Who's CGI is still janky as fuck - one of the few things keeping the vibe of "seven people in a shed with a shakey camera and a boom mic" together for me in the new series. The increase in Disney Money™ still feels a bit wrong for me. I liked the more low-budget episodes focused that forced the team to use what little resources were available to them creatively.

I'm still incredibly annoyed about the fact that the show airs first at midnight in the UK. It feels wrong. They still show it on BBC One during its normal Saturday time slot, but it's not the same

I think that there have been more queer people than straight people in the new series which is honestly fucking iconic.

Ncuti Gatwa is a very good fit for the doctor, and it's very interesting to see his depth and range.

Some of the writing in the new series feels... janky? is not quite the right word for it. But it's a marked improvement over the Chibnall Era. That being said... RTD still does NOT know how to write endings. Both of the new series' stories thus far have been set up very well, have progressed very well, and then have fallen a little flat towards the end.

This season is clearly meant to be weird and fourth-wall-break-y, so I'm curious to see exactly what RTD does with the mess of lore that is the Timeless Child.

Ruby Sunday is northern representation with a proper manc accent we love to see it. One of the few good parts of Jodie's tenure in the role was the northern companions imo, but I am biased. On the topic of Ruby, we all know something is up with her, but she's easily the strangest character that has not made a fourth-wall break so far. Everyone else who has something weird going on is clearly in the know.

Speaking of, this series is clearly trying to do something with all the fourth-wall breaks and the S-TRIAD stuff, but we'll see as to if it pays off or not. I really hope it does.

Looking forward to watching the doctor get obliterated by a landmine, that's a great concept for an episode actually.

[spiderwing-nightman]

I think possibly one of my favorite things about fleabag season 2 (and there are a lot of things I love in it) is how she tells us what kind of story this is from the beginning. She says "this is a love story" and we all assume it's her and the Priest, and it is, but beyond that the season is a love story between her and Claire and her and herself. This season is about her processing all of her grief and starting to move on, cause that's the beauty of life, bad things happen and we find some way to move on. And part of the way she gets there is rebuilding the destroyed relationships from season 1, namely with Claire. We see her and Claire close in a way we've never seen before and Claire tells us she would do the romcom ending in the airport for Fleabag. This is their love story. But as she moves on she has to find some way to make new connections, and she does with the Priest, and it doesn't last (and she knows and we know it can't although we all want it to) but through that failed relationship we see her pick herself back up. We see her learn to love herself. We see it through the fourth wall breaks to, the Priest is the first one in the show to see them, which surprises us, but as he sees them they change. To me, they become less frequent, shorter, a little kinder. She pushes the camera away for the first time (giving her privacy), both showcasing how intimate she's being with the Priest and how special that relationship is, but also how she's finally coping, she's finally found a way to be vulnerable with someone who's real. We've been her confidant, her diary, her comfort blanket and for the first time she pushes us away, she is no longer performing for us. And by the end she's ready to say goodbye. The end, where she looks at us, shakes her head, smiles, walks away, turns back looking slightly confused but also amused and waves bye, is perfect. It leaves us to cope with "I love you." "It'll pass." As she copes with it, but also shows how much she's grown. She's stopped waiting for a bus that's not going to magically appear, she's seizing her future, she's starting to let go, and she doesn't need us anymore. She looks a little confused because she doesn't need us, she is shedding the comfort blanket, so we don't need to wait for her anymore. She's learned to love herself just a little more, and to cope on her own and, by leaving us is challenging us to do the same. She's not lonely, nor is she alone, she has Claire and those people she can meet at Chatty Wednesdays. As much as the ending is tragic, it's perfect because it lets her move forward (in the same way someone finally reaching out in season 1 did) and forces us to do the same. It takes someone strong to be a romantic and we've just both shown just how strong Fleabag and we, as the audience, are. The season was romantic and we made it and it left us with hope, because it takes a hell of a lot of hope to be a romantic. So it is a love story and it always was. It was always heading there.

[unnecessarilygrandiose]

I binged Fleabag in two sittings and I am in awe. What a brilliant, beautiful show it is. There is so much to love about it, but the one thing that I can't stop thinking about is the way the narrative was crafted, and the way Fleabag breaking the fourth wall made us part of the story.

So season one pretty much establishes that her talking to us while going about her life is a coping mechanism, a metaphor for dissociation. It was a really great season, but the finale, instead of showing her actually begin to heal, showed shit hitting the fan, and then towards the very end kind of sort of depicted her turning toward the general direction of getting her life on track. At the end of this season, I was like. Wait. That's it? That's the end? Aren't we going to see her actually get better? Well thank god there's season two left still because I want to see her try to get her life back together.

But then season two began with '371 days later' and that really threw me off. Apparently she had managed to get her life a fair bit together by then, but why didn't we get to see that?

Something shifted in episode two, when the counselor asked Fleabag if she had friends and she winked at us. To me, it felt almost like another layer of the fourth wall removed: she isn't just saying stuff to herself and it's being shown as her talking to the camera: she's actually speaking to us. This isn't her only being self aware from the third person's perspective as a way to block out her real life, it's a back and forth. A conversation. It was at this moment that I very distinctly wished someone would notice it within the show.

And then came episode three and the Priest did. It's significant that this happened in the same conversation as when he confessed to liking her, because now he's starting to actually see her. And we all know what happens next— they fall further in love, Fleabag starts messing up who she's talking to, and the Priest–fouth wall relationship concludes with her physically pushing us away when they're having sex because for once, she wants to be present in her own life.

I think it was after this really that it really started to hit home for me: there's a reason we don't ever see her heal. We see her start to heal and get better, but we never could have seen her simply running the café, or petting Hillary and Stephanie just because, or spending time with Claire, or simply being. There's a reason we don't see those 371 days when she started to get better. There's a reason why we left Fleabag's life the last time she saw her family, and returned to it the first time she saw them again after a year. Because we're who she turns to when she's sad, afraid. Lonely.

This is the genius thing for me: we're part of the story. Not only as a coping mechanism, but as a plot device. As something that influences the story simply by watching it unfold.

This story would simply not have the same impact if it existed in a vacuum. It would have been a story about a fucked up woman doing fucked up things and trying her best not to, and it would be good, but it would not have been the same. Actually, this particular story would just would not have existed if we weren't watching it. If she wanted to say what she wanted to and we weren't there to listen, where would she have put her grief? We are integral to this story. This back and forth between Fleabag and us, this communication, this awareness of each other is what makes this story alive.

No, she said to us when we tried to follow her after the guy she loved told her he loved god more. We care about her, and we started to follow her to make sure she's okay. But she shook her head. Not tonight.

And that's how we know she'll be okay.

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right! It’s everyone’s favourite ‘Keef watches TFP and all you get are the notes!’

Maybe I should make a cover for this series.

ANYWHO! I’m watching season 1, Episode 10: Deus Ex Machina.

I write down timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (and Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:00 - I know that’s my favourite book ‘World History’.

00:04 - please tell me that everyone else saw her just break the fourth wall.

00:11 - Bulkhead’s an asshole if Miko can hear the car from inside the building.

00:14 - Read.. 150 pages? Okay, I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never been to detention (I haven’t even gotten a slip [3 slips means detention]) so I could be wrong but.. isn’t detention formed by a variety of students? Not everyone’s going to be reading the same thing so how can a teacher assign such vague homework?

00:41 - In Bulkhead’s rear view you can actually see the teacher.

~Intro~

01:39 - I may have yelled ‘what the fuck?’ When I saw that cactus. Why did they get a real cactus?

01:43 - Bulkhead’s hovering above the road.

02:15 - Bots not understanding human expressions. So beautiful.

02:25 - Jack sounding exactly like an older brother, then Bulkhead ignoring him is hilarious.

02:37 - this has the same energy as ‘you’re going to end up at McDonald’s if you don’t do your work. We going to McDonalds if I don’t do my work? :D’

02:51 - you already KNOW Greek viewers went crazy.

03:16 - ‘those’ being a car… although still sounds kinda racist. Transformist? Modist? That sounds like modest.

03:17 - mmm I like when they have very.. civil reactions to comments.

03:24 - pssst guys… it’s a height difference

03:27 - I get that this part is supposed to show that Starscream considers Knockout inferior, but like… he knows that decepticons also need to have ground support that aren’t just vehicons, right?

03:30 - honestly, go off, K.O. Ya look good.

03:44 - that must be such a weird sight.

04:11 - Miko’s an idiot. I will explain further. She’s been rejected from every other mission, regardless of what it was and when Bulkhead notices a connection between Miko’s school work and a harmless mission, let’s her join. Why would Miko assume that it’s anything other than school related??

04:25 - Bulk didn’t need to justify how he knew that.

04:52 - randomly including democracy, alright

05:04 - he’s got looks, brains and fighting ability. Can you tell who’s one of my top Decepticons?

05:07 - he means boyfriend. (I’m like fairly certain that in some canon they are in a relationship)

05:09 - Where’s Starscream lookin?

05:43 - they’re ex boyfriends

06:26 - Bulkhead angst potential.

06:33 - HOW THE FUCK IS THE QUALITY SO GOOD??

06:37 - what’s he supposed to be pointing at rn?

06:47 - I dunno why but that just reminded me that Bayverse Bumblebee was in WW2.

06:52 - that’s really smart

07:11 - why are there so many dangerous weapons??

07:20 - Arcee decided to use a double negative than say ‘Miko’s right’ + Bee looks lifeless. Like I got jumpscared by him.

07:30 - no it doesn’t. I checked.

07:32 - I think Bee was just zoned out because he’s eyes/Optics are now full+ Bulkhead’s lean is beautiful.

07:34 - Optimus’s boobs are too big. He can’t see the screen.

07:40 - OH! LOOK AT THAT! FOWLER PROVING TO BE USELESS.

07:48 - I get the joke being ‘oh he’s a machine’ but honestly- I agree with Ratchet.

07:52 - I’m gonna be honest… I cried looking at Bee from Optimus’s perspective. He looks like a puppy!

07:54 - *cri* he’s so cute.

07:58 - confiscate as in remove dangerous weapon.

08:18 - Here we witness an idiot forgetting that they turn into cars.

08:29 - Miko using her brain. Woo!

08:39 - Optimus saying ‘Bulkhead’. I need a compilation of Optimus saying each Autobot’s name. (Specifically Bumblebee tho)

08:47 - ‘aw fuckin Soundwave’ ~ my genuine reaction when it showed that Soundwave was back at his hijinks

08:48 - draw the gang like this.

08:57 - that’s… what the frag… that’s so messed up.

09:21 - it might just be me, but wouldn’t it make more sense for either Bee or Arcee to be parked up front and Optimus at the back? Considering that people there have cars like Bee and Arcee’s a motorbike so it would look fairly normal. Then Optimus as the back to look like he’s museum property. I could be wrong tho.

09:46 - …Fnaf SB was def inspired by this so. I will not hear otherwise.

10:06 - Just seeing Optimus like that reminds me… why don’t the other have holoforms like Arcee? Their windows don’t have a heavy enough tint that an absence of driver does goes unnoticed.

10:55 - Knockout flirting with Optimus is such a silly idea.

11:08 - that was smooooooooth.

11:24 - Optimus lookin around, then looking down to see Knockout is actually really funny. I bet that happens all the time at the base.

11:30 - the way Optimus’s foot/pede bends implies that he can go on the tip of his toes and that fills me with immense joy.

11:37 - that’s a horrifying sight.

11:59 - Woo! Bee!

12:05 - NO! BEE!

12:10 - Okay but like Arcee could’ve dodged that initial missile(?) with a smaller turn, means she wouldn’t have crashed into Bee. + Whump potential anyone? + Bee does a backflip. Get on his level goddamn.

12:13 - Knockout really took down Optimus and just stood on him. Power move.

12:31 - if they’ve only NOW gotten it down, then there’s something wrong with them.

12:38 - Knockout reacted before Optimus started to move, but I now understand why Knockout stood on Optimus.

12:43 - that could’ve looked so cool.

12:44 - but Optimus said no

13:10 - Damn, Miko..

13:12 - She was complying yet the officer decided to be really rough.

13:18 - I now point out the foreshadowing when Bulkhead talked about Miko getting arrested.

13:25 - Soundwave got them feminine legs. Go off, king.

13:30 - that was a forced ‘gulp’ and I love it.

13:37 - Harry Potter, or whatever.

13:42 - Optimus, how long have you been lying on the floor, Primus.

13:53 - Shoutout to bots that can do backflips. Gotta be one of my favourite genders.

14:07 - And do what?.

14:08 - Mmmm Y E S. (Optimus said Bulkhead and Miko)

14:36 - a good liar doesn’t hesitate like that, Miko.

14:42 - DAMN THOSE BACKGROUNDS BEAUTIFUL AF.

15:06 - Ratchet in the corner.

15:07 - HOW THOUGH?! HOW WOULD YOU DO THAT, BULKHEAD??

15:38 - Does anyone else now get annoyed at Bulkhead? Like dude! Ratchet needed that! Couldn’t you have punched a wall or something??

16:06 - EXACTLY!

16:08 - shut up, Jack.

16:23 - bots feeling strong emotions are more heavily animated.

16:49 - that’s how I act and I’m feeling called out Ò-Ó

17:17 - did anyone else feel deeply disturbed watching that?

17:45 - Bulkhead lookin like a penguin.

17:52 - When you compare that walk to other bots (such as Bee or Arcee) you can especially tell the Bulkhead is not made for swift movements. He’s shaky on his pedes/feet when he went from uneven to stable ground and from the slide into a run.

18:00 - most realistic r action right there.

18:04 - Knockout’s significantly faster than Breakdown he’s just decided that instead of using his quick strides to run forward, he’s going side to side.

18:12 - LMAO

18:27 - I FORGOT THIS HAPPENS. THAT’S SO MESSED UP.

18:37 - Take that out of context. I dare you.

18:57 - okay, this looks awesome af.

19:16 - take THAT out of context-

19:27 - OOOOH I get it! Because traditionally it’s ‘fight or flight’ but because their both cars he said ‘drive’

19:50 - Awww look at them. That’s sad. They also kinda look like video game characters, especially because their eyes aren’t glowing the way they usually do. (Sorry I couldn’t get a clearer photo)

19:59 - this is what I sound like when I’m talking about Polar Bears.

21:03 - I would like to acknowledge that TFP is bad with letting characters take a moment to recover. The more this happens, the more you’ll hear about it.

———————

And that was Deus Ex Machina.

Honestly I’m not a big fan of this episode. It’s okay, but definitely doesn’t stand out as much as it could’ve. I thought the plots were very weak and there were very few iconic moments. Considering that this was the first appearance of Knockout and Breakdown, it’s an underwhelming reveal.

[canonicallysoulmates]

J2 Gold Panel Dallascon 2023

The boys today are in full swing, they're joking around making each other laugh, they're a little flirty, they are just in such a good mood and you can tell from the moment they get on the stage.

Jared does a little kick which is so cute and after Jared asks Jensen if it feels like they're twice as high as they usually are Jensen jokes that yeah but he did have some edibles that morning, and then he turns towards the big screen they have behind them that has a big banner with two pictures of them and he asks what's up with Jared's photo because he looks high....and Jared replies that what happened was that the picture got cropped so you don't see Jensen's left hand...I have no words.

And then there's Jared trying to recreate his stare in the photo and Jensen's left hand- just click on the link and watch: 😂

The first question is not a question it’s a fan thanking them, the show has a very special meaning to them because it's something that they watched with their grandad; Jared says that hearing stories from people about how the show helped them connect with their loved ones is one of the things that kept them going for so many years and when they were missing their families. x

The actual first question comes from an English teacher who sometimes uses SPN episodes in her drama units, like she used French Mistake to teach about breaking the fourth wall, and wants to know if they have episode recommendations that she could use for lessons. Jared recommends showing the movie Groundhog Day, and the ep Mystery Spot. The reason he brings up Groundhog Day is because he watched it this past week with their kids while they were all home because of icepocalypse. !!!!!!!!! Y'all already know I listened to this part multiple times, at different speeds, at different volume levels. This man said: "I just watched this movie last week with our kids when we were all home cause of icepocalypse". To me it sounds like Jensen and his three kiddos spend the ice storm with Jared and the other three kids.

But as I always say, don't take my word for it, here's the timestamp. Listen for yourself and form your own opinion.

Getting back to the answer Jensen asks him what the lesson would be for Mystery Spot and Jared replies the lesson is probably: you get another chance tomorrow, and try to make everyday count cause you never know when it’s your last or when you get to do it again the next day.

Jensen says that for a lesson in overcoming your fears, Yellow Fever. x

What’s their favorite quote? Jared jokes "leave the gun, take the cannoli." That's a line from the Godfather film. His real answer is: "pain is mandatory suffering is optional". And for Jensen one he likes a lot is: "taking care of yourself takes care of more than yourself."

Then Jared brings up another movie quote, "dude you got a fucking dart in your neck" which is from the movie Old School. This man spend the time he was stuck in the house watching old movies, I can tell. He also says people don’t have feelings, feelings have people. Which Jensen is confused by and doesn’t think it makes sense, but Jared explains that what he gathers from it is feelings are not pathological you can be angry or jealous but that's not who you are. x

When are Sam and Dean going to come back down to Earth? Jensen jokingly says season 16. Then says seriously, that that’s hopefully something that gets addressed when they get the call asking if they want to put their boots back on. x

What was their favorite kill? Some in the crowd call out Ruby, and Jensen laughs saying that technically he killed her, and Jared smiles and says to the crowd "are you reading my mind?"

Jensen's answer is Chuck. It wasnt some random monster of the week kind of thing it was somebody they had many years of work together and a friendship so whenever they get to work with people they have a great history and relationship with it makes it a little bit elevated, but he’ll take a good vampire nest killing everyday.

Jared says he didn't like killing this character but as a storyteller he's going to go with Rowena because it was so difficult. Says Ruthie is the most wonderful person on the planet, and she was fantastic as Rowena but that dynamic between her and Sam- it was so tragic to him to think of Sam having to kill her, it was so difficult he remembers the day vividly, it was truly emotional. He mentions that when the character of Bobby died they talked to the producers and the writers, and they said they didn't like it either but it’s great television and the boys were like fair enough so that was kind of an initial lesson; and when the Rowena and Sam storyline came to its conclusion that was really powerful for him. x

The next fan wants to know something cool about the boys that you wouldn't be able to find online. Jared says he’s done a questionnaire a few times, and guessing about Jensen, and it's turned out they're both introverts. They'd much rather stay home than go to a red carpet; extroverts feel energized being in front of the cameras but they much rather chill. x

Next fan has two questions, the first is that they want to know if the mic stand that Jared has is the one that Jensen threw down at the SNS concert the previous night because Jared keeps adjusting it. Jensen says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, then he asks if he really did break a stand last night, the crowd replies yes and he goes 'listen, when i come on stage and there's music I black out'. And he, once again, asks if he really did break that stand, crowd continues to say yes, he says 'well, shouldn’t have been there'. 😆

The second question is, did Jensen think about how much his recognition would grow after appearing on The Boys? He answers that he doesn’t think he and Jared go into any of these jobs, roles,or stories thinking about the impact it'll have externally. They get hired to do a job and they take it seriously, even thought it might not look like it all the time, but they have a lot of fun doing the job because they truly enjoy doing what they do that being said they're not thinking about doing things because they want the effect it's going to have on a greater scale. They're just doing their job and hopefully it resonates to people and someone out there is entertained, and if that's the case they have done their job.

Jared mentions that 5 or 6 years ago the powerball prize was like 2 billion dollars, and they bought like 20 bucks of tickets. The draw was on Saturday, on Friday they’re on set filming, it's 4am, they’re tired, they’re miserable, they're flying soon and they look at each other and ask "if you win tomorrow are you coming into work on Monday?" And the answer for both of them was yes. If somebody went up to them and said they were filming a movie for the next month and it was going to be long hours but it would make a billion dollars in the box office, or long hours but they were never going to release it, it would make no difference they would still do everyday just as hard. He just does the hardest work he can and it's therapeutic for him as well to explore different lives and lifestyles and relationships so wether you tell him it’s an independent film that will never get released or Avatar he will work just as hard. And so will Jensen. x

Last question! The fan tells Jensen that he owes her sister 24 beers because last year she asked him to go out for her birthday beer and this fan had said that because she was turning 24 it should be 24 beers, and he had said she (fan asking the question) could go with them but she wasn't 21 at the time but she just turned 21 so now she can go and that would be 21 beers. I'm mentioning all this for only two reasons cause it has nothing to do with her question, reason number 1 is that when the fan tells Jensen about him owing her sister a beer, Jared grabs Jensen's coffee out of his hand and acts like he's going to give it to her and Jensen has no reaction, he just lets him take it and waits for him to put it back in his hand, like Jared taking his coffee is the most normal thing in the world. Which it probably is because they 100% do seem like the type of couple that shares coffee.

The second reason is that when the fan mentions that he owes her 21 beers on top of her sisters 24, Jared says that's 45 beers and Jensen stops, looks at him and goes "you do math fast!" all impressed. It's quite cute cause Jensen's all 😍 and you can tell Jared's proud of himself.

Anyways the last question is, what is their version of self care? Jared says that he’s been watching Limitless with Chris Hemsworth on Clif’s recommendation that it’s really meaningful, and fun, and interesting and a lot of the stuff that's talked about on the show really resonates with him. He is very similar, he has a though time winding down, and goes back to monkey brain, which is apparently what a doctor said, that's where one panics about stuff and is always worried so certain breathing excercises have helped. Also, the endurance training they did when they ran the marathon in Seattle kinda helped cause you put your shoes on, your music, your watch to check your heartrate and then you're on the road for an hour or hour and a half so you have to put everything else away, and he blames Jensen for turning him to this cause this was the training they did together. So find somewhere you can get past that really uncomfortable point of thinking you have to be doing something. Box breathing also seems to help him cause he sweats a lot, and he's anxious and nervous.

Jensen likes playing music, he’ll just sit down with a guitar and a lot of whiskey. x

J2 Gold Panel Dallascon

[bapple117]

Some RadioCotton Trivia 📻🐰❤️

Now that my first fic "If You Can't Say Somethin' Nice, Don't Say Nothin' At All" is finished, I thought I would share some behind-the-scenes trivia!

Some of this will contain minor spoilers for the plot, so read with caution if you've not finished the story - there will be no spoilers for part two (All That Grace). Okay let's go! This list is LONG so hold on y'all

The Bambi Thing

The name is a direct quote from Bambi; there's actually a LOT of Bambi references in the whole fic. The quote was actually the entire inspiration for the whole premise. Bambi is one of my favourite Disney movies and I couldn't help but notice a lot of shared themes between it and Alastor - and then I thought, what if a cute, wholesome rabbit demon came to Hell and taught him to be sweeter?

There's another direct script lift from Bambi later in the fic - when Alastor has the dream about his mother. 'Mother? MOTHER? Mother where are you?' Oh the pain.

Adam also calls Alastor "Bambi" and Verity "Thumper" at points, AND one of the chapters is called "Drip Drip Drop Little April Showers". The themes of them being a deer and a rabbit also crop up a lot, obviously.

The Music Thing

There are a LOT of references to songs, both when I put lyrics at the start of chapters and within the story itself. I am aggressively inspired by music and song lyrics, and have immensely eclectic taste, and can't help myself. Some songs would be the thematic influence for a chapter and I would literally listen to the song on repeat as I either planned or wrote the chapter. Something I'm still doing now while I write Bluest Monday!

At one point I spent about an hour trying to find the name of a music scale just so I could accurately describe it when Alastor and Verity play the piano. I am very meticulous with my research, I was determined to find it 😂

The Alastor Thing

The way I chose to write Alastor was influenced by a number of things. One, that "What just happened? Ffffffuck" line from the finale of Season 1 did a LOT of heavy lifting for me. It showed that he has a version of himself that's less guarded and raw - and I don't care what anyone says, it's NOT because his staff broke. He goes right back to the filter and accent immediately afterwards and the staff is still broken, so.

Two, I just really wanted to write him as someone that uses violence and a covered-up personalty as a coping mechanism for grief, which I don't think is too far from the canon. His eventual softening and ability to love was influenced by things like Mr Darcy, Kylo Ren (LOL), Astarion from BG3, etc etc. Traumatised bad boy is healed by the sunshine girl - we love to see it.

I also did a LOT of research on the canonical information thus far known about Alastor, including things Viv has said in streams. The only thing I got dead wrong was a chapter where he drinks tea - apparently he hates it. Everything else is either based on canon or a speculation based on lore that's been teased.

Other Random Facts

I chose to include Adam as a fleshed out character for a few reasons. One, he's hella fun to write. Two, I had the Vox-jealous-kidnap-and-rescue planned since the start, and I knew I needed a character who could help them. Adam is unknown to the Vees as a hotel resident at that point, and so he became a great choice. I needed to lay the ground work so it would be convincing that he'd help them, so he's there from the start. I ended up loving him so much that he's now one of the main characters in the sequel and is getting his own development arc. Go Adam!

Adam also breaks the fourth wall in the show (Ugly people? *looks at camera*) and so I felt inspired to make him quippy with pop culture references a la Deadpool. It was great fun and very helpful when I wanted to squeeze in a fitting reference.

There is a LOT of foreshadowing and wordplay in the fic. A LOT, so much I don't have time to list it all. For example, Verity drunkenly talks (in Chap 4) about how deer are territorial momma's boys - if that ain't Alastor idk what is. That info becomes very important in Chap 21.

There are references to stuff from Helluva Boss; Fizzerolli Cola, a Verosika music video plays, etc. A sign of more to come in P2 👀

Dramatic irony (where the audience knows something the character doesn't and it's either funny or tragic) is my absolute FAVOURITE Shakespearian trope, and I use it all the time.

I made myself laugh a lot coming up with the names for fake booze LOL

Husk was one of my favourite characters to write, as well as Alastor (ofc), Rosie and Adam.

My personal favourite chapters are 13 (Al drunk with Rosie) 19 (dream scene, fluff & first smut) and 23 (final chapter). I loved the image of Alastor laughing into his drink like a normal young man being silly and chapter 19 has a bit of everything - angst, fluff, smut, comedy. I loved writing that one so much.

The scene where Verity uses Alastor's power to manifest them away from the group cheekily and then Alastor likes it a lot and goes crazy kissing her is very inspired by this scene in Titanic (one of my all time fave movies) - especially where Rose swears and laughs as the lift is going up.

I myself have lost a parent, so I understand that loss very well. I poured a lot of that feeling into this fic, it was something I could actually inject into the story from my own experience.

I'm pretty sure we got the comments turned off on a video on youtube LOL. I linked this song at the end of Chap 19 (I listened to it on repeat while writing the love scene) and the next day the comments were disabled LMAO. That track will ALWAYS remind me of this fic now, arugh my heart

Verity

As much as Verity started as just a way for me to avoid using (Y/N) in a reader-insert fic (something I personally don't like) and a way for me to do the rabbit and deer theme, she became her own character over the course of the story. I made it reader-insert cause I figured no one would read it otherwise, but now the sequel is third person bc she's her own person.

Her name was also a deliberate choice - a V name meaning truth. She makes Alastor face his truth, yadda yadda blah blah blah you get it you get it 😂 Plus it just sounds like a rabbit name doesn't it?

Verity has a lot of traits from myself, but she is NOT self-insert for me, I'd hasten to add. I'm not completely delulu guys okay? ....Not entirely But she does have a lot of overlap with myself. You gotta write what you know, after all. I won't go into detail about the similarities between us - some of them are obvious, I think. But I'll leave that all ambiguous, more fun that way :)

Final Thoughts

There are honestly so many more things I could say but this is already veering into narcissistic self-indulgence land LOL so I feel compelled to stop here, but if anyone has any questions or things they'd like to know, pop them in my inbox!

That's all, folks!

[oswlld]

oswlld's monthly wrap up: february

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb

--

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid [started 02/04, finished 02/13] I recall an article calling out TJR as one of many authors that are pro-israel and haven’t seen anything that disputes the claim. I don’t have much to contribute to the conversation anyways, so I’ll pass on leaving a review. — After Dark, Haruki Murakami [started 02/06, finished 02/21] What I admire about what Murakami accomplished with After Dark was achieving the right level of simplicity to bring out the tense undertones in the magical realism. I also really enjoyed being invited to float with the story, almost breaking a fourth wall and interacting with the spaces. 4⭐️ in storygraph. — When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut [started 02/24, still in prog] I am only about 50 pages in and I am already ill. Too early to form an opinion, thus I’ll offer a snippet of the book description: “A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction.” Feels very timely reading this at the same time as watching Three-Body and then Oppenheimer in the next week or so.

High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, Netflix [started: 02/02, finished 02/07] WOW!! Wowowowowow. Wow. This needs to be a mandatory watch, even though we are at the end of Black History Month. It’s a well curated journey through the slave era to present day, from shores of Africa to all areas of the US. It’s so empowering and inspiring. Don’t wait until June or next year, please educate yourselves and open your heart to this show. — African Folktales Reimagined, Netflix [started 02/02, finished 02/08] I heard about this show through an article posted on Short of the Week last year and immediately put it on my watchlist. What a wonderful choice of directors for this series. Such strong visionaries and visuals. My favorites out of the six stories were Enmity Djinn and MaMlambo. MaMlambo still has a chokehold on me. MAJOR trigger warnings for this series is under the cut. — Three-Body, Viki (also avail on YT) [started 02/19, paused on 02/26] Trigger warnings for this series is also under the cut. With that said, I have a very personal connection with Three-Body Problem, both the novel and the physics problem, so taking this show on has been my entire world. When it comes to tackling my watchlist, shows that have a substantial number of eps/seasons gets split into chunks, so that I can tackle them over a number of months. For this series, I divided the 30-epsiode series into three ten-episode parts that will take me from February to June. I’ll post an official review when I finish over the summer, but for now I will say I very much enjoy having my brain turn into goo after every ep. What an explosive first outing. I will be resuming this show in April for eps 11-20, where I’ll be reunited with my beloved war criminal.

Over the Moon, Netflix [watched on 2/10, DNF] So unfortunate that I started this and could not finish. I hope to get back into it in May, so I can talk about how beautiful it is. Gotta do it for Glen Keane. — Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang, Netflix [watched on 2/11] I…. I think I am going to let this quote from the film speak for me: “In the 60’s, when American astronauts landed on the moon, that was really good news, even in China. But I was sad because I thought I would never make it to space myself. But later on, I realized that art could be my space-time tunnel connecting me to the universe. If there was an opportunity, I would like to make a ladder into the clouds. But the purpose of this ladder wouldn’t be for me to go to space, it would be to encourage a back-and-forth, a dialogue.” I MEANN!!!! Yes, I did go into this film already aware of some of his works but I didn’t really know a lot about him. What I admired most was his joy and child-like wonder when he’s interacting with his art. I loved witnessing him act like he’s 7 yrs old again, especially in that air balloon scene. There’s also a moment when he’s become complacent in his projects, settling on the bare minimum to get a job done. When the art of creating is stripped of the art, what is left of Cai is very clear to the viewer: he is frustrated, he feels suffocated, he’s used. Alternately, towards the end of the film, he brings it back with “Yes, a lot of artists do things that are too commercial. It lacks some compulsive and sincere emotion that should exist in all art. Collaborating with [unknown artists] will always remind me of the pleasure I felt and my original purpose for doing art.” (Fascinating to compare his turmoil with the govt whilst working with Netflix.) All in all, this film did a great job telling a story about the magic in enduring passion projects over time. In this case, his Sky Ladder being a fourth attempt at a impossibly large scale dream project. I feel like my thoughts are all over the place with this film, but I’m still finding new things that really speak to me as an artist. — Your Name Engraved Herein, Netflix [watched on 2/18] I thought I had this gifset on my blog but it turns out I may have just DM’d @forcebook about this and didn’t rb, but anyways I saw this and thought hey this has the potential to ruin me lemme put it on my watchlist. And now over a year later, I finally got around to it. Well… it’s exactly what I ordered, it definitely ruined me. I mean, when they come at me with “Maybe more people would understand me in hell. Make it easy for me and help me go to hell,” what else am I supposed to be but ruined. I want a sequel, I need their reset.

There are more to add to the movies category, due to Oscar season, but I’ll save them for a separate post, with all my thoughts on the films/shorts I was able to catch, for Oscar weekend.

Ella Sings Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald with Ellis Larkins at the piano [first time listening] One hobby I picked up during the pandemic was growing my vinyl collection. I found this vinyl in 2022 with the intention of finding more from this era/genre. Not much movement since then, since vinyl purchases only happens once or twice a year. Suffice to say, I am so happy that the quality is still in tact and it makes me want to get back into vinyls soon. Current top 3: My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do), But Not For Me, and Soon — Wicked [relistening] One thing you need to understand about me is that Wicked was my first musical hyperfixation. I used to spend summers on the train to the city to catch the raffle drawings and when my name was picked, it would be the best $25 well spent to be seated front row. And when I was not in the city, the CD would be on repeat in the car on my long drives going to and from home and college. My introduction to YT was watching all of the bootleg clips of every casting. All the Eden Espenozas and Stephanie J Blocks and Kerry Ellis’. All the Kendra Kassenbaums, Megan Hiltys, and Annaleigh Ashfords. And yes, all the Aaron Tveits don’t look at me. I’ve seen almost all facets of this show enough times to start frankenstein-ing together my version of Wicked. All this to say that my love for this show remained dormant for over a decade, until the movie trailer for part one came out. And then *SPLASH* I immediately jump in head first into a slime tutorial just like that. Long ago, I watched Kara Lindsay’s broadway vlogs without having seen her Galinda and now I can say I have seen the light, she’s just as immaculate as I imagined she’d be.

Welcome to Night Vale [recurring/catching up] I typically catch up on this podcast seasonally, since I find that this show is more enjoyable when I binge it. This time around, I have fallen more behind and needed to catch up on 11 episodes. My favorite eps: A Car Crash on Buellton Avenue (Ep 232), Sister Cities: Vermillion Falls (Ep 239), and He is Holding a Knife (Ep 240). I will admit that there was a period of time, maybe four or five years ago, when I dropped the show for reasons I cannot recall now but I am glad that I stuck around.

And now here are some tw to keep in mind:

AFRICAN FOLKTALES trigger warnings: domestic violence/abuse, child abuse, attempt(s) of suicide, drowning, and miscarriage.

THREE-BODY trigger warnings: The plot centers around solving the mystery behind scientists committing suicide on an international scale. Scenes ranging from allusions, thoughts of suicide, to moderate depictions of suicide.

[kanzuus]

I watched this movie just out of curiosity and it's surprising how similar these two are

"Paws of Fury" Released in 2022 and lasting 85 minutes, it is an animated film that tells the story of Hank, a dog who infiltrated a country where dogs are prohibited only to become a samurai. It is a comedy story, there are clichés and at first it does not seem to be a movie beyond seeing it once with the family and that's it, but the thing is that this movie also makes fun of these same clichés, uses absurd humor and breaks the fourth wall often

However, the similarity between Hank and Yuichi stood out to me.

Environment:

Hank is a dog, in a country of cats, where dogs are prohibited and hated, so the difference between the protagonist and his environment becomes clear from the first seconds of the film. Hank wants to become a samurai, going to cat country almost knowing that he probably won't get much help just because he's a dog, and he is even arrested when he tries to enter the country illegally by the Shogun.

Hank doesn't fit into his environment

Yuichi, a rabbit who grew up on a farm, as far as we know, for most of his life, and when he decides to leave the nest, he goes to a city to become a great samurai, a farmer in a big city. Although the difference in this case is not so visible, it is there, Yuichi tries to fit in, talk to the people of the city, and this ended up being ignored by the residents themselves, and this is highlighted when he tries to help Gen, it is noticeable that when at first it didn't fit

Yuichi didn't fit into his environment

Reasons:

They both wanted to be Samurais, and they went far from home and comfort to achieve their goals, and they both have an idol that encouraged them to do this.

Yuichi has his ancestor, Miyamoto Usagi, thanks to the stories he read about him and his adventures, he had the idea of being a samurai just like him.

Hank has Jimbo, The samurai who had saved his life as a child, he never knew who that samurai who saved him was, but he did want to be equal to him and that is why he went to a world where that was impossible for him.

Development:

There is no equity here, it is obvious that the character that has the most development is Yuichi, and that is because Samurai Rabbit is a two-season series where his development can be explored adequately, but with Hank it is not the same, because it is a film that lasts exactly 85 minutes without counting the credits (There is a joke about this in the film in fact)

And although Hank's movie is the typical cliché of the hero's journey, there is still a development, no matter how minimal

Yuichi and Hank were selfish, believing that they could do anything and that they deserved the credit, believing that they were invincible to anyone. This is seen in the part when Hank claims to have defeated Sumo, although it was not really him, his arrogance reached such a point that on his pedestal he forgot and neglected something important, his honor and the village.

The village was attacked, and Hank was not there to defend it, this causes a relapse in the hero's journey.

Although Yuichi may have been arrogant, it is not the same type of arrogance, Yuichi believed that he did not even need a sensei, that what he had already learned on the farm was enough. In the first season, and even more so in the first chapters, Yuichi refuses to look for a sensei to train him properly (Unlike Hank, who looked for one from the beginning) It is when Yuichi makes a mistake that he begins to look for a sensei.

Sensei:

There are many differences between Jimbo and Karasu-Tengu

Jimbo is an overweight cat who laments between catnip and sake, remembering those days when he was a great samurai. Karasu-Tengu is a powerful and intimidating Yokai warrior.

But a similarity that I saw in the two of them is their distrust. Neither of them immediately agreed to train their disciple, they themselves earned the honor of being accepted by their teachers.

Part 2!

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

Any thoughts on the theory that Delirium is the only Endless that can break the fourth wall / is aware of their nature as graphic novel characters? I've seen it mentioned as an explanation to why she knows of things outside Destiny's garden.

oh interesting

i've never heard that theory before, but i am perfectly willing to believe it! (at least in the comics universe, dunno about the show)

both because a) delirium has literally broken the fourth wall before, to get back to her realm when she was upset

and b) the reason i say comics more than show, is that the netflix show is standalone. but the comics are dcu. and while it's definitely its own story, the dcu is integrated into sandman - both in small ways, like neil gaiman populating the dreaming with minor forgotten characters from other dc stories, and in large ways, like dream finding himself suddenly in the aspect of the martian dream god in the presence of martian manhunter, and being surprised because he thought this aspect was dead, that there were no green martians left

and while my knowledge of dc is kinda sporadic, i have a friend who's super into it, so i have it on good authority that those kinda fourth wall breaks are not new for dc, i believe one of the superboys was actually from our universe and a fan of the superman comics before he found himself in that world?

so yeah, if we take destiny's book to be the complete respository of sandman comics (which would make sense, given volumes like overture where we get stuff like this)

then yeah, since destiny's book is stated to contain everything in the universe, "there are things not in your book" is good evidence that delirium is very aware that the sandman comics are not the only universe out there, and that in at least one universe, they are fictional characters

(though if that is true that's one hell of a secret for delirium to have to keep to herself, she'd have the most responsibility of any of the endless)

(maybe also with dream, who is the only other endless we know to have definitively crossed universes when he rewrote the old one, it's confirmed even the endless forgot about the old universe, only dream remembers)

(i'd love to see a fic taking this headcanon, because that would mean delirium also knows of the old universe)

but that idea of responsibility brings me to another thing i've been thinking about in regards to delirium, which i think is the most tragic thing about her

there may be only one endless in charge of destiny, but i think the forces of fate act equally through destiny and delirium, just in opposite ways. if the endless represent the most fundamental parts of life, it makes sense that the oldest and youngest kinda bookend things this way

for the most part, she is everything i said in that post, she's a lot more aware than people assume of her

but she has moments of being unaware. times where the delirium takes over. and when she loses herself, fate takes control

like. sure, there were a lot of pieces surrounding dream's tragedy, and yes as any tragedy it does come down to the fact that dream was not the person who could ever have gotten himself out of that situation. but the situation still needs pieces to be moved into place.

destiny starts it off. and destiny gets both the privilege and the tragedy of knowing he has to start it. he calls a family dinner because it has to happen, which kicks off season of mists, which means dream makes that deal with loki, who kidnaps daniel, and now lyta's orchestrating dream's demise

delirium doesn't know what's going to happen. she just gets impulses that overtake her. it's been three hundred years since destruction left, but all of a sudden all she knows is she has to find him now. strongly enough that she's willing to ask every one of her siblings to help, despite admitting they scare her. strongly enough that she'll go on her own if she has to. strongly enough that it's the only thought in her mind, as the chaos within her makes her feel physically sick

coincidentally, this is at the exact moment dream is brooding over thessaly and will take literally any distraction offered, which means he goes with delirium, which kickstarts a chain of deaths destruction accidentally set up centuries ago, which means they need to find destruction to stop it, which means dream has no choice but to get help from orpheus, and there's only one thing orpheus has wanted from dream these last 3000 years

delirium thought if she found destruction it would bring their family back together again. but all it did was make him go even further away, and cement another piece of dream's tragedy

and then there's kindly ones, the next time she loses herself. part of her can sense that something bad is about to happen, but she doesn't know what, she just knows she lost her dog, and has to find him. and she goes to visit destiny to help, and sees that dream's statue is visibly upset, so she goes to visit dream to try and cheer him up and distract him again like last time, but he can't come with her this time, so he just sends a nightmare to help her find barnabas. and then on the way she runs into nuala and tells her dream's in trouble and won't leave the dreaming, which nuala takes to mean the dreaming is the danger and she summons him, and dream can't find it in himself to refuse, which gives the kindly ones control over the dreaming

and from there delirium tries so hard to save dream but everyone she goes to for help just tells her it's too late. and in this instance they're right.

she sees so much and understands so much and in some ways she's actually one of the more stable endless, bc she may be delirium but her current state is resilient and sustainable compared to the knife's edge dream and desire especially are living on, trying not to break by just ignoring the things they can't handle

delirium's seen the deepest depths of what she can't handle and pulled herself back together again

but how much is that knowledge and tenacity worth, if when it comes down to it she causes the things she tries desperately to stop?

i haven't written a meta about this yet bc honestly i think about it and just wanna give del a hug

but this is a good place for it i think, bc like. how does that change, if delirium is aware that she's not in charge of her life?

i can't decide if it would wreck her further (or rather, has already wrecked her further) or if it doesn't change anything at all

[jadenight67]

This is literally for one person so. Strap in?

While watching the season premier of The Winchesters I was struck by a reoccurring thought:

God this is going to hurt when it ends

I mean how can it not? John and Mary are so young and the spark is there. Mary is full of such anger and hurt, longing for more than the hunter life. And John is a haunted man, desperately trying to find a greater good to fight for after being devastated by war. You can see the threads of who they are here and how their talents and flaws will snowball into the tragedy that their lives become. And that's not even mentioning Carlos and Latika; two vibrant characters who are conspicuously absent from the family history Sam and Dean know.

Some might ask, what's the point in telling a story if you know how it ends? Why rehash the history for a man who ultimately abused his kids and went against the wishes of the woman he loved. Why torment us with the tragedy of a woman who never was able to escape the generational trauma she was stuck in, and who was unable to prevent her children from suffering the same fate?

Because to know how it ends, and still sing it again. As if it might turn out this time. I learned that from a friend of mine.

Hadestown is hands down one of my favourite musicals ever written. It bends genre and breaks the fourth wall to provide a story rich in meaning and heart. When Hermes sings "It's a sad song, it's a sad tale, it's a tragedy" in the opening number, we know from the beginning exactly what story is being told. It is an old song, a sad song, a love song.

Over the course of the musical you watch as Orpheus and Eurydice make choices that pull them apart; Eurydice's need for more for security driving her into the arms of Hades and Orpheus' inability to see the world as it is revenge him from seeing the real problems they faced. And when it comes down to it, after all the struggling and triumph, after helping the gods dance again, doubt still creeps. And Orpheus looks.

And yet, in the final numbers, we see the stage reset, the story preparing to tell itself again. A literal representation in telling a story for the story's sake mirrored in the play being performed night after night. As if it might turn out this time. And so it goes, again and again being told as a reminder and a warning and for the sake of the story itself.

Thankfully, in our case Dean is no Orpheus, always doomed to turn and look. Here he is Hermes, the story teller, the one guiding us through a story we think we know. The Winchesters, much like the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, has merit even if it may not appear relevant on the surface. While I doubt any of us will be forced to sing before the Lord of the Underworld, we will have to find the strength to push through an impossible situation. And while we may not be fighting demons and ghosts in our day to day lives, many of us have complicated relationships with family and must learn how to see them as more than just the harm they caused us, perhaps not forgiving but understanding for our own healing and growth. The Winchesters provides a unique opportunity for a character to take back the narrative and tell their story how THEY want, their voice guiding us forward.

There are other far better written meta on what exactly may be happening in The Winchesters, where exactly this story is going. For my part, all I can say is I look forward to seeing what story Dean would like to tell us, what old song he wants to sing for us again and again and again.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13 Abridged Review

Originally posted August 4th, 2016

Team Four Star shows off their effortless mastery of clever comedy.

On a purely structural level, Super Android 13 is probably the strongest of the Dragonball movie source material that Team Four Star has yet to work with. The androids themselves don’t require any convoluted explanation; they’re just the leftover scraps Dr. Gero has to rely on now that Android 17 and 18 have turned against him, and they kickstart the conflict immediately by attacking Goku in a public place, forcing our heroes out into the arctic to deal with them (which for all of Trunks’ mumbling, is a nice change of scenery from the usual desert wasteland).

These androids are a real threat too, forcing Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta to all go Super Saiyan in order to defeat them, only to find out that even a Super Saiyan can’t stand up to the fully powered Android 13. The conclusion to this fight is excellent as well, with Goku defeating 13 through a creative combination of his two most powerful abilities, rather than simply “punching him harder.”

Team Four Star even manages to avoid the stereotypical characterization of the villains used in these movies, imbuing each of the antagonists with a personality that goes beyond “the one with an accent,” “the one with a weird power,” and “the dumb one.” Android 15 is an homage to protagonists of classic Blaxploitation, walking, talking, and fighting with a near Super Saiyan level of swagger as he drinks himself into oblivion to numb the hollowness inside. Android 14 on the other hand is a quiet, introspective warrior, who from what we see seems to simply be trapped in the wrong crowd.

Both of these characters have fitting ends as well, with 15 being taken down by the prince of Saiyan swagger and utterly humiliated in the process, as Vegeta throws a dog treat at him right before he explodes. 14’s end is fitting as well, as he and Trunks clash and he realizes his impending doom, ending his life by observing that metal has both given him life and taken it away.

Android 13, the primary antagonist, is fairly shallow by comparison. After all, there’s not too much more to him than a funny southern accent, an obsession with trucker hats, brute strength, and a little outright racism.1 It’s not exactly a deep character, especially when compared to the depth Team Four Star has achieved with characters like Cooler (who originally was literally just Freeza by a less clever name).

There is a part of me that feels it would be unfair to southerners to not criticize this shallow portrayal of their culture, but honestly, I had too much fun watching it to really care. RicePirate’s performance is incredibly charismatic, and even though 13 is shallow and kind of terrible, you can’t help but be endeared to him a little. KaiserNeko’s editing and sound design certainly helps here as well, as he makes sure that watching 13 beat the shit out of our protagonists is fun and impactful.

The rest of the movie’s strengths are pretty simple: Team Four Star jam packs these twenty minutes full of really smart jokes, making nods to the fraught relationship Vegeta and Trunks have when it comes to androids, joking about the length of time it takes the Saiyans to actually go Super, and poking fun at themselves in a series of brilliant fourth wall breaks at the end, wherein a narrator walks out and another steps in to criticize the lack of effort he’s perceived in the series since season 2. He may well have a point, not because Team Four Star has gotten lazy in season 3, but because they pull of making Super Android 13 so entertaining, compelling, and funny that it looks absolutely effortless.

Rating: 4.5/5

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Stray Observations

113’s racism is actually kind of interesting, given that he calls out our protagonists for thinking 15’s defect is his color, but talks down to Piccolo later on due to his color. I’m not quite sure what it says about him, but it’s definitely the most nuanced part of his portrayal.

No quotes in the Strays today, just because this episode is so chock full of funny dialogue that quoting everything I like would fill up a full page.