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stagefoureddiediaz · 11 months

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Costume meta 6x18

Wow I can’t believe I actually managed to write one of these (with all the additional mini metas) for every episode this season!!! if you’ve read, liked or reblogged and any all of my metas throughout this series then I just want to take a moment to say a massive thank you - it really means so much to me that you do take the time to read the epics I post, that you interact with them and that you ask me questions and seem to learn from what I say - sorry to everyone who now sees check pattern clothing out in the wild and gets worried 😬 it happens to me too - its good to have your company!

I’m so sorry that this has taken me far longer to get out that I had intended - my internet died on Thursday night and still hasn’t come back up (it has not been fun - who knew how internet dependant I’d become11!0 so I’ve had to find a cafe on my day of to actually get this posted (I live in a 4g dead spot too just to add to the fun!) Not going to lie - I am in need of a little break because these posts are a lot of work (you don’t want to know some of the side quests some of these posts have taken me on!!), but I love writing them so I plan to continue in season 7. I do have some fun stuff planned for the extended hiatus so while I might not post as much, I will still be around - making art and providing some costume related (and non costume related) things for you to enjoy - I have breakdowns for each character which includes spreadsheets and graphs (don’t get too excited - but they are actually interesting I promise!) in the pipeline as well as sorting out my pinned post as I’ve hit the link limit!!!.

Back to the costumes for this episode - it sure was an interesting one (when are they not tbh) with plenty going on for me to talk about! Apologies for the photos - it was really hard to get decent stills this week - everyone and the camera constantly moving!! As always the rest is below the cut to save your dash!

Athena

Athena has just the one costume this week - heading off on the cruise! I very much enjoyed her being in yellow and saying that she might not tell anyone about them actually being on said cruise! There are a couple of reasons why - firstly its yellow - the colour of communication - which means that her character is telling us something which is important. So Athena suggesting that they don’t tell anyone they are off on this cruise is the key point we need to take away from this scene - what that could mean - well its a throw back to when they attempted to go on the cruise the first time - they were communicating their departure then by being on the phone with Beatrice as they were leaving the Grant-Nash house so by not communicating they’ve gone on their cruise they are preventing another interruption from occurring. The other thing its communicating is that the lack of communication between Bobby and Athena and their family and friends could actually be a bad thing - its a bit of preempting costume design - if the show does indeed choose to go with some form of cruise ship disaster to open season 7 (less likely now that they have delayed the show until midseason, but it depends on how they choose to play the time jump!) then this line comes back into play - the 118 being sent to help with the disaster not knowing Bobby and Athena are on board would make for some very interesting storytelling and potentially parallel with the tsunami very nicely!

The other thing about this costume is the fact that we have bold block colour wearing Athena in a pattern - and a floral pattern at that. Athena doesn’t wear patterns - we saw her in a patterned shirt in 6x10 - when she was undercover and therefore it doesn’t count as actually being something Athena would wear

Bobby

Again the only costume we see Bobby wearing outside of uniform is when he is leaving for the cruise, this is the same costume he was wearing when they made the first attempt at their honeymoon cruise . From a personal perspective this was done to provide continuity between the two scenes as Bobby shirt is the loudest and most obvious thing to carry that thread through for a general audience.

Denny

Denny continues to wear muted tones post reconnecting with his biological father and we also have check on this outfit. The fact that the check is only worn down the sides could indicate either approaching trouble or trouble passing, for me it’s more likely that it is a sense of foreshadowing and will be connected to the Wilsons season 7 storyline revolving around the new baby that they will be bringing home as Denny will become a full blown big brother rather than the role he currently fills with the foster kids – that hovers somewhere between brother and friend. This costume is a bit blink and you’ll miss it and so it’s hard to get more of a read on it than the very basics.

Karen

Karen is wearing her typical large print florals for both her costumes this week and we have the contrast of red - a colour of anger, passion and love with t he yellow of communication, happiness and optimism. the use of the two colours to bookend the episode perfectly play into Karens mini arc for this episode - from the love tinged with disappointment and anger (broken hearted rather than fury) over fostering - the constantly having to hand children back, to the happiness and optimism surrounding the baby girl they may very likely get to adopt. the colours rather than the prints are the things conveying messages for Karen in this episode. they also contrast her very well with Hen in her black and white and then orange.

Hen

It’s really interesting that we have hen in this black-and-white check cardigan which is a parallel to the one she wore in 6×10 that one was red with larger neutral face emoji is and foreshadowed her anger over Denny contacting his biological father. This new one is more confused and the smaller design with the variety of boxes lines and neutral face emoji is creates a sense of confusion and also feels like it is chaotic in an organised manner it plays into both check theory and striped theory to a certain extent/theory foreshadowing the news of the baby they may potentially get to adopt and the cheque foreshadowing the upcoming disaster we see in the episode. the black and white also plays into the idea of Hen being settled into the black and white nature of fostering children - accepting the reality and highlighting the difference between now and when they had Nia - this is deliberate as it shows emotional progress, but it is also about emphasising the joy they experience later in the episode when told they will be getting a baby girl - its more impactful because we’ve seen Hens acceptance of their situation.

Hen’s other costume for the episode is this orangey red shirt which both contrasts and matches Karen’s yellow floral print shirt it also fits nicely with the oranges and lemons we see on the kitchen countertop next to her. Orange is an optimistic and energetic colour, it provides emotional strength and joy in its positive outlooks however is -ones are connected with superficiality in patients and domination. I think in this scene we can take the positive traits of the colour as opposed to the negative as we get to see Hen and Karen achieve something they’d given up on – the possible permanent expansion of their family – and brings them both full-circle after their disappointment surrounding Nia.

Chimney

Chimney is wearing a brown shirt with a black check pattern, brown is a colour of stability and reliability, it’s a grounding colour and chimney wearing it here indicates that where he is in his life is grounded in stable, his relationship and impending nuptials with Maddie are built on solid ground and overall this colour bodes well for their marriage. We do need to consider the cheque pattern as being foreshadowing for the potential exploration of Chimney storyline next season, whether that involves Madney actually making it down the aisle without problems arising, or if the show will explore some of chimney’s trauma in more detail remains to be seen however it does appear season 7 May begin a little bumpy for Chimney.

Kameron

Kameron wearing both the light and Navy blues that we’ve seen Buck wearing throughout this season whilst struggling to open a jar of pickles was a direct reference to Bucks struggles with who he is and who he wants to be. The props and costume work together to hint at Buck getting himself in a pickle and struggling to successfully deal with his issues, the fact that Kameron needed someone else to open the jar is a reference to Buck needing somebody else to help him with his struggles whilst the pickles in both this episode and the previous episode are a reference to Buck dealing with one issue but not his others. The use of blue costume in this scenario tells us the viewer should associate that struggle with buck specifically as the show has taken great pains to show us buck in a huge amount of blue costuming this season. The blue costuming also refers to water and water finding its level this has dual meaning in that it is foreshadowing Kameron’s water breaking later in the episode as well as continuing water theme surrounding buck story arc. The costume (and props) parallel Kameron and Buck and tell us to relate their stories to one another - Kameron being in a pickle with her life - her relationship with Connor - paralleled with Bucks own romantic storyline - both of them looking for support in the wrong place - from the wrong person, instead of with their respective partners - Kameron seeking help from Buck instead of Connor and and Buck seeking answers to being seen from Natalia instead of Eddie.

Cameron second costume one she’s wearing when she goes into labour continues the blue theme but also plays into the grey black-and-white theme increase seen in the scenes that appear to be re-shoots. The choice of daisies as appropriate for this dress as they symbolise innocence new beginnings and purity, they are also the symbol of fertility and childbirth.

Maddie

Ok so unusually I am going to talk about Maddie in connection with both Marisol and Natalia because their costumes are all connected by stars!

Maddie is wearing black with a lot of stars in white, while Marisol and Natalia have sparkly stars in fewer numbers on their costumes. the difference is the sparkly nature of said stars whilst the stars make perfect sense on all three of them for their respective scenes, they have different meanings attached to them - both Marisol and Natalia’s stars are a play on the concept of fantasy and dreaming and reaching for the unattainable, there are fewer stars and the glitteriness is a play on the idea of all that glitters is not gold - that the seemingly attractive external appearance is not a reliable indication of its true nature - that it is superficial. That meaning does not work for Maddie, her stars are not glittery or sparkly, they are matt and there are lots of them - there is more substance to her and Chimneys relationship and it is a direct and deliberate contradiction to the relationships of Eddie and Marisol and Buck and Natalia - we are meant to see the contrast - the building of something which has had to be fought for versus the untested and insubstantial nature of both of the other relationships - it all comes back to what bobby told Eddie - Maddie and Chim have sat with each other, taken a moment and stepped into the mess - they are fully aware of the reality where as Marisol and Natalia are both untested and fit much more into the fantasy concept the show has explored this season and the fantasy rarely holds up when exposed to reality.

Natalia

Aside from the stars that I’ve spoken about above, it was an interesting choice to remove nearly all colour from Natalia’s costume for scenes where she is present when life is brought into the world. When not in her ‘work’ role, we’ve seen her wearing a fair amount of colour, even if black is nearly always present - lots or red and oranges and whites and greens, however she was all in black for the living funeral and here again we have her in predominately black, with a little bit of navy thrown into the mix the choice to use very dark colours is intentional and these dark colours play into her role as harbinger of death - she is representing death as life is brought into the world. I wrote a post about that scene and her presence in it and how it plays into the fact that death has haunted Buck since he was brought into the world. Natalia’s presence was necessary precisely because of what she represents and because death is still hovering in Bucks life - the fact that Natalia and Buck get together while she is still dressed in this way is very telling about her position in Bucks world - he is still focused on death and its being a part of who he is rather than seeing/ focusing on other things. It all plays back into the ‘she really sees me’ of it all - Buck wants to be seen beyond his death/ beyond the death that has shadowed his life, but he is still falling back into the safety of being seen for death rather than the life he is living. Natalia is a representation of Buck falling back on these safe behaviours and thoughts because he is fundamentally scared of being seen for who he really is and Natalia’s transition from the orange of their ‘first’ date to increasing levels of black in her subsequent outfits shows that representation in Bucks life perfectly.

Interestingly though we get a direct contrast to all that black in the ‘morning after’ scene with Natalia in white shirt which is meant to be one of Bucks. Honestly - fascinated by this choice! Putting her in a shirt that is meant to be one of Bucks makes total sense, but they could’ve chosen any colour they wanted - Buck wears a lot of colour, but they chose a white shirt. A. White. Shirt. a white shirt that is supposed to be one of Bucks. We all know how things go for Buck when it comes to white shirts - it doesn’t end well - it leads to bad things! Natalia isn’t going to end well for Buck - the white shirt has spoken!.

The other thing with the white shirt is its contrast to Buck being in blue/grey because it puts her in opposition to Eddie who wore black when on the balcony. The balcony is a place that puts her on the outside of things, she isn’t inside with the mess (the couch) and the colour white is considered both a colour of innocence and purity, whilst at the same tie being seen as cold, uncaring and bland. When placed in contrast to Eddies black- a colour of power, strength security and protection, things don’t look great for Natalia’s future, or her ability to understand and support Buck.

We have to have a quick talk about Jo and Mallory for the simple reason that they are dressed in Buck and Eddies colours, despite essentially being representations of Christopher and Buck, the implication being that Christopher would retain a lot of the traits etc he has gained from Eddie, even if Eddie were no longer a physical presence in his life, and that Buck would’ve nurtured those aspects of who he is.

Chris

Christopher in grey as a neutral tone is an interesting choice. The green, specifically khaki green hidden underneath is a nod towards Eddie and, the fact it’s hidden under the grey to me is a reference to Christopher accepting things because he thinks they’re what his father does. But also towards Eddie once again, doing things that he thinks is right for Christopher.

Eddie

We can’t not talk about the St. Christopher being brought out at this moment! We haven’t seen this necklace since 4x14 when Eddie got home and its use here is so very intentional in a camper van that is essentially a microcosm of the will arc - all of the elements of Buck, Eddie and Christopher’s relationship is shown here in the camper - the will, the fridge, the couch, the coffee , the risk of explosion, and the earth mover van crashing into it, we even get similar camera angles and injuries. the entire thing is supposed to direct us to what that St. Christopher means, what it already represents and it is setting up next season - there is no other reason to include it otherwise.

Eddie in blue and in check – blue being connected to Eddie and his family suggests that the check is foreshadowing rocky times for that family dynamic and hints that this new relationship will end poorly whether that’s by fizzling out or in some other way remains to be seen. The other thing about this blue plaid check shirt is that it also ties in with a couple of other things - Eddie rarely wears plaid check - only 4 times before now and generally these are tied with when he’s been having family issues - we see it in the flashback scene in Eddie begins that show family conflict, conversely he doesn’t wear check in flashback scenes where is mind and intention is clear (such as when he argues with his parents and stands up for himself before going outside and asking Chris if he wants to move to LA.) The only other times we see him wearing check and not in a flashback is very much connected with his struggles with Christopher - and being able to support him - feeling like a failure as a father (which he isn’t) such as when he is at Bucks taking about Christopher’s skateboard accident and wanting his kid to feel normal. The only other time we see him in plaid is when he helps Buck move Maddie’s sofa into her new apartment - this is the only scene we have Eddie in non uniform before he goes to visit Durrand and is told he’ll need to get back in touch with Shannon - its kind of foreshadowing the conflict of the school visit when they couldn’t very easily put him in plaid.

I therefore really intrigued by this choice to have him in plaid for this scene when we don’t see any family conflict - so its either foreshadowing upcoming family conflict, or its playing on the idea that he’s internally conflicted - doing what his family wants (dating a woman) rathe than what he actually wants, or if the conflict is going to arise from him including Chris in this new venture into dating (we all saw how well that went last time!)

The other thing this plaid shirt is comparable with is Eddies Poker suit. Which has me all kinds of intrigued because it really does actually imply that the poker game was in fact going to be played as a ‘date’ (which would’ve likely played into the family conflict theme and thus been in keeping with all the other times Eddie has worn plaid) before they changed tack due to getting renewal and therefore didn’t follow through on whatever direction they had intended to take the Buck and Eddie storyline they had planned when they thought this might be the final season of the show.

Buck

Buck in brown with a vertical stripe, the brown suggests solid ground or in a stable place - so Buck is being presented as having made peace with the sperm donation, as well as being a stable place from which to try and help Connor and Kameron sort out their problems. The vertical stripes also play into the theme of vertical stripes we’ve see non him this season. Interestingly, we haven’t seen Buck wearing these vertical stripes around Natalia, which I would expect to see if their relationship was meant to last as the vertical stripes are very much connected with Bucks search for himself, in particular, connected to couch theory (this is the second time we’ve seen vertical stripes in connection with couches/ armchairs) - Bucks version of couch theory, not the second couch theory that he as a character isn’t aware of.

We have this grey marl tee, which is green tinted - perfect choice for Buck delivering the baby he helped create in a scene that heavily played into Bucks own birth. The grey and green tones have been associated with Bucks arcs this season - either in relation to the sperm donation (the green tones) or the family he has been searching for and is on his way to finding/ fully comprehending (why he wears grey around Bobby and Christopher in their one on one scenes - its the father son relationships being more deeply established). so for him to have both on when he gets to be the one who delivers the child he helped to create is a great choice and plays into both themes - especially when he tells Connor to love that child at the hospital.

The addition of the check shirt is solely about Buck starting a relationship with Natalia, and them getting together in a moment not that dissimilar to how Buck and Taylor got together - at a moment of Buck reckoning with something important - the trauma of nearly loosing Eddie with Taylor and now with Natalia his reckoning with the sperm donation and having delivered the baby he helped to create. This is a deliberate choice by the show to parallel the two moments, but the use of check is highlighting it further and telling me that this relationship with Natalia isn’t going to be as ling and drawn out as his relationship with Taylor was. Buck doesn’t actually wear check patterns all that often considering the amount of danger and trouble he gets himself into and we’ve seen him wear it in most cases in relation to mental health struggles (the Equestrian centre is a prime example - Buck trying to raise the shooting with Eddie and being unsuccessful because Eddie wasn’t ready - and its parrallel with the grave scene from this season when Buck isn’t ready in return) so for him to be wearing it a second time is short succession and both connected with Natalia (and thinking he’s finally being seen) doesn’t bode well for anything related to their new relationship.

Buck wearing his watch for the balcony scene is very telling because the scene is meant to imply buck and Natalia spent the night together and this is the following morning when they address down and comfortable and she is wearing one of his shirts, however him wearing his watch suggests that there is already a countdown/ that there is a time limit on their relationship.

Buck grey blue tee parallel with hoodie from the Eddie balcony scene - buck not understanding or seeing things clearly. The new one is darker and less blue, which not only plays into the previously stated concept of not understanding, but also suggests that Buck is currently in a less receptive state than during his previous times wearing the blue/grey colourway. The other thing to bear in mind is that Buck wearing a dark grey plays back into his costuming around Taylor in last season - he wore a lot of grey, but there was a distinct difference between the lighter shades we saw him wearing around Eddie and Christopher (which was the building blocks his grey wearing this season was built off of) and the darker greys we saw him wear around Taylor.

And there we have it - one very late but finished costume meta! I’m off to pray to the internet gods that my home internet will be fixed very soon (current date I’m being given is the 5 June) as I can’t survive much longer without being able to do the things I need and want to! if you want to send up a prayer for me then please feel free to help a girl out 😁

Thank you to all of you that have read one, several or all of my metas for this season. I hope this one was worth the read and I look forward to getting to write metas for whatever they throw at us in seasonn 7!!

As always and for the final time this season, tag list below! 💜💜💜

@mistmarauder @theladyyavilee @leothil @girldadbuddie @kitkatpancakestack @buckscurls @lemotmo @trashendence @elishareads @clipboardsandstethoscopes @comfortbuddie @fiona-fififi @callanee @calyssmarviss @pbandjeremiah @batgrldes @spotsandsocks @livingwherethesidewalkends @idontshitpostbuttheolympicpark @diazboysbuckley @sweettsubaki @shortsighted-owl @sherlocking-out-loud @wh0rebehavi0r @favouritealias @hearteyesdiaz @ktinastrikesback @princesschez75 @bucksbuddie @oneawkwardcookie @leatherati @moniquekatie @wanderingwomanwondering @asharadaine @ajunerose @talespinner230 @pop-kam @swiftiebuckleys @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @butchjerry @mandzuking17 @yelenasbuddie @copyninjabuckley @name-code-black-widow @rogerzsteven @bi-moonlight @usercowboy @inthecarwithaboy @inandoutoffocus-blog @toboldlynerd @shammers86

#kym costume meta #911 costume meta #911 costumes #911 on fox #911 fox #911 abc #costume meta #evan buck buckley #evan buckley #Eddie diaz #athena grant #bobby nash #maddie buckley #chimney han #hen wilson #karen wilson #denny wilson #christopher diaz #natalia dollenmeyer

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familyabolisher · 6 months

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what do you think of Umineko so far? I’ve tried reading it but the first episode is reaaaally slow

the first episode is SLOW to the point where every time one of my friends starts reading it i am compelled to send them this tweet

that being said, i'm currently on ep4, and i'm really enjoying it now that i'm starting to get a proper handle on the discourse of the text. [spoilers for eps 1-3 below]

for one thing, i think it's well-conceived! like, i think the conceit of an endless murder mystery puzzle which keeps resetting & in which [almost] everyone could feasibly be killed in any given order & the narrative functions as a 'gameboard' is really really good. it's an attractive premise.

& i, on account of who i am as a person, have obviously latched right onto the kinzo/beatrice situation, and these gestures towards dynamics of entrapment and coercion which create/nurture some kind of 'eternal' being, beatrice the golden witch rather than beatrice the human. i'm v caught by what we learn in (i think?) ep3 - that 'beatrice' is not the name of the individual with whom battler is playing but in fact a title that others (virgilia, EVA-beatrice) can claim. obviously, like, individual/autonomous selfhood subjugated (and like, moulded/disciplined) into an abstract state - a state of Being A Metaphor, A Metonym, A Synechdoche, etc - taking place along the discursive bounds of sexual violence is v much my whole area, cf. salolita, cf. alecto, cf. dante's beatrice and her whole cultural cache! i feel like this angle is what's piqueing my interest the most right now - these (still to my mind v open) questions of beatrice's body as a resurrected 'cage of flesh,' at once flesh and automaton similar to what we see of the "furniture" (hello kiriona gaia!), what it actually means to call beatrice a "witch" or a "human" (ie. the central 'goal' of battler's game) under those particular terms. i'm like an animal with my ears pricked up.

#ask #umineko spoilers

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violivs · 15 days

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NMTDaily: And So It Begins

- Beatrice’s first vlog! What an opening line, I love it lol. I remembered the hand wave on “hello, people of the Internet” having a wider arc across the screen than it actually does, funny enough! Glad I didn’t specify the wide wave when I referenced this line in MARRIED, the fic I posted on the 25th.

- “I’m not too old for Halloween”, girl after my own heart!

- Always thought it was interesting that Bea’s mother is American. I wonder how/why they decided that. It’s the kind of super specific detail that makes Bea feel so real, because who would make that up? It’s also interesting that it means Bea and Ben’s families are both somewhat international. Another parallel for them, another thing they have in common.

- I bet the Aunties’ wedding was the cutest thing ever, imagine Hero and Leo standing up with them! That’s probably the last time all of the Dukes were together before the story starts.

- I’m surprised Bea’s parents moved because her dad got a promotion. I would have assumed her mom did, because we get the impression of her as the high-powered businesswoman. But good for Bea’s dad. Is it canon that he’s a university professor? (Promotion = tenure?) Or did I make that up for fanfic and/or confuse him with Ben’s parents being professors in canon? Listening for that. Maybe Bea’s dad was actually also a business person all along and that’s how her parents met. Who knows.

- Bea says Australia like I say Indiana, lol (no hate to anyone from Indiana though! Just another of those inborn rivalries with the neighbor, like the Oz/NZ one.)

- “A great science program” I forgot Bea was a science person!

- I always loved the set decoration in this room, I remember it’s Hero’s room, and it’s so artsy and cozy and pretty. Love the wall art.

- “Leo and I are in charge of the house for the next six months” Excuse me, does this series really only take place over six months? Well, it ends in the first week of November, so that’s seven full months. I think it felt like it lasted a whole year when it was airing though. Time slowed down during a certain arc for sure.

- “in-joke with myself!” Classic. I kind of love that the text on screen saying “good one Beatrice” is Bea talking to herself again in-world, but out-of-world it’s kind of the Candle Wasters talking, interacting both with their own main character and with the audience. Meta.

- “Sorry my life is so boring” are like, THE famous last words for an LIW protagonist. Honey, you got a big storm coming!

- I was always so incredibly impressed with Beatrice’s independence, her comfort with leaving her parents and essentially being on her own before she even finished high school. I was alone in a college dorm hours away from home when I first watched this, second semester of freshman year if I’m not mistaken, and I could barely believe I’d managed it. I couldn’t imagine doing that any earlier than I had. I thought she was so brave and cool. I think Bea actually shows more hesitation and nervousness than I realized she did in this episode, both because she’s not used to vlogging yet and because being in a new place is nerve-wracking, but I still think she’s so brave.

- It’s so interesting that in a reversal of the play, it’s our Beatrice who comes from away to Messina to start the story, instead of Benedick and the other men returning from war. Of course, we’ll see how the boys’ arrival on the scene is modernized soon enough!

- Harriett does such a great job making you care about Bea and like her right from the start. You just want to keep listening to her talk. I can’t wait to do just that over the next seven months.

- The Benedict Cumberbatch crush is a stroke of genius, but what are the odds that there happens to be a super famous guy named Benedict that you can reference who is at peak relevance in the exact year your MAAN modernization premieres? Truly, this series as it exists could only have happened in 2014. It was the perfect time and the perfect people. What luck.

- Oh, this is the wider arc hand wave I was remembering! It’s just at the end of the video and not the beginning. Funny!

- Covering the camera with her hand and ducking out of frame at the end of her first video is a direct parallel to what Bea and Hero do in their final NMTD video, sliding out of frame and all. Love that.

- I can’t believe how much there is to talk about even with these early episodes. These posts are gonna get so long they’ll have to go under a cut for the later episodes!

💖🦩🥭

#nmtd #nothing much to do #nmtdaily #violivs nmtdaily liveblog #nmtd spoilers #maybe? just in case

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random-french-girl · 1 year

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Before I resume my warrior nun s2 rewatch, one more thought on episode 1: I really appreciate the two (2) scenes in which Ava and Beatrice talk about the state of the world, their mission, what they think of Adriel: the one by the lake shore, after Ava takes an unexpected dip in the water, and the one after the Homoerotic Bar Scene, when they’re walking home together.

Sometimes, this show does exposition in such a clunky way - a prime example is when the bar regulars talk about Adriel and Miguel shows up, imo... - but these two conversations between Ava and Bea are so well-written, and so cleverly layered! They tell us what we need to know about what the characters have been doing in Switzerland for two months (hiding so Ava can train) and what they know is happening in the world (Adriel’s influence expanding), but they also crucially showcase how they feel about everything. Namely, Ava’s impatience and frustration and immense guilt (”All of it is my fault” “I was stupid” “I’m tired of being on the sidelines”), and Beatrice’s growing confusion about her faith and her system of beliefs (”But if Adriel is an angel, does it mean that all angels are just dirtbags?”) ; all hints which lay the foundations of both their overall s2 arcs in a really neat, seamless way.

But these little chats are also so important to make us understand Ava and Bea’s relationship! You really get the sense that these two characters talk to each other, often, freely, and about a variety of subjects. They open up about their feelings, they’re interested in each other’s opinions, they discuss what’s at stake, they ponder over questions that they have no clear answers for... It’s this type of mundane detail, like them regularly (twice in one episode!) having these kinds of conversations, that really make their relationship feel real and grounded, and I’m grateful that the show gave them enough space and time from the very start of s2, and despite the crowded narrative, to just... exist together.

#warrior nun #avatrice #ava x beatrice #some random meta #i'm rewatching wn s2

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bernkastel-ao3 · 1 year

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For me, the most resonant idea in Umineko is how it's, in different ways, about the struggle to communicate intimate and personal things through writing or stories and the potential power when that exchange actually works. There's something really wonderful for me in that, in the idea of viewing stories and writing as an intimate exchange, where a writer is offering something meaningful and emotionally important to them to another, with earnest belief and hope that potential readers, maybe just one, will respond in turn through effort as a reader. That maybe that reader will absorb and understand what you offered to them in the way you hoped they would, that they tried and succeeded to understood another person on an emotional level through what they put into a story.

You have Beatrice doing so through her games for Battler, in a way that gets teasingly compared to a love letter through how Battler suggests she should have just told she loved her, plus for the reason of the next character. A yearning for him or just one person to understand her as a person, in a way where they could say they understand her heart. You have episodes 1 and 2 existing in universe as Sayo doing that, as her venting her soul, trauma and complicated feelings in a coded, defensive way, with the same hope at the centre that a person will see the truth of her existence and of her soul, would understand her in an intimate and empathetic way. The episodes afterward are reciprocation from Tohya, to a dead person on behalf of someone who is effectively dead.

You can add a third exchange between people to the mix, with Tohya and Ange. The eighth game at very openly is a message for Ange, to try and tell her what might help her to keep on living in spite of her trauma and pain.

All of that was touching for me, though the core idea of seeing all fiction and stories as potentially raw, intimate and personal communication between people, a heartfelt conversation or opening up to another, is something that only finally resonated with me thanks to Umineko. Before then, I feel like that was something for other people, normal or deep people, like nothing could make me feel the depth of personally resonant or connective emotions that others said they got from fiction. Then I got hit by it and then it's predecessor, Higurashi, and then I became someone who could earnestly go "these are my precious characters/babies that I love so much. Gotta protect them and hug them, wanna do that so much".

#umineko #when they cry #higurashi #ramble #reader-writer communication

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whenthechickencry · 2 months

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Umineko EP7. Replay Part 1

The contrast between the somber, funeral, scenes of Battler with Beatrice's corpse and the inquisitor scenes with LiberatedLiberator playing are very funny.... also the battler scenes are very tender. "Then, he kissed (The book), ...and laid it gently in the casket" The game is making me sad already lol. Wonder if people who had figured that S = K but not Sayo were stumped by this... I mean it would be short-lived since the episode reveals what happened but. R07 does like testing even the readers that did get the answer.

Will is obviously the ideal Battler that Battler hoped Sayo would be, the one who would look for the heart of her mystery, and he's very dashing in this scene lol, sadly the reality is different than the ideal.... This episode has a pretty good opening, actually, I like it a lot. The funeral scene where everyone has their own reaction to the death of Beatrice is interesting, it really highlights how many different things and people 'Beatrice' is. Speaking of people 'Beatrice' is....

This episode has a bunch of new songs, I forgot how many songs were unique to or introduced in this episode, it adds to the unique vibe this episode has, also they are all really good so.... Lion is so "mild-mannered" (as the game puts it) that he just straight up ignores that there's a flying girl in front of him and just tells her to step off the altar, lol.

Bernkastel introduces the mystery of "Who Killed Beatrice?" along with the side-mystery of who is Lion. Lion is extremely annoyed by all this.

Lion having no memory of Kanon is the first hint introduced, besides being Natsuhi's child. Lion mentions being used to unreasonable situations due to being forced to deal with Kinzo.... which is kind of ironic when you think about how that is true for Sayo in a completely different way. Will didn't seem to see Lion as much more than just a clueless, curious, piece at first but his demeanor forced him to acknowledge a piece as an equal. It is a pretty endearing relationship that was definitely pulled off nicely in the short time they had. Eva is uh, definitely not happy about the existence of Lion....

Everyone's really comfortable calling Beatrice his mistress here - in main worlds, it seemed to be a more taboo topic.... the fact that the witch legend didn't exist in this world probably lead to people talking about Beatrice-as-a-Person more in this fragment I suppose.

I wouldn't put it that confidently but.... it's not like ignoring her and letting her be locked in a cage where she is under Kinzo's control is a good place to be either.

Non-voiced dialogue.... right yeah this episode was censored a lot during the console version.

Bernkastel gets the theatergoing ability from Bernkastel in order to force Kinzo to talk. Shannon reveals she struggles to remember Lion, and Will catches this. They talk, and he orders her to bring Kanon, she hints at Sayo and Shannon.exe starts breaking down from conflicting instructions. She starts referring to Sayo as "The one who orders us"

This scene's pretty interesting... because if you think about it the one would get checkmate is Beato and not Will right? But Will is the one getting warned. I have been kind of rocking my head at this for a bit - but I can see a couple interpretations. I could see it as a commentary on how S = K isn't the full answer and you need to keep thinking above that to reach a real answer - on a meta-level maybe Will would have been fucked by forcing an illegal move idk. Interesting scene to think about lol.

Kinzo: Beatrice is mine alone. No matter what anyone says, no one can defile our story. Ugh, gross to think about. You yourself already defiled your own story with Beatrice, Kinzo. Genji starts being pushy about Beatrice II being Beatrice reborn.... no wonder Sayo can't get herself to have positive feelings toward Genji. I can find myself as having more sympathy towards Kumasawa, though.... I think the way making pranks passed from one to the other is cute and in general seems to have less power and willingness to enable Kinzo... still, though, the fact the person is basically your mother hiding your dad's abuse and having you play along with a dumb riddle game for the sake of said abuser.... The images of Kumasawa thinking she's playing dead and slowly realizing she is in fact being killed makes me sad, though.

Kumasawa: "You could sometimes catch a glimpse of his great love for the late Beatrice-sama, and it was a heart-warming thing."... Kumasawa's way of saying Kinzo is a groomer without saying it directly, and Will catches on to what she actually means. Oh Lion starts crying right now when the only thing he knows is that he did some grooming.... your day is about to get so much worse Lion. "Everything was decided by someone other than me".... and Kinzo eventually ended up putting that burden on several Beatrices, the one who ironically broke him free of that hell.

We get a bunch of introductions to the overall setting, Kinzo talking about how he's waiting to die and about how he hates pretty much everyone else on the island. Then Kinzo meets Beatrice and they immediately hit it off. I forgot the first talk they had with each other after meeting each other was about how they both feel controlled and defined by their families.... it makes sense they can relate to each other in that way. It is sad to think that instead of breaking that chain Kizno instead furthered it to about 10 different people.

Ah, hahaha, it's kind of sad to think about how Kinzo's wife was definitely bothered about the cheating... it'd be one thing if they both didn't give a fuck about the relationship but.... Natsuhi mentions relating to her once I think so I can't imagine her situation was happy, whatever it was.

The reveal of the tens of gold comes from the Italians no longer being able to hide it due to their ship sinking slowly.

Weird tangent but it's kind of fascinating to see Kinzo as an interpreter because I work as a professional Spanish-english interpreter... Kinzo does sooooo many things that would get me fired haha. Of course, he's not a professional interpreter and I am certainly not a wartime interpreter. Kinzo is a liar in his retelling of the events, of course, in actuality he was the one who first recommended shooting the Italians first. The choice is framed as letting everyone but you and the person you love die but uh, it is closer to risking her life and hoping she's fine.

It was certainly not his intention to let her die but.... it's certainly a risk he should have considered more thoroughly before deciding to blow the Italians up.

Kinzo: "Can't you see that you caused all this because you were blinded by gold." Yeah, sure Kinzo, they did.

Part of what drove even Beatrice 1 to wanting to die is the fact that Kinzo's planning got everyone close to her killed....

Kinzo took Beatrice to Nanjo who kept the secret for him, and then Beatrice died during childbirth.

And then he's also bribed by Sayo, haha, I mean he isn't very good at lying in hindsight but also no one figured anything out *due* to him so....

Will talks about how Battler might have been removed as a way to make the puzzle harder which is interesting. Bernkastel DOES believe Battler remembers his promise to some extent even as a piece... Jessica probably feels less pressure in this world if anything... I can imagine not bearing the brunt of Natsuhi's expectations and allowed to be herself probably helps everyone in that relationship a little bit.

Maria corrects Will on his bible knowledge haha that's very cute. This line always struck to me and I always remember it... it's a way to connect why people use magic to a situation we all know. Obviously, this is not what the Bible meant but it did give her the power to love herself as is.

Maria mentions she told to everyone about how she wanted to meet the witch and then Beatrice appeared in front of her, in other words Sayo indulged her and they became good friends after that, hahaha. This is so cute I am crying.

Will gets into the non-existence of Lion with the chair arrangement and into the number of accomplices with the number of people able to see Beatrice.... Maria sure is a good witness when you bother to talk to her on her terms. Will reasons this was after Beatrice started existing but before it had anything to do with Battler. Will tells Jessica that he approves of her living her life like she wants to and keeping her hobbies in spite of it all... narrative points out this is probably the first time someone approved of how Jessica lived her life. Ouch. Jessica talks about how she doesn't gaf too much about Beatrice and how she thinks Maria is a bit freaky about being too into Maria and it was too vivid... which it quite literally was because she did meet Beatrice. Jessica is extremely classy about it.

Will chides her for being like this by pointing out her motto is creating another self how you want to be and that's exactly what Maria is doing.

Jessica coughing a ton in order to change the subject is brought up here. I think she probably does actually have asthma, though, just uses that to her advantage sometimes. Jessica is still gloomy about the argument a day later, she talks to Kumasawa about it and she dares her to curse her for that and uh, THEN she goes to Shannon and Gohda and denies it AGAIN... man Jessica you had like 4 chances to back down out of it. Jessica knows exactly what happened but is too scared to admit it to herself... I imagine that might be what is going on with Kinzo and Shkannon as well.

Will breaks Jessica's reality by pointing out the sitting arrangement issue, but I guess she'll probably just rationalize it anyway so it is fine.

Kinzo probably did his best to quit the rumors since they were rude and since his mental state was probably a bit better in this world and there was no Sayo to build the legend of the witch, well....

Will starts his description of who killed Beatrice by revealing that Maria can tell people apart not by their appearance but by their actions. "She believed the power of witches could change her unfulfilling and incomplete life".... I mean not wrong, but ouch...Lion makes the connection that Beatrice is kind of a character Sayo is playing. It's cool how the tension you feel in this scene as Will slowly edges to the conclusion.

Lion: Are you trying to say Beatrice and I are two sides of the same coin? Lion's 100% correct here lol. Lion starts getting pissed when he starts revealing Lion's backstory, which is understandable.... he can tell Kinzo DID have favoritism towards him so he keeps hearing though. This is kind of sad just itself.... Natsuhi and Lion have a good parent-child relationship if they are allowed to exist together it's just the circumstances that allow them to be together are too harsh for that to happen...

The choice of whether Lion will see Beatrice or not is interesting to me.... I mean, it won't be pretty and will add a bunch of trauma that he was saved from in this life, but.... Beatrice being seen and accepted by Lion would probably mean a lot to her, I think... I don't know what Lion would think of Beatrice but the idea of Lion denying her makes me very sad. It would probably be very hard to process though. Think there's kind of an implicit "Do you have the right to judge 'bad' people when they could have been you had you been born in different circumstances" kind of argument going on here. They start discussing Lion's gender, and we start talking about how that was a constant point of contention in the games, which is about the one thing that hasn't been spelled out yet by now...

R07 starts beating you over the head with how all the answers are available in ep1-4 and the next games were just answers lol. Probably a little frustrated by people at people having I'll wait until i get more hints approach. She's right though.... like Lambdadelta dropped soooo many hints and it was still not enough. Battler definitely deserves some shit.

Sayo is confused about why they were brought to Ushiromiya's family when they don't have any relevant skills. It's certainly not the beginning of it but it's probably the first time Sayo felt that her fate was being chosen by someone for reasons unknown to her.... Sayo was just in elementary school.... she really wasn't allowed much of any life before Genji started dragging her around for his plans. I wonder what Genji told Natsuhi to make an excuse for Sayo to get there. If you just tell her Kinzo said so she probably can't object too much though. They did what? Jesus christ, I forgot how bad her life was even pre-rokkenjima....

Sayo is helped by "Shannon", which is mentioned was her friend in the Gospel House as well... sad to think her life has sucked so much to this point that they had to make an imaginary friend before she even got to Rokkenjima. Ok yeah Natsuhi confirms she was told Kinzo just did this lol. I wonder what Kinzo thought but at this point I imagine he was too busy feeling guilty about Beatrice to care too much about the house going ons. Lion wakes up and says he doesn't regret finding out but he wants to forget which is a fair, probably. They start discussing how this was Genji's plan. Bernkastel starts taunting Lion about not being biological and everyone just kind of ignores her, which fair enough she doesn't even believe what she's saying. We go back to Clair's home life being kind of fucky. worsened by Genji's machinations.

I've kind of been avoiding the subject because it's really obvious but the Gospel House is really fucked. Stripping children of their names, sending them to work after middle school... Haha, I wonder why no one talks behind her back or why she can't pick up your tasks.

Natsuhi tells Sayo to not to be Jessica's friend, because of course she does. Sayo has every right to fucking hate Natsuhi. If only Genji chose to separate Kinzo from Sayo fully instead of making her entire life a redemption play for her mother's rapist.... They bring up the age difference and how it was necessary to have Natsuhi and Kinzo be fooled, which is another way in which Sayo's entire identity was denied for others. Sayo recounting the way she loses things sounds just like ADHD haha, anyways that's how Beatrice-Gaap is born. Sayo mentions how the reason she can 'see' things even when they are not there is due to the way she has been taught God is everywhere even though you can't see him. That's definitely interesting to me.... it's always interesting to hear about how children interpret religious superstitions, you definitely see a lot of children interpreting stuff like imaginary friends, mental illness, etc. Like that. Being perceived and understood is to be saved.

Sayo gives up and realizes the broom was outside and picks it up, in the meta she has become friends with the broom-stealing Beatrice. Kumasawa starts teaching her how to not lose stuff but filters it through magic talk, which becomes the basis for her entire system of magic.... Kumasawa.... again I think that Kumasawa is probably the most healthy relationship Sayo had for most of her life.

Sayo realizes when people who are cruel to her make the same mistake as the ones they mock her for it feels good... that's true even if she causes the mistake herself. Natsuhi really fucked Sayo's life in sooo many ways... I really like Sayo I am not meaning to demonize her but god damn I don't think anyone can give Sayo shit for hating her.

Mystery novels are also a hands-me-down from Kumasawa... there's a reason why Virgilia is the original Beatrice!

Interesting how the whole concept of the game was born out of Sayo just wanting to make reading mystery novels funner for her, haha, I mean it is funnier to figure things out if you imagine there's an opponent you have to beat, I suppose!

#umineko #umiepisode7

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knoxs2nd · 8 months

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the conception of the golden land is fairly consistent in yasu's episodes and pov as a place where no one can do harm. in an extremely yasu fashion, yasu compartmentalizes her *own imagination* aka magic system.

a major coping mechanism of the series is the existence of a "personal safe sphere" (usually your imagination), where many characters use magic to enact harm on others without risk of backlash. in yasu-speak, this is the first meta-layer above reality.

this is stuff like shannon seeing beatrice whack natsuhi with her pipe. it's fantasy "overlaid" with reality. for you, they are but aren't being harmed. on this layer, man does it feel good and just to fantasize vengeance vs your abusers. also see: maria with rosa, ange with her bullies.

(an aside: this is where yasu plays with being a witch & getting revenge IN reality, still without that risk of backlash, blurring the lines between reality/fantasy, through her pranks. starting off with missing items, scaring jessica, escalating into the strong implication she pushed someone down the stairs. of course, this ultimately ends with the murders. and in contradictory yasu fashion, she also leaves openings for backlash by being caught as the culprit)

then there is the golden land, the place to grant your deepest dreams/wishes. for shannon/kanon, it's a place they are human and not furniture. for beatrice, it's a place she is fully accepted as a witch. to be seen as you want to be is an act of love, support, and acceptance.

it's a place you cannot be rejected aka be harmed.

even tohya's portrayal of the golden land in ep4 with beatrice&maria shows this understanding: it's a universe where beatrice and maria can't be hurt by others. people are only allowed to come there if they do not "deny" magic/harm beatrice.

in episode 7, the golden land is shown from yasu's pov as a place separated from reality, where witches like "clair"/"beatrice" live and only human believers like shannon can be invited.

episode 7 also really plays up the idea of the golden land on a layer of observation above reality, the second meta-layer. it's so removed that entering the golden land forever and shedding your human body is, from a reality pov, supposed to be likened to dying/committing suicide.

witches live in the golden land. humans join the golden land by dying. the golden land is a place of love & acceptance, where you will be seen exactly as you want to be. through many layers of magic, the place yasu thought she could be happy, seen, accepted, & understood was death...

#character: yasu #episode: 7

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jtl07 · 9 months

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I've been reading your thoughts on each episode of WN as I've been doing my own rewatch and I agree with so many of your points on story structure and pacing. I just finished episode 10 and I'm so looking forward to your write-up of it because holy shit does that episode have some issues. I'm also curious about your thoughts on Mother Superion and how much she knows going into episodes 8 through 10. Cheers!

Hey! Thanks for this, so glad to hear some of my ramblings are actually coherent lol

But yeah, it’s been a mix: there’s some brilliant stuff (I’m still very much intrigued with how they’re setting up Vincent’s betrayal and now that I’ve watched Beatrice’s fight in episode 7 in context, I love it so much more, so excited to write that up) but there’s also some frustrating things - with pacing, as you’ve mentioned, and just execution in general.

The two things that are chafing at me: lack of subtext in the dialogue and how that's made things sluggish (which I’ve mentioned already in my ep5 rewrite) and making full use of the camera.

(Side note re: the former - I wonder if it’s a nod towards how in religion, everything is told orally? idk maybe I’m reaching lol)

For the latter, I’m thinking of framing, of blocking, of how and where the camera lingers. They do the last bit a couple times with Ava in the first episodes, which were beautiful, but I wish there was more of that. I just watched episode 7 last night and there’s two moments that immediately come to mind that could’ve been heightened with different shots: Beatrice leaving the armory after talking with Camila, and Mother Superion leaving the idk courtyard? after Duretti tells her the Pope has died.

Like, wouldn’t it have been cool to have held on Beatrice as she leaves, even from Camila’s pov, viewing Beatrice from the back (and give KTY more opportunity to show that fantastic physicality she has) as she walks away, trying to keep her head up, trying to remember how to walk unarmed? And that moment with Mother Superion, having a different shot could have heightened the change that I think they were trying to show - like maybe straight on as she grapples with the changing situation, or maybe have harder shadows to show the weight she's carrying ...

But speaking about Mother Superion: I was quite surprised that she’s been kind of in the periphery (though maybe that’s just been my attention lol). I feel like I didn’t really start paying attention to her until e7, mostly because of everyone pressuring her. The problem is that I’m not completely sold on her struggle. I think it was in e6 when she agrees with Duretti (disagreeing with Vincent and Beatrice), but then near the opening of e7 she disagrees. Sure, they’re about two different subjects (the shield vs the rejects) but I’m not sold on the whole “keeping herself distant because she cares too much” (which we only know because Mary says it). Part of it might be due to them spending time building up Vincent (so that his betrayal hurts more) and also Duretti as the villain, leaving not a lot of time for Mother Superion (maybe they’re banking on the reveal about her being rejected by the halo as a heavy hitter?) Not to mention, they’re constrained for time because they’re telling two stories in parallel since Ava’s been away from the OCS.

(Actually, a thought just occurred to me: What if ep4 had Mother Superion on comms during that mission to get the shield from Arq-Tech? Maybe even listening in when Beatrice calls out Lilith - maybe even giving the order for everyone to fall back when the alarms when off. OOOoooh yknow what would’ve been spicy? Have Beatrice defy that order, or at least say something like, “I can do it,” and Mother Superion be conflicted about letting her go alone. Oh man, that would’ve been cool, now I’ve made myself sad that we didn’t have that)

Uh … this got away from me lol. But I will say that you’re comment about “how much she [Mother Superion] knows going into episodes 8 through 10” has my curiosity piqued because all of my previous knowledge has only been clips and gifs, focused mostly on avatrice, so I’m very curious at how they’ll build up Mother Superion these next episodes!

Thanks again for the ask :))))))))))

#kasadilla11 #jt watches wn #jt rewrites wn #sister beatrice #mother superion #so much of what i love is really the acting more than the writing tbh #and while the writing has given fandom things to play with and holes to fill in #it's really frustrating to watch sometimes #if y'all have different thoughts and interpretations i am sosososo open to hearing it!#warrior nun

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construingseacats · 6 months

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Umireread: Turn of the Golden Witch: Chapter 2 - Wonderful Utopia

The following contains spoilers for the entirety of Umineko. Please do not read if you are yet to finish it.

This is a promising chapter name. I presume we’re in for quite the fantastical time, then?

Not content to just monopolise the scream market, Jessica’s VA corners the funny market with an extremely exaggerated read on hugs and kisses. I honestly couldn’t imagine reading this without the voice acting.

Ah, I suppose the scene we opened on wasn’t the first time she saw an aquarium then - although it does say something that she can go on that date again and have it feel like the first time. Young love, eh?

This is an interesting one to think about - Yasu definitely wouldn’t have seen this in a positive light. I can’t help but wonder where things would be if George had tried to be a little more forceful.

I suppose this falls more towards a Bern-esque hypothetical that rips the guts out of the characters for the sake of a story - the answer would be that a fundamentally different George erases the human that Ryukishi has built up inside him, and the plot effectively doesn’t happen with an early exposure of Yasu as Furniture.

God man. I love Jessica so much. My heart really breaks for her all the time.

Yasu is unsettled by how extreme her Beatrice persona is, the lengths she has forced her to go to revoke her status as Furniture - but none of this would have been possible without that very forceful push to destroy the status quo.

I, too, loved having my imaginary friends mess around with others when I was younger.

I’m… pretty ambivalent towards all this discussion of the mirror and the torii shrine? I’m not seeing much of a deeper meaning here - beyond the initial assumption of it being the adornment of the test of the bombs - so all the framing of it as a magic sealing mirror that stopped Beatrice from existing falls flat for me. The fact that it’s discussed in this much detail makes me think I might be missing something here, but I’m starting to suspect that it is just intentional misdirection.

I remember being extremely bored at the start of Episode 2 on my first read, but man, it’s really out for blood with anyone rereading it. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the sections focusing so heavily on ‘Furniture’ hit harder once you know the connotations behind it, but man.

We have an angel and a devil on the shoulders here - one of them is telling you to abandon the concepts of love and be content to live a pitiful existence as furniture, and the other is telling you to kill everyone in the world.

We’re just lampshading that here and now, I see?

While I suppose we’ve already dug into a lot of the framing of fantasy and reality in Episode 1, Episode 2 sure is starting strong with it here. Maybe things are terrible. Maybe life is pain. But if you believe hard enough - you convince yourself of the fantasy, you seek out the magic - the sea can be deep blue to you too.

It’s interesting seeing all these conversations through the lens of internal dialogue - of Yasu convincing herself of things, swayed by her many aspects - but for the most part there’s not much to add beyond acknowledging it. This is a great scene, but it mostly speaks for itself, you know?

Umineko and NieR: Automata sit in a very questionable hall of fame where they make a poignant scene comedic by censoring the word “love” and letting our immature minds fill it in with any other four letter word we desire.

Over a million words to comprehend the meaning of a single sentence. It sounds insane, but it’s so worth it.

It’s really weird seeing Kinzo outside of the study. His sprite feels so out of place on a sunny day.

There’s a few moments of disconnect here where the sprites are yet to change to the emotion that the text is describing, which gives you odd combinations like this.

The answer was there all along Kinzo, you just had to make an imaginary girlfriend and pretend Beatrice was still there with you.

…I jest about that, but come to think of it, isn’t that partially the truth? The servants make a point about how they buy into the illusion of the Witch for Kinzo’s sake. I know that’s partially a hint towards Yasu’s existence, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s part of it as well. Of course, mandating servants to indulge in your fantasies means they are not treating them with love, but with compulsion; and, as hard as you try, you cannot obtain magic by sheer compulsion. Kinzo’s many years as a sorcerer are more than proof of that.

I feel a little underwhelmed by the chapter name being “Wonderful Utopia”. I suppose it’s reflective of Yasu’s honeymoon period following the establishment of Beatrice, where she can enjoy the temporary joys afforded by a relationship with George, but I think I was expecting something a little more… juicy, I suppose. Ah well, it’s not like we’re leaving the flashback period any time soon.

#umireread #umineko #umineko spoilers

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simplyavatrice · 8 months

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Hi I really enjoy your analyses of warrior nun, and it’s characters! I also love your posts about Alba because I also like her a completely normal amount! I just wanted to see your take on your favourite Avatrice moment or scene in season 1 and then season 2 and reasons why? Hope this isn’t too much to ask! Thanks! 💜

well i think in season 1 my favorite avatrice moments are the obvious ones. i love everything about episode 8

i know a lot of talk is based around bea opening up about her sexuality and her trauma to ava, which are amazing moments performed so well by kristina, but it's also the first time we really see ava get comfortable around anyone in cat's cradle

she's so smitten with beatrice at this point and i think ava trusts her - bea has been helpful and supportive up to this point so ava is just happy to be around her

then of course there's the stuff in the rock where ava talks about her fears and bea promises to stay with her, which is all ava wants - this coming AFTER ava tells beatrice that what she is is beautiful and just...like from this episode on, beatrice never leaves ava's side and ava never wavers in her devotion to the cause. they become touchstones in each other's universes from here on out and it's easy to see why

as far as season 2 goes, it's amazing from the jump. the first two episodes of season 2 are still kind of surreal - like they feel pulled directly out of a fanfiction. the two of them isolated from the world, relying on one another and falling deeper and deeper in love while never actually admitting it?

sharing a bed? jealousy? OUTSTANDING communication, those first two episodes literally have it all and are the foundation of the relationship we all fell so in love with

also a sneakily great season 2 moment is when ava wakes up and takes the crown off and beatrice looks at her and asks her 'are you alright?' in the most delicate and precious tone i've ever heard in my life

it gets me literally every time

this, in my opinion, is what the whole save warrior nun campaign was all about - getting these two their happy ending. anything less isn't good enough

#avatrice

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tintagel-or-cockleshells · 8 months

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Fic(tional) Stat(istic)s

@cha-melodius gave me a wonderful tag and I was actively surprised at the results, so here we go.

Rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.

Most Hits: Just Like a Dealer, Teen Wolf

This fic shouldn't really be under my name as I didn't do the bulk of the writing. I was in a rehearsal in a very cold church with @clottedcreamfudge and it wasn't either of our parts so I think I wrote a short prompt for her and she wrote the rest? I get the kudos emails and comments still!

I gave tintagel the prompts "cards," "pillar" and "silk". She wrote the opening (which I've tweaked slightly for my own nefarious purposes) and then this happened. In which UST is resolved (and then some) and Scott is just disappointed that all of this happened in his kitchen.

Second Most Kudos: Alien Magic, Tamora Pierce

This is a crossover episode fic where I tried to squish the worlds of Emelan and Tortall together. I don't plan fics, I just write, which really pisses off Josefin and sometimes can cause issues as there has already been one 5-year gap between updates for this fic.

A dead metal human-bird hybrid washes up on the shores of Emelan. Niko identifies it as something from a far-off country, one with more experimental universities than Lightsbridge, and with another way of magic. And so the four go to Tortall. In Tortall itself, Stormwings are coming down with disease, with reduced flocks, actually asking for the Wildmage's help. Something has gone very, very wrong.

Third Most Comments: Ghosted, RWRB

When Henry leaves his flat that morning, he doesn't anticipate being followed through London by a guy who seems really insistent on speaking to him, never getting to eat his takeaway, and being sat on by an old man on the Tube. But sometimes, fate has other plans for you, and you can't fight fate. --- Or, the fic where people are ghosts until they're not, dead until proven otherwise, and we take bets on how thin the veil is between the living and the dead.

Fourth Most Bookmarks: Red, White and Royal Ballet, RWRB

Alex Claremont-Diaz isn't the 'bad boy of ballet'. He's just good at playing the tortured roles. But his latest role, where he's partnered with Beatrice Fox, is coming to an end, and they're announcing the new season's program soon. He might never be the romantic hero, but maybe it's time for a change. Completed.

Fifth Most Words: The Nights We Almost Met, TAH

You should all go listen to the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a loving pastiche of the radio dramas of old. I highly recommend Beyond Belief, the segment where wonderfully drunk and in love mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle (the inimitable Paul F Tompkins and Paget Brewster) investigate paranormal happenings

Frank Doyle and Sadie Parker have terrible timing. It started as a series of vignettes showing when the Doyles could have met, but ultimately missed each other by a hair. It ended differently.

Notes:

This is because I'm a sucker for those things where a couple ALMOST meet and you know they'd be PERFECT and then they don't meet, like, at all. See also: Love Soup. This fic will end when I stop coming up with ways for them not to meet, and they're basically magnetised towards one another so it won't take too long.

Least Words: Putting It Together, TAH

Frank Doyle is a rich, bored bachelor. Sadie Knickerhouse affects to be made in the same mould, but really she's after his art collection. For anyone who thought Art Imitates Life needed its own spinoff series.

I've been surprised by these! I write in small fandoms generally but I didn't expect the Teen Wolf one to be as high up as it was. Anyway, watch this space. Tagging @gloriousclio, @clottedcreamfudge, @stutteringpeach and whoever else would like a crack!

#fic meme #my fic

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what-do-1000-swords-look-like · 2 years

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9-1-1: 6x02 thoughts

This was another great episode!

My heart is hurting for Athena and what she's about to go through; saying that, I don't think it's her dad at all, I think the killer might be the retired handyman (there's a reason they showed us the flirty energy between Athena and the current handyman as well as the discussion of what was to be done in the garage as well as the intro - props to the writers for following up on this important story line for this amazing character

I am beyond proud of Bobby; he stood up for Athena when she needed him to the most; I'm glad things worked out with Beatrice though

Poor Hen! God bless her for trying to juggle all of that! I'm sad that she failed but I'm glad that it's coming down to a choice she needs to make, I was terrified for her when she fell asleep at the wheel (I may or may have not been yelling at the screen 'Hen, open that window right now! Turn the radio on! Chew some gum! Pull over! NOT LIKE THAT!)

Love my girl Karen, she really is Hen's perfect partner - I CANNOT WAIT for Henren Begins

Denny is so cute btw - can't believe how much time has passed though and all of these kids are growing up

Loved the call center stuff with Maddie and Noah, it's nice to see her back in the swing of things and helping to train the newcomers

Chim! He knew before anyone (except maybe Karen) that Hen was taking on too much - I love these besties so much - I only wish she had listened to him

Buck with the convention emergency - can I just say that Oliver plays that role brilliantly? So much heart and incredible energy, I don't know how to explain it but no one could play Buck the way Oliver does, no one. My heart broke for Buck though as well as that guy. Makes me think back to Mitchell and Red: two emergencies and older men that Buck needed to learn from. "You don't find it, you make it" & learning not to let the job monopolize his life. Now he's trying to learn the secret to happiness, to "be at ease"

And sure enough, we have the locker room scene which I swear is like a play on the 4x06 breakfast scene and even more so for the 3x16 scene where Buck wants to go out to celebrate, but instead this time Eddie is asking straight out (with Chim) and Buck refuses as does Hen, I seriously love this writing team sometimes and what they do

And because I'm me, the scene with the popcorn (notice how it's Eddie, Chim, and Buck only having popcorn then dousing Hen with it, and also notice how Chim's color bowl is different to Eddie's and Buck's whose happens to be the same color together - this show makes choices)

Good stuff, all good stuff - can't wait to see the next episode

#911 fox #911 6x02 #911posts #911 thoughts #buddie mention #henren mention #bathena mention #thoughts

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catastrophic-crystal · 1 year

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Thoughts on the CBS Ghosts Christmas episode

I’ll be starting with what I liked because I’m getting real tired of seeing negativity on the CBS Ghosts tag all the time :’) First of all, I really loved Isaac’s backstory. Particularly how the other ghosts made him realise she forgave him after all. It was just really sweet ToT what I’d love to see if more of Beatrice--- did she know, was she herself queer, was it a sort of lavender marriage? I’d be interested to find out more! I also love the cricket nickname and hankerchief, I don’t know, she certainly loved him a whole lot and it made me very happy to see. I also found ghost posession 2 electric boogaloo very funny. The whole time I was just thinking “Rose McIver must be so used to this by now, playing Liv in iZombie and all!” And his reaction to opening his present oh my god!!! My boy. I love him so much. I honestly can’t remember what the other ghosts got (did we actually see them on screen? I forget) but I would love to see more gift-giving, it’s just really sweet. Watch me call this episode sweet another billion times lmao

Gonna put the dislikes under the keep reading because, as I said, way too much negativity in this tag.

Now, onto the dislikes. While I’m not super happy with Thorfinn’s sudden change of heart about Christmas, and I would have loved to see more diverse opinions about Christmas than just Sam’s “Christmas is the best time of year and the season for matchmaking”, there’s a major issue I have with it that I haven’t really seen people talk about: the portrayal of relationships. More specifically, Bela and Eric, and Isaac and Nigel (I will get to that one in a minute). With Bela and Eric, I really didn’t like that A) Sam kept trying to force a relationship between them, and what I hated even more was that it worked! God, can we not just have a straight male/female friendship without turning it into a romance? Please? Not to mention I didn’t like that Bela was clearly taking advantage of Eric’s kindness. Now with Nigel and Isaac. When they were about to kiss under the mistletoe, Nigel’s response really rubbed me the wrong way. If your partner does not want to kiss you, you communicate with them about why that is, and come to an agreement, you don’t just break up with them without warning! And Jesus Christ, the other ghosts’ responses to Isaac--- sex isn’t the “be all and end all” of relationships, and yet their response to Isaac telling them they hadn’t kissed was to make it seem like the relationship was destined to fail because of it. Goddam allonormativity. That’s probably a made up word but I’m using it anyway. Trevor and Hetty was unecessary but they probably would make a good pair, we’ll find out I suppose.

Anyway! Thanks for reading, feel free to reblog and leave comments (just be nice about it!)

#cbs ghosts #cat rambles #cbs ghosts isaac #isaac higgintoot #cbs ghosts thorfinn #thorfinn

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doyouknowhowtowaltz · 2 years

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What do you think about original OTGW series? I personally like plot in general, characters and setting, but jeez, like 40% of the show is mindless nonsense filler for me

Please do come back and tell me which parts specifically you find to be filler, I'm curious to hear which episodes/parts specifically they are.

As for my thoughts, (on only the show, don't get me started on the comics) I think the show's a pretty good balance of levity and darker tones, there are two episodes I'm not a huge fan of, though I generally think that OTGW gets away with maintaining a pretty dark tone by having moments of silliness and joy to counter dawning horror. I can, however, break down my thoughts episode by episode.

Old Grist Mill: This episode is a solid opener, it introduces our characters, sets the tone for the series and brings us into this world where Wirt and Greg are as lost as we are. The core traits of Wirt, Greg, and the Woodsman are all shown, Wirt is an awkward older brother, Greg's a little kid, and the Woodsman is odd, attached to his lantern, but well-meaning.

Hard Times at the Husking Bee: The perfect episode. I think I've been pretty transparent that this episode is my favorite, and I have thoughts a laundry list long but I'll try to trim it down. This episode is probably the best example of that tightrope between levity and creepiness that OTGW walks, it is in turn, creepy and delightful, ("Murder? Oh, no, chuckle, not that. But for those other crimes," sums it up really well). It alternates between lighthearted with the opening of the episode, to much more sinister in the barn scene, to more relaxed as they work off their sentence, to the momentary terror of "We're digging our own graves.", to the releif of the skeletons coming to life, but you're left with the aftertaste of the realization, this is an afterlife. Yeah, I could talk about this episode for longer, but I'll cut it short.

School Town Follies: Ok, this one... I only have real issues with two of the episodes of OTGW, and this one's probably the main one. For one, this episode feels the least narratively cohesive with the rest of the show, not just in tone, but also the way it gets told. In every other episode a problem is introduced at the beginning of the episode that gets solved/semi-resolved by the end of the episode, but not this one. Most of the episodes also have their own climatic incident, and unfortunately, the gorilla attack doesn't really have the same narrative weight as say, Wirt riding out of the dark lantern to save Beatrice or "Maybe you're digging your own graves!". However, I will give this episode credit, it build's Wirt and Beatrice's relationship, and shows Beatrice Wirt's not just a pushover, and characterization wise, this episode's so important to their relationship, being that its the Start of Beatrice getting attached to the boys.

Songs of the Dark Lantern: I think one of the biggest strengths of the Beast as a villain is that despite not making many appearances, he still presides over the story, he's woven into everything even when he's not there, and it gives you the impression he's really something to be feared. (Maybe that's why I have such an issue with School Town Follies, since there's no reminder of our series' main antagonist) This episode is emblematic of that, this is the first time anyone but the woodsman speaks of the beast and it gives suddenly makes him not just the ramblings of a weird old man, but a force to be feared, and this coupled with the singing in the woods helps to really drive home that there really is a monster in the woods. This episode is also really strong for Wirt, at this point we don't know about Sara yet, but the show gives us little hints with the Lover's Song, not to mention we find out why Wirt resents his little brother so much. This episode is a lot of exposition, with just a little action at the end and another confrontation with the woodsman, but its very well balanced and woven into the story.

Mad Love: This is an excellent episode, its easy to be distracted by the Tea barons and Fred, but the scene in the closet with Wirt and Beatrice is the crowning achievement of this episode. Not only do we get a look into Wirt's character, what motivates him, what he's really like, and it turns out, he's just some guy, just a teenager with teenage problems. We also learn that Beatrice used to be human (Though there were hints earlier) and what motivates her. This scene is vital because it's the strongest bonding moment between Beatrice and Wirt, and Beatrice, just like the audience (who already had some clue) realizes Wirt's just some guy, sweet, well meaning and awkward, and some guy. And its hard to send a guy to his maybe-death when you start to see him as a person rather than a way out.

Lullaby In Frog Land: I know I've mostly just been saying these episodes are great, but this is a great episode. I've seen this episode get written off as filler before but I'm going to strongly disagree. The first half of this episode set on the Ferry sets a good tone. It's also, one of the last truly lighthearted segments before the show takes a turn to the dark(er). Wirt and Greg (but mostly Wirt) are finally somewhere semi-safe, home is within their grasp, and they can relax, goof off, because the threat of the beast/being lost has receded. Beatrice is not feeling so sunny, she feels guilty, worried, because despite her best efforts, she's gotten attached to the boys, and she doesn't feel great about handing them off to Adelaide, the show even shows her trying to talk Wirt out of it, and I think that contrast between Wirt's cheer and Beatrice's guilt is an excellent set up for Adelaide. Jason Funderberker (Frog)'s song is one of the best in the series and adds to the dreamlike quality of the Unknown.

And then, in the same episode, Adelaide. Beatrice's line about thinking she just wanted kids to do yardwork is one of my favorites in the show, because it mirror's the woodsman's "I didn't know!" about edelwood. If Beatrice really thought that was all Adelaide wanted, she wouldn't feel so guilty, she wouldn't go to call off the deal before Wirt and Greg could get there, but she's been willfully ignoring that, trying to justify it to herself, and we know why now too, because Beatrice needs the scissors to make her family human, and it was so much easier when she didn't really know the boys, they were just some mark to con, but she can't ignore it any further. Beatrice's betrayal is also what makes Wirt start his slide into melancholy which makes him an easy target for the Beast in the coming episodes, honestly, yeah, just a great episode.

The Ringing of the Bell: Alright I'll come out and say it, I'm biased towards this episode. This episode definitely doesn't have the same narrative weight as its 3 predecessors, but I like it anyway. Lorna has so much potential and I could talk about her for hours, but I think the main draw of this episode is the way it parallels episode one. To cut a long comparison short, the boys are lost, the monster they meet in the first episode turns out to be a harmless dog, the kindly(?) woodsman eventually turns out to be someone they fear, and in this episode, the boys are lost, Wirt tries to be a leader and ignore the fact Beatrice just betrayed them, they meet a young woman who seems harmless and her terrifying Auntie, who in turn turn out to be a cannibal and her well meaning care taker. But the end of this episode is its strong point, with their narrow escape and Beatrice's betrayal, Wirt has started to give up hope (The very thing that the woodsman warned him not to do) in a very realistic way for a teenager. In the end , the woodsman's attempt to save the boys, the way he, like Beatrice is no longer able to ignore the cost of keeping his "daughter"'s soul lit pushes us closer to our inevitable climax. And really, the reminder of our main antagnonist speaks for itself:

"There is only me, there is only my way, there is only the forest, and there is only surrender"

Babes in the Wood: I don't like this episode. Actually, I'll amend that, I don't like the cloud city portion.

The opening of this episode has what I think is one of the best depictions of mealoncholy I've ever seen in an animated show. Wirt's withdrawn nature, he's clearly wrapped up in his own head, tired of Greg and the forest and the reminder of anything else. Wirt lashes out and though I havent mentioned Greg much this is a good episode for his characterization. Greg reacts like a young child, he's not unaffected by Wirt, but he doesnt react the way another teenager might.

And then... Cloud City, look, I understand why this section is here, its the last truly lighthearted section in the show, but I personally have never been a fan of it, so I'm going to breeze past most of it and talk about the one part I actually like, Greg's wish. Greg's wish is another one of my favorite peices of the show because even if we don't know exactly what he wished for, we can get the gist of it, but moreso its what he doesn't wish for that impresses me. Throughout the show, Greg wishes for a magic tiger, or to become a magic tiger, thats one of the thing he asks Beatrice for when she says she owes him a favor, thats what he tries to command Lorna to turn into when he has the bell, he brings it up a lot, but when he finally gets given the opportunity for a magic wish, he uses it selflessly, like a proper leader. It's very sweet.

The end of this episode is also great (I really don't give this episode enough credit I guess) with Greg walking off with the Beast in the first time one of our protagonists interacts with him, Greg selflessly sacrifices himself and allows Wirt to go on and Wirt wakes up, and actually acts like the brother he should be running after Greg before falling into the lake.

Into the Unknown: Arguably the best episode narrative wise, we finally are given the context for our story, and it makes everything else fall into place, why Wirt treats Greg the way he does, why Wirt is the way he is (Spoiler, its because he's a teenager, and teenagers are like that) we are introduced to Sara, and the episode balances its internal emotional stakes with the rest of the show, not serving to lower or distract from what's at stake in the unknown, but instead expanding on it clarifying, solidifying our reason we want Wirt to make it back home.

The Unknown: What do I say about this episode that hasn't been said before, it nails every plot beat. From Beatrice caring for Wirt enough to entrust him to her family to "I was never any good to him alive", to Wirt's love, his apologies to Greg, to Wirt standing before the Beast, his voice cracking, but not cowering.

I know the potential for Wirt to blow out the lantern is immense, but within the show itself, I like it better that the Woodsman blows out the lantern. In OTGW, everyone's got a torch to burn, their own personal burden/goal. Beatrice's is her family, Greg's is the rock he stole, the Woodsman's is the lantern/his grief, and Wirt's, its his teenage love yes , but here, where there's no one else to look after him, Wirt's is Greg. They have their own burdens to bear, to look after, and they have to make sacrifices, to decide whether hurting other people is worth their goal. The Lantern is the Woodsman's burden, his to repent for, his to extinguish, so Wirt leaves it to him and Wirt takes on his own responsibility, taking care of Greg.

Lantern scene aside, this episode's simply good, that's all there is too it.

Its a good show, it has some issues, but pacing wise at least? I think it does pretty well.

#otgw #over the garden wall #wirt #the woodsman #beatrice otgw #i’m not sure I would call any of this filler though

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