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popculty · 4 years ago

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52 Films by Women: 2020 Edition

Another annual challenge complete!

Last year, I focused on diversifying my list. This year I kept that intention but focused on watching more non-American films and films from the 20th century. Specifically, I sought out Agnès Varda’s entire filmography, after her death in 2019. (I was not disappointed - What a filmmaking legend we lost.)

I also kept a film log for the first time and have included some of my thoughts on several films from that log. I made a point of including reviews both positive and negative, because I think it’s important to acknowledge the variability and breadth of the canon, so as not to put every film directed by a woman on a pedestal. (Although movies directed by women must clear a much higher bar to be greenlit, meaning generally higher quality...But that’s an essay for another day :)

* = directed by a woman of color

bold = fave

1. The Rhythm Section (2020) dir. Reed Morano - Not as good as it could have been, given Morano’s proven skill behind the camera, but also not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be. And unbelievably refreshing to see a female revenge story not driven by sexual assault or the loss of a husband/child.

2. Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) dir. Agnès Varda - If you ever wanted to take a real-time tour of Paris circa 1960, this is the film for you.

3. Little Women (2019) dir. Greta Gerwig - Still my favorite Little Women adaptation. I will re-watch it every year and cry.

4. Varda by Agnès (2019) dir. Agnès Varda & Didier Rouget

5. Booksmart (2019) dir. Olivia Wilde - An instant classic high school comedy romp that subverts all the gross tropes of its 1980s predecessors.

6. Girls of the Sun (2018) dir. Eva Husson

7. Blue My Mind (2017) dir. Lisa Brühlmann

8. Portrait of a Lady On Fire (2019) dir. Céline Sciamma - Believe the hype. This film is a master thesis on the female gaze, and also just really effing gorgeous.

9. Belle Epine (2010) dir. Rebecca Zlotowski

10. Vamps (2012) dir. Amy Heckerling - With Krysten Ritter and Alicia Silverstone as modern-day vampires, I was so ready for this movie. But it feels like a bad stage play or a sit-com that’s missing a laugh-track. Bummer.

11. *Birds of Prey (2020) dir. Cathy Yan - Where has this movie been all our lives?? Skip the next onslaught of Snyder-verse grim-darkery and give me two more of these STAT!

12. She’s Missing (2019) dir. Alexandra McGuinness

13. The Mustang (2019) dir. Laure de Clermont-Tonnere - Trigger warning for the “protagonist” repeatedly punching a horse in the chest. I noped right out of there.

14. Monster (2003) dir. Patty Jenkins – I first watched this movie when I was probably too young and haven’t revisited it since. The rape scene traumatized me as a kid, but as an adult I appreciate how that trauma is not the center of the movie, or even of Aileen’s life. Everyone still talks about how Charlize “went ugly” for this role, but the biggest transformation here isn’t aesthetic, it’s physical – the way Theron replicates Wuernos’ mannerisms, way of speaking, and physicality. That’s why she won the Oscar. I also love that Jenkins calls the film “Monster” (which everyone labels Aileen), but then actually uses it to tell the story of how she fell in love with a woman when she was at her lowest, and that saved her. That’s kind of beautiful, and I’m glad I re-watched it so that I could see the story in that light, instead of the general memory I had of it being a good, feel-bad movie. It’s so much more than that.

15. Water Lilies (2007) dir. Céline Sciamma – Sciamma’s screenwriting and directorial debut, the first in her trilogy on youth, is as painfully beautiful as its sequels (Tomboy and Girlhood). It’s also one of the rare films that explores the overlap of queerness and girl friendships.

16. The Trouble with Angels (1966) dir. Ida Lupino – Movies about shenanigan-based female friendships are such rare delights. Rosalind Russel is divine as Mother Superior, and Hayley Mills as “scathingly brilliant” as the pranks she plays on her. Ida Lupino’s skill as an editor only enhances her directing, providing some truly iconic visual gags to complement dialogue snappy enough for Gilmore Girls.

17. Vagabond (1985) dir. Agnès Varda – Shot with a haunting realism, this film has no qualms about its heroine’s inevitable, unceremonious death, which it opens with, matter-of-factly, before retracing her final (literal) steps to the road-side ditch she ends up in. (I’m partly convinced said heroine was the inspiration for Sarah Manning in Orphan Black.)

18. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (1977) dir. Agnès Varda – Probably my favorite classic Varda, this film feels incredibly personal. It’s essentially a love story about two best friends with very different lives. For an indie made in the ‘70s, the diversity, scope, and themes of the film are impressive. Even if the second half a drags a bit, the first half is absolute perfection, engaging the viewer immediately, and clipping along, sprinkling in some great original songs that were way progressive for their time (about abortion, female bodily autonomy, etc) and could still be considered “bangers” today.

19. Emma (2020) dir. Autumn de Wilde

20. Black Panthers (1969) dir. Agnès Varda

21. Into the Forest (2016) dir. Patricia Rozema - When the world was ending (i.e. the pandemic hit) this was the first movie I turned to - a quiet, meditative story of two sisters (Elliot Page and Evan Rachel Wood) surviving off the land after a sudden global blackout. Four years later, it’s still one of my favorite book-to-screen adaptations. I fondly remember speaking with director Patricia Rozema at the 2016 Chicago Critics Film Festival after a screening, her love for the source material and desire to “get it right” so apparent. I assured her then, and reaffirm now, that she really did.

22. City of Trees (2019) dir. Alexandra Swarens

23. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) dir. Eliza Hittmann - To call this a harrowing and deeply personal journey of a sixteen-year-old who must cross state lines to get an abortion would be accurate, but incomplete. It is a story so much bigger than that, about the myriad ways women’s bodies and boundaries are constantly violated.

24. Paradise Hills (2019) dir. Alice Waddington

25. *Eve’s Bayou (1996) dir. Kasi Lemmons – I’ve been meaning to watch Kasi Lemmons’ directorial debut for many years now, and I’m so glad I finally have, because it fully deserves its icon status, beyond being one of the first major films directed by a black woman. Baby Jurnee Smollett's talent was immediately recognizable, and she has reminded us of it in Birds of Prey and Lovecraft Country this year. If merit was genuinely a factor for Oscar contenders, she would have taken home gold at eleven years old. Beasts of the Southern Wild has been one of my all-time favorites, but now I realize that most of my appreciation for that movie actually goes to Lemmons for blazing the trail with her story of a young black girl from the bayou first. It’s also a surprisingly dark story about memory and abuse and familial relationships that cross lines - really gutsy and surprising themes, especially for the ‘90s.

26. Blow the Man Down (2019) dir. Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy - Come and get your sea shanty fix!

27. Touchy Feely (2013) dir. Lynn Shelton - R.I.P. :(

28. Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020) dir. Madeleine Parry - If you thought Gadsby couldn’t follow up 2018′s sensational Nanette with a comedy special just as sharp and hilarious, you would have been sorely mistaken.

29. Girlhood (2013) dir. Céline Sciamma

30. Breathe (2014) dir. Mélanie Laurent

31. *A Dry White Season (1989) dir. Euzhan Palcy

32. Laggies (2014) dir. Lynn Shelton

33. *The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood – Everything I’ve ever wanted in an action movie: Immortal gays, Charlize Theron wielding a labrys (battle axe), kinetic fight choreography I haven’t seen since the last Bond movie…Watched it twice, then devoured the comics it was adapted from, and I gotta say: in the hands of black women, it eclipses the source material. Cannot wait for the just-announced sequel.

34. Morvern Callar (2002) dir. Lynn Ramsay

35. Shirley (2020) dir. Josephine Decker

36. *Radioactive (2019) dir. Marjane Satrapi – The story is obviously well worth telling and the narrative structure – weaving in the future consequences of Curie’s discoveries – is clever, but a bit awkwardly executed and overly manipulative. There are glimpses of real brilliance throughout, but it feels as if the director’s vision was not fully realized, to my great disappointment. Nonetheless, I appreciated seeing Marie Curie's story being told by a female director and embodied by the always wonderful Rosamund Pike.

37. *The Half of It (2020) dir. Alice Wu - I feel like a real scrooge for saying this, but this movie did nothing for me. Nothing about it felt fresh, authentic or relatable. A real disappointment from the filmmaker behind the wlw classic Saving Face.

38. Mouthpiece (2018) dir. Patricia Rozema - I am absolutely floored. One of those films that makes you fall in love with the art form all over again. Patricia Rozema continues to prove herself one of the most creatively ambitious and insightful directors of our time, with this melancholic meditation on maternal grief and a woman’s duality.

39. Summerland (2020) dir. Jessica Swale - The rare period wlw love story that is not a) all-white or b) tragedy porn. Just lovely.

40. *The Last Thing He Wanted (2020) dir. Dee Rees – As rumored, a mess. Even by the end, I still couldn’t tell you who any of the characters are. Dee, we know you’re so much better than this! (see: Mudbound, Pariah)

41. *Cuties (2020) dir. Maïmouna Doucouré – I watched this film to 1) support a black woman director who has been getting death threats for her work and 2) see what all the fuss is about. While I do think there were possibly some directorial choices that could have saved quite a bit of the pearl-clutching, overall, I didn’t find it overly-exploitative or gross, as many (who obviously haven’t actually watched the film) have labeled it. It certainly does give me pause, though, and makes me wonder whether children can ever be put in front of a camera without it exploiting or causing harm to them in some way. It also makes one consider the blurry line between being a critique versus being an example. File this one under complicated, for sure.

42. A Call to Spy (2019) Lydia Dean Pilcher – An incredible true story of female spies during WWII that perfectly satisfied my itch for British period drama/spy thriller and taught me so much herstory I didn’t know.

43. Kajillionaire (2020) dir. Miranda July - I was lucky enough to attend the (virtual) premiere of this film, followed by an insightful cast/director Q&A, which only made me appreciate it more. July's offbeat dark comedy about a family of con artists is queerer and more heartfelt than it has any right to be, and a needed reprieve in a year of almost entirely white wlw stories. The family's shenanigans are the hook, but it's the budding relationship between Old Dolio (an almost unrecognizable Evan Rachel Wood) and aspiring grifter Melanie (the luminous Gina Rodriguez) that is the heart of the story.

44. Misbehaviour (2020) dir. Philippa Lowthorpe – Again, teaching me herstory I didn’t know, about how the Women’s Liberation Movement stormed the 1970 Miss World Pageant. Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s characters have a conversation in a bathroom at the end of the film that perfectly eviscerates well-meaning yet ignorant white feminism, without ever pitting women against each other - a feat I didn’t think was possible. I also didn’t think it was possible to critique the male gaze without showing it (*ahem Cuties, Bombshell, etc*), but this again, invents a way to do it. Bless women directors.

45. *All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) dir. Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortes – 2020’s 13th. Thank god for Stacey Abrams, that is all.

46. *The 40-Year-Old Version (2020) dir. Radha Blank – This scene right here? I felt that in my soul. This whole film is so good and funny and heartfelt and relatable to any artist trying to walk that tightrope of “making it” while not selling their soul to make it. My only initial semi-note was that it’s a little long, but after hearing Radha Blank talk about how she fought for the two-hour run-time as a way of reclaiming space for older black women, I take it back. She’s right: Let black women take up space. Let her movie be as long as she wants it to be. GOOD FOR HER.

47. Happiest Season (2020) dir. Clea Duvall - Hoooo boy. What was marketed as the first lesbian Christmas rom-com is actually a horror movie for anyone who’s ever had to come out. Throw in casual racism and a toxic relationship treated as otp, and it’s YIKES on so many levels. Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, and an autistic-coded Jane are the only (underused) highlights.

48. *Monkey Beach (2020) dir. Loretta Todd

49. *Little Chief (2020) dir. Erica Tremblay – A short film part of the 2020 Red Nation Film Festival, it’s a perfect eleven minutes that I wish had gone on longer, if only to bask in Lily Gladstone in a leading role.

50. First Cow (2019) dir. Kelly Reichardt – I know Kelly Reichardt’s style, so I’ll admit-- even as I was preparing for an excellent film, I was also reaching for my phone, planning on only half paying attention during all the inevitable 30-second shots of grass blowing in the wind. (And yes, there are plenty of those.) But twenty minutes in, my phone was set aside and forgotten, as I am getting sucked into this beautiful story about two frontiersman trying to live their best domestic life.There is only one word to describe this film and that is: PURE. I’ve never seen such a tender platonic relationship between men on screen before, and it’s not lost on me that it took a woman to show us that tenderness. Reichardt gives us two men brought together by fate, and kept together by a shared dream and the simple pleasure of not being alone in such a hard world; two men who spend their days cooking, trapping, baking, and dreaming of a better life; two men who don’t say much, but feel everything for each other. The world would be a much better place if men showed us this kind of vulnerability and friendship toward each other. Oh, and it’s also a brutal take-down of capitalism and the myth of the American Dream!

51. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) dir. Patty Jenkins - My most-anticipated film for the past two years was...well, a mixed bag, to say the least. Too many thoughts on it for a blog post, so stay tuned for the upcoming podcast ep where we go all in ;)

52. *Selah and the Spades (2019) dir. Tayarisha Poe

I hope this gives you some ideas to kick off your new year with a resolution to support more female directors!

What were your favorite women-directed movies of last year? Let me know in the tags, comments, or asks!

#finally finished this #52 films by women #2020 #writing #movies #movie reviews #orig

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blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk · 4 years ago

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How do you think things would be different if o!ciel was the one who got sacrificed instead of r!ciel? Like a reversal au.

OOF this is very thought-provoking!! I like the concept!

if you ever have any requests for how any specific arc or anything might change, feel free to send them!

also, I know there are a bunch of different fanon names for r!Ciel, I chose Astre as the one I’ll use until further notice!

ASTRE

The contract with Sebastian would still exist, albeit it would be between Astre and Sebastian rather than Ciel and Sebastian, and it would be for similar reasons ― Astre called out for someone, anyone, to help him, and Sebastian manifested. Astre’s contract mark is on his eye, but it’s on the opposite eye of Ciel’s mark.

Astre’s motivations and Sebastian’s end of the contract are different than Ciel’s. Astre doesn’t want simple revenge. He wants his family back. Until Sebastian and Astre find a way to resurrect Ciel, Vincent, and Rachel in exchange for Astre’s soul, Sebastian is stuck playing butler. However, it probably seems worth it to Sebastian. Astre’s soul is easily more tormented and delectable than Ciel’s would have been thanks to Astre’s personality… which, considering how exquisite Ciel’s soul would have been to a demon, is saying something.

As warm as Astre is to his family, he finds it hard to connect with other people. Though he would have taken in Bard, Mey Rin, and Finny for their skills, he wouldn’t have the bond with them that Ciel has. This would make them more likely to not go on the offensive as a first resort, talking to anyone who might come to the manor while their master is away instead of immediately attacking. Such a curiosity about other people would mean they were reluctant to kill unless it was absolutely necessary, and they may not have, for example, killed the circus troupe.

Astre can be more cunning, manipulative, and cutthroat than Ciel. While his first instinct isn’t violence, he often jumps to means that others would consider cruel or last-resort very quickly. He also tends to solve the Queen’s cases faster, with pinpoint accuracy, and rights things by outsmarting whoever his opponent is ― setting things up to all but ensure that his foe will be their own undoing. He always was better at chess than his little brother.

The one person Astre wouldn’t have taken in would be Snake. When the half-serpent came looking for his family and was led to Astre, what happens next is devastating. Astre would tell him point-blank what happened to the other circus members, whether they were actually killed or whether they were forced to flee London because of the entire situation. He would be almost proud of his own involvement in it, and would order Sebastian to get rid of Snake so he wouldn’t be able to say a word. Astre’s work is still secret, after all. But somehow Snake would get free… and now Astre Phantomhive has a new enemy.

Astre works more frequently with Undertaker; as an expert on death and, as he finds out later, a Grim Reaper, Astre believes that Undertaker is the key to bringing his family back from the dead. Because Undertaker’s own agenda involves the revival of Ciel, he’s only too happy to give and gain information. He might not even demand a joke as payment if he might be able to send Astre on errands for him. He also entrusts his mourning locket for Claudia to Astre sooner than he did to Ciel.

Astre’s relationship with Sebastian is far less strained than Ciel’s was. For some reason, Astre simply doesn’t harbor the animosity toward Sebastian that his twin did. He regards the demon with a kind of cold professionalism, and furthermore, respect. He doesn’t feel the need to exchange barbs with Sebastian, which might make their relationship appear to lack depth. The truth is, it does lack depth. Astre doesn’t fear Sebastian in the slightest, and despite his respect, holds no real type of affection for him. Sebastian will serve him happily, but the two of them are rather indifferent toward one another.

If you thought Edward didn’t like Ciel, wait till you see how he responds to Astre. The two of them can hardly be in the same room at the same time.

It’s entirely possible Bravat would have shown up earlier. As someone who’s at least connected to Undertaker in that he’s collecting blood for transfusions to be used to keep Ciel alive once the Bizarre Dolls evolve far enough, the potential that Astre would meet him sooner than Ciel did isn’t that far-fetched.

#Black Butler #Kuroshitsuji #Astre #real Ciel #headcanons #general #drama #suspense #AU #Ciel reversal AU #heck I liked thinking about this!!#queued

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nomimits7 · 5 years ago

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Undecided Chapter 7

Title: Undecided Pt 7

Genre: Investigation, murder, masked behaviour.

Warnings: murder, psychotic behaviour, might be triggering. Description of a panic attack! In this part, there’s a lot of switching between scenes. I am sorry if it confuses you, but it's necessary!

Members: detective OT7 x Forensic scientist Reader

Note: Phrases are just add-ins to help with the storyline… If they confuse you, feel free to ask!

Summary: Moving overseas for a once in a lifetime job offer was one of the scariest things Y/N ever did. That was until she got stuck in a twisted investigation of random murders, all with one link but no leads. Closing in on the culprit(s) Y/N doesn’t realize the danger she’s getting into. With no family or friends, can Y/N dare to trust those seven closest to her with her life?

A/N: Enjoy!!

Chapter 6

•♡•

Manipulation: The skillful handling, controlling or using something or someone

•♡•

you did what you had to do to keep your parents safe.

“I do believe you owe us an explanation Y/N,” Jimin said as all seven boys stared at the phone. You knew there was no point in lying to them, besides its not like there’s anything they can do.

“I- You might want to sit down for this,” You said as you lowered your gaze o your hands.

Taehyung, Jimin, Jungkook, and Jin all took their previous seats as Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi all turned to you. You took a deep breath in an effort to try and calm your nerves. Slowly lifting your gaze to stare at something other than the seven pairs of eyes that were currently focussed on you.

“I was eighteen years old when I met a boy with the name Norman. He was part of my second year Genetics class. He was really nice to me and he had everything a girl wants. You know, a kind smile, bright eyes, and a very safe atmosphere. For some or other reason he took a liking to me and that made me blind to what he really was.

We started dating around two months in and it was going great. We did everything together and that only made me fall even deeper in love with him. Norman even made an effort to get to know Lusai and soon Lusai became his little brother. Sometimes, Norman even canceled plans with me to hang around Lusai. But I never really cared because Lusai was my best friend and I trusted him.

See I was never the relationship type because boys just never saw me that way, so I didn’t know how things are supposed to go so I missed the red flag that went up every time Norman canceled on me to ‘be with Lusai’. It never even crossed my mind to ask him what they did or why he always chose Lusai over me.” You began as seven emotionless faces stared at you.

“Okay, I’m guessing this Norman guy has something to do with whatever the hell is going on here?” Yoongi said. Nodding you lifted your gaze to the ceiling as you try to recall as much detail as possible.

“So that’s how things went for three months more before he changed. He became even more distant. Instead of just canceling he just didn’t bother to even show up. I grew tired of his games, so I decided to go to Lusai to see what they were up to. I can tell you this, I was not prepared to walk into a scene straight out of a porno. There were drugs on the kitchen counter, some still on the scale, there were about seven naked people scattered across the house. And guess where I found Lusai and Norman… Both men were in the master bedroom still busy unloading into some unknown chicks’ mouth and other places, I’m not really sure exactly who was connected were, I left to fast.

Lusai was the one who followed me, but I was long gone when he exited the house. Norman even had the audacity to call me that evening. He said he would kill my parents if I were to go to the police. Of course, I didn’t listen and two days after I alerted authorities, my par-“You said as your lower lip started to tremble, but before you could end your sentence Taehyungs phone rang again.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry Y/N,” Taehyung said as he took out his phone.

“Kim?”

The entire room was a mix of emotions. No one really knew how to feel about what you were telling them. One thing was for certain, that phone call was the last thing anyone wanted.

•♡•

The human body has a few steps in the decomposition process. Death itself is fairly unknown. In general, the human body starts decomposing +/- 4 minutes after death. 24-72 hours after death the internal organs will decompose. 3-5 days after death the body will begin to swell due to gas being released from the internal bacteria. Blood will also leak from the mouth and nose. 8-10 days after death the body turns from a green color to red as the blood decomposes.

In theory, death sounds like something anyone can handle, but what the books fail to mention is the other factors that accompany death itself. The smell for one is indescribable. Many have tried to describe it, saying it smells like a heap of dead rats or some rubbish mixed with feces, but these descriptions fail to prepare anyone for the real-life smell of death.

The best way to describe the smell would be to compare it with vomit mixed with sour milk that has a dash of feces for effect, that was left out in the sun in a sealed container for a month. In short, you and almost all the boys had to take a moment before you could enter the scene you were called to.

Besides the smell from hell and the condition the body was in, the scene was fairly clean. Well, as clean as a hotel basement can be. The grandest hotel in the city, besides the one where you were staying in, to be exact. The most important question would be, how could the victim not have been found for so long? Hell, he must have been down there for a good couple of days.

The victim's identity and cause of death couldn’t be determined from what was left of him. That the victim was male was the only clue you had to who this human was. After poor Seokjin and Namjoon left with the body to start the examination of the victim, the rest of you got to work.

For some or other odd reasons, the conversation Hoseok and Jungkook had kept replaying in the back of your head. What did they mean by Seokjin’s scene and Namjoon’s scene? They couldn’t possibly be referring to this, could they?

As these questions went through your mind Taehyung came up to you.

“Y/N, we’re leaving in 20 minutes. When we get back, I want to hear the rest of that story, we all do. We want to help you and your parents, but we need the whole truth. The case can wait, family’s more important.” He said as his concerned eyes made contact with your wide ones. Nodding you made quick work on packing all the evidence and securing the boxes.

This conversation isn’t going to end well if they are who you suspect they are.

•♡•

Arriving back at the office, you all encountered a very pale Namjoon standing bend over the trash can with an even worse looking Seokjin coming from the bathroom. Being in the line of work they were, you were surprised, to say the least, that is until you look through the viewing glass into the autopsy room.

There on the table as expected was the newest victim to the case, cleaned and already cut open. But instead of decomposed organs, the victim's insides were filled with holes. The entire oesophagus and stomach had holes the size of golf balls in them. What made matters worse was the fact that the organs hadn’t decomposed normally like the rest of the organs. A crumbly white, waxy unknown substance was visible on the inside of the stomach.

“Are you guys okay?” Jungkook asked concerned.

“In all my years of doing autopsies, I have never encountered anything like this. We’re fine it’s just been a while since I’ve worked with someone so decomposed as this. Just, just give us another minute or two. Can one of you just make the AC colder to stop the decomposition? And up the vacuum for the smell? Please” Seokjin said as he took another look at the victim.

“What the actual fuck. This dude’s intestines look like cheese” Jimin said in disgust.

“So, I’m never eating cheese again. Thank you Jimin” You said turning around, making a b-line for the briefing room. The rest soon followed as a few more cheese comments were made, making your decision final to stay away from it for life.

“Okay, all cheesy business aside. What the hell happened to that man on your table?” Taehyung asked turning to Seokjin the moment he entered the room.

“Well, from what I know medically, those holes were probably made by some type of acid. But that’s as far as we got before we had to be excused. The smell is worse than I remember” Seokjin said as he and Namjoon took their designated seats.

“Okay, that doesn’t really help. Anyway Y/N, we need the rest of your story so we can solve one problem before we deal with the next.” Taehyung said as he sat down.

“Hang on. Why are you so anxious to hear the rest of my story? Besides I’ve got a few questions of my own for you.” You have no idea where this sudden burst of confidence came from or why you thought confronting them with your ridiculous imaginative story was a good idea, but the way the room suddenly went dead silent was a good indication that there would be no turning back now.

“Oh? Please do continue Y/N…” Namjoon’s cold voice came from across the room.

The coldness of his voice was the only warning you got to think before you continue, yet you decided to ignore it and continue with your own interrogation.

“Who killed Daniel?” You asked as you crossed your arms.

“What do you mean who killed Daniel? We’re still working on the case Y/N, we don’t know yet.” Yoongi said sitting forward in his seat.

“Who killed Daniel? Who killed Rachel? Mae-Mae? Yeri-lee? Linda? Mary-lee? And now the latest victim on that table? WHO KILLED WHO?” you ended up shouting.

Your little burst of courage did little to pull any reaction out of the boys. In fact, they just stared at you as if you were nothing but crazy.

“Y/N? Are you okay baby? You sound like you were accusing us of the murders we are trying to solve?” Jimin said smiling at you.

Shaking your head you refused to make eye contact with any of the boys. You know what your mind was telling you, even if your heart said the opposite. You KNOW the signs of a murderer.

“No, You guys have to be the killers. What else was Jungkook and Hoseok revering to when they said Namjoon’s scene was done before Jin’s scene?” you said as your voice became frantic. These words seem to catch their attention.

In one swift movement, your arms and legs are pinned down by two sets of arms as the rest of the boys surround you. Their eyes staring holes into your soul.

“Now, what evidence do you have exactly Y/N?” Hoseok asked as he took your chin in his hands, forcing you to look him straight in the eyes.

You see that was the problem. You have absolutely no idea where this sudden outburst of yours came from. You had no evidence, just suspicions and your gut was telling you, you were right. But without evidence, your case has no ground to stand on. So, instead of answering you decided to keep quiet.

“Y/N, don’t make me use my methods to get you to talk. I would hate for you to end up broken inside and out. Now, be a good girl and tell us what evidence you have to prove we committed these crimes” Hoseok continued as he tightened his hold on you.

“I- I don’t have any. I just know it was you!” You said as his grip tightened. You know for a fact that’s going to leave a bruise.

“Well, it seems like you have a problem then,” Seokjin said. All of the boys now having smirks on their faces as they gradually came closer to you.

•♡•

“LET GO OF ME~ AAAaahh” Opening your eyes, five very concerned boys were staring at you.

No, you were not in the briefing room pinned to the chair. No, you weren’t being tortured by the boys. No, you weren’t even at the office, you were in one of the SUVs. The car wasn’t moving but it also wasn’t in the hotel garage or at the scene.

“You successfully scared the living shit out of us Y/N,” Jungkook said from his position next to you, still holding his chest.

“Okay, clearly she’s just as confused as we are based on the ‘what the fuck just happened’ expression on her face,” Jimin said, a smile taking over.

All of the boys let out a light chuckle as they finally observed your facial expression. You were pale to the bone, as you stared in confusion at the boys in front of you. Did, did you just have another elicit dream? Was none of that actually real? What?

“So, Y/N. Are you going to let us in on the dream you had? It sounded terrifying” Taehyung asked as he turned to face you. You could only stare, not even registering that he has even spoken to you. Your mind was running at a mile a minute to try and figure out what is real and what is not.

“Y/N? Hey, are you okay?” Hoseok asked, concern filling his voice. His hands reaching out to touch you, successfully making you flinch back and stare at him as if he just killed a baby puppy.

This was enough for Taehyung to give orders to Yoongi to get you home so they can have a look at you. He knew something was off and he was determined to know what. Pulling out his phone he quickly sends a message to Namjoon. If anyone would know what to do, it would be him.

•♡•

Pulling up to the hotel, you made a b-line for the elevator. You felt unsafe, your body going into complete autopilot as you frantically pushed the button to the office floor.

The boys could only watch as the elevator doors closed behind you. Having no idea what to do they reluctantly took the next elevator and prepared for a battle they knew was due to happen.

In your haste to get away from danger, you failed to realize the extent of your little show. One, the boys were beyond concerned and would probably do anything to calm you down. Two, being alone with your own thoughts right now wasn’t the best of ideas. And three, what are you going to do once these doors open?

Your mind was a mess. You didn’t know what was real and what was not, and that alone was enough to heighten your anxiety. Everything became too much as the ‘dream’ kept playing on repeat in your mind. You backed away into the corner of the elevator. Hands shooting up to your hair as a fresh wave of tears made their way down your cheeks. Your breath was shallow, your hands were shaking. Slowly you slid down the wall and curled up into a protective ball on the floor.

•♡•

There was an uncertain silence as the elevator made its way to the office. None of the boys knew what to make of what they had just witnessed. Hell, none of them even knew when you fell asleep. But that wasn’t the important part. The important part was what you had said while you were dreaming.

“Who killed Daniel? Who killed Rachel? Mae-Mae? Yeri-lee? Linda? Mary-lee? And now the latest victim on that table? WHO KILLED WHO?”

That sentence alone sounded like an accusation more than an analysis. Where you really accusing them of these murders? What evidence did you have against them? Did they slip up somewhere? If so, where?

“What just happened?” Hoseok asked. Panic evident in his voice.

“I have no idea, but it seems like our little Y/N has found something off about the cases and that must have led up to her conclusion that we are to blame. She’s not wrong, but how did she figure it out so fast?” Taehyung answered.

“We already know her secret past. So, we have ammunition if things go wrong. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We can use this to get her on our side. You all saw those photos of Norman’s body, she could be a great allay. Even Namjoon said so.” Yoongi said from his corner in the confined space.

That seemed to relax everyone. They knew Yoongi was right. He’s always been calm and collected one out of them all. Besides, it was thanks to him that they all knew your secret in the first place. Poor Lusai never knew what hit him when Yoongi made the call. After a few words were exchanged between Lusai and Hoseok he sang like a canary. Yes, there was the problem with your parents being held hostage and all, but Yoongi had already taken care of that the very same day Lusai called you. Not that you needed to know that, not yet anyway.

All they had to do now was to calm you down. Namjoon had already told Taehyung over the phone that he would take care of you. Besides, the mind was something Namjoon was an expert in using.

A/N; Hope you liked it! I’m thinking of making the taglist permanent… thoughts?

Chapter 8

Also to the newcomers! If you want to be tagged just like this post! and make sure your blog is tag-able... Thank you for reading!!! Feel free to send me an ask if you have any theories/questions or if you just want to say hi!

Taglist: @loonyginger @hani-bun @sugashaye @alomarce @loisje123 @chim-possible @imfor-everdrivinginpuddles @exprimidordefresas @speakyourselfloveyourself @autumnboo126 @3amthoughtsvented @thetrxshbx @michiluvddr @purecelestialpower @ur-honey-child @dulce-whirlpool @moonlightnightingalesworld @loudfriendtacocookie @mysteriousanna @diorluvs @misseoulite @mina9235 @crajishie @undergroundqueens @hannahpostema @skay @mixerbeauty @adultingtomato @hauntedstatesmanmoneyknight @slutkoo @freeformdn @flowersinmypockets @kelwaters @cool-strawberry

#undecided nomimits #undecided #nomimits stuff #nomimits7 #ot7 x reader #bts x reader #bts #z investigators

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flightfoot · 6 years ago

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Apollo’s pretty terrible at reading people’s thoughts and emotions at first, but becomes an expert at it over the course of the books, once he starts dropping his facades

Apollo is only this good at reading people when he actually tries. At first, he often didn’t put in the effort, and just fooled himself into thinking that they were thinking or feeling what he wanted them to be thinking or feeling.

When Apollo meets Meg, he actually thinks about his own people-reading skills.

My highly advanced people-reading skills told me she [Meg] was hiding something, but that was not unusual for demigods. For children blessed with an immortal parent, they were strangely sensitive about their backgrounds. (THO 20-21).

Apollo wants to believe that having a god as a parent is a great blessing, so he doesn’t really choose to think about what kind of life a lot of these demigods lead, what with often being raised by a single parent, getting kicked out of schools, and being hunted by monsters constantly. He doesn’t care to know, so he doesn’t dig and figure it out.

He also misremembers how much he’s helped Percy.

“But Percy Jackson has always been reliable. You have nothing to fear. Besides, he likes me. I taught him everything he knows.” (24)

He’s only really interacted with Percy four times: when picking up the Hunters in Titan’s curse; when disguised as Fred the Hobo; sort of when he made Rachel the Oracle of Delphi; and when he sent Percy to retrieve his wayward Celadon in Singer of Apollo. And Percy was NOT happy with Apollo after Singer of Apollo. But Apollo wants to be partly responsible for Percy’s successes and he wants everyone to like him, so that’s what he remembers.

Speaking of Singer of Apollo, that short story really shows how little he used to listen to others, and how easily he could be fooled into believing that they are thinking and feeling things that are favorable to him.

“we’re kind of off duty, Lord Apollo. It’s Grover’s birthday.”

“Happy birthday!” Apollo said. “I’m so glad you’re taking the day off. That means you two have time to help me with a small problem!”

He’s not really listening to what Percy has to say here. He’s twisting Percy’s words to mean what he WANTS them to mean, and it’s not like Percy can really refuse him, for fear of incineration.

When Percy and Grover get back from retrieving the rogue Celadon, Apollo offers a reward, which Percy declines:

“Well, good job you two! As your reward, you’re invited to watch me perform on Mount Olympus.”

Grover and I glanced at each other. Insulting a god was dangerous, but the last thing I wanted was to hear more music.

“We aren’t worthy,” I lied. “We’d love to, really, but you know, we’d probably explode or something if we heard your godly music at full volume.”

Apollo nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. It might distract from my performance if you exploded. How considerate of you.” He grinned. “Well, I’m off, then. Happy birthday Percy!”

Now apparently people exploding while listening to Apollo’s music IS a serious concern, but Apollo still should have been able to tell that Percy and Grover were actually just looking for an excuse to skip the concert... if he had cared to look more deeply into what they were thinking and feeling. Which he didn’t. He didn’t even care enough to remember that it was Grover’s birthday, not Percy’s. I strongly suspect that if post-TBM Apollo could rewatch his interactions with Percy and Grover during this quest, he’d face-palm at how oblivious he was. Or be tempted to punch himself in the face. Or both.

Back in The Hidden Oracle, he IS actually able to read Percy when he meets up with him a short time later, but dismisses his own reading of Percy’s expression, since it’s not favorable to him.

If I didn’t know how much Percy Jackson adored me, I would have sworn he was about to punch me in my already broken nose. (26)

He does this sort of thing a lot throughout THO and TDP, where he reads people and situations accurately, and then tells himself that that can’t possibly be the case. He mostly stops that by the time TBM rolls around, though.

Apollo gets this reading-accurately-and-then-denying-it thing a lot with Percy especially.

“Well, never fear,” I said. “There are always new opportunities to win fame! That’s why I’ve come to you for help!”

He gave me that confusing expression again: as if he wanted to kick me, when I was sure he was struggling to contain his gratitude. (33)

Apollo just can’t seem to accept Percy’s true thoughts and feelings, so he always just goes with the interpretations that’s most charitable to himself, like when Percy mentions that the Oracle isn’t working:

I swallowed back the taste of fear and seven-layer dip. “I just... I assumed - I hoped this would be taken care of by now.”

“You mean by demigods,” Percy said, “going on a big quest to reclaim the Oracle of Delphi?”

“Exactly!” I knew Percy would understand. “I suppose Chiron just forgot. I’ll remind him when we get to camp and he can dispatch some of you talented fodder - I mean heroes -” (47)

I suppose Apollo’s right in that Percy understands what Apollo means. Percy just isn’t thrilled about it, which Apollo doesn’t seem to realize. Or rather, doesn’t WANT to realize. He desires Percy’s respect and even adoration, so he keeps on fooling himself into thinking he has it.

This self-deception doesn’t hold up for very long. He gets better at reading people pretty quickly - especially Meg, since he doesn’t crave her respect or adoration the same way he desires Percy’s, so he’s more willing to take his own reading of her at face value, rather than trying to fool himself. Plus he knows very little about her, neither does anyone else, and she’s not volunteering much. So if he wants to know more about his new master, he has to become really perceptive and good at getting her to open up.

I glanced at the rings on her middle fingers. “So yesterday... those swords. And don’t do that thing.”

Meg’s eyebrows furrowed. “What thing?”

“That thing where you shut down and refuse to talk. Your face turns to cement.”

She gave me a furious pout. “It does not. I’ve got swords. I fight with them. So what?”

“So it might have been nice to know that earlier, when we were in combat with the plague spirits.”

“You said it yourself: those spirits couldn’t be killed.”

“You’re sidestepping” (THO 133)

A little later in the conversation, he’s able to acquire enough hints from her words and expressions to get an idea of what may be going on:

“I never met my mom.” she said. “I didn’t know who she was.”

“Then where did you get the swords? Your father?”

Meg tore her waffle into tiny pieces. “No... my stepdad raised me. He gave me these rings.”

“Your stepfather. Your stepfather gave you rings that turn into imperial gold swords. What sort of man -”

“A good man,” she snapped.

I noted the steel in Meg’s voice and let the subject rest. I sensed a great tragedy in her past.” (THO 134)

Apollo is able to ask just the right questions to get the hint that something is kinda weird about Meg’s relationship with her stepfather, and to get a hint that something traumatic is involved - and also that pursuing that subject would be bad for his health.

When he and Meg end up in Python’s cave, he’s also able to identify that Meg’s more terrified of the man’s voice, than she is of the giant reptile talking to him:

Next to me, in the glow of the apple, Meg seemed to have turned to bronze. Her eyes were wide with fear. A little late for that, but at least she was quiet. If I didn’t know better, I might have thought the man’s voice terrified her more than the monster’s. (THO 168)

Probably the best, and possibly his most important reading of Meg, was when he was able to identify what sort of manipulation Nero had used on her, to get her to obey him.

“Meg had been trained to regard her kindly stepfather Nero and the terrifying Beast as two separate people. I understood now why she preferred to spend her time in the alleys of New York. I understood why she had such quick mood changes, going from cartwheels to full shutdowns in a matter of seconds. She never knew what might unleash the Beast.

She fixed her eyes on me. Her lips quivered. I could tell she wanted a way out - some eloquent argument that would mollify her stepfather and allow her to follow her conscience. (THO 289- 290).

His ability to read both the situation and Meg is crucial to persuading Meg to fight back against Nero, even if it doesn’t last. Plus, it lets him identify much of the basics of what happened to her, even though he’s not outright told, which is useful in his efforts to help her throw off his brainwashing in later books.

Meg isn’t the only person Apollo can read - far from it. In the Dark Prophecy, he’s able to tell that Leo and Calypso have asked to stay at the Waystation:

“Assuming we live through tomorrow,” I said, “you two intend to remain at the Waystation.”

[...]

“How did you know?” Calypso asked.

“The serious conversations with our hosts?” I said. “The furtive glances?” (291)

He’s also able to persuade some blemmyae to blow up the Cave of Trophonious, and that a 5 second timer counts slower underwater. Blemmyae are stupid though, so that’s not as impressive as it sounds.

Over in The Burning Maze, Apollo’s able to read Jason pretty well, despite only having known him for a few minutes. He’s able to tell that Jason’s hiding something.

“All right,” I said. “What did the Sibyl really tell you?”

[...]

“What makes you think I’m holding back?” he asked.

“Please,” I said. “Don’t try to be evasively prophetic with the god of evasive prophecies.” (211)

Piper seems to have an idea that Jason might still be holding something back, but Apollo acts like he knows for sure, and is able to persuade him to open up.

Later in their conversation, Apollo reads the situation between Jason and Piper REALLY well.

“You would’ve let us lead you cheerily off to your death? How would that have affected Piper’s peace of mind, once she found out?”

Jason’s ears reddened. It struck me just how young he was - no more than seventeen. Older than my mortal form, yes, but not by much. This young man had lost his mother. He had survived the harsh training of Lupa the wolf goddess. He’d grown up with the discipline of the Twelfth legion at Camp Jupiter. He’d fought Titans and Giants. He’d helped save the world at least twice. But by mortal standards, he was barely an adult. He wasn’t old enough to vote or drink.

Despite all his experiences, was it fair of me to expect him to think logically, and consider everyone’s feelings with perfect clarity, while pondering his own death?

I tried to soften my tone. “You don’t want Piper to die. I understand that. She wouldn’t want you to die. But avoiding prophecies never works. And keeping secrets from friends... that really never works. It’ll be our job to face Caligula together, steal that homicidal maniac’s shoes, and get away without any five-letter words that start with D.” (214-215)

Apollo’s social skills here, his ability to read Jason, and knowing just what to say here is really impressive. He may have complained in the past about not being a silver-tongued orator anymore, but I’d argue that his skills there have IMPROVED, not lessened. He just needed to get over some of his self-pity and awkwardness first.

Jason’s not the only one he’s gotten good at reading and giving advice to, though. While on board Caligula’s wardrobe boat, he pressed her about the song she sang, “Life of Illusion”, and what it meant to her. That the way she sang the song, she was talking about herself, and her feelings about Jason. He got her to open up.

“I tried,” she murmured. “After the war with Gaea, I convinced myself everything would be perfect. For a while, a few months maybe, I thought it was. Jason’s great. He’s my closest friend, even more than Annabeth. “But” - she spread her hands - “whatever I thought was there, my happily-ever-after... It just wasn’t.”

I nodded. “Your relationship was born in crisis. Such romances are difficult to sustain once the crisis is over.” (263)

Piper confesses that the major problem she had with their relationship was how she had been manipulated and pressured into it by Hera’s and Aphrodite’s machinations, and how she wanted a chance to figure out who she is and what she wants.

“You’re wondering who you are without all the pressure.” (264)

She’s not even sure if she counts as Cherokee, since Cherokee heritage is matrilineal, and her mother is a Greek goddess, not Cherokee. Apollo has some surprisingly profound and comforting words of wisdom for her:

“It’s been my observation,” I said, “that you humans are more than the sum of your history. You can choose how much of your ancestry to embrace. You can overcome the expectations of your family and your society. What you cannot do, and should never do, is try to be someone other than yourself - Piper McLean.” (265)

Apollo now excels at really listening to people and offering comfort and support. He hasn’t done so in the past, either by choice because he didn’t care, or because he honestly wasn’t as good at reading people and seeing what they needed. But now he’s excellent at it, and I suspect that his skill will only improve.

Apollo’s also gotten really good at reading situations to manipulate his enemies, like when his party is captured by some pandai while infiltrating Caligula’s ships.

I scanned the deck. No additional guards were running toward us, no searchlights were trained on our position. No horns blared. Somewhere inside the boat, gentle music played - not the sort of soundtrack one might expect during an incursion.

The pandai had not raised a general alarm. Despite their threats, they had not yet killed us. They’d even gone to the trouble of zip-tying Piper’s and Jason’s hands. Why?

I turned to the largest guard “Good sir, are you the panda in charge?”

[...]

I studied his majestic ears, then hazarded an educated guess. “I imagine you hate people eavesdropping on you.”

Amax’s furry black nose twitched. “Why do you say this? What did you hear?”

“Nothing!” I assured him. “But I bet you have to be careful. Always other people, other pandai snooping into your business. That’s - that’s why you haven’t raised an alarm yet. You know we’re important prisoners. You want to keep control of the situation, without anyone else taking credit for your good work.” (241-242)

Apollo used some pretty limited info, managed to arrive at the correct conclusion, and then manipulated the situation to his benefit (though the others started helping at that point). Even Piper could scarcely have done better!

Later in the scene, when Meg is able to fight back, Apollo’s the one who notices that Crest doesn’t want to hurt them, and is able to persuade him to leave.

With a horrified whimper, Crest dropped his bow. He staggered backward, struggling to draw his sword. Meg yanked her first scimitar from Amax’s dust-covered chair and marched toward him.

“Meg, wait!” I said.

She glared at me. “What?”

I tried to raise my hands in a placating gesture, then remembered they were tied behind my back.

“Crest,” I said, “there’s no shame in surrender. You are not a fighter.”

He gulped. “Y-you don’t know me.”

“You’re holding your sword backward,” I pointed out. “So unless you intend to stab yourself...”

He fumbled to correct the situation.

“Fly!” I pleaded. “This doesn’t have to be your fight. Get out of here! Become the musician you want to see in the world!”

He must have heard the earnestness in my voice. He dropped his sword and jumped through the gaping hole in the glass, ear-sailing into the darkness.

“Why’d you let him go?” Meg demanded. “He’ll warn everybody.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Also, it doesn’t matter. We just announced ourselves with a literal thunderbolt.” (252)

Everyone has access to the same info about Crest that Apollo does, and yet Apollo is the one who tries to save Crest, is able to persuade him to retreat, and understands Crest well enough to suspect that he won’t raise the alarm (not that it mattered).

Later on Apollo sees Crest again.

“I think we’re being followed,” I said. “Our friend Crest.”

Piper scanned the night sky. “What do we do about it?”

“I’d recommend nothing,” I said. “If he wanted to attack us or raise the alarm, he could’ve already done it.” (266)

Apollo’s better at reading the situation than Piper is here - probably because he identifies with Crest, music-lover that he is. He’s able to read Crest really well, and make the correct decision. Much like with Meg, reading Crest accurately was key to getting his help later. If Apollo hadn’t been as good as he is, Crest would still be dead, likely murdered by Meg, and Apollo would be gone for good.

Apollo’s people-reading skills have grown so much, from not being able to/not caring to read Percy accurately in The Singer of Apollo, to being able to wheedle out what Jason’s hiding, to giving Piper some excellent support and comfort. I believe that these skills will again prove to be vital in the next book, particularly when meeting Reyna. Nico helped her somewhat, getting her to open up about her father and telling her that she did what she had to do, but they were interrupted before they could really finish their heart-to-heart, and she still hadn’t seemed to have totally come to terms with what happened to her father. I suspect that Apollo will be able “heal her heart”, not by starting a romantic relationship with her, but by helping her put her past to rest and being supportive.

#apollo #lester papadopoulos #TOA centric #trials of apollo #toa #tho #tho spoilers #tdp #tdp spoilers #tbm #tbm spoilers #the trials of apollo #the hidden oracle #the dark prophecy #the burning maze #This took so long to put together and required a few revisions as my plan for it changed #But overall I'm satisfied with how it turned out #I hope everyone likes it!#I'd love any discussion or comments you guys have for it!

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florrickandassociates · 5 years ago

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TGF Thoughts: 3x07-- The One Where Diane and Liz Topple Democracy

Yes I’m still writing these

“Admit it. You like having me here. I mean, you didn’t think you would. But then, gradually, you realize that Blum is like a shot in the arm,” Blum tells the viewers. I mean, the partners. But he’s definitely talking to the viewers. See, we are supposed to ENJOY him. We’re supposed to find his terribleness cute and endearing. We’re supposed to be captivated by him. Here’s the thing: I’m not. I just want him to go away and stop being loud, which is how I have felt from the second he first opened his mouth. And when he was silent and I didn’t know how loud he’d be? I still wanted him to go away.

Does Blum work better than most of the past attempts at Blum-like figures? Yes. He’s leaps and bounds better! Is he still an annoying ass pest? HELL FUCKING YES.

Blum compliments the partners on being “clean” and “articulate” because he’s racist and wants everyone to know it. It’s cute!! So cute and charming!!

Why are the partners having an end of the year meeting? Is it the end of their fiscal year? Is it December? I want to know.

Blum attributes a Machiavelli quote to Martin Luther King Jr, which is actually kind of hilarious. Even if I don’t like him I can appreciate when they write him well.

Blum decides he’s joining the firm and the partners ask for time to confer. Marissa is still wasting her time following him around.

Liz calls Blum a cancer and says they need to get rid of him. I agree! Adrian is on board, but wants to delay him. I’m sure that’s going to end well.

Lucca is singing Baby Shark again, which means it’s going to be stuck in my head for another day. Diane comes into her office with a task. Because Lucca’s on hold with the Sweeney divorce, and she has NO OTHER BUSINESS IN THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT SHE MANAGES, Lucca also gets Blum duty. So now Marissa AND Lucca, two of the firm’s best employees, are stuck dealing with his bullshit. A+ management, RBL.

Is there NO OTHER EMPLOYEE at this firm that can do this task? “We had four associates on it. He sent them out on errands,” Diane explains. What the fuck? Did you not prepare them to deal with him? You gave him a staff, observed him doing no work for three weeks, and were just like, sure, associates, go run errands for Roland Blum!? What kind of management is that?! Surely there is someone at this firm other than Lucca who can ensure that lawyers do lawyering.

��Blum is seductive. We need an adult in the room,” Diane says. I don’t know which concerns me more: the fact that Diane is only just now realizing they needed to manage this problem or the fact that Diane doesn’t think any of her employees are capable of acting like adults. If that’s true, that’s also a management problem, and YIKES.

Julius is a horrible liar.

Is Blum talking to himself this week’s soliloquy? If so, kinda meh.

Rachelle has brought Liz and Diane a class action about vote rigging in 2016. Isn’t Rachelle’s job something in strategy? Shouldn’t she be distancing herself from this case and making sure it seems like she’s never met Liz or Diane?

Yes, the episode just answered it for me. Rachelle is a pollster. This seems dangerous. I also feel like Liz and Diane haven’t really made an independent choice since they started working with Rachelle.

Rachelle acts like this case is for real and not a set up. I understand that she’s effective, but she’s done so many cagey things in just a few episodes that I would cut all ties. You met her through a literal con artist, first of all. And beyond that, do you really think someone who’s going to force clients upon you to further their agenda and mess with the dynamics at your firm is not also going to give up your names if and when things get rough?

I may say this again later, but what I dislike most about this episode is that the stakes are so high, and they’re so real-world. Diane and Liz aren’t debating the ethics of voter fraud in the abstract. They’re committing a federal crime.

Lucca deals with Blum by… doing work. Blum’s “associate”-- actor Gary Carr, playing himself-- assists her. Lucca doesn’t realize he’s an actor and puts him to work. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing (because he’s not a lawyer).

Case stuff happens. Diane is instructed by Rachelle to ask for the software architecture, but she doesn’t find this suspicious. I know I do. Does the client usually get to tell the lawyer what evidence to request? Seems weird to me.

After court, Diane and Liz ask Rachelle why she needs the software. Uh, after they asked for it in court they ask her why she needs it? They didn’t think it was actually relevant and thought the request was suspicious and went along? Also, PRETTY DAMN OBVIOUS THAT ONE REASON TO WANT THE ARCHITECTURE OF A SOFTWARE IS TO HACK IT.

Lucca tells Diane that Gary Carr is doing good work. What? Taking it seriously I get, but good work? Good enough that Lucca would recommend Carr to Diane? All we’ve seen him do as a “lawyer” is misidentify a piece of evidence that Lucca just had to glance at to understand.

As Lucca walks from her office to Blum’s, she overhears some associates talking about Gary Carr. See, he’s an actor and he was on Downton Abbey, a show I never watched more than a few episodes of. Lucca clearly hasn’t either. Are any of these associates really weirded out by Maia’s presence at the firm? Wasn’t she on Downton too?

Lucca confronts Gary about lying and asks him to wait in reception. There’s some awkwardness/sexual tension (the Kings’ favorite way to show sexual tension is having people be exceedingly awkward around each other) as he leaves. This plot is fun and fine, but I’d love for Lucca to get something more substantive.

Book Club meets again and Polly suggests hacking the voting machines. Diane and Liz are stunned. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Diane says, and… credits!

Book Club’s gotten pretty big. Diane’s completely against vote rigging and everyone else (except Liz) is like BUT WINNING IS MORE IMPORTANT. Polly decides to frame it as a “correction” for gerrymandering and voter intimidation. This is a more convincing argument. But it is not an argument for why Diane or Liz would risk their lives and careers for this.

Diane and Liz talk, away from the group, and Liz makes a fantastic point: “You know there are counties right now where black people are so terrorized that they can’t even show up at polls? Look, in Georgia, in 2018, a bus filled with black senior citizens was stopped by the police so they wouldn’t be allowed to vote. 53,000 voter registrations of black voters were held up by the Georgia Secretary of State. Diane, you don’t [know]. Look, we share a lot of things, but we do not share histories. I have a college friend who was kicked off the voter rolls in Ohio. And my uncle was denied the right to vote in the last election in Wisconsin. I mean, at some point, these stories become more than just anecdotes. They’re something bigger. This democracy you talk about, this doesn’t exist for a lot of us. It didn’t exist for my grandparents, it didn’t exist for my parents, and it is slowly being taken away from me.” Diane interjects that they should fight it in the courts. “The courts. The courts that overturned the Civil Rights Voting Act in 2013? So, excuse me if I just need a moment to reflect on this unique possibility. One person hits a few buttons and suddenly black voters are re-enfranchised. That means something very different to me than it does to you.”

WOW. I had to write out that whole speech because it’s great. It calls attention to a very important real world issue (if you want to learn more about voter suppression, I highly recommend One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson). It doesn’t convince me for a second that hacking the voting machines is the right approach, but it’s enough that I understand where Liz is coming from and why Diane’s idealistic speeches don’t sway her.

Even if I don’t think this speech does a good job of making me understand why Liz is willing to jeopardize her career (tbh I have a bit of trouble believing Liz would be drawn to Book Club in the first place), it’s so good as an explanation of voter suppression I don’t really care.

Rachelle is a master manipulator. She decides to add an amendment to their plan-- only enough votes to offset disenfranchisement of black and Latino voters will be changed. Uh huh. I don’t buy it. And even if it’s true, this is so clearly manipulative it’s ridiculous. What about Rachelle is so trustworthy Liz would risk her career to help her?!

I’m stuck on this, I know, but I can’t see Liz making these choices, no matter how good the arguments or how noble the cause.

The group votes and things don’t go Diane’s way… but she acts like now that they’ve voted, she has no choice but to break the law. I don’t understand. Why is her allegiance to this group when she (and Liz) are the ones who would be most directly responsible for leaking the software architecture?

“You signed on for this. The ends justify the means, so don’t get all outraged that we’re willing to follow through,” Rachelle tells Diane. This sounds a lot like the “we’re defense attorneys, therefore we have to represent Lemond Bishop” logic I hate so much.

Oh goodie, it’s the weird scene in which I thought Lucca was going to start masturbating, and a Good Fight Short about Downton Abbey. This plotline does nothing for me. When I say I want Lucca plotlines, I don’t mean I want weird romances. I mean I want to see Lucca making friends, raising her child, and navigating the workplace.

I will take all the Lucca plots I can get but please, something with substance next time!

Blum is mad and sniffing around Reddick’s sexual harassment issues. Should’ve just gone public when you had the chance, partners.

Adrian physically attacks Blum, which is… a way to handle this. Go away, Blum. Adrian also decides to go after Blum’s illegal courtroom tactics.

Have I mentioned that I love Liz’s office bathroom?

Adrian suggests threatening Blum and Liz responds “that’s like threatening a bull with a red flag.” If it weren’t for the fact that she’s done nothing to prevent him from infiltrating her firm, I would say Liz has by far the best reactions to Blum.

“We knew this day would come, Liz,” Adrian explains, referring to the day when the allegations against Carl Reddick would surface. Well if you knew that WHY WOULD YOU PAY OFF THE WOMEN AND MAKE IT LOOK WORSE FOR YOURSELF???

They managed to write a Lucca plot I don’t feel like recapping. That’s really amazing.

I care even less since I know how it ends.

Diane insists on being the one to argue for obtaining the software architecture, since she’s a lawyer and it’s her job. She gives a passionate speech that’s about the sanctity of the vote but it’s really, of course, her argument against voter fraud. The irony!

I don’t get why Diane continues to tie herself to this!!! None of this plot makes sense to me from a character POV!!! Well, except the part where Diane gets so angry she follows a con woman to a resistance group. That makes complete sense.

Diane distances herself from the group AFTER arguing in court for the architecture? Okay. Sure. So noble.

Here’s the best part of this Lucca-dates-Gary-Carr plot: Marissa recognizes him from The Deuce and not Downton Abbey, which is a little detail that’s verrrrryyyyyy Marissa.

Hey, it’s the subpoena guy! (Yes, I care more about that than watching Blum get a tattoo.)

RBL wants to get Blum disbarred. I want him to be disbarred too, so he can become irrelevant and go away.

Jay finds a Republican hack in the software architecture. Gasp!

Blum starts screaming and banging on windows and everyone ignores him. This scene is an accurate representation of how I feel about Blum. The louder he is, the less I care about him.

Will never be a fan of three way call split screens.

WHY ARE Y’ALL TALKING ABOUT HACKING VOTING MACHINES ON THE PHONE!? Y’all are smart enough to know how to hack a voting machine but not smart enough to think of burner phones?

And why hasn’t Polly already found this malware?

And why do I care?

Rachelle calls Liz “Diane” over the phone. Liz is making Diane’s arguments, but I think it’s telling Rachelle sees them as almost interchangeable obstacles. She doesn’t really care if she’s talking to Diane and Liz, as long as she’s talking to a lawyer who will get her the software architecture and argue her case.

I do not understand Jay’s testimony in court. One, why is Jay testifying instead of a computer science expert? Two, why do his political leanings matter if he could point at an actual section of code?

So this plotline can receive more consistent development than Lucca Quinn herself, Lucca offers to let Gary Carr shadow her.

This episode is a exhausting. I didn’t like it the first time and I am having trouble getting through it. Every supporting character who shows up makes me think, “ugh.”

Oh! This is the scene with the random unnecessary nudity! If she was going to be topless in this scene why even bother with having her cover up after sex? Either don’t show it or go all in. Now I’m nitpicking a thing that usually doesn’t annoy me.

Oh and THIS scene, with Adrian and Diane’s terribly thought through confrontation of the judge! You don’t have to be a genius to know this was the wrong approach. Diane doesn’t even know Adrian’s reasoning for believing there’s judicial bribery.

How many damn times can we do this, “these are REAL LAWYERS, not TV LAWYERS” bit? I’m sick of it. Also, Lucca doesn’t like TV? Boo.

Diane and Liz don’t win their case. Which is a win for Rachelle.

Now Diane’s ALL IN!!!!! On vote rigging and wants to push the button to make it happen. Whatever.

Well, that’s over. I really have three more of these to write?

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cinnalock · 6 years ago

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Mond Twins Profile

((With me recently starting to make “masterlists” for profiles and headcanons for my OCs like Satsuki, Mineko, and Quinn, I decided to add my Kuroshitsuji OCs, Thomas and Katherine Mond, to that list (of lists). They were originally created for roleplaying on here (the original account being @bittersweetdragees), but my muse for RPing and elaborate storytelling over small headcanon musings and blurbs hasn’t been with me lately. That, and I originally created with the twins with the idea of RPing in mind, so while they have a general backstory and personalities, they felt very disjointed from the Kuro world because I left their relationship with canon characters up to interpretation via RPing for the longest time. So I’ve taken the self-indulgent route and rewrote their profiles a little to start fitting them into one of my favorite series more comfortably. That’s not to say I won’t return to RPing, but in the meantime I can have my fun.

With that being said, there are manga spoilers in their profile up to the most recent chapter(s). I’ll keep their entire profile under a Read More just because it’s long as hell, but this is also the only warning you get if you don’t want to be spoiled for the story. This is also going to just be their backstory post and not their actual masterlist for things like headcanons and such, but this will be linked in their masterlist.

Last Updated: 2/15/2021 -- added Carrolton’s gambling background as well as his tutelage of Katherine in the art of gambling; added commissioned reference pictures))

BASIC INFO

FULL NAME(S): Thomas Alphons Mond / Katherine Alizee Mond

RACE: human; British Caucasian (German (paternal) and French (maternal) ancestry)

AGE: 18 (November 21; Scorpio)

GENDER: male / female

EYES: green

HAIR: burnt orange

APPEARANCE

((art by Amber Jin))

Thomas is a young lad of standard build (6'2"; 158 lbs) and a lean, strong body. He has long, dark orange hair. He has narrow, but kind eyes that are a deep green color. He wears glasses due to farsightedness.

Katherine is a young lady of standard build (5'6", 137 Ibs) with an hourglass shape. She has long, dark orange hair. She has gentle, but mature eyes in a shade of vibrant green. She wears glasses due to nearsightedness.

HOBBIES

Currently enrolled at Weston College in the Green Lion dorm, Thomas is proficient in physical activities such as sports and martial arts. His strong points include archery, wrestling, and quarter-staff fencing, and, to a lesser extent, track and field. He is an average player when it comes to more sport-like activities (instead of combat sports or sports using weaponry), but below average when compared to the whole of the Green Lion dorm. Outside of sports and martial arts, he enjoys practicing his handwriting, eating, jewelry making, and practicing the flute.

Working with her mother at the family’s bakery and cake shop, Katherine’s hobbies mostly revolve around cooking pastries. She has been noted as a prodigy in sugar and candy sculptures, and has become an expert at the craft after two years of working. Her main interests outside of work is shopping, ballet, attending parties, and playing the violin. Though not a hobby per say, Katherine often practices knife throwing to be used in combat should she find herself in danger, and receives fencing lessons from both a private tutor and Francis Midford. In her spare time, Katherine was taught by their uncle, Jim Carrolton, about human behavioral patterns and his extensive knowledge of gambling, leading to her to be a master gambler albeit under an alias.

Both twins enjoy being together when they can, and often indulge in each others' hobbies when applicable. Katherine goes along with Thomas on hunting expeditions, and "practices" with him in archery and staff fencing, but her horrible shortcomings in these sports and Thomas's desire to help her improve often lead to him further understanding the intricacies of the sport and therefore improving himself. Likewise, Thomas enjoys helping Katherine at the bakeshop their family owns, though his tendency to eat ingredients and product over baking makes him more of a hindrance than an asset, and Katherine finds it less stressful as "hobby swapping" goes to let him accompany her on shopping trips so he can carry her purchases.

PERSONALITIES

Both of the twins are extremely similar in terms of not only appearance, but also in personality. They are generally soft-spoken, kind people with a regal air about them that makes them intimidating at first sight, but very approachable once one gets to know them. They are better at listening than talking due to their trained instinct to gather information over sharing it, and most people don't realize this and simply assume the twins are shy or just naturally submissive. In reality, the two are naturally manipulative, bending their personalities and quirks to please the company they're in to improve their reputations in the community. They'd never take advantage of someone who's put their trust in them unless it was their intent from the very start, but their jaded idea of the world have caused them to view socializing as more of a game to win at instead of an enjoyable experience. The majority of people never catch onto this internal thinking, but those who're really familiar with the twins know better than to believe everything they say, and even their own parents have a hard time trusting their children at some moments. However, despite their separated feeling from the rest of the world, they're very genuine in their feelings towards people they do care about.

In their hearts, Thomas and Katherine believe that they are one in the same or two halves of the same being. They have some of their own opinions and beliefs, but ultimately have trouble with coming to terms of being separated from one another. They can cope with being separated physically, as they had to become accustom to it once Thomas enrolled in Weston, but the thought of truly losing each other fills them with a sense of dread and anxiety, sometimes just the idea of it driving them to nightmares. It's for this reason why they're not focused on finding future spouses, as well as they don't regard most potential suitors with much respect.

Since they don't take courting seriously, the two have developed very flirtatious personalities over the course of the years. From sultry gazes to flattery to pecks on the hand and cheek to pulling their current object of affection away from a crowd for some more "personal" time together, the twins have mastered the art of getting their way with candied words and soft affections among their peers. Thomas, having already had experience, has no trouble taking his flings to a sexual level, but Katherine keeps her own trysts mostly innocent and never goes beyond heavy petting and make out sessions.

HISTORY

The Mond twins were born during a great snowstorm on the eve of the 21st of November. Their parents often relay the story of Barbra having contractions for several hours during a flurry when it started to hail hard enough to crack several windows of their manor between the time Thomas started his second stage of labor and when he was born, and had descended to a gentle snowfall by the time Katherine was born minutes later. It was a wholesome anecdote to most people who heard it, but Richard and Barbra often use this tale as an example of how they were "destined" to live, with Thomas being the cold warrior under the Queen's service while Katherine was the delicate lady to represent the Monds' nobility. The parents use the phrase "frigid as ice, soft as snow" to try and coerce the twins into carrying out their duties if they feel their children are straying from their paths. The twins twisted this phrase to their own use when they're alone, saying "frigid as ice, soft as snow; together are we, under starlit glow" to each other, speaking in few words that even though they are destined to live very different lives that they are still siblings and twins and believe they are, at their core, one in the same and will always have each other even if the world betrays them.

Richard, being a judge hand-picked by the Queen to handle certain legal intricacies of the Underground, was very familiar with the shady structures and dealings that kept England in power over the years, and made allies and enemies alike because of this position. One such ally was Vincent Phantomhive and his family. By the time the Phantomhive twins were born, the Mond twins were four years old, and the age gap was small enough that the two sets of siblings became longstanding friends with each other through frequent play dates. Thomas got along well with the elder Phantomhive twin, Ciel (R!Ciel), because of their more active personalities, while Katherine sympathized with his younger, frailer brother (O!Ciel). As time passed, O!Ciel slowly became enamoured with Katherine as she was the only girl, other than Elizabeth, he was close to. While Elizabeth was engaged to R!Ciel as was arranged to uphold the Phantomhive legacy, once Vincent and Rachel noticed O!Ciel's feelings for Katherine beginning to blossom, Vincent talked with Richard about betrothing the two to one another. This was partially out of concern for O!Ciel's shyness and sickliness possibly interfering with him finding a wife in the future, but also out of convenience as the Mond family was well-acquainted with the Underground and would save the need for either explanation or deception for another fiancee. Richard agreed with the latter, but primarily agreed to the proposal as Katherine marrying into the Phantomhives would be a step up in their family's status among English nobility. Katherine had apprehensions about this due to O!Ciel being (in her mind) considerably younger than her, but quickly changed her mind when Barbra convinced her that O!Ciel would thrive under the love and care of a fiancée like her. Since then, she became exceptionally affectionate and doting towards O!Ciel up until the day the Phantomhive manor was attacked and the twins disappeared. Thomas was less than thrilled at Katherine getting betrothed at such a young age, especially since he knew it was ultimately a "marriage of convenience" for their parents, but he stifled his objections since he knew at the very least that he trusted and cared about the Phantomhive twins and wasn't worried about O!Ciel mistreating her.

As the twins grew, the plans their parents had in mind for them came into fruition early in their lives. Thomas began to be trained in combat sports and techniques early in his life, and was gradually exposed to the tasks his father was responsible for in working for the Queen while Katherine was groomed to be the ideal English Lady for her future Phantomhive husband. As the firstborn and only son, Thomas was expected to follow in Richard's footsteps in serving the Queen, either directly or indirectly; the older Mond has more or less accepted this fate, though to say he fully embraces it is debatable.

Like all the men from his lineage, Thomas entered Weston College when he was 13. He was admitted into the Green Lion dorm for his proficiency in physical activities. While his strengths are in sports that can be translated into combat (archery, wrestling, quarter-staff fencing), he was and still is often reprimanded for his lax attitude in sports like cricket, which he considers less engaging and sees as mere games than anything he should strive to be better at. During his second year at Weston, he walked in on his senior kissing another student and, while surprised and confused at first, has come to grow comfortable with homosexuality over the years. Once his senior graduated, he has not become anyone else’s fag or taken on a fag of his own. Between years 14-16, Thomas was an incredibly violent individual in school and got into brutal fights with his fellow students, even his own dorm mates because of misdirected rage and frustration towards his responsibilities at home. While this earned him plenty of punishment at the time, his ruthless behavior and tendency to seriously injure the other students established a strong dominance among those in his years, and students who know his name tend to know not to anger him, even though he’s mellowed out with time.

While her brother trained under their father’s tutelage, Katherine looked to their mother for direction. Barbra began introducing her to hobbies such as ballet and playing the violin, and when she expressed interest in one of her mother’s favorite hobbies, baking, she joined her in the kitchen on a regular basis. When Katherine grew depressed because of Thomas moving to Weston College at age 13, Richard and Barbra decided to purchase a shop in London for a bakery that they hoped would distract Katherine from the “loss” of her brother. Although they did not say this directly, Katherine knew it was the reason for purchasing the establishment. However, she tried use this to her advantage to take her mind off her brother’s absence, and studied and practiced many forms of baking and candy work. By age 16 she managed to master most baking techniques and was considered a genius in sugar sculpture work. She has also grown well-practiced in her sub-hobbies, but she is not as focused or proficient in them as some other girls her age. Though spending her free time at the shop, Katherine regularly attended her classes in embroidery and etiquette in order to train for the reputation she was expected to receive as a Phantomhive wife. Her extensive time in London, in proxy to the twins’ uncle, he ended up teaching Katherine about the Carrolton family tradition of becoming elite gamblers. Though a role initially reserved for the males in the family, Carrolton, without children of his own, decided to teach both Thomas and Katherine the craft, but was only able to teach Katherine due to her brother’s extensive time in Weston.

The Mond twins were 14 when the attack on the Phantomhive manor took place. It cause the whole family upset at losing their friends and allies, but it caused Katherine a great deal of distress at the thought of losing her fiancé. Though only friendly acquaintances up until that point, the incident brought Katherine and Lizzie closer together and they helped each other through their grief. Katherine affectionately started calling Lizzie "my little sister" during this time to comfort her, as they would've been sisters through their respective marriages, but she stopped once "Ciel" returned a year later, as saying so reminded her that despite "Ciel" surviving, her own fiancé was gone and it still pained her years later.

Though aware of his father's responsibilities and trained in combat sports and techniques early on, knowing he would eventually inherit those duties himself, Thomas only felt the true impact of it all after the attack on the Phantomhive manor. Richard, in order to introduce his son to the full weight of what was expected of him in the future, had Thomas perform an underground execution on a prisoner by shooting him in the head. This first instance frightened Thomas, but he kept a stoic face in order to not disappoint his father. Not knowing of his son’s full discomfort, Richard had Thomas perform more and more killings and assassinations over the years. Though Thomas has gradually gotten used to what is expected of him, he has taken to smoking opium after a killing to associate taking a human life with a feeling of numbness. He became acquainted with an opium den in London that has become his main supplier for such. Katherine was the only one that picked up on his true feelings regarding his assassinations, including his first one, and tried her best to nurture her depressed brother, and attempted to convince him not to blame himself for what he had to do. Ever since then, she tried to look out for her brother's well-being, and does all she can to comfort him in times of depression and doubt.

Shortly after he started regularly visiting the opium den, still at age 14, one of Richard’s "colleagues" in the Underground humorously purchased a session with a prostitute named Xiao Mei for Thomas. Thomas, intoxicated from the drug at the time, did not reject her advances and lost his virginity to her. Despite the dubious consent of their first time, Thomas grew affectionate towards Xiao Mei and makes sure to see her whenever he visits the den. When he was 16, Xiao Mei became impregnated with his child, Julius. Though never directly told by Xiao Mei, Thomas is aware Julius is his child. Given the delicacy of the situation with Thomas being from an aristocratic family, Thomas is unable to raise Julius properly, though he and Richard try to give Xiao Mei money to keep her and the child comfortable (and, in Richard's case, to silence her about the child's parentage even though she does so of her own volition).

When the Mond twins were in their mid-teens, Richard was the target of his own assassination attempt from the disgruntled lover of a prisoner he had recently sentenced. He was with Katherine at the time and the attacker originally targeted her with her gun, but Richard blocked the shot. He survived the attack, but lost an eye in the process. This incident greatly shook Barbra, who realized that even if Katherine wasn't directly involved in the Underground that she could still be a target for assaults by association, and she arranged for Katherine to train in knife-throwing and fencing to make her capable in combat should the need arise. Barbra would've preferred for her to learn firearms to be able to protect herself from a distance, but Katherine's nearsightedness combined with being unable to handle the recoil from guns led to her study in blades instead.

Currently, the twins are swept up in their own lives. After the murders of the Phantomhives and several other unsavory incidences throughout their childhood, Thomas and Katherine have become less trusting of others and only truly confide in each other even though they love and respect their parents well enough. The two visited "Ciel" regularly once he returned, but their visits gradually became few and far between for a few years as time went on. However, they recently became "messengers" for Richard when their father needed to contact "Ciel" or send him documents with the twins going in his place (which is primarily Thomas's responsibility and Katherine just tags along). The two are still kind and friendly with "Ciel" despite the Phantomhive's radical change in personality. Katherine in particular is very affection towards him (once calling him "brother" to attempt what she had done to bond with Lizzie, though never called him that again when it struck how much heartache it actually caused her to say that, both for her and visibly for "Ciel"), which Lizzie can get tense and upset about but keeps her feelings to herself as long as Katherine doesn't "overstep her boundaries" since she knew the redhead's affections simply came from a place of overcoming grief. "Ciel" snaps at or tries to dissuade Katherine from treating him as such when they're in the presence of other company but if it's just them (and Sebastian and Thomas and not other servants or guests) he's a lot more tolerant of her actions. Thomas is much more outspoken with "Ciel" than he is with any of his colleagues at school and treats him with his own brand of affection similar to a brotherly love, but the younger boy frequently rebuffs him. Despite the Phantomhive's new treatment towards the twins compared to before the fire, the twins care about "Ciel" dearly and try to do whatever they can to help him.

Under a disguise, Katherine regularly attends underground auctions, casinos, and gambling parlors. Through this she was able to amass a fortune separate from her family’s name as well as procure several properties throughout Europe as well as many connections to some powerful figures, both useful and unsavory.

ROMANCE PREFERENCES

Thomas’s taste in romantic partners is very open and varied, but he prefers partners who are ultimately submissive to him. While he enjoys strong personalities and people who can handle themselves, he feels most confident and comfortable when he believes his partners “need” him or he’s otherwise stronger than them (either physically or mentally but preferably both) as he likes thinking that he’d be able to protect them. This isn’t to say he wouldn’t be interested in someone he considered equal to or even stronger than himself, but it would take much longer to enter a long-term relationship with him of some sorts as he’d be stubborn to admit he wants to be with someone who might not rely on him. Thomas is bisexual.

Not surprising of a young aristocratic woman, Katherine’s tastes are a little spoiled and she desires for someone who can take care of and protect her. She will deny it if directly asked, as she hates admitting her vulnerabilities and thoroughly believes she can take care of herself because of her upbringing, but deep down she knows she has no experience handling dangerous situation and wants someone who can defend her if Thomas isn’t present. She might be open to being with someone “weaker” than her, though it would take a long time before she takes their (or her own) feelings seriously. On the surface this is because she wants someone to take care of her rather than vice-versa, but deep down this is mostly because anyone smaller/meeker than her reminds her of O!Ciel, who she still grieves the loss of. Katherine also needs someone who accepts her desire to spend time working in her family’s bakery in her spare time or otherwise isn’t intimidated by her ambition, and won’t settle well with someone who thinks that they can tell her what she can and can’t do (at least not in a long-term relationship). Katherine is heterosexual and a virgin, but she's had more than her fair share of flirting and "flings" in the past.

FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD

RICHARD MOND-Thomas and Katherine’s father. Has blond hair and blue, almost grey eyes. Works as a judge. Though his duties are relatively normal on the surface, he sometimes does under-handed dealings to coincide with the Queen’s wishes (though rarely ever contacted by the Queen directly). This may include things such as destroying and forging evidence, secretly releasing or executing prisoners, or allowing special legal privileges to the Queen’s other servants. Though he appears gruff and serious, he is actually an incredibly friendly and approachable individual in a casual setting. He attended Weston College as a Sapphire Owl student in his teenage years.

BARBRA MOND-Thomas and Katherine’s mother. Has dark orange hair and green eyes, like her children. Works and manages a small bakery and cake shop in London (named “Lady Mond’s Pati-Boulan”). Though very informed of her husband’s works, she tries not to interfere or comment on his tasks, but she has gained quite a bit of knowledge of some workings as a result. She tries to shelter the twins as much as she can, she knows giving them a completely normal life is an impossibility. She comes off as slightly more hostile and protective than her husband in most situations, and tries to live up to a strict and elaborate standard of being the matron of a high-end English family.

JIM CARROLTON-Barbra’s older brother. Jolly, round and looks much like a real-life Santa Claus. Works as a jewelry maker, specializing in custom-made pieces. Very good-natured, he is an unassuming man, but very wise. Was previously married to Amandine, who passed away from illness a few years after the twins were born. Loved her to the point where he never remarried and has never considered doing so. Has no children. He attended Weston College as a Violet Wolf student in his teenage years. As a the firstborn male of the Carrolton family, he was taught how to hyper-analyze human behavior patterns in order to manipulate others. The Carrolton family traditionally used these techniques to initially amass their fortune via gambling. While Jim hardly gambles himself, he still uses the techniques to aid in his salesmanship and business practices, and he went on to teach Katherine (he desired to teach both twins, but due to Thomas’ extensive stay at Weston, he was only able to fully teach Katherine).

AMANDINE CARROLTON-Jim’s late wife. Was known to be a very kind woman, but died from illness not long after her nephew and niece were born. The love she had with her husband was strong enough to the point where he never remarried. Has no children.

VERNON MOND-Richard’s father. Born in England, he moved to Germany after retiring. He attended Weston College as a Green Lion student in his teenage years.

HILDA CARROLTON-Jim and Barbra’s mother. Currently resides in Paris, France.

MASON-the family butler.

OLGA-Barbra’s maid. Originally from Germany, she’s still getting a hang of the English language.

ANAISE-Katherine’s maid. Cheerful and a bit of a gossip.

ABBY-the family’s St. Bernard. Very old, but very lovable and loyal.

XIAO MEI-a Chinese prostitute and Thomas’s longest-standing lover. She took Thomas’s virginity when he was 14 in a session purchased for him by one of Richard’s colleagues. While aware of his social status and the unlikelihood of them having a serious relationship, she is incredibly affectionate to Thomas, so much so that she decided to carry her pregnancy to term when she discovered she was pregnant with his child, whom she named Julius. However, she did so fully expecting to not receive any support from the Mond family and never directly told Thomas that Julius was his child. However, Thomas and Richard were able to see the similarities and figure it out, though they keep with the charade for appearances sake, knowing that an illegitimate son with a prostitute could damage the family’s reputation. However, they still try to sneak Xiao Mei extra money when they can so she and Julius can live comfortably. She is currently 23 years old.

JULIUS-the illegitimate son of Xiao Mei and Thomas Mond. Currently 2 years old. While Thomas is aware Julius is his son, Julius doesn’t know that Thomas is his father, though he enjoys the man’s visits. Currently the only people who know of Julius’s connection to Thomas are Xiao Mei, Thomas, Richard, and Katherine.

((art by KuudereCupcake))

#thomas mond #katherine mond #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji oc #black butler #black butler oc #original characters #oc

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fletchermarple · 7 years ago

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Quick Review of the True Crime Books I read in 2017 (Part 2)

Part 1 of 2017

Review of books in 2016 Part 1 and Part 2

Review of books in 2015

The Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes: Before Ted Bundy, there was John Norman Collins. He was also a handsome, charming, smart university student that looked nothing like a stereotypical killer, but in fact was raping and murdering women from ages 13 to 21 at an alarming rate between 1967 and 1969 in Michigan. This book was originally published in 1976, and it’s a very serious and professional exposition of the case, written under journalistic standards but not so much literary ones. By that I mean that it sticks mostly to facts and remains objective instead of adding some narrative touches to make the story more appealing. Don’t get me wrong, the case is interesting enough in itself and if like me you didn’t know much about Collins (who now goes by the surname Chapman), this is a very informative read. The problem with this book is one that many true crime novels have: since there’s not a main character we can focus on, and instead we get just “this victim disappeared, then this victim disappeared” with no remarkable investigator to take the reigns of the story, it kind of drags a lot in the first part. It gets better once Collins is introduced, and let me tell you, he’s so chilling and the way they got him is so curious it definitely makes worth the read in the end. I should also add that Keyes changes pretty much every single name in the case, including the killer’s, which might have been common practice back then, but seems ridiculous now when everything is public information and it’s something that I particularly hate in non fiction stories.

Silent Witness by Don Weber and Charles Bosworth Jr.: This book is about the murder of Karla Brown, which I wrote about here, and the hunt for the killer. Although the book is co-signed by Don Weber, he’s presented in a third person style within the narration. He was the prosecutor in the case, and he comes across as a guy who takes his job very seriously and was willing to take risks with new technologies and techniques so he could get justice for the victim. The case itself is very twisty and interesting, since it took investigators four years to point to the right suspect, so the story is very riveting, especially if you, like me, enjoy the investigation and judicial part of true crime. Just keep in mind that the book was written by someone who is certain of the killer’s identity and there’s no room left to doubt his guilt, as opposed to the reality, where there are some people that have tried (unsuccessfully) to find proof of his innocence.

The Man from the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James: I really enjoyed Bill James’ book Popular Crime and I got this one as soon as it came out. James is not really a true crime writer, his main area of expertise is baseball, but just like us he’s very enthusiastic about true crime and has spent a lot of time researching, reading and formulating theories about it. In this book, he tackles a series of unsolved murders that happened in the first decade of the 20th Century in the US, when several families were hacked to death with an axe for no apparent reason. James and his daughter do a very thorough research into old archives to try to determine which murders are linked and were likely committed by the same person, who in their theory is also the guy behind the infamous Villisca Axe Murders. The book is really a very well done exercise in speculation, amateur profiling and connecting the dots, because there’s no way we can really know if what James is saying is true or not, and he knows it and acknowledges it several times through the extensive book. I’m not sure The Man from the Train is for everyone, I’d recommend it mostly to people who really enjoy unsolved mysteries and old American history, because there’s a lot of interesting analysis of those times. James is very entertaining in his writing and speaks directly to the reader while adding some humor and worthy anecdotes here and there. ( @congenitaldisease I know someone recommended this book to you, I think you’d enjoy it as well).

My Story by Elizabeth Smart: It pains me to say this, because I’ve met Elizabeth Smart and she’s an amazing and inspiring person, but of all the true crime books I read this year, this is probably the worst. I find it hard to believe that she worked with an actual writer, because the book reads like the journal of a 12 year old in both narration and content. The story is, of course, terrible and haunting, and Elizabeth tells us in detail about being kidnapped from her bedroom when she was 14 by the seriously disgusting Brian David Mitchell and his mentally disturbed wife Wanda Barzee. She also talks a lot about her determination to survive through the horrible ordeal and her faith... She’s pretty heavy on the faith side, at points the book can read like a Sunday sermon so if you’re one of those people who frown at religion, this is definitely not the novel for you. Like I said earlier, the book is written in a very childish way, which would be ok if Elizabeth had written it right after her kidnapping but this was done when she was already an adult and a decade had passed. There’s no deep insights or much new information and on paper Elizabeth does not communicate as well as in person. Her experience is worth to know, but objectively, as a piece of literature, this book is bad. I would suggest watching any of her interviews instead of picking up this (and definitely don’t get the audiobook because she’s not a good reader).

Waiting to be Heard by Amanda Knox: Now this is the complete opposite to Elizabeth Smart’s memoir. It’s a well written book that gives a very clear and thorough account of the ordeal Amanda Knox went through when she was accused and wrongly convicted of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy. Amanda is very candid and represents herself very well, with a lot of material from the trial and details of her life behind bars. You can tell by this book that Amanda was a very naive, inexperienced girl who lacked self awareness. Even when writing this book she doesn’t seem to understand why her behavior was inappropriate and bothered the italian authorities, and while she doesn’t give a satisfactory explanation of why she involved Patrick Lumumba, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s innocent of the murder and was horribly railroaded by unethical investigators, prosecutors and journalists, who built a case on nothing but a twisted fantasy. I imagine if you somehow believe she’s guilty (and I really would like to hear a good argument for that) this book would be extremely annoying to read, but otherwise you should add it to your list and expect to get your blood boil over the injustice. It’s scary to think that under the right circumstances anyone could experience what Amanda did.

Never See them Again by M. William Phelps: A gripping account of the Clear Lake Murders, a massacre in 2003 in which four young people were gunned down in a house in Texas in the middle of the day by then 17 year old Christine Paolilla, a close friend of two of the victims, and her boyfriend. Phelps, an experienced writer that used to host the show Dark Minds, does it right and finds memorable characters to narrate his story through, including the victims (especially Rachel Koloroutis, whose family was clearly one of Phelps main sources), the main investigator and Christine herself. Christine’s life is well researched but even after you’ve read so much about her, she remains an intriguing figure. It’s clear that her self portrayal of a victim that got forced to commit the crime is a fake and she’s a master liar and manipulator, but it’s hard to know for sure what drove her to kill the two girls that had made efforts to improve her life. Like Edward Keyes in The Michigan Murders, Phelps also uses some fake names but only in witnesses and he lets you know when it’s a pseudonym, which I appreciated.

Law and Disorder by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker: Any book by John Douglas is worth the read, because not only he talks in depth about very interesting cases, but his perspective, whether you agree with it or not, is always well informed and fascinating. He makes an excellent writing team with Olshaker, who lets Douglas’ voice come through in a way that lets you know what kind of person he is through the pages. This book, the most recent he wrote, published in 2013, is no exception. Here he tackles famous cases of miscarriage of justice, from the Salem witch trials to Amanda Knox. It’s not always about wrongfully convicted people, he also talks about how some clearly guilty convicts abuse the justice system. Douglas talks about his views on the death penalty, which he’s in favor of although not a passionate advocate: he just believes that if the sentence exists, and is decided after a fair trial, the family of the victim has a right to see it through. His main point throughout the book is that a theory should never be above the evidence, meaning some investigators get so obsessed with trying to prove someone is guilty that they ignore the actual evidence and use only what fits their idea of how a crime was committed. He gives several examples, but I found the chapters on the JonBenet Ramsey and West Memphis 3 the most illuminating. Really, when analyzed by Douglas, an agent whose experience in crime is not to be dismissed, it sounds ridiculous to think the Ramseys killed JonBenet or that the WM3 are guilty. Even if you think they are, I would ask you to please read this so you can have a wider perspective. (I also got some mild pleasure at all the shade Douglas throws to investigator Steve Thomas, whose book on the JonBenet Ramsey case I reviewed here). However, I will say that if you’ve never read a Douglas book, this is not the one to start with. You should at least read Mindhunter first.

#true crime #tcoriginal #true crime book #book review #review #john douglas #amanda knox #elizabeth smart #christine paolilla #michigan murders

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survivor-mountmerapi · 4 years ago

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Ep. 6: “You never know what some people may have up their sleeve” - Rachel

DeNara

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY VOTED OUT JAMES!!!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOO FLIPPING MAD!!!!!!!!! HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS GAME I WANTED TO PLAY WITH!!!!!

This has Julia written all over it.... I don't expect to make the merge now, but if I do, I am going for blood....

Julia

HOW ARE PIETRO AND I STILL HERE?!?!?! This is sexy

Pietro

I cant believe this allow me and Julia to survive another round. We not only have now a 4 person alliance, but Julia told me she has an idol. We are running this game and we are here to stay, and we will keep slaying the favs. Julia was telling me earlier the day that she was gonna play her idol cause everyone was definately voted her out, but when I talked to Rachel I realised there was a chance she could flip, so I quickly made a group chat with me, Julia, Anastasia and Rachel to try to get them on our side... and it worked!! I LITERALLY THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA TAKE US HOURS TO FLIP THEM, and they decided to flip in 5 minutes.

AND ALSO, this people are playing so stupid! Like Elle in tribal saying how much she trusted James, and how Moth backstabbed her in the past like girllll why are you revealing so many info to EVERYONE?? you are a warrior or a wannabe?? I'm probably sounding very cocky but damn it this people are all so easy to read!!

Raffy

So. Much. Happened. Tonight. Firstly, I think DeNara and Nicholas both realize that Warriors are on the bottom after watching the other tribe's tribal council. This put them both in Mess mode. According to Steven, Nicholas told him about a 5-person alliance that was created with Madi, Gian, DeNara, Ginnifer, and Nicholas. Nicholas said it was created to take out the Winners (Steven and I). He said to Steven that he wants to work with us and to get the tribe to a 2-2-2 tribe split by voting out Ginnifer. Voting Ginnifer did not require this amount of effort as I believe she was the easiest target tribe. But wait. It gets messier. DeNara comes to me and tells me that Nicholas is snaking everyone on the tribe. She says that Nicholas came up with the whole alliance, and that he's been trying to play Steven and I (which we already kind of figured from Gian and Madi). Steven told her that Nicholas was throwing her under the bus which prompted to send quote receipts to both of us about how Nicholas has been playing puppet master to get the newbies and winners to target each other. Now, DeNara fully thinks Nicholas is trying to snake her, and she created an alliance with Steven and I to get him out pre-merge. Meanwhile, this required no prompting from Steven or I as we watched the Warriors eat themselves alive without even going to tribal council. These people are a Mess. And I love it. DeNara also told me that she thinks Julia is running the other tribe from head to toe. She believes that Julia is the reason one of her allies (James) was voted out. Therefore, I told her about Julia's idol to get her to target her even more come merge. DeNara seems very willing to vote out Julia, and to enact some revenge from another ORG which I happily fueled. Now, I can go into merge with someone who will target Julia FOR me. This is what happens when you mess with me and try to play me. Julia whenever you read this, I hope it was worth voting out Ellie. Kisses ~Raffy

DeNara

Well, Nicholas is screwed. I spilled the tea to Raffy and Steven about how hard Nic has been playing and they spilled some tea back. Nicholas has been playing all of us and got caught. They even tried to use me as a scape goat. Works for me because now I have an alliance with Steven and Raffy to get out Nicholas and get revenge for James by taking out Julia. TEA, she has an idol apparently. At least I know now! I really hope this goes my way.

DeNara

Nicholas seems like they almost want to get voted out! They are so chaotic. Nicholas was on call with me and Steven saying we should vote out Ginnifer. Then they told me privately it was to lower our target and then take out the winners. THEN messaged Raffy saying he was their Ride or Die! oh my goodness! Nicholas you are a great person, I really think you are fun to video chat with, but this intense premerge play is gonna get you voted out next.

Raffy

Nicholas is already thinking about tribal before the challenge has even ended. He's already trying to "manipulate" everyone into voting Ginnifer when it would not even take half the effort he is putting in to do it. I'm sure everyone would be happy to vote out Ginnifer, but Nicholas is playing so messy that we have to get rid of him now. He's calling me his "ride or die" and how we have "so much in common" when I have barely had two conversations with the dude. I suggested to Revenge R Us (DeNara, Steven, and I) that we could potentially throw next challenge if we win this challenge to get Nicholas out pre-merge. I feel like a devil on their shoulder.

Elle

God I hope it's actually round 6 😅 Not entirely sure lol uhm anyway yayyy Pictionary went great despite me rushing to get dinner done and then setting up my tablet on call 😂 and photoshop temporarily fighting against me its fine we did it folks we made it to merge✨ well after tribal tomorrow for the others. Now the annoying part: I severely doubt I'm lasting more than like, one, two rounds post merge 😔. I think by being an important piece on so many winning challenges (shape memory, with DeNara and Nicholas in Storytelephone, having a big role in the movie trailer challenge (which won in my heart ❤️), and being the drawer in the Pictionary) I'm like... well I'm entirely and utterly screwed 😂. I can hope people like me enough to keep me around maybe? But that's not really how the game is played... oh well. Oh and because I didn't make an earlier confession: I'm so upset they kicked off James it completely blindsided me D: my buddyyyyyyyyy ugh I should've known that if the math was obvious to me it was to the others as well, it was smart to boot an og warrior :(. James didn't deserve this though!! Upsetting, completely and utterly.

Ginny

Me and the warriors strong alliance have a huge plan in store sucks to suck

Gian

Nicholas being a pot stirrer, but that’s gonna cost him his game :)

DeNara

Holy Crap! This is pure chaos! We found out we we were going to tribal and it was scrambling and messages from everyone to everyone. After talking to Raffy and Steven, I made a group chat with the newbies calling out all of Nicholas' chaos. The 5 of us are splitting the votes between Nicholas and Ginnifer in case Nic plays an idol. My brain is hurting today lol.

Raffy

DeNara started a 5 person alliance with Steven, Gian, Madi, and I called "Down to Business." She did this so the plotting of Nicholas' demise can begin. First of all, Ginnifer and Nicholas are throwing everyone's name under the sun out. Secondly, Nicholas has been PM'ing Madi and Gian about what they should do NEXT TRIBAL after they get Ginnifer out. I have no idea why he would ask that because we have to deal with THIS TRIBAL at the moment. Thirdly, it seems Nicholas has been trying to throw the Winners under the bus. Or, at least, he's trying to set himself up to play the middle between the Wannabes and the Winners. However, his plan only works if we don't talk to each other which we did. Now, it's a #NicholasExposedParty over in our alliance. The plan is to split the vote 3-2 to get out Nicholas and, in case he has an idol, vote out Ginnifer. This plan should work because even if Nicholas votes with Ginnifer he gets out. Plus, even if Nicholas votes for Ginnifer, it ties 3-3-1 which would send Nicholas out. Additionally, I threw Julia under the bus hard to Madi and Gian, making them not trust her at all. It's all coming together for me tbh. These next few rounds should be HIGHLY entertaining if you are a Raffy Stan or a Drama Stan.

Moth

I’m gonna make the merge omg. My life in the game was definitely on the line, I was worried about getting voted tonight because it was between me and Elle and I think they’d vote me out first

DeNara

Morning of my first tribal day..... I really hope I can trust Steven and Raffy tonight. Really my fate rests with them for now. I trust Steven more because he seems to play a more loyal game. Raffy didnt want to make an alliance chat last night and that is suspicious to me... I really hope he isnt lying to me abs Revenge R Us is strong

Julia

Pietro and I are low key running this game right now it’s kind of amazing. I am so here for this it’s iconic. We’ve gotten what we’ve wanted each tribal so far and people really haven’t figured it out yet. I’m hoping Steven still wants to link with us at merge because I think the three of us could run this shit

Rachel

Well, I know the merge is upon us. The plan is for hopefully Gian and Madi to survive the vote (i'm going to be praying all day at work; i miss them!) and us six make it to merge(which includes myself, julia, pietro, anastasia, gian, and madi). We could then have a 1/6 shot of winning this if we can convince someone from the other side to flip at the vote! but realistically, it will be hard and you never know what some people may have up their sleeve. *cough cough* raffy *cough cough*. This game is so mentally stressing, but I love it!

Anastasia

We won the competition thanks to Elle's really good drawing skills. I have a feeling merge is coming up so me and my alliance are making plans for majority. We know that if we have Madi and Gian, all we need is one more person and we have majority. So, we just need to persuade someone to join us before it's too late. I am thinking that we could recruit Moth or Elle (or both) but they could still be loyal to the warriors. Plus we voted their fellow warrior out... So I don't know what they would do. What if I just threw the idea out to both of them? I think I have nothing to lose? AHHH maybe I do have something to lose because I cant like expose our plans.

Moth

The tea is... I have no clue what’s gonna happen after tonight, I’m not sure anyone does but I feel like I definitely would have been voted out had we not won this challenge —

Nicholas

We finally are going to tribal! I’m a little nervous but hopefully the plan to vote out Ginny works. I’ve been using Ginny this whole game with the trading gear back and forth and etc. I think I’m the only person Ginny talks to. I got Ginny who was already people’s target to make herself even more of a target by throwing out lots of names. I also tested people by having Ginny tell them to vote me. Steven and Raffy immediately messaged me and Gian told me only after I was talking to him but that’s probably because he didn’t care what Ginny was saying. Hopefully Ginny doesn’t blow up and call me out at tribal when she starts getting votes.

Steven

https://youtu.be/nLX0HYo7dh4

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fairymascot · 7 years ago

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hoo boy, what a question!

let’s start with the unfun answer: i think it’s ultimately meaningless to try and fully compromise rachel's characterization in lis with its bts counterpart. you just can't. they are two different characters, written by different people.

lis rachel is a party girl, warm and open with her heart, a tease and arguably a bit of a manipulator depending on who you ask, but ultimately trusting and naive enough that she'd genuinely fall for frank and for jefferson and believe they're good men. she was another teen girl with a pipe dream too big for her, hoping to skate by on her charm and good looks. she didn't seem like she was particularly well-versed in lying compared to any other teenager, going off the unsent letter she wrote for chloe. she came off as very young, confused, and out of depth. she didn't feel like a girl who's comfortable telling lies or keeping up appearances. while it seemed obvious that chloe had feelings for her, in lis they felt one-sided more than anything -- rachel either never knew about them, or didn't concern herself with them.

bts rachel is a completely separate person. she's closed off, but in a way that still makes her come off as genuine and approachable -- a master of concealing her emotions. lying to people to get what she wants is second-nature her, and she's incredibly good at reading others and discerning their true intentions. she's got many more varied interests and passions, and modeling doesn't even seem to be a career path she's considered. her dream of leaving arcadia bay, while still draped in layers of glitter and glamor, comes from a real place of trauma and distress. and she's obviously harboring romantic feelings for chloe from day one, which the player can choose to turn into a full-fledged relationship.

i mean, yes, there's a chance episode 3 will tie the two together more, but as of right now there's a very big gap between those depictions. and that's fine. it makes perfect sense. in lis, rachel was an icon, a plot device. she wasn't supposed to be as complex and fleshed out as a real character. but as the secondary protagonist of bts, deck9 would've obviously had to rework her character and build a lot on top of it, because that's the point of the game: getting to unravel the mystery of the untouchable rachel amber. she needs those layers. she needs to be a freakin' onion. you can't spin a ten-hour epic founded on 'two girls meet up at a party, smoke weed and have a nice time'.

so when i see fans who seem genuinely angry with rachel as a character for cheating on chloe with frank, it baffles me a bit. because at the time her relationship with frank was written, there was no relationship with chloe for her to be cheating on. deck9 retroactively turned it into cheating by giving us the choice to make the relationship between rachel and chloe explicitly and mutually romantic. they couldn't do anything about how the way it ended, but they COULD give us so much more about what it was like while it lasted, and they did. and i'm grateful for that. i'd much rather have that than a strictly platonic or one-sided relationship that would've been 'truer' to canon, and meant no cheating.

so the short version of my unfun answer is: i doubt their relationship would deteriorate too badly over the course of bts, and it doesn't really matter, anyway. bts is about rachel and chloe's relationship at its newest, rawest and most intense. the fallout will come later. there's no need to show us this now, this early on, and it wouldn't sit particularly well with this take on rachel's character to begin with.

but i doubt that’s the answer you were looking for, so i’ll go on a bit longer under the cut.

the more fun answer, where i try to fill in the blanks, is this: there's almost three entire years between bts and rachel’s disappearance in lis. that's a shitton of time. a lot can happen during three years. was rachel truly in love with frank? who are we to tell? we never met her. chloe and nathan insist she just used him for drugs, frank speaks of her like it was true love. you can't call any of those characters impartial. still, i default to thinking she did have sincere feelings towards him, as such a big point in the game was shaking chloe out of her belief that their relationship was feigned on rachel's behalf. the story development presented rachel's love for frank as some sort of 'ultimate truth', so i'm assuming that's what the writers intended for us to take away from it.

if you want my very subjective personal take on it? however bts ends, it's going to leave rachel a much more jaded, tired person than she was before. and as time wears on, it'll only get worse. because the reality of being trapped in arcadia bay is only going to crush her more and more, snuffing out her idealism and passion. she'll grow tired of theater, grow tired of everything, spend more time partying recklessly with vortex club kids she can't even stand, and redirect her ambitions towards modeling, because everyone's always fallen straight for her looks and never cared for much beyond that, anyway. and while chloe will remain a grounding force in her life, and the best thing that happened to her in this shithole of a town -- their honeymoon phase will burn out over time, too, and rachel will find herself drifting away.

when she first gets involved with frank, it's for the drugs and the attention. she's kind of become a thrillseeker at that point, even (and especially) for cheap ones, because it's not like arcadia bay has anything bigger to offer. i think part of her deepening attachment to him would have to do with her own ego, as well -- rachel finds that she kind of gets a rush out of taking in those broken souls under her wing, chloe first, and now him. they always look up at her like she's some sort of goddess, like she's the only thing in this world that can save them. she knows she's not. but it's nice to pretend.

is this a more cynical take than dontnod was ever going for? probably, but that’s the best i can make it all fit in my head.

with all that being said, 'who did rachel truly love' just isn't the question to be asking. rachel obviously loves chloe in bts, there's no questioning that. if she falls in love with frank three years down the line, it doesn't erase her relationship with chloe. maybe she fell out of love with her over time. maybe she didn't, and had feelings for two (three? if you count jefferson...) different people simultaneously. no person goes through life with a 'one true love'. rachel's relationships with chloe and with frank don't cancel each other out.

#askbox #text #meta #life is strange #before the storm #my rambles

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dfroza · 5 years ago

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to illuminate.

from within & without, to come to speak of what the heart believes in (A full circle of silence & sound) is what my heart points to in its writing, as well as being seen in Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the Letter of 2nd Corinthians, as chapter 4 that illumines the significance of what is chosen to be believed (to be treasured in the space of the heart) that inspires what is spoken from a body made of earth, temporal in nature, yet carrying a seed (a pure and sacred promise) of its rebirth just as the heart is reborn by the Spirit and the Word:

[New Covenant Ministry]

Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness. We reject every shameful cover-up and refuse to resort to cunning trickery or distorting the Word of God. Instead, we open up our souls to you by presenting the truth to everyone’s conscience in the sight and presence of God. Even if our gospel message is veiled, it is only veiled to those who are perishing, for their minds have been blinded by the god of this age, leaving them in unbelief. Their blindness keeps them from seeing the dayspring light of the wonderful news of the glory of Jesus Christ, who is the divine image of God.

We don’t preach ourselves, but rather the lordship of Jesus Christ, for we are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said,

“Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,” is the one who has cascaded his light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ.

[Treasure in Clay Jars]

We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours. Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out. We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.

We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says,

“First I believed, then I spoke in faith.”

So we also first believe then speak in faith. We do this because we are convinced that he who raised Jesus will raise us up with him, and together we will all be brought into his presence. Yes, all things work for your enrichment so that more of God’s marvelous grace will spread to more and more people, resulting in an even greater increase of praise to God, bringing him even more glory!

So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day. We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4 (The Passion Translation)

with these lines mirrored in The Voice and The Message:

Since we are joined together in this ministry as a result of the mercy shown to all of us by God, we do not become discouraged. Instead, we have renounced all the things that hide in shame; we refuse to live deceptively or use trickery; we do not pollute God’s Word with any other agenda. Instead, we aim to tell the truth plainly, appealing to the conscience of every person under God’s watchful eye.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4:1-2 (The Voice)

Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4:1-2 (The Message)

with Today’s paired chapter being from the book of Genesis as chapter 33 in which is seen a peaceful reunion of brothers Jacob and Esau:

Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.

Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”

Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”

Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.

Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”

“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”

Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”

Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.

Then Esau said, “Let’s start out on our way; I’ll take the lead.”

But Jacob said, “My master can see that the children are frail. And the flocks and herds are nursing, making for slow going. If I push them too hard, even for a day, I’d lose them all. So, master, you go on ahead of your servant, while I take it easy at the pace of my flocks and children. I’ll catch up with you in Seir.”

Esau said, “Let me at least lend you some of my men.”

“There’s no need,” said Jacob. “Your generous welcome is all I need or want.”

So Esau set out that day and made his way back to Seir.

And Jacob left for Succoth. He built a shelter for himself and sheds for his livestock. That’s how the place came to be called Succoth (Sheds).

And that’s how it happened that Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan—all the way from Paddan Aram. He camped near the city. He bought the land where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid a hundred silver coins for it. Then he built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 33 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Saturday, february 29 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 8 years ago

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Can you do David's return too?

Short opinion: This is the culmination of Crayak’s master plan? This is the resolution of the David arc? THIS IS THE LAST BOOK RACHEL EVER NARRATES? This dumpster fire?

Long opinion:

This book attempts some interesting concepts, but in execution it is a dumpster fire so bad that I’m surprised it doesn’t smell faintly of smoke and rotting food every time I open it. You know that thing that happens where someone tells you a long-winded story about their dream and/or acid trip, and the whole time you’re sitting there with your eyes glazed over like “I guess you had to be there for this nonsense to be emotionally meaningful”? This book is the written equivalent of that experience. The descriptive writing is vague and incomprehensible, the characterization is an insult to both Cassie and Rachel, the setting is nonsensical, and the pacing is awful. It’s neither funny nor horrifying, much less both at once, which makes me wonder if it even qualifies as an Animorphs book at all.

I might be biased because (as I’ve mentioned) the whole “It Was All a Dream… Or Was It?” thing might be my least favorite trope of all time. However, if this book is all a dream, then all Crayak accomplished after all those years of bargaining and manipulating with Rachel was… sending her a bad dream. Holy guacamole, Batman, what are we gonna do?

Crayak’s been doing that same thing to Jake for years, and it hasn’t killed either Berenson yet. Assuming that the events of this story actually took place, then this book makes even less sense than it did before, because now we’ve got teleporting telepathic rats, Rachel and David both repeatedly picking up the idiot ball for the sake of plot, and four Animorphs who spend 90% of this plot failing to notice that one-third of their team is missing.

However, I can appreciate what this book was trying to accomplish, which is enough to make me think it had potential. (I tend to make the wildly biased assumption that the creative plot decisions are all K.A. Applegate’s while the atrocious writing conventions are all the ghost’s, but of course I have no proof of that.) When reading the series, I honestly didn’t see it coming that Crayak would use David to go after Rachel. Having now seen it, I think the idea is pretty cool because let’s be real that David (more than Visser One or Three, more than Crayak himself) is just about the scariest villain the Animorphs face. Not only that, but the parallels between David’s and Rachel’s mindsets are so obvious that there doesn’t even have to that dumb cliche moment where the villain goes “you and I have a lot in common, you know” and the hero goes “you and I are nothing alike!” for the theme to emerge. In addition to being Rachel’s shadow self, David is also Rachel’s biggest source of guilt and regret: she views his entrapment as the worst thing she’s ever done, and even thinking about what happened raises a lot of questions for her about whether she’s a good person. So the decision to bring David back as a way to characterize Rachel is awesome, if badly executed.

The other lurking theme in this book that has the potential to be awesome (but isn’t because the writing sucks) is Rachel’s sense of fatalism. Drode suggests that Rachel hasn’t killed Jake yet—and also doesn’t kill Visser Three when she has the chance—because she wants the war to keep going indefinitely, not because she thinks killing is wrong. Marco accuses Rachel of being eager for an open war to begin because she wants the conflict to escalate indefinitely. Rachel’s dream at the beginning involves her fighting dozens of opponents in grizzly bear morph until eventually she bleeds to death. Cassie suggests that Rachel has changed so much over the course of the war that she has lost her ability to be human. David bluntly tells Rachel that he would much rather die in battle than go back to the status quo. Any one of those could be taken as foreshadowing Rachel’s death.

There’s also this interesting check-in early on in this book that grounds its place not just in the series but in the war. You can actually chart the progress of the war lurching and dragging itself into the open over the course of almost ten books. The big shift begins in #45 when Visser One gets taken out of the way and replaced by Visser Three, who might not be good at much but does excel at open war. After that it’s only a matter of time before the first major attempt to destabilize the human power structure (#46), the first open battle (#47), and the first major hints that even the humans have noticed the problem (#48). Of course after that Visser Three finally figures out what enemy he’s fighting (#49), but the Animorphs also have a few major battles in downtown areas while evacuating their families without either side particularly worrying about what the muggles might see. Then both sides’ fighting forces swell exponentially (#50), the Animorphs openly appeal to human authorities for help (#51), the small army now led by the original six starts going on the offensive (#52), the Animorphs team up with everyone from taxxons to humans to yeerks while Visser Three starts leveling entire cities (#53), and finally the last of the humans get the memo that they were at war just as the news of victory breaks (#54).

Anywhoo, it’s really fascinating that early on Rachel’s introduction mentions that there are already rumors flying all over the internet that there’s some kind of invasion going down and animal shapeshifters are fighting back. Marco mentions that the yeerks are also whispering about open war in their own communications, scrambling their resources to get ready for the coming fight. I like that there’s not just one big reveal, but rather a process over the course of several different books that creates the sense that more and more illusions from both sides are being stripped away as the war gets steadily uglier.

Each time I finish this book, I am left with one question that burns in my mind above all others. It’s not “Why didn’t Rachel just demorph from rat if the box she’s in fit her human self just fine when she woke up?” nor “Why does Cassie mysteriously lose the ability to morph a whale and get her own self out of her box?” nor yet “Who the frick listens to a talking rat who offers uncertain financial incentives for unquestioning obedience when you could just sell it to Ripley’s Believe It or Not instead?” nor even “Why did I just waste two hours of my life listening to a kickass warrior get contorted into a whiny brat?” It’s this: What the ever-loving hell does Visser Three think about all this?

Seriously. He’s going about his normal Earth-conquering day when suddenly, out of nowhere, he finds himself teleported to some random sporting arena, where he promptly pops out of a Pokeball and gets attacked by a giant human with claws. Then said giant human attempts to kill him, morphs a freaking houseplant, eats him alive as a houseplant, and then randomly goes back to being Colossowolverine. Oh, and all the while Colossowolverine (who may or may not be an andalite, it’s not clear) is arguing with an evil talking prune about whether or not she’s going to be turned into a rat. After a while Colossowolverine bests the poor visser in a fight to the death… and randomly decides to stop fighting, because then she’d be doing as the evil prune told her, which would be bad for some reason. Colossowolverine disappears for a while back to rat-land, and Visser Three just as suddenly gets teleported back to where he came from as if nothing ever happened.

I can only assume that after they get back there’s this long, long silence. And then Esplin goes, To which Alloran says, and then they never speak of it again.

#asks #answers #anonymous #animorphs #animorphs reviews #the return #48 #david #xena warrior princess #animorphs negativity

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romancevsreality-blog · 8 years ago

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the bachelor, season twenty-one, episode nine: thank god this episode was short because this was so boring

I’m so happy this season is almost over.

Is that bad to say? NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. NOTHING. I’m just bored!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even an Andi Dorfman appearance isn’t enough to rattle my world. And I loved Andi Dorfman. The episode opens in Brooklyn at the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg1, where Andi has appeared at Nick’s door to offer some sage advice. Remember back when these two hated each other and he sex-shamed her on After The Final Rose a few years back? Remember back when I hated Nick almost an irrational amount, then adored him, and now I’m entering complete indifference towards him? Remember any of this? I surely do. I forget nothing. And let’s not forget - the last time Andi knocked on Nick’s door, she broke up with him. So he’s weirded out.

Meanwhile, the girls are all dressed in their finest, meeting on what I can only assume is a rooftop and being escorted by My Best Friend Forever And Always Chris Harrison. They’re outside and it is clearly freezing. Why do they force these women to do this constantly? Andi and Nick talk about how they can finally get on the same page, and how he feels insecure about admitting his feelings. Nick admits that he’s not going to get engaged just because he’s The Bachelor, and I stood up in the coffee shop I’m writing this in and started clapping. I love the rare moments of emotional honesty in this show. And then they get to the topic of banging - I mean, the topic of Fanty Sweets, because they’re coming up. Pretty much Andi’s like “bang them all, you’re allowed to, because that’s how you’ll know,” and I agreed.

What proceeds is an actual adult conversation between two people who were previously in a relationship wishing each other the best despite it not working out between the two of them with zero animosity. Again: the true human moments in this show weird me out.

Nick left all four women to blow away into the wind while he talked to Andi, because it really does seem like they stood there during the entire conversation.

Nick appears at the rose ceremony wearing a turtleneck and that is all I saw.

I am so upset about this turtleneck.

Raven gets the first rose.

Then my queen Rachel.

That leaves Corinne and Vanessa, and Vanessa gets the final rose.

I’m not shocked, but I’m shocked.

Corinne immediately bursts into tears, and I actually feel for her. Shit. The non-villain of this season is going home. As Nick walks her out, she cries, and continues to apologize for… nothing. She literally did nothing. Her exit interview is heartbreaking. She wants to feel loved - she thinks by saying the right things that she can get a man to love her just by loving him enough. Girl, I have been there. The act of loving someone is hard, but the act of loving someone and trying to get them to love you is even harder. You put in all the emotional labor for it to backfire. Corinne is right - you can love and worship someone enough and try to turn yourself into someone they want you to be, or you can be yourself and find someone who loves you. It’s amazing the things that will happen when you stop trying to impress people and just live.

This is the most feminist moment this show will ever have.

We’re off to Finland, an incredible place to fall in love, according to Nick. I know fuck all about Finland but I don’t think that’s the national slogan. Finland looks cold. I went to school in Kalamazoo, Michigan - it is cold as hell there, and let me tell you: temperatures that cold are not ideal for falling in love.

Raven’s the first date this week, and she’s excited because this little girl from Hoxie, Arkansas, is ready to float on some ice and fall in love. They get in a helicopter and she’s ready to tell Nick she loves him. ABC is milking the clip of sweet little Raven telling Nick she’s never had an orgasm, because she’s only slept with one guy and he wasn’t able to get her there. There’s been a rash of articles written lately that say that straight women have less orgasms,a fact I attribute to both porn consumption occurring earlier and earlier in life that manipulates young brains into thinking women have orgasms at the touch of a button, and also the fact that dudes are lazy as hell. Unfortunately, yeah, that means that in addition to the grandiose amounts of emotional labor women put in relationships in general, our orgasms are now our responsibility, as well. And it takes a long time to both realize what you want in bed and to gain the confidence to ask for it, so I feel bad for Raven. Both because she’s had shitty sex with a shitty boyfriend, but also because she clearly believes that all sex is supposed to be magical and not the awkward shifting of body parts and bodily fluids2. I do appreciate Raven’s bluntness, though. More women should be forthcoming about their orgasms. Also, way to tell your entire tiny town your ex-boyfriend was a bad lay. That’s the most empowering thing I can think of at this moment.

Raven and Nick wind up in a Finnish pub, where they play darts. Whenever I think of playing darts, I imagine this scene. This is the only time anyone has thought of Tara Reid since 2006. Nick is falling for Raven more and more every day, and they talk about how hometowns went for the two of them. Raven says she could never date a guy who didn’t like his mother, and I agree with this.

Amanda’s Dating Rules:

Don’t sleep with someone who has a bad relationship with his mother.

Don’t date anyone with two first names3.

Never fuck someone who doesn’t read books.

Have absolutely nothing to do with anyone who is mean to service people of any kind.

Nick, on the other hand, wants to date women who are nothing like his mother. He wants someone tough. They bicker about steaming vs. ironing (I’m on the side of ironing, but that’s because I love a crisp edge), and this is actually cute. I can’t help myself. We find out that Raven, despite being in a two-year relationship before, has never told a guy she loved him. They both admit to being nervous about the events that will go down in the Fanty Sweets, which of course, take place in a place called Lapland. NICK IS WEARING ANOTHER FUCKING TURTLENECK4. Raven never felt safe in her previous relationship to admit that she loved him out of fear of lack of reciprocation. Girl, I get that. She starts crying when she finally admits to Nick how she feels about him. Nick’s turtleneck continues to inch towards his forehead.

Raven says that he has made it so easy for her to love him, and admits that she loves him. It’s sweet, and she’s clearly nervous and being genuine. Nick is very careful in how he proceeds, but basically thanks her for her being genuine. It’s a great cop-out, because Nick is a master at this show. Nick gives her...

A FANTY SWEET CARD!!!!!

But after Nick finds out Raven’s never had an orgasm, so… pressure’s on, brah.

Next Week: More Fanty Sweetz! Rachel’s tentative to tell Nick how she feels! Vanessa! I’ll openly refuse to recap Women Tell All!

I feel like this was a missed opportunity, but whatever. ↩︎

There is an amazing article from the pornstar Stoya (LINK IS NSFW AF) that really enlightened me about how weird and gross sex is. But in a good way. ↩︎

My brothers both have two first names and I’m sure they would agree with me. ↩︎

And it’s beige so he just looks like a walking condom. ↩︎

#the bachelor #the bachelor recap #reality tv #is it rachel's season yet #jesus chris this episode was terrible

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mrmichaelchadler · 6 years ago

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The Best Films of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

Another Sundance Film Festival is in the books, leading critics around the world to look into their crystal ball and predict how this year’s line-up will be received when these films come down from the Utah mountains. The general consensus seems to be that this was a down year for Sundance. Everyone loved the increased representation behind the camera in the program, but critics felt a lack of stand-out films. Of course, there were some excellent films but don’t expect a Call Me By Your Name, Brooklyn, or Manchester by the Sea from this crop. However, our team of intrepid, sleep-deprived critics did see a number of works that you should put on your watchlist now. You don’t want to miss these twelve:

“Animals”

How odd that female friendship—real female friendship that is; not the kind about backstabbing or rivalry—is still a scarcity in cinema. For attempting to fill that gaping hole alone, Sophie Hyde’s “Animals” (an adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel with the same title) deserves all the praise it can get. But thankfully, “Animals” doesn’t stop there and pushes things even further than “Frances Ha”. Refreshingly frank and unautocratic about sex, drugs and the uniquely female desire to be free of judgment, “Animals” dares to love the pair of imperfect friends that lead the way into their messy and undeniably fun world of consequence-free hard-partying where men can be disposable and things will just work out. Shout out to the exceptional duo Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, as well as the costume designer Renate Henschke, who rightfully runs away with some autership claim on the film. (TL)

“Clemency”

I am still a bit shocked that “Clemency” won the highly coveted U.S. Dramatic Competition award, given that it’s a character study about a prison warden and the death penalty, but I hope that further expands the chances of it being seen by a large audience outside of Park City. The script by Chinonye Chukwu is a true marvel, using a select amount of characters, a gentle tone and reoccurring themes to highlight the major elements that populate the world around the death penalty. This leads to incredible, pained performances from its actors, especially Alfre Woodard as the warden and Aldis Hodge as a death row inmate desperately waiting on a life-changing call from a governor. “Clemency” declares an incredible ambition—you can see so many ways this could have fallen apart—but it displays the work of a master dramatist, who remains in control of every filmmaking element of her challenging story. (NA)

“The Farewell”

It may not have won the U.S. Dramatic Competition award with the jury members, but the critical darling from that program was clearly Lulu Wang’s poignant and personal story of a young lady (Awkafina) dealing with the imminent death of her grandmother, who doesn’t know she’s dying. It premiered early in this year’s Sundance, and critics all weekend were comparing it to masterful filmmakers like Ang Lee, Edward Yang, and even Yasuhiro Ozu in the way it blends cultural specificity with universal emotions. It was also this year’s “ugly cry” of the Sundance film festival, but it earns that title by never once feeling manipulative or melodramatic. It’s a true empathy machine of a movie, a film that tells a very specific story that’s not your own but allows you to see yourself within it. (BT)

“Jawline”

Step into a world of teen live broadcast stars for a different look at fandom and online culture as director Liza Mandelup follows Austyn Tester, an aspiring social media star, as he dreams of using his fame to escape his small town. Mandelup captures the rapid rise and crash of what it’s like to be plucked out of obscurity, put on tour in front of hundreds of screaming girls and the isolation that sets in when the show’s over. But Mandelup doesn’t just stop with Austyn’s story. She also interviews numerous young girls who adore these young social media heartthrobs and gets some insight of a manager staking his claim in this new digital gold rush and provide some insight into this new incarnation of Beatlemania-like fan culture. (MC)

“Knock Down the House”

With a renewed activist spirit, numerous women and people from underrepresented communities took to the polls in record numbers for the 2018 midterm elections. One of the shining stars of the new wave of elected officials is Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York, and she’s one of four women profiled in Rachel Lears’ inspirational documentary, “Knock Down the House.” The film documents the grassroots campaigns behind Ocasio Cortez, Cori Bush, Paula Jean Swearingen and Amy Vivela, giving an all-too-rare look at the scrappier side of American politics as they challenge the established powers in their states. It’s a film that’s deeply personal and moving, pieced together over the course of less than a year leading up to the frenzy of the 2018 election season. (MC)

“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”

A lyrical elegy on a city’s vanishing character, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” raises urgent questions around racism, gentrification and humankind’s deteriorating values through its offbeat rhythms and vivid cinematography as warm as the friendship at its heart. But to merely praise Joe Talbot’s artful film for its timeliness would do it disservice. With his directorial debut (co-written by Rob Richert and co-lead/Talbot’s childhood friend Jimmie Fails), Talbot has made an ageless film as dignified and dependable as its central character Jimmie; one that is proudly in touch with its roots and history and spiritually undefeated by the ceaseless injustices that aim for what one holds dear. This is bound to go down as one of the all-time-great San Francisco films. (TL)

“Late Night”

While this movie has earned some comparisons to “The Devil Wears Prada,” I believe that “Late Night” is in a category of its own. Mindy Kaling plays Molly, an aspiring comedy writer who’s earnest to a fault. Although she works for another woman (a marvelous Emma Thompson), Molly’s writers’ room is made up entirely of white men who see her feminist jokes and her diversity as a threat. It’s one of the few comedies I’ve seen that so smartly tackles what it’s like to be called the “diversity hire” around the office. Kaling, who also wrote the script, and director Nisha Ganatra find humor in these awkward workplace situations by playing on generational differences and the experiences of working in male-dominated world of late-night comedy shows. (MC)

“Luce”

The conversation starter of Sundance was Julius Onah’s brilliant dissection of privilege and expectation at a prestigious high school. The incredible Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays the title character, a star student whose life is turned upside down after a teacher suspects he may not be exactly what he seems. Harrison leads one of Sundance’s best ensembles, including one of Octavia Spencer’s best performances. Ultimately, this is a film designed to get people talking about its themes, and I can’t wait to be able to talk about it more when it comes out, courtesy of Neon. (BT)

“Midnight Family”

One of the best documentaries that played Sundance this year concerned Mexico City’s economy of freelance ambulances, following around a family in their vehicle as they race from one life or death scenario to the next, in order to make their payday. Director/editor/cinematographer Luke Lorentzen appropriately was given a special award this year for his cinematography—his on-the-fly framing is impeccable—but the editing is also incredible, capturing the ebb and flow of a few nights in the Ochoa’s business. “Midnight Family” is the kind of documentary that feels fully realized as the camera is rolling, making the movie all the more thrilling and heartbreaking with its cinema verité presentation. (NA)

“The Report”

I’m kind of a sucker for ensemble-driven government procedurals like “All the President’s Men” and this is the best film in that subgenre in years. Amazon has picked it up for a likely awards season run, and it’s easy to see how this could become the biggest hit out of Sundance 2019. Adam Driver gives one of his best performances as Daniel Jones, the Senate staffer assigned with determining exactly what happened with the EIT program – you know, the one that said it was OK to torture if it stopped a terrorist attack. What’s so great about Scott Z. Burns’ film is how tightly wound the whole film is, cinematically representing its protagonist’s increasing outrage at what he discovers. Even in just the ten days since I saw this, I keep reading stories of questionable governmental activity and hearing Maura Tierney’s CIA character in my head, shouting, “It’s only legal if it works!” People are going to be outraged, enlightened, and angered by this movie. I can’t wait for it to drop into the national conversation. (BT)

“The Souvenir”

It’s time for British auteur Joanna Hogg to be better-known stateside—with films like “Exhibition” and “Archipelago”, she has been cinematically untangling domestic knots for quite sometime now. With the gorgeously shot, delicate period piece “The Souvenir”, her best film yet, she brings a fictionalized version of her own story onto the screen, giving it the signature Hogg treatment: precisely composed, patient and poetic. Her Julie (soulfully played by Tilda Swinton’s daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne), whose artistic awakening gets hampered by a dysfunctional, increasingly toxic relationship, is heartbreaker of a character. You will weep by her side, thinking of that one person who broke you, but also enabled you to rise again with strength and a renewed sense of self. (TL)

“Wounds”

Babak Anvari fashioned himself as a classic horror director with his 2016 film “Under the Shadow,” which mixed a nightmarish force with a political story of Iran under attack. But he’s become a mad scientist with his sophomore effort “Wounds,” a Lovecraftian thrill-machine designed to jostle and challenge horror nuts. Anvari uses a story that might sound familiar of jump scares but focuses it around the moral misadventures of a cranky bartender played by Armie Hammer. “Wounds” is a great showcase for his comedic side, especially as his dopey character essentially finds himself in the middle of plot straight out of “The Ring,” as if he were a shit-out-of-luck innocent bystander looking through a dorm room window when a bunch of Millennials fired up that fateful VHS. A parody of jump scare lunacy that stands on its own, Anvari creates infectious fun out of the deliciously nasty and surprising events that come his way. The last shot is pure lunacy, but in the emotional and playful sense of “Wounds,” it makes perfect sense. (NA)

from All Content http://bit.ly/2DX5KWu

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nightmareonfilmstreet · 6 years ago

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Mother Knows Best: The 13 Worst Mothers of Horror

The horror genre has explored a variety of themes, and often times the complexities, mothers face from conception through death. It’s an analytically heavy topic that can provoke the most fundamental of thoughts, draw out the most genius symbolism, and shape our beloved characters down to even the most minute detail.

Mothers’ Day is the one day out of the year we use as a time to celebrate the most wonderful of idols we have been given. If not for the nurturing care, strong, fertile bodies, and ongoing evolution of women all over the world humankind would cease to exist. The colorful flowers, corny cards, and midday brunches are our attempts at offering a ‘Thank You’ to the ones who raised us, biologically or not, as we’ll do this Sunday, the 13th.

With that, what the horror genre has done so obviously well is show audiences that motherhood might not be as rewarding as it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes motherhood is scary. Sometimes motherhood is not about laser-cut flower petals, warm hugs, and relaxing pedicures. Sometimes motherhood is a bitch. Horror shows us that the most horrifying realization we can come to terms with is that the ones who bring us into this world can easily take us out of it.

Below are the 13 Worst Mothers of Horror. Directly or not, these women prove that parenthood can be a real mother-you-know-what and they’re not here to deal with it.

Margaret White in Carrie (1976)

Our titular character, Carrie White, is a shy, quiet, high school oddball who is constantly the victim of her classmates’ taunts and pranks in the novel Carrie written by Stephen King and the film adaptation directed by Brian De Palma. Instead of finding solace when she returns home from school each day she is faced with the Christian-saturated hellfire at the hands of her crazed mother, Margaret White. A mother, especially a godly mother, should use moral and powerful guidance to build Carrie up, but instead she wields that iron fist – clutching a kitchen knife – and spirituality as a device to literally drive her only daughter straight into the ground. Whether she is locking Carrie in a prayer closet for hours or purposely keeping the truths about a normal menstrual cycle from her, Margaret White is the epitome of a hypocritical, overly religious, and everything but Christian mother. Always watch out for the extreme ‘bible thumpers’. I know what I’m talking about, I live in the south.

Mommy in The People Under the Stairs (1991)

One of my earliest memories of horror film imagery is straight out of Wes Craven’s campy The People Under the Stairs and it’s one of those snapshots that will never leave my mind. Alice is a young girl kept as a prisoner in her home by her hedonistic parents promptly named Daddy and Mommy. After Mommy, played by fan favorite character actress Wendy Robie, murders an intruder, Alice, clean and nicely dressed, slips and falls in an enormous puddle of his blood at the bottom of the stairs. It’s just one of those scenes that fueled my love for the genre. The contrast of the gore and the beautiful home surroundings is absolutely perfect. Mommy is equally unforgettable as both a character and a portrayal of some real parental evil that exists in the world. Alice, along with many other ‘children’, are isolated from the outside world, physically (and suggestively sexually) abused, and either neglected to the point of death or smothered, well, to the point of death. If Mommy isn’t scary enough for you, check out the documentary The Turpin 13: Family Secrets Exposed for a real, all too recent example of how a mother, and father, like this can torture their children for well over a decade without anyone knowing. The scariest part: this film was released in 1991, the Turpin children were found just this year.

Rachel Keller in The Ring (2002)

You know those silly ‘Keep Out of Reach of Children’ disclaimers you see on common, but obviously dangerous, household items? Someone, somewhere was stupid enough to leave a bottle of bleach out on the floor in easy access for their toddler to take that one fatal sip. Rachel Keller of Gore Verbiniski’s The Ring is that mom. After the incredibly strange death of her niece, Rachel comes into possession of a videotape haunted by the spirit of a little girl, Samara, that murders the viewer seven days after watching it. Rachel, of course, watches it and receives the foreboding call from Samara giving her the countdown. Does she destroy the tape or even make an attempt at it? No. Does she hide the tape from her young, curious son, Aiden? No. Does she at least rid the house of all VHS players and leave him to endure cable over dying a horrible death? No. What she does is casually leave the tape out allowing the precocious boy to view it alone dooming him to the same terrifying fate of all of Samara’s victims. Rachel attempts to put all the pieces together to rid her and her son of this curse, but do you think she would ask Aiden, who obviously has a sixth sense when it comes to Samara, a single question as to the girl’s vengeful motive? You guessed it. Nope. Way to go, Rachel.

Mother in Mother’s Day (1980)

Acts of murder, rape, and physical abuse should not be impressive to anyone, least of all your mother unless you are Ike or Addley of the cult classic, occasion-appropriate titled Mother’s Day. Mother played by Beatrice Pons, pretty much changes the entire trajectory of motherhood in this extremely campy 1980 film. She encourages her two sons to commit heinous acts against others with the same gusto and enthusiasm as a mom cheering her son on during a little league baseball game. Ike and Addley are basically human trash she has raised into adulthood and the worst part is that she is proud of her unique parenting skills and her sons. The more brutal their acts are, the higher the praise she gives them. Mother certainly has her own twisted spin on the whole positive reinforcement technique. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this mother nor her revolting offspring. Although, I can’t help but wonder what B.F. Skinner’s thoughts would be on this type of parenting. Operant Conditioning at its best, right?

Nola Carveth in The Brood (1979)

One of the bitter pills we must digest as we age is that in ways obvious and subtle, we slowly become our parents. There is always a certain vicious circle that evolves when it comes to our parents, ourselves as parents, our children, them as parents, and so on that is natural and basically unstoppable. In David Cronenberg‘s body horror The Brood, Nola Carveth, played by Samantha Egger, learns just how truly vicious that circle can be. Nola is the product of an abusive mother herself and is being accused of abusing her own daughter, Candice, by her ex-husband causing her to seek therapy. The psychoplasmic methods (and possibly the unexplained discolored bumps she has growing on her arms) produce a handful of strange, dwarfish, creatures that extract revenge out on others based on Nola’s anger and psychic connection the litter has with her. Of all the mothers on the list, Nola isn’t exactly the worst as her story is really a metaphor for hereditary productivity, but we can’t let that be an excuse here. The creatures do attack Candice in the third act proving Nola has some resentment and animosity toward her daughter, proving her inner mentality as a mother is not exactly kosher. The inevitable circle spins on as we see Candice escape the attack fairly unscathed… except for some unusual discolored bumps on her arms.

Erica Sayers in Black Swan (2010)

If Dance Moms has taught us anything it’s that stage parents are the absolute worst. Living vicariously through your children is both selfish and utterly creepy. However, the subject of a stage parent is intriguing by an analytical standpoint and simultaneously horrifying to observe. Take Erica Sayers played by Barbara Hershey in Darren Aronofsky’s ballet horror Black Swan as an example. She is the mother to dedicated ballerina Nina, played fantastically by Natalie Portman, and she is about as manipulative and controlling as they come – if you can catch it. Mothers like Erica are masters at using words and seemingly kind gestures to guilt their children into loving them when they really should be running away from them. So much is suggested and hinted at in dialogue and setting to suggest Erica’s control over Nina and her domineering push forcing her to be obsessed with perfection, that if not payed attention to one might think Erica is caring and protective of Nina. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. I mean, the way she rewards Nina with a cake knowing very well the girl won’t eat it and that she would shame her for it later if she did, then makes her feel guilty for not eating it, is enough to give anyone a bout of bulimia. Mothers like Erica appear perfect and act perfect, but that’s all it is: an act.

Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)

Speaking of horrible mothers in the entertainment industry…

One of my favorite notions to use is that real life is scarier than any film out there. Nothing could support that more than Joan Crawford and the exploitation of the abuse she inflicted on her two adoptive children throughout their whole lives. While Mommie Dearest is not exactly a horror film, the emotional and physical torment her children suffered under her is sadly the standard by which we measure bad mothers against. Faye Dunaway played the role so well she is almost synonymous with the notorious actress, minus the child abuse, and her image still comes to most of our minds when we think about terrible mothers. The woman was basically the queen of outrageous punishment for minor indiscretions that children tend to make. The accounts from those around her, including the hired help, co-workers, lovers, and her children, Christina and Christopher, are pure parental nightmare fuel. It’s hard to believe this is not a made-up genre story, but it did happen unfortunately, exaggerated or not. I still cringe at the thought of her cutting off Christina’s hair as a distrubing penance for a simple mistake. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Hair grows back. The mental psyche takes a bit longer to heal. No wire hangers, kids.

Marge Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The mother of one of horror’s favorite final girls, Nancy Thompson, can be considered both a good mom and a bad mom depending on which one of her actions you’re observing. Marge, played by Ronee Blakely in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, is part of the original cul-de-sac lynch mob of Elm Street that burn Fred Krueger alive after learning he is behind the series of child murders in town. While we understand the parents’ revenge on Krueger and would gladly light the wick on the molotov cocktail thrown into his warehouse, the nightmarish ongoing result of Krueger returning to murder the kids of Elm Street in their dreams for a number of films is more than likely not what the parents expected the outcome to be. Marge goes on to be a full blown alcoholic and mostly absent minded mother to Nancy. She continuously takes the easy way out by either ignoring the fact that this monster is hunting her daughter and her friends or she drinks reality away being of no help nor support. Our final girl has to maintain her gumption and find her own courage and strength from within to escape the razor-bladed grasp of Krueger all on her own while Marge remains in a pathetic liquor infused stupor. It’s almost a relief when she is pulled through that tiny front door window at the end of the film. Thanks for nothing, Marge! Saddle up for the long haul or leave it to the judicial system.

Beverly Sutphin in Serial Mom (1994)

Being a perfect homemaker in the suburbs can be absolute murder and that is exactly what Beverly Sutphin, played by Kathleen Turner, is driven to when those around her get in her way in the dark comedy Serial Mom. Though her bloodlust is born from good intentions (an instructor makes a rude comment about her son), Beverly goes on a spree murdering anyone one she deems as a threat or just a nuisance to her or her family. For the most part, I get it. I actually debated on including her in this list at all. Ultimately, I decided that while annoying, none of Beverly’s victims really deserved to die and her own family remarks, in the humorous way the film is crafted in, to remind themselves not to piss her off for fear of her going on a murderous rampage again. What good is a mother if everyone around her is afraid she’ll put an axe in their head? Beverly best take a chill pill, wash it down with a tumbler full of white wine, and come to terms with the fact that most of us have to deal with on a daily basis: you can’t go around murdering everyone that annoys you whenever you feel like it. That’s what Purge night is for.

Norma Bates in Psycho (1960)

Most times no matter how irritating or intrusive our mothers can be, deep down inside we love having them around us. Always. However, should you want your mother to stay with you as long as Norman Bates does you may want to seek some help. The famous slasher’s mother, Norma Bates, is a special case on this list as she never makes an actual living appearance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Her voice and actions are all manifested from her son Norman himself who, it is suggested and pretty obvious, is severely dependent on her in all aspects of life whether she is alive or deceased. Norma’s emotional antagonism and violence towards him and the women he encounters paints us a picture of how bad the woman must have been when she was alive, though that is always up for debate. Was she as awful as the voice coming from Norman is or is it something he’s made up himself? Regardless, the psychological haunting linger of Norma is enough to drive Norman into the most serious identity crisis resulting in murder and Norma completely taking over him, mind and body. Life lesson: Stay away from the mama’s boys. Believe me when I tell you: this specific relationship portrayal isn’t too far off from what those guys are truly like.

MU-TH-UR 6000 in Alien (1979)

Many would think the Alien Queen would be on this list, but I can hardly count her as a bad mom. If anything, the Queen is a great mom who uses all of her genetic instincts to grow and protect her young when a handful of human incubators make themselves available to her throughout the series. Natural selection is also a bitch.

The real bad mom here is the space ship Nostromo’s mainframe system MU-TH-UR 6000, referred to as ‘Mother‘. The crew relies on MU-TH-UR for information, protection, and most importantly, survival. It is one of many analytical elements in the Alien series that relates back to the theme of motherhood. However, while the crew sleeps and operates under the trusting care of MU-TH-UR, the system is monitoring them to relay details on their activity back to Weyland-Utani and is in cahoots with the highly untrustworthy AI, Ash, on carrying out Special Order 937: collect an alien xenomorph specimen and deliver it back to earth with the crew members being completely dispensable. It’s an unfortunate lesson the crew members learn, but don’t trust technology no matter how long it lets you sleep in its womb.

Mother in Mother! (2017)

If there is ever a film so overtly saturated in motherly symbolism, it’s Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! Jennifer Lawrence’s mother character is pure, wholesome, and nurturing. She is all of the things a mother, including that of ‘mother nature’ and ‘woman’ should be. However, when random intrusive guests begin showing up and inviting themselves in to wreak havoc on the beautiful home mother is creating for her narcissistic poet husband Him, and their unborn baby, mother remains so passive to the point that a full on world of war explodes tearing down the establishment from the inside out. She only puts her foot down and embraces her protective instincts when it is far too late for everyone. The fate of her baby is gruesomely tragic and results in mother literally destroying herself and her surroundings only to be born again anew in the name of love for Him. Like any strong mother archetype would destroy themselves for the weak man that betrayed her and caused the death of her firstborn? I think not. This is a pretty sad portrayal of actions not taken by a mother, a wife, and a woman. mother really should have destroyed Him. However, given the subtext of who and what these characters personify, we should be grateful that mother doesn’t really hold a grudge nor seek apocalyptic vengeance… yet.

Rosemary in Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Similarly to mother, Rosemary Woodhouse of Roman Polanksi’s Rosemary’s Baby, adaptation of the novel written by Ira Levin, is another character you just want to grab by the shoulders and violently shake into sense. As beautiful, sweet, and delicate as Mia Farrow is in the iconic role of Rosemary, she is painfully dependent, weak, and totally naive. She is blindly trusting of her pushy neighbors and self absorbed actor husband, Guy (eye roll) all of which have made some deal with the devil and are part of the geriatric cult that worships him. Pregnant with her first child, unknowingly the antichrist, Rosemary falls ill many times, complains about threatening symptoms in her breathy voice, and takes advice from everyone but a trustworthy doctor who isn’t connected to the cult’s inner circle. Of course she isn’t aware of her husband’s involvement and the promises made to the underworld at her expense until it’s a trimester too late, but all of the suspicions and signs are there as plain as day for her to see. Thank goodness mothers and wives, women in general, have come a long way since the 60’s.

So, kiss your mothers this Sunday and appreciate them for the wonderful women that they are, unless they are anything like the characters in this list because, well, they are the worst. If your mothers are anything like this lot, you might want to start running…

The post Mother Knows Best: The 13 Worst Mothers of Horror appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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