#i had planned to kill him and glenn off together for the plot? and how i scrapped it bc i got too attached to them?

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

No but something I love is how fucking loyal Miklan really is (in Hopes specifically since we don't have enough information in Houses).

At the camp, he takes his job seriously. Very seriously. He doesn't act begrudging or like he's just doing anything by force. As the chapters go on he not only goes from relatively aloof to a full fledged commander (which is great development in that span of chapters btw considering how fast the story has to progress) and one who fights for Faerghus because he wants to (why would he reassure the player that he's going to, literally, hold down the fort? Why doesn't he flee when his life is in immediate danger despite that Dimtiri prefers his allies to flee and save their lives over sacrificing themselves? Why does he like helping citizens who had their lands destroyed by the war, despite being a bandit who used to plunge towns just like those?).

At any time when the Empire was attacking, he could've surrendered and even joined their side because of not liking Faerghus and its people... if he didn't like Faerghus and its people. Also, someone brought this up to me once that Miklan likely has family in the Empire still, because his mother was from the Empire. He had a perfectly good out that wouldn't even necessarily be considered treason to Faerghus, i.e. surrendering and going to the Empire to protect that side of his family.

He doesn't. He dies for Faerghus. It was both a matter of honor due to the fact that he was finally living the life he always should've been and wanted to be respected for that, and also his loyalty that followed in the past's wrongs being righted. No matter what you think of Miklan post disinheritance, he was the heir who was removed because he didn't have a Crest. All over just that, despite that Sylvain having a Crest never meant they didn't still have someone capable of fighting off Sreng invasions.

They had someone able to wield the Lance of Ruin, so why did it matter if he was officially the heir? Miklan felt like his life was stolen from him (and I'm not saying what he did to Sylvain was okay either). Dimitri gave him all of that back and he started to become loyal to Faerghus and its king because Dimitri was giving the chance even the man's own father never gave him from the moment Sylvain was determined to have a Crest.

What happened in his life before Dimitri had him brought to him as soon as he became king is, in a way, almost like it never happened as far as Miklan's behavior. It was obviously there at first, but over time it's like it never happened. That is, if someone met him and didn't know about his past, by chapter 9 they'd never even know he'd had that history. He was the person he would've been years ago if he hadn't been disinherited, which led to the mess that led to him being disowned (and he says he just "left", but Matthias doesn't mince facts. At all. If that had been the case he wouldn't just say he disowned him. He would admit Miklan ran away. That means Miklan claims he left as a means of coping and trying to convince other people that it was his choice and not forced on him).

Miklan became a lot more loyal than he's ever given credit for, both in the game and in the fandom. Gwendal did recognize it, but that's about all we're given.

Gwendal corrected himself when Miklan died, referring to him instead as Sir Miklan instead of the insults he was spewing during their fight which were very clearly pissing Miklan off; but Miklan kept fighting and defending the fort, not just because he wanted to prove Gwendal wrong but because he was here because he was pulled out of his life as a bandit. The people he was defending the fort for were the people who effectively gave him his life back.

Basically, he would've been there in that fort defending it anyway if he had lived the life he should have to begin with. If his value was acknowledged all along, he would've been defending the most important fort in Faerghus all along (if this exact scenario occurred and everything was the same except him being disowned in the first place). He would be there being the commander and fighter he was supposed to be.

Mind you, it was the king himself who gave him that chance, meaning the person who reigns over Faerghus and has the most power to change whatever the hell he wants - including how people with Crests and without are treated. Miklan was part of a fight to better their society and be part of the new generation taking over. Nobody could truly change things unless the king - the top power - had the thought to change them (not saying Lambert thought the political climate was good the way it was, but he clearly had other priorities and it didn't seem to be something weighing on his mind. He may not have even truly noticed the problems and power discrepancies because he was so focused on other things).

However, the moment the king thought to change all that old stuff, Miklan was one of the first people who came to mind, and one of the first people he took action regarding, to integrate into his new army (and he even mentioned completely rearranging his army and whatnot, and then we find out he had Miklan located basically right after becoming king. We had a two year timeskip and Miklan had been there for those two years because of how soon after Dimitri was crowned that he had decided to bring Miklan back and give him another chance).

If the king sought to change things and was taking active action to prove it, that was something Miklan could see and realize was actually going to happen. It wasn't a blind trust - he could see Dimitri was actually doing it. He had a reason to be able to trust him with this.

He was also able to trust the people who were watching over him, i.e. the people Dimitri had making sure he didn't revert back to any sort of banditry. Those people could have easily faked it, made up that he did something and that they had killed him on the spot. Dimitri trusted those people not to do that of course, but those people were not told to bring him to Dimitri if he did anything. They were told to apprehend him and kill him immediately (which is reasonable, given what he'd done in the past, and they wouldn't want to try to wait to get Dimitri over to wherever they were. If Miklan escaped in that time, they'd just have a big problem on their hands).

So that is to say, those people could've just faked it at any point and killed him. They didn't. They, like Dimitri, were willing to give him another chance provided he didn't do anything bad.

The same goes for Felix and everyone else who had qualms about him being allowed into their army. Dimitri explicitly stated if anyone had issues with his appointment as a commander to "by all means" kill him themselves. He literally made it an open option for his friends to just up and kill him if they truly couldn't forgive him (which at that point was more reasonable of a time because the war was still new and people didn't know if they could trust him with this specific appointment yet. By later in the story I don't think it would have been as reasonable for someone to try to kill him after he'd already been proving himself).

In other words, nobody did it. Everyone, literally everyone, backed off and respected Dimitri's decision (and technically Sylvain and Matthias' as well). None of those people, even when given open opportunity, turned a weapon on him. Not one. These people all gave him a chance. These are the same people he died fighting for, and for himself to be able to feel like he was fighting and dying for what he would have to begin with if he hadn't been disinherited - Faerghus and its people.

In the end Miklan was in both rank and heart a top ranking commander of Faerghus and he both appreciated it and knew he appreciated it. He was looking forward to the future Dimitri would bring, basically saying that he thinks Dimitri is a fool ("weak-willed") for it but that he now believes in it too. If anyone wants to try arguing those points, I have receipts as the young folk call them, fresh from Miklan himself about his feelings about it as spoken to Catherine and Shamir!

Miklan fought for the future he was hoping to see, and he died protecting that future. Again, not something he by any means whatsoever had to do. He was tasked with guarding the fortress, but was never told to lay down his life defending it. After years and years of being hateful and angry, he finally had some peace of mind and hope for what he could be. He was loyal to Dimitri in the end because Dimitri was loyal to him - that is, he kept his word and Miklan was able to thrive in Dimitri's society without being a bandit or having to worry about his future because of his status.

Like Dimitri said, the only thing holding him down by that point were his past mistakes. It was up to Miklan to do something about that for himself with the opportunity he was given to fix it. Dimitri said here, fix it, and Miklan said okay, and worked to fix it. For me the saddest part is that he didn't even get enough time to properly fix it and be able to be free of his past. He died for Faerghus though, with his dying words being that he was able to buy them time (to arrive and fight back against the attacking Empire). That's not something someone who holds a resentful grudge would say in their last moments. He was grateful he managed to buy the other fighters time, even though it cost him his life.

hopes was a dumpster fire a whole lot of times but its incorporation of miklan into the plot was not one of them. miklan fire emblem my love you will live on in my heart and in my fics. i am also deeply grateful to hopes for uh i guess hopes-canonizing (hopesonizing???) basically every one of my headcanons about him before the game came out.

[biggerbetterbat]

WITH YOU [13] JUST NEVER STOP

Daryl Dixon x OC!Charlie Reed

Summary: The group is stopped by the cars blocking their way through the highway and the sudden breakdown of the RV. In the meantime, they decide to collect supplies, but they're caught by an unpleasant surprise.

Warnings: angst, thinking about death

Song: After Dark Mr.Kitty

A/N: Hello! We're entering one of my favorite seasons and I have a plan for the plot. Today's chapter is short, so I can work on the next one. Feel free to comment and like. As always, I hope you enjoy!

WITH YOU ON WATTPAD

The road was quiet because it seemed that everyone was trying to process things that happened on their own. They were also grieving over another loss that took place just hours before. The group had to give up two cars, so now the Grimes family was in a car with Carol and Sophia, while Daryl was on his bike. Glenn was navigating Dale where to go, T-Dog was at the back of the RV and Charlie was with Shane and Andrea.

He was cleaning his gun and static clicking as he was doing so was filling the small room.

"Looks complicated," said Andrea, snapping Charlie out of her thoughts.

"The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way," Shane said and chuckled under his nose. "I could clean yours, show you how."

Charlie was looking out the window at the changing landscape, her knee was bouncing up and down, while everything was shaking inside. Even though she was aware of the conversation near her, she couldn't care less. Cleaning guns was something that her father taught her when she was six, so she didn't have any reason to listen to what they were saying.

"I bet Charlie knows how," he said and Charlie just sent him a polite smile, that looked more like a grimace than a smile."It's a sweet piece."

"It was a gift from my father," Andrea answered. "He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said: Two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves."

"Smart man, your father." Shane said and his eyes drifted to the other girl again."Hey, Charlie you okay?"

She wasn't okay. She wasn't fine. She just was. She was thinking about Jacqui, how she just stopped existing. Every single worry she had on her own, or they had as a group just disappeared. She didn't have to think about finding water or food, whether they had enough fuel, would whether the horde appear suddenly and kill them all, those worries just disappeared the moment the clock hit zero. Charlie wondered if that was better? If she was in a better place? Maybe she should have stayed there with her. What if that was the answer they were all looking for?

"Yeah." she nodded.

"We made it," Shane nodded with a suspicious stare, but he came back to his lesson with Andrea.

"Look, it's a...It's a limited capacity. See? Only holds seven rounds..."

"Oh, jeez," Dale said as he stopped the RV.

The group left their cars, so they could examine the damage in the RV. But before that, Charlie just sat in her place and looked at the surroundings through the window, and her heart started pounding in her chest. Owners of those cars were probably running with their whole families, so they could live. All the cars were left alone, all those people who wanted to run away...

"I said it. Didn't I say it?" Dale said. "A thousand times. Dead in the water."

"Problem Dale?" Shane asked.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of...Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..."

Charlie finally left the RV, standing at the entrance, not really sure if she should leave. A light breeze cooled her down. Her eyes landed on Daryl, who was looking for something in the nearby car. "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find."

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." proposed T-Dog.

"Maybe some water," Carol said.

"Food?" asked hopefully Glenn.

"This is a graveyard." Lori furrowed her eyebrows but then saw everyone looking at her. "I don't know how to feel about this."

"I bet they won't need it anymore," said Charlie and placed her feet on the asphalt.

"Alright. Gather all you can," instructed Shane as everyone spread in their own directions.

She sighed and entered the RV to grab her belt with a knife attached to it, the only knife that was left of all the weapons she had taken from her kitchen. Charlie touched the leather and remembered the feeling under her fingers when she touched it for the first time. She said she would never use it and placed the weapon in her living room and now...Now, she was ready to use it. Charlie knew that sooner or later she would have to kill another Walker, that her killing didn't end that time in Atlanta.

Rick grabbed her arm out of nowhere and pushed her towards the RV. She looked at him he had his finger on his mouth. She nodded and in a second she found herself flat on top of the RV, right next to Dale. She shut her eyes, placing her hand to her mouth, scared of breathing. Her other arm was tightly clenched around the handle of her knife.

Dale signalized that he wanted to help Andrea who was stuck inside. She nodded but wasn't sure she understood anything, because all she was focused on was growling and snarling that was coming from down. She was grateful that she couldn't see the rotten bodies covered in blood and visible organs. The RV was moving as the horde was passing by, every move made her heart beat faster. It was the scariest moment in her life. One part of her wanted to cry, the other part wanted to be brave and just survive, but there was one more part that was getting bigger and bigger...What if she just jumped down and ended this right this moment?

It could have been minutes or hours since she got up there, everything seemed to happen so slowly. Even though the horde probably passed by already, nobody dared to move. Most people crawled under the cars and they waited there, just like her. Charlie was glad that she could be up in the air, hard to be reached. All that was in her head was if her group had as much luck and if they all hid in the time. Almost immediately after that thought, she heard a scream- a girl's scream.

Charlie sat up slowly and saw that a Walker was trying to get under one of the cars. Then there was the blonde hair of Sophia, who was running into the woods with two Walkers just right behind her.

And Rick chased after them to the rescue.

Carol sobbed as she got out from under a car and walked up to the barriers, stopping there as Lori came up to her and hugged her.

"Lori! There are two Walkers after my baby!"

She wanted to run right after them, but her legs seemed to stick to the asphalt as she placed them after getting down from the RV. Charlie knew that they should have never stopped here in the first place. That was the rule now.

Just never stop.

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[nofoundboy]

×VSC×

3, 14, 29 (or just one of you don't want to do all three) with Leslie Vernon for the kiss prompts thing please? Male/Trans FTM reader if you can, thank you :))

×Vexelier×

A LESLIE REQUEST! 😔💖 Hope you like it and sorry for the delay, I was so excited to do this one that I had to rewatch the movie

3: A breathy demand: "Kiss me"- and what the other person does to respond.

14: A kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished.

29: Staring at each other's lips for a moment before moving closer, as if drawn together by some unseen force.

It was a sunny day in Glenn Echo.

Everything seemed to be brimming with life and the enthusiasm of the good weather seemed to rub off on the people, who happily parsimoniously strolled through the town. They were wearing their brightest and most colorful clothes and almost everyone could tell they were happy to be there in spite of it all.

Leslie was already quite enthusiastic, with an energy that never seemed to let up, so it was no surprise to see him out and about that day.

Between his training, the upkeep of his house and 'his house', and a quick visit to Eugene, he seemed a never-ending source of activity and movement. To you, Apollo and Hermes combined into one vibrant person.

And even though you knew he was far from exhausted, you wanted to help him with the apples anyway. It was always the task you liked best because you had a chance to spend a lot of time together and away from all signs of civilization.

This time, Leslie was not there to accompany you in that task, but at least he would give you some time alone to meditate on what you were feeling.

Your arrival at Glenn Echo had not been free of the typical fanfare and trickery that Leslie would throw at his victims, in fact, you had been a special choice.

Leslie wanted to maintain his reputation, to live up to the meticulously planned legend he was building, and while he cherished following the tradition Eugene passed down to him, he knew he had to add his own touch and particularities to make his image enduring and impressive. And that always included adding a twist or two to the plot.

In this case, you were the virginal boy who had to emerge as a man. Leslie constantly told himself that it was an original idea given the few examples that existed.

And of course, it had all been an experience you would not want to repeat, but, adding to this twist, Leslie simply could not kill you.

So there you were, falling prey to the unbreakable and certainly unconventional bond you now shared.

You couldn't be sure of Leslie's feelings, but it was clear that he appreciated you in some way. You still doubted that your affections would be reciprocated in the way you had hoped, so you could use the alone time you could get to keep your heart in check.

So, on that hot day, you ended up exceding yourself with the apples. Your way of getting out all those overwhelming thoughts, all those emotions that refused to go away.

You had multiple baskets, large and overflowing with apples, and even under that once pleasant, now excessive sun, you ended up fainting.

Leslie found you a few minutes later. Lying on the grass and breathing heavily. He didn't hesitate to take you in his arms and run to safety to find out what had happened.

When you arrived inside your home, you both realized that the heat stroke had affected you that way because you had been wearing the binder for too many hours.

"Y/N! Damn, you know…you know you shouldn't do that…" his face went from emotions such as anger to concern in seconds.

Your binder was already lying next to you, pretty battered but still usable.

"I'm sorry,okay? I just lost count of the hours that had passed, that's all," you whispered. Now that you had come to your senses and could breathe, you certainly didn't want to deal with Leslie lecturing you. It just reminded you of how confused you were about how you felt about him.

"It's not the first time that happens" his energy seemed to have dropped considerably. The day didn't look as nice as it used to.

"And maybe it won't be the last, but this is the only way I can feel good" you said, your last answer. You didn't want to continue with the conversation. Your doubts were now the ones choking you.

"Then I'll have to set an alarm for you? Be the one to tell you when to take it off? I don't want you to die from a broken rib or something…" and even though you could hear the urgency in his voice, the genuine concern that tinged it, you didn't give in and gave him the rein to your doubts.

"Are you afraid I'll die because then you won't be able to kill me as you had planned?" your voice was a harsh croak, covered by the thick layer of fear and uncertainty you had been carrying around all this time.

"If I still wanted to kill you, you would have been dead months ago!"The atmosphere in the room was cold in contrast to the outside. You could almost feel a cloud inside the house cruelly bathing you with the coldest water.

"And so? What's stopping you?" was the question you had really wanted to ask from the beginning.

"That I have fallen in love with you."

You felt silent.

You looked down quickly. It was what you had wanted to hear, a confirmation that it was your turn and that his plan was not still on track.

You crawled a little to the side of him and gingerly took his little finger in yours.

Leslie smiled softly and looked at you at last. His eyes fixed on your half-open lips that wordlessly and desperately sought his.

You felt a peculiar force, external and unknown, pull you more and more to Leslie, he seemed to feel the same and you were just about to relinquish all control when another intrusive thought attacked you.

"If this is another part of your plan, don't let me know, just make it quick and I know it will be for posterity but I like you too much-" you were speaking quickly and in rushed whispers. It was your fears fighting to get out until Leslie's voice, barely a whisper full of need and desire, interrupted you.

"Kiss me" and at that almost plea, you could do nothing but give in, closing your eyes and impacting your lips hungrily against his.

You felt the softness of his lips, that little patch of hair beneath them, the coolness and pleasantness of his breath and the way his tongue desperately entangle yours.

Leslie rolled on top of you without breaking away from the kiss, just looking for the best angle to feel your body against his and your wet mouth receiving his.

The air was beginning to get thin between you but you refused to separate until it was absolutely necessary.

Leslie stared at you and with his charming smile that you were used to, he whispered against your lips.

"You're my final boy, just not in that way" and before you could respond, he kissed you again with all the eagerness and sweetness he's been guarding practically since he met you.

[movie-critc21]

How AMC messed up THE WALKING DEAD when Carl died.

Carl was the best character on the show. We saw him literally grow up from a little kid to a young adult.

He was supposed to lead Rick's group once he got older and the new generation to come. The comic books and the show don't add up. because the writers are not keeping up with their own writing, how are you going to kill him off in the show but not kill him off in the comic books? Chandler even said that he didn't even know that he was going going to get killed off It was a surprise to him too when they did. Here's the link to the interviews.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-walking-dead-chandler-riggs-interview-it-sucked-having-to-leave/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CivhXagACN8

They killed a major character that has been in most episodes and is one of the main people on the show. Now all they are doing is just showing everyone's reactions to Carl dying. Which is fine and all but the people don't wanna see half of a season of the characters reacting to his death. It loses the "wow factor" of the show.

I also think that the whole "we should all come together, and build a new world together" and the notes that Carl wrote to everyone after he died were pathetic. Don't get me wrong, it added a sentimental touch to the show. But him all of a sudden changing his thoughts on killing Negan for killing everyone he loved was a straight turn-off! let's be honest here, I didn't like the sudden change in his character. It didn't seem like Carl's character.

Killing off Carl was done without a backup plan. They should have picked another character to kill off. Personally, I chose Eugen to go, even though he's smart and his brains can come in handy for things but Chandler Riggs was better and stronger. He didn't need to be saved all the time, he knows how to hold his own up and he can fight. Eugen was just dead weight and a waste of time. He should've died instead of Glenn and Abraham. THE WALKING DEAD is no longer a survival story like it once was. It has turned into a zombie slash gore fest now, where everyone just tries to kill each other or die killing zombies.

Takeaway: AMC needs to hire new writers before this show gets canceled or just ends horribly like HBO's GAME OF THRONES did.

The show is starting to get boring, They needed Carl to be the next Rick. I believe the show lost its fear because now after Carl died everyone had split up into different groups. The original group is now split into different communities and they all just stop talking to each other. Like after Carl's death they started the new season with everyone being mad at each other. Maggie at Hilltop, Ezekiel and Carol running The Kingdom, Rick, and Michonne in charge of Alexandria, and Daryl at the sanctuary. what was needed to kill Carl off anyways? Was it to kill main characters off just to bring on new characters that are potentially going to die, or throw the season off.

I get that AMC is trying to get a certain type of reaction out of the audience. But after Carl died a lot of my friends didn't watch the rest of the show because they thought the writer's idea to kill him off was stupid. And that's where I think a lot of people are at. They stop watching the show because they are steadily killing off the main characters what's a good show without the main characters carrying it on. I mean bringing on new characters I guess spice up the show to grab more people in. However, it didn't go as they planned. It's just like when Glenn and Abraham died. I wanted to stop watching the show, but instead, I continued because I wanted to see if AMC was going to kill off more main people. Which they did down the line.

The end of the story is, that I don't AGREE with AMC's logic on Carl. But I'm not a marketing expert on how to keep the world intrigued with the show and drive their sales but I do know that half of the world is upset about that sudden death. It just didn't fit the plot.

Thank you!

[trashmenace]

The Defeat of the Secret Empire Part Two

8/2/66

Tales to Astonish 85

Submariner: Number One tries to regain control of Namor to attack the Hulk.

Hulk hasn't had a whole lot to do with any of this, just had Betty thrown at him by Boomerang, figured he'd want revenge on Number Two or SHIELD, depending on how much he's figured out. But looks like he's fixated on the Hulk as some kind of Breaking Bad deal.

Number One has a backup plan, to send sound waves to Namor's ear to control him. Namor fights a rollercoaster, gets rid of the disc, and his story ends. Meanwhile, Hulk seems drawn to Number One's position. #1 blows up his apartment, but gets killed in the blast while Hulk survives.

And that's the end of the Secret Empire...for now

I figured the subsequent Hulk story would explain why he was climbing the building like King Kong, but nope, he moves on to another story. Hulk and Namor don't even run into each other, much less fight.

This just covers the Secret Empire elements - the story intertwines with Submariner versus Krang and Iron Man, SHIELD vs AIM and Hydra, which in turn intersect with Iron Man vs Titanium Man and Cap vs Red Skull. Tale of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, and Strange Tales (aside from Doctor Strange) were all woven together in 1966.

A harbinger for things to come for Marvel crossovers, the story itself is not so seamlessly plotted. A casual reading implies that the Hulk destroyed the Secret Empire, but at best he foiled one of Boomerang's plots. It reads like there was supposed to be Boomerang/Hulk showdown, but they cut that short to get Hulk in New York to fight Subby, and then that didn't happen. So how is the Secret Empire destroyed? Readers want to know:

It ultimately gets destroyed when Number One blows himself up, but even after 3 through 9 get defeated, we've got 1 and 2, plus their international network and vast resources. Tales to Astonish implies the Hulk destroyed it, but if you read Strange Tales you'd know Howling Commando Gabriel Jones took them down.  But how?

I had the same question Doug did until the obvious hit me - Gabe was undercover as Number Two! Had to read his megalomaniac speech to himself again about taking over the Secret Empire and it was consistent with a SHIELD agent destroying them from within. Marvel was neither shy nor subtle, so I'm assuming it was an oversight that they didn't spell it out more clearly in alliterative editor's notes. Also strange that they completely dodged the question in the fan mail - Marvel tended to explain away their plot holes or give sarcastic answers. I checked the letters' page for the next year and no no-prize was awarded.

Even once you put the pieces together, not much actually happened. Boomerang and the Secret Empire were defeated, almost off page, by Glenn Talbot and Gabriel Jones respectively, while Hulk and Namor mainly wander around avoiding cops and the military, but then again that's Hulkie's jam.

Read (most) of the full story in Incredible Hulk Masterworks Vol. 3 from Amazon

[antoxsmith]

Reality

Warnings: smut, some praise kink, slight fluff

Pairing: Negan x Reader

Summary: Negan appears inside your appartment as you watch The Walking Dead. He is everything you wanted, and more.

NEGAN MASTERLIST

Inspired by:

Tik-fuckin-tok.

You looked at your digital watch hanging on the wall next to the television, impatient, waiting for the episode to start and hoping work didn’t call you in again. After that long, horrific week that you just had; this was the highlight you needed so you could finish your Sunday in happiness; wrapped in the sweet arms of The Walking Dead’s plot.

When you finally saw the commercials come to an end, you shifted into a comfortable position and started to eat the chocolates, eager. After a second you choked; Negan’s face all over the screen in a cocky smile that you could see he was giving to one of his lieutenants.

“Lord. Have mercy.” you whispered as you drooled for the fearless leader of the saviors. After almost a season you just couldn’t have enough of him, his features, the way he spoke…Fair to say that he was your favorite character.

As the episode went by you couldn’t do much but thank God for blessing you with so many Negan scenes; all while throwing chocolate into your mouth until you finished the bowl. Just after that, you began feeling the weight of the week in your shoulders and eyelids; threatening to fall asleep.

Before you could; the episode went back again to Negan. You chuckled in tired awe; seeing how he raised Lucille to kill someone. Then; out of nowhere, he disappeared. You looked confused at the nicely done effects; as the saviors too; looked confused; still kneeling.

 “What the-” you mumbled; you had read the comics. Negan wasn’t a sorcerer of any kind.

“Oh shit!” you heard from the kitchen; a familiar voice shouting. Your eyes opened widely, quickly and quietly moving from the sofa to stand next to the TV. You heard loud footsteps from whom you thought was here to rob you, coming to the living room. You felt goosebumps on your spine as you quickly called emergencies; but still, you weren’t scared. That voice…

Just as someone picked up; the footsteps came into the living room your heart nearly stopped at the shock, your trembling fingers stopping the call. “Negan!?” you gasped out loud with your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, your voice making him take a step back in surprise; but his gaze quickly changed to a mostly stern one. He had Lucille, wore that leather jacket; even had that fantastic salt and pepper beard you loved to stare at; and he was right fucking there.

He looked at you as if you were crazy or stupid. Maybe both.

“Where the fuck are we; doll?” He asked, looking around. “I was about to bash someone’s head in; and having a hell of a party!” He grinned with a trace of anger.

When you didn’t answer fast enough; he looked back at you with piercing eyes, impatient. “Speak when you are spoken to.” he imparted, his loud voice making you flinch. Your hands weren’t trembling anymore, but they sure as hell were sweating; even more as he slowly walked closer to you and invaded your personal space.

“Uh at… my… my house?” you mumbled, your legs feeling like jelly for the way he looked at you and his approach. You knew that look; the one he gave people when they were making him angry after fucking up; in silence, but scarier than you thought. “It’s… 2020. We are in the real, the healthy…” you mumbled, and he raised an eyebrow expectantly, “...world.”

He looked at you for what felt like forever; and then, out of nowhere… he smirked.

“Look, honey. Sweet cheeks as ever; by the way-,” he started, making you chuckle as a teenager in love, suddenly forgetting everything else. He noticed and his eyes darkened; but you didn’t mind. “You might want to tell me the truth, or I-” He stopped himself, as he heard Rick’s voice, looking past you into the TV.

Now that  was a confused Negan. His lips were even parted slightly as he looked at the characters in the series planning their attack to the Sanctuary, not able to understand what was going on.

“Oh, some cock-sucking information on Rick the prick!” He said out of nowhere, taking a seat on the sofa. You stayed still, disbelieving his disconcerting behavior. Wasn’t he taken back at seeing the working plasma TV with people talking about him in full definition? 

His voice snapped you back to reality. “Hey, sweetcheeks.” He spoke without turning to look at you. You hummed questioningly in response, knowing he was talking to you. “Come sit next to me.” He said almost kindly, but you knew better. This was an order.

You did as you were told and even as much as you wanted to look at the screen; see what was he so mesmerized about, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him or the weapon on his lap. At this point you were convinced that you were lucid dreaming. What a great imagination.

“Doll?” he mumbled.

“Yes?” you almost whispered, too scared to wake up if you spoke louder. His jaw was tight, his hair taken back and you wondered how did he manage to smell so fucking good in the middle of the apocalypse; the tangy aroma filling your nostrils.

“Are you enjoying the view?”

Your cheeks turned red, but you giggled and nodded. “Actually, yes. A lot.”

Just then, he looked back at you, raising one of his full eyebrows. A smile appeared on his lips after a minute and he chuckled at your sweet giggles. “So, you spend your days like this? Looking at… us, I guess?” He asked, tilting his head and motioning to the TV with a nod. You nodded cheerfully.

“Wanna see something?” you asked, already looking for the Netflix page on your phone. He looked at you, confused; and waited. However, you did not fail to see his hand leaving Lucille aside and his other arm going over your seat, barely touching your shoulders. “Here’s you.” You showed him a picture of him in the last episode. He quickly read over what you showed him, taking the phone from your hand. You smiled at his proximity.

“A comic?” He asked, looking up to you from the screen. “And how the hell do they know about Lucille? My last work, too?” He kept on asking as if you knew.

“Eh, well you are… you are a…” You traced off, your voice getting smaller. You took the phone from him; scared of him seeing his fate. “A character?” You failed to seem sure. He laughed.

“Alright. That’s a good one.” He said cockily. “This one was good. Did someone at The Sanctuary put you up to this?”

You looked at him and just gulped.

“I could ask you the same.” You answered.

He stroked his beard, not seeming too worried about it. You weren’t, either. Just very fucking confused. He didn’t stop looking at you; his chin up and shoulders back.

“Alright… If you are telling the truth, then… Can you order italian food?” He asked as if he was tempting the grounds.

You giggled and nodded. Without thinking too much about it, you called your favorite restaurant, feeling his eyes set on you as you ordered spaghetti and rolls. He raised an eyebrow at the fact that you knew that; and you chuckled, smiling proudly to him while still on the phone.

The next hour; you spent answering his questions and telling him about the modern world; the things that changed from before. He didn’t buy it, until…

“Holy shit I am in another dimension!” He shrieked, spaghetti and rolls in front of him on the small table you had in the living room. Just then he did believe you. You chuckled and nodded. “You really think that corona-whatever-the-fuck stuff is like the flu? Maybe the world is going to shit again. Wouldn’t like to be here for that again.”

“I guess. Work has been awful because of it.” You mumbled, trying not to think about that too much. “Hey, you asked me a lot of stuff. Can I ask you now?” you said as you began to eat.

“Sure. Why do you ask for permission?” He said, and you just looked at him in silence. Really? “Okay. I get it.” He understood that look, and you giggled. “I am not that fucking bad.”

You hesitated a bit, but then you spoke. “You killed Glenn and Abe, and everyone hated you because of that. I don’t.” you shrugged, unaware of Negan’s lingering eyes and mesmerized smile. “Rick killed a whole outpost. But that’s a conversation no one is ready for; yet, I guess.” You looked down at your plate and sighed. “Then you have a sense of humor that kind of relaxes me. A bit evil; like that time you killed Carson and laughed about it; or when you burned Mark’s face. People used that kind of thing to say you are a monster.” You kept on talking, never knowing when to shut up; but Negan liked it. He didn’t even touch his spaghetti anymore, all of his concentration set on you. “But then again you have morals. Not like the Governor or Alp- Well, not like others. You steal stuff, so that makes you the bad guy; but I kind of get it, somehow. You feed hole families; the Sanctuary even has a system for points and shit. And your wives; well. They are there for their own sake really. I don’t know why they act as if it was something bad. I mean, look at you-!” you shut your mouth, your cheeks turning red. You looked up from your plate just then, hoping he wasn’t gripping Lucille or something. 

Instead, he was resting his chin on his hand with a playful gaze while staring at you, smirking softly. “What about me?” He asked leaning forward, dilated pupils. You instantly felt your thighs clenching from the way he was looking at you.

“You are… quite… handsome?” You answered nervously. He laughed out loud, but didn’t move.

“Anything else?” He asked.

You bit your lip. You wanted to tell him everything you really thought about him and the times you had fantasized about him, but you couldn't. You were too shy.

He noticed how you felt, and he sit back on his chair again, staring at you as if he could see straight into your core. Then he licked his lips and moved his fingers signaling you to come closer, making you clench your thighs together again.

Without hesitation you got up and walked towards him, stopping next to his seat. He looked up to you and you found weirdly pleasant how he could be looking up and still be the one dominating the situation.

“Sit.” He mumbled.

You grabbed the closest chair, but he stopped you; smirking: “Not there, sweet cheeks.”

Then you got it. You bit the insides of your mouth nervously, thinking about it for a second but… hell. It was Negan. If there was a man you couldn’t say ‘no’ to, was him. You forced yourself to move and placed your body on his lap insecurely straddling him, trying not to put all your weight on him.

You heard his subtle laugh just before his arms went over your body, tangling on your waist and pressing you hard towards him, making you whimper involuntarily and look at him through your lashes.

“Tell me more. What was that you were saying? Oh, right. About my wives being lucky.” He grinned, looking down at your lips seductively.

You gulped, trying to relax your body. “I… well, I think that you benefit them a lot.” You mumbled. He looked as if he approved what you said, so you kept speaking. He kept holding you close, running a lingering hand on your back. “And you never force them to any-“ you stopped talking as Negan approached your neck, the tip of his nose barely grazing your skin. He hummed questioningly for you to keep on talking, and you obeyed. “Y-you could make any of them happy if they saw past your façade and I…” you gasped softly as you felt him kiss your tender skin. You placed your hand on his shoulders. “I think you…” you tried to keep on talking, even though it was hard to think as he slightly bit your skin, “… you are amazingly good at leading people and…” you moaned softly as he ran his tongue through your collarbone and sucked, leaving a hickey right where your bones found each other in the middle of your collarbones. “Negan…”

He looked up to your eyes and his smirk was gone. Instead, he licked his lips in a languid expression you couldn’t quite recognize, but he kept looking down to your lips and then back again to your eyes. “You think you know me?” He asked, demanding.

You held his gaze and slowly nodded, looking down to his lips too. “I do.”

“And?” He asked, recognizing how you were holding back, his fingers on the small of your back slowly moving up.

“And I- I think you are everything anyone could ever want.” You mumbled feeling terribly cheesy. He chuckled at your sweetness.

You looked at each other in silence, his only movement being the hand on your back. Just then you were able to notice something hard pressing against your bottom. You came back to reality as his fingers touched your hair, locking onto your nape and bringing you down to him.

As his lips pressed roughly against yours you felt as if your stomach was boiling, melting against his touch. You placed your much more relaxed hand and locked it over his bearded cheek, just as his tongue pushed past and made you squirm, your tongue rolling warmly with his.

You felt his hands feeling your arms, your thighs, as if to believe you were really there before daring to do something else. You were too mesmerized, as if into another dimension. You decided to take one step further; breaking the kiss and kissing his neck almost sweetly, if it wasn’t for your tongue going over his skin softly and your hips moving roundly over him.

“Such a good girl.” He grunted, his hand leaving your hair and going down your spine, his fingers trailing down your ass. You smiled proudly and kept on sensually assaulting his neck, while your hands undid the zipper of his leather jacket. You could almost feel his grin as he helped you take it off and toss it aside. Just as you were about to go back to his neck, you felt him grip your thighs and get up. You whimpered softly but locked your hands on his shoulders as he slammed his lips against yours again.

He sat down on the sofa you had been on earlier and pulled you closer again, not breaking the kiss as he lifted your shirt softly and touched your naked skin. His fingers were hot and strong, making you take off your shirt yourself.

“No bra, sweet cheeks?” He asked provocatively, making your cheeks turn red once again. “You are fucking perfect.” He said as one of his hands kept lingering on your back, while the other softly trailed over your torso. You were on cloud nine, feeling him hardening against your bottom. You tilted your head to the side, as he began kissing your neck again, this time much softer; going down to your collarbone, and unexpectedly taking your nipple into his mouth, sucking and twirling his tongue around it until it was hard and perky; his stubble leaving little marks over your skin.

“Negan… can I…” you mumbled, shyness washing over you once again. But the look he gave you, full of lust, was enough to get you going. You separated from him and stood up, your curvy body making him lick his lips.

You unbuttoned your pants, taking them off slowly and moving your hips provocatively; your pink panties showing. When you looked back at him, his jaw was tight, as he tried to control himself. Just a second later, you kneeled before him, licking your lips.

He smirked widely, understanding now. “You are going to have to tell me what you want, baby.” His thumb touched your chin, softly, keeping you in place. Just when you thought you were about to chicken out; you pushed yourself a little and wrapped your lips on his finger. You would’ve smiled at the look he gave you; but instead, you twirled your tongue around it and sucked softly.

“Please, Negan.” You pouted, your hands going over his crotch already.

“You know the magic words.” He smirked to you, undoing his pants but not giving you what you wanted. “Say it.” For the way he looked at you, this time it was an order.

“Please let me suck your cock, daddy.”

Negan chuckles, his brows raising as he hears the nickname. “Ask and you shall-fucking-receive, darling.”

He unzipped his jeans and you bit your lip as you finally saw his length. Wasting no time, you lean forward, your tongue tracing the underside of his cock. He licks his lips and carefully takes your hair into his hand, helping you get it out of the way. You kept on teasing him, your tongue running over his length countless times. Negan looks at you, and he knows. He knows how bad he needed this. To be just a fucking man; not a savior, not a leader. Just a man with a woman that actually understood him.

He was taken back from his thoughts when you took him into your mouth, his size only allowing you to go halfway. He moaned softly and looked down at you. “That’s my good girl.” He said, meeting your sweet eyes, mouth full, and you hummed; feeling already wet from how much he teased you, and now from his words. As you sucked on him, he took off his white shirt.

You pulled back and movde your mouth up and down slowly, your hand helping you touch the rest of his length. Negan grunted as you took him down your throat and kept looking at him deliciously. “That’s it, keep looking at me, baby.” He ordered, as you pushed a bit further into his length. “Oh, fuck, princess…” His words dissolved into a throaty moan as his neck arched in pleasure.

Your other hand slowly came down, and you feel yourself. You were creaming over him, your panties wet in your arousal. You moaned softly and circled your fingers over your sensitive, wet skin, your mouth going up and down his length just as far as you could take it.

He looked down at you and tiltted his head to the side, spotting your hand inside your underwear. He stopped your sucking, and griped your hair softly; taking you off him. You pouted, and he smirked. “Who the fuck said you could touch yourself?” He asked, taking your hand and bringing you back up to his lap.

You bit your lip. “I am s-sorry.” You mumbled, but you felt his cock just right there pressing against your bottom; your underwear being the only thing that kept you from feeling him. The eagerness made you roll your hips and quickly he thrust up, making you feel him against your clitoris. “Please.” You plead; your red, parted red and swollen lips making him groan.

“You touched yourself. I have to punish you now, baby…” He said, but you are simply too much for him to not take right now. His hands gripped your ass and you rolled your hips again.

“Please, daddy.” You plead again, and that’s where he loses it; punishment leaving his mind. He could take care about that later.

He moved your panties aside and you whimpered in expectation, as his fingers gently touched your folds. “You are so fucking wet for me, sweetcheeks. What have you been thinking about?” He asked as if he didn’t know already, while circling your swollen clitoris slowly and keeping his eyes on yours. He just fucking loved eye contact.

“A-about you, Negan. About you fucking me...” You moaned, your eyes closing in pleasure. He smirked as he saw you give yourself to him, melting under his touch. He positioned himself and you only notice when he pushes inside, making you open your eyes and moan loudly, gripping onto him as he thrusts all of his length into you. The little pain you feel is completely washed over by the pleasure he gives you; kissing your neck as he waited for you to relax.

“Fuck, honey. Where have you been all my life, huh?” He moaned as your walls held him tightly, as if your body didn’t want to let him go… ever.

“Please. Please, Negan…” you gasped, looking at him with narrow eyes and parted lips.

“What, honey? What do you want?” He asked as he kissed right under your ear.

“Please fuck me.” You moaned, too lost into what you feel to be shy anymore. You didn’t care; you needed him.

He smirked and you once again came back to reality as his fingers touched your hair, locking onto your nape and bringing you down to him just like the first time. You kissed back, and suddenly felt the intense fear of losing him. However, it went away when he started thrusting up into you slowly, taking your moans into his mouth. He felt amazing inside of you and completed you just as you needed and imagined; making you squirm and moan his name as the wet, sinful noises turned you on a little more.

When he felt your hips moving with him, he groaned and let go of your lips. Still, he holds you in place and looked straight into your narrowing, greedy eyes. “Fuck, baby. You look so beautiful with my whole dick inside of you.” He praised and you moaned loudly. “Oh, you like that? You like when daddy tells you how fucking lovely you look when he pounds into you?” He asked and you shamefully nodded too many times. He chucklds lowly and you felt his hand let go of your nape; now his fingers locked on your hips. With that he started moving faster, harder, and you felt yourself clench onto him. “So fucking good for me, princess. I am going to cum inside of you, so, so much. You’d like that, baby girl?” He asked between his own throaty moans and grunts, the noise of your skin slapping his making you feel your whole body as if you were in fire.

“Yes! Please, please! I need your cum inside of me.” You moaned and he smirked, amused. Then he stopped moving; out of nowhere.  “W-What… Negan, please.” You mumbled as you moved your hips but it wasn’t nearly as enough friction.

“You want something else. I can see it in your eyes.” He said, making you bite your lip in shyness. It’s hard for him to keep himself from pounding into you but he felt like he needed to give you the best sex you’ll ever have. He knew you were too shy to ask for what you wanted yourself, so he does. He kissed your neck once again, and you finally felt your body relax again. “How do you want it, princess?” He asked into you ear, and you squirmed. “Show me.”

You smiled softly and kissed his cheek, taking him by surprise. He was used to the kinky, to the pain, the foreplay... but not the sweetness. Noticing his surprised gaze, you got up and took Negan’s hand. He obeyed, even though he was still a bit taken back by your gesture. He didn’t have too much time to think about it anyway, because you climbed back up the sofa, on all fours; your body asking for him to fuck you like that.

Negan smirked and wasted no time, positioning himself in you entrance. Sharply, he thrust inside and you both moaned as he held your waist. “It’s like you were fucking made for me.” He snarled, just as he started moving.

You moaned loudly and gripped onto the sofa, arching your back in pleasure as he pounded into you hard and fast, just as you wanted. “Negan… Oh, God- Negan…” you cried out as he moved even faster; as if your moans of his name light up something on him. “Don’t stop, please, don’t ever stop.” You plead and he grunts, the sound of your skin slapping not enough for him. He slapped your ass; not too hard, not too soft. Just fucking perfect, making you feel your walls tighten around him and your eyes roll back.

“Fuck, sweetcheeks, you tighten so good.” He moaned as he kept on moving. “Come the fuck here.” He gripped your hair, yanking you back until his chest was pressed against your back, moving your head aside until you are able to look at him. “I swear, angel; you look so fucking beautiful while I fuck you.”

You moaned as he looked into your eyes and thrusted into you, making your legs tremble. He didn’t stop even though he noticed, and you felt his hand leave your hair, instead wrapping around your neck. “Oh, daddy!”

“Are you going to cum for me, baby girl?” He asked, but you don’t need to answer as you screamed his name over and over again as well as some profanities, your walls clenching around him. He knew. He knew you were so close. Out of mercy, his fingers left your neck and instead circled your clitoris. Once, twice. The third time, you screamed his name and your thighs trembled, reaching your orgasm as he whispered into your ear how much of his good girl you were and how beautiful you looked.

Your sight was blurry, and after a few seconds you realized the tears of pleasure leaving your eyes as Negan continued to push into you, the overwhelming sensations making you grip onto his hands. You wished you had wanted him to stop, but you didn’t. You just wanted more.

“That’s it baby girl” He groaned as his thrusts got sloppier, harder. “Fuck, I am gonna cum inside your pussy, sweetcheeks.” He managed to say and a moment after, he was holding you in place as he came deep inside you, groaning and mumbling every profanity you had ever heard. You felt your insides pulsating and coating under his seed; making you moan once again, in satisfaction.

After a sweet, lingering minute, he came out of you, panting. You turned around, exhausted, but you couldn’t stop looking at him. He smiled softly and even though he was very fucking tired too, he lifted you up in his arms once again. “To the right, the first door on the left.” You mumbled as you rested your head on the crook of his neck, the feeling of him cum coming out of you not bothering you at all.

Once you were there, he set you down on the bed and slowly laid next to you, looking at the ceiling, the sound of a firework from the distance reminding him of where he was. You smiled softly; your eyes threatening to shut, but you managed to rest your head on his chest and pay close attention to the sound of his heart.

“Why don’t you sleep?” he asked as he noticed you were still up even though you were clearly exhausted, looking down at you as he traced your arm with his fingers.

“I am scared you might not be here when I wake up.” You mumbled.

“I don’t want to go either. I don’t even know how I got here.” He chuckled and you smile. “Just in case, I…” He sighed, and looked down at you; words trying to come out unsuccessfully.

“Uhm?” You mumbled, and rose from his chest just enough for you to look at him straight in the eye. You stayed there, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes as you once again were proven that he was really there with you.

“I think you are pretty damn amazing, sweetcheeks. I hope you never let anyone make you think you are not worth it. If you do, just look at your comics or the TV and well… y’know. I’ll always be there.” He said, feeling weird about the comics thing. You smiled to him sweetly and once again you kissed his cheek.

“I hope you know, if you are back there again; that there’s someone that still loves you.”

That’s the last thing you remember, that... and the little, honest smile he gave you after you said it. When you woke up, there wasn’t a trace of him. Not his clothes, not his scent, not even his cum. Nothing.

You felt weird. The first thing you did in the morning was cry a bit; missing him as if he was dead. It was the strangest feeling you had ever felt; and it stuck with you for hours, for days, for years.

While you took a long, hot shower to try and stop thinking about what you now thought was probably a long dream, you felt a bit of pain in your chest. When you looked down you couldn’t have smiled wider as you saw a hickey right in the middle of your collarbones.

[thecostumeplot]

Episode 15: What Happened to Monday & Tron: Legacy

Please consult these Instagram slideshows for accompanying images:  What Happened to Monday Tron: Legacy

Sarah and Jojo: Welcome to the costume plot. Jojo Siu I'm Jojo Siu Sarah Timm and I'm Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description. Jojo Siu We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in the Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo Siu Hello, and welcome back. Sarah Timm Welcome back to the costume plot. Jojo Siu Second episode of the day. Sarah Timm We record these back to back so it's been two weeks for you guys, but it's been about five minutes for us Jojo Siu It's weird to think about that. Sarah Timm A little bit, huh? How's the future? Is it fun? Jojo Siu I know. Tell us. Tell us all about it. Sarah Timm Is Coronavirus over? Jojo Siu Finally. Oh man. Oh, yeah. Did you get your vaccine? Sarah Timm I did! Yeah. And by the time this episode comes out, I will be fully vaccinated meaning that the two weeks will have passed. I got it on the 29th of March. Jojo Siu Woohoo! I'm super excited. So excited! Then we'll both be fully vaccinated. Sarah Timm Yeah Jojo Siu And we can actually have a hang out! Without masks! Sarah Timm Imagine that. I know. Our friend Ramsey has gotten his vaccine and his boyfriend has, and we're planning to have dinner parties. And we're just so excited to finally DO stuff. Jojo Siu I know. I'm very excited. Matt's supposed to get his on Friday. Sarah Timm Exciting. Jojo Siu Yeah. All right. Well, I will I will get us started on our our next episode, Sarah Timm What's our theme today? Jojo Siu This one is not as scary as I last episode. Sci-fi is a little less creepy for me. Although, you know, it is also something very near and dear to us in the future. So that COULD be scary. Sarah Timm Sometimes, Sci-fi is scary. Jojo Siu It's true. But I'm very excited to talk about this movie. It's something that I watched a long time ago. And I will say the storyline is probably not the most new or interesting for a sci fi kind of thriller. But I also really just love the actors that are in this movie. And it's a pretty big all-star cast. So I will get started. Let me share my screen. Okay, so I will be covering the movie "What Happened to Monday. And this movie, it's probably not as well known. But again, it's something that I've really come to enjoy. And it's a very fun movie. So if you're looking for something kind of, I don't want to say on the lighter side. I guess there's some light parts of it, but it is kind of a darker movie. It's directed by Tommy Wirkola, who wrote and directed "Dead Snow" as well as "Dead Snow 2". You probably know him the best from the new "Hansel and Gretel" movie. So he did that action "Hansel and Gretel" . And then he also did--I wrote this down because no one knows what it is--but it's "Kill Buljo" which is a parody of "Kill Bill". Oh, and apparently, there's also a sequel for that. So I thought that was funny that, you know, that was on his list of things. So he hasn't done a ton of work. But the few things he's done--it looks like they were more in the sci-fi genre. So he tends to kind of lean towards that. And then the costume designer for this was Oana Paunescu. I hope I'm saying that correctly. She did several versions of "Dragonheart". And then she was also the wardrobe supervisor for a show called "Mirrors". And then she also did "Seed of Chucky", which is probably the one that most people know. But yeah, so this was an interesting kind of adventure for her, she talks a little bit about how she really had to figure out how to dress seven versions of the same person. And I should probably go back and tell you what the premise of the story is. So the idea is that we are in a kind of not-so-distant in the future. The setting is 2043. And I don't know what city it's supposed to be, because again, this is in the future. I think it's supposed to be kind of a representative of any urban city setting. But it's the idea that at this point, they've been doing all of these things to kind of solve all the environmental problems that we've had, that have been created by you know, world global warming and all those other things. But in order to do that, it's actually created a new defect, where humans when they get pregnant, are actually coming out with multiple births. So people regularly will have septuplets or you know, quintuplets or whatever. So basically this idea of overpopulation has now happened. And so in order to control that, the character Glenn Close, who is not necessarily a councilwoman but she's kind of representing this new age of science, where she is fighting for putting all the siblings or having one child in each family that exists in the world and then having all the rest of her siblings or his siblings put into cryogenic sleep until sometime in the future. So that's their way of kind of controlling the population and trying to keep that in control. And so of course, that means that you know, every sibling is supposed to be put into cryogenic sleep, but of course there is the main character is played by Noomi Rapace. Is that how you say her name? Sarah Timm I think it's "Rapas". I'm not 100% sure. Jojo Siu Noomi Rapace, who is infamously known for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Sarah Timm The Swedish one, not the American one. Jojo Siu Yeah, yes, Sarah Timm She's so good in that, Jojo Siu Yes, very good in that one. But she plays our leading lady. So basically, her mother died in childbirth, giving birth to her and her six other siblings. And Karen Settman is the name of the mother. And so the grandfather, father of this mother, who gave birth to these sevenchildren, he decides discreetly, he finds a hospital where she's allowed to deliver them safely and ends up keeping them. And so the grandfather ends up coming up with this whole system. Where because there's seven of them, he names each of the kids after a day of the week. And so he trains them and basically protects them, and actually builds a whole space custom made for them. So he teaches them to go out each day of their week, and only go out, but always as Karen Settman. So each of them has their persona inside the house. But when they leave the house, they are always representing one only child--Karen Settman. Sarah Timm So they each have their own day of the week where they get to leave the house. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. But you know, one of the things too, is that the grandfather recognizes that this is a very dangerous world. They actually COULD be taken by the police, and he doesn't want them to be put into cryogenic sleep, he wants them to be able to grow up together. But of course, because of that, he has to train them to realize that whatever happens to one of them outside on the streets, has to happen to all of them, because they all have to be Karen Settman--the ONE Karen Settman. So they kind of lose their own identity. He talks about them being able to be themselves at the house. And there's a lot of flashbacks to him, training them as kids. And what happens if they can't have two of them out on the street at the same time in case someone sees a second twin, or suddenly realizes they have seven of them in the same house. And then he also builds in basically a cry of a panic room. And has them train what'll happen in case the government comes to the door and they have to hide. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu So basically, that is the the starting premise of this story. And of course, we show the flashbacks of how they came to this place. But then the movie starts off with Sunday returning home. And she is basically you know, she's she's lived her life, she's come back from work. And they have a very specific dress for what she looks like everyday when she goes to work. And then when she comes back to her very kind of shoddy looking hotel, you finally realize she's got six other siblings and their practice is, at the end of every day, that she introduces, or sorry, they all have bracelets where they check in to each of the locations. And it actually--the bracelet goes to the government and tells them this is a one child only. So there's a lot of things that you know, the grandfather has clearly done to tamper with all of this technology that's in the future to make sure they're safe. So the movie is called "What Happened to Monday?" Because on Monday, "Monday" goes out she has this big presentation where she's supposed to get promoted at work. And she goes and is very worried about her job on Monday. And then she suddenly goes missing. Sarah Timm Oh! Jojo Siu ...and shortly before she goes missing, you find out that one of her co-workers is kind of threatening her and says "I know. I know your secret. You better. You better listen to me. You better give ME the promotion so that you don't get ousted" Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And then she just disappears so she never comes home. The rest of the sisters don't know what's happened. And that's kind of where we start the movie. So let me move on to our costumes. Sarah Timm Oh, wow. Jojo Siu So I'm going to start actually breaking this down by character because I've given you quite a lot of backstory. So I'm not going to necessarily go throughout the movie because they mostly stay in very similar costumes pretty much throughout the entire story. And again, this takes place pretty much over a week, because we go through each of the days. This is just a quick, quick close up of Glenn Close, I wanted to focus very briefly on all of her costumes. Because she, at least in this picture, she reminds me a lot of Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Timm Yes. Jojo Siu And sort of the new age of the future. She's kind of trying this changing of a lot of what's happening and trying to really do good for, for controlling this overpopulation problem. And so she's kind of the face of, of this overpopulation. It's called the... Collection--I should know this--Collection something Bureaucy. But it's called CAB for short. So she runs CAB. And basically, they're the people that collect the siblings, if they find out there are more than one. Sarah Timm This hair. Jojo Siu I know, it's crazy. Her hair isn't like that the whole time. That's just the introduction, we see her in at the very beginning of the movie. So then we go to the second image of her and this is when she's in her facility. So in the CAB facilities, and you see her kind of peeping into a room full of children. And these are children that they've collected, when they found out they were siblings of other parents. So she, she looks in the room, and it's just this group of small kids that are kind of playing around. And so she keeps talking about, "they're not going to be in pain, it'll be great." And so this--I just wanted to focus on how beautiful this coat is. She's in a lot of like blues and greens throughout the movie, kind of very earthy tones, which is very ironic, because she's kind of she's actually kind of our villain until the very end. But I love how clean cut her look is. And again, very, very, like Prime Minister; a very "Margaret Thatcher" look. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And then this is the final scene. So this is actually towards the end of the movie when she's about to run for council woman. So BIG SPOILER alert, you find out that she has not been cryogenically freezing any of these siblings. She puts them into this pod, and then gives them a shot to basically, either put them to sleep or make them unconscious or whatever the series is, and then they actually get burned to death. So they all get incinerated. So you find out that she's actually just been killing all of these siblings. Sarah Timm I mean, that's not surprising. But the mess is..... Jojo Siu Right, right. Right, exactly. So, you know, you find out that she has been lying about all this stuff, she has been the face of this cryogenic, you know, CAB thing for so long. And so she is trying to run for counselor. And she's made this deal with one of the sisters to let her live in order to help her. To give her a huge donation basically to become council woman. So this is that final scene where she's talking to the sister. And this is also just a quick show of whatall of the Karen segments were when they go to work. So this is the typical outfit, every single one of them has the same exact clothing, they wear their hair exactly the same way. And you'll see kind of when we go to some of the other characters, how different they are when they're back at home. But this is kind of the image. And Monday was the first one that was born out of the seven. So she is the one that kind of starts the week. And so, when she disappears, her outfit actually is the closest to what she wears inside the house in addition to outside the house. So I wanted to kind of show that, because that's basically what you see most of them in when they're out on the street. Okay, moving on. So this is just a quick family shot. And you can see how different each of the different family members are. Sunday is actually right at the end of the table Monday you see here is right on the...kind of right of center. And she you can see here she's got green on, but it's actually the same exact silhouette as the blue blazer that she's wearing in the previous scene. This one is Saturday, so she's kind of the party girl. Sarah Timm Basic, 'cause she's Saturday! Jojo Siu Exactly, exactly. And I'll talk a little bit more about how the costume designer decided to break up the days of the week too. Friday is right here so she's kind of got the beanie and the plaid flannel. Thursday is sort of our tomboy, skater girl, so she's kind of the one that always questions the system; doesn't understand why they have to do this; feels like she wants to break out and always wants to have her own voice. Wednesday is our kind of athletic gym rat. So she is the one that's always working out and you know, doing stuff, and then you can't really see your face, but we'll we'll get some close ups on her later. But Tuesday is kind of our hippie pot smoking nerd. So she's the one that's always smoking and always whatever--very chill. She's also the only one with red hair out of the... Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu Seven of them. Okay, moving on. So just another quick shot, this is just what she's wearing all the time when she goes out. So she's got that dress underneath with the blue, but then she always has this blue trench coat that she wears on top. And you see her in that all the time--she's always in the same earrings. So there's a whole scene where they have almost like a technology grid, and it actually will take a look at all the blemishes on their face to make sure that they look exactly the same. Sarah Timm Fancy! Jojo Siu ...whenever they go out, which is so crazy. So you have acne "here", or you're a little red "here", or your eyes are really red today or whatever it is. And then it helps them kind of figure out what they need to make up or cover up in order to look exactly the same. So again, this look is very, very contrived, every single one of them has to look exactly the same when they leave the house. The other big part is they have to tell each other what's happened in the day. Because if there's anything any conversations they had with another, you know, coworker, or they have to be consistent, they need to know exactly what the conversations were about, and all of that. So that part of their bracelet is that they actually have a little camera in there to kind of walk them through what's happened throughout the day. And Friday, who's the tech geek is the one that kind of helps them figure out all of that. Sarah Timm I was thinking how hard it would be to only get to go to work once a week and have to pretend like you've been there the whole time. That's a lot of work to keep up with! Jojo Siu It is. SO much. And I think you know, they all start kind of feeling that eventually, because they've been growing up in this system for so long. So losing that individuality anywhere outside the house can be really hard. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu So it was really hard to find pictures of of these costumes. So I pulled up all of these posters. So there actually won't be as many pictures for this one, Sarah, you'll be very excited. But I wanted to kind of just go through some of the costume designers' notes on what each of the days meant for her. So like we talked a little bit about Monday. So for her "Monday would wear something a little bit softer in color, and you wouldn't necessarily think that she's softer because of what her character does." And again, SPOILER alert, Monday actually sells her siblings out in order to try and stay alive. And she has good reasons at the end of the movie, but the way that it's portrayed in this movie, it makes it seem like she's the villain. When you find out at the very end that she's actually fallen in love with one of the CAB officers, who doesn't know that she's a sibling, but he and her basically have been together for months. She finally decides that she wants to just be free of this life and doesn't want to have siblings. And she's also pregnant with twins. So, in order to protect her twins, she signs this, you know agreement with Kaman who is played by Glenn Close. And so, in order to give her that huge donation to become the Councilwoman, she will be protected, her kids will be protected, and not taken. And so, in addition to that, she has to obviously reveal that she is one of seven, Sarah: Right. So they basically the the rest of the movie is Glenn Close and all of the agents that she sends to try and kill the rest of them. Because the fact that seven siblings have existed and have escaped her notice and not gone into cryogenic sleep, is really bad for her reputation. So rather than trying to like suddenly throw them into cryogenic sleep and make it okay, she just opts to send people to kill them. So, of course, when Monday disappears, then Tuesday tries to go in, but has no recollection of what's happened the day before because she wasn't there. And so she gets she's the first one to kind of get taken by CAB. And so, everything after that kind of trickles after that. So Mondays, you know, we talked about that--Tuesday comes after a Monday. So she said, "which means for example, you may need to smoke more." 'Cause Monday's always the hardest. She said Wednesday, "you're realizing you smoke too much and you have to work out." So again Wednesday, it's like our gym rats. On Thursday, she said "we reboot ourselves". So you find out it for this version of Thursday. She's almost kind of like the Butch femme. So she's always in black t-shirts or white t-shirts and skinny jeans and black combat boots and she's got the short pixie cut. So she's kind of our leading lady out of the seven, if you can really call it, that besides Monday, but she's the one that kind of leads the rest of the sisters in trying to find Monday and save everyone. So Thursday is the reboot day and then Friday. She said "Maybe we choose to study more". So again, Friday is our kind of tech nerd/geek nerd. And then Saturday, "Let's drink" and Sunday: "We choose to behave and go to church". So Sunday is actually the first one that dies. Sorry, SPOILER ALERT. But she also is the one that they talk about, that has to believe. She was always the believer, she always believed in better, she always believed in, you know, better hope for the future. And she's also always dressed in these kind of cardigans and sort of Sunday church dresses. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And so again, very--on the surface--very perfect and hopeful in her dress and in her costume. So when we first see her in the first scene with the sisters, she's always in these like floral prints, which I really love too. And I think the costume designer actually, I think she was the only one in really a print, everyone else was in kind of more geometric blocks or, or just plain tees. So the fact that Sunday is always our very floral and kind of natural and organic prints, this idea that she's sort of the the hopeful one. And I think that's reflected in her costume. So Monday, again, you know, this was really the only other close up that I could find where we don't see her in the blue, because again, the rest of the movie, she's pretty much missing. And at the very end, we'll see a picture of her back in kind of like a version of the dress that she normally wears. But the way that they differentiated is the costume designer blocked off different parts of the costume, which I really loved. But again, she's she's always kind of in the same type of silhouette each time, even when she's at home. So always this idea of needing to look perfect, always being perfect. And she talks a lot about that. She's the one that's the oldest. So she always sets the example for everyone else. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu This is another picture. And again, this is sort of the way that they differentiated, you know, Monday from Thursday later on, because Thursday also ends up in a dress very similar to this, but the different cut outs is how the costume designer was able to show difference. So, I think Thursday doesn't have the pink on top, it's just the the darker pink and fuchsia on the sides. Alright, so this is Tuesday. So again, kind of the very hippie dress, she's got a lot of off-the-shoulder kind of baggy sweaters, she's always wearing sort of the hippy skirts. It's a very boho look. And again, she always wears a ton of bracelets and a ton of rings. And her hair is always in two pigtails. And she's, again, the only one with red hair. Yeah, so this is just another kind of close-up picture of that soft draped sweater that she has. Okay, so Wednesday, again, is our workout girl, she's always in a black hoodie, and some sort of sports bra, and sweat pants. Most of her scenes are her jogging, or punching a punching bag in the apartment. And when she goes out, so this is after they found out that Tuesday has been taken. Tuesday's eye has been sent back to the house with... Sarah Timm Oh Jojo Siu ...agents to kill them. And so Wednesday is the first one who goes out on Wednesday and tries to escape in order to find out more information because this is when they find out that the co worker has some sort of blackmail on them. So she goes to try and find out what's happened. And of course, she's being chased around the city at this point. Because she knows that they're after her. A lot of agents have been sent after her to try and kill her. And so the other three sisters--it's Tuesday, Friday and Thursday--the tech nerd at home is basically helping her figure out where to go, how to escape all of this stuff. And she gets so close to escaping and she ends up obviously getting killed, but it's the saddest way to get killed. So all of it, of course is very athletic. She gets the most athletic time because you know, she's working out all the time. So she does the most punching and running. Sarah Timm You would think that if they have to make sure that they havethe same zits and stuff that one of them working out more than the others would be an issue. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. Sarah Timm Why does she have a bicep? Jojo Siu Yeah. The dress does hide a lot of their outfit. Sarah Timm I guess she's not in a midriff top when she goes to work. Jojo Siu Exactly. Most of the shape is hidden. But yeah, it's mostly face shape. You know, obviously after this scene, when she goes out on her day, she's kind of gone off the deep end. She's like, "I'm not even going to bother wearing the dress anymore", because she's got so gotten cut up at this point. They've somehow defeated the first round of agents. So her coming into this is just, "I just need to find out what's happened". And so she's kind of gone out and gone rogue a little bit. But at this point, they also know CAB realizes that there are seven of them and is trying to kill them. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu So she's kind of the first one out there. So this is just some other running shots. But again, you can see she's just, you know, her athletic day, I guess, of her just running everywhere. And there's another one. Again, just kind of showing all the T-shirts and hoodies that she wears. Alright, so Thursday, again, very much the rebel. They show some flashback scenes of her when she is a child. And she's the first one that actually kind of messes up the system. And she talks a lot about that when she kind of confronts Monday at the very end. But there's a big scene where, as a child, she actually escapes. When it's someone else's day, she goes out andskateboards, and then comes back after the dad has realized she's gone missing. She's out there and everyone else has returned. And she comes back with her finger hanging off because she got into a skateboarding accident. And so of course, because her fingers cut, hanging off, the grandfather ends up having to cut all the other siblings fingers off. So there's this whole like, you know, this big scene just talking about the seriousness of like, Whatever happens to one of you has to happen to everybody. And she's always the one that's like, :I want to get out of the system. Why are we doing this? None of us are living a real life". Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu But she is also the one that ends up...I thought I had more pictures of her. Unfortunately, I don't. There were very few pictures of her, but again, she's always the one in black. A lot of tech gear. And when I say tech gear, I mean theater tech wear: black t-shirt, black pants, black combat boots. Sarah Timm like she's a stagehand. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. So then Friday is our--like I said--tech geek nerd. And she's always in these kind of oversized sweaters or oversized flannels, and everything is very hidden about her. And she's she basically is the tech geek that gets everyone, you know, where they need to go at the very end. And she and Friday do end up lasting kind of the longest. Until Thursday finally escapes. So sorry, Thursday is our Pixie girl. And then she finally, in order to let Thursday escape, she actually sacrifices herself at the very end, which is really sad. But she talks about how she needed this family. "I'm not like the rest of you. You guys are all independent, and you could do your own thing. But I never thrived without you. And like I wouldn't survive without you". So she decides to sacrifice herself instead. And takes out some of the CAB agents with her. And then we get to Saturday. Sarah Timm I love her hair! Jojo Siu So cute. So Saturday--She's always kind of a schmoozer. So whenever she's at work, she's the one that's really great at networking. She's really great at going to parties. They have this whole thing in the very beginning where she comes back and pukes in one of the buckets and so the guy at the front desk is like, "how do you do it? You were puking yesterday, and today, you look so fresh". And that was Sunday walking out. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And so of course, it was this idea that she also didn't share all the information with everybody. But you actually find out that even though she talks big about sleeping with everyone, she actually is a virgin, because you find out she runs into the guy that Monday is in love with and has been sleeping with for months. And she doesn't realize that he doesn't know it's not her or that it's not "Monday". So she tries to also find out information about what's happened to "Monday" by pretending to be "Monday" from within. So anyways, it's this whole thing where all the sisters sacrifice for one another, which I just thought was really interesting. But again, she's always in some kind of pink hoodie or really bright red kind of bra or bralette and some kind of jeans. This is one of the last scenes and you can see here, this is Thursday, and this is Monday. And so this is where you find out that Monday has basically betrayed all of them. Thursday is trying to save everyone and get her out. But you find out that, obviously, she has signed off this contract to basically protect her babies. Okay, and then just a couple other shots. You can kind of see here again Thursday, she's always in black. She's also got a black hoodie, very similar to Wednesday. And then you can see the yellow kind of oversized cardigan, and the really bland colors on Friday. And then the pink, and she's always wearing some sort of denim and the red bra for Saturday. And then I believe this was the last one that I pulled, but I wanted to pull the last little quick image of the grandpa and then one of the kids when they're doing the training at the very beginning. And I just wanted to pull this image because again when they got into the street--so this is the first day that he finally lets the first kid go out into the street. So prior to this, he hasn't let any of them leave the house. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu They've all been confined to the home to try and learn, you know, what their skills are. And also make sure that, you know, they understand the system; that they only can go out one day at a time. And it's funny to me that they're still wearing that dark blue blazer. This idea that they belong to the masses. And I think that was something that the costume designer talked about, too, you know, "I picked a color that kind of blended into the mass and didn't stand out because they needed to kind of disappear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And also the fact that Willem DaFoe was in grandpa's comfort wear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu In all grays. So interestingly enough, when he's training them, there's quite a few shots with him in actually more vibrant colors. And at one point, he's actually wearing that yellow sweater that Friday's wearing, which I thought was really lovely. Sarah Timm That's cute. Jojo Siu But, you know, the rest of the time he's wearing these blacks and grays. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And you don't really ever find out what's happening to him either. So it's a little sad, but you know, they don't really go further into that side story. I think that was the last of it. So again, not too many photos for this one. But I just, you know, how do you make seven different characters with the same actress? And how do you make them all look different enough and have their own character? I mean, Noomi is pretty amazing. She was basically acting against herself for most of it. And she mentioned that this was one of the hardest products she's ever done, because she didn't have other actors to work off of or to bounce ideas off. She had to create who that other actor was going to be. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And that carried over, I think, into her conversations with a costume designer as well, right? Sarah Timm They probably use--lots of times when they're doing stuff like that they use like a body double, but it's not someone who's going to be acting and giving you the same energy that a fellow actor would give you. Jojo Siu Right, right. Yeah. And they did us a couple body doubles. But I think, you know, it definitely was like, "I had to figure out who all those characters were". And I think she said she actually secluded herself for five or six months, so that she could get into the headspace of who these characters were. She was like, "it was really hard because I couldn't talk to anybody for five or six months". And I was like... Sarah Timm Commitment. Jojo Siu "That's worse than quarantine! Sarah Timm I feel like we always hear about famous male actors who goes super method. Why aren't we talking about Noomi Rapace? Clearly she's... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Super method. She's committed. Wow. Jojo Siu But yeah, and you definitely see how different the little ticks are in each of her characters, even for this movie. So yes, I would highly suggest it. Again, the story plot--there's a lot of plot holes. So I think that's what a lot of critics have said about this movie. And again, it is very close to whatever the episode of "Black Mirror" was... Sarah Timm I was thinking it sounds like "Orphan Black". Jojo Siu Maybe that's what it is. Maybe they meant "Orphan Black". I could have...misquoted that. Sarah Timm "I've seen "Black Mirror", but it's been a long time since I've seen certain episodes. So it might be an older one that I don't remember. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's true. Sarah Timm Orphan Black is the one where Tatiana Maslany plays clones. Jojo Siu Oh, yes, then that's the one. Sorry, I misquoted that. So it's definitely "Orphan Black". But yeah, I know, they took it off with some other idea because that was one of the big criticisms that they got. They were like, "well, it's nothing new. And the storyline is kind of unfinished." Sarah Timm Interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Interesting concept. Jojo Siu Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely one of those movies that I kind of stumbled across and then I was like pleasantly surprised. Sarah Timm Cool. Well, great job! Jojo Siu Thank you! Sarah Timm Okay, are we ready for me? This was a request--my movie that I'm covering. My dear friend Christie messaged us and requested this movie, I think, over Instagram. I'm covering "Tron: Legacy", which is a movie I hadn't seen since it came out. And I forgot how fun it is. It's very fun. So, a little bit of background. It's this is a Disney movie. So take with that what you will. It's directed by Joseph Kosinski. And this movie is his directorial debut, which blew my brains. I could not believe that this high budget and big of a movie was somebody's directorial debut. And I I did a little googling because I was like, How on earth did he get the job, then... Jojo Siu Yeah! Sarah Timm ...if he's never directed anything? so I found a New York TimesNew York Times article that says, and this is a direct quote, "it sounds corny, but it all started back in 2007, with one guy who believed in him--Shawn Bailey, a Disney producer, who was trying to figure out how to reinvent Tron. Mr. Bailey had heard through the Hollywood grapevine about a director of commercials, which is Joseph Kosinski, who had an unusual visual style." And the article kind of went into how this happens sometimes with really big studios; they'll give a big budget movie to somebody who has only done a few commercials. And some people think it's because a first time director will be easier to control by a big studio, you know. A bigger name will come in with an artistic vision and be like, "Well, I'm not conforming to your corporate Disney whatever. I'm going to do what I want." But then also, like, the more optimistic view of that is, it doesn't matter, your resume if you have the right vision and the right, you know, artistic gumption to go and get it. But I will say that, like, I don't think that if he This might sound cynical, but I think that like, especially in 2010, when this movie came out, I don't think if he were non white, and not a man that he would have gotten this big of a chance. Jojo Siu Agreed. Sad, but true. Sarah Timm Yeah. When I've heard of that kind of thing happening, where it's like, oh, my god, he's only directed five music videos. And they gave him a superhero movies indirect like it's usually a white man that they're talking about, unfortunately. So yeah, that was an interesting thing to learn. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Yeah. The costumes were co-designed. So two people--Christine...Christine, Bieselin Clark. I'm just gonna say that's how you pronounce that, who has worked on "Star Trek Picard", "Maze Runner" and "Ender's Game". And then the other designer is Michael Wilkinson, whose name you might recognize because he did "Jingle Jangle". Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm So he's done a lot of Zack Snyder's like "Justice League" franchise movies, "Aladdin", "300" and "Garden State". Jojo Siu "Oh Garden State". I haven't seen that movie in so long. Sarah Timm That's a good one. So yeah, interesting. I think it kind of makes sense that like two people do the costumes. This is it's, it seems like a very collaborative design these costumes, because like, the visual style of the movie is so distinct that like the production design, and the costume design, and the special effects are all kind of hand-in-hand. So it's a real team effort. It seems just, that's just my view of it. So let's begin. This is... Yay! ...the beginning of the movie. Oh, I will say I have not seen the first "Tron". So Neither have I. So one of my first notes was, "I need someone to explain to me what the grid is, because I still don't quite really know." I don't know. Jojo Siu I am probably just as lost as you are. So I don't know that I'd be much help. Sarah Timm It's a virtual reality space. That's what I've, that's as far as I got. It's like a computer--digitized--but it's like a world you can enter, but it's in the computer. Jojo Siu That was a very good explanation, Sarah. Sarah Timm Thanks so much. So this is the opening. Basically, the basic plot is: Jeff Bridges who's in the first "Tron" was the founder of this, sort of, tech company. But he went missing in 1989. And his son is now technically the head of the company, but isn't involved at all, I think, and he's kind of like a rebel guy, he doesn't care about the company. And it seems like these people--the suits--are interested in making money and exploiting the technology. Whereas Jeff Bridges--his character, Flynn--was interested in open source software and making it available for everybody and sharing it. So that's kind of where we come in, is in this board meeting, where they're gonna release this program, I don't know, whatever computer thing. Jojo Siu We are so not sci-fi, tech nerds, Sarah Timm Computer thing, great. Jojo Siu Whatever that is. Sarah Timm So I this boardroom scene is interesting to me, because they're all wearing the same color, which is sort of like a slate gray, black. And it's funny to me, because, you would think that we would really want to differentiate this world--the real world--from the grid that we enter later, but the color scheme is kind of the same, which is kind of funny. And interesting that the corporate world doesn't look that different from the sci-fi computer world. I didn't realize that I would sound so dumb describing this movie. Jojo Siu It's okay, you and me both. I was like, I can't help you with any of those technology terms. Sarah Timm It doesn't really matter to my understanding, like costumes, I think, right? I don't feel too bad about it. Okay, so this is actually Killian Murphy who I was like, Killian Murphy's in this movie? Jojo Siu Jojo: I almost didn't recognize him. Sarah Timm Apparently he's uncredited, this is an uncredited cameo appearance. Yeah! Jojo Siu Uncredited? Sarah Timm I know Jojo Siu Did HE put that in or did someone else? Sarah Timm Did he wander by the set one day? How did this come about? He was just like walking by in the scene and said "Okay, I'll be that dude." But this look is interesting because he looks different from everybody else because he's like the young, hotshot guy. And this already looks very dated to me, even though it's only 10 years old, and I think it's the hair. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm It's very floppy Jojo Siu I was gonna say it's that very wind swept look for guys Sarah Timm Yeah. That sort of Justin Bieber, Zac Efron, late 2000s...*hand motion* Jojo Siu I love how THIS is, ...This is the hands motion Hand motion over the forehead to portray the bangs. Sarah Timm Yeah. And you can tell he's so cool because he's not wearing a blazer, unlike everyone else. He's so cool. Jojo Siu Less layers, equals cool. Sarah Timm My arms are out so I'm cool. Moving on. So, this is Alan and apparently he's in the first "Tron" as well. So he was like Flynn's right hand man, kind of guy. And he comes to Sam the son with his pager and he's like "I got a page from your dad". And it's like, what? First of all, you got a page in 2010? Okay. And I like his look because he's bringing with him sort of the old school, into the modern day, sort of like a rumpled trench coat, almost film noir because his collars up a little bit, Detective-y sort of land he brings an air of mystery right? Because he's like, "I got a page from your dad who's been missing since 1989. You should go to the arcade to see where the signal's coming from or whatever. So he basically gets the plot going, and I like that the person with the mystery looks like a Noir detective. I think that's kind of a fun little touch. Jojo Siu Yeah it was a lot of Noir in this movie, and I don't think I thought about that until you said that. Sarah Timm I think, yeah, ...is sci fi noir a thing because that could be Jojo Siu ...It could be, because they definitely bring in elements of that kind of Noir,like 1930s. I think of like the 1930s Film Noir. But yeah, I definitely feel like I don't know that I realized that until I was looking at this picture again. I was like "oh yeah!" Sarah Timm I think he is the most Noir out of the characters for sure. Jojo Siu Trench coat definitely says that, Sarah Timm Yes, yes. And I also like how he's less corporate, you know, but he's sort of--I don't know what color exactly this trench coat is; it looks brown in this picture, I'm not sure if it is--He looks a little bit earthier, you know, so he's not the corporate greed machine that everybody else at the company is. He's still got the original vision in his heart. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm so this is Sam, the son, before he goes into the grid. This is his everyday look. And I, I like it. I think it's a little bit generic, it's a little bit like Disney version of a bad boy. Which makes sense because it's a Disney movie. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm I wrote in my notes that I think if this movie was made today this outfit would have more personality than it does in this. I like the aging of the jacket, maybe it was his dad's, you know. It's old, but otherwise, he's just kind of wearing jeans and a hoodie and I feel like he could have something, you know, a little bit of pattern. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm ...little bit more texture to kind of, because I really don't know anything about him still after watching. Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm he doesn't have that much of a personality to speak of. So, I think he... Jojo Siu Does he wear this the whole time? Sarah Timm He wears it for the whole opening scene, but once it gets into the grid they put him into a light suit. Jojo Siu Right, right. Okay. Sarah Timm So this is all we get to see of like his own wardrobe. So Jojo Siu yeah, Sarah Timm This is it? And later in this shot, he's in the front right here. It's blurry, but he's just wearing a gray t shirt and I'm like, Jojo Siu very indistinct Sarah Timm You couldn't at least do like what transformers did and Shia LaBeouf was wearing like a "Strokes" t-shirt. Like it couldn't even be like a Rolling Stones t-shirt or something. It had to just be a solid gray--that makes me sad. Jojo Siu I wonder how much of this was budget too though, although it's...you know, it's Disney, so I don't really know. Because I know sometimes with other brand names, you have to be really careful that you're not stuck with a copyright but it's Disney. So you think they'd have a lot more budget Sarah Timm A stripe? or a Plaid? Jojo Siu Yeah, some kind of pattern. Sarah Timm A color? I don't know, maybe it's to communic-I mean, he's supposed to be like the rebel though, so hhe shouldn't fit in with the nondescript corporate-ness and he lives in this cool, under the bridge, apartment thing. So I think he could be cooler, his outfit could be cooler. That's all. Okay, so here we are in the grid. Welcome, Jojo Siu So different. Sarah Timm So this is him. He basically enters the grid by accident and then just kind of gets ferried along to different places and things happen to him and he's not he has no agency things are justbeing done to him. So this is them getting him ready to compete in some sort of games against other things on the light cycles and stuff. These characters--these female characters are called "sirens", which I was like, of course they are. Sure, Jojo Siu yeah. Sarah Timm And they basically are in charge of outfitting him for, for the games, and I feel a bit conflicted about the female characters in this movie, because they seem pretty over-sexualized in their appearance. But I had to remind myself that like this digital world was made by a man in the 80s, technically. So like... Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm ...if it's all this one guy his vision, and he's just a straight dude in the 80s Of course he's like "well, the girls and it all have to be super sexy, you know" Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm I don't know, I don't I'm still not sure how I feel about it because I was just like, why? what? You know, you can kind of see on the right here, this little shell thing. They basically come out of these little holes in the wall. And this little door closes over them and theyhibernate, until it's time again, and the shell that closes over them, has boobs on it, it's like molded to look like a lady's body. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm So it's things like that was like did we have to do that I don't think we did. Jojo Siu That part was unnecessary. Sarah Timm And even their, their outfits so they're unitard, you can see on this second-from-the-right girl. It has the outline of almost bikini underwear, and none of the men's costumes have an outline. Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm So it's...And then they're wearing these high heels and it's like why would that be a thing? Why do they need high heels? Is it because Flynn designed this world and was like, "the gotta be hot." I don't know. Jojo Siu Yeah, yeah, exactly. The 80s. Sarah Timm Yeah I mean it's is it like is it supposed to be like the 80s vision of a future and if so then yeah it makes sense. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And I have a shot of the high heeled too, which is very interesting--has a bar thing on it. Jojo Siu Yeah, it's crazy because I think on the one on the right it looks shorter, and then on the one on the left, it looks taller, and I don't understand. Yeah, 'cause her... yeah her heels are shorter! Sarah Timm Also hers looks like it doesn't have the... Jojo Siu Doesn't have the bar. Sarah Timm It doesn't look like the same girl... Jojo Siu Yeah, Sarah Timm That's weird. Maybe she was taller than the other one? Maybe they had to make them all the same height. And they were like nobody... Jojo Siu Oh yeah. Like at least in the image, they needed to look the same height. Sarah Timm Yeah, because I think they're supposed to be...you know, they're digitized, they're not real humans. They're digitized right programs or whatever they're called. So... Jojo Siu right, Sarah Timm they had to be the same. But, yeah, maybe that was to make them all the same height. Because that girl comes back later, she has a speaking role. Jojo Siu Oh, okay. Sarah Timm I don't know. Yeah. Interesting. Jojo Siu Interesting. Sarah Timm So here's Sam and his life suit, I have a couple shots of it. It's cool. These, I think that these costumes are very successful these light suits. It doesn't look new to us now, but I remember in 2010 thinking like how cool and futuristic it looked. Jojo Siu Yeah, I remember that too. Sarah Timm And I have some information about how they were made because I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Is the light, practical? And the answer is yes! Which blew my mind! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm All the light on all the costumes is practical. It's real; it's not added in CG. Yeah, Jojo Siu I love that it's like. Sarah Timm So I watched... Jojo Siu Was it like E-L wire? Sarah Timm Well I'll read to you! I watched some YouTube videos and I'll link the YouTube video that I watched because it's really interesting to see them sort of like building them, they had a couple shots of their shop. So, this is from Wikipedia, "the skin-tight suits are reminiscent of the outfits worn by the actors in the original film. They designed the lighting costumes, which used electro-luminescent lamps, derived from a flexible polymer film, and featured hexagonal patterns, the lights pass through the suit via light tape, says something about lamination and phosphorus I don't understand. To make it a different color, they put different colors of vinyl. Prior to lamination, so apparently... this kind of...I thought about this too was, nowadays you can get fiber optic fabric and lights can basically be fabric now, which is amazing. But in 2010, flexible light that you could use in costumes was a really new idea, so they basically....it was a very new invention and they had to kind of just like figure it out as they went along, because they didn't Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm they were talking in this behind the scenes thing about how they didn't know how they would make flexible lights and I was like, don't they make strips that you can put on whatever? And then I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah I was gonna say, LED tape is very available now. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that must be, you know like within the last 10 years that that has been so common and easy to get. So, it was just fascinating to me I was just thinking this is great! Jojo Siu Leave it up to Disney to be the first ones to figure it out though! Sarah Timm right. So, these suits were kind of like a collaboration between the special effects department and the costuming department, because, the shell part, especially the torsos, they're made out of foam latex, so they're basically sculpted. If you've ever watched "Face Off" the special effects makeup show where they sculpt, and then they mold foam latex, it's basically like that, where you pour it into a mold and peel it out and it's one piece, you know, and then they applied the lights and stuff, and then they would have fabric Jojo Siu Wow Sarah Timm ...suits underneath. I know can you believe? Jojo Siu So many layers! Sarah Timm Yes! Jojo Siu It's why you gotta have a big budget for this movie! Sarah Timm Good segue, because the blonde lady from that siren scene, who talks about her. Her character's name is Gem. She said, it showed her sort of getting dressed and she said that there was, they're basically wearing four layers, so their first layer is foundation garments so the women would be in sort of like a waist cincher and you know Spanx and stuff to hold you in. And then there was a, just a body suit over that. And then there was the electronics layer, and then there was sort of like a latex-y outer layer that felt sort of like balloon rubber, apparently on hers, and the sirens. Jojo Siu So....they're giant....condoms? Sarah Timm Well, it showed what behind-the-scenes and one of them was getting wiped down. Somebody was shining it with a cloth. Jojo Siu Oh gosh, that just sounds so crazy. I mean these look phenomenal, they don't look like they're wearing four layers of clothing, right. I can't imagine what that feels like. Sarah Timm I mean Beyonce literally wears three layers of tights doesn't she? So, you do you have to. Jojo Siu True, true. Sarah Timm So yeah! Jojo Siu That's funny. Sarah Timm I mean, it literally blew my mind to watch that. I would encourage everybody to watch the video. And the other important thing is that this is a digital world, so the clothes don't exist in a real way so they had to think about what clothes would look like if they weren't made like clothes. How does...What do clothes look like if they haven't been sewn together? If they've just been Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Created out of... Just been created out of pixels. Pixels...Yeah, so they tried to hide seams. There was no visible closures, no buttons and zippers, stuff like that, because, as you can see in the picture with the sirens it just materializes on to him, you know. He doesn't need to step into it, in the movie. Just...It's super fascinating. I learned a lot, Jojo Siu So cool. Sarah Timm ...On this, Jojo Siu I mean this is why we all thought it was so exciting when we saw this movie because it was just, it really was nothing we had ever seen. Sarah Timm Yes, yeah. Jojo Siu So yeah, it's pretty cool. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think cynically I was like well it's all probably CG, you know. And then I watched it and I was, I felt, you know, I felt so much excitement and wonder, like it wasn't just digital. So, moving on. Jojo Siu Sorry I side-tracked us. Sarah Timm This is "Clue". Yeah Clue, which is like a version of Jeff Bridges, but it's like a computer that just looks like him and I pulled this because I hate the young face that they did. It.... Even now... Jojo Siu It's sooo creepy. Sarah Timm Yes, it looks like a SIM and even now, when they do the aging down digitally, I've never seen that and been like, "well that's convincing and not creepy". It's ALWAYS creepy to me. So I pulled that just so everybody else can be creeped out as well together. I love this outfit, it's very Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, but Tron version it's like a cool asymmetrical cloak with...and he has yellow light, and I think that the colors of light had something to do with their ranks, you know. I didn't, super look into what was what. But you know, the regular programs have just white and then he and his right-hand man over here kind of have different colors. And then I got this of it on display, so that we can kind of see more what it looks like. Jojo Siu Yeah, I was curious was the other side of that jacket looked like. Sarah Timm Yeah, and it's funny because it looks... Jojo Siu It's so crazy it looks like paper. Sarah Timm I know it looks a little bit cheesy just, you know, it looks like masking tape or something. Jojo Siu Right, Sarah Timm but in the in the movie, it looks so rad, Jojo Siu so crazy. Sarah Timm Yeah, I want to wear one. Jojo Siu I know. Disney can you rent out some of your Tron outfits so that we can just have a dress up day? Sarah Timm Can I borrow it um....real quick, real quick, just like five minutes. Jojo Siu I just need like a selfie andthen and then I'll be good. Sarah Timm Did I read anything else I don't think I did. I just wrote he looks very evil. There's something about a long black coat that looks pretty evil. So this is Cora played by Olivia Wilde. Jojo Siu She's so pretty. Sarah Timm She's one of like, you know, five women that we see. Those are my feelings on that. She's one of two who speaks. Jojo Siu Let's pause and hesitate... for a moment of silence, Sarah Timm and I feel kind of the same about her as I do about the sexy siren girls, which is like...Yes, her outfit looks really good--she looks great--but did it have to be...you would think in a future world where gender doesn't really matter that outfits between men and women would look more similar, but like I said, if Flynn invented it, and he was a straight man and he wants to see sexy women then the women look sexy. So, here's the classic shot of her on the weird couch thing. And of course she's in a high heel. She has, you know what, what else do we expect? And then she has a cold shoulder and nobody else has a shoulder cut out. So I thought that was interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah, some differences. Sarah Timm I like her hair a lot, too. Jojo Siu I like the asymmetrical being. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think that haircut is really cute. And interestingly, she and Gem--the other woman--both wear really heavy, black eye makeup. And this is another thing, where if they made a "Tron" today, I think more of the men would be in makeup too, 'cause I think that today we're more free and open with gender expression in a way where, I think if we were inventing a cool sci-fi world where there was cool makeup, it would be on all genders of people, not just women. Jojo Siu It makes me think of...well, just because you were saying that, I was thinking of Aqua Man, because, he wears so much eye make-up. Sarah Timm I've heard that that's a fun sort of like campy movie. Jojo Siu It is...it...the storyline is like, whatever. I wouldn't watch it from that but, he's definitely got some dark eye makeup. It's very Egyptian-looking almost, 'cause he's got like the Kohl, you know, kind of outline of the eye. Sarah Timm Well Jason Momoa--him in a smoky eye , I'll take that all day long. Jojo Siu Yeah, it looks very good on him. But yeah, it made me think of that when you said, it's more acceptable across genders, Sarah Timm Yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm going to talk about Michael Sheen...well....no...in a second. When he wears makeup, but h e's also sort of like a flamboyant character so it's sort of, she was in this movie. Yeah, he's really good too. So this is Gem, the siren from before. And she kind of comes along to sort of help him get to his next destination or whatever and talk to the people he needs to talk to, to help his dad escape. Because he does find his dad, inside the grid. I feel like the details of the plot are not that important. We, you know Jojo Siu I don't remember much of this plot from this movie. Sarah Timm The plot is we're in the grid and we got to get out. That's basically it. Jojo Siu Yep. Sarah Timm I love. So where...did I pull--Yes. So this is how we see her approaching. She has this really cool clear umbrella. And this feels like a very direct "Blade Runner" reference for me, which I have not seen, but I know that they have light-up umbrellas in it. I know that It's been a very long time. We watched Blade Runner, at school. And I haven't seen the new one. But the old one messed me up so bad that I was like I don't know if I want to see the new one. It's just one of those--it's like--I don't know you feel very unsettled but in like a different way than a horror movie, you know what I mean. But yes, that was one of those movies that I walked out of that room being like, "I feel like my soul has been sucked from my body" Wow! I've seen some like feminist critique of it so it hasn't made me super excited to watch it just because I like watching feminist movies but I feel like as a reference point, it's kind of an important thing to know, you know to be familiar with. Jojo Siu yeah, there's a lot of film references that go back to Blade Runner. Yeah, which is why it was such a big deal, but yeah, it... Sarah Timm right Jojo Siu it makes you very sad at the very end. Sarah Timm I believe it. Jojo Siu 'Cause...everything is just sad in that movie. Sarah Timm Yeah, we'll get around to it eventually. Yeah so... Jojo Siu Maybe we'll make a movie night at that one. Sarah Timm That coud be fun! And then we can cover it... Jojo Siu If I watched it with someone else, maybe I would have like a redeeming something or other for that movie. Sarah Timm It would be one to watch it together as an activity for the podcast and then think about it. Jojo Siu yeah, absolutely. Sarah Timm Imagine. Jojo Siu Future podcast episode. Sarah Timm Future plans. Yeah so that that's...even though I haven't seen it, I know about the umbrella and the rain and Blade Runner so that feels like a little nod, a little homage. Yeah. And then she has this clear sort of rainbow thing which I thought was interesting, it's fun to see the play of light coming through it. And then there's her with her little bikini outline on her unitard Jojo Siu Of course. Sarah Timm Yeah. This is Michael Sheen. Jojo Siu Yes, I forgot about that. Now I remember his character. Sarah Timm Yeah, so his character name is Zeus, and he's kind of...He's a bad guy. He ends up being a bad guy, but at first we don't know he's a bad guy and he's kind of just at this party, at this sort of nightclub thing, where there's a Daft Punk cameo--very fun because they did the soundtrack--and he said that his character is sort of inspired by the MC from cabaret, or Dr Frankenfurter Jojo Siu I can see that. Sarah Timm Yeah, a little bit David Bowie, sort of flamboyant glam rock, sort of, circus-y guy, and I like how his outfit is obviously in the same world as everybody else's, but it's not exactly the same. He's got a unitard, but it's not as skin tight as everybody else's. It kind of looks more like what we know of as a tail coat. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm And see, like right there, it's got...It does have tails and then he's sort of wearing a flair. And a bit of a heel too, which is fun. Jojo Siu It's a little 1970s. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu But in.... Sarah Timm A little Ziggy Stardust, action. Jojo Siu Tech white. Sarah Timm Yeah. So I thought that was cool and apparently he could not really sit in his costume, which is interesting to me because it doesn't look like it's made out of something he couldn't sit in. Jojo Siu Skin tight. Sarah Timm But what do I know. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And then he has this lightup cane, which is really fun. It's, you can see right here, it's clear, and then it lights up and then he shoots lasers with it, which is kind of cool. So then this is a shot of his face, so you can see his got these crazy contacts and makeup and then, you know everybody is really pale, because there's a whole plot point with Cora where she's like, "what does the sun look like," you know, "I want to see the sun." Right, so they're all pale, Jojo Siu They don't know what it looks like. Sarah Timm They dont' know what the sun is. And then, this is my last costume I want to talk about. This is Flynn. So, I didn't talk about him much because I had to kind of edit myself down, I had too many pictures, but the costume designer said that he is more organic, whereas he's against this very tech non-organic backdrop. Everybody else looks very sci-fi and futuristic, and he looks a little bit earthier, and they said, "Eastern influence" I think and I can tell, kind of, because in this shot, this garment scene looks Asian, so that's interesting. Jojo Siu The double layering of the crossed...cross-body robe as well. Sarah Timm Yeah, but I love this cloak. So this cloak is just kind of a hooded cloak, but it has this facing of the light strip. So a facing is on the inside for those who don't know, it's sort of like this strip of fabric that folds to the inside of your garment. So here's a shot of just you know, with the hood so when he has his hood up, it just lights his face and I just think it's so freakin cool. I want one. Jojo Siu I feel like...there was a project that I wanted to do way back when, where I wanted a hood with just the inside lit up. Oh it was for "Into the Woods". Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu I was trying to create a hood for for my witch that just had lights on the inside, and I wasn't even thinking about this, but now that I think about it I was like, "oh, maybe that's what I got the inspiration from." Sarah Timm I mean, it's a new idea, but it's not. I really love Disneyland parades, and I love when a light for the actor's face is incorporated into their costume so if it's a nighttime parade like the "Electrical Parade", or "Paint the night", the fairies will have a little antenna, and then the antenna have tiny little spotlights so that you can see the performers face at night. I love something like that that is very...it's practical. It has a function, but it's also really cool looking. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's like intentional, they make it look like it's part of it. Sarah Timm Yeah, it's part of the costume but it also serves a purpose and it just looks really rad, so it's like, ding ding ding you got all the things you need. Jojo Siu Yep! Exactly. Sarah Timm And then this coat has sort of a split. It has different panels and all of them are sort of outlined in it, so when he swishes around, you can see the light fans out, and it just looks really rad. Jojo Siu That part is really cool. I mean, the hood too, is very cool, but I like that he's got all the, all the edges kind of lit up. Sarah Timm I saw it and I was just like, *gasp! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm Let's see. Did I say anything else about...I think I pretty much covered everything. Yeah, I did. It was fun to watch this movie and like I said the plot: I didn't really pay super attention to it and I was just like "okay we're in the grid, we got to get out of the grid, I'll just look now at the costumes. It's a fun, you know sci-fi adventure sort of movie and that tidbit about the light on all the costumes being practical really made me have a new respect for it. Jojo Siu Yeah, for sure. It shows you a lot, I mean it's, it's different. It doesn't mean that CGI isn't also a lot of work but it's, it's different when you know that it's actually working on the costume, built into the process, as opposed to an after effect. Sarah Timm Yes, and I respect CGI artists so much. I saw this whole Twitter thread recently about how so many directors nowadays are using it as a point of pride to use less CG and act like they're not using CG, where in reality like CG can be used for anything from getting rid of pit stains, to fixing the color or something so acting like movies don't have CG when they do is kind of insulting to the artists who spend hours doing their work. So, I do respect CGI artists and obviously this movie has a ton of that in it. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm But it is really exciting to know that there were other art types of artists who got to innovate and collaborate on this sort of new technology that ended up being used for the movie. Jojo Siu Yeah! Super exciting, and we should celebrate all that! Sarah Timm Yes, yeah, I mean everybody's role in the movie is really important, you know, down to the down to the grips and the PA's and stuff. Jojo Siu Absolutely! Sarah Timm That's the beauty of entertainment, is it really is always a group effort. Jojo Siu Yep, very true. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that's "Tron Legacy". Jojo Siu Yay! So exciting! We picked some good Sci-fi ones. Sarah Timm Yeah, this...this was a fun one! I liked both of these movies that we covered, Jojo Siu I have to rewatch this movie again it's been a while since I've seen it. Sarah Timm I was shook to find out that it is not on Disney plus, and the first one... Jojo Siu Really! Sarah Timm is, and then some animated Tron thing is also on there, and I was like "Excuse me! What?" Jojo Siu Theyr'e still under Disney right? Sarah Timm Yeah, so I watched it with a method I will not discuss. I did watch it. That's just being real there. Jojo Siu Thanks Sarah. Sarah Timm But it's not on Disney plus. I mean, at least it wasn't when I looked. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm You know, a few days ago, Jojo Siu Well, maybe someone will hear this podcast and put it on. Sarah Timm Disney plus if you're listening, put it back. Jojo Siu Give us back our Tron Legacy. Sarah Timm People need to see it and look at the costumes! Jojo Siu All right, thank you so much, Sarah. That was so fun. Sarah Timm Thank you Jojo. Jojo Siu I'm glad we covered some fun movies today. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu You know, even with the horror movie. Sarah Timm As always, get in touch. Let us know if you agree or disagree with us. Give us feedback, or requests: movies or TV shows or theater pieces, or even something else. I don't know SNL sketches, music videos, anything you Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm want us to talk about, let us know. I know eventually we'll cover some non-traditional things I'm excited. Hopefully we'll have time, yeah, to record another bonus episode soon. And maybe Jojo Siu Yeah, definitely. Sarah Timm we can do a smaller something, because I definitely would love the opportunity to talk about BTS. Jojo Siu Always! Always, Sarah, I expected nothing less. Sarah Timm Thank you so much. Jojo Siu Oh yes. Yeah, please, keep writing us and keep reviewing us and keep spreading the word to your friends, we are nothing without our listeners. So we love having people chime in and give us comments and notes and just tell us more information because we're always learning. Sarah Timm Oh yeah, that's that's the whole, the fun part of this and also I say this to my friends and people who listen all the time. I'm like, I think we have something really good, and there is an audience for this, we just need to find them. So if you have people in your life who you think would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them. Jojo Siu Yes. Sarah Timm Get us into their ear holes. We would really appreciate it. Jojo Siu Absolutely. Thanks again, and we look forward to talking with you guys in two weeks. Sarah Timm Yep, see you then. Bye. Jojo Siu Bye. Sarah Timm Oh, I guess I can stop sharing my screen.

[OUTRO]

Jojo:

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at thecostumeplot@gmail.com.

Sarah:

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[takeiteasypeasybaby]

Save Me: Chapter 11 - After

~Hey guys! This is Chapter 11 of ‘Save Me’ ❤️ Molly finally pushes Negan to the edge and has to suffer the punishment...😬 Hope you enjoy and chapter 12 will be out on Wednesday 🤟🏻

The hardest part of a storm is always what comes after. While the survivors deal with grief and loss, Molly is thriving by Negan's side. While Molly is swiftly becoming Negan's favourite, the closer she gets to power, the more danger she becomes susceptible to.

Everyone was still.

Morning came and passed, Maggie sat still, her tears flowing over Glenn's body.

Rosita and Sasha were numb as they stared in silence at Abraham's body.

Rick and Carl tried to move Maggie, she was still ill after all and needed medical attention now more than ever.

Maggie resisted, asking them to leave without her as she would never leave him.

'He's my family' she cried while Carl tried to hold her.

Rick said stuttering through his tears, 'he's our family too'.

Sasha told Rick she would take Maggie to Hilltop while they go back to Alexandria.

But they vowed to stay together and carried the bodies into the RV so they could bury their loved ones at home.

Three members of their family had left last night, Daryl was taken from them and there was no telling when they would see him again, if ever.

Carl held Maggie while she sobbed into his arms, not looking as they lifted Glenn.

That journey to Hilltop was as silent as ever.

No one plotted or made plans to attack with vengeance, they just sat still in silence and waited and pleaded for someone to tell them that it had all been a nightmare.

No one came.

Molly's POV//

There was a knock on the cell door.

I awoke hastily and sat up to see Negan standing in front of her smiling as I rubbed her eyes.

'Morning beautiful' he said groggily as if he'd just woken up as well.

I rolled my eyes at that comment while he chuckled at my response.

'Today's a big day. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life' he said happily.

'What?' I replied sleepily.

'Come on darlin, follow me' he winked and held out his hand.

I took it this time without hesitation and smiled up at him, half genuine, half forced.

He smiled at my enthusiasm, 'I can't wait for you to see it, I hope you like it'.

He almost skipped down the corridor, looking down at my hand and smiling as if in awe.

I looked up at him with a sceptical smile, wondering what he was plotting.

'Okay darlin, we're here', he said smiling as he opened a door on the same corridor that held his room.

I gave him a look of hesitation before walking in and seeing a room almost as luxurious as his.

I gasped.

It wasn't as dark as his, there were beautiful big windows with white drapes, a four poster bed with cream sheets, a brown sofa and a bookshelf with what seemed to house half of his books I remembered seeing when I first saw his room.

I turned back around to him smiling.

'This is...?' I started to ask before he interrupted, 'yours darlin' he said seriously.

I looked around again before swinging back around and saying playfully, 'but I said that I wouldn't become a-'.

He interrupted me before I could say anymore, 'I know, but even so, you're onboard here and you're more than a prisoner...you don't belong in that cell'.

A smile grew across my face at his words.

Was this kindness genuine? Did we just compromise?

'Thank you. Seriously, I appreciate it' I looked in his eyes and saw them light up at me thanking him.

'Can I come inside?' he said smiling and still standing in the doorway.

I smiled back, 'such a gentleman' I said sarcastically but with a hint of truth.

He chuckled walking towards me.

'Well, I've been called a lot but no one's ever called me that before' he said smirking.

'Well don't get used to it', I said leaning in closer before pulling away and moving around the room.

I spun around, looking at the bed before looking up and seeing him eyeing it as well.

He looked up at me before hesitating wanting to say something else but settling on 'well, enjoy darlin but make sure you're in the main hall by twelve'.

At that he smiled before walking back out and shutting the door behind him and left.

My eyes widened, why was my room on his floor?

I audibly gasped, thinking about what he might want from me.

What I might want from him.

Stop it, I told myself shutting my eyes tightly before exhaling and making my way to see Sherry.

I had to see her.

Fat Joey stood outside my room, Negan must have asked him to be my guard or something because he seemed less casual than usual.

'Hey Joey' I said smiling sweetly, he didn't say hey but just asked where I was going.

I frowned, before saying to visit his wives and asking whether that was okay with him sarcastically.

He accepted my request before following me closely as I left my room.

I knocked on the door, when Sherry opened the door before I was finished.

'Hey! what are you doing here?' she asked hastily.

'I need to talk to you' I said quickly, she looked like she needed to be somewhere.

'Sherry? you okay?' I asked worriedly as she seemed distracted.

'Yeah sorry, does Negan know you're here?' she asked nervously.

'Uh no, I don't think so. Would it be a problem?' I asked growing in concern for her.

'Well, it's just that he doesn't usually like anyone but him coming in here' she said eyeing the corridor and Fat Joey nervously.

'But I've been here before' I said chuckling slightly.

'Yeah, yes you have. Of course, come in', she said almost smiling again, I chuckled nervously.

I waved at the other ladies, they just looked at me before carrying on with whatever they were doing.

'Wow tough crowd', I said smiling at Sherry.

'You wanna sit?' she asked pointing over at a sofa.

'Yeah sure, thanks. Hey, why do they hate me so much?' I asked half humorously.

Sherry looked around while she sat down.

'It's not that exactly. They're threatened by you. They think Negan's gonna ask you to be one of his wives, that would mean less privileges for us' she said calmly.

My eyes widened as I tried to remain serious but let out a small chuckle.

'What?! Me? His wife? No, never' I said loudly.

Sherry didn't laugh and instead just said seriously, 'don't make light of it. I'm serious, you don't know what he's capable of. What he's done...'.

'Your best bet is to just do what he wants, that way you stay alive' she added pleadingly.

My eyebrows furrowed as if in disbelief, 'He doesn't scare me. He's been pretty accommodating actually' I said smiling slightly.

'Don't be so naive, whatever he's doing, it's to get you on his side before he breaks you' she said warningly.

I looked at her, like what she was saying was finally hitting home.

'Come, I'll show you. You may as well learn now', she said gesturing me to follow her through to another room that joined to this one.

The other women just watched as I walked through them.

'Sherry, what is this?', I asked curiously.

'Our closet. This is all we can wear', she said while pulling back a curtain to show a long rack of black mini dresses.

What the actual fuck?!

'But why?' I said touching the dresses.

'I don't know, he just likes it' she said nonchalantly.

I sighed, I felt disgusted. I felt like he'd just bought me.

That room wasn't for me, it for what I represented as a prisoner of war.

I hesitated before telling Sherry, 'I want to try one on'.

'What?' she asked worriedly.

'I want to change the meaning of the dress. I want to make him understand how sick this is. The dress will no longer mean ownership. I want to let him know that I know' I said confidently as Sherry just raised her brows.

I smiled at the idea.

Sherry still looked at me wide eyed and confused.

'Moll, I know you mean well but you'll get yourself killed. Don't test him! Just get under the radar' she begged.

I took one of the dresses anyway and tried it on. It fit like a glove, hugging my curves.

I hadn't worn a dress in years but this was a symbol.

I would be mocking his whole numerous wives thing, I would be mocking him.

I stepped out of the room, put on a pair of black heels from the cupboard and I walked out as the women stared open mouthed.

They all whispered as I went by, 'see what I mean. He did ask her!' one of them said.

I just smiled and left the room, until I turned down the corridor and saw Negan.

I stopped still as he did the same, both of us staring at each other.

He was furious. I had crossed two lines here.

I had entered his wives room without his permission and was now wearing a black dress.

As much as he tried to look furious as he marched over to me, his eyes kept flitting from mine down to my legs and back up.

He liked what he saw.

I was secretly excited by this but also nauseous seeing how he liked all of his wives to wear this 'uniform'.

'What the fuck are you wearing?!' he barked.

I rolled my eyes and smiled sweetly 'a dress' I retorted innocently.

His grip on Lucille had tightened as he growled.

'Just as I was trying to be nice. Oh darlin, you're gonna regret crossing me' he said scowling at me.

He looked over to his men who were behind him and now staring at me, jaws dropped to the floor.

'Hey!' Negan shouted, pounding Lucille on the floor.

'If I catch you looking at her again, I will cut out your eyes, got it?' Negan added while their gazes shifted straight up to him.

'Sorry, sir' they said in unison.

'Take her to the main hall' he barked at them.

He looked at me once more before saying 'show time' as they grabbed a hold of my arms and escorted me there.

I struggled the whole way but as we entered, the room was full. More full than when the iron was used.

I was dragged down to the middle of the room where a circle had formed around me.

Negan stood from the balcony, still scowling.

They were kneeling before he allowed them to rise again.

He had made a speech about the rules again and how I'd broke them so had to be punished.

The men were laughing and blowing kisses to me.

But I just shrugged them off until Negan spoke.

'Everyone place your bets now because its show time! Saviours, you know the drill, three rounds then the winner is declared' Negan bellowed to the crowd.

He looked at me now, revelling in my confusion.

What the fuck was this?!

He smiled down at me, then nodded to the man next to him to start the match.

I took off my shoes not knowing what the hell was happening.

Out came a woman, obviously a saviour.

Negan shouted 'Arat, meet Molly, Molly meet Arat'.

Was he expecting me to fight her?!

I chuckled to myself at what he wanted.

Would it turn him on to see me fight in a dress? Like one of his wives, but a hell of a lot tougher?

'You've gotta be fucking kidding me' I said softly.

Arat didn't smile, she just looked at me like she was about to kill me.

She put her fists up as the whistle blew.

She stepped towards me throwing the first punch, I ducked to the side before trying to talk to her while we stepped around each other.

'Look, we don't have to do this alright?' I said sternly.

She smirked before saying 'shut up bitch and i'll try to go easy on you, kay?' and threw another punch, she missed.

Okay she wasn't gonna stop so I was gonna have to put an end to this shit show.

I ducked again, this time punching her square across the face, enough to knock her down.

'Just stop okay? Don't hurt yourself' I asked her, which pissed her off even more.

I tripped her up and landed another punch to her face before she dropped.

She lay on her back gasping for breath, still trying to get up.

Everyone was chanting now, Molly! Molly! Molly!

As she got up and threw her last punch I grabbed her arm and swung her around to put her in a headlock.

She struggled until she eventually tapped out.

I'd won the first one.

Negan smiled and clapped.

The whistle blew again. This time a man came out.

He was a large man, tall and heavily built.

I looked at him for a second while everyone else was sceptical about my strength. But this wasn't about strength, just agility.

He threw punches at me, one hitting my arm throwing me backwards.

I decided to turn it up a notch and use what Jesus had taught me.

He ran towards me before I jumped back up onto my feet and climbed him, wrapping my legs around his neck, spinning him and flipping him over onto his back.

He landed with a thud, there was a crack, he'd broke something.

He tapped out while in pain on the floor while I stood over him.

I looked up at Negan briefly smirking while the man got taken away on a stretcher.

Everyone cheered and whooped in disbelief, 'she's a fucking monkey! she literally climbed him!' I heard one guy shout.

I held back my smile wanting to stay in the zone.

The last whistle blew.

From the shadow, another woman came out.

Once the light hit her, I gasped. It was Sherry.

I looked at her before looking up at Negan who was now looking back at me sternly.

I shook my head with my hands on my hips and scoffed, 'son of a bitch' I whispered.

Sherry looked terrified.

I looked over to see Dwight in the crowd who was scared out of his mind but also furious at the same time.

His eyes pleaded me to go easy on her, but I would do one better.

Sherry came closer, while people chanted.

'Moll, just do it. Get it over with' she pleaded, tears rolling down her face.

'No. Not gonna happen. I don't give a fuck. If that sick son of a bitch thinks I'm gonna fight you then he can go fuck himself' I said breathlessly.

'Wife versus wife! Sick!' one guy shouted.

Negan grew more and more impatient, before he made his way down the stairs and walked towards the circle.

People parted like the Red Sea for him as he walked, he held a gun in his hands.

Shit.

'Cmon darlin. Finish the game' he said smiling sinisterly.

I looked at him like I would kill him.

'Go fuck yourself asshole' I barked back at him.

His face dropped, 'whew, I can't let that behaviour slide. You know that. So, punishment', he said calmly as he put the gun in my hands.

'Kill her' he whispered leaning close to me, this time all I felt for him was hatred.

This was his idea of a sick game and Sherry cried even harder now.

Dwight looked at me, mouthing 'please', a tear rolling down his face.

I looked at Negan and nodded, before looking at the gun then back to Sherry.

I raised the gun to Sherry.

The room was silent now, you could hear a pin drop. Sherry was shaking as I held the gun to her.

I took in a deep breath before turning the gun to my own head.

Sherry screamed 'NO!', I clicked the trigger, once, twice, each time with more frustration. Nothing.

It wasn't loaded.

It was a test.

It was a fucking test.

Negan looked at me, surprised that I was willing to kill myself over one of his wives. But of course he didn't know our history.

Dwight closed his eyes in relief, so did Sherry.

I turned to Negan before leaning and whispering in his ear saying 'do me and everyone here a favour and shoot yourself before I get the chance'.

I looked into his eyes to see his response which was just blank as if he was in awe.

I picked up the heels and walked out of the room.

This time they parted for me.

[mtvswatches]

Wynonna Earp 2x12 I Hope You Dance

Click here for previous recaps!

Stray thoughts

1) Waverly confronts Bobo and the widows, certain that Bobo won’t hurt her. He admits he might not, but he won’t help her either. In an uncharacteristically honest moment, he admits that caring about her has only brought him pain. Waverly quips that no one said parenthood was easy. And I’M FREAKING OUT? IS THIS HER WAY OF CONFIRMING BOBO IS HER FATHER?!

2) Thankfully, Wynonna arrives on time, but Peacemaker is completely useless now that the seal is broken and this MOFO is waking up…

Shit is about to go down and I’M NOT READY. I’m really curious to see what Clootie looks like, though, I feel he’ll look something like the Master.

3) The sisters take a breather before all hell breaks loose, and I appreciate it…

You know what else I appreciate? Wynonna’s top priority – making sure Doc is not dead.

4) Well, Dolls is not dead, which is good, but not the answer I was expecting.

5) I truly appreciate the brief moment of levity…

6) So, this is what she had figured out before she went poof…

7) Wynonna is terrified that Doc might be dead now that the ring is broken. I’m Jeremy, btw.

8) I’m sorry, but is there anything more badass than trying to save the world while you’re about to give FUCKING BIRTH?!

9) WTF! Clootie is going to have Wynonna’s baby for dessert???!!

10) Oooh, I kind of saw this coming but I didn’t want to get my hopes up!

MERCEDES: Actually, I want a separation.

MERCEDES: Chopped my way into the 21st century. The world has changed. Hell, look at Wynonna Earp. She is 10 times the gunslinger Wyatt ever was and he put Bulshar in the ground! I want that ring!

I’m really into this new form of empowerment? Evil ladies also need to break free from the misogynistic ties to their evil lords. You go, Glenn Coco! Or Elsa, I guess…

She just took off and buried Bobo, Clootie and her sister. Does this mean that the season’s Big Bad was Mercedes all along? And not Clootie! Damn, I really love that plot twist!

11) The Iron Witch says the plate only works as a shield, and these two badass motherfuckers are not having it…

Can they look any more badass?! And I really wish they had allowed Wynonna to say fucking!

12) Dolls finds Doc at his home…

He’s having an existential crisis over being mortal and he’s basically contemplating suicide. And I almost believed he couldn’t take not being ageless anymore, but it was the possibility of living a mortal life in a Wynonna-less world that was pushing him over the edge because the second he heard she was still alive…

It’s like his soul returned to his body… and now he’s willing to die but for an entirely different reason, and I swear to God, I choked up during this whole scene. Does that make sense? Am I an idiot?

13) I guess there’s no better time for confessions than when facing the possibility of absolute and total obliteration. In a few seconds, Waverly breaks the news to Wynonna that Nicole is married and that she’s not Wynonna’s sister. Wynonna’s reply is quick and certain…

A lot of emphasis is placed on the bloodline in this show, considering the whole hereditary curse. But nothing as volatile as blood would ever get in the way of Waverly and Wynonna. They are sisters if ever sisters there were.

I truly love how there was no hesitation. At the same time, I wonder if the lack of hesitation means Wynonna had considered this possibility before?

14) Okay, Wynonna literally has one shot to kill Clootie, get rid of the Widows, and break the curse. Cool. Cool cool cool cool.

15) Jeremy and Nicole are having this super sweet moment…

JEREMY: And, uh, I stay because I don't fit in here. But none of you ask me to. I'm allowed to be me. NICOLE: You're part of the family. And being part of the family means...

AND THEN THIS FUCKING ELSA FROM HELL BURST INTO THE ROOM AND NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK…

And please don’t tell me that we’re using the “put Nicole in peril” schtick again! And we’re adding Jeremy into the mix! Just great!

16) THE BABY IS FUCKING COMING AMIDST ALL THIS DEBACLE!

17) I’M FUCKING DEAD.

She’s my queen, I love her, I’d sell my soul for Wynonna Earp, I’ve said it.

18) Oh, the other McBitch just arrived and is threatening Waverly while Elsa says Wynonna is the weapon she’s been looking for, and what the fuck is going on?

19) Wynonna’s sigh of relief and barely noticeable smile when she sees Doc is alive, though…

I leave for these moments.

20) NOT THESE FUCKING MOMENTS, THOUGH! WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING?!

21) UGH THESE TWO MOTHERFUCKERS ALMOST GOT ME!

Two birds, one stone. These two! They could convey their plan using a code they could only understand! Why aren’t they together?!

But there’s still Clootie and Bobo, right…

And the baby is coming…

22) Ugh the fire-assholes have shown up, they offed Wynonna’s doctor and they’re coming after the baby!

23) WHAT’S THE FUCKING PLAN? WHAT WILL THEY DO WITH THE BABY? IS NICOLE GOING TO TAKE THE BABY AWAY? They’re talking about crossing the triangle…

24) WTF ROSITA!!!!!!!

THIS FUCKING EPISODE DOESN’T LET UP!

25) Bobo has gone Spike…

So Clootie or Bulshar or whoever sucked something out of Bobo and Bobo offered up Waverly as the Big Bad’s new bride WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!

26) Great. JUST FUCKING GREAT.

27) Oh, thank god, something worked out!

Wynonna basically willed Peacemaker into accepting Waverly as an Earp!

28) Brendan Fehr is saying that Wynonna is going to corrupt the baby and screw it up and I’m like… Brendan Fehr, I was rooting for you!

29) Damn, Dolls!

At least they died in their element. Get it?

30) When you try to come up with a good comeback and you just…

31) I guess I’ll just have to get used to Bobo never being back for more than two episodes…

32) I’m not crying, you are…

I'm the Earp heir. They're always coming for me and everything I love. I don't want to. I didn't realise how much I wouldn't want to. You're the coolest thing I ever did. You're going to have it much better than me. I promise.

And Waverly is taking the baby away and Wynonna is asking her to make sure that Doc gets a moment with him and I’m here, dying.

33) Waverly and the baby just crossed over the border and neither of them burnt, which means that the baby is Doc’s and the revenants don’t have any claim over it. But what does this mean for Waverly? Whose daughter is she, then?

34) Wynonna just offed the whole gang of revenants, but it doesn’t really feel satisfying at all when her baby is being sent away minutes after being born…

35) Did Jeremy just used Waverly and Nicole’s ship name?! HE FUCKING DID!

36) Perry is taking the baby as a way to thank Wynonna for saving his life. Cool dude.

37) And now Doc is meeting the baby and I WON’T SURVIVE THIS SHIT!

I CAN’T BREATHE. EVERYTHING HURTS.

38) Bobo just got a holiday for one in the well, and he admits that he never said Waverly was his daughter, just kin. I repeat, what does this mean for Waverly? Who is her father? Doc confesses that when Dolls shot him, he was sent to hell. It remains to be seen how long he was there - if it was a few hours or a few centuries, and what impact this will have on him…

39) Wynonna named the baby after both of their mothers and I’m a mess…

This is not the happy ending I wanted for these two.

40) There’s so much I don’t understand…

The woman narrating is Wynonna’s mother? And she’s ALIVE? Has she been alive this whole time? What about the secretive look between Dolls and Nicole? Is she having second thoughts about her divorce? And what about the folder she was holding with info about Bulshar? Is she working with Dolls behind Waverly’s back? And how can Jeremy and Waverly be acting so carefree when everything is a mess?

If Wynonna’s mom is alive, there’d better be an explanation as to why this was never brought up before. It doesn’t make any sense!

I need Alice in Wynonna and Doc’s life, okay? This can’t be the end of that storyline, I just won’t accept it.

41) Amazing season finale, full of plot twists and emotional moments. I’ll admit I shed more than one tear. I truly can’t believe how the show continues to be so fast-paced and engaging. There never is one minute, one line, one scene wasted – everything has meaning and is relevant to the plot, and it never lets up and I’m so excited to see what they have to offer in season 3, and hopefully, I’ll catch up before season 4 premieres!

This show is quickly climbing up the ladder of my very short and exclusive list of favorite shows, I swear. I’m already looking forward to rewatching it and discovering things I’d missed the first time around.

42) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

[angelthefirst1]

Morning Star - Sequence

Part 3

The interruptions that started it all... OH! Next we Rosita walk onto the radio room, she hears Stephanie on the radio and responds.

Eugene comes down the ladder and is freaking out that Stephanie will be scared off. He pushes Rosita away and tells her she made him break her promise.

Rosita teases him asking if he is getting action at Oceanside. He tells her to leave and tries to reconnect with Stephanie no answer.

The interruption is 1. Daryl freaking out after the "oh" moment in 'Alone' and opening door without checking it was safe, causing Beth to disappear and also causing the interruption that stopped the music playing in 508 (Beth being shot) causing her to break her promise to Daryl. In 'Alone', just after Daryl tells Beth to pry open a window, get your shit. She tells him. "I'm not going to leave you" this is the promise she broke... temporally anyway. With Eugene it causes Stephanie to disappear from the radio.

Plotting revenge on Grady Next we see Alpha and Negan near a river, he is telling her that they might deserve a massacre but it would feel better to make them join the Whisperers, bend the knee (Another clue we are in current times but also back at the Negan times) Beth plotting revenge on Grady for all they have done to her, and she is going to be ruthless. Grady cops in a panic Next we see the Hilltop people gathered in Maggie's office, they are deciding if they should stay and fight or run because of the horde Alpha is going to release on them.

They decide to evacuate with the plan to go to Oceanside, kids first. (This is the point where Maggie is unwell back in season 6 and the group load her into the RV to get her to the Doctor at Hilltop) I don't have much more to add to this, I think this will be repeated by Grady cops at some stage trying to evacuate when Beth comes for them. It also makes me think that Grady may have a second location linked to it. But we will see... Evacuating - Loading up the RV and heading to Hilltop from Alexandria We see the kids evacuated first, and they come across this in the road.

As I said earlier it's a repeat of season 6 when the roads are blocked by Negan, with logs on fire and hanging walkers with X on their trunk just before Glenn dies. Kids evacuated first = Maggie being pregnant   Daryl says this is Negan, he’s with her now The evacuation is cancelled and they all return to Hilltop. There is a large emphasis on kids returning to Hilltop and the first thing we hear when this scene opens is an anxious "Dad" from Gracie to Aaron, a call back to the fact that a dad Glenn has just died In the season 6 road, and Maggie had to get to hilltop to save the child. Maggie was told she couldn't stay at Hilltop when she first arrived and Kelly says "you all said we couldn't stay here"

Earl says they have to stay and fight the Whisperers and that it would be the fight of their lives (referencing the war against the saviors past story)

Carol/Beth is also just in the background as Earl says this, she will have her own ‘fight of her life’ at the same time. (Past story of the Grady fall)

Ezekiel and Noah take it all on themselves.

Next we see Carol and Ezekiel. 

Carol finds out about his cancer and touches his neck in a way that reminds me of how Beth touched Noah's face back in Grady.

Dawn had Noah beaten because he took the blame for what Beth was tricked into doing.

Ezekiel has taken the cancer all on himself; he should have shared it with Carol, just like Noah took all the blame for Beth killing Trevit.

These characters are reverse repeats of each other.

Carol and Ezekiel sit on the bed after sleeping together (and no, I don’t think Noah and Beth slept together) and Ezekiel wants to know if it would have happened any other night? If they didn't know they were going to die tonight?

Carol says "we're going to die tonight?" They grab hands and smile at each other.

It's a call back to both Beth and Noah’s deaths not far apart from each other, Beth dies in the Grady hospital 508 (Hilltop) and not long after in ‘Spend’ 514 Noah dies getting eaten by walkers (by getting eaten by mosquito's)

Just before his death scene he gets in a van with music playing really loudly "Now you're all going to die"

Still Consumed but all Alone Next we see Eugene (Carol/Beth) hooking up batteries

Rosita (Daryl) comes out and sees what he is doing, a complete call back to Daryl coming after Carol in 505, when she is planning on leaving the group at the church.

Carol wants to leave, but Daryl catches her just before she can and stops her. At the time she is looking at a car battery in the trunk of a car.  

They end up taking this car to follow the cops who had taken Beth. Rosita is confident she will see Gabriel again, like Daryl was with Beth, Eugene says “the odds point to their demise”.

This was how Carol was in consumed she didn't think they get to save people (Beth) anymore.

Rosita changes the subject, saying I though you would be trying on the radio to contact Stephanie.

Eugene says he stopped transmissions, then Rosita hands him the alcohol

 (Daryl getting Beth moonshine), we even have a yellow truck in the background, a reminder of still and Beth's yellow polo.

Eugene stopped transmission not long after the moonshine, so it's a call back again to Beth being taken from the funeral home and stopping communication with Daryl.

Eugene when he drinks the alcohol finds it harsh just like Beth.

This scene is also a call back to the still porch

Rosita (Daryl) says "you like this girl huh?" It's like Daryl talking to himself.

Eugene says, it seems Stephanie can't forgive you're mistake.

(Referring to Rosita trying to talk to Stephanie and scaring her away, which is just another version of Daryl getting scared in Alone, when he quickly left after the “oh” moment and made the mistake of opening the funeral home door)

Eugene says Stephanie must find him unworthy of further attention, and hints at not being worthy of love. Rosita says he has no game, but that Stephanie likes him or she wouldn't have been talking with him this much.

Eugene still isn't sure… We are now back at alone where Beth doesn't know what changed Daryl’s mind, she is still unsure what he means..

Beth says to Daryl “don’t mmmhhh what changed your mind?”

Rosita (Daryl) says "Do you want to kiss me? Come on Kiss me!" and hurry up

before I change my mind!!!

They almost kiss but of course it is interrupted.

Eugene realises he wants to kiss Stephanie. (Who has disappeared due to Rosita’s/Daryl’s mistake)

When Eugene (Beth) doesn't kiss Rosita (Daryl), Rosita says wow, you like this girl huh? So get off your ass and go get her.

Daryl did get off his ass and chased Beth all night to try and get her.

Continue in part 4...

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

No but something I love is how fucking loyal Miklan really is (in Hopes specifically since we don't have enough information in Houses).

At the camp, he takes his job seriously. Very seriously. He doesn't act begrudging or like he's just doing anything by force. As the chapters go on he not only goes from relatively aloof to a full fledged commander (which is great development in that span of chapters btw considering how fast the story has to progress) and one who fights for Faerghus because he wants to (why would he reassure the player that he's going to, literally, hold down the fort? Why doesn't he flee when his life is in immediate danger despite that Dimtiri prefers his allies to flee and save their lives over sacrificing themselves? Why does he like helping citizens who had their lands destroyed by the war, despite being a bandit who used to plunge towns just like those?).

At any time when the Empire was attacking, he could've surrendered and even joined their side because of not liking Faerghus and its people... if he didn't like Faerghus and its people. Also, someone brought this up to me once that Miklan likely has family in the Empire still, because his mother was from the Empire. He had a perfectly good out that wouldn't even necessarily be considered treason to Faerghus, i.e. surrendering and going to the Empire to protect that side of his family.

He doesn't. He dies for Faerghus. It was both a matter of honor due to the fact that he was finally living the life he always should've been and wanted to be respected for that, and also his loyalty that followed in the past's wrongs being righted. No matter what you think of Miklan post disinheritance, he was the heir who was removed because he didn't have a Crest. All over just that, despite that Sylvain having a Crest never meant they didn't still have someone capable of fighting off Sreng invasions.

They had someone able to wield the Lance of Ruin, so why did it matter if he was officially the heir? Miklan felt like his life was stolen from him (and I'm not saying what he did to Sylvain was okay either). Dimitri gave him all of that back and he started to become loyal to Faerghus and its king because Dimitri was giving the chance even the man's own father never gave him from the moment Sylvain was determined to have a Crest.

What happened in his life before Dimitri had him brought to him as soon as he became king is, in a way, almost like it never happened as far as Miklan's behavior. It was obviously there at first, but over time it's like it never happened. That is, if someone met him and didn't know about his past, by chapter 9 they'd never even know he'd had that history. He was the person he would've been years ago if he hadn't been disinherited, which lead to the mess that led to him being disowned (and he says he just "left", but Matthias doesn't mince facts. At all. If that had been the case he wouldn't just say he disowned him. He would admit Miklan ran away. That means Miklan claims he left as a means of coping and trying to convince other people that it was his choice and not forced on him).

Miklan became a lot more loyal than he's ever given credit for, both in the game and in the fandom. Gwendal did recognize it, but that's about all we're given.

Gwendal corrected himself when Miklan died, referring to him instead as Sir Miklan instead of the insults he was spewing during their fight which were very clearly pissing Miklan off; but Miklan kept fighting and defending the fort, not just because he wanted to prove Gwendal wrong but because he was here because he was pulled out of his life as a bandit. The people he was defending the fort for were the people who effectively gave him his life back.

Basically, he would've been there in that fort defending it anyway if he had lived the life he should have to begin with. If his value was acknowledged all along, he would've been defending the most important fort in Faerghus all along (if this exact scenario occurred and everything was the same except him being disowned in the first place). He would be there being the commander and fighter he was supposed to be.

Mind you, it was the king himself who gave him that chance, meaning the person who reigns over Faerghus and has the most power to change whatever the hell he wants - including how people with Crests and without are treated. Miklan was part of a fight to better their society and be part of the new generation taking over. Nobody could truly change things unless the king - the top power - had the thought to change them (not saying Lambert thought the political climate was good the way it was, but he clearly had other priorities and it didn't seem to be something weighing on his mind. He may not have even truly noticed the problems and power discrepancies because he was so focused on other things).

However, the moment the king thought to change all that old stuff, Miklan was one of the first people who came to mind, and one of the first people he took action regarding, to integrate into his new army (and he even mentioned completely rearranging his army and whatnot, and then we find out he had Miklan located basically right after becoming king. We had a two year timeskip and Miklan had been there for those two years because of how soon after Dimitri was crowned that he had decided to bring Miklan back and give him another chance).

If the king sought to change things and was taking active action to prove it, that was something Miklan could see and realize was actually going to happen. It wasn't a blind trust - he could see Dimitri was actually doing it. He had a reason to be able to trust him with this.

He was also able to trust the people who were watching over him, i.e. the people Dimitri had making sure he didn't revert back to any sort of banditry. Those people could have easily faked it, made up that he did something and that they had killed him on the spot. Dimitri trusted those people not to do that of course, but those people were not told to bring him to Dimitri if he did anything. They were told to apprehend him and kill him immediately (which is reasonable, given what he'd done in the past, and they wouldn't want to try to wait to get Dimitri over to wherever they were. If Miklan escaped in that time, they'd just have a big problem on their hands).

So that is to say, those people could've just faked it at any point and killed him. They didn't. They, like Dimitri, were willing to give him another chance provided he didn't do anything bad.

The same goes for Felix and everyone else who had qualms about him being allowed into their army. Dimitri explicitly stated if anyone had issues with his appointment as a commander to "by all means" kill him themselves. He literally made it an open option for his friends to just up and kill him if they truly couldn't forgive him (which at that point was more reasonable of a time because the war was still new and people didn't know if they could trust him with this specific appointment yet. By later in the story I don't think it would have been as reasonable for someone to try to kill him after he'd already been proving himself).

In other words, nobody did it. Everyone, literally everyone, backed off and respected Dimitri's decision (and technically Sylvain and Matthias' as well). None of those people, even when given open opportunity, turned a weapon on him. Not one. These people all gave him a chance. These are the same people he died fighting for, and for himself to be able to feel like he was fighting and dying for what he would have to begin with if he hadn't been disinherited - Faerghus and its people.

In the end Miklan was in both rank and heart a top ranking commander of Faerghus and he both appreciated it and knew he appreciated it. He was looking forward to the future Dimitri would bring, basically saying that he thinks Dimitri is a fool ("weak-willed") for it but that he now believes in it too. If anyone wants to try arguing those points, I have receipts as the young folk call them, fresh from Miklan himself about his feelings about it as spoken to Catherine and Shamir!

Miklan fought for the future he was hoping to see, and he died protecting that future. Again, not something he by any means whatsoever had to do. He was tasked with guarding the fortress, but was never told to lay down his life defending it. After years and years of being hateful and angry, he finally had some peace of mind and hope for what he could be. He was loyal to Dimitri in the end because Dimitri was loyal to him - that is, he kept his word and Miklan was able to thrive in Dimitri's society without being a bandit or having to worry about his future because of his status.

Like Dimitri said, the only thing holding him down by that point were his past mistakes. It was up to Miklan to do something about that for himself with the opportunity he was given to fix it. Dimitri said here, fix it, and Miklan said okay, and worked to fix it. For me the saddest part is that he didn't even get enough time to properly fix it and be able to be free of his past. He died for Faerghus though, with his dying words being that he was able to buy them time (to arrive and fight back against the attacking Empire). That's not something someone who holds a resentful grudge would say in their last moments. He was grateful he managed to buy the other fighters time, even though it cost him his life.

hopes was a dumpster fire a whole lot of times but its incorporation of miklan into the plot was not one of them. miklan fire emblem my love you will live on in my heart and in my fics. i am also deeply grateful to hopes for uh i guess hopes-canonizing (hopesonizing???) basically every one of my headcanons about him before the game came out.

[rubberduckyrye]

Sorry that it took me a while to get to these; I’ve been very low energy and am still low energy so apologies for that!

As for Marie, her real name is Olivia (her stage name is Marie Annette) and yes, it’s a pun, because she is the Ultimate Marionettist. You can ask more about her @aroseandapen since she is L’s muse.

However, Marie’s plot wasn’t created so she could run away from the consequences of her actions--in actuality, they’re much more sinister. You see, the basic idea we have right now is that a certain someone knew about the chapter 3 blackened before they murdered the second victim, but was being blackmailed into silence--because they had a secret they would rather die for than let get loose. However, this lead to Marie’s friend/lover/family/whatever idk we haven’t decided that part yet, get killed as the second victim. After learning about that person’s involvement, Marie gets furious and blames them, but everyone pretty much forgives them once they understand. All but Jaden, who while he does understand their motives, also understands that Marie is still hurt by them and it did cause the death of someone else, and at least had mixed feelings about it and made the mistake of expressing this to Marie.

That was a huge mistake, because Marie then decided that everyone but Jaden should live, and then she was presented with the opportunity to force Jaden into a blackened role. She then makes sure he couldn’t communicate the fact that he was he blackened (as he tried to leave evidence in the form of his glasses at the crime scene, but Marie figured him out quickly and ordered him not to be sneaky about it and not let anyone know) and yeah. Marie basically made Jaden into a blackened not to escape from punishment, but to punish everyone (including herself) and let Jaden go free.

This, of course, backfires, but that’s probably why Marie had Jaden kill that specific classmate. Because at least that person would be dead if her plan failed.

The worst part is that Marie is a pretty good person before this, too, which makes the betrayal so much more impactful.

I can give you a little backstory on Adrian, Jaden, and Irene if you like! I have those written out, so;

Adrian Blanc, the Ultimate Dilettante;

Adrian’s life was pretty mundane and average. They grew up in the middle class, had a normal life with their normal family and normal friends. There was nothing extra ordinary about them, nothing to report. The only thing that caught anyone’s attention, in fact, was how intelligent and sharp Adrian was.

Adrian has the Ultimate Analysis ability, and with their ADHD, tend to hyperfixate on different subjects of all kinds (I.E. Art, music, writing, math, science, mechanics, you name it)  but before they could master any skill, Adrian would always give up, claiming that they had grown too bored of the trade to continue. Adrian became known in their little town as “the renaissance child” or “the jack of all trades,” and would often take on small jobs and favors from neighbors to complete a mundane task. However, they were never talented enough to get a stable job from professionals of the craft, being told that their mediocre skills weren’t enough to qualify for anything.

One day, Adrian’s popularity in their hometown got out to the bigger name cities, and they were asked to star on a talk show and display their many mediocre talents.

Impressed by their wide array of skills, the American Ultimate Initiative contacted Adrian to ask them if they wanted to attend the American Hope’s Peak Academy as “The Ultimate Dilettante.” Hesitantly, Adrian agreed, though is uncomfortable with their title.

Adrian is insecure over their lack of mastering any single talent, and feels as if their “Ultimate Title” can feel like someone was mocking them for it. After all, in the modern professional world, a “Jack of all trades” was pretty useless.

Jaden Holland, the Ultimate Digital Artist;

The Holland family is a black, progressive family that consists of Jaden’s mother (Agatha), Jaden’s elder sister (Jayleen), Jaden’s elder brother (Glenn) and Jaden himself, and a small dog named Juniper. (You can ask L more about Jayleen and Glenn)

Jaden’s father left their family when Jaden was just born, so his mother and his elder sister were the ones who mostly raised Glenn and Jaden. With Agatha working in the police force and their overall family ideals being liberal, Jaden grew up more socially aware and expressive early on. However, when he was a young child, Jaden was attacked by a large mixed breed stray dog, which left grotesque scars on his neck and unable to use his vocal chords. Ever since, he has been wearing high-collared shirts and turtle necks to hide them, embarrassed and ashamed of the scars. He also found that whispering could be painful at times, so he and his family learned sign language.

Aside from that traumatic event, Jaden lived a relatively calm life, and he took interest in digital art soon after the attack. He begged his mother for a pen tablet, and kick started his talent in the digital arts. Jaden has posted over one-thousand pieces of art under the user “Silenced-Arts.” He became quite a popular artist over time, and soon, he was written about in newspapers and online articles as “the boy who can paint a photo,” which was a reference to Jaden’s typical art style being hyper-realistic paintings of surreal scenes that people often would often mistake as photos or edited photos. This caused a bit of controversy until Jaden learned how to use Hypercam and other screen-recording software, and posted various drawing videos that immediately made him an even more popular artist on youtube and all over the web.

Jaden expanded his skills to different forms of digital art, such as 3D modeling and 2D/3D animation. However, he is most comfortable and skilled with painting and drawing.

His skills and talent grew until finally, just before his second year of high school, Jaden was scouted by the American Hopes Peak Academy as the Ultimate Digital Artist for a student film that was all animated but was 100% painted and hyper realistic.

Jaden has a special pair of gloves made by “A friend of a friend” (hint: It Miu) that has special sensors that can translate his signing to American English, and has a speaker that projects a voice resting in his breast pocket. This idea is loosely based off of this amazing keyboard “glove” where each unique hand gesture represents a unique letter. It relies on the same principle, except using ASL gestures and a blue tooth “text to speech” speaker. The speaker sounds as fluid and human as K1-B0’s voice, and the gloves have sensors to change the “tone” of his voice and mimic the emotion he wants to convey. (Jaden has the bonus of being able to manually select an emotion with gestures that are unique but do not mean anything in ASL, such as double tapping your thumb and index finger together... well unless that is a thing in sign language, I’m not sure.)

Jaden’s older brother, Glenn, is a member of D.I.C.E. as a fire dancer.

Irene Foster, the Ultimate Street Fighter;

Irene was a runaway orphan, originally born into a wealthy family. Her parents were always busy with work, so Irene was typically left to her own devices or kept busy with random lessons that varied from piano lessons to fencing. However, her parents were assassinated due to her father’s business company making enemies in the wrong places. The assassin didn’t kill Irene, only because of the guilt that he pretty much just made this girl into an orphan. (He wasn’t very good at being an assassin.)

Irene then ran away from Britain to New York City by stowing away on an airplane, and ran away from foster homes that took her in until she started getting into fights. Eventually, underground criminal rings for street fighting took an interest in her, and this earned her access to an underground street fighting ring. She was a natural fighter (though often feeling like she was fighting for her very life) and quickly earned a living off of her matches.

Eventually, she came across a house just outside of the city that had caught on fire. Among the flames was a little girl named Erin Rider, holding a teddy bear in one hand and a lighter in the other. After a little prying, Irene learned that Erin was a victim of constant abuse from her parents, and she thought she could burn the house down and run away. Erin is unaware that she killed her parents in the house fire and assumes they thought she died and never looked for her. Irene never had the heart to tell Erin that she killed her own parents, and instead, decided to take care of the little girl as her own sister. She decided it would be a secret she took with her to her grave.

With another mouth to feed, however, Irene had to take on more challenges to earn money enough for both her and Erin to eat, and eventually, Irene became known in the underground ring as “The Girl of Iron.” This caught the attention of the American Ultimate Initiative, and Irene earned her title as the “Ultimate Street Fighter.”

Now just for you, I’ll go ahead and type out Leah’s back story to the best of my ability because why not:

Leah Welsh, the Ultimate Hunter/Huntress;

Leah was disowned by her parents at the age of 13, once she finally confessed to them that their son, Orlando, didn’t exist anymore and wanted to be a girl named Leah. The transphobic backlash from her parents came as a genuine, horrifying shock to Leah, and she immediately ran away to her grandfather Orrin’s house to explain what happened. Being a far more open minded man and far more liberal, he disowned his own child and took Leah in as his own, and decided to move from Ireland to the United States to further distance them from the horrible people that were Leah’s parents.

Orrin was a skilled hunter, and not being able to leave a young Leah by herself, he decided to take her with him. Leah took an interest in hunting, and Orrin started teaching her--and much to his surprise, Leah took the lessons extremely well, and within just a few years, was a master hunter that surpassed even his own skills. They even traveled to Australia and Africa for some legal hunting.

However, Orrin was old, and he eventually passed away from old age when Leah was sixteen. Saddened but not discouraged, Leah started hunting game to make a profit as a survival tactic.

Eventually, Leah was called by a secret service of the government and taken into custody to be given an offer. A huge sum of money for using her hunting skills for an assassination--a very corrupt man who dealt with human trafficking, terrorism, and other criminal activities that made him too dangerous. However, every previous assassination attempt lead to failure due to the men and woman being official government figures and there being a rat in the government. They needed someone who could pull off the assassination who was unsuspecting and didn’t have a face int he underground criminal ring. Leah hesitantly accepted the offer.

She was sent to Australia for her target, since he was on a vacation there with his family. It was a very simple job, in actuality, and she used a sniper rifle in the wilderness to kill her target when he was having a picnic break with his family after stalking him for several nights. Unfortunately, Leah may have mentally prepared for his death and telling herself he deserved it for being such a monster, but she didn’t mentally prepare herself for the family’s reaction to his assassination. Leah went home that very same night with the screams still ringing in her ears.

A few months later, Leah learned that the wife of the corrupted man had killed her two children and then herself. As much as Leah tried, she couldn’t get the incident out of her head, and she decided to hunt some deer to distract herself from it, only to shoot a deer and it’s cry immediately triggering her. Immediately after the incident with the deer, Leah realized all at once that she was ending lives, killing creatures with families and futures that she stole away, and in her grief and trauma, Leah became completely vegan and vouched to never hunt again, nor kill any living, breathing creature.

A month later, Leah received an invitation from the American Hope’s Peak to be “The Ultimate Hunter”. With no job or any way to make money, Leah had no choice but to accept, but the title was more like a huge slap in the face than an honor to have.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 5x14: Analysis

Morning everyone! What did everyone think of last night’s episode? I liked it. It ended on a sad mote, though. 

***As always, spoilers abound for this episode below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

There were two basic story lines. First, Morgan and Al, who found a place where Ginny and her group was holed up.

Secondly, there was Grace and Daniel who are on a supply run, but starting to head back toward the convoy.

Daniel and Grace:

At the beginning, Grace tries to get a hold of some solar panels to take back to the convoy for the future. Solar panels = sun and sun/ABIBEL = Beth reference.

Also, Grace is listening to the audio version of Don Quixote. So I’m not going to do a major explanation of how this could be yet another Beth template. Maybe I will at some point, especially if they feature it more than once, but probably not this week. If you want to know, just check out Wikipedia and read the plot summary for Don Quixote. For now, I’ll just say that it’s kind of on par with The Wizard of Oz, because Dorothy is in a dream work of not-quite-true things, and there are things both in plot and in theme that can tie in well with TWD. The actual part Grace listens to talks about making war on those who are less chivalrous. So once again, I think they’re foreshadowing a major war here. Most likely with the helicopter people.

Then, Grace gets word from the convoy that the oil fields have been lost. She and Daniel decide to head back to the convoy. Before they leave, Daniel goes into a music shop and grabs a bunch of vinyl records. (“I can’t remember the last time I heard a record.” Edwards had vinyls at Grady.)

On their way to the convoy, their truck breaks down. Daniel has an interesting line. He says he has a cat “with serious behavioral issues." It was a joke, but it was the “serious” that caught my attention. Obligatory serious/Sirius reference for this episode. Then Grace says there’s a bar nearby (alcohol reference) and they start walking toward it.

Grace also says the moon is bright enough for them to go on foot. Just reminded me of both the moon we saw in Still, as well as this picture from 4b:

As they walk, Daniel talks about Skidmark (his cat). He says Skidmark was all he had for a while. They would eat together, listen to music together, and for a while, it seemed like that's the way it would stay. Then Grace asks, "what changed?"

Daniel doesn't get a chance to answer because a bunch of walkers show up. Trying to fight them, he accidentally drops the records all over the ground. The walkers stomp on them, breaking a bunch of them.

What he said about him and the cat could easily have applied to Beth and Daryl at the funeral home. They were all one another had. They ate together, 

listened to music together, 

and for a while, it seemed like that's the way it would stay. 

Daniel didn't say what changed, it was walkers that cut him off. With Beth and Daryl, what changed was that walkers got in, forcing them out of the house.

And all this is being said while Daniel and Grace walk down a dark, forest road. Not unlike the one Daryl chased Beth and the Grady car down.

I think the records being broken represent Beth being shot. Because Beth = music. The records are broken and left behind in the road. (In fact, even them leaving the truck behind might have been indicative of this. The transmission broke and they left it behind, planning to come back for it later.)

Then they go to the bar. It actually looks a lot like the bar from the country club. Take a look:

And it gets better. Grace actually picks up a guitar and she Daniel sing together.

This is interesting for a lot of reasons. 

1) Beth played a guitar in 5x09, right after Coda. And they did this right after the records were broken. 

2) The fact that they sing together. I thought it was kind of funny that Daniel said, "what makes you think I can sing?" And then he and grace harmonize together beautifully. Yeah, Daniel can totally sing. Ruben Blades is actually a grammy award-winning musician, lol.

3) It’s in a BAR.

Then, suddenly, at the end, Grace got sick. She's been worried about getting sick from radiation poisoning and now it seems like it's happening.

Here's the thing, guys, I'm not sure I believe what they’re actually preparing us for here. My first thought when I saw she was sick was, "oh no! She's going to die. Poor Morgan." But I was surprised because I thought, after so long, that’s not where they would go with it. Grace feared she would die, but she has hope and I didn’t think she actually would. But, of course, now she's sick. So maybe they'll kill her off and that will suck for Morgan.

But…

What if they aren’t going this way at all? When Daniel talked to Grace in the bar, he said, "there's no way any of the records would have survived, right?"

I hoped that at the end of the episode, they would go back to look for the records and we would find that one of two of them survived. Because if they represent Beth being shot, and Daniel specifically says that there's no way she could've survived, then it follows that some of those records should have survived because Beth survived.

So I'm thinking at some point Daniel will probably return and find some of the records were broken, but others of them aren't. Probably the one he specifically wanted to get for Charlie survived and he'll go back and get it for her. But we didn’t see that in this episode.

This whole thing about Grace being sick has a lot of callbacks to things we’ve theorized in earlier seasons of TWD. There was the virus arc in 4a. While people died at the prison, none of the main characters did. Sasha and Glenn were both very sick, but neither of them actually died from the virus. Something similar could be the case with Grace here.

And then there's the fact that they paralleled her and Morgan very heavily with Beth and Daryl at the mall. If this is going to follow Beth and Daryl’s template, but on a smaller scale, then since he left to be with Al, and she's been traveling with Daniel, this represents their trial separation. Now she's very sick and she may come very close to dying, but I’m willing to bet she won't. I could be wrong about that. Maybe that's not where they're going with it, but I'm just a little bit suspicious about what they're showing is here, given previous symbolism and parallels.

More evidence this is a Beth analogy? I looked up the song Daniel and Grace sing together. It’s called End of the Line. It’s sung by the Traveling Wilburys, which was the group Daniel specifically wanted Charlie to hear. The singers include Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and (wait for it..) Roy Orbison.

He’s the same guy that sang the song Cry in The Cell, which was obviously about Beth and made Daryl, um, cry. They also featured one of his songs in S4 of TWD around Luciana. The fact that they’re using his music here again, and in a situation that’s so obviously a Beth analogy, is no coincidence.

Grace tells Morgan they were out of bar just past the 290 Junction. I won’t go into the details of why, but both 2x09, Triggerfinger, and episode 29, Home, have a lot of TD symbolism in them.

That's pretty much where we ended with Grace and Daniel.

Al and Morgan:

At the beginning, Morgan talked about his wife and Duane. He said some really interesting things. He said his wife hated the water. (Beth = water). While he talked about the wedding, he was changing a tire. I don't know if you guys remember this, but we've seen some major tire-coming-off-a-car symbolism tied up with Beth symbolism before.

Then he started talking about Duane, saying that he wanted a dog (serious/Dog Star symbolism) and played baseball. That jumped out at me because remember the baseball bats we saw around Beth? I think that's significant.

They meet a guy named Tom who was part of the place that Ginny's group is occupying. He’ hiding from them.

Tom has cuts on his forehead that look like Beth’s scars. This isn’t super compelling because they're smaller and are not scars, and on the opposite side, but they do look similar.

The caps for the gas cans are green and yellow (with red gas cans). And when one of them gets left out and Al has to retrieve it, trying not to be seen by the horsemen, the one that’s dropped is yellow. Having it dropped outside a car and her reaching for it feels like a Beth parallel to me.

It was very interesting to hear some of the things Tom had to say. He claimed Ginny’s group tried to kill him, saying it was his fault that things got so bad in the condo complex. He didn't know exactly what they wanted with his condo complex, but whatever it was, they didn't want him to know.

So obviously Ginny and her people are keeping secrets. You have to wonder why they kicked them out. What don’t they want him to see? Keep this in mind as we move forward, because I don't think we can trust anything that Ginny says to Morgan and Al the end of the episode.

When they film Tom, he's drinking water bottle, which are major Beth symbols. He said, "I got lucky.” He said that about three times. He also said that when things first went bad, they used the pool in the condo complex to filter water (water reference; plus, Isabel said filtering water was exactly what helicopter group is doing), and they used a rooftop garden to grow vegetables (sounds a lot like Grady to me). But then he said eventually things went bad.

This part was especially interesting to me. He said the water went bad, they couldn't grow food, the fences failed, and the roof started leaking. It was then that Ginny's group showed up to “help” and take charge of things.

The first thing I thought of when he said the water went bad was last season when Negan escaped and drank bad water and started throwing it up. This seems to be a major symbol, and given that the helicopter group is filtering water, I feel like they’re foreshadowing that at some point, there isn't going to be any water. Either it will go bad, or there will just be a drought. Also, remember I said this morning I THIS ASK that TF running out of water in Them might have been a foreshadow. I think that's very true and I need to go back and explore that more, but the point is, this is the dominant theme.

The fence failing is reminiscent of times that’s happened at the prison and also in Alexandria. The roof leaking could point to the Hole in the Roof symbolism.

He said Ginny’s people told him, it wasn't about today. It's about tomorrow. We actually haven't seen today/tomorrow symbolism in a while. It was very prevalent during AOW in S8. We kept noticing people in S8 about “tomorrow” during that. I think that could tie into this, especially as both Morgan and Dwight, who were involved in AOW, are now in Fear.

Tom tells them that he got away and the people are looking for him, but he was forced to leave his sister, Janis behind. He wants to go back and get her because he's afraid Ginny's group will kill her. Morgan and Al decide to help him.

It's obvious Al wants to go into the complex to see if Isabel is there. Eventually Morgan gets her to admit this, and they sneak in to search for Isabel and Tom’s sister, Janis.

I noticed an infinity sign above the Paradise Ridge sign.

When Al and Morgan sneaked into the condo complex, Morgan stood next to a horse. It looked to be a brown horse, rather than black or white, but even so, if the horse represents him finding Beth alive, I think this is a significant symbol.

You could also look at it as a confirmation by itself. Maybe they focused on this here because it was trying to tell us that this group is what the horse he found in 6x16 symbolized. And the interesting thing about that is that he also found the sign that said, “you are still alive.” We’ve always thought that foreshadowed him finding Beth. So, maybe a hint that this group will lead to her.

There was also a blue cord that ran into the pool. I'm sure that probably has to do with the water purification. Being blue, it fits in well with @frangipanilove’s blue cooler theories.

Al films a board that has a list of their supplies on it. I'll just leave these pictures here and let you look at it. There's lots of things we seen before like tomatoes, baby food, peanut butter, etc. 

She also saw a map with keys that showed were some of the settlements were. 

Morgan goes into Janis's apartment (I'm assuming Tom told him where to go). All he finds is a dead guy in the close who’s turned into a walker. I didn’t know what to make of that until Morgan said Janis had taken care of the man who came after her.

They’re saying that after Tom left his sister behind in the condominium complex, Ginny’s people did try to kill her. She's obviously enough of a badass to have taken care of herself. She killed the guy who came after her and put them in the closet. Subsequently, he turned into a walker. She was nowhere to be found. Ginny later said that Janis must've run off after Tom did.

So, we now have another missing character: Janis. We’re missing Sherry, Beth, Isabel, Heath, Rick, and now Janis.

@wdway​ pointed out something super obvious that I totally didn’t connect. Remember last week, they saved the girl at the gas station? She almost died but Wes saved the day at the last minute? Well, we never got her name, but I think there’s a good chance that is Janis. Just too much of a coincidence not to tie into this story line.

One other thing I wanted to point out about this situation. There was some weird camera angles, as though someone was watching Morgan in the room. I don’t think they were, but the way the camera almost seemed to be looking through the curtains at him reminded me of certain similar angles in The Red Machete.

Then there was the walker that came out of the closet when he opened the door. It reminded me, visually, of the walker that came through the door of the pet shop in 6x03 when Michonne opened it. It was kind of an identical situation. In both cases, they heard the walker banging on the side of the door, opened it, the walker came through, and they fought/killed them. In 6x03, Michonne ripped down a dog poster to let the walker out, so I’ve always seen that as a Beth/Sirius reference. The dog thing wasn’t present here with Morgan, but given all the other parallels in this episode, I feel like we should be associating the two. Not entirely sure what it means, but just wanted to point out the parallels.

Al fell into the pool when the walker attacked her. Morgan jumped in to help. I'm not really sure what to make of this part. The fact that there was water involved in a massive way jumps out at me as important, but I'm just not sure how to interpret yet.

They killed the walker and came to the surface to find Ginny and her people surrounding them.

They were taken indoors, and Ginny tries to convince them she’s super kind and forward thinking and “an open book.”

When and Morgan are sitting on the couch, was a pink blanket behind them. Pink theory.

Also, Ginny offers them strawberry and apricot jam. Obviously, strawberries are Beth symbol. Apricot exactly the same as peaches but they're very similar. Also notice that Ginny eats it exactly like Daryl did in Alone, with her fingers.

Another food analogy Ginny has is when she says, "spaghetti ain’t simple. It's usually messy." I’ve probably said this before, but I think spaghetti represents civilization. People living in a positive and civilized manner. That's why Herschel mentioned it during virus. It was his way of having hope for them making it through virus and going back to some semblance of normalcy.

Daryl ate it with Aaron and Eric because he was “trying” to be civil. Ginny's point here is that re-creating society is not going to be easy and it's probably going to be messy. Which is probably code for, she's killing people and doing all sorts of immoral things.

When Al asks about helicopters, Ginny laughs at her. She says that before taking the oil fields, they didn't have any gas. (I notice she doesn’t actually say “no,” however. Just implies it.)

To Al and Morgan’s surprise, she says she will let them go. She returns their stuff and walks them to the entrance and even lets Al keep her film.

They also fix Morgan’s stick for him, which I thought was pretty cool. In a way, that might've been an analogy for Morgan finally being able to move on with Grace. He broke his stick and up till now he's been running from his feelings for her and holding onto the past. His stick is whole again, and he finally decides he doesn't need to do that anymore and contacts Grace.

So Ginny reacts in a way that’s the opposite of what they expected, and it seems to be that she's not part of the helicopter group.

Let's go back to what I said at beginning. Tom said they tried to kill him and that whatever they wanted with his condo complex, they wouldn't tell him what it was. They didn't want him to see it. Notice the Ginny didn't say anything about this or why they were looking for Tom after he ran off. If she's totally cool with people coming and going and her doors are open to Morgan's group all the time, as she claims, then why would her guys have been chasing Tom when he ran off? Why would there be a dead walker in the closet at Janis's place?

Also recall that Tom said when Ginny’s group showed up, they offered to purify the condo’s water for them. That’s EXACTLY what Isabel said her helicopter group was doing. No way that’s a coincidence.

So I don’t think we can trust anything Ginny says here. I think she's lying through her teeth, which means they may have helicopters. There must be some reason she's letting Al and Morgan go. Maybe she's hoping they’ll lead her back to their convoy so that she can attack them or something. I don't know. I also think it’s possible that at the beginning, the guys on horseback DID see Al and Morgan in the van (even though it seemed like they didn’t) and reported back to Ginny. It just felt an awful lot like she was waiting for them to me.

We'll just have to wait and see what comes of this, but I definitely don't trust what Ginny is saying and doing. It's all too easy and she has a sinister air about her.

Near the end, Al and Morgan take Tom with them and head back toward the convoy. Morgan comes to realize that, where he accused Ginny of living in the past and holding onto the past, he was doing the same thing by avoiding Grace. He decides he doesn't need to run away from her anymore and radios her. That's when he finds out she’s sick from Daniel.

I really hope Grace survives for Morgan sake. It would be nice for him to have a love interest.

At this part, Al wears a red, blue, and green shirt. I just thought the colors were interesting.

Opening Credits Details:

The opening credits sequence was kind of interesting. First of all, it was at night and you could see the stars in the sky. (Sirius/North Star). The words saying “Fear the Walking Dead” were black instead of white. I think that could point to a couple of things. It could be black to show that Grace's radiation sickness is taking hold. I know sometimes when they test for radiation, they have little strips the turn black if radiation is present. I also wonder if the metaphor extends to the fact that they’ve come into contact with Ginny, and some things being set into motion here are going to end very badly.

Finally, I couldn’t tell what was on the ground in the opening credits shot. It looked like little papers torn up on the ground. Actually, it’s the broken records. So obviously that was an important symbol for this episode. And, what do they represent? Beth.

That's about all I have for today. Definitely an interesting episode. I'm excited to see where it goes from here. What did everyone else think?

[toloveawarlord]

Hi! I was wondering if you could tell me how in the world you come up with your stories?! I am planning to make my own webcomic, and I just can't think of anything to do with my characters. I know how they act, what they do, who they are, but I just can't seem to come up with a plot! I know that comics and stories aren't exactly the same thing, but I think your stories are really well written, and it would help me a lot if you could give some tips on how to make a good plot?? Thanks so much!

Hey young padawan!

I squealed with delight when I got this ask! I shall try myhardest to answer this as best as I can!

First off, lucky for you, I am also in the business ofwriting webcomics! On the 11th, my artists best friend and I entereda comic into a comic contest, but I digress.  Webcomics and written stories are not thatdifferent, save for the fact that webcomics have a visual element that writtenstories do not. A lot of the “written” part of a webcomic will be translatedinto panel images instead of simply being written. Dialogue and narration arethe only written words that go into a webcomic.

Plot on the other hand, works pretty much the same in kindof storytelling.

The first thing that I would suggest in creating a plot, isdeciding what genre you want the webcomic to be written in. For example, a Fantasycomic’s plot will revolve around some kind of adventure/journey and maybe a bigvillain to be battling against. While on the other hand, a slice of life webcomicwill deal with more day to day problems, like relationship issues, jobproblems, and more mundane and localized plot.

Writing advice is hard because what works for one person,might not work for another. Most of my stories come from years and years of reading both written novels and even other fanfiction and writing so manystories. This is probably said a lot by authors, but my plots mostly just cometo me from daydreaming and working within the stories that have already beenestablish, like my fanfictions that I write.

Plots are essentially made of a few things:

What the maincharacter(s) wants/needs to achieve

How is the maincharacter(s) going to work towards getting that?

What is standing in themain character(s) way?

How does the maincharacter(s) overcome that obstacle?

What are therepercussions/end result of the actions taken by the main character(s)

There are many other sub-plots that can be weaved into thestory, but I would say that those are the main things that need to be addressedto begin working toward a good story. Once you establish a basic plot line,then you begin to weave in smaller obstacles and sub-plots for the charactersto have to face along their way to the biggest obstacle in the story.

 For the webcomic that I wrote called “Glenn Haven”, the basisfor it came from my desire to write about a serial killer and how he gets awaywith his murders. That was the very first idea that I had, and then I justbuilt on it from there. Working out his personality, I learned that he used womenwho had a twisted enough personality and desire to kill but hadn’t ever actedon it, thus my second main character was born!

Though, that was still not enough to link the two characterstogether and have a solid plot line, and I brainstormed more ideas of exactlyhow he justifies the murders to a girl who has never acted on her desire tokill, because although it’s possible for her to just jump on board, most peoplewouldn’t do that without good incentive.

Along my research journey, I chose to make him a prophet ofa cult, as that would allow him a place to stay outside of the law, as they aretheir own governing body outside of the city that they kill in, and the cultused religion to justify murdering people because it was a ritual of “cleansing”the outside world.

 That’s how I do my stories, really. Start small, and build.Ask lots of questions about how this will happen, and what the results are ofany choices that the characters make. Brainstorm to make connections betweenthe details.

I hope that this was a little helpful. I’m not that great atadvice! Stories are something that come from inside me and a lot of the time, I hadzero idea where that idea originated. But breaking it down like I did my own webcomicexplains a lot of my thought process.

If I knew a little more about your comic, then I might beable to offer more solid advice geared specifically toward it. If you ever wantto reach out and talk one on one, I’m here ^_^

And this little plug goes out to anyone who follows me andwants a place to talk and brainstorm with others who are writing original work,there is The Writer’s Guild that I run on discord! Come in and chat with us,ask for beta readers, and brainstorm ideas! Shoot me a message if you want an invite!

-Ruka  

[bookreviewsbykay]

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

It has been a long time since I've had more criticism for a book than praise. That being said, I would reread this book again. It portrays the stages of grief rather exquisitely, to be honest. The writing is what I dislike the most. And how the story was strung together.

In a world where change is forbidden and your eye color marks what type of Sight you have:

Odessa, aka Sparrow, is a blue eyed necromancer for King Wylding. The book starts strongly and I had very high hopes for it. Who wouldn't when the book is about a teenage necromancer???? Sparrow is her nickname because of how fast and accurate Odessa can get in and out, plus find her way around, the world of the dead.

It is forbidden for a master necromancer to go through the gate into the Deadlands alone, hence why Sparrow has a partner, Evander. A week before the opening scene of the book, Evander and Odessa were appointed master necromancers, no longer needing any training.

Then, before you really get to know their trainers, one of them stumbles out from the land of the dead and dies. It fell very flat and did nothing for the plot other than make people panic.

The twist: all dead people brought back have to wear shrouds. No living can see even a speck of skin. If they do, the dead turn into monsters. Into shades. Covered, the process of turning into a monster takes a couple of years.

A shade killed their former trainer, so the five remaining necromancers, Cymbre, Jax and Simeon, and Evander and Odessa, go into the Deadlands after the shade.

So Odessa and Evander are deeply in love. The book starts off that way and there is absolutely no build up for their relationship. So when I say that I felt no sadness for Evander's death, I mean it. The loss from Odessa's point of view is very anticlimactic. She immediately gives up on life upon seeing Evander dead and lets the shade crush her until her friends step in.

After waking up in the palace, healed and grieving, Odessa turns to a calming potion to keep her numb. And she turns to one of her closest friends, Jax, for comfort, kissing him in the process. All while dependent on her addiction to a potion that her makes her hallucinate Evander.

(No build up. Soul crushing loss that was portrayed as an inconvenience. Side characters who are only there for plot purposes.)

Odessa befriended one of the living princesses, Valoria, and Evander's little sister, both of whom chain her up until the drug is out of her system. Out of the blue. Randomly. All these shade attacks happening and you have the luxury of chaining up the best necromancer in Karthia for six to seven days?

Yes, the addiction purge needed to be done, but it was written like Odessa was NOT dependent on the drug. A few common withdrawal signs and skips over the week it took to "cure" Odessa was all that was given to her grief. Grief over a soul crushing loss that had the amount of pain of a failed attempt at a mosquito bite.

Now the king who's ruled for 200 years is missing, the eldest prince, Hadrien, who fancies Odessa is currently in charge and he makes her the Serpent. The soldier loyal to the king and is allowed to break laws for him. Immediately after she's 'sober'.

She was addicted to the numbness the drug gave her but after six days she's fine??? Also, stop flirting with Meredy, Evander's little sister. It's stated several times that she reminds Odessa of him... also, you know, Odessa was in love with her brother? Like, I am all for bisexual main characters but...

Meredy is a green eyed beast master whose companion is Lysander the grizzly bear. They accompany Odessa to the next province over when Hadrien sends her there to stop shade attacks. They find out that Hadrien is behind every shade attack in his attempt to secure the throne for himself, the living.

Odessa, Meredy, and Lysander travel back to the palace where Odessa attempts to kill Hadrien. She fails, almost gets killed but miraculously survives, and goes back to kill Hadrien. She succeeds.

Valoria is now queen and let's change into Karthia. Odessa leaves the city, planning to sail to other shores, and bumps into Meredy on the ship she's taking out.

Also, Meredy and Odessa kiss or almost kiss several times, despite not wanting to betray Evander.

The plot was good in the first part of the book. The middle part leaped from the wagon and started running. The last part of the book climbed back on and finished mediocre.

Odessa was very blank as a character. She didn't really get a personality until she was sobered up. And even then her personality kind of sucked. She let herself be distracted even after reminding herself of the danger at hand, brushes off her feelings and others, and acts like she knows best even though she's only 17 or 18 years old.

I loved loved loved the idea of Karthia, the world building, the character growth, and the main idea of the plot. I think that however incoherently the plot points were put together, it sets up a better plot for book 2, Song of the Dead.

I just hope that Marsh learned that plotlines need to flow together in order to make the story entertaining to read.

[randomrichards]

THE BEST MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2018:

HONORABLE MENTION:

The Opening/Closing Credits from BUDDIES

I’m putting this as honorable mention because this is an older movie recently rereleased.

The first film about the AIDS Crisis, Buddies strikes at the heart with its opening credits with a typed list of AIDS victim up to 1985. Set to a mournful score by Jeffrey Olmstead, the never ending list of lives cut short puts you in tears.

Alex Honnold faces Boulder Problem in FREE SOLO

Most thrillers can only wish they could be as gripping as in the moment when Alex Honnold maneuver’s his way through the most challenging section of El Capitan Wall without rope in this Documentary.

Ray Offers Wisdom from Mid90s

“If you looked in anybody else’s closet, you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit.”

Ray (Na-kel Smith) and his friends may not be the best role models for the impressionable Stevie (Sunny Suljic), but in this moment, Ray teaches him a lesson in perspective.

Glenn Close’s performance in THE WIFE

I’m not referring to any moment. Just Glenn Close’s acting. She speaks more volumes with her face than most actresses could with dialogue.

10)        The Beach Scene from ROMA

Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is an extraordinary woman. Sure, her life hanging towels and cleaning dog poo doesn’t seem like anything special. But like many lower working-class people, she endures. Boy does she endure a lot of shit in this movie. Not only does her deadbeat boyfriend ditch her to practice martial arts, but her baby is born dead. Despite all this, she not only continues her work, but she shares a close bond with the family. She showcases this bond and her strength when a fun day at the beach goes horribly wrong.

When Paco (Carlos Peralta) and Sofi (Daniela Demesa) swim too far out, Cleo walks into the ocean to save them despite not knowing how to swim. We watch in dread as she faces severe waves to find the kids, the camera always close to her.

This scene also contains a beautiful scene of the family hugging Cleo when she tears up over losing her baby. Seeing them all huddled together in front of a bright white sun captures the heart.

9)         “A Place Called Slaughter Race” from RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

Admit it, it’s fun to take pot shots at Disney Tropes. Hell, even Disney gets in on the fun. And boy do they seize on every moment to mock Princess tropes when Vanellope Von Shweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) encounters the Disney Princesses. Of course, it helps that Director Rich Moore and Head of Story Jim Reardon creates some of the best episodes of the Simpsons. Though there are many hilarious moments[1], none can hold the candle to Vanellope’s “I Want” song.

As she reflects over a puddle, Vanellope sings about her longing to be in the gritty game “Slaughter Race.” Seeing this little girl perform this lighthearted musical number over a background of riots and dumpster fires is comedy gold. Nearly every element of this number elevates the comedy, from singing shark (with cats and dogs in its mouth) to the creative lyrics (“Am I a baby pigeon spreading wings to soar?/ Is that a metaphor?/Hey, there’s a dollar store”). And the number still finds time to emphasize Vanellope’s fear of hurting Ralph (John. C Reilly).

Kudos to Alan Menken for mocking the trope he (and the late Howard Ashman) introduced to Disney. Just as deserving of Kudos is Silverman, who faced to task of singing in Vanellope’s high pitched voice.

8)         Charlie Loses Her Head from HEREDITARY

With her unusual hobbies, connection to her late grandmother and that clicking sound, you’d assume Annie’s (Toni Collette) daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) would be the centre of the whole film.[2] Boy, were we in for a surprise.

Spoilers!

When Charlie suffers a peanut allergy reaction, Peter (Alex Wolfe) races her home. On his drive, he sees a mysterious figure in the middle of the dark road. In his attempt to dodge it, he doesn’t see Charlie hanging out the window. Seeing her head slam right into a pole leaves us as traumatized as Peter is. To see them kill off a main character so early in the film is downright shocking. With this death, predictability goes right out the window and we are left uncertain of what direction this film will go.

7)         Neil Armstrong Soars in the X-15 Rocket Plane in FIRST MAN

It’s funny how the most exciting scene in this film isn’t the moon landing. Don’t get me wrong, the scene’s still breathtaking in its realism, but it’s surprising how thrilling the opening scene.

Damien Chazelle hits the ground running with Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) soaring the atmosphere in an X-15 Rocket Plane. He soars higher and higher into the skies until he flies out of earth’s surface and gets stuck in space

Albeit, you know he will be back on earth in time for the moon landing. And yet, I found myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how he’s going to get back to earth. Most of it is thanks to the visual effects, which contains some of the most believable since 2001: A Space Odyssey. The effects leave CGI in the dust with practical effects that look so real, you’d think Gosling was actually flying into space.

6)         The Ferris Wheel Scene from LOVE, SIMON

High School Movies are home to many unforgettable romantic scenes. There’s Samantha (Molly Ringwald) and Jake (Michael Schoeffling) standing over a birthday cake in Sixteen Candles. There’s Patrick (Heath Ledger) singing to Katarina (Julia Stiles) on the bleachers in 10 Things I hate About You. And who can forget Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” outside Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) in Say Anything. Be ready to include the closing scene of Simon (Nick Robinson) waiting on the Ferris wheel for online pen pal Blue from Love, Simon.

After being outed by a student, infuriating his friends for deceiving them in his attempt to stay closeted and abandoned by Blue, Simon makes a plea to meet with Blue face to face on the Ferris Wheel at a carnival. As he rides on the Ferris Wheel, he, fellow classmates and the audience wait in anticipation for Simon’s happy ending.

5)         The Book Heist from AMERICAN ANIMALS

When Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) and Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) plotted to steal extremely valuable books from the Transylvania University library in Kentucky, they thought they had the perfect heist. With the help of their friends Erick Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner), they thought they pull off a heist as smooth as Oceans 11.[3]

But reality hits them like a sledge hammer when they try to pull off the heist. Unlike their dreams, Librarian Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd) doesn’t get knocked out with one taser jolt. It also isn’t easy to lug a six-foot book down a flight of stairs. Then there’s the fact the basement has no exit. That’s just a few of many problems they never consider. From then on, we witness them pay a huge price for their hubris and lack of real-world understanding.

Only youths as smart as they are to come up with such a stupid plan.

4)         The Mutant Bear from ANNIHILATION

Biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) and her team find themselves in a quite a bind. After entering the Shimmer, physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson) has barely survived an attack from a mutant alligator and Anthropologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Novotny) has been attacked by a bear. Now paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) has gone mad and has tied up Lena, Radek and Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But when they hear Sheppard’s cries for help, they will soon find Anya is the least of their worries.

Their journey delivers many grotesque, nightmare inducing visuals (especially the slithering intestines.) But the most memorable moment in this film was the image of the helpless crew trapped in a cabin with a mutant bear. Bears are scary enough on their own, but a faceless one is pants spitting meeting. And then you hear it imitate Sheppard’s screams and suddenly you need a new pair of pants.

3)         The Great Snap from AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe had been leading up to this moment. The fact that nearly every character had a moment to shine in this one movie demonstrates the astounding direction of the Russo Brothers. But despite all the epic fight scenes, everyone agrees that this film’s greatest scene is the heroes moment of defeat.

Despite every effort made to stop in, despite outnumbering Thanos and despite Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) sacrificing Vision (Paul Bettany) to destroy the mind stone, Thanos still got all the infinity stones. And with a single snap, Thanos succeeds in wiping out half the universe’s population. One by one, we watch many of our heroes vanish into dust while others watch in helpless horror. But none are more heartbreaking that the moment when Spider-Man (Tom Holland) falls into Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) arms, crying “I don’t want to go.” All because some characters couldn’t make the sacrifice needed

Yes, we knew he was going to succeed in the end.[4] And yes, you know most of the heroes won’t stay gone.[5] And yes, their return will likely involve the surviving heroes sacrificing themselves.[6] But the ending still feels powerful despite this knowledge.

It all concludes with Thanos sitting near a cottage, content in his triumph. If the MCU ended here, it would have been a perfect ending. But I’m still curious to see how this will go.

2)         The Closing Close-Up in CAPERNAUM

The closing image of Zain’s (Zain Al Rafeea) face will haunt you beyond the closing credits. Throughout the film, we’ve seen this kid struggle through hell on the streets of Lebanon, trying to protect his sister from their resentful parents and helping an Ethiopian Migrant Worker take care of her son. But when he’s sent to prison for assaulting a pimp who bought his sister, he decides to sue his parents for the crime of bringing him into this miserable world. Writer/director Nadine Labaki never looks away for a second to the brutality of Zain’s world and how it brings out the worst in Zain.

When the film freezes to the image of Zain smiling for a Passport photo, your heart breaks for him as Khaled Mouzanar’s haunting score plays out.

1)         Tish and Fonny’s Walk Through the Park in IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

No other opening scene has done a better job of putting its audience under its spell than when loving couple Tish (Kiki Layne) and Alfonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) stroll through a park holding hands.

There’s beauty in every element of this scene, from Nicholas Britell’s romantic score to the warm looks in the character’s eyes. But what really sells it is James Laxton’s lush cinematography. The colours pop through the yellows and blues on the couple’s clothes and the green of the grass. You are as in love with this couple as they are for each other.

Then the film cuts to Tish visiting Fonny in prison, this time the yellow is the prison, the blue is Fonny’s jumpsuit and the green is on Tish’ outfit. From then one, we know why their love is worth fighting for.

[1] Mostly at the expense of Ariel (Jodi Benson)

[2] Especially when she appears so prominently in the advertisements.

[3] As indicated by a fantasy sequence.

[4] Since we know this was going to be a two parter.

[5] Especially when there are already planned sequels to Black Panther, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. After all the money Marvel’s got from Black Panther? They’re not going to give up that meal ticket.

[6] What with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans retiring their characters.