#literally a masterclass in styling

[infinityinakiss]

brittany loves to make sure her girls look like they come as a pack:

she's such a styling genius. god, i love her.

[kalosian-woods]

When you get to the Showcases, would it be ok if I animated/storyboarded them?

OMG PLEASE WAIT THAT IS SO AMAZING AND COOL ARGHHHH I can't believe that someone would do such a thing 🥺🥺🥺 Yes, of course!! Just remember to tag me and the AU and you're golden :D <333

[navree]

horror 🤝 historical dramas, having the audience know right out the gate that something bad is coming and there's nothing that can be done to stop it or change it

[nijigasakilove]

Absolutely incredible ending to E-Soul’s arc holy shit. No disrespect to Nice, but this was 100x better and I LOVE how morally ambiguous they made Yang out to be. It absolutely makes sense that he’d potentially kill Moon in the future, I mean the dude just killed his hero who saved his life as a kid after destroying his reputation. Not to mention all the stuff about Shang we learned today, this was a masterclass both in animation and character writing. Bravo.

Xia and Yang tried to hold it together for a while, but you could tell things would never quite be the same after Shang’s death. Xia had unresolved feelings for him, Yang had unresolved feelings for her and deep down he hated himself because he could’ve saved Shang Chao, but hesitated. I love how this series makes characters out to be flawed and truly human. It’s totally natural to hesitate like that out of jealousy, it’s not right, but it’s human and real humans aren’t cartoon characters who are paradigms of justice.

New E-Soul vs Old E-soul was absolutely incredible bro, the fact Yang’s aura literally changes the art style to 2D is fucking incredible. You also hear a snap sound when it happens which seems to be a theme here! Tons of cool camera angles, great storyboarding and compositing, perfection. Feel so awful for Old E soul going out like that after having his name dragged and dude never even cared about rankings. Legit one of the good guys and gone for nothing.

Not Xia going to lucky cyan’s concert by herself with the 3 tickets she got for her, yang and Shang.. FUCK.

I’m still confused on who Uncle Rock is supposed to be, but whoever he is, he was playing 4D chess the whole time clearly. Yang’s old life is gone and he’s now fully e soul, working for the same dude who set up Shang’s murder and Xia’s brother’s kidnapping. Painfully tragic twist.

On the bright side, lucky cyan arc finally coming next week and it’s gonna be mainly 2D let’s goooo. Each arc seems to be getting better and better I can’t wait.

[sharonmuthu]

Lady Sharon, I am curious: which of Noshir’s roles is your favorite?

Which of your own roles is your favorite?

What a fun question! Thanks for asking. 🙂

It’s VERY hard for me to choose a favorite for either of us (*it’s like trying to decide which of your children is your favorite, LOL)… BUT, I will offer a few thoughts:

With regards to @noshirdalal ‘s roles, it’s sort of a tie for me between ‘Charles’ from RDR2 & ‘Bode’ from Jedi Survivor. They both have a very, very special place in my heart. As actors, we always try to bring as much of our true selves as we can to the roles that we play. So, in many ways, the roles we create become inextricably linked with who we are & what we’re experiencing in our real lives at the time we’re crafting any given role… With that in mind, Nosh created ‘Charles’ and ‘Bode’ respectively during some very pivotal years in our life together. When I watch his performances, I can literally see the parts of his true self and the pieces of his real-life experiences that he generously brought to each role. And, I know firsthand how much courage it takes as an actor to really dive into a character’s heart and mind & allow others to witness your raw emotions… I may be his wife and best friend, but I am also a huge fan of Noshir’s work. ‘Charles’ & ‘Bode’ are truly stunning portrayals of really complicated characters & they are incredibly personal performances for Noshir. In many ways, only I will ever know the full reality of just how deeply honest, open, & vulnerable Noshir had to be to bring his truth & such raw authenticity to those roles. He truly is a masterful storyteller.

As for me, I think ‘Dr. Saira Bellum’ from Netflix’s “Carmen Sandiego” is my personal standout! I do a lot of animation in my career, and - of all my roles - ‘Dr. B.’ was the role I spent the most time creating over 4 seasons, which is such a luxury for an actor!! It was really fun to play one of the ‘big bads’ in the story! I truly got to know her & infuse her with signature quirks + her own special brand of evil ‘mad scientist’ vibes. Also, by the end of Season 1, the writing team had really started to lean into what I was creating, and they began writing specifically to my voice & style of humor. So, Dr. B really felt like an extension of me when I created her! Most importantly, I learned so much about myself during my time on the show. And, it was like a masterclass in voice acting to be in the booth and learn from my cast-mates & friends (*Legends like Kari Wahlgren, Liam O’Brien, Paul Nakauchi, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and so many others!)… I grew immeasurably as an artist and when we wrapped S4, I walked away from our show a better actor & human. I LOVED playing Dr. Bellum & I can’t wait until I get my next chance play another series regular role & truly make them my own.

Thanks for asking such great questions! ❤️

[dragonnon]

disorganized thoughts about the last scene of the return of the great departed soul.

So... van zieks knew... SUSATO AND KAZUMA'S FATHER.... who then was revealed t-to be... the professor... and STRONGHART JUST MADE THE CHILD OF THAT MAN (WHO FUCKING KILLED VAN ZIEKS' BROTHER) HIS APPRENTICE?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?!!?

i knew he was evil from the start man. I KNEW. Kazuma regains his memory from the mere sight of this man alone. what has he done!!?!!? THAT MAN SCREAMED JUST FROM THE SIGHT OF HIS FACE. (or he was screaming from regaining all his memories back at once, light yagami style.) and all this time when i'd been thinking about my theories and thinking they were wrong because "there'd be no way yujin wasn't in susato's life for six years..." NO. HE WASN'T HE STRAIGHT UP WASNT.

HE WAS IN BRITAIN. HE KNEW VAN ZIEKS AND WAS FRIENDS WITH THE PROFESSOR. AND ADOPTED HIS SON. AND WHAT!!?!?!?! KAZUMA WAS BASICALLY A BROTHER TO HER? I. HAD. NO. IDEA.

i fucking cried several times throughout that scene and my entire body is shaking like a bare-leafed tree during a bad storm. my shock is immeasurable. YOU COULD USE THE EIFFEL TOWER AS A RULER AND YOU STILL COULDN'T MEASURE IT.

i literally can't even imagine what must be going through Kazuma's head. i feel so bad for him... i thought at the part where Ryunosuke gives him back Karuma they would hug but they didn't and that made me sooo sad. BUT KAZUMA SAW THAT STATUE AND IMMEDIATELY NEEDED TO STRIKE IT DOWN (as he fucking should. i just know that the professor probably killed his mother or something like that >:[ i wouldn't place it above a serial killer.)

I REALLY THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA WAIT TILL THE LAST CASE OR SOMETHING TO GIVE KAZUMA HIS MEMORY BACKBUT THIS CONVENTION BREAKING GAME DID IT IN THE THIRD CASE.

this felt like a final case. like actually. it was like 13 hours long, and it NEVER FELT LIKE IT DRAGGED ON. THIS REALLY IS A MASTERCLASS IN WRITING?!?!

WILL THEY GIVE RYU HIS OWN SWORD NOW THAT KARUMA ISN'T SLUNG FROM HIS WAIST ANYMORE?!?!😭

WAIT.

THEY BETTER NOT PULL THAT FUCKING MISTY FEY THING WHERE YOU FINALLY SEE KAZUMA AFTER SO LONG IN THE GAME AND THEN DIES IMMEDIATELY NEXT CASE. PLEASE NO....

and that whole thing with albert, van zieks just doesn't want to lose anyone else, he lost his brother, then lost someone he thought was his FRIEND from finding out he was a serial killer, and then he has this curse that everyone he prosecutes always dies wether or not they're acquitted. but ryunosuke come around and broke the curse, but he's still paranoid, he still can't relax. van zieks'll never be able to.

AND THIS.

DOES THIS MEAN SHE DOESNT HAVE A MOM EITHER? OH GOD OH GOD...

... why do i have a feeling they wont get to speak. why do i have this feeling. stop that. i hate that. was this the real reason kazuma needed to go to brtiain? when he said He needed to "see it for himself" he meant the professor statue?

all the times he was going to tell ryunosuke something... THIS IT WAS IT WAS? he said the katana compellls him to strike down all evil the first thing he did when getting the katana back was strike down his father's wax figure.

i dunno how to end this... i guess i know why this case is called the return of the great departed soul now fully.

[lokimobius]

premiere 👀

OOOH! This is my actor au that I haven't worked on in MONTHS. I literally plotted everything, then threw it back into my drafts.

Here's a long snippet that I think I've already shared. Loki and Mobius' first meeting at the Met Gala.

“This one’s gorgeous, don’t you think?” He turned to look behind him and stopped abruptly when he saw who it was. Loki Laufeyson. Up-and-coming horror actor and screenwriter. He was currently the talk of the town—and with good reason. Loki’s performance in his last film was a masterclass in acting. He stood before him in what might just be the most impressive outfit he’d ever seen. It was far more ornate than anything on display currently at The Met. The green robes that he wore were simple yet elegant, but it was the cape attached to them that really made a statement. Vines spun with gold flowed down his back, affixed to his shoulders in a way that looked like they were growing directly out of him. Golden flowers grew out of the vines, and they trailed behind him, splaying out so that it looked like Loki was rooted to the floor. His black curls rested delicately at his shoulders, and loose braids twined with smaller gold flowers styled his hair into a half-up-half-down look. The flowers gleamed in the light of the gallery, sparkling around his face in a way that made him appear otherworldly. Loki looked ethereal. “It sure is,” he said, looking Loki up and down. He extended his hand towards the man. “I’m Mobius.” “I’m a big fan,” Loki beamed. “I’m Loki.” He shook Loki’s hand enthusiastically. “I could say the same about you. Your work in 'Demise’ was phenomenal! Best horror I've seen in years.” “Oh, you’re too kind,” Loki replied, smiling softly as he took a sip of his wine. 

[whatdoyoumeanitsnotawesome]

s03e04 Brooks Barrelmen is a fucking masterclass of storytelling. this episode, minus the titles and credits, is just at 22 minutes long. there are no fewer than 3 multi-minute montages, sans any dialogue. and in that frankly microscopic window, Jared manages to cram in 3 episodes worth of story.

we get to see the payoff of the previous 3 episodes’ allusions to the NOSHO record party, and it is the highest of highs. the tone throughout is celebratory, triumphal, euphoric. it’s a classic fairytale ‘happily ever after’, only we get to see the ‘after’.

then we’re brought down to the lowest of the lows, witnessing in real time the unmerciful cost of Shoresy’s visceral hatred of losing coupled with his supremely physical style of play. the fact that there’s no soundtrack for the last 3 minutes of the episode, in a show from a show-runner celebrated as much for his musical acumen as anything else, only serves to emphasise how immediate and immersive the last moments are. the tension is carefully and inexorably ratcheted up sky high until the final fifty seconds of the episode, which are delivered as brutally as any gut punch one cares to image.

that final dagger is literally breathtaking, as the meaning of what just happened sinks in. i felt nauseated watching the last minute until the credits, panicked and dizzy. the momentum of the episode turns as quickly and tightly as any hockey stop on the ice, and the only way to make it through is to dig deep and bear down.

keep your tissues handy, boys and girls. this one’s rough.

[dashinhfuzzydeer]

BAD IDEA

The salty air of Brighton Island usually soothed Landon, but today it felt like an accusatory breeze, whipping around him as if mocking his poor life choices. A stark contrast to the warm, lingering memories of the past night. Staying away on the eve of his parents’ arrival to Brighton Island was a masterclass in poor decisions.

It had started with the relatively innocent lie: telling his family he was going away with a friend for the night. He’d told everyone he was with a friend, a flimsy lie now rendered tragically comedic. He hadn't just been with a friend. He’d been with Jeremy, his boyfriend, in Jeremy’s secluded seaside cottage.

A lie that had quickly spiraled into a chaotic mess of bad decisions, each one more spectacularly catastrophic than the last.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

A clandestine night with Jeremy, away from the watchful eyes of his family, in the secluded cottage by the bay.

But even as the car sped across the causeway, a tiny seed of dread had begun to sprout in Landon's gut.

And the night hadn’t been a quiet catch-up. It had been a maelstrom of tangled limbs, whispered promises, and the burning press of skin against skin.

That dread had blossomed into full-blown panic when Jeremy, that infuriating, magnetic force of nature, had turned his possessive gaze on Landon.

"Go easy, okay?"

Landon had whispered, more a plea than a request. It was like asking a wildfire for a soft glow.

Jeremy, the mafia prince with a penchant for control, had answered by tracing Landon’s jaw with his teeth, his eyes burning with an intensity that made Landon’s knees weak.

He'd been marked then, every inch of his skin claimed by bruising kisses and hungry bites.

He'd naively asked Jeremy to 'go easy' a phrase that had clearly been an invitation for the notorious mafia prince to unleash his unrestrained desire.

Every inch of Landon felt branded with Jeremy’s possessive fervor – a landscape of purpling bites and fading bruises.

Landon had tried to reciprocate, of course, digging his nails into Jeremy's back, leaving his own map of passion on the tanned skin.

It had felt like a kind of defiance, a statement that he could be as wild as Jeremy, but the feeling had quickly been overtaken by the sheer, all-consuming pleasure.

The result of their heated night was that Landon’s legs now felt like lead, and he was sporting a collection of love bites that would make even the most seasoned voyeur blush.

His legs, in particular, were a testament to their late-night exertions, rendering each step a wince-inducing affair.

And Jeremy, the smug bastard, seemed utterly pleased with his handiwork. The infuriatingly smug bastard, had the audacity to look proud about it. He’d returned the favor, of course, leaving his own trail of furious scratches and love bites down Jeremy’s back, but that seemed to only fuel the fire.

To add insult to injury, there had been the ridiculous spectacle of being carried into Landon's family's mansion like some kind of prize.

The truly egregious error, however, had been letting Jeremy persuade him to come to his family's mansion. He should have insisted on returning to his own place and nursing his broken body in silence.

Instead, he'd been swept off his feet, quite literally, his legs giving out only to be carried princess-style by the very man who had incapacitated them.

To top it all off, Jeremy had insisted he wear one of his own shirts – a loose, dark garment that did little to hide the hickeys blooming on his neck. The swollen, tender lips, a result of their hungry kisses, were an equally damning detail. No mask, no attempt to hide the evidence of their passionate night.

His legs had simply given up, betraying his attempt at a dignified entrance. Jeremy, the smug, overbearing Overlord, had swooped him up into his arms, his eyes glittering with amusement.

He was wearing Jeremy's clothes, the loose collar of the shirt offering a clear view of the landscape of marks covering his neck.

He hadn't even bothered to try and hide the swollen lips, a testament to the intensity of their last kiss, or to wear a mask to hide the bruises.

Now, standing in the middle of the grand hall of the Kings mansion, surrounded by an audience of his family and friends, Landon wanted nothing more than to vanish. In middle of a breathtaking space of polished marble and towering ceilings, feeling like a couple of teenagers caught sneaking out after curfew.

His parents, Levi and Astrid, were there, their expressions a mixture of shock and growing fury. His siblings, Brandon and Glyndon, stood beside them, their faces etched with disbelief and suppressed laughter.

To make matters worse, their respective lovers, Nikolai and Killian, were also present, their eyes sparkling with barely concealed amusement at his predicament.

Their secret relationship of eight months, their carefully cultivated reputations as ruthless leaders in their respective circles, their titles of Overlord and Devilord, their long-standing ‘rivalry’ in the public eye – all of it was about to be incinerated.

And then there was Jeremy. Standing beside him, the picture of serene confidence, oblivious to the impending storm.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

Levi’s voice boomed through the hall, shattering the fragile silence. His eyes, dark and dangerous, were fixed on the marks peeking out from Landon's collar.

Landon could almost see the gears turning in Levi's head as his father's gaze jumped from the livid marks on Landon's neck, to the guilty smirk on Jeremy's face, and then back to Landon’s weary expression. Levi's face darkened, and he roared at Jeremy, his voice echoing,

"Put. My. Baby. Down!"

Jeremy, the absolute infuriating idiot, looked at Landon, an unspoken question behind his eyes. Should he? Before Landon could even nod, or shake his head, or utter any sound at all, Levi’s voice boomed again,

"What in the hell were you two thinking?!"

Jeremy looked at Landon, a question in the depths of his eyes. Landon barely had time to consider the implications before Jeremy, with an exaggerated sigh, set him down.

Even that small movement was a mistake. A sharp hiss escaped Landon's lips as his feet hit the polished floor, the pain in his ravaged thighs a physical testament to the night's activities.

The sound was enough. The pieces clicked into place for the onlookers, and the hall erupted into a chaos of emotions.

It was a verbal declaration of their intimacy, a painful admission of his current state. He wanted to burrow into the floor.

Landon desperately tried to ignore Nikolai’s and Killian’s smirking faces. He knew their thoughts, the bastards. Jeremy had finally topped him; they were basking in the pure chaos of it all.

Meanwhile, Brandon, his fierce younger brother, had moved to corner Jeremy, practically growling,

"What did you do to him?"

Levi, face a mask of barely contained fury, was right beside him, his gaze sharp enough to cut.

Brandon and Levi now cornered Jeremy, demanding an explanation, their hands itching for a fight. Astrid, ever the diplomat, put a hand on Landon’s arm, her gaze searching, a thousand questions unspoken.

Glyndon, usually the quieter of the two, was observing everything with a fascinated expression.

"How could you keep this a secret?"

Astrid murmured, her voice a mix of hurt and curiosity. Being the ever the composed one, was on Landon’s other side, Glyndon right beside her. Both were wide-eyed, but their expressions were more curious than angry.

"Landon, how could you hide this from us? Tell me everything!"

Astrid demanded, her tone a mixture of fascination and mild exasperation. Glyndon, ever the follower, echoed,

"Yes! Details!"

Landon wanted the floor to swallow him whole. He tried to ignore Nikolai and Killian’s smug looks, knowing they were reveling in Jeremy's triumph.

The fact that his secret was out felt like a cataclysmic event, obliterating everything he'd tried to keep separate. His private passion had been flung into the harsh light of his public life, and he felt utterly, terrifyingly exposed.

This was a colossal mess. Landon swallowed. His own parents and siblings were interrogating him about his love life, while his boyfriend's friends were reveling in the car crash of a reveal.

"What did you do to him?"

Brandon’s voice was tight with rage, and Levi had now grabbed his boyfriend's collar, aiming his glare directly at Jeremy, a silent promise of very real violence in his eyes. And Jeremy, the damn fool, just stood there, refusing to back down, a stubborn glint in his eyes.

"Don’t touch my big brother"

Brandon growled, stepping in front of Jeremy. Levi's voice was laced with venom as he too spat out,

"You don't deserve him, You damn lizard"

Jeremy, the idiot, just stood there, a half-smile playing at his lips. And in a move that could only be described as either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, straightened his shoulders and declared, in a voice that resonated through the hall,

"I already did"

He declared, his voice laced with that infuriating smugness and confidence, looking at Landon from the corner of his eyes who was basked in the lingering presence of Jeremy pressed against his soul.

"And you’re all smart enough to look at our precious Landon and know that".

Landon slammed his head into his hand, his face flushing crimson with a heat that had nothing to do with passion, but mortification.

His ears were ringing, his cheeks were burning. This infuriating man was declaring their tryst to the world like it was some badge of honor.

He wanted to die. The ground offered no refuge.

He came between his father and his boyfriend, trying to diffuse the situation. Stepping in between his enraged father and his equally stubborn boyfriend, Landon threw his hands out, trying to physically separate them,

"Dad, relax. Bran, stop it. He's not going to kill me, it was…..."

His voice trailed off. He couldn’t even finish the sentence, the words stuck in his throat.

Nikolai and Killian were cheering Jeremy on, their laughter adding to the cacophony. Astrid and Glyndon were trying to play peacemaker, their voices calm amidst of madness.

This was a disaster, a spectacular, embarrassing, and completely avoidable disaster. The lies, the secret rendezvous, the rampant passion, it had all led to this.

He had tried so hard to keep his life separate, one side the calculated, ruthless Devilord, the other the man who melted into a puddle of desire at the touch of his Overlord . Now, both sides had collided head-on, and the fallout was devastating.

Landon looked at Jeremy, who was now arguing with his father about his rights as an adult, and just wanted to scream.

Yes, he loved him, with an intensity that both terrified and thrilled him. But sometimes, just sometimes, he felt like strangling the man.

This was a bad idea. A really, very bad idea. And it was all his fault. The thought of the chaos yet to come, the fallout, the family interventions, turned his blood to ice.

He closed his eyes, the chaos swirling around him. Brighton Island was no longer a haven of salty air and tranquility, but a battlefield of his own making.

To his left, Nikolai and Killian were clapping, cheering for Jeremy’s brazen confession. Astrid and Glyndon were simultaneously trying to de-escalate the situation and glean more information from Landon. Chaos reigned. It was a scene ripped straight from a bad sitcom.

This really, REALLY, was a bad idea. It was, perhaps, the worst idea he'd ever had. And yet, a small, traitorous part of him, the part overwhelmed with lingering traces of Jeremy's touch and the echo of his husky voice, found a strange, masochistic enjoyment in the utter pandemonium.

After all, it wasn’t everyday his relationship blew up in such spectacular fashion. And if there was one thing he knew about Jeremy Volkov, the man wouldn't back down from a fight, regardless of who the opponent was. And Landon, well, he had a feeling he wasn't going to be leaving Jeremy's side anytime soon.

He had, after all, been willingly dragged into this mess, and some part of him, no matter how small, wanted to see where they both landed.

[rockofeye]

the hell is going on with these folks (and the cat accusation is downright insane): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvZTr3F_YZI

This is purposefully targeted hate speech and propaganda, and it is not new to the US political field. This is part of the racist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, and the same statements have historically been said about folks immigrating for Asian countries, from the Middle East, and even folks coming from Central and South America. I hope it's no longer a common thing said, but there were racist 'jokes' when I was young that if you went to a Chinese restaurant, you were getting cat for dinner.

These are tactics attempting to demonize an extremely vulnerable and marginalized community in the same manner that Jews and other 'undesirable' groups were demonized at the end of the Weimar Republic as the Third Reich rose in Germany. This is a tool of a political party that is trying to seize power by fearmongering, which requires a scapegoat to be successful. Recently arrived Haitians are that scapegoat, and it's dangerous.

That video is really sad, and it's a masterclass in how racism is both a class issue and is used as a tool to divide. The statements about how recently arrived folks supposedly get so much money for the government, but we can't...this is manipulating working class, blue collar workers, and folks living at or under the poverty line, and it is exactly the tactics used in the building of race and racism that the United States was founded on. Instead of white folks who fall into working class, blue collar, or poverty categories realizing that the government is the problem in that basic needs of every day persons are absolutely ignored under our so-called democracy, they are being told that it is the people who are leaving a literal war zone to try and stay alive who are the problem. At base, racism is capitalist divide-and-conquer; if working class/blue collar/poverty level white folks united with Black folks, immigrants, and those seeking asylum, this country would be on it's knees...but instead, capitalism has manipulated vulnerable citizens to believe that outsiders are the problem with claims that are absolutely out of hand

Some of this is lack of education and critical thinking skills; basic research can show people that what people claim as fact is not at all true. People who are arriving from the border or arriving via the Biden parole program are in the United States legally but honestly...who fucking cares? It is a factual inaccuracy to believe that individuals who are not citizens and/or have not passed the 5 year mark if they are legal permanent residents have access to federal benefits earmarked for citizens or folks with sufficient residency. They do not qualify for SNAP, most Medicaid, social security, federal financial aid, and on and on. When they work, they pay taxes but they do not reap the benefits--there are no tax refunds and they do not benefit from social security, which means even if they work for 30 years in the US on a work permit, they can never access social security retirement benefits.

The rest is political strategy, wag-the-dog style. This bluster distracts from the fact that the Republican candidate is a fucking lunatic who cannot string together a single coherent thought and who is able to be provoked to anger with a single side eye. This is a distraction to remove pressure and attention.

Moreover, if it was true that recently arrived Haitians were left to steal domestic pets or wild living birds to survive, the shame is on our hands, as US citizens, for allowing people to starve when there is so much food available. How would a country with one of the highest GDPs allow people fleeing terror to be reduced to stealing pets to eat? That would be disgusting and a terrible indictment of who we are as a country, not that many of us don't already see it.

The other statements about Haitians being filthy etc are just poorly informed or purposefully aimed to be harmful. Anyone who has lived with or around Haitians in any significant way knows how a Haitian home is kept. Anyone who has spent any significant time with Haitians understands how, even if someone is living in poverty with nothing, there is still pride in themselves and how they live...and that is a huge reason, all other things aside, why folks are not out stealing Fluffy to have dinner. Those things are without pride, and folks would rather starve.

There is also the purposeful misunderstanding of how immigrants acclimate to a new place. Folks coming here from the border or via the Biden program are on pins and needles because they know their situation is wobbly, and they are smart. No one is going to be knowingly acting in a way that is going to upset where they live or who they live around, and Haitian culture contains nothing that would be super out of the ordinary in the US.

I am glad the reporter spoke to local Haitians and made the effort to get accurate translations of what folks were saying. How some questions were answered gives a clear picture to folks who know that they know they are under a microscope, both in the US and with the situation in Haiti; did you catch how, when questioned about gangs and violence, the one guy knew nothing about nobody? That's not accidental.

This will also target Vodou and Haitian vodouizan as well. I have already seen commentary on social media about how Haitians who are eating all these animals--dogs, cats, ducks, rats, etc--and doing 'rituals' with the remains. This is a dangerous and slippery slope, particularly if the party supporting these statements retakes the White House.

So...pay attention. This is a masterclass in the deployment of classism and racism to create distractions ahead of an election that feels very important to many people. Don't let them control your attention.

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

fuck it. ethan hair ranking

it's saturday im bored i don't want to practice mozart anymore. let's go

I'm gonna rank bottom to top this time and include visual aids. none of my choices are going to be much of a surprise to anyone who knows my particular tastes I think.

7. Dead Reckoning Part 1

Ethan is just gorgeous in this movie but his hair doesn’t do it for me. It’s short enough that it can’t have the same personality as it does at Fallout or MI1 length. It looks good on him! But it’s kinda flat. It's just fine. Also it doesn’t strike me as being a character choice so much as a “McQ likes TC’s hair better short” choice

6. Fallout

I would like to formally apologize to arc @callmearcturus i am sorry for slandering your boy like this. I love him too. fallout ethan is objectively the finest look that ethan has ever had I love him even above my dearly beloved MI1 ethan. He's deeply beautiful and i love him so much my heart hurts. but for me it's not the hair it's the Vibes. the vibes are here but the hair is just. it's a haircut. It's just normal to me, it’s floofy which I appreciate but. still. It’s a nice looking cut. Good for cosplaying a man. Utilitarian. It works well on Ethan but it doesn't capture my fascination.

5. MI3

it might also be time for me to formally apologize to mar @malewifebillcage for slandering her boy.......mi3 ethan's hair is also just a cut to me. and objectively i think the fallout cut even looks better on him. but I love MI3 hair dearly and deeply for character reasons because it’s such an aggressively rom com cut it really feels like Ethan googled “house husband” for reference pics. so i like it better cause it amuses me

4. MI1

I'd like to formally apologize to myself for slandering my own boy. (Also Luther in the back hi Luther I love you.) Ethan's hair in this movie is also excellent characterization and provides a perfect baseline for all my Ethan Hunt hair meta thoughts. And it’s so expressive! I love how spiky it is! That being said while it has a lot of personality it is simply not as aesthetically gorgeous to me as some of the cuts I ranked higher. MI1 Ethan I’m sorry

3. Rogue Nation

rogue nation Ethan literally takes my breath away at times with how beautiful he is. I am obsessed with the subtle length and swoop and the way it falls over his forehead. It’s the kind of hair that says “I had my gender crisis years ago and decided my gender was Gorgeous”. And yet it isn’t Character Driven enough for me to have it at the top

2. MI2

mi2 hair i think about you all the time.

both rich in Character Implication and mind-blowingly pretty. This is his hot girl summer hair his cherry bomb by the runaways hair it’s his ‘blew up my dad who wants me’ hair. It’s so far from the MI1 ingenue that it leaves manwhore in the dust and wraps back around to ingenue again. This is the hair of a man (????) who is trying so very hard to be absolutely anything other than what he is that he becomes exactly what he doesn’t like being. Every single image of him with this hair is like a masterclass in gender and rebellion and trauma and self discovery. and I Want To Run My Hands Through It.

But! there is something about the MI2 hair that feels. Styled and calculated and superficial. Hair for an Effect. Which is part of what I love about it! It’s also why this hair isn’t my absolute favorite. That title goes to:

Ghost Protocol

Ghost Protocol hair my absolute fucking beloved. What tips this hair over the edge for me is the way it looks when he’s tired and disheveled, in the prison breakout scene, in the car after the Kremlin, etc. This hair feels so natural for him, it’s a bit wild and floppy and makes him look kinda like a Creature instead of a man (I mean this in the most flattering way possible). He’s not trying to claim gender the way he is in MI2 or MI3, he’s…doing his own thing. It’s somehow both a utilitarianism and an indulgence. He’s not trying to fit in anywhere, he’s not trying to be anything, he’s in his base state and it’s fucking gorgeous. I guess for me this is the thing—MI4 is the movie where Ethan doesn’t have to function as a member of society, and has been free of functioning as a member of society for a while now. And this is the result. I could stare at him forever<3

[your-gay-emo-cousin]

"HELP! I CANT/DON'T WANT TO DRAW HEADS/FACES!": A very short masterclass

(Recently saw this post reblogged so I thought I’d update it)

Hi! I'm Lyla. I'm a teen artist who HATES drawing faces.

I'll draw them when they're important, or if they're simple, but it's just my least favorite part about drawing people.

Are you like me?

If so, you're in luck!

Here are some great and creative ideas to get you out of drawing faces and heads.

Just don't. Leave the spot where the face would be blank. I've seen a lot of artists do this and i did it on literally every drawing for a while. It lets your audience be creative too, and decide how they think the character looks!

Chop it off. Instead of a head, I sometimes will just leave a bloody stump. It's a bit gory but it's really fun and surprising.

Send it into a void. I'm gonna be honest, I stole this from a DuckTales episode, the one about mt neverest or whatever. In the episode, there were cave drawings of people... Er... Ducks... With their heads in little portals. (The heads appeared elsewhere but you don't have to do this). I love this technique, it's very simple and spooky.

Put their head in the clouds. Just draw some clouds around where their head would be. It doesn't always work out but it's a fun play on a pun.

Replace it with a random object. Anything you can think of, plop it on your character's neck. Another fun version of this is replacing it with an animal or doll head. It'll end up looking kind of creepy and it's overall very fun.

Hide it. Draw your character with a mask, a paper bag, a large hood, etc.

Cover it. Hide your character's face behind a camera, book, newspaper, really anything honestly.

Just draw a little smiley face. It's funny. People like it. It shows you're human, and people appreciate it.

Similar to 5, but replace it with an eye/an inanimate object given an eye. I especially like to draw little flower people (think that one weirdcore tiktoker with those characters, argos and Mr. Plant? Very similar to his style :))

Draw it badly. Intentionally badly. It looks cool, trust me.

Warp the face. Make it melty or twisty, or fallen apart in some way.

Alrighty! That's everything I can think of right now but if you have more ideas PLEASE reblog.

Theenks!

-lyla

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

i also hate the locked tomb but am obsessed with it. i dont know what to do anymore man. i want to but i cannot stop thinking about them

BRO YOU GET ME. I hate it. I love it. I have fanart of the characters saved. Fanart and textposts are constantly on my dash. Gideon and Harrow make me absolutely feral. Today, I was considering rereading it because maybe I missed something? But nah, I don't think I did lmao. The writing style is not for me at all, but I'll be fucking damned if the author doesn't know how to make characters that nest in your brain. Gideon and Harrow are a literal masterclass in how to make readers obsessed with characters. I started drawing fanart of them myself!!! Just today I saw art from a scene in the first book that really got to me. I'm genuinely so fucking obsessed but I'll never buy the second book.

[paddingtonfan69]

i finished micronesia, i DEVOURED everything in 2 days haha and you were right this is the best fucking season EVER!!!!! i am so so glad i followed your advice and watched the previous seasons first, i swear it wouldn't hit as hard if i didn't know who most of these people were- thank you!! the blindsides, shocks, medical evacuations, overall gameplay and WOMEN i mean everything was just chef's fucking kiss. i feel absolutely privileged to witness black widow brigade in all her glory <3 what a masterclass. starting with ozzy’s i was holding my breath every single tribal and they DELIVERED. obvs before going in i knew parvati was going to win and i already loved her in cook islands but i feel like i now fully know and understand her you know what i mean? and cirie <3 both parv and cirie absolutely COOKED this season. not sure if it's just me or editing but i feel like cirie didn't get enough credit after all, she was the only one behind some big moves like eric and ozzy (also ozzy sucks now, i loved him before but he's such a crybaby, cocky, arrogant ass shit now lmao). anyways amanda (i love her but still) wouldn't stand a chance against cirie either, she would've won 100%. sad for cirie but happy for parv, i would've split the prize into two, mean girls style lol. i would LOVE to see what would happen if they hadn't fucked cirie over with the final two though. while both women were THE masterminds, parvati got to be the face of it all and cirie got to keep her hands relatively clean. also, what's up with natalie's question to parv in the final tribal 👀 that was fruity ass behavior, she was shooting her shot right there lmao (can't blame her tbh). once i'm done with survivor i'll move onto shows like the traitors, deal or no deal island etc. to see them! also i turned on the first episode of heroes vs. villains but then i realized, i don't know half of these people again lmao so i'm going back to the beginning (but not too back lol that's where i draw the line). i started watching the all stars season, then i probably need to watch everything else up until then? lmao i got in too deep now i can't get out. any recommendations, must see seasons before i slay everyone and trust no one? thanks again as always 🫡

oh HELL YEAH brother!!! I feel like I was talking Micronesia up so much, so I’me very glad it hit home. It is literally everything to me. Black Widow Brigade you will always be famous!!! WOMEN!!! I feel like so much survivor is steeped in casual misogyny and Micronesia really is the perfect antidote to that. The Erik move was soooo fucking powerful. I read an article recently that’s an oral history of that moment and it’s so cool to see how all the pieces came together. Totally agree with you that cirie doesn’t get enough credit, because she manipulates in such a subtle way where the other person thinks it’s their thought. She controlled soooo many of those votes. If they had let it be a top three I do think Cirie would have won and she would have deserved it. And Parvati also a hundred percent deserved the win as well!! Queens maximizing their joint slay <3333 And yeah love Amanda but compared to the other two she wasn’t it. She really bungles it at final tribal both times she goes. Also when Eliza said to Amanda “when you speak I want to kill myself” at final tribal, I was GOOP!!! Also yes Natalie shooting her shot, two bisexual icons right there. And agree, ozzy sucks this season and he reallly gets what’s coming to him!! A perfect season of television, it means so much to me!!

Okay for heroes v villains and all stars , don’t hate me, but you should just dive in and watch all the seasons in order, it’s worth it!!. (Skip season five though, season five is ass). Here are some specific recommendations as well. Borneo (s1) is such a classic and you get to see how the game was formed plus one of the best final tribal speeches of all time. Australia (s2) is also essential for introducing Jerri and Colby who are both on All Stars and HVV, and Amber who is a hugeee player on all stars. The Amazon (s6) is also a fun one in terms of gender and men being out of pocket, and also introduces some contestants who are on All stars. (And at that point just watch 3 and 4 too bc then you’ll be all set for all stars) And you HAVE to watch All Stars (s8) simply for the ROMANCE!!! Made me believe in straight ppl again fr. As for seasons that build up to HVV, the other big one is Tocantins (s18) which has THREE players who go to HVV. You DON’T need to watch Samoa (19) because it only exists to introduce Russell who is one of my least favorite guys of all time tbh you don’t need a whole season to get his vibe, you get it in HVV juuuust fine. There are also a couple players from Gabon (s17) on HVV, but it’s not essential viewing. It’s a fun one though, but mostly bc people are dummies that season.

This was long winded as hell lol but I hope it informs your journey!!! Soon enough you’ll be further along than me lol

[metatemu]

Who Am I? An Introduction: Setting the Game Board.

“You are the only Yuugi Mutou in the whole world.” 

This is, perhaps, the most important line in the series. A penultimate affirmation, a triumphant declaration. There is, in this line, the knowledge of standing across from someone, and being able to see them as themselves. To be able to know the answer to “who are you?” To look at someone, and be able to answer that question. 

“Who am I?” 

“I am the only Yuugi Mutou in the whole world.”

This is the axis in which this world turns, to answer the questions “who are you,” and “who am I?” Taking a lens to this question--that is, the question of “who am I?” and how it is explored through the series Yu-Gi-Oh!--lands on the walking metaphor of identity, memory, history, and personhood that is the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, and how this character is used as a lens of identity--particularly in contrast to the main character himself, Yuugi Mutou. 

This essay series itself will seek the answer that question for the Spirit of the Puzzle, not in a literal sense (for his birth name, Pharaoh Atem, is well-known enough of a spoiler that Duel Links features his name in the DSOD map, spoken by Yuugi) but in a sense of identity exploration, relationship exploration, thematic exploration, as well as a literal history and personality exploration that the series keeps purposefully vague, in the name of presenting the character the same way he is experienced by the characters in the story--as a person whom is gradually uncovered. As the heart of a mystery, as the unanswered riddle of the majority of the story. 

(“Something you can see, but you can’t see.”)

This is the riddle at the heart of the story, answered in different ways and by different characters, 

and one of the ways this riddle is answered is by the name Atem.

But first, every game has rules. 

First and foremost, this world is simply not the same as our own. Nightmare Masterclass put it better in his video on “This House Has People In It,” (which I advise for understanding the lens of magical realism, and how it is used in the genre of fiction) but I will be working in the genre of magical realism as a way to analyze this story. I simply have no interest in doing a CinemaSins style ding! for every time the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! does not match with the understanding of our own world. Going into this story, you simply have to accept that Seto Kaiba has the influence and money and resources to buy out an entire city for two days, build a space station with a space elevator, and hold a death tournament on live broadcast and walk away without a care in the world. You have to accept that Destiny Draw is a duelist skill in this world, and that it is a recognized thing within the setting. You have to accept that every game is an expression of a battle between wizards over destiny, and that there is no such thing as a casual game between friends as long as magic exists in this world. You have to accept the roving Yo-Yo! gangs, children getting their hands on guns and holding people at knife point over toys, and the fact that the systems we know about (mental health, law enforcement, government, etc.) simply do not come into the picture at any point in this story. There will be no speculation on why this is, or why the characters did not act on these systems. Any discussion will be a pre-emptive argument on why these systems were not used or acted upon in the minds of characters or the powers in place that would, in our own world, step in. The world, as it is set in Yu-Gi-Oh!, is a world where games decide the outcome of the fate of countries, governments, and the fate of humanity itself. It was laid out on page one. This world runs off of games, all other systems of power come secondary to the mystical and magical nature of this world system. 

Following that, the story will also be analyzed with an understanding of the logic of the world and characters determined by their own thoughts, feelings, and actions, as well as the system that the story decides to judge characters on, and why it is done that way. It will be up to the reader to decide why and how a character should be judged. For example, a reader might find Sozoji (the bully from the karaoke chapter) much more sympathetic than Pegasus, because Sozoji objectively did less damaging things than Pegasus. However, that is purely up to the reader to decide. This series of essays will not be written to lecture a person on characters, whom a person should like, whom a person should dislike, or, following that, any judgment on a person based on that. A person’s own values are determined by their own life circumstances, by their own truth, and by their own heart. A person’s past and future are things that are only held inside themselves. That is what I wish to uncover and explore. Through understanding someone in their totality, you tend to understand yourself better. That is the thing I find most interesting, and what I want to explore--the difficult process of understanding yourself through understanding someone else. Yuugi came to understand himself better by helping Atem recover his identity. This is the thing I wish to present to you, any thoughts and opinions or feedback is very welcome. I am not seeking to convince you of anything--only seeking to tell you and share with you the love I have for this series, and how much it has given me.

I will be engaging with this series through both the Watsonian perspective, and the Doylian perspective, and I will try to make it clear when and where I am using both lenses to engage with the story. For example, I take into account what Takahashi says often, which puts a lot of commentary on the series into the “Doylian” perspective. I also, naturally, try to engage with the world in the view in which the characters see it, which is the “Watsonian” perspective. The author’s views are invaluable as a look into the story. I will be taking interviews, Takahashi’s comments on the new releases, and Takahashi’s comments on the original volume releases into account. I will also be pulling from as many sources as possible to be sure on the proper translations. Quite a lot of fan translations exist online, and I’ve used quite a lot as well, but the only objective source I can use would be the Viz Media release for the original run in Shonen Jump!, since I have no access to any more sources that are not unofficial or fan released. I love reading commentary on fan translations, but I cannot fully rely on them, so the best I can do is use the official release. Another important thing to note is that I, of course, am not an expert. I have never met Takahashi, never worked for Konami, and the most I can do is read the intentions of the author, and interpret them. I am not an official source for canon, and I will not be speaking as an official source. All I can do is present my findings, and trust that someone will find them worthwhile.

I will be exclusively using the manga as a source for all of this work. The anime has some great supplements (I am a particularly huge fan of the additions given to Mana and Mahad in the world of memories, as well as the Capsule Monsters spinoff) but I will not be using any other source for any official writings. I do have my preferences to some changs (putting Mana, Mahad, and Atem in the same age group, as well as the theme of making Dark Yuugi into Yuugi’s literal shadow in the Toei adaptation) but those are adaptations based on the original source material. The source material, and the source material alone will be the basis of this writing. I may look at the second anime adaptation later, but for this essay series, I will not be looking any further than the manga. 

All of that being said, I will be releasing the parts slowly over time. I am doing a final reread of the series, and I have compiled my topics together. After this final reread, I will be releasing the first topic: Atem’s relationships with the core friend group (Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, Otogi, and Ryou) followed by an analysis on the truth behind Memory World. 

I hope you enjoy it!

[444lpblue]

Heavenly Delusion #8 - Their Choices

Screenplay: Asako Kuboyama Storyboard: Haruka Fujita Episode Director: Ryou Nakano

I… Wow, I don't even know where to begin with this one, and my writing won't do this episode any justice, but this episode was a masterclass in almost every aspect. I've read the manga before, so I already knew what to expect in terms of the story, but by the end of this episode, I was still tearing up.

Heavenly Delusion as you should know (hopefully), has looked spectacular thus far, the direction, storyboarding, character art, animation has all been on point, it's an extremely rare type of production that is unfortunately going a bit underappreciated this year. But out of all those amazing episodes, this one might have been my favorite so far (I know I'm extremely slow in watching this show. so yes that is where I'm currently am).

I'm not a story reviewer, so I won't be discussing much about that as always. But please, just trust me when I say I truly believe you should read or watch this series if you're into post-apocalyptic-type stories.

Haruka Fujita was the storyboarder for this episode, and you might know her from her work on the Violet Evergarden movie or various other episode direction/storyboard roles within Kyoto Animation's anime. In fact, this is the first episode she has worked on outside of Kyoto Animation, and the results are breathtaking. Her storyboards are very unique in the way they display the environment and convey the situations. The use of lighting in this episode was also very unique; the way she used darkness and light to separate characters or even symbolizes the literal sides to life and death, as well as the way negative space is used to emphasize the characters' emotions and expressions, was done so meticulously that not a single use of the lighting was solely for visual aesthetics, but it always conveyed something beyond that.

The visual motifs and focus on hands can also be seen throughout the episodes, with many shots centering around hands, directly connecting to Maru's statement at the end of the episode. Hands in this episode are represented as tools to heal, help, or kill.

Her detailed style can also be seen in the way she highlights even minor details that heighten the tension, such as scenes of people walking away from riots, crows briefly flying nearby, wide shots of the environments, unsettling faraway shots of the characters, and extremely detailed closeup shots of the characters at just the right moment She's one of the best directors/storyboarders in the industry right now, and I can't wait to see her direct her own series in the future. Her style is strong, but very measured and nothing is never done for no reason.