#she was made to be a manic pixie dream girl ON PURPOSE

[radio-ghost-cooks]

its so wild to me how ya'll don't understand the point of Claire

Claire feels wildly out of place in The Bear bc she IS wildly out of place.

when Carmy gave her a fake number (which most people would understand as turning them down) she asked Fak for the real one. from day fucking one she just strong-armed herself into Carmy's life.

all she did was drag Carm back into the man he was before coming back to Chicago bc that's all she knew him as. and Carmy being his anxious, scared self let her bc it was something easy to fall back into when everything else around him was so hard.

Claire isn't meant to be one of those well-developed main characters we're so used to in The Bear. she's meant to be the last thing holding Carm back.

[fairsexynasty]

∞ ₒ 🏆˚ ° 🏈 WHO’S FREER THAN ME?

+*:🐅:* joe burrow x fem!reader

summary: talk, talk, talk. it’s like men were conditioned to do only that. will they ever listen to you? questions plague your mind during a night out with joe. except, you’re not physically with him, quite unfortunately so.

warnings: SMUT. oral (fem receiving), squirting, fingering (fem receiving), daddy kink, dom/sub, subspace, mentions of spanking, dacryphilia mention, jealous!joe, asshat men

a/n: and she’s finally here! and she’s looking gorg <3

You figured that it was natural to get yourself caught up in tricky situations. The night before, you were adamant on the fact that parties were insipid and required an amount of fucks you personally couldn’t give. But damn it, Joe. It wasn’t on purpose, but his eyes practically begged you to accompany him to the stupid thing, and the last thing you wanted was Joe standing against a wall, drink in hand, disappointed you hadn’t tagged along. So after a period of begging (and kissing,) you reluctantly agreed to go to the party.

And it was terrible.

Never once in your life did you have to interact with such vapid, arrogant adults who had pools of beer and other mystery alcohols spilling down their shirts. It smelled like a gym and a bar at the same exact time, and the smell was so unrelenting, you excused yourself and headed upstairs.

Passing by multiple guys who had always been assholes to you out of attraction, made it to a secluded hallway, dim with dying overhead floral lights. At some point, Joe was pulled away by guys who animatedly conversed with him in what was probably their first-ever conversation with your boyfriend.

Footsteps padded along the stairs and you prayed it would be your boyfriend, for he at least had some decency to not stomp on some rando’s carpet. Unfortunately, you were met with— well, you didn’t know his name.

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you here!” He greeted you. The look you gave made him say his name, but frustratingly enough, you hadn’t heard him. You stared up at him through the rim of your cup, a white line appearing in your vision and cutting off his torso.

“I, uh, I don’t find myself at parties a lot. Out of my own volition.” Perhaps, if you were sardonic enough, he would leave you the fuck alone and you’d be able to hide out in the bathroom for the rest of the night. Nothing like sitting atop a polished granite slab, feeling the surface vibrate in pulses beneath you.

‘What’s-his-face’ gives a stupid chortle. He’s finding you amusing, which is literally the opposite of what you want from him. “Oh, so you’re a cool girl, aren’t you?”

No. No, no, no, not this gimmick.

Rule one of interacting with men you don’t like, is never to make them think you’re a cool girl, which is another word for “My own personal manic pixie dream girl.” Once they think that, you’re free game, no matter how hard you try to rope yourself back in. And now, ‘What’s-his-face’ has pulled the buoy cord out of the water, leaving you stranded with him for god knows how long.

He asks you about your favorite SNL sketches, how many Blur songs you can name, and whether or not you caught the Sunday football game. Your stomach shifts inside your body, his douchebag aura making you feel queasy, and now you’re yearning for your boyfriend who is most likely surrounded by other douchebags like the one in front of you. You should have handcuffed yourself to Joe. Should have tackled him down the stairs and knocked him out before he stepped foot outside your house. Maybe, you should have driven all the way to get ice cream instead and fuck him after.

But you didn’t, and now you have to pay the price.

“It’s really nice that you’re listening, typically girls start talking about other stuff when I’m talking, it’s really kind of you.” Ugh. No fucking way. Then, he placed a fucking hand on your arm. “Wanna get out of here?”

Before you can slap him in the face, Joe turns him around by his shoulder. “No, but I think you should, right buddy? I mean, look at her. She’s obviously not interested, and would rather shoot herself than talk to you.” You let out a laugh because there’s no one who understands you more than Joe does. “Don’t you?”

It strikes you as strange, it even incenses you. What the hell do you mean by that, Joe? You grab his hand and start pulling him with you, not bothering to bid goodbye to the other guy.

“I want to leave,” you start as the two of you trudge down the stairs. “Got it?”

Joe rolls his eyes but acquiesces to your request. He grabs his keys from his pocket and the two of you are out the door.

The car ride back to your apartment is silent. Dead silent. Once you arrive home, you make a dash for the door, choosing not to wait for Joe.

“Babe,” he calls out. He catches up and closes the door behind him. His hand runs over his face. “The hell was that?”

“You know I don’t like parties, I told you I didn’t want to go.”

“Yeah, initially, but then you eventually agreed, right?”

You groan in frustration. “I lied, Joe.”

“So why are you mad at me because you lied? If you wanted to leave, you could have told me, but you let that douche chat you up instead.” He walks toward you and holds your chin with his pointer and thumb.

“You know I didn’t like him,” you say in earnest and avoiding eye contact.

“Really? Because I can’t read your mind, baby. Tell me what you need.” The air grows thick with tension. Suddenly you feel hot, overcome with a warmth fueled by Joe radiating jealousy. You also feel a bit of pompousness in the mix, knowing Joe is feeding off of the fact you’re caught in a now precarious situation. His eyes seem as if they’re smirking at your own, his lids curving at the ends, irises as blue as sapphire. He’s teasing you, making you wait for him to quit the unrelenting gaze that was so stimulating.

You decide to take his thumb into your mouth, wrapping your pouted lips around the digit. Your throat began to meet with his thumb almost immediately and you moaned, wondering how his fingers would feel in you.

Head moving back and letting Joe’s thumb fall from your mouth, a string of saliva trailed to your lips, you immediately go dumb for him. “Need you to fuck me, daddy.” Glossy eyes bat three times at him. “Please?”

It’s almost shameful to you that you put yourself in this position every single time. It’s almost shameful how you go dumb as soon as your arousal gets sexual, as if all you’ve built yourself up to be washes away in the waves of fuck me now. But it does fill you with pride in the end, because you hold the key to Joe’s satisfaction, and you’re the only person who does him as well as you do.

“That’s my girl,” a low coo of pleasantry. He scoops you up in his arms and you let out a squeal of surprise. Joe walks to your bedroom, slipping your shoes off and dropping them on the floor along the way. He gently lays you on top of the sheets, holding your head as he leans in to kiss you.

Moaning into the kiss, your hands take the rein in his hair, fingers already carding through the blond. Joe tugs at your bottom lip, making you drop your jaw just a bit so he can explore inside your mouth.

You find it astonishing. To be concise, Joe’s pretty selfish— but it’s how he takes things for himself that renders you wanton. The way he bites on your skin and soothes it after. How his hands direct your body in any way of his choosing. When he holds your head up as you cum to make sure he can see the stars in your eyes.

Your legs spread immediately as Joe enters the space between them. He takes his time trailing hot kisses down your neck, then down your torso after removing your top and bra. His fingers dance upon your jean-clad thighs, tap-tap-tapping upwards to your button and zipper, then work in a quick fashion to rid you of your bottoms. You’re left in just your panties and they’re soaked with your wetness, turning a shade darker than the original where it covers your core.

Joe’s eyes glimmer with an unsatiable want to ruin you. His fingers trail over your core, and you let out a breathy whimper. God, you’re pathetic. “You got really worked up didn’t you, pretty girl? How long were you waiting for me to come to save you?”

You let out a playful scoff and roll your eyes. “I don’t need to be saved, Joey. I just know you missed me so much.” Pulling him closer by his belt loops, you bite his bottom lip and pull ever-so-slightly. “Don’t tease me, daddy. Makes me upset.”

The soft sound of your purrs full of pure raunch flips a switch in Joe. Instead of wanting to fuck you dumb, slap your ass until the skin was hot to the touch, kiss the tears that never stopped running down your cheeks, the man decided he wanted you to scream for more. More, more, more. God, he could just hear it in his mind. Blessed cries of pleasure, letting his baby take whatever she wanted from him like the princess she was, that’s all he needed now.

He pounced at your neck in an attempt to distract you from what he was about to do— rip your panties apart in one swift motion, with little to no effort at all. He lowly chuckles against your pulse point, sending a shiver down your spine. As he kisses and marks his territory, his hands travel to your core and start truly exploring the wetness that coats you. His two fingers slip inside as easily as ever, and he’s grateful to realize it’s because you’ve decided he’s all you ever wanted.

“That’s my girl. So ready for daddy, aren’t you?” You nod softly and pull him into a deep kiss.

The tightness is a comfort and Joe curves his fingers to pull a moan out of you that bounces off the walls of your room. With every flick of the wrist, he feels your cunt pulse around his fingers, sucking him back in deeper each time.

His mouth leaves your neck and goes straight for your pussy, instantly latching onto your clit and sucking, hard. You let out a scream, as your mind tries to wrap around how it’s possible he makes you feel even better each time. “Fuck, s’good daddy, so good…”

Joe’s tongue parts your folds and joins his fingers in motion. The heat travels all along your body as you drip onto him. He eats you out like a man starved, licking and thrusting his tongue all over, catching every last drop of what you give to him.

The coil in your abdomen tightens and your thighs clench and shake around Joe’s head. Your hands snake down his hair and pull hard, taking rein in the blond. Your back arches over and over as you grind into his mouth, chasing your release.

After you start practically fucking yourself onto his fingers, Joe comes up and takes one good look at you. Your eyes have rolled into the back of your head, your skin sheen with sweat, and your body just looks outright divine.

“Gonna cum for daddy, honey?”

“‘M so close, gonna cum, daddy-“ You cut yourself off with a moan. He knows you’re so incredibly close that you’ve lost the ability to hold onto necessary cognition, so he gives you a couple of slaps to your clit, and soon enough you’re gushing all over his fingers. “Oh, fuck!”

“There you go, good fucking girl,” he groans,  failing to cease rubbing at your clit. He wants all of the mess that you so happily give to him. Once you’ve finished cumming and the aftershock contractions start, he finally controls himself. He dips his head back down to clean you up with his tongue, and you choke out tiny squeals.

Then, he’s done being selfish for the time being. He meets you face to face again. Your eyes lull back and forth from clear vision to a blur of Joe above you. “Come back to me, baby,” he whispers as you slowly regain consciousness. He caresses your cheek, pressing small kisses from your forehead into your hairline.

He smiles when he feels your arms wrap around him, your hold as present as your mind. “Thank you, Joey,” you whisper back. Your hands feel fabric clinging to his back, and you suddenly realize he never even got undressed. “What’s with the clothes?”

Joe smiles down at you. “A very wise woman told me that men need to listen to women in conversation. This is my special way of conversing with you, I guess.”

“Did you make a mess in your pants, Joe?”

“Not answering that.”

[utilitycaster]

How about Fearne? For how the cr fandom treats her own trauma, because I’ve noticed a lot of people slowly getting rid of her agency for the sake of infantilizing her or only paying attention to her for shipping purposes……

So this one is interesting because Fearne's backstory does not specifically strike me as capital T Traumatic, but obviously that's subjective. Obviously I think she is deeply affected by her parents and the realizations she was lied to by everyone, but she didn't come in with that damage, and I think any trauma she has accumulated has been in-game (especially since that's when those familial realizations happened, with another one being set up). The deaths of Orym and Laudna and what just happened with Ashton feel more traumatizing to me. Or in other words, when I had a mental list of "characters with trauma" in mind, Fearne wasn't really part of that consideration, which could perhaps be a commentary on how I am myself minimizing her experience.

Reduction of agency for shipping purposes is a whole different thing. I don't think people tend to infantilize as an end goal - usually that's for shipping purposes too, ie, reduction of agency and infantilization go hand in hand - and I also don't feel Fearne is per se infantilized so much as made into an agency-less shipping doll by some. I think earlier it was people who shipped her with Ashton (the Fandom wiki article for their relationship is...bad, and that's with the knowledge that she does have a crush) but also it feels like Fearne is often used by people as a cudgel against other characters they don't like. Like, again, part of why despite their fantastic chemistry Ashton/Fearne didn't grab me until episode 77 is because in addition to them only having one real conversation prior to that (which was intriguing but not quite enough as a hook), so much of the fanon surrounding it felt either cribbed from some manic pixie dream girl narrative or else truly mean-spirited towards Chetney (to the point that a hate of Chetney felt more the point of these people's shipping than a desire to see Fearne and Ashton together). Meanwhile, right now, I think a lot of people leaping to the "Fearne did nothing wrong and was manipulated" assumption are just people who fucking hate Ashton (and in some cases, Taliesin) and see Fearne as a convenient figure to hide what is ultimately just straight-up bad faith.

Writing it out, I actually am coming around to the idea that Fearne fits a model more like Caduceus, in which there is a relatively quiet trauma that translates mostly to not stating one's own needs, and that tends to fit the second model in my previous ask, of the specific subtype "why isn't anyone asking them what they want? Why isn't anyone talking to Fearne?" and ignoring the fact that Fearne is a grown-ass adult and voicing her needs is something that she needs to do for herself, ie, this could have been prevented if she told Bells Hells "I don't want the shard, at all, do not make me take it." So: secret new option of type 2 for her defenders, type 1 for her detractors.

[camelely]

The Betrayal of Ted Lasso S3

Yea. The title is a bit dramatic but I have been one of those people who will defend the Shandy and Zava arcs. I thought everything had a purpose, but really really this season felt like a turn, and part of it felt like the plot belonged in a different show...

They keep saying this was the three season arc they planned. But this felt very rushed, and wrapped all these plots up too neatly too quickly. Ted was reduced to a manic pixie dream girl floating in and out of peoples lives teaching them about love, forgiveness, and to believe.

Lets start with my least favorite thing in the finale. Reducing the Jamie/Keeley/Roy story to a fist fight and a "choose me over him" arc. Belonged in a different show. Pheobe said it best in the first episode "Why are you breaking up?" Nothing they did this season was better because of the Roy x Keeley breakup. Even Keeley's bi arc. Like she has always been implied bi, so they could have just made it clear with Jack being an ex that resurfaced instead of a new relationship. Imagine the version of the KJPR plot with Jack being an ex. No out of date leaked nudes plot. Roy can be jealous because he thinks maybe Keeley does want to get back with this ex, but he sees that is his problem not hers and works on it internally/with Dr. Sharon. And Keeley can think Jack is just trying to help and apologize for the mistakes she made in their relationship, but soon its clear Jack wants to get Keeley back by funding her business and then pulling her funding when things don't go her way. This leaves Keeley wondering if she ever had any value as a business woman and Rebecca and Roy are there to support her. Rebecca as a friend and financial backer and Roy as a supportive BF. Then Keeley can return the favor supporting Rebecca when she is deciding to sell the club or not, and Roy when he is promoted to manager.

The leaked nudes plot belonged on a show that came out like five/six years ago when society first started to shift and see that the celebrities were the victims. I understand it was a true story from the real Keeley, but seriously it dated a show that could have been pretty universal otherwise. I know they deal with issues like racism and homophobia but those things aren't going anywhere. We have to keep fighting, but those people always exist. Meanwhile the nudes thing has seen a pretty quick shift already. They built Shandy up as this vengeful character, Why didn't they have her do something to try and blow up Keeley's business? Even something simple like an attempt at wrongful termination? Shandy could have posted on her socials and been like "Keeley Jones claims shes for women but she fired me for no reason" got a bunch 'eat the rich' activists on her side since Keeley is backed by a billionaire and caused a lot of problems for the PR firm in the press.

Jamie reconnecting with his abusive parent. Honestly this did feel in place for a show thats all about forgiveness. But the more we learned about him the more he felt worse than Rupert. Absolutely awful. A better ending would have been his death and Jamie coping with the conflicted feelings he has vs the sadness he is expected to show by the media. Or even just letting Jamie move on. "I don't need him. I have a great mom, team, friends, and step dad/mom's bf" (I can't remember if they were married or not lol).

Nate simply quitting off screen and then being welcomed back like it was nothing. Belonged on another show. This one's been talked to death but I'll say it anyway. We see Rupert try to push a boundary and Nate left the bad situation and then fast forward, Nate quits and Rupert is being accused of impropriety. The start of the season was so focused on Nate being an ass to the West Ham players and then they just brush that under and rush him coming back? I didn't need a redemption arc. I liked the apology to Will and Ted's speech to Beard. But I did need to see the moments with Nate's choices. Nate made zero on screen choices this season. I mean even coming back was influenced by Jade.

Jade suddenly liking Nate, belonged on a different show. Okay I didn't hate Jade. I didn't hate that she started to date Nate. I think its weird the writers wrote a possibly racist character and then didn't address it but I guess the white af writers room just didn't get it. But I also liked Jade, Nate needed a no nonsense strong person in his life. I feel like his sister could have filled the role a bit better. But the girlfriend route wasn't bad.

Rebecca and the Amsterdam guy belonged in a rom com. Yea it worked a bit since Ted's whole rom com speech. But still, part of what I liked about the Amsterdam plot was that he was a great guy and a great time and then he was just gone. A happy memory to look back on and nothing more. It was so stupid that she randomly ran into him and they just magically got together. With Rebecca's romantic past ruined by Rupert's behavior. And the Sam relationship being kinda cute kinda doomed boss/employee weirdness it felt like Amsterdam guy was the true rebound she needed to move on and start a new path. Rebecca didn't need an endgame romance imo, she needed a fresh start. While I think she should have sold the whole club and moved on from the Rupert chapter of her life, I didn't hate the selling it to the fans thing. That was a decent way to end her journey. If they wanted her to have an endgame romance why not let the fans get to know the guy? Or flash forward to a guy we have never met implying that she eventually found someone?

Rupert hitting the coach also belonged on another show. Rupert is the guy who has everything work out for him. He's cool and collected and confident. Pushing the guy who wouldn't listen to him didn't seem like a Rupert move. Rupert would have fired him and promoted the guy under him. The big change would be if they had that guy quit and then the next guy quit until Rupert was left with no one. Could have also gone back to the Nate thing. If Nate leaving the toxic environment inspired others to do the same. Rupert publicly loosing his cool might have been fun since hes the worst, but it was too neat a wrapped bow.

Beard and Jane. Why did they literally only tell us everything bad about her if they wanted us to root for them? I'm sure she had some good qualities we could have seen. I did like that Beard was the character that got the ending rom com 'stop the plane' moment.

Colin's coming out. I could have done with less Isaac and more Trent or even less angry Isaac and more supportive Isaac but I liked it overall ngl. The kiss in the final episode was the best romantic moment in all of Ted Lasso. My canon favorite ship was RoyxKeeley but they never had a moment I could turn to. This was perfect and Colin was the best character for it.

The Van Damme thing was dumb. The joke about the mask making him 'Zorro' was dumb. I assume they were making fun of Ron Artest/Metta World Peace/Metta Sandiford-Artest but Zoreaux didn't need that. And it was funny for like one month in 2011, get over it.

Ted. Oh sweet Ted. I loved his talk with Trent about changing the name of the book because its not about him, and Trent taking that note but no others. At the end of the day, Ted's whole thing this season is Jason Sudeikis's whole thing in real life. He has a work family in London but his kids and ex in America. He's still low key in love with his ex and doesn't like the new relationship she's in and even though the new relationship ends pretty quickly it still sucks. And that is exactly what ruined the show. I'm sorry Jason is sad, I get people work through their problems in their art. But what a very emotional Jason sees as a good ending for Jason, is not a good ending for Ted. Ted Lasso the character deserved to decide to report Dr. Jacob (sorry Jason you can't report Harry Styles, he didn't do anything unethical... except maybe spit on Chris Pine...). Ted Lasso deserved a solid relationship with his son and a new partner, whoever you ship him with could work. I mean Sassy could have reported Dr. Jacob and told Ted maybe they could make it work since she is spending some time in the US for work. Or Rebecca with her millions saying she can commute as much as they want. Or a third new person in Kansas. The way the show implied Michelle is single and Ted is single. The 'they are getting along' narrative was a bit much.

The dream ending. Yes Bill Lawrence, this worked for Scrubs because JD was a character constantly fantasizing. But thats not Ted Lasso. This show deserved something more unique and more open ended. The final shot could have been Ted on the plane, smiling and that would beat the weird dream flash forward imo.

Yes the show has a central theme about forgiveness. But in previous seasons the person being forgiven earns that forgiveness. Here it was handed out to everyone regardless of who they hurt and what they did. It undermined Rebecca's s1 arc, Nate's multi season arc, Jamie's multi season arc, etc. The only arc that wasn't undermined was maybe Roy, since he ended up in therapy and actively trying to be better. So I guess good for Roy?

Overall my point is Ted Lasso was special because they marched to a positive and hopeful beat while still discussing hard topics. This season took everything special about the show and garbaged it, creating a messy, bland, and insulting final product that was a shell of the show they created. And they managed to do it in three seasons. Congrats guys? I mean most shows take 5-6 seasons to get truly off the rails.

[sparrowsarus]

violence ask: 10 and 25!!

For LM Montgomery, the only mutual fandom we are in

(which is actually hard cause the fandom is pretty chill?) 10. worst part of fanon:

Whatever the hell Sullivan was doing, and if it leaks into the book-only tags I use specifically because I almost always hate adaptations. Why is Gilbert suddenly in WWI? Why is he being a Nice Guy (TM)? WHAT was the whip thing? Why is my man suddenly an asshole? That doesn't make him more interesting it makes him suck.

fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing I have only seen this twice, but it made me RAGE.

Anne Shirley is not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She is quirky, yes, but she doesn't exist for Gilbert, she isn't superficially "weird" and "unique" and "misunderstood." She is canonically popular! People like her! She can keep her heard on task when she's older! Before that she is a literal child!

Actually, while we are on the subject, let us turn to Amy March.

Who did not steal Jo's man (she didn't want him) did not steal Jo's trip to Europe (Amy didn't even know that was in play) and was self aware enough to know that someone in that family had to marry rich, she wanted to be rich, and it may as well be to the nice boy next door who is a known quantity, rather than a stranger.

Yeah, she burned Jo's book and that was obviously terrible; but kids, in general, can be terrible. Also she is not real! She isn't a bitch (she was 10) she is a character in a story serving a purpose.

JUSTICE FOR AMY MARCH

[astrum-aetherium]

Could you elaborate more on Camilla? It's for... research purposes, an innocent research and without second or third intentions.

all too gladly — like other TSH figures, she is extremely complex and therefore interesting to dissect. i don't know how much time you have, which is why i will offer you a mere general overview of my opinions on her character. once again, sensically — tw for incest. goes without saying when it comes to her, unfortunately.

i appreciate her as a character and likewise sympathize with her greatly. in my eyes, she is an unfairly dismissed longtime victim of incest who has settled into that cycle of abuse so deeply that the reveal thereof doesn't even shock most readers — i've seen far too many people admitting it "made sense" or "was expected" for charles and camilla to be romantically involved with one another, which we can only owe to ms tartt herself, who strangely saw to that with striking intricacy via her writing. why — i may never know. dark academia, flawed characters, we're not supposed to like them, elitism, wealth — i know, i know, i know. it's still so utterly strange to me.

in addition, as the only woman in a close-knit circle of men (who are already far too privileged for their own good, predominantly heteronormative, and outspoken creatures of their time — specifically bunny), she is obviously the only one being gone after by nearly everyone. henry, her own brother, richard, even francis (on a singular occasion, but didn't he say she was the only one he ever questioned his sexuality over?), and possibly bunny, had he not been in a relationship and scared shitless of henry toward the end? plus, she is portrayed to be an indirect catalyst for the final traumatic event in the book due to being involved with both charles and henry. now, i do not attribute any fault to her, as she certainly has her own reasons to still be in that position (listed below), and what charles and henry did is their own fault and therefore between the two of them only. never blame a woman for a disagreement sparked between men, even if she was indirectly involved.

because of this depiction, i would even go as far as labeling her a "manic pixie dream girl", especially because she is described as so ambivalent and enigmatic in the novel. it truly seems to me that there are very few consistent characterization points in regard to her in the book. it's always either — oh, she is so clever and beautiful, so divine, and she amuses us all, and she is the mediator; or, oh, she is so secretive and has a palpable air of mystery, and must be hiding so much behind that pretty face and sad eyes. very manic-pixie-dream-girlish, if you ask me — but we know whose fault it is (hint: she was born on december 23rd). and yes, she does entertain the attention of most of the men interested in her, but then again, i elaborated on this matter in my post regarding her relationship with henry: i am fully convinced that she is not attracted to men whatsoever, neither romantically nor sexually, and engaging some of them is just a trauma response to partaking in incestuous activity and finding herself in an environment predominantly defined by men. i have a feeling that internally, she's longing to break free from all of it in whichever way possible, and she deserves to.

there's just no justification for not feeling bad for her in this case. camilla is done so dirty by the author of TSH in the way that she is misportrayed, it ails me. she constantly finds herself being objectified and disregarded, recognized and emphasized not for her academic skills and knowledge, but for the fact she is a beautiful, mystifying woman in a circle of intelligent, preposterously pretentious men. annoyingly, she is some sort of "feminine relief", the concept whereof outright vexes me. honestly — the way richard speaks of her sometimes (and yes, i know, it's meant to be like that, as he's an unreliable narrator and a young hormonal man on top of that, but nevertheless) is just outrageous. she is a victim of incest trapped in a position where she cannot communicate with anyone but her abuser and his male friends. is it ever mentioned that she entertains female acquaintances? i cannot recall, and that should be sufficient proof. the confinement she must feel, both in her interpersonal position and in her femininity, must be insane. she deserves so much more.

i want her to leave most of them behind, specifically those who have never seen her as anything other than an object of desire — even charles (who has fled anyway!) — and move somewhere to the warm south into a remote country cottage with a gorgeous, gigantic garden which she would tend to daily, and drive out into the city every now and again for groceries and bookstore strolls. a miss honey type, you know? hell, she could have a wife. a cat or a dog. horses or cattle, even. as far as i'm concerned, she could even see francis on occasion for a paired vacation or a lunch date here and there. i feel like they have the best shot at developing the healthiest bond, despite their shared trauma.

all in all, i think it's obvious that i have the biggest soft spot for her and am therefore convinced that she deserves nothing but the best. she was done quite dirty by ms tartt, and all the characters she ever shared a space with. i only sleep soundly at night knowing that she is very much fictional.

[mod-doodles]

Depending on how the show progresses I may change my mind but currently there seems to be a theme of manifestation, fate and destiny? This isn’t anti Claire…its a running on thought.

Claire’s insertion into Carmy’s life in the way that she appears can be considered fated just like Sydney, I don’t know if the writers room of the bear is religious/spiritual or just the show with the religious iconography being consistent and strong.

Maybe we are to consider that Claire was Carmy’s manifestation of fun and amusement.

Within modern spirituality we have the ideology that if you put certain energies into the universe you can attract/manifest your wants into a reality. In the christian religious space as shown in the ‘The Bear’ there is a similar ideology where God presents you with what you ask for or need if they/them/she/he sees fit. The presentation of that thing/want maybe because it is meant for you or its a lesson that you’re being thought. Similar sentiments to this can be seen across multiple spiritual and religious frame works but I’m a bit rusty on the topic.

They/them/she/he - *I’m point out that is God is a genderless being*

So back to Claire, Carmy at the beginning of season 2 was primed and ready for some ‘fun’, we get some foreshadowing during his conversation with Richie about purpose; Richie is looking at pictures of his lost love Tiff whose friends with Claire. By the end of the episode we see Carmy attempts to ask Syd out but fails then he goes to his empty home which is when I believe he had time to sit and ruminate about his lack of a social life. This is when that manifestation would have happened, for Carmy it probably wasn’t actively manifesting or praying but the energy of want was placed into the universe by the act of google searching.

He manifested a ‘cool fun girl’, they made her this badass ER doctor, who has a perfectly balanced life, friendships galore, a social life and she’s already loved and accepted by his community. Claire is kicking ass and taking names, literally the antithesis of everything that Carmy is (lmaoooo @ the funniest but sad part is she accepted by his people while he isn’t). He missed out on the college atmosphere with Claire he gets a version of that, he experiences having his first girlfriend and love??? well what he thinks is love and he never has to apologise. It’s a whirlwind romance and everyone whose said that she’s a ‘manic pixie dream girl/doctor is right; she sounds unreal, everyone has some demons in their closet.

In the end premature fun and amusement tends to mask your problems, the bear will eventually rear its ugly head in some capacity soon or later once it remains unaddressed. Carmy unfortunately skipped some steps as there is a lot of self work and healing to be done, which we saw as Carmy’s deferred problems returned to haunt him. Escapism is avoidance; the bear was still on his trail and it ended up biting Claire in the ass.

[pixiedane]

I have been emotionally compromised by Star Trek Picard

MANY SPOILERS BELOW. Also rambling and rabbit holes into my psyche.

I've explained often that Ro Laren is the first Star Trek character that represented ME on screen. That the reason Voyager is my Trek is it's a whole shipful (and showful) of Ro Larens. And that is also why Picard owns my soul. From the beginning it's been ABOUT rebels who exist within and without the confines of Starfleet and how they navigate between the two.

I was told last April an appearance by Ro Laren was a likelihood in Picard S3 and since it had wrapped at that point, I believed it. I've been carrying around the potential for a Picard/Ro reunion for nearly a year and I got it and it was glorious. EXACTLY what I wanted from that scene, that conversation. It was painful and angry and yearning on both sides and could even be seen as shippy if you are a me. It was even perfect that it was in Guinan's bar.

And then minutes later she sacrificed herself. And I knew that would happen, too. Not because it was suggested to me, it wasn't. Because that's what happens to the characters I relate to the most. They are never the protagonists (I call myself after the manic pixie dream girl trope for a reason) and they never win. They barely ever survive and when they do they disappear, they are forgotten, or they turn into something unrecognizable from what I related to in the first place.

Ro gave Picard closure. She reminded him not to conflate duty with honor. She showed him he could be a good parent if he saw his child for the person they already are in addition to the person he imagines they could be. She connected his past to his present. And then she died because her purpose was fulfilled.

I actually quite like the idea of Picard as the deconstruction of the Great Man. It's more satisfying than the far more widely seen and (mis?)understood hero-turned-wise-mentor trope. JL tries to be a wise mentor but he fails at it more than he succeeds. And he hasn't given up being the hero. He hasn't given up being the rebel. He knows his name is in the title. He's still trying to prove himself to me. To me.

I sensed that Ro Laren was going to die the same way I sensed that Katrina Cornwell was going to die and I preemptively protected myself against my feelings about it by choosing not to feel. Kat died four years ago and to this day my main emotional reaction to it is the lack of an emotional reaction. I'm numb about it.

That said, Kat's death broke the narrative. It didn't make sense in the context of her character. Kat's entire arc was one of survival, the survival of self and the survival of Starfleet, and her sacrifice was a misread of that. It doesn't make sense. Katrina Cornwell is a survivor.

Ro's entire arc actually is about sacrifice. From introduction it was about the things she had to give up. Her father, her freedom, her faith, her ideals, her career, her mentor. She gave up everything over and over and over. I don't want her death and it was not necessary but it makes sense in the context of her character and in service to the reconstruction of Jean-Luc Picard. That second part may be a slap in the face but that first part is validation.

Was Ro Laren fridged? Yes. Am I happy about it? No. Am I angry about it? Intellectually yes, emotionally I'm numb. Do I hate this episode the way I do "Such Sweet Sorrow" and tbh the entirety of Disco S2? No. It breaks my heart but not my brain. The Picard/Ro scene is perfect. The part about being seen was a message to me, to the girl who wanted to be seen in/by her favorite show and wasn't until Ro showed up. With the exception of the death this episode is Anika catnip, Anika cocaine.

Jack Crusher is the most made for me character in the history of characters made for me or anyone else. The only thing different between him and every original character I've ever created for any reason is he's a boy and I love him so much I can't hold it against him. In fact, I see my boy mom relationship with my son in his relationship with his mom and I actually really needed that.

And Ro Laren was sacrificed for Jack Crusher in every possible way one character can be sacrificed for another. My emotions are literally everywhere.

[archduchessofnowhere]

I'm finally back home so more thoughts about Sisi & Ich:

This movie was screened as part of a German Film Festival and while I'd never been to one before I felt it was exactly what you would expect for a film festival. Like I can't imagine this movie doing well with a general audience.

The movie is so anachronistic (completely made up fashion, modern pop music, modern hairstyles, the actors look nothing like their historical counterparts) that it's really easy to forget this is supposed to be about Empress Elisabeth and Irma Sztáray; because of that I was able to enjoy it mostly as a story about a very toxic, manipulative and dependant relationship between two women. If you like stories about fucked up people doing fucked up things to each other "out of love" you'll like this one.

This, however, made me wish they had gone full AU because every time the story actually did adapt things from real history it did it in a way it annoyed me: so Elisabeth's eating disorder became in a full on screen portrayal of bulimia (something she never had), and her complicated but mostly amicable relationship with her husband was turned into an abusive marriage. From a historical perspective these were the things I disliked the most, since to me they felt tasteless and only for shock value.

Archduke Ludwig Viktor is a character here, and while the close friendship he has with his sister-in-law in this movie is completely fictional (Elisabeth had been fond of him when he was a child but they had a fell out years later and never again got along), I actually liked it; he is kinda like Ludwig II in Corsage but without the weird kissing scenes.

But the character that completely takes the spotlight is Irma. Sandra Hüller is fantastic as her, easily the best actress in the movie. She portrays both Irma's utter devotion for the empress as well as her rage against her in such a gripping way. Really I think the movie is worth it just for her.

Elisabeth, however, was a bit underwhelming. She feels like a manic pixie dream girl for most of the movie; it's probably on purpose, since we see the story through Irma's POV and she idealised her, but personally I couldn't really connect with her character with how unrealistic she felt sometimes. It was a refreshing take, I'll give it that: it's rare to see an elder Elisabeth who isn't a mater dolorosa who's always sad and miserable.

FJ was done so dirty, they just keep making him more and more evil lol.

Every time they made a joke about Katharina Schratt... keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!

The England segment should've been cut out because it felt like a completely different movie that pops out of nowhere, and not only isn't even the right time (the England trips were in the 1870s), but also the only thing that achieved was making me loose my respect for Elisabeth's character (the squire was cute tho).

I've seen this movie as LGBT/recommended for LGBT folks so to not disappoint you I'll give you the heads up that the only gay content we get are two hours of unresolved sexual tension between Irma and Elisabeth (and also between Ludwig Viktor and a guy from Elisabeth's staff, the gays just weren't getting it in this movie). That being said Irma is clearly a lesbian (even tho she is never referred as such) and Ludwig Viktor is also openly gay, so there are LGBT characters.

These are just some of the things I have to say off the top of my head, but I'll try to write a full review this weekend!

[inflammatory]

( @deactivated1987 ) LOL it’s time for my eternal sunshine treatise. I think the premise made me expect way too much of it cause it sounded up my alley - memory stuff, unconventional structure, the whole brainscape thing, and most importantly I’m really into messy breakup plotlines. but i feel like a lot of the potential was squandered

Main offenders imo were the script and the score, i hate to use the word “cringe” because I’m tryna be credible here but to me it was. You could write it off as the awkwardness of navigating relationships, but I think with the heinousness of the first few scenes of them and the non-linear progression it set for me a weak foundation for the skip to them broken up and her memories erased. Kate winslet said “I apply my personality in paste” and i went naoooouuuuuurr noooaaaaoooo this cant be happening. I get that for most people it seems to work though judging from the 4.2 on letterboxd. However i get secondhand embarrassment really easily and cant deal with persistent awkwardness

I also feel like the emotional core of the movie hinges on the chemistry of the relationship and i couldnt see a single thing either of them might like about each other. He’s a white man with a journal and she’s a girl who dyes her hair, ok. Script comes into play again - with relationship dramas I attest that it all depends on how your leads talk to each other - just straight up talk yknow. Both Winslet and Jim Carrey were quite definitely cast against type and in my opinion it shows because the line delivery rarely hits smoothly. Here it’s difficult to skilfully portray a relationship breaking down if your justification for them being together in the first place is poor - breakups hurt because of love, and most of that is done through scenes of them lying together on the frozen river (pretty scene, I liked it at least), being physically intimate, and, again, the weird timeline conversations that I loathed. So i wasn’t sold on their connection beyond the surface level. Felt like when my friends have boyfriends who are bordering on invertebrate organisms

With a connection that’s weak I think the punch of the argument scenes falls short. And there are so many of them, so to me they just fall out of the sky like birds. And that’s crazy of me to say because arguments are probably in my top 3 best things in the whole world. I feel the autobiographical nature of the male lead keenly in his regular just some guy eyes. His contributions to the supposedly vicious arguments are mediocre. Because I think the movie leans towards the vilification of the lady. Where she’s the unreasonable one, claiming she’d be a great mother and everything when she’s like deeply fucked in the head et cetera. I support the sentiment of manic pixie dream girls asserting their personhood and autonomy (but i also prefer my off putting women with swag and self awareness). Overall I don’t think she’s well written per se, but she’s definitely the most written out of everyone else there. If pressed i can respect that they made her thoroughly unlikeable on purpose and leave it at that. It’s still a paean to the age old story lick that goes “this pretty and interesting young woman approaches you, yes, you, ordinary man, and is interested in you, you, journal writing white man who is a vehicle for the man writing the journal of this story, and your breakup will be 90% her impulsive fault and not yours”.

Bits of the movie that are also meant to be comedic i think? Really didn’t work for me either. When the medical staff were partying in his house I was too deeply scandalised to suspend my disbelief. When he was his toddler self under the table I had to politely avert my eyes. The score exacerbated all of this

Before this movie I didn’t have a rating system because i felt bad rating movies and the reason I have one now is because I wanted to rate eternal sunshine 1 star. In all fairness the 1/2 star is because i realised i could make it even lower and did so out of the rage of freshly finishing it. Retrospect I’d maybe add a star for the scene where he lifts the pillow up from smothering her and she’s disappeared. But i won’t because i think my vendetta is set in stone by now

[notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder]

Ok no fuck it I present to you

My rant about Avatar 2

I watched it last night with my parents (very late i know but this is my blog so LMAO)

First of all, James Cameron hated on Marvel movies and yes, he made some good fucking movies and yes, Marvel has mid movies and makes more and more bad decisions, his films aren't some goddsend top tier cinema and Avatar 2 shows it.

Let's start with the good: The movie is pretty. The shots underwater are beautiful and I believe that seeing it in a cinema must have been great. But that's also all I can say about it.

NOW MY PROBLEMS.

It's too fucking long. TOO FUCKING LONG.

Nearly every plot point is started with the fact the kids didn't listen to Jake. Okay, I get it, teens and kids suck and don't listen to their parents, womp womp what's new, but if this is the driving force in your movie plot more than once or twice? Jesus even my mom who doesn't give a damn about movies called this shit out.

The dialogues are just weird. When Jake and Neytiri deep moments were ok, but jesus fuck sometimes I just cringed.

Did I already mention it's too long? It's stuck in a cycle. Lo'ak does something, the other siblings get involved, Jake is mad and then again and again.

Humans are back on pandora AGAIN and in the end THEY'RE STILL THERE. Literally the big plot didn't move at all?

Spider is fucking annoying but I could move past that BUT his only purpose in the movie is to humanize Quaritch. Okay, I could live with that, if the movie showed Quaritch living in the nature, Spider teaching him shit and him having some internal struggle MAY I SAY a redemption. No. Instead Jake just kills him and that's okay- OH NO SURPRISE HE IS ALIVE. WHY IS HE ALIVE YOU ASK? SO HE COULD BE THE VILIAN IN THE THIRD FUCKING MOVIE. BECAUSE WE WILL MOST PROBABLY HAVE THE SAME BAD GUY FOR THREE FUCKING MOVIES STRAIGHT. LET THE MF DIE. Spider liking him also makes no sense in my opinion but that's just me.

Also Kiri's story is confusing. Ok she cares about Spider and she is connected with eywa. That's all cool and shit but we had so many scenes how important it is and yes she saved Neytiri and Tuk in the end but WHY WAS IT SET UP SO HEAVILY? We could have half of all that and it would be the same. Am I the only one who thought when one of the other researches told Jake that it is epilepsy it would play a role? Like it was a big moment of him telling Jake "You can't let her do that anymore." So you would think that would create tension between Jake believing his/human medicine and Kiri/Neytiri leaning towards their traditional medicine. THAT WOULD ACTUALLY PROBABLY BE INTERESTING IMO? But no instead Kiri has a manic pixie dream girl vibe mixed with a teenage girl that all she does is be mad an annoyed.

I think that's all for now. Will I hate watch Avatar 3 when it comes out? Maybe. Probably.

[digitalcactusblog]

oh man finally gotten to bed after packing hell so IT'S TIME FOR OPAL

opal. is my most MOST dnd pc. by a massive margin. my god. i love them to bits, but they are so much in every possible direction at all times

to summarize them in one quick phrase, you can think of opal as a barbie sephiroth powerpuff girl winter soldier. none of these words belong in one phrase together, yet we've gotten it there anyway!!!!

under the cut bc i expect this to get quite long 😂

god, where do i even start with opal. imagine the platonic ideal of a manic pixie dream girl, add in a touch of airheadedness, then give the entire creation the attention span of a magpie on crack.

that's what opal is like.

opal is also the clone of the princess of the enemy country to the country the party is currently traveling through.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!

opal is a top secret government project created as a gift to the royals of that country, a tribute to wizard hubris, and a proof of concept for a devastating military weapon that will win this country the war.

because opal isn't just a clone of the princess (her name is vasya). opal is a marble statue of the princess, carved into shape, then engraved with the magical principles and equations to bring that statue to life. opal wasn't just made to be a genetic clone of vasya. opal was made to be vasya. a complete clone, down to the skills and memories of the original vasya.

imagine, if you will, an army. there are people in it. and people die. people have families they'll never return to, loved ones who'll miss them, and, quite frankly, they're pretty freaking expensive to keep as functional soldiers!

now, i must copy paste the description block for the spell True Polymorph.

"Choose one creature with at least 1 hit point or nonmagical object that you can see within range. You transform the creature into a different creature, the creature into an object, or the object into a creature (the object must be neither worn nor carried by another creature). The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops to 0 hit points or dies. If you concentrate on this spell for the full duration, the transformation becomes permanent."

imagine, if you will. a quick, easy, and cheap way to mass produce True Polymorph, without the need for a high leveled wizard to cast a level 9 spell every time. all you need are a handful of pebbles, and boom, you have sentient, sapient, competent soldiers.

this is what opal was a proof of concept for.

SO, to summarize so far:

peppy, sunny attitude! that's the barbie part

devastating military superweapon person: sephiroth

entirely artificial being, yet extremely cheerful about it: powerpuff girl

devastating SECRET military superweapon. is also from a russian empire-inspired fantasy country: winter soldier

also we named opal's creator after rasputin. yeah, that rasputin. yeah, like ra ra, russia's greatest love machine? yeah, we thought it'd be funny. her name is grigori and she has a lot of problems (opal is the cause of most of them 😊)

anyways, so opal gets created, and is, for all intents and purposes, a carbon copy of vasya. but as a prototype for this weapon, there are still some kinks to work out, one of being that, to maintain the same memories and whatnot as vasya, they need to essentially get regular software updates. but otherwise, perfect vasya clone!

except grigori starts noticing little discrepancies. little anomalies. the clone isn't a perfect vasya clone. the clone is developing a nascent personality—a nascent personality that keeps getting overwritten with every download.

the clone isn't a hollow clone.

the clone is alive.

"my god," grigori says, horrified, "what have i done? i have created life; not in the mundane, mortal way. i once posited myself on par with the gods, and now i have created life, just like they do.

"...i am so fucked."

and so, with that religious and moral crisis in her pocket, grigori decides to steal the clone and scram.

it's time to be fugitives!!!!!

grigori is a genius, if, at this point, a genius with extreme anxiety. and so, grigori has several contingencies ready, on the off chance she needs to bail. the one she goes with now is a classic wizard tower, hidden from prying eyes by magic and a beautiful grotto where no one goes. think tangled, the tower in the grotto that rapunzel lived for most of her life

and during this entire fugitive road trip, without regular downloads from the og vasya herself, the clone's vasya memories start to fade, but their new mannerisms start to stick. and now we have opal, who could not be more different from vasya in demeanour if they fuckin tried

also now, after much work on grigori's part, opal has been true polymorphed (even more) to look like someone entirely different! vasya is a magenta-y purple-y tiefling with tall horns, whereas opal is now a lanky purple drow around the height of vasya's horns. they got to customize their Look heavily (perks of having a high level wizard who can cast ninth level spells regularly).

oh also, chronologically, opal is only 6 years old 😊 when they were 'born,' they were created as the then-teenaged vasya, and while the memories of being vasya has mostly faded (not everything), the rough mental age and whatnot remained the same, so technically opal is like 22? but chronologically 6, so you bet your ass i'm so ready for the day i get to drop that bombshell 😂

OH YEAH and most recently, much to grigori's distress, opal has broken out of the secret wizard tower to go explore the world. it'll be fine grigori i'll be so careful!!!!!!!!!!

(they were not, in fact, careful)

mechanics-wise, opal is an echo knight, and while i'm not yet privy to all the deets (there are discoveries to discover and i can't wait :3) their echoes are like, something something potential versions of opal? mechanically, this just means that every time i summon an echo, i roll on a random table to see what form the echo takes, with some dnd species having higher probabilities to show up. and yes, if i roll tiefling, i then roll a d4 to see if vasya herself shows up. EXTREMELY NERVEWRACKING AND WONDERFUL!!!

also the first time i described how opal looked to the entire party, and that they were wearing a long, black coat with silver buckles all up the front, everyone was like "..............hey olive? is this sephiroth?"

and that was the first time i realized that opal dresses like pirate sephiroth. they even have a scarlet macaw familiar. shoulda named it genesis, methinks. (her name is actually ariadnoula)

GOD WHAT ELSE THERE'S ALREADY SO MUCH

opal is so freaking much i love them. last session they gave the other pc (vae) a minor religious crisis by asking too many questions about the logistics behind death rites. they tried to ambush-slam a flower crown on vae's head and ate shit when he dodged. they impulse-held a woman's hands as she went nuclear and died because they didn't want her to die alone and afraid. one of their life dreams is to swing on a chandelier.

oh also opal may have just started ww2. maybe.

[blackjack-15]

oh carmy, your view of jobs -- i'm not one to praise any job i've had, really, but some people do find fun from it

i am continually amazed by the lack of chemistry between carmy and claire. like there's no reason to chemistry test them since, well, it's not like she's a staple of the show, but...i don't think they could have gotten less chemistry if they tried. she's like a weird chaperone taking him to the post office.

the little flourish mailing the license, tho. performer masquerading as a technician, i keep saying it

"at least he's hanging out with claire. that seems moderately healthy" PENNY IN THE AIR

"...who's claire?" PENNY DROPS

and the cut to black after that. the bear is a romcom

"we've hung out so much but we've never actually talked" there might just be a reason for that, madam plot device

mention of drawing for carmy. art fits with his personality, and designing shorts with his love of vintage denim. and he got to meet the guy who made the shorts!

"i wish i knew that then" i said, out loud, "oh for heaven's sake alive". you could have asked, claire.

"you always had so many friends? and i dunno, i really wanted that" ladies and gentlemen, sublimation! also claire's serving her narrative purpose here -- we get to explore carmy's past and the things he regrets/feels he didn't have without a series of painful high school flashbacks

"speaking of dead brothers, do you want to go to a party?" was...was that supposed to be charming? i'm going to say right now it was not, but i really hope it wasn't supposed to be.

claire's like a manic pixie dream girl but she's actually just an average girl with pretty much no social filter and an inability to understand the word no. it's not a compelling character.

is she serious a party

taking carmy to a party is like...i feel like he's like a greyhound in a large group of dogs. his performer instincts might make him okay, but there's prolly gonna be an issue halfway through

this is gonna be painful i can feel it. who throws a rager as an adult when you get broken up with? is this just an excuse to have a high school style party to further explore carmy's adolescence and missed opportunities?

of course it is. it's just gonna be a painful excuse.

he is already panicking.

"we'll stay fifteen minutes, tops" yeah they're gonna be there all night. i know my high school party tropes, thank you very much

[oh-katsuki]

i finished songbirds and snakes and i can honestly say that i really enjoyed it except for like one major thing that bothered me through the entire thing.. so spoilers under the cut. 

i understand that as a character.. lucy gray is a driving force for snow’s emotional changes away and eventually right back to the capitol but for the sake of this argument.. i’m going to ignore her as a narrative device (which she undoubtedly is) and look at her as a character overall and how she fits into the archetype of women in books, mainly the “manic pixie dream girl”. 

i liked her but i also found the way she was written... deeply irritating. she’s essentially boiled down to a girl who loves music and freedom but who also falls deeply in love with one of the people responsible for her suffering in the games. she continuously ignores snow’s wrong-doings, makes passes and excuses for his (on occasion) cruel behavior, and then is glad when he shows up in district 12 to be with her? sure, he fed her bread through the zoo bars (while she was on display like an animal, mind you), but he also treated her as a spectacle and paraded her around without any real belief that she would win until she has to ask him outright. 

i mean.. she had to ask him to be seen as someone capable of surviving and not just an animal to be paraded around. she had to ask that of him. and then still.. after he parades her around, feeds her through bars like he’s at a petting zoo, and repeatedly demonstrates that he thinks of her as nothing more than something that “belongs” to him.... she decides that she loves him? that she wants to be with him forever? that she wants to abandon her life with him? 

and then at the end.. it is the fact that he betrayed sejanus that deters her from loving him (if that).. and not the fact that he is and always has been in favor of the oppression and punishment of the districts?? even if it was barbaric??? it makes absolutely no sense to me. she’s a woman who has been written into this story for the sole purpose of loving someone and being a “free bird” and being “strange” to snow.... like.. that’s her whole thing. she represents freedom, but all of that is lost on the way that she completely ignores how her humanity is disregarded in favor of falling in love with this man to serve as what??? a lesson to him??? i hated it. 

now, i’m also aware that lucy gray is meant to be a compassionate force on snow. like her narrative purpose is to be the “what if” to his “what is”.. but that doesn’t really change the fact that she (a lot of the time) comes across as nothing more than a silly girl who likes to sing and be free, but can’t because of what the capitol and the people snow supports does to her. but then she LOVES HIM ANYWAY??? im sorry... i hate it when women are put into positions like that... like they’re too emotional to know what’s good for them. or like they become absolutely unable to defend, vouch, or think for themselves because a man is in the equation. 

i also understand that because the narrator is snow.. it makes him unreliable. he’s an unreliable narrator and we only see lucy gray through his idealized view, one that includes her as something he “owns” rather than her own person. it makes the betrayal at the end feel all the more sudden, because snow may not have been noticing the things that hinted to her feeling that way... (and i could probably talk about this aspect of lucy gray for a while bc from this lens its more palpable to me) still though.. if that’s the goal, it doesn’t come across that way. 

as i read the first two parts, i understood lucy gray’s flirting and return of snow’s affection as a survival tactic. ie; she pretends to love him so that he does a better job of ensuring her survival in the games. bc that is what made sense to me reading her as her own independent person. that would also absolutely fit with how katniss interacts with peeta in the first games (though the situation is different because snow and lucy gray are perpetrator and victim, while katniss and peeta are both victims). so i was absolutely SHOCKED to find that when snow appeared in district 12, lucy gray was glad to see him. it genuinely surprised me (in not a great way) to see that she was not only actually in love with him, but glad to have her time in the arena and her zoo keeper (bc that’s essentially what he was) follow her back to her home and her covey. 

when it became clear that she DID value snow, she went from being a character who might have her own motives for things, to someone with very little actual motivation. she’s a girl motivated entirely by music and love... how dreamy :/ im going to be sick. i guess i was just off put because it seemed like she had no goal of her own outside of survival and snow, which are inexplicably intertwined even through “the peacekeeper”. this could be attributed to the book being told from snow’s point of view... or it could be attributed to writing a manic pixie dream girl into the series. compared to katniss and the other victors in the original series.. she falls so flat that it’s almost disappointing. 

maybe tho... my problem isn’t really with any of that but just that i HAATEEE the whole “peace and love and music” and “can’t fight violence with violence” and “if we just loved it would be better” way of thinking in the face of that type of SEVERE oppression. 

idk i just.. i have a lot of thoughts about it that im kinda conflicted with. i enjoyed it though and would def recommend it to anyone who like the original series. 

[jacquelinemerritt]

Thanksgiving Films You Forgot: Grumpy Old Men

Originally posted November 23rd, 2015

For this final entry into this year’s “Thanksgiving Films You Missed,” we’re gonna watch ‘Grumpy Old Men,” a comedy directed by Donald Petrie and starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret. I have to give you fair warning: this film barely deals with thanksgiving, and all the scenes set around it are over within the first half hour of the film. However, it does mesh decently well with the themes of Thanksgiving, so I’m comfortable talking about it for this series.

“Grumpy Old Men” has a fairly simple story; it’s about two neighbors, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, who have known each other since they were children, and have been fighting with each other all that time. This only gets worse when Ann-Margret moves in across the street and both of the men develop romantic feelings for her.

Their simple pranks turn into a pranking war, and as Lemmon begins to win out Margret’s affection, Matthau escalates the pranks even further, at one point pushing Lemmon’s ice fishing cabin down the lake with his truck with Lemmon still inside. These pranks are a lot of fun to watch, thanks to the childish glee that Lemmon and Matthau carry them out with.

That childish glee also helps make clear the relationship between Lemmon and Matthau, who despite their fighting never really stopped being friends. Both actors do a great job at conveying how much they care about each other underneath their petty disputes, and their natural chemistry makes their bickering a lot of fun to watch.

Similarly, Lemmon and Margret have a lot of chemistry, and their romance is sweet and believable because of it. Margret’s character is in a lot of ways a manic pixie dream girl, but her older age and performance lend her a depth beyond that trope, making it clear that she is more than just a prize to be won. And this depth is actually best expressed in her interactions with Matthau, whom she shows a level of clear restraint around when compared to Lemmon, since she has no romantic interest in Matthau.

Praise being sung, “Grumpy Old Men” is not without its flaws, most of which come through near the end. There’s a subplot established early on about Lemmon being at risk of losing his house, thanks to some miscalculations he made when dealing with the IRS. After being established in the first few minutes of the film, it disappears until the end where it’s solved by the Deus ex Machina of Matthau’s son pulling some strings as the mayor of their town.

Another subplot is also rushed in involving a romance between Lemmon’s daughter and Matthau’s son, with the only thing redeeming it being that their children have solid chemistry. Both of these subplots are less than satisfying, and the IRS subplot feels entirely unnecessary, with its only visible purpose being to provide Matthau with an opportunity to show his care for Lemmon by pranking the IRS agent.

Still, this film is a lot of fun, and it’s undergirded by solid themes of the importance of family, and not throwing away your shot at a better life. That combined with the excellent cast bringing these characters to life, and a lot of very clever dialogue and physical comedy, makes it a great film to view around Thanksgiving, despite not really having much to do with the actual holiday.

[sadgirlnoga]

doing that OC question list again, with dancing in the devils auditorium character aya burnstein

question list made by @lyralit

fifty ways to get to know your characters (and how to write them)

what is their name? and how does this fit their character?

Aya, a multicultural name meaning ''bird" in hebrew.

last name?

Burnstein, an ashkenazic jewish and german surname meaning "amber".

do they have a middle name?

Mae, meaning "spring goddess".

name a song that describes them

Bubblegum Bitch By Marina!, especially the line "dont care if you think im dumb, i dont care at all."

what are their pronouns?

she/her/hers

gender and sexuality?

straight trans girl

do they like someone romantically?

yep.

list five words to describe them

ambitious, creative, sensitive, stubborn, feminine.

what about five dialogue tags to use consistently on this character?

said, giggled, sang, cried, gagged.

what is their motivation?

music and the arts, and julian.

do they consider themselves a good person?

she considers herself decent.

colour that describes their personality

hot pink and black.

MBTI type

she doesnt know.

enneagram type

she doesnt know that either.

character they're based on

yasmin and jade from bratz.

person they would bring down whilst dying

julians parents.

person they would kill if they had the chance

her old elemantary school principal for encouraging kids to continue bullying her.

character they would get along with if they were in the same universe

the ghouls from monster high.

character they would hate if they were in the same universe

burdine maxwell from bratz.

artist they would listen to

avril lavigne.

artist they would hate

justin beiber.

give them a theme song

Hello Kitty By Slayyyter.

make them a playlist! (see my other post for songs to put on that playlist, here)

im in no mood for that.

make them a mood board

here.

assign them an aesthetic

dark girly.

what are their strengths?

fashion.

what about fatal weaknesses?

sports.

the one person who can convince them to do something they're stubbornly against

Maybe julian...BUT JUST MAYBE.

who would they kill for?

Herself.

what tropes do they fall into?

break the cutie, manic pixie dream girl, badass adorable, the fashionista, innocently insensitive, trans tribulations, perky goth, your makeup is running etc.

fatal weakness (food edition)

carbonara.

book they would definitely read

percy jackson.

language besides their mother tongue they would (have) learned

she knows hebrew and spanish.

murder accomplice

max and tina

thing that makes them go weak at the knees

dumb blonde guys.

most obscure thing they HATE

pepto-bismole.

while we're there, biggest phobia

having to relive what she went through as a child.

are they (would they be) a book or movie person?

movie person.

are they a romantic

idk, she is romantic though.

childhood experience that defines an aspect of their life

being forced to move out of her town all the way to california because shes trans and and intersex, no shes on stealth and she also hides her birthmarks.

what is their age?

shes 12 years old at the start of the story.

birth sign? / zodiac?

she was born on may 3rd, 2000. shes a taurus from her sun to her saturn(rising included) and shes gen z.

what constellation would they be

idk.

name a famous myth could they would have been the main character

what would you do if when you okay so he said yes would go?

old or new soul

new

assign them a smell

vanilla cupcake. she has 6 perfumes and their all gourmands.

fantasy by britney spears, viva la juicy by juicy couture, pink sugar by aquolina, meow by katy perry, fabulousity by baby phat and snooki by snooki.

assign them a smell they like

peaches.

can they swim?

kinda

street smarts or brain smarts?

street smarts

what is this character's purpose to the plot?

dueteragonist and love interest.