#they need to start filming s3 quick!!

[vintagedolce]

downton abbey movie announcement has downton fans all excited and happy while us gilded age stans are struggling and are in a drought, we wanna be active and excited too!!

[azirawitch]

A fanfic idea that's sitting in my WIP pile. I want to write a Good Omens × Bridgeton fic mainly based on Penelope and Colin's story. Currently reading their book. But! I want to wait for Season 3 because of the differences from the book I really enjoy.

So the premise would be both would be actors for the series. Aziraphale as Pen and Crowley as Colin. The series brings the actors closer, but it's the season involving their love story that brings feelings to light. They've been friends since season 2. But when the show first was being filmed, they were barely on speaking terms.

So that's the thought bubble. I'll address it more once Bridgerton S3 comes out. But I have started writing small scenes.

Small scene: (Which inspired this whole idea)

Aziraphale smooth down his waistcoat as he relaxed back into the scene, the mist of rain beginning as he listened to calls between techs. A small shift as he tilted his head from side to side, then rolled his shoulders back, straightening his posture further. He couldn't help but look over to Crowley, who was at his marker and doing a similar ritual as he had done. Their eyes met, and Aziraphale wondered if the other man was still upset over his remark from the other day.

No. It had been silly and nothing worth remembering even if he had panicked slightly when he read just how soon they would be doing the carriage scene. Good Lord. Was he really ready to be pinned under Crowley?

"Places! And we are rolling!" Came the call that had Aziraphale shoving everything down as he started to walk, stopping under the covered brickwork to look at the misting rain with a small frown as Crowley walked up beside him.

A dip of his head, and he turned his head to look at the red-haired actor as they both donned the robes of their characters.

"Action!" the cue was like a switch being flipped.

"Good night, Mister Bridgerton." It was colder and no longer had the friendship from the prior seasons, nor did he call him Colin.

Colin masked the surprise and was looking at him. "Do you not need a chaperone?" A quick question that made Penton pause and turn back to Colin when he had been trying to walk away. He forced a smile as he looked into golden brown eyes.

"Spinsters do not need Chaperones.”

"You are not a spinster." A rebuttal that made Penton nearly scoff as his eyes filled faintly with clear hurt and a hint of anger as he spoke the next words.

"I am in my third year on the marriage mart with no prospects to show for it. What would you call that?" The conversation was shoved back into Colin's direction, and he looked uncomfortable with the shove back from Pen. (Deep down, it thrilled Aziraphale to have his character finally beginning to blossom and stand on his own feet.)

[tea-earl-grey]

Re: your Disco S4 review:

but there was just a bit too much Therapy Talk for my liking. and to be clear, i don't mean too much Actual Therapy. i really respect the show for portraying therapy and trauma recovery in depth and just having cool main characters go to therapy because it's good and healthy is Very Cool. but i do think there are definitely scenes (particularly in the beginning of the show) that has dialogue fall into Therapy Talk where all the characters go around in a circle and coherently state their thoughts and emotions and then resolve their conflict.

I also have the same issue, I know the crew were heavily traumatized in season 1 and I love that we’re finally getting a Trek have Starfleet take mental health seriously.

But it’s how the writers execute the scene that’s the problem. I think you’re right on the money about them needing another pass at scenes like that.

I also think, most of the time the show literally stops the action for the characters to just talk. And I adore characters being in a room, just talking. But I think it’s because most of the time it’s because those scenes do two things at the same time. Or they usually have characters talk around it and be difficult.

In season 4, it seems the characters start their scene and they just over indulge too much, maybe a tighter edit would also work.

But also I think most modern shows have that problem where they use Therapy talk as a crutch for character development and relationships.

And again, I preface this that I do love having mental health taken seriously but I think there’s a way to do it where writer’s integrate it organically— one of the new shows I like from AppleTV— Shrinking, is literally all about it but it’s funny and heartbreaking and sweet. I think maybe it’s because the writers are also new to the concepts and think they have to fit everything to be relevant.

Hopefully, they worked out the kinks for season 5!

Yeah exactly. I love Disco but sometimes it feels like the writers just need to read their dialogue aloud to make some last revisions (and also put some nuance/unspoken things into the dialogue).

I also think, most of the time the show literally stops the action for the characters to just talk. And I adore characters being in a room, just talking. But I think it’s because most of the time it’s because those scenes do two things at the same time

This!!!! I know fiction is never meant to accurately reflect reality and that there are always going to be weirdly timed conversations for the sake of narrative but Discovery in particular has SO MANY "stop and talk" scenes during Big Action and it drives me crazy when the plot just establishes a strict time limit to do something and then we spend three minutes for characters to have a heart to heart instead of just. Doing The Thing. I know the 90s era "walk and talks" were annoying to film but those downbeats of characters chatting while going from point A to point B is a great place to add small bits of characterization (and movement!) instead of standing still and monologuing.

Thanks for the rec, I've never heard of Shrinking but will have to check it out!

(putting a big tangential ramble about Disco's portrayal of mental health/therapy under a cut because yeesh it got long)

As someone who has been in therapy, has a psychology degree, and has written fiction that uses therapy sessions as a setting/framing device, I can say with a decent amount of confidence that the way therapy/mental health is utilized in Disco is neither super realistic nor using its full narrative potential. Imo we skipped a very interesting part of everyone's healing journeys between s3 and s4 where characters are actually struggling to articulate their problems or denying their issues. Particularly with Detmer who went from having severe PTSD flashbacks in s3 to talking about her feelings with total clarity in s4 when actual trauma recovery is nowhere near as quick or linear and usually requires making major lifestyle changes to actually heal and maintain that healing.

And also I take issue with the fact that all of the characters are growing and facing similar issues at the same time and pace. It ends up making a lot of awkward and redundant conversations between characters who aren't in conflict and are self-actualized enough that they state everything they mean. And when there is meaningful conflict, the characters seem to very quickly overcome their flaws and make up. It's like the opposite problem that a lot of sitcoms and soap operas run into when characters are so driven to conflict and secret-keeping. It is refreshing to have a show where everyone is committed to being their best selves (which is quite similar to tng in that regard) but it doesn't easily mesh with the sort of drama that Discovery seems interested in telling stories about. All of this is also probably why Book's narrative (and his relationship with Michael) was one of the best parts of s4 because it felt like the writers actually committed to realistic season-long conflict born out of trauma and loss that wasn't written off. And as a result I think David Ajala's acting was some of the best of the show because he was given so much depth. I really just wish that the other characters had something similar but Disco's style of hyper-serialization, shorter season orders, and a large cast of recurring characters just doesn't lend to realistically telling stories about trauma and recovery because we almost only see the action and not the characters living their ordinary lives.

And while 90s Trek certainly wasn't The Best at portraying mental health (the therapy it shows in tng is just. Wrong. And so many characters like B'Elanna and Janeway have their issues with depression forgotten about after an episode or two), portrayals of PTSD with characters like Kira, Seven, Neelix, Picard, and Sisko tend to be more interesting to me because those characters' journeys through healing aren't linear. And as always, more episodes and episodic television in general makes it so emotional moments really hit (like Picard's breakdown in Family after Best of Both Worlds, seeing Kira's trauma around her father's death in Ties of Blood and Water, or whenever Neelix, the usual comedic relief and lighthearted character, has to confront how his family was killed in a brutal genocide) whereas with a show like Discovery – there's constant character drama and confrontations and big emotional moments so the catharsis of someone having a breakthrough in their treatment is a bit undercut. For something like that to be memorable, there have to be unmemorable moments too which just isn't Disco's style. It's not inherently a bad thing, but it's not really to my tastes.

Even the other new Treks tend to be a bit more grounded with character dialogue and addressing mental health. My enjoyment of Lower Decks shot way up in s4 because her admitting that Sito's death drove her away from wanting to be an officer was such a huge moment of catharsis when Mariner usually avoids talking about her feelings with a six foot poll. SNW has both La'an, M'Benga, and Chapel dealing with PTSD and their moments of vulnerability and pain are better because SNW tries to balance the silliness and seriousness of Trek. Picard is probably the most similar in content/tone to Discovery and even there despite the serialization and awkward characterization moments, the characters all have consistent issues with trauma that affect them at different times and affect them despite self-improvement. And I think Picard sometimes dips into heavy-handed emotional conversations but it's not quite as much as Disco because oh boy these characters are good at avoiding their feelings.

To be clear, I do love Discovery and people blow the awkward writing/Therapy Talk problem WAY out of proportion to cover for the bigoted reasons some people vocally hate the show. Like this problem does annoy me but it is just one aspect of the show and I hope one that will be fixed (or at least less noticeable) for season 5.

[stardate44002point3]

Star Trek and the problem of political salience

So, I've been thinking a lot about the Shaw/Seven deadnaming controversy and I think much of what has happened in terms of the level of outrage about it - which probably wasn't entirely what the writers were going for - is the ongoing problem of Star Trek using contemporary political issues to signal things about character and, in this case, having it backfire on them, just a little.

To explain, first what I think the writers were going for was a quick shorthand way of signaling that Shaw was a bit of a dick, but a redeemable one (hence he was always going to call Seven, Seven by the end of his character arc). However, two things got in the way of that and has resulted, at least in the Tumblr and Twittersphere, of a not insubstantial number of Trek fans celebrating his death (because deadnaming someone is clearly death-worthy) and harassing people who openly either like Shaw or, even worse, ship Shaw/Seven.

Why did this go somewhat awry? I think there are two reasons.

The first is that they just didn't think it through when they wrote it. Not only do people openly call Seven, Hansen (without any blow back from her) in earlier seasons of Picard (and not just in the fascist S2 version of the UFP), but now that she is in Starfleet, she must have a name on file. I've said this before. Either that name is Annika Hansen, in which case it is on her to change it, and neither Shaw (nor the rest of the crew) can really use another name for her because the computer won't recognize it. Unless we're expecting them all to shift between names depending on whether they are talking to her or referring to her with the onboard computer.

OR her name is Seven in the system. But narratively that's not going to work, because then Shaw would HAVE to call her Seven or, again the computer wouldn't recognize her. Since he refers to her as Hansen when talking to the computer we have to assume that is her name in the Starfleet HR system. If she has a problem with it, she needs to change it, I can't imagine Starfleet cares what people want to call themselves, nor make it difficult for people to change their names in the system.

So that's just careless writing, they were trying to make a point, and didn't really think through the whole process, relying on the contemporary political zeitgeist to do the work for them.

Which brings us to the second issue. Picard S3 was written in 2020/2021 and largely filmed in 2021. At that time, while deadnaming was something that was talked about and recognized, and understood to be a very bad thing, we were only at the start of the culture wars shifting to Republicans focusing on attacking trans rights (because up until last summer they still had abortion as their go-to wedge issue). Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme court ruling, and the relatively buoyant performance of the Democrats in the 2022 Midterm elections, Republicans have gone all out at the local, state and national level on attacking every aspect of the trans community's existence - from the ability to legal change names to the process of transition itself, to the ability of trans people to exist in society without harassment.

And not unexpectedly, there has been a huge surge in support for the trans community, which means that any indication of disrespect is now a much more politically charged issue than it was even this time last year. So what the writers intended to be throw away signifier of tension between captain and XO, has become a huge red flag of abuse.

Using a contemporary issue in this way is much more fraught than it used to be because, for a variety of reasons, the political zeitgeist changes much more rapidly in the 21st century than it ever did before.

So tl;dr; I don't think Shaw was ever meant to be an irredeemable asshole, I just think the writers did a piss poor job trying to demonstrate friction between him and Seven and the political situation has changed in such a way that the issue they chose has become so much more salient in the last year.

[bohemian-nights]

Is this a safe space to say that I don't care about Polin in S3? Colin is such a boring 1 dimensional character that easily gets overshadowed by Anthony and especially Benedict, and Penelope is just a whiny brat who just wants male validation and is jealous of Eloise. Also to act like she never said anything about the Brdgertons is a lie cause she had no problem talking about Daphne, had it not have been for her crush on Colin she would've gone on a jealous rant about his entire family. I know Polin is attractive to some people because of the representation of larger body types and the childhood friends to lovers trope but it's just boring. I can't name 1 intreseting thing about Colin other than he took a vacation and had psychedelic tea and Pen is not as progressive as she thinks she is she's just jealous and bitter. Also how is it that she's such an amazing writer that can communicate in so much detail but can't even communicate to Eloise when Eloise doesn't understand her perspective? She's quick to lash out at her as if Eloise is doing it on purpose, Eloise is not dumb and she has respect it's not like she insults women who want/desire love so there was no reason for Penelope to play victim.

This is totally a safe space because while I don't hate them I don’t particularly care for Polin either.

In the books it’s a bit better because Penelope isn’t as much of a snake), but she isn’t my fave by a long shot.

Penelope on the show is straight-up awful. She started pretty sympathetic, but then the Marina situation happened and that turned me completely off of her character. So by the time she had her falling out with Eloise(who did nothing wrong and has every right to be angry with her), I was already checked out.

Yes, she’s not very popular with the ton.* Yes not being seen sucks. Yes her mother is kind of mean to her and forces her to wear the most hideous outfits which is probably a turn-off for most men. Yes she wants Collin and he doesn’t want her and that sucks, but that’s no excuse for her actions.

Honestly, Penelope is half a step away from being a whole stalker and yet we are supposed to see ourselves in her or at least sympathize with her🫠

(I’m not going to get into her being bullied by Cressida since she’s nasty to everyone).

It’s kind of obvious though that Shonda sees herself in her which is why Penelope is promoted so much and given the angle she has been, but she’s a weirdo with insecurity issues.

To be honest, I thought she should’ve gotten a redemption arc before her season(she’s not unredeemable, she just needs to clean up her act), but it is what it is.

Now Collin both in the show and the books is incredibly dull to me. Yes, he has his traveling(and spoilers, his writing about his travels), but he’s just kind of there. He is just the third Bridgerton bro and while Luke Newton is attractive I feel nothing when I look at him playing Colin.

That cheesy promo they had the other day did nothing for me(well I did laugh, but I don’t think that’s the intended reaction). I don’t know what to say other than he’s just meh. To me, he’s not leading man material and I’m not seeing the chemistry with Penelope/her actress, but again it is what it is.

As far as representation goes, I’m not a plus-sized woman, but I know that it is important to see yourself and to want to see yourself represented on screen.

I think that’s the essence of Bridgerton/what it is trying to accomplish because let’s be honest period dramas are not very diverse. I think that Bridgerton has kind of changed that to a degree.

I don’t want to hype up the show too much cause it’s not perfect, but without this shows success I don’t think that films and shows like Tom Jones, Interview With the Vampire, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Mr. Malcom’s List, The Buccaneers, and now The Davenports (which I’m excited for) would’ve been nesscary green-lit or the plot would’ve been changed to make it more diverse if not for Bridgerton.

I hate bringing this up, but I don’t even know if the dumbass showrunners of HOTD would’ve made the Velaryons Black if not for them looking at how successful Bridgerton is without understanding that the reason why it's successful is that they don't treat their Black characters like they leftovers. It’s about respect not just having people there to pat yourselves on the back and say look how progressive we are, but I digress.

I mean representation in terms of body type is not comparable to representation in terms of race, but it feels good when characters who look like you aren't shown in the worst light, when they are the main character, or when they have been given actual characterization and aren't made into a joke.

So I get why people love Penelope and Polin and understand why they are looking forward to their season, but personally, they just aren't my cup of tea.

That all being said, I’m still going to watch the season cause I love Bridgerton, I’m kind of hoping we’ll see Sophie this season

(Praying that she's Masali Baduza or just any Black actress 🙏🏽I’m not picky, as long as Sophie's actress is Black, you won’t see me complaining).

I’ll end this by saying that I’m a Benophie girl and while I’ve made peace with the fact that Polin got the lead instead(and I’m actually low-key glad they did), I don’t think this is going to blow my socks off, but I hope it gives the people who have been waiting for it everything they want.

[indulgnces]

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name: carmen rivera

card: the chariot

birthday: october 1986 (36 - scorpio!)

birthplace: miami, florida

current residence: brooklyn, new york

gender: cis woman // she/her

occupation: art dealer

face: summer bishil

character inspo: robin buckley (s3 only! of stranger things), jonathan byers (stranger things), love quinn (you), katherine pierce (tvd), cady heron (mean girls), margaery tyrell (game of thrones), beth harmon (queen's gambit), audrey hope (gossip girl hbo).

from the mun: hi guys! I go by jess, and I’m really excited to be here! this is my first group in a year, and in that time tumblr decided to fuck around with its whole ass interface so (upside smiley), we're on a learning curve rn with that. but otherwise, I’m still really excited to be here and to plot! I’ll post a plot call on discord later, but also wanted to state one here that if you’re up for plotting and wanna plot with my girl, feel free to give this a like and I’ll hit you up! (:

growing up.

born in miami, florida to her single mother, leticia "lettie" rivera. they were a very happy family, if not at all rich or stable. lettie was a young single mom who had a penchant for two things: moving, and falling in love. as such, throughout carmen's childhood, the riveras never stayed in one place for more than two years.

as a child, carmen didn't mind because lettie did a wonderful job of depicting their travels as "chasing adventures," romancing their travels as a grand roadtrip the two were embarking on as they traveled across the nation. in reality, they moved because lettie faced one two many heartbreaks, not enough heartbreaks, or she heard of a betty paying job somewhere else.

a key way that lettie romanced their situation was through art. art could be found anywhere, created by anyone (*cough* it was a free medium! *cough*) and was a perfect form of self-expression and a great source of entertainment. as such, lettie and carmen bonded over all the different art they came across in every city they went (very much like gilmore girls' lorelai & rory's shared love of film)

all good things must come to an end, however, and carmen was disillusioned by their way of life after lettie got involved with a rich man and carmen was placed in a rich school for a year, full of rich, snobby kids who had nothing nice to say about carmen or her mother, and were quick to point out everything weird and different about their way of life. disillusioned, she couldn't help but begin to see the faults as well. slowly, she recognized that she was going to end up just like her mother if she didn't stop idolizing her and start taking shit more seriously, and so carmen's behavior shifted.

with a new determination, carmen made it a goal to not end up like her mother. that goal had two major objectives: a college degree and a good career. as her family continued to move from place to place, carmen stopped prioritizing making friends and relationships, and instead put her effort into making better grades and saving money. her breezy, mirthful personality morphed as she got older, giving way to a snarky, aloof demeanor.

carmen convinced lettie to settle for her last two years of high school, so in the summer of 2003, the riveras came and stayed in angelwoods. carmen ended up staying for college just because it was the most convenient option for her. lettie left town soon after carmen moved into her dorm.

oh and during high school school she worked two part time jobs - nights at the movie theater during the week, and the day shift at the local community rec center.

so!! small town reputation before college: say hello to the floozy mother and her unapproachable daughter everyone!!

college.

if carmen tried to keep to herself in high school, she did the exact opposite in college. she was an art history major with intentions to be an art dealer

that meant she needed connections baby!

anyone from a financially well-off family, with an interest in art/a family who had an interest in art, or on a clear financially successful path themselves were all people carmen very much got to know during college.

listen, is she a gold digger? no. more like gold detector. her future career depended on having a network of people to invest in future galleries or buy future art pieces from her future clients. it depended on her getting her foot in the door by getting jobs in galleries and being invited to galas and curator events. that can't happen if all her friends are poor like her!!

anyways, college was a pivotal time for her because in pursuit of fostering good connections, getting invites, and getting job opportunities, carmen found out she was not as.... morally righteous? as she thought she was

aka she screwed people over (literally and figuratively) to get to where she is today

and tbh, outside of a few ruined relationships here and there, it was all pretty worth it because she did develop a lot of good connections in college, leading to her getting a job at an up-and-coming gallery in denver out of college.

but like, oof, the personal cost to do that. not great, not great.

but that's not really an issue because she's off to denver so she doesn't have to think about any of that! you do what you gotta do to get where you wanna be, babes!

oh also, she worked as an RA (a bad one lol she only did it for the free housing) and at the university art gallery during college.

so let's talk small town college reputation: to the general public, there were RUMORS because omg it was probably so weird to see her switch up from being like antisocial poor new girl in high school to suddenly showing up to like kinda-definitely-out-of-her-class events, schmoozing and speaking more than she ever did before.

post college.

so she goes to denver! spends a year at the gallery and it's great, but she ends up moving to chicago after getting a better job opportunity there.

spends 6 years in the art world in chicago, builds an increasingly bigger and better network of artists and buyers, gains more skill working at different galleries and with different private buyers, curates a couple shows herself even before she's off again in 2015, this time to the big big leagues: nyc!

in a couple years, she was able to secure herself a very nice, financially stable job working as an art dealer for an investor conglomerate, finding pieces for their individual private collections while also working as the dealer for their well known art gallery in brooklyn. it's a cushy position, better than anything she's had in her previous years, and she's feeling really good about where she's ended up.

and of course it's then that she gets the invitation for her college reunion and is like - well shit.

personality.

positive: driven, adaptable, independent, persistent, witty, ambitious, thoughtful, jaunty, passionate

negative: aloof, selfish, ruthless, desperate, fickle, snarky, impulsive, biting, disloyal

not a heartless bitch. she thinks she is, but she is not. she grew up very carefree and curious, indulging in the imaginative world her mother spun for her, and she'll always be a creative, wide-eyed girl at heart. but once she realized that indulging in that lifestyle, with her circumstances, would only lead her to an insignificant life like her mother's, she put that side of her to bed.

she is determined, but not necessarily a planner - she's not thinking twelves steps ahead with a plan a and plan b and plan c - she has one plan: succeed, and she's adapted herself however she's needed to see that plan to fruition.

an optimist turned realist.

she is creative and intelligent (street smarts more so than book), but also biting and defensive, more reactive than she'd like to be.

embodies control but craves the freedom of her youth. longs for meaningful connections but has never learned how to properly maintain long-term relationships

and that's carmen! I did not proofread so I apologize for any typos! same goes for the wanted page, which I'm about to draw your attention to now: her wanted page is updated with a lot of jumping off points for plot connections if you wanna give that a look! if you're interested in plotting, you can like this or react to the plotting call in the discord and I'll reach out to plot!

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[all-chickens-are-trans]

I would really like to see your outfit dissection because the purples and reds and Trent being so closely linked to Ted that he’s advertising the game Ted is in? After saying he roots for him? Makes me brush off my tinhat that I haven’t worn in years and go hmmmm

okay listen you have opened the gates of hell and therefore i will subject you to every thought that has crossed my mind when looking at this. it will not make sense and there is no logic behind it. you've been warned

trent literally has only five different outfits in the whole show so far. (trust me, I've catalogued them all and counted.) he wears the same exact thing almost every single appearance he has in s1 (except for the scene where he catches Jamie in the parking lot which is an outlier and i'm not sure it should be counted). he is basically a cartoon character, wearing the same exact thing over and over again -

until s2 where he suddenly gets more variation in his looks, probably to show that he's not so fixed in his role anymore and he's broadening his horizons to see what else fits

which is a way to say - his clothes matter. they matter like ted's hair matters, like nathan going grey matters, because this show is great at visual storytelling.

at first glance I thought the fifa promo look was a whole new different look, but no, we've actually seen all of these items before

the blue jacket is from 2.03, the press conference where ted calls trent "baby" in front of a room full of reporters 😶

the dark purple shirt appears in the same scene, and as well in the 2.01 press conference, that time combined with the dark red jacket that looks pretty much like the blue one. i'm especially obsessed with this one because it matches the color of rebecca's eggplant-colored suit from 1.09 so perfectly, and ted specifically calls attention to the color of that suit (i go bonkers over trent and rebecca parallels don't mind me)

the tie of course is the famous red tie that he wears throughout all of s1

the thing is. the whole look is so immediately a trent crimm look like you'd expect. it's his same old "uniform" from s1, just different colors, which is strange because he tries to leave that combo behind more in s2 when he starts wearing t-shirts instead of button-downs and ties more so honestly, i was assuming that timeline-wise, we're closer to s1 here, but that's definitely current James Lance hair so??? what does it mean???

i'm obsessed with all in-world and out-of-world explanations of this

in-world it's like. that's what was in his wardrobe when he was trying to look professional for the cameras, and it was in a more official setting than these press conferences where he wore t-shirts - of course he would wear a suit for this.

out-of-world it's like well, we need a quick trent crimm cameo, what have we got that'll make him immediately recognizable but not place him in any scene we've filmed so far? mix of s1+2 wardrobe stuff, perfect

BUT it's also kinda nuts??? if you're trying to timeline this and put it anywhere after the events of s2?? did they just casually ask a disgraced sports reporter who twice famously ripped Ted Lasso to pieces in a national newspaper to give a statement about Ted for their game?? why??

And why of all things did Trent show up and go "okay I only get one line, better make it a reference to my public love letter first article about Ted"??? adding that dramatic pause in there like??? WHAT

which leads me to my main thesis that Trent is aware of the fact that he is a character (the cartoon outfit in s1, trying to break out of it in s2), which makes him perfect for such a meta endeavor such at this fifa trailer. and his clothes and quote here are his way of telling us "look, i'm playing along, i'm playing the part of enamored sports reporter!"

which leads me to my hypothesis that trent will try and break out of the narrative in s3, find "something deeper", but alas his story's end is already written so he can never be free of the narrative, though he can break free of the role he has to play

okay i kinda lost the plot there for a bit BUT final thing

if you squint very, very hard, these colours make a bi pride flag

Fred over and out

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Jenna Coleman on DVD/Blu-ray in North America (June 2022 edition)

Once in a while for the benefit of my fellow Jenna Coleman fans in North America, I’ll do a quick rundown of what TV shows or movies featuring our favourite actress are available in DVDs and Blu-rays - and what are not. In reverse chronological order (drama productions only). Spoiler break to respect timelines:

The Serpent (2021): Has been out on DVD in the UK for a while, but sadly it seems to be an example of a Netflix series that isn’t getting a physical release over here. Doesn’t bode well for her upcoming series, The Sandman though its predecessor American Gods was released to home media, so who knows. (The upcoming film Klokkenluider? Not even going to try and guess that one. The War Rooms hasn’t even started filming yet as far as we know.)

A Separate Peace (2020): This was an online play by Tom Stoppard Jenna did via Zoom mid-lockdown. A one-time shot, it’s unlikely to get any sort of re-release. I saw a copy of it kicking around Youtube for a while but no longer. A review with clips from it can be found here.

Inside No. 9 (2020): There’s been DVD release of Season 5 (including Jenna’s guest appearance) in the UK, but in North America the show isn’t well known so no release here as yet. When the recently announced American remake comes out, will it spark a Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray of the original?

Corporate Monster (2019): Filmed way back around 2010, but held for nearly a decade, it’s only been made available on Youtube. Sometimes short indie films turn up on DVD, though, especially if the director goes on to bigger and better things, so you never know.

All My Sons (2019): The live stream of Jenna’s West End debut play (see above, with thanks to gifmaker @oswincoleman) was delayed until early 2020 for North American fans and unexpectedly got a streaming rebroadcast during lockdown. But National Theatre Live doesn’t tend to do DVD or Blu-ray releases, so don’t hold your breath to see this in any formal release.

Victoria (2016-19): All 3 seasons are available on DVD in North America (I’ve seen box sets of the combined seasons), but there’s no Blu-ray of S3 over here as far as I know. All are also available in the UK. The PBS edits (which include extra scenes in most regular episodes) have never been released, but may still be viewable online in the US on PBS’s website (which can’t be accessed from Canada so I can’t check).

The Cry (2018): DVD release in NA and the UK. Not overly common, but available. No Blu-ray though.

Thunderbirds Are Go (2017): Jenna did a guest voice for the first episode of Series 2 of the CGI remake series. It’s on DVD in the UK, but so far it’s only available on streaming here.

Me Before You (2016): Widely available in DVD and Blu-ray here. Sadly, I tend to see it in Wal-Mart $5 special bins these days.

Doctor Who (2012-2015; 2017): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray. Twice Upon a Time was released on its own if you want her cameo. If you want her extra scenes as Clara (things like the Doctor Who Ultimate Guide minisode and her cameo in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, you may need to invest in the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi box sets. Good luck finding her DW audio story “The Time Machine” on CD, but I think you can still order a download of it from places like Big Finish (her only other known audio book, The Secret Garden, is also a rarity on CD but I think Audible has it, along with a 2018 audio drama of A Christmas Carol in which she plays a role; it’s not on CD.

Death Comes to Pemberly (2013): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray over here, though I think as with Victoria it’s the UK edit that we got in North America, not the PBS version which may or may note have extra scenes (I’ve never been able to verify).

Dancing on the Edge (2013): Again, widely available on DVD and Blu-ray here.

Room at the Top (2012): I won’t rehash the rights issues that delayed its broadcast for a year and make it unlikely to ever get a DVD or Blu-ray release anywhere, but you can stream it on both sides of the Atlantic.

Titanic (2012): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray. Just don’t mistake it for that little home movie James Cameron made back in the 90s.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011): It’s a Marvel movie - you can likely get it in 4K too (possibly the only Jenna release in that format). Just remember - she’s in two scenes but you might need the 4K version to see her in the second one.

Waterloo Road (2009): Jenna was a cast member for Series 5, which is on DVD in the UK. North American fans are able to watch her season on officially sanctioned YouTube uploads (still available but with the series revival I’d search for “Series 5″ specifically to skip recent uploads). DVD release has begun in North America by Acorn, but looks like only Series 1 so far.

Emmerdale (2005-09): Not a chance. You can find clips on Youtube but Jenna appeared in more than 400 episodes of the soap and the only soap opera I know of to be released in entirety on DVD was Dark Shadows.

[2000sfm]

JUST  ANNOUNCED  🎬  !  @2000sgossip  published  the  official  cast  for  criminal  minds,  pretty  little  liars  &  grey's  anatomy  -  everyone  wonders  if  they  will  be  just  as  good  as  the  original.  their  publicist  just  needs  to  make  sure  they  follow  the  hollywood  101  rules  &  if  they  launch  their  social  media  account  within  24  hours,  they  will  take  over  the  trends.

emerson  baker  grace  van  dien  is  playing  jennifer  jareau

whitney  white  addison  timlin  is  plaiyng  hanna  marin

jia  choi  im  jinah  is  playing  meredith  grey

*     our  current  valentine's  day  plot  drop  is  happening  now  !  please,  refer  to  this  post  to  read  about  the  details  &  submit  your  characters  if  willing  to  participate  !

(  grace  van  dien,  cis  woman,  she  and  her  )  —  🎬  just  announced,  EMERSON  BAKER  has  been  cast  as  JENNIFER  JAREAU  in  the  upcoming  CRIMINAL  MINDS  reboot.  the  twenty  seven  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  strong  scent  of  vanilla  perfume  to  cover  up  the  smell  of  cigarette  smoke  ;  watching  too  much  true  crime  to  prepare  for  her  role  ; color  -  coding  her  script  with  colors  that  match  each  of  the  characters  ;  keeping  her  private  life  close  to  her  heart,  and  not  really  letting  anyone  in  that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  altruistic,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  distrusting.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  how  she  has  re-read  the  twilight  saga  at  least  nine  times  will  let  people  know  them  better.  (  meg,  26,  est,  she  and  her, none  +  currently  filming  season  1  !  )

(  addison timlin,  female,  she/her  )  —  🎬  just  announced,  WHITNEY WINTERS  has  been  cast  as  HANNA MARIN  in  the  upcoming  PRETTY LITTLE LIARS  reboot.  the  thirty  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  popping pills like candy, dark rimmed sunglasses, fashion forward clothing and the sound of heels clacking in hallways,  that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  kind hearted,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  nosy.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  her child actor days will  let  people  know  them  better.  (  andi,  25,  cst,  she/her, none !  )

(  im jin-ah,  cis female,  she/her  )  —  🎬  just  announced,  JIA  KANG  has  been  cast  as  MEREDITH  GREY  in  the  upcoming  GREY'S  ANATOMY  reboot.  the  twenty-seven  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  lipstick  stain  on  coffee  mugs,  impulsively  cutting  own  bangs  after  too  much  prosecco,  curling  under  mountains  of  covers  to  hide  from  the  sunlight,  advocating  for  beliefs  no  matter  the  consequences  a  that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  enigmatic,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  reckless.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  her  italian  vacation  with  her  godmother  will  let  people  know  them  better.  (  lola,  24,  gmt+12,  she/her, none  +  greys  is  about  to  start  filming  s3  )

[kkyujikoo]

These are my... 2...? Maybe 50, cents about the whole "freejk" thing. I'm gonna be extremely petty and at some points a whole lot sarcastic and it's gonna be long but I had to say it. As soon as I get my computer I'm gonna make it under read more, but the app does whatever it wants, as we know.

Listen, this ain't my first fan rodeo, and not even the first fan rodeo where I've been directly or indirectly accused of being some sort of pervert or delulu. I've been in fandom spaces since I was a teen, I was shipping mlm couples when queerbaiting in TV shows was still something that was seen as the norm rather than some cheap disgusting trick. I was there when fanfic spaces saw "slash" fics as something "different" and to be tagged with a more mature rating even when they just looked at each other.

I was in BBC's Sherlock's fandom and I shipped Johnlock during the hiatus between S3 and S4, at this point I'm not even feeling it when people call me delulu or a weirdo.

So, yeah, take this with a grain of salt: as a person who has seen thousands of times fandom drama unfolding and has lived too much of it... This whole situation is so ridiculous it makes me laugh. Like, yeah, it's maddening how people will blame anyone and everyone because they don't even see their own bias and homophobia, granted, but like... It also makes me laugh for the sheer dumbassery of the reasoning behind it all?

Like... Y'all are getting mad and for what? Because it sure as hell isn't the invasion of privacy, since y'all are watching the same content we're all watching and you're paying to see it the same way everyone else is. If you don't want to "invade their privacy", you should just... Stop watching content that isn't their music videos, RUN episodes or interviews. Memories and any kind of dvd/video that shows what they're doing behind the scenes shouldn't be part of their job as musicians, and therefore we're intruding in their privacy... Or aren't we?

Or maybe it's more nuanced than that: maybe the content they release on dvd/on their official channels is part of their job as entertainers, and it's been approved, and it's a small window THEY are granting us.

You know what's the REAL invasion of privacy and what REALLY invalidates someone autonomy? When you, who maybe aren't even paying to see that content (which is something I understand, like, dude, I'm not covered in money either), DEMAND what kind of behind the scenes content you want when I swear ABSOLUTELY NO ONE has asked you. Once again: you don't like it? You think it's some huge invasion of privacy? Don't buy it. Don't interact with it. Convince your friends to do the same. For all I care, just go and petition to boycott this kind of content. I know you won't do it, because... That's the thing, isn't it? It's not the invasion of privacy that bothers these people.

Y'all aren't mad because we get into their business or else you would have gotten real mad when we were privy to REAL private moments like people crying their hearts out.

No, no. Y'all are mad because it's "shipping content" and "fanservice" which apparently bothers you because it lacks authenticity.

Pick a side, lovelies: either you DON'T want to invade their privacy, and thus all the content they release should be focused on what fans want to see, or you WANT to know how they interact TRULY in private.

And here's the catch: "shipping content" can be anything. Shipping existed WAAAAAYYY before the word for it was invented, same way with fanfictions. Shipping means, literally, "seeing two (or more) people interact and thinking they would make a good romantic pair". That's it. That's quite literally it. Everything else is just some nuance of the concept of shipping, but at its core, it's nearly impossible to ban all shipping content when it's a group of seven people, because they should for real go in social distancing mode to do so. Most people who have parasocial relationships tend to have "ships" whether they know it or not, because we've all, at least once, looked at a dynamic from the outside and thought "oh man they look cute together". So, even if, o dear ones, your wishes were granted... What the hell do you mean by "shipping" content? Should they just film solo clips, avoiding talking about the other members? But wouldn't that be fanservice, since it's focused on pleasing the fans? (Which, ultimately, is what fanservice MEANS, and I hate to break it to y'all but the whole concept behind entertainment and thus all the content BTS releases it's... For the fans. Like, they're not going out of their way to just meet our expectations but they're certainly doing fanservice by the mere act of releasing bonus content.)

But it's not even quite that, is it? Because no one bats an eye if it's Tae kissing Nj's cheek. I've seen no hashtag against everyone - and I mean literally every one of them - wolf whistling at Nj. It's okay to show intimacy... Because they're bandmates and it's okay to be close to someone who you see basically 24/7, I hear you. And it's also okay when people see that and gush over that closeness, because it's such a nice thing to see.

Soooooo... We've got to free JK from whom exactly? From what?

Are y'all mad cause people pointed out there's very little way a bruise that stayed for a whole ass night could be a quick bite? Because that doesn't harm jk, at most makes fun of him and jimin and their poor excuses (seriously, guys, next time consider using mosquitoes or "I was doing stuff". It'll be equally embarrassing but at least the meme will be funny), and it's literally... A fair observation. Like. It's a hickey, people are gonna make jokes about seeing a hickey and poor excuses of covering it up in the exact same way they're gonna make jokes over jimin falling out of chairs. And yeah, a hickey is AT LEAST something that happens in a sensual context. Like, I could understand "people who are extremely familiar with each other will have different body language/touch in areas where usually you wouldn't see friends touching each other", but that's not. Not a hand on the thigh. It's a hickey on the neck. I don't even know a more stereotypical placing for a hickey. But once again, are y'all mad because someone is pointing it out? Because that's not being delulu or even being a shipper, really, it's just commenting on something that was approved to be shown and discussed in something that was released BY THEM.

Are y'all mad at hybe for showing something that literally fell onto their hands? Cause like, unless someone (I'm counting on Jimin, since as we know Jungkook was busy spinning him round and round and had both his hands busy) called at hybe headquarters to say "yo bang pd substitute, is it okay if I give my friend jk here a hickey? Cause he's being really annoying rn and he has to pay", I highly doubt anyone expected Jungkook to come to rehearsal all neatly marked up. Or idk, maybe someone at hybe asked them "we need Jungkook to come in with a hickey but refuse to say it's a hickey, so that fans will feel reeeeally served." That sounds perfectly plausible too. Or a good marketing strategy.

Now, if you're a big company and your objective is to have some footage of the rehearsals for a concert, and the fandom is too good at noticing stuff for their own good, and one of your artists comes in with a very visible mark, and he and his bff bropal4lyfe come n with a story about how they were playing and a bite happened, you've got three choices: 1. Cut the artist out of aaaaalll the footage. Someone would have noticed the "bite mark" anyway, you best believe that. If you don't want anyone to notice it, you gotta cut him in most of the footage where it's visible. 2. Keep the hickey, discard the explanations. You could do that, but also it would feel a lot more unfaithful to everyone involved. Also they clearly worked their ass off to invent an explanation, come on! They truly tried to do their best inventing something that was not "it's a mosquito bite", they should get some credit! 3. Keep the bite, keep the explanation.

Notice how none of these solutions include the biting never happening because... They couldn't prevent it? The only thing they have any control over is how they're framing each "accident". And that's not an easy job.

I applaud you, people on the editing team.

So... On whom should we cast the blame now? Ah, yes, I think it's finally time for the ultimate scapegoat of this fandom: Jimin. Which is funny, cause... You know... If this were really about privacy, or being "victims" of shipping... This should be about freeing him too, you know? But obviously Jimin does it for attention, while Jungkook, poor angel that he is, doesn't even know what shipping is.

Furthermore, don't we all know how much Jimin imposes himself in Jungkook's life? To the point where he, multimillionaire man feels compelled to share a car with Jimin even if they're both late in the process. And can't you see how uncomfortable he is, draping himself over Jimin, making Jimin drap himself over him?

Oh lordy, truly such an awful eight years Jungkook spent, choosing to have vacations with someone who made him uncomfortable, spending free time with him, even having to suck his ear in public to the point you can see his saliva just because Jimin was sad :( truly an all-around bad time for Jungkook, as evidenced by alllll those times when he said Jimin was pretty, cute, and all-around knowing every little thing about Jimin. I absolutely concur, the dude would be so much more happy if jimin was not in his life.

Did that sound weird and absolutely ridiculous and a really absurd joke? Because that's what y'all sound like to me. Like. Jungkook is out there living his best life, getting hickeys and showered in affection and y'all paint him as a fucking martyr??? I'm sure he's really truly desperate that Jimin holds him in such high regards 😭😭😭 I can see him suffering whenever he starts doing his own serendipity rendition 😭😭 and when he claimed you are me, I am you as his and Jimin's only 😭😭😭 I cannot believe this poor baby 😭😭😭

I've reached a point where every time I hear this stuff I laugh because the levels of twisting reality when it comes to jikook are extraordinary, Jungkook will have a literally blissed out face and people will cry in outrage.

But coming back to my point: let's pretend you're not mad at Jimin and the possibility that jikook are dating: are y'all mad... At the hickey? Because at this point it seems like the only feasible solution. And if you are, do not worry: I'm sure Jungkook's skin was throughly healed by his boo. A kiss soothes even the worst pain, doesn't it?

[kaypeace21]

Analyzing the 5 plays in this drama club poster .From the bts pics of stranger things 4.

So... some of ya’ll know I'm going through the st s4 films given to us by the official st twitter + the films reffed in the show itself or mentioned by the Duffers in interviews .

So I decided to look at the plays mentioned here. Because even if we don't see the monologues in the show directly - the Duffers wouldn't name drop anything unless it inspired them in some way. Similar to films name dropped in the show. Tw : for some dark themes .

This is just a quick little analysis I decided to do since we probably won't get any new st content today (3/22). Nothing too deep. Just mentioning things that caught my interest especially cause these plays have a lot of narrative connections to the st s4 movies I've been watching.

Invitation to a march (Authur laurents)

Reminds me of the stancy/jancy love triangle. "A young woman is having second thoughts about doing the right thing and marrying a respectable , rich, kind, young man with good prospects.By way of a prewedding diversion, this woman becomes interested in the passionate but poor and entirely unsuitable son of a local landlord.Basically, the plot concerns the efforts of Norma Brown to choose between a conventional fiance who "puts her to sleep" but is wealthy (like what her own mother did) or go for this new-poor guy. The play is principally interested in how this youthful love triangle affects the three mothers involved (whether the kids like it or not)

12th night (Shakespeare)

 - viola (el) wrongly assumes a family member (hopper) is dead. She dresses up as a man named 'cesario'. A girl named Olivia falls for 'cesario' (violet dressed as a man). "Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian (violet's twin brother: assumed to have drowned - Will) appear in the presence of Olivia there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Cough if Olivia is 'straight' cause she fell for Viola (as a doppleganger dressed like her twin brother).Mike being into el who multiple characters in s1 said looked like a boy and specifically like Will is...suspish and a hint he's not straight lol. just like Olivia they're both into guys . plus, this play just has a butt load of love triangles (ugh i hated that aspect). There was also romantically coded letters (which was in the s4 films) . One character is also thrown into an insane asylum and framed as 'insane'.'Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity'. We all know the psych hospital will be narratively important- talked about it more here.

The seagull (Anton Chekhov-russian)

similar to how I believed s4 will show m*#even already broken up since the months between s3-4 : act 3 (s3) ends with Nina begging for one last chance to be with Trigorin before he leaves/moves away. They kiss and make plans to meet again in Moscow.And in act 4 there's a timeskip where it shows they've been broken up for a long time between acts- and its established they never actually loved eachother. Do i even have to spell out why this parallels the m*#even ending in s3? There is also a play within the play (this is common in a lot of the st films- they have plays- or a story within a story- which illustrate certain themes or emotions of the characters within said film : blackswan, children of paradise, highschool musical, Rushmore, book of Henry, welcome to marwen, never ending story, romancing the stone, wet hot American summer, etc).The play is Konstantin's latest attempt at creating a dense symbolist work. There is also alot of love triangles in the seagull. TW!: for se#ual ab*se/su*cidal thoughts/ inc*st (here and in other play segments). The seagull motif reminds me a lot of Jonathan's rabbit story.Konstantin romantically into Nina shows up to give her a gull that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified . Trigorin sees the gull that Konstantin has shot and muses to Nina on how he could use it as a subject for a short story: "The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she's happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull."  This immediately reminded me of jon's rabbit story and some of the movies on the s4 list . Like in forrest gump- Jenny (who is poor) was se*ually ab*sed as a very young girl by her father. As a child she runs away into a field-away from her alcoholic father yelling at her -there she prays that she can "be a bird so I can fly far far away" .

Jenny as an adult struggles with this unresolved trauma- being with ab*sive partners, doing dr*gs, and having su*cidal thoughts . She as an adult when contemplating su*icide, jokes 'you think i can fly like a bird ?' while looking down at a bridge.God-i'm worried about jonathan (Jenny was also a musician sort of like jon). In another s4 movie example ' mystic river ' :(in the 80s) a preteen baseball playing boy is r*ped by men in the woods. He later says he wishes he could become an undead monster to not feel the pain of that experience - cause quote " if I'm not human anymore maybe the pain will stop" (Will) . slightly off topic but he also has another personality, imagines a alternate word that dissappears when he turns his head. And as a less direct animal parallel to the play - the boy from the film also imagined his perpetrators as monsters and wolves to cope.In 'getout' the photographer character sees a dead deer in the woods and it represents a parent/his own childhood tra*ma relating to his past. similarly in 'prince of tides' the 2 siblings as kids were ra*ed by men. The older brother remembered it and the younger sibling developed DID (so didn't remember but she would draw wolves- as the perpetrators/villains in her picture stories she created . In the film they also had an ab*sive dad and were very poor. She also tried k*ling herself multiple times-but started to get better after remembering the source of her pain and trauma.  There is also the theme of multiple attempted su*cides in the play- and the play ends with yet another attempt- and the audience is left unaware of the artist's fate at the end of the play.

The tempest (Shakespeare)

Prospereo - (the perceived antagonist) is a wizard with monstrous looks, storm powers , and ability to create monster-dogs

He wants revenge on a man who tried ra*ing his family member & revenge on his other family member who wronged him years ago. I mean... pretty much my did theory.But in the end.Prospero decides to show his enemies the mercy that they did not show him twelve years earlier. He tells Ariel to bring the men to him, he will restore their sanity and then renounce magic forever.Prospero breaks the spell that the men are under .

Diary of a scoundrel (Alexander Ostrovsky-Russian)

-  I suppose this could loosely relate to Jonathan? Glumov, is a young man from an impoverished family lacking status seeking entrance into society's pampered class. A 19th-century Russian scoundrel must scheme his way out of his meager life in a small apartment -whatever it takes.He has a quick mind and some talent for seeing through the hypocrisies of people around him ( Jonathan does make a lot of social critiques about society). That gives him some advantages. A tale of one man's mission to finagle his way into upper-class society and find a cushy job. Set in 1874, this social comedy follows Glumov, a Russian youth who begins his ambitious ascent to social esteem. He progresses by wit, guile and rhetoric. Pitting one stupid person against another, he soon gains his ends. To reach these goals, Glumov will lie, flatter, and cater to the vanities of the wealthy. Unable to contain his disgust with his victims, Glumov decides to relieve his unvoiced satirical comments by recording his schemes in a diary. But he is tripped up by his uncle's wife, to whom he has made passionate love on his way to success. At the end of the play, his diary is stolen and his duplicity exposed, but he can nevertheless suceeds. The author is much more critical about the high society itself than about the main character, so the play keeps attracting generations of directors by opening possibilities for political criticism while also avoiding naming names of the current rulers.The play's aim was to overthrow bourgeois tradition and establish a class-conscious art called eccentricism giving a deliberately comic portrayal of reality.

I suppose I notice some possible commonalities-  besides s3 critiquing the wealthy/capitalism in comedic ways . jonathan since s1 has worried about his family's finances / had some resentment toward the rich . In some of the s4 movies ‘orphan’ & ‘ girl interrupted’ someone reads their diary out loud to get at them (in girl interrupted the winona character’s diary even had critiques of her new friends).  Alot of movies also have someone (usually a teen/young adult) making a documentary about their life -which could narratively replace said diary? A few movies have a poor guy adjusting to snobby rich social circles (or being poor and then getting money)- titanic, kingsmen, karate kid, the craft , godfather,  wardogs,into the spiderverse,flashdance, and many others . And movies like wardogs has a poor-young-character do shady things to finacially support his family . There’s also that whole uncle’s wife thing- which makes me uncomfortable for obvious reasons (but I’m just thinking of Lonnie’s creepy gf who was into him). A few movies had the guy’s step mom innappropriately hit on him- orange county & you got mail. And him trying to avoid her advances. Or...not to mention ... it may be a problematic coincidence /trope. But in enter the void -the guy who needs to finacially support his sibling/ does dr*gs -hooks up with his dr*g dealing friend’s married mom (who would give him money).  Or in gilbert grape- the poor teen-who has to finacially support his siblings/single mom-has his endgame relationship be a girl his own age. But before that he h*oked up with a married woman -who would give him money. Don’s plum -young film guy-propositioned by older female film director (for dream job). Not even mentioning the other films that have the guy hooking up with toxic older women (like ‘the graduate’). Or analyze this-where the therapist accuses him of having an Oedipus complex (not touching that one... but the guy in ‘enter the void’ a 100% had one). It’s possible those movies were just- inspo for s3?  A coincidence? Or s3 was foreshadowing for this in s4- but unlike s3 it will accurately be played as wrong  and a sign of Jonathan recreating past tra*ma caused by Lonnie (cough like the photos) /being desperate for money. And not played ‘comedically’ like how it mostly was in s3. But shown as self destructive  (for Jon) and immoral on the Woman’s end. Like... Billy and Jon are character foils. Both are older siblings into rock music, with ab*sive dads who shoved them into walls. Both lose it (and beat steve to a pulp when Steve accidentally triggers their daddy issues). In s3 it’s established womanizer Billy has mommy issues, than he tries ho*king up with someone his mom’s age, and the characters ref ‘back to the future ‘ and Steve incorrectly says it’s about “alex p keaton trying to bang his mom.” This could illustrate his subconscious issues with parental figures/adults cause of Lonnie’s  possible past se*ual ab*se . One film the friend even says to the guy “you don’t have friends!” guy b: i have friends! him:  no you have acquaintances! ADMIT IT! YOU’RE AFRAID OF MEN!I mean-Jonathan liked Nancy- but he initially hooked up with her cause he wanted to prove he didn’t have ‘trust issues’ from his dad. Also it’s prob a bit of a reach (and maybe a coincidence)- but the fact Murray in the same breath compares Steve (Nancy’s then bf) and Lonnie  ... uh... if you think too long about it ... it’s very sinister .  Especially because in s3: muray tells Joyce  that despite her wanting to be with a nice guy, she’s curious about “the brute” Hopper despite him reminding her of a past “bad relationship”(aka Lonnie). Like- yeah connect some dots.  Quite a few films (other than forrest gump) also have the character who (as a kid) was  r*ped by their dad/parent-  begin to do dr*gs/be pr*miscuous as adults since they never learned to properly cope with their trauma (’girl with the dragon tattoo’,  ‘black swan’, and ‘magnolia’). Unfortunately the whole relative doing such things to kid-relatives is in at least 30+ movies. 

Personally, i would be MUCH happier if Jon had a age appropriate romance- and had not a single creepy adult near him. A few movies actually imply Lonnie gets yet another ‘new model’  replacing his gf in her 20s with a new gf- who is ‘barely l*gal” and just turned 18. so there’s that possibility as well- that she’s jonathan’s age.I just want Jonathan-happy &safe. GOD. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

[floralovebot]

riven/timmy/helia headcanons let's go -lambofzenith

YEEEAAAAHHHHH LET'S GOOOOO

So basically they're all a little stupid (affectionate) and they definitely use that to annoy each other (Riven: the earth is flat, I have proof; Helia: pft the earth is clearly shaped like a donut; Timmy: LMAO you losers believe in the earth??)

They have movie nights! Pretty much anything is on the table but, horror movies, buddy cop movies, space buddy cop movies, and surprisingly romantic comedies are their gotos. They usually like to destress so anything that's funny/not too serious is good in their books but they will occasionally watch some spooky horror movie for fun.

They like doing escape rooms! It's a good way to practice without too much stress and it gives them time to Be A Team in non-dangerous situations.

They do actually like playing video games together! Although only Timmy is really good at them (Riven is good at some but, usually only after tutorials and practice). They absolutely play things like Mario Cart or Super Smash Bros and they have a tally of who's winning. Timmy's in the lead with Riven in second and Helia at dead last (Timmy genuinely believes that if they tried hard enough, they could win a lot too. Poor Timmy 😔).

Going out to eat together is something they like to do a lot on free days and whenever they have the time. While they do have their usual places, they will often try new things! On Earth, they like to try hole-in-the-wall cafes just to see if they're good or not.

All three of them are insomniacs that spend way too much time being Awake at night. They usually end up just doing their own thing, whatever that may be, and will often gravitate towards someone's room so they can at least be awake together. Although this definitely doesn't happen every night, they need their alone time too, and they all understand this so no one gets particularly hurt if one or more decide to chill in their own rooms.

Speaking of rooms, the three of them often dorm together when they go places for missions or otherwise! Sky and Brandon have to room together and sometimes no one is allowed to be alone for safety reasons, so they're relatively used to rooming together. When they only have five people on the team, the rooming arrangements usually end up being uneven.

Riven obviously had a really hard time after Nabu's death in S4 and afterward started doing a weird push and pull with the rest of them. One day he would be really close and the next he'd be really distant. They could tell he was grieving and just didn't know exactly how. They tried their best to let him know they were there for him though and because of this ended up grieving for Nabu properly after Riven felt better. Which ended up being years after it happened... it came as a complete surprise to both of them and just reminded everyone of what happened (not that they forgot per say but, they had moved on and assumed everyone else had too).

Timmy often thinks about the time in S3 when Riven was so insistent on Tecna being gone forever. On one hand, he understands that the situation seemed like a lost cause and that Riven was just trying to help but, on the other hand, he can't help feeling a little scornful. If he had listened to Riven and the rest of them, he never would've found Tecna. Timmy still gets careful when someone gets really hurt or goes missing on missions because he still has an underlying fear that Riven will give up on them. He's never brought this up of course but Riven isn't clueless. He's noticed.

I can't talk about this Helia-centric headcanon because it involves a made-up backstory for him that doesn't fit into canon however, it's sad so think about something sad idk.

At one point, somewhere between the third and fourth season, Timmy offered to help Riven find his mom. Riven was really conflicted about this. He wanted to see her, to hear her side of the story, to forgive her, to be angry at her, to ask her why she left. In the end, Riven decided he wasn't ready to confront her just yet but Timmy does still have that information and often checks in to make sure she's still alive. They don't openly talk about it but Timmy does give little clues that she's okay so Riven doesn't have to ask.

While Helia isn't A Quiet Guy, he does have really quiet footsteps and often accidentally sneaks up on them. He swears he's not trying to :( but he isn't exactly being louder either.

You know that guy on Tiktok that climbs trees and then says something motivational when he gets to the top? That's Helia except he's not filming Tiktoks and he's not saying anything motivational either. Throughout the day, Timmy and Riven will often get weird videos from Helia that are shaky and badly filmed but are mainly just him doing something like climbing a tree. He doesn't say anything at the end and nothing actually happens but they'll still watch it all to support him. (Timmy: nice bro 👍; Riven: good climbing 👍)

Speaking of climbing trees, Helia will often climb up on something and then swing down when someone passes to tell them something. Again, he swears he's not purposefully trying to scare them :( he just has important information that can't wait for him to climb down :( no, he will not tell them why he's up there in the first place :(

These three are absolutely down to do Illegal Things for each other. "Oh, you need me to bury someone? Okay, let me clear my schedule real quick!" "You need me to hack into this guy's computer and delete all his files? Because he was mean to you? Okay :)" "Why do you want me to break into this government facility with you? Never mind, I was bored anyway. Let's go!"

As all three of them understand the I Need To Be Seen As Reliable And Good thing, they often actually calm each other down when one of them gets really amped in that feeling. On the flip side, they will also help each other train in areas they feel inadequate in. They have each other's backs but also know when to step in and stop someone.

They are just three very okay boys who need therapy and hugs and a cat to cuddle

This post specifically is them and all three of them are interchangeable depending on who has the dumb idea.

[mskatesharma]

FA. I kinda doubt Simone will be able to fit something in between now and Bridgerton filming in the summer (June?) However, who knows if she and JB will be needed right at the start. Even if they are, I suppose it’s not impossible Simone has a project announced right as it goes into production and it’s a really quick 4-6 week shoot before Bridgerton S3 films. That’s not uncommon.

I just hope Kate and Anthony aren’t in all 8 episodes like the Featheringtons and most other supporting characters tbh…because that would require they be there for the full six month shoot. Though I kinda suspect the show will unfortunately rely on their characters a lot to anchor the show and just to sustain casual audience interest going forward. Because I personally don’t rly see it for the rest of the Bridgerton kids in being able to carry a season. And with the company line emphasizing how Kate and Anthony are now both the heads of the household that signals they’ll have to be around a lot…But Simone and JB are also no longer #1 and #2 on the call sheet, so they might be able to do Bridgerton and other UK based projects simultaneously.

I love Kanthony too but I just think the show has probably peaked already and it would hinder more than help both Simone and JB’s careers to have big parts in Bridgerton going forward. It’s such a big time commitment for their not even being the leads anymore. If it were up to me they’d be in like 4 or 5 of the 8 episodes.

(This post.)

Well it could be like Phoebe with season two right? Because she was finishing a project when they started shooting season two right? Then again, she was only in a few episodes, and I think Kate and Anthony may be a full on sideplot for season three. Although, I'm just going on what Simone and Jonny have said so far, and if we take the example some of the things they said about season two vs what we actually saw, I think we can take their words with a little pinch of salt lol

Tbh I'm interested to see which direction the show will take with Jess at the helm, because there has been so much talk about season two having two competing visions? Like, the writing was sloppy and messy in so many places, and there were missed opportunities, so it will be interesting to see how season three differs to one and two. But yeah, I don't want Simone and Jonny to be hamstrung by their commitments to the show, and have to turn down other things that they really want to do because the show takes precedence.

[ayellowcurtain]

that clip from s3 where robbe tells zoe he’s into one guy and she asks him to explain and i’m sad we didn’t get to see that, so could you maybe write robbe telling her what happened with sander??? it would’ve been so interesting to see since she also knew him

Robbe sits on Zoe’s bed, trying to look at her but deciding to stare at her sheets for a little longer, feeling how much softer it is from his. She doesn’t rush him but Milan does, squeaking and rushing to sit on the other side of the bed, a lot less careful than Robbe, making the three of them jump a little bit. 

He bites his cheek, trying not to smile, praying Zoe won’t change her opinion about him when she knows all the facts. 

“Hm...you know Sander...?” He tries even though he knows the answer. Maybe Zoe wasn’t paying attention, too busy with her constant Senne drama during the beach trip. 

She nods her head, frowning a little bit. 

“The blonde guy, right?” She asks so softly that Robbe smiles, thinking about his mom and how she and Zoe have this similar thing where they’re always trying to be nice, by your side, even if they might come to the conclusion that maybe you did something bad. 

“Of course you would notice that the boy has the same hair color as yours!” Milan rolls his eyes but Robbe tries to keep his attention on Zoe and her reaction. 

Milan is a good friend, and he’s been trying to help for the past few weeks, especially right now but maybe his excitement of having a gay roomate might change his general opinion so Zoe is more important. She knows a lot more of the backstory and Robbe really wants an honest opinion of how bad of a human he is when he falls in love with someone that is in a relationship. 

“Hm, yeah,” Robbe nods his head and cleans his throat, decided to stare as deep inside Zoe’s eyes as possible, “That’s the guy.” 

“His guy!” Milan adds, so excited and Robbe can’t help but feel the same. Even though things are messy and bad between him and Sander now, he still gives Robbe all the butterflies in his stomach and Robbe still thinks he’s the best person ever. 

“Oh...Oh!” Zoe nods her head slowly, looking into Robbe’s eyes like they’re telling each other secrets that Milan is not able to hear. He claps his hands and gets up, saying they need some wine for this reunion. 

Robbe follows him out the door with his eyes, leaving the door open while he goes to the kitchen but Zoe is still looking at him, pulling her legs closer to her, holding her own shins so her feet face each other. 

“You and Sander are like together together?” 

By the way that she asks it’s clear that she knows Sander and Britt are still a thing. Or something that Robbe can’t really understand. She knows that they’ve been kissing at parties, and she’s trying to check if Robbe knows that or if she’ll have to burst his love bubble. 

“We were...I think. But then he got back together with Britt.” Zoe sighs and nods her head, seeming to be as disappointed as Robbe is, and he’s thankful for the friend that he has, “Hm, and so I obviously started ignoring him, and he wasn’t reaching out to me either, which is weird because, hm...” Milan gets back with a bottle of red wine and fancy glasses like he’s on cue. 

Robbe drinks a little bit of wine to see if it’ll help him muster the courage to explain how things happened. 

He doesn’t go back to that conversation, talking about how good the cheap wine Milan bought a few days ago is, and looking at Milan’s phone to help him decide what to order for them to eat. 

But while Milan finishes their order, Zoe stares at him again, sipping her wine, resting against the foot of her bed. 

“And you said you’re into one guy, at least...” 

Robbe looks at her, wetting his lips with his tongue, trying to get rid of the bitterness of the wine a little bit “I never felt like this before. So yeah, I guess it’s one guy.” 

Robbe pinches the palm of his hand, trying to explain his thoughts, “Sure, maybe I found some guys good looking before, but I never fell in love so I don’t think it counts...it does feel like it counts for me right now. And whatever I pretend I had with Noor doesn’t even compare to this.”

She smiles against her glass and Robbe doesn’t have to look to know Milan is smiling too, so happy to have Robbe’s love life to talk about now too. 

“You need to see this, Zoe!” Milan grabs his phone again, searching for something as he scoots to her side, showing whatever he was looking for, “Sander painted a huge wall with Robbe’s face. I have a Grindr friend that works around the area and I asked him to send me a picture, look.” 

“What?!” Zoe sits up straight right away, more excited than any other day, ever. 

“Milan!” Robbe exasperates, unaware of that part of the story, rushing to the other side of the bed to see the picture too. 

It isn’t finished yet, but picture this on a big wall. In these intense colors. Robbe wanted to kiss him so badly after that, Sander sounded so excited and actually ready to do it. Robbe never thought he actually would but the possibility made him drunk in love. 

Robbe wishes he had time to see all the pictures that Sander took of him that afternoon. Every five minutes he would pull his camera out and take pictures, but the films weren’t developed quick enough. Robbe wonders if Sander looks at the photos from that day and regrets it. 

“And this was designed here, right next door to you!” Zoe steals Milan’s phone from his hands, zooming in. 

“What? When?”

Robbe laughs, looking at himself, in that huge wall again, feeling the butterflies fly everywhere inside his stomach. 

“It wasn’t designed here! He drew this some other day but he showed it to me when we were hanging out here one day when you two weren’t home.” 

The two look at him like Robbe just told them his dirtiest secret and he rolls his eyes. 

“He was hiding his cute boyfriend from us.” Milan whispers, pouring more wine for the three of them.

“He’s not my boyfriend...” Robbe walks around to sit back on the bed, looking down, “And it doesn’t matter now. Like I said, it’s complicated. And I don’t want complicated.” 

He sighs, pushing himself to lie on Zoe’s pillows, “I just want him to like me the way I like him,” Robbe thinks out loud. 

Zoe nudges his leg with her feet, and Robbe turns his side to the side to look back at her. 

“It’s not complicated. You like him and he likes you.” 

Robbe sighs, wishing he had the time right now to tell her every detail of how complicated it is but he doesn’t feel like doing it either. He wants to keep thinking about the butterflies and how badly he’s in love with Sander, ignoring all the drama. 

“He’s with Britt so I’m not sure of how serious his feelings are for me.” 

“Robbe.” She sounds like his mom now, and so he looks at her and tries to listen, “Sander likes you. It’s your cute face on that wall, not Britt’s. And this is new, if I’m understanding correctly.” 

She looks from Milan to Robbe in search for her confirmation and they both nod their heads, Milan a lot more eagerly. 

Robbe closes his eyes, trying not to think about his heartbreak and how badly he misses Sander, wishing they could talk. Zoe lies next to him and Milan follows and he lets himself be held, ignoring the few tears that manage to slip down his temple. 

He notices when Milan gets up after what feels like a second since he closed his eyes, and Milan turns the lights off. Robbe can hear the glasses being put in Zoe’s dresser in the dark and Milan lying down again, Zoe is sleeping against Robbe’s shoulder and he closes his eyes, falling back asleep instantly. 

[humble-althemist]

The Hargrove-Mayfield House

I’ve been working on drafting this floorplan for ages, but now that I’ve got quarantine amounts of free-time I’ve come back to it with extra focus and determination to get this thing right, so here you go!

reference photos with explanation will be below the cut, because there are some weird-ass bits to this house that I feel need explanation/clarification/general screaming, and that in some case are very variable depending on what canon you want to go with.

anyway! with the front of the house down there at the bottom, and keeping in mind this house is on a corner lot (streets on both sides that have exterior doors), here ya go!

(also just a heads-up that the exact proportions of everything was difficult to figure off based on a lot of these photos, and this house very much resisted attempts to be sketched out on graph paper, so while this is as close as I could get it without losing my mind, it’s definitely got some little issues here and there still.)

OK! so starting from the front, we’re all familiar with the view from the street, the long, thin porch along the front. but did y’all know the front of the house isn’t as flat as the porch makes it seem? 

this is supported by the inside of the house, where we have Billy’s room in that pushed-out bit, and the front door visible through his door, leading into a living room in the pushed-back bit. (if any of that makes sense.) not the best screenshot but you can at least kind of see the corner behind Billy’s door and how it’s clearly not level with the front door

now, I’m not gonna spend much time on Billy’s room because @gothyringwald​ has already done the work of the gods with that one (IN THREE PARTS, MY HERO), except to briefly say yes, there is a fireplace in here, it’s the back-end of a slightly bigger one in the front room. also, not that it’s at all important cause I won’t be using s3 screencaps for his room, but his room was very clearly not filmed in the same house for s3. the view out Billy’s door changes from the front door to a hallway from s2 to s3 (and there are no hallways in this house, as you’ll see), and the view out his front-facing window changes from porch to bushes. it drove me crazy the whole time so I just had to throw that out there.

anyway, for now I want to turn your attention towards Max’s room while we’re still in here because...

first of all, yes there is a door straight into Max’s room from Billy’s, and no, I have not included it on my layout. That’s because in the show they use a bookcase on both sides of the door to hide it, so you could canonically say that there is no door. to be fair, though, they use this inset shelf thing that looks like in actual fact it wouldn’t work if both of them had one. so, use the door if it suits you, use the bookshelves if they suit you. canon is putty in your hands.

also I wanna point out that in the very bottom right corner of this shot you can see the corner of some wall trim. that’s the edge of Billy’s closet. and yes, it does stick out from the wall like that. at a guess I’d say about half of that wall is closet, and half of it is pushed back by exactly the closet’s depth, giving us this corner look.

moving on to the view into Max’s room, we can see the tiny closet space that her room has. it doesn’t appear much wider than the door to it is wide, though it is deeper than it appears from this angle, probably by about a foot. we can also see her door to the living room from here.

moving into Max’s room...

in season 2 you can feel the camera operators doing their damn best to show as little of this room as possible because it’s so weird and got so many doors, but in s3 we do get a little bit of a better feel and the screenshots I got from there do seem consistent enough with real-estate photos and s2 that I’m like 99% sure they shot Max’s bedroom scenes in the same house as in s2.

so, firstly we have a shot of that inset bookcase I mentioned hiding the door to Billy’s room, and Max’s lil closet to the right. it takes a stupid about of staring at the bottom right corner, but you can just barely see the shadow of what must be the closet’s outer corner there.

panning left, we can see Max’s windows, prime for sneaking out to do nerd shit. in the show they put a lil firewood storage thing directly under her windows for extra sneaking out potential, but I can only put so many pictures in here before tumblr makes me split this thing into two posts so I’ll refrain from adding a cap of that.

note also that that’s Billy’s window closer to us, and Susan & Neil’s at the back of the house. Billy’s would seem ideal for climbing out of as well, but some asshole put his sound system and vanity right under that window so idk how he’d manage it if he did. I’d love to see the elaborate shifting-stuff-around/gymnastics that goes into Billy’s regular sneaking out, though, if anybody wants to get on that.

ok, back into Max’s room cause we’re not done with it yet. we’ve accounted for a door that may or may not be between hers and Billy’s room, one to a lil closet space, and the one into the living room, but this girl has two more fuckin doors in her room.

unfortunately these two doors are never photographed together, so I didn’t figure out that there are two on this last wall until literally this morning while editing this post, but hopefully I can take you along my thought process on why it has to be two different doors.

essentially the thought process is, (L) no wall at all between darkened/blocked-off door and corner, (R) at least a foot of flat wall to the left of door. going back to all of my screencaps with this knowledge makes a whole lot of stuff make more sense, but again I can’t put everything here. If there’s demand for more detailed screencaps and stuff maybe I’ll make a part 2, but for now I’m trying to be as succinct as possible. (lol)

so anyway, that door on the right clearly goes into the third bedroom of the house, because why the hell not have all the bedrooms connected, and that one Susan’s standing in front of in the screencap, I believe, leads to a bathroom. (to be clear, there are two doors in that screencap. one on the left that leads to the living room as mentioned before, and the one I’m talking about, behind her, which set designers have understandably tried to disguise as a closet.)

this is purely process of elimination, since the real estate photo I have of the bathroom does not show the door, does not have any windows, and doesn’t even remotely resemble the bathroom used in s3, but the only other bathroom space I was able to find in this house was off the dining room, which is definitely not big enough to hold a bath or shower. I may throw out all the reference photos of bathrooms I have if anyone is desperately curious, but for now in my head it’s just a general haze of ~a bathroom exists here~

anyway, from that right door let’s walk on into Neil and Susan’s tiny-ass bedroom.

this room is so comically small I’m amazed Billy didn’t get saddled with it, honestly, but if you want some headcanons about why he might not have, my go-to is that Neil /or Susan realized this bedroom was the best for any teen with a mind for mischief. while the windows are definitely not as ideal for climbing out of as Max and Billy’s are, if we take that door on the left we’re in the pantry (yes, the pantry. stay with me), and it’s a straight trip from there out the side door, and out to your smokin’ hot Camaro.

idk how sound that logic is, but it’s what I’ve got lol

But anyway, now we’ve reached the end of the house on one side, so I’m gonna take us back to the front living room and work our way back from there. here we’ve a quick glance at the other end of that fireplace, and another angle of how the front door and Billy’s door relate to each other:

the two parts of the living room are separated by this wide arch, and that further bit is where we see Billy’s weights and weight bench in s2. one could say that this is just normally where he keeps it, but my own personal hc is that they’re only there in s2 because the family just moved in, and that they later get moved to his room and the basement, leaving the living room more usable.

It’s hard to be 100% sure, but looking at these photos, particularly at the floor, I believe the second living room area is narrower (as shown in the floorplan sketch). It makes Max’s room make a little more sense size- and shape-wise, and it seems like all the pictures I have of this space confirm it.

anyway, the open door on the right of the second living room bit leads back into Max’s room, and through another arch we can see into the kitchen, and beyond that the dining room.

for some reason the only shots of the kitchen are taken from the back of the house looking forward, so try not to get dizzy as we spin around here.

as you can see we’re now pointed towards the living room, and on our left (towards the bedrooms) we see the doors to that pantry I mentioned earlier. I don’t have any photos of the inside of the pantry, alas. those would solve probably every question I have about the ground floor of this house. if you look closely they look like bi-fold doors to me, but they could just open inward.

we can also definitely tell that the wall on the left side of that arch is much shallower(?) than it is on the living room side, if that makes sense. essentially, these rooms on the left side of the house are getting narrower as they go on.

until the dining room! this room narrows a little on the right side, which you can see from exterior shots, but the pantry/bathroom weirdness in the middle of the house has definitely cleared out of the way to make room for dining here. we’ve also got two big-ass windows (comparatively), since going by the direction of the wood floors, the window on the left is not the same window as the one on the right.

and going by the existence of a window in that bathroom, we know this part of the house has three external-facing walls -- or however a professional would say that. (essentially, Susan and Neil’s bedroom can’t be overlapping the other side of the bathroom.)

we’ve been pretty low on storage space here so far, so that + the fact that the door in the corner looks nothing like a door to the outside + the fact that there’s a door to the outside literally on the other side of the room, gives me the conviction that this door is just into closet space. it could be a door to the basement, but we’ve seen the back of the house before and it doesn’t look like there’s enough space there for a whole other room full of staircase. observe:

not to mention Neil’s headlights are illuminating a perfectly good door to the basement right there, although idk shit about houses with basements. do they usually have two ways down if they’re built like this? I wouldn’t know, I live on a fault-line. we don’t do that shit here.

ANYWAY, that’s the house. somehow I feel like I’ve covered like way too much, and also not nearly enough, so do let me know if anything isn’t clear and I’ll try to fix it/do an additional post and link that. cause even if most of us are writing Billy living outside of Old Cherry Road/Cherry Lane at this point, this kind of shit is always handy to have around, at least imo?

[jonathonharker]

musical continuity and the Greetings (ごあいさつ) leitmotif 

i wrote this 2 weeks ago I was originally going to make a post about the main motif first (y’all know the one) and then talk about Greetings later, but then 4.24 aired and,, well here we are

Greetings (the track) first shows up in 3.01 when Kageyama and Hinata display their quick before the Shiratorizawa match. It’s a badass introduction. It’s cool. The music is tied to this display of new ability, and it returns when Hinata saves Kageyama’s weak toss by hitting his left hand, winning them the set (3.06), as everyone is, again, introduced to something new. 

((this track might as well be called “someone does some cool shit for the first time and everyone loses their minds”))

All of this, what’s been previously set up, is subverted in 4.09. Kageyama hits a solid serve as we hear the build-up brass, then there’s Hinata’s run-up to spike. They’re both confident. We already associate Greetings with this triumphant entrance, proven three times before (the quick, the left-hand hit, and Tsukishima’s return in 3.08) — and so the music hammers home that expectation: Hinata is going to score the point. 

Except he doesn’t.

In this context, Hinata is denied the triumph of Greetings. As Shiratorizawa denies Hinata within the narrative, they’ve also co-opted the theme, denying Karasuno (and us) at a meta/music level. (ps I’m very sorry for using the words “meta-music”) 

I think Greetings takes on a bit of a different meaning after this moment, especially because the next time it’s heard is when Hinata says “I’m glad I came here” in 4.12.

SO guess where we hear it in 4.24? Right after Asahi’s spike! Not during that big moment, but after, when Futakuchi’s explaining how Asahi practised and perfected the move. I saw this as a subtle change from its use in S3, because here it wasn’t Asahi adapting in the spur of the moment, it was the result of seasons worth of behind-the-scenes practice. The fact that Greetings plays over not the act, but the acknowledgement of it makes it not a “big” moment in terms of commentators/spectators going wild, but a big moment that’s testament to the team’s growth. As Daichi says, they don’t need a miracle, and as Tsukishima says at the end of the episode, the team isn’t surprised: because they’ve worked hard and trained.

Now here’s the other fun part. Technically, we hear Greetings a second time in 4.24. It’s a completely new track, but the Greetings leitmotif is unmistakable. It begins right here, with the first connection in the long volley:

Just as in s3, the familiar melody comes in anticipation of triumph. But despite the familiar leitmotif, the instrumentation and tempo (overall tempo increases by at least 10 bpm) have changed. Something about it is off. This is felt even more because Greetings itself has already been used in this episode. 

hear me out, Greetings goes like this:

starts with the french horn

then the melody is taken over by strings

you hear spiccato on low strings (those bouncing, short notes)

the electric guitar comes in to support them, before backing away

for the vocals to come in together with the strings.

The leitmotif in this new track begins with strings, so that’s recognisable, but the instrumentation of the second phrase is scored for trumpets. The trumpets are accompanied directly with this shot:

I really like the dissonance here, between the expectations the grand Greetings motif carries and Ukai’s worried expression. And as the characters’ pace picks up, the part which would have been the spiccato strings is no longer measured, but panicked and frenetic; the tempo is quicker than in Greetings, and now played by the electric guitar. The electric guitar, instead of having that give-and-take with the strings (in Greetings), fights with the strings and heavy percussion:

Eventually, instead of the choir vocals, arguably the most triumphant part that ends the track, the leitmotif melds into a completely new orchestration. At a musical level, the triumph is essentially slipping away from their grasp into unfamiliar melodic territory. Especially since this is the first time this leitmotif has been used outside of Greetings and i’m so here for it

Then the music stops entirely. And even though the leitmotif cuts off, the circumstances end in triumph: Hinata saves it, almost as though he’s evolved past/overcome the music. And he does this with a simple receive, in a way that isn’t showy or immediately cool.

side note, I think it’s very interesting that Greetings is written in the same key as the main leitmotif. coincidence? i think not

I feel like very often, how scores are used is rather straightforward. Just look at any Marvel film: what you see hear is what you get. Emotional moment = slap some high strings on it. Battle scene = electric guitar/brass. Exposition scene = quiet, generic synth music that practically fades into the background. The music serves an entirely functional purpose: reflects the relevant emotions of that particular scene to fill in what would otherwise be awkward silence. It’s less a score and more just background music.

What makes a show’s score stand out (imo) is musical continuity. There’s awareness of the music in relation to not the moment in isolation, but the story. ((i’m just gonna plug les misérables, it’s done so well; take just one of many examples, with Valjean and Javert: narrative foils, each have an iconic solo with virtually identical music in What Have I Done vs. Javert’s Suicide.)) 

So as much as the music in hq!! slaps, I’m even more delighted that the score is actually being well-utilised. Don’t get me wrong, not everything has to have some huge narrative significance, and some track choices are probably just for fun (or maybe occasionally odd, but it doesn’t happen often), but for the most part, when it matters, it’s done right.